fantasy – Page 19 – The Constellation of Moon

State of Sorrow Review

Posted on March 21, 2018

I was lucky to go to the launch party at Waterstones (it was that snowy week where everything was closed and you weren’t sure if trains would run or not). I ended up with a nice postcard, the book (signed of course), a tote bag, a Lamentia candle from Geeky Clean and Melinda standing up to shake my hand because she recognised me as Moon. Thanks Mel, I felt like a celebrity for a few seconds.

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State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury

A people cowed by grief and darkness.
A cut-throat race for power and victory.
A girl with everything and nothing to lose…

Sorrow all but rules the Court of Tears, in a land gripped by perpetual grief, forever mourning her brother who died just days before Sorrow was born. By day she governs in place of her father, by night she seeks secret solace in the arms of the boy she’s loved since childhood. But when her brother is seemingly found alive, and intent on taking control, Sorrow has to choose whether to step aside for a stranger who might not be who he claims to be, or embark on a power struggle for a position she never really wanted.

Rating:

It starts very poetic and almost like a fairytale which was a lovely way to start, and then it is a sad sorrowful tale. It was good to read it after the launch as I had Melinda’s insight into it and I went in it thinking of grief and how to process it. My heart hurt for the whole kingdom as they have lost joy and basically live in permanent ~~forced~~ grief.

It also helped to know that Mel writes the “twists” not as twists but as logical ways for each character to achieve something and it was itneresting to read with that lense on, as what Vespus does and all those little twists definitely made more sense. Some were more “predictable” if you look closely enough to the “crumbs” of what they are doing, and some still surprised me (specially the twist about Sorrow).

All in all, it is a sad but beautiful tale and I recommend reading it.

Moon recommends

Reading State of Sorrow or Melinda’s other series, Sin Eater’s Daughter. If you want to read more about grief you can try Letters to the Lost which blew me away.

Book Review

The Witch’s Kiss Review

Posted on March 11, 2018

This lovely book is one that Maja raves about and I was curious about. And then Leafer Box sent it as part of the December box, and seriously, it was just like a sign to read it.

The Witch’s Kiss by Katharine and Elizabeth Corr

Sixteeen-year-old Meredith is fed-up with her feuding family and feeling invisible at school – not to mention the witch magic that shoots out of her fingernails when she’s stressed. Then sweet, sensitive Jack comes into her life and she falls for him hard. The only problem is that he is periodically possessed by a destructive centuries-old curse. Meredith has lost her heart, but will she also lose her life? Or in true fairytale tradition, can true love’s kiss save the day?

Rating:

What I knew about this book was that it was a gender bent retelling of Sleeping Beauty. However as much as it has element sof it, is it more than just a retelling and feels more like “inspired” by rather than an actual retelling (this is not a bad thing at all).

One thing I liked is that what Merry is doing regarding Jack affects her regular non magical life. This was a fresh change to read since most of the time it appears that magical adventures have no effect whatsoever on real life for the character and thankfully that was not the case here.

Now I am left wondering what happened to Jack, and how Merry copes afterwards.

Moon recommends

Retellings for the win, and this book, and anything by Robin McKinley. And I am so going to go read the next one but also I have to wait for the last one to come out and oh dear, do I wait for it to come out and binge read or do I try to space it out… Decisions, decisions…

Book Review

Children of Blood and Bone Review (Now We Rise Blog Tour)

Posted on March 6, 2018

It was thanks to attending YALC last year that I had a sampler for Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and I was hooked as soon as I read it.

I pleaded to My Kinda Book to let me read it and review and be part of it, and thankfully after driving them nuts for a few months, here we are, the book is releasing and you need to go read it as soon as possible.

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Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for the enemy.

Rating:

There is so much magic in this book despite the fact that technically there is no magic in their world (talk about sounding confusing, right?).

I got a sampler of Children of Blood and Bone during YALC last year and it got me hooked. I kept bothering MyKindaBook/PanMacmillan to let me be part of whatever promotional tours they’d do because this sounded like an epic story I had to read. And I was not wrong.

This is a quest book, with very unique characters trying very hard to follow up with the view of the world they have seen. However the gods have other plans and challenge them to change those ways of seeing the world by making them interact in very interesting ways.

The reason it is missing a grey fox (.5 stars) is that it has SO many unique words it was very difficult to keep track of what was what and I could’ve done with a glossary or some kind of guide/help. This kept making me try to google some of them or to try to figure them out and that kept breaking the story so it was harder to get into it.

None of the characters are perfect but they aren’t the usual flawed way either. Their flaws come from their upbringing, from the view they have had of the world and how they have been taught to deal with things and how life has happened to them. I think this was my favourite part, that it shows sometimes our ideas and opinions are shaped what what we have seen and sometimes we are blind to some things. It is up to us to decide what we do once the blindspots aren’t blinded anymore.

Moon Recommends

You pop again tomorrow so I can reveal how to find out what your Maji clan is! (I am part of the Welder clan). And hey, maybe getting Children of Blood and Bone is a good idea!

Book Review

The Girl in the Tower Review

Posted on January 30, 2018

As you know I loved The Bear and the Nightingale, so here we go on the next book.

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

The magical adventure begun in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman, is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.

Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.

Rating:

There is so much I’d like to say about this book but a lot of it would be spoilers, so instead I can insert lots of squeals and excitement. Some of the things that were left as question marks (like that gem Vasya has hanging around her neck) get answers, but some new things show up.

We also get to see what happened to Sasha and Olga, and it was interesting to see how their personalities and them as characters developed once they moved to their new environment.

Konstantin is still being annoying and part of me wishes he’d just disappear but then again he does add a lot to the story in his own weird way, wreaking havoc wherever he goes. Poor man.

And of course Solovey is still there as are new characters, and Morozko, the sweetheart nis still there too.

Moon recommends

To read this book, if you haven’t read The Bear and the Nightingale, then read that one first then this one. Come back and despair with me that we have to wait until August to read the conclusion book.

Subscription Boxes

January Fantasy Leafer Box Unboxing

Posted on January 28, 2018

This is the other cheap (as in price) book box out there and it is like a complimentary sibling of Wildest Dreams, as it doesn’t do the Young Adult genre.

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I usually get a combo of sci-fi and fantasy but this time I just felt like having Fantasy and not both. So let’s have a look at the contents:

Oak and Mistletoe by J.Z.N. McCauley. I like the cover and it looks interesting.
A celtic charm necklace
A shamrock/clover keychain, quite cute.
A tiny tartan bow badge/pin which I think was so quite charming.
Chocolate, this time a peppermint one that I devoured.

Not a bad box at all, so if you are interested in getting you can use code KESTREL10 to get 10% off.

Book Review

The Bear and the Nightingale Review

Posted on January 22, 2018

This lovely book came as an extra book in December’s Book Box Club, the first in the Winternight Trilogy and we decided to buddy read it so I have enjoyed it doubly.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

‘Frost-demons have no interest in mortal girls wed to mortal men. In the stories, they only come for the wild maiden.’

In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, an elderly servant tells stories of sorcery, folklore and the Winter King to the children of the family, tales of old magic frowned upon by the church.

But for the young, wild Vasya these are far more than just stories. She alone can see the house spirits that guard her home, and sense the growing forces of dark magic in the woods…

Rating:

This is a fairytale full of fairytales in it’s own way and I absolutely loved it. The Russian folklore seeps into you and grasps you with it’s beauty as Vasya and her family grow and find that magic and religion seem to be playing havoc in their little estate.

The forest is full of secrets and “demons” and house spirits inhabit every corner until the priest finds he is faithful and it can’t be this way anymore.

I loved th scenes of the fir-grove and was fond of Sascha, Vasya, Irina and Alyosha. I could understand Anna’s insecurities and issues (not that it makes it right that she did what she did) and Konstantin is one of those despised but well made characters that you love to hate.

I am already reading The Girl in the Tower and can’t wait to see what happens next and how Vasya copes with magic in her life .

Moon recommends

You read this book, don’t miss out. And if you like Russian stories, try The Crown’s Game, it is also a wonderful and magical story.

Book Review

An Enchantment of Ravens Review

Posted on December 11, 2017

I love books with fae but I am a little picky on them once I have read them. So when I saw this gorgeous book (I adore the cover) I had to give it a go.

Side note: I also learned I have no black feather props or anything that coud be used for this book at hand, so have a lot of white ones and a quill I made myself from a swam feather.

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized among them. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes – a weakness that could cost him his life.

Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love, violating the fair folks’ ruthless Good Law. There’s only one way to save both their lives, Isobel must drink from the Green Well, whose water will transform her into a fair one—at the cost of her Craft, for immortality is as stagnant as it is timeless.

Isobel has a choice: she can sacrifice her art for a future, or arm herself with paint and canvas against the ancient power of the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.

Rating:

I will start this review by saying I thoroughly enjoyed the world of Whimsy. And Isobel’s sisters, March and May, were a great addition to the story, every appearance they had made me smile in some way.

It was all in all an interesting quest adventure with romance at the centre of it yet at the same time, as much as the romance is part of the plot, it isn’t the only thing and Isobel has a lot of interesting layers (as does Rook).

Meeting the fae folk in their own courts was also a revelation and it was interesting to see how they interacted with Craft (and the effect of Craft in them, of course).

And that ending was wonderful. I didn’t expect it exactly the way it happened and it was a good ending. Made me quite happy.

Moon recommends

This book, because it is a true enchantment. Or if you’d like to read more about fairies, you can try Holly Black’s Modern Fairie Tales. I remember enjoying reading them ages ago (and in general I like Holly’s books).

If you’d like to buy Enchantment, you can do so here. I am off to buy some black feathered things…

Disclaimer: There is an Amazon Associates link, but if you choose to use them and buy from them, know that you’re just helping me buy more books and feed my reading needs. Book synopsis is from Good Reads.

Book Review

The Complete Book of Dragons: A Guide to Dragon Species Review

Posted on December 3, 2017

This book came in LitJoy Crate alongside The Last Namsara as it was a “great companion book”. And I devoured The Last Namsara but had put this one on my bookcase and forgotten a little about it.

The Complete Book of Dragons: A Guide to Dragon Species by Cressida Cowell

This guide is a must-have for fans of the New York Timesbestselling How to Train Your Dragon series that inspired the hit movie and TV show. This gift book features all of the dragon species from the series plus brand-new ones created just for this book, with color illustrations of each and every one!

Rating:

This was fun to read, in the same style of all the other “How to Train Your Dragon” books, this one is full of annotations and scribbles. It is full of different kinds of dragons which are somewhat categorised by their habitat and some by how dangerous they are.

It includes the coloured illustrations, the writing about them, some rating of how fearsome (fear factor) the dragon is, size, etc. It was fun to read and it went quite quickly, but I think as fun as it is, if you haven’t really read anything about the series, this book may not be as enjoyable as it is when you actually have, as some of the references or anecdotes are related to other books.

Moon recommends

You read the whole series, this is a fun one, because it is geared for younger readers but it is a delight to read as an adult and both Hiccup and Toothless make for a very interesting team. If you haven’t read it, you can start with the first book, How to Train your Dragon. You’re in for a ride for sure with the whole series. Enjoy!

If you’d like to have a handy dragon guide, you can find it here.

Book Review

Before She Ignites Review

Posted on November 27, 2017

Any book that has dragons in it usually makes me curious and Before She Ignites defintiely caught my attention. Then I was lucky enough to win a giveaway for Briony’s birthday and I chose this book as a prize.

Before She Ignites by Jodie Meadows

Before

Mira Minkoba is the Hopebearer. Since the day she was born, she’s been told she’s special. Important. Perfect. She’s known across the Fallen Isles not just for her beauty, but for the Mira Treaty named after her, a peace agreement which united the seven islands against their enemies on the mainland.

But Mira has never felt as perfect as everyone says. She counts compulsively. She struggles with crippling anxiety. And she’s far too interested in dragons for a girl of her station.

After

Then Mira discovers an explosive secret that challenges everything she and the Treaty stand for. Betrayed by the very people she spent her life serving, Mira is sentenced to the Pit–the deadliest prison in the Fallen Isles. There, a cruel guard would do anything to discover the secret she would die to protect.

No longer beholden to those who betrayed her, Mira must learn to survive on her own and unearth the dark truths about the Fallen Isles–and herself–before her very world begins to collapse.

Rating:

This book was interesting. I think that’s the best way to describe it. The first few chapters were messy and almost put me off reading it. But I was intrigued by Mira’s panic attacks and her counting as a coping method (this is not a spoiler, as you know I try to keep my reviews spoiler free). Also, there are dragons here (and sadly I think there isn’t enough of them in this book).

However it was interesting to see Mira grow through the whole book and shed a lot of what she “was” for who she is.

I really liked Aaru, probably the reason I kept reading at first. And he doesn’t disappoint as a character. He is definitely my favourite one of them all.

There seem to be a lot of layers to this story and sadly we miss out on most of them because this has to be a trilogy (or a series or whatever it is) instead of a long book. I can kind of see where the story is going, so it isn’t a very surprising plot, but it kept me going.

I think the summary would be that it has good characters (even if Mira isn’t probably the best one out of them), and it touches on interesting topics like panic attacks and a few other things which was refreshing.

Moon recommends

Books with dragons! Also, if you have suffered a panic attack or are curious about them, this is an interesting depiction of it. But I’d also recommend The Last Namsara and all the recommendations done in that post. Here be dragons indeed.

If you’d like to buy this book, you can find it here.

Book Review

A Shiver of Snow and Sky Review

Posted on November 23, 2017

This sparkly book was included in Book Box Club and I can’t wait to chat with Lisa during the Clubhouse meeting!

(Also, that cover, it sparkles and it is just so gorgeous!)

A Shiver of Snow and Sky by Lisa Lueddecke

Red, red, the lights glow red
Beware the danger up ahead…

On the frozen island of Skane, the sky speaks. Beautiful lights appear on clear nights, and their colours have meaning: Green means all is well, and the Goddess is happy. Blue means a snow storm is on the way.

And then there’s red. Red is rare. A warning.

Seventeen years ago, the sky turned red just as Ósa was born, unleashing a plague that claimed the lives of hundreds of villagers, including her own mother. This time, when the night sky once again bleeds crimson, she must discover how to stop the onslaught before so many lives are lost again

Rating:

I had been looking forward to reading this book for a while and I am glad it didn’t disappoint.

Ósa is a very well developed heroine. She has layers and she tries to cope with life in her own way, but then she decides to do the bravest thing and go search for the Goddess at the top of the mountains. She doesn’t do it for the glory or to be famous, or anything like that. She chooses to do it because it is the only idea she can think of to help and to redeem the fact that her mother died after giving birth to her.

Ivar was also well developed and I was happy to be able to have his eyes to relate what was happening in the villages while Ósa made her way to find the Goddess. It was real and it was gripping.

I am glad I wasn’t living in Skane, but the world was believable and it was scary but also so beautiful. The stories behind the stars and the ending were amazing and I was left wanting more once I finished reading it.

Moon recommends

You should try reading this sparkly gorgeous book. It is hard to think what to recommend similar to it. The one book that comes to mind is in Spanish and it was also very gripping, sadly there is no translated edition that I could find. La Emperatriz de los Etereos (The Empress of the Ethereal) touches on an adventure towards her realm where it is said suffering doesn’t exist, however the way to it is difficult. Bipa doesn’t believe in it but she ends up making the journey because her best friend Aer sets off on the quest and she’s trying to stop him from the foolishness. It is also very well written and I enjoyed it a lot.

If you’d like to read A Shiver of Snow and Sky, you can find it here.