fantasy – Page 8 – The Constellation of Moon

Moon Reads: The Luminaries

Posted on March 3, 2023

Friday Crest design by Jessica Khoury, © 2022 by Susan Dennard

Welcome to The Luminaries blog tour, in which you discover all the clans and maybe a new book to entice you into this universe.

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

I remember when Susan Dennard was tweeting the follow your own adventure tweets and so when The Luminaries was announced, I was very excited for it! I wondered if it would stick to the ending and the path we had “chosen” for our characters, or if things would change, what would be kept, what would go?

As I read The Luminaries I can say that overall, it retained the same feels of that choose your own adventure twitter thread. However, it lead to character development, and to pondering choices, maybe even lengthening the story or something, and you can see hints of that. The story is the same and yet it is also, very different. This difference was at first hard to adapt to, since I was expecting the same feel of the “snippet” I had read, but a thread on Twitter is very different than a proper book and novel.

However, Winnie and Jay still are the same in their own way, and the overall feel was kept through and I loved that. Once I got past the initial oh this is a little different, I started to fall in love with this story, with how much Winnie was trying and how circumstances just seemed to be and no spoilers, but wow.

The characters were fun to read, there is a big focus on relationships, belonging and peer pressure and in part also on that small town/village feel and that closeness or otherness and what makes one part of it or not.

The ending was quite interesting and leaves a lot to find out plus a lot tied in, at least on of the main plot points that the book starts with is resolved, and the overall running one that will tie the rest of the books is there but we get some more information on it. Believe me that it is hard not to squeal about everything that happens and so the best I can say is “you need to read it!”

Book Review

Moon Reads: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Posted on January 25, 2023

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Rating:

Let’s start with the fact that I really enjoyed this book, way more than I thought I would. I was expecting a cosy cute read but nothing that would fully wow me, and yet as I read I couldn’t stop reading and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So much that I’ve been suggesting it to everyone I can as one of my favourite reads of the year so far.

Emily is a professor on everything faeries and expert on that topic, comfortable trekking nature and knowing how to interact with all kinds of creatures, except humans. Socual cues seem to escape her grasp and she is content with her own company. So when she goes on an adventure to complete the final chapter needed for her encyclopaedia (and in her own way what is her whole research and personal work put into one), she stumbles upon struggling with making friends with the people of Hrafnsvik (this gives me Iceland kinda vibes on where this is and what she is studying as the “Hidden Ones”).

She accidentally offends them and therefore is struggling to keep herself warm in the cottage she got and to fend for herself beyond the help of some faery folk and it isn’t until her rival and colleague, Wendell Bambleby, arrives to attach himself to her studies and “help” her that things start to work a little better on the social aspect.

Now the story covers partly the study of the Hidden Ones and I enjoyed the itneractions alongside the ways the Hidden Ones affect the village and the village people. I also adored the approach Emily has to studying and doing research and her no nonsense view of the world. It also helps that she isn’t perfect, she struggles, makes mistakes and despite being good at some things even then she is not the best ever. Instead she is a human being struggling with some parts, putting up with others, ignoring herself sometimes for her goals, and so on and so forth which was nice to read.

There is also the relationship and general “how to be with people” part of it. In some parts Emily cares a lot and in others she doesn’t, and of course, we have Bambleby, who she seems to enjoy in company but also finds slightly annoying. And yet he manages to interact with others quite well except maybe Emily herself.

Overall, this is a story full of cosy vibes with a little bit of faerie chaos included and some extra adventures but nothing too far off or too much that it is distressing, it is more about a way up and figuring yourself better, alongside learning about others (not just faerie folk). I enjoyed it a lot and it reminded me of the joy reading brings and that feeling after a good read that makes you want to not read any other book and yet read them all afterwards.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Atlas Paradox Blog Tour

Posted on November 9, 2022

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake

Rating:

Read before: No

Series: The Atlas

After that massive cliffhanger of a thing in The Atlas Six, we get finally the next one, The Atlas Paradox.

We pick up a little less into exactly the cliffhanger but more of a recap of things. I admit some of it was helpful to refresh but some of it was a little too much and I would have preferred more action and less living in the characters heads.

But then we start seeing how some alliances are being tested as we go into each of the minds of the six and how they perceive others. This was interesting as a first shot, particularly seeing Reina figure it out, but it was also slightly not as interesting as it progressed, probably because you already somewhat know what to expect. After that, we descend into chaos of a story where everyone has to decide if they are sticking with their current allies, if they are actually pro certain things, more secrets are revealed and unlikely or unexpected alliances are made.

Now I will admit I love Reina and have curiosity about Libby and Nico, the rest are not here nor there for me and I could do without, so I avidly read their chapters and less enthusiastically the others. And I will admit as much as aI like being in the mind of characters sometimes, this book had a little too much of that, very little action and very little dialogue, becoming an exposition by thought, which more or less killed some of the greatness of it. Let me see them do what they think and act on their fears and thoughts rather than psychoanalyst themselves first then act on it. The shock or surprise was sometimes lost to this. However there was still quite a bit of fun, some interesting twists and ideas, and it once again left on an interesting cliffhanger.

I am intrigued to know how it will end and how right or wrong Atlas actually is, so my curiosity is still alive. But I am also aware that the way it shows you all of this massive plot is unusual and may be too much exposition for some. However, if you liked some or all of the characters, this is worth reading and figuring out what happens next.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Wildest Hunger

Posted on October 14, 2022

The Wildest Hunger by Laura Laakso

Rating:

Read before: No

Series: Wilde Investigations

I have been loving Laura’s books since Fallible Justice, and each time I love each one more and more. The overall story follows Yannia, one of the Wild Folk, living in London and solving magical crimes/investigations. It has mental health, chronic illness EDS/Hypermobility), a bisexual main character and various other representations in it.

The Wildest Hunger is probably one of the hardest adventures for Yannia, as it is about confronting what makes a Wild Folk one of them, and also, more than anything she has to deal with Dearon. As she investigates if it is indeed a Wild Folk and things get harder and harder to resolve, the book gets deep into what living with pain and illness.

As I read it, I kept finding several parts of chapters that struck me deep. There is one where Dearon treats Yannia in a way that I wish I would be treated, and I felt both seen and unseen because I have not had that I felt for Yannia because she was so unaware of how lucky she was in having that response from Dearon.

Then there was a conversation with Lady Bergamon which once again, struck deep on how we have expectations of ourselves, how living with a body that doesn’t cooperate sometimes makes you hide this and you know, make do, and so on, but again, it was very interesting to see and read.

So the main review is that I want more books, because the ending left me wanting more and needing to understand more, but also I love the books because the representation, the way it is written is amazing.

Oh and last but not least, I am in the acknowledgements and I love it and I am so happy to have been part of fueling this story in some way.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Girl from the Sea

Posted on October 11, 2022

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

Rating:

Read before: No

I read the whole Witch Boy series and enjoyed it a lot. So it felt natural to buy this and read it.

Morgan has a little secret, she is ready to leave her idyllic life. The island may be perfect, but she wants to run away from the sadness of her family after the divorce, her little brother that seems extremely needy and dramatic, or her friends demanding her attention and not understanding her. But wanting to leave her life isn’t the biggest secret she has, her biggest secret is that she wants to kiss a girl.

So when she is saved from drowning after slipping on a rock, by a cute mysterious girl named Kelpie, at first she finds her annoying and frustrating, but then they become friends and suddenly she’s enjoying her life a lot more, or at least life around Kelpie.

The story follows basically both girls keeping secrets and at the same time trying to slowly build a relationship that has to be a secret.

I admit I liked this one less than the Witch Boy series, I think partly because the story is trying to do way too many things at the same time and deal with way too many secrets that it kinda slowly unravels a little bit and I think that was felt through the story.

The art is still adorable, there are a bunch of tiny details put into the scenes and mini kudos to things, but it doesn’t save the chaos of too much trying to be covered by the story, which is why it is not a 5 fox read.

Overall, if you like graphic novels, sea life and other little things, and liked Witch Boy then this is worth reading, and it is a cute story.

Book Review

Moon Reads: A Magic Steeped in Poison

Posted on October 6, 2022

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin

Rating:

Read before: No

Ownership: Somehow I ended with 3 copies of it because I preordered it twice and also had one from the publisher.

Apparently, if you say your book is about tea and magic, I might end up accidentally preordering it twice (Waterstones had a sprayed edges version that is absolutely stunning). In case anyone had doubts, I really wanted to read it. And I have no regrets.

A Magic Steeped in Poison follows the story of Ning, as she makes her way to the capital city so she can compete and maybe become the kingdom’s greatest shennong-shi—masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making so she can earn a favour from the Princess and save the life of her sister.

I absolutely loved the magic system in the book, come on, it is all about tea and herbs but it is also about intent and connections and Ning is genuinely a country bumpkin who just wants to save her sister and accidentally ends up in the middle of a big political conflict plus a fierce competition. And obviously the rich people that are all fancy pansy do not want Ning, the peasant to win a competition and be the greatest, so she also has to survive that chaos of prejudice and people fighting dirty during the competition.

Alongside that, there is a lot about political scheming, Ning being used and having to play her cards close to her chest while battling the feelings in her heart and her main goal of saving her sister. She keeps accidentally being in the right place wrong time or right place right time and listening to things she should not or being involved accidentally and I loved it. Her character was refreshing and I enjoyed reading the whole story.

If you like tea, magic, meet cutes, conflict, competitions in the midst of political scheming, then this is totally the book for you.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Monsters We Defy

Posted on September 20, 2022

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Copy provided by the publisher upon request

The Monsters We Defy has it all as a book. Part magic, part heist, part finding your identity and your place in the world, part critique about life in the 1920s as a black person, what it is as a whole is an enthralling read.

Clara is doing her best to just live her life quietly and safely. She has her job, her annoying Trick and Zelda as a temporary roommate to contend with and that is more than enough. The problem is that this puts her as a spirit medium and people know she helps folks, which at some point was a gift, but nowadays to her feels like a curse.

But then she starts noticing people disappearing and some odd spirit world things happening, and she just can’t let it go, so she gets involved and suddenly there’s a heist to pull, trying to steal a powerful magical ring that may give her the freedom she craves from her Trick.

Honestly, the way the combination of Charm and Trick works is a delight to read and I found it fascinating once each character covers their back story and you suddenly understand why they wanted the Charm and thought they could cope with the Trick attached to it and make a deal with a spirit.

The whole cast is fascinating and Clara is a strong well developed main character. Zelda is a hoot and I love her dearly. Overall this book had me at the edge of my seat and at the same time laughing and worried. The heist itself is good, the historical setting wasn’t too much nor too far away from the truth of how things were back then the right balance, and there’s a lot going on and many characters to keep you entertained.

Overall really recommend it as there’s very little I can compare it to, but if you like stories of magic, identity, cahoots, and heists and historical background, this is an absolute blast to read.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Rebel Skies

Posted on August 23, 2022

Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin

Read before: No

Ownership: It came in a Book Box Club but it had caught my eye before.

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

One of the things that caught my eye about this book is that it was described as having Studio Ghibli vibes, and honestly that made me curious. I love Ghibli films and therefore it was inevitable that I would want to read it.

Our story follows Kurara who has very vague memories of her past and can’t seem to remember much beyond a certain point after a traumatic event. But she lives as a servant and her joy is to interact with her best friend. So when it appears her little party trick of producing origami creatures that come to life has caught the attention of people outside her small world, things turn interesting.

I loved the worldbuilding in this book, and I can confirm it has delightful Ghibli vibes though it was most certainly missing more food talk to fully make the Ghibli mark (joking, but I would not have complained if there was more food talk). The interesting magic of turning origami into live creatures that require some kind of soul and figuring how to control them while being aware of things was interesting, and even more to consider that people use it for battle and defense, or that big origami creatures can be terrifying and therefore destroy skyships.

The world being set into odd factions with different approaches to life, like living in a flying ship, or never leaving a palace or maybe being the Princess, was also interesting and I wanted to know more, plus there seems to be a lot more implied about Kurara and where she truly comes home that we only find out near the end of the book and that we still dont know much about.

It was a quick read and easy to get into, even if there is a lot to navigate wiht the world and as a Ghibli film does, this book assumes you are an onlooker that is in some way part of this world. It welcomes you and somewhat explains things if they appear to be too odd for the world, or the character but otherwise it just gets on witht he story which was nice to read.

Overall, recommended as a lovely book with cosy vibes, a fierce interesting magic and Ghibli influences.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The First Binding Blog Tour

Posted on August 15, 2022

The First Binding by R. R. Virdi

Rating:

Ownership: Review copy provided by publisher but I have been excited to read it for ages.

This is going to be probably the weirdest review first paragraph ever, so you have been warned. Have you ever grown tired of the usual fantasy tropes of clueless hero, lovely stunning lady, lots of worldbuilding, some info dump here and there, potential trigger topics used just for the plot or close to fridging? Well, fear not, because The First Binding somehow is refreshingly none of that!

Do I mean to say our hero, Ari, isn’t a bit clueless? Yes he is but not the usual fantasy trope way. And what about having stunning lady in the story? Yes we do, but she is her own mystery and worth checking out. She is not there just for plot points.

In all honesty, because I am not the wittiest review writer, the one thing I can highly the most about The First Binding is how refreshing it is. Ari is a completely different male hero/villain/grey character. He is incredibly fully fleshed and has so many shades of grey that you can’t help but want to see them all and hear all his stories. The mechanic of worldbuilding and plot deployment as stories told by Ari and sometimes nested storytelling is brilliant and it does not for once feel just as info dump or as odd chapters taken from a different book. You feel as if you are there when Ari is telling his stories, and as things happen in the present.

One of the things I noticed the most and really really appreciated was how Ari treats female characters and how R. R. Virdi writes them. There is respect in there and not just a dump of a character for the sake of needing padding in plot. All throughout the book Ari has a way of approaching things and morality that felt good to read about, to see him live by it and colour his choices, and you can see how he learns from his experiences as he goes through his stories. Eloine is surprised by his way of being, but honestly so was I and I loved it. It is probably one of my favourite things here, and trust me, the stories and adventures are also incredibly good.

I have read many good books this year, but The First Binding climbed incredibly quickly to the top and currently has wiped out every other amazing book I have read. I cannot wait to read the next book and know more.

Books

Moon Reads: The Sinister Booksellers of Bath Cover Reveal

Posted on August 3, 2022

Who doesn’t like a shiny cover reveal? Are you ready for one?

Because I am!

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix is such a gorgeous shiny cover! And if you are curious about what the book will be about, here’s a little synopsis:

There is often trouble of a mythical sort in Bath. The booksellers who police the Old World keep a careful watch there, particularly on the entity who inhabits the ancient hot spring. Yet this time it is not from Sulis Minerva that trouble starts. It comes from the discovery of a sorcerous map, leading left-handed bookseller Merlin into great danger. A desperate rescue is attempted by his sister the right-handed bookseller Vivien and their friend, art student Susan Arkshaw, who is still struggling to deal with her own recently discovered magical heritage.

The map takes the trio to a place separated from this world, maintained by deadly sorcery performed by an Ancient Sovereign and guarded by monstrous living statues of Purbeck marble. But this is only the beginning, as the booksellers investigate centuries of disappearances and deaths and try to unravel the secrets of the murderous Lady of Stone, a serial killer of awesome powers.

If they do not stop her, she will soon kill again. And this time, her target is not an ordinary mortal.

A wintry return to the somewhat alternate 1980s England of The Left-Handed Booksellers of London.

Don’t forget to preorder it because it’ll be amazing!