Star Friends – Energy Thief by Linda Chapman. Illustrated by Kim Barnes
Rating:
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.
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.
I am always up to some new series and items to read from Little Tiger UK, so when this had a fox and a cute premise I requested it and got a copy to review.
Now, I did not realise this was many books into the series, so I was missing some context when I started reading it, however, it was also ok, because it was slowly filled in as needed.
Maia and her friends have magic that is seen through their Star friends, who are animal companions that assist with their magic. So when Maia starts having visions of accidents happening in their town, they all get to investigate what is happening.
What they don't count on is that somehow their investigation will keep getting stalled and derailed by the same type of accidents that she herself was seeing. There seems to be someone influencing the people of the town in causing them accidents, but also in their behavior because adults are behaving a bit more odd than usual.
This was very cute, and it made me add the series to the books I will go get from the library when I have the chance to binge read them.
The friendships were lovely and the town was cute as was the fact that there's a lot of adults involved and it isn't just the kids being ultra magical and solving everything without an adult ever involved. Instead here they consult with adults and involve them in parts of their adventure which was nice to read about.
If you're into magic, animal companions, and a plucky set of friends who are ready to solve chaos and mysteries, this is a great series to go through. Very enjoyable.
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.
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.
All Hail Chaos was one of my most anticipated reads for this year, and if you're too impatient to read the review, the short thing is that it did not disappoint. You can read my review of Long Live Evil before this one if you're interested in it.
I am going to try my best to avoid big spoilers for this book because I think getting to the last few chapters and making those discoveries is an experience you can only get once when you read it and it's not worth spoiling. This does mean I will be writing one of those insane reviews that are a bunch of nonsense. I mean the title is all about chaos, so we might as well embrace it. All Hail Chaos!
We left Rae engaged to her favourite character, the Emperor, whom is not whom she thought actually was. And she is afraid. Being the villainess was fun when it you think that it's just characters and not people like you, but once you cross the line, it becomes harder to make villainous decisions and things are a lot deadlier.
Rae is trying her best to survive and for that she needs to continue her villainess chaos and to continue trying to not be predictable, and to challenge things. And at the same time she wants to free the Emperor and to free herself from the mess that has become.
She also has Cobra trying to discover secrets and preempt some of the plot that they know happens, trying to make changes. And there's also Emer and Lia, who have escaped simply to stay in the town and start stoking a revolution.
There's indeed a lot of chaos going on here, but the main thing they all have to grapple with is that there are constants for this story, and this plot, and they can try to change things, but they will come to happen one way or another. And sometimes the bargains, the fake engagements, the bravery, they backfire into something you can't predict or that maybe you hoped would not be the case.
That part of them all trying to understand what the plot wants, how much they can push and pull at it and bend it to their will, and where it just won't budge was super fun and really cleverly done. This adds tot he twists and turns, and you know that there are going to be many, but they turn in on themselves as you hope something will happen and boom, something else ends up becoming the plot because it just won't bend that far and the bounce of trying to make it do things it just won't gets interesting. Navigating these many plot points and what the "original" plot was versus the many variations that slowly unravel, the butterfly effect of it all is a lesson in how to be a master in writing, and Sarah does it amazingly well.
Another part of this was that as I read this, I kept thinking a lot about a phrase I live by, which is that you either become the person you needed most during a crisis or you become the villain and closer to those that caused you harm than the other way. And that at the end of the day, what you do, is a choice you make.
All Hail Chaos is full of those moments where each character has to face the music and realise that the choice they are making will impact more than just this moment but also they only have a moment to decide.
There is still a lot of sadness in this book, but whereas the first one was marked heavily by grief, here the grief has shifted more into vulnerability and pain. And in this book that pain makes some beautiful and beautifully ugly things.
My recommendation is to definitely read this book and enjoy the ride, then despair because the third book is not out yet and you will need it immediately after you finish reading this.
Blind Date with a Werewolf (A Novel in Stories) by Patricia Briggs
Rating:
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.
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.
Probably not obvious but I am a big fan of Patricia Briggs, have been since I first read The Hob's Bargain (I should probably re-read it and review it properly here) back when I was a teenager. She was my introduction to urban fantasy (or paranormal or whatever you want to call it now, to me it will always be urban fantasy), and yes I am aware that the Hob's Bargain is not urban fantasy but that was the gateway and Mercy Thompson won my heart and I had a soft spot for her Alpha and Omega books too.
So when Orbit (a while back) said they were publishing the collection of short stories about Asil's blind dates, I jumped at the chance (and then kinda moved house and lost the book and had no pictures and didn't review it until now, my bad).
Asil is a deadly old werewolf, he's lived a long time and lives a reclusive life since he lost his own mate. But his friends are challenging him to go on five blind dates in the span of three weeks. They even made it easy and chose the people, everything is organised and perfectly scheduled, all he has to do is show up and be a good date.
Now, these are five short stories, one per date, that make up a bigger one, but you don't need to technically read them all to know what's going on, and for me it had been a while since I had read the Alpha and Omega books, so I had a vague memory of the characters but couldn't recall everything.
Despite having some blanks, this was pure fun. The dates are actually nicely planned with well meaning people and each one just gets more chaotic and more hilarious than the last, and yet they are also very serious and show you well that Asil is very true to himself through and through no matter the chaos. And there is a lot of chaos thrown at him. There's people feeling stood up or on a joke, and then there's big felines and other old magic flowing through and showing up at inconvenient times during the date.
Honestly I breezed through this and it was such a joy to read, reminded me why I fell in love with urban fantasy and why I loved the Alpha & Omega series, but also why I enjoy Patricia Briggs' books so much.
All I can say is that you should read them for a good time in chaos dates and an impeccable werewolf who is trying to do his best for this challenge of blind dates. There's a little bit of everything here for everyone. And if my books weren't packed, I would've just ignored everything and gone to binge read the Alpha and Omega series after finishing this book because it was a delightfully enjoyable read.
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.
I read most of this while in the queue for a concert (to see Lights in case you cared), and let me tell you that almost everyone that was near me in the queue was interested and we had a really good chat about it (they were sad it wasn’t out yet, but pre-orders were made). And it was super fun. Plus it is out now!
Sikras is a tired exhausted thirty something necromancer just trying to make aliving by offering his necromancy services to the people who think Death came too soon and need their family member, partner, or what not brought back to life. He otherwise passes time with Benjamin, his living skeleton companion who was part of the royal army back when he was human.
Helspira is a hopeful demon, who escaped the demon world and is trying to prove demons aren’t that bad or at least not all demons. And the best way to prove this is to become a hero, so she is part of the royal army and ends up becoming the escort for Sikras and Ben.
Their mission is to reattempt (after a few failed attempts already) to defeat another necromancer who has been rising an undead army that threatens the kingdom.
No one, not even the Queen who requested them to go on the mission, has much hope for Sikras to succeed, but they have to try. And Helpsira has to believe they can actually succeed.
And so we follow their little adventure, where they all suddenly start showing more of who they are and their secrets, and some tough questions come to Sikras about his life choices. He has many to regret and many he needs to ponder or make, because even as a necromancer, there is a lot of life to live and to deal with, maybe even more than death.
The humour in this was a winner. Part of the reason a lot of people ended up interested in it was my facial expressions while reading and my giggles and laughs over it. It is also, incredibly emotional and heartfelt. IT is like the friend who comes and brings snacks, a blanket and some comedy films to cheer you up. It is a romance, and it is a lot of laughing, and it is a a D&D adventure type of thing (think a bit of a Baldur’s Gate 3 romp around).
It will also ask what is to be alive, and what living means. Some interesting questions. I wanted to hug all 3 main characters throughout the book, and I wanted just to have them win and go on with life, but also be best friends forever, and it was so wholesome (despite the necromancy and the dead and you know, the impending doom). Helpsira is a cinnamon roll and a ray of sunshine. Ben makes the best side kick and just a lot of snark and fun from him, and then Sikras with his doomed life and his sadness and you absolutely want to fix him (or for someone to fix him, *cough* Helpsira *cough*) and live a better life, because despte his chaos he deserves good.
There is a lot packed into a small book, and it is absolutely worth reading for the smiles it will put on your face and the lightness it will leave you with after you finish reading it.
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.
I am a year behind almost with this book, but I had this feeling that I had to be ready to read it. And I am glad I waited to do so.
For context, so that if you ask yourself why I loved it, I am a big fan of the manga Food Wars (and when I heard of this being pitched as Attack On Titan my mind also pitched it against Food Wars), most of my TV watching is things like Iron Chef, Culinary Class Wars, Chef and my Fridge, and any show similar to them (I am not big on the ones that ridicule too much the cook, it is all about the food for me). I also read a lot of manga and used to watch a lot of anime (a lot less now).
Now with that as a context and backdrop to my review, I have to say that this was a superb read. Paprick is a young man that has the job of being a butcher in a society that has a huge class divide and that also has magical beasts that when you cook specific recipes can give you powers. So he is part of the lower class who are almost indentured to the higher class (defined as “Rares”). And our story is about Paprick telling his backstory to an archivist (who he knew and was partly in his own story) while he is about to be condemned to death for his “crimes” and becoming “The Butcher” a figurehead for the Revolution.
This to me was an interesting mode of telling the story, because you are not getting the here and now story but what got Paprick to be called “The Butcher” and “Chef King”, and how he a common being somehow was able to make recipes that granted powers beyond the ones known already by the Rares.
And boy does Paprick take you on a wild ride. And I enjoyed this ride. It was super interesting to see him go from butchering to being able to create a recipe on the go because he wanted to have someone “do something”. He is a “hero” not because he particularly wanted to, but rather because circumstances put him in the place “someone has to do this” and when no one did it, he realised that the only someone that could try and that was going to try was him. This trait of him will already put off some people from this book, those who have so much privilege that they do not understand Paprick’s stand at all or how there is a need for someone, because people like this will always have other people to do whatever they need due to privilege.
Then there is the food, Paprick loves and lives for food. All he wants is to be a chef, to be allowed to learn and cook, and not to stay as a butcher. He butchers because that’s his assigned job and is better than other potential jobs, not because it is his choice. And the way the food and cooking is described here makes you hungry.
One other thing that may split people is that this book questions identity. It questions what makes a certain type of culinary experience more refined or “better” than other (why is a lobster bisque better than tacos con nopales by the fire?), and it asks some interesting questions about what the conqueror does and how they tell history and define the “right” way and the “cheap” and bad way of things, when neither is inherently better or worse. As I read about this conversation throughout the book I kept thinking on how a lot of the diet advise and nutrition is based on a Western view of the “perfect diet” and it only opts items from other cultures to make them into Superfoods.
Like avocados (or ube or matcha). Avocado toast being the rage when many Latin American cultures already ate a version of that for breakfast or lunch and where shunned for years for it, and suddenly it is now “healthy” but as I have learned myself, most of the Western view of avocados doesn’t know how to eat them or even prepare them properly, and what they consider refined is unripe avocados that barely have a taste and lack a lot of the richness and delight of a ripe avocado. And don’t get me started on the definitions of tacos, or how eating with your hands is dirty until you’re having a burger and then it is perfectly fine but other cultures using hands and food (like tortillas, naan, chapati, roti, etc) to eat is seen as unclean or “poor” or bad.
And you can see this conversation happening for Paprick as he is exposed to the world of Rares, and the culinary classes and how it asks some very interesting questions not just about food but the setup of society.
And yes, there is a revolution happening and brewing, and there’s a lot more on going in this book, but I think it is worth the reading of it and avoid the spoilers.
Overall, it was superb and I am looking forward to the second book coming soon as this was an absolute treat to read (do be mindful that this is very violent and graphic, so find the trigger warnings for it since you also need to come to it prepared for everything that will be in it). And if you can read it, I hope it is as delightful for you as it was for me.
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.
I am not a big follower of romantasy, mostly because I do like my romance and my fantasy but I don’t always want romance to take over the fantasy part. However, this sounded pretty interesting and made me curious.
I will start by saying that the actual rating is 3.75 not 3.5 but I do not have a way to make it that number via fox rating. The reason it gets this rating is more or less because of how the book declined the closer it got to the end.
Our story starts strong. Queen Coralys says goodbye to her husband who is going to try and save people during a hurricane/storm that is about to end their island and reign. She then goes to make a deal with her god, which according to her she doesn’t actually believe in, and gets an interesting bargain. Her people will be saved, but she will have to marry the first person to touch harbor and become their profession and life, so more or less it is a “sacrifice your Crown for your people” and she’s willing to do this. Now, we find out that her husband dies during the storm and she’s grieving, which odd request from the god, but oh well. And then we learn about her customs of her island etc. Which to be fair, end up being pretty irrelevant to the story, which was a bit sad.
Somehow the first person to arrive is a fisher man who has a horrible wound, god given, that won’t close. Coralys is still grieving but she gives the impression of being a superb queen and not spoiled and not your regular main character for a fairy tale or a romantasy. Sadly this lasts about a third of the book and then we get the trope of they can’t communicate.
Her new husband is a fisher man indeed who says he is the Fisher King, and Coralys is thick as bricks and has no imagination so she doesn’t figure out who her husband really is until extremely late, after every single piece of evidence has slapped her repeatedly in the face. And this is part of the reasons the book didn’t get a high rating.
The world building is incredible, how gods work, what makes a god a god, what causes gods to war against each other, and how the people can communicate with them and all that interaction, fascinating. Oke, the fisher king and Coralys’ new husban, also incredibly awesome. He is trying to allow her to grieve, give her space so that being husband and wife is not a responsibility and a burden for Coralys. Like he is a cinnamon roll who is sparing Coralys from a lot of things. And Coralys is anything but the Queen she supposedly was. The Coralys we get has convenient grief for the plot (always incredibly convinient and never comes around if the plot doesn’t require it, and yes I know grief is funky and so forth but in this case, it is too noticeable to just accept it as grief is a beast), is thick as bricks, has no idea what communication is (despite being a Queen and having been married before and had counselors, etc), and mostly lets the plot happen to her, which felt a waste of Oke and the actual plot.
The plot is interesting if Coralys wasn’t such a puppet of it. The romance is not really there at all. Well, we can see Oke being nice to her, trying to give her space while doing his many responsibilities, making sure to make time for her too amongst everything else, etc. And then Coralys is adamant on revenge for her dead husband, but you also can’t believe she is blinded by it, because she only cares when it is needed for the plot.
Still, plot was cool. I think the book needed another pass or two on edits to make Coralys actually be more fleshed out as she’s pretty much a blank puppet who says she is something but doesn’t really make sense at all with her actions or motivations or anything. She genuinely is just there to let the plot happen.
Would I read the second book? Yes probably, since I do like the world and I am curious to see what will happen. Would I say everyone should read this book? No, but if you enjoy romantasy and want a cool world with gods and chaos, and a nice male main character, this is a good one to have.
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.
When Orbit announced this book I was in a Ghost of Tsushima mindset preparing for Ghost of Yotei, so of course I had to read it and review it. The description of it felt like it suited my gamer mind and would fit anyone else who enjoyed the games (yes, it is not actually anything to do with them, but I feel like they are a good match in how they approach Japan and Samurai with some mysticism and magic).
I haven’t written a review for Ghost of Tsushima or Ghost of Yotei, which are both games on Playstation. I mostly don’t have a review because I don’t have screenshots to share, but I loved the first game and also the second one. So if you as a gamer, enjoyed them, then the quickest review I can give you is, that this is a similar feeling to playing through the Ghost games but as a book and you have more character points of view.
If you are not a gamer and your eyes are glazing over why I would recommend this book, I am sorry, I will now review it as a book lover. The Book of Fallen Leaves follows Rui, who is a commoner, a no’in, and Sen who is the surviving son of a clan lord that tried to rebel against the Emperor and was caught. Both of them in their own ways feel a little bit at a loss on their purpose and life, and there’s something tugging at them that “there’s more than this provincial life” for them. Circumstances put them into the path of a civil war and various schemes that are political and some that involve the gods too.
Overall I did enjoy the book a lot, however I will say that the introduction or prologue is superb and then it just doesn’t measure up for the first third of the book. That first third is slow, it is doing a lot of trying to set up the politics and in some ways it over explains things while trying to keep a sense of mystery (which fell a bit flat for me after the start, maybe if the start hadn’t been such a punch, this wouldn’t have been such a contrast).
You are also introduced to a bazillion characters and each of their points of view, which again, felt slightly a bit too much without giving enough significant story, just a lot of backstory and setting each side character into their position for the real story to start. I do understand we needed a view into the Empire, the Capital and the factions brewing, but I feel like this could’ve happened in a different way and maybe be a little bit better. It ended up feeling slgihtly repetitive or dragging out certain chapters.
But, once the pieces are in the right places and we introduce Jobo, we go at better speed and then it is a chaotic adventure and I enjoyed the ride a lot. My favourite characters where Jobo, Rui and Sen’s sister (Sen to me was actually pretty boring over all, sorry!), because you get a delightful balance of politics, intrigue, mystery, magic and samurai life.
Overall, it was a fun read and I am curious to see what the next book will bring since the ending left a lot to ponder. And I recommend this if you like politics, Japan and samurai inspired books, and obviously magic martial arts (I would even say it gave me the vibes of Drunken Master Jackie Chan even if that’s not exactly what is going on here, but it was that type of fun chaos).
Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
Rating:
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.
This book was the perfect excuse to pull some cute cat plushies because why not, I have my own brand of “stray” cats.
I loved this book, probably even more the Emily Wilde’s series (and I enjoyed those a lot). And I am so so thankful to Orbit for the review copy because I was able to read the book before it came out and then I raved about it to other people (I do circus arts and I have an informal “book club” where we all read different things but weekly we talk about what we each read and recommend books to each other and this book has been one I’ve recommended a few times).
Anyway, to the actual review of this book. The short version of the review would be that this felt like I was reading a mix of the film and book versions of Howl’s Moving Castle (book version including the other two which rarely ever get included, but are so good), with Agnes being a little like Sophie and Havelock being like Howl. There is also like in the books, a much more involved sister and it is just very satisfying and wholesome and worth reading. Very cosy, very cute, you will want to visit a cat cafe and maybe watch Howl’s Moving Castle or read it afterwards.
Now the longer version, we start our story with Agnes trying to find a place to move into after a mage battle destroyed her previous shop front and the landlady she had cannot afford to fix the damage. Winter is coming and she needs a warm space for the cats and herself as she runs a cat charity to pick up strays. But most places she sees aren’t accepting her because she has cats. Until she finds the perfect shop, but she thinks she can’t afford it, despite being drawn to it over and over. Finally she decides to give in and just check it out, and somehow things work out in a way that is scary but feels meant to be. She’s quickly moving in and everything is pretty smooth, but then she starts getting weird visitors that go through her charity and into the basement of the shop.
To no one’s surprise, turns out she is a front for the most known mage ever Havelock, who is super famous and sought after. And well, as you would expect chaos ensues, with a magical battle between Havelock and another mage and our poor Agnes who loves keeping track of things and organisation struggles. But she’s practical and despite the fact she doesn’t agree with magic and mages, she will make the most of this chaos thank you very much.
She then goes on a mission (if you’ve seen Howl’s Moving there’s a scene that’s very similar to Sophie cleaning Howl’s Castle and it was so satisfying to read) to make things work out for this weird arrangement. But in some ways, she seems to be adopting Havelock as one of her strays and maybe, just maybe falling in lvoe with him despite her misgivings on magic and mages and the fact she thought she couldn’t love someone other than her husband who passed away two years before.
There’s a whole plot that I don’t want to spoil, but I definitely can say that this was adorable, very satisfying to read and honestly 100% worth it. I’d recommend it for the cosy factor, the magic, the Howl vibes, the pastries, the cats and the romance.
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.
Control Alter Delete follows Halcyon (Hal) who more or less lives in a perfect virtual world called World 2.0 created by Hal’s hero, Francis Knox. This world is better than real life because she can be whatever she wants and she’s popular there. And it makes up for not knowing what happened to her dad when he disappeared.
But then she gets into the Knox Cup which is a fancy competition and suddenly everything becomes super dangerous and convoluted.
The reason this one gets a low score is mostly that it’s a little too incongruent with itself and trips over a lot of things between the first part fo the book and the second one. If you are reading this, be aware that I will be including potential spoilers here because otherwise I can’t properly explain why I struggled with the plot of the book. Read at your own risk.
We start with Hal somehow being pretty cool in this virtual world but not as cool as her ex boyfriend who won the previous cup and then they split up. But we have Hal super immersed in this World 2.0 and somehow the plot slowly tells us this is a fake virtual world and she basically lives in like a capsule and has to keep her body sorted with a fake programmed virtual mum made up her mum’s memories. And Hal is somehow “poor” and can’t afford anythign (but has a house, is always fed and never actually wants for anything except enough money to buy her entry into the cup and that gets resolved by rich guardian telling her to get her shit together).
So we have a “Hal is poor” but no real evidence of this. This was one of the first ones I struggled, she’s also not that into school, but somehow a genius, which again, there was a lot of telling and so little showing to prove this.
Once the cup starts and we start seeing the layers and the real story, it does get super interesting in to how the World 2.0 and 3.0 are created. And then we discover Hal’s parents (one disappeared, one sick and held at a hospital that Hal somehow never visits, again, what? why? this makes no sense) are 2 out of 5 original founders of the virtual worlds and all the cool things. And then we get back to how does Hal not know any of this or even question ANYTHING at all considering that as we go through the story, we discover her parents tried to protect her from evil things and were trying to make her like the “hero” or someone who could fix things. And we really only find her being able to do the things thanks to her imaginary friend who doesn’t seem that imaginary, Go.
So, overall in continuity and actually setting up the plot, this book has an incredibly low rating. The reason it isn’t a bad book is because once the Cup starts and we get to start figuring some of the plot and the weirdness, that there is corruption and that there seems something more sinister is going on (including the fact that her mum fell ill and was whisked away to a hospital and never heard of, very convenient disappearance of parent figures), and how the worlds work and then as Hal actually starts having a personality or at least starts acting (I feel like the plot happens to Hal and she kinda ends up becoming what the plot needs her to become) like she has one and starts trying to make a difference, then it becomes super interesting.
The idea behind how the virtual world was created and how it was sustained, what it meant and the good and bad implications of it was a really cool thing which reminded me of many books including Marie Lu’s Warcross, The Upper World, The Maze Runner and other similar books.
So I think it is an interesting read, but it could be better for sure.
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.
I have typed this review a few times trying to find the best way to tell you “hey, this was really fun to read, and I wish everyone else would read, please go read it. I want more fun cosy chaos books like this one”, and I don’t think I know how else to say it.
How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days is a cute chaos hug to a fantasy nerd. You have Pansy, a halfling in search of a little adventure and that feels a little out of place in her village because of being a little odd and not wanting pure comfort. And you have Ren a goblin who is trying their best to support their clan and also they have a green thumb like nobody else.
Now have Pansy inherit her grandma’s cottage and she feels like this is her chance to make her own life without feeling a bit out of place, she has found her place. But surprise, when she goes to claim her inheritance, Ren is already living there and growing all manners of things (including lots of moss inside the house, apparently moss inside the cottage is not a halfling thing but I think is a pretty cool idea).
To the surprise of both, they somehow end up making a deal on who gets to keep the house, whomever doesn’t leave and stays in it. There’s a few ground rules like not being destructive to each other’s things and stuff, and that you can’t “remove” but only add things (you can already see this backfiring, right?). And so it starts, a little back and forth between them trying to find ways to annoy each other of the home.
It is not to the reader’s surprise of course, that these all backfire in very amusing and funny ways, but also in making the home cosy for both of them. I will say, this was a proper cosy read, with lots of plants and cooking, and questions about belonging and family (or clan) and what it means to be part of them.
But there’s also a lot of little elements reminding you of other worlds, other stories, other classics and some newer works, and it was this also that was fun to read. It felt like a good hug and was about as complex a read as I could muster at a time when I had no voice and a fever. I still enjoyed it a lot and it made me laugh, then cough then regret my life choices, but 10/10 worth it for the story.
