aviary-image-1665805194427

It’s Corn! – a review of Renegades by Marissa Meyer

by with No Comment Fantasy

One of my friends might hate me for this. She recommended this book to me and I’m about to put it to shame. Sorryyyyyyyy.

Those born with superpowers walk either the line of the hero or the villain, and in the age where the Renegades govern and protect their people the line draws finer. Nova, an Anarchist whose hatred for the Renegades stems from them not coming to save her family, seeks to take them down and for humanity to lose their apathy within a crisis. Meanwhile Adrian poses as a vigilante alongside his Renegade position, taking the steps and measures the Renegades don’t have the guts to due to a corrupt code. These two keep their secrets tight when their paths cross, each preventing a terrible fate to their respective allies as plans unfold.

Worldbuilding served well in this novel. It became very clear the way this world worked from the get go, and exploring various hierarchies and law within the Renegades who govern it was very clear a lot of thought was put into this. The psychology and social studies of a world run by heroes was very clear and very well done, seeing regular humans gain apathy and putting blind faith into superheros who may not deserve the powers they hold.

While the characters had good motivations, I couldn’t pinpoint personality for a lot of them. The good guys acted the same, the bad guys acted the same. A lot of their personalities hinged around their powers, some of them in great ways and others in bizarre ways. It was a very mixed bag altogether, making these characters feel like a cartoon you’d catch on Saturday morning in the nineties.

This didn’t help with how corny this is. It felt Meyer was getting a lawsuit if she didn’t mention superheroes or villains every chapter. Or mention good and evil. Have characters contemplate or deny what side they stood on. God, it felt like I was being talked down to. The superhero genre saturates modern media enough for me to get the points she’s making with this novel and I kept wishing the story would move along and get to action like in the actual blockbusters showing in the cinemas right now.

Yes, you heard me. The plot was so freaking slow. It took forever to get into the second act of the novel because the lead female was too scared. Not to mention how many decisions the two characters made based on random affection for each other that was only there to move the plot along it felt like. Said affection, which I should add, had no payoff. And then not enough change happen to warrant this book as a fully fledged three act structure. My god, did the ending feel off and pessimistic.

I just realised that the longer I write this review the more mad I get about this book. Better stop writing before I rate it once star because a smidgen of good was in this.

Renegades gets a score of 2/5. Say superhero one more time. I dare you.

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1665805083780

The Largest Hidden Gem – a review of Bad Faith by Jon Hollins

by with No Comment Fantasy

Finishing a series is much like tossing a coin. It will ruin the series for you or make it. It would be simple to just say that this final installment in the Dragon Lords trilogy had what the other books did and more. But you want details, so I must oblige.

The world is taken over by a single god whom outlaws order and embraces anarchy. Death and neglect spreads across the land under his guidance, or lack thereof. A rebellion dwindles in attempts to take him down, lead by a sorcerer balancing vengeance and the greater good. She will need help from first, the tyrants who once ruled the land wanting to take it back again, and second, allies that helped her free Kondorra for at least a year. The only problem is those allies are trying to escape the afterlife with enough power to kill a god again.

We gotta talk about how dark this novel was compared to the previous ones. Starting the series you would have never expected it to end like this, but it works so damn well I cannot express it enough. The cliffhanger the final book left you on was only the door to this darkness, which hit so hard even with the absurdity of so much more. What made you laugh before felt nearly sarcastic and maddening in this novel. Oh my god, was it entrancing.

Morality, greater good and power were central to this novel. And that was central to everyone’s character arc. Ethical frameworks was a favourite paper for me to study in university, and to see it in a fantasy world was like chocolate without the guilt. I was indulging in everyone’s arc and how they coped and battled with their morals. I love stories where people follow the same arc in different ways.

Lastly we need to talk full circles. This plot created a full circle moment in events, in characters and so many more moments. The entire plot was just plain brilliant. So much fell into place and made sense from the get go, combining with characters so cunning that the line between plot driven story and character driven story is blurred beyond recognition. This is a magnum opus of storytelling.

Such a magnum opus that I don’t know why it isn’t more popular. But more on that when we get to the series review.

Bad Faith gets a score of 5/5. That is how you finish a fucking series.

So now let’s into the series rating. Man, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these. The last one was Arc of a Scythe which I completed back in January.

Fool’s Gold – 5/5, a D&D inspired wild ride of chaos and coin.

False Idols – 5/5, a perfect sequel and continuation of the motley crew’s lives as things get serious.

Bad Faith – 5/5/, going full circle in darkness and grit.

If five stars across the board didn’t convince you to pick up the series right now, maybe my anger that this series isn’t talked about more will. Not only does it have some of the most popular fantasy tropes right now (found family and dragons) but this series is totally unafraid and unfiltered. It makes you laugh until you piss yourself, shake your hands in fear and drop the book in shock. This will be my number one fantasy recommendation for literally any fan of the genre – Tolkein fans, those looking for a high fantasy gateway, D&D nerds… the list goes on and on. I will fight to get this the most talked about series in the world and knock Sarah J. Maas off her throne.

The Dragon Lords gets a score of 5/5. This is prized on my bookshelf.

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1665804966503

Close the Door on this Open Ending- a review of There There by Tommy Orange

by with No Comment Contemporary

Upon expanding the representation of BIPOC on my bookshelves, I got drawn to Native American culture. This was one that came highly rated upon searching for this criteria with a premise that allowed meto give it a go.

Urban Native Americans, ones in touch with a culture they will never truly see. The Big Oakland Powwow brings many Native Americans together. Some seek to find their families again, others to connect with family slowly drifting away from them. Some are so in touch with their cultures and others wish to be part of that culture again, just to observe the events or to actually come to run and take part in it. There There follows twelve of them coming to the Powwow for celebration… And some come with more sinister intentions in the midst of crime and drug dealerships. Regardless, these twelve all have something to overcome and discover.

Each character in this novel was so well developed and each so unique. With the characters and their unique stories alone, this feels like the Native American interpretation of In The Heights minus the optimism and musical numbers. There was such a diversity of goals, as with any group of characters, but seeing cultural connections tie them together added a lot of meaning to the ensemble. Especially when their narratives brought them together and wove them into this blanket collection of stories. The characters by far made this story what it is and it the pure core of it.

One thing still confuses me – why were the POVs in different personages, even for specific characters? At first I thought the first person perspectives were of the survivors and the third the ones who would die, but then individual POVs changed from first to third in different chapters too. And then one was randomly in second person. This really dragged me out of the story as I failed to find significance in this. and I’m now convinced it was some kind of editing error. I mean, there probably was some kind of meaning behind it, but I can’t see it even now to save my life. This will genuinely haunt me for years.

Another thing I was unsure of is the ending. It made me confused as to what the point of this story was at the end. It was an open ending, yes, but that’s not always something I’m mad about. But an open ending that leaves you confused is not a good open ending. I pity the fate of the characters and found that good, but a lot of the arcs of characters felt unfulfilled. And there was a lot of them with POVs. And ending can make or break a story for me, and let’s just say it broke this one after a very strong beginning with very strong characters.

I should finish by respecting the intention of this novel and the things I learned about modern Native American culture while reading this. I’m happy to take that as a giveaway with a story I didn’t wound up enjoying enough.

There There gets a score of 3/5. An opening ending that doesn’t appeal.

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1665804849938

Everybody’s Sad- a review of After the Crown by K.B. Wagers

by with No Comment Sci-Fi

I was excited to dive back into sci fi again when this book crept up my TBR. My last read was mediocre after the epicness of Behind the Throne got me into the genre proper. This was a read I looked forward to immensely.

This didn’t disappoint, but it didn’t enamour me either.

Hail, now the empress of the Indranan Empire, now holds full control of ensuring her and her people’s safety. Or so she thought. It’s no doubt that people still want her dead, and she’s taking steps to evoke fear in her enemy’s hearts and captivating the hearts of people she wants on her side. And as things take turns for the worse, Hail will have to hope that her gunrunner allies still side with her. It is after all becoming difficult to work out who in the Empire is really on her side.

Character is where Wagers shines in this novel. Grief hinged on a lot of characters this installment, and it was great to see people within the same arc overcome it in different ways. Interpret it in different ways. Deaths from the first book and this one brought a lot of sadness to mellow out action scenes and explore characters. And then to come together the way that they did, there ain’t nothing better than characters breaking down together.

The politics took an all new level in this, but at times it was hard to follow. You were able to get the bigger picture, but details wound up lost on me. It was getting difficult to remember who had what title and whom sided with whom. But that mainly mattered in the first half. The stakes were absolutely amped come the midpoint! The story A was very different to the story B but still flowed so well and lead to fantastic plot as the politics turned red. Very red. Though to go back to the negative, the climax was tech heavy, kind of confusing and way less intense than the midpoint in my opinion.

The world, or worlds, were built up and explored in a very intriguing way. I was a huge fan of the bits and pieces of cultural inspiration in each world. The Indranan Empire takes inspiration from Asia, creating futuristic interpretations of cultures straight out of Cyberpunk and Mad Max. Planet based sci fi never felt so colourful and vibrant to me before with this interpretation. It makes the visuals of Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy look vanilla next to Neapolitan. This is fresh, people.

That leaves one book left in the series with an empire to save. After this book, I still expect epicness. Don’t disappoint me, Wagers.

After the Crown gets a score of 4/5. Drama, Bloodshed, visual art coming to life in your mind. What more could you ask?

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1665804729135

No Longer New – a REview of The Monster of Portland by Garth Nix and Sean Williams

by with No Comment Fantasy

Woo boy, it’s been a while since I read my first RE-view. It took long enough for me to get to the second book in the series, but here we are. We’re diving back into my pre-teen favourite!

Well, not quite. And I think my opinion still stands.

Jack and Jade Shield, now under the training of their grandma, have much exploring of their newfound powers to do. As these powers create much antics and they keep this secret from their mother and newfound school friends, other magical anomalies catch their eye. Rumors circulate about the fabled monster of Portland sightings, cats within the town are on the brink of war, and the twins soon learn that The Evil they vanquished may still remain in their new home.

I remembered this novel being the weakest out of the four books in this series. Still enjoyable, yes, but ultimately the first book beat it by a lot. Maybe it’s to do with when the world was first being explored back in the first Troubletwisters book the true magic and whimsy of the series came forth, and now all that’s left is to expand the world.

The characters improved a lot here, especially as Jack and Jaide start to come of age and become their own people. They were truly becoming their own people here as their insecurities took over, onces gained from the trauma of the previous book. And they weren’t dumbed down either thanks to their shared curiosity and selflessness. A perfect balance of youth and maturity for their age. The supporting characters were great as well, those knowing of The Evil and those ignorant really built up the world. Tara was a favourite of mine, especially when she connected with the twins.

Although in spite of that the plot was lacking. This novel almost felt like filler. Or maybe it is there to set up what’s coming in books 3 and 4. Regardless, the twins more or less started and finished in very similar places. They gained a best friend at school I guess and are able to understand their powers and the world around them better, but altogether finishing the book in terms of plot was just a massive and kind of happy “oh”.

I say almost like filler because there was some good worldbuilding and things being revealed here. This was what wound up being the most fascinating part of the novel to read. To learn more about how The Evil works was one thing, especially with it owning one of my favourite villain tropes. But we met more Wardens and learned about their abilities too! I think some parts of the worldbuilding felt insignificant as I don’t remember them ever coming up again, but they were fun in the moment.

That would summarise this book – fun in the moment. But it did kind of leave me wanting more, something a bit more substantial. Luckily two books remain, which if my memory serves me were pretty dang good.

The Monster gets a score of 3/5. I hope this world hasn’t gone stale that fast because it still captured me a bit.

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1661815041967

We Live In Dystopia – a review of Slated by Teri Terry

by with 2 Comments Sci-Fi

Do you know how hard it has been to find an enjoyable dystopian novel? I’ve DNFed or discarded six or so dystopian books in a row for multiple reasons, some of which you many have seen me slander in my reviews.

Today we’re changing things up. This is a dystopian novel I am now praising.

After having her memory wiped by the British government, Kyla has to settle into life with her new family, in her new school and with new friends who have been Slated just like her. For most this is a pleasant journey of learning about themselves and self discovery, but not for Kyla. She’s been getting nightmares of what she soon discovers is her past – before her memory was wiped. And she’s noticed things that others haven’t – people who get taken away and why, ways that her body and mind work differently, motivations of government terrorists. And she fears she was once one of them.

This dystopia felt very contemporary at the same time and I loved the world and messages that made. It felt perhaps thirty years ahead of life today, opening the possibility of our very own societies being dystopian to foreign eyes. I love worlds like that. Combined with the contemporary view of relationships, fitting in while not fitting in and a life that’s a distorted reflection of our own, this made the world of Slated feel more real than ever.

With this being our first time in this world, I liked how personal and small the plot was this instance. This made for a very easy plot to follow, clear stakes and goals, and a main character who felt very grounded in the world. Individuals being at stake rather than an entire population was a great trajectory for this first novel rather than straight away going into rebellion like in other dystopias I’ve read.

Kyla’s character shone like a supernova. For being a literal blank slate character she had so much personality and depth and continued to do so in the process of finding herself. I kid you not, she had more personality than many other YA protagonists who didn’t have their personalities completely wiped from them. We learn so much about how Kyla’s brain is wired and how that relates to the way she is made to think. I love how in depth we can see her brain ticking.

The other characters were great too. They were very easy to identify in a room based on mannerisms and body language, easy to spot in dialogue based on speech and each of them different breeds in subtle ways. What more was how genuine these relationships and connections felt between Kyla’s closets friends and the revelations she learns about each of them. This felt believable, giving purity to the darker edges of a dystopian world.

A world which I look forward to diving back into at that.

Slated gets a score of 4.5/5. Reality through a distorted mirror is something we all should learn from.

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1661814967586

Fairy Grit – a review of Knife by R.J. Anderson

by with One Comment Fantasy

It’s yet another pre-teen throwback! This was the first in the trilogy that I never wound up reading all of. I’m not entirely sure why. It might have been due to my library rental period running out? Ah well, at least as an adult I can get the book for myself again.

I found myself loving this book for reasons my younger self didn’t see prior.

Bryony is a fairy living in the great oak who longs for adventure in spite of the dangers outside, one such longing that lead to her encountering a human. Her years of punishment and ostracization over it come to a close when she become the apprentice hunter for the clan. However, her outside discoveries leave more questions than answers as she comes across question after question – why do fairies look so similar to humans? Why don’t they have magic anymore? Why does she feel depressed every day she’s away from her newfound human companion?

The premise of this book hinges on not being like other fairy stories. When I was younger this wound up perfect for me having read a hundred fairy related books when I was under 10 and was starting to get into grittier middle grade fantasy books. This book served as the perfect way for me to continue reading about fairies without “childish embarrassment”. It serves very well for that even today. I haven’t read a book with a pixie or fairy in it for ages and it felt so good to again with this mature take. I love a fairy that isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

Character is a strong suit of Anderson’s, if not her strongest. It is very easy to get motivations of a character when you learn about them, which is by far the most important part of a character. She nails that like nothing. Those motivations become the building blocks for every character in this novel, from Bryony’s want to live a life unprotected by her queen to Paul wanting his life to have purpose again.

It was also fascinating for a world so small to be built out so much. To built out the scope for you, a majority of this novel took place in a house and backyard. But my god does this house and backyard have such a history built on so little! I don’t want to spoil a single detail. But as the series does suggest, this is no ordinary fairytale. It is never what you would expect, so I’m giving you no expectations but to expect that. This single tree that all of fairykind lives in, pun intended, has deep roots.

This novel had so many different kinds of plots in it to entertain you. Fantasy romance? You got it. Political mystery? Hell yes. Woodland mushroom fantasies? Metric buttloads. This is without a doubt the perfect bite sized book to get people into contemporary fantasy. Lore that’s easy to memorise and take in, a romance that’s easy to root for, an easily explained magic system and of course wacky hijinks. Who doesn’t love wacky hijinks?

So childhood me was right with book one. Now I have the remainder of a trilogy to complete for the first time…

Knife gets a score of 4.5/5.I’m so glad my childhood love of fairies made me pick up this book.

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1661814906263

Better Politics Than Reality – a review of The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

by with No Comment Fantasy

My endeavor into this BookTok recommended series continues. So far it has been on the up and up. I will say that this book has improved from its predecessor, The Bone Season, so it intrigues me still.

But you want the juicy details, don’t you?

After returning from Sheol I and escaping the slavery of the Rephaim, Paige knows that the rest of London’s clairvoyant gangs need to stop this force that has aligned with their already oppressive government. But her gang lord Jaxon threatens her to keep her mouth shut or get flung out onto the streets. She must instead find a new way to circulate information by teaming up with other escapees, finding new allies amongst rival gangs and betraying her own. But how deep does this corruption go when the price on Paige’s head keeps rising?

Shannon absolutely shines in her worldbuilding, which finally got a chance to flourish in full in this book. While it was an interesting choice in the series to introduce the magic before the world (which I have seen in common beat sheets or at least seen comparisons of), it perfectly makes sense in the story and the world to do it in that order. The worldbuilding and when things were revealed helped us learn of the threat followed by what was at stake. And what was at stake was both bleak and beautiful at the same time. So much character was brought into the world and you can tell how much has been carefully put into Scion-ruled London and what is found within their shadows.

This is yet another book that made me realise how much I love sci fi and fantasy based politics. That is frankly ironic considering I want to be more knowledgeable on real life politics but I can never be bothered to pay attention until election season. Maybe if magic and monsters were involved I would be more interested, like in this novel! Gang wars and power balances were prominent in this world as Paige tried to work out how to save her allies in the underworld. And boy, does some juicy stuff happen – let me tell you.

Characters and their relationships greatly improved in this novel compared to The Bone Season. This may have been because Paige returned to relationships that she already established, but it was still great to see her connect and think over her new allies around the city. It was good to see Paige not as isolated and ostracized as she was fighting with in the previous book. She felt so much stronger and defined as a character with these connections she had made, fought for and against.

In spite of all these highs, I found the main fallback to be pacing. And that being quite a low. Too many points were reiterated too many times, and a few of the days that went by many of them could be skipped. This made some parts of the novel a slog as it told me things were happening and being set into motion, which they weren’t. A lot happened but it’s difficult to tell what was worthwhile aside from what coalesced in the climax.

Speaking of the climax, it left on quite the note. I eagerly await the chance for me to read book three.

The Mime Order gets a score of 4/5. The main lesson from this novel is that politics needs magic and monsters.

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1661814795202

Short and Deep – a Re-View of The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

by with No Comment Contemporary

Been a while since we touched The Bad Beginning, it was only a matter of time until we found out how the story continued. And things get better!

For the readers, not for the children sadly.

Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire cunningly escape the clutches of Count Olaf and instead meet the eccentric Doctor Montgomery, their new garden. Fascinated by his studies of snakes, the children think they have found their new home and family to grow up with. But Count Olaf soon returns in disguise, still wanting to get his hands on their fortune. And his next plans require more cunning on their part as they attempt to prove him guilty of murder.

This book was in so many ways better than its predecessor. Maybe this was because in book one I was still getting re-introduced to Snicket’s writing style, or maybe because of others points I will later discuss. The writing style was far more tolerable this time. I felt like I was being talked down to in the writing style far less, for one thing. But Snicket’s unreliable narration that put rainclouds over a lot really shone this time.

What made this novel work so well in terms of plot was the short timeframe it covered. This is often something people underestimate, and I love any kind of long-length story that takes place up to three days. Well, this one took up a week I think, but my point still stands! These kinds of plots allow us to pay attention to any detail thrown at us and we are in the present with the characters. We won’t forget anything, these horrible thoughts feel very real in the moment. This book ticks all those boxes.

I particularly enjoyed how each of the characters had their moments to shine. While in The Bad Beginning Violet felt like the only one in control of getting out of her forced marriage, the climax of The Reptile Room involved all three in each of their elements. I won’t go into details, but this installment felt far more equitable in terms of the children.

But what really brought this book to such a high score was the tone. This book had its highs as well as lows, and in spite of us knowing those lows would be hit the highs had a bittersweetness that became very enjoyable. It really brought these characters to life once their time with Uncle Monty started spiralling downhill. Felt a little too real, but that’s humanity.

The Reptile Room gets a score of 4.5/5. The shorter the time period, the better the story and hijinks.

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1661814727374

Feminazi Agenda – a review of The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna

by with No Comment Fantasy

I have never been in a position where I have waited for the next book in a series to come out so desperately until I read The Gilded Ones. And was I ever so glad to pick up the next book in the Deathless series after waiting for over a year since I read book one.

Was it worth the wait? Hell and back again, yes.

Deka awakening the Gilded Ones in a bid to free females from the patriarchy was meant to solve all problems, not bring more war and death to her kind. Still, as the Nuru it is her and her friends’ duty to fight for it. However, after rescuing another divine figure from oppression she discovers that the oppressors may have something more powerful than the goddesses she follows. It is now her duty to find out more about these potential weapons and priests to stop them. However, more about the world gets brought to her eyes the deeper she searches, and lies about all she knew come to light.

The action in this was phenomenal and always had me on the edge of my seat! What really captivated me this time was how in these action scenes there was always so much more to focus on than just the task at hand. Forna knows how to emphasise stakes and dive into a character’s mind during battle, be it fear or curiosity, and to shape the battle to recite a character’s mindset.

Character was another strong suit in this novel. Trauma was a common adversary amongst Deka and her allies, which was fascinating to explore amongst all of them. And even then each had their own arcs to follow. Deka and Britta were favourites of mine for their friendship alone. I want a best friend like what they’ve got going on. Minus the whole bloodshed and warrior lifestyle maybe.

Worldbuilding was expanded upon so well. So much was culturally and politically shared during this is made my heart sing to see the world expanded. The world was clearly reacting to the events of the previous book in the series and it impacted the plot so well. No single decision or repercussion was ignored. And the mythos of this world too! Such a great mythos and exploration of magic along the way.

All in all, in the way the plot and themes were developed this book is a perfect sequel. It all made great sense in developing the discussion of feminism and non-male rights. I haven’t read a book, or a series, that talked about this topic so well, so insightfully and so un-campy. Which makes sense considering Forna’s educational background. It is a blessing for her to bring her studies and her own insights into this book for people to read. Minus the triggers, I think anyone should be reading this for the valuable insights it contains about feminism and not feminazis.

The Merciless Ones gets a score of 5/5. A perfect score for a perfect sequel that left an impact on my feminist viewpoints.

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1660965180024

Humans are Pop Culture – a review of The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

by with No Comment Sci-Fi

The Ilori have taken over the Earth and are shaping it to their vision, and forms of self expression are made illegal to minimise the spread of rebellion. But two beings have found ways to fight against it. First is Ellie, a human providing salvation to her peers through a small library of books she hid. Second is Morris, a lab made Ilori and human sympathiser in love with pop music. When their paths cross, they band together in order to find ways to save each other from getting caught by the Ilori and to find a way to save the world from being turned into lifeless hosts waiting to be possessed.

What drew me to this book was the asexual representation in it. Both main characters Ellie and Morris identify on this spectrum. While it was nice to see them, it wasn’t as revolutionary as other novels with ace leads. And that’s not always a bad thing! We need more stories like this where it is explored but not taking over the whole plot. And I respect the novel for doing that in ways that I strive to. I guess I kind of expected something revolutionary when people recommended this to me as a book with ace rep.

But that didn’t make me like the characters. Even the ones who weren’t ace I found immensely unrelatable. It’s hard to explain – they were both too generic and too untouchable at the same time. I will credit the motivations the characters had were solid, but for some of them that plus their hobbies wound up defining their entire personality. That’s a major character pet peeve for me! If I can’t define a character in three traits like in the Sims, I don’t consider them fully developed. And those traits don’t relate to their goals of freedom or their love of books.

But enough mediocrity and disappointment, let’s talk the best part of this novel – worldbuilding. It feels very rooted in it’s near futureness, that even with the take on aliens it felt like something that could actually happen. Protests, climate change and more make the prologue of this novel, and the alien race of Illori has come to monitor humanity and fix the issues on the planet. Albeit to their vision, it is still a very interesting take to start. It makes for a good hook to start this novel.

Sadly the relationship, plot and worldbuilding was cast into shadow by pop culture. I’m not hating on it, just the way that it is used. Books, bands and clothing references were found on every page. It’s like the author was getting paid by every single company who owned these pop culture pieces to reference them, and each time she did she earned ten dollars. It’s not seriously that big today, right?

If that’s what the author thinks humanity is, I may have lost my faith in it. There’s more to us than the songs we sing.

The Sound of Stars gets a score of 2/5. Humanity isn’t so shallow.

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1660965092178

I Like Math Now – a review of The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung

by with No Comment Historical Fiction

I find it ironic now, looking back on my past and my ever vague connections to this book. I was pushed ahead a year for maths in High School, though my marks weren’t exactly spectacular. I learnt imaginary numbers and calculus when I didn’t need it for my degree, especially when all my others subjects sans one was writing based.

And this book is where those two worlds of mine, in a sense, collided.

Katherine is a half-chinese mathematician looking to pave her way forward in the field and tackle the unsolvable. And her greatest struggle in her career was never the problems she had to solve. In a career field dominated by males, everyone around her has given her nothing but doubt. Even those she trusted had stopped her from becoming known, stolen her credit and gone against her career morals. But that still isn’t her greatest struggle. It is discovering the full truth behind her past, one she previously never doubted to be anything but true.

Going into this novel I expected to be bombarded with math terms I had to quickly adapt to, but I got none of that at all. It wound up being a very different story with more depth and insight than the study of. maths itself. It created a very interesting backdrop, similar to stories like Hidden Figures and The Imitation Game but without the focus on the goals they pursue. It feels organic and ordinary in comparison, just going into the story of someone with a passion.

That someone is the protagonist, Katherine. Katherine’s voice and character made for a very beautiful way to tell the story, through insights, anecdotes and very beautiful imagery. It breaks the stereotype of cold and hard calculations coming from scientific minds on every matter they come across. Katherine is very sensitive and perceptive in the way she sees her world, which is reflected in her voice and Chung’s writing style. This was a style I very much enjoyed, encouraging me to read more of her works in the future.

One thing I really enjoyed about this was a refreshing take on feminism as a theme in this story. I’ll admit that I’m tired of seeing stale feminist stories about overthrowing patriarchies or breaking rules being set by men. The Tenth Muse features a new take, where Katherine being the first female to study in her field is not caring for the fact that she’s a female and doing it. It became a very refreshing perspective, for someone wanting to be recognised for their talent and worth and not their gender in the field. A very equitable look on feminism that I’m inclined to agree with after reading it. While it is good for someone of a minority to make pursuits or huge strides in a field they’re not normally a part of, it is not glorious. Glory is earned, as is Katherine’s pursuits and how she wants to succeed in her goals.

This is a book that opened my mind. This is a book that anyone could love. Even if you’re not female identifying, this overs fantastic perspectives into so much in life. And it’s very easy to read. This will become a go-to recommendation for me.

The Tenth Muse gets a score of 5/5. Books about math can be good guys!

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1660964970570

Oh Gods – a review of Soul of a Rose by S.D. Huston

by with No Comment Fantasy

I was excited to learn that the second installment of the Clash of Goddesses trilogy was a retelling of my favourite Greek myth I was so excited to get into it. Even then it didn’t become my favourite part of the novel. There’s a lot to enjoy in this novel.

When Rose’s family hides an eagle wanted dead by the Greek Goddess Artemis, her beloved Lugh dies to protect her family and their allies. The Morrigan, a powerful Irish Goddess, says that Rose can save him by venturing into the afterlife and facing the harrowing challenges there to bring him back before he resurrects without his memories. When she takes that choice, her trials reveal more and more lies Rose’s mother kept. But meanwhile, Greek and Irish must decide whether to fight or form alliances for their own personal goals and the threat of the world losing its magic.

Characterisation was once again a strong point of this novel. I think what makes this characters stand out is how easily you can envision how they act. For me that’s what makes characters stand out the most, and each acted in such unique ways that even subtle differences made all the difference. Even minor characters without POVs were thoroughly well established characters when their motivations came into play. This made for a very engaging cast of characters.

It was interesting to see the worldbuilding expand in the ways that Greek and Irish myths collide. The original tale of Orpheus and Eurydice was the inspiration for this, but it evolved so much from that to create its own story fueled by Irish mythology. I especially loved when not only Greek gods and goddesses left their marks in the world, but when early stages of Christianity were seeping its way into the world too that was a very interesting approach to take. It is not often that multiple mythologies are looked into and not often that they interact. I really liked Huston’s take on the matter.

Rose and Lily’s plot was very fascinating and engaging. Both were sent on their own missions to save those they loved in their respective ways, but each took different paths of self discovery and evaluation in the process. Their character arcs and their own characters were huge driving forces in their respective stories. I couldn’t say the same for Hera and the Morrigan and how most of their chapters were filled with conversation, but it still wound up good overall.

Which leaves one book left in the trilogy. Let’s just say it ended on some very intriguing notes. I can’t wait to see them resolved in the final installment.

Soul of a Rose gets a score of 4/5. Gods should clash more often, but maybe with less talking and more magic and fighting.

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1656574654883

Still Salty at the Movies – a REview of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

by with No Comment Fantasy

This book was in desperate need of a reread. I barely remembered anything about it thanks to its terrible adaptation that was played five too many times by teachers.

On the bright side, that made me fall in love with this series again. Even when reading it for a second time and knowing how it ends.

When middle schooler Percy Jackson vaporises his maths teacher, he quickly learns that it wasn’t some kind of hallucination. He’s a demigod, the son of a Greek Olympian God, who is forced into refuge at a summer camp for those like him. Unfortunately, his mother was unable to get to safety with him. So when the opportunity to save her arrives on the brink of a war between Zeus and Poseidon, Percy takes his satyr best friend and an overachiever daughter of Athena with him across the USA to confront Hades, who is believed to be the one causing this all.

Going back over ten years ago, this was the hype of everyone in my senior classes at primary school and ultimately what got me to read this series. I genuinely don’t know if my enjoyment of it was solely so I could talk about it with my friends or me actually enjoying the story. This was especially when The Lightning Thief was the least favourite of mine as a kid.

Upon rereading it, I don’t know why!

The characters – incredible. These twelve year olds especially have so much depth to them! Better than the way I’ve seen adults and teens written by a landslide. Each have their own goals and fears that don’t define them, with little quirks and personality traits that give them each a chance to shine. My god, it is so hard to pick favourites in this cast! Unlike the movie in which everyone was turned flat, especially Annabeth. They did Annabeth dirty in the adaptation.

Next we need to talk about worldbuilding and how seamlessly Mythology fits into this world. It’s in the plot like crazy, feeling a lot like a modern day Odyssey for preteens with the inclusions of quests and tropes found in some of my favourites. The story feels like so much of its own in spite of the mythology roots. The way the monsters fit into the world is perfect! A seamless example of how to add the fantasy to an urban environment.

And oh my god, the writing style. I remember the writing style being what made me fall in love with this book and inspired me to write, but I don’t remember it being this damn good! It has cheesy and unexpected comedy, things to wrench out your heart and some of the best imagery I have ever read. Not once did I read a cliche metaphor or simile and it was so refreshing! I will admit that the foreshadowing was a bit in your face and timed a bit too close to reveals, but I can forgive it slightly on being a middle grade book.

Regardless, this is still so readable and fun to read, I can now confirm being an adult, for all ages. Top 10 books to read before you die. Because all 10 of those are Rick Riordan books.

The Lightning Thief gets a score of 4.5/5. I already predict that the Disney series won’t do this book justice.

Yours in writing

Amy

aviary-image-1656574509076

Mature Children – a review of Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur

by with No Comment Contemporary

I would call this a RE-view, but I didn’t even remember what happened in this book. So it was basically like reading this for the first time. I read this book in my final year of Intermediate school, got my best friend into it and we were obsessed with this book for a while.

11-year-old Aubrey is home alone. Her dad and sister died in an accident and her grieving mother abandoned her. She didn’t mind this lifestyle until Grandma arrived and took her to her home in Vermont to stay with her. Not only must Aubrey come to terms with a new life, but she must come to turns with the past at the same time and how things will never be the same.

This was the first book that made me cry, but I couldn’t remember what about it made me cry. It was ten years ago since I read that book and I had read tonnes more since then. Even so, this held such a place in my heart and I reminisced on the feelings I felt while reading it. There were bits and pieces I remembered of it but nothing stronger than the emotion – the crying and the joy mixed into the pages.

This was a stellar character driven story, perfect for a contemporary novel. You could clearly see interactions and opinions impact characters in such a real way. Each revelation hit hard or brought joy. Each character and their relationships felt real, developed, thoughtful. Contemporary novels in my perspective have some of the richest and most well rounded characters I’ve ever read, and LaFleur’s work is not exception.

Aubrey’s character and her arc were stellar. She had so much dimension, maturity and at the same time youth for her age. That and it felt so relatable and universal. Love, Aubrey revolves around children’s grief and PTSD through her perspective, and even though it relates to her dealing with it that doesn’t consume her or the plot. Her developments are very mature and signify a coming of age.

One thing that brought it down for me were a bunch of cliches in the language of this novel. You can expect language cliches in middle grade novels, the same metaphors and similes you see all the time. And seeing cliches of ways to describe things doesn’t usually get me mad. But when they come in this huge quantity it does made me think less of the novel. You couldn’t think of any new ways to describe that river? Or that feeling in your gut? I know how wild a child’s imagination can get, and this wasn’t it.

But don’t let that take the rating of this fantastic book down too far. This is still an incredible story for anyone to read, so make you cry and warm your heart all at once.

Love, Aubrey gets a score of 4.5/5. Enough emotion and purity to last me the rest of the year.

Yours in writing

Amy