Category: Book Reviews

Biblioshelf Musings – Romanov

The Biblioshelf3 Comments

Hi Bibliofriends,

Happy Wednesday, I hope your week is going well.
I’ve always had a fascination with the Romanovs and the mystery of Anastasia. I think my earliest memory of this was when I saw the Bluth/Goldman animated film that was released in 1997. I even had an adorable little Pooka plush toy that I took everywhere! Fast forward to studying the Russian Revolution at school and the mystery about what happened to the Romanovs had me hooked. I was convinced that Anastasia was still alive and hadn’t really died. Diamonds sewn into a corset really did prevent her from death by firing squad and she’d somehow escaped to live out the rest of her life. Obviously these ideas had taken root in my head before Alexei’s and Anastasia’s remains were found in 2007 and it was proven conclusively that they had both died in 1918.

Nadine Brandes’ book, offered me the fictional release that Anastasia never did truly die, mix that with a touch of magic and boy did Romanov deliver!

Book: Romanov by Nadine Brandes
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Publication Date: 7th May 2019
Publisher: Thomas Nelson [Shelflove Crate Exclusive]
Pages: 337
Rating: 📚📚📚📚

‘Not even royal blood can stop bullets.’

Without actually having a part one and part two, the story divides itself into two parts: the first being the family’s move from Tobolsk to Ekaterinburg and the second focusing on what happened after the fateful assassination of 16-17 July 1918. We see the tone of the story change from light to dark as history unfolds and Nastya is such a terrific narrator to navigate the reader through this.

‘Impatience was the grim reaper of all victories.’

The true-to-history anecdotes of her pranks and the way she is nicknamed schvibzik (imp) created an idea of such a playful character. In the first part, the reader experiences all of her thoughts and feelings: the friendships and conversations struck up with Bolshevik guards, the childlike way of looking at the situation she was in and the almost naïve innocence that her family was going to be rescued out of their exile by the White Army. The way this contrasts with the second part of the story was really well-balanced. At times it felt like a rite-of-passage and you were watching Anastasia rapidly grow up in the aftermath of events. She was an indomitable force on the page. All of her insecurities, vulnerabilities, grit and determination were laid out for the reader to absorb. I felt that her characterisation was powerful and I don’t know whether it was purely the writing or the interpretation of the narration in my head, but I couldn’t help hear Anastasia talking in Jodie Comer’s accent from the Killing Eve series – the mischievousness between them was also fairly apt.

‘Because I have a story I was meant to live. And not even you can unwrite it.’

The Russian references contained within the novel were clearly laid out and explained without being overbearing. It really helped to build the Romanov’s world inside my head. You can tell Brandes is proud of her links to Russia without it being forced into your face through every paragraph. The spell magic in the story was subtle yet effective enough to balance with the more historical elements of the tale. To make spells and become a spell-master, one must have spell ink to write the spell words. For the caster, the words hover around in the air or melt onto the tongue until they are ready to be used at the perfect moment. I really liked the way the iconic Matryoshka doll also played a role in this story and featured as a nod to its real-life creator.

‘We were always meant to be on opposite sides of a pistol’.

Themes of forgiveness and love feature strongly throughout the story. Nastya’s Papa’s belief that everyone should be forgiven no matter what they have done comes full circle in the end and drives home a poignant message; especially for anyone suffering from any emotional turmoil themselves.

‘As I lay in the grass next to the spell that could rid me of heart pain, I realised that a part of forgiveness was accepting the things someone had done – and the pain that came with that – and moving on with love. Forgiveness was a personal battle that must always be fought in my heart. Daily. And though I was tired of running and surviving and fighting… I wasn’t ready to surrender that battle yet.’

Alexei’s condition also shines a sensitive note on overcoming barriers and living your best life in spite of all the odds stacked against you – fair enough he has access to magic, but the sentiment is still there through his relentless attitude.

‘I saw a bond form – between an old spell master and a young boy who never let his illness hold him back from his dreams and duties.’

All in all, I was tremendously intrigued and fascinated by this book. I bought into the characters. I enjoyed the way the writing flowed, offering enough description and dialogue to keep the plot unfolding and the world building within my head. The way magic was paired with heritage. Russian symbology sprinkled throughout every page. It was rich in detail and history; the author’s note at the end explained exactly what was real and what was stretched which I really respect from a historical fiction writer.

Brandes’ tale was the perfect way to give me the happier ending of this tragic tale that I’d always been longing for.

‘The bond of our hearts… spans miles, memories and time.’

Are you a fellow historical fantasy nerd? Have you read Romanov? Feel free to share your ideas/comments/recommendations in the chat below! 🙂

T xx

Biblioshelf Musings – The Carpet Cipher

The Biblioshelf1 Comment

Hey Biblioshelf Friends!

Ever since I started reading more books in Lockdown and getting involved with BookTwitter, that little need to start requesting books on Netgalley resurfaced again! Being approved for a more popular arc still seems like a distant dream, however after scrolling through the Read Now section I came across The Carpet Cipher by Jane Thornley which sang out to my inner historical-mystery soul. Big thanks to Netgalley and the publishers BooksGoSocial / Riverflow Press for my free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Book: The Carpet Cipher by Jane Thornley
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Publication Date: 12th March 2020
Publisher: BooksGoSocial / Riverflow Press
Pages: 258 (from paperback edition)
Rating: 📚📚

Synopsis

Can a painting hold a secret safe in plain sight across seven centuries? The murder of the last member of an old Venetian family peels back the rug on a shocking truth that draws art historian and textile expert Phoebe McCabe into the fray. 

What she sees in the missing Renaissance symbology will shake the foundations of religious and cultural assumptions across two continents and point the way to a priceless hoard. It’s a secret potent enough to pitch rival factions against Phoebe and her team while destroying history as collateral damage along the way.

By the time Phoebe tracks down the truth to its final destination, she’ll need to face her greatest enemy armed with nothing but wry wit, an indomitable spirit, and what’s left of a broken heart. But nothing will stop this warrior of the ancient lost and found.

From the dark misty canals of Venice to the vivid souks of Marrakech, Phoebe and her friends are pitched against the desperate and the entitled. Who owns a treasure buried on foreign soil? Can the poor ever win against the rich? And most importantly, can love conquer religious persecution and even time itself?

If you love twisty, action-packed mysteries driven by engaging characters set in vividly drawn locales rich in historical detail, then you’ll love this first book in the Ancient Lost and Found series. Think Robert Langdon meets Lara Croft with a side of textiles.

Why Did I Want To Read This Book?

First tick: Anything set in Italy, especially with reference to the Renaissance immediately grabs my attention and makes me read the blurb.
Second tick: Symbology, secrets, mysteries, histories and my little nerdish senses get really tingly.
Third tick: “Think Robert Langdon meets Lara Croft with a side of textiles.” Are you kidding me? To me, this would be one of the greatest pairings since Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers sang Islands in the Stream! This is the bit that made me hit that ‘read now’ button! I was expecting BIG things from this pairing/strapline and reader… I was fooled.

Am I Missing Something…?

To start with, there’s the usual murder in the prologue. This I can cope with – it happens. Except here, we get told exactly what time and place the murder happens, then all of a sudden in chapter one, we are left wondering whether we are still in the same time and place of the aforementioned murder. Turns out…we weren’t – cue: head scratching.

We are also rapidly introduced to a whole bank of characters (including the protagonist Phoebe McCabe) and what feels like an entire spider web of backstories and events at how all of these people seem to know each other. For what is supposedly the first book in this new Agency of the Ancient Lost and Found Series, I feel like I’ve stumbled in halfway through. As it turns out, I actually did – cue: more head scratching.

Going back to do a quick Goodreads search and it turns out that Phoebe McCabe & Co. have been in 5-book series before which is why I felt like there was a bit of reliance on my prior knowledge of these characters’ escapades and a lot of info-dumping in the first few chapters. Whilst this awareness of the characters’ histories is not essential to the plot of The Carpet Cipher, the continuous references to past events from a different time/series made my reading experience feel a little disjointed, as if I couldn’t fully invest myself in all of the characters.

Phoebe McCabe & Co.

Phoebe herself, has a remarkable passion for textiles which bounces off the page. The references to carpets and clothing throughout the book is well-researched and clearly evident of the writer’s enthusiasm for this subject.

When I was still trying to work out what nationality Phoebe is (she works at a gallery in the UK), some of the vocabulary she used only sought to make me think she was American. Phrases like, “stuck in my craw”, “Crud, Phoebe, stop it.” and talk of ‘phyllo’ instead of filo didn’t marry up with what I would expect a British person to be saying, so is she British or is she American? Cue: even more head scratching.

She also has an over-reliance on calling the bad-guys ‘bastards’ which did grate on me towards the end. This very male-bashing attitude that radiates through her narration felt quite passive aggressive as if she has a chip on her shoulder and I found it difficult to warm to her as a character overall [from further text deduction, previous boyfriend from previous series ‘Noel’ definitely has something to do with this].

There are a whole host of other characters who feature in this story (Max, Evan, Serena, Noel, Nicolina, Seraphina, Zara, Agent Walker, Foxy, the ‘bastards’, June & Joe) but a special mention must go to Peaches. Her comedic quips and zesty attitude breathed some much-needed humour into the dialogue towards the end of the novel. I loved her Jamaicanese speech and all-around eccentricity. “Muscle Man’s coming here with Hottie on the roof?” was one of her defining moments.

The History Behind the Mystery

The plot behind this story is based around two real-life pieces of artwork; the main piece by Bartolo becoming a painting for the purposes of this story, rather than the fresco that it really is. Having looked into the real representations of these pieces of art, the author admits to taking artistic liberties with some of the elements and symbology within the pictures. The passionate historian in me was left slightly longing. Nevertheless, the conspiracy and mystery at the heart of The Carpet Cipher and the puzzle which needed to be unlocked was engaging enough to just about keep my attention span going to the end.

Notes Whilst Reading

Lastly, my e-book notes are crammed with 39(!) highlights containing grammatical/spelling errors, alongside my own utterances of questions, queries and all of the head-scratching moments that made me shout ‘huh?’ or ‘why would you do that?’ so often that I had to check whether there was a bald-patch forming on the back of my head. Here are some of my favourites:

  • “That alone was enough to induce conniptions.” – I had to use a dictionary for the word conniptions.
  • At 37% of the book it’s finally carpet time!
  • “I changed into my only non-jeans pants – leather,” – Why does everyone wear leather ‘pant-suits’ in this book?
  • “Let’s assume that everybody is innocent until proven guilty and discuss what we know together.” – Phoebe McCabe channels her inner Poirot.
  • “Seemed like a bad time to mention my mold allergy so I just coughed for effect.” – Are you kidding me, someone who works with mouldy old textiles is allergic to mould?!

And my personal favourite:

IMG_1603

Final Thoughts

Overall, it is abundantly clear through the writing that The Carpet Cipher is a work of fiction. References to real historical facts and attitudes are minimally skimmed across the surface of the text. If you’re looking for a thrill-ride full of the common tropes found in historical mystery/thrillers then this could very well be the book for you; however, if you’re looking for a narrative that is so deeply entrenched with historical accuracy that you could genuinely believe that the conspiracy is real, then perhaps this may not quite capture your imagination for long enough.

Are you a fan of historical mysteries and thrillers or a carpet addict à la Phoebe McCabe? Feel free to recommend me a conspiracy novel that is so damned good I’ll believe it’s real!  

T xx

Biblioshelf Musings – Wolf Hall

The Biblioshelf1 Comment

Hello my bookish friends,

The typical Bibliophile that I am, as soon as social distancing and lockdown began to start, my bookish mind went straight into TBR compilation mode to try and put together the reads I wanted to get through now that I had slightly more headspace to do it.

With the recent release of The Mirror and The Light, the final instalment in Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy, Wolf Hall was one of the books that went straight on the list.

Writing this review and looking back on it has perhaps made me rethink my initial grading of 4 stars and uplift it to 5/5. It really is a literary masterpiece and I can see now why it won the Man Booker Prize in 2009. Humour, despair, power, philosophy just drips from every single page.

Book: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Date: 30th April 2009
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 653
Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis from Goodreads:
England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

Over the city lies the sweet, rotting odour of yesterday’s unrecollected sins.

The Tudors have always been my favourite period of British history. I love the drama, pageantry and wife-swapping nature of the whole dynasty. Mantel did a superb job of bringing this to life and making it jump right off the page. From the descriptions of food, to the stench of the Thames, every sense was catered for as she rebuilt her own idea of the lush and extravagant world of Henry VIII’s England. I kind of wish Austin Friars was still standing today just to glimpse Cromwell’s world physically with my own eyes. I understand that lots of description is a bit of a Goldilocks situation for most readers but for me, Mantel got this spot on!

He thinks, I remembered you, Thomas More, but you didn’t remember me. You never even saw me coming.

I have to admit, it took me a little while to get to grips with the narration. We see the story through the perspective of Cromwell who is referred to as ‘He’, but then sometimes I’d get a little lost as to which ‘he’ we were talking about because there seemed to be lots of ‘he-s’ walking round the palaces and streets of Tudor London that I didn’t really know which He was thinking or which he was speaking or whether it was Him narrating… you get my point?! Nevertheless, I quickly got into the rhythm of the writing style and what seemed like Thames mud at first rapidly became the clear prose of Cromwell’s narrative. It really enabled you to see the world through his eyes, almost video-game style. Thinking back upon it now, I can really appreciate how clever Mantel’s writing actually is.

Mercy comes in and says, a fever, it could be any fever, we don’t have to admit to the sweat…If we all stayed at home, London would come to a standstill.

When you’re in strange times like these, do you ever seem to focus on some things or interpret comments and thoughts in a particular way that you may not have done previously? It seemed so ironic that parts of Wolf Hall seemed to echo real life and poignantly link to Covid-19. There was an almost philosophical sense to the novel and one particular line metaphorically slapped me in the face:

We are always dying – I while I write, you while you read, and others while they listen or block their ears; they are all dying.

It was a real ‘The Power of Now’ moment, that whilst in my little Cromwellian hole I’d almost forgotten the passing of time going on and on. The book is littered with little sentiments like this; they’re not all doom and gloom like the one above, but they stick out in your brain and really make you think. It’s one of the things I admired most about the writing in Wolf Hall.

‘Call her Elizabeth. Cancel the jousts.’

‘We are young enough, he says, and next time it will be a boy. One day we will make a great marriage for her.’

The tone of this entire scene, upon the birth of Elizabeth, was just so melancholic – you could feel Henry’s despair through the quietness of his actions and words. I think it’s such a shame that Henry VIII will never have the hindsight or awareness to recognise the magnanimity of his daughter. I wonder how he would feel if he actually knew of her achievements and that she was one of the defining and longest standing rulers of our entire history. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but maybe he wouldn’t have written her off just because of her gender.

All in all, Mantel has created such a fantastic work of fiction. I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it. Don’t get me wrong, trying to keep up with what was going on was like running a marathon for my brain, but the story, characters and writing is just so encapsulating that I needed to drag myself back into the 21st century after closing the final page. I would highly recommend this to anyone who has even an ounce of interest in the Tudors or historical fiction. Bring Up The Bodies, is currently sitting on my shelf waiting to be picked up… but not until I’m finally ready and in the right headspace to train my mind into reading Cromwell-speak again!

Have you read Wolf Hall? Should I watch the follow-on TV series? What’s your favourite time period in history? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Biblioshelf Musings: A Heart So Fierce and Broken

The Biblioshelf8 Comments

Howdy y’all!

I’m starting off with what may be a slight ‘unpopular opinion alert’ but after reading A Heart So Dark and Lonely last year, I was not 100% sure whether I wanted to continue with the Cursebreakers series. The first book had so much hype surrounding it and was hailed as one of the best Beauty and the Beast retellings of all time. As much as I enjoyed reading ACSDAL, I clearly wasn’t as blown away by it as everyone else. Don’t get me wrong it was a highly enjoyable read but perhaps I just love the original tales too much.

That being said, when I saw the sequel advertised on Amazon as part of their 2 for £7 deal (a steal!) I could not resist buying it to see what happened to Rhen and Harper!
The narrative and focus of the tale moving away from Rharper/Harpen onto Grey and a completely new character called Lia Mara didn’t entirely appeal to me at first (another thing which stopped me from putting it on auto pre-order), but when the prompts for the OWLs Magical Readathon 2020 were revealed and Ancient Runes was to read something with a heart in the title or on the cover then this was my immediate pick. 💚

Book: A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Publication Date: 7th January 2020
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Pages: 450
Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Whilst there are no major plot spoilers ahead for AHSFAB, there will need to be a little bit of discussion as to my thoughts on where this story is going so bear that in mind if you haven’t already read this book or series (which tbh I think you should!!).

The Unanswered Story Strands
From the off it felt so good to be back in the world of Emberfall and pick up essentially where the story left off. The curveball twist of an ending from book 1 needed to be played out as many strands had been left unanswered: Lilith, the mystery heir, Syl Shallow’s forces descending on Emberfall, the ‘Disi/D.C.’ sham…
I really like Brigid’s writing style and feel that she has hit the balance between detail, pace and storytelling so that I could allow myself to get lost in the vortex of the story without having to overthink or reread paragraphs just to keep up with what was going on.

New Character Alert
Usually, I’m not a fan of main character introductions part way through a series; I like to see a full, well-developed character arc, however I was pleasantly surprised by Lia Mara. She is smart, clever and definitely no wallflower. She added a really down-to-earth yet vibrant dynamic which counterbalanced Grey’s personality really well. Although the ‘main plot’ thread of the story seemed to move a little slowly to make room for this, I did not mind in the slightest as it enabled us to fully understand these main characters’ backgrounds and motivations. As Lia Mara’s story unfolded alongside Grey’s, my initial worries went out the window and I became totally invested in their relationship; in fact, I think I even prefer them to Rhen and Harper! [Side-note: I know the ages don’t match up at all, but I can’t help but visualise Grey as Michael Fassbender…anyone else?!]

Is It Really That Complicated?
As I touched on above, the whole point of this novel seems to revolve around Rhen trying to discover the identity of the mysterious other heir to Emberfall and Grey trying to hide the fact that it’s him. In my head, surely their relationship wasn’t that bad that they couldn’t have chatted about this and worked it out between them…? They could have been co-rulers or Rhen could politically shape the kingdom and Grey could focus on the military side of things…? My brain just doesn’t see why this had to be the massive problem that it turned out to be; it’s like when you’re watching a TV programme and you think to yourself ‘there’s no way that would happen like that” – anyway that’s how it did happen yet I was hooked with my reading and carried on with the plot regardless.

If anyone is interested, my prediction theory for Cursebreakers #3 is: (aside from any shockingly twisty main character deaths) Rhen and Harper rule Emberfall, Grey and Lia Mara rule over Syl Shallow; together they unite their countries in some sort of alliance then everyone has world peace and lives happily ever after…!

We Need To Talk About Scravers
Can we just take a minute to talk about the incredible creature creation ‘scravers’?! For me these are the coolest things to come out of this book. I really enjoyed Isaak’s character and loved his little curiosities and mysteriousness. It feels like there is a whole other backstory here that we need to explore and I really really hope that this comes out in Cursebreakers #3 otherwise I’m going to need a novella or a side-series or something!

And finally…
All in all, I am so glad that I took a punt and carried on with this series. Despite the epilogue, which is a little ‘trope-y’ for my liking although I see why it had to happen, I thoroughly enjoy Brigid’s writing style, characters and the world she’s created. They really got me invested into the series again. Cursebreakers #3 – A Vow So Bold and Deadly is definitely going to be on auto-preorder because I need to find out if my theory about how this resolves itself is correct – and I need to find out what happens to Isaak!

My finishing thought is a little insight into how this series fits into my brain…
It’s like the two separated sides of a Victoria Sponge – A Curse So Dark and Lonely was half the sponge and cream; A Heart So Fierce and Broken was the other half of sponge and the jam. Each yummy on their own but… hopefully A Vow So Bold and Deadly is going to put the whole damn scrumptious cake together! Bring it on!

If you have read AHSFAB or wanted to chat about any part of the series or characters, as always drop me a comment below! 🙂

Txx

Biblioshelf Musings about Anna K by Jenny Lee

The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Hello Biblioshelf friends, ghosts, dust particles, tumbleweed…!
It’s been a while hasn’t it?!

Anyway I particularly wanted to share these Musings with you about the book ‘Anna K’ by Jenny Lee. I received a free copy of this pre-publication through the brilliant website Readers First (which I have discussed a lot before) in exchange for a review. Many thanks to them and the publishers Penguin Random House Children’s. Below is my original review of Anna K which was published on the Readers First website back in March but I’ve updated it slightly here as I couldn’t stop myself feel this is definitely going to be in my Top 10 Books of 2020.

Book: Anna K by Jenny Lee
Genre: YA (Personal and Social Issues – according to Readers First)
Publication Date: 5th March 2020
Publisher: Penguin Random House Children’s
Pages: 400
Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Anna K Synopsis – from Goodreads
Meet Anna K. At seventeen, she is at the top of Manhattan and Greenwich society (even if she prefers the company of her horses and Newfoundland dogs); she has the perfect (if perfectly boring) boyfriend, Alexander W.; and she has always made her Korean-American father proud (even if he can be a little controlling). Meanwhile, Anna’s brother, Steven, and his girlfriend, Lolly, are trying to weather a sexting scandal; Lolly’s little sister, Kimmie, is struggling to recalibrate to normal life after an injury derails her ice dancing career; and Steven’s best friend, Dustin, is madly (and one-sidedly) in love with Kimmie.

As her friends struggle with the pitfalls of ordinary teenage life, Anna always seems to be able to sail gracefully above it all. That is…until the night she meets Alexia “Count” Vronsky at Grand Central. A notorious playboy who has bounced around boarding schools and who lives for his own pleasure, Alexia is everything Anna is not. But he has never been in love until he meets Anna, and maybe she hasn’t, either. As Alexia and Anna are pulled irresistibly together, she has to decide how much of her life she is willing to let go for the chance to be with him. And when a shocking revelation threatens to shatter their relationship, she is forced to question if she has ever known herself at all.

Dazzlingly opulent and emotionally riveting, Anna K.: A Love Storyis a brilliant reimagining of Leo Tolstoy’s timeless love story, Anna Karenina―but above all, it is a novel about the dizzying, glorious, heart-stopping experience of first love and first heartbreak.

Anna K is billed as a Gossip Girls/Crazy Rich Asians rebrand of the classic tale of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I haven’t read Anna Karenina (I don’t know the plot and haven’t seen the movie) 😱, neither have I seen Gossip Girl (also 😱); so it was the sheer vibrancy of the cover and the reference to Crazy Rich Asians which first tempted me to request this book…and it did not disappoint! [Side-note: I had to rewatch Crazy Rich Asians immediately after I finished reading!]

The story is told through several different perspectives (the character list at the start will be your pal in the opening chapters), however once you’re familiar with the who’s who of Anna K’s world, Steven, Lolly, Kimmy, Dustin, Vronsky and Anna rapidly become your literary new best friends. Their narratives are told with a realness and purity that kept me fully engrossed and bothered about what happened to them – I feel like if I travelled to New York (Covid-19 aside…) I would actually bump into them at Grand Central or Greenwich. The rich-kid lifestyles of how the other half live are documented in fantastic detail while retaining a light-hearted sense of humour which made me want to hop into their universe. I don’t quite know how realistic it is, whether the 16/17 year old of NYC’s Rich List really go about their lives this way… but that’s the whole reason we seek escapism in fiction isn’t it?!

Love, in all its forms, is a theme which runs strongly throughout every chapter and this nicely balances out the urban, trendy vibe coming from the city settings. After-all this is a love story, even without knowing the plot of Anna Karenina I know that Tolstoy’s Classic was supposed to a sweeping romantic epic. Jenny Lee has portrayed so many different polarities and shades of love through these chapters and characters, and this is by no-means an exhaustive list;
> there’s the all-consuming ‘love at first sight’
> there’s the love infatuation which apparently is enough to change any ‘player’ into the chivalric ‘knight-in-shining-armour’
> there’s the nitty-gritty ‘you’ve betrayed me but it’s made me love you more’
> there’s ‘I love my animals more than humans at the minute’ love
> there’s ‘redemptive love’ both in relationships and to themselves
> and then there’s Dustin – lovely sweet Dustin!

All in all, Jenny Lee’s take on Anna K, reminded me of a Sex and the City style / coming-of-age tale just perfect for today’s new YA generation. It’s a glittering novel just perfect for getting swept away in and I am super excited that it looks as if it’s going to be made into an HBO TV Series!! More info here. Whilst there might be trigger warnings for drug misuse, animal injury, death of a loved one and mental illness, this novel tackles most of those things in a sensitive way (there’s a fair amount of recreational drug use) but it still is rich with things to love and enjoy. I simply could not get enough of this book!! I consumed it quicker than I would my Cantonese sweet and sour chicken – it was unputdownable!

T xx

5 Biblioshelf Musings about… The Immortal City by Amy Kuivalainen

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Series: The Magicians of Venice
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: 19th September 2019
Publisher: BHC Press
Pages: 324
Rating: 📚📚📚📚

The Immortal City is an adult fantasy novel set in Venice from Amy Kuivalainen. The story revolves around Dr. Penelope Bryne who is on the trail of finding the Lost City of Atlantis. There are some pretty awesome magicians, stunning scenery and a captivating alchemical mystery rooted in the mythology and folklore of a lost city which has baffled generations of academics and history lovers alike. Huge thanks to BHC Press and Netgalley for providing me with a complimetary eARC in an exchange for this honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In the heart of Venice, a woman is sacrificed to a forgotten god, sparking a mystery lost for thousands of years.
Dr. Penelope Bryne is ridiculed by the academic community for her quest to find the remnants of Atlantis, but when an ancient and mysterious script is found at a murder site, she flies to Venice determined to help the police before the killer strikes again.
Penelope has spent her entire life trying to ignore the unexplainable and magical history of Atlantis, but when she meets the enigmatic Alexis Donato, everything she believes will be challenged. Little does she know, Alexis has spent the last three years doing his best to sabotage Penelope’s career so doesn’t learn the truth—Atlantis had seven magicians who survived, and who he has a duty to protect.
As Alexis draws her into the darkly, seductive world of magic and history, Penelope will have to use her heart as well as her head if she is to find the answers she seeks.
With the new MOSE system due to come online, and Carnivale exploding around them, Penelope and Alexis will have to work together to stop the killer and prevent dark magic from pulling Venice into the sea.

Viva Venezia – There were two words that made me hit that Request button as soon as I read the blurb of The Immortal City – one of them was ‘magicians’ and the other was Venice. Having been lucky enough to visit this stunning city, I’m always longing for a novel which is going to instantly transport me back to those canals and bring about the nostalgia of spending time there. Not many books have been able to do that for me, but The Immortal City definitely invoked my inner wanderlust and transported me back to that wondrous place. The detailed ways Amy describes the Magicians’ palazzo and local landmarks of Venice creates an absorbing setting which makes me want to hop right on plane and head back over to Italy. Incorporating the MOSE system (a design to try and protect Venice and the Lagoon from flooding) into the storyline adds a realistic and poignant edge to many of the topical news stories currently surrounding this famous city such as the rising water-levels and protection of the city and its heritage from mega cruise ships and mass tourism – preventing it from becoming our own modern-day Atlantis.

Lost civilisations – Atlantis has inspired countless stories and conspiracies across the generations. Don’t be duped, The Immortal City is not a quest to find the physical location of The Lost City of Atlantis – the author takes a different thread of this well-known myth by making it so that Penelope ends up finding the heart of what Atlantis left behind – the last guardians and magicians from a place lost to the sea. In my own opinion, I felt that one of the main messages here was trying to highlight that it is the stories and remnants of places which end up forming its heritage and keeping them alive, not necessarily physical places. The way the mythology of a lost civilization is tied together with a plot-line filled with forgotten languages, alchemical symbology and the one of the most amazing historical archives literature could ever imagine all makes for a fascinating plot which kept me turning page after page.

Move over Christian Grey…
…There’s a new hot guy in town and his name is Alexis Donato. This fantasy novel is definitely one for the adults out there. Alexis Donato, the dark and brooding magician at the centre of the story is HOT! The romance and relationship between him and Penelope tastefully fits into the story without bordering on seedy or distracting away from the plot and changing the tone of the novel to something more “chick-litty”. I definitely wouldn’t say no to being pulled out of a Venetian canal by him!

 The Atlantean microcosm – gimme more! – Amy Kuivalainen has created such an intriguing bunch of immortal characters. Packed with romance, banter, tension, tragedy and friendships, I quickly grew attached to each and every one of them. The events that happen towards the end of the story left me on a cliff edge waiting to see where this story goes next. Amy has created a little world of characters who I want to find out everything about. Having seen two listings for this book on Goodreads, I’m slightly unsure as to whether or not this is a standalone or part of a series as it’s listed as both but I would instantaneously be adding a sequel to my TBR should one be written… *hint hint* 🙏🙏 

More than just watery – There is a whole sunken city’s worth of different elements to like within this story that it could appeal to many readers. When I first requested it, I didn’t really know what to expect and at the start of reading it was clear this story didn’t really fit into just one bracket: there are murders and violence, but this doesn’t feel like a typical crime novel – the murders are filled with alchemical symbols and mystery which are used as plot devices throughout the story; there are magicians, but they are not your typical Dumbledores walking around in stuffy castles wearing cloaks – they are the last immortals left over from a lost civilization who are now living in our modern world; there is romance which varies from zero to all-consuming within mere pages but didn’t distract me from the main story; there is fantasy, history and magic that feels totally realistic, even though you know it’s just fiction.  Either way, there’s plenty to entertain!

Overall thoughts –
For the past few years, the books I’ve read have tended to be the ones which have been hyped about all over Goodreads or Bookstagram. I took a chance in reading The Immortal City and it was a breath of fresh air to my reading pile – this is the adult fantasy novel I have been waiting for! If you’re a fan of some of the things mentioned above, then I definitely recommend you try this book. It’s a little whirlwind of a ride and like all stories there are some points which don’t always flow or which may make you roll your eyes internally, but this book has definitely left me wanting to find out more about the captivating world of the Magicians of Venice and I’m positive I’ll be rereading it at some point in the near future. There is magic, gore, lust, danger, passion and a whole load of Italian/Atlantean goodness packed into every page. Yes this is a work of fiction, but holy gods do I wish it were real! Get me to those Palazzo archives right away!

T xx

5 Biblioshelf Musings about… Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

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Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Series: The Illuminae Files #2
Genre: Sci-Fi (YA)
Publication Date: October 18th 2016
Publisher: Rock the Boat
Pages: 659
Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Gemina is the second book in the epic YA Sci-Fi trilogy, The Illuminae Files. I’m not typically a sci-fi fan but I was so glad when I succumbed to the hype and picked up the first instalment, Illuminae, last year. It truly offers a reading experience with a difference. I read this for my Arithmancy exam in the OWLs Magical Readathon as it has more than one author. Needless to say, there may be spoilers below for anything that happened within the first book, but I’ve tried my best to hold them back so as not to spoil Gemina. Apologies for any space related puns, jokes or language.

<Synopsis from Goodreads>

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

The format

This series skyrockets the form of the novel to a whole new dimension – pun DEFINITELY intended. Now, I don’t tend to read comics, graphic novels, manga or anything similar so I can’t comment on how much this novel is like one of them, however the format of these books are unlike any other I have ever come across. I love it! The story is told through a dossier of evidence-based files which include video surveillance footage summaries; transcripts of emails and instant messaging programs; scrapbook and diary pages; computer screen graphics and some pretty superb illustrations from Marie Lu. Gemina offers a much more immersive read than normal novels and it also takes the edge off the whopping 659 pages that some people may find daunting. I’ve never read anything like it and it’s definitely a contributing factor into me giving this a 5* rating.

AIDAN is BACK!

After the ending of Illuminae, I wasn’t really sure how I felt about AIDAN. AIDAN: Artificial Intelligence Defence Analytics Network – for me, he’s definitely up there on the morally grey character list.  (I also have a bit of a thing about A.I.s developing their own non-programmed thoughts and feelings, but that’s a whole other rant!) The fact that he has the ability to rise from the ashes of the Alexander fleet makes him the mythological phoenix of our story…then again this is Illuminae where plot twists are shooting from hangar bays everywhere and you have to just go with the flow to work who’s really alive or dead. I loved that he appears again in this story along with some of the other characters from Illuminae; it brought the series back into continuity as at the start of Gemina it felt like the two stories weren’t going to merge. But when they did…cue the nebula-style explosion propelling the story light years ahead! It really felt like a mini-family reunion when the casts of Illuminae and Gemina collided! As for the other characters, at first I found Hanna really annoying, especially the way she moons after her boyfriend, but then as the story progresses she really comes into her own. Nik is awesome and his cousin Ella is comedy gold. Special mention to Ella’s little black goldfish – had my heart in my mouth for that little sucker!

Easter Eggs

One of the benefits of a format such as Illuminae means that so much fun can be had within the pages. I adore media easter eggs (little clues or intentional jokes that are hidden in things) and I loved spotting the ones that are littered through these books. I don’t think there were as many in here as there were in Illuminae however I still had fun spotting different authors names in the pages and the graphics. The illustrations matching specific parts of the action or plot also just add to that fun-factor during reading.

Plot-Twists

Just when you think you’ve got a grip on the story, the authors turn it on its head and makes you think again. Sometimes the twists go beyond all reasoning, well I suppose we are in a sci-fi book after all! These books are brilliantly researched and incredibly well-written. Even with all the Science info, which is perfectly explained and diluted for us non-astrophysics types, Kaufman and Kristoff still manage to keep you completely clued up with what is happening in those precise moments that you’re reading. The facts don’t become overbearing and even when we’re discussing the heights of wormholes and parallel universes, we still feel like we’re finding these things out and comprehending them at the same time as other characters in the novel.

Cover-Ups and Conspiracies

At the heart of this story is a corporation trying to cover-up any of its little naughty goings-on in the Kerenza star-system. I’m sure I’m not the only out there in the entire galaxy that thinks this kind of stuff already happens in our real-world everyday. Wiki-leaks anyone…??? Our news is full of stories of fraud, injunctions, hushed-up investigations, and conspiracies and this is one of the major factors I love about these books. I love a good conspiracy, that’s one of the paramount reasons I love these books, and I know this is sci-fi (emphasis on the fiction), but I completely believe that at some point in our future there will be more and more groups like the Illuminae group who are working towards uncovering all of the wrong-doings and cover-ups that happen on our plant and beyond, if they aren’t out there doing that as we speak…

If the children I teach at school were that little bit older, then these books would definitely be on my syllabus! With that kind of story-line, the galactically great format and the absolute, a$$-kicking whopper of an ending, Gemina was always guaranteed to find a way into my heart and onto my elusive 5* Biblioshelf!

Bring on Obsidio!

Have you read The Illuminae Files? Are you as much as a sucker for literary easter eggs as I am? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

5 Biblioshelf Musings about… Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye

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Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye

Series: Circle of Shadows #1
Genre: Fantasy (YA)
Publication Date: 22nd January 2019
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 454
Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Circle of Shadows is the first instalment in a brand new series by Evelyn Skye and its filled with magic, friendships, ninja-style sass and a brand new tigerific world for us to get lost in. I was supposed to be reading this as a buddy-read on Instagram but the story just grabbed me and before I knew it I was near the end! Also, this formed as one of the twelve books on my TBR for the OWLs Magical Readathon so I was quite keen to motor through.

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Sora can move as silently as a ghost and hurl throwing stars with lethal accuracy. Her gemina, Daemon, can win any physical fight blindfolded and with an arm tied around his back. They are apprentice warriors of the Society of Taigas—marked by the gods to be trained in magic and the fighting arts to protect the kingdom of Kichona.
As their graduation approaches, Sora and Daemon look forward to proving themselves worthy of belonging in the elite group—but in a kingdom free of violence since the Blood Rift Rebellion many years ago, it’s been difficult to make their mark.
So when Sora and Daemon encounter a strange camp of mysterious soldiers while on a standard scouting mission, they decide the only thing to do to help their kingdom is to infiltrate the group. Taking this risk will change Sora’s life forever—and lead her on a mission of deception that may fool everyone she’s ever loved.
Love, spies, and adventure abound as Sora and Daemon unravel a complex web of magic and secrets that might tear them—and the entire kingdom—apart forever.

Now this review was actually fairly difficult to write which is probably why it’s taken me so long to get it posted. I’ll go through my main musings about Circle of Shadows and then at the end I will attempt an overall verdict of this novel.

Tiger Tiger
A lot of things in this book are centered around tigers; even the Kingdom of Kichona itself. Maps in books are one of my favourite things ever and the map of Kichona at the beginning of this book did not disappoint. Shaped like a leaping Tiger, many aspects of the world are linked to parts of its anatomy: the eye is the Imperial City, Stiped Coves refer to the tiger’s infamous stripes and there’s even a town called Tiger’s Belly. Kichona gained its wealth from the Tiger Pearls which are fished from the waters around the island. Lastly, members of the famous ninja society at the centre of Circle of Shadows are called Taigas in honour of the animal and Kichona’s heritage. I loved that this motif ran through so many elements of the story. It really helped to blend the plot, storyline and characters all together.

Food Glorious Food
🚨WARNING: Do not read this book on an empty stomach if you like Asian food! Seriously, the mentions of foods in this book was vivid. Now I am a huge foodie so the way Evelyn Skye included these ‘taste notes’ when they were visiting different places around Kichona was a major factor in winning me over. Miso-glazed butter-fish, fried shrimp, bamboo shoots braised in sticky soy sauce, bacon-wrapped shrimp, ginger-honey chicken skewers, Autumn Festival cake (a ten layered cake rich with lemony yuzu and confectioners’ sugar)…need I go on? Take me to Tanoshi already, I’m salivating over here!

“Work Hard. Mischief Harder.”
Spirit (Sora), Wolf (Daemon), Fairy and Broomstick form as the main gang of characters within the story and I loved the vibes their friendship gave off throughout the novel. Their motto ‘Work hard. Mischief harder,” really encapsulated the way they stick by each other no matter what and put themselves in potentially hazardous or dangerous situations just to help each other out. It reminded me a little of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s relationship from the Harry Potter series. They really are a brilliant foursome.

From Forbidden Love to…a Love Triangle?!
Sora & Daemon/Fairy & Broomstick are geminas which means that they are bound together and can communicate emotions to each other through a bond (…think Rhysand and Ferye ACOTAR fans). Unfortunately for Daemon, geminas cannot form romantic relationships with each other so his feelings towards Sora are not only forbidden, but on Sora’s part they’re also seemingly unrequited. This forbidden love trope was quite subtly done throughout a majority of the book and Skye definitely didn’t overdo it or make it tacky – but then…without giving too much away, we seem to have an is it/isn’t it love triangle thrown in right towards the end which left me actually quite perplexed and slightly angry as it just didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the story and the impressions I’d built up of these characters.

Shifting Perspectives
This story is told in the 3rd person and starts off primarily from Sora’s viewpoint. But then, as the plot gets more complex, we seem to have viewpoints from a whole host of other characters which at times left me confused as to who’s perspective I was actually reading from or where I was in the story. I guess the giveaway for the narration came from the fact that the first sentence in the chapter starts with the character’s name but the whole shifting perspectives kind of detracted me away from the flow of the story at times.

The whole idea of shifting kind of sums up what I really feel about this whole story. Whilst reading and being caught up in all that was going on I thoroughly enjoyed it.

  • The interactions between characters was fun and I did like them all. Even the villain had me doubting whether they were actually an enemy or just a victim of past suffering who genuinely believes their course of action is for the ‘greater good’.
  • The magic was intriguing. I was keen to find out how and why the Ryuu could use magic differently to the Taigas.
  • Skye’s narrative was were well-written in many places and I am partial to flowery descriptions of things.

It’s only when I sit back and try to pick apart the novel for a review where my opinions about it start to change. The plot is fairly predictable in places and the ending seemed to leave me with a strange feeling as if it had been rushed or had taken on a whole different tangent to what had been laid out in the rest of the novel.

Immediately after finishing it, I gave the novel 4 out of 5 and I do stand by that. There are plenty of things that I enjoyed and liked Circle of Shadows whilst reading. I will probably read the second one in the series to see where it all goes and if my questions are answered.

If you haven’t read Circle of Shadows yet and you’re going to give it a chance, I’d recommend you treat this as a fun read, don’t dissect it too deeply and just enjoy the ride.

Have you read Circle of Shadows yet? Did you have as many conflicting feelings as me? Drop me a comment and let me know!

T xx

5 Biblioshelf Musings about…Mirage by Somaiya Daud [Spolier Free]

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Mirage by Somaiya Daud

Series: Mirage
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy (YA)
Publication Date: 28thAugust 2018
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Pages: 320
Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Mirage is the debut novel from Somaiya Daud and is the first instalment in this Middle Eastern style Fantasy/Sci-fi series. There’s friendship, romance, droids, mythology and an epic planetary world for you to get your teeth stuck into. Here’s five spoiler-free musings I had about this brilliant novel.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and will travel beyond her isolated moon. But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place. As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty – and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play princess to perfection…because one wrong move could lead to her death.

Maram vs Amani
Maram is supposed to be the villain of this story, yet somehow I found myself sympathising with her the more her character developed and extra details about her upbringing were revealed. Don’t get me wrong, she starts off quite cruel and nasty, however in reality she is just a product of the Vathek world she was raised in, thanks to her father King Mathis. Whether or not Maram is the tragic hero of the story is subjective but the relationship arc between her and Amani was probably my favourite part of the book. Amani’s character on the other hand was almost the opposite of Maram’s. A humble village girl who is stolen away from her family and made to live amongst the riches of the Royal Palaces. Sooner or later, she starts to embrace the world that she’s been forced into and takes on more than just the ‘body double’. The interactions between Maram and Amani and the role they play within the story was incredibly well-written and I found myself looking forward to the parts of the book where their characters would intersect. With the way Daud leaves the ending of the novel, I’m really intrigued to see what happens next to this pair of characters.

“Could I live my life knowing I’d never stepped close to such a flame? Could I exist in the Ziyaana knowing I had chosen my shadowed half life, had accepted a horrible changing in my soul, instead of reaching out with both hands with something that might remake me? Arinaas’s flame might char my skin and break my bones, but in the end I would emerge remade, newer and stronger and a version of myself no one could snuff out.”

Mythology
If you love mythology and fairytales, particularly those with an Arabian feel, then Mirage should appeal to you. Myths, legends and folklore are the undercurrent within the novel and this is what gives it that fantasy-like feel. The stories of the Tesleet bird and Massinia, to name just a few, help to pad the story out and give what is a relatively thin plot more substance. In turn, they also add to the amazing world-building created by Daud.

“Hope. Hard won, soaked in blood, a hope that burned as much as it lit her way.”

World-Building

A74BEC88-D15C-462A-BC6E-95EAD7608089First off, the map at the beginning of this book is gorgeous. There are so many places in the world of Andala. If I could hop on a space-shuttle right now, I absolutely would. The Ouamalich Star System is so wide and vast; there are many, many places listed in this fabulous world that Somaiya has created and whilst a lot of them are mentioned and visited, a fair few are left unexplored. I’m hoping that they will have a part to play in the future of the series. To back this up, the writing in Mirage is incredibly rich. It appeals to practically every sense…and then some! I love a story where the writing is lyrical and descriptive so this is probably why Mirage appealed to me so much.

“I could feel the water in the air, cool, thin, but there. It carried with it the smell of lemons and oranges, and the sound of a hundred trees, waving gently in the wind.”

The Vathek
The Vathek are really the main drivers for the plot in this story. After all, they are the ones who have taken over the Andala Star System and imposed their rule. That being said, I would have liked so much more of the Vathek from this book. The storyline is fairly narrow and thin: girl gets taken from her home moon to be the body double of the princess and then faces the challenges that being the heir of an invasive regime brings. There’s a backdrop of a resistance which is lightly touched upon, the beginnings of a romance, which is subtle and twee but that (being honest) I didn’t really buy into. I can’t really explain why the Vathek wanted to take over Andala or what their motivations are within the book. We don’t really see a lot of King Mathis at all and to me, he is supposed to be the real villain as opposed to Maram. Hopefully these will get picked up more within the next book.

“In my experience, fear and hatred are great motivators for great evils.”

Sci-Fi vs Fantasy
Is Mirage Sci-fi? Is it Fantasy?
If you’re not a Sci-fi fan, don’t be put off by the fact that this book takes place in a star system…it really isn’t your classical sci-fi novel. When Maram is first described as half-Vathek, I had some strange image in my head that she was half-human/half-robot. I don’t tend to read a lot of Sci-fi stories and for the first part of this book, I couldn’t really get my head around the fact that all of the characters in the story are human beings. The only real Sci-fi parts are the fact that they live on planets and moons in a star system, travel between those planets and moons on space-crafts and use droids as their servants. (Note to self: Vatheks are not robots!) Other than that, the rest of the novel has a fantasy-like feel. It is rich in terms of characters, both living and mythological. You can easily forget that this story takes place in a star system far, far away.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Mirage. The best way I can think to describe it is like an Arabian Star Wars story (I even pictured King Mathis as a bit like Darth Vadar if I’m being totally honest). It’s got brilliant female characters, an incredibly exotic world and a folklore all of its own. Daud really has the scope and ability to turn Mirage into a thrillingly exciting series, I can’t wait to see if she takes us there!

Have you read Mirage? As always, drop me a comment to chat! 

T xx

 

5 Biblioshelf Musings about… A Curse So Dark and Lonely [Spoiler Free]

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A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Series: A Curse So Dark and Lonely
Genre: Fantasy (YA)
Publication Date: 29th January 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Pages: 477
Rating: 4/5 Shelfie Stacks 📚📚📚📚

A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a modern-day retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Brigid Kemmerer. The story is a dual perspective novel and alternates between Harper and Rhen’s narrative. It is set between Washington D.C and Emberfall, the fictional location of Rhen’s kingdom.

Synopsis from Goodreads

Fall in love, break the curse.

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

  • Beauty and beast fairytale retelling!

Fairytales are my absolute favourite thing to read; I even wrote my university dissertation on them. When I discovered this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling I knew I just had to read it. There’s been a lot of hype surrounding fairytale retellings recently so I’m pleased that this was a fresh and different interpretation on the original. Even if I hadn’t known prior to reading, it is made very clear that that this story is based on Beauty and the Beast. The novel sticks to the main idea of the girl falling in love with the monster to try and break the curse but diverts away from it in the fact that Harper actually does have a chance to get to know Rhen as a human before he turns. Therefore it’s almost like Beauty and the Beast but in reverse… Harper’s character is in no way a wallflower either and it was the style in which her character was written that was one of my favourite parts of the novel.

  • Harper

It’s Harper’s modernity that is what keeps this retelling fresh. She’s a girl from Washington D.C who is used to all of the mod-cons of today’s life. Not only that, but she has cerebral palsy and her brother is involved with some sort of violent loan-shark. I really liked the way that Brigid tentatively dealt with Harper’s affliction without it taking over the story – and I don’t mean that in an insensitive way at all. Brigid’s light touches on Harper’s condition resembled how living with a limp and the other aspects of CP is part of Harper’s reality everyday and how normal it is for her. Harper is very clear that she doesn’t want to be seen as weak just because of her CP and that strength shines through in volumes. I absolutely loved her character. She bounced off the archaic chivalry of Rhen perfectly and I felt like their pairing was a great match. Elsewhere in the novel, Grey broke up the dynamics between Rhen and Harper, I’ve heard in some places that their relationship is likened to a love triangle but I didn’t really see it in this way to be honest. I really liked the input of the Harper’s brother and Noah as well. Their reaction to Harper’s story and the world of Emberfall was brilliant and definitely had me chuckling in some places.

“I am always surprised to discover that when the world seems darkest, there exists the greatest opportunity for light.”

  • Kingdom and Peoples of Emberfall

Emberfall seems like such a fun place to be – if you rule out the fact that a monster terrorises through the whole country periodically… The castle is your typical magical abode with mysterious music being played on instruments by invisible hands; food turning up deliciously cooked and seemingly from nowhere; the opulent surroundings of Harper’s room which are at odds with the visceral room of blood and gore; it suited this fairytale to a tee! I was so happy that we also got to see the wider world of the kingdom and meet the people of Emberfall. When Emberfall comes under attack from neighbouring territories and the evil enchantress Lilith, Rhen’s protection and sense of guardianship over his kingdom give the novel an added depth which sets it apart from older versions of the fairytale. It also provides for more action within the story which allows it to become meatier than just your average retelling.

  • Brigid’s Writing Style

I loved how easy this book was to read. Every time I picked it up it was like sinking back into a big fluffy pillow. The split narrative was easily distinguished by having the name of the character at the start of each chapter but also through the different voices of Harper and Rhen themselves. Harper’s language was much more contemporary whereas Rhen had the refined elegance of a Crown Prince. It suited them really well.

“My father once said we are all dealt a hand at birth. A good hand can ultimately lose – just as a poor hand can win – but we must all play the cards the fate deals. The choices we face may not be the choices we want, but they are choices nonetheless.”

  • Ending

For me, this is the one aspect of the book that just lost a little bit of love. Everything seemed to happen so fast and before I knew it all of the action was over and we were setting up for the next novel in the series. We sent so long in getting to know the charcaters and the kingdom, as well as the build up to the battle and the transition of Rhen from Prince to Monster, that I felt the transformation elements weren’t as well developed as the rest of the novel. Right at the beginning when Harper is in DC and Rhen is in Emberfall, the very blood underneath their fingernails is mirrored between their two narratives and I missed these little extra details and nuances towards the ending of the novel. Then from out of nowhere it just seemed to end and I’m still not even sure I’ve actually read the ending correctly…

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed A Curse So Dark and Lonely. It had me completely hooked whilst reading and was everything I was looking for in a Beauty and the Beast retelling. It is definitely more than just your average Disney-style echoing. The characters and world-building tied in neatly with plot. Although the cliffhanger of an ending left me slightly confused about what was actually happening, I’m keen to see where this series goes next. The sequel, A Heart So Fierce and Broken is set for release on January 28th 2020.

Have you read A Curse So Dark and Lonely? What did you think? Drop me a comment to chat!

T xx