Thursday, January 26, 2023

Review: Begin Again: A Novel by Emma Lord

Begin Again: A Novel Begin Again: A Novel by Emma Lord
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was providing both the audio and digital arc of this book via Netgalley.  Thank you to Macmillan Young Listeners and Wednesday Books for allowing me the chance to review this book.  As always all opinions are my own.  I swapped back and forth between the print and audio version of the book and enjoyed both.  

Georgina Sadler did a great job with the narration.  She gave each character their own voice, which I always appreciate in a book with lots of characters.  Andie has a semi-large friend group here and the narrator does a good job making sure they each have a distinct accent or voice so you know who is speaking during dialogue. 

Despite this being set in a college environment this is very much a coming of age story.  I'll admit I struggled in the beginning with the immaturity of the characters, then I remembered they are freshman in college and thought back to my freshman year and realized I was being a bit harsh with my expectations.  The characters were doing exactly what 18-20 years old college students do in college.  They are discovering new friends, figuring out life, and discovering who they are and who they want to be.  I actually think the author did a good job making the characters relatable to a younger audience.

This follows Andie as she begins her second semester of college.  She has recently from community college to Blue Ridge, which happens to be the place where her parents went.  She has big plans, and wants to learn more about her mom as she participates in activities her mom founded when she went to school there.  Andie wants to be a self-help guru, and her psychology major and natural tendency to fix everyone's problems seem to be a good fit for her plans.   Andie does admit that she's a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to dealing with her own problems as she'd rather help others fix their issues than deal with her own.  I felt that her 'fixer' tendencies were a bit over the top at times, but it is critical to her character growth arc and she has to stumble a few times along the way until she finds her own path.  I loved the side characters and felt they were well developed.    I really enjoyed getting to know Andie's friend group who become her found family.  They aren't afraid to tell her what she needs to hear, even when she doesn't want to hear it.  I really appreciated seeing them all grow and find their way.  I was initially worried that Andie was making all of her choices for the wrong reasons, but I was pleasantly surprised as she slowly started to come out of her shell and started to do things for herself not for the shoes she was trying to fill.

This was a really cute YA coming of age with a little romance and a little comedy.  I think this will be perfect for a younger audience as it addresses a lot of topics teens and college age students face.  

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Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Review: Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame by Meg Long

Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame by Meg Long
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This picks up a few months after Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves, with Remy as the main character. Sena and Iska are present throughout, but they are more side characters and their advendure on Tundar doesn't really play much of a part in this new adventure. I do recommend reading Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves first so you get and understanding of some of the references and backstory. I do feel you could read this as a standalone and not be terribly lost though. This is more like a companion novel in my opinion than a sequel.

In this installment, Remy shines as the main character as she tries to find a lost friend and her former partner who betrayed her. Sena and her wolf Iska are along for the ride, and the three of them find themselves on a rainy jungle like planet completely opposite of where they came from. Remy uses her genetic engineering to infiltrate and gather intel on the leadership that is now in place on Marass to help locate her ex-partner Kiran in order to reset mistakes of the past.

I really enjoyed this second installment! It was nice that it wasn't a traditional sequel and followed Remy instead of Sena, though Sena and Iska were still very present and involved in the storyline. It feels like we are going to get a third book, and I hope it follows the same format. I'm looking forward to seeing who the main character will be next. Remy is constantly fighting her genetic programming vs who she is as a person. She wants to do what is right and is constantly asking herself, "Am I like this because that is how I was made?" "Or am I my own person?" In the end she's a little of both. but she gets to choose what side she is on. I'd like to see a bit more character development from Remy when it comes to her emotions, but for most of the book I think she felt like she wasn't engineered to have them. She developed one friendship in her life and she felt if failed, and I hope we get to see her work on that more in the future.

This had great world building. Long does a great job describing the setting and the creative creatures she came up with. The pacing was a little slow for my taste but it does pick up in the second half as the revolution gets organized and starts to move forward. There is more action in the second half once we know all of the players and have the lay of the land.

I look forward to seeing what the author comes up with in the future!

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Sunday, January 22, 2023

Review: Immortality by Dana Schwartz

Immortality Immortality by Dana Schwartz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided both a digital and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley. Thank you to Wednesday Books and Macmillan Young Listeners for the opportunity to read this early. As always, all opinions are my own. This book will be publised on February 28, 2023.

The audiobook was well narrated by Mhairi Morrison. She did a good job with the various characters in the story as this is not told from multiple points of view. The second narrator Tim Campbell has a small part and narrates the news articles that are found at the end of chapters. This is a nice touch to let the listener know that you've exited the story proper and are reading a different form of media related to Hazel's story.

This is the second installment of Schwartz's gothic romance following Hazel Sinnett and her pursuit to be a doctor. I would highly recommend reading Anatomy: A Love Story first as it will give you much of the backstory that leads up to the events that take place in this book. This takes place several months after Anatomy ends, Hazel has a steady stream of patients and she is still holding out hope that Jack is alive, though logic tells her he must be dead. After treating a particularly tricky case, Hazel finds herself in jail, but the Crown interjects and hopes that a lady doctor might be just what the sickly princess needs to get well and perform her royal duties. This is how Hazel finds herself as the personal physician of Princess Charlotte and entangled with a secret society that know about Dr. Beecham and his sinister work.

I loved the mix of historical fiction, horror, gothic romance, and a little bit of sci-fi. Much like the first book Hazel finds herself mixed up in things that call into question her own morals and values. At the end of the day she has to follow her heart and do what she feels is right. I really appreciated that she always valued her patients over fame and fortune, and stuck to her moral compass. The book progresses at a slow to medium pace then it picks up toward the middle of the book as new characters are introduced and things start to happen. Hazel finds herself torn between doing what is right and doing what is convenient and right for others. While some of the plot points (I don't want to spoil any of them) wrap up perhaps conveniently or predictably, I don't think I would have wanted them to go any other way. While Anatomy could have stood as a standalone, this answers many of the questions we had at the end of the first book. I know I was completely satisfied with the ending and couldn't stop smiling at the conclusion.

I really loved this book and the duology as a whole! I loved seeing Hazel as a confident and competent young woman in a society that did not allow women to be doctors and scientists. She is a great example for young women who want to pursue careers in STEM. I look forward to reading more from the author in the future!

Monday, January 16, 2023

Review: The Angel Maker by Alex North

The Angel Maker The Angel Maker by Alex North
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an audio ARC via Netgalley and Macmillan Audio, all opinions are my own.  This book will be published February 28, 2023 in print and audio.

This was an interesting thriller.  I'm not sure if listening to the audiobook is the way to go with this one because there is so much going on with the plot.  The narrator did a fine job with the narration, but there are so many threads to keep track of I found myself wishing I could go back and reference things from previous chapters because I was confused.  There are a lot of characters and timelines to keep track of, which I find doesn't always work on audio regardless of how good the narrator is.  

This follow Katie Shaw, who's life was forever changed when a stranger attacked her brother Chris.  Chris survived the attack, but his life was also forever changed.  Guilty for not being there for him that day, Katie has always tried to make up for the sins of that day and she is being called to help her brother years later.  Chris has gone missing and Katie discovers that he may be mixed up in something dangerous.  Chris doesn't have a very good track record as he's been mixed up in substance abuse after recovering from the brutal attack in his teens, but Katie discovers that he appears to have cleaned up his life and she is trying to piece together the mystery of the man her brother is today.

As I mentioned earlier, this has alot of characters to keep track of.  I kept losing track of who was who and what their role was in the plot.  Katie was always at the forefront and everything eventually ties back to her and her family.  This also has alot of twists and turns to keep you from figuring out what is happening, but in the end it left me with more questions than answers.  I felt more confused than thrilled as I was reading.  Katie was driven to find her brother but some of her decisions and actions seemed a little too impulsive and irrational to me.  This book requires an open mind and some suspension of belief for it all to work.

Overall this was a decent slow burn mystery.  There are some gory parts, but it isn't extreme.  I'd check out trigger warnings before reading this if you are squeamish.  It is a bit chaotic for my tastes, but it does keep you guessing.  If you are looking for a domestic thriller with a bit of a religious/philosophical vibe this is a good one to check out.    

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Thursday, January 12, 2023

Review: The Stranded by Sarah Daniels

The Stranded The Stranded by Sarah Daniels
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley.  Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to review this book.  As always all opinions expressed are my own.

This was a solid debut in a new dystopian YA series.  I don't think I've ever read a book that takes place on a cruise ship that wasn't a luxurious vacation setting.  The description of Snowpiercer meets Hunger Games caught my attention immediately, as I loved The Hunger Games, and while I've only watched a few episodes of Snowpiercer I find it compelling.  The author does a good job laying out the dystopian world and the dire circumstances that the inhabitants of the Arcadia find themselves in.  Similar to the previously mentioned titles, something bad happened and refugees have found themselves surviving on the Arcadia, some having more privilege and opportunity than others, and everyone is doing their best to make it to the next day.  

This is told from 3 POVs, Ester who is training to be a medic and hoping to attend medical school on dry land.  The top trainees in her class will be sent to school onshore to continue their training as part of the agreement they've made with the Federated States.  Ester is loyal to a fault and trusts everyone to do what they are supposed to and not break the rules.  Nik, is part of the rebellion, he's tied to Ester but she doesn't know it yet.  Then we have Hyland, the ship's head of security and a ranking officer of the Federated States.  He has a personal vendetta against the residents of Arcadia and will do anything to achieve his goals.

This has a solid plot.  I did find the pacing a bit too slow for my tastes, but it does pick up towards the end as things start to happen.  I feel like this would have been better with 2 POVs vs 3, I don't feel like Hadley's POV offered us anything that we didn't learn in conversation with the other characters.  I do feel as if there was a bit of repetition of information that caused the pace to drag here and there, but by the end I was completely invested in the rebellion and what comes next.  I do think the character development lacked a bit.  I'm hoping we get to see more development of the characters and players in the next installment.  

This is a bit on the dark side, but it is dystopian so it is to be expected.  There is violence and mention of blood thought it isn't overly graphic.  I think it would be great for an older teenage audience, I'd let my 14 year old read it.

I'm looking forward to seeing where Ester and Nik and story takes us in the next installment.  I think this story and the author have a  ton of potential and I'm looking forward to what they have instore for us next.

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Sunday, January 8, 2023

Review: Sacrifice by Adriana Locke

Sacrifice Sacrifice by Adriana Locke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an audio arc of this book via the author, however I do own the kindle version of this book. As always all opinions expressed in my review are my own. This book was originally released in 2015, but it recently has gotten a new cover and underwent some revisions.

Joe Arden and Maxine Mitchell did a wonderful job with the narration. They brought Crew and Julia to life in this emotional story. I like that even though the chapters were told from their POVs, the appropriate narrator stepped in when there was dialogue between the characters. The female narrator didn't have to voice the male character in her chapters and vice versa. I think that was a nice touch and something we don't often see in dual POV audiobooks. I didn't want to put this down once I started.

This is a very emotional book that deals with some pretty heavy topics. Julia is barely making ends meet after the loss of her husband. She works two jobs to make ends meet and take care of her daughter Everleigh. Her brother in law, Crew, helps out where he can, but Julia and he have a history and she doesn't want his charity. When Julia gets some tragic news about her daughter's health, she has to lean on Crew more than she wants to if she wants to get through this and be strong for her daughter. Crew has made some mistakes in the past, but he knows it is time to man up and make the sacrifices he wasn't willing to make when he was younger. It is time to take care of his family and do the right thing to take care of Julia and Everliegh, no matter the cost.

This is unlike most of the books I've read by Adriana Locke. It has a much more serious tone, where as most of her books are whimsical with witty banter. This is much more somber and gritty. We get to see both of the characters at their most vulnerable and how they put aside the past to survive tragedy. This has some NSFW scenes, so have some headphones handy if you are in a situation where you don't want anyone hear. This also has some tear inducing scenes so have a box of tissues ready. Adriana puts the characters through just about everything they can take in this book, but it is worth it in the end.

Trigger warnings for: death of a spouse, cancer specifically child cancer, MMA fighting, parental abuse

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Saturday, January 7, 2023

BLOG TOUR: Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman with Review and Excerpt

   




About the Book



Six of Crows meets the Iron Fey series in this high-energy YA fantasy that follows the adventures of changeling Seelie and her twin sister as they embark upon the heist of a lifetime for a mystery legacy. As they evade capture by both human and fae forces, Seelie discovers more about her own Autistic identity, her magical powers, and love along the way.

Twin sisters, both on the run, but different as day and night. As one searches for a fabled treasure, the other, a changeling, searches for the truth behind her origins, trying to find a place to fit in with the realm of fae who made her and the humans who shun her.

Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde… but as an autistic changeling trying to navigate her unpredictable magic, Seelie finds it more difficult to fit in with the humans around her. When Seelie and Isolde are caught up in a heist gone wrong and make some unexpected allies, they find themselves unraveling a larger mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike.

Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile of gold and jewels. But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister, and herself?


Excerpt


chapter one


On the night the faerie world collides with ours, anything can happen and wishes come true—and right now, I’m wishing I had stayed home.

I struggle to keep up with my twin sister as we push our way through the crowd. Revelnox is summer’s closing act, when day and night balance perfectly on the edge of the world. In the smaller villages, where people lead calm, productive lives in predictable patterns—back home, I think, with an ache in my ribs—this means that children stay up late, bonfires are built in the middle of town, and offerings are left on the edges of the fields to prevent unwanted faerie mischief. There are special cakes, and the liquor flows freely, but all the merriment is a thin muzzle over the sharp teeth of the truth. You don’t go anywhere alone, and you don’t go into the forest.

Not if you want to come back, at least.

But here in the city—Auremore, the shining jewel between the forks of the Harrow River—here, it’s something else entirely.

I have to fight not to lose my sister in the crowd of faces and languages blending into a waterfall of color and sound. Children call to each other in the streets, even though it can’t possibly be safe for them to be out alone on this of all nights. But they’re not really alone: it seems like everyone in the city is out, despite the late hour. The ever-present sound of voices crashing over each other is even louder tonight, volume rising with people’s spirits (and the amount of spirits they’ve consumed). Music threads through it all, sparkling and twanging in the air.

The bonfires are the same here at least, adding their roar to the commotion. Each city district has its own, and here in the center of Market Square, everything is golden and cheerful, surrounded by dancers and the sweet smell of candies for sale. Here, they welcome the Seelie, the faerie realm of good intentions, of order and politeness—or, at the very least, neutrality. Pouches of herbed salt meant to ward off evil swing from the torches that keep the darkness at bay and paint the whole block in brilliant amber.

I seriously doubt that the faeries of the Unseelie Court will be scared off by what is essentially steak seasoning, but it’s a nice thought.

We squeeze past a man wearing an elaborate mask with goat horns curling around the back of his head. That’s the other thing about the Revelnox celebrations here: everyone is masked, and no one dares to utter their own name. For just this one night, faeries walk among us—and the less power they can claim over you, the safer you are.

It’s all fun and games for the faeries, whose visits to the Mortal Realm are usually limited to one human at a time, in remote forest glens or moonlit crossroads. For changelings, the not-quite-human-but-definitely-not-faerie in-betweens, walking among mortals is less of a novelty. We grow up with humans, hated for being almost like them but not enough. Most of us find our way back to the faerie realms by adulthood. I’ve never felt that pull, though. My magic and I have what you could generously call a troubled history, and if Revelnox is the closest I ever get to the faerie realms, it’ll be more than close enough.

Also—and on a potentially unrelated note—it’s my twin’s seventeenth birthday.

I can’t exactly say that my twin and I have the same birthday, since I’m not sure if changelings even have birthdays. I don’t think anyone actually knows where we come from. For all I know, my essence might have been floating around in a cloud of faerie dust for centuries.

Or maybe I formed out of thin air the moment a faerie lifted Isolde from her cradle, stiletto fingernails digging into her soft, honey-colored skin, to exchange her for me.

I don’t know.

What I do know is that ever since our parents adopted me, Isolde and I share a birthday every year. Back before it was just the two of us on the run, we always had a homemade cake and presents, and we would all sit outside in the grass and watch the stars come out. It was usually uncomfortable, near the end of summer when everything turns sickly sweet and starts to crumble, but that didn’t matter.

It was still my favorite day of the year. And often, that day happens to fall on Revelnox.


The man in the goat mask meets my eye, flashing white teeth at me before turning sharply and disappearing into the crowd of disguised faces.

I shiver, clinging tighter to my sister’s hand.

“Too loud?” Isolde murmurs, pressing close to my side. She wears all-black, as usual, from the tips of her scuffed boots to the roots of her glossy black hair.

I shake my head. It is loud, but in a weird way the overwhelming sensations are soothing. My boots feel more solid on the cobblestones, my body more real and alive than ever. Even the heat—of all the bodies, the radiant glow of the fire, the last warm breezes of summer—makes me feel strangely at ease, instead of just sticky and miserable.

No. If I seem on edge, it’s thanks to the buzz of magic in the air, a living hum that I don’t hear so much as feel, like a mosquito hovering at the back of my neck. I don’t think Isolde can sense it.

Magic is technically a part of me, fizzing in my faerie blood, and this is the one night when it isn’t considered dangerous and wrong. One night when it’s safe to be the thing I have to be every day. But maybe that’s exactly why I’m so terrified of it—because I’ve seen firsthand what magic does.

I stop short, jerking Isolde’s arm back, as a woman with a small reddish dragon draped over her shoulders cuts in front of me, obliviously strumming a stringed instrument and belting out a song that would make the most seasoned escort blush.

My sister smashes into me, and we both pause to make sure our masks are still in place. They’re the cheapest we could find, a simple painted covering of the eyes and cheekbones held in place by a fraying ribbon. I’m pretty sure they’re made of rowan wood to protect against faeries, because mine is starting to itch abominably. It’s a familiar itch, and for a second, I’m ten years old again, being held down by a clump of other ten-year-olds while they take turns pressing charms of rowan bark and iron to my skin to watch it blister.

The moment passes, and I somehow maintain the willpower not to rip the mask off my face.

As I slide it back into place, my fingers twitching nervously over the surface, I pull Isolde closer. I lower my voice, even though it’s so loud in the streets that no one could possibly hear me anyway. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“It’s Revelnox,” Isolde reassures, her easy grin slipping back onto her face. “The manor is empty, and everyone will be too drunk to even notice us. We’ll be long gone by the time they even realize we were there. Trust me, Seelie.”

This is the part where I pause to say I know it’s an unfortunate nickname considering…what I am. I wish that my parents had thought of that before Isolde’s toddler tongue bumbled Iselia so many times that it stuck.

I hesitate, but I’ve never been good at saying no to my sister. The fight goes out of me with a rush of air before I straighten my shoulders and squeeze the soft, worn fabric of my favorite dress in my fist. “Let’s make it quick, then.”

“Quicker than lightning,” Isolde promises.

I glance up nervously at the clear, dark sky as glittering orange sparks drift up from the bonfire, dancing on the breeze.

As we wind our way upriver, the world flashes by in vignettes of chaos.

People push through the crowds in chains with their friends, arms linked, songs in the air colliding with the louder instrumental music. Some wave flags or toss flowers into the air. Yapping excitedly, a small dog chases at the heels of a group of kids who can’t be older than thirteen. The normally drab buildings are draped in garlands of rainbow-hued flowers and tiny pennant flags.

And then there are the faeries.

Even though faeries are an expected part of tonight’s festivities, they slip through the mortals almost unnoticed. But I’m not quite human, either, and I keep finding my eyes wandering to balls of light floating over the crowds, or catching the smell of a meadow in the breeze of someone running past. I accidentally make eye contact with a woman wearing a feathered mask that covers from her cheekbones up to the crown of her head, then realize with a start that it isn’t a mask.

She winks, her blood-red mouth curving into a smile. Then she turns and blows a kiss towards a pair of revelers sitting at a wobbly wooden table in a brewer’s booth. They’re deep in the conversation of close friends, hands wrapped around their cups and separated by exactly the right amount of distance so their knuckles don’t brush. When the faerie’s breath washes over them, the speaker doesn’t seem to notice at first.

The listener, on the other hand, stiffens noticeably, something strange and hungry coming over their expression.

My heart stops. Faerie magic is dangerous, and I don’t know what—

Then the listener, without a heartbeat’s space to think, surges forward, crashing their lips into their friend’s.

I wince. Not deadly magic, at least.

Still dangerous.

The speaker freezes for a second, mouth still open in the shape of whatever word was cut off by their friend’s lips. Then they melt into the kiss, eyes closing blissfully.

I turn away, blushing hot enough that I worry my mask might burst into flames. The pair will probably regret this tomorrow. They don’t need my invasion of their privacy on top of it.

The feather-faced woman is still staring at me with wide, owlish eyes. Then she turns, and her eyes flash red like a cat’s in the night. If I hadn’t been sure that she was a faerie before, I am now. That gleam in the darkness is the one thing faeries can’t change about their glamours.

The one thing that reveals a changeling’s true nature.

A cold breeze rushes over my skin, trailing chills as we let the scene fade behind us.

Isolde releases my hand, adopting an exaggerated drunken swagger. She crashes into someone with gold leaf painted over their cheekbones and lips and stops, slurring apologies and patting the person’s shoulders.

I roll my eyes as she falls back into step with me. “Can’t you at least save it until we get there?” I mutter, barely moving my lips.

Isolde’s hand slips out of her pocket, withdrawing a silver-plated compact mirror that she definitely didn’t have a few seconds ago. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“You’re not here to have fun. You’re here to get into the house, grab as much as you can, and get out, ideally without getting us arrested.” I know my voice is coming out too harsh, but I don’t know how to fix it, so I settle for nudging her in the ribs with my elbow.

Isolde looks at me sideways for a moment, as if she’s just now remembering the seriousness of our situation, before stuffing her loot back into its hiding spot with a chastened sigh.

I am not a pickpocket.

I don’t mean that in any kind of morally superior way—the truth is that even if I wanted to be a pickpocket, I don’t have the talent for it. Not like Isolde.

Isolde steals, grifts, pickpockets, and pawns. I keep us fed. We don’t need to be wealthy. We just need to survive until we can scrape together enough to reunite, to start over in a place where no one knows my face.

The noise of the festival fades as my fingers drift to the vial on a leather cord around my neck.

Our parents—Mami, a midwife, fierce and tough, with her homemade remedies for everything from a cold to stubborn zits; Papa, gentle and strong and always coming home from his studio with clay under his nails. They wouldn’t want this life for us. They’re good people. Honest people.

And they aren’t safe as long as I’m around.

So we left three years ago to run from city to city, to steal and cheat and lie and scratch out a living, telling ourselves it would be justified. It would all be worth it when we had enough to make our family a new home. When I could walk down the street without flinching every time someone looked at me a little too long, worrying they’d seen my face on a wanted poster somewhere.

We’re coming up to the bridge now, boots pounding an uneven rhythm on the cobblestones as the crowd around us thins. The streets are too choked tonight for horses or wagons to force their way through, leaving extra space on the wide bridge. The sour smells of warm human bodies pressed together and beer subtly ebb away with every step.

This side of the bridge is plain, a smooth transition into the arch of stone over the sluggish water. Weeds poke up through the mortar and along the muddy banks. On the other side, garlands of golden paper flowers curl around the gleaming brass streetlamps, and an enchanted ball of light changes color every few seconds.

“Last chance to back out,” I mutter, as a woman dressed in sky-blue silk passing from the opposite direction stares at us for just a second too long.

“You worry too much.” Isolde catches the woman staring and meets her gaze with a brilliant smile.

I move a half step faster, trying to look casual as the dazzling sights of Gilt Row come into view.

Gilt Row is less of a row and more of a blob-shaped tangle of streets draped in more opulence and wealth than anyone knows what to do with. The houses, like the rest of the city, are pressed tight together, tall and narrow, but here they’re all white stone and pastel-painted brick, with gardens out front and just the right amount of emerald ivy crawling up their fronts.

Entire eight-story houses, each for just one family. It’s hard to imagine what the buildings might look like inside—and I pride myself on my colorful imagination. And presiding over it all, flanked by iron gates and a perfectly manicured lawn, Wildline Manor looms three times the size of any of the others. It’s huge, imposing, and—since Leira Wildfall is sponsoring Gilt Row’s Revelnox celebrations—totally empty. They might as well have painted a glowing target on it.

I haven’t spent much time in this part of the city. Among the perfectly maintained streets populated by well-dressed, respectable families, Isolde’s and my rags stick out like thistles in a bouquet of exotic flowers. Someone who looks like we do can’t just walk around, without someone rich assuming they’re up to no good and signaling the city guard.

To be fair, most of the time we are up to no good…but they have no way of knowing that.

But tonight is different. I can feel it in the air, smell it in the spaces between smoke and sugar and expensive perfume. Tonight, anyone could be a faerie in disguise, and everyone receives equal respect.

Well, besides a few wrinkle-nosed looks from people who think I can’t see them.

Despite that, the crowd we melt into on the other side of the bridge is still almost entirely made up of people dressed in dazzling garments of violet chiffon, tangerine velvet, indigo silk, pure white linen—every color you could imagine and some you couldn’t. Gold gleams on throats and wrists and fingers, in embroidery along skirts and cuffs. Each mask is more impressive than the last, each custom-made and totally unique. Servants, dressed a bit more simply but still wrapped in the decadent midnight-blue velvet of Wildline Manor, mill around serving snacks and drinks.

I couldn’t possibly feel more out of place, with my plain mask, my simple slate-blue dress, my dusty brown boots. For someone like me, there’s no point in throwing away money on a gown that would only be worn for one night—no matter how enchanting it is.

My sister looks even more at odds with our surroundings than I do, but her aura of confidence doesn’t waver, even as tiny beads of sweat trickle under her mask. Isolde is the sweatier twin, but that’s more because she wears layers of all-black every day, no matter the weather, than because of any innate dampness.

Even though we’re identical, I can’t remember a time that we could be mistaken for each other. It seems laughable that the fair folk thought leaving me in her place would be an equal trade. Our olive skin and dark brown eyes are exactly the same, but her wavy hair never falls any longer than her shoulders before she chops it off, and I keep mine in a thick braid tied off neatly at the small of my back. Our identical heavy eyebrows look bold and dashing on her face but almost always seem troubled on mine.

I can feel them bunching into that concerned twist now. “Do you know where you’re going?” My fingers twist in my apron, fidgeting as always. We’ve been planning this for weeks, but we’re not exactly criminal masterminds. Once Isolde sneaks in the servants’ entrance, I don’t think there’s much of a plan beyond grabbing anything that looks shiny.

“Relax,” she replies, taking a flower from a girl dressed in petal-pink handing out bunches to everyone who passes. “Just stay on the lookout, and try to enjoy yourself. This isn’t the kind of party you get to see every day, you know.” The flower twirls between her fingers before she drops it, leaving it to get crushed underfoot.

We follow the trickle of people towards the center of the district and their bonfire. It’s getting late now, and most of the children have been sent to bed.

Which means the party is really getting started.

“Who here’sss try’n’a get…a wisssh granted?” shrieks a faerie, so drunk on Leira Wildfall’s liquor that they don’t even bother hiding the shimmering wings sprouting from their shoulder blades. A shout ripples through the crowd around them. Then there’s a flash of pearly light, and when it fades, the faerie is gone. A stack of gold coins remains where the faerie had been standing, and I don’t know if they intentionally vanished or were banished back home by some Seelie rule about not getting drunk off your ass and offering wishes to mortals.

As people frantically dive for the coins, I lean to speak into my sister’s ear. “Those coins are super cursed, right?”

“Oh, incredibly cursed. For sure.” She squeezes my hand and chuckles. “You know what you’re supposed to do, right?”

I groan. My job, of watching the servants’ entrance and drawing the attention of any guards who might get suspicious, was supposed to be easy. “How can I possibly top that distraction? What goes on around here? There’s something wrong with rich people, Sol. That would have ended the night across town.”

Well, across the bridge. All the way across town, in the Twilight District, I’ve heard rumors that they celebrate the holiday with much more unsavory magic, and a few cursed coins would probably be the least of their problems.

“You’ll figure something out.” Isolde grins, slipping away from me. “See you in an hour.”

Then she turns her drunken saunter back on with all the ease of the highest-quality actor and stumbles into the crowd, ready to dip her hands into their gilded pockets.


Excerpted from Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman, Copyright © 2023 by Ivelisse Housman. Published by Inkyard Press.


Review


UnseelieUnseelie by Ivelisse Housman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley and a final copy via BookishFirst, all opinions are my own.  This book was released on January 3, 2023 and is available now.

This follows twin sisters Iselia aka Seelie and Isolde as they try to survive in a world of magic, shapeshifters, and fae.  Seelie is a changeling, not human but not fae either.  As the author mentions in her author's note, it is believed that changelings were used to describe autistic children in early mythology as a way to explain the unexplainable.  While we've come a long way in the world of autism diagnosis and treatment, we still have a long way to go.  You can really tell that alot of love and care went into creating Seelie's character and I'm sure alot of the author's own experiences can be seen in her.  

Being a changeling with uncontrollable magic, Seelie is both feared and misunderstood.  She finds it difficult to interact with humans and sometimes finds it hard to control her emotions.  In order to survive, she and Isolde have turned to a life of theft and pickpocketing, so when they target a large mansion on a festival night they run into another team of theives they didn't plan for as well as a treasure that has a mind of it's own that latches onto Seelie.  The twins end up on a quest they didn't intend to go on, and Seelie must learn to harness the magic she fears and despises to save herself and her beloved sister.

I really enjoyed going on this quest with Seelie.  The world building was well done as was the character development.  Not only does Seelie have to learn to harness her magic but she is also on a self-discovery quest as well.  By accepting her magic she is accepting that she is not like other people and that is OK.  The story had good pacing and kept me engaged the whole time.  The story wrapped up nicely but did leave things open to allow for more adventures with Seelie, Isolde, and her new allies.  I would happily read more from this author and more about Seelie and her adventures should there be more.

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About the Author


Ivelisse Housman is a Puerto Rican-American author and illustrator. At all seven schools she attended throughout her childhood, she was infamously “that kid who gets in trouble for reading during class, but refuses to stop.” She was diagnosed with autism at 15, which made everything make a lot more sense. When she isn't writing, she can be found making soup or tending to her houseplants. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her high school sweetheart/archnemesis and their two rescue dogs.



Review: Phaedra by Laura Shepperson

Phaedra Phaedra by Laura Shepperson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an audio arc of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing me the opportunity to review this book.

I really enjoyed the full cast narration of this audiobook. It worked very well with multi-POV narration of the story. Having multiple narrators made it easy to let the reader know who was speaking because there was a different voice for each speaker. I do feel that having so many POV's it took away from the focus of Phaedra's story. The author did do a good job linking all of the POVs together in the end, but I don't know that they were all necessary. I thought the addition of the Night Chorus made alot of sense, and added to the storyline but the other POVs didn't really add much to Phaedra's story.

As you can tell by the title this follow's Phaedra, a lesser know female character in Greek mythology. She is daughter of Mino and Pasiphae, sister to Ariadne and the Minotaur. Phaedra is portrayed as naĂ¯ve and as the youngest she is often cast aside and treated poorly. She is faithful to the gods and trusts that they will protect her from harm so long as she pays the proper tributes and prayers. This is especially important as she enters into a political marriage with Theseus. Upon her arrival in Athens, she quickly realizes that Theseus wants nothing to do with his young bride, but his son Hippolytus while pledged to Artemis is always watching her. As is common in mythology, the men rule and commit atrocities without much consequence, but Theseus wants to bring democracy to Athens, so when he returns to find his wife very pregnant and accusing his son of brutally raping her, he must go through with a trial.

While the trial proceeds, the women of Athens are paying the price of Phaedra speaking out against Hippolytus and his attack. They too are suffering in silence at the hands of the same men. Once the trial is decided, Phaedra decides to take back her own power as she learns the even if the court rules in her favor, the punishment will not fit the crime.

If you are fan of the feminist retellings that are very popular right now, this was a good read. This did a good job emphasizing how women are often blamed for the sins of men or treated as if they exist purely to serve man's more carnal needs. I feel like that is very accurate for the timeframe when these myths are supposed to be based. This even touches on faith and loss of faith. I thought that was very well done. Phaedra's faith in the gods was steadfast, until her gods failed her. I think that is a very relatable concept whether you are religious person or not. Faith in humanity, religion, or people you trust is tested constantly. Anyone who has been seriously let down can empathize with Phaedra. I enjoyed this retelling of Phaedra's story and look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Trigger warnings for sexual assault, rape, suicide, physical abuse, murder, mental abuse. This is a rough book to get through, even if you don't have triggers.

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Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Review: The Nightmare Man

The Nightmare Man The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided a print and audio arc of this book via Netgalley.  Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to review this book early.  All opinions expressed in my review are my own.

This was a nice balance of horror and thriller.  I don't want to give too much away as it would spoil the story.  I didn't find the horror elements overly gory, but this does have a nice creepy factor to go along with the police investigation that takes place as the story comes together.  There are some additional horror elements to the plotline but to describe them would spoil the fun.  

This follows Detectives Winchester Mills and Samantha Blue, Mills' daughter as they investigate a grisly murder scene in their small town.  The murder appears to be directly copied from a recently released novel from local bestselling author Ben Bookman.  The Bookman family is no stranger to tragedy or the strange, but when more murders occur mirroring things Ben has written in his books the detectives are determined to figure out if Ben is the killer or figure out what he's hiding and how he is linked.   Ben is missing time from when he wrote the book that is being copied, and he knows it has something to do with his grandfather's strange atrium where the books with no works are kept.  Slowly as Ben and the detectives unravel the clues and piece together the puzzle the strange tale of the Scarecrow, the Screamer, and the books all comes together in a terrifying nightmare.

I loved this!  I mainly stuck with the audiobook for this one as the narrator, David Bendena, did a great job with this.  I had a hard time pressing pause on this one.  I was on the edge of my seat as the story unfolded.  This is my first book from the author, but it will not be my last!  I look forward to reading more from Markert in the future!


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