Tag: Fantasy

Book review: Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist

Rach @ Anxious Nachos6 Comments

Title: Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Publication date: 21 May 2019

Genre: Fantasy | Young adult

Page extent: 384 pages

Thank you Emma (the author) and Vicky Who Reads for running the giveaway in which I won a copy of this book.

Missing, Preusmed Dead combines elements of mystery, thriller, contemporary fantasy, romance and a dark, gritty atmosphere to create an intense and heart-racing book about ghosts and lonliness and death.

This book tells the story of Lexi, a girl who can sense when and how someone will die, and Jane, the girl Lexi didn’t try to save. When Jane returns as an angry ghost, Lexi tries to hunt down the murderer to help Jane. They get caught up in a bigger mystery though, as it turns out the murderer has killed before and plans to kill again.

This book was a LOT darker than I expected – which I am SO happy with. It was such a dark, gritty and grim setting and atmosphere. It really felt like we were halfway between life and death, you could sense the ‘wrongness’ in the atmosphere which was so effective in portraying Lexi’s state of mind.

I love the way Missing, Presumed Dead explores mental illness in a fantasy world. It’s so rare to read a book which looks at the mental impact of having magic. Lexi can sense when people will die. If she touches them, she views their death in all the horrifically, gruesome ways it happens. She can’t stand being around people because of it. She can’t stand crowds or friends or anything living because all she can see and taste and smell and hear are their deaths. So she’s lonely, depressed, struggling to find a reason to live. To get away from the constant sense of death, Lexi checks herself into a psychiatric ward when it becomes too much, the only place she can get any quiet. The way Lexi’s mental health is examined is absolutely phenomenal. Emma writes with such intense emotion and I felt a lump in my throat the whole book. It was just so well written and felt so real.

I also loved the mystery/thriller aspect of the book. I was absolutely hooked on the mystery, wanting to find out who or what was killing people. I loved the added creepiness of the paranormal activity. I loved the idea that ghosts are created from the energy of someone’s death – so those killed violently are angry, venegful ghosts. It was such an interesting theory, and seeing how Lexi’s power could interact with the dead to push them ‘on’ was so cool! I loved that the mystery held paranomal elements to it as well, so you were never really sure what was going on.

This book wasn’t quite what I expected – instead, it was a darker, grittier but SO FANTASTIC magical thriller. The portrayal of mental illness was so well done, and the way magic interacted with mental illness felt very unique. Plus, queer girls. Which is the cherry on top of an extremely great cupcake.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Book review: The Phantom Forest by Liz Kerin

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Title: The Phantom Forest by Liz Kerin

Publisher: Inkshares

Publication date: 16 July 2019

Genre: Fantasy | Young adult

Page count: 300 pages

Synopsis: Every tree in the sacred Forest of Laida houses a soul. Though each of those souls will return to the mortal world for many future lives, not all of them deserve to.

Seycia’s father told her this story as a child — a story of the most holy place in the Underworld, The Forest of Laida, where all souls go to rest before embarking on a new life. But Seycia’s father is dead now, and his killer has put a target on her back.

After being chosen for her village’s human sacrifice ritual, Seycia is transported to the Underworld and must join forces with Haben, the demon to whom she was sacrificed, to protect the family she left behind from beyond the grave. In this story of love, survival, and what it means to be human, Seycia and Haben discover that the Underworld is riddled with secrets that can only be unlocked through complete trust and devotion, not only to their mission, but also to one another.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. 

Phantom Forest had so much potential to be incredible, but it fell quite flat to me unfortunately. I wanted a lot more emotional involvement, and ultimately I didn’t hugely care what happened to most of the characters.

Seycia is killed as a sacrifice to the God of the Underworld, but something goes wrong and she turns up alive in the underworld. Haben, the monster enslaved to kill her, chooses not to and ultimately assists Seycia as she tries to influence the mortal world from the underworld. The concept? Sounds amazing! The execution? A bit lacklustre. 

Let’s start with what I liked – HABEN. I do have such a thing for tortured villains forced into villainy, and so of course I liked Haben. He was enslaved by the god of the underworld as punishment for his mortal ‘sins’, and so turns into a monster that eats the mortal sacrifice offered up. Again, sounds amazing! Whilst Haben was my favourite of all the characters, there was still some emotional lack in his characterisation. His tortured soul felt a little superficial. There’s a moment when he manages to be in complete control of the monster despite the entire book up until that point saying he was uncontrollable when faced with that hunger. And actually when it comes to it, I really didn’t think his ‘sins’ were actually that bad.. He seems to be moping about forgiveness for…reasons that don’t actually seem valid? He did something to impress his father; father then took control and actually did all the bad things so Haben mopes for eternity? It just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. In saying that, I did enjoy Haben and his slow descent back to humanity, from learning to speak again to falling for Seycia. 

Seycia herself was a bit meh for me – she was by no means terrible, there just wasn’t anything that stood out about her. She’s another fantasy girl who’s amazing at everything and special (though why she’s special isn’t ever actually explained). She’s part alive in the underworld, and it’s hinted it may be because of the weapon her father left her, or because something went wrong during the process, but never actually revealed why she is so special. 

Zane was another character I did enjoy – creepy, dead, demon child! I wish we’d had a bit more of his creepy, gleeful demon hysteria, because I found him quite captivating for the moments he was on page.

All three of these characters spend most of their time in the underworld so it is no surprise that was the part of the story I enjoyed the most. I wish the story had just been set there entirely, as I didn’t care at all for what was happening in the mortal world. The underworld had some really cool creatures like the scarab beetles and the Soulless, and the action was much more involving in these sections. 

Sadly, that’s where the positives end. I really didn’t care at all for any of the characters in the mortal world – Miko is your typical annoying young boy who thinks he’s so special because his sister (Seycia) is doing all these cool things from the underworld, and he thinks he’s doing it (despite hearing and seeing his sister at these moments in time…) 

I also thought the worldbuilding was very undercooked. I didn’t know until about 70% through the book that the big war everyone kept talking about was actually a human war, NOT humans vs demons. I also still haven’t a clue who the people in control of the mortal world are, where they came from and why they are bad.

I really expected great things from this book because it had such a fantastic concept, but unfortunately the lack of worldbuilding and emotional attachment I felt to any of the characters meant this book just didn’t work for me.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Book review: Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells

Rach @ Anxious Nachos3 Comments

Title: Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Publication date: 30 July 2019

Genre: Fantasy | Young adult

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Do you like dragons? Do you like bisexual heroines? Then this is the book for you! Shatter the Sky is a fun and unique new fantasy world with a fantastic magic system, cool as hell dragons and a bisexual MC.

Maren and Kaia are best friends and lovers, living in Ilvera under the rule of their Zefedi oppressors. Ilvera had been the birthplace of dragons, but the Zefedi conquerors had stole the dragons, now training them in captivity as war machines. When Kaia is violently kidnapped by the emperor’s Seers (the Aurati), Maren embarks on a journey to steal a dragon and rescue her.

I don’t think you can get more ‘me’ than bi girls + dragons, and this book definitely did not disappoint. I am in love with the dragons, and the magic system around them. The dragons can be controlled via a set of oils, some of which encourage the dragon to fight, others which make them go to sleep. I haven’t seen something quite like this before and it was so interesting! Maren manages to blag her way into the dragon training castle, and in her investigations ends up as the apprentice to Neve, who works in something called an Aromatory. There, Maren learns how to make the oils which control the dragons. The bonding process/training of the dragons is just so dark in a book that does have a lighter writing style. The dragons seem able to think and understand like humans, and can see into the minds of others. And yet they are reduced to nothing by use of these drugs to force them to behave in certain ways.

I also thought the Aurati were extremely interesting, and I wish we’d found out more about that organisation (hopefully this will come later in the series!) The Aurati seem so evil from Maren’s POV, and as the book progresses we do get some more info about how their seer powers work which I won’t describe as it would give a lot away, but it is SO COOL, and I really hope we find out more about them in the second book.

I absolutely love seeing bisexuality in fantasy – particularly when it’s the main character! It’s so rare and I love that it was just part of the story and not a big deal at all. In saying that, the romance between Kaia and Maren was actually my least favourite part of the story and the reason I didn’t give this book 5 stars. I really struggled with Kaia, who just doesn’t seem like a very nice person at all. Their relationship felt more like hero worship from Maren, with Kaia just enjoying that worship and thinking she deserved it – there didn’t seem to be much more depth. I struggled with the first 50 pages or so because of this, as I just couldn’t root for their relationship and wasn’t particularly interested in hearing Maren mope about Kaia.

However once Kaia is kidnapped and Maren embarks on her resuce mission, the story and characters really pick up. Maren really developed without the shadow of Kaia over her into a powerful and strong character, angry at the empire and willing to do whatever it takes to resuce Kaia and free the dragons. I really like her friendship with Sev, a guard at the dragon training castle who seems to be hiding as many secrets as Maren is. I like how Maren’s feelings develop for him, from thinking he is just a tool she can use to help her, to be willing to save his life. I’m interested to see how these relationships pan out in the second book. Maren has changed so much and it really lets her see Kaia in a different light. As much as I would have LOVED to see a f/f relationship at the core of this book because I want as many high fantasy f/f relationships as possible, I don’t want it to be with Kaia so I hope the relationship with Sev is developed more – Sev is willing to fight to change things, whilst Kaia just doesn’t seem to be (yet at least) and so I feel Sev and Maren are much more suited to each other. But I do oh so love that the book actually portrays bisexuality honestly.

There are also a few other secondary characters who I thought were really interesting and definitely hiding something. I really want to see more of Neve, the head of the aromatory. She seemed less than keen on the empire, and yet still worked to train the dragons. We don’t see how Maren’s actions affected her at the dragon training castle, so I’d love to see more of her. I also am really keen to see more of Rowena and Melchior – they both seem like super fierce (also 100% got queer vibes for them both!!) women and I hope they feature more in the second book.

This was a really exciting start to a new fantasy trilogy and I am so excited to see where it goes (especially after that cliffhanger!!) I adore the dragons and the magic system, and can’t wait to see the ‘lil baby dragon grows up! Maren grew so much across this book into a fierce and determined woman and I am really excited to see her set fire to the empire.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: Alphabet, Part 1

Rach @ Anxious Nachos5 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is created and run by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

When I saw Shanah’s choice of topics for July, at first I thought it would be easy – sure, there might be a few letters I’d struggle with, but overall, surely I’d read books beginning with most of these letters??

I was wrong. Who knew books beginning with ‘A’ and ‘E’ were so rare?!?! So for all letters I hadn’t read a book, I’ve chosen one I am really excited to read – and by putting it on this list, I am promising to read it before the end of 2019!

Book beginning with A

So, off to a terrible start, I really can’t think of a single book I’ve read beginning with A…Except the book I’m using for the letter C.

How is that possible?? So I decided to pick out two books publishing this year which I am really excited to read!

After the Flood – Kassandra Montag

This is a climate change destruction, dystopian novel, about a mother trying to find her daughter. From the Goodreads blurb: A compulsively readable novel of dark despair and soaring hope, After the Flood is a magnificent, action packed, and sometimes frightening odyssey laced with wonder—an affecting and wholly original saga both redemptive and astonishing.

A River of Royal Blood – Amanda Joy

A fantasy inspired by North Africa, A River of Royal Blood has sisters, assassins, battles to the death, dark magic and how epic does that sound?? From the Goodreads blurb: A River of Royal Blood is an enthralling debut set in a lush North African inspired fantasy world that subtly but powerfully challenges our notions of power, history, and identity.

Book beginning with B

Birthday – Meredith Russo

I read Birthday in June, and what a tearjerker this book was. It was so raw and emotional, and just an absolutely beautiful story about a teen coming to terms with their identity. The friendship between Eric and Morgan is so strong and wonderful and it’s a Brilliant read.

Book beginning with C

(A) Curse so Dark and Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer

Yes I’m ignoring the ‘A’ at the start of this title. This book was such an interesting retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I loved the portrayal of Rhen who is just so broken and full of guilt at what he forced to do; Harper who is so strong and fierce and refuses to fall in love; and Gray, Prince Rhen’s guardsmen, who protects the Prince at all costs and stands by his side, it is such a wonderful friendship! A character-driven retelling!

Book beginning with D

Deposing Nathan – Zack Smedley

So I reviewed this book last week, and I cannot praise it enough – it is so fantastic and so wonderful and has such a brilliant portrayal of bisexuality and how religion and family can impact a teen. It’s one of my favourite books; I LOVED it. A demanding and distressing yet absolutely dazzling book!

Book beginning with E

Okay, yes I already have another letter I don’t seem to have read any books for! However, I do actually have a book on my shelf beginning with ‘E’ which I just picked up at the library:

(The) Exact Opposite of Okay – Laura Steven

(Yes I’m ignoring the first word again). This books looks like it’ll be a super fierce feminist read so I can’t wait to read! From the Goodreads blurb: Izzy O’Neill is an aspiring comic, an impoverished orphan, and a Slut Extraordinaire. Or at least, that’s what the malicious website flying round the school says. Izzy can try all she wants to laugh it off – after all, her sex life, her terms – but when pictures emerge of her doing the dirty with a politician’s son, her life suddenly becomes the centre of a national scandal. 

That’s it for this week – I’m so sorry I have failed already at so many letters. It does get better a little later on in the alphabet…

Let me know if you’ve read any of these books!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Book review: Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Rach @ Anxious Nachos3 Comments

Title: Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Publication date: 6 November 2018

Genre: Fantasy | Young adult

Page count: 384 pages

Synopsis: Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honor they could hope for…and the most cruel.

But this year, there’s a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire.

In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it’s Lei they’re after–the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king’s interest.

Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king’s consort. But Lei isn’t content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable–she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.

Presented by James Patterson, Natasha Ngan’s lyrical, searing, visceral fantasy, Girls of Paper and Fire, will remind us how precious freedom is–and the price we must pay to achieve it.

Why had I not already read this book?!?! I somehow missed the hype when this book was released last year, but OMG it is incredible and I can’t believe I waited till now to read. Girls of Paper and Fire weaves a beautifully detailed yet dark fantasy world, where each year, eight girls are chosen to become consorts of the King. The girls are chosen from the Paper class, the lowest class, those without any magical demon abilities. But this year, things are different. Lei is kidnapped from her home by the King’s Generals, due to her unusual eyes, in the hope the gift of a ninth girl will win the General favour in the eyes of the King. Lei is forced into a life as the King’s consort, with comfort and friendships formed on one hand, but torn apart from her family and facing sexual assault regularly at the King’s hand. This book is very hard-hitting and does discuss and picture sexual assault on page. But it is discussed in a very delicate yet empowering way, more about how the girls can recover and feel strong again than the act itself.

Natasha’s writing is just absolutely exquisite! I was hooked from the very first page – I started the book just before going to sleep one night and what an absolute regret that was the next day because I couldn’t stop reading and it was such a struggle to stop thinking about the world and actually go sleep. The characters are all so vivid, from Lei who struggles with finding happiness and friendship with the other Paper girls, knowing her family must be devasted; to Wren, who is so silent and mysterious but slowly opens up to Lei; to Aoki, who is manipulated into loving the Demon King; to the Demon King himself, who is so inherently evil and wears his evil so arrogantly, he just forces you to pay attention to him when reading.

The worldbuilding was really well done, though I wish we’d seen a little more with regards the demon castes (Steel and Moon). I really liked seeing the combination of animal demons with human traits – I am an absolute sucker for any fantasy with cat/human creatures (and really any creature based magic). I wish we’d seen more of the shamans, the King’s magicians who wield some incredible magic but it’s never really hugely explained. I also really liked the hints about how too much magic has been taken, so the world is fighting back with something called ‘The Sickness’ – I’m guessing this will be revealed more in the later books so cannot wait to get some more info on what exactly the sickness is.

I really liked that Lei wasn’t some superhuman ‘destined to save the world’ girl. She struggles like everyone else, and fails, and still fights back. Her relationship with Wren was so lovely – MORE F/F FANTASY PLEEEEASE – and their relationship just felt so soft and gentle and special (in huge contrast to their forced relationship with the King).

All in all, this book was incredible, I couldn’t stop reading and I really wish it was November already so I can read the sequel!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: Fantasy

Rach @ Anxious Nachos4 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is created and run by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

Hi everyone,

Happy Tuesday! This week we’re talking about our Top 5 Fantasy. Fantasy is my favourite genre to both read and write. I have so many favourites and every new book I read seems to be just as incredible in its own unique way. These 5 books are just some of the amazing fantasy books I’ve read this year!

Girls of Paper and Fire – Natasha Ngan

I very recently read this book, just a week or two ago, and was absolutely enthralled. I was riveted from the very first page and couldn’t put it down. It was such a brilliant story, I thought the world building was absolutely excellent. I really love creature based fantasy, and so was fascinated reading about the demon class and seeing people who look like cats. It dealt with such difficult issues in such a mature and nuanced way, and I loved the theme of female empowerment throughout.

Missing, Presumed Dead – Emma Berquist

This is another book I read a week or two ago, and it immediately shot into my all time favourites. I don’t read a huge amount of contemporary fantasy, so it was quite different to my usual reads. It had a thriller/mystery at the heart of the story which I loved, and the MC’s power was just so interesting – if she touches someone, she can see their death, and can also see and talk to ghosts. I loved how the book explored the impact on her mental health from having such a power. Discussions about mental health are one of my favourite things to see in fantasy and it was written so so well. I will have a full review of this book shortly!

The Poppy War – R.F Kuang

I came to The Poppy War train late and I can’t believe I only read this book this year!! But what a book! I loved that a grimdark fantasy had such a poweful and strong female character as the MC, as most of what I’ve read in the genre are heavily male dominated. But Rin was fabulous! I loved her anger, that she wasn’t afraid of her anger, and that she embraced that anger and refused to back down. I loved the magic system, and I am so excited for The Dragon Republic!

The Wicker King – K. Ancrum

The books I’ve read recently have just been absolutely phenomenal and The Wicker King is another I only recently picked up. It’s another book which delves into mental illness in a contemporary fantasy way, with main character Jack beginning to hallucianate a fantasy world. It’s another stark and difficult look at mental illness, and I felt like someone had punched me in the chest the entire way through. The relationship between Jack and August was quite dark, with both needing each other and relying on each other in very differnt ways. This is another book I will have a full review of soon.

Witchmark – C.L Polk

Witchmark is another excellent fantasy novel (with a sequel publishing in 2020!) I loved the setting, it had a very Edwardian England feel but brought in magic and mystery. Miles is hiding as a doctor to avoid being enslaved by his family for his magic. The story looks at war and PTSD, and when something begins changing the war veterans Miles is treating, he is sucked into a mystery to find out what’s happening. It was such a good read, the romance was lovely, and this was one of the books that really made me get back into reading this year.

That’s it for this week’s topic! I have so many amazing fantasy books I want to read that are being released in the next few months that I feel like in three months time this list will be completely different. Some of my favourites I’m looking for to reading are GIDEON. THE. NINTH (Tasmyn Muir), Wicked Fox (Kat Cho), The Infinite Noise (Lauren Shippen), War Girls (Tochi Onyebuchi) – I could literally go on for so long. There are so many excellent fantasy releases to look forward to and I can’t wait to see what my Top 5 fantasy looks like a few months from now.

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: All time favourites!

Rach @ Anxious Nachos2 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday was created by the epic Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

This week, the topic is a big one – all time favourites. And because that is so impossibly difficult to decide, Bionic Book Worm made this topic a Top 10! I struggled even narrowing it down to just 10, and I did cheat slightly by counting several series as individual items. I also feel like my all time favourites list changes all the time, but for now, here’s my Top 10!

The Fever King – Victoria Lee

Yes I’m mentioning it again. It’s my favourie book right now, I absolutely love it, it’s so fantastic, the characters are amazing, there is so much pain, everyone should read. I have written a full review for this book here.

I Wish You All the Best – Mason Deaver

This is a book I read very very recently, it was the first book on my TBR for Pride month and I read it in one sitting because it was just so good. It tells the story of Ben a non-binary teen who is kicked out of their home after coming out to their parents. It’s a heartbreaking but uplifting story about a teen trying to come to terms with who they are. I posted my full review of the book yesterday, and you can check it out here.

The Poppy War – R.F Kuang

Everyone excited for The Dragon Republic?!?! YES YES YES. The Poppy War is definitely one of my all time favourite fantasies, it was so engaging and action-packed and I couldn’t stop reading. It felt like such a unique concept, set in an incredible world, and as much as it always hurts, I love books where any character might just die, including those you don’t expect. I can’t wait to to read the continuation of this series.

The Broken Earth series – N.K Jemisin

I absolutely adore this series, just a brilliant trilogy with some amazing characters. I’m really due a re-read of these books. I love how all of the different POVs tie together at the end of the first book, I love the magic system, I love Alabastor and Essun and it’s just so so brilliantly different to any other fantasy series.

The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller

I read this book last year, and I was just heartbroken the whole through. I prefer this book to Circe, I think possibly because it did break my heart so much, but it’s such a beautiful love story and a wonderful take on the the greek myth of Achilles and Patroclus.

Harry Potter – J.K Rowling

My all-time favourites will never be without Harry Potter. Whilst I have a lot of issues with J.K herself, particularly her need to constantly pretend she’s inserted diversity into a book without actually ever writing it, these books were such a big part of my childhood. I grew up with Harry and co, I got a HP tattoo, I read fanfic for absolute years, my cat’s called Draco…etc. The books had such a profound effect on so many of my generation and I will always love revisiting the world. If I had to choose, I’d probably say Half-Blood Prince is my favourite, given Draco and Severus are my two favourite characters and I feel like that book really develops both of them.

The Rain Wild Chronicles series – Robin Hobb

Another series, this time from the wonderful Robin Hobb! I seem to be in the minority in my Robin Hobb appreciation, in that I much prefer all the books without Fitz, whilst most folk I’ve spoken to prefer the Fitz books. The Rain Wild Chronicles (the ones with the dragons + keepers) is my favourite series though, I just found the Dragons themselves so so interesting, and I loved all the characters, particularly Alise, Leftrin and Sedric.

Love from A to Z – S.K Ali

This is another very recent read which has jumped onto my all time favourites (full review still to come!) It’s a contemporary YA romance, which is a genre I’ve only recently started reading in, and this book was just one of the best, most beautiful and romantic romances I’ve ever read. It’s a story between two Muslim teens who keep crossing paths and we just get to watch as they slowly fall in love and it is incredible!

Death on the Nile – Agatha Christie

Mysteries aren’t really something I read much of currently, and that’s mainly because I find none ever live up to the standard that was Agatha Christie. My mum was a big fan of hers, so growing up I had shelves and shelves of her books I could read. Poirot is my favourite, and of the Poirot books I always really enjoyed Death on the Nile the most. I just love the way her books are structured, with Poirot finding clues, interviewing the suspects and then deducing the crime. It’s always a challenge to see if you can guess the villain before Poirot does, and I just can’t find anything like this nowadays! (I feel so old saying that…)

Shades of Magic series by V.E Schwab

Last on this list is another fantasy series. V.E Schwab created the wonderful Shades of Magic series, which follows Kell and Lila, Rhy and Alucard as they fight a dark and ancient powerful magic. I read all three of this series in about a day and a half over Christmas last year. They are so engaging and exciting, and the villain is one of my absolute favourites ever. Bonus content: pirates and marvellous coats.

I have so many others that could’ve been on this list, particularly some of my recent reads. Let me know if any of these books are on your all time favourites list!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Book review: We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Rach @ Anxious Nachos1 Comment

Title: We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Publication date: 14 May 2019

Genre: Fantasy| Young adult

Page count: 480 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: People lived because she killed.
People died because he lived.

Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways. 

Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be.

War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.

We Hunt the Flame is a visually stunning, excellent debut inspired by ancient Arabia, with a fun and interesting cast of characters to follow. Whilst a little slow to start, the story really picks up midway through for a action packed finish!

We Hunt the Flame tells the story of two main characters. Zafira, a woman who disguises herself as a man in order to hunt food for her people in the mysterious, magical death-trap that is the forest of Arz. Nasir, trained assassin and son of the King, is the Prince of Death sent to kill her.

Zafira is persuasded to embark on a quest to find a lost book which would be able to restore magic to the land of Arawiya. Without magic, the terrifying Arz is slowly taking over the entire land, killing anyone who enters. Nasir is sent by the King to follow Zafira as she hunts the item, and then steal it, taking its power for himself.

Things, of course, do not go to plan, and Zafira and Nasir are brought together by a cast of excellent characters in a zumra – a gang – to try hunt for the item together. The characters are what really shines in this book, they are all so distinct and well-written, you really get a sense of who everyone is. There is Altair, Nasir’s companion and General, who accompanies Nasir on their hunt. He is larger than life, loud and boistorous, loves being the centre of attention – but hides a secret. Benyamin is a safi, an immortal creature from the advanced land of Alderamin, one of the five provinces of Ariwaya. Benyamin is knowledgeable and wise but has been forced to pay terrible prices for magic. Kifah is from Pelusia, the province known for its engineering and technology. She’s strong and fierce and won’t back down without a fight.

Of these characters, Altair is my favourite. He is so lively and really lightens the book in places. He is such a warm character, and is the first character Zafira really warms too. I do also love both Zafira and Nasir, the two MCs. We switch between both their POVs throughout the book, and I enjoyed them both. Nasir is dark, but scared and hurt and broken, he tries to be fearless but as the story continues and his character is more deeply revealed, we see the real Nasir, the one who doesn’t want to kill Zafira and steal the book, who doesn’t want to be an assassin but who doesn’t know how to disobey his father. Zafira on the other hand is strong and determined and wants to be out there, exploring and adventuring. She’s got a vendetta to destroy the Arz, after it destroyed her father, and she won’t let anything stop her, let alone the Prince of Death.

The first half of the book is fairly slow. The description is nuanced and detailed and it takes some time to read and understand the setting and world. I felt the story really picked up once the cast reached the island, but especially when the zumra came together. There were parts I did feel needed a little more explanation, or I struggled to understand what had happened, but there weren’t many of those.

The creeping darkness of the magic was excellent, and I loved how insidious it was by the end, with twist after twist revealing how far the darkness had spread.

I also really enjoyed the romance, it was so well developed, slow burn which I love, and I just think the relationship between the two was EXCELLENT. I loved all their interactions, the way Nasir’s hurt was slowly revealed and how it changed them, so great!

All in all this is a really fantastic debut, with excellent magic, romance, but most importantly, a fantastic, distinct, and fun cast of characters who are really the star in We Hunt the Flame!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Book review: Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan

Rach @ Anxious Nachos2 Comments

Title: Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Publication date: 2 April 2019

Genre: Fantasy | Young adult

Page count: 385 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.

A prince in danger must decide who to trust.

A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. 

Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy..

Wicked Saints has some of my absolute favourite elements to see in a fantasy novel: gods who can speak, religion, blood magic, anxious boys, and strong female leads! So it’s no surprise that I really enjoyed this book. Whilst it did take a little bit for the action to kick off, I couldn’t put the book down once I reached the halfway point – and the ending.

*dies*

Wicked Saints tell the story of Nadya, Malachiasz, and Serefin, three young adults who can wield magic. We open on Nadya, the last of the clerics in the country of Kalyazi. Nadya can commune with the gods, and in exchange for her worship and obedience, they grant her magic. As the last of the clerics, she is the key to winning the war against the heretical nation of Tranavia, whom Kalyazi has been at war with for centuries.

Serefin is the High Prince of Tranavia. He leads the assault on the monastery where Nadya is based, and when she escapes, attempts to follow her to kill her. But, an uneasy letter from his father sends him returning to the capital of Tranavia, where he is forced to investigate a threat to his own life.

Malachiasz is a monster. He’s a powerful blood mage, a heretic from Tranavia, who wants to assassinate the Tranavian King. When Nadya runs into him in her escape, she is forced to work with him to try and end the war once and for all. And at the same time, bring the gods back to the land of Tranavia.

“We’re all monsters, Nadya, some of us just hide it better than others.”

The book opens excellently, and we are immediately thrown into a world with religion and gods and magic, and I absolutely loved hearing the voices of each of the gods speak to Nadya. They each have very distinct personalities. I especially liked the extracts from the Book of Saints, which open each chapter, and give further insight into the personalities of the different Gods. As much as I loved the opening, the book did slow after the first 50 pages, as the plan and plotting were set up for the second half of the book. Once Serefin and Nadya cross paths for the second time, the story definitely picks up though.

This is a book where the secondary characters really shine – I really enjoyed all the scenes with both Serefin’s friends, Kacper and Ostyia, as well as Nadya’s companions, Anna, Parijahan, and Rashid. In addition, I found Żaneta a very intriguing character, and enjoyed seeing her desires play out across the story. Nadya is an extremely strong lead, her struggles between power and obedience are really well written and I could really see who she was and why she doing what she was. I felt the same way with Serefin – I loved seeing the other side of him. When the book begins, with Nadya’s POV, we expect to see Serefin as an absolute monster, and yet during his POV sections, we discover he is much more nuanced and things aren’t quite as black and white as expected.

The only character I struggled with was Malachiasz, which really surprised me as anxious boys who think they’re monsters is really my kind of thing. Unfortunately, I really struggled with his characterisation in the first half of the book, it just wasn’t quite in depth enough. However, much like the action, I found him much improved in the second half of the book, and I loved the play out of the ‘is he a monster, is he not’ in the latter half.

The highlight of this book for me was the magic – I am an absolute sucker for both blood magic and god magic, and this book had both in absolute droves! The blood magic was particularly interesting, as blood mages have to write spells on paper and use blood to then activate them. I also enjoyed the creatures called the Vultures – Tranavians who have succumbed to the thrall of blood magic too much and become more than human. They were very creepy and evil and so so good.

This book was a really great read, and the ending was such a shock that I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel! If you like blood magic and gods and excellent characters, give this one a try!

Paws out,
Rach + Draco

Top 5 Tuesday: Debut novels

Rach @ Anxious Nachos3 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday was created by the epic Bionic Book Worm. You can join the fun by checking out the topics for the month here.

This week, there is one title on this list that I haven’t quite read yet, but I am so looking forward to, and, since its pride month, I really wanted to have it on my list for this week!

My top 5 debut novels
I Wish You All the Best – Mason Deaver

I just finished this book at the weekend, and OMG it is incredible! It’s a book about a nonbinary teen who comes out to their parents and is kicked out as a result. They go to live with their sister, and try to come to terms with their identity all whilst falling in love. It is beautifully written, so emotional and one of the best debuts I’ve read!

The Fever King – Victoria Lee

No one is surprised to see this here, yes it’s the fourth time I’ve mentioned this book on this blog since I started mid-May, but it’s an absolutely amazing debut from Victoria Lee! It tells the story of Noam, Dara and Ames, three teens who have survived a virus which gives them magic, in a dystopian USA. A lot of heavy issues are discussed, but it’s absolutely fantastic with an incredible romance and twists that break your heart.

Do you Dream of Terra-Two? – Temi Oh

I was never really a huge sci-fi reader until this year, but I’ve read so many great ones, of which Do You Dream of Terra-Two? is one! Temi Oh has written a very character-driven sci-fi examining what would happen if a group of teens were trained for a mission to journey to a newly discovered planet. This book focuses very much on characters, relationships and emotions, which I think is probably why I love it so much!

We Hunt the Flame – Hafsah Faizal

I just finished this book last week and it was a really strong fantasy debut from Hasfah Faizal, inspired by ancient Arabia. I haven’t written up a review for this one yet, but a sneak peak: the cast of characters are so well devleoped and distinct, the romance a fierce slow-burn and the setting absolutely magical.

The Wicker King – K. Ancrum

I haven’t read this book yet, but I am eagerly awaiting its arrival so I can read during pride. But this book excites me so much I needed to put it on this list! K.Ancrum’s debut deals with mental illness in a contemporary fantasy style way. I absolutely love fantasy books that deal with mental illness so very excited to read this debut!

That’s my list for this week – let me know if you’ve read any of these!

Paws out,

Rach + Draco