The Cold Is in Her Bones

The Cold Is in Her Bones by Peternelle van Arsdale

This book was published on January 22nd, 2019. I got my hands on an advance reader's copy, so undoubtedly there will be some differences between the version I read, and the published edition. Probably just clearing up some grammar/typos/etc... but you know, just in case there's something else.

An amazon summary, "One girl must uncover secrets of the past to save her friend from a terrible curse in this dark and mesmerizing story of love, revenge, and redemption inspired by the myth of Medusa.

Milla knows two things to be true: Demons are real, and fear will keep her safe.
Milla’s whole world is her family’s farm. She is never allowed to travel to the village and her only friend is her beloved older brother, Niklas. When a bright-eyed girl named Iris comes to stay, Milla hopes her loneliness might finally be coming to an end. But Iris has a secret she’s forbidden to share: The village is cursed by a demon who possesses girls at random, and the townspeople live in terror of who it will come for next.
Now, it seems, the demon has come for Iris. When Iris is captured and imprisoned with other possessed girls, Milla leaves home to rescue her and break the curse forever. Her only company on the journey is a terrible new secret of her own: Milla is changing, too, and may soon be a demon herself.
Suspenseful and vividly imagined, The Cold Is in Her Bones is a novel about the dark, reverberating power of pain, the yearning to be seen and understood, and the fragile optimism of love." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Milla has always been cooped up around their family's homestead as she helps her mother with all the chores, spends time with her brother Niklas, and obeys her father. ...which makes her pine to discover more of the world at large. Her brother and father go to town to sell their goods, and Milla asks to go along but is always denied. Her mother...is also kind of afraid of her. Both her and her mother are very meticulous about the rituals to keep demons away.

But, their neighbors have Iris come to stay with them, Milla's world broadens from five people she's always known, to one more she just met. She's overcome with excitement, Iris was from town! Iris is full of stories, friendship, and a demeanor where she can be pleasing to any of the adults but still be energetic and fun when she's with Milla.

...but there's a serious question that troubles Milla, why did Iris come to stay with them? They say it's so Niklas may grow fond of her, but there's something about the way Iris answers questions about town that makes Milla wonder. Something else is going on.

That's enough summary.

Okay. So this book felt WAY too long. Like there was a solid 8-9 chapters that could have been taken out and the story would have felt a lot smoother and less heavy of a read. By heavy, I mean the kind of sad story that wears on your soul. ....

Yeah, so this is definitely a tragedy of sorts. It's a coming of age, it's a revolution against societal standards, but it's also just so damn long. I got maybe two thirds of the way through the book and was like, "HOW IS THERE SO MUCH LEFT TO READ?"

There was also a few scenes where I just wasn't sure what point was trying to be accomplished. I wasn't sure how it fitted into this bigger puzzle of magic, curses, demons, and familial love.

The story is interesting, intricate, but there were a few times it felt like the tone of the story changed too quickly. Like confused, to scared, to uncertain, to determined, to confused, to scared, to I don't even know.

It kind of felt like one of those old fairy tales but too long. I'm just going to drive home the book was too long. I fell asleep on it a lot, but I still finished it because the last few chapters were very intense.

Milla also felt too innocent based on everything that was happening around her. I get she was very sheltered, but however, she handled herself amongst large groups of people almost too easily. It just doesn't make sense.

Happy reading!

Fire & Heist

Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst

This book was published on December 4th, 2018. I read the advance reader's copy, and there will undoubtedly be some differences between the version I read, and the published edition.

I love dragons. I love reading about dragons, I love finding different figurines of dragons, I dabble in painting/drawing/doodling dragons, and I love just discovering how other people interpret them in general. Sometimes those interpretations are not to my preference, but others times they intensely are.

This falls into the intensely in my dragon preference category. Very fascinating, very wonderful, and here's the amazon summary before I fan girl too hard, "Fans of Cassandra Clare and Julie Kagawa will devour this contemporary fantasy about a teen were-dragon who must steal her first treasure. But a dark discovery during her heist could put her family in incredible danger.

In Sky Hawkins's family, leading your first heist is a major milestone--even more so than learning to talk, walk, or do long division. It's a chance to gain power and acceptance within your family, and within society. But stealing your first treasure can be complicated, especially when you're a wyvern--a human capable of turning into a dragon.
Embarking on a life of crime is never easy, and Sky discovers secrets about her mother, who recently went missing, the real reason her boyfriend broke up with her, and a valuable jewel that could restore her family's wealth and rank in their community.
With a handpicked crew by her side, Sky knows she has everything she needs to complete her first heist, and get her boyfriend and mother back in the process. But then she uncovers a dark truth about were-dragon society--a truth more valuable and dangerous than gold or jewels could ever be." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Wyverns, or were dragons, live on Earth. Their ancestors were originally exiled from home and were only meant to spend some time on Earth before returning to home. However, the portal to home was lost over the centuries, so now wyverns coexist amongst humans. Wyverns look like humans, and they lost the ability to shape shift into dragons a few centuries ago. They can still breathe fire.

They're also ridiculously wealthy and go through an initiation of sorts, a coming of age moment where they plan their first heist. First heists usually happen in a wyvern's teenage years, and they usually steal from another wyvern the first time. So stealing is a big part of their culture.

Anyways. So Sky's mom has gone on a heist, but it didn't go well, so their family is disgraced and their mother is missing... not sure if she's dead or alive. Her family is in a state of grieving; missing mother, shunned from the wyvern society, and lost some of their fortune. Sky lost her friends, her boyfriend, and in many ways her family when her mother's heist failed. So she's determined to get it back. She's going to try to recreate her mother's heist as her first heist, and hopefully find her mother along the way.

That's enough summary.

I loved this book. Unabashedly. Freaking loved it. Sky was such a fierce main character with a great sense of humor and took the punches, but persevered.

The wizard was brilliant. I'm not saying anything else because no spoilers.

I also kind of loved her friendship with the human as it was very honest and both of them were very honest, which can be kind of awkward but was actually adorable and lovely.

I would have liked to see a little more about the Home world, but maybe there will be a second book. I have high hopes.

Happy reading!

Gray Wolf Island

Gray Wolf Island by Tracey Neithercott

Looking for a treasure hunting story full of twists, turns, and general weirdness? Here's the book.

An amazon summary, "Right before Sadie died, she begged her sister, Ruby, to do the one thing she could never do herself: Find the treasure on Gray Wolf Island.

With just a mysterious treasure map as a guide, Ruby reluctantly allows some friends to join her on the hunt, each of whom is touched by magic: a boy allegedly born to a virgin, a girl who never sleeps, a boy who can foresee his own death, and a boy with deep ties to the island. Each of them is also keeping a secret--something they'll have to reveal in order to reach the treasure.
As the secrets come to light, Ruby will have to decide: Can she make peace with her friends' troubled pasts and continue to trust them? Can she forgive herself for doing the unspeakable? Deep in the wilderness of Gray Wolf Island, Ruby's choices will determine if they make it out with the treasure--or merely with their lives.
From debut author Tracey Neithercott comes a darkly compelling tale of profound friendship, adventure, and finding the strength to tell the truth." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

First and foremost, the story has two narrators. Ruby is the primary narrator, but there is also a narrator called The Boy. Kind of a mystery within a mystery.

Ruby and Sadie are twins. Sadie was the extroverted twin, while Ruby is the introverted twin. As Sadie lies dying, she asks Ruby to promise her that she'll hunt for the treasure in her stead. ...she also asked Ruby for one more thing, she asks Ruby to kill her, to end her suffering in a merciful manner as she lies dying. ...Ruby obliges.

Months later, Ruby is volunteering at a nursing home of sorts, where a feisty older lady (Doris) keeps checking out all the men and encouraging Ruby to go out and live her life. Ruby kind of humors Doris, (who started counting down after she reached 110 for her age, so she's now 104) until she finds a book in the library. In the back of the book, is a written word map to the treasure that people have been hunting for on Gray Wolf Island for hundreds of years. It kind of reminds me of the show The Curse of Oak Island. I digress.

Elliot discovers she's got a map to the treasure, and his family has long been treasure hunters after the treasure on Gray Wolf Island. He convinces Ruby to let him help on her quest, and soon they're joined by two of Elliot's friends, much to Ruby's reluctance. One of them has been dreaming about their death since they were young, and another very handsome, rather smooth operator. They also team up with Doris' granddaughter who never sleeps, to make their way to Gray Wolf Island and to see if they can find the treasure.

Along the way, Ruby starts to get a better understanding of relationships, what her sister had been talking about for so long, and discovers a way to exist in the light as well.

There's also a lot of deep, deep, and dark things going on as well. There's something about the island that brings forth truth, and starts uncovering the mystery about The Boy chapters.

That's enough summary.

It was a really interesting and intricate story. I also really enjoyed the characterization of Ruby, but also all of the side characters. Each character was very well thought out, and it also seems like the island takes on it's own kind of character.

However, there is a twist that happens that I'm really at odds with, and I don't like the implications behind it, and it kind of leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It's the only thing that's actually holding it back from being a recommended book.

Everything else from the village and sense of camaraderie, relationships, and everything was just very good. How the mysteries reveal themselves are all very good too.

...I just can't get over the reveal of the twist. I also don't want to say what it is either, because of the twist element of it.

URGH. Reviewers remorse or something.

Happy reading!

The Queen of Underneath

The Queen of Underneath by Stacey Filak

As a heads up, this book does contain some nudity, pregnancy, miscarriage, and sexual themes. On that note, let's just get into it.

An amazon summary, "In a city on the brink of war, it isn't a king that the people need to save them―but a thief queen from Under.

Yigris is a world divided―where aristocrats in Above rule from grand palaces, and thieves, sex workers, and assassins reign in the shadowy tunnels of Under. When the leaders of Above and Under are both murdered on the same night, the fissure between the two opposite worlds grows and suspicion threatens to break the tenuous peace.

Gemma, a former orphan-thief and new queen of Under, and Tollan, heir to the Above throne, must salvage a truce to rescue the city. But they soon discover that the conflict is far bigger than two murders, as the city falls into an enchanted sleep and a cage of deadly brambles slowly ensnares the streets, buildings, and tunnels of both districts. With the fate of Yigris at stake, only Gemma and Tollan have the power to prevent another civil war from tearing their world apart forever." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Normally, I write my own book summary, but I'm just going to go with the amazon summary. I just don't think I can write a decent book summary....because I don't really understand this book all that well.

Let me explain.

So the world seems to be divided into the Under and the Above, but I don't think it's actually physically divided into a literal Under and Above. ...there's a lot of random little things that they mention the Under is all in tunnels underground, but then they have a few scenes of running through the city where it seems to be all connected? Or a few comments are made about kind of a neutral-ish factor of the city that seems to be in the middle of them? I don't know, the geography didn't make sense to me.

ANYWAYS. The book starts with the king of above and the queen of under dying. People are trying to figure out who it is, and what their end game is..... until it's suddenly not. It turns into this weird like the new king of above figuring out what he wants his love life to look like or what it could possibly be, and the queen of under trying to be with the one she loves....and then like the plot of the book seems to get in the way, and she gets knocked out a lot and it was a whole hot mess.

We get a lot of back story, fun side characters, kind of get to see more of the world of Under is structured, but lots of mad hate on the Above. We don't even really get a proper look at the Above either which feels bad since we saw so much of the Under.

How the story wraps up is just as confusing as how it began in a way, and while I like the ending, I'm still befuddled as to how we got there. PLUS, the parts without the main characters (King of above and Queen of under) made the most sense out of the entire freaking book. When they took a back seat it made more sense. However, the narration skipped around so much between characters, between scenes, that I got lost so much. Again, see my statement about the actual geography of the world.

Also, the sex themes seemed like such a way to just grab a reader's attention rather than actually do anything with them. Like, kind of served as a plot point, but didn't really accomplish anything except to be awkward and.... weird.

There was also a miscarriage scene, which I always find has to be handled with care because of the very sensitive subject matter. I don't think they did the best at handling it. At handling all of the trauma, emotional ramifications, and everything else that goes with it. It kind of seemed to be in poor taste overall.

I'm mostly left with a feeling of puzzlement over this whole book. Like a definite uncertainty about what the heck I just read.

...happy reading?

Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Life & Work

Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Life & Work by Victoria Ortiz

I read the advance reading copy of this book and it will be published on June 4, 2019. Undoubtedly there will be some differences between the version I read and the published edition.

That being said, if you live in the United States, you've probably already heard something about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She's a justice on the supreme court and a very fascinating person.

An amazon summary, "The life and career of the fiercely principled Supreme Court Justice, now a popular icon, with dramatic accounts of her landmark cases that moved the needle on legal protection of human rights, illustrated with b/w archival photographs.

Dramatically narrated case histories from Justice Ginsburg's stellar career are interwoven with an account of RBG’s life—childhood, family, beliefs, education, marriage, legal and judicial career, children, and achievements—and her many-faceted personality is captured. The cases described, many involving young people, demonstrate her passionate concern for gender equality, fairness, and our constitutional rights. Notes, bibliography, index." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Since this is a biographical book, I don't think it'd make a lot of sense to talk about a book summary, but instead in the way the information is presented. To my understanding, there has been a few books published about Ruth Bader Ginsburg in recent years (notably, The Notorious RBG and Ruth's book My Own Words). I'm sure there are more, but I'm not here to talk about those books...so nyeh.

Anywho. This book spoke more about individual cases that Ruth has been involved with over the years, while directly relating those cases to experiences that Ruth had throughout her life and why she made the decisions towards the cases that she did. It did get to a point where quite a few chapters had this kind of sandwich formula; Intro about case & some history about person with case, history from Ruth's life that is mostly relevant to the case, outcome of case. Case (closed) sandwich, hehe.

I think it would have been a little more interesting to read about her current views, then dive back into how those may have come to be, with cases as supporting evidence. I also wanted to see some of the more personal stories (like someone once told me a story about the white ruffles she wears around her neck (which I don't know the name of, what is fashion) and I was kind of hoping this book would have that fact could confirm/deny it. It did not).

I also wanted to hear more of Ruth's voice throughout the book. I feel a large part of the story was told by the people surrounding Ruth, but I think more would have resonated from Ruth too. ...basically, this book feels like a stepping stone to reading more books about Ruth, rather than a complete book on Ruth.

Plus, for a book titled Dissenter on the Bench, I kind of wanted to see more stories about HOW she was a dissenter. Like in general against the regular/standard view points of society, dissenter from how her peers viewed the case, or like....what? I also would have loved to see more on the story of how she came to be a justice of the supreme court. A few stories that felt like they would have been good to explore, were really glossed over. ...maybe they're in one of the other books... hmm...

Overall, I think it was a good introduction to who Ruth Bader Ginsburg is, but I don't think it really tells the complete story.

Happy reading!

The Boneless Mercies

The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

Lately, I've seemed to have stumbled into a slew of books with rather feminist themes about them. It's very interesting to see different authors take on different issues and how they portray females reacting to different injustices within their stories.

Then there are books like this that have a few females, kind of simultaneously offering their feedback/feelings on every situation with only one narrator. Makes for an interesting way to tell the story.

I digress.

An amazon summary, "Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are the Boneless Mercies―girls hired to kill quickly, quietly, and mercifully. But Frey is weary of the death trade and, having been raised on the heroic sagas of her people, dreams of a bigger life.

When she hears of an unstoppable monster ravaging a nearby town, Frey decides this is the Mercies' one chance out. The fame and fortune of bringing down such a beast would ensure a new future for all the Mercies. In fact, her actions may change the story arc of women everywhere.

Full of fierce girls, bloodlust, tenuous alliances, and unapologetic quests for glory, this elegantly spun tale challenges the power of storytelling―and who gets to be the storyteller. Perfect for fans of Maggie Stiefvater, V.E. Schwab, and Heidi Heilig." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Boneless Mercies are women who are usually abandoned by society, and wander around in a band to make mercy kills for those who are dying. To end their suffering. Among these bands of Boneless Mercies are Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa. There's also a man who has joined them, but he's not a Boneless Mercy, he's more of a wandering healer. They've wandered the world together for a while, while not really sharing the stories of why they were left abandoned by the world. Frey has grown restless though and seeks to make something more of herself within the world. Frey also has a sense of watching the injustices of the world and knowing she could do something about it, something to garner a better place for women in the world.

Frey asks the mercies if they would help her defeat a beast who has been plaguing a Jarl. They have to fight through a few tricky situations before they even reach the beast, but they get to know so much more about each other on the way.

That's enough summary.

This book felt like a depiction of sisterhood. Yet, it was also a tale of tragedies, of a cruel world, and how fighting through it with others can save you.

I feel at odds with this story. On one hand, I really liked the magic, mysticism, beasts, and just lore of the world. That was all thoroughly well built. I also really liked seeing the different stories, even though they were horrific and tragic and holy crap, but they were stories that need to be told.

Yet, there's something about the story that feels kind of off. There's like some sense of longing or sense of unfulfillment surrounding Frey (the narrator) that makes the story feel incomplete. Maybe this is book 1 of a series, but it also doesn't quite feel like that either.

There also a sense of nearly Norse mythology, bu[t it doesn't quite commit and kind of feels like a retelling but not quite.

I don't know, I did like reading the book, it doesn't feel quite finished yet, and some of the scenes were pretty violent/graphic that was a little skeevy. Like, there was a scene were it was kind of more of a perversion of sisterhood where a death of a child happened that just leaves a very sour taste in my mouth. It felt wrong, but I also know it was supposed to be wrong.

....yeah, so here's kind of a weird book review. You're welcome.

Happy reading!

Warrior of the Wild

Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

Dat axe. ...no seriously, I picked up this book just because the cover art is gorgeous. Then I read the inside cover and was like, "Ehhh....chances are someone will be axed. Gonna read it."

...an amazon summary, "An eighteen-year-old chieftain's daughter must find a way to kill her village’s oppressive deity if she ever wants to return home in Warrior of the Wild, the Viking-inspired YA standalone fantasy from Tricia Levenseller, author of Daughter of the Pirate King. 

How do you kill a god?

As her father's chosen heir, eighteen-year-old Rasmira has trained her whole life to become a warrior and lead her village. But when her coming-of-age trial is sabotaged and she fails the test, her father banishes her to the monster-filled wilderness with an impossible quest: To win back her honor, she must kill the oppressive god who claims tribute from the villages each year or die trying." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

I've never read the other books by Tricia Levenseller, but after reading this, I am most curious to try them out. I think she's got two (?) other books out. Intriguing.

ANYWAYS.

After Rasmira chose to seek her profession as Warrior, she's been trained and groomed by her father (Village Chief) and the other elders in the village. She's been put in the spotlight her entire life without ever really wanting it. She's earned the scorn of her classmates for her special treatment though she has never wanted it. About six weeks ago, one of her classmates admits that he disagrees with how they've always treated her and becomes her friend. As they get closer to their trial, where they will prove their worth to the village/become an adult/be successful in their profession, Rasmira even imagines kissing him.

Before I get any further, this is set in like an alternate Earth where crazy beasts roam and they're kind of in medieval ish times. As part of the setting, there are several villages in the area, and each of the villages has to pay tribute to a god for whatever their village is known for. In Rasmira's case, they're known for being good hunters, so they provide a lot of food, which means sometimes the villagers starve to appease the god.

I digress.

The day of the trial arrives, and the warriors are put into this arena like structure that's a pseudo maze, and have to fight a bunch of these like pill bug monsters the size of small horses in order to complete their trial successfully. These monsters are poisonous and regenerate pretty quick, so warriors need to slice off the heads to make them stay dead. They're also very, very agile/quick too. As the trial draws to a close, her new friend takes the head of one of these beasts, and makes it bite her, releasing the poison into her. She fails the trial and is banished from the village. She's given a test that will prove her worthiness to return to the village.... to kill the god all of the villages make tribute too.

That's enough summary.

You know how there are so many books out there who are like, "MY HEROINE IS A STRONG INDEPENDENT WOMAN" and then you read them to discover they're full of LIES!? Well, Rasmira is DEFINITELY a strong independent woman, who learns so much about her self and what she wants without ever losing sight of her self or her strength. Totally wicked.

The world building was pretty on point, the plot was good, and everything that played out in the Wild (where Rasmira is banished too) seemed very well thought out. It was a very good, solid book. Kind of like the book that understands what equality should look like and knows how to portray different characters as strong without making everyone else weak around them. ...which is why I would love to read more of this author's books.

The relationships in this book seemed so authentic and rang true to each situation the characters were faced with and it was just a really good book.

The one thing that I would say didn't play to the book's favor is the mountain. I wanted more solving of the mystery of what was going on, on top of the mountain. Not the bird, but like the other god stuff (being purposely vague but if anyone else reads this, they'll know what I'm talking about). If you do read this, and want to theorize what else may have been going on, on top of the mountain, leave a comment below!

...yeah!

Happy reading!

Ransacker

Ransacker by Emmy Laybourne

So, this is apparently a companion novel to Berserker, also by Emmy Laybourne. I had no idea this was a companion novel until I looked up the amazon summary. ....this explains some of things, but like also, if it's a companion novel, it should be able to stand on it's own, right? Since it's a companion but not a sequel. Arguably, if a sequel is pretty awesome, it can also stand on it's own.

...but yeah, an amazon summary before I LEAP INTO THIS, "The gripping, heart-wrenching companion novel to Emmy Laybourne’s much acclaimed historical fantasy Berserker.

Rare powers. Precious metals. A final showdown.

1886. The Hemstads possess supernatural powers bestowed upon their family by the ancient Norse gods. Now Sissel, the youngest at 16, discovers her gift: she is a Ransacker. She can find gold and other precious metals and pull them to her. Hers is an awesome and dangerous gift.

Sissel and her siblings have been living peacefully in a small town in Montana, trying to blend-in and escape the violent events that haunt them, but they’ve all been tricked―the handsome young man courting Sissel is secretly a Pinkerton spy, reporting to the man who wants to control them, the Baron Fjelstad.

Sissel’s beau is not the only one interested in her new talents. She’s also caught the attention of a local mine owner who’s convinced Sissel has a lucky touch when it comes to finding gold. With betrayal lurking around every corner, Sissel must tread carefully. Harnessing her powers could bring great fortune . . . or cause the powerful Baron to come hunting her and her siblings down for once and for all." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

All the Hemstads except for Sissel have a power from Norse mythology. Sissel has a lame leg, is very weak, and kind of really grumpy about everyone trying to help her or look out for her. She does have a boyfriend, who dotes on her....but he's not everything he seems to be. Sissel's family are very tightly knit, and they have a baron who seems to be pursuing them. They've lived peacefully under the radar until a fire burns through the wilderness, and takes their home but not their barn (there may have been some assistance from Sissel's brother who manipulates weather).

Anyway, the family ends up having to go to town for their neighbors funerals, and figure out what to do next. Sissel's older sister and her intended go on to help out on a cattle drive to get money to help out the family. Her older brother goes to work on a neighbors farm to help out, and Sissel and her brother stay at a hotel until they can get their feet under them. ...but they attend the funerals, and Sissel has a fit. She's drawn to the graves and she's stopped during the funeral. Only within a few days later to have another episode in the middle of the night. She wanders out to a nearby stream and manages to pull gold flecks out of the stream. Her Nytte has awoken (all of her siblings have one too - sister is a beserker, one brother is an oar breaker, and the last brother is the weather dude) and she's a Ransacker. Someone who can detect metals and manipulate them to some extent.

That's enough summary.

So like, the book skips around to the different siblings, hijinks ensue with the different siblings, but the story telling is kind of odd. Probably because I read the companion without reading the original, but like there was so much stuff that was just like new fact is presented, everyone accepts it, is excited/panicked, and then the story moves on. There was a lot of plot stuff that was driven by action, or just like kind of random slapstick things happening. A lot of the relationships also felt significantly forced...and I had questioned myself a few times of why I didn't  just give the book up. But, the thing of it is, there was kind of a lot of foreshadowing towards some kind of big thing happening in the end.... which it was fine, but it was also too much of this like hoopla effect almost. Like, man, we're all significantly in danger, but with the power of family, boy I sure hope we pull through!

...so there was kind of lots of that.

I also found the story telling to be very stilted, and so much of the relationships were built on ways that people were "supposed" to behave or who they were "supposed" to be. It's like the characters were so reliant on their setting/circumstances to define who they are rather than actually be who they are. It's just very, very stilted. Also, Sissel is annoying as all get out. So annoying. She just finds different ways to whine about whatever predicament she winds up in. Even if it's a good one. Like, cannot be grateful at all. Tragic.

The rest of the characters kind of orbited around Sissel or her older sister... so if they sucked, I feel like the other characters couldn't succeed. ....but also. The writing style isn't something I normally read because I don't particularly care for it, so I'm actually a little miffed that I finished reading the book.

...yep.

Happy reading!

Straw into Gold

Straw into Gold by Gary D. Schmidt

Do you remember when I blogged about PAY ATTENTION CARTER JONES? Well, I also mentioned I had read Orbiting Jupiter (Amazon Link) and then I was just reallllllly wanting a kind of gaurantee of a good story... so I picked up Straw into Gold. Now here we are. I tell the best stories.

An amazon summary, "What fills a hand fuller than a skein of gold? By order of the king, two boys, Tousle and Innes, must find the answer to this puzzling riddle within seven days or be killed. A former nursemaid to the queen’s child tells the boys that the banished queen may have the answer they seek. Danger presents itself at every turn, for the boys are pursued by the Great Barons, who are secretly plotting against the king. Another pursuer, the greedy King’s Grip, reveals a strange story of a little man who once spun straw into gold of incredible beauty for the queen but then disappeared with her firstborn son. Tousle realizes that the man he calls Da is the strange little man and, even more amazing, that he himself may be the lost prince. Or could it be Innes, who although cruelly blinded can hear the music of the dawn?
This skillful blend of fantasy and adventure reveals what might have happened before the queen makes her third and last guess and the story of Rumpelstiltskin—as we know it—ends." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

It all starts with the miller. One day, the king and his men are passing by the mill where a miller shouts out to the king. Upon getting his attention, he flounders what to do with it, before he boasts that his daughter is able to spin gold out of straw. The king and his disbelieving men, tell the miller to bring his daughter to the castle to prove it. The miller does with much regret, and the daughter winds up sobbing in a room full of straw that night. However, a small, peculiar man visits the miller's daughter and offers to spin the straw into gold for a price. The first two nights she gives him different trinkets of hers, but the third night she has nothing left to give, so she promises him her first born child. The peculiar man spins all the straw into gold and the daughter marries the king. After some time, the Queen bears a son to the king and the peculiar man returns. He tells the Queen that if she can guess his name, he will not take her son. She has three nights to try. Alas, the Queen does not guess his name, and the peculiar man takes off with her son.

Enter Tousle and his Da. Tousle and his Da go to see the King's parade in the city and Tousle is ever so excited. His Da can do wondrous things, but Tousle acts like this is normal, so whatever (like pluck money out of dirt). Tousle watches the King's parade, so excited, sees the Queen, is struck by the grieving atmosphere around here, before he sees the rebels bringing up the end of the parade. There's a young boy and two little girls in chains amongst the rebels, and they are all doomed to be killed for their treason. Tousle speaks for the rebels, the Queen speaks for Tousle, and the king charges Tousle and the blind boy with solving his riddle in seven days time, What fills a hand fuller than a skein of gold?

That's enough summary.

This is definitely a reimagining of Rumpelstiltskin, but I still liked it. There were enough new elements to the story where I didn't grow bored, and there was enough mystery about it that I remained curious. However, I did get a little annoyed that the boys seem to constantly be in danger (which makes sense based on what goes on in the books), but I also loved how they continued to stumble into people who helped or DID NOT help them on their quest.

I liked how Tousle stood up for the "doomed" rebels because it was the good and just thing to do. 

What I REALLY liked, is how the story plays out in the end, because it manages to dodge some expectations while fulfilling others. I mean it's the end, I'm not going to tell you what happens. Dun dun dunnnn

A solid, yet short (I read the mass paperback version - 172 pages) read. Twas good I say, good!

Happy reading! 

The Surface Breaks

The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill

I need to warn you that there are intense themes of female oppression and abuse. If that makes you uncomfortable, I would recommend not reading this book and skipping this book review.

So, this book won't be published until July 30, 2019, I think. The amazon page is a little screwy and keeps displaying a different cover, sometimes, and claims the book has already been published. However, I got my hands on uncorrected proof version of this book, which will undoubtedly have differences between the published edition. Whatever that may be.

An amazon summary (which the link, if you click to the different versions of the book, will send you down an odd path), "A dark and beautiful reimagining of The Little Mermaid.

Deep beneath the sea, off the cold Irish coast, Gaia is a young mermaid who dreams of freedom from her controlling father. On her first swim to the surface, she is drawn towards a human boy. She longs to join his carefree world, but how much will she have to sacrifice? What will it take for the little mermaid to find her voice? Hans Christian Andersen's original fairy tale is reimagined through a searing feminist lens, with the stunning, scalpel-sharp writing and world building that has won Louise her legions of devoted fans in the UK. A book with the darkest of undercurrents, full of rage and rallying cries: storytelling at its most spellbinding." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Muirgen, whose true name is Gaia, but everyone calls her Muirgen at the insistence of the sea king, is the youngest of her six sisters. They're mermaids who live in a kingdom underwater and are greatly oppressed by the king and really all the men, day in and day out. They are given many stipulations about how to live their life from the way they speak, act, and present themselves in general. In the beginning chapters, they literally sew pearls into their tails (FLESH) to appease their father.

There is a rule within the kingdom that no one can approach the surface before their fifteenth birthday. Muirgan, being the youngest, has had to watch her sisters go to the surface or go off to see lightning storms without her. This is also an incredibly big deal because their mother went to the surface and was captured by humans and killed on Muirgan's first birthday.

Muirgan is also the prettiest amongst her sisters, and has been betrothed to a foul man of her father's choosing (for it is a mermaids duties to appease their father I guess).

There's also a peace between the merfolk and the Sea Witch that the Sea King established with Muirgen's mother years ago. The merfolk and the Salka (drowned vengeful women the Sea Witch watches over) were at war for a long time I guess (they didn't get too far into it in the book because it was already over, peace and all that jazz).................

Muirgen is desperate to escape from her life. She's always been unhappy and finds herself looking to the surface to try to understand why her mother left all those years ago (she's 14 in the book).

That's enough summary.

This book is supposed to be a feminist anthem of sorts I guess. I find it very problematic though.

Normally, I try not to give away the major plot points of a story, especially if it hasn't been published yet. But, I'm going to give some very generic plot point accomplishments to effectively talk about why the feminist themes presented are problematic to me.

Muirgen meets the Sea Witch who gives a speech about why everything the Sea King forbades them from doing actually isn't bad. Muirgen is liked shocked, but doesn't care as all she wants to do is go to the surface to see the human boy she rescued in a storm. Muirgen gives her a potion to turn her human, but every day her feet will feel like they're falling apart and be incredibly painful. Muirgen is like, don't care, want man. Sea Witch is like, oh btw, there's a time limit and the boy has to love you or else you die. Muirgen, doesn't care, sacrifices voice for potion, goes to surface, drinks potion, becomes human.

Muirgen meets boy, boy makes sure she's taken care of, Muirgen meets boy's family, understands family positions, sympathy for mom, dislikes boys friends, realizes boy isn't actually all that great, constantly bloody feet, awful times with bloody feet, on last day of being human/before death day, sisters arrive to offer her life by using a knife to kill boy. Muirgen is like kay, can't do it, Sea Witch shows up, is like LOL mermaids gots powers yo, how do you think your mother transformed into a human (which is a drastic thing to introduce so way late in the book, why), Muirgen is like I cannot kill boy, Sea Witch is like LOL I know just become a Salka instead, Muirgen is like uhhhhhh, Sea King arrives to berate and abuse sisters while also realizing Muirgen is still alive, Muirgen AS A HUMAN, taps into her mermaid powers to make the Sea King leave her sisters alone, and decides to become a Salka afterall.

.......so like, the feminist themes in here are problematic because, the Sea Witch, back when she gave the potion to Muirgen, removed her tongue as part of the potion making process. She didn't tell her about her mother or mermaids having powers or anything, she just kind of like, wellllllll if that's what you wantttttttttttttt, and makes it happen. So she's not really looking out for Muirgen's best interest at all, she's also partly a villain in this story.

For two, Muirgen basically goes all murdery at the end of the book anyways, but towards the mermen in the kingdom. Like, she figured out her power and decided she was going to use that to make sure the men felt all the same horrors and atrocities that they did. This is extremely problematic because it doesn't solve any of the problems of mistreatment, it would only make them worse overall. An eye for an eye and the entire world ends up blind. If this was a truly feminist book, I would have liked to see Muirgen try to find a way to be a man's equal rather than their oppressors.

How the last chapter of the book plays out is also utterly ridiculous. Like Muirgen realizes why it was a terrible idea to pine after the boy in the first place, realizes she knew nothing about him in the first place, and then just kind of shrugs that whole episode off. That's not actually growth. That's like a super delayed epiphany.

I really just think that one of the big selling for this book was being feminist, and re-imagining the little mermaid. I think it would have been better overall, if instead of getting the potion from the Sea Witch, she joined forces with the Sea Witch to create a better underwater kingdom for everyone overall. Like, the middle of the story, she could have just been like, halp make mah life and everyone else's better plz, and the Sea Witch, if she actually believed what she was saying, would have been like WHOOP WHOOP LET'S DO DIS THANG....and a much better story could have progressed. Like the Sea Witch actually telling her about her powers then and there and opened up a whole new world for Muirgen. She could have started correcting the imbalances within the kingdom and like gone up to the surface to see the boy whenever she wanted because whatever, lady powers that don't require potion which puts me in constant torture. 

So, you may also be wondering why I even bothered to finish reading this book. The language of the writing was so crazy good that I just kept going. I don't know what happened, like maybe I was just in a trance, but seriously, the book contents were kind of whack.

Bottom line: In a feminist book, the goal should be equality amongst everyone.

Happy reading!

The Things She's Seen

The Things She's Seen by Ambelin and Ezekial Kwaymullina

This book will be published on May 14, 2019. I read an advance reader's copy; there will undoubtedly be differences between the version I read, and the published edition.

...do you ever read one of those really engrossing books and then it ends and you're just left with your mouth kind of slightly ajar and not sure what happened at the end but the bits leading up to the end were pretty good so it's not really clear why the end bits don't make a lot of sense or connect?

...an amazon summary, "This brilliantly written thriller explores the lives--and deaths--of two girls, and what they will do to win justice. Sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year!

Nothing's been the same for Beth Teller since the day she died.
Her dad is drowning in grief. He's also the only one who has been able to see and hear her since the accident. But now she's got a mystery to solve, a mystery that will hopefully remind her detective father that he needs to reconnect with the living.
The case takes them to a remote Australian town, where there's been a suspicious fire. All that remains are an unidentifiable body and an unreliable witness found wandering nearby. This witness speaks in riddles. Isobel Catching has a story to tell, and it's a tale to haunt your dreams--but does it even connect to the case at hand?
As Beth and her father unravel the mystery, they find a shocking and heartbreaking story lurking beneath the surface of a small town." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Beth Teller is a ghost. She died in a car accident and her dad has been the only one who can see her, and is also grieving her a lot. He's trying to resume his life as a detective, and Beth follows him around to make sure he's okay and kind of looking out for him constantly. During his new case, he is investigating a fire. A children's home, basically like a giant foster care home, burned down and a body was found inside. There was one witness, but he's been told she was on a drugs and went to the hospital for her injuries but also to sober up.

The detective goes to talk to the witness, and she starts telling him kind of her life story, but the beginnings so he can understand the present day. It all seems to be kind of a metaphor though with bits of reality sprinkled in.

The detective also starts to learn about the town, and a local cop brings up a cold case from 20 years ago when they're friend went missing. Beth witnesses her father trying to maintain his life and follows him around.

That's enough summary.

It was really important to read the author's note on this book. They explain that a lot of this is based on aboriginal stories, which I'm not familiar with at all (sadly), and explain some aspects of the story that were a bit murky to me.

However, I really liked all of the storytelling that was directly related to solving the crime. All of it felt authentic, and I really liked her father as a person. Which, isn't necessary for the story, but it always nice.

I'm also going to say that the amazon summary may be a little misleading, but I don't think that's a bad thing. It's just true in a way I didn't expect.

I also really liked the storytelling that the witness gave, where it was metaphorical, gave the history of her family, but, I also really struggled with how it all tied together in the end. How she told her story made sense as the detective connected it to the case, but, but but but, everything after that and how it connects to Beth, was a little....under and over whelming to me because I couldn't make sense of it. Perhaps I didn't read it carefully enough? Or missed some clues along the way? But, how things resolved with Beth didn't feel like an authentic resolution. I was looking for more of something to tie into her father, especially because it was mentioned she was haunting him at one point. So, I kind of wish there had been some way to tie the familial aspect in better.

All in all, I did like reading the book, I'm just left with a sense of mild confusion.

Happy reading!