Anya and the Dragon

Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

I pick up every book that has any indication if a dragon is involved. Then I read the summary and figure out if it's something I actually want to read or not. I was a bit on the fence about this one, but I ended up loving it despite some oddities.

An amazon summary, "Anya and the Dragon is the story of fantasy and mayhem in tenth century Eastern Europe, where headstrong eleven-year-old Anya is a daughter of the only Jewish family in her village. When her family’s livelihood is threatened by a bigoted magistrate, Anya is lured in by a friendly family of fools, who promise her money in exchange for helping them capture the last dragon in Kievan Rus. This seems easy enough, until she finds out that the scary old dragon isn't as old—or as scary—as everyone thought. Now Anya is faced with a choice: save the dragon, or save her family." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Anya has grown up on the outskirts of a small village where her family has used magic. Magic is technically outlawed/forbidden, but without anyone around to really monitor that law, it's kind of fair game to use magic. There's also something a little special about the village, it seems that they have more elements of magic than other villages. More magical creatures and more people who are in tune with using magic. Anya's family all seems to have their own attunements to magic, except for Anya who is still trying to figure it out.

Her father was shipped out to help with the war effort, and her mother has been threatened to pay taxes they shouldn't have to or risk losing their home. Anya is trying different ways to earn more coin to help her mother when a strange family who uses chaos magic comes to town. They're a family of fools and they've been sent to find the dragon. However, a marauder of sorts has also come to town, seeking the dragon. He's as rough as they come and threatens the priest until Anya and the fools step in to help. The fools enlist Anya's help in finding the dragon, and the more Anya learns about the dragon, she isn't sure it should be found afterall. After she catches a few glimpses of it, she finds it in her barn and learns it can speak, and starts to really understand the dragon more. Does she help the fools and her family, or does she help the dragon?

That's enough summary.

So first off, the time period and setting of this story was hard for me to figure out. The book summary indicates it's in tenth century eastern Europe, where her grandmother fled persecution and settled down with her grandfather on the outskirts of a small village. I honestly don't know enough about history, let alone European history to have any gauge if this is a likely scenario for the time period. However, I found it interesting that there also seemed to be a blend of cultures. Anya's family is Jewish, with some distinctly Jewish traditions, but they also were able to use magic, which isn't inherently Jewish, it's just something people may be able to do. As stories about a dragon unfold, there was a blurring of lines between Jewish culture and the history of magic and magical creatures. There were also times that it was hard to discern if Anya, being a young narrator, just didn't know any better? A few times she actively wondered about other people's families with a curiosity of like, "Wait, don't they also have this?" and half the time those things were unclear if that was a Jewish tradition or a magic tradition. ...and I kind of liked the ambiguity? Like blurring lines between cultures and the normal, as well, culture is normal. It's normal for people to have a historic background and traditions steeped within their daily life that come from that historic background. But it also kind of points to all of us being a part of history, and all of us having a place within the "normal". Yep, big thoughts.

Anyways. Anya as a character was pretty interesting. Something else that was a little jarring about this time period, is that they seemed to operate in the mindset of viewing people by their abilities rather than by their gender. So Anya was treated as equally as the boys. It was kind of refreshing, but also kind of weird, because I expected more gender boundaries. Perhaps gender boundaries are reserved for the rich who can afford for people not to be able to do everything. Overall, it was a refreshing aspect of the book.

Then there's the dragon. I thought the dragon's backstory, abilities, and even personality could have used some fine tuning. It came across as a very knowledgeable golden retriever who was just over eager to explore the world despite all the warnings it's care takers had given. It wasn't a typical dragon which was in of itself.

There was also magic throughout the book, like the family house spirit, or the grandmother making potions. It was woven in as such an every day aspect of life that it kind of didn't feel special, but expected. So that was a different and interesting take on it as well.

Overall, there will be a book two. I would like to read book two as I did like book one quite a bit.

Happy reading!

The Queen of Nothing

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

This is the third book in a trilogy; I reviewed the first one, THE CRUEL PRINCE, and the second book, THE WICKED KING. If you don't want anything ruined for the first two books, I recommend not reading this review.

This book also has an intimate moment of the sexy times variety, some more murder, and some questionable relationship depictions. So like, that's just a heads up. If you've read the first two books, you're kind of aware of the darker tones of the story, but somehow, this book has kicked it up another notch. So, just brace yourselves. BUT IF YOU'VE ALSO READ THE FIRST TWO BOOKS, OH DUDES, GET SO EXCITED FOR BOOK 3!

An amazon summary, "He will be the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.
Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan's betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.
Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict's bloody politics.
And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity..." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Jude is stuck in the mortal realm. She only thinks of how she was betrayed by Cardan, how she's banished to the mortal realm, and how she wants to go back but cannot think of how. She has started to work odd jobs for the faerie that are in the mortal realm to help pay for the apartment/food. Taryn, her betraying twin sister, has come back to confess that she may have done something to her husband, she's pregnant, and now she needs Jude to go to the faerie realm to lie for her since she cannot be compelled to tell the truth. A plea for help from her sister, and she's back into the midst of the political toilings of the faerie realm.

The first time Jude sees Cardan, it's a very emotional moment, but Cardan immediately sees through her and ends the charade in a truly Cardan way. As their just able to talk, Jude is spirited away from Cardan by her faerie father (Madoc) to be in his war camps that are gearing up take the throne.

Much has transpired in the faerie realm since Jude was banished.

Dun dun dunnnnnn

I loved this book. I loved this series finale, and I literally read it the same day that it arrived in the mail. Which happened to be release day. ....no shame in my book game.

There was such good characterization of Jude as she fought through more situations, and it was curious to see her really consider herself. She always had a goal in mind, but now her reality has become more than her goal, and the reconciliation of her mindset with her current situation. Jude also has a lot of open questions in regards to her situation with Cardan. Does he love her? Does she love him? Can they even consider love in their situation?

The magic also continued to be interesting, especially when something happened that indicated Jude was indeed a ruler of the land. I also liked how much more we saw of her half faerie sister's relationship with her ex-girlfriend and how that kind of evolves through the mystery of being aware of the faerie realm.

There's a lot that happens over the course of these books, and as much as it kind of wraps up, I really wouldn't mind seeing more in this world. Really, if there was another character that had a series within this world, I would also read it. But really, almost anything by Holly Black, I would read. SHAMELESS FAN GIRL.

Anyways, so this was a great completion to the trilogy.

...or you know, if there's a sequel series, I would really love to read that too.

Happy reading!

Stepsister

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

This book was published on May 14, 2019. However, I managed to get my hands on an advanced reader's copy and undoubtedly there will be some differences between the version I read, and the published edition.

You might see this cover/title and be like, UGH, ANOTHER CINDERELLA STORY, and you wouldn't inherently be wrong, it's just the story isn't really about Cinderella, it's about her stepsisters, well more like one particular stepsister, Isabelle. And even then, it's kind of about fate, chance, and the heart. ...actually, it really is, and not in the symbolic way.

An amazon summary, "Don't just fracture the fairy tale. Shatter it.

Isabelle should be blissfully happy - she's about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn't the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince's heart. She's the ugly stepsister who's cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella's shoe . . . which is now filling with her blood.
When the prince discovers Isabelle's deception, she's turned away in shame. It's no more than she deserves: she's a plain girl in a world that values beauty; a bold girl in a world that wants her to be pliant.
Isabelle has tried to fit in. She cut away pieces of herself in order to become pretty. Sweet. More like Cinderella. But that only made her mean, jealous, and hollow. Now she has a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

After her sister Tavi slices off part of her heel to fit her foot into the glass slipper, Isabelle cuts off her toes to also try to fit her foot into the glass slipper. Unfortunately, before either of them are successfully taken away in the carriage, a dove cries out their deceit and it's revealed their foots are bleeding from being maimed. Their fair stepsister Ella manages to escape from their Maman and reveal that she is the one who the glass slipper belongs too. But, a member of the prince's party manages to break the glass slipper after taking it off of Isabelle's foot. Luckily, Ella has the other glass slipper and proves the shoe fits. While Ella is whisked off to the palace, both Tavi and Isabelle become known as the ugly stepsisters for how they've treated Ella and for their deceit in trying to win the prince.

But, that's not the full story. Tavi and Isabelle were just trying to listen to their Maman, who was determined to see them well married off so they wouldn't have to live with worry in their lives. Now, Isabelle is determined to run the household without servants (who left since they could no longer afford to pay them), and tries to take care of her Maman and corral her sister Tavi from spending all of her days reading books and doing math. Whenever they venture into town for supplies, they find themselves jeered or taunted at by the townspeople, usually even bullied. There's also a war going on that have claimed many lives; they see the wounded carted through town occasionally. There's a growing fear that the war is getting closer to their town, which generally makes people unruly and more unrestful.

However, there's another side to this story about Chance and Fate. Chance ventures into the home of the three Fates and manages to steal Isabelle's map. He's determined to give her a chance at forging a different life. One of the fates is bent on stopping him and making sure Isabelle's original fate comes to pass. But, Isabelle finds the fairy queen who offers her a deal; if Isabelle can discover the missing parts of her heart, she will grant her a wish. Initially, Isabelle wishes to be beautiful, as being beautiful is how she perceives Ella won the prince and made such a grand way in life. But not all hearts are the same.

That's enough summary.

So, I do like a good fairy tale retelling. This one definitely started with how the Grimm fairy tale kind of goes, but decidedly veered off into another direction. I really loved how Fate, Chance, and the Fairy Queen were also prevalent characters throughout the story. The dynamics between the two sisters and their stepsister were interesting and I also really loved how Isabelle handled herself.

But ultimately, I read this as a feminist novel. Let me explain.

The story is set in a world where there are rigid expectations of women; be beautiful, bear children, manage the household, and know your place. Isabelle and Tavi are none of these things nor want any of these things (but you know beauty is always in the eye of the beholder so maybe they are beautiful). Isabelle grew up reading about generals, war strategies, climbing trees, riding horses, practicing her swordplay, and in general, doing everything she wanted to with her best friend. Tavi grew up with her nose in a book, doing scientific experiments, and reading the history behind the different sciences and how they came to be. Neither stepsister dreamed of the life their maman did for them, they wanted to forge their own path. So, despite their circumstances, you see these stepsisters go through one set back after another, but it slowly starts to pull back the layers of doing what is expected of them to doing what they want to do; to encourage them to forge their own path once more.

I kind of loved it. It was also good to see the interludes from Chance, Fate, and the Fairy Queen especially as those characters interacted or meddled with Isabelle's life. They weren't strictly behind the scenes plotting, they were outright trying to move players into place to either help or hinder Isabelle depending on how you look at it.

It was kind of marvelous... but I will say that the last bit of story, as everything kind of comes to end, it felt really rushed. It felt like, well, this is it, and kind of pushed through to the epilogue rather than linger in the conclusion. It was kind of disappointing and obnoxious, but not enough that it soured the experience for me. I just wish a little more time had been spent with Isabelle in her final scenes (no spoilers!).

Also, I really adored the side character of Hugo. He was not a character I expected, what he said was not what I expected, and I just kind of adored his presence.

Happy reading!

Supernova

Supernova by Marissa Meyer

This is the third book in a trilogy; I reviewed the first book, RENEGADES, and the second book, ARCHENEMIES. If you don't want anything spoiled for books one and two, exit stage left right meow. It's about to get REAL.

An amazon summary, "All's fair in love and anarchy...

Supernova, the epic conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer's thrilling Renegades Trilogy finds Nova and Adrian struggling to keep their secret identities concealed while the battle rages on between their alter egos, their allies, and their greatest fears come to life. Secrets, lies, and betrayals are revealed as anarchy once again threatens to reclaim Gatlon City." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

I just.... ARGH. I ARGH OKAY. A lot of things happened at the end of book two, and book three is reeling from it in the beginning. Also, I am TERRIBLE at remembering people's names, so like.... I'm just going to use powers, except for Nova because her name is so cool. Maybe Adrian too, that would make sense because they are the narrators.

After the battle at renegade headquarters, some of the heroes have lost their powers. The bandit (kid who steals everyone else's powers) is in the hospital, and all of the Renegades are pretty upset that such a massive fight happened in their headquarters while they were at the gala. The search is on for Insomnia.... but they've pretty much figured out that's Nova. So Nova is escaping from the Renegades, since moth superpower reformed and ratted her out for sure, the chemical uncle blows up their apartment. Adrian manages to get to their apartment just before it blows, and Adrian and Nova managed not to get killed... but Nova gets cuffed. So basically.... Nova was convicted of being Insomnia. She's thrown into jail, where her uncle, ace anarachy, is being held.

Adrian is just a hot mess. His brother is in the hospital, his dads don't know he's the sentinel, and the whole world just did a 720 when it was revealed that Nova was Insomnia. He's kind of at a loss, but he's also still trying to think of new tattoos that will make him better, that will shield him from pain.

On top of all that, there's still unrest amongst the Renegade ranks over Agent N. Those who have lost their powers are raising some pretty valid points against the use of Agent N that's making a few heroes question how the Council is leading them.

Nova's in jail, trying to figure out how to break herself and her uncle out, Adrian is at a loss, and the world seems bound to make the two come together again.

DUN DUN DUNNNNN

That's enough summary.

I loved/hated this as a book 3, but mostly loved it. How everything tied up at the end left most of my burning questions from last book answered... even if it was in kind of a mediocre way. Like the reveal of what Nova's bracelet actually does is a little.... too much of a magic, make all the things better kind of moment. Especially since kind of an impractical yet precise series of events had to kind of magically fall together in a way that I highly doubt Nova's father could have anticipated in any capacity. ....anyways.

I do love some of the life lessons that kind of cropped up here and there throughout the story, and I also loved how some characters showed their true strength, not just relied on their power. There was also some deaths, general mayhem, and well, anarchy. (Ehhhhh, see what I did there? Ehhhh?)

But as a series recap, I would say the books are worth reading, but I have a sneaking suspicion there's going to be a spin-off sequel series. Especially since there's an epilogue to kind of wrap up the story with a bow on it.

I also loved the questioning and back and forth of what it means to be a hero, a villain, or just a civilian. How some people with powers literally just want to live their lives, and how some villains are treated as the worst even though their crimes were slight.

I would say that sometimes the battle scenes got a bit murky on the details, but they were okay overall.

...so what did I kind of hate about this book? Why the "romance" of course! Even other people being in love, it felt extra and kind of slapped in there. It didn't do anything to explore relationships or add anything different to the table. I also thought it was kind of dumb how there seemed to be an emphasis on Adrian having two days, like this hell bound determination to normalize LGBTQIA+ relationships, but they seemed to shy away from having any meaningful conversations about relationships. ....and many of the problems would have been solved between Adrian and Nova if they just communicated. The whole relationship element just really.... threw a wrench in it for me since there were scenes where it seemed like the focus was the romance rather than the actual problem.

I don't know. It was still a fun and different kind of read overall.

Happy reading!

The Tiger at Midnight

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala

Blogger struggle - for some reason I had to fight the formatting on this blog post a lot, so if something appears weird, it's because gremlins attacked this post and refused to leave my zeroes and ones alone.

Anywho.

Funny story behind this book for me; I ended up picking up a copy of this book from a famous book store in Denver, Colorado. I had been out that way for a training conference. I also didn't know if I had enough to read on the way back... so I bought like four books. This was one of them. Welcome to the impulse buy read! Whee!

An amazon summary, "Esha lost everything in the royal coup—and as the legendary rebel known as the Viper, she’s made the guilty pay. Now she’s been tasked with her most important mission to date: taking down the ruthless General Hotha.

Kunal has been a soldier since childhood. His uncle, the general, has ensured that Kunal never strays from the path—even as a part of Kunal longs to join the outside world, which has only been growing more volatile.

When Esha and Kunal’s paths cross one fated night, an impossible chain of events unfolds. Both the Viper and the soldier think they’re calling the shots, but they’re not the only players moving the pieces.

As the bonds that hold their land in order break down and the sins of the past meet the promise of a new future, both the soldier and the rebel must decide where their loyalties lie: with the lives they’ve killed to hold on to or with the love that’s made them dream of something more." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Esha is the Viper. She's a legendary assassin who, allegedly works alone, but in secret works for the rebel group known as the Blades. One night, she goes to the fort to assassinate the General, but discovers he's already dead and she's been framed. She steals the fake whip and leaves her own before she hears the general's last words and escapes into the night.

Meanwhile, Kunal is the nephew of the general. After his mother died, his uncle raised him in the fort and relentlessly trained him to be soldier to suppress or redirect his rage until it was gone.

Esha is desperate to get home to the rebels, but the Fort (over which the general presided) sends out four soldiers after her (Kunal being one of them). Kunal figures out pretty quickly that Esha is the viper, and the book quickly becomes a game of cat and mouse while they slowly learn more and more about each other.

That's enough summary.

So, for the book taking place in the heart of a worn torn area where there is drought and a number of other bad things, they sure spend an awful lot of time dwelling on the relationship between the two main characters. Because, apparently you can't have a YA book without people falling in love. *sarcastic eye roll*

Sass aside, I will say the world building was different. I feel like I got a glimpse of a culture, but not the entire picture. I felt like I got a glimpse of the region, the nature, and kind of the people who dwelled there. There was some cultural elements that seemed very well explained, and other elements that were just kind of glossed over.

But like whatever to all that BECAUSE IT TOOK LIKE FOUR MILLION BOOK YEARS TO FINISH THIS BOOK. I literally rage slept on this book every night until I finally finished it because I had to know how it ended. There were quite a few times where I was ready to just give up. So, the book is very slow. The book concentrates heavily on the two main characters confused feelings for each other, but not in a way that helps you explore or understand their feelings, just in a way that shuts you out of their past life until they're ready to have childhood flashbacks of trauma.

Overall, I didn't like the book. I really wanted to, to the point where I finished it, but I still couldn't like it. I think it's the first part of a trilogy, but like, ehhhhhh.

Happy reading!

Angel Mage

Angel Mage by Garth Nix

Fellow book readers. I love books by Garth Nix, LOVE THEM. ...I could rattle off a bunch of them, but that doesn't matter.

...because I couldn't finish reading this book. I got to page 94 out of 534 but I couldn't read anymore. This book did not vibe with me. I'm putting it back into my to read pile to see if I can read it later in life.

An amazon summary, "More than a century has passed since Liliath crept into the empty sarcophagus of Saint Marguerite, fleeing the Fall of Ystara. But she emerges from her magical sleep still beautiful, looking no more than nineteen, and once again renews her single-minded quest to be united with her lover, Palleniel, the archangel of Ystara.

It's a seemingly impossible quest, but Liliath is one of the greatest practitioners of angelic magic to have ever lived, summoning angels and forcing them to do her bidding. Four young people hold her interest: Simeon, a studious doctor-in-training; Henri, a dedicated fortune hunter; Agnez, a glory-seeking musketeer; and Dorotea, icon-maker and scholar of angelic magic.

The four feel a strange kinship from the moment they meet but do not suspect their importance. And none of them know just how Liliath plans to use them, as mere pawns in her plan, no matter the cost to everyone else . . .

Fans of Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, and Leigh Bardugo will fall in love with Angel Mage, a feminist fantasy that takes place in an alternate European world ruled by fearsome magic and deadly passions." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Now seriously, after reading that summary you're probably like, how could you not read this book?

Let me explain.

The book started a bit slow but fast? There's a lot of build up into how the mechanics of the Angels work. They can be summoned through icons, they can basically perform miracles within their power, and there are those who have a certain blood type that turns them into monsters if they are exposed to angel magic. Anyone who uses lots of angel magic ages a lot faster than those around them and can die from overuse of the magic.

There's this lady. This lady is supposed to be one of the greatest mages of angel magic ever, but she's slept for 200 years or so, and has awoken to try to fulfill some sort of thing (I didn't get far enough to know what the thing was).

Some characters are slowly introduced, but I gave up. I gave up. I even literally gave up in the midst of another action type scene starting to unfold. I just got a little hackles up about not enough things making sense, not being grounded well enough in the world to continue the story. I also didn't understand what Earth I was on; alternate earth, past earth, future earth??? IDK.

Again, I freaking love Garth Nix novels and so I was extra sad when I couldn't finish this.

Happy reading. :/