The Final Strife by Saara El- Arifi

Pages: 467 

Publisher: Harper Voyager 

Released: 23rd of June 2022 

In the first book of a visionary African and Arabian-inspired fantasy trilogy, three women band together against a cruel Empire that divides people by blood.

Red is the blood of the elite, of magic, of control.

Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance.

Clear is the blood of the servants, of the crushed, of the invisible.

Sylah dreams of days growing up in the resistance, being told she would spark a revolution that would free the Empire from the red-blooded ruling classes’ tyranny. That spark was extinguished the day she watched her family murdered before her eyes.

Anoor has been told she’s nothing, no one, a disappointment by the only person who matters: her mother, the most powerful ruler in the Empire. But dust always rises in a storm.

Hassa moves through the world unseen by upper classes, so she knows what it means to be invisible. But invisibility has its uses: It can hide the most dangerous of secrets, secrets that can reignite a revolution.

As the Empire begins a set of trials of combat and skill designed to find its new leaders, the stage is set for blood to flow, power to shift, and cities to burn.

TW: Addiction, Drug Abuse, Violence, Child Abuse, Bodily Harm, Execution

What I Have to Say 

This book was powerful, but not for the faint of heart. For one thing, the children of the lowest class are maimed at birth and are left disabled for the rest of their lives. This is not a light hearted book at all. If you're looking for a light, fun romp, look elsewhere. 

I really enjoyed reading it though. It made the points about racism and classism in a really fascinating fantasy setting. The way the system was set up was both intriguing and well thought out. There were a few times I had questions about certain aspects of it, but all of them were answered by the end of the book. 

I listened to the audio of this book and really liked the songs in it. They got stuck in my head a bit, but were really enjoyable. I don't know if they'd be so enjoyable in print form though because they were really long. 

I would definitely advise the reader to be in the right headspace for this book, but I really did enjoy it and it made me think a lot. 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for providing me with this copy for review. 

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao

Pages: 400 

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Released: 2nd of February 2023 

In a fallen kingdom, one girl carries the key to discovering the secrets of her nation’s past—and unleashing the demons that sleep at its heart. An epic fantasy series inspired by the mythology and folklore of ancient China.

Once, Lan had a different name. Now she goes by the one the Elantian colonizers gave her when they invaded her kingdom, killed her mother, and outlawed her people’s magic. She spends her nights as a songgirl in Haak’gong, a city transformed by the conquerors, and her days scavenging for what she can find of the past. Anything to understand the strange mark burned into her arm by her mother in her last act before she died.

The mark is mysterious—an untranslatable Hin character—and no one but Lan can see it. Until the night a boy appears at her teahouse and saves her life.

Zen is a practitioner—one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom. Their magic was rumored to have been drawn from the demons they communed with. Magic believed to be long lost. Now it must be hidden from the Elantians at all costs.

When Zen comes across Lan, he recognizes what she is: a practitioner with a powerful ability hidden in the mark on her arm. He’s never seen anything like it—but he knows that if there are answers, they lie deep in the pine forests and misty mountains of the Last Kingdom, with an order of practitioning masters planning to overthrow the Elantian regime.

Both Lan and Zen have secrets buried deep within—secrets they must hide from others, and secrets that they themselves have yet to discover. Fate has connected them, but their destiny remains unwritten. Both hold the power to liberate their land. And both hold the power to destroy the world.

Now the battle for the Last Kingdom begins.

What I Have to Say 

Well I enjoyed this a bit more than Blood Heir, but it still had a lot to be desired. 

I'll start with the things I liked. The world was perfectly built. I didn't feel the same disconnect between the setting and the story that I felt with Blood Heir. It was a beautiful, interesting society with overtones of colonialism and war. I loved the school, it was a dream school and I would love to go there and learn magic. On that note, the the magic system the Hin used was fascinating, I love the idea of a magic system based on writing and Chinese characters. I also want to learn more about the Elantian metal based writing system. 

All this stuff was great, but I wished that the main character would actually do something. Either she relied all on the boy or she unleashed an unknown power that wasn't really in her control. She just seemed so reliant on those around her and she couldn't stand on her own two feet. There were also a few things that confused me about the ending which I won't go into here. 

I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to read on or not. I really hope the next book improves though because this world has so much potential. 

3 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Harper Collins for providing me with this copy for review. 

 

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (audiobook)

Pages: 646

Publisher: Piatkus 

Released: 2nd of May 2023 

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

What I Have to Say 

Aaaah. This book kept me up on many late nights. A disabled protagonist goes to murder school to learn how to ride and fight on the back of dragons! I loved the representation, I loved the tense scenes and the cliffhangers at the end of some of the chapters. And more than anything, I loved the moments that just make you go "What?!". It was gripping, entertaining and very emotional. 

I have to talk more about the representation in this book. Violet has some kind of chronic condition that she has from childhood. I'm not sure exactly what it's based on, but it effects her strength and muscles and means she's not as strong as the other riders. So she has to work about 4 times as hard as her classmates. It was the perfect balance of the realities of disabilities while still doing a plot that intense. I loved it. 

The audio was good. I really liked the voice actress who played Violet, but she didn't stand out much in my head. She did the job well and read the book, but I probably won't seek out other stuff read by her specifically. 

My only problem with this book is for a school where everyone's meant to be trying to kill one another, Violet wasn't actually attacked that much. It didn't feel as dangerous as we were being told. Other than that though, it was pretty perfect!! 

Definitely one to add to your to read lists!! 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Piatkus for providing me with this copy for review. 

How Far We've Come by Joyce Efia Harmer

Pages: 336 

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's UK 

Released: 27th of April 2023 

Enslaved on a plantation in Barbados, Obah dreams of freedom. As talk of rebellion bubbles up around her in the Big House, she imagines escape. Meeting a strange boy who’s not quite of this world, she decides to put her trust in him. But Jacob is from the twenty-first century. Desperate to give Obah a better life, he takes her back with him. At first it seems like dreams really do come true – until the cracks begin to show and Obah sees that freedom comes at an unimaginable cost . . .

Both hopeful and devastating, this powerful novel about equality, how far we’ve come, and how far we still have to go introduces an extraordinary new literary voice.

What I Have to Say 

This book had a lot to say and it really makes you think about the way things are. Don't be put off by the narrative voice, Obah talks in a pidgin type dialect and it takes a couple of chapters to get used to, but you do get used to it. I really grew to like the way she talked over the course of the novel. 

Obah's character in general was really good. She was a really sweet girl who just wanted to run and be free. She was the perfect character to use as a viewpoint to get across the books messages, that we still have a long way to go to get equal rights, but it is worth standing up and fighting for. 

The ending of the novel was a bit all over the place though. There was a lot of back and forth between the present day and the past while Obah had to learn the things she needed to know. I would have liked it to have been more straightforward. 

I do think this is a really worthwhile read. 

3.5 stars 

My thanks go to Simon and Schuster for providing me with this copy for review. 

 

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen

Pages: 512 

Publisher: Hodderscape 

Released: 16th of May 2023 

Let’s get one thing straight—Vanja Schmidt wasn’t trying to start a cult.

After taking down a corrupt margrave, breaking a deadly curse, and finding romance with the vexingly scrupulous Junior Prefect Emeric Conrad, Vanja had one great mystery left: her long-lost birth family… and if they would welcome a thief. But in her search for an honest trade, she hit trouble and invented a god, the Scarlet Maiden, to scam her way out. Now, that lie is growing out of control—especially when Emeric arrives to investigate, and the Scarlet Maiden manifests to claim him as a virgin sacrifice.

For his final test to become a prefect, Emeric must determine if Vanja is guilty of serious fraud, or if the Scarlet Maiden—and her claim to him—are genuine. Meanwhile, Vanja is chasing an alternative sacrifice that may be their way out. The hunt leads her not only into the lairs of monsters and the paths of gods, but the ties of her past. And with what should be the simplest way to save Emeric hanging over their heads, he and Vanja must face a more dangerous question: Is there a future for a thief and a prefect, and at what price?

What I Have to Say 

Despite the fact that my favourite character from the first book was barely in this one, I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a good adventure with the same level of excitement and creativity as the first book. It's a series that takes tropes like hauntings and virgin sacrifices and turns them on their head, making something original and unique. Really this is exactly what I want to see in a book, especially a fantasy book. 

I really like the relationship between Emeric and Vanja and this book was all about them getting ready for the next step in their relationship. In short, they're getting towards the point where they might, maybe be ready to have sex and they need to talk about it. I honestly thought it was a really good portrayal of the awkwardness and need for assurance that comes into these conversations. 

I really liked the ending of the book. I had a wonderful moment just before it was all revealed that it all came together and I figured exactly what was happened, which gave me the fun sense that I worked it out by myself, without it feeling obvious. 

Really looking forward to the next book in the series! 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Hodderscape and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Curse of Saints by Kate Dramis

Pages: 480 

Publisher: Penguin Random House 

Released: 11th of May 2023 

Has she been sent to save the realm or destroy it?

As Spymaster to the Queen, Aya's blood oath ensures she protects those she fights alongside - including Will, the Queen's Enforcer and Aya's bitter rival.

When rumors of dark magic rise in a nearby kingdom, both are sent to investigate.

But when Aya's power acts beyond her gods-given affinity, she risks being turned into a weapon in a war she doesn't know how to win.

And when her relationship with Will unexpectedly shifts, neither knows the danger that will follow . . .

What I Have to Say 

This book really, really fell flat for me. Nothing about it captured my attention and I kept getting distracted. It just didn't feel that much to set it apart from the other fantasy novels that are out at the moment. I was interested in the whole idea of what makes a saint and whether her power was coming from the right place, but not enough to hold up the whole novel. 

I also didn't get the point of having magic bonded wolves in the novel but only showing them for such a brief time! If you're character is magically bonded to the wolf, I want the wolf around all the time and to really explore the relationship with them. What is the point of the bond otherwise?? 

The author also had the habit of changing the viewpoint character in the middle of the scene with no scene break to indicate that it's changed. A couple of times, which I'm really hoping are mistakes, they didn't even change paragraphs between characters. It was really disconcerting to read. 

I wish I could have given it a more favourable review, but I did not enjoy the book. 

2 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with copy for review. 

Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee

Pages: 272 

Publisher: Macmillan 

Released: 16th of May 2023 

Fake-dates, mooncakes and rich people problems. But love wasn't meant to be on the menu ...

Meet Dylan Tang: he juggles school and delivery runs for his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn. Winning a mooncake competition could bring the publicity they need to stay afloat.

Enter Theo Somers: a charming, wealthy customer who convinces Dylan to be his fake date to a family wedding full of crazy rich drama. Their romance is supposed to be just for show . . . but soon Dylan’s falling for Theo. For real.

With the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being distracted by rich-people problems. Can he save his family’s business and follow his heart—or will he fail to do both?

What I Have to Say 

 The two best things about this book were the dog (Clover the corgi, named after the author's own dog) and the mooncakes. Though there could always be more dog moments, both lived up to expectation. The food descriptions in this book in general were wonderful and a lot of snacking happened while I was reading it, but the talk of different methods to make mooncakes was my favourite because I've never thought about what it entails. I've never had a snow skin mooncake or one with chocolate in, but now I want to try them! 

The characters were very lifelike and I loved how much the book showed the feeling of family. Dylan's family was wonderful and I could really feel the love, but I could also feel a lot of love between Theo and his cousins. It gave the book such a loving vibe. 

The only problem I had was that all Theo seemed to do was help Dylan out. It seemed that Dylan was always the one needing rescuing and Theo was always the rescuer. I would have liked a bit more balance as it got old fast. 

Read for a warm loving family dynamic, rich people drama, a cute dog and lots and lots of mooncakes! 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Macmillan and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Dowry of Blood by S.T Gibson

 Pages: 292 

Publisher: Orbit 

Released: 31st of January 2021 

This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. . .

Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.

Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.

What I Have to Say 

This book was beautifully written, the language used was evocative and well thought out, but I felt the plot was a little too uneventful for my liking. The ending was wonderfully action based but everything else was just them travelling around and meeting one another. 

I loved the polyamory. The synopsis calls them rival lovers but all four main characters of this book are in love with each other. The relationship between Constanta, Magdalena and Alexi is perfect and beautiful and honestly relationship goals for anyone whether polyamorous or monogamous. They just could have done without Dracula in the mix. 

I really don't have more to say about this book. If you like beautiful writing and polyamory and don't mind a more sedate book, then it's perfect for you. 

3 stars 

My thanks go to Orbit and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Pages: 350 

Publisher: The Borough Press 

Released: 16th of May 2023 

What's the harm in a pseudonym? New York Times bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn't write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American--in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R. F. Kuang in the vein of White Ivy and The Other Black Girl.

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena's a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn't even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.

So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I.

So what if June edits Athena's novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song--complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn't this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That's what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.

But June can't get away from Athena's shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June's (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface takes on questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation not only in the publishing industry but the persistent erasure of Asian-American voices and history by Western white society. R. F. Kuang's novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.

What I Have to Say 

This book was truly fascinating. R.F. Kuang threw up all sorts of questions around morality, ethics and some of the biggest discourses in publishing and let the reader make up their mind what they thought. While Babel had a lot of dialogue about how the things portrayed in the novel were bad, Yellowface took the viewpoint of the bad guy and gave absolutely no handholding. We are to judge Juniper's actions by ourselves. 

Obviously Juniper does a lot of bad stuff in this novel. I was really interested to see how insidious the racism was. It would have been easy to show a raving mad lunatic with yellow fever in this book, but that wouldn't be an accurate representation of society. Juniper believes herself to be liberal. Her racist views come to light slowly and in tiny fragments over the course of the novel. This approach highlighted how easily these kinds of views take root. 

If I had to pick one thing I like most about this book, it's how much it's made me think. Though it's written in a more approachable style than Babel, it's still a very intellectual book and will leave you with a lot to talk about. 

4 stars 

My thanks go to the Borough Press and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

 

Gwen and Art Are Not In Love by Lex Croucher

Pages: 432 

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA 

Released: 11th of May 2023 

Heartstopper meets A Knight’s Tale in this queer medieval rom com YA debut about love, friendship, and being brave enough to change the course of history.

It’s been hundreds of years since King Arthur’s reign. His descendant, Arthur, a future Lord and general gadabout, has been betrothed to Gwendoline, the quick-witted, short-tempered princess of England, since birth. The only thing they can agree on is that they despise each other.

They’re forced to spend the summer together at Camelot in the run up to their nuptials, and within 24 hours, Gwen has discovered Arthur kissing a boy and Arthur has gone digging for Gwen's childhood diary and found confessions about her crush on the kingdom's only lady knight, Bridget Leclair.

Realizing they might make better allies than enemies, they make a reluctant pact to cover for each other, and as things heat up at the annual royal tournament, Gwen is swept off her feet by her knight and Arthur takes an interest in Gwen's royal brother. Lex Croucher's Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is chock full of sword-fighting, found family, and romantic shenanigans destined to make readers fall in love.

What I Have to Say 

This book was wonderful. It was so fun to read. I love Lex Croucher's tendency to put very modern, relatable characters into historical settings. And this one had a pinch of Arthurian legend to it as well! I liked this once much better than I liked Infamous mostly because the characters were just so lovable. 

There was so much humour in this book. It didn't take itself too seriously and it made it such a fun, enjoyable experience. Arthur was my favourite character, I think, simply because he was just so outrageous. His banter with Gwen and the fact that they absolutely hated each other at the start just added such texture to the story. I haven't found many books with such a tempestuous friendship and it was refreshing to see! 

Also this book was gay. Very gay. Most of the main characters were gay and it was a delight. 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Bloomsbury for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Isle of the Gods by Amie Kaufman

Pages: 465

Publisher: Rock the Boat 

Released: 4th of May 2023 

Magic, romance, and slumbering gods clash in the start of a riveting fantasy series spanning gangsters' dens, forgotten temples, and the high seas from the New York Times bestselling author of the Illuminae Files and the Aurora Cycle.

Selly has salt water in her veins. So when her father leaves her high and dry in the port of Kirkpool, she has no intention of riding out the winter at home while he sails to adventure in the north seas. But any plans to follow him are dashed when a handsome stranger with tell-tale magician's marks on his arms commandeers her ship under cover of darkness: He is Prince Leander of Alinor, and he needs to cross the Crescent Sea without detection so he can complete a ritual on the sacred Isles of the Gods.

Selly has no desire to escort a spoiled prince anywhere, and no time for his entitled demands or his good looks. But what starts as a leisure cruise will lead to acts of treason and sheer terror on the high seas, bringing two countries to the brink of war, two strangers closer than they ever thought possible and two dangerous gods stirring from centuries of slumber...

What I Have to Say 

An beautiful fantasy tale with fantastic world building and description that makes you feel like you're actually on a boat, this book was a delight to read. I loved the characters, the world, the themes. It was really good. 

The themes of grief and personal growth were really interesting to read. The characters all had roles they had to grow into and bad habits they had to move on from. It gave it a coming of age style of narrative to the book, that really added a level of realism to the characters. 

This book was seriously almost perfect. The only thing that gave me pause was the fact that both queer characters were on the villain side. There was a hint that a third character was asexual, which would add some balance to it, but I wasn't sure. I'm hoping that in the next book one of the characters will switch sides, but I'm not sure if he will or not. All the characters were well rounded and didn't seem like tokens at all, but I'd like to see at least one LGBTQ+ character on the side of our heroes. 

Overall I enjoyed it and I'm really looking forward to the next book! 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Rock the Boat for providing me with this copy for review. 

Straight Expectations by Calum McSwiggan

Pages: 336 

Publisher: Penguin

Released: 4th of May 2023 

Seventeen-year-old Max has always been out, proud and just a little spoiled. Frustrated by the lack of romantic options in his small-town high school, during an argument with his lifelong best friend Dean, Max lashes out and says he wishes he had never been born gay.

Max gets more than he bargained for when he wakes up to find his wish has come true - not only have his feelings for boys vanished, but so has Dean.

With his school life turned upside down and his relationship with his family in tatters, Max sets out on a journey of rediscovery to find a way back to the life he took for granted, and the romance he thought he'd never have.

 What I Have to Say 

This was a fun, alternate universe comedy about friendship, identity and what it really means to be gay. It did what it set out to do and looked at identity in a comedic way. 

I enjoyed it mostly but it felt a little out of touch in parts? At one point the main character said that there wasn't really a fight for gay rights anymore. I understand that publishing takes a while and this may have been written before all the recent turmoil, but the trans fight has never stopped and it's still illegal t be gay in many countries. I could forgive it if it was just cis white gay privilege (which the character certainly has in abundance) but as nothing was said to combat the statement, I can't really figure it out. 

The characters were fun. There were definitely a lot of stereotypes, but they seemed like young boys trying to explore their identities and there was some exploration of that in the text and they seemed like well rounded characters as well. I loved how they looked at gender non-conforming fashion so much both as part of the characters and part of the plots as well.  There was also a beautiful emphasis on friendship between the main trio of characters and that was beautiful to see. 

All in all, I'm a bit conflicted about this book. I think if they take out the line about not having to fight anymore, I could say I enjoyed it, but as it stands, I'm just uncomfortable. 

3 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Penguin for providing me with this copy for review. 

Dragonfall by L.R. Lam

Pages: 448 

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton 

Released: 2nd May 2023 

Long ago, humans betrayed dragons, stealing their magic and banishing them to a dying world. Centuries later, their descendants worship dragons as gods. But the 'gods' remember, and they do not forgive.

Thief Arcady scrapes a living on the streets of Vatra. Desperate, Arcady steals a powerful artifact from the bones of the Plaguebringer, the most hated person in Lumet history. Only Arcady knows the artifact's magic holds the key to a new life among the nobles at court and a chance for revenge.

The spell connects to Everen, the last male dragon foretold to save his kind, dragging him through the Veil. Disguised as a human, Everen soon learns that to regain his true power and form and fulfil his destiny, he only needs to convince one little thief to trust him enough to bond completely–body, mind, and soul–and then kill them.

Yet the closer the two become, the greater the risk both their worlds will shatter.

 What I Have to Say 

This was definitely the dragon book I wanted. I loved the plot and the way that the dragons were described, I loved the shape shifting, both the dragon's different forms and the shapeshifting that the humans could do with their magic. I loved the magic system and the dangers that come from it. I just loved everything. 

This book was so inclusive as well. Not only was one of the main characters genderfluid, but there was also mentions of hearing loss and a commonly known sign language as well. Not only that but I was intrigued by the honorific They pronoun and how no one's gender was assumed until they said it themselves! 

The plot was good. A nice heist and the run up to it, even though the emphasis was on the two main characters bonding. It could have been really boring, but the way it was written meant there was always some action to be had. 

If you like dragons and queer representation, look no further!! 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with this copy for review.