The Snow Ghost and Other Tales

Pages: 176 

Publisher: Vintage Classics 

Released: 17th of August 2023 

Enter the haunted world of Ancient Japan in this spine-tingling collection of ghostly tales told and retold across the centuries.

From Goblin infested caves and haunted Tombs, to vengeful spirits and strange, sinister happenings, Ancient Japan was a country and culture that lived with between realms: the world of everyday and the world of supernatural.

It was a time and place where men could be brought down by karmic forces or lured into deadly danger by ghostly apparitions, and where the land held sorrowful secrets or stories that long-awaited an opportunity to reveal them and seek reparation.

The Snow Ghost and Other Tales brings together some of the best and scariest tales that endured across centuries of folk lore in one new beautiful hardback collection. Finally commited to writing during the turn of the twenieth cenutry by a unique set of folklorists, the ghost stories presented in this new anthology will transport readers to a time of magic and mystery, and let them relish in the spine-tingling traditions of Japanese culture largely lost now to modernity.

What I Have to Say 

This was a really good, comprehensive collection of Japanese Ghost Stories. It gave a good look into the culture of ghost stories in Ancient Japan. It was really fun seeing what kind of trends there were across all the different stories and getting a real look into the culture. 

My favourite story was The Tongue Cut Sparrow, which though it had a moment of animal abuse, was a really sweet story about a man and his pet sparrow, with themes of greed and cruelty. I also liked the titular story, the Snow Ghost and the other story of the Yuki Onna as well. 

The only thing that I would have liked and maybe the finished copy will have it, is a more detailed bibliography. I wanted more details of where these stories came from so I could maybe look up the originals in the future when my Japanese is a bit better. There were intials at the end which supposedly say where the stories come from, but I couldn't work it out from that. I'm really hoping that the finished copy has a bibliography or something. 

 4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Vintage Classics for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma

Pages: 513

Publisher: Orbit 

Released: 29th of August 2023 

In a kingdom where flames hold magic and the desert hides secrets, an ancient prophecy comes for an assassin, a princess, and a king. But none are ready to face destiny—and the choices they make could burn the world.

“If we carry the burdens of our fathers, we’ll never know what it means to be free.”

For Elena Aadya Ravence, fire is yearning. She longs to feel worthy of her Phoenix god, of her ancestors who transformed the barren dunes of Sayon into a thriving kingdom. But though she knows the ways and wiles of the desert better than she knows her own skin, the secrets of the Eternal Flame elude her. And without them, she’ll never be accepted as queen.

For Leo Malhari Ravence, fire is control. He is not ready to give up his crown—there’s still too much work to be done to ensure his legacy remains untarnished, his family protected. But power comes with a price, and he’ll wage war with the heavens themselves to keep from paying it.

For Yassen Knight, fire is redemption. He dreams of shedding his past as one of Sayon’s most deadly assassins, of laying to rest the ghosts of those he has lost. If joining the court of flame and serving the royal Ravence family—the very people he once swore to eliminate—will earn him that, he’ll do it no matter what they ask of him.

But the Phoenix watches over all and the fire has a will of its own. It will come for all three, will come for Sayon itself….and they must either find a way to withstand the blaze or burn to ash.

What I Have to Say 

This book was brutal. I thought for a bit that the author was going to kill ever single character in the book. It was really effective to show loss and tragedy on a character. It's going to be interesting to see how the rest of the series progresses. 

This book contained a bit of a mix of Fantasy and Scifi, it was definitely the plot and culture of a fantasy book with the weaponry and tech of Scifi occasionally popping up. It threw me a bit at first because I would forget I was reading a Scifi book and then there'd be a pulse gun mentioned. I got used to it, but I do wonder why the author chose to have that mix rather than just pure Fantasy. 

I really liked the culture in this book, of which there was plenty. I think I would love a book or series completely about the Yumi because they fascinate me completely. There was not enough written about the Yumi in the book for me. 

Aside from the culture though I found the book didn't leave much of an impression on me. I'm looking forward to the sequel because of how the book ended and I'm hoping that one catches my attention more. 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Orbit for gifting me this copy for review. 

A Lady's Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin

Pages: 400 

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Released: 31st of August 2023 

When shy Miss Eliza Balfour married the austere Earl of Somerset, twenty years her senior, it was the match of the season--no matter that he was not the husband Eliza would have chosen.

But ten years later, Eliza is widowed. And at eight and twenty years, she is suddenly left titled, rich, and, for the first time in her life, utterly in control of her own future. Instead of living out her mourning quietly, Eliza heads to Bath with her cousin Margaret. After years of living according to everyone else’s rules, Eliza has resolved, at last, to do as she wants.

But when the ripples of the dowager Lady Somerset’s behavior reach the new Lord Somerset—whom Eliza knew, once, as a younger woman—Eliza is forced to confront the fact that freedom does not come without consequences, though it also brings unexpected opportunities . . .

What I Have to Say 

I love these books so much. The characters are just so sassy and real. Margaret was a treasure and I loved Melville's wit so much. Also this book stands alone from A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting and while I was sad none of the characters in that book appeared, it does mean that readers can pick up Scandal without having read Fortune Hunting! 

There was something so refreshing about seeing a widow as a character in this book. While I don't read much Regency so I don't know what's the norm, most of the regency books I've read are young girls looking for a husband, so it was refreshing to see a widow with her own money and no need to rely on a man looking her way to save her family. Though of course we knew that romance was coming, it was nice to see someone living in this time who didn't necessarily need it. 

I also really felt for Eliza. This was her second chance at love after having married for her family. It was her chance to actually have a love match and be with someone who didn't disparage her all the time. I was really invested in her journey. 

If you haven't picked up one of these books yet, you definitely should. Even if you don't read regency or romance, these are just so refreshing to read! 

5 stars 

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

Forty Words for Love by Aisha Saeed

Pages: 304 

Publisher: Kokila

Released: 22nd of August 2023 

In this tender genre-bending young adult novel by New York Times bestselling author Aisha Saeed, two teen protagonists grow from friends to something more in the aftermath of a tragedy in their magical town.

Moonlight Bay is a magical place—or it was once. After a tragic death mars the town, the pink and lavender waters in the bay turn gray, and the forest that was a refuge for newcomers becomes a scourge to the townspeople. Almost overnight, the entire town seems devoid of life and energy. The tourists have stopped coming. And the people in the town are struggling.

This includes the two teens at the heart of our Yasmine and Rafay. Yasmine is a child of the town, and her parents are trying and failing to make ends meet. Rafay is an immigrant, a child of Willow Forest. The forest of Moonlight Bay was where people from Rafay’s community relocated when their home was destroyed. Except Moonlight Bay is no longer a welcoming refuge, and tensions between the townspeople and his people are growing.

Yasmine and Rafay have been friends since Rafay first arrived, nearly ten years ago. As they've gotten older, their friendship has blossomed. Not that they would ever act on these feelings. The forest elders have long warned that falling in love with "outsiders" will lead to devastating consequences for anyone from Willow Forest. But is this actually true? Can Yasmine and Rafay find a way to be together despite it all?

What I Have to Say 

This book was bursting with metaphor and themes and everything that make English Lit students happy. I loved the idea of a pink and lavender sea and enjoyed thinking about it. And the absence of it made a really powerful metaphor for grief, especially after the tragedy that happens in the first chapter of the book. This book is about the town grieving from a tragic event. It was beautifully constructed to show that. 

The only problem was that because there's so much grief and emotion in the town, it made the first half of the book really depressing to read. It wasn't hard to get into, but it was just a lot of very hopeless sentiment. It did get better though in the second half of the book when there was more hope to be had. 

The ending was beautiful as well. It made me gasp at points and ended in exactly the right way. I thought I knew how it would end from about a quarter of the way into the book, but I was so wrong. It really left an impression on me. 

4 stars 

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

The Battle Drum by Saara El- Arifi

Pages: 448 

Publisher: Harper Voyager 

Released:  23rd of May 2023 

Murder. Secrets. Sacrifice: Three women seek the truth of the empire's past. And the truth they find has the power to ignite a war in the sequel to The Final Strife, the continuation of a visionary fantasy trilogy inspired by Africa and Arabia.

Anoor is the first blue-blooded ruler of the Wardens' Empire. But when she is accused of a murder she didn't commit, her reign is thrown into turmoil. She must solve the mystery and clear her name without the support of her beloved, Sylah.

Sylah braves new lands to find a solution for the hurricane that threatens to destroy her home. But in finding answers, she must make a decision, does she sacrifice her old life in order to raise up her sword once more?

Hassa's web of secrets grows ever thicker as she finds herself on a trail of crimes in the city. Her searching uncovers the extent of the atrocities of the empire's past and present. Now, she must guard both her heart and her land.

The three women find their answers, but they're not the answers they wanted. The drumbeat of change thrums throughout the world.

And it sings a song of war.

Ready we will be, when the Ending Fire comes,

When the Child of fire brings the Battle Drum,

The Battle Drum,

The Battle Drum.

Ready we will be, for war will come.

TW:  Miscarriage, Death, Violence, Addition, Genocide, Sexual Content, Animal Death, Child Abuse, Panic Attacks/ Disorders, Past Mutilation, Self-harm, Ritual Sacrifice, Murder 

What I Have to Say

I really love these books, they have so much tension and pain in the pages. I was so gripped during the climax of the book, feeling the character's pain as my own. It does mean though that when it get brutal, it gets really brutal. 

I've put in a warning about this in my review of the Final Strife, but I wanted to put another one in here. When I say these books are brutal, I mean they are BRUTAL. Read the trigger warnings and if you do not like anything listed there, pick a different book to read. 

I really loved the murder mystery element of the book, but I wish it had been more carefully crafted. It felt like the ending was a bit rushed up with everything else that was happening. The name of the murder was just dumped there and it didn't feel so shocking or like a big reveal at all really. 

Still the rest of the ending was really good and it left a lot of open threads for the next book. And I have THEORIES!! I really can't wait for the next book to be released. 

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

Broken Hearts and Zombie Parts by William Hussey (audiobook)

Pages: 310 

Publisher: Bolinda Audio 

Released: 11th of May 2023 

A Big Gay Rom-Zom-Com with Heart

Jesse Spark has a broken heart and in a few short weeks he'll require major surgery to repair it - which means he only has a month to accomplish two almost-impossible tasks.

1) Shoot his epic zombie movie on a shoestring budget if he has any hope of getting into film school.

2) Fall in love before this surgery lands him with a huge scar - because how will anyone ever fancy him after that?

Sex Education meets Love, Simon - with fake zombies - in this savagely funny gay YA romance about body image, self-acceptance and falling in love, all while shooting a low-budget zombie flick!

Fun, fresh and authentic, this is the feel-good hit of #hotboysummer, perfect for fans of Alice Oseman, Ciara Smyth and Adam Silvera.

What I Have to Say 

This was cute, funny and heart-breaking (no pun intended). It was a sweet story about friendship and making a movie with an underlying story of body issues and coming to terms with surgery. I loved how Jesse's own issues about his surgery scar was mirrored in Morgan's confidence issues. 

The audio was well done, but I couldn't get on with the narrator. It didn't distract from the story at all, but it's definitely not a book that I'll look back on and remember the narrator from. I did like however that he did sound like a teenage boy. I've heard so many audiobooks where the narrator is meant to be in their teens and they sound grown up and it's very off-putting. 

There were a couple of things that put me off the book itself but they were minor. For the most part, I enjoyed it immensely and will look forward to reading more from William Hussey in the future. 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Bolinda Audio for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

The Twisted Mark by Sophie Williamson

Pages: 379 

Publisher: Storm Publishing 

Released: 26th of July 2023 

Gabriel’s eyes haven’t left my face. There’s not much he can do to me that he’s not already entitled my body and my magic, served up on a plate in return for my brother’s freedom. I swallow hard. I’m hardly naïve—but I’ve never gone all the way. I can’t back out now. I can’t let my family down...

Sadie Sadler lives in the big city. Takes the train to work each day. Drinks fancy coffee. Does yoga… and never, ever does magic, lest it leads Gabriel Thornber straight to her door.

Sadie’s family have used their magic to protect the small northern town of Mannith for centuries. But now, Sadie’s brother Brendan is on trial for murder, and Gabriel, the charismatic and sinister head of the Sadlers’ only rivals, is moving to take the town. Only Sadie has both the knowledge to save Brendan and the magical strength to face down Gabriel.

The trouble is, there’s a good reason Sadie left home and turned her back on she bargained away her powers and her body to Gabriel to save her damn brother the last time he got in trouble. If she comes home, Gabriel will try to collect… but there’s no way she’ll allow her brother to rot in jail or her family’s strength to wane.

Returning in disguise, Sadie’s plan to save Brendan and get out is tested as she’s dragged back into a world of magic and power, with Gabriel at its centre. Battling both her long-standing terror of him and a growing, dark attraction, she must decide who Mannith’s real villains are and how far she’ll go for her family.

A promise made… a magical debt unpaid. This is a fight that could cost Sadie everything.

What I Have to Say 

I really, really wish I hadn't bothered finishing this book. The Characters who were meant to be "morally grey" were not. They were despicable. Writing morally grey characters does not mean you make them do a terrible thing and then make out that they're not so bad after all. 

Gabriel wasn't the only one who was bad, but he made me feel really queasy every time he was on screen. He (at the very least) threatened rape and played mind games with the main character and her family, so much so that the main character runs away and hides to avoid being raped by this guy. Then the rest of the book is basically the author trying to make out that it's not as bad as it sounds and making Gabriel a hero at every opportunity.  

It's a real shame because I liked Sadie a lot as a character and if the author had just leaned into it and made Gabriel a villain, I could have really been into it. 

2 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Storm publishing for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

Pages: 496 

Publisher: Solaris 

Released: 17th of August 2023 

Inspired by a classic of martial arts literature, S. L. Huang's The Water Outlaws are bandits of devastating ruthlessness, unseemly femininity, dangerous philosophies, and ungovernable gender who are ready to make history—or tear it apart.

In the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own.

Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor's soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job.

Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away.

Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice—for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.

Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire.

What I Have to Say 

I enjoyed this book a lot, though I found it a bit slow. I also found the names sometimes a bit confusing as there were a lot of them and  some of them were very similar but by focusing on just the main characters, I found it wasn't too hard to keep track. It was just some of the background characters I had to remind myself who they were the few times they came up. 

I found the Liangshan beautiful from the start. It was wonderful that they had somewhere for those betrayed by the empire to come together for a fresh start, where any past lives or crimes were forgiven and they were able to fight for a better future. It was great to see a group of mostly women and also a group where transwomen were just accepted and seeing solely as women and not anything else. 

I really really liked the ending. I wasn't sure if it was going to end happily or not. I could see it going both ways. But the way it ended was just an absolutely perfect message of hope, justice and just so fitting for all the characters. 

4 stars 

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

 

The Sentence by Christina Dalcher

Pages: 336 

Publisher: HQ 

Released: 17th of August 2023 

A law intended to end capital punishment.

Prosecutors who seek the death penalty put their lives on the line if the guilty are later found innocent.

A lawyer convinced beyond reasonable doubt.

Justine Boucher is presented with overwhelming evidence in a brutal murder case. Her request for execution is granted.

But what if she’s wrong?

What I Have to Say 

I'd forgotten quite how good Christina Dalcher's books are. The Sentence was well written with well presented arguments and very much intended to make you think. It was interesting to me how a book that so staunchly anti- capital punishment, also looked at the arguments for it.  

This book is dark. I would definitely say don't read it if you're at all squeamish about certain crimes because some bits of the book go into detail about heinous crime. Let's just say, I was really glad I was reading a fictional book about fictional people at some points and while I know that there are real crimes that are just as horrible, I can avoid reading them. 

The ending of the book was understandable. I could see how she was going to end it a few pages before the end and while it frustrated me endlessly, I don't think she could have ended it any other way. It was an ending that suited the book, even if not one that entirely satisfies the reader. 

I'm really glad I had the chance to review this book as I enjoyed reading it immensely and it reminded me how much I originally enjoyed the previous book of hers that I reviewed. 

5 stars 

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

Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons

Pages: 336f 

Publisher: Manilla Press 

Released: 3rd of August 2023 

Was the greatest ever love story a lie?

The first time Romeo Montague sees young Rosaline Capulet he falls instantly in love.

Rosaline, headstrong and independent, is unsure of Romeo's attentions but with her father determined that she join a convent, this handsome and charming stranger offers her the chance of a different life.

Soon though, Rosaline begins to doubt all that Romeo has told her. She breaks off the match, only for Romeo's gaze to turn towards her cousin, thirteen-year-old Juliet. Gradually Rosaline realises that it is not only Juliet's reputation at stake, but her life.

With only hours remaining before she will be banished behind the nunnery walls, will Rosaline save Juliet from her Romeo? Or can this story only ever end one way?

A subversive, powerful untelling of Shakespeare's best-known tale, narrated by a fierce, forgotten voice: this is Rosaline's story.

What I Have to Say 

This was so interesting. I love a retelling with some grit, really getting down to the practicalities of things and showing how unhealthy something is that has been so romanticised. The author took a deep dive into the original Shakespeare and it shows in the retelling. Picking up on things like the fact that Romeo's age is never mentioned but Juliet's is emphasised and reading something wholly new into the text. 

Romeo's villainous nature was really well done. Even if you don't read the blurb before going in (or you read it a while ago and only vaguely remember it, like I did), you pick up very quickly that Romeo is not what he seems. There are little seeds of bad behaviour spread throughout the text that quickly builds up to a full picture even before the truth is revealed to Rosaline. I don't think I've ever been quite so desperate for a character to go to a nunnery before! 

Most of all, this made me want to read Romeo and Juliet again and see all the details that the author has drawn out for this retelling. I want to see it in a new light after reading this and I think that's a beautiful thing. 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Manilla Press for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

 

Death at the Party by Amy Stuart

Pages: 400 

Publisher: Penguin 

Released: 3rd of August 2023 

THE PLANNING TOOK MONTHS. THE MURDER JUST MOMENTS . . .

Nadine Walsh is determined to make her summer garden party the event of the year.

Everyone deserves a celebration after the year they've had. A chance to forget.

As she prepares to welcome her guests, however, Nadine can't help but be distracted. Her husband is of little help to her. Her two grown children are consumed with their own concerns.

But it's Nadine's own secrets that threaten to destroy her perfect party.

By the end of the night, Nadine will be standing over a dead body in the basement.

But which of her guests will she have murdered? And why?

What I Have to Say 

I don't think there was a single character I liked in this book. Maybe the daughter or the niece, but they didn't get a lot of screen time and I'm sure if they had, I would have hated them too. 

I didn't warm to Nadine at all. She seemed to hate and judge all of her neighbours, even the one she was having the affair with and that just set off on a bad foot to me. Then the story was massively predictable. It didn't really matter to me which neighbour she killed because all the ones it seemed likely to be were very interchangeable. 

Honestly I was just bored through most of this book. There was no tension there, not much desire to know more. I'm giving it three stars because it wasn't badly written, but I didn't enjoy it very much. 

3 stars 

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

Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim

Pages: 384 

Publisher: Hodderscape 

Released: 29th of August 2023 

From the New York Times bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes comes a tale of two sisters - one as beautiful as the other is monstrous - who must fight to save each other when a betrothal contest gone wrong unleashes an evil that could sever their bond forever.

One must fall for the other to rise.

Channi was not born a monster. But when her own father offers her in sacrifice to the Demon Witch, she is forever changed. Cursed with a serpent's face, Channi is the exact opposite of her beautiful sister, Vanna-the only person in the village who looks at Channi and doesn't see a monster. The only person she loves and trusts.

Now seventeen, Vanna is to be married off in a vulgar contest that will enrich the coffers of the village leaders. Only Channi, who's had to rely on her strength and cunning all these years, can defend her sister against the cruelest of the suitors. But in doing so, she becomes the target of his wrath - launching a grisly battle royale, a quest over land and sea, a romance between sworn enemies, and a choice that will strain Channi's heart to its breaking point.

Weaving together elements of The Selection and Ember in the Ashes with classic tales like Beauty and the Beast, Helen of Troy, and Asian folklore, Elizabeth Lim is at the absolute top of her game in this thrilling yet heart-wrenching fantasy that explores the dark side of beauty and the deepest bonds of sisterhood.

What I Have to Say 

This book broke me. I thought that I would be okay. I knew how it ended from reading Six Crimson Cranes and The Dragon's Promise. I was prepared. Or at least I thought I was. In reality it was so intensely tragic. 

The thing I loved most about it was all the little nods to Six Crimson Cranes. The bowl that Vanna sleeps with over her breast to stop the light keeping her awake. Shiori's father coming to see Vanna and offering a crane sculpture. All of it made me so happy, because I loved Six Crimson Cranes so much. 

I was really worried it wouldn't live up to my expectations, but it did. It may not have been as perfect as Six Crimson Cranes, but it stood out as a book in it's own right and had the beautiful writing style that I've come to expect from Elizabeth Lim. I loved Channi's character, so different from Shiori, but still someone you could really like and root for. 

Honestly it was better than I ever could have hoped for a prequel. 

 

5 stars 

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

Zhara by S. Jae- Jones

Pages: 416

Publisher: Wednesday Books 

Released: 1st of August 2023 

Sailor Moon meets Cinder in Guardians of Dawn: Zhara, the start of a new, richly imagined fantasy series from S. Jae-Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of Wintersong.

Magic flickers.

Love flames.

Chaos reigns.

Magic is forbidden throughout the Morning Realms. Magicians are called abomination, and blamed for the plague of monsters that razed the land twenty years before.

Jin Zhara already had enough to worry about—appease her stepmother’s cruel whims, looking after her blind younger sister, and keeping her own magical gifts under control—without having to deal with rumors of monsters re-emerging in the marsh. But when a chance encounter with an easily flustered young man named Han brings her into contact with a secret magical liberation organization called the Guardians of Dawn, Zhara realizes there may be more to these rumors than she thought. A mysterious plague is corrupting the magicians of Zanhei and transforming them into monsters, and the Guardians of Dawn believe a demon is responsible.

In order to restore harmony and bring peace to the world, Zhara must discover the elemental warrior within, lest the balance between order and chaos is lost forever.

What I Have to Say 

This was the perfect blend of a magical girl anime and fantasy novel. You could really see how the author was inspired by the magical girl genre and used it as the base of this great new series. I loved how she even included animal companions for the girls to have though I was a bit sad that they didn't talk. 

The language used was a big part of this book, with the author trying to give a nod to the more formal language that would be used in the setting. I thought it worked really well. Especially the honorific avoidance of personal pronouns. It added to the various characters relationships and tension. I also have to mention Xu, the non-binary character who I loved. 

I did feel that occasionally plot points were forgotten about for a bit, especially with Han and Xu getting out from the palace. There was so much emphasis on them dressing in disguise and sneaking out and then it was just ignored for half the book. 

It was a really strong start to the series though and I can't wait to read on. 

3 stars 

My thanks go to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for providing me with this gifted copy for review.