BOOKS | Review: Bride by Ali Hazelwood

Name: Bride (Bride #1)

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Publisher: Sphere

Date published: February 2024

Genre: Fiction, adult, romance, fantasy, paranormal 

Pages: 399

Rating: 3/5

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast - again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold an historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange. Again.
Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It's clear from the way he tracks Misery's every movement that he doesn't trust her. If only he knew how right he was...
Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what's hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory... alone with the wolf.

- Goodreads.

This was quite a fun book, it was easy to read and the writing style was enjoyable with a likeable narrative voice and an entertaining sense of humour.

I don't read a lot of paranormal stories or stories that are fantasy but set in a contemporary setting, but I enjoyed the premise of this story and it was interesting to learn about the world and discover the interactions between humans, vampires and werewolves and how the politics between them worked.

I think there were a lot of interesting characters, and I enjoyed the tension between Misery and Lowe. I think the author did a good job of creating the chemistry between them and the moments of them getting to know each other and opening up and becoming vulnerable were quite sweet, I think the only problem I had was that sometimes they assumed a lot or were quite stubborn about believing something when the truth seemed pretty obvious, at least from a reader's persepective, and occasionally I didn't understand their motivation and why they did some things, but mostly they did explain why a character might feel a certain way or why they might take a certain action, even if it could be frustrating.

I think it would depend on the storyline of what happened next, but I would consider reading sequels to this book, and since I enjoyed her writing style I would read one of Ali Hazelwood's other books to see if I enjoyed something she wrote set in another world or genre. This one was a lot of fun, it was just understanding the characters at some points that was the main problem for me.

BOOKS | Review: Lips Touch by Laini Taylor

Name: Lips Touch

Author: Laini Taylor

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Date published: October 2014

Genre: Fiction, anthology, short stories, young adult, fantasy, paranormal, fairy tales, romance

Pages: 288

Rating: 4/5

Three tales of supernatural love, each pivoting on a kiss that is no mere kiss, but an action with profound consequences for the kissers' souls:
Goblin Fruit
In Victorian times, goblin men had only to offer young girls sumptuous fruits to tempt them to sell their souls. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy girls?
Spicy Little Curses
A demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test her curse.
Hatchling
Six days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons? 

- From Goodreads.

Goblin Fruit

This was a very dark and seductive story, it was very sinister but strangely delightful in a wicked way to read about how the goblins could latch onto what the soul desired and tempt you until you willingly did what they wanted, even though it would doom you.

Laini Taylor has a very poetic and descriptive style of writing that works perfectly with this kind of story, something like a dark fairy tale or twisted cautionary tale.

Spicy Little Curses Such as These 

This was quite a different story from the first one, although it had the similar feel of being something like a darker fairy tale. It felt very romantic while also having a tragic, bittersweet element to it.

Hatchling

This third story was quite a mysterious, suspenseful and intense story. There were quite a few different parts to the story and it was a little difficult to follow at first but by the end it all fitted together like a completed puzzle. Laini Taylor did not hold back on the darkness of this tale either and it was certainly not a lighthearted story, but it was definitely written well and had an interesting ending.

Overall Thoughts

It was a very well done collection of stories that fit together well and really showed Laini Taylor's skills for writing and her ability to write sinister, fairy tale-style stories in her own way, making them fascinating even when they became quite horrifying.

BOOKS | Review: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Name: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Author: Sangu Mandanna

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Date published: August 2022

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, contemporary, paranormal

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules... With one exception: an online account, where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.
But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and… Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.
As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for....

- From Goodreads.

This was a very sweet, heartwarming book that really got to my emotions and made me very happy to read. It had a good balance of lighthearted and serious moments and had a really joyful conclusion.

The descriptions of the setting, atmosphere and magic were all wonderful to read. I could really picture everything and felt really immersed in every scene. I loved how the magic was described, it was really exciting and fun and the author really showed how much Mika loved her magic and her joy of sharing her magic with other characters was so lovely and sweet.

I loved Mika as a main character, she had a great way of thinking about the world and she was so thoughtful and sensitive towards other people. Her relationships with the other characters were all interesting, and all of the other characters felt realistic and well rounded. Her romantic relationship with Jamie and the way everything developed between them was so perfect and I thought the way they communicated and how they treated each other with kindness was so nice to read and I really believed the feelings between them.

I really enjoyed the plot, there was a lot of room for character development and plenty of moments that helped build the relationships between the characters. There were some great funny moments as well as some really emotional and heartfelt ones. Overall it was a great story and everything I could want from a cosy fantasy romance.

BOOKS | Review: The Mask Falling by Samantha Shannon

Name: The Mask Falling (The Bone Season series #4)

Author: Samantha Shannon

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Date published: January 2021

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, paranormal, urban fantasy

Pages: 528

Rating: 4/5

 

Dreamwalker Paige Mahoney has eluded death again. Snatched from the jaws of captivity and consigned to a safe house in the Scion Citadel of Paris, she finds herself caught between those factions that seek Scion's downfall and those who would kill to protect the Rephaim's puppet empire.
The mysterious Domino Program has plans for Paige, but she has ambitions of her own in this new citadel. With Arcturus Mesarthim - her former enemy - at her side, she embarks on an adventure that will lead her from the catacombs of Paris to the glittering hallways of Versailles. Her risks promise high reward: the Parisian underworld could yield the means to escalate her rebellion to outright war.
As Scion widens its bounds and the free world trembles in its shadow, Paige must fight her own memories after her ordeal at the hands of Scion. Meanwhile, she strives to understand her bond with Arcturus, which grows stronger by the day. But there are those who know the revolution began with them - and could end with them...

- From Goodreads.

I really loved the descriptions of Paris in this book, it was a wonderful place to set the book and all the details were so well written and nicely placed in the story. I love it when a setting feels like a character in a book, London felt really alive in the previous books and Paris felt just as full of soul in this one too.

Sometimes it did feel like things were done to make the plot move forward, rather than because it made sense for the world or characters. For example, mostly I did agree with Paige's decisions, or at least understood them, but a couple of times it almost felt like she did things because the plot needed her to, and it did not match what she would do given her experience and what she had learnt in the previous books. But this only happened a small amount of times and it did not ruin my enjoyment of the story too much.

I liked that Paige felt the effects of the things that happened to her, both physically and mentally, how that was acknowledged and how she needed to take the time to recover and feel stronger again, and even when she felt better she was still affected by the memories of what had happened. I really felt all of her emotions around that and thought it was written very well.

The story continued to be unpredictable, as all the other books in the series have been so far. There were plot twists and surprises from beginning to end and it certainly kept me intrigued and trying to solve the mysteries all the way through. I liked that there were different layers to the story and different plot threads and storylines taking place at the same time, it was all woven together very intricately.

The ending of the book was especially well done, plot twist after plot twist, all completely surprising, with an epic finalé that suddenly appeared to leave you shocked and stunned. It was nothing I could have expected and it was thrilling to read.

Overall, even though there were a few small moments I had problems with, it was still an incredibly impressive book that answered so many questions that the previous books had asked while also setting up so many potential pathways for the rest of the series. I am so curious to see what will happen in the rest of the books and I am sure Samantha Shannon will continue to surprise me as she has already amazed me so much so far.

BOOKS | Review: The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon

Name: The Song Rising (The Bone Season series #3)

Author: Samantha Shannon

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Date published: March 2017 (this edition March 2018)

Genre: Fiction, adult, science fiction, fantasy, dystopia, urban fantasy, paranormal

Pages: 363

Rating: 4/5

A rebel who becomes a queen
The hotly anticipated third book in the bestselling Bone Season series—a ground-breaking, dystopian fantasy of extraordinary imagination following a bloody battle against foes on every side, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London's criminal population.
But, having turned her back on Jaxon Hall and with vengeful enemies still at large, the task of stabilising the fractured underworld has never seemed so challenging.
Little does Paige know that her reign may be cut short by the introduction of Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for the clairvoyant community and the world as they know it...

- From Goodreads.

As this is the third book in the series, I liked that the elements of the worldbuilding were changed up and new parts were introduced, each instalment seems to bring something different and unique which keeps it interesting and exciting. The characters were put into new situations and there was always something unpredictable happening. The world was expanded and we learnt so much more about what existed outside of the lives and communities that Paige and the characters around her had already known.

On the subject of characters, they continued to be really well written and fascinating. Paige is still a great main character to follow, and I am always on her side, hoping she will make it through and succeed. She went through a lot of difficult things in this book, and it was incredible to read how she persevered and survived, even through the worst. I also really like a lot of the side characters, especially Nick and Eliza. I hope we will see more of them both in future books in the series and hopefully there will be more development in Paige and Eliza's friendship. Nick and Paige's bond is already so strong it made my heart ache, I even cried at one scene between them towards the end of the book.

There were quite a few emotional moments in the book, and although not all of them made me cry like that one, they all got to me and really made me feel on behalf of Paige and the other characters involved.

The writing in the book was well done and balanced the emotional, poignant moments with dramatic and shocking ones, some calm ones, and even a few nice humourous moments. So while I was invested and felt the emotions of the story, I was not too overwhelmed and enjoyed the reading experience.

The only things that stopped me from giving it a full five stars were a few minor things, some character interactions where I did not feel the emotions or just did not connect with the moment, and a couple of moments where the exposition did not feel like it fitted as smoothly into the story as it could have done. Otherwise, I really liked this instalment in the series and am excited, if quite nervous, to move onto the next one!

BOOKS | Review: The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

Name: The Mime Order (The Bone Season series #2)

Author: Samantha Shannon

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Date published: January 2015 (this edition February 2017)

Genre: Fiction, adult, science fiction, fantasy, dystopia, paranormal, urban fantasy

Pages: 501

Rating: 4/5

This review contains mild spoilers.

It is a dark time for clairvoyants. Scion is in league with the Rephaim, an extraordinarily powerful, otherworldly race that intends to make humans its slaves.

In an unprecedented feat of bravery, Paige Mahoney has succeeded in leading a mass break-out from the brutal camp, Sheol I, where she and other clairvoyants were systematically imprisoned.

Paige is desperate to reach the safety of the London underworld, but the ruthless leader of the Rephaim, Nashira Sargas, is not likely to let her escape so easily…

- From Goodreads.

I thought The Mime Order continued the series in a really exciting way, adding some really intriguing elements to the plot and expanding the world in more fascinating detail.

There was a lot of mystery to the story in this book which I found to be completely unpredictable, I really had no idea what was going to happen next and thought all the plot threads were woven together well. The extra twist at the end of the book also set up an extra layer to what I thought would be the plot of the next book, and makes me all the more eager to pick up the next in the series.

We were introduced to more characters in this book, all of them with interesting parts to play in the story, who felt real and created engaging character dynamics and interactions. One thing I would have liked to see more of was the escapees from Sheol I having a bigger part to play and seeing more of them in the book, since they were so involved in the first one I did feel like I missed them in this one. A few of them did get to play an important part, but I would have liked to see Paige have a connection to more of them and keep in more contact with them, since no one else really knew what she went through when she was captured. Of course she did interact with the rebel Rephaim in this book and although they were somewhat on her side, they still did not really understand her as the other captive voyants would have.

On a similar note, the main weakness of this book and the reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars was because of Paige's romance with Warden. I still did not really feel their connection and thought I would have liked them more as reluctant allies or almost friends at this point instead of already developing a romance when I was still feeling the anger on behalf of Paige over how he treated her in the first book and still did not like some the ways he behaved in this one. I understood that he was Rephaim and would not act human but I could not excuse the things I did not like or understand Paige's feelings for him, but I might have liked it if it had happened later in the series.

However, since this was not the main plot of the book it did not ruin my enjoyment of the story and I still found plenty to enjoy about it. Paige continued to develop her skills with her clairvoyancy and we learnt more about the other types of clairvoyancy too in this book and I found that all fascinating and I think it still continues to be one of the most unique parts of this series.

Overall, this was a thrilling and riveting book that kept me wondering what would happen until the very end. It was all written in great detail with some really captivating character relationships and I am very excited to continue with the series and to see what happens next.

BOOKS | Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Name: The Bone Season (The Bone Season series #1)

Author: Samantha Shannon

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Date published: August 2013

Genre: Fiction, adult, science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, dystopia

Pages: 466

Rating: 4/5

 

 

The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people's minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant - and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.

It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.

- From Goodreads.

I found The Bone Season to be a very inventive and exciting story that I did not want to put down. It had a few small problems but nothing that truly ruined my enjoyment and overall it was a great start to a series.

One of my favourite things about the book was the world it was set in. It is our world, but in a future with advanced technology, and with alternate history that diverged from our history 200 years back from where the book takes place. There is also clairvoyance added into this world, which makes it all a fascinating mix that I think was handled well. At first there was a strange mixture of a lot of explanation of the worldbuilding taking place at once, while at the same time not all of the names for everything where explained, but I managed to go along with it and still follow the story easily, and was soon enough very immersed in the story and its world.

My other favourite part of this book was Paige, the main character. I just completely loved her, I loved that she got angry, I loved that she was determined, and stood her ground, and I loved that despite everything and all the awful situations she had been in she still cared for other people and stood up for them too. Her particular type of clairvoyancy was very intriguing too and it was interesting to learn about it and see her develop her skills with it more over the course of the book.

I was not sure how I felt about the character of Warden. I definitely hated him at times as Paige justifiably did, and some of the things he did, if I was in Paige's position, I am not sure I would have been able to forgive him for. I did not like how her was forceful with her at times, and consequently as they became closer and formed a bond, I did not feel their connection as much as I would have liked. But I am still interested to see if or how his character develops or changes over the series and if that makes me like him and their relationship more.

All the other side characters were compelling and well-rounded and always added something to the scenes they were in. There were some of them I would definitely be excited to see more of in future books. 

Overall, it felt like a very unique book that always kept me curious to find out what would happen next and invested in the characters, particularly Paige. I will definitely be reading on with the rest of the series and I am excited to see what the next books bring.

BOOKS | Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

 Name: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Author: Holly Black

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Date published: First published 2013, this edition published 2014

Genre: Fiction, young adult, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, romance, dystopia, horror

Pages: 419

Rating: 5/5

 

Coldtown was dangerous, Tana knew. A glamorous cage, a prison for the damned and anyone who wanted to party with them.
Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. And once you pass through Coldtown's gates, you can never leave.
One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself. 

- From Goodreads.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a different and fresh take on vampires that I found intriguing and thrilling to read about, and at some points it was even quite scary and intense. Holly Black certainly made vampires her own in a complex and fascinating way.

I really enjoyed the writing style, it flowed smoothly and I found it easy to read, and it made the story quite addictive as I did not want to put it down. 

The plot was a wild rollercoaster with an incredible amount of twists and turns. Holly Black books are never predictable and this was no exception. I had no idea what was going to happen and was quite nervous to find out how it would all end.

As usual with Holly Black books, the characters are all complex and fascinating, even the characters you truly detest. Everyone was interesting and felt like you might find them in the real world. My favourite characters were Tana and Gavriel, who I felt were both very well written, had backstories that were compelling, and you could understand and root for them, even when they had to do awful and horrible things. Their romance was perfectly done and all of their moments together were captivating and I loved the way their relationship was built up.

Overall I would absolutely recommend this book if you are looking for a unique and modern vampire story with a riveting plot and engaging characters, and if you enjoyed Holly Black's other books, this still has her excellent writing style and unpredicatable twists, even though it is one of her earlier books.