Tag: book review

Review: The Bone Witch (#1) by Rin Chupeco

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments
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Goodreads

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.
In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha-one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice. 

This book follows Tea, a bone witch/necromancer, who has also brought back her brother from the dead. After finding this out, Tea travels to another land, with a mentor, to be taken to a school to become an asha. From what I understood, Asha are kind of like Geisha, in that they learn to perform for others, dance and sing, and are recognised by their outfits, which in this case is hua.

They also have heartglasses, which hang around their necks, and change colour with the emotion of the wearer. Silver heartglasses means you can draw runes and fight, as an asha (for women) or a soldier (for men). Heartglasses are also exchanged with the person you fall in love with, which can be dangerous as they are essentially a part of you.

Then perhaps we should carve a world one day where the strength lies in who you are

There was a lot I liked about this book, but I did feel mixed about it. For a start, I felt like I was being thrown into this story almost as if it was a sequel. The world feels very fantastical and for a good chunk of the book, I just felt a bit..lost. If you enjoy high fantasy, I think you’ll get on with this just fine and enjoy it. But for me, who has only recently gotten into fantasy, I still find it hard to wrap my head around some things and it felt like I was being plunged in at the deep end sometimes! I also couldn’t quite grasp who was telling the in-between chapters, even though I enjoyed them I have since learned it is also Tea, telling the same story but in the present, whereas the main narrative is Tea in the future, telling the tale.

All that aside, there are some really cool parts of this story. Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. The pacing isn’t exactly fast, but I didn’t want to put it down in the second half either. The writing is just beautiful, magical and weirdly comforting, and I really enjoyed reading about the world.

I also want to say I love how Rin discusses gender. Even in a regimented world in which there are two genders and they both have their roles, gender issues are discussed. The fact that Asha face criticism as females is not shied away from. The characters as a whole were great, and I really loved Tea’s mentor and some of the older Asha’s. Her relationship with her brother and friendship with Likh were also lovely to read about.

rather than in what they expect you to be.

Overall, I had mixed feelings about this but overall quite enjoyed reading it. This world has so much potential and I will definitely be carrying on with the series, now I have more understanding about how the world works I think I’ll really enjoy it!

★★★★
3.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review2 Comments
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Goodreads | Waterstones

Frances Janvier spends most of her time studying.
Everyone knows Aled Last as that quiet boy who gets straight As.
You probably think that they are going to fall in love or something. Since he is a boy and she is a girl.
They don’t. They make a podcast.
In a world determined to shut them up, knock them down, and set them on a cookie cutter life path, Frances and Aled struggle to find their voices over the course of one life-changing year. Will they have the courage to show everyone who they really are? Or will they be met with radio silence?

This was my last Alice Oseman novel and I had no idea that I would fall in love with it the way I did. I’ve heard mixed things about this and I was unsure how I would feel about it. Even the first hundred pages or so, I was unsure about it and how I would end up feeling about it by the end of the book.

And then I absolutely fell for it. Oseman has a way of writing that has this raw and beautiful honesty, like the characters are speaking directly to you. Like they are hiding nothing. And they are broken, and they are emotional, and they are real. I loved them for it.

I wonder- if nobody is listening to my voice,

This story follows Frances, the listener of a podcast, and Aled, the creator. It is about how they find each other in a time when they both need somebody to save them. It is about friendship, not romance, which felt so refreshing. I love how Oseman decided to write about a friendship and face it up front, even addressing it in the book (You probably think that Aled Last and I are going to fall in love or something. Since he is a boy and I am a girl. I just wanted to say—we don’t). It felt so amazing to have such a diverse cast of characters with different friendships and relationships, with no relationship being the focus of the story.

It dealt closely with sexuality in places, with one of the characters discussing demisexuality which I was surprised by and absolutely warmed my heart, identifying as demi myself. This book also dealt with emotional abuse and family issues, all the while showing an absolutely heart warming family in Frances and her mum that felt so incredibly well done. The diverse friendship group was amazing and supported each other through everything. I loved them.

The plot had just enough mystery in it that I never wanted to put it down, and I read this in less than 24 hours. I read some of it on audio, but at least half in physical format, and I couldn’t put it down. The podcast being woven into the story played into this, as I wanted to find out what happened in the Universe City world too.

am I making any sound at all?

It also discussed a lot of issues surrounding school and university, which as somebody who could be classed as a ‘school refuser’ at one point in my life, I related to and found it such an important conversation which I’m so glad Oseman faced head on. It was fascinating and encouraging to see a book that talked about healthy alternatives to higher education, and I loved it.

Overall, wow did this blow me away. I had no idea how much I would fall for it and that it would become my favourite Oseman book!

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments
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Goodreads | Waterstones

Liz has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed town. But Liz has an escape plan to attend an uber-elite college, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor. But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down . . . until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen. There’s nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to college. The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She’s smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?

This is one of those books I just knew I was going to adore. I heard about this book earlier in the year and picked it up pretty much as soon as it came out. A couple of my friends have read it and loved it too, so I was reassured that this one would be for me!

And I wasn’t wrong – I ended up adoring this book. I listened to it half on audiobook and half read the physical version depending on what I was doing. I’ve never actually read an audiobook before but I loved the experience and narrator, and it was a great thing to have on while I was driving!

I never needed this race, or a hashtag, or the king to be a queen. 

This book was so full of emotion. It made me actually laugh out loud in places and almost cry in others. I loved Liz as a main character and so many elements of the story made me feel for her in various ways. There is a big focus on friendship groups and family, which I loved. Liz lives with her grandparents and her little brother, and I adored the scenes that included them. Their relationships were portrayed beautifully.

The friendships were so well portrayed too. I felt up and down about Liz’s main friendship group and the high school drama in general, but by the end of the book I made peace with any annoyances I’d had and I felt like the issues between friends had been handled well. I also loved the friendship between Liz and Jordan because, yes to platonic male/female friendships! The relationship was also so lovely and I really enjoyed reading about it but it not being the main plot worked well.

The discussions of race and lgbtqia+ issues were also so brilliantly written. It introduced and handled these complicated social issues so well and was so readable (that feels like the wrong word, but I can’t find the one I’m looking for!), especially for an audience of young people who may be only just learning of these issues.

I was born royalty. All I had to do was pick up my crown.

Overall, this book was fun and entertaining but also tackled important issues and made me so emotional. It was diverse and beautiful and I really loved it!


★★★★★
4.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: Stalking Jack the Ripper (#1) by Kerri Maniscalco

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review6 Comments
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Goodreads | Waterstones

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

I read this with my lovely friends (and colleagues!) Amy and Jo and I really liked it. Amy has been wanting us to read it for a while because it’s her favourite series ever and I’m so glad she did! We buddy read it over 2 weeks and we all loved reading it together.

I’m not usually one for historical fiction at all but this one was more steampunk horror which I loved the aesthetic of. The Victorian Gothic vibes worked so well and I loved reading about the city of London in the late 1800s. It felt like the perfect set for this book!

Roses have both petals and thorns, my dark flower.

Audrey Rose was my absolute favourite and I loved her as a female main character. She was so ballsy and brave and was such a strong character that I fell in love with her instantly. Some of the lines she came out with even in the first few chapters were amazing and I loved her for it. The way she defies societies norms is great and I really admired her as a character. This is exactly what we need from YA fiction for young female readers!

I also didn’t feel like the love interest took away from her character or the plot at all, I’m glad it was more of a side addition to the plot rather than the main plot. In fact, I really enjoyed the plot and I thought the element of her being a female ‘detective’ looking for Jack the Ripper. It had a real mystery element to it that intrigued me so much, especially in the last 50 pages or so! I didn’t know who Jack the Ripper was either, and was constantly kept guessing.

You needn’t believe something weak because it appears delicate. Show the world your bravery.

Overall, I really loved this book and I can’t wait to carry on with the series! The only slight thing I struggled with was the actual cutting up of the cadavers, which I honestly think I found more difficult because I’m vegan! But it only got me a couple of times and I really enjoyed reading it despite those very few scenes.

★★★★★
4.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: The Retribution of Mara Dyer (#3) by Michelle Hodkin

On By Beth JonesIn Book ReviewLeave a comment
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Mara Dyer had no idea that it would end like this.
She desperately wants to believe that there’s more to the lies she’s been told and doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.
She never gave much thought before to how far she would go for vengeance, but with loyalties betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and when fate and chance collide it seems the time for retribution has arrived.

Wow, this book was a mess. It left me so unsatisfied and confused. I had mixed feelings about the series so far, but I enjoyed the second book a lot more than the first. I was still feeling good for the first half of this one too, we seemed to be following a good, linear narrative leading us in the right direction. Mara was on a quest, a road trip. It felt structured and I was really enjoying the plot alongside the creepy vibes. And then it all…went to crap.

I can’t even begin to describe how much this seemed to jump around. It was almost as if the author latched onto an idea only to discard it a couple of pages later and mess up the plot completely. It really got on my nerves after a while, honestly.

Everyone’s a little crazy.

The best part about this book for me was the friendship of Stella, Jamie and Mara. I really thought they made a great ‘found family’ and enjoyed reading about them a lot. Their friendship felt real and close. I also can’t deny this book really made me emotional a couple of times, if slightly annoyed at the same time (you’ll know which scene I mean if you’ve read it!), so the author must have been doing something right.

It’s a shame the plot let this book down so much, because so many other elements I did quite enjoy! I just can’t overlook how messy and undecided it felt. I was left with so many questions and loose ends that felt like they should have been tied up earlier.

Some people just hide it better than others.

Overall, I’m glad I managed to read this series before Halloween, the creepy scenes were perfect and I really enjoyed them. These books have also been super quick to get through and the last one was no different – I definitely won’t be picking up the Noah Shaw spin off, though!

★★★
3 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Blog Tour + Review: A Clock of Stars by Francesca Gibbons

On By Beth JonesIn Blog Tour, Book Review8 Comments
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Goodreads | Waterstones

Imogen should be nice to her little sister Marie. She should be nice to her mum’s boyfriend too. And she certainly shouldn’t follow a strange silver moth through a door in a tree.
But then… who does what they’re told?
Followed by Marie, Imogen finds herself falling into a magical kingdom where the two sisters are swept up in a thrilling race against time – helped by the spoiled prince of the kingdom, a dancing bear, a very grumpy hunter… and even the stars above them.

Thank you to Kaleidoscopic Tours and Harper Collins for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much fun! I don’t read much middle grade, but I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read this. It follows the story of two sisters who find a hidden door to a world. It had such Narnia vibes which I loved and felt perfect for Autumn.

The characters were great and I thought they were very well written. We had so many people to be introduced to: the sisters, Miro and the rest of the royal family in this mystical land, and their enemies, the skret. The skret felt like such cool monsters but I adored how they ended up being so much more – having their own story which was interwoven with the land and the royal family themselves. The two sisters were such lovely characters and it felt so bittersweet to leave them at the end of the story.

Some of my favourite parts of the book were the parts travelling across the land, which sounded beautiful and fantastical. I loved the tree-houses and the castle itself, with the rich descriptions working well alongside Riddell’s beautiful drawings. I loved the adventure aspect, with the plot being so fun and entertaining as they discovered more and more about the world.

My only slight complaint is this book seemed quite long (especially for a middle grade!) and the plot did lose me slightly at times. Other than that, this is definitely worth a read and I can see a younger me loving it!

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer (#2) by Michelle Hodkin

On By Beth JonesIn Book ReviewLeave a comment
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Mara Dyer knows she isn’t crazy. She knows that she can kill with her mind, and that Noah can heal with his. Mara also knows that somehow, Jude is not a hallucination. He is alive. 
Unfortunately, convincing her family and doctors that she’s not unstable and doesn’t need to be hospitalised isn’t easy. The only person who actually believes her is Noah. But being with Noah is dangerous and Mara is in constant fear that she might hurt him. She needs to learn how to control her power, and fast! Together, Mara and Noah must try and figure out exactly how Jude survived when the asylum collapsed, and how he knows so much about her strange ability… before anyone else ends up dead!

This book was somewhat better than the first one. Mainly in the fact that I didn’t roll my eyes quite as much as I did for the first book. As Mara doesn’t spend any time in school, the tropes seem to be slightly less prominent. Which meant I cringed slightly less, and enjoyed it slightly more.

The creepiness level is still up there, and I loved it. In fact, if the third book is anything like this one, I’m slightly worried about reading it while home alone! Some of the scenes are really chilling, and the horror is written really well, I can’t deny it.

If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them.

I also loved the twists and turns in this book. It wasn’t all perfect, and I did predict one or two things that were going to happen. But most of the aspects of the plot twists I didn’t get and they left me reeling. I loved the ending, and the last 150 pages or so were full of twists that kept me gripped until the end. The writing is pretty good, but choppy at times.

The characters were…okay. They filled their roles and did their jobs. But no one really overly impressed me. I sympathised with Mara a lot, and she’s probably my favourite character in most ways. Noah melted my heart and also managed to really annoy me. Their relationship seemed all over the place but both refused to even attempt to sort it out or talk things through, which got on my nerves after a while.

If we were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one.

This series continues to tug me in two directions. It’s still annoying me and has a lot of problems, but also grips me and the plot if so fun and so entertaining, I’m definitely going to read the last one and see what it has in store for me!

★★★★
3.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (#1) by Michelle Hodkin

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review6 Comments
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Goodreads | Waterstones

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong.

Firstly, I’m so glad I decided to save this book for spooky season. It was absolutely perfect for a Halloween-y, fall read. It is deliciously haunting and creepy. But that’s….kind of where the good stuff ends.

The first thing I realised about this series is it did not age well. If you’re wondering how different a book can be in just eight years, choose one set in a private high school with every 2012 trope and cliche going. Welp. Some of the sentences in this book (for example, one along the lines of ‘what an overdramatic thing to commit suicide over’) made me want to throw it at a wall. I almost DNF’d it multiple times. I’m pretty sure this stuff wasn’t appropriate even back in 2012. So, why didn’t I just put it down?

Thinking something does not make it true.

I can’t deny this book is gripping. It made for a super quick page turning read. I flew threw 100ish pages a day, which is pretty good going for me. In places, it is spine tingling, and once I got through the first 200 pages, I found I could overlook most of the problems and mostly enjoy this book for the cringe-fest it is.

I expected to hate Noah, but in fact I struggled with Mara herself more. She’s just kind of annoying. And I get it, she’s broken, and the story would be boring if she just….got the help she needed. But like most of this book, her temperament is another thing to overlook at times.

Wanting something does not make it real.

So overall, this book was okay. I’m giving it 3 stars for now, but it’s definitely a low 3. I got through it quickly and I will be carrying on with the series, and I am intrigued by where it will lead. If you think you can overlook all the cliches and tropes of bad boy, broken girl and high school drama for the haunting undertones, you just might enjoy this book.

★★★
3 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: Serpent & Dove (#1) by Shelby Mahurin

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments
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Goodreads

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.
Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.
The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.
And love makes fools of us all.

If love makes fools of us all, this book damn well made a fool of me.

Wow. This just ticked all the boxes. I admit, I’ve wanted this book for so long because of how beautiful the hardback edition is. I’ve also heard so many good things about it and…it has witches. What more could a reader want? But I never expected this book would become, well, one of my favourite books ever.

I picked this up because I was unsure about buying the Blood & Honey Fairyloot box without reading the first book, so I started it so I could make a decision. Immediately, I was gripped. By the time I reached the patisserie on like, page 25, I was in love. Serpent & Dove is set in the beautiful city of Cesarine, which I imagine to be Paris. It feels like a fantastical Paris, and it fits so well. I’m a sucker for fantasy set in a beautiful city, and the way Mahurin talked about the landscape just took my breath away. I was immersed from the start.

There are some things that can’t be changed with words. 

And then there’s the romance. I can’t. This has every trope going, love to hate, slow burn romance, love triangles are even thrown in…but I loved it. Most of the time, cliche tropes will make me roll my eyes, but this just swept me along for the ride. I loved the characters and just wanted them to be together.

Which brings me on to…the characters! Ah, Lou. How I loved your badass spirit and determination, with a soft heart underneath. Reid, with your gentle, loving soul and bravery. Ansel, with your loyalty and resolve. They were broken and real and tormented and I adored them all.

Everything about this book just took my breath away. I wanted to read it constantly and I was thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it. I would read it first thing in the morning, last thing at night. I was reading 100+ pages a day without even batting an eyelid.

Some things have to be seen. They have to be felt.

One last thing to note is I would definitely count this as New Adult rather than YA! It is on par with Sarah J Maas with the…ahem..quite steamy scenes.

As you can probably tell, I loved this book so much. If magic/witches, fantasy in a beautiful city and a slow burn romance sounds like something for you, you need to read this book. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J Maas!


★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review5 Comments
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Goodreads | Waterstones

They say the thirst of blood is like a madness – they must sate it. Even with their own kin.
On the eve of her divining, the day she’ll discover her fate, seventeen-year-old Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are captured and enslaved by the cruel Boyar Valcar, taken far away from their beloved traveller community.
Forced to work in the harsh and unwelcoming castle kitchens, Lil is comforted when she meets Mira, a fellow slave who she feels drawn to in a way she doesn’t understand. But she also learns about the Dragon, a mysterious and terrifying figure of myth and legend who takes girls as gifts.
They may not have had their divining day, but the girls will still discover their fate..

I didn’t plan to read this book just before Halloween, but I’m really glad I did. It is mystical and haunting and just perfect for Autumn. I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but I ended up really enjoying it. I read The Girl of Ink and Stars a couple of years ago and really liked the writing, so I was glad to delve back into her worlds.

The writing really didn’t let me down. It was so atmospheric and beautiful, and made the book fly by. This book is fairly short, clocking in at just over 300 pages, and I loved that about it. I got into it super quickly, and read 50-100 pages for a couple of days and finished it so quickly!

I thought my silence, my stillness, was a fine way to be. 

The characters really carried this story for me. I loved the relationship between the two main characters, who are sisters. I also really enjoyed reading about the romances, which included a lovely, positive f/f relationship that I adored reading about so much.

I was a little hesitant going into this book after my friend Courtney read it and was disappointed by the ending. I can really sympathise with why she didn’t like how it ended, and maybe I would have felt differently without the knowledge that I might not enjoy it. However, I didn’t mind the ending. I’m a sucker for a happy ending, but I find I appreciate a hopeful one more. And although the ending felt a little rush in the decisions of the main characters, I still enjoyed it quite a lot.

But now I realised it made me as bad as those men who took the side of a monster, who watched a locked door as children starved to death inside.

I wasn’t aware this book was a retelling about Dracula’s brides until I read the acknowledgements at the end, but knowing only added more. I can really visualise how the story has evolved into the beautiful and haunting narrative that is The Deathless Girls.


★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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