Furyborn (Empirium, #1) by Claire Legrand

Synopsis:

 

When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire's heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

4.5 stars. Oh my goodness, I flipping loved this! Imagine the addictive quality and vibe of a Sarah J. Maas book, but with queer characters, characters of color, more cohesive world-building, and a narrative beyond romance, and you get Furyborn.

Gosh, where do I even start? What drew me in with this novel initially was the SJM vibe. I used to love SJM's books, despite all their faults and problematic elements, but there has been a noticeable decline in the quality of her works in the past few years. I just can't get into her books like I used to, and I feel really disillusioned with her new works. I've been mourning it, honestly, the loss of these addicting, guilty pleasure reads. So discovering Furyborn as a comparable, but distinctly better, work was such a delight. My feelings for this book went from zero to 100 REAL QUICK.

One of my favorite parts about this book was the world-building. I can't believe I'm saying this, but in an age of YA fantasy where belief typically takes the form of a pantheon consisting of multiple gods, Furyborn's obvious inspiration from Christian mythology was really refreshing. Typically, portions of Christian myth are cherry-picked - angels as ~cool supernatural beings~ or religious Renaissance art aesthetic, for example - and slapped into a fantasy world without context. But in the world of Furyborn, there is/was a God with a capital G. And that's something I've never seen in a modern fantasy novel. Angels are ultimately the focus of this world and their existence is cohesive with the world-building, rather than just being an intriguing, powerful fantasy race. I loved that continuity.

In terms of the characters, I have mixed feelings. Both Rielle and Eliana can be intensely unlikable characters at times. There were times were I was ready to jump out of my seat and root for them, and other times their foolishness had my eyes rolling so far into the back of my head. Eliana is such a hard ass that I think she's a difficult character to write, so her characterization sometimes felt inconsistent and unbalanced in those moments of vulnerability. Rielle definitely felt more constant. But despite their flaws, I LOVED these two women. I adore heroines that aren't easy to love with my entire soul.

Plus, they're both bisexual! I know some have had some issues with the bi rep in this book, but as a bisexual woman, I absolutely loved reading about two amazing, complicated, powerful bi women. Acting like a bi women is suddenly "not bisexual enough" if she's in a relationship with or attracted to the opposite gender is frankly biphobic and if you feel that way, I strongly encourage you to rethink your attitude towards bi folks. I think critiques regarding the "promiscuous bisexual" stereotype are valid, though, even if I personally don't think this novel is enforcing that. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

Also, Corien. That's it. That's the entire paragraph.

Okay, no, but I freaking loved Corien. 11/10 Claire Legrand did an amazing job at writing him. He's a bastard, but I haven't been so intrigued by a character since the Darkling. If you think I was Rielle every time Corien spoke to her...you so right. I enjoyed Simon a lot too, but like Rielle, I thought he suffered uneven characterization towards the end of the novel.

The pacing wasn't the best at times, but switching between queens every single chapter was such a smart strategy on Legrand's part in keeping me engaged. Almost every chapter ended on a cliffhanger. So when I was just about bursting with excitement for Rielle's journey, suddenly a new chapter would begin following Eliana. But then by the time I would get to the end of Eliana's chapter, I'd be so engrossed in her story that switching back to Rielle would be difficult. It kept me consistently excited for both Rielle's and Eliana's stories, so I never favored one storyline over the other and it made the pages fly by.

So now that we've established that MY ENTIRE BODY SANG WITH LOVE THE WHOLE TIME I READ THIS, why isn't this a 5 star read? What it comes down to is that I didn't enjoy the last 1/3 of the book as much as I did the first 2/3. Eliana's chapters felt especially meandering towards the end of the novel, and I still don't understand what Navi or Remy are contributing to the story besides convenient outlets for character development that doesn't feel organic. That, combined with Eliana and Simon's uneven characterization, made the last bit of the novel significantly less exciting for me. I have a feeling my rating will change to 5 stars on a reread, but for now, Furyborn is a 4.5 for me.

If you got this far, my advice is this: If you loved Throne of Glass, read this. If you hated Throne of Glass, read this.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Synopsis:

 

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Rating: 🌟🌟

 

I think I would've enjoyed this a lot more had my expectations been different. Between the vague synopsis and "mind-blowing" twist everyone always talks about, I was anticipating a mystery thriller about a bunch of spoiled rich kids on a private island doing scandalous things. Instead, this is a slow-moving mystery about a girl with amnesia wandering around her family's private island. Because of my wrong expectations, I was a bit bored with the story overall.

But let's talk about the things I liked first. The writing in this is gorgeous. I understand why its not some people's jam, but I adore well-done purple prose and E. Lockhart is undeniably a skilled writer. The beautiful prose really helped carry me forward through the novel, because even if I was bored with the story, I loved the images I was experiencing. However, I do think Lockhart did take metaphors a bit too far in places, especially in the beginning of the novel when Cady says her father shot her in the heart when he leaves. It took me a moment to realize he didn't literally shoot her and Lockhart meant these moments of her being wounded as metaphors.

Because Lockhart is a such a strong writer, I thought she did a really fantastic job of setting the atmosphere for this story. Everything felt so surreal, it made me feel really uneasy and unsettled. Obviously I knew there was a big twist coming based off of reviews, but if I hadn't, the novel's tone definitely made me feel like something was very wrong and something huge was about to happen.

But that's about all I enjoyed.

Without getting into any spoiler territory, I was severely letdown by the plot twist and it honestly tainted the entire book for me. Instead of shocking me, it just made me sad and disgusted, which was amplified by how sensory the writing was. I really wasn't sure what direction the novel would take, but the plot twist was one of several guesses I had, so it had less impact on me. Plus, I didn't really care about any of the characters, including Cady.

But ultimately, what disappointed me most was how much potential this novel had to critique the wealth gap between the white elite and people of color in the U.S., and its failure to do so. With all the little hints of critical thought littered throughout the novel, I really believed that was the direction it would take. I thought this was leading to a Get Out scenario, only in book form. But it didn't, and I'm really sad about it.

Overall, I think this novel has gorgeous prose and a carefully cultivated atmosphere, but fails to deliver a satisfying twist due to bland characters and missed potential to talk about important issues.

Insurgent (Divergent, #2) by Veronica Roth

Synopsis:

 

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

 

Part of what made Divergent so enjoyable was its fast pace. Despite being over 400 pages long, Tris's journey to become Dauntless is so engaging it flies by. In Insurgent, pretty much everything I loved about Divergent goes away: the fast pace, the captivating competition, the slow burn romance, and Tris's rise from the underdog. I get why Insurgent plays out the way it does, but that doesn't make it enjoyable.

Insurgent's biggest flaw is that it tries to base its plot on the mysteries of its world, but it's world-building is a mess. You can't have the crux of a story rest on a world that doesn't make sense. Unlike The Hunger Games trilogy, which has a believable and well-developed dystopian world, the Divergent trilogy is more aesthetically dystopian than actually dystopian in setting. So when you try to turn your aesthetic into a 500+ page rebellion plot, it just doesn't work.

Now, there is some good stuff in there. Tris's survivor's guilt is totally warranted after what she went through in the events of Divergent, but ultimately fails to be believable because the pacing of Insurgent is so poor. Months are supposed to be passing in this book, but if I wasn't reading closely and you asked me, I would've said two weeks. Because of that, Tris's 180 in character and conflict with Tobias as a result feels jarring. Simply put, Tris didn't at all feel like the sixteen-year-old brutal badass I fell in love with in the first book. And Tobias, who I was swooning over in Divergent? Literally could not care less about him or his relationship with Tris in this book.

Also, nothing really happens in Insurgent? Despite months passing? In a 500+ page book? Tris goes to some places, bullets are fired, she cries and fights with Tobias, and then the book ends with you more confused than ever about what the heck this world-building is supposed to be because this ain't it chief.

Similar to my star rating for Divergent, objectively I would say this is a 2 star read. But I did legitimately enjoy it - both in terms of nostalgia and because I expected it to be waaaay worse - so I'm giving it a 3 stars.

Divergent (Divergent, #1) by Veronica Roth

Synopsis:

 

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Objectively, this is a 3 star book. But this was my favorite book when I was 14 and remained so for much of high school, and so my nostalgic ass is giving this 5 stars.

With how much dislike Divergent has gained over the years, I expected the worst. Insta-love, terrible writing, bland "badass" heroine, the works. But Divergent isn't actually that bad. Is it the best example of YA literature? No, not at all. But I've endured a lot of bad YA, and to lump Divergent in with those works is an insult to what is an engaging read with a frankly brutal heroine.

Tris really surprised me. I expected her to have no personality and y'all, I couldn't have been more wrong. In an age of bland YA fantasy heroines, Tris is harsh, unlikable, and willing to fight literally everyone for the people she loves. So naturally, I loved her. I love anti-heroines and honestly, Tris was an anti-heroine before Jude Duarte or Mia Corvere were even a glimmer in their authors' minds. Tris is silenced, beaten, and sexually assaulted over the course of this novel, and turns herself into a weapon as a result of her trauma. She can be terribly selfish and dumb at times, but these flaws and mistakes make her feel real and, best of all, human. I'm so sad that Tris became so hated over the years when she's actually a well-developed character.

FYI, there's no insta-love in this. I sincerely loved Tris's relationship. Nowadays, most relationships in YA novels feel like a necessary evil to me, so it was really refreshing to read about a slow-building relationship based on mutual trust, rather than the immediate lust that drives a lot of YA today.

Training montages and competitions are two of my favorite tropes in books, so Divergent was especially thrilling and engaging to me. Tris's Dauntless training was actually a lot darker than I remember it being, which I appreciated as an adult reader. There isn't really much plot besides Dauntless training for the majority of the book, but I was totally okay with that due to my tastes.

Now let's get into the bad stuff. Eight years later, the world-building still doesn't make any sense. It's fine if you catch a glimpse at it from your periphery, but as soon as you look at it head-on, it just collapses. You've really got to suspend your disbelief with this world. The world, more than anything, is an aesthetic choice.

Overall, I'm really glad I reread this. Divergent doesn't measure up to the same quality we get from a lot of YA today, but we sell it too short nowadays for what it is: a gripping page-turner with a brutal heroine against a dystopian aesthetic backdrop. I unapologetically love Divergent.

One Word Kill (Impossible Times, #1) by Mark Lawrence

Synopsis:

 

In January 1986, fifteen-year-old boy-genius Nick Hayes discovers he’s dying. And it isn’t even the strangest thing to happen to him that week.

Nick and his Dungeons & Dragons-playing friends are used to living in their imaginations. But when a new girl, Mia, joins the group and reality becomes weirder than the fantasy world they visit in their weekly games, none of them are prepared for what comes next. A strange—yet curiously familiar—man is following Nick, with abilities that just shouldn’t exist. And this man bears a cryptic message: Mia’s in grave danger, though she doesn’t know it yet. She needs Nick’s help—now.

He finds himself in a race against time to unravel an impossible mystery and save the girl. And all that stands in his way is a probably terminal disease, a knife-wielding maniac and the laws of physics.

Challenge accepted.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟 

 

PSA: One of the main characters is a bisexual girl and another is a gay boy of color. Don't sleep on this one y'all!!!

I truly believe that Mark Lawrence can't write a book that is anything short of excellent. That being said, however, I'm not always the right audience for every single one of Mark Lawrence's books. I think One Word Kill is going to be the book for a lot of people, but it wasn't for me. So while objectively I can say this is a really fantastic novel, personally I enjoyed it but didn't love it.

Despite the Stranger Things vibes of this, One Word Kill is undoubtedly original and unique. A lot of times, whenever a book is similar to something else, it usually means it's a less good version of the original thing. But this novel stands firmly on its own feet. Besides the 80s setting and cast of young teens, One Word Kill is nothing like Stranger Things in terms of characters and content. So if you like Stranger Things, there's no doubt in my mind that you'll adore this.

Probably my favorite thing about this novel was how Lawrence challenged the views Nick had been socialized to hold by his predominantly white and straight all boys school. Nick reads exactly like how you'd expect a teenage boy to sound, including all the problematic views surrounding women, race, and LGBT+ people. But whenever Nick expressed one of these views, he was shut down by either his friends or himself and then educated or reflected on why his thoughts or behaviors were hurtful. To me, this was some of the most important character growth I've ever seen a teen boy protagonist undergo. Mind you, all of these moments were little moments and didn't hinder or affect the plot at all, but it means a lot to me that Lawrence felt they were important enough to include not just once, but several times.

While overall I think the story of this novel is strong, I have very mixed feelings about the villain. The main cast of boys and Mia are so wonderfully distinct and fleshed out, whereas the villain was just evil and didn't have much of a personality beyond that. It also makes me uncomfortable that the villain seemed to be characterized as evil because of his "craziness," without any explanation as to what that means. Is mental illness affecting his actions? Is he just selfish and mean? I wish the villain had had a clearer motivation for his actions because otherwise, it forces the reader to believe the main characters calling him "crazy" or "psycho" and paints a really stigmatizing and problematic view of mental illness, if the villain is mentally ill at all. However, Mark Lawrence is very obviously trying to write diversely and comment on issues surrounding marginalized identities, so I trust that he'll listen to feedback and improve in his future works.

Overall, this was a great book with lovable characters and a cool plot. I didn't love it, but I will definitely be reading the sequel!

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Synopsis:

 

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

 

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟 

 

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this, but I'm not obsessed with it like I expected it to be.

The biggest draw of The Priory of the Orange Tree for me was it's world-building. It's stunning. It took me the longest to get through the first 200 pages of the book, just trying to get situated in the world. This world is so dense and organic, with so many different cultures and places to explore. Unlike other fantasy novels, which corral the reader in a tiny corner of a massive world, Samantha Shannon takes the reader all over the place. You get a glimpse of just about every place on the map included in the novel. While some places are better fleshed out than others - I personally thought Shannon was more thorough with her Western-inspired settings than Asian- and Middle Eastern-inspired - all of the cultures in this novel are rich with detail.

You follow four POV characters in this book: Ead, a handmaiden to Queen Sabran; Loth, a courtier and best friend of Sabran; Tané, a young woman who has trained to be a dragon rider since she was young; and Niclays, an alchemist living out his exile in the East. Two out of the four POV characters are canonically LGBT+, and three are people of color (though I also suspected that Loth was asexual).

Because of the absolutely wonderful diversity, I expected to adore every single one of these characters. But by the book's close, I didn't really love any of them. Ead and Niclays were my favorite of the POV characters, but even so, I only just liked them more than anything. Don't get me wrong, all of these characters are very well-written and complex, but I never felt especially attached to them. I tend to prefer plot-driven books over character-driven books, but it was still really disappointing to feel lukewarm at best toward all the characters in this novel. It definitely dampened my enjoyment of the f/f relationship, which I was really looking forward to, as a bisexual woman myself. I'll still recommend the hell out of this book to basically everyone because of the f/f romance and diversity, but I was really looking forward to this becoming my new obsession.

Massive shout out to Kalyba, though. I LOVED HER. She was such a interesting, subversive take on the witch stereotype in English literature. She was undoubtedly my favorite character in the novel, and I wish she had gotten way more screen time on the page.

As much as I loved the beginning and the middle of the novel, at around the 600 page mark, everything started to go downhill for me. I still wasn't in love with any of the characters, the plot was veering into generic, and I just enjoyed it less and less as it kept going. The novel had built me up for this masssive, epic ending, but it felt like everything fell into place really easily and quickly at the end. The final battle ended pretty fast, which didn't give it enough weight for the conclusion to feel satisfying. The majority of the novel is relatively slow-paced, so such a quick ending made all the build-up feel unnecessary. I felt very "so what?" after the final battle and so by the time I turned the final page, all I felt was disappointment.

Between the f/f relationship, female author, and diverse cast of characters, I expected The Priory of the Orange Tree to be a new all-time favorite of mine. But while I found it a very enjoyable read for the majority of the novel, I didn't love it. I still HIGHLY recommend checking it out, however, due to its overall subversive nature of the fantasy genre.

Holy Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #3) by Mark Lawrence

Synopsis:

 

They came against her as a child. Now they face the woman.

The ice is advancing, the Corridor narrowing, and the empire is under siege from the Scithrowl in the east and the Durns in the west. Everywhere, the emperor’s armies are in retreat.

Nona faces the final challenges that must be overcome if she is to become a full sister in the order of her choice. But it seems unlikely that Nona and her friends will have time to earn a nun’s habit before war is on their doorstep.

Even a warrior like Nona cannot hope to turn the tide of war.

The shiphearts offer strength that she might use to protect those she loves, but it’s a power that corrupts. A final battle is coming in which she will be torn between friends, unable to save them all. A battle in which her own demons will try to unmake her.

A battle in which hearts will be broken, lovers lost, thrones burned.
 

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

ARC provided by Berkley Publishing Group via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.

This defied every single expectation I had. I'm honestly in awe of how incredible this was. But before you pick up Holy Sister, I HIGHLY recommend you pick up Bound, a short story that takes place between the events of Grey Sister and Holy Sister. Not only is it a hell of a fun time, but it has some details that make the events of Holy Sister feel more well-rounded.

After absolutely LOVING Red Sister and liking Grey Sister, Holy Sister is the best of both worlds. A large chunk of the book follows two timelines: one immediately following the events of Grey Sister and another that takes place three years later, in the present moment. I really enjoyed this method of story-telling in Mark Lawrence's The Broken Empire trilogy, and it's just as effective in this novel. The two timelines complement each other really well, each slowly revealing information that complicates your understanding of the events of the other timeline. But if juggling two timelines isn't your cup of tea, rest assured that everything settles into the present moment about halfway through the novel. From there, you just gotta buckle your seat belt and nestle in for the ride because WOW is it a journey.

Holy Sister went in a direction I really didn't expect, and for that I love it all the more. Mark Lawrence sets up a lot of threads in the previous two novels, but never so obviously that he reveals his hand. I honestly had no idea what Holy Sister would look like, and its lack of predictability for me, someone who's usually pretty good at guessing what'll happen next, just made the whole story entirely more entertaining.

The world-building really shines in this novel. If in previous novels the world has been a backdrop to Nona's adventures, in Holy Sister the history of Abeth and the magic that governs it actively shape her story. I really don't want to say too much and spoil the direction the story takes, but if you've been dying for more detail about the mysteries of this world, Holy Sister has some answers. I'm always really impressed and amazed by the intricacies of Lawrence's world-building, and this novel was no exception.

Okay, can we just talk about the fact that Nona is a bisexual icon?? From book one, I felt the bi vibes resonate in my bones, and so reading "Bound" just about made my life (which is why you should go read it!!!). Even though the romantic elements in this novel are significantly toned down from "Bound," seeing Nona exist on the page as an explicitly and canonically bisexual character meant so much to me. As a bi woman, Nona Grey makes me feel seen.

Also, shout out to that reference to the Broken Empire trilogy. I don't know if it's just a reference, or a subtle connection, or something even deeper than that, but I'm definitely bumping my reread of the Broken Empire trilogy up because I'm dying to know what it means.

I think what best sums up my feelings for this book is this: Holy Sister had me on the verge of tears multiple times throughout reading, and I cried after I finished it. My love for these characters reached maximum height during this novel and seeing their fates, happy and not, was like taking a punch directly to the heart. I don't think my words are adequate enough to express how much I loved this conclusion to such a stunning trilogy.

Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Synopsis:

 

It’s been five years since Summer Marks was brutally murdered in the woods.

Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend. That driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into the magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly.

The only thing is: they didn’t do it.

On the anniversary of Summer’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between past and present and fiction and reality, the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago—no matter how monstrous.
 

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

PSA: this has gay girls in it!!! Y'all get on this!!!

It's interesting, whenever I pick up a fantasy book, I usually know from reviews beforehand if the novel has LGBT+ characters. But for some reason, with contemporary/mystery/thriller books, I have no idea until I see it explicitly on the page. This has happened to me with three different novels and I really think the universe has given me a sixth sense for finding gay girls in contemporaries.

Surprise gay girls aside, Broken Things was really not what I expected. I'm not a big contemporary reader and I really wasn't a fan of Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall, so I was a little nervous going into this. But I can sincerely say I loved this with my whole heart. It hit on a lot of things I've experienced in my own life and made me feel seen in a way almost no other contemporaries have.

Books with dead girls always tend to romanticize them, always painting them as beautiful, tragic, innocent but still sexual. And while Summer is all those things at first, as the novel progresses, the reader is given such a full picture of who she really was that by the end, she's human. But this book isn't about Summer, not really. This is a book for the living. This is a book about Mia and Brynn and all the people that orbited Summer before her death, and how their lives have been touched and changed by her. The mystery of who killed Summer is important to the book, but this novel is really about toxic friendships, feeling broken, and healing from trauma.

Despite the synopsis, this novel doesn't actually have any fantasy or magical realism elements. Everything is firmly grounded in reality, but it still reads as if magic exists. As if other worlds exist alongside reality. I loved how Oliver explored the power of imagination and creativity in this, to the point where whimsy felt woven into reality. Lovelorn didn't just feel like something dreamed up by these girls, but tangible. It reminded me a lot of how I played pretend as a kid and this novel brought back that magic for me.

I was iffy about Oliver's work before, but since finishing Broken Things, I'm definitely more interested in reading her other novels. Lauren Oliver's characters were flawed but very lovable, her prose was easy-to-read but engaging, and this story touched me like almost no contemporaries have. If you're a big YA fantasy reader, I think this contemporary story may appeal to you.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Synopsis:

 

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father's inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty--until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold.

When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk--grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh--Miryem's fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar.

But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love.
 

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

I honestly can't believe this was written by the same author of Uprooted. Spinning Silver is literally the anti-thesis of Uprooted. Everything I hated about Uprooted - the weak characters, unnecessary romance, and poor pacing - are so vastly improved in Spinning Silver, it's like it was written by a different person.

God, where do I even begin? I LOVED this. The three main female characters - Miryem, Wanda, and Irina - are each so complex and dynamic, to the point where I enjoyed reading every single one of their POVs. Even if not all of their problems or goals are world-ending, they're so excellently executed that Novik makes you feel the weight and anxiety of every issue the same. In fantasy, authors tend to focus in on the BIG stakes, and I appreciated the attention paid to smaller-scale problems, without compromising the larger narrative or making characters feel irrelevant. Novik even made me love nearly every single side character, and when does that ever happen? I may fall in love with maybe one or two especially compelling side characters, but almost ALL OF THEM??? I'd have told you it couldn't be done, before reading this.

The thing that definitely took me by the most surprise is that there's no romance in this novel. There are possibilities of romance littered throughout the book, but it's always brushed away in order to stress the importance of the characters and their journeys. I wasn't expecting it at all, especially after reading Uprooted, and it was such a pleasant surprise. But because I loved all the characters so much, I almost wish the reader did see more romance? At least towards the end, when it made sense. I trust Novik now to strike a really good balance between an attention-demanding plot and a well-developed romance.

I didn't think the writing in Uprooted was anything special, but Novik really shows her skill in Spinning Silver. I almost never enjoy multi-POV books written in first person, because every character has the same voice. But Novik writes in at least six POVs over the course of the novel, and they all sound distinct and different. What??? HOW??? As a writer myself, I'm honestly amazed!!! Like damn, I wanna be able to write like that!!! I've never enjoyed first person POVs so much before.

Also can we also talk about how Novik NAILED the fairy tale vibes in this book?? Uprooted felt really contrived and somewhat generic, but Spinning Silver really excels in borrowing from the Rumpelstiltskin story, while still doing something really unique. The throwback elements are there, but surrounded by a plot, world, and characters that feel very original. Novik organically blends the familiar conventions of fairy tales with such a strong world and characters that the whole thing feels fresh and inventive.

The pacing is also much improved from Uprooted, I think because everything that drives the story - the characters, world, and plot - are much better developed and more interesting. Novik still manages to pack a ton into this novel, but the story reads more seamlessly than Uprooted, which felt like it was split into three distinct parts. I do think the story as a whole feels like it's a little slow-paced, but it's more that Novik gives the illusion of being slow-paced when actually the novel passes you by very quickly. Spinning Silver clocks in at almost 500 pages, and I wanted more when I got to the end.

I can't believe how much I enjoyed this! If you didn't like Uprooted, I highly recommend giving this a try. There's a lot to love here.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Synopsis:

 

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

 

Rating: 🌟🌟

 

Imagine all the tired YA tropes and pair them with slightly better writing and plot than you usually get out of a generic YA fantasy novel, and you get Uprooted.

My biggest issue is how immature the whole novel comes off as. From the characters, to the plot, even the magic system and antagonist lack the depth I've come to expect from adult fantasy. I respect the cross-over potential this novel has, and I do think it's perfect for readers that want to start venturing out of YA and into the adult genre. But as someone that reads both YA and adult, I don't think it's particularly compelling for either genre.

The characters were easily the most disappointing part of this book. Agnieszka has the personality of a piece of cardboard, and feels so typically YA fantasy heroine. I think the first person perspective especially hindered her narrative. It's much more difficult to express a character's personality if the reader is constantly in their head and they don't have an especially strong voice. A third person perspective would've done wonders for making her character feel less bland.

The Dragon is just straight up poorly written. The Dragon has no complexity, which doesn't translate to an immortal character. He's lived for over a century, yet the reader never feels the years weighing down on him. His impatience with Agnieszka just comes off as him being an asshole, and his constant use of "idiot" flashed me back to my middle school anime phase so fast I still have whiplash. I have no idea why Agnieszka is attracted to him. There's no mystery to him that makes him alluring, nor does Naomi Novik paint an especially compelling picture of his physical features. I couldn't tell you what he looks like, besides having eyes and hair.

I sincerely believe Kasia should have been the main character. Though she starts off as the cliche best friend, she quickly becomes the most interesting character. She's subversive of the character trope she's meant to represent, and overall just does some really cool stuff over the course of the novel. The fact that she's a side character, yet overshadows the main cast, says a lot about the novel.

Because I didn't like Agnieszka or the Dragon as characters, I probably would've dnfed this book if it had followed the set-up of the synopsis. But the synopsis only represents about 1/3 of the book, and the second and third parts go in entirely different directions. I have mixed feelings about it, because the synopsis is what drew me in, but then I wouldn't have been able to finish the novel. But I also didn't especially enjoy the plot progression, and the pacing felt very off. Novik packed SO MUCH into this novel, yet I still felt like I was dragging myself through this.

I just expected so much more from Uprooted. None of the elements shine, or do anything especially original. If you're looking for an adult fantasy with fairy tale vibes, I recommend checking out The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden instead.