Book Review: This Great Wilderness (2022)

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This Great Wilderness by Eva Seyler

This Great Wilderness is so not what I was expecting, and I mean that as a compliment. It is an adventure story, but it’s an adventure story contained within three different character studies, of three very different characters. The vibe of the story reminds me a bit of My Family and Other Animals, although I’m not sure why other than Raymond’s love of animals. But it has that old feel to it, like there’s history and sunshine and nature actually contained in the pages. I could perfectly imagine all the characters in my head as I read and I kept thinking of how good a period piece film it would be. It genuinely just made me feel like I was in a movie, which is a great testament to the author’s narrative skill. It also brought to mind Into the Wild. Again, not because it’s similar, but it definitely has that nature-contrasted-against-society vibe. And then I’d also say it fits in well with the likes of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which deals with the slow blossoming romance of two people devastated by WWII who are trying to heal in the strange postwar world that comes next, and do so in the quieter places of the world.

(I’m putting in the book links above, but funnily enough, these references/comparisons are to the adaptations of the mentioned books, lmaooo. But they were all books first, so I’m linking the books. I’ve only read Into the Wild of the above, ha! So the films/show adaptations of My Family and Other Animals and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society are what I’m comparing This Great Wilderness to. And the book version of Into the Wild, but also the film version, lmao. This is such a segue ramble …)

It must be said that the writing in this book is utterly engrossing. It’s a mix-up of a boy’s journal, and a man’s thoughts and a woman’s thoughts. But it reads a bit like everyone’s journalling or confessing – or even like they’re narrating a documentary, although that’s not actually what’s happening – so the book really reads as like a historical fiction journal of two very broken people and the sweet little boy who’s just super excited to be wandering around 1950s Argentina and not having to do homework, lmao. Anton’s joy at everything is so adorable and he’s such a sweet little character. Raymond was by far my favourite though. I found myself relating to him and the way he approached a lot of the world and I didn’t struggle to understand his decisions the way I struggled with Leni. An introspective, butterfly-loving, entirely introverted yet capable policeman is certainly a complex character and I admired his total devotion to his son, his love for his late wife and how he just takes Leni in despite not wanting to at the start.

There’s a lot of personal and physical trauma that the characters deal with in this book. The story starts after WWII, so you have a woman (Leni) who was kidnapped by a group of Nazis who depart Germany after Hitler’s death and moved to Argentina to escape prison (which was historically a notorious hide out for many prominent members of the Nazi Party). Leni, as a result of her forced marriage by her insane, abusive, rapist of a husband, is ignorant not only of the state of global affairs, but of how to function outside of her husband’s role (he basically forced her into playing a living doll version of his late wife and it was so fucking creepy). Then there’s the main male lead (Raymond) whose wife (Antonia) was killed by the Nazis, and his little boy (Anton) whose entire life was changed by the war but who was too young to really remember it. So everything is very grim and understandably depressing at the start.

Raymond was my favourite character from the outset. I liked Anton’s sweet enthusiasm and found his chapters adorable, but Raymond’s desire to be alone with nature is totally relatable and I really liked him. He was just a good dude. But I struggled to not be frustrated by Leni after she fell in with them and the duo became a trio. While I understand that she doesn’t have much of a grasp of independence because of what she’s gone through, she often didn’t seem to even want to try, either. At least not for the first hundred pages. She doesn’t have much initiative or sense of survival after she flees her captors. It struck me as odd. She had the courage and the wherewithal to run away when she sensed danger, but once she’s in the company of total strangers (and honestly, Raymond could be anyone and could be bad. She mentions herself that she was terrified of him) she just gives up and puts the responsibility of her wellbeing and health onto them. Instead of running away from this strange man who doesn’t want her around or trying to be alone, she forces them to take her. Literally. And then crumples at the smallest things required of her to survive once they settle down around the campfire.

Her behaviour frustrated and confused me at the start of the novel mostly because it wasn’t like she couldn’t have stayed behind in the town Raymond brought her safely to after he found her hiding in his truck. Raymond got her a bed and protection and everything. But she left that place, where she could have been comfortable, forced herself along on their trip, unasked (he says no; she follows him down the road until it’s too late to turn back and he can either let her die of exposure or bring her along), and then she doesn’t bother to feed herself until Raymond is forced to feed her his and his son’s food so she doesn’t starve. The way she grabbed and then shunned independence was something I really tried to understand, but was certainly confused by. Like, she was always very sweet to Anton, and I appreciated that – it’s clear how much she wants to be a mother – but she just put Raymond through the wringer and then was mad at him about being annoyed by her presence. She fights to survive and then refuses to eat or drink to live until it becomes Raymond’s problem; she drinks all the alcohol that they needed to treat infections and then storms off, forcing poor dear Raymond to go after her. At the start, while she’s thinking about how attractive he is, she’s also determined at times to make him somehow the bad guy when it comes to their disagreements. Disagreements which stem from the fact that he knew she was in deep with Nazis, and his wife was killed in the war. So he’s not exactly nice at the start and doesn’t trust her. But, like, no one would? And she doesn’t trust him, either. So it goes both ways. And despite how Raymond’s actively keeping her alive, she’s still trying to paint him as a bad guy. For example, she plots on how to use his relationship with his late wife against him and rails at him for not treating her better when he is literally the only one keeping her alive. Honestly, she was a really tough character for me to get a read on at the start, but she was compelling. Compelling is a good word.

Despite all the chaos she inflicts upon their trip and the way she stops taking care of herself around Raymond after saving herself from her Nazi captors, she’s also smart enough to use radios and speak any language she encounters, which is handy. Like the way she picked up languages is just an incredibly impressive skill. She’s a fascinating character study, honestly, because despite all the times she frustrated me with how she was going about things, I didn’t hate her and I did want her to grow, and want more for herself, and I flew through her scenes without getting bored because it’s all very well written and it’s so easy to sink into the postwar journey of these troubled characters, easily likeable or determinedly difficult.

To be clear, Leni’s crying and the fear is totally understandable and not remotely part of what frustrates me. That makes absolute sense given what she’s been through. I just wished she’d grabbed herself a bit of the independence she seized in the first place by fleeing her captors, but just seemed to abandon the instant she got with Raymond (and which Raymond is clearly also desperate for her to claim because he reads as frustrated by her as I am for a good chunk of the book, lmao). That said, Leni does eventually start to progress and develop, and I liked the way things wrapped up and the arrival of a certain character at the end. I also adored the three donkeys and their shenanigans!

The Nazi side characters were chilling and sickening and reading about what was done to Leni was heartbreaking. I felt so bad for her in those flashbacks to what happened to her. (The book makes use of several flashbacks throughout, so we see what Leni went through and we see Raymond’s past with his late wife.)

Overall, this story is an engrossing character study that fans of historical fiction, nature fiction, war fiction and/or romance should definitely check out! It’s a dark, compelling tale, with a hopeful ending that wraps everything up nicely.

Thank you to the author for a review copy.

Review Roundup

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Acrostic by E.M. McConnell 

Witch they call me
Ill-mannered I call them
Claw of dragon, powdered newt
Kriss-krossing hexes here and there
Engaging with spirits, I do
Dare you tango with me, human?

I had no idea what acrostic poetry was before this. The first letters all spell down a word. Very cool! A lovely little collection of acrostic poems from McConnell!

Betty the Yeti Hates Spaghetti by Mandy R. Marx, María Antonella Fant

A very cute little tale about moving to a new city, trying new things and making friends! The drawings are utterly whimsical and I thought the Yeti family were adorable.

Grandma Says Hush, Little Baby by Shana Gorian, Patricia Kennedy, Art Portra (Illustrator)

A cute, updated twist on the classic rhyme, with colourful pictures!

Wally and the Sweet Mountain Candy Factory by Meghan Christensen

A fun, interactive book-game that encourages kids reading along with their parents to partake in various activities whilst reading, all of which are candy themed! Very cute.

Finley: A Moose on the Caboose by Candace Spizzirri

The artwork in this is super cute and the main character is a wholesome moose who just wants to see the world from onboard the train. The conductor keeps turning him away, but he’s determined to ride the rail and doesn’t give up his attempts.

Seeking Shanti by Jesse Byrd, Sandy Kaur Gill, Mónica Paola Rodriguez

A very touching story with lovely prose that teaches children about climate disasters and flooding, and how families have worked together to make it through such moments and rebuild after.

The Bridge by Eva Lindström, Annie Prime

I found myself a bit confused by this one, if I’m being honest. I got the feeling it was meant to be kinda sinister? But I’m not actually sure? Like, I feel like the wolves were setting the pig up to be murdered? But maybe the point was that it seemed super suspicious but ultimately wasn’t? Just a big fake out? It’s hard to say. I’m leaning towards sinister and dark, though.

The story is certainly thought-provoking given how short and narratively-light it is. An intriguing little read.

The Panic #1: Coffin by Neil Kleid

A comic that features commentary and references to a lot of modern political, social and health issues – BLM, the pandemic, social distancing, people not wearing their masks, people being called ‘snowflakes’ are just some examples. It’s actually rather surreal seeing these current things in a comic book (mostly cos, at least in the case of the Covid the pandemic, I’ve only seen it referenced in Superstore and Glass Onion), but the comic itself seems to be going in a different direction. Very much set amid current strife and chaos, but something new throws a very different, confrontational and divergent group of people together. Curious where it will go.

Book Review: Scorn and Sorrow (2022)

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Scorn and Sorrow (Adventures of a Villain-Leaning Humanoid #3) by Jamie Jackson

He couldn’t understand being Vengeance. It’s not always avenging the innocents; vengeance is in the petty, the selfish, the jealous. It’s in the rage and fury that comes from being side-lined, abandoned, disregarded. It sounds like it should be associated with justice, but they’re nothing alike. Often, you’ll find vengeance in the small things, the ones that seem inconsequential.

What a wonderful follow up to Fear and Fury and Torment and Tarnish! Thankfully no Rat Kings or zombies in this one, but we do get an intriguing new take on the Greek Gods and ancient snake monsters. (Oh no, not the SNEKZ!) I loved the backstory that came with this one and the reveal about Meg’s powers and history.

Ranger – whomst I wanted to smack in da noggin in book two – did improve in this book. Okay, I’m willing to stand corrected, ha! It helped that he was protective and not flirty with Meg in this one instead. Once he stopped flirting with her and boundary stomping and just became a bro, he became a much, much better dude. And when he jumped into protective mode after Bacchus and the river, etc. The scene when he finds her after Poseidon fully won me over. I CAN ADMIT I CHANGED MY MIND LMAO.

I loved all the Meg/Greg moments in this one. Poor Greg is going to give himself grey hair if he has to keep dealing with all the people messing with her. Bless his weary heart. I love that my OTP is finally engaged and they’re being all cute and shit. I LOVE THEM, YOUR HONOUR. Further, as someone who very much agrees with Meg on avoiding all the wedding fracas and brouhaha, I hope they get their quiet moment. Greg’s little suggestion at the end was just adorable.

Greg’s family need to chill like 600%. When you’ve got the brother with a blabber mouth, the judgemental mother and the sisters who want a splashy wedding, Flightpath fast became my favourite of his kin, ha! And he seemed to actually want to get to know them and cared about their relationship whereas it seemed like Greg’s brother and mother wanted to break them up. Not cool. I hope we get more Flightpath and Greg bonding moments in the next book. I was feeling quite bad for him when he was talking about his sons’ rejection! 😦

Maniac is a fun new addition and I’m excited to have her as part of the crew. And Virgil is, as ever, the adorable long suffering father-figure to them all and I love him. Really love the whole team now (yes, even Ranger, ha!).

To book four!

Thank you to the author for a review copy.

My review of Fear and Fury is here.
My review of Torment and Tarnish is here.
My review of Deception and Damage is here.
My interview with author Jamie Jackson is here.

Book Review: Torment and Tarnish (2021)

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Torment and Tarnish (Adventures of a Villain-Leaning Humanoid #2) by Jamie Jackson

Sand, the sea and an olive grove. The feel of grass prickling my feet. Bark, rough under my fingers and the palms of my hands […] A message on the wind.

I read Fear and Fury a while back, but my TBR is long long long, so it’s taken me a little while to get to book two but even still I sank very quickly back into Meg and Greg’s world with this book. The case was interesting and everything moves along at a fast past and I read the whole book in a day, which is quite rare for me these days (attention span of a spork, I tell ya), so hats off to Jackson! Not a single dull moment. The action is great and the Rat King, rat hordes and zombie rats made for a surprising complication for our supers. The amount of blood and gore – oh my goodness! \o/

The book begins with Meg still reeling from everything that happened to her in the last book and she’s still dealing with it emotionally and physically. (Poor lady’s knee pops throughout the whole book!) Greg, too, is struggling with everything. He’s become a bit overprotective as a result, but not annoyingly so by any means. I could always see where he was coming from and honestly his concern made sense and was highly justified given how often Meg ran/runs/will run into danger without a single thought to the consequences.

Virgil remains everyone’s big brother/mentor/trainer/dad and bless him, he’s doing his best wrangling these crazy supers. He’s a great character and I love his presence in the books. Ranger, on the other hand, drove me up a wall in nearly every scene. There’s being in love with someone and then there’s not taking no for an answer and he was not only getting up in Meg’s space all the time, but just so disrespectful and undercutting of her relationship with Greg. And out of nowhere? Like, sorry, bro. She’s not going to dump her boyfriend and bone you just because you smirk a lot and tell her that she’s clearly flirting with you. I’m glad Virgil finally put his foot down because it was clear Greg was trying to respect Meg’s agency of handling it, but she just wasn’t and Virgil stepping in to say that none of it was okay was so necessary. THANK YOU MY DUDE VIRGIL. Actually, you know what? I take that back. Meg did say, a thousand times over and with maximum Meg-sass, that she wasn’t interested in Ranger and he just. wouldn’t. take. no. for. an. answer. I was waiting for Meg to let her shadows loose on him but she never did and Ranger’s persistence wasn’t cute or endearing, it was so fucking ruuuuuuuuuuuuude. Team Greg, but also Team Respect No. Like, seriously buddy. BACK. OFF. I’ve been assured by other readers that Ranger will grow on me in the next book, but as it stands, I’m just hoping Greg gets to speak his mind at some point because Ranger was just really disrespectful and boundary-stomping and rather ARRRRRGH to me. He’s a well written complication, don’t get me wrong, but he just wasn’t likeable to me and I was waiting for Meg or Greg to get on his case about it. I can see why Meg holds back, because she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but in that sense it made me more frustrated with Ranger, because making someone who is afraid of their own powers feel like they can’t fight back because they don’t want to hurt anyone – even in their own defence – is 10000% not cool. So, thank you, Virgil. FOUR FOR VIRGIL.

The scenes with the officers were really funny and I liked the grumpy one bonding with Meg. Solid dude. The reporter drove me barmy and I liked that the grumpy officer was running interference for Meg. If Ranger was boundary-stomping, the reporter takes the cake!! Bringing up Meg’s parents like that and getting up in her face was just FUCK YOU SUSAN UGH.

My favourite bits were definitely the Meg and Greg moments. I just adore them and think they’re so cute and sweet and I can’t wait to see what Jackson has in store for them in future books. So long as they end up together – I WILL TOLERATE NO LESS 😉

The dream sequences were very intriguing and I’m curious to see where they lead in the next books. Lots of unnamed faces will spooky vibes.

Overall, I really loved this book and can’t wait for the next one!

Thoughts as I read [SPOILERS]:

– ZOMBIE RATS OH MY GOSH
– Ranger is so freaking smirky and arrogant and just determined to sleep with Meg and drove me up a wall, lmao.
– Greg is the cutest boyfriend to Meg and I adored how protective he was of her. Bless his sweet heart. I’m impressed by how much restraint he showed around Ranger, who was literally trying to sleep with Meg in every scene. Dude really would not take no for an answer. Rat bastard. (Heh, pun intended.)
– I’m really curious about Meg’s sand, sea and olive grove dreams.
– Virgil is hilarious and I don’t envy him trying to be everyone’s babysitter. What a trooper.
– The reporter was so pushy and rude and insensitive. I felt awful for Meg during her interrogations and being so nosy about Meg’s parents.

My review of Fear and Fury is here.
My interview with author Jamie Jackson is here.

Thank you to the author for a review copy.

Book Review: Dragons Don’t Celebrate Passover (2023)

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Dragons Don’t Celebrate Passover by Michelle Franklin

Dragons themselves are not kosher … The dragons are happy about this, because this means they get invited round for dinner instead of being dinner.

THIS IS SO CUTE AND WHOLESOMEEEEEEEEEEE. OH MY GOSH I JUST ADORE THIS SERIES OF CUTE LITTLE HOLIDAY BOOKS!!

Dragon fire is great for making matza. Matza* is unleavened bread, which may or may not be origin of cardboard.

This is just such a sweet, lovely, adorable, funny educational little book about Passover (and dragons! One mustn’t forget to include the dragon knowledge!)

Dragons love wine, and they especially love making wine, because crushing grapes makes them feel as though they’re crushing the heads of their enemies.

You will laugh and smile the whole way through this! I honestly can’t recommend this book (and Franklin’s others) enough! Everyone should check them out!!

My review of Werewolves Don’t Celebrate Hanukkah is here.
My review of The Orc Who Saved Christmas is here.

Book Review: The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (2012)

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The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (Throne of Glass, #0.1) by Sarah J. Maas

Three assassins had been found murdered by pirate hands, and Arobynn had sent her to be his personal dagger—to extract retribution, preferably the gold kind, for what their deaths would cost the Assassins’ Guild.

This is the first Throne of Glass book I’ve read, but to be honest I don’t know that I loved it enough to continue. I found the opening quite interesting, but the more I read, the more I found Celaena to be a frustrating lead. She was all show, all talk, all arrogance, but then just failed to live up to her own rep? I dunno, I was hoping to be more impressed by the ‘assassin’ telling everyone and everything that she’s the best in the world, the most beautiful person ever, the smartest, etc, etc. But I just don’t feel like we got to see that? I don’t feel like it was ever actually relayed to the audience why we’re supposed to believe Celaena is the best assassin ever other than her own word on the matter? The text didn’t seem to show us her purported badassery, either. I was waiting for it, but it didn’t seem to quite get there (this could definitely be a case of it’s not you it’s me, though!).

I may or may not read the rest (because it does sound like it really picks up the pace later on!), but at the moment, I’m not sure this series is for me.

Book Review: What Hedgehog Likes Best: Rhymes for children (2023)

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What Hedgehog Likes Best: Rhymes for children by Erwin Moser

The owl is too awake to dream.

This line resonates, ha!

What Hedgehog Likes Best is such a lovely little book filled with colourful illustrations of animals and all the things they do and places they go. The rhymes are fun and it’s a fast and cute read!

Thank you Netgalley for the review copy.

Book Review: Books Aren’t For Bears (2023)

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Books Aren’t for Bears by Mark Barry and Katy Halford

GENERAL SPOILER WARNING

But one day, Bear found something that changed everything. He found … a book.

Oh my gosh, this is such a sweet little story about a bear who finds a book and loves it so much that he learns to read and then travels to the big city to find more books. I do wish there had been a few more pages where the Bear was able to respond to the teacher and the bookshop owner who said that bookshops and books weren’t for bears, but I did like that he was welcomed at the library at the end! Overall a great little book for young kids!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC.

Book Review: The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019)

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The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1) by Samantha Shannon

SPOILER WARNING

‘Even as Cleolind wondered at the miracle, the orange tree yielded its fruit. When she ate of it, she was healed – not only healed but changed. She could hear the whispers in the earth. The dance of the wind. She was reborn as a living flame.’

This was my second attempt at cracking open this tome, but I managed to get through two books of The Wheel of Time this year, so why not give Priory another go! I absolutely adored The Bone Season, so I know I’ll love this one, but it’s JUST SO BIG that I’ve put it off and off and off! And I’m so glad I can finally say I’ve read this one! It’s definitely going to become a classic of the dragon/fantasy genre.

I will say, Shannon’s writing is so layered and complex that it took me a few chapters to sink into this one (same thing happened with The Bone Season). I keep seeing it compared to A Game of Thrones, but I don’t think that comparison is quite on point. The similarity seems to be the dragons, but Shannon’s dragons are there from the start, talking to their riders and very much a part of the story. Throughout reading the book, I actually thought that Priory was more like The Wheel of Time. The Priory reminded me of the Aes Sedai and the magic split of sterren and siden reminded me of Jordan’s saidin and saidar; there’s also a whole lot of journeying of the characters, but that’s really where I’d say the comparisons end. Priory is very much it’s own setting and with influences from multiple cultures and histories. I thought Shannon did an incredible job of worldbuilding here.

By the end, Loth, Niclays, Tané, Lintley, Margret and Marosa were my favourite characters. I also adored Nayimathun!!! And Aralaq!!!! (And of course Kit!!) I did appreciate Ead’s storyline and wanted to learn more about the Priory and all that it was doing/aimed to do. Sabran is definitely a character I wanted to like, but I just never quite got there. Her and Ead’s love for each was endearing and I appreciated them looking out for each other and being all cute, but I struggled with Sabran.

‘How much suffering might have been avoided if they had felt safe enough to broach their ideas with you, Sabran, rather than take matters into their own hands.’

OOOOOOH NICLAYS YOU ARE RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT

Sorry, Sabran, I know you got your shit together at the end, but you still drove me up a wall for at least 5/6ths of the story. And, honestly, I don’t even know if I liked her at the end, but I do think she’s going in a better direction politically, at least. And while I think she does make a very believable character – she’s a rich, spoiled queen raised in ignorance and she’s arrogant and thick-headed up until the very end. So, I dunno. That’s not a complaint, though! I loved plenty of books where the characters frustrated me. This is one. I got mega teary eyed on more than one occasion near the end for sure.

And for all my frustration with Sabran, I adored most of the rest of the cast. The Tané and Nayimathun and Loth riding scenes were great and I really want more of them! I thought they had a great dynamic. I love Tané and Nayimathun’s battle scenes and wish we’d had a bit more of them.

I think I also would have preferred this to be two or three books? All the way up to the point where Ead’s cured and Tané comes to the main court, I thought the pacing was perfect, but the final battle(s) just happened so fast that I felt like we didn’t get to see enough of Sabran knowing the truth and being a decent ruler; of Ead learning about her mother and all the secrets of the Priory; of Loth finding out what happened to Marosa. Like we only got a vague hint that she might still be alive but it was so fast!! I just really wanted more of the ending scenes, but it felt like it wrapped up so quickly. I really hope there’s a second book that expands on all this because it felt like there was still so much I wanted to know!! I’m left with a lot of questions and I’m definitely going to be diving into the prequel when I get a chance, but I hope we get a second book with these characters, too!

Thoughts as I read [SPOILERS]:

– I feel really bad for Niclays so far. And his heartbreak over Jan is gutting.
– Ead is a great character to read about and I love seeing her work her magic so far. Not sure if I actually like her yet, but I love her sections. (Also, how do you say Ead? E-add or Aid???)
– Loth and Kit are fun and I hope their journey doesn’t end in tragedy. (I also can’t help but wonder if Kit’s name is an ode to Kit Marlowe??)
– Tané is probably my favourite in terms of likeability. I love reading about her water trials and the dragons are SO COOL.
– Not remotely a fan of the West/Virtudom thus far. I understand that they’re superstitious and worried about the returning wyrms, but the whole NO YOU CANNOT LEARN ABOUT THE OTHER CONTINENT rankles every fibre of my being. I cannot stand their whole ‘ignorance is best’ attitude. No, bros, it’s really not.
– On that note, Sabran is driving me up a tree. She’s got courage, I’ll give her that, and it’s clear that she’s crushing on Ead, but she’s so up herself and so obnoxious. I really cannot stand her yet. I’m hope she has a character growth moment but as of right now, I cannot understand what Ead’s fascination is with her. She’s a twit (so far, but I hold out hope …).
– The dragons/wyverns/wyrms/draconic crossbreeds are so freaking interesting and I love how Shannon’s written them and set them up. I can’t wait to read more about the dragons!! I’m gonna guess we’ll get water v fire dragons towards the end.
– OKAY KIT’S DEATH WAS NOT COOL, SAMANTHA 😡
– Lowkey shipping Loth/Marosa. Poor thing.
– Marosa >>>> Sabran. Seriously. Marosa is such a good queen and trying her best. All Sabran does is whinge. I do feel bad for her that she has to secure an heir she clearly doesn’t really want, but she’s just not a likeable person at all. I don’t get why Ead likes her. She’s just someone who always gets what she wants and then pitches a fit when it doesn’t happen. Oi vey.
– I don’t trust Lievelyn at all. I feel like he’s going to try something nefarious.
– I’m so glad Niclays finally got a break and found some friends. I really do feel for him.
– I really like Tané’s relationship with her dragon. So cute (and now I want a dragon to cuddle with!!!!).
– Okay, so I was wrong about Lievelyn. Poor homie.
– Truyde WHAT THE HECK.
– Loth, my dude, I’m worried about you.
– I love all the close bonds with animals the characters have. I really like that addition!!
– Still not feeling the Sabran/Ead romance, alas.
– I want to learn more about the Priory!!! I’m 300~ pages in and all we know so far is that they’re secretly protecting Sabran and want Ead to come home.
– I have some questions about how relationships work inside the Priory. Like, Ead was born there, her mother was a sister – okay, and??? How are these mages meeting outsiders? I got vibes of the Aes Sedai from the Priory of the Orange Tree. I also thought the split in the magic kinda vibed like saidin and saidar in the Wheel of Time. Although where the Priory’s magic splits across firelight and starlight (I think?) WOT magic splits between genders.

Overall very much looking forwards to A Day of Fallen Night!

Anyone else read Priory? Or its prequel? I’d love to know your thoughts!

Book Review: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2019)

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A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, #1) by Holly Jackson 

I didn’t quite know how I would feel about this story going into it. I haven’t read too many mysteries (although I do watch a lot of them) but I’m so, so glad I picked this one up! I loved Pip and Ravi from the first introduction. They’re smart characters with their wits about them and their determination to solve Andie’s murder and prove Sal’s innocence was great. I was on Pip and Ravi’s side from minute one and never thought Sal actually did it. But there were so many potential suspects and I kept changing my mind about who I thought did it and what I thought happened.

I also really liked the layout of the book, where you get Pip’s notes and interviews along with the story itself. Very well done!

If you, like me, adored Veronica Mars and/or Home Before Dark, definitely check out this book! It’s absolutely gripping and enthralling.

I can’t wait to read the next book and find out what’s in store for Pip and Ravi!

Thoughts as I read [SPOILERS]:

– Pip is great.
– Love Ravi already.
– I’m trying to work out the mystery and keep changing my thoughts on what happened lmao.
– Pip’s notebook and research process is really good – my only critique is how she cited her footnotes lmaoooo. You need more info than just the URL, Pip!
– Her parents are fantastic.
– I want to know why, at their trip to the Ivy, Pip didn’t pick up on the guy with the HH initials. GURRRRRRL HE’S SUSPECT TOOOOOOO.
– The backstory the others were hiding reminded me so much of I Know What You Did Last Summer.