Tag Archives: YA

Review: Oathbound by Tracy Deonn

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I am so mad at this book. I thought this series was a trilogy, and now I have to wait for who knows how long for the next book after that ending. AAHHH! All of that aside. This series keeps getting better. It starts right after Bloodmarked ended. Bree, after being betrayed by the Legendborn Order, is ready to burn it all to the ground. She teams up with the Shadow King to train to fulfill her potential. She leaves behind Nick, Will, and Sel, and disappears, and they spend most of the story trying to find her. What I found most interesting is the book’s format. It starts with a prologue that is like 3 or 4 chapters long that goes into what Bree is willing to do to get the most of her power. Then it goes back to the beginning with the POV of William, Mariah, and Sel’s mother. It gives us a chance to learn more about the aftermath of what Bree did, and with her missing, how powerful she is, but also what a threat she is. Then it goes into a mixed POV of Bree, William, Mariah, and Sel as they all start to put the pieces together. Then, a section of Bree, Nick, and Mariah reunited at a Demon ball. That was a fun section, and finally, the finale of everyone reunited and a clear picture of who the Order is and what they are willing to do to keep their power. A big part of the story is an effort to take away obstacles from Bree’s training. The King casts a spell on Bree that makes her forget all of her friends and family. It’s sad, but I did set up one of my favorite troops of fake a relationship, but with a twist, because it’s Bree and Nick who are/were in a relationship, but Bree doesn’t remember. I enjoyed that part. I don’t want to give any more away, but I genuinely love this series and I look forward to the next book.

Review: Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen

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I liked this book, but there was something missing to make me love it. It had all the elements that I like. The morally ambiguous heroine, a school or trial setting, and dual identities. Ying is a clever girl from a small clan in the Nine Isles. She is a bit of a rebel as she is more interested in building things than traditional roles. Her world is turned upside down when she witnesses her father being murdered. This leads her to the path of the Engineer’s Guild in the capital. She knew her father was once a member before moving back home, but she knows very little else about him. On her way to the Capital, she meets, Ye-Yang, a prince in the high command. She has to disguise herself as one of her brothers because women are not allowed to join the Engineers’ Guild, even though they are capable of doing it. She is sure that the answers as to who murdered her father are there and is determined to do what is necessary to find justice. As always the case, there are a lot of twists and turns, and she finds it hard to know who to trust. She, of course, starts to fall in love with Ye-Yang despite the obvious red flags. Always a complication to everything. In the end, Ying will discover how far she is willing to go to avenge her father and the cost along the way. There is nothing wrong with the book itself. Maybe a little too many times, reminding us of the stakes and at times a bit over description, but that is par for the course with novels like this. I got the audiobook from my library because it was available right away, and maybe that had something to do it with it. The narrator’s voice was very breathy and at times didn’t match the scenes she was reading. I don’t know. It was a good book. I still plan on reading the sequel. Maybe I’ll check out the physical book if I can and see if that makes a difference.

What I’m Reading Now: Oathbound by Tracy Deonn

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My pick for our TBR Project book club is Oathbound, the latest book in the Legendborn Cycle. The theme is Heroic Romance, and what is more heroic than a play on the Arthurian Myth? I do love this series, and I am surprised it has taken me so long to get to ir.

Review: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

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Cover of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

Y’all, this was so fun. Cecilia Bassingthwaite is a very proper young lady and also a very proper scoundrel. She is thrilled to find out, in the first pages of the novel, that someone has put a hit out on her. Maybe she’ll finally be invited to become a full member of the Wisteria Society. Plus, the assassin who has been sent to kill her isn’t at all terrible to look at and that is a nice bonus.

Cecilia and her Aunt become involved in highjinks. There are flying houses, other lady pirates, some of whom are on their side and some of whom are dirty traitors. There is a villain who is obsessed with Branwell Brontë and who also happens to be Cecilia’s father. Can Cecilia prove that she is nothing like the terrible rogue? Can she save the day?

I know I’ve already said this, but this was incredibly fun. I liked Cecilia and the cast of characters who surrounded her. The back and forth between her and her charming assassin was delightful. Her Aunt was a hoot. The flying houses were thrilling. I enjoyed every second of this book and I cannot wait to get my hands of the next one, as soon as its available from the library.

I purchased my copy of this from The Ripped Bodice; when I am not supporting my local library, I enjoy supporting independent bookstores. (Not to pat myself on the back or anything. Think of this more a little reminder to myself to keep putting my money where my mouth is ;))

Review: The Ragpicker King by Cassandra Clare

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This took me a little bit longer to finish than it normally would. Not because I didn’t like it, but mostly because I’ve been working from home more recently and commuting less. I do most of my reading these days on the subway. I thought this was a good sequel. It picks up not much after the end of the last book. I will admit that some of what happened was predictable, but there was one reveal at the end that I did not see coming. Lin, who claimed she is the Goddess, now has to prove it. Kel is investigating the Shining Gallery incident with the Ragpicker King’s and his crew’s help. Conor is doing his best to be mature and rule, and Antonetta is prepping to marry. A lot is going on, and they have no idea where the real threat is coming from. I do like how Clare can weave together so many interconnected stories so seamlessly. It just flows very nicely together. For me the character that really was the star was Conor. The events of the last book and his feelings for Lin have changed his perspective, and we can see that growth. I do think people underestimate him. That he knows more of what is going on than he leads people to believe. I am really looking forward to where is story goes next. I do love a good mystery, and adding a bit of magic is just a bonus.

Weekend Reads: Libraries

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The library is one of my favorite places. I get more than half my books from there. This week I had to stop at the library on the way home from work and a friend commented on how that was unusual. He didn’t know a lot of people that still go to the library. (He is more of a libby person, which counts as also going to the library to me.) So, I thought this weekend would be a good time to celebrate the library. So, here are three picks where libraries feature in the plot.

Babel by R. F. Kuang

In a world where there is magic and it is found in bits of meaning that never quite get translated, Robin finds himself whisked away to England from his home in Canton so that he can prepare to go to the prestigious translation school at the University of Oxford. This is a thoughtful and devastating look at colonialism and the struggle that everyone, particularly those from outside of the colonial core, must face when they consider what is lost or gained by contributing to the empire. I loved this book and if you like dark academia vibes that make you really consider the world, this a pick for you.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Beth and I both loved this one. In fact, this is one that I have both gotten from the library (audiobook) and from Beth’s shelves. This story follows Lazlo Strange, an orphan and a dreamer, who is raised by monks and grows up to be a librarian. During his studies, he falls in love with the stories of another place, Weep, that has a tragic history that is slowly revealed as part of the novel. When an envoy from Weep comes to his city, Lazlo does everything he can in order to become part of the delegation that will return to Weep. Strange is such a lovely soul. This was an interesting story with romance and terror and gods and monsters. If you like stories that include their own mythology, this is one for you.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

I picked this up on the recommendation of my friend Cristin (further recommended by the audiobook including narration from one of my favorite readers, Bahni Turpin), this is another adventure with its own mythology. Our protagonist, Zachary Ezra Rawlins, is a grad student who studies video games and takes some time in between semesters to indulge in one of his favorite hobbies, reading. Everyday he goes to the library and picks up some books that catch his attention. He finds in the stacks a mysterious book that doesn’t seem to be catalogued correctly and he’s launched into an adventure that takes him everywhere and nowhere. There are assassins, thieves, different timelines, lost cities, bees, secret societies, and so much more. This is a story that has stories inside of its stories and it is a wild ride.

So, there you have it. Three books that feature libraries because libraries are always strange and magical places. Do you have a favorite book that is either set in a library or features a library or librarian? Let us know in the comments!

Review: Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao

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This was a trip to read at this time. I read this as my monthly pick about leadership because it is based on the first Empress of China. Xetian is a girl from a small village that has turned the world on its head. At the end of The Iron Widow, she starts a rebellion and finds the last Emperor from 200 years ago. She wakes him up but gets more than she bargains for. She is forced to work with him to achieve her goals. This book was too close to home as they rebel against an oligarchic government. They are rallying the workers and people to their cause but change is hard. As a woman, it doesn’t matter how much power she possesses or what she has accomplished, she will still be seen as a woman who cannot be trusted. Even as she gets to the new Emperor, she knows she can never let her guard down because his goals are not hers. She is smart and uses the time she has to learn as much as she can to set herself up for the future. I do love a morally ambiguous heroine. She does some rather questionable things but it’s all to make the world better. For some reason, I thought this was a duology but there’s another book coming, and what a showdown it’s going to be.

Review: Babel by R. F. Kuang (Read by Chris Lew Kim Hoi and Billie Fulford-Brown)

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This is an alternate history set in a world where magic exists and it can be spoken into existence by translators who find the magic in spaces between what words mean in 2 different languages. If you’ve ever learned another language, you are aware that exact translations where a word has the same meaning and connotations in two different languages are uncommon. The magic in this alternate history is based on that idea. Truly fluent speakers of languages can find the magic in pairs of words and they can do all sorts of things, like make carriage rides smoother or trains faster. Our hero, Robin Swift, is rescued from cholera that took his mother and the rest of his family in Canton by Professor Lovell, who takes him back to England and takes him on as a ward. Robin lives with the professor and learns Greek and Latin, all one day hoping to get to study at the translation institute at Oxford, where he will learn how to do magic.

This is a story of student revolution, the problems of colonialism, and resistance. It was thoughtful and poignant and I absolutely binged it. Robin must decide if he is going to continue to support the world as it is or if he is going to fight for a world that is fairer and more equitable. This was staggeringly good and I cannot recommend it enough.