Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!
This week’s topic is:
Books I’d Give Different Titles To
Wow, this is a hard one! So I’m going to give 5 titles and I don’t even know if I can suggest a new title, I’m not that creative haha.
This is an eARC I just read on NetGalley and I really enjoyed the story, review will come in January 2020 but I don’t think the title gives a hint at the story at all! Maybe should be called the Ghosts Between Us?…😅
I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I enjoyed this book but I can never remember the full title of this book! I’ll be like A Curse So Dark and…? 🧐 And I have no good explanation for me blanking out on it all the time – maybe it’s too long? HAHA…don’t mind me. And I have no suggestion, it’s a lovely title, I just can’t remember it offhand.
This title is totally fine, but I just wanted to say there are SO MANY books lately with “stars” in the title. That sometimes it all blends together.
There wasn’t much gaming in this book or getting the girl 🤷🏻♀️ – there was a storm and being stuck in a mall. The main character was a gamer but this title was so misleading. I wanted a gamer love story and I did not get that. It should’ve been called Surviving the Storm or something like that haha.
This one is on my TBR but why does that title sound so strange? 🤔 I’ve said it aloud a few times and nope, it doesn’t sound right. HAHA, but am I intrigued by the cover? Very much so!
This topic was hard so that’s what I got for today so five is what I got!
I love seeing these Goodreads Monday post from my blogger friends so I’m going to try it out and maybe it will actually help me remember what is on my TBR list on Goodreads. 😅 This is a weekly meme that was started by Lauren’s Page Turners so check out her blog for more bookish content!
All you have to do is choose a title on your Goodreads Want To Read category and say why you want to read it.
Here is my choice for today:
Book Blurb:
What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.
From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.
Why Do I Want To Read This?
How have I not read this yet? It’s been on my TBR forever and I see that it was published in 2011. I remember it being published and I think it was the same time as Divergent and maybe I just overlooked this one?
I see that Rebel, by Marie Lu came out and I definitely have to read Legend before that right?
A lot of people love it and it makes me want to see why.
I read Marie Lu’s Warcross series and enjoyed it so I definitely want to read more of her work.
I’ve been reading so much fantasy that maybe it’s time to swing back to Dystopian haha. It’s like how vampires seem to be coming back again.
Have you read this book? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about this book! 😘
Categories: Mystery, Own Voices, Philippines, Politics, Family, Young Adult, Grief, Identity
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from Bookishfirst in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
A powerful coming-of-age story about grief, guilt, and the risks a Filipino-American teenager takes to uncover the truth about his cousin’s murder.
Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte’s war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened, Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the real story.
Hoping to uncover more about Jun and the events that led to his death, Jay is forced to reckon with the many sides of his cousin before he can face the whole horrible truth — and the part he played in it.
As gripping as it is lyrical, Patron Saints of Nothing is a page-turning portrayal of the struggle to reconcile faith, family, and immigrant identity.
Thank you to Kokila and BookishFirst for giving me a chance to win a copy of this book.
Patron Saints of Nothing made me mad, laugh and cry. This story took me on an emotional rollercoaster and one I wasn’t expecting. I heard amazing reviews of this book, but I didn’t think I needed tissues!
Jay is a teenage Filipino-American boy, his dad is Filipino, mom is caucasian and though Jay was born in the Philippines he has lived in Michigan since he was very little. He receives news that his cousin Jun in the Philippines is dead and no one in the family wants to talk about it. Jun had a past and the rumor is he was a drug addict. With President Duterte in power in the Philippines drug users and drug pushers are fair game on the streets. Police are allowed to kill them, no arrest or trial needed. Jay feels like he needs to find out the truth about Jun, but as he searches for clues, Jay realizes he has a lot to learn about the Motherland, his family, Jun and himself.
“Truth is a hungry thing.”
Patron Saints of Nothing by. Randy Ribay
It’s a Filipino story – but not everyone’s filipino story, but for me, it was close enough. As the author says, “Truth is a hungry thing“, and as I kept reading this story my hunger for Filipino history increased along with Jay’s. Jay is half filipino, half white (like my own children) and though his experience was clearly different from mine a lot of the book was still nostalgic to me and recognizable in my own life story.
The emotions this bookinvoked in me were strong and so unexpected. The characters in this book, like Jay’s dad, his uncles and grandparents – I recognize them. They are in my family. The hard uncle, the cousins, the gay aunts and the family dynamics. I get it and it just brought the tears, especially when Jay tries to find his voice to stand up to his uncle, or when they finally celebrate Jun’s life, the grief just made me lose it in the end.
There are so many issues brought up in this book: the drug war in the Philippines started by President Duterte, the outside perspective coming from Jay the American, the family drama, the guilt, the differences of the USA and Philippines, the HISTORY of the Philippines, finding ones identity when they aren’t raised in the Philippines, dealing with truth that hurts, family dynamics between Jay and his “american” family vs his filipino family, and Jun’s pursuit to do the right things-to be a good person. This book brought it alland questions many things.
This story is unapologetic and powerful in a quiet way. This book spoke to me on all kinds of levels. My kids need to read this book someday, I want my husband to read it, I already have a friend lined up to read it now that I’m done.
The setting of the Philippines is spot on and I swear I could smell the Philippine air as I read this. I’ve only been there officially three times, but technically only remember 2 visits because I was a baby the first time. “It was a day of soil, sunlight, and smoke.” That’s the first line of the book and right away I had a visual of a morning in the Ilocos Norte country side, the sun rising above the greenery and smoke in my nostrils. My soul said YESSSSSS, when I read that first line.
I loved Jun’s letters. It gave us insight into his home life and how he felt deeply about the issues in his country. You could tell he was a sensitive soul with an insensitive father who didn’t understand him. But that whole “parents not understanding their child” thing resonated with me too. I understood Jay’s lack of relationship with his father (totally get this) and I understood Jun’s desire to run away from his overbearing/judmental/controlling father (totally get this too 😒).
The budding romance in the story probably wasn’t needed but it’s not an untrue experience. And it was pretty innocent – they held hands.
Trigger Warning: animal dies. Or should I say killed? But even just saying that…it’s not just a killing. It’s more than that – it’s one paragraph of the book but again it packed a punch because it is reminiscent of my childhood where I watched my grandma kill a chicken for dinner. The goat, yes…I’ve heard many goats die in my childhood. And yes we have grocery stores in Hawaii, but my grandma was as Filipino old school as they come. You couldn’t take the farm life out of her! But the description of the kill comes in a letter from Jun who says now what used to not bother him, bothers him…and it sets off another dispute between him and his father.
I wish I had this book when I was a teenager. It makes my heart happy that there will be a book that my kids, who are half Filipino, will be able to identify with when they are old enough to read this. I know there will be even more for them to read because the diversity of stories coming out in the young adult genre world is amazing and I absolutely applaud that.
Patron Saints of Nothing gutted me and ignited me. I cannot stop thinking about it. It’s made me hungrier for truth. It’s made me grateful that I asked my grandparents about their past before they died, I wish I asked more. I told my son yesterday to ask his grandparents QUESTIONS about their life in the Philippines. Ask them about their childhood, ask them what they did for fun, ask because it is important to know. I’ll eventually bring my own kids there and they can have their own experiences.
This is a book about family, grief, history, the drug war in the Philippines and finding one’s identity. But also, it is MORE. It’s a story about my people and I’m very proud to know this book is out there in the world.
“I expected the truth to illuminate, to resurrect. Not to ruin.”
I wanted to try a new weekly prompt for my blog and I’ve seen this one from a few blogger friends so let’s give it a try!
This prompt is hosted byMandy at Devouring Books so check out her blog for bookish content. 😊
Rules!
Share your top 5 books of the current topic– these can be books that you want to read, have read and loved, have read and hated, you can do it any way you want.
Tag the original post (This one!)
Tag 5 people
This is a big trigger book because of the cutting but this story creeped me out. 😖 It’s a murder mystery in a small town with a reporter who has messed up memories about the town, her family is something else 😳 – and the murderer pulls teeth. AHHH! I just can’t. Lol…creepy.
Edgar Allan Poe re-imagined. A few of the stories in this anthology creeped me out so good! I mean being buried alive is creepy. 😧
This book was something! I reviewed it as an arc but I can still remember how on edge I was reading this book. Sending girls out to an encampment to get their “wildness” out before getting married…and the girls turn on each other and there are poachers on the outskirts waiting…yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever forget this book. HAHA.
I haven’t read this yet but it’s on my shelf. The cover alone looks creepy. My son picked it out for me when we were shopping at Target. He said the trees branches looked cool. 🤷🏻♀️
I read this a long time ago in high school, so late 90’s? It’s a collection of novellas and the one story that creeped me out was the one called The Langoliers. There are people on a plane, a few wake up and the rest stay sleeping. I don’t remember much of what happens but just the whole idea of waking up on a plane with everyone asleep including the pilot and couldn’t wake up was creepy to me. There is a lot of Stephen King book that scared me as a teenager
And that’s what I got! Have you read any of these? Leave me a comment below!
Categories: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Family
Rule #1: Don’t get attached.
Amber lives by strict rules to survive her mother’s love life: Always keep your eyes on the horizon and never get close to anyone connected to Mom’s boyfriends.
But after they move in with Kevin, the latest of her mom’s “soul mates,” the rules become increasingly difficult to follow. Kevin’s daughter, Cammie, keeps acting like Amber’s friend, even though she’s definitely not. And Jordan—star basketball player, hottest boy in school, and Cammie’s best friend—keeps showing up at the most inconvenient moments.
Amber has reasons for every one of her rules, and following them is the only way to protect her heart when her mom inevitably moves on. But as she spends more time with Kevin, his daughter, and especially Jordan, she starts to wonder if the rules might be worth breaking this time.
My daughter saw this book at the library and chose it for me because it had a pink heart on the cover. I indulged her and borrowed it, yes she’s only 2 1/2 years old…haha, how could I say no? And yes her favorite color is PINK. 💞 I figured I needed a YA contemporary book since I’ve been reading a LOT of dark fantasy books lately. But I do love this cover.
Rules We’re Meant to Break has a slow and sweet romance but the romance is not the only focus of the story. Amber and her mother’s relationship is the main problem in this book, and because of it Amber created a set of rules to protect herself against her mom’s poor dating habits. But now it may be time to break those rules.
This is a quick and light contemporary novel. Though it dealt with some relationship problems with Amber and her mom, it never got heavy on the topics. Which was perfect for what I needed right now.
Amber’s dog Buffy is adorable and I like how Amber wants to study Behavioral science when she goes to college.
The romance was slow and super sweet which was cute. Amber and Jordan’s relationship grew steadily and in the end they get a happily ever after.
I liked seeing Amber and Cammie (her mom’s boyfriend’s daughter) relationship grow from awkwardness to friends. I’m glad Amber started to let people in even if she was afraid of getting hurt.
I wished Amber talked to her mom about how she felt about all the dating and bringing men into Amber’s life. I get her mom’s life is her own, but Amber was affected too and that sucked. The only time they mentioned anything of it was when her mom found the “rules” accidentally.
The characters in this book were kind of bland.
And the rules…I mean I get why Amber wrote them, to cope with all the changes she had to deal with each time her mom changed boyfriends but I didn’t even remember any of the rules except the not being nice to mom’s boyfriend rule. Because she was pretty distant with Kevin, rightfully so, but he was trying his best without knowing about Amber’s feelings.
This was a very quick read and for the most part I liked it. The story gave some insight on how a teen would feel with a parent who is dating or how blended families work, awkwardly at times. There was just enough drama that was pretty much resolved with just a little communication between everyone and the romance was super cute. Overall it’s a pretty good debut novel.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
A town gripped by fear. A woman accused of witchcraft. Who can save Pale Harbor from itself?
Maine, 1846. Gabriel Stone is desperate to escape the ghosts that haunt him in Massachusetts after his wife’s death, so he moves to Maine, taking a position as a minister in the remote village of Pale Harbor.
But not all is as it seems in the sleepy town. Strange, unsettling things have been happening, and the townspeople claim that only one person can be responsible: Sophronia Carver, a reclusive widow who lives with a spinster maid in the eerie Castle Carver. Sophronia must be a witch, and she almost certainly killed her husband.
As the incidents escalate, one thing becomes clear: they are the work of a twisted person inspired by the wildly popular stories of Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. And Gabriel must find answers, or Pale Harbor will suffer a fate worthy of Poe’s darkest tales.
Thank you to Graydon House and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
I just got approved to read this book though it’s been out for a month now. This is a wonderful autumn read because it has a gothic vibe to it. Mrs. Sophronia Carver is a widow and lives in a house called Castle Carver. Everyone in Pale Harbor thinks she killed her husband so she never leaves her house. Then Gabriel Stone comes to town as the new minister but he’s as mysterious as they come. There are strange things happening in Pale Harbor and Gabriel and Mrs. Carver need to find out who is behind them before people get hurt.
The gothic atmosphere in this story is fantastic. It definitely gave me a spooky vibe with Castle Carver up on a hill, and Sophronia, the widow who barely leaves her house. Pale Harbor is the perfect place for things to go bump in the night.
The murder mystery kept me guessing and I LOVE all the references to Edgar Allan Poe because I love Poe! The twist in the end wan’t something I expected so it definitely kept me on my toes.
I did enjoy the romance building between Gabriel Stone and Sophronia Carver because it made her come out of her shell. Before Gabriel appears, Sophronia is shown as a very fearful person. No one in town really knew her except for the people that worked for her, which was very few. Gabriel made her feel brave.
Helen, Sophronia’s housekeeper is more than what she seems and she came off suspicious from the start! Her relationship with Sophronia was a bit much, to the point of obsession, you can see why she was my #1 suspect!
I wish we got to learn a more about Gabriel Stone – why am I still suspicious of him? LOL I think I wanted him to have a shadier past than he did. 😂 This book made me second guess everyone! 👀🤔
This is definitely a perfect Fall release and October mood read! It has Edgar Allah Poe references (which I adore), a mysterious widow and a minister, nefarious deeds, a little witchcraft and a lot of suspects. If you are into a gothic romantic murder mystery, this will hit the spot.
First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?
Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!
We are nearing Halloween! And the stores already have Christmas decorations up. 😅
Let’s get to the lines:
“Something. Way out in the white-dark. Between the trees, moving where the thickets swarm.”
👇🏽
👇🏽
👇🏽
👇🏽
👇🏽
This cover is so good! So I finally saw this at my library and I’ve been wanting to read it since it released but I think it’s the perfect fall read since it’s supposed to be creepy. Have you read it?
Categories: Family, Paladin, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
“The night my sister was born, the stars died and were reborn in her eyes…”.
Zuhra and Inara have grown up in the Citadel of the Paladins, an abandoned fortress where legendary, magical warriors once lived before disappearing from the world―including their Paladin father the night Inara was born.
On that same night, a massive, magical hedge grew and imprisoned them within the citadel. Inara inherited their father’s Paladin power; her eyes glow blue and she is able to make plants grow at unbelievable rates, but she has been trapped in her own mind because of a “roar” that drowns everything else out―leaving Zuhra virtually alone with their emotionally broken human mother.
For fifteen years they have lived, trapped in the citadel, with little contact from the outside world…until the day a stranger passes through the hedge, and everything changes.
Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
I had been reading so many books lately about witches (because tis the season) so reading about Paladins and their magic was so refreshing. Zuhra, her sister Inara, and their mother are trapped in the citadel that they call home. A magical hedge outside of their home keeps them from leaving. Zuhra’s father was a Paladin but he is nowhere to be found, her mother is broken from his leaving and Inara has powers that no one understands. It’s a lonely existence for all of them, but one day the hedge lets a scholar into the citadel and that’s when things get wild.
Zuhra and Inara’s sisterly bond is so tight, I loved it. We get more of Zuhra’s thoughts and feelings about Inara because Inara isn’t lucid most of the time when under the influence of her Paladin powers. Eventually we get Inara’s perspective but I feel like it’s most Zuhra that dominates the story. Zuhra helped raise Inara and Inara only knows her sister’s affection growing up in the citadel. When they are torn apart, all they want to do is get back to one each other. 😭
The world of the Paladin was so fascinating, I was devouring anything and everything about them. Halvor, the scholar is a wealth of information for Zuhra. Yes, Zuhra grew up in the citadel but knows NOTHING about the Paladin because her mother refuses to talk about them.
The budding romance between Raidyn and Zuhra had me on edge!🔥 And this comes in the second half of the book – which I think was fine except I knew, just knew it wouldn’t be resolved and it would have to wait until book two. 😞 There is a romance growing also between Halvor and Inara, but we shall see what happens with that one.
Zuhra to me is an interesting character. I wasn’t sure that I was connecting to her in the beginning but I understand why. She has had no interaction with the outside world. The only people she has come into contact with is her sister (who is barely lucid), her mother (who comes off cruel and cold) and Sami (her nanny/maid who loves her but cares for her mother too). How do we get a feel for someone who is cloistered in a magical citadel with no way out, no one to really talk to, who sees the first guy in her life and wonders if she’s falling for him She doesn’t…but she’s trying to discern what she’s feeling for the first time in a lot of new situations. Zuhra has always felt hopeless, weak and helpless. But we see her grow, we see her come out of her shell…and I can’t wait to see how much more she changes in the sequel.
The family issues, there is a LOT…ugh…I didn’t love it, because who loves family strife? But there were parts in the end that really made me tear up. I was quite emotional about it. I liked that it made me care about this broken family.
So much action at the end, but it makes me wish the sequel was coming out tomorrow.
Some might find the beginning of this book slow. It is, if you are waiting for action to start right away. But we are getting to know Zuhra and Inara and their cloistered, sparse, depressing life. There was a time when I said, ok…is anything going to happen?! I remember looking at the page and realized I was around 100 when things really started happening.
Zuhra’s mother, Cinnia…I know her heart was broken, I know she despaired being alone to raise her kids in a citadel that entrapped them. I know she had no way of understanding what happened, but damn it was she cold and cruel to her girls. Because she was hurt and afraid she took it out on them. And I don’t forgive her still…even though at the end, there was some understanding between all of them. But Zuhra took the brunt of it in her upbringing and Cinnia needs to do a 180 in the next book because…these girls needed their mother.
Though the perspectives alternate between Zuhra and Inara, I was more invested in Zuhra’s experience. It felt uneven, but I hope it does even out in the sequel.
I’ll have to wait forever for the sequel. Sigh….
I enjoyed this book so much because of the sisterly love, the amazing magical world of the Paladins and their gryphons, and that frustrating growing romance between Zuhra and Raidyn. I wanted to scream, Kiss ALREADY!!! 🤣 I hope we see Zuhra grow stronger and confident in herself and I’m worried about Inara. What will happen to her? 😞
Sisters of Shadow and Light is an emotional journey of two sisters, finding themselves and bringing their family back together. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel.
Categories: Witchcraft, Salem, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Romance
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
A breakup and a car accident are no way to start your seventeenth birthday.
For Theo Montgomery, that is exactly how it began. Her bad luck turns worse when she returns home from a school dance to find her house on fire–with her parents still inside.
Following their deaths, Theo is sent to live with her estranged aunt in Salem, Massachusetts. If a new home and a new school aren’t enough to deal with, Theo discovers her aunt has a secret: she is a witch. And so is Theo.
Theo must learn keep her magic in check, lest the Town’s notorious witch hunters discover that magic has returned to the world after more than three hundred years. But how can she navigate a new school, new magical powers and avoid the witch hunters, when she finds herself enjoying the company of one?
Trystan de Lancre is a dangerous witch hunter, but that doesn’t keep Theo from wanting to discover more about him. Harboring secrets of his own, Trystan isn’t the only perilous force in Salem. Something has returned to the village; something that the witches believed to have been dead and buried long ago.
Salem’s dark past rises to haunt Theo and the present-day witches, unraveling a shocking revelation: the real cause of the Salem Witch Trials.
Thank you to Magnolia Press and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
Something Wicked is about a teenage girl named Theo who has strange things happening to her all the time. First, the accident with her ex-boyfriend, then her parents dying all of a sudden and things happens when she gets angry like windows slam shut. 👀 An aunt she never knew she had offers her a home with her in Salem, Massachusetts and that’s when Theo realizes she’s a witch.
Salem is also home to witch hunters, one being the very handsome, Trystan. It’s a forbidden insta-romance between them since witch hunters and witches getting together is a pretty bad idea. But they can’t fight the attraction happening between them! 🤷🏻♀️
What I enjoyed most about the story was learning about the history of the witches. Most of the book is about Theo learning about her powers. Apparently she’s a rare, powerful Elemental witch, and she easily learns how to use her powers…which is convenient. I thought it came way too easy for her. It is a young adult book so Theo had some teenage angst about finding out the truth about her family and dealing with boy problems.
The character I enjoyed the most is Theo’s aunt Elizabeth because she’s so smart, independent and powerful. She looks out for Elizabeth and helps her grow into being witch.
Trystan’s perspective gave us insight into the witch hunters but I think more of his story will be revealed in the sequel. I thought the history of witch hunters was interesting. Now Trystan is a bit older than Theo who is still in high school. Trystan is a college boy.
A lot of the action is at the end of the book where we get some witch vs. witch fighting. I did lose some interest around the middle of the book because I didn’t quite believe or trust Trystan’s feelings for Theo especially after some truths are revealed, but they seemed to work it out for the most part. Overall it’s a quick read about Salem witches, and witch hunters, infused with a little forbidden love. If you want a witchy read for October, this will definitely hit the spot!
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
The start of a fierce fantasy duology about three maidens who are chosen for their land’s greatest honor…and one girl determined to save her sister from the grave.
In the walled city-state of Alu, Kammani wants nothing more than to become the accomplished healer her father used to be before her family was cast out of their privileged life in shame.
When Alu’s ruler falls deathly ill, Kammani’s beautiful little sister, Nanaea, is chosen as one of three sacred maidens to join him in the afterlife. It’s an honor. A tradition. And Nanaea believes it is her chance to live an even grander life than the one that was stolen from her.
But Kammani sees the selection for what it really is—a death sentence.
Desperate to save her sister, Kammani schemes her way into the palace to heal the ruler. There she discovers more danger lurking in the sand-stone corridors than she could have ever imagined and that her own life—and heart—are at stake. But Kammani will stop at nothing to dig up the palace’s buried secrets even if it means sacrificing everything…including herself.
Thank you to Random House Children’s and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Gravemaidens is about a young woman named Kammani who is following in her father’s footsteps to become the best healer in Alu. But her family’s reputation was tarnished years ago when her father’s healing talent couldn’t save someone very important. So they went from a renowned family in society to being outcasts and her youngest brother is sent to live at the palace as punishment. Kammani’s life and family has fallen apart.
A very fascinating ritual takes place in this book. The Lugal, their ruler, is on the verge of death but when he dies tradition follows that three of the most beautiful girls will accompany the Lugal into the tomb and die with him. These gravemaidens will travel with him to the netherworld. Kammani’s sister is chosen as a sacred maiden. Where everyone saw this role as a true honor, Kammani only sees death and vows to save her sister.
I love the strong female characters and female relationships in this book. I especially loved Iltani, who is Kammani’s best friend. She’s funny and spunky, she really made the scenes come alive. Kammani is a strong young woman as well but sometimes I thought she was rash with her actions and thoughts concerning her sister and the Nin (princess). Her reasoning for who was trying to cause harm to her and the Lugal came to her so quick, even I questioned her accusations. Nanaea, who is Kammani’s younger sister comes off as materialistic but there is more to her than what everyone sees.
Kammani does have a romantic interest in Dagan. Their relationship is a slow burn, friends to lovers clean romance. Kammani is wary of becoming a wife and mother and nothing else, so she is conflicted about marrying Dagan. Dagan is patient, loyal and a good friend to Kammani. He really is just a good guy who loves her.
Gravemaidens is a story about the bonds of family, friendship, finding love and navigating the expectations of being a young woman. Overall this is a very solid debut and an engaging young adult fantasy novel.
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 