ARC Review | The Weight of a Soul

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Weight of a Soul

Author: Elizabeth Tammi

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: December 3, 2019

Categories: Norse Mythology, Family, Fantasy, Young Adult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

When Lena’s younger sister Fressa is found dead, their whole Viking clan mourns—but it is Lena alone who never recovers. Fressa is the sister that should’ve lived, and Lena cannot rest until she knows exactly what killed Fressa and why—and how to bring her back. She strikes a dark deal with Hela, the Norse goddess of death, and begins a new double life to save her sister.

But as Lena gets closer to bringing Fressa back, she dredges up dangerous discoveries about her own family, and finds herself in the middle of a devastating plan to spur Ragnarök –a deadly chain of events leading to total world destruction.

Still, with her sister’s life in the balance, Lena is willing to risk it all. She’s willing to kill. How far will she go before the darkness consumes her?

Thank you to Flux and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eArc.

This was an interesting read and what kept me reading was watching Lena deal with the grief of losing her sister. But as the story went on and Lena makes a deal with the goddess of death to bring her sister back, I thought Lena was at some points, truly losing it.

Making that deal made her do some heinous things and all because she wanted her sister back. Talk about sisterly devotion.

The Norse mythology with the involvement of gods and goddesses in Lena’s life was something I enjoyed. It definitely made Lena make some interesting choices.
Lena’s love for her sister is admirable and tragic. Everything was motivated by Fressa’s death, or so we think.
The portrayal of grief and how it can make someone spiral into depression and despair was well written. I could totally relate to all of that.
I like the expression of a “weight of a soul” and how it is explained. That was quite fascinating.
I love the cover and the gray palette!

Poor Amal (Lena’s friend), I felt like all he was doing was crying in this book. But his life is so messed up by Fressa’s death and then Lena’s actions. He couldn’t catch a break. But I felt like he could have stepped into the role of future leader of the clan much better. But all we see is someone falling apart as much as Lena is (understandably) – and here I am now not cutting him some slack! Sorry Amal! 😂
I felt like most of the book was just going through Lena’s grief and not much else. It was a bit slow for me in certain parts and some chapters were really short, I don’t know if that was on purpose or an error.
With all the Norse mythology represented, I felt like it was lacking something – not enough mysticism? It was dark for sure but I think I wanted it to delve more into Lena’s darkness. Is it bad that I want this dark book, to get darker? 😅

I mostly liked the book but was left feeling the story was just okay. But the writing is good, I think it’s just I’ve read a few Viking inspired stories the past few months and they were much grittier, harsh , brutal, and you get my drift. So I felt like this book could have gone deeper, especially with Lena’s character. But that’s just my personal preference though!

I think most people who like Viking-inspired and Norse mythology stories will actually enjoy this one.

First Lines Fridays | 11/1/19

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!

It’s November! Woohoo! That means birthday month for me, my best friend, a few other friends and cousins. So many celebrations this month plus I’ll be dog sitting a beautiful, sweet husky named Maya. My family and I can’t wait – we miss having a furry friend in our home.

So let’s see – I got in some library books so I’ll randomly pick one. Here are the lines:

“Being nice is like leaving your door wide-open.”

🤔

It’s kind of nice to get out of reading dark-themed books haha, I needed a break from it! Has anyone read this book? Leave me a comment below!

Book Review | The Hazel Wood

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: The Hazel Wood

Author: Melissa Albert

Format: eBook (borrowed)

Pages: 359

Categories: Urban Dark Fantasy, Young Adult, Adventure, Dark Fairy Tales

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother’s stories are set. Alice’s only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother’s tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

I think I tried reading this when it first published but I wasn’t in the mood and put it off until…now. But honestly, I don’t think I would have picked it up again if I wasn’t approved for the sequel on NetGalley. 😅

I finished this in two days which is surprising so I guess it really caught my attention this time around. Alice and her mom Ella is basically living on the run, but from what? Curses? Bad luck? It’s not clear but there is an undercurrent in this story, a mystery about a book called Tales from the Hinterland that Alice’s grandmother, Althea Proserpine, wrote. Alice and Ella are settled in New York City but the bad luck that seem to stop following them has found them again and Ella goes missing. The only clues Alice has are linked to the book. But what is Hinterland? She thought it was just a book of fairytales, that it was just a story. Alice and her friend Finch, go on a quest to find The Hazel Wood, her grandmother’s estate, so she can figure out what has happened to her mom, Ella. Instead they find out some stories are very real.

Alice’s voice is very unique. Is she likable? Most people wouldn’t like her I think but she’s a fascinating character, very mysterious, blunt, full of this unexplained anger. But she loves her mom Ella very much. Her gypsy upbringing (not by choice but survival) has shaped her greatly. When we find out more about her then it totally makes sense why she is the way she is.
There were words in this book that I had to google! I was intrigued by the writing, it’s very lyrical – if you don’t lyrical writing you will not like this book.
I liked the scary fairy tales that are told throughout the book. They remind me of the fairy tales we grew up. When you think of Snow White, as a child it was supposed to be cute because the singing dwarfs singing hi-ho, it’s Disney! But it’s actually a scary tale of the Queen wanting to kill Snow White and she poisons her. Like…that is not cute! The Tales of The Hinterland is straight out frightening, nothing cute about them at all.
I like the world of the Hinterland but it is mostly revealed in the later half of this book. When regular people cross into the Hinterlands they are called refugees. So the Hinterlands was almost like another country but in an alternate universe! I liked meeting Janet who explains a lot about this world. Thank you Janet!

A lot of things in this book made me go hmmm! Like I mentioned I liked the writing BUT I was also thinking wow, does Alice really think like this? It didn’t feel realistic that a teen would use these words, words from like an SAT test vocabulary list, to narrate her story but then again, her grandmother was a writer. Alice seemed very well read and a lover of literature. Of course we find out more about Alice, and when we do…it makes sense that she’s “different”. Because she IS.
There is a part in this book, 60% in where I felt like my brain BENDED, it was a total mind-bend and as someone who has vertigo when my sinuses get clogged/affecting my ears and such….when I read the part when Alice gets into The Hazel Wood, I got dizzy. Literally. A lot of the first part of the story is a mystery about The Hinterland and The Hazel Wood and when it is revealed, it was a bit too much for my head because the way it’s written. It almost feels all over the place and I couldn’t pin things down and that was disorienting until the story stabilized again. It was like Alice in Wonderland when she gets to Wonderland…🤔. I felt like I was Alice. It was jarring.
Alice gets kidnapped in the beginning, and she literally says she went into a car with this strange guy but he wasn’t a perv…he told her stories, etc…and I’m like say what? 😳 We also find out it’s not the first time she was kidnapped! What is with the kidnapping in this story? I guess it’s reminiscent again of the fairy tales we grew up with like Rapunzel. And there is a purpose to her being kidnapped but just reading it in the beginning I was a bit wary of where the story was going.

When I finished this I needed a moment to digest what I just read. Overall, I liked it because of it being so dark, weird, and fascinating. I liked some of the fairy tales that were told in the story, it is very Brother’s Grimm fairytales instead of the cutesy Disney ones.

If you like stories like Alice in Wonderland, then you will like The Hazel Wood. I’m about to read the sequel and we’ll see how that goes. I think it might follow more of Finch’s adventures because there is more to discover in the Hinterlands. Overall a fascinating, mind bending story that probably wouldn’t appeal to everyone.

Book Review | Patron Saints of Nothing

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Patron Saints of Nothing

Author: Randy Ribay

Format: Hardcover (won from Bookishfirst)

Pages: 323

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 book invoked 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 all and 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.”
Patron Saints of Nothing by. Randy Ribay

Book Review | Rules We’re Meant To Break

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Rules We’re Meant to Break

Author: Natalie Williamson

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 293

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.

ARC Review | Sisters of Shadow and Light

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Sisters of Shadow and Light

Author: Sara B. Larson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Publication Date: November 5, 2019

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.

ARC Review | Something Wicked

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Something Wicked (Book #1)

Author: Nicole M. Rubino

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: eBook – ? / Paperback-424

Publication Date: November 19, 2019

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!

ARC Review | Gravemaidens

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Gravemaidens

Author: Kelly Coon

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: October 29, 2019

Categories: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

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.

Book Review | The Bone Houses

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Bone Houses

Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones

Format: Hardcover (owned)

Pages: 338

Categories: Death, Fantasy, Welsh Mythology, Young Adult, Romance

Seventeen-year-old Aderyn (“Ryn”) only cares about two things: her family, and her family’s graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don’t always stay dead.

The risen corpses are known as “bone houses,” and legend says that they’re the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?

Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them deep into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the long-hidden truths about themselves.

This book made my heart smile! Who knew that a book about bone houses (skeletal zombies basically, not an actual HOUSE), could feel light-hearted?

Ryn is an axe-wielding gravedigger who is trying to keep her family afloat. She has a younger siblings and no parents. The uncle who is supposed to be their caretaker is gone and most people choose to burn bodies instead of bury them, so times are tough in Colbern. If things don’t change for Ryn and her family, they could lose their home and each other.

Magic from long ago has been forgotten over time, but Ryn knows in the forest outside of their town, are bone houses. The bone houses are dead people, come to life and she feels it’s her job to take her axe to them. She is brave, strong and no nonsense, which I love about her. Then one day a young man named Ellis comes to town and he is a mapmaker who is lost. He is searching for clues about his family and needs a guide. Ryn and Ellis set off on a journey to find out more about his history and also to end the curse of the bone houses once and for all.

This book was basically the walking dead and yes it’s kind of creepy but I think because it’s Ryn who’s dealing with them – I feel like her perspective of these bone houses is so refreshing and different because she is a gravedigger. She’s around the dead, cares for the dead and even when she’s destroying the bone houses, she apologizes. ❤️ I liked seeing death through Ryn’s eyes. There is one scene when they come upon a town where the bone houses live with the living and I thought it was heart wrenching. ☹️

Ryn and Ellis’ relationship is a slow burn romance, it’s clean and sweet. For a time I didn’t think there would be a romance between them, I think it could’ve gone either way for them and it would have been fine. But I’m also happy for their happily ever after.

Interwoven in this wonderfully told emotional fantasy story about family, bone houses and mythology, is the theme about grief and pain. Ryn has lost her parents, and Ellis never knew his, so they are both dealing with the pain of their pasts. But Ellis also deals with physical pain and I liked how he described living with it. My heart broke for Ryn and Ellis when they finally confront their ghosts. 💔 But they are there for each other, not just in the romantic sense, but as two caring human beings.

Even though it’s a book about killing “zombies” and grief, the way this story is told warmed my heart and made me smile. 😊 This is the perfect autumn read, I thoroughly enjoyed The Bone Houses.

“And perhaps this was the truth about the dead. You went on. They’d want you to.”
The Bone Houses by. emily lloyd-jones

Blogtober Challenge | October 11, 2019 {Witchy YA}

This Blogtober challenge is created by The Library Looter and Anniek’s Library – check out their awesome blog sites to find more Blogtober challenge prompts!

Today’s blogtober challenge post is Witchy YA reads so here are some witchy stories!

I just read this eARC called An Unholy Magick by Kali Rose Schmidt. It releases on October 22, 2019 and it has a witch assassin! Yup, you heard right.

Book blurb from Goodreads:

She’s an assassin with a gift her parents died for.
He’s a reluctant prince content to drink himself into oblivion.
And hiding in plain sight amongst them both, a monster is searching for redemption.

In a kingdom where magick is forbidden and spoken of only in whispers, they must each face their own demons, walking the line between loyalty and betrayal.

Enter a dark new world full of forbidden love, painful loss, and a growing war between those with power and those who crave it. An Unholy Magick is a bloody and spell-binding fantasy debut, the first from Kali Rose Schmidt’s shadowy series, Vile Sacraments.

I just started this eARC and it’s quite witchy already! Looking forward to finish this one.

Book Blurb from Goodreads:

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 to keep her magic in check, lest the village’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 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.

I read this a month or so ago and it’s a fun, mystery witchy read! Check out my review HERE.

Book Blurb on Goodreads:

Hannah’s a witch, but not the kind you’re thinking of. She’s the real deal, an Elemental with the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. But even though she lives in Salem, Massachusetts, her magic is a secret she has to keep to herself. If she’s ever caught using it in front of a Reg (read: non-witch), she could lose it. For good. So, Hannah spends most of her time avoiding her ex-girlfriend (and fellow Elemental Witch) Veronica, hanging out with her best friend, and working at the Fly by Night Cauldron selling candles and crystals to tourists, goths, and local Wiccans.

But dealing with her ex is the least of Hannah’s concerns when a terrifying blood ritual interrupts the end-of-school-year bonfire. Evidence of dark magic begins to appear all over Salem, and Hannah’s sure it’s the work of a deadly Blood Witch. The issue is, her coven is less than convinced, forcing Hannah to team up with the last person she wants to see: Veronica.

While the pair attempt to smoke out the Blood Witch at a house party, Hannah meets Morgan, a cute new ballerina in town. But trying to date amid a supernatural crisis is easier said than done, and Hannah will have to test the limits of her power if she’s going to save her coven and get the girl, especially when the attacks on Salem’s witches become deadlier by the day.

A witchy graphic novel! This is another fun read, check out my review HERE.

Book Blurb on Goodreads:

A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.

Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.

One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.

Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

And lastly is The Wicked Deep, I mean look at that cover, is that not witchy or what? Click HERE for my review!

Book Blurb from Goodreads:

Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow…

Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town.

Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under.

Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into.

Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters.

But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.