Review: All The Stars and Teeth

All The Stars and Teeth 

Rating: 3.5/5

Buy or Borrow: Buy 

Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

As princess of the island kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer - the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic, but for Amora, it's never been a choice. To secure her place as heir to the throne, she must prove her mastery of the monarchy's dangerous soul magic.

When her demonstration goes awry, Amora is forced to flee. She strikes a deal with Bastian, a mysterious pirate: he'll help her prove she's fit to rule, if she'll help him reclaim his stolen magic.

But sailing the kingdom holds more wonder - and more peril - than Amora anticipated. A destructive new magic is on the rise, and if Amora is to conquer it, she'll need to face legendary monsters, cross paths with vengeful mermaids, and deal with a stow-away she never expected... or risk the fate of Visidia and lose the crown forever. 

There are so few pirate books out there and as we all know, I'm weak for anything pirate related so you can imagine how excited I was for this book! Pirates, magic, mermaids, sea monsters and adventure, this book pretty much has it all! 

Hooking you in from the start, there's a quick pace to this book and the story progresses nicely with barely any time to catch your breath. The magic system is intriguing, there's multiple different kinds and depending on the type you have...you live on the corresponding island. Amora's magic, however, is different and I was so curious about it and the beast it allegedly was holding back. There's a nice element of mystery to her magic and the history of it that provided some nice surprises! 

I quite liked Amora, she was very confident and determined in whatever it was that she was doing. She never really gave up and kept fighting forward and when she did waver it was honestly very understandable and relatable and I appreciated the fact she didn't wallow in that feeling for too long. She's also not afraid to spill some blood to get things sorted and does quite well at protecting herself! Bastion is predictably my favourite character because hello pirate captain! But there's more to his backstory than just that and again...he provides a few nice surprises and there's one twist that I can't wait to see play out in the book. He also has some excellent lines. Along with our Princess and our Pirate we have the healer that Amora is betrothed to, and our mermaid who I loved and I can't wait to see more of her! I just loved the fact that she was a tiny, little bit vicious and I kind of felt like mermaids and sirens had been combined in to one for her! 

The romance isn't the main focus of the book though it does take over here and there at certain points. I do feel a little bit like the 'love triangle', or whatever you want to call it, wasn't all that strong and didn't have much to it. I partially felt like more could be done with it, but at the same time at least things are pretty straightforward though there are still some things that will need to be worked out. 

What I did enjoy were some of the topics that were broached within the book. Menstruation which I haven't actually seen mentioned in a YA book before, abuse and sexual assault. I wasn't actually expecting any of it in this book and I very rarely come across the latter two so it was a bit of a surprise and I was intrigued that the author wanted to include them, though I feel like there was room to go a bit more in depth if that was the direction Grace wanted to go in. Just be aware that those things are talked about within the book at various different points if that's something that you would want to avoid. 

All The Stars and Teeth has some great world-building, an interesting magic system and plenty of action and adventuring to keep you intrigued. The characters are likeable and they all share an interesting dynamic and there's a few great twists that will be fun to see play out in the next book. I read this fairly quickly, I did enjoy reading it and I will pick up the sequel to see what happens next but I felt like there was a little something missing for me personally that could have made this really stand out all the more! 

 

Review: The Court of Miracles

The Court of Miracles

Rating: 4/5

Buy or Borrow: Buy

Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

In the dark days following a failed French Revolution, in the violent jungle of an alternate 1828 Paris, young cat-burglar Eponine (Nina) Thenardier goes head to head with merciless royalty, and the lords of the city's criminal underworld to save the life of her adopted sister Cosette (Ettie).

Her vow will take her from the city’s dark underbelly, through a dawning revolution, to the very heart of the glittering court of Louis XVII, where she must make an impossible choice between guild, blood, betrayal and war. 

I was sold on this from the words 'diverse fantasy reimagining of Les Miserables' and I was so eager to dive into this. I was immediately thrown into a rich world that's built up more and more over the course of the first part. Our setting is Paris in the wake of a failed revolution, and now there are Guilds that operate under their own law. Our main character Nina is in the Thieves Guild, and she's basically out to save her sister from a not as pleasant Guild. Alongside Nina and her own personal mission, there's another revolution brewing in the streets of Paris. 

As I read this, I eagerly drank in all the world building, the atmosphere and the history along with the tension and emotional first few chapters. The setting is quickly established, as are our main characters as we smoothly and quickly set up for the main part of the story. Honestly, I was hooked from the first page, eager to know more and eager for Nina's plan to unfold. I loved being in the world of this book, and I loved the storytelling. 

I loved, loved, loved the Les Miserables threads woven in. We've got all of the characters we know and love from the book and musical and I screeched a little bit at each reveal. The more you read, the more you can see the book intertwining with it, coming together and slowly building up to the events of Les Miserables, specifically a certain heartbreaking scene! I'm going to be honest, at one point I had 'Do You Hear the People Sing' stuck in my head! 

I enjoyed the little slices of history at the beginning of each part that tells us the story of how the Guilds came to be, as I was incredibly curious about that aspect and eager to know more. There's some brilliantly smooth transitions through time as the story builds up and gets us to where we need to be. I just loved how things got a little bit more familiar towards the end and the sense of dread that started to build up! 

As for the characters, I loved Nina! She was a badass and would do anything to protect Ettie. I also lowkey ship Nina and Montparnasse, as soon as I read them together I was like...that's it. That's my ship. Shove off St. Juste and Prince! I'm going to be honest, Ettie annoyed me at points, but I did love the sisterhood between she and Nina and I feel like Ettie has some excellent character development over the course of the book until she's more than capable of holding her own. I loved to see it, and I thought it was nicely done alongside all the events of the book! 

Genuinely, The Court of Miracles builds up so wonderfully! The revolution creeping through the streets and building up with the plot and Nina's scheming until it reaches a crescendo. There are some excellent twists and I was on the edge of my seat for the last part! I was just as tense as the characters were as I waited to see what would happen. 

With vividly described settings with rich detail, The Court of Miracles was atmospheric until the end and you can get completely lost in the world of the book and the story being told. It's excellently written and more than kept my attention on the page and my mind from wandering! I was eager to know what would happen next and reluctant to have to put the book down to do anything real world related. 

I will say that The Court of Miracles wraps up really nicely, and could quite easily serve as a standalone so I'm curious to see where the sequel is going to go! 

Review: The Ship of Shadows

The Ship of Shadows
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy! 
Source: Bought it myself as soon as my hot little hands could get hold of it! 

Aleja whiles away her days in her family's dusty tavern in Seville, dreaming of distant lands and believing in the kind of magic that she's only ever read about in books. After all, she's always being told that girls can't be explorers.

But her life is changed forever when adventure comes for her in the form of a fabled vessel called the Ship of Shadows. Crewed by a band of ruthless women, with cabin walls dripping with secrets, the ship has sailed right out of a legend. And it wants Aleja.

Once on board its shadowy deck, she begins to realize that the sea holds more secrets than she ever could have imagined. The crew are desperately seeking something, and their path will take them through treacherous waters and force them to confront nightmare creatures and pitch-dark magic. It will take all of Aleja's strength and courage to gain the trust of her fellow pirates - and discover what they are risking everything to find. 

It's a truth universally acknowledged that if a book has pirates in it...I'm going to read it. Not only does The Ship of Shadows have pirates...it has badass female pirates, what more could you want? 

I've followed Maria on Instagram for forever, so I've seen every single post she's made about writing this book and I've been so excited to get my hands on it! When I saw it on the trolley to be put out at work I snatched it so fast it's probably a world record! Unfortunately, I had to wait until I was done with first year exams to finally settle down to read this but...it was worth the wait! 

As soon as I started reading I was instantly enveloped in the world of the book, I could picture everything as clearly as if I was there. There's so much detail throw in to the world building and the characters, with slick writing so that the narrative isn't too bogged down. I instantly settled down and easily read over 100 pages in one sitting...then the next day read the entirety of the rest of the book! I just instantly fell in love with the setting, the frankly awesome kinda Tardis-esque magical ship and our strong female lead. 

I loved Aleja, she was relatable and easy to root for and every single time she mentioned going home I was sitting there like, oh no sweetie. You're not going home, you CAN'T! How could she leave not only the ship and adventure, but the crew that I came to love as much as Aleja did?! Speaking of the crew, they were such an interesting bunch who'd all come together to create their own family and there wasn't a single one of them that I didn't like. I was curious about all of them and how they'd come to be on the ship, and each of them had a different set of skills to contribute. 

I need to talk about the magic of the book quickly as well! I was intrigued as to what it would be after seeing other readers comment on it, and honestly? It was so cool! The ship has shadow magic to it so all these rooms appear randomly, or you'll be minding your own business exploring one of the ship's passages and BOOM, there's a waterfall out of nowhere! It was so inventive and imaginative and I had a lot of fun reading about it and thinking over the possibilities! 

The Ship of Shadows is fast-paced and utterly riveting. There's so much packed in to it and we smoothly sail from point to point in the story! This isn't just a pirate adventure about sailing the high seas. Yes we have krakens to face and treasure to steal, but we also have a heist and a quest into the desert in search of a treasure map with some riddles and puzzles to solve along the way! If you like your piracy with a side of puzzle-solving, questing and adventure, then this is the book for you! 

Review: Bookish and The Beast

Bookish and The Beast 
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Rosie Thorne is feeling stuck—on her college application essays, in her small town, and on that mysterious General Sond cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon. Most of all, she’s stuck in her grief over her mother’s death. Her only solace was her late mother’s library of rare Starfield novels, but even that disappeared when they sold it to pay off hospital bills.

On the other hand, Vance Reigns has been Hollywood royalty for as long as he can remember—with all the privilege and scrutiny that entails. When a tabloid scandal catches up to him, he's forced to hide out somewhere the paparazzi would never expect to find him: Small Town USA. At least there’s a library in the house. Too bad he doesn’t read.

When Rosie and Vance’s paths collide and a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie finds herself working to repay the debt. And while most Starfield superfans would jump at the chance to work in close proximity to the Vance Reigns, Rosie has discovered something about Vance: he’s a jerk, and she can’t stand him. The feeling is mutual.

But as Vance and Rosie begrudgingly get to know each other, their careful masks come off—and they may just find that there’s more risk in shutting each other out than in opening their hearts. 

"Who's going to tell her this is Stockholm Syndrome?" 

If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll know that I absolutely adore this series! Geekerella was such a fun read and I instantly fell in love with it, and while I had an issue or two with the sequel it was still just as nerdy and fun to read! I've been eagerly awaiting this third book, but after meeting Vance during the previous book I thought it was going to take a lot for Poston to make me like him. 

As it turns out, I'm a weak, weak woman because during the first chapter from Vance's POV I was kind of just like....oh. Okay Vance, okay. I get you, I see where you're coming from and it was hard not to chuckle at some of the things he came out with. It was so easy to see things from his point of view once you become familiar with his background and what he's been going through and it really wasn't long before I had a little bit of a soft spot for him. I just settled in to wait for him to open up a little and relax. 

As for our other POV Rosie, I knew I was going to instantly gel with her as a character because hello fellow book nerd! I related to her on so many levels and I really enjoyed her character. She wasn't afraid to stand up for herself no matter who it was to, whether it was Vance or Garrett, aka the Gaston of this book, who just could not take no for an answer. Damn. She also brought with her some really fun supporting characters in the form of her hilarious Dad, and her awesome BFF's Annie and Quinn! I particularly loved the rep for Quinn and I really commend this series for all the rep that it gives us whether it's LGBTQ+ or POC. 

Of course we have some cameo's from some of our favourite characters from the previous books. I was ridiculously pleased to see that Vance had kept a connection with Imogen and I liked their friendship, it was also nice to see Ethan again too! Darien pops up as well, as does Elle in a manner but...EXCUSE ME ASHLEY!? I was SHOOK to my core at the news about them. I kinda, sorta want a little novella to see what that was all about! I was just minding my own business and then BOOM, the OG ship of the series left me a little bit stunned! 

As you would expect with this being called Bookish and the Beast, there are some excellent, modern nods to Beauty and the Beast in here. Rosie and her birthmark, the library, a couple of scenes that are a little bit reminiscent of the Disney movie, Garrett as Gaston and then instead of an angry baying mob we had...reporters and paparazzi. OH and the castle house, I think Poston described my dream house and I'm kinda sad it doesn't actually exist! I just really enjoyed that it wasn't too excessive and in your face and was the odd nod here or there, much like with Geekerella and The Princess and the Fangirl! 

I'm going to be really honest here, as excited for the book as I was I was also a little bit wary of reading it. I thought that with everything going on and conventions being cancelled that this book would be a little bit bittersweet for me and that it might make me a little sad. While I did get that kind of sad longing for a convention at the beginning of the book, this one isn't actually set entirely at a convention like the previous books. I think this was a great move, because it kept the series fresh and stopped it from becoming too repetitive. Don't worry though, this book is still brimming with glorious nerdy-ness. 

We've got the story told through a brilliant use of book extracts, texts, articles and so on as usual to keep things fun and interesting, and to deliver information without bogging down the narrative too much with information. There's plenty of nerdy references that had me squealing every single time I spotted them and I just love that about this series. It's so unashamedly nerdy and not even limited to one fandom, there's a tonne of them in there to spot! 

Bookish and the Beast is nicely paced, I breezed through this in a couple of sittings and basically binge read it because I had no self control. Well, that and I found this book so...comforting? It's been a hard year so far for a lot of us that have left us feeling kind of low and in need of a pick me up and the relatable characters, fun story and the doses of nerdiness just gave me such a sense of comfort as I was reading. I'm sure that makes no sense, but it's kinda like Ashley brought the con to us? In a sense? I was just reading like 'ah, these are my people' and it all felt so familiar and ugh. I'm bad at describing it but this is definitely a comfort book to me and it really recharged my mood a little and picked me right up when I needed it! 

My only teeny, tiny issue with this book is that little bit with Darien and Elle like...I'm sorry Ashley, please elaborate!? I need the tea! 

Much as I loved Geekerella, I think this book just might slightly surpass it and is now my favourite book in the entire series! Plus it swiftly made its way on to my favourites list! I'm already planning a big series re-read, and I feel like this is one series that you can just read again and again and never get tired of the fun and the mayhem. 

Oh, and if the nerdy references don't get you smiling and all cheered up, then the humour definitely will. Poston's humour is my kind of brand of humour and the way I howled laughing at the line, "who's going to tell her this is Stockholm Syndrome?" it was such a beautifully placed line! 

I'm not sure if this is the final book in the series, I think it is although part of me is really hoping that it's not because I'm going to miss having a new book in this series to look forward to each year, but I feel like this is a timeless series that's going to be great to come back and revisit as many times as you need!