young adult – Among the Authors

Waiting on Wednesday: Toil & Trouble

Waiting on Wednesdays spotlights highly anticipated upcoming releases, and was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Since Jill is no longer hosting, I’m now joining up with Can’t Wait Wednesday at Wishful Endings. Check it out, and leave a link to your “can’t wait” book of the week!

This week for Waiting on Wednesday, I’m doing something I haven’t done before – I’m highlighting an anthology! Anthologies aren’t usually my go-to reading material because if I really enjoy a story, I want to live in it for so much longer than a short story. However, there are plenty of reasons to look forward to this exceptional young adult collection…

36426163

RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 28, 2018

Summary (via Goodreads)

A young adult fiction anthology of 15 stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic stories featuring witchy heroines who are diverse in race, class, sexuality, religion, geography, and era.

Are you a good witch or a bad witch?

Glinda the Good Witch. Elphaba the Wicked Witch. Willow. Sabrina. Gemma Doyle. The Mayfair Witches. Ursula the Sea Witch. Morgan le Fey. The three weird sisters from Macbeth.

History tells us women accused of witchcraft were often outsiders: educated, independent, unmarried, unwilling to fall in line with traditional societal expectations.

Bold. Powerful. Rebellious.

A bruja’s traditional love spell has unexpected results. A witch’s healing hands begin to take life instead of giving it when she ignores her attraction to a fellow witch. In a terrifying future, women are captured by a cabal of men crying witchcraft and the one true witch among them must fight to free them all. In a desolate past, three orphaned sisters prophesize for a murderous king. Somewhere in the present, a teen girl just wants to kiss a boy without causing a hurricane.

From good witches to bad witches, to witches who are a bit of both, this is an anthology of diverse witchy tales from a collection of diverse, feminist authors. The collective strength of women working together—magically or mundanely–has long frightened society, to the point that women’s rights are challenged, legislated against, and denied all over the world. Toil & Trouble delves deep into the truly diverse mythology of witchcraft from many cultures and feminist points of view, to create modern and unique tales of witchery that have yet to be explored.

Why I’m Waiting:

Like many other women, I really enjoy stories about witches. Whether it’s Hermione Granger or the Sanderson Sisters, I’m all about magical and mystical characters. From those just discovering their powers to those who wield power like a sword, these women are intriguing, complex, and they reject the ordinary. I can remember reading and rereading Roald Dahl’s The Witches as a child, and instead of rooting for the main character as he took on an entire gathering of witches, I just wanted to figure out how I too could become a witch and turn boys into mice.

Witches tend to be very strong, female characters, and an entire collection of diverse stories that delve into their myth and legend sounds right up my alley. Luckily, I was just granted an ARC copy from the publisher, so if you’re looking forward to this one as much as I am, go ahead and subscribe to Among the Authors (at the top of this page on the right) so that you’ll be updated when I post my review a little closer to publication time. I can’t wait to get started reading it!

Waiting on Wednesday: Smoke & Iron

If you’ve been a follower of my blog, you probably know by now that I’m a huge fan of the Great Library series by Rachel Caine. I even have a signed poster of the series hanging over my desk as I type this. If you’re not familiar with the series by now, it starts with Ink & Bone, then its sequel Paper & Fire, and then what many people thought would be the end (it wasn’t!) Ash & Quill. It gives me great joy knowing that we are now less than a month away from the release of book four, Smoke & Iron (and even more joy knowing that an ARC copy just arrived in my inbox). I’ve heard that there will be five books total in the series, but I for one have my fingers crossed that the story won’t end there.

36595619
RELEASE DATE: JULY 3, 2018

Summary (via Goodreads)

“The opening moves of a deadly game have begun. Jess Brightwell has put himself in direct peril, with only his wits and skill to aid him in a game of cat and mouse with the Archivist Magister of the Great Library. With the world catching fire, and words printed on paper the spark that lights rebellion, it falls to smugglers, thieves, and scholars to save a library thousands of years in the making…if they can stay alive long enough to outwit their enemies”

Why I’m Waiting:

It seems like every time a new book in this series is about to be released, I’m in a reading slump. While I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m in one right now (as evidenced by my current marathoning of the Shades of Magic series), I am definitely in one in regards to the young adult genre. YA is usually my go-to genre, and I’ve uncovered so many incredible titles that have found a forever home on my shelves.

But lately? Not so much. I’ve combed through pages and pages of upcoming releases in the YA genre, and there aren’t many titles that stand out to me. I want something different. I want a story that really grabs me. I’ve struggled to find that in many of the descriptions.

That’s why I’m so thankful that it won’t be long before I’ll be rejoining Jess Brightwell and friends. Each book has been fresh and unique. The world is so finely crafted and the characters so well developed that even when you finish the last page, the story stays with you. The Great Library always revives my faith in the genre, and it tells a story that’s exciting for all ages.

If you haven’t started the series, now’s the time! Happy reading!

Check out my reviews of the rest of the series:
Ink & Bone
Paper & Fire
Ash & Quill

Add Smoke & Iron to your To Be Read List on Goodreads

Off the Shelf: A Review of A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

I think it’s safe to say I’m hooked on this series. After reading A Darker Shade of Magic, I couldn’t wait to get started on the second installment in the Shades of Magic trilogy. V.E. Schwab/ Victoria Schwab is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors and someone whose writing style I can’t help but idolize. I returned to the series with the second audiobook (my new addiction!) and fell in love with this world all over again.

A Gathering of Shadows Final

Summary (via Goodreads)
“It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift–back into Black London.

Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games–an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries–a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.”

Things I Liked:
If you read my review of A Darker Shade of Magic, you know that one of the only problems I had with it had nothing to do with the story at all. It was that I was listening to it on audiobook (something I didn’t expect to like, but ended up loving!), and the narrator, while perfectly engaging and entertaining, did both Kell and Lila’s chapters. This might’ve been fine had his female voice not sounded a bit Monty Python-esque. But HALLELUJAH! Things vastly improve with the audiobook of this sequel, as there are now TWO narrators, Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. And just as I expected, with Lila sounding less like a parody, I really grew to respect and love her as a character more so in this book than the first.

As I said, I really developed a love for Lila in this one. Her coldness from ADSOM is starting to chip away. She’s still just as witty as ever and to blame for quite a few of my literal laugh-out-loud moments, but I feel like there’s far more depth to her character explored here, and I like what I see. “She had heard men praying at sea, not to God, but to the world, to magic, to anything that might be listening. A higher power, a different name. Lila hadn’t believed in God for a very long time—she’d given up praying when it was clear that no one would answer—and while she was willing to admit that Magic existed, it didn’t seem to listen, or at least, it didn’t seem to care. Lila took a strange pleasure in that, because it meant the power was her own.”

It felt like I was waiting forever for Kell and Lila to reunite, but when they did, it was everything that I wanted it to be. Seriously, their interactions and grab bag full of emotions were perfection. I’m not one who typically gets caught up in the romantic elements of a story, but I was practically giddy when they were finally in the same place at the same time. It’s emotional, moving, and I can’t help but ship it.

This is a turning point for the series. It reminded me in a few ways of my favorite book in the Harry Potter series, Goblet of Fire. Of course, there’s the tournament happening – and it’s even a magician’s tournament! But while the Element Games tournament is entirely different in setup from Harry’s Triwizard Tournament, it still provides a lovely background for part of the story to unfold upon. I LOVED the amount of detail that Schwab uses to craft this world, its language, and even its customs – including the games and Rhy’s inventiveness with the decor. But what I really mean is this– Goblet of Fire was the turning point of the Harry Potter series because it took it into deeper, darker territory. Especially with the first big death of the series, you knew you were no longer reading a book intended for children, and you knew you needed to prepare yourself for how bad things could possibly get. It’s the same with AGOS, particularly its ending which shows us that if we thought the Dane twins were as bad as it got, they were nothing in comparison to this new evil and what is to come.

Alucard. Lord have mercy, his character has become a guilty pleasure, and I want more. More snark. More banter. More backstory. And coming from someone who read A Gathering of Shadows AFTER the Alucard/Dracula twitter debate on V. E. Schwab’s feed, while Alucard most definitely isn’t a vampire, it does make you wonder what Schwab could do if given the chance to turn the usual vampire trope on its head.

Things I Didn’t Like:

Alucard. –but wait, isn’t Alucard in the “Things I Liked” category? Yes, yes he is. BUT. Part of me feels bad for enjoying his character as much as I did. Some of his behaviors towards Lila made me cringe. I find myself identifying with Kell more and more, and so I trust Kell’s judgment. I fully expect Alucard to really show himself in the third and final book, perhaps not in the best of ways. Although, maybe part of me will be rooting for him. I’m torn. –but is that really a thing you didn’t like? No, not really, but when the series is this good, you have to start somewhere.

There is a bit of a second book slump in this trilogy with a whole lot of build up and not much action, so some parts (particularly those with someone who isn’t as dead as he should be) may be slow. But just sit back and enjoy this incredible world and all you are learning about its cast of characters. I don’t think the story could have been told any quicker and still held the same amount of tension. Think of this story as a roller coaster, and book two is your steady climb up the hill. You can see how terrifyingly far off the ground you are, and that terror grows with every passing second. You’ll finish at the top of the hill and be fully aware of most the falls, twists, and turns racing towards your face in book three.

Overall Rating:

4/5.
I’m admittedly hooked on this series, and I can’t get enough. While A Gathering of Shadows didn’t quite live up to the quick pace and relentless action of A Darker Shade of Magic, I was entranced by how much more about the world and its characters was uncovered. The Element Games were incredibly fun and refreshing to read, and gave a much closer look at how the magic in this realm works. I already have the third and final audiobook downloaded, but I for one am not sure that I’m ready for all of the chaos and heartbreak that’s sure to come.

Off the Shelf: A Review of The Life & Death Parade by Eliza Wass

Two years ago, I discovered Eliza Wass through her debut YA novel, The Cresswell Plot. While the book didn’t necessarily hit one out of the park for me, its author did, and I became somewhat entranced by Eliza and her story. She grew up in a strict, religious community and didn’t meet anyone outside of that religion until she interned at Disney at the age of 22. She talks more about that part of her background in this article from the Guardian, and it’s clear where her inspiration for The Cresswell Plot (here titled In the Dark, In the Woods) came from. Her bio claims “she has thousands of friends, all of whom either arrive inside dust jackets or post obsessively on Twitter”, and following her on Twitter gave me a deeper look into her writing, her whimsical personality, and her devotion to her late husband, Alan Wass of Alan Wass and the Tourniquet.

So, when I spotted the beautiful cover of The Life and Death Parade while I was at PLA, I had to snatch it up. It became one of my first must-read ARCs in a massive book haul, and it delivered the type of hauntingly eerie story that I’ve come to expect from Eliza Wass.

36114248

Release Date: July 12, 2018

Summary (via Goodreads)

One year ago, Kitty’s boyfriend Nikki Bramley visited a psychic who told him he had no future. Now, he’s dead.

With the Bramley family grieving in separate corners of their home, Kitty sets out to find the psychic who read Nikki his fate. Instead she finds Roan, an enigmatic boy posing as a medium who belongs to the Life and Death Parade–a group of supposed charlatans that explore, and exploit, the thin veil between this world and the next. A group whose members include the psychic… and Kitty’s late mother.

Desperate to learn more about the group and their connection to Nikki, Kitty convinces Roan to return to the Bramley house with her and secures a position for him within the household. Roan quickly ingratiates himself with the Bramleys, and soon enough it seems like everyone is ready to move on. Kitty, however, increasingly suspects Roan knows more about Nikki than he’s letting on. And when they finally locate the Life and Death Parade, and the psychic who made that fateful prophecy to Nikki, Kitty uncovers a secret about Roan that changes everything.

What I Liked:

Eliza Wass has a beautiful and delicate way of tackling topics like death and grief. She has a way with words, particularly her rich imagery that paints her settings. I longed to know more about the characters, Nikki especially, because he has such a fun persona that steals every scene.

At the beginning of each chapter are featured lines from the author’s late husband, which help to set the tragic tone as Kitty searches for answers to what happened to her boyfriend and how the psychic’s prediction of his death came to pass. A variety of different relationships are explored, each shedding a little more light on how each character grieves, and I was glad that the romantic elements weren’t your typical sugar-coated YA romance tropes. The loss of Nikki haunts the entire story, and in turn the reader aches along with each of the characters in the family.

It’s a quick, enjoyable read that you can finish in just a few short hours, but it can be said that the story will end well before you want it to.

What I Didn’t Like:

About halfway through, I started feeling like I was missing something. Specifically, I felt as if this book had been over-edited and scenes that would have helped me to better connect with the characters and their stories had been cut. Looking back at my review of The Cresswell Plot, I wasn’t surprised to see that I’d felt similarly about that title. The Life and Death Parade is a very short, quick read, but the fast pacing will have you wishing there were slower moments to help the story build. I’m beginning to wonder if this is just Wass’s writing style or if she has an editor that prefers it this way. Either way, I wish we got to know the characters a little bit better because they seem so quirky, unique, and mysterious.

Overall Rating:

I was torn on how to rate this book, but I ultimately decided on 3.5/5 stars. The premise has so much potential and the cast of characters were eccentric and wonderful, but the plot falls victim to an overly fast pace. I still have so many questions and things that I want to know, which makes me wish there were at least another fifty pages or so to tell the full story. Eliza Wass continues to be an author to watch for me, and I look forward to seeing what comes next from her.

Off the Shelf: A Review of By a Charm and a Curse by Jaime Questell

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Although my reading list has stayed consistently full, Among the Authors has been on a bit of a hiatus while I finish up with grad school (the end is in sight! Come on, May!). However, an enticing email from Entangled Teen recently popped up in my inbox and promised a dark carnival story full of mystery and mayhem. Even with a growing to-do list (major life update since my last post: I’m engaged and getting married this year!), I couldn’t resist the call of the carnival. You all know how much I loved Caraval, and while I went into this thinking that By a Charm and a Curse would be similar, I found it to be nothing like Caraval, yet still a uniquely fun read.

I received an eARC from Entangled Teen in exchange for an honest review.

34921588

Summary (via Goodreads)

Le Grand’s Carnival Fantastic isn’t like other traveling circuses. It’s bound by a charm, held together by a centuries-old curse, that protects its members from ever growing older or getting hurt. Emmaline King is drawn to the circus like a moth to a flame…and unwittingly recruited into its folds by a mysterious teen boy whose kiss is as cold as ice.

Forced to travel through Texas as the new Girl in the Box, Emmaline is completely trapped. Breaking the curse seems like her only chance at freedom, but with no curse, there’s no charm, either—dooming everyone who calls the Carnival Fantastic home. Including the boy she’s afraid she’s falling for.

Everything—including his life—could end with just one kiss.

Things I Liked:

By a Charm and a Curse is a very, VERY quick read. I picked it up and didn’t sit it back down until I was finished, only a couple of hours later. The 300 pages seemed more like half that. It’s a great book for an after-work-wind-down, when you really need something light and easy to escape the stress of the day. What better way to do that than by visiting a mysterious carnival?

The setting is a major strength to this book. It is well-written, and even though the closest thing I had to a carnival growing up was the county fair, I could clearly imagine this whimsical, enchanting circus. Speaking of circus, you might see this book compared to The Night Circus as well as Carnaval, but let me reiterate that all of these books have very different stories. They merely share a similar setting. The setting is vibrant and makes an interesting playing field for a diverse cast of performers.

Telling the story in dual points of view between the two main characters, Emma and Benjamin, was a wise choice on the part of the author. Emma was an interesting enough character, and I thought her struggles with the marionette-like transformation were uniquely creepy. Between the two of them though, I found myself looking forward to the chapters told from Benjamin’s perspective because I feel like he had a bit more depth. However, Sidney, the former Boy in the Box, easily stole the show for me. He was fun, engaging, and I wanted so much more from his character. Had the book been a little bit longer, that might have been possible.

Things I Didn’t Like:

There’s not much that’s surprising about By a Charm and a Curse. I think you’re meant to be shocked by the true nature of the curse, but most readers will see it coming from very early in the story. I actually was surprised by a dark and deadly moment towards the end, but unfortunately, I feel that it was unnecessary and didn’t really do anything to further the plot. While the story can get predictable, there are other parts that get rather confusing, like how certain characters don’t react to things the way people normally would or they don’t ask questions that should have been obvious.

To be completely honest, after the first few pages, I was a little concerned that this was not the book that I expected it to be and that I was going to completely dislike Emma. She complains a lot about having to stay with her dad and brothers while her mother is out of the country. She’s stuck in this place that is just soooo awful and the only thing her one friend in town wants to talk about is setting her up with boys. Then, she meets a complete stranger who, after only a few moments, Emma believes completely gets her, and all she wants to do is hold hands with him and maybe kiss him (her first kiss! *gag*). It’s all a little bit eyeroll-inducing. But stick with it! I promise the story does get better from here, although even the real romance portion of the book does feel pretty rushed and without any real conflict (other than an overprotective mother).

Overall Rating:

I’d give By a Charm and a Curse a solid three stars. This book is a fun escape, and one that can be easily read in one afternoon or evening. The premise is intriguing and the setting full of whimsy. The cast of characters, while sometimes lacking in depth, are memorable and add to the mystery of the carnival itself. Although it will leave you wishing it was a little longer, it’s a fairly impressive debut for Jaime Questell, and it makes me look forward to the possibilities of what she may write in the future.