Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Unfortunately two stars is probably generous here. I should have DNF’d this. However I persevered; but didn’t really gain anything except more confusion in the end. I know this is a debut novel by a young writer. I understand what was being attempted; however, it was so poorly executed I’m shocked this was the ‘best’ final product. Sometimes when you are sent away by many, many publishers it’s because your book needs too much work. More work than an editor can reasonably provide. I believe that to be the case in Dead Girls Walking.
To keep this from being me ranting let me summarize some of the key issues I had:
- no rules are ever really set-up for the world and it’s resurrection style magic. There’s an attempt early-on but every time I turned around a rule is proven wrong
- it is possible to have too many twists and turns. In order to make a book feel cohesive, readable (ie: plot can be followed), and seem ‘realistic’ inside the confines of magic set-up it needs to have some stickiness that keeps it all together. Dead Girls Walking is a flat hot mess of jumping around, attempts to be clever that all fall down because nothing seems to fit together properly
- our leading girl is annoying. Her obsession with identifying herself as a monster for no real reason (besides her father is a serial killer) really bugged me. Especially as you learn some of the spoilers in the story… she clearly knows right from wrong even early on in the story. I think a survivors guilt complex would have been a smarter way to go
- the attempt to connect this all to a fictional novel written by a person close to the family is bizarre. We never get any real info about the novel (some excerpts with little context), and our heroine hasn’t read the book (which is also weird…); as she is our only POV we get snippets of the novel in the text but no real analysis of it. In some ways the inclusion of the novel tries to set boundaries for the magic (and maybe solutions?) but it felt gimmicky and incomplete
- finally, the first third of the book feels like it’s about a completely different type of ghost/horror story than the rest. The ghost set-up went from tiny to huge with little transition. I really want to read what the story should have been within the confines of the set-up of the first part of the novel. Instead it grew so quickly and by the halfway point Dead Girls Walking had become outrageous and out of control. There’s no real pacing, attention to timeline details, or magical rules to help define the world. Unfortunately for me that means it just didn’t ‘stick’ together well.
Overall, Dead Girls Walking has a bunch of poorly written fairly gory scenes, illogical plot jumps, a very annoying lead character, upside down twists that don’t fit, and no real cohesion. I’d love to read the story of lesbian girls at a ‘horror themed’ camp (who are obsessed with a real crime nearby) learning about the crime and themselves at the same time. That is the book I want to read. Unfortunately, while this is billed as such, it’s far from what I had expected or hoped for based on the blurb.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Fireborne Blade is both a fantasy story featuring two strong willed women, and a feminist manifesto. Blatantly calling out the ridiculousness of the hurdles often put in the way of women achieving the same as men the reader can’t help but agree that it’s extremely illogical. As seen in this standout quote:
“Its illegal to train girls in magic without a dispensation, yet to get that dispensation, a girl has to show an aptitude first—which means someone has to train her up at least a bit, which means that someone is already breaking the rules in order to follow the rules. That seems ridiculous to me.”
Welcome to the classic fantasy world Charlotte Bond has created. Arguably a mirror in some ways to our own. Even as I say this is a statement on society, it’s also an action packed, mildly gory (at times), fantasy story. At only 168 pages it’s very short and yet still manages to set-up a ton of dragon lore (via mini stories or journal entries by other knights), send our leading lady on a dragon quest, bring forth the hypocritical magic user rules, and shun women from being knights. In all a perfectly balanced story, and one that feels like a mini introduction to (what I hope is) a huge fantasy series to come!
This is perhaps not like the fantasy many of us ‘older folks’ (lol) are used to. It is entirely based on women fighting back; without reliance on any men. In some ways The Fireborne Blade could be a story about Eowyn trying to prove herself in Mjddle Earth to everyone around her. It’s a simple concept; yet complex in its question: how does society get to accepting female knights and mages? I really hope Bond is continuing this forward to show us how it might work (and some gory details along the way).
The lovely British narrator for the audiobook has the perfect sort of ‘medieval’ accent one might attribute to fantasy. Her voice sets a mood right away; yet her accent is mild enough to not pose any concerns about understanding her. I will definitely look for her as a narrator in the future.
I cannot wait for more stories from this fantasy world! Hopefully they feature our two ladies, and more intriguing dragons (who all have slightly different powers or magic) to be slayed (or not).
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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The Deading by Nicholas Belardes
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
DNF @ 50%
For a book with such an intriguing blurb, a badass horror cover, and great marketing it’s incredible disappointing to give up on it. But I cannot read another repetitive, useless, cyclical descriptive paragraph, or run-on sentence, again. There are so many issues with this story sadly.
Here are the big ones that stand out to me:
- I never know who is talking at the beginning of the chapter! I need names please, or immediate orientating of which characters POV I’m getting. It’s very annoying (and distracting) to try and figure out whose thoughts I’m reading.
- The extended descriptive, repetitive prose is unnecessary. I don’t need five different examples of birds being unable to fly or humans lying on the grass. This book could be less than half its size if the prose was cut down and made short, sweet, and impactful.
- The actual plot has been lost inside the descriptions and constant discussion of birds. I do not care this much about bird watching! The Deading could have been a cool opportunity to get people interested in birdwatching. Instead it will bore you into looking for birds; anything to keep you distracted from reading more on the page in front of you.
- The isolation of the town is illogical at times. Apparently no one was visiting when the quarantine was imposed? No one is missing family members who were travelling, all the kids have all their parents and friends in town at the moment of isolation? It’s strange that this assumption is put into place when it could have setup an interesting plot point about who is where and how the virus attacks locals versus tourists different. Huge lost opportunity in my opinion.
- I’m sooo bored. I do not care at all what is happening in the bay, with the animals and humans, etc. I went and crept on some other reviews and read a lot of the same complaints I have. And so I’m DNFing this one because it doesn’t seem worth it to carry on if it doesn’t get any better (which according to other reviewers it doesn’t).
It’s always disappointing to be unsatisfied by a book, but to be downright annoyed, bored, and disinterested takes a fair bit of work (ironically). The Deading needed a heavy handed editor, some story boarding to map out who is where, when and why, and some focus on the point of the story or at least a sense of where it’s headed. Thus I concede, I’m beat and ready to move on get or into something that (hopefully) doesn’t include anything about birdwatching.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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Little Wolf's Howl: A Story of Getting Lost, only to Find One's Voice by Nelly Buchet
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is absolutely adorable!! I love how our little wolf cub can’t quite manage to howl at first. Upon getting lost he meets some other animals, all the while looking for North. When he finally sees the North Star (the brightest star in the sky) and heads toward home (using the skills his animal friends taught him) he is then able to howl!!
This is perfect for really any age or child. Toddlers will love learning to howl on the page (or hearing the reader howl).
I do think one of the reasons I love this is my 80lb pitbull dog (who’s just a big baby, named Zero) knows the command ‘speak’ but it often comes out as a sneeze. The kiddos in the park love to ask him to ‘speak’ and that they don’t always get a bark; however when Zero does get out a good bark they get so excited for him. This story reminds me of that kind of excitement when it takes a few tries to do something but eventually you get there.
A wonderful story about being lost, asking for help, and finding your way.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I struggled in the beginning with One Dark Window. Maybe because I had just come off a great book, maybe because I expected a lot out of the gate based on the praise heaped all over this book, or maybe because I just wasn’t ready. So I read a shorter book and came back. I’m sooo glad I came back!!
The last 75% of this book is brilliant! The ending is dark and I cannot wait to move onto book two! It’s nice to know this is a duology, has a distinct ending, and I’m hoping it’s as dark as I’m expecting! Lucky for me I had enough faith in previous reviews to buy both books at the same time. So glad I did!
One Dark Window has a very unique magic system that is a bit complex, and not like your standard magic set-up. While using the magic has consequences it’s not to make you tired; these consequences are much more nefarious. Each type of magic (based on which card you use) has a different side effect; just as the card only does specific things. I’m still a little shaky on what a couple of the cards do (besides our elusive Alders card) but I have accepted that it’s okay I didn’t have all the answers at my fingertips and the mystery about the cards and how the magic is affecting different people is what makes this such a great ending (as we learn some of our answers; but not all)! So if you usually read fantasy, like me, be patient I promise it’s worth it.
Overall, I think that is my main point on this book is be patient. The characters really start to come into their own, our leading girls side effect really starts to play a part (besides just annoying her and the reader), and the cute little insta-love (ugh) does evolve enough that I can accept they are falling in love. Ultimately it’s not five stars for me because it just wasn’t perfect; but I think book two has a real opportunity to elevate the darkness, deepness, and deliberateness for everyone and everything happening.
I definitely recommend One Dark Window with the caveat to be patient. It does get there.
My usual endorsement that shows I’m serious, One Dark Window is going into my print library (where I have to be very picky because I’m basically out of room for books).
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A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the funnest, most horrific, scandalously proper book I’ve read recently (this description makes sense right? lol).
Kingfisher, once again, brings together her wit and sarcasm, adds it to a horror of all horrors, puts some charming characters in the horrors way, and thus gives us a wonderful book that is perhaps my favourite of hers (that I’ve read) to date!
If you’ve ever had a day, or perhaps many of them in which you want an overbearing adult to back-off then you will sympathize with our leading teen Cordelia. Her mother is, quite literally, evil. Capable of unfounded horrors with her magic; and, what’s worse, she has inflicted many of those horrors on her own daughter.
Thankfully her mother makes a miscalculation in choosing new ‘prey’ to finance her desires, and Cordelia finds some adults she can trust. The beginning of this story is definitely the Goose Girl tale. By the end I was completely engrossed and had forgotten entirely about it being inspired by an old story. Kingfisher makes this one entirely her own.
Between vivid descriptions, clever and snarky characters to magic, ghosts, and demons(?), oh my! A Sorceress Comes to Call held me rapt in suspense and thrills, right up to the last page. If you have enjoyed any of Kingfisher in the past you will love this one. If you are new to Kingfisher but enjoy thrilling stories, magical rules, clever evil, horrific situations (a bit of gore) and bumbling heroes trying to repel said evil then feel secure in picking up A Sorceress Comes to Call. It really is a witty, horror story (with a couple magical twists) that won’t disappoint.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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