Category: Fantasy

Posted in Fantasy, Horror

Dark Flowers

Posted on by Hannah Brown

Hello bloggers! It’s been a while since I’ve finished a book that I felt the need to review. My reading has also vastly slowed since beginning graduate school, so please bear with me!

SPOILERS BELOW!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32762607-dark-flowers?from_search=true

Goodreads Synopsis: Life at St. Agatha’s School for Girls is anything but a fairytale. With ratty blankets and a torturous device called the box, it’s not hard to understand Eliza’s desperation to escape. When the timing is right, Eliza manages to run away with her best friend Millie, heading through the Louisiana swamps to the town on the other side. But the swamps may be even more dangerous than the orphanage. Silver and black fairies invite the girls to experience a world where they can have it all, but Eliza doesn’t trust the sparkling beauty. When Millie suddenly becomes violent and attacks another girl, Eliza knows something awful is about to happen. She will do anything to protect Millie but once Eliza remembers her own terrible secret, it is impossible to forget. The fairies’ songs call to Eliza and its getting harder and harder to pretend it’s all in her head.

I selected this book from NetGalley because I knew I needed to read at least 1 creepy book for the Halloween season. This book definitely satisfied that need. Per NetGalley, I cannot quote or spoil this book, so I will give a list of features in this book that remind me of other series, and allow you, the reader, to the determine if this book will be worthy or purchase!

  1. Evil Pixies: much like the mischievous pixies from Harry Potter, but combined with the evil tendencies of acromantulas and the creepy voice of the Basilisk.
  2. Orphanages: This orphanage is Annie with quadruple the issues and an evil orphan matron that trumps Ms. Hannigan anyday. The Matron is AWFUL.
  3. Nuns: The orphanage is run by nuns. While the nuns, well one nun in particular, is actually nice, nuns in general get a bad rep from horror movies.
  4. Swamps: Every good creepy movie or book has a person that disappears into the swamp, right?
  5. Asylum: Belle Rose is a wonderful Asylum where the main characters get placed in hopes of curing their maladies, but of course, treatment never goes as planned, does it?

I am going to stop here, or I may actually spoil this amazing book. PLEASE read it and discuss your thoughts with me!

SIKE! As an oversight on my part, I did not realize that this book was published some time back and I AM, in fact, allowed to spoil!

OKAY SO. Eliza’s evil mother dumped her on the side of the road-CRUEL- and she is subsequently adopted by evil fairies that demand a human sacrifice every 2 years. Here’s the catch. They wipe her memory every time she gives them a sacrifice so she feels no guilt and cannot tell anyone her evil deeds.

Eliza lives in an orphanage and she has 1 friend, Millie. Eliza and Millie decide to run away from the orphanage together and Millie finds the fairies in the woods. Too bad Eliza doesn’t remember them and Millie falls in love with them. Millie escapes to the fairies and eventually harms another child at the orphanage because the fairies told her too.

Crazy, right?

THEN Millie and Eliza both end up in a mental institution and Millie is diagnosed with Schizphrenia as a result of her belief in the fairies.

Ultimately, they both escape the psych ward, and Millie ends up as a sacrifice, but what I find so interesting is Eliza’s inability to leave the fairies behind and live a normal life.

She chooses to go back to them time and time again and kills her friends. Why can’t she break free or find some form of “cure”, or just kill the fairies? It certainly wouldn’t make such an interesting story line, but it’s certainly a thought!

Posted in Fantasy

The Library of the Unwritten

Posted on by Hannah Brown

Goodreads Synopsis: Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing—a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.

But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil’s Bible. The text of the Devil’s Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell … and Earth.

HOLY MOLY folks. This book was incredible! I will not be giving away any spoilers as the book has not been released yet, and as always, a huge thanks to NetGalley for allowing me access to this amazing ARC!

Reasons why you should read it:

  1. Librarians rule Hell (a bit of an over exaggeration, but you’ll understand if you read it.)
  2. Demons aren’t necessarily evil; nor are angels pure.
  3. Books. Are. Alive.
  4. Valhalla.
  5. If you like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, or Fablehaven, OR the Every Heart is a Doorway series, this book IS for YOU.
  6. LIBRARIANS RULE HELL. THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH REASON.

Link to Raven clip art below:

https://www.google.com/search?q=ravens+clip+art&rlz=1C1NHXL_enUS795US795&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwia8qy5-drkAhUORKwKHTM1AJEQ_AUIEigB&biw=1920&bih=920#imgdii=jpDdV3NsPd0cdM:&imgrc=AT_q4wiic0qRNM:
Posted in Fantasy

A Darker Shade of Magic

Posted on by Hannah Brown

Goodreads Synopsis: Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.

To the die hard fans of V.E. Schwab, and this novel, I am so sorry, but I don’t understand the level of hype. Yes, the book is very well written, informative, has a handsome male protagonist, a lovable, feisty female protagonist, and an amazing primary antagonist, BUT.. I was not thrilled.

I found myself needing breaks from the book because I would get bored and my mind began to wonder. Though, there are several brilliant and strange topics/theories needed to be discussed.

Slight Spolier Warning:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhbk4y1nuFN/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=g35fohymu8vj

Ok. Delilah Bard. She HAS to be an antari of some kind. I feel like her magic was taken away when her eye was removed. (Also, if this is true, then I say that Kell just takes his eye out and be done with all the BS. Don’t come for me).) Also super convenient that she doesn’t remember the circumstances behind losing her eye either, suspicious? I think so.

While Lila is such a badass, fearless female character, I found myself frequently annoyed with her childlike tendencies to steal things and touch things that she shouldn’t, such as magically warded items in a London she has no knowledge about. Common sense should have kicked in, but obviously it didn’t.

https://justmybookishlife.wordpress.com/2017/04/29/a-darker-shade-of-magic-by-v-e-schwab/

Kell…poor, lonely Kell. Do I feel bad for Kell for essentially being the property of the rich, sweetly enslaved for his powers? Yes. But he has MAGIC for pete’s sake. RUN AWAY. There are so many other options than staying enslaved in by a King and Queen who supposedly love you, but only use you for your abilities.

Though, I would definitely bargain with him for his coat. That thing is awesome and is a garment I would gladly add to my personal wardrobe.

https://society6.com/product/athos-astrid-and-holland_print

Now my favorite character: Holland.

Holland is the rival Antari enslaved to the sibling rulers of White London.

Holland is the only character in this story that I truly pity and love. While he may be ruthless killer, an evil among evils, he is a true slave to his rulers. In White London, magic is scant, and any magic a person has is bound to them by seals to make sure they keep their magic rather than having it stripped from them by those more powerful.

Siblings Athos and Astrid torture Holland by forcing him to do their bidding by having his covered in seals infused with their magic so they might assume complete control. Holland was never a pleasant person, but he was made worse by the twins control.

I won;t give any more away about the story, so let me end with this.

I will be reading the second book because I can’t stand leaving a tale unfinished, and the tale is interesting enough for me to want to know what happens. All I can say is that A gathering of Shadows MUST be up to par with what Arya Stark will eventually do on her journey outside of Westeros. (Delilah and Arya are the same for wanting to adventure, therefore that comment was necessary-Thanks to Sara for that idea that I can now obsess over).

All in all:

Posted in Fantasy

Sorcery of Thorns

Posted on by Hannah Brown

Goodreads Synopsis:

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined

This is the perfect book for those looking for a followup to Harry Potter.

Elisabeth is an orphan raised in a library full of enchanted grimoires that each have their own needs and personalities. (Think Harry’s Monsters Book of Monsters).

Growing up around the grimoires has imbued her with magic and allow her to heal quickly and form bonds with the books as though they are people, but of course, this talent is also her downfall.

Elisabeth is the perfect example of headstrong female presence. She refuses to back down from a situation just because of lack of experience or fear.

I find myself personally connecting with her in 1 special way. We both HATE to brush our hair. The tangles are just too torturous.

Now to her love interest, Nathaniel Thorn. Hence the title, Sorcery of Thorns. the Thorn family is famous for necromancy, and Nathaniel is particularly famous in his own right for being the last of the Thorn family lineage. Each famous sorcerer family is tied to a powerful upper level demon, in Nathaniel’s case, this is Silas, a demon prince with alabaster skin that can take the form of a common house cat. But be careful with demons, they are always looking for methods in which to bargain more power from their masters.

I personally like Nathaniel even though his trope is a bit obvious. He meets wild girl, he falls in love despite his best efforts. He’s flawed and afraid to love her. But in the end, none of this matters and they fall in love and live almost happily ever after.

Though, if you want to discover what the “almost” is about, you’ll have to go read it;).

Posted in Fantasy

Crown of Coral and Pearl

Posted on by Hannah Brown

Goodreads Synopsis:

For generations, the princes of Ilara have married the most beautiful maidens from the ocean village of Varenia. But though every girl longs to be chosen as the next princess, the cost of becoming royalty is higher than any of them could ever imagine…

Nor once dreamed of seeing the wondrous wealth and beauty of Ilara, the kingdom that’s ruled her village for as long as anyone can remember. But when a childhood accident left her with a permanent scar, it became clear that her identical twin sister, Zadie, would likely be chosen to marry the Crown Prince—while Nor remained behind, unable to ever set foot on land.

Then Zadie is gravely injured, and Nor is sent to Ilara in her place. To Nor’s dismay, her future husband, Prince Ceren, is as forbidding and cold as his home—a castle carved into a mountain and devoid of sunlight. And as she grows closer to Ceren’s brother, the charming Prince Talin, Nor uncovers startling truths about a failing royal bloodline, a murdered queen… and a plot to destroy the home she was once so eager to leave.

In order to save her people, Nor must learn to negotiate the treacherous protocols of a court where lies reign and obsession rules. But discovering her own formidable strength may be the one move that costs her everything: the crown, Varenia and Zadie.

Nor and Zadie are identical twins with only one “flaw” separating them, a scar. Nor saved Zadie from drowning as a child, and almost died from poison of the blood coral that left her cheek permanently scarred.

In Varenia, beauty matters more than any other thing. Girls compete to be chosen to be sent as the next princess of a rival kingdom, which only few in the village realize is total BS.

Varenia is starving, and without enough pearls to harvest, they become poorer by the day, and the support of the kingdom is desparately needed to sustain their existence, but when Zadie is chosen as the next princess, then injured, Nor must go in her place, which is both deadly and a dream come true to see the world outside of Varenia.

This tale of a love between two sisters and a hatred between two brothers unravels a captivating story to save Varenia and preserve the love between sisters and princes,

Posted in Dystopian, Fantasy, Horror

Wayward Children (1-4)

Posted on by Hannah Brown

Goodreads Synopses:

Every Heart a Doorway:

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced… they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost

Down Among the Sticks and Bones:

Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

This is the story of what happened first…

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you’ve got.

They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.

They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.

Beneath the Sugar Sky:

When Rini lands with a literal splash in the pond behind Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, the last thing she expects to find is that her mother, Sumi, died years before Rini was even conceived. But Rini can’t let Reality get in the way of her quest – not when she has an entire world to save! (Much more common than one would suppose.)

If she can’t find a way to restore her mother, Rini will have more than a world to save: she will never have been born in the first place. And in a world without magic, she doesn’t have long before Reality notices her existence and washes her away. Good thing the student body is well-acquainted with quests…

A tale of friendship, baking, and derring-do.

Warning: May contain nuts

In an Absent Dream:

This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.

When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she’s found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well

My (very positive) Thoughts:

Alright ya’ll. Here we go. Seanan McGuire. Where do I begin? These books are incredibly short, yet so thorough in their completion that it is very hard for me to find a true complaint about them.

Each tale connects to the first book by giving the back stories of the favorites mentioned from the first, and it explains how they all came to Eleanor’s home for Wayward Children.

Children that are unloved, unwanted, or simply don’t fit, have the capability to find doors to the land where they truly belong. Some lands are nonsense, others are logic, some evil, some kind. Not every land is sunshine and rainbows, some are underworlds with dancing skeletons, but every child finds their true home in a twisted reality.

Jack and Jill by far have my favorite back story. They live in a twisted land of werewolves and vampire, where Dracula, Vanhelsing, and Dr. Frankenstein come to life, yet they thrive.

I am not inclined to spoil these books. They are SUCH SHORT READS. SO JUST READ THEM AND BE ENTHRALLED ALREADY.

Posted in Fantasy

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

Posted on by Hannah Brown

Goodreads Synopsis:

“In the early 1900s, a young woman searches for her place in the world and the mystery behind a magical door in this captivating debut.

In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.

Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world, and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own. “

Alix E. Harrow has written the story that my soul has been waiting for. Per rules of being allowed access to an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC), I am not allowed to share any quotes, but people, consider buying this book once it has been released in September. Pre-order it now (I have attached a link to the bottom of this post). It is an epic tale of discovery, betrayal, homecoming, belief, and magic that will have you pausing every few pages to fully absorb the tale that you have become so immersed in.

I will not be posting a spoiler-y synopsis of my views, or give any great detail about the events that occur in this book, so you, reader, will have to take my word for it and trust me when I say that this tale is 1,000,000,000& worth it.

I tend to be the reader that plows through a book with attempts to finish it in one sitting, never savoring the words, but The Ten Thousand Doors of January forced me to slow down and feel every word written.

I have read some amazing books, fantastic books, heart wrenching books, in my time, but never one that has captivated me so fully as Harrow’s.

5 Flowers.
Posted in Fantasy, Mystery

Wild Beauty

Posted on by Hannah Brown

Goodreads Synopsis:

For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, the lush estate gardens that enchant guests from around the world. They’ve also hidden a tragic legacy: if they fall in love too deeply, their lovers vanish. But then, after generations of vanishings, a strange boy appears in the gardens.

The boy is a mystery to Estrella, the Nomeolvides girl who finds him, and to her family, but he’s even more a mystery to himself; he knows nothing more about who he is or where he came from than his first name. As Estrella tries to help Fel piece together his unknown past, La Pradera leads them to secrets as dangerous as they are magical in this stunning exploration of love, loss, and fam

ily.

If any of you readers have ever seen Stephen King’s Rose Red, Wild Beauty definitely gave off those same creepy vibes. Rose Red is a mansion with a mind of its own, much like the land of La Pradera. CREEEPPYYYYYY. I didn’t sleep for a HOT minute after watching Rose Red.

All the women in the Nomeolvides family are named for flowers. Calla, Gloria, Azalea, Dalia, except for Estrella. She is named for the stars. All these women are cursed with the power to grow flowers at will, except for Estrella, whose blue borraja flowers grow through her rafters as she sleeps. Her power is wild and unpredictable, and her family is wary.

The Nomeolvides were tormented for years accused of being witches because of their green thumbs, but they eventually met the Briar family, who in exchange for them tending their barren land, allowed the Nomeolvides to stay and make La Pradera their home.

It comes to light that all 5 cousins, are in love with the same person, a young woman named Bay Briar, the bastard of the family banished to La Pradera as punishment for her bloodlines. La Pradera takes those that the Nomeolvides women love, so in attempts to save Bay from the curse, all the girls give up their favorite items to the land as offerings. La Pradera is their god.

In return for their offerings, the land game them back a boy, Fel. He appeared where Estrella had buried her offering. With Fel’s help, the mystery of the evil land is solved, and all is made well.

Wild Beauty is not a book I would normally read. I picked it up as a cover buy and because it was the OwlCrate edition. McLemore writes in a very lyrical style and her words are very poetic. I prefer straightforward text, but McLemore’s style allowed for a change of pace to my typical reading.

I love that all 5 main characters are atypical in their love interests and that they are such empowering women. There are very few men in this story since all of them are destined to disappear if a Nomeolvide falls in love with them, so the women have had to adapt and learn to be self sufficient and rely on themselves. Their lives and family are their responsibility, not that to be shared between a male partner.

Besides, women appear to be the only safe choice for love as no female lover has ever been taken by La Pradera.

I would recommend this book to fantasy lovers, but also to those who love flowery writing (pun fully intended). McLemore’s writing is absolutely beautiful. It is not an over the top, “must recommend to every living soul”, kind of book, but with that being said, it is still worth it if you’re looking for a different sort of story.

Posted in Fantasy

March TBR “Battle of the Books” results:

Posted on by Hannah Brown

And the winner is…….CROWN OF FEATHERS by NICKI PAU PRETO

  • The List- Patricia Forde – Review already posted: 3.5 stars
  • My Favorite Thing is Monsters- Emil Ferris- DNF

While Emil Ferris creates a fantastical world in images, I found the story line to be too broken up by side stories. I couldn’t make myself take the time to finish it, and I doubt this is a graphic novel I will ever come back to.

  • A Wrinkle in Time- Madeleine L’Engle: 3.5 stars

A brief synopsis: Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin are on a quest across space to save Meg’s and Charles Wallace’s father from IT. With the help of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, they are able to free him from the confines of IT and bring him home safely.

Review: I read A Wrinkle in Time as a young child in elementary school. The only scene that stuck with me was the children on planet Camazotz bouncing balls and skipping ropes in synchronization. I had to dig deep in the recesses of my mind to figure out which book that scene was from. After finally discovering that it was indeed A Wrinkle in Time, I was able to thoroughly enjoy the re-read and the nostalgia that accompanied it.

  • Queen of Hearts- Colleen Oakes: 4.5 stars

Brief Synopsis: Dinah is the Princess of Wonderland. Her mother is dead. Her brother is mad. Her father is the King, and he is filled with hatred for her. One day, a bastard sister is introduced to the Wonderlanders, and is being groomed as the Duchess of Wonderland. Shortly after, a mysterious note is slipped to Dinah at a dinner. She needs to find Faina Baker in the black towers. But why?

Dinah sneaks into the towers as a prisoner, accompanied by her best friend, Wardley. They discover Faina is mad and that her warnings are all riddles. After this meeting, Faina is murdered on Execution day, Dinah is framed for their murder of her brother, and she escapes into the Twisted Woods where a completely different journey begins.

Review: Oakes is fantastic. She puts a dark twist on Wonderland that has just enough detail from Alice for it to easily be recognized as Wonderland, but this is not your average, happy fairy-tale. There’s murder, torture, suggested sexual violence (not enough for kids to not be able to read this, but enough that you understand what’s going on between guards and female prisoners), dungeons, and much scheming on the part of Cheshire, the kings most trusted adviser. If you’re looking for a dark, but familiar tale. This is the book for you.

“I will not be afraid of this wood because my fight to live does not begin now. I have been fighting all my life, I just didn’t know it…I did not die today, so I will not fear death tomorrow.”

Dinah

  • Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass- Lewis Carroll: 4.9 stars

Review: Carroll has created a masterpiece. I can officially say that I now have a favorite classic tale. I’ve never been a super fan of Alice in Wonderland. It was never my favorite Disney movie, but after reading the book, my opinions have changed. I had a difficult time getting through the first few chapters as the writing is much like Tolkien’s (not leaving much to the imagination). I swapped to an illustrated edition and then the story flew by and I found myself pacing to drag it out longer.

I love the whimsical elements, the nonsense, the plays on words. Simply amazing.

  • Crown of Feathers- Nicki Pao Preto: 5 Stars—WINNER WINNER PHEONIX DINNER?

Brief Synopsis: Nicki Pau Preto is a genius. Val and Veronyka are animages on the run from the empire. They are hunted for their abilities to communicate with animals, namely the potential to bond with pheonixes, and are 2 of the remaining supporters of the Pheonix Riders. Val is in charge. She is cruel, distant, domineering, while Veronyka is light hearted, hopeful, seeking companionship. They find 2 pheonix eggs, but only one hatches, and it chooses Veronyka as her bondmate. Eventually Val’s need to control Nyka and her bondmate led her to murder the hatchling pheonix. Nyka leaves in search of the hidden Pheonix Riders and to put Val out of her life. Nyka find out that the Riders only accept male apprentices, so like Mulan, she poses as a male, Nyk, and enters the Rider camp and befriends the commanders son, Tristan. It isn’t long before Val finds her…but to unravel the rest of the storym you’re just going to have to read it;).

Review: I haven’t been this stressed out, on the edge of my seat, wanting to scream at the characters, over a book in a long time. Pau Preto has written a phenomenal story. In my personal opinion, if you read this book, do yourself a favor and don’t read the epilogue unless you want to be internally writhing wanting to know what will happen in the next book. Other books in this TBR list were amazing in their own way, but this book tops them all. I had to go back and adjust my rating. I am a fantasy lover for life, it has always been my prefered genre, and sadly the others just didn’t stand a chance in comparison. Congratulation Crown of Feathers, you have won.

“She knew my darkness better than anyone, and always, she had forgiven me. Always, she had seen the good in me. Until the day she didn’t.”

-Avalkyra Ashfire

  • Five Feet Apart- Rachael Lippincott: 4.8 stars

Brief Synopsis: Stella and Will both have Cystic Fibrosis. Will also has B. Cepacia. A bacterial infection that no longer allows him the opportunity for a lung transplant to prolong his life. People with cystic fibrosis can not be closer than 6 feet from each other due to risk of cross contamination from different strains of the condition. Yet Stella and Will fall in love anyways.

Stella is a know it all, goody two shoes who created an app to help with remembering her treatment schedules, and Will is the mischievous rebel, always stressing out the nurses, that doesn’t want to take his meds.

Review: Lippincott creates an amazing, heart-wrenching scenario surrounding this Romeo and Juliet romance. Stella and Will risk it all to try to be together and not cross-contaminate. I haven’t cried this hard over a book in a long time, but I was absolutely sobbing. The story is beautifully told and I will definitely be recommending it to everyone.

Side Note: Can we PLEASE appreciate how beautiful this cover art is?! I mean, geez, 5 stars in my book! *buh dum tss*

“There’s one theory I like that says in order to understand death, we have to look at birth. So, while we’re in the womb, we’re living that existence right? We have no idea that our next existence is just an inch away. Maybe death is the same. Maybe is just the next life. An inch away.”

-Stella

  • The Graveyard Apartment- Mariko Koike: 2 stars

A brief synopsis: A family from Tokyo buys a nice apartment conveniently located close to schools and work, but is also adjacent to a Buddhist temple, crematorium, and a graveyard. Shortly after moving in they begin to experience strange paranormal phenomena.

Review: This book upset me for a number of reasons and I am hesitant to give it the full 2 stars. There is not a lot of character development, nor do the characters use much common sense. While this may be part of the supposed charm of the book, I found it infuriating and could not wait to finish the book simply so I could stop looking at it.

Posted in Fantasy

For Those Delightfully Lost in Wonderland:1

Posted on by Hannah Brown

In efforts to make this post not be a 76 miles long, I will be posting all of my Alice books in a series of posts. I hope you enjoy them, and welcome to

First we have the book that started my love for Alice, Heartless by Marissa Meyer.

Heartless: Marissa Meyer

Brief Synopsis: Heartless is a brilliant, beautifully written re-telling of Alice. Catherine is the most desired female in Wonderland. She has, unfortunately, captured the eye of the dimwitted King of Hearts, and he seeks to make her his Queen of Hearts. Cath’s only wish in life is to open a bakery and spend her days making the most delightful treats in all of wonderland, but being the daughter of a Marchioness does not allow room for lowly tasks like baking,

Cath is invited to a royal ball at which she will be expected to accept the King’s marriage proposal, but rather she spots Jest, the new court Jester. A jabberwocky attacks and Cath gets away and avoids the King’s proposal, but she cannot out Jest out of mind. It was love at first sight. They pursue a whirlwind relationship all the while under the guise that Cath is courting the King.

Cath meets Haigha (pronounced Hare) and Hatta, Jest’s two closest friends, and then learn that they are not residents of Hearts, but of Chess, and that they had come through the Looking Glass to steal the heart from the Queen of Hearts, Cath’s heart, to end the centuries long war in Chess.

Ultimately Cath chooses Jest, but it is all to their own downfall. Hatta, Haigha, Jest, and Cath all have their lives ruined by one fateful decision to believe they could defy prophecy.

Queen of Hearts: Colleen Oakes

Brief Synopsis: Dinah is the Princess of Wonderland. Her mother is dead. Her brother is mad. Her father is the King, and he is filled with hatred for her. One day, a bastard sister is introduced to the Wonderlanders, and is being groomed as the Duchess of Wonderland. Shortly after, a mysterious note is slipped to Dinah at a dinner. She needs to find Faina Baker in the black towers. But why?

Dinah sneaks into the towers as a prisoner, accompanied by her best friend, Wardley. They discover Faina is mad and that her warnings are all riddles. After this meeting, Faina is murdered on Execution day, Dinah is framed for their murder of her brother, and she escapes into the Twisted Woods where a completely different journey begins.

Review: Oakes is fantastic. She puts a dark twist on Wonderland that has just enough detail from Alice for it to easily be recognized as Wonderland, but this is not your average, happy fairy-tale. There’s murder, torture, suggested sexual violence (not enough for kids to not be able to read this, but enough that you understand what’s going on between guards and female prisoners), dungeons, and much scheming on the part of Cheshire, the kings most trusted adviser. If you’re looking for a dark, but familiar tale. This is the book for you.

Grimm Fairy Tales: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Vol. 1: Raven Gregory

This graphic novel is weird. It provides a very interesting take on the typical character’s involved. Cheshire is now a giant ferocious feline, the Jabberwocky looks like a space worm, and there is now a cannibalistic walrus. The artwork is phenomenal.

The white rabbit is twisted and scheming. The Red Queen is awful, but defeated. The jabberwocky rules Wonderland. But my personal favorite is the spade. Her character is unexpected, kind, yet totally badass.

Here are a few interesting excerpts from the novel to give an idea of more of the artwork!