Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez {review}

Woven in Moonlight
by Isabel Ibañez
♦publisher: Page Street Books
♦release date: January 7th, 2020
♦hardcover, 384 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Woven in Moonlight, book 1

A lush tapestry of magic, romance, and revolución, drawing inspiration from Bolivian politics and history.

Ximena is the decoy Condesa, a stand-in for the last remaining Illustrian royal. Her people lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic to summon ghosts and drive the Illustrians from La Ciudad. Now Ximena’s motivated by her insatiable thirst for revenge, and her rare ability to spin thread from moonlight.

When Atoc demands the real Condesa’s hand in marriage, it’s Ximena’s duty to go in her stead. She relishes the chance, as Illustrian spies have reported that Atoc’s no longer carrying his deadly relic. If Ximena can find it, she can return the true aristócrata to their rightful place.

She hunts for the relic, using her weaving ability to hide messages in tapestries for the resistance. But when a masked vigilante, a warm-hearted princess, and a thoughtful healer challenge Ximena, her mission becomes more complicated. There could be a way to overthrow the usurper without starting another war, but only if Ximena turns her back on revenge—and her Condesa.

{Review}

Step into Ximena's world of two warring lands, two peoples willing to fight for their convictions, where her role as the Condesa's decoy will challenger her to her limits. I so enjoyed this story. So action-packed and full of emotion, danger, magic, romance, mystery, and most memorably, culture and food. Ooooh, the descriptions of the food,(seriously Page Street---we need a Woven in Moonlight cookbook immediately) the bright colors and textures of the clothing, the sights and sounds of a bustling and lively city. The story itself was really beautifully written, but I found myself absolutely enchanted with the south american-inspired worldbuilding.

Ximena is immediately a character to root for. While there is much love and loyalty to the true Condesa that she serves to protect, she is clearly a frustrated girl feeling stuck in the life of pretending to be someone else.  When she is wisked far from her familiar life, her loneliness and lost sense of self is palpable.  Still, she fights, putting up a determined and fierce front.  The story takes off in a shot, settles into a bit of a lull, and then picks up again as things get more and more complicated for Ximena. Her feisty will, strong beliefs, and grounding in the Illustrian history are all tested as she discovers the truth behind the people she has always known as the enemy. The magic, while intriguing and original, was lacking a little in explanation. I felt a need to know more about why this magic existed, why it was forbidden, and why different people had different abilities, and why her magic suddenly changed the way it did.  The change was fun and added an quirky twist to parts of the story, but I still felt the need to know more details.

There's no shortage of thrilling fight scenes,  the mystery and romantic tension between the masked vigilante is swoon-worthy without taking over the story, and there's a hearty lesson intertwined in the adventure that there is always more than one side to any struggle. The ending leaves you with a perfect blend of heartbreak and triumph.  A great debut, and I'll definitely be looking forward to more from this author!

{About The Author}

Isabel Ibañez was born in Boca Raton, Florida, and is the proud daughter of two Bolivian immigrants. A true word nerd, she received her degree in creative writing and has been a Pitch Wars mentor for three years. Isabel is an avid movie goer and loves hosting family and friends around the dinner table. She currently lives in Winter Park, Florida, with her husband, their adorable dog, and a serious collection of books. 

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source: book provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim {review}

Spin the Dawn 

by Elizabeth Lim

publisher: Knopf BYR

release date: July 9th, 2019

hardcover, 392 pages

intended audience: Young adult

series: The Blood of Stars, book 1

Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she'll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There's just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.

Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia's task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.

And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor's reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.

{Review}

This book. The Asian mythology, the Mulan inspiration, the adventure and romance, all of that was wonderful, but nothing fascinated me like the descriptions of gorgeous fashion design and sewing!! What a beautiful tale! 

Maia immediately drew me in with her dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, and having the heart, bravery, and sheer determination to reach for it, even when it meant putting her life on the line. She knew she had what it took and she pushed aside any and all backward thinking to prove herself.  The story is basically split into two parts, a contest and quest.  The contest itself was high stakes and very cut-throat, and I loved all the vivid descriptions of the clothing. The quest was so unique and adventurous with such imaginative world building, as Maia and the enigmatic Edan set off to aquire the ultimate magical materials held by the sun, the moon and the stars. Together the two parts of this fantastic and fashionable tale made quite an epic story!

{About The Author}
 

Elizabeth Lim grew up on a hearty staple of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Her passion for storytelling began around age 10, when she started writing fanfics for Sailor Moon, Sweet Valley, and Star Wars, and posted them online to discover, "Wow, people actually read my stuff. And that's kinda cool!" But after one of her teachers told her she had "too much voice" in her essays, Elizabeth took a break from creative writing to focus on not flunking English.
Over the years, Elizabeth became a film and video game composer, and even went so far as to get a doctorate in music composition. But she always missed writing, and turned to penning stories when she needed a breather from grad school. One day, she decided to write and finish a novel -- for kicks, at first, then things became serious -- and she hasn't looked back since.
Elizabeth loves classic film scores, books with a good romance, food (she currently has a soft spot for arepas and Ethiopian food), the color turquoise, overcast skies, English muffins, cycling, and baking. She lives in New York City with her husband.

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Review: Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Ten Thousand Doors of January
by Alix E. Harrow
♦publisher: Redhook Books
♦release date: September 10th, 2019
♦hardcover, 384 pages
♦intended audience: Adult
♦stand alone, historical fantasy
♦source: ARC from publisher for honest review
In the summer of 1901, at the age of seven, January Scaller found a Door. You know the kind of door–they lead to Faerie, to Valhalla, to Atlantis, to all the places never found on a map.

Years later, January has forgotten her brief glimpse of Elsewhere. Her life is quiet and lonely but safe on her guardian’s estate, until one day she stumbles across a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds in its pages, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure, and danger. A book that might lead her back to the half-remembered door of her childhood.

But, as January gets answers to questions she never imagined, shadows creep closer. There are truths about the world that should never be revealed. 

{REVIEW}

With any cover as breathtakingly lovely the one bestowed upon Ten Thousand Doors of January, I tend to romanticize that the story within will be just as breathtakingly lovely. It builds up in my mind until I realize what I'm doing,  talk myself back down, preparing to be let down, telling myself that few books could get so lucky as to have it all, inside and out. But with Ten Thousand Doors of January, there was no let-down in sight! It was, in fact, a gorgeous book, inside and out!

The first thing you realize straight away from nearly page one is that the writing is absolutely gorgeous, the imagery is stunning, and the prose are (quite literally in some parts) a veritable love letter to language and the written word. It's the imaginative portal fantasy it promises to be, but has so many more complex layers to it, its almost easy to forget that it's a fantasy at all while untangling the threads of January and Ade's tales and how they collide. It's a story rich with history, racial tensions, power-hungry secret societies, and a brave girl trying to find her place in the world after discovering she's been trusting the wrong people her entire life. It's literally told as a book within a book, and there are so many fascinating characters woven into the story, my favorites being two courageous women, Jane (January's friend) and Adelaide (a bold adventurous woman in a book that January will find even more connection with that she could ever imagine).  We really only get a full look at a few of the worlds behind the elusive doors, though even the smallest glimpses were fascinating. The few we do get a good look at are awe-inspiring---worlds crafted with endless creativity and detail.

I truly enjoyed January's story. While it wasn't always quick paced, the unraveling of her story and how it's so gracefully woven into Ade's and Julian''s, Jane's and Sam's and Mr. Locke's, all with her loving and faithful Bad (a big lovable dog by the name of Sinbad) by her side, it was still constantly enchanting and I relished every moment.

{About The Author}

Alix E. Harrow is a part-time history adjunct and full-time reader, with stories published in Shimmer and Strange Horizons. In her spare time she writes, gardens, herds pets, and works on her gloriously dilapidated house. She lives in Berea, Kentucky with her husband and son. 

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Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zrdok

Spectacle 
by Jodie Lynn Zdrok
♦publisher: Tor Teen
♦release date: February 12th, 2019
♦hardcover, 368 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦standalone (currently)
♦source: received from publisher for honest review

Paris, 1887.

Sixteen-year-old Nathalie Baudin writes the daily morgue column for Le Petit Journal. Her job is to summarize each day's new arrivals, a task she finds both fascinating and routine. That is, until the day she has a vision of the newest body, a young woman, being murdered--from the perspective of the murderer himself.

When the body of another woman is retrieved from the Seine days later, Paris begins to buzz with rumors that this victim may not be the last. Nathalie's search for answers sends her down a long, twisty road involving her mentally ill aunt, a brilliant but deluded scientist, and eventually into the Parisian Catacombs. As the killer continues to haunt the streets of Paris, it becomes clear that Nathalie's strange new ability may make her the only one who can discover the killer's identity--and she'll have to do it before she becomes a target herself.

{My thoughts}

This was quite a gripping mystery! With the bleek atmosphere of Paris 1800, when folks used to consider a little morgue-visit quite the amusement, Natalie finds herself a person of interest to the Paris's newest serial killer trying to make a name for himself. I would recommend a strong stomach and a taste for the macabre to take this one on. There's twists and gruesomeness and I dare you not to gasp at least once in this dark and gritty tale.

Natalie is a smart, level-headed character. During a murderous rampage by a killer known as the Dark Artist, she's been assigned as a fill-in morgue reporter and is determined to prove herself but frustrated that the social norms require her to disguise herself as a boy to do so. She longs to make her way with her own identity. When her most recent morgue visit results in a overwhelming vision of the victim's murder, followed by a strange memory loss, she begins to dig around to find out why this could be happening---why she seems connected to these murders, and how it seems to tie in to her Aunt's mental health issues as well.

The story is expertly told, jutting off into little pockets of plot that all circle around to weave themselves together eventually. I felt a quick little disconnect somewhere in the middle, but it had me well in it's grasp again before too long. Natalie really struggles to find reason to put herself through this dangerous situation, but is pulled to find answers when it becomes personal on several levels.

It is, in turn, grotesque, intriguing, heartbreaking, and completely enthralling. Definitely worth checking out if you can take a bit of gut-churning blood and death!

{About The Author}

Jodie Lynn Zdrok holds two MAs in European History and an MBA. In addition to being an author, she's a marketing professional, a freelancer, and an unapologetic Boston sports fan. She enjoys traveling, being a foodie, doing sprint triathlons, and enabling cats. Spectacle is her debut.

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We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett {book birthday review & interview!}

Dear Readers---listen up!!

Today a fantastic debut hits the shelves,
full of fierce flying, historical influence,
powerful magic, and a hefty dose of girl power!!

Happy Birthday to

WE RULE THE NIGHT!

Seventeen-year-old Revna is a factory worker, manufacturing war machines for the Union of the North. When she’s caught using illegal magic, she fears being branded a traitor and imprisoned. Meanwhile, on the front lines, Linné defied her father, a Union general, and disguised herself as a boy to join the army. They’re both offered a reprieve from punishment if they use their magic in a special women’s military flight unit and undertake terrifying, deadly missions under cover of darkness. Revna and Linné can hardly stand to be in the same cockpit, but if they can’t fly together, and if they can’t find a way to fly well, the enemy’s superior firepower will destroy them–if they don’t destroy each other first.

We Rule the Night is a powerful story about sacrifice, complicated friendships, and survival despite impossible odds.

  First a quick mini-review:

I really enjoyed this one, from the moment we meet Revna and Linné, we know we are going to be in for an interesting friendship. They are so different, and so fierce and complicated each in their own way. When they are both brought on to a secret military force of young women who have shown the needed skills to mount a surprise attack on the enemy using a magical force called The Thread, their two worlds are thrown together and they find themselves with their lives in each others hands. Their friendship is a rocky one and hard won, but it's quite the adventurous ride getting there. The legacy of the Night Witches heavily inspires this story of feminine strength and determination, what hardships and mistreatment these women who put their lives on the line just as much as any of the male soldiers endured and it is just as inspiring as it is frustrating to imagine how that felt. The worldbuilding and magical system are so creative, vivid descriptions of the aircrafts give this a slightly steampunk feel, and the family conflict and realistic interactions of a group of young women from many different backgrounds all being thrown together all felt genuine.  A wonderful debut and one I highly recommend!

*     *     *     *     *     *

I was honored to be able to ask Claire Eliza Bartlett a few things about her amazing book:

•Linné and Revna--wildly different personalities. Both great characters. Do you feel you're most like Linne or Revna?

I am more like Revna. Practically thinking, second-guessing myself, not too intent on rocking the boat - at least, not the way Linné does it! Though Linné's sarcasm is allll me.

•We Rule the Night has lots of beautiful steampunk fantasy elements, but is also very grounded in history. What most drew you to tell a story inspired by the WWII Night Witches?

After learning about the Night Witches in a rather roundabout fashion involving a power metal song, what drew me most to their story was this sense of strength in the face of unrelenting tribulations. The Night Witches faced certain death every time they got in their planes - and when they got out of their planes, they were often met with sexism and derision from their own side. Some of the women who flew were even considered traitors, for the simple reason that they'd been shot down and captured or killed in enemy territory. But these women kept going, and they relied on each other to keep going. Something spoke to me about fighting so hard for a country that cares about you so little. And as with much of history, I found a lot of parallels for that feeling today.

•Speaking of steampunk fantasy, what was the inspiration for your mechanical dragons, serpents, and other machinery flown in the story?

The machinery is inspired by fantasy and art deco design. Think the swooping lines of a Bugatti. There are a fair few mechanical dragons in fantasy literature, and a big visual aesthetic for mine came from Havemercy by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett (though the dragons in WRTN are very much machines!). Art deco pins and insects served as a design standpoint for war beetles and palanquins - then I added a dash of tank in there, because it's war time. Pinterest has a lot of great dieselpunk and steampunk spiders, horses and so on, but I had to do a little extra thinking to make them practical additions to the world.

•Every character held such distinct threads of the story, was there any character that was especially hard to write? Any that was your favorite to write?

Probably the hardest was Revna, which makes sense to me. She's my main main character, at least in my head! Her character arc is also less...explosive than Linné's. The other characters were built up over time, in layers, so it was just a matter of thinking hard enough about them that they felt like individuals, not copies of each other. My favorite character is Magdalena. She hopped into my head pretty much fully formed, and she's been a cheerful presence there since the novel's first draft!

•The magical system is such a unique one, a bit like telekinetic energy, but more interwoven into the world...what is one thing you would use it to do in today's world if you could? 

Ooohh, that's a tricky one! If I could use the Weave well, I'd probably use it to give my bicycle a push in the mornings! I ride my bike to work, and Copenhagen can get pretty windy, which is no fun for a lazy girl like myself.

•What is one thing you hope readers take away from Linné and Revna's story?

That sometimes you fight for something, and you lose. But that doesn't mean it wasn't worth fighting for, and it doesn't mean you didn't gain something else in the process. I hope that doesn't sound too dismal. 

Thank you so much Claire, for giving us even more insight into your story!!

*     *     *     *     *     *

{About The Author}

 Claire Eliza Bartlett grew up in Colorado. She studied history and archaeology and spent time in Switzerland and Wales before settling in Denmark for good. When not at her computer telling mostly fictional stories, she works as a tour guide in Copenhagen, telling stories that are (mostly) true.

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Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa {audiobook review}

Shadow of the Fox

by Julie Kagawa

♦publisher: Inkyard Press/Harlequin Teen

♦release date: October 2nd, 2018

♦hardcover, 409 pages

♦intended audience: Young adult

♦series: Shadow of the Fox, book 1
♦source: received from publisher for honest review

One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos.

Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.

Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.

There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.

With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. They are the key to the fate of the world itself.

{My Thoughts}

Can you believe in all her years of writing YA books, and all my years of reviewing YA books---I'd never read a Julie Kagawa book before?? Where have I been on these?? Well, reading Shadow of the Fox has made me feel like I've missed out all these years! It was excellent---excellent writing, storytelling, character and world building. I'll definitely be seeking out more of her work.

As I like to do with most books that have Asian characters, setting, mythology, etc., I decided to listen to Shadow of the Fox on audiobook. The language and names are just too beautiful and I want to hear them exactly as they are meant to be. This rich story is chock full of Japanese legends, mythological creatures and customs and they are all enchantingly brought to life with Kagawa's vivid descriptions. I was familiar with the kitsune, so it was fascinating to read Yumiko's story. I loved that her character, having been raised in isolation within a temple, she was kind and innocent and a little naïve without coming across as ignorant or weak. She was kind and clever and understandably a little fearful, but also fierce when she needed to be.  Her story collides with that of Tatsumi's---a notorious samurai because of the sword he wields.  His character is plagued by demons, both actual and emotional as he struggles with his role in doing the deeds set upon him by his masters and with his role in retrieving the dragon scroll.  The two have such an interesting dynamic because of how different they are and how they see the world around them. They both clashed and worked together beautifully. 

I love how the story wove itself like a traditional fairy tale, as the two strike out on this adventure, meeting an array of challenges and characters along their chosen path, defeating some, inviting others to join their journey, some leaving them questioning their purpose and others strengthening their group as a whole. 

Such a well done adventure, I found myself riveted until the very end. I can't wait for book two! The audiobook was excellent (although, the voice characterizations are just a bit overdone at times)---anyway you'd prefer to take this story on, I highly recommend you do!

{About The Author}

Born in Sacramento, CA, Julie Kagawa moved to Hawaii at the age of nine. There she learned many things; how to bodyboard, that teachers scream when you put centipedes in their desks, and that writing stories in math class is a great way to kill time. Her teachers were glad to see her graduate. 

Julie now lives is Louisville, KY with her husband and furkids. She is the international and NYT bestselling author of The Iron Fey series. 

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The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke {review + giveaway}

The Boneless Mercies
by April Genevieve Tucholke
♦publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
♦release date: October 2nd, 2018•
♦hardcover, 384 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone, retelling
♦source: from publisher for review consideration

A dark standalone YA fantasy about a band of mercenary girls in search of female glory.

Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are the Boneless Mercies—girls hired to kill quickly, quietly, and mercifully. But Frey is weary of the death trade and, having been raised on the heroic sagas of her people, dreams of a bigger life. 

When she hears of an unstoppable monster ravaging a nearby town, Frey decides this is the Mercies' one chance out. The fame and fortune of bringing down such a beast would ensure a new future for all the Mercies. In fact, her actions may change the story arc of women everywhere.

{Review}

I've long been a fan of April Tucholke's signature bizarre and stylistic storytelling, and when I heard she would be putting it to a high fantasy tale, I couldn't have been more excited. Her gorgeous writing has always given such a fantastical and eerie feel to contemporary stories, I could only imagine how unique her take on the mythical tale legend of Beowolf would be. I admit, I wasn't that familiar with the source material but it didn't stop me from diving headlong into this retelling.

The Boneless Mercies themselves...wow. What a dynamic group of women. Frey, Juniper, Ovie, and Runa--a sisterhood in the best sense of the word. Each had their own strengths and complicated weaknesses.  Each had their own reasons for being in the life they led...and for maybe wanting out. I love how closely they worked together, how they knew each other so deeply and bolstered each other up. I love that it was a gender-bent, feminist take on this legend without making all men villainous and hateful. There was even Trigve, a man who traveled with them and fought by their side---his backstory and his unconventional relationship with Frey added so much to the story.  For each of the characters in turn, there were moments of anger and passion and quiet inner searching as they journeyed to try their hand at defeating a legendary beast. This story was hideously bloody at times, heartbreaking at many times, and thoughtful and completely unputdownable(*) though the entire thing.  April Tucholke does it again. 

(*On a side and very personal note, I say unputdownable, even though I did at one point, actually put it aside. In the beginning, it takes the time to really show what the Boneless Mercies do--they are, quite literally, human reapers. They are paid by the sick or suffering or their family to take someone's life as a mercy killing and it shows them doing this for people of all ages.  Because of things going on in my life, this was too painful and too emotional of an idea for me and I had to set it aside.  Still, a while later, I was called back to this book, a journey and battle that I knew April would make into a beautiful story, so I picked it up again. It lured me in and, yes, after that it was unputdownable!)

{ABOUT THE AUTHOR}

April Genevieve Tucholke is the author of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Between the Spark and the Burn, and Wink Poppy Midnight. She also curated the horror anthology Slasher Girls & Monster Boys. She has received five starred reviews and her novels have been chosen for the Junior Library Guild, Kids' Indie Next picks, and YALSA Teens Top Ten. When she's not writing, April likes walking in the woods with her two cheerful dogs, exploring abandoned houses, and drinking expensive coffee. She has lived in many places around the world, and currently resides in Oregon with her husband.

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International Giveaway!

Winner's choice of edition: US Hardcover or UK Paperback

Both are gorgeous so I wanted to give you the choice! :D

Ends 11/15 at 11:59 PM
Must be 13 or older or have parent permission.

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