Step into a city where monsters feast on human emotions, knights split their souls to make their weapons, and witches always take more than they give.
Pain is Dymitr’s calling. To slay the monsters he’s been raised to kill, he had to split his soul in half to make a sword from his own spine. Every time he draws it, he gets blood on his hands.
Pain is Ala’s inheritance. When her mother died, a family curse to witness horrors committed by the Holy Order was passed onto her. The curse will claim her life, as it did her mother’s, unless she can find a cure.
One fateful night in Chicago, Dymitr comes to Ala with a bargain: her help in finding the legendary witch Baba Jaga in exchange for an enchanted flower that just might cure her. Desperate, and unaware of what Dymitr really is, Ala agrees.
But they only have one day before the flower dies . . . and Ala’s hopes of breaking the curse along with it.
The Good
A. World building, lore, and history – it is set up well (and in a book that is less than 200 pages).
B. There are a lot of supernatural creatures.
C. Simple-ish quest.
D. Leaves unanswered questions and space for this to be the beginning of a series.
E. Good reveals.
The Bad
Does the story feel like a generic fantasy in places- ex: voice of characters, the story beats, romance?
The Meh
A. Story veered more towards urban than fantasy for me?
B. Does there feel like a big info dump at times? It seems like an intro to a larger series?
C. Eh about romance or at least how they are building up the romance
D. Everyone is a regular human with powers…?
Thoughts
A. Short stories vs longer stories- short stories need to trim their messaging or shift it in certain way to be short.
B. Is this story straightforward?
C. Cancelling/Cancelled authors: I just finished Dread Nation so some of the discourse around that book continued.
D. Kept thinking/comparing it to Crescent City or what I envision Crescent City to be.
The Ana or Ana- leatherbound book that has everything about palace and chosen royal
Gray glass – hectate see future helped linea
Couterie- companion and lover to a royal
Shadow- replacement if couterie gets sick, dies, or reneges on duty
Fallen-men touched by entente magic during the Burning
I. Info
Shadows undergo surgery to match their couterie
Queen Magrit taking down other queendoms
Queem Magrit wears black glass as outfit
Prince Mather wants to reform kingdom
Some think Mather caused his mother’s insanity because her struggle to produce a female heir then ending up with him
Farrow spent 5 years in orphanage and 5+ year being a couterie
I. Commentary
♚Event: The challenge♚
First (love ❤️): It was smart to not make it a choice of love or crown, it shouldn’t be. I can understand either point of view.
Crown is over a bunch of people thus should belong/represent people like a president. The crown choices like who they marry have an effect over an entire kingdom. Is it smart to marry for love looking at how queens & kings have been manipulated by it?
Second (influence 👑): I like neither one of their answers because it sides with the crown which makes sense if you are speaking with intent of working for the crown. It makes me think that Farrows revenge makes her selfish the opposite of what Entente are supposed to be. I do think Lavendras is clever tho.
Third (devotion🍎): Of course, Farrow choice made the most sense.
It is interesting we get to see Queen Magrit and Mathers reactions. Notice the queen is letting Mather have the deciding vote to test him alongside the shadow and couterie.
Love and Care that Queen Magrit is showing to Mather is surprising since usually queens be trying take out their sons & trying to live forever.
I get the sense that the queendom is more for the monarchy than people.
Is there nuance to the queen Margrit because she is up against queendoms that are not for a man being over a thrown or even the main throne (as queen Magrit is taking over thrones to make it so)?
I liked The Challenges they felt very fairy tale-esque.
Cage #2 -Iolanta aka the Present of Les Soeurs was tortured to find more entente
Present power is hard to quantify because it seems like it overlaps with being able to tell the future.
I like the future talk/present talk from Iolanta it gives foreshadowing.
Isolanta says love is what saves Farrow and Hinter.
Farrow was given a choice by Iolanta – a fork in the road:
A. Stay in palace/Revenge= never find Entente
B. Leave the palace/let go revenge= find Entente
She chose B.
I. Commentary & Questions
Themes in story: monarchy, freedom, choice, fate
🪄Similarities of Couteries & Entente: The story is aware that couteries and entente are all in service to someone else.
Entente = for betterment of kingdom, all subjects and maybe the world
Couteire = service to the crown.
The children born/chosen to be in either couterie or entente do not get a choice (neither does queendom).
🪄I feel a way about Entente continuing the horrible aspects of the kingdom =example: helping throne pick couteries and shadows
♚If the crown/kingdom is selfish what then? Is monarchy and someone being over everyone bad?
♚Part I is about the dynamics and setup of Entente while Part II is about the kingdom. This is a commentary on kingdoms, how so many aspects of it is just seen as normal like.
🪄Is Lavendra and Tork more than they appear?
🪄Is there a meaning behind Farrow losing her shadow? Being only one with a shadow? Are we going to see Lavendra again?
🪄Those turned by entente magic during the burning-I want to see more of them. 🪄Farrow will kill Mather along with the queen? ♚Queen Margit burning innocent human girls-parallels to Salem witch trials which was under a patriarchy
♚Queen Magrit couterie disappeared because they knew too much 🪄Fate & hectate -she knew this would happen & story still manages keep mystery
🪄Did the entente who are in hiding escape to the thirteenth kingdom?
♚What is Harkers motivation? To kill the queen?
🪄Hectate- what type of being is she?
🪄Is the father in woods daughter, Ella, Cinderella? Or an allusion/illuding to Cinderella?
🪄♚ Does black glass work against magic?
🪄Does Tork like Lavendra? Yes. 🪄Who turn coated the entente? Other magic users, older entente?
I. Predictions
🪄Bari is probably in thirteenth queendom or the Rooks amassing a following to take revenge for the Burning. They have mentioned both (Rook and thirteenth kingdom) too many times for the characters to not visit in the future. I am excited in general to explore outside of Hinter.
On Creating a glossary- This part covered chapters 9-31, a lot happened. The biggest challenge was organizing everything. If part III is as long as part II there will be a breakdown by chapters or events or something.
Current Recommendations 🪄The Ring & The Crown by Melissa De La Cruz 🪄The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna 🪄Damsel (movie)
Daniela Rus, a leading roboticist and computer scientist, explores how we can use a new generation of smart machines to help humankind.
Daniela Rus, a leading roboticist and computer scientist, explores how we can use a new generation of smart machines to help humankind. There is a robotics revolution underway. A record 3.1 million robots are working in factories right now, doing everything from assembling computers to packing goods and monitoring air quality and performance. A far greater number of smart machines impact our lives in countless other ways―improving the precision of surgeons, cleaning our homes, extending our reach to distant worlds―and we’re on the cusp of even more exciting opportunities.
In The Heart and the Chip, roboticist Daniela Rus and science writer Gregory Mone reframe the way we think about intelligent machines while weighing the moral and ethical consequences of their role in society. At once optimistic and realistic, they envision a world in which these technologies augment and enhance our skills and talents, both as individuals and as a species―a world in which the proliferation of robots allows us all to be more human.
The Good
A. Solutions! – the author envisions solutions to problems with robots and how robots can improve folks’ lives.
Passion and vision author has for robots- it makes you realize how much pessimism (reasonably/unreasonably) is around robots.
B. Authors perspective & knowledge of robots- author is very knowledgeable about robots so things feel well thought out.
C. 360 view of robots & their future- thought provoking, author strikes a balance seeing some of robots best & worst potential.
Moral conflicts are presented such as the want to push for robots to do no harm vs robots being used for war.
D. Deeper understanding of robots and the issues that we face with them. Robots becoming Terminators is the usual problem presented in media but most issues we are facing are them not thinking or evolving like humans/living creatures.
E. Importance of listening to those you seek to help when creating something meant for them.
The Bad
Repetitive.
Should there be pictures to go along with inventions?
The Meh
The number of inventions/advancements felt overwhelming at times but also amazing.
Thoughts
🤖What will be the effects be with robots doing errands in place of us?
🤖Why is progression of robots portrayed only as bad? What ways is the dystopian portrayal of robots shifting our perspective on robots?
🤖 Is our personification of robots harming our understanding of them?
🤖Much can be said about robots taking human jobs.
🤖Is most of the issues we are putting on robots something we need to take up with their creator?
🤖Made me think about the separation between media/ human thought on robots’ vs reality of where robots actually are.
In the quaint town of Simpleville, Samson is secretly in love with his best friend Millie. But when a charming traveler named Walter Melone arrives, Millie finds herself torn between two loves. One day, Walter suddenly disappears, and Millie embarks on a dangerous journey to find him, only to discover a shocking truth. Will Millie follow her heart or change the course of history? Dive into this thrilling story filled with love, passion, and smoothies that will leave you thirsty for more.
The Good
🍉Quarks of story – This story is weird and absurd after a while you have to realize it is not serious so much so in fact it is silly.
The people of Simpleton do not know what a car is…
🍉Reader is kept in suspense on who is going be chosen as love interest
🍉World is interesting – not only do you get to experience Simpleton but also a bit of world outside Simpleton.
🍉Plays with genre in way that is entertaining
The Bad
🍉Story can feel all over the place and disjointed at times
🍉Is there an editing issue? There are repeated parts in last chapter. In general, it can feel at times like when you let a robot read portions of document to you.
🍉Was enough time spent on love triangle or different conflicts?
The Meh
🍉Did the story copout on the ending?
Thoughts
🍉On one hand showcases why we very much need humans writing, editing, and generally behind the scenes in creation of books.
🍉Temper your expectations of technology
(image and synopsis from amazon.com)
I won this A Summer Fling to the X-treme from Smoothie King
Brielle Adebayo is fully content teaching at a New York City public school and taking annual summer vacations with her mother to Martha’s Vineyard. But everything changes when her mom drops the mother of all bombshells–Brielle is a princess in the kingdom of Ọlọrọ Ilé, Africa, and she must immediately assume her royal position, since the health of her grandfather, King Tiwa Jimoh Adebayo, is failing.
Distraught by her mother’s betrayal, Brielle is further left spinning when the Ọlọrọ Ilé Royal Council brings up an old edict that states she must marry before assuming the throne or the crown will be passed to another. Uncertain who to choose from the council’s list of bachelors, she struggles with the decision along with the weight of her new role in a new country. With her world totally shaken, she must take a chance on love and brave the perils a wrong decision may bring.
The Good
💍Faith and having relationship with God as a constant in the story was thought provoking – makes me realize how absent faith & religion is to many stories.
💍Lore of the world
💍Representation of God and Godly vision was interesting.
💍The different conflicts
💍Bachelorette-esque meeting of the romantic options was fun
The Bad
💍The story…
~Could have done more in terms of conflicts?
~Can feel low stakes at times
~Skips interesting events- kings death, wedding, romantic build up (we really do not get to see them bond & the love interest is eh)
~Does not sit with the characters enough – so villain(s) reveal could have been better.
The Meh
💍Does the story work better as a contemporary more than a romance?
Thoughts
💍Faith & romance – interesting reading this with the increase of open door/spicy romances
💍How does religion effect the story? The pace? The stakes? The romance?
💍Did religion/faith step in the way of fully sitting with conflicts? (This is not to put down the presence of faith in the story)
💍Trope of the American coming in fixing Africa with their advanced American ways can be messy
💍Does the story lowkey talk down the kingdom of Ọlọrọ? Is the king a good king if he cannot buy folks bibles?
(cover and synopsis are from goodreads)
my book club won this from Bethany House Publishers
Aina’s world is governed by Toranic Law, a force that segregates people into upper and lower realms. It’s said that if the sinful lowers commit themselves to kindness and charity, their souls will lighten, allowing them into the peaceful upper realms.
But Aina, one of the few lowers to ever ascend, just wants to go back home.
Aina is desperate to reunite with her mother, hoping she’s survived the beasts and wars of her homeland alone. After failing to weigh down her soul with petty crimes, Aina joins a rebel group defying the authorities and bringing aid to those condemned to a life of suffering in the lower realms. Alongside Aina are two new recruits: Meizan, a ruthless fighter trying to save his clan from extinction, and Aranel, a spoiled noble spying for the powers that be.
Before long, the rebels find themselves in the middle of a brewing war. On one side, a violent king of a lower realm is bent on destroying Toranic Law; on the other, the authorities of the upper realms will do anything to stay on top. Now the young rebels must face both sides head-on if they want to stop a conflict that could break not only Toranic Law—but the universe itself.
The Good
I. Discussions
This has one of the best if not the best discussions on privilege, religion, purity, caste system, and inequality that I have seen in a fantasy. Immediately, it stood out to me how privilege is not done in a way many other stories do aka put lower castes on some sort of moral high ground. Since they are not on the moral high ground, they are allowed to be a part of the critique.
The themes and fantasy mesh well.
II. World
World is well thought out and fits with themes it is talking about.
magic system – connecting magic system to morality, purity, and the critique that comes with that.
Creatures – I like all of them.
There is so much world to explore.
III. Miscellaneous
Good conflict at center of the story.
Map – there is an inscription that is clever, reader gets to see an interpretation how different creature look.
Glossary – things were explained well but did enjoy having glossary at end of book.
There is so much to explore, and questions left that I could see this being a meaty series.
The Meh
Is this book too long? On other hand I feel that to deal with all discussions it does it makes sense the length.
It spent a minute on the world building and messages (both I enjoyed) but that slowed down the action of the story.
Thoughts
I. Book length of young adult novels:
– Is this story too long?
-Meant for older ya? My cousin wanted to listen to this book after hearing me talk about it which got me thinking about how it probably would be too long and not actiony enough for him.
-What if there was longer series but shorter stories?
-Stories are written in a way that is in a way more issue driven than story driven (or at least the issues are what is interesting to me).
-Reading tie-ins and specifically novelizations really show you the difference between the pacing of regular novels and movies.
II. Seeing other people react to Spin of Fate has been fun:
When a father goes missing, his family’s desperate search leads them to question everything they know about him and one another–both a riveting page-turner and a deeply moving portrait of a family in crisis from the award-winning author of Miracle Creek.
“We didn’t call the police right away.” Those are the first words of this extraordinary novel about a biracial Korean-American family in Virginia whose lives are upended when their beloved father and husband goes missing.
Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything–which is why she isn’t initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don’t return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia’s brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.
What follows is both a ticking-clock investigation into the whereabouts of a father and an emotionally rich portrait of a family whose most personal secrets just may be at the heart of his disappearance. Full of shocking twists and fascinating questions of love, language, race, and human connection, Happiness Falls is a mystery, a family drama, and a novel of profound philosophical inquiry. With all the powerful storytelling she brought to her award-winning debut Miracle Creek, Angie Kim turns the missing person story into something wholly original, creating an indelible tale of a family who must go to remarkable lengths to truly understand one another.
The Good
A. Like many other reviewers have said this story is more about themes/messages than mystery which once you know what the story is doing, I think it is fine.
B. Messages: Heavy (in good way) conversations on ableism, racism, sibling issues, family issues, some philosophy of happiness, xenophobia, and more
The Bad
Does it feel like things happen just so there can be a conversation on topic?
Sometimes it can be #message aka heavy handed.
Was the story too long?
The Meh
A. The mystery
B. The mystery aka dad disappearance is more about being vehicle for messages than a straight up mystery.
C. The philosophical and message focus of story bogs down typical flow of a mystery? On the other hand, there is good things to be taken from this story.
Thoughts
A. Not to say the main character was not annoying but it is interesting having folks keep putting her down because of her personality to prop up others.
B. She be overthinking/pessimistic but she did have points that people easily dismissed at times.
New York Times Bestseller | Good Morning America Book Club Pick
What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn’t matter?
After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life.
But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast “Listen for the Lie,” and its too-good looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one that did it.
The truth is out there, if we just listen.
The Good
A. Different perspectives were interesting.
B. How everything went down with who killed Savvy – enjoyed.
The Bad
A. I do not like any of the characters.
B. Did not connect with the humor.
C. Lucy was annoying (corny?) with her, I want folks’ uncomfortable bit.
D. Felt like we were getting the run around at times.
The Meh
Is this book too long?
Thoughts
We are supposed to find rude behavior admirable in women that we do not like in men.
Is every thriller gonna be men = bad?
Story is not structured around who would want to kill Savvy.
(cover and synopsis from Celadon Books website)
I received Listen for the Lie from Celadon Books for review
Marsha Gray Hill’s Grief and Grit(s) is an emotional odyssey that illuminates the complexities of grief, while offering a beacon of hope and inspiration for those navigating their own journeys of loss. This extraordinary memoir serves as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of love to transcend even the darkest of times.
In times of unprecedented panic, we see what we’re really made of.
Though the worldwide pandemic affected each of us differently, this time of turmoil brought one thing into stark the value of human life. When tragedy begets triaging and certain demographics are seen as more disposable than others, what does that say about our society? And what does it say about us ?
This is a story about America, about how we view the most vulnerable people in our society—our aging and elderly—both in times of crisis and in our everyday lives.
This is also a story about a mother and daughter, of a mother raising her daughter in love, faith, and confidence, then the bizarre role-reversal as that mother deteriorated to the helplessness of a child. Nothing can prepare you for that intensity of sorrow and joy.
Nothing can prepare you for what happens when the coroner refuses to show upand pronounce your mother legally dead, either.
In this stunning debut, author Marsha Hill invites you into a personal look at an uncomfortable how we treat our elderly today defines our own future. Full of tragedy and triumph, laughter and tears, grief and—yes, some good, old-fashioned grits— Grief and Grit(s) is not only a reflection of the life and tragic death of Adaline Gray, but the power of our generation to fight for human dignity at every stage of life.
The Good
I. Discusses ageism, mortality, death, ageing, transitioning from being parented to being a parent, care for young vs old, covid, medical prejudice towards elderly, trauma, fear of death, and more.
II. It talks about tough conversations that do not get talked about as much as they should. By talking about these things, you are able to sit with the feelings that you may not be truly processing through.
The Bad
Repetitive: They could have collapsed some chapters/ pages or went deeper into certain topics like COVID.
Thoughts
I. This sense that there is so much trauma being carried around from death and things that happen in life without a catharsis.
II. The urge is to push forward because life keeps going without a way to process things.
III. There is not only a burying of emotions but also accountability. Thus, there does not have to be larger change in all issues that became more transparent during covid (like flaws in medical system, how folks view the elderly, etc).
IV. This was a sad read at times but I am happy I read it.
I want to thank Forefront Books, netgalley, and Bookishfirst for making it able for me to receive Grief and Grits to review.
Drawn from the author’s own childhood like New Kid , this contemporary graphic novel paints a picture of an aspiring young artist on a mission to prove that the arts are worth fighting for.
Dale Donavan has heard the same lecture over and over Art will get you nowhere in life. A kid with a creative streak, Dale wants nothing more than to doodle, play video games, and create comics forever—maybe even as a full-time job one day. But between his grandfather pushing him to focus on his studies and a school with zero interest in funding arts programs, Dale feels like his future has already been decided for him.
That is, until he comes up with the perfect What if he starts an after-school art club, gathers a team of creative students like himself, and proves all the naysayers—his stubborn vice principal in particular—wrong?
This might just work, but if the club isn’t financially successful by the end of the semester, the school with shut them down. This may be Dale’s only chance to show the adults in his life that a career as an artist is not just a dream but a possibility!
The Good
I. Art (it is not finalized so subject to change):
Fits the target audience
Colorfulness
Some of the moments that stood out to me was the facial expressions and movements of characters- it felt fun. Also, I liked the shimmer of when they were in FFZ Online.
II. Art Conversation
A. Art vs Career: Does your art need to be at all financially beneficial for you? How are you going to make it monetarily beneficial if that is what you want is dealt with in the story. There are specific moments talking about keeping clients and your personal vision for a project.
B. Artistic process: Talks about different aspects of art, asks what type of art is for you, deals with different art forms, refining art (its process just like other forms of work), and more.
C. There were so many thoughts I had while reading this book (I talk about it in thoughts section) that makes me think this will be good read across age ranges (specifically adults in schools, parents, its target audience, artists, those considering artistic field).
III. Characters
Successfully managing different backstories, personalities, and character arcs of multiple characters.
There were a lot of really good moments but the “Not all of us are cut out to be scientists or engineers”(qoute subject to change because this is an arc) stood probably was my favorite.
Overall, I think the things tackled by the book was done in a way that I felt fit the target audience.
Thoughts
A. I wonder how millennial and younger generations are going to be as parents/grandparents. What knowledge are they going to pass down to generations behind them?
B. Art questions/thoughts: Is art and creativity put to the backburner? What does that mean for children seeing/being told it’s frivolous? Everything has to be financially viable, or it’s not worth doing/learning? What does that mean for the advancement/future of the arts? Do people come into the arts seeing it as easy and not needing work that other careers need?
C. Miscellaneous: Did the vice principal have his dream killed- it felt personal? To be fair to him preparing children for future is his job.
-I wonder about the adults who were apart of the art club that got disbanded by vice principal. What are their lives like now?
themollyweather 