Review: A PRAYER FOR THE CROWN-SHY by Becky Chambers

 

Rating: 3/5 stars

I've been meaning to check out Becky Chambers's work for awhile now, and I decided on a whim that I was going to read the Monk and Robot duology as my introduction to her writing. Both A Pslam for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy are very wholesome sci-fi novellas that I ended up enjoying. 

The story follows a tea monk, Dex, and their robot companion, Mosscap, as they travel across the land together while learning about each other and the various people they come across on their journey. There's not really much more to the plot than that, but this story doesn't need more. 

This story is about acceptance and hope and living. Mosscap is still trying to find the answer to the question, "What do people need?" which it asks everyone it comes across but no one seems to have a good answer. Dex is still trying to find their purpose as well. Mosscap was definitely my favorite character as it was just so wholesome, and I loved seeing its innocence as it learns about the way humans live. 

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy was an enjoyable read, but it also wasn't a standout story to me. I liked it and I'm glad I read it and I'd recommend it, but I also don't know how long it will stick with me. It does have me interested in checking out more of Becky Chambers's works in the future though. 

Review: WILD IS THE WITCH by Rachel Griffin

 

Rating: 3.75/5 stars

Wild Is the Witch was exactly what I needed right now. I wanted something light and fun, a soft fantasy that didn’t take too long getting used to. This contemporary fantasy romance novel is about Iris, a witch who has a strong connection with animals. She works at her mother’s animal refuge in the Pacific Northwest along with the college intern, Pike, who constantly gets on her nerves. The two of them must come together to go on a mission to rescue an endangered owl out in the forest. 

The Pacific Northwest setting was my absolute favorite aspect of this book. I used to live in the lush forests of western Washington, and this book really encapsulates the vibes and atmosphere of that area. I desperately missed my home while reading this book, and that might be part of the reason why I liked it so much. Almost the entire book is Iris and Pike hiking through the damp green woods of Washington while trying to find a missing owl that holds a secret that could change the world. I felt like I was there with them. 

I loved all the characters in this book. Our protagonist, Iris, has a special bond with a wolf named Winter. She’s so compassionate toward others and toward animals. She also experiences anxiety and panic attacks, and I appreciated that they were accurately represented. There were moments when her anxiety consumed her, and I felt that personally. Iris’s mom is super cool, fun, easygoing, and relatable. I liked her a lot too. Pike was a great love interest. The way he irritates Iris and gets on her nerves without ever being mean to her was so much fun to read about. Even the animals in this book had distinct personalities, too. 

Wild Is the Witch has lots of positive commentary about helping animals and helping the earth, and there’s no one better to do that than the witches. There are three kinds of witches: solar, whose magic is strongest toward animals; lunar, whose magic is strongest toward plants; and stellar, whose magic is strongest toward people. I thought it was very neat how Rachel Griffin created different kinds of witches in each of her books so far, although we really did not learn as much as I would have liked about the different kinds of witches in this book. 

While The Nature of Witches is more about the magic, Wild Is the Witch is more about the romance—it’s a hate-to-love romance that includes the “only one bed” trope. If you enjoyed Rachel’s debut novel, however, you likely will enjoy her sophomore novel as well. They have a very similar feel to them, and both are about a girl coming of age in the PNW while learning about her witch powers while simultaneously falling in love for the first time. I love her style and I look forward to reading her future books. 

I absolutely flew through this book and physically could not stop reading late into the night. It was very compelling. But the plot was also a little contrived. The mom lets her teenage daughter go off into the woods alone with a boy she doesn’t like to find an endangered owl without the help of any professionals or mature witches. The fate of Iris’s and Pike’s lives and the lives of many others rests with them finding this owl. 

This book is fun and comforting in the same way that Twilight is fun and comforting. I liked it. I liked the characters and the atmosphere and the story. Is it the best thing out there? No. But will I reread it? Yes. Sometimes you just need those light and fun fantasy books that aren’t too heavy with the magic and with the focus primarily on the romance and aren’t top quality but are still like candy, where you can’t stop eating them up, just one more chapter. That’s how I felt about this book. I had a fantastic time reading it; I really enjoyed it. But when I look at it objectively, I start to squint and tilt my head to the side and think, was it really as good as I thought it was? Probably not. And I think a lot of that has to do with the audience. It’s very hard for me to give out five stars to a young adult book these days because I have read so much more intricate and detailed plots and magic systems in adult novels that I just prefer. That doesn’t make YA any less valid, but my expectations have been skewed, and there are always plot devices used in YA books that I never see in adult books that I roll my eyes at and just have to ignore. For what this book was trying to do, it accomplished it. It was angsty and melodramatic and had high stakes without having any action, which I loved. Would it hold up to an adult fantasy? Not at all. But for young adult it was pretty good. I recommend it to those interested in witchy stories and romantic fantasy. I like Rachel Griffin’s writing and I will continue to read all the books she writes. 

Review: BOOK OF NIGHT by Holly Black

 

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Book of Night is my sixteenth Holly Black book. I've never considered myself a major fan of hers, but dang, I've read a ton of her books so I guess I am. I'd heard pretty conflicting reviews on Book of Night before I started it, so I'm very happy that I ended up among the group of people who really enjoyed the book. In fact, this is probably my favorite of all her books so far. 

As a con artist, Charlie Hall is not a particularly good person, but I still found myself loving her as the morally grey protagonist that she is. She tries to distance herself from the dark dealings she's been involved with by hiding her past from her boyfriend, but she inevitably gets pulled back in. I also really liked Vince, Charlie's quiet and mysterious boyfriend who's hiding a few secrets of his own. I thought all the characters in this book were very well-written and fleshed out. 

The concept of shadow magic was really cool to me. In this world, you can steal someone's shadow to gain more power, manipulate your own shadow to look different for aesthetic purposes, and even cause your shadow to come alive as its own entity. 

On its surface, Book of Night is about Charlie getting wrapped up in the plot to steal a dark and powerful book that contains secrets about shadows, but it's also a story about power and dark magic and unexpected relationships. 

The way this ended, there is no way Book of Night is a standalone story. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and following Charlie Hall on her next shadowy adventure. 

Review: THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS by Ursula K. Le Guin

 

Rating: 1/5 stars

DNF at 35%. 

I've wanted to check out Ursula K. Le Guin for a while now, and I heard from many that The Left Hand of Darkness is a good place to start. Well, it apparently wasn't a good place for me because I couldn't even finish the book. 

I appreciate that Le Guin was really ahead of her time in the topics she wrote about, and her books are already renowned as science fiction classics. I wanted to love this, but I didn't. The Left Hand of Darkness is just not approachable or accessible in its writing. I read over one-third of this book and I still have no idea what's going on or why I should care. Absolutely nothing here was working for me. 

I really hope this book is not indicative of Le Guin's writing style because I already own six other books from her and I genuinely hope I enjoy at least a few of them. I'm most excited to check out the Earthsea Cycle because it's fantasy, which I prefer over science fiction. But I do want to give some of her other science fiction works a try before I decide if she's truly not for me. 

I hope if you give this book a read that you'll like it more than I did. 

Review: ALCATRAZ VS. THE EVIL LIBRARIANS by Brandon Sanderson

 

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This book is so very Brandon Sanderson. It’s fast-paced and hilarious, and it’s full of adventure, character growth, bad puns, and unexpected plot twists. Plus it’s very meta, which I thought was such a fun way of writing this story.

If you didn’t know, Brandon Sanderson isn’t the real author of this book. The true author is Alcatraz Smedry and this book is his nonfiction biography, not a fantasy novel. It’s about how he escaped from a cult of evil Librarians, but because the Librarians are evil and don’t want anyone to know about them, this book had to be published as a fantasy novel under a pseudonym to hide the true story. 

I loved this book. Alcatraz is so funny and makes the best observations about the most random stuff. His humor is just weird enough that he feels like such a unique character. Each of the characters is different, yet they work so well together. 

There is so much humor in this book that the author uses to draw you in. Alcatraz tells you about how he’s writing his story and about why he must hide it from the Librarians and about the twists and hooks that he’s using to engage the reader. The whole reading experience was unlike any book I’ve read before. 

If you like middle-grade adventure stories, lots of humor, Brandon Sanderson’s classic storytelling, or you just want to have a fun time reading a book, definitely check out Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. This is one the whole family can enjoy. I will absolutely be reading the rest of the series very soon. 

Review: THE RIVER OF SILVER by S. A. Chakraborty

 

Rating: 3/5 stars

All three books in the Daevabad trilogy were some of the best books I read last year, so when I heard that S. A. Chakraborty was releasing a short story collection in the Daevabad universe, I was excited. I love those characters and it's a series I know I will return to someday, so more content was welcomed. 

This collection of stories was good. The thing is, I don't really prefer short stories in general, so even though I already loved these characters and this world, I did have some level of disconnect with the stories. I read the original trilogy a year ago, so I had forgotten some events and minor characters when I started reading The River of Silver, which I believe was to my detriment. The tales in this collection cover a timeframe that begins before The City of Brass, spans all three books, and concludes after the events of The Empire of Gold. This collection, in my opinion, is one to be read alongside your reading of the trilogy, or shortly after finishing it, so the details and events of the world will be fresh in your mind. All of the stories begin with a few sentences explaining exactly what scene it falls before or after, and which books it contains spoilers for. For some of those events that I forgot happened, I had a hard time placing the story in the overall timeline of the series. 

There were fifteen different stories told from a plethora of POVs. Our protagonists tell some tales, of course, but there were also some tales told by secondary and tertiary characters. It is likely that if there's someone you wanted to hear a story from, their perspective is included in this book. 

The River of Silver is a wonderful addition to the Daevabad world. Some of these stories had me completely engrossed and in disbelief that they weren't included in the original books because of how pertinent they seemed, while others were less interesting to me. Short story collections are always a mixed bag, but the vast majority of these ones were enjoyable for me. The only thing that would have made this book even better was my reading it closer to when I finished the original trilogy, which is something I know I will remedy in the future when I inevitably reread this series someday. 

Review: BABEL, OR THE NECESSITY OF VIOLENCE: AN ARCANE HISTORY OF THE OXFORD TRANSLATORS' REVOLUTION by R. F. Kuang

 

Rating: 5/5 stars 

Babel was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. In fact, I’ve found a new favorite, and I will never be the same after reading this. 

I love dark academia stories, I got my degree in linguistics, I visited Oxford during my study abroad in the UK, and I love fantasy novels. So when I found out this standalone dark academia fantasy set at Oxford featured language itself as the magic system, I was immensely intrigued. And it’s by R. F. Kuang no less. I read and enjoyed—but didn’t love—her Poppy War trilogy, but her skill at writing is so incredible that I was very much looking forward to seeing what other stories she released. 

Babel is a historical fantasy set in the 1830s mostly at Oxford. It follows Robin—a multi-lingual Chinese boy who was brought to London by his English professor to learn the secrets of silver working at Oxford—and the rest of his cohort as they study at the translators’ college, a tower called Babel, where each floor is dedicated to a different linguistic specialty. 

I love how heavily this novel leans into academia. It is dark academia after all—and while it is dark, it is very academic. It’s not just a setting or an aesthetic here; the academia is woven into every facet of the story. The characters spend so much time studying and going to classes and immersing themselves so wholly in their education that it almost consumes them. They learn about history and etymology and politics, and in turn, I also learned about history and etymology and politics. It didn’t feel contrived or included just for the academic ~vibes~ but it felt real. 

We also got to see the dark side of academia and how it is not always as glamorous as it seems. R. F. Kuang perfectly juxtaposes the allure and presumed beauty of the academic life with the terrifying reality that institutions will do anything to gain and maintain their knowledge. Kuang herself said that this book is both a love letter and a breakup letter to Oxford, where she studied for her undergrad. Her knowledge of the campus really shines through. It is written in a way that I feel like the characters actually intimately know it rather than feeling like a generic college campus. Kuang’s research and experiences were imperative in her writing of Babel and it turning out as immaculately as it did. 

This is a very intellectual book, and I loved that so much. The magic system is built upon languages and words’ multiple meanings across different languages, combined with silver working. The silver, in turn, powers the entire nation. It was all incredibly cool to see. 

“We capture what is lost in translation—for there is always something lost in translation—and the [silver] bar manifests it into being.” 

Babel is slow-moving but still endlessly engaging. I was finding time to read it during every spare moment I could because I desperately wanted to know what was going to happen with my characters. Even though I knew it couldn’t end well, I also couldn’t look away. 

Like The Poppy War, Babel focuses on themes of colonization and to what extent the colonizers will go in order to maintain power and pride. The true triumph of this book is Kuang’s brilliant discourse on colonialism, which is both astounding and harrowing and true. Her skill at showing the world the horrors that the human race can inflict on each other is second to none that I’ve read. 

R. F. Kuang has a talent for writing about characters who don’t belong, who exist in a place where the majority of people would rather them not be, but who deserve to be there and who triumph because of it. This is the nature of those being colonized—the oppressors want their land and their resources and their skills, but they don’t want the people. And you see this in Babel. Robin is Chinese, Ramy is Indian, and Victoire is Haitian, and the white people at Oxford constantly question their presence and speak to them like they’re lesser humans. They’re not welcomed into certain buildings on campus or invited into certain groups, but the translators need their abilities to translate languages to make the silver bars work. The colonizers need their abilities but they don’t need them. 

This book being written from the eyes of someone who feels like an other, who doesn’t seem to belong, is profoundly enlightening. It’s a sad feeling. But it’s also a true feeling for many in history and many in the present. 

Those interested in history, colonization, languages, linguistics, translation theory, etymology, academic settings, and magic will enjoy Babel. But everyone should read this book regardless. Babel should be required reading for all academics around the world. It’s just too incredible to miss, and it is R. F. Kuang’s best work yet. I loved it so, so much, and I can’t wait to buy myself a beautiful finished hardcover copy when it releases in August. Do yourself a favor and let this book destroy you. 

Review: TEMPLE OF NO GOD by H. M. Long

 

Rating: 1/5 stars

DNF at 54%. 

I am very sad that this series isn’t working for me. I genuinely wanted to love it. I read Hall of Smoke last year and thought it was alright, but something about mythology and books about gods has just never worked for me, and this series is based on Norse mythology. I liked Hall of Smoke enough that I wanted to try out Temple of No God, but unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me.

I had trouble connecting to the story. At the halfway mark, I couldn’t even tell you what was going on. I hadn’t picked it up in five days and had no desire to return to the story, so that was a sign that I needed to quit. I feel like this is a case of “it’s not you, it’s me” because there’s nothing inherently wrong with this book; it just simply wasn’t working for me and I had no emotional attachment to any of the characters. 

I really like Hannah Long as a person though and I follow her on Instagram and she’s adorable, so I’m really sad I haven’t connected with her books so far. I look forward to seeing what she comes out with after the Hall of Smoke series is complete because she’s an author I’d definitely read more from in the future. 

Review: THE ATLAS SIX by Olivie Blake

 

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Atlas Six is a slow-paced philosophical character study of six elite magicians who join the secret Alexandrian Society to study magic, but only five will be granted membership in the end. And the sixth . . . well, they will be sacrificed. 

This book is told from six points of view: 
Parisa: Telepath; can read thoughts. 
Callum: Empath; can read and manipulate emotions.
Tristan: Can see through illusions.
Reina: Naturalist; can perceive the flow of life in plants.
Libby: Physicist; can bend matter to her will; has control over physical objects.
Nico: Physicist; has control over physical objects. 

Olivie Blake is incredible at writing characters. Each of the magicians, plus all the other characters present, felt real and distinct from one another. Everyone was flawed. I can't even pick a favorite because everyone was both likable and unlikable (except Callum, who was entirely unlikable). Although if I had to choose the best one, I'd pick Libby. 

This story didn't feel like it really had any plot, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The beginning takes its time introducing us to each of the characters as they are recruited to come study at the society, and then the rest of the book is the six of them learning magic, reading ancient texts, honing their skills, and having philosophical discussions. It was academic and interesting in a way where being slow-paced really worked for this story. And the ending was one of those endings that makes you reevaluate the entire story, which I loved. 

I've been meaning to read The Atlas Six for many months, and I'm so glad I finally got around to picking it up. I really enjoyed it, and I even got my husband to read it with me too. I'm happy to know that the second book is coming out in less than six months so I don't have to wait very long to find out what happens next!