Review: SERVANT MAGE by Kate Elliott

 

Rating: 2/5 stars

Servant Mage is an epic fantasy story condensed into a standalone novella, proving that you don’t need a heavy tome to have a unique world and magic system, political intrigue, a (mostly) engaging plot, and a diverse cast of characters. Unfortunately, the length of this story was its biggest weakness for me. 

Fellian is a fire mage. There are mages for the five elements: fire, earth, air, water, and aether. She’s an indentured servant, only taught the most basic magical abilities to be able to do her job, when one day a group of mages breaks her out of her prison to steal her away on a mission.

There are two groups fighting a war in the land, the Liberationists and the Monarchists, but I never felt like I fully grasped what either side was fighting for or what they believed. I only knew that they were enemies.

One of this book’s downfalls is that there’s very little character development, especially for such a big cast of characters in such a short book. I constantly was confused about who was who and who was related to who, and we really only get any in-depth info about Fellian, and even then it’s limited.

I found the first fifty percent of the novella to be engaging and interesting, but something happened around the halfway mark because the latter fifty percent was lackluster and messy as I wasn’t sure where the plot was going and I had sadly stopped caring about any element of the story.

Servant Mage is very fast-paced and quick to the point. I think this is a good story if you are new to epic fantasy and want to get a feel for the genre and read about magic and political intrigue and war and adventure but are intimidated by the usual 500+ page books. However, I think seasoned fantasy readers will find something lacking here as the story is very surface-level and isn’t very memorable in the end.

Also I think the cover is very misleading because there aren’t any dragons in the story, and the dragon is what initially had me picking up the book.

Overall, this novella was fine but nothing special. Novellas normally don’t work for me because I always want more than they offer, and that seems to be the case here as well. Servant Mage would definitely benefit from being longer and having a more developed plot and more in-depth characters. When I finished the story I was left with a feeling of “well, what was even the point of that?” and you should never feel that way about a book. I wish I had more positive thoughts about this story but it unfortunately let me down. 

Review: BURNING KINGDOMS by Lauren DeStefano

Rating: 4/5 stars

In the second book of The Internment Chronicles, Morgan and Pen, along with their betrotheds and the princess, venture to the Ground, where they are met with plenty of culture shock from being in a world so different from their own. 

The first thing I noticed was that I found it interesting the people on the Ground and the people from Internment are so similar. They both speak the same language. Yes, they each have accents, and the people of the Ground have words for things that don’t exist on Internment, but for the most part, the people have no problem communicating with each other. Secondly, they are about equally technologically advanced, which surprised me as I thought one would have a clear advantage over the other. 

This book is weird in that it’s a fantasy but also doesn’t feel like a fantasy. On the Ground, there’s a war with airplanes and air raids, there are moving pictures at the cinema, and there are people sneaking away to speakeasies, so it feels like it’s taking place in the US in the forties. But then there’s also the big floating island in the sky, mermaids in the ocean, “mystical” beasts that are actually real that the characters get to ride on, and the land on the Ground is composed of various kingdoms ruled by kings. The war going on around them is being fought between two kings over some land and resources, so it’s totally a fantasy. But it’s weird how it parallels real-world history. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like that before.

I enjoyed seeing the friendship progress between Morgan and Pen and Celeste. Initially, I didn’t like Celeste, but I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I cared about her by the end of the novel. I was really happy to see how much she and Morgan bonded throughout this book. 

I really enjoy Lauren DeStefano’s writing style and storytelling in this series, which has a unique concept and is super fun. It’s an older series but I think it holds up and I’d recommend it. I’m having a great time reading The Internment Chronicles and I can’t wait to move on to the final book soon. 

Review: THE CITY OF DUSK by Tara Sim

 

Rating: 4/5 stars

The City of Dusk is a dark political fantasy, and I really enjoyed it. 

The story follows four rival noble heirs descended from the four gods of the four realms (light, dark, life, and death), each with a different kind of magic, all vying for the throne. But when an ancient magic that’s both forbidden and dangerous spawns and causes destruction across Nexus, AKA the City of Dusk, the four heirs must bond together to put a stop to it before Godsnight, the most powerful day of the century, when all forms of magic will be at their most potent and the gods at their strongest. 

Taesia and Dante Lastrider are shades, able to summon and control shadows. Taesia specializes in shadow manipulation and has a familiar named Umbra, while Dante, the heir, is able to form shadows into objects and has a familiar named Nox. They have a younger sister named Brailee, a dreamwalker, who has a familiar named Somnus. Their House worships Nyx, the god of Noctus (the dark realm). 

Angelica Mardova is an elementalist, but she is best at air magic. She has a unique ability to be able to play instruments like the violin or the piccolo to call upon the air to increase her power. Her god is Deia, the god of Vitae (the realm of life). 

Nikolas Cyr is a warrior with the ability to use light magic, such as being able to create wings or a shield made of light. He has a familiar named Lux. The king has tasked him to lead the special force responsible for removing conjuration, the illegal magic, from the city. His House worships Phos, the god of Solara (the light realm), although Nik is struggling with his faith. 

Risha Vakara is a necromancer, but since her House strictly controls the use of necromancy, she can often be found performing seances instead. She worships Thana, the god of Mortri (the realm of death). 

I really loved the cast of characters in this novel. They are diverse in personality and ferocity levels. While I enjoyed reading each of their POVs, I think Risha’s story was my favorite because of the introduction of a certain character named Jas, although you’ll have to read the book to discover why. 

I especially enjoyed the friendship and banter between Taesia and Risha and the romantic relationship between Taesia and Nik. And then there’s Angelica, who hates all the other Houses and doesn’t want to work with them, but reluctantly agrees to join forces. It felt to me like Taesia was the primary protagonist even though the four main POVs are equally present throughout the novel. Taesia’s character arc is certainly the most surprising of all the characters though. 

I think it’s really neat to see so many different kinds of magic present in one book, and we actually do get to see each of the characters use their magic quite a bit, including using their familiars to help them. We also get to see a fair amount of forbidden conjuration as well, which I personally thought was pretty cool. There are lots of good high-action scenes in The City of Dusk, and it’s cool to see one form of magic pitted against another form of magic. 

The noble Houses believe that the king will announce the new heir of Nexus on Godsnight, so they are trying to work together to put a stop to the illegal use of conjuration by then so the city doesn’t get destroyed while also trying to prove themselves each the superior House so the king will choose them for the throne. So there’s this interesting dynamic of being both friends and enemies at the same time and I loved it. 

The City of Dusk was a strong entry into the adult fantasy canon, and I’m so happy I read it. There was a portion of the book between about 70% and 90% that was a little slow for my taste, especially since we’ve been building up to this epic battle at the end and I was just ready to see how it turned out and the preparations beforehand were dragging on, in my opinion. So the book felt like it was longer than it needed to be. Other than that, though, I don’t have any complaints. It is easy to differentiate between the characters and their types of magic, and the plot was unique and fun. I can’t wait to read the sequels! 

“Am I a monster or a god? Who was to say they weren’t the same thing?” 

Review: PERFECT RUIN by Lauren DeStefano

 

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

I downloaded this audiobook on a whim when I needed something to read and I forced myself to pick a book that’s been sitting unread on my shelf for years. Perfect Ruin was a delightful surprise and I’m so glad I ended up choosing it!

This book takes place in Internment, a land in the sky. Morgan lives in Internment but constantly dreams of traveling to the Ground. However, thoughts of the Ground are forbidden and the one rule of their society is don’t approach the edge; if you do it’s already over. 

Perfect Ruin is a dystopian mystery of sorts with fantastical elements, and it feels totally unique. I’ve read a lot of young adult dystopias and this has got to be one of the most interesting worlds I’ve seen. Same with Lauren Destefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, which I read and loved back in high school. It must just be her writing style and creativity that I love because I ate this story up and can’t wait to continue on with the series. 

The world-building here is strong, and I enjoyed seeing the day-to-day life of the citizens on Internment. Because there is limited space for the people, births are strictly regulated and every citizen is given a betrothed at birth who they will grow up to marry. A lot of their life seems normal like ours, but then one detail pops up and I’m reminded that this is indeed a “utopian” society. 

Morgan is riding the train one day when it suddenly stops and starts traveling backward, an abnormal occurrence. She later learns it was because of a murder, the first in a century: the body of a girl her age was found on the tracks. Terrified but curious, Morgan is desperate to learn more about this girl and why she might have been killed. 

Along with her betrothed, Basil, and her best friend, Pen, Morgan sets out to uncover some dark and hidden secrets of Internment. She ends up befriending the dead girl’s betrothed and her younger sister, who both help her realize that life is not what it seems. I loved all of the relationships and friendships in this book. 

Perfect Ruin was a super fun read. For one, I love the idea of floating islands and I will read any book featuring that trope. Even better if the whole book actually takes place on the floating island, too. This novel was unique, fast-paced, and engaging, and I love the way it blended fantasy with dystopia. I’ve already downloaded the next two audiobooks because I cannot wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

Review: FAR SECTOR by N. K. Jemisin & Jamal Campbell

 

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I do not care about DC comics, nor do I care about the Green Lantern, but I do care about reading everything by N. K. Jemisin, so here I am. 

This science-fiction murder mystery follows Jo, the newest Green Lantern, as she helps to solve the first murder in 500 years in the City Enduring. The city is 20 billion citizens large with three different intergalactic species, and no one but Jo has the capacity to feel emotions. The Emotion Exploit is a genetic modifier that stops every citizen of the City Enduring from feeling or acting on their emotions, for their own good, of course. 

But then a new drug called Switchoff shows up, which allows people to feel emotions for the first time, and the citizens of City Enduring are willing to fight or kill to keep it that way; they want emotional freedom. 

Enter Jo. The Council believes this murder occurred because someone felt emotions and therefore committed a murder, but Jo is determined to figure out what really happened and, along the way, convince the government that emotions aren't bad after all. 

I ended up really enjoying this graphic novel, way more than I expected to, especially since I have no prior knowledge of the Green Lantern and frankly just don't care that much about superheroes in general. But her abilities were explained well enough in the book that it made sense to me as a total newcomer. 

I really enjoyed Jo as a character and I loved her snarky attitude. I also loved learning about the different intergalactic species, especially the AI species called the @At (pronounced at-at) and their endless love for cat memes. I think it's hard to write fleshed-out characters in graphic novels because of the limited word count and page time, but Jemisin did a great job with the character work here. 

Even though the story was good in and of itself, the real best part of this book was the art. Oh my goodness, it was outstanding! I am absolutely in love with Jamal Campbell's work in Far Sector and every page had me stunned at both his beautiful illustrations and his coloring work. The art is vibrant and colorful and so much fun to look at. I was constantly interrupting my husband's workday to show him various pages that amazed me. The art was my very favorite part of the reading experience, and now I need to check out all of Campbell's other works. 

I have no idea if Far Sector is volume one of a series or if this is the only volume. It has a completed story arc and reads like a standalone, but I could also see it being expanded into more volumes. Either way, this is a world and a story and an art style that I look forward to returning to in the future. This book was so much more fun than I expected and I definitely recommend it to any sci-fi fans, Jemisin fans, DC fans, graphic novel fans, art fans, or really just anybody who wants to have a good afternoon with a book. 

2022 Reading Goals

Goal 1: Goodreads Reading Challenge

My first goal is always a numbers goal, and this year I am aiming for 100 books. This shouldn't be much of a challenge for me, especially since I've started reading lots of manga.
See my progress on Goodreads here. 

Goal 2: Read My TBR

I think reading my TBR has been a goal of mine for three years now, but it's coming back again this year because I own way too many unread books. As of January 1, 2022, there are 476 books on my physically owned TBR. I want to reduce that number as much as possible. I'm hoping to actually read more TBR books than I acquire this year, but we will see. My unofficial goal is to buy fewer than 100 books this year (less than half of what I acquired in 2021). I also hope to read new hardcover books within one month of purchase, which will hopefully make buying the hardcover worth it instead of waiting for the paperback and also encourage me to maybe buy fewer hardcovers with this goal hanging over my head. Whatever I do, I need to get my TBR down because it's low-key stressing me out how many unread books I own. 

Goal 3: Buzzword Readathon 

Created by Kayla from Books and Lala, the Buzzwordathon is a reading challenge based on buzzwords in the titles. Each month you have to read a book that fits the prompt. I have no idea yet what books I will be reading each month, but I will select the title that month according to my current mood. The only book I'm certain of is the title for January since it's my book club pick: She Who Rides the Storm by Caitlin Sangster. 

I've never done a readathon like this before so I'm excited to participate this year. 

Visit the 2022 Reading Challenges page on my blog to see my up-to-date info throughout the year on how I'm coming along with each of these goals. 

2021 Reading Goals Review + Yearly Stats

Reading Goals Review

My first goal was to read 100 books. I managed to double that this year and read 205 books, my best reading year ever!! (It's because of all the manga.) 

View my Goodreads Year in Books here to see all the specific titles I read in 2021!

My next goal was to read my TBR pile. I had 390 books on my physical TBR list on January 1, 2021. I wanted to reduce that number as much as possible. I also had a goal is to read three TBR books before I allowed myself to buy one book. Well . . . that didn't happen at all. Despite reading __ books from my TBR and unhauling 59 books, I still bought 108 books (and that's not counting the plethora of book gifts I received throughout the year). So my TBR pile at the end of the year is at a whopping 476! Oops. 

My third reading goal was to read 8 specific series plus 5 specific books, which are listed below. As you can see, I didn't accomplish this goal either. I did read a ton of series this year, but only two of them were on my list. Most of the titles below will carry over to next year's goals because they are all still books I want to get to soon. 

Series:
1. The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden
2. The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel
3. The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer
4. The Nine Realms Series by Sarah Kozloff
5. The Blood and Ash Trilogy by Jennifer L. Armentrout
6. Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
7. The Mara Dyer Trilogy by Michelle Hodkin
8. The Trylle Trilogy by Amanda Hocking

Standalones: 
1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
2. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christoper Paolini
3. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
4. Steel Crow Saga by Paul Kreuger 
5. Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore

Yearly Statistics

Number of books I read in 2021: 205
Number of those books that I listened to on audio: 69
Number of books I read from my TBR: 72
Number of frontlist titles I read (published in 2021 or 2022): 61
Number of ARCs I read before the publication date: 17
Number of series I started: 43
Number of series I completed: 22
Number of books I DNFed: 10
Number of books I reread: 12
Number of books I acquired this year: 211
Number of books I unhauled this year: 59
Number of books on my TBR at the beginning of 2021: 390
Number of books on my TBR at the end of 2021: 476

Books I read that were . . .
Middle Grade: 15
Young Adult: 31
Adult: 84
Manga: 75

*Note that I categorize anything not specifically labeled as middle grade or young adult as an adult title, such as nonfiction, humor, graphic novels, or religious books that could be enjoyed by any age group. 
**Also note that I added manga as its own category this year since I read an abnormal amount of manga and it could arguably fit into any age group and I didn't want to skew the numbers. 

Graphic Novels: 13
Short Stories or Novellas: 20
Nonfiction Titles: 15

Star Ratings:
1 star: 17 (8%)
2 stars: 30 (15%)
3 stars: 42 (20%) 
4 stars: 65 (32%)
5 stars: 51 (25%) 

Reading Survey

Favorite book of the year: Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
Least favorite book of the year: Better Together by Christine Riccio
Most surprising book of the year: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Most disappointing book of the year: Dark One, Vol. 1 by Brandon Sanderson
Longest book of the year: Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (1,080 pages)
Shortest book of the year: "We Were from the Mountains" by Kate Morton (8 pages)
Book that was on my TBR the longest that I read: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (15+ years) 
Biggest accomplishment: Finally reading more manga and reading more new releases
Most read genre: Manga (75) followed by Fantasy (70) 

Reading Reflections

This was an interesting year. I read way more than I ever have before, but that's mostly thanks to manga, which I really went overboard on this year. I also listened to more audiobooks than the number of physical books I read (if you count all books that aren't manga, graphic novels, or short stories), which I think is a first for me. I read more science fiction than in previous years, which I'm excited about. I also bought way more books this year than I ever have before, and my TBR is bigger than it has ever been before, which is a problem! This was a just a year of more, more, more. Maybe I can turn 2022 into a year of less instead. Overall I'm pleased with what I managed to read in 2021 as it was a pretty solid reading year for me.