Fantasy

Long Live Evil

Long Live Evil
By: Sarah Rees Brennan

Blurb:
A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN…

When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series.

She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she’s not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor’s tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they’re doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor’s fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain’s shoes, for an adventure that is both ‘brilliant’ (Holly Black) and ‘supremely satisfying’ (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue’s gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.

Thoughts:
I received this as an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The book comes out on August 27th.
I applied to receive this book, even though I’m not really a person that falls for the villain, because of the blurb. I’ve read a series where someone gets sucked into their favorite video game, why not read one where someone gets sucked into their favorite book? I thought it would be interesting. I think it could have been, but the main character was so focused on it being a book and the people not being real that she really annoyed me. I understand she was trying to save herself, but her insistence that none of it was “real” went against her goal of saving herself with a flower from the world. It is either real or it isn’t. If the flower works, why can’t the people be real too? It was part of making her the “villain” but it just made her seem in denial, which I guess she was, it just wasn’t something I enjoyed.

The world was definitely not one I would want to be in and I wasn’t sure why anyone would have this world be their favorite series, let alone enough people that it’s been made into a musical, but, again, I’m probably the odd man out there.

About 60% of the way through the book finally picked up for me and I started to enjoy what was happening. I could see the “twist” coming, but I still wanted to know what was going to happen. It ends on a cliffhanger. Ughhhh.

I’m honestly not sure if I’m going to continue the series. I rated it three stars and that stands. It wasn’t poorly written and the idea was interesting, and like I said I do want to know what happens next, it was just the constant confused communication between the characters that drove me crazy. The MC never tried to change her vocabulary or fit into the world around her so people were constantly confused by her actions. I have a lot of questions, but I’m not sure if I wanted them answered. I’ll wait to see what the blurb is for the second book and make my decision then.

3/5

Scythe

Scythe (Arc of the Scythe #1)

By: Neal Shusterman

Blurb:

Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Review:

I thought the idea behind Scythe was interesting. Humans are immortal and to avoid overpopulation they create a group of people legally allowed to kill them. Sounds promising. It ended up being weird and boring for me.

How is it alright for the group of people who are allowed to kill humans allowed to do it in any manner they desire? Why is there no rule that they have to do it in a humane way? Why do they get to choose whoever they want to kill, as long as it’s not obvious that they’re targeting a specific group? Why is there no real oversight on this group at all??? Why was only having ten rules for Scythes not a red flag?

I think the issues with this system are incredibly clear. I received no answers in this first book and I’m debating on whether or not I want to read the next. Things aren’t looking good.

2.5/5

The Once and Future Witches

The Once and Future Witches

By:

Alix E. Harrow

Blurb:

In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters–James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna–join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.

Review:

The Once and Future Witches was on all the lists last year. It was nominated for a Goodreads choice award and probably other ones too. The author’s website is pretty lacking, so I’m not sure about that. Her previous book got nominated for everything, though. A lot of the time, when I read books like this, I’m disappointed. I like lighter fare, something not grounded in realism. That isn’t always the case, of course, and I’m happy to say it wasn’t with The Once and Future Witches.

The story follows three sisters. They grew up with an abusive father and are all struggling with what was done to them in their own ways. Set in the late 1800s, they live in a world that treats women as property. They don’t have the vote and have been stripped of any magical power they had through years of witch trials. The only things they have are the stories and words their grandmother taught them.

The magic in this world was fascinating. I enjoyed how fairy tales were included and the power they gave. The spells were all interesting and feel so accessible. What if I can say these words and clean my house? Ugh, if only. Honestly, it made me want to believe.

Anyway! There was a diverse cast of characters, strong women that weren’t cookie cutters, and just enough magic to make the realism less draining. The ending was good, but not too happy, which is what you expect from these types of books. I liked it. I’m going to look into Harrow’s previous book now.

4/5

The Awakening

The Awakening (The Dragon Heart Legacy #1)

By: Nora Roberts

Blurb:

In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior named Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword—representing both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own…

When Breen Kelly was a girl, her father would tell her stories of magical places. Now she’s an anxious twentysomething mired in student debt and working a job she hates. But one day she stumbles upon a shocking discovery: her mother has been hiding an investment account in her name. It has been funded by her long-lost father—and it’s worth nearly four million dollars.

This newfound fortune would be life-changing for anyone. But little does Breen know that when she uses some of the money to journey to Ireland, it will unlock mysteries she couldn’t have imagined. Here, she will begin to understand why she kept seeing that silver-haired, elusive man, why she imagined his voice in her head saying Come home, Breen Siobhan. It’s time you came home. Why she dreamed of dragons. And where her true destiny lies—through a portal in Galway that takes her to a land of faeries and mermaids, to a man named Keegan, and to the courage in her own heart that will guide her through a powerful, dangerous destiny…

Review:

As soon as I started reading The Awakening, I struggled to put it down. I wasn’t able to focus on anything once I started. I was surprised by that because I expected this story to be like Robert’s The One Chronicles. It was very light on romance, like that series, but The Awakening was nowhere near as dark. It was almost like reading a wish-fulfillment book. The main character was miserable in her life, though she had a found family that she loved completely. She finds out that her mother has been hiding a fortune from her and can then live the life she’s always wanted. She goes to Ireland, something I’ve always wanted to do. She starts writing a book and ends up being very good at it, something I’ve tried to do with varying levels of success. She then finds out that there’s a multiverse, and she’s got powers, something I think everyone has wanted at some point in their lives.

Even with how much I loved The Awakening, I did have a couple of complaints. Well, not complaints exactly, but things I wasn’t all on board with. The biggest one being the relationship between the main character and what will inevitably be her love interest. He was a bully while training her and gruff and rude while not, but I was supposed to believe that she was attracted to him. Their “relationship” would have seemed to come out of nowhere if I wasn’t used to these types of books. It was seriously lacking in any kind of attraction or build up.

I also wish it hadn’t ended on a cliffhanger. That’s only a complaint because it was so good I want to read the next book NOW. The next book doesn’t come out till November, so I’ve got a wait ahead. Considering how long I had to wait for this book from the library, I might pre-order the sequel.

Besides all the wish-fulfillment going on with The Awakening, I loved the world that was created. It’s not one I necessarily think I could live in, I love technology too much for that, but it sounded beautiful. More than a few times, I set aside the book and searched for cottages in Ireland. The descriptions were gorgeous. I also loved that all these fairy tale creatures were able to live together in harmony. The world sounded like a utopia, except for the whole fact that a demon god was trying to destroy it and everything else.

The Awakening was an excellent read, and even though it wasn’t like Nora Robert’s books of old, it was one I’m incredibly excited to keep reading. It’s the middle of January, and I’ve already read one of my favorite books of the year. It’s crazy.

5/5

Witchmark

Witchmark (The Kingston Cycle #1)

By: C.L. Polk

Blurb:

In an original world reminiscent of Edwardian England in the shadow of a World War, cabals of noble families use their unique magical gifts to control the fates of nations, while one young man seeks only to live a life of his own.

Magic marked Miles Singer for suffering the day he was born, doomed either to be enslaved to his family’s interest or to be committed to a witches’ asylum. He went to war to escape his destiny and came home a different man, but he couldn’t leave his past behind. The war between Aeland and Laneer leaves men changed, strangers to their friends and family, but even after faking his own death and reinventing himself as a doctor at a cash-strapped veterans’ hospital, Miles can’t hide what he truly is.

When a fatally poisoned patient exposes Miles’ healing gift and his witchmark, he must put his anonymity and freedom at risk to investigate his patient’s murder. To find the truth he’ll need to rely on the family he despises, and on the kindness of the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen.

Review:

It took me a couple of weeks to get into Witchmark. Not because there’s anything wrong with the book; I just wasn’t in a reading mood. Once I did, though I was all in, telling my kids to leave mommy alone so she can read.

Miles Singer was born with the ability to heal. The only power valued in his country is the ability to control storms. Since he doesn’t have that power and is part of one of the country’s wealthiest families, his choice is to forever bond with a storm mage so that they can basically use him as a battery. For obvious reasons, he’s not a fan of that, however if the general public find out that he’s a witch he’ll be locked away in an asylum. So he runs away as a young man.

We meet him years later after he’s served in a war and become a shadow of himself. His desire to heal is constantly warring with his desire not to be found and brought back to his family. Things change, and I’m reminded why life as a kind person who cares about others above all is filled with constant disappointment.

Anyway, Miles is pulled into a mystery that has implications across his entire country. He’s also dealing with the mystery of what’s happening to the men coming back from war. It’s a tangled web that I wasn’t able to figure out until the end. Bits and pieces were obvious, and I still don’t trust his sister, but the big reveal wasn’t what I thought it would be.

Witchmark was a great story, and I’m so glad that The Midnight Bargain wasn’t a fluke. I really like C.L. Polk, and I’m excited to read the next books in the Kingston Cycle.

4.5/5