My feelings about Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros are complicated. At first, I found the book incredibly entertaining, and I was really invested in the story. But the second half disappointed me, and the more I sat with this story afterward, the more I questioned my experience. As many, many people praise this book, I…
Bite-sized gothic tales are appropriate for light summer reading lists, as long as you like things dark and twisty all year round as I do. Before you jump into warmer water, dip your toe in the cold lake and mystery surrounding Lacrimore by S.J. Costello. A medium named Sivre travels across the lake to a…
N.E. Davenport meshes a technologically advanced world with the magical powers of the gods in her novel, The Blood Trials. Despite the protagonist being 19 years old, the book skewed more toward adult with its darker content and horror elements stemming from both humans and monsters. The book is action-packed and loves to shock the…
Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden is both triumphant and devastating. This book will comfort you, hurt you, give you hope, make you angry, and send you spiraling. As the grim reaper, Mrs Death takes but she also gives, and she’s here to stay whether we like it or not. A young child named…
Sailing on a ship sounds awesome until I think about being in the middle of the ocean when a storm hits. It’s fun until it isn’t, and that’s exactly how I would describe my time aboard The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman. With a final sacrifice, the goddess Barrica ends the war by…
Continue reading ➞ The Isles Of The Gods – Charted Trope Territory
After reading the back cover of To Poison a King, I thought I had a good idea of where this story would go. I had the formula mapped out in my head and was convinced I knew how everything would play out. But S.G. Prince said, “To hell with your preconceived notions!” and decided to…
It’s books like Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto that rekindle my love for YA. Over the years I have been worn down after reading many lackluster books in the category, but this one is a bright spark that deserves attention. It’s a unique story that is well-written, has a fully developed world that…
My toxic trait is that I love cruel morally-gray characters, which is why I picked up Once Upon a Broken Heart. This story is a spin-off of Stephanie Garber’s first series Caraval, and it’s the first time we meet a man named Jacks. He was one of the few things I like about that series,…
After finishing A House with Good Bones, I am reminded yet again that I am missing out by not having read T. Kingfisher’s entire catalog. In terms of content and genre, this southern gothic mystery is worlds apart from my first experience with a Kingfisher book (Nettle & Bone), but the fabulous storytelling, fun characters,…
You all know the stories. The tales where a man marries a mysterious woman with secrets she begs to keep. But the man’s curiosity always wins out in the end, and he learns something that causes irrevocable damage. Even when I was told not to, I decided to pull back the layers of Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada…
Continue reading ➞ The Last Tale Of The Flower Bride – Artful Arrangement
