The Call by Peadair O’Guilin

I read it as a: hardback

Source: personal collection

Length: 307 pp

Publisher: David Fickling Books

Year: 2016

Thoughts: If you’re into super dark faerie tales, this is the book you are looking for. In O’Guilin’s Ireland, the Sidhe, the faerie folk of Irish legend, have declared war upon the land and its inhabitants for forcing them into the Grey Lands. Twenty-five years ago, the Sidhe magically sealed off the borders of Ireland, preventing anyone from entering or leaving the country. Additionally, without warning, they steal the children who are between 12 and 18 and take them to the Grey Lands. These children then have 3 minutes in the human world to survive, though a whole day passes in the land of the Sidhe. During that time, the Sidhe hunt them, and when they catch the humans, they will change them into horrifying caricatures of people before sending them back, sometimes alive, usually dead. Across Ireland are military-like “survival colleges,” designed with the sole purpose of teaching children as much as humans know about the Sidhe to help them survive. Nessa is a student at one such school and she awaits her Call with more dread than most. She survived polio and her legs are atrophied as a result, leaving her unable to run as she will need to do when she is Called. She has to learn the best way to use the skills she has to survive when only 1 in 10 physically able children manage to make it back, and most of them don’t come back in one piece.

This was one of the darkest faerie tales I’ve ever read, and I loved it. None of the characters were very likeable, which I think is understandable and believable under those circumstances. Everyone in the book is traumatized in one way or another. I thought it was an interesting take on the legends that depict the conflict between humans and the Sidhe and other fey beings of Irish mythology. I also really liked that, although this is listed as the first of a series, it can be read as a standalone. It doesn’t end on a cliffhanger and it had a satisfying conclusion, although it has plenty of ground to continue the story. But I am thrilled that I don’t *have* to read the next book in the series. I enjoyed this book and I’m sure I will eventually read the rest of the series once it’s complete, but I get SO tired of series, especially fantasy or sci-fi series, that go on and on for a floppity jillion books. It is a welcome change of pace to find one that can be its own standalone novel.

Sea Witch by Helen Hollick

I read it as a: paperback

Source: my own collection. Actually, it was a gift from Helen for a favor I did for her on her website. ❤

Length: 314 pp

Publisher: SilverWood Books of Bristol

Year: 2011

Thoughts: I have to confess that if I hadn’t received the prequel to this series, I likely wouldn’t have read this, even though I’ve read all of Helen’s other books and loved them. I had never really been too interested in pirates beyond generally romanticizing them like everyone else, and enjoying the Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. It’s not generally the time period I’m into. But she sent me the prequel to review and I LOVED it, and then she sent me this as a gift for some help I gave on her website, and now I want to read the whole series. I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true. I LOVE this series so much.

In this first book of the Jesamiah Acorne series, readers are introduced to Jesamiah, obviously, and learn a little of his history. We get to know about life on the sea and I, at least, learned a whole lot of cool things about ships. And some truly delightful expressions and vocabulary. I am well equipped for the next International Talk Like a Pirate Day! This book was chock full of action and adventure, a ton of humor, and plenty of romance. I loved Tiola and her strength, I loved Rue and his wit, and I adore Jes for his bravery and his vulnerability. These are not characters on a page, they are people who breathe and feel and love and suffer and I tell the truth when I say I am going to run right out and pick up the rest of the series. I never thought I’d fall in love with a historical series that wasn’t medieval, Renaissance, or Victorian, but I did. I read this in one sitting and I can’t wait to jump into the next book.

My favorite scene in the whole book (and there were many awesome scene to choose from) was when Jes helped Tiola deliver a baby.

And another scene even had a line that I added to my commonplace book, which doesn’t happen often.

Helen’s personal site: http://www.helenhollick.net/

DDRevs: https://discoveringdiamonds.blogspot.com/

 

Sheriff and Priest by Nicky Moxey

I read it as an: ARC

Source: got it from Helen Hollick to review on Discovering Diamonds

Length: 360 pp

Publisher: Dodnash Books

Year: 2017

In 12th century England, times are turbulent. Tensions between the lower class Saxon English and ruling class Norman nobles simmer, and The Anarchy is at its peak. This debut historical novel opens in the middle of these times, in a small town with a young boy, Wimer. He is a bright boy but, as a Saxon peasant, has few opportunities. His luck changes when he comes to the notice of the local priest, who sponsors his attendance at a school in Norwich. From there, Wimer has the option of becoming a monk or a chaplain. He decides to become a chaplain and go out into the world. He makes a name for himself in the service of Hugh Bigod, and is able to leave that house and work directly for Henry II as the High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk. In the course of discharging his duties, he runs afoul of Thomas Becket and is excommunicated, twice by Becket and once by the Pope. He also has a doomed love for Ida de Toscny, Henry’s ward. Eventually, Wimer is reinstated into the Church but in order to feel truly free of his mortal sins, both from his rifts with his religious superiors and because of his love for Ida, Wimer decides he needs to return to a life devoted to the Church and make an act of spectacular penitence.

Sheriff and Priest was a delightful novel. There are several novels available which tell the tale of The Anarchy, all told from the perspective of Henry II or Eleanor of Aquitaine, or perhaps from various other nobles. Getting the perspective of a man who began life as a Saxon peasant is a unique take, and a refreshing change. Wimer is a complex and sympathetic figure. He overthinks just about everything and makes life a lot harder for himself in many ways, which is a very believable character trait. Some of the secondary characters could have been fleshed out a little more, but the people readers encountered the most were not flat and were developed enough for the purpose. The only thing that was a little jarring was the reference to Thomas a’Becket. He wasn’t referred to as such during his life, and not until at least the Post-Reformation. Nitpicky thing, yes, but noticeable. Overall, though, this novel was full of wonderful medieval detail and flowed swiftly across the page. Highly recommended (4.5 stars if you want a star rating).

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

I read it as an: audiobook

Source: my own collection

Length: 11 h 48 m

Publisher: Del Rey

Year: 2017

Thoughts: In a medieval-ish Russian setting, Vasya is the daughter her mother most wanted, and the one who ultimately killed her. Growing up half wild at the edge of a deep forest, Vasya’s father eventually decides that he should remarry so that Vasya can have a mother. However, her new stepmother is city-bred and zealously religious. She forbids her household or the villagers from practicing the traditional rituals of honoring the spirits of the hearth, forest, and meadows which will protect their homes. Vasya knows this is wrong and is afraid, and she is right to fear. The crops and animals start dying, drought comes, and horrifying creatures straight out of Vasya’s nurse’s fairy tales begin walking the night. Her stepmother, convinced that Vasya is the cause of all the troubles, is determined that Vasya will either marry or go to a convent by midwinter. Vasya has to rely on her own talents, which she has kept hidden out of fear of being killed as a witch, to save her family and village.

“Vasilisa the Fair” is one of my favorite Russian fairy tales, and “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” is another of my favorites. This novel makes me think of both of these stories, drawing heavily from myth and folklore from a wide range of cultures. The setting is brutal and atmospheric – I got cold listening to parts of this! But I loved imagining the way the houses were set up and was curious about the stoves the family slept on. I had to look it up and learned a lot about the Russian oven! I loved the characters of the home, the house spirits and the men and women and the horses. Such horses! And Vasya is a tremendous character, brave and honest. I can’t wait to see what Arden comes up with for her next novel, which is supposedly set in the same world.

My only complaint is that the narration was a tad slow at times. But in general, I enjoyed listening to this on audiobook because I am unfamiliar with the Russian language. I would have been completely unable to pronounce the words correctly. I appreciated hearing them spoken aloud for me.

 

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

I read it as a: hardback

Source: library

Length: 526 pp

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Year: 2017

Thoughts: Nahri is a young woman alone in 18th century Cairo, a place where young women should not be alone. To survive, she has established a reputation for herself as a healer and woman who can help with supernatural problems, such as banishing unwanted djinns from inhabiting a person. In reality, she is a con artist, using her reputation to find her next mark. She doesn’t actually believe in magic or djinns, despite the fact that she has an unnatural ability to heal people, and she can understand any language after hearing it just once. During a ritual to exorcise a young girl from demons, Nahri inadvertently summons a real djinn, Dara. This has the side effect of attracting the attention of several other wicked creatures who set out to find Nahri. Dara takes her with him on a journey to the city of Daevabad, the mythic home of all the djinn tribes. There, Nahri meets the royal family, including the younger prince Ali, who is a rebel and idealist struggling to find peace and equality for all the tribes as well as the shafit, the djinn-human mixed race people who are treated as second-class citizens. Nahri learns that she is the long-lost daughter of the last of a great tribe of djinn healers and is welcomed almost as a goddess. She has to learn how to navigate palace politics as well as learn new rules of healing with magic. In an effort to unite the tribes and put a halt to escalating violence in the city, the king decides that a marriage between Nahri and his eldest son is in order. Nahri is devastated to learn that Dara has a vicious history in the city and is known as the Scourge of Daevabad for his actions in a war 1400 years ago. She must decide whether to believe him when he has never been forthcoming with her before, trust her increasing friendship with Ali, or trust her own instincts which are telling her that nothing is what it seems.

This debut novel was rich with Middle Eastern mythology and culture, strong world building, and stronger characters. AND it’s an #ownvoices story, which is awesome. I’ve never read a Muslim fantasy before and let me tell you, it was so cool to read about a culture that is not as familiar to me. I LOVED it. I loved it so much. Chakraborty weaves a vibrant, rich tapestry for her readers and does a beautiful job painting a picture of life not only in her fantasy world, but also how elements of Islam are interwoven throughout seamlessly. I loved how descriptive the writing was. I could smell the spices in the air at the bazaar, and feel the heat of the desert air rising up from the dunes. The colors and sounds and scents were immersive, practically a virtual reality experience leaping out of the pages.

The characters are all flawed and deeply human and even the ones you aren’t really supposed to like, you still find yourself caring about in some way or another. That is a rare thing for me as a reader. I don’t often care about all the characters in a book, or even any of them, depending on the story. But this book made me love Nahri and Ali, made me frustrated with Dara, made me suspect the king but in a way that didn’t make me hate him. Every character had well defined personalities and behaved within the scope of them. It’s always annoying when characters have their personalities violated by their own authors; that never happened here. Everything the characters did, even if it was a surprise, was never out of character upon reflection.

I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for the next book in the trilogy.

 

The Chalk Man by CJ Tudor (which is a rad name) Her Twitter, FB, bio, 

I read it as a: hardback

Source: publicist ARC

Length: 277 pp

Publisher: Crown

Year: 2018

Thoughts: This was a debut? Holy shit! It was so good! Good job, debut novelist! The tension was strong throughout and the plot twists were interesting. I did not guess them all, and I am generally really good at figuring out whodunnit. And that last scene! Ahh! Loved it. Such a great end.

The characters were believable and complex. They were not all likeable, including the protagonist, which is fine. I don’t necessarily have to have all likeable characters, especially not in a murder mystery. But in this case, it worked well. Eddie was sometimes a bit weak, but that was part of the theme. Metal Mickey was the token sociopath of the group. Fat Gav was the leader and general peacemaker. Nicky was the tomboy. They all had their roles, and various iterations of them played out over time. The changing group dynamics was as interesting to watch as the mystery itself, which was really well done.

There wasn’t a lot of gore on the page, which may appeal to some readers. Gore on the page doesn’t bother me as long as it’s not kids or animals being hurt. Hurt grown-ups, but not kids or animals. I think leaving it out here, though, added a Hitchcock-esque feel to the novel, making it creepier than it would have been otherwise.

The only thing I didn’t like – or maybe it isn’t that I disliked it, more that I felt it was absent – was that it didn’t really feel like the earlier times were in the 80s. For example, with the show Stranger Things, you KNOW you’re in the 80s because of the ubiquitous presence or allusions to D&D, the new Star Wars films (NOT the ones with Poe Dameron), Trapper Keepers, the music, and just general 80s pop culture permeating the setting. I didn’t really get that so much in this book. It felt more like a generic time period than specifically set in the 80s.

But seriously, that last scene! Totally made up for anything I missed from the 80s.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

So the 2018 Read Harder challenge posted a few weeks ago. I spent way more time than I ought to have done figuring out what books I might use for each task. I have as much fun doing research as I do actually reading, I think. #nerdalert. I managed to get a couple to double dip, which is awesome, and allowed for the challenge. I’m adding another layer of challenge to myself and will only use books I already own and haven’t gotten around to reading, or will use my library, to complete this challenge. I will not buy any more books this year. Unless someone gives me a gift card. Or I get a reading copy from a publicist.

Below is my tentative 2018 Read Harder list, which will probably change as I read throughout the year. It is always interesting to see what I had planned to read vs what I ended up actually reading…

1. A book published posthumously: Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen OR The Aeneid
2. A book of true crime: The Wicked Boy – Kate Summerscale or The Monster of Florence – Douglas Preston & Mario Spezi
3. A classic of genre fiction (i.e. mystery, sci fi/fantasy, romance): The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein
4. A comic written and illustrated by the same person: Perspolis – Marjane Satrapi
5. A book set in or about one of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, or South Africa): The Bear and the Nightingale – Katherine Arden
6. A book about nature: The Long, Long Life of Trees – Joanna Stafford
7. A western: Topaz – Beverly Jenkins
8. A comic written or illustrated by a person of color: Perspolis – Marjane Satrapi
9. A book of colonial or postcolonial literature: Interpreter of Maladies – Jhumpa Lahiri or Half a Yellow Sun – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
10. A romance novel by or about a person of color: Topaz – Beverly Jenkins
11. A children’s classic published before 1980: The Witch of Blackbird Pond – Elizabeth George Speare
12. A celebrity memoir: Wishful Drinking – Carrie Fisher (or maybe The Princess Diarist)
13. An Oprah Book Club selection: Midwives – Chris Bohjalian
14. A book of social science: Homo Deus – Yuval Noah Harari or We Should All Be Feminists – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
15. A one-sitting book: won’t know for sure until I read it, though I think The Witch of Blackbird Pond would do the job. It’s short.
16. The first book in a new-to-you YA or middle grade series: Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynn Jones or One Crazy Summer – Rita Williams-Garcia
17. A sci fi novel with a female protagonist by a female author: ALL the NK Jemisin books! OR An Unkindness of Ghosts – Rivers Solomon. Or the space books by Anne McCaffrey (The Ship Who Sang, etc)
18. A comic that isn’t published by Marvel, DC, or Image: Perspolis – Marjane Satrapi
19. A book of genre fiction in translation: The Three-Body Problem – Cixin Liu
20. A book with a cover you hate: maybe One Crazy Summer – Rita Williams-Garcia? I hate the way the copy I have depicts the girls. Not a fan of cartoonish book covers.
21. A mystery by a person of color or LGBTQ+ author: The Cutting Season – Attica Locke OR Devil in a Blue Dress – Walter Mosley
22. An essay anthology: View from the Cheap Seats – Neil Gaiman or The Sweetness of a Simple Life – Diana Beresford-Kroeger
23. A book with a female protagonist over the age of 60: Mrs Queen Takes the Train – William Kuhn
24. An assigned book you hated (or never finished): something by Charles Dickens OR The Aeneid