Book Review: The Girl with the Whispering Shadow by D.E. Night

 

The Girl with the Whispering Shadow (Crowns of Croswald #2)

by D.E. Night

Source:
After being approached by the publisher (Stories Untold Press) to read & review The Crowns of Croswald via NetGalley, I inquired about also being able to read & review the second book, The Girl with the Whispering Shadow, which they agreed to.

Genre:
Middle Grade, Adventure, Fantasy, Magic

Spoiler Warning:
This review contains spoilers for the first book in the series, The Crowns of Croswald and may contain some spoilers for The Girl with the Whispering Shadow.

Review:

When we left Ivy Lovely at the end of The Crowns of Croswald, she had just defeated the Dark Queen at the Ball, had learned her true identity, was given part of a Kindred Stone, and had discovered that the pirate she kept being drawn to in glanageries was actually her family's scrivenist, Derwin Edgar Night.

In this book, Derwin then sends Ivy off to "The Town" (the enchanted magical city of scrivenists, called Belzebuthe)  to search for the second part of her Kindred Stone and stay hidden from the Dark Queen. It just so happened that the address Derwin sent her to stay at in Belzebuthe belonged to none other than Fyn Greeley and his mother! Ivy spends much of the book running around with Fyn and his friends, getting into trouble and dodging a creepy shadow figure.

We got to see more of how the magic in Croswald works in this book, which I really enjoyed. Ivy spent most of the story either in Belzebuthe or on other adventures, and only a very small part actually at The Halls of Ivy. It was quite fun to get to know some other settings! The whole world of Croswald still gives me major Harry Potter vibes, and I enjoy it quite a bit.

In the first book, I didn't find that there was much character building of the secondary characters, like Fyn and Rebecca, but I found that was improved in this book (however I still don't much care for, or trust, Fyn). I did have a bit of difficulty keeping the members of the Quogo Club straight, but that is likely more a personal thing than the characters themselves.

I don't have much to say on the side of criticism - there were a few grammatical errors here and there, but nothing too serious. This second book also reads like a middle grade novel, which is great. There were moments when Ivy did act a bit more like a 16-17 year old girl than in the first book, but I still feel like she should be around 14, so her age still throws me off and is still a bit of an issue for me.

One of my favourite aspects of The Girl with the Whispering Shadow were the stars in Belzebuthe. I  love that the stars are wishes, and that a person can rent stargusters to putter around among the stars, and that if one were to catch a star, the wish inside would be granted...! Such a romantic and lovely idea! If I lived in Belzebuthe I would most definitely buy wishes/stars on a very regular basis. I also really love that because this magic system uses quills instead of wands, spells are actually written as well as spoken, and so good penmanship is of quite high importance. I have always loved penmanship, and taken pride in having legible handwriting - I think I would get along quite well in the world of Croswald!

 

I continue to recommend this series to others, and am looking forward to reading the next two books at some point!

My Goodreads rating:

 

Book Review: The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano

 

The Glass Spare

by Lauren DeStefano

Source: The November "Castles. Courts and Kingdoms" box from OwlCrate

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic

Plot:

Wilhelmina "Wil" Heidle is a princess, the apple of her mother's eye, and one of her father's best-kept secret weapons as a potential spy. Wil is the youngest of four, the beloved daughter after three sons, a spare who will never see the throne. Wil is close to two of her brothers: Owen (the heir), and Gerdie (the second youngest, and alchemist). Baron (second oldest, the first spare) is a despicable character, only loved by his mother, and even she fears him.

 

The story of Wil's birth is quite special. By all accounts she appeared to be cursed and should not have lived, but did. She looks nothing like the rest of her family, which makes her excellent spy material. She has a knack for fighting and undercover work (she often escapes the palace to find special ingredients for Gerdie's alchemy). Wil wants nothing more than to travel the world, and if being her father's spy (and thereby earning his approval) is the only way to do it, so be it.

 

But soon everything changes. Wil's life is threatened, and in her fight for her life, something inside her awakens. She suddenly has the ability to turn living things to "stone" when she is upset. Actually, gemstones. Emeralds, diamonds, rubies, etc.

 

After a series of unfortunate events, Wil's family now believes that she is dead, and she is on the run, trying to find a way to cure the curse, and save her kingdom.

Review:

I found this book to have a bit of a slow start. I mean, I was interested from the beginning, because, what a great premise!, but it wasn't quite able to hold my attention. This may have been due  to my own mindset at the time, as I was trying to finish the book in December as part of the Facebook group Life and Lit's Bingo reading challenge, which I guess was a bit too much stress. I decided to set it aside for a couple of weeks, and when I came back to it, things seemed to be a bit more interesting, and by the halfway point I was hooked.

I seem to have a real problem with fantasy world-building. It doesn't seem to matter what the world is, if it isn't the here and now, I tend to have a hard time picturing it. I found the world in this book to be rather confusing. On the one hand, it sounded medieval to me, King Arthur-esque. However, upon further research, I suppose it's meant to be more like King Midas' time period, which would be Ancient Greece (I honestly didn't remember this from history?). But the presence of modern technology (electricity, elevators...) really threw me off.

 

Aside from that, I really enjoyed the adventure, and the sort-of romance. I really like this idea of a cursed princess, I love the "Midas touch" aspect, and I appreciated that it wasn't all about the romance. I was really frustrated with the ending because it's what I consider a bit of a cliffhanger; Wil still hasn't found the cure for her curse, she has to go back to her kingdom to save someone's life, something tragic may have happened back in her kingdom but we don't know for sure, and we don't know what kind of deal she made with the Marveler, or what will be expected of her in the future after she returns... *sigh* I guess I'll just have to wait for the sequel!

Overall, I found it an interesting read, and I think I would recommend it to someone who likes fantasy. :)

 

 

My Goodreads rating:

 

Book Review: Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

Wild Beauty

by Anna-Marie McLemore

Source: Received in an OwlCrate box (October "Find Me In The Forest")

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magical Realism

Synopsis:

Love grows such strange things.

For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, the lush estate gardens that enchant guests from around the world. They’ve also hidden a tragic legacy: if they fall in love too deeply, their lovers vanish. But then, after generations of vanishings, a strange boy appears in the gardens.

The boy is a mystery to Estrella, the Nomeolvides girl who finds him, and to her family, but he’s even more a mystery to himself; he knows nothing more about who he is or where he came from than his first name. As Estrella tries to help Fel piece together his unknown past, La Pradera leads them to secrets as dangerous as they are magical in this stunning exploration of love, loss, and family

Review:

I'm not sure if it's the magical realism, or the author's writing style, or what exactly it was that I didn't like about this book, but I was disappointed. We received it in the October OwlCrate box, which I was soooo excited about! I had added this one to my Goodreads To Read list ages ago, because it was so gorgeous. Then when we got it in the box, with the exclusive cover, I was just over the moon. So I read it fairly soon after, and, well... Not what I was expecting or hoping for from this book.

I have a huge tendency to not really read too much about a book before I pick it up. Very generally speaking, if somebody posts a picture of a book cover on Instagram with a little blurb (ex: it's about this family of women who live in a beautiful garden and grow flowers from their hands), that's usually enough for me. Sometimes I will read the full synopsis on Goodreads, or if I'm holding the physical book I might read the flyleaf, but I really truly unapologetically judge books by their covers and the recommendations of my peers. Not reviews - I never read reviews before I read a book - but if someone I know says "I loved this book!" and it's a genre I enjoy, and it has a pretty cover, to boot... good enough!

All that to say that I honestly hadn't read what the book was about before it came in the OwlCrate box. The synopsis is intriguing, so I was anxious to read it, but, I had a really hard time enjoying it.

The imagery is absolutely beautiful, there is no denying that. The author's description of flowers and colours is exceptional. The story itself, I felt a bit lost in. I see how everything tied together in the end, but getting there... there were many things that just felt like distractions from the main story, or unnecessary embellishments, or I don't know... I really wasn't sure where things were going or what the purpose of all these characters was, or anything until probably 2/3 into the book. The characters also weren't all that special to me. I liked them, but didn't feel there was much to connect to, and there were so many!

I may give the author's other books a chance, should I ever come across them, but I wouldn't go out of my way to find her books, based on how I felt about Wild Beauty. They all have great synopses, but so did this one, so...

In the end, it was an ok read for me. It only has a 3.73 star rating on Goodreads so I obviously am not the only one who feels it may have missed the mark. Not sure I would recommend it, but I know that a lot of people on the Life & Lit and OwlCrate Society groups loved it, so... Read at your own risk, I guess! :)

My Goodreads rating:

Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab | Product Review: Green Leaf Baby

Hey guys! This is actually a combined review post, because the only pic I had on hand of A Darker Shade of Magic was with my new book sleeve (haha!). I pre-ordered this sleeve on Etsy from a Canadian seller (gotta support small Canadian businesses!) called Green Leaf Baby, and it arrived a couple weeks ago. It doesn't seem to be a product that she normally sells, but I really like mine, and I would definitely request another one from her in the future.

This one is made with an adorable Harry Potter print. It has these cutesy images of the four house mascots (lion, badger, snake, bird) and little wands doing spells. It's super cute! The lining is made of a soft grey minky material - so soft!

My only "issue," if you can call it that, is that I kind of think that book sleeves should have some sort of closure (zipper, Velcro, a button...) just to make sure the book doesn't slide out, especially with that super soft lining. This sleeve is big enough for all the books I've put in it so far, it's even a bit roomy (hence the need for some sort of closure).

Ok, now, on to the book review! :)

A Darker Shade of Magic

by V.E. Schwab

Source: Bought a paperback copy online

Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

Review:

I seem to start all my reviews the same way, but how many ways are there of saying, "I really enjoyed the book" or "This was a really good book"...?

I was excited to read this book. I've been hearing (good) things about it for over a year. It was the book featured in OwlCrate's first box (which was several months before I started subscribing). When it was chosen in one of my Facebook groups as the book to read and discuss for June, I was super excited! I kind of missed the discussion that happened, but anyway... I'm so glad I read the book.

I did find the story a tad slow at times, but I was never uninterested in what was happening, or in the characters. I really liked the character development - I loved the protagonists and hated the villains, as one is expected to do. I felt like I was supposed to like Rhy's character, because everyone loves him, but I really didn't. There's just something off about him. When he was flirting with Lila, my skin crawled. Ew. Just, no.

I totally fell in love with Kell, and I feel no need to explain or justify that. I wonder if anyone else would agree with me on this, but I felt a pretty strong Newt Scamander vibe (as portrayed by Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) from Kell. He just has that same tall, lanky, kind of shy thing going on, the magical aspect, the smuggling, plus his coat... Newt's coat wasn't as magical or as significant to the story as Kell's, but it's iconic of him, and that's what I kept thinking of when I imagined Kell and his coat. In fact, I'm pretty sure Eddie Redmayne would be a good Kell... There is a Darker Shade of Magic movie in the works, by the way, so that's pretty exciting! :D

In my Goodreads review, I mentioned that I wanted to be Lila when I grow up: Lila is one of those characters (spunky, full of life, knows what she wants and how to get it, etc) that is the polar opposite of myself and just makes me wish I could be more confident and adventurous like her. Granted, she didn't have any real attachments to begin with, but when she packed up everything and ran off with Kell to a foreign world - not even knowing if the magic would take her - I just wish I could be so brave.

 

*sigh*

Anyway... I think there might have been something else I wanted to say, but I waited too long between writing sessions, and I forgot. Typical. So, suffice it to say that I really enjoyed this book, I highly recommend it, and I am looking forward to reading the sequels soon! :)

My Goodreads rating:

Book Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows

by Leigh Bardugo

Source: Purchased a paperback copy

Genre: Young Adult, Adventure, Magic, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he'll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:

Break into the notorious Ice Court 

(a military stronghold that has never been breached)

Retrieve a hostage 

(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)

Survive long enough to collect his reward 

(and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done - and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable - if they don't kill each other first.

Review:

Ok, this book... I had heard such good things about, I was just expecting to be in love with it from the start. I wasn't. "It picks up after about 100 pages," they said. "Give it a chance," they said.

Admittedly, things did start to pick up right around 100 pages, and admittedly, it was pretty good in the end. But I was seriously struggling at the beginning. I would say the first three-quarters of the book was super boring and uninteresting to me. In the last quarter was where most of the action happened, where some exciting stuff started happening, and you're left needing to read the sequel, because hello?

After a while, I liked the characters. I identified most with Nina, I think, which is also perhaps why I was more interested in the ending. Inej was also a favourite. I didn't care for the male characters because I found it really difficult to come to terms with the fact that they're all teenagers. These boys - especially Kaz - didn't feel like boys to me, so every time she said one of them was 19 or something, it totally threw me. Nina seemed older than her age as well, but I was able to accept it. Inej and Wylan were the only characters who I felt fit their age.

I enjoyed the Mission Impossible aspect, once it got underway, and I like how they kept facing obstacles, like even though they had this detailed plan, it didn't go down like that.

I wish there had been a bit more explanation about the Grishas and their powers, but I guess there's a whole other series about that, so maybe at some point I will read those.

Like I said, in the end, I liked the story, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel, Crooked Kingdom, when I have the time. I would recommend it, but with the warning that you might not love it for even the first half, but it definitely gets better after that point.

My Goodreads rating:

Book Review: Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill

Ever the Hunted

by Erin Summerill

Source: I bought a hardcover copy

Genre: Young Adult, fantasy, magic, adventure

Synopsis:

Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, the legendary bounty hunter for the King of Malam—that is, until her father is murdered. Now outcast and alone and having no rights to her father’s land or inheritance, she seeks refuge where she feels most safe: the Ever Woods. When Britta is caught poaching by the royal guard, instead of facing the noose she is offered a deal: her freedom in exchange for her father’s killer.

However, it’s not so simple. 

The alleged killer is none other than Cohen McKay, her father’s former apprentice. The only friend she’s ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart. She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a daunting and dangerous force.

Review:

It's been a little while since I read this one, so this is going to be a pretty short review, unfortunately. Unless you prefer short reviews, in which case, this will be right up your alley!

I really enjoyed this book. I've seen a lot of reviewers saying that they didn't like it because it was predictable, they didn't like the writing, the characters weren't well-developed, you name it. All I can say is that I suppose I must be a pretty simple person because I really don't analyse books to that degree. I very clearly either like or dislike a story, and it's usually leaning more on the positive side.

I liked Britta a lot. She seemed like a slightly less intense, but just as fierce, version of Katniss Everdeen (whom I also loved), and in a very different setting with a bit more magic and a lot less love-triangle.

I liked Cohen as well. Even though I wasn't really sure in the beginning whether he was guilty or not, I was immediately on his side. I felt that he was either innocent, or if he was guilty, he had a  very good reason.

I appreciated the magical elements in this book, and I'm really looking forward to the sequel to find out what else Britta can do, and what will happen next!

My Goodreads rating:

Book Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys

by Maggie Stiefvater

Source: Borrowed from the library (paperback)

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic, Spiritualism

Synopsis:

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Review:

I really enjoyed reading this book! I mean I obviously expected to, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered picking it up. But if I'm honest, I really don't research books too much before I buy/read them. I don't always read the synopsis of a book - I like to be surprised. I mostly just base my reading decisions on whether or not others have recommended it, the cover art, and the title. Some people might consider that a terrible way to go about reading, but it hasn't really steered me wrong yet. I have read very few books that I really, honestly, didn't like!

So, as I was saying, I liked this book. As I started reading and putting pieces together, I wasn't entirely sure that I would like it, because I don't typically like stories about witchcraft/spiritualism or whatever. But it was presented in a very non-threatening way, and I just really liked it.

It's a ghost story, and quasi-love story, a story of betrayal, a coming-of-age/ self-discovery, adventure, magic, fast cars, talking trees... I mean... Once a story pulls all that together and talking trees? That's gold.

So Blue comes from a family of Seers. She doesn't have the Sight, her only (apparent) power is amplifying the powers of those around her. She has always been told that if she kisses her true love, he will die, and so she has not allowed herself to be interested in boys - especially the privileged boys at the nearby private boys' school, Aglionby.

All that changes when she finally sees one of the ghosts that her mother & aunts always claim to see. This one is a boy, one of the Raven boys from Aglionby. Her aunt tells her that if she can see him, it is either because he's her true love, or she will kill him. When Blue meets Gansey in person a short time later, she can't help but he drawn to him and his motley crew, and embarks on their mission to find the Raven King.

If you enjoy YA fiction and fantasy, I'm pretty sure you'll like this one. Highly recommended! Now I just need to get my hands on the other books (my library doesn't have them, and I can't seem to figure out the stupid inter-library loan system)...

My Goodreads rating:

Book Review: Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Source: I had pre-ordered a copy, and then received one in the February OwlCrate box.

Synopsis:

Whatever you've heard about Caraval, it doesn't compare to the reality. It's more than just a game or a performance. It's the closest you'll ever find to magic in this world . . .

Welcome, welcome to Caraval―Stephanie Garber’s sweeping tale of two sisters who escape their ruthless father when they enter the dangerous intrigue of a legendary game.

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.  

Review:

I fully expected to love this book from the moment I first heard of it, and I was not disappointed! I have read a few reviews of people saying they found the first half of the book really slow and uninteresting... I can maybe admit that the first 1/3 of the book is a bit slow. Mostly, though, I feel like the slow beginning was necessary to show us where Scarlett and Donatella were coming from, what brought them to Caraval. And I guess I could just appreciate the slow burn, because I knew this book was going to be amazing. It made sense for things to start out slow and gradually pick up pace as the game progressed. (But it's true that things really start to pick up and get interesting once Scarlett goes to the dress shop...). A book doesn't get that much hype, and get featured in several sub boxes, and pique my interest enough for me to pre-order, and not be worth every penny!

 

I loved how strange and quirky the world of Caraval was. The descriptions of the little shops and hidden passages and people, etc. reminded me very much of Alice in Wonderland/ Wizard of Oz, for some reason. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is about it that reminds me of The Night Circus, but there are definitely elements of that here as well. I was also strongly reminded of the old TV show Fantasy Island, because of the magical island owned/run by the mysterious Legend (Hello, Mr. Roarke!).

 

The characters were interesting. A lot of people complained about how annoying Scarlett was because she's always talking and complaining about the same things, but I really didn't see it that way. I liked Scarlett for her sense of loyalty and honour, and responsibility. I also enjoyed seeing her loosen up over the course of the story, fall in love, be more daring, and become her own person.

 

I enjoyed the evolution of the romance, and while the ending confused me, it certainly made me want to read the second book (next year!!). I think this would be an amazing movie or TV show someday, by the way. Just saying. Somebody should make that happen. As soon as possible.

 

Goodreads rating:

Book Review: The Magician's Lie by Greer Macalister

This was the book from my wish list which I received for Christmas from my parents.

I really liked this book, there was a lot of intrigue and mystery. I did find the development to be a bit slow, and the ending, while I had not completely anticipated the outcome, was a bit of a let-down. I enjoyed the book at the time, but having had some weeks to reflect, I've decided that it was a fun read, but it wasn't as amazing as I had anticipated.


The Amazing Arden had a charming childhood under the roof of her affluent maternal grandparents, until her mother decided to fall in love and run away, taking the young Ada with them. They moved into a country village with big romantic dreams, but their dreams were bigger than reality. Through unfortunate circumstances, Ada's new step-father moved them to his brother's farm where he would work, which meant that his nephew also lived with them most of the time, as he was a farm-hand. Ada's cousin had delusions of grandeur, he was obsessed with Ada, and he believed that he possessed magical healing powers. When Ada has an opportunity to apply to a prestigious dance school, the cousin goes to great lengths to sabotage and scare her. Once she is able, she runs away. After some time working in a big estate house, she finally ends up in New York. It is here that she starts her career as the Amazing Arden, when she joins a traveling magic show/circus, which she later inherits.

This story is told to us in bits, as Arden relays her story to ___, When we first met Arden in the beginning, it was through his eyes, at her final show. Following the show, the body of a man (presumed to be her husband) is found murdered, stuffed into a prop, and Arden has disappeared. When __ spots her on his way home, he grabs at the opportunity to catch this illustrious suspect. He takes her back to his small-town jailhouse to question her, and she proceeds to tell him her whole history.

It was an interesting and magical story, both the history and the "present." The resolution, however, I felt was a bit lacking. I would, however, still recommend it!

Book Review: The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay

The Virgin Cure

by Ami McKay

Source: I picked this book up at a used book sale, having recognized the author (I read The Birth House several years ago and remembered really liking it).

A little history: the idea of the virgin cure was started in 16th century Europe, and it was the belief that "deflowering" a virgin would cure a man of the mysterious diseases of the day (most likely all manner of sexually transmitted diseases).

**WARNING: spoilers ahead**

The setting is Manhattan in 1871. It follows the story of Moth - a young gypsy girl. She remembers her father as a smiling face who one day just walked away and never returned. Her mother, a gypsy fortune-teller, spends the next several years waiting for him to return and barely scraping by. Moth spends her days roaming the streets and dreaming about getting out of her poor neighborhood.

When Moth turns twelve, her mother starts talking about the ads in the paper, of rich ladies looking for young girls as companions, and wouldn't that be a nice way to make a living? Not long after, she sells Moth to a rich lady called Mrs. Wentworth. Her mother wakes Moth up in the middle of the night, throws some things into a pillowcase for her, and hands her off to the rich lady without a second glance.

Moth is taken into the service of Mrs. Wentworth's household. Her life there is strange and abusive. Her duty is to be the lady's companion and servant - to keep her company, entertain her, dress her, and stay with her (reading, singing, etc) until she falls asleep. One of the other servants takes a shine to Moth and wants to help her escape, to go back home. They eventually succeed, but when she goes back to find her mother, her mother has left their apartment, leaving no forwarding address. Moth stays around for a while with a neighbor, but then decides to set off on her own.

She is "discovered" by a well-dressed young lady, who befriends her and tells her about the grand lady she lives with who takes care of young girls. She then takes Moth back with her to Miss Everett's house, to live there with four other girls. This is where she meets Dr. Sadie, a kind female physician who works with Miss Everett to ensure the health and safety of the girls she takes in. Dr. Sadie also feels compelled to save Moth and tries to convince her to leave Miss Everett and come live with her, but Moth has her own plans.

Miss Everett's house is essentially a high-class brothel specializing in clean, young virgins. The girls are given fancy dresses and a lovely home in exchange for entertaining Miss Everett's guests. They undress for the men, and if one decides he fancies one of the girls, he may then proceed to court her - taking her to the opera or theater, giving her expensive gifts, etc, and should he wish to "seal the deal," he will essentially buy the young lady from Miss Everett. Moth spots Mrs. Wentworth's husband among the prospective suitors, and when he shows an interest in her, she decides to use him to take out revenge on  his wife, while also taking advantage of him. Once her end of the deal is taken care of, Moth takes what is owed her and what she has earned (she kept a tally of everything that Miss Everett gave to her and their worth), and finally leaves Miss Everett's house for good.

***

I really liked Moth. She's a unique girl who feels like a little sister to me. I felt angry when she was repeatedly mistreated, pleased at her little pleasures, and happy when she finally found her freedom, even if it meant compromising herself. That was the only part of the book that made me really sad and the part I didn't like. I wished that Moth would have just gone with Dr. Sadie and avoided the whole sex situation. There's also a hint in the end that, while her mother was most likely not a real fortune-teller, Moth herself might actually possess some magic, which will be followed-up in the sequel Witches of New York, which was released last November. I'm really anxious to get my hands on that book now!

Book Review: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

 Three Dark Crowns

by Kendare Blake

When kingdom come, there will be one.

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown.

How to introduce this book? I'll admit, when I first got it in my September 2016 OwlCrate box, I wasn't that interested in it. The synopsis really just didn't grab me. The cover is simple and lovely, but doesn't appeal to my personal tastes. But out of the 3 other OwlCrate books I've read, I haven't yet been too disappointed, so I figured I would like it if I could get past my mental block, just go in blind.

Anyway, as part of my goal to read the rest of the 2016 OwlCrate books this year, I decided to pick another OC book to read after Flawed (I was still working on Anne of Green Gables at the time, as well), and settled on this one. I was going to try to read the books in the chronological order I received them in, but the mental block is much stronger for some of those first books...

Once I got through the first few chapters of Three Dark Queens, after we meet the three sisters and get a sense of what the world is like, I was definitely into it. I wouldn't say I was hooked, but definitely intrigued enough to keep going. About halfway through, a romantic twist happened that really piqued my interest, and then I really was hooked. By the time I got to the twist ending, I was just incredibly disappointed about this being the first of a series and that I would have to wait to find out what happens next.

I did find the world/timeline a bit confusing, so I hope there is a more extensive explanation of this in future books. Obviously, the island where the sisters live is hidden from normal mortals, except for those potential king-consorts and their families. Based on what Junior tells Arsinoe about "the mainland," my imagination tells me that the island is probably close to England, and that the story takes place several hundred years ago, perhaps about the time of the witch hunts, so sometime in the 1600's?

I liked that we saw each sister's village/house and how they were treated in those houses; whether they were loved or hated, raised with words or hands, and how their powers/abilities (or lack thereof) were dealt with.

I liked the other characters as well: friends and love interests. Although Katherine's love interest's actions near the end of the book really confused me. If I may speculate, I think (hope?) that one of the friends may end up as Queen, rather than one of the sisters.