Book Review: The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1) by S.A. Chakraborty

May 6, 2019April 26, 2019 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Historical fiction fantasy
Length: 533 pages
Author: S.A. Chakraborty
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: November 14th, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.

After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for…

THIS IS HOW TO START A SERIES.

Whoa, hot dang, THIS IS MY JAM. Magical fantasy historical fiction-ness? Y’all I CAN’T EVEN. I am an emotional wreck after consuming this and am so glad Fiction No Chaser’s review convinced me to read it.

YOU’VE READ THIS RIGHT? If not, I recommend with my entire bookish soul. I feel that should be the end of this review, but also, let me throw out some more pieces to love.

This world-building was *in sing-song voice* faaaaabulous. I was there. I also love books with djinn in them, so I should have expected this to be a winner from the synopsis. This book kept a beautiful pace of slow, to action, and round again that kept me wanting to flip pages even during the “slower” sections.

Nahri is the heroine I didn’t know I had been missing in my fantasy reads lately. Girl is stubborn, feisty, full of self-preservation (that will leave her enemies, IN RUINS, mark my words) and crazy intuitive. She is brilliant and kept me on my toes because she actually made good choices in bad situations. I also love that Nahri wasn’t a damsel in distress. Even better, she actually sucked at what she was supposed to be great doing. Why is this better? Because I personally can’t stand it when a character is all of a sudden great at every little thing. That’s not realistic. You gotta work for it.

I don’t even know where I stand on the romance aspect. I will say, I LOVE Dara. What a great character. A 1400+ year-old Daeva (djinn) who has fears (like water), and is so hardened by his past that he’s become a biiiit jaded. He’s also on occasion, not the nicest, and has some things to work through (let me help you Dara…). I could not get enough of him. He is so dynamic. Dara is swiping weapons and destroying people in one breath, and following around Nahri like a love-lorn creature AND I AM HERE FOR IT. I have no idea where this lands me for book two. Stay tuned.

Ali. I don’t know where I stand on this guy. He’s conniving, yet caring. And for the life of me WHAT SIDE ARE YOU ON? I need to know. Prince Ali will ruin me, I can almost guarantee it. At least, if Dara doesn’t first. All of his sly moves are driving me batty and I love it. I love it.

Shout-out appreciation moment for some side characters. These were well built in their own right. Especially King Ghassan. I flippin’ thought he was fantastic. He has so many plans and I want to know them all. The King wasn’t one-sided and gave a lot more to the story as a whole. And really helped build the political back-drop for The City of Brass. Also, Jamshid. He needs a bigger spotlight, because I will do anything to make sure he’s happy. I want to tell you more, but because I’m a spoiler-free review type, I digress. But trust me, you’ll love him too.

The twists and turns and the intense history lesson I got from this book has me waiting at my door for The Kingdom of Copper to arrive. If you even *like* fantasy I would highly consider picking this up. It was amazing.

Overall audience notes:

Historical fantasy
Language: a little strong language
Romance: a kiss
Violence: knives, magic, poison, animal mauling, very descriptive in the amount of blood/gore

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ARC Book Review/Blog Tour: In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton

April 12, 2019April 10, 2019 GoodeyReads1 Comment

Howdy! Today I have a special review post because I’m on the blog tour for In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton.

I really enjoyed this book and it was just released. Scroll down for my review and don’t forget to add it to your TBR.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Historical Fiction
Length: 320 pages
Author: Susan Kaplan Carlton
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Expected Release Date: April 9th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A powerful story of love, identity, and the price of fitting in or speaking out.

After her father’s death, Ruth Robb and her family transplant themselves in the summer of 1958 from New York City to Atlanta—the land of debutantes, sweet tea, and the Ku Klux Klan. In her new hometown, Ruth quickly figures out she can be Jewish or she can be popular, but she can’t be both. Eager to fit in with the blond girls in the “pastel posse,” Ruth decides to hide her religion. Before she knows it, she is falling for the handsome and charming Davis and sipping Cokes with him and his friends at the all-white, all-Christian Club.

Does it matter that Ruth’s mother makes her attend services at the local synagogue every week? Not as long as nobody outside her family knows the truth. At temple Ruth meets Max, who is serious and intense about the fight for social justice, and now she is caught between two worlds, two religions, and two boys. But when a violent hate crime brings the different parts of Ruth’s life into sharp conflict, she will have to choose between all she’s come to love about her new life and standing up for what she believes.

Thank you to the publisher, Algonquin Young Readers for the eARC (through Netgalley) and opportunity to read In the Neighborhood of True. All opinions are my own.

FINDING YOUR VOICE.

I loved the perspective this book gave. We often see Jewish related books based around World War II. This instead, brings it past that time into an era where anti-Semitism is still heavily prevalent (especially in the South US). The historical aspects (the hate crime from this novel) really struck a chord.

This book, personally, felt like the first time we all realize that racism is truly around us and how difficult it can be to accept that some people are filled with unfounded hate.

Our main character, Ruth, had to learn a lot in this book. Initially all of our focus was on her fitting in. Wearing the perfect outfit, going to the right school, being in the best circle of friends, dating the cute boy, etc. She was vain and a bit shallow. While tedious at first, you can see how Ruth’s perspective and mindset change over the novel. She felt compelled to hide who she truly was for fear of being ostracized. It wasn’t until there was a glaringly obvious reason that Ruth decided to tell others that she was Jewish. Sometimes, it takes a big push to understand the gravity of the situation.

There was so much research for this book! Carlton seriously did an amazing job of putting me in the 1950s-60s without it being too heavy-handed. What’s funny is I would cringe at certain things characters would say/do because it’s not the way we handle things now. Which I credit as a positive. I loved feeling truly present in the story.

One of the reasons I gave four stars was that it took way too long to get back to the trial. The first chapter is set up with Ruth being a witness to something, then it skips back 6 months. I clocked it at 94% when the trial actually came back into play. I would have loved a bigger expansion on that piece and less on Ruth being in high school and running around with Davis.

The ending made me pause as the title clicked into place. Ruth had made some choices and had continually only told portions of the truth. She at last realized she was tired being in the neighborhood of true, and wanted to live and experience life without having to hide behind her own omissions.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult historical fiction
Language: very little
Romance: a kiss, make-outs, a glossed over love scene
Violence: hate-crime
Trigger warnings: underage drinking/smoking, description of a lynching, hate-crime, racism, anti-Semitism

SUSAN KAPLAN CARLTON currently teaches writing at Boston University. She is the author of the YA novels Love & Haight and Lobsterland. Her writing has also appeared in Self, Elle, Mademoiselle, and Seventeen. She lived for a time with her family in Atlanta, where her daughters learned the finer points of etiquette from a little pink book and the power of social justice from their synagogue.

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Book Review: Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) by Robin LaFevers

March 21, 2019March 18, 2019 GoodeyReads1 Comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy, historical fiction
Length: 416 pages
Author: Robin LaFeveres
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: April 2nd, 2013
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Sybella’s duty as Death’s assassin in 15th-century France forces her return home to the personal hell that she had finally escaped. Love and romance, history and magic,vengeance and salvation converge in this thrilling sequel to Grave Mercy in the critically acclaimed, New York Times best-selling His Fair Assassin series, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Kristin Cashore, and Victoria Aveyard.

The convent returns Sybella to a life that nearly drove her mad. Her father’s rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother’s love is equally monstrous. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?

Return to the world of the critically acclaimed His Fair Assassin series in this “romantic fantasy with a vengeance” and sequel to Grave Mercy that takes reader’s deep into the wicked world of corrupt politics, dangerous love, and hard-won vengeance.

DARK AND ENCHANTING.

I think this book was even better than the first. And definitely darker. And twisted. So twisted I didn’t think the facts being laid out was actually true, but it was, and it made my heart hurt.

Sybella was an even better heroine than Isame. She is so broken (with every right to be) and fierce. I wanted all the happiness for her and she kept continually trying to dodge it. JUST LET BEAST LOVE YOU. I will say, with their romance, it was heart-breakingly tender when Sybella got to choose who to love, and when to love. The author gave Sybella the choice and it exactly what Dark Triumph needed.

There was a little less BIG action, but a lot more stabbiness in this book. Sybella is a force to be reckoned with and the size of her heart…and her ability to kill are astounding. She was sneaky and striking.

One of my favorite sub-genres of fantasy is when they have a historical fiction aspect to them. I love the author’s note at the end that details what they took for liberties and what was true.

I’m excited for the third book and think this series has been great so far. It’s interesting and the romances are on fire and I am here for it.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy & historical fiction
Language: none
Romance: some kisses, a very glossed over, no detail love scene
Trigger warnings: mentions of rape, attempted sexual assault, infanticide

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Book Review: What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon

February 11, 2019February 9, 2019 GoodeyReads5 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆.5
Audience: Historical fiction romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Amy Harmon
Publisher: Imprint
Release Date: February 1st, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In an unforgettable love story, a woman’s impossible journey through the ages could change everything….

Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.

The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.

As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?

LYRICALLY BEAUTIFUL.

Once again, I was swept away by the way Amy Harmon writes.

This book is steeped in the magic of studying family history. Harmon draws heavily from her own travels to Europe and the time period from which her great+ grandparents lived. It is so important to know and understand where we come from and WtWK convinced me (and I know that wasn’t the point) to look at my own history.

The romance is yet again so precious. How understanding is Thomas? Because you better believe I would be freaking out a lot more if “Anne” showed back up, 5 years missing from her time period, without a clue as to what happened. Their story flowed at a good pace and I was shipping them forward continually.

I was really caught up in how this book would resolve. It was unclear if everything was going to fall into place, but never fear Harmon brings things full circle leaving me completely happy with how it came together.

My only reasoning for giving it a 4.5* is that there is a lot of history put in there. Discussions about the rebellion, civil war, political meetings, etc. Yes, they helped me understand what was happening, but it was thick with this information. I felt it was taking away from the fact that this is a romance novel at it’s base.

Overall audience notes: