Rant & Rave- The Witch of Fire and Shadows by Bri Mooney

Hello everyone! Over the past week I've managed to read three new books- What We Devour by Linsey Miller, The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman, and The Witch of Fire and Shadows by Bri Mooney. Today's main focus will be The Witch of Fire and Shadows, the first of the Burning Bloodlines Series, which I was very excited to read early. I'll also do a brief synopsis of my thoughts on What We Devour and The Ivory Key. Starting with What We Devour by Linsey Miller- I enjoyed this book. I'm not normally a mood reader, but I was looking for something dark and this really hit the spot. The lore in the book is excellent, and the puzzle is engaging. The one issue I had with this book was that, at some parts, it felt like you didn't know enough of the lore to make predictions until one of the characters thought of an idea and explained the lore behind it. This wouldn't have been such a big deal to me if the book hadn't been advertized as a puzzle to solve. Overall, I'd say that this book is excellent if you're in the mood for something dark, but isn't ideal if you're looking to solve a mystery. The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman was unexpectedly great. Owlcrate books are nearly always good, so I should have set my expectations accordingly, but I was expecting to draw a lot of parallels to Sisters of the Snake. I didn't particularly enjoy Sisters of the Snake. In fact, it was probably my least favorite Owlcrate book so far. My point being, I set my expectations too low. I underestimated how much I would enjoy the archaeology and puzzle side of the book. The politics did seem a little shallow. I don't think it really effected my enjoyment of the book, but if you are someone that enjoys the politics of fantasy kingdoms, it might bother you. I will definitely be reading the next part of the duology when it comes out. So on to our main feature, The Witch of Fire and Shadows by Bri Mooney. This book follows the next elder of a well-known coven, Maeve. She has an affinity for the fire element, though she can control all of the elements on her best days. Until the council of the supernatural deems her ready to be an elder, though, she maintains a fairly normal life. In the novel, witches have exposed themselves to mortals and been, for the most part, accepted by society. Other supernaturals, like vampires and fae, remain mostly hidden. At the beginning of the book, Maueve is fairly happy with her life, although a string of missing witches forces her to have a bodyguard, Aspen, with her at all times. Her boyfriend, Thane, has been pretty jealous of the time she spends with Aspen. However, as the book progresses, she realizes this is the least of her problems. Throughout the book she is attacked, falls in with the wrong crowd, and makes deals she couldn't hope to fulfill. Despite her great power, she finds herself in the middle of a supernatural fight she doesn't even want to be a part of. A quote directly from the description: "TWOFAS is a tale of elemental magic, supernatural courts, and unfolding secrets." So let's rant: My biggest issue with this book is that the pacing felt off. The book was short (under 200 pages). A lot happened in those 200 pages, but it seemed like the majority of the time was spent doing day-to-day interactions. Then, all of a sudden, it would be action-packed for 10 pages, then back to day-to-day. The action-packed sections were heavy in physical action, Maeve's confusion, and learning new things about the courts, while the day-to-day didn't live up to the action sections and seemed boring in comparison. In my opinion, the distribution of new information should occur more during the day-to-day interactions to spice them up, or the day-to-day sections should be cut down considerably. My second issue with the book was that the personalities for each character were exposed primarily from dialogue. This makes sense for characters Maeve is just meeting, because the book is in first person (although even their actions seem to influence Mauve's opinion less than their words do). However, some of the characters are people she's known for years or spent tons of time with. These people could be described using memories or day-to-day encounters where they react instead of just giving a verbal response. And let's rave: I think the most well-done parts of the book were the sections where the main character is mentally compromised (from poison, alcohol, suggestion, stress, etc.). They were described well in the sense that we could see and feel what Maeve was seeing and feeling, but Mooney didn't over explain things. Some authors tend to overexplain during these scenes, and that takes away from the confusion and fear that the main character is suffering from. I want to feel confused and a little fearful with the main character during these scenes, but when I know exactly what is going on and why, the confusion is lost and it becomes more difficult to connect with the character. Another strong part of the book was that there was a good balance between sections of metaphor or intangible feelings and sections of observation. By this, I am referring to the difference between seeing someone watching you and sensing someone watching you, for example. One is concrete and exact using your senses, while the other is more energetic or metaphorical in nature. Mooney does an excellent job of describing each experience from the more pertinent of the two perspectives, as opposed to doing both or using the "wrong" one. Plus, once she chooses a style, she doesnt change it up until a natural switching point. Finally, I'm not sure how much research into witchcraft was conducted, but the book seemed to be at least mildly influenced by real witchcraft practices. Of course, in a fantasy book some liberties are going to be taken, but I don't think it ever crossed a line or became offensive to witches, the coven structure, or witchcraft practices. Overall, I really enjoyed The Witch of Fire and Shadow. I think it is a good example of contemporary fantasy, and the start to an interesting story centered on supernatural courts (which I can't wait to learn more about in the next book). I owe a special thank you to Bri Mooney for sending me the book early so I could share my thoughts with all of you. It will be released February 1st, 2022, for anyone interested in reading it themselves. As always, thanks for reading, feel free to let me know what you think of the book or my analysis in the comments, and reach out if you want to receive email notifications for this blog! Until next time! Dana

Rant & Rave- A Study in Steam by Stephanie K. Clemens AND An Ode to the Odd and the Old by Simon Howard

Hello Lovely Readers! I'm back, yet again, with multiple books under my belt. The list includes Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross (Owlcrate), Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake (the final book in the Three Dark Crowns series), The Alchemists' Council by Cynthea Masson, A Study in Steam by Stephanie K. Clemens and An Ode to the Odd and the Old by Simon Howard. It was a productive month- I might even be missing a few. Per usual, I will give a brief paragraph on my thoughts for the books I chose for myself, and a more detailed Rant & Rave for A Study in Steam by Stephanie K. Clemens. For An Ode to the Odd and the Old by Simon Howard, I will give some more detailed thoughts as well, but the nature of the book (primarily poetry) calls for a different type of evaluation. So let's get to it! I absolutely loved the concept of Dreams Lie Beneath. Some of you that know me personally are probably aware- I have created many a Dungeons & Dragons character with the concept of inflicting psychological damage via nightmares, so the concept of a world where nightmares literally come to life is incredible. That being said, I wish this book had gone deeper into the nightmare concept, and potentially gotten darker. I wanted to see a dark fantasy here, and that just didn't happen. I thought the romance was good, if a bit predictable. It didn't ruin the book for me like romances sometimes do. Regardless, the mysteries of the book were both interesting and well-paced, and the plot was enticing. Despite the minor disappointment, this book definitely still makes my top fifty, but probably falls just short of top ten. The conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series was unpredictable in some ways and exactly what I expected in other ways. Yet again, Blake makes the reader question their own feelings about the characters, which I loved. I have mixed feelings about the conclusion because, while I like a lot of the characters and I'm glad things turned out the way they did, I think the ending could have been better if it wasn't a "happy" ending. I don't consider this a spoiler because there are so many ways this book could have turned out (happy or otherwise) that even with that knowledge it doesn't give anything away. I didn't particularly enjoy The Alchemists' Council. I had high hopes after reading the description, but the book fell short for me. The characters weren't very relatable, and Masson made it difficult to choose what I wanted to see happen in the book. As you learned about the strict nature of the council dimension, it left you confused about what you could even hope for. It almost felt like playing a game with someone that changes the rules as the game progresses. The plot itself also left a little to be desired, but I won't get into spoilers. A Study in Steam is about Pippa, a young steam engineering student. She is one of the first four women accepted to Grantabridge University, but it seems the world is not ready for women at University. Her studies are fraught with sabatoge, and even murder. Of course, the ever-curious Pippa decides to investigate the murder of her professor, quickly discovering that it is likely related to another murder. Both victims were strong supporters of inviting women and commoners to university, a giant social change that could heavily impact the wealthy elites. Wealthy elites, it seems, that have decided to blame her for the murder of her professor. Can Pippa solve the mystery and clear her name before it's too late? Let's rant: This is one of those books where the romance takes away from the book, in my opinion. The progression of the romance is well-written and the steamy parts are good. My issue is the fact that Clemens chose the most vanilla character to be the love interest (not literally- he's actually black, so at least there is some representation there). I liked that she chose someone that's supportive and appreciates Pippa's independance, but that's really the only character trait she gves him, other than being handsome. Now, as an avid fantasy reader, I'm a little spoiled when it comes to dramatic relationships and love interests, but even in a more mundane setting like Brythion, I expect at least a decent personality description. I found myself hoping that he was secretly one of the bad guys. I suppose it's still possible, but we'll see. This might just be my experience with books, but the culprit behind the murders (and likely the sabatoge) seemed pretty predictable. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll steer clear of any plot, but I really hope that in the next books, a more substancial villain (or group of villians) appears. And let's rave: Clemens does a really good job writing all of the ladies of WACK as unique individuals with wide-ranging interests and talents. I liked that their friendship was dynamic, and their contributions to the group and each other weren't solely based on their talent. They all contributed to group ideas, and contributions weren't limited to the "one thing" they were knowledgable about. I'm really excited to see where they go from here-the sky is the limit! I'm also interested to see what happens with the working class additions to the group, and the group's new ideas for salons. I liked how the book was left open to a series, but still felt like the characters accomplished what needed to be done to bring a neat, clean end to this novel. On to An Ode to the Odd and the Old... An Ode to the Odd and the Old is a book of primarily poetry. There is also a short story and a chapter of Simon Howard's upcoming novel included. The themes I noticed throughout the book were aging/time, grief, family, and war. My personal favorite poems were Lost, Monster, and Old Tom. My favorite haiku, written by Howard's wife about their beloved dog, was entitled Jenna. Old Tom is about an aged neighborhood tomcat, his life filled with knowledge of the village, lovers, and streetfights. Despite the clear implications that the tomcat is old, and close to death, the poem ends with a hopeful note about meeting Bast and finding peace in the afterlife. Monster is a much darker poem than Old Tom. It reminded me of Beauty and the Beast, but instead of a happy ending the monster is rejected, perhaps deservedly so. It even says "not the hero of one's story." The poem is short, but powerful. Lost is also a dark poem. It seemed, at least to me, like the writer of the poem was either in limbo or in immense grief. The line "landscape of naught but longing" could bolster either interpretation. Regardless of the interpretation, the poem is disheartening in a way that is, perhaps not relatable, but understandable. Jenna is everything I hope for when reminiscing about my own past dogs. It invites the joyful memories back in, but also honors their death with a gothic beauty. I can't believe she fit all that into 17 syllables! I owe a special thank you to both Stephanie K. Clemens, who sent me an advance copy of her book (release date: February 22nd, 2022), and Simon Howard, who sent me a copy to review. Both books were a joy to read, despite their sometimes less then joyful themes. As always, let me know what you thought of the books or my reviews in the comments! Thanks for checking in! Dana

Rant & Rave- The Ivy League Chronicles: 9 Squares by E.K. Prescott

Hello Everyone! This past month has been pretty slow-going on the reading front. I finished Jade Fire Gold by June C. Tan, the Owlcrate book from last month, as well as The Ivy League Chronicles: 9 Squares by E.K. Prescott from Paper Raven Books. This book was a break from my usual fantasy novels- a 1920's period murder mystery. Jade Fire Gold was of the calibre I've come to expect from Owlcrate. The plot was engaging and the characters were well-written. I particularly like that the characters bore the weight of their ancestry. I wish the book had ended a few chapters earlier. Spoiler alert- skip the parentheses if you dont want spoilers. (Why can't any of these characters sacrifice themselves and then STAY DEAD? They don't have to come back to life. Just have an epilogue that closes out the storyline without them.) Anyways, my only other complaint is that I wish the worldbuilding was more involved. I felt like there was a lot of name dropping and not enough fleshing out of the regions. E.K Prescott's The Ivy League Chronicles: 9 Squares follows Professor Detective Richard Wikki and Maize Judson as they attempt to solve a fifty year old mystery in the early 1920's. Professor Richard Wikki is missing the excitement of his life a detective, so when the opporunity to investigate a skeleton found on the beach arises he jumps at the opportunity. He soon discovers that there is much more to the story than a simple murder. Richard and Maize soon find themselves in imminent danger as they begin to piece together an elaborate conspiracy. So let's rant... My biggest complaint about this book was the complete lack of connection with the characters. It seemed like the characters and their actions were analyzed or judged, instead of simply described. This might have been driven by the 3rd person narration, or just the word choice. Either way, in my opinion, it took away from the reader's ability to relate to the characters. On the other hand, the characters all seemed psychologically accurate to me, just not relatable. My other issue with this book is the slow start. Part of this was on me- I tend to lose some of my reading motivation around this time of year, so I was already reading slowly. However, a lot of it had to do with my inability to connect with the characters and the fact that, up until Professor Wikki's trip to Boston, the book felt slow. There were brief parts, such as the very beginning section with Mr. Davenport and the discovery of the skeleton, that upped the excitement a bit, but it quickly died down again in the dribble. Hopefully, this was only to introduce the setting and personality of some of the key players so it won't be present in future books. And let's rave... I think this book does an excellent job of portraying the 1920's and the town of New Haven. The setting is clearly well-researched, and I really appreciated learning real facts about a specific time and place. I don't get that opportunity often as an avid fantasy reader. Another positive in this book was the plot. Without giving too much away, the plot was interesting and the end result was worth the slower start. Although, I don't think the slow start was necessary for the plot to shine. I'm undecided about reading the next book in the series, The Ivy League Chronicles: The Sins of Man, which came out in early October. While I've enjoyed this brief break from fantasy books, I'm not sure that period mysteries are for me. Let me know in the comments if you have read any of these books, and what you thought about them or my review. I love hearing from you guys! Dana

Rant & Rave- Contest of Queens by Jordan H. Bartlett

Hi All! I'm checking in with another two books under my belt- Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone from Last month's Owlcrate box and Contest of Queens by Jordan H. Bartlett. I'll be brief with my thoughts on Lakesedge. I loved the gothic vibe of this novel. It was dark, but in a beautiful way. The sections about the corruptiuon shift from a realistic writing style to a flowing, poetic writing style. While I typically enjoyed this secondary style, Clipstone had a tendency to repeat herself in these sections, which felt almost lazy to me (even though I'm sure the point was to emphasize the repeated adjectives). My biggest complaint about the book was that I wish it had ended exactly one chapter earlier. It would have left more to the reader's imagination, and, in my opinion, concluded the book at a more appropriate point in the story. Today's Rant & Rave will be on a book coming out next January (2022)-Contest of Queens by Jordan H. Bartlett. I was honored to be able to read and review the book early, as well as email back and forth directly with author Jordan H. Bartlett. She even answered a few interview questions for me to put up here on the blog! Contest of Queens takes place in Frea, a world divided into two realms separated by their physical location. The wealthy Upper Realm towers over the poorer Lower Realm. Not surprisingly, the upper echelon of society, such as nobles and royals, reside in the Upper Realm, while everyone else is relegated to the Lower Realm. Passage between the two realms is rare, but when the Queen comes to the Lower Realm for a visit, it is made clear just how unhappy the Lower Realm is with the arrangement. Jacs, the main character of the book lives in the Lower Realm, on her family farm, but is quickly discovered and apprenticed by the master inventor in her village. She uses the knowledge acquired there to begin a relationship with Connor, an Upperite boy who sent a message over a waterfall and on to the Lower Realm in a boat. They build their relationship on the back of message-toting ships and hot air baloons over the next few years. Eventually, Jacs realizes that if she wants to prove to the queendom that Frea is better off united, and meet Connor, she will need to make it to the upper realm and win queenship in the contest of queens. So let's Rant... My biggest (and really only) complaint about this book was that it was so predictable. Being able to predict the ending of a book isn't an inherent negative for me, but in this case, it felt like it didn't have much in the way of unpredictable or clever occurances on the path to the ending either. There were definitely plenty of events in the plot, but none of these were unique to this story. It felt like the solutions to each problem were taken from similar situations in other novels. Regardless, the ending and flow of the story were definitely appropriate for the book and its message. To me, this book was closer to a middle grade novel than a young adult novel, given the amount of innocence and lack of skepticism in the main characters. I think it could have been improved as a young adult book with some more instances that break from the optimistic, whimsical nature of the book. And Let's Rave... My favorite part about this book was that Jacs had her priorities straight. As someone who reads quite a bit of young adult books, it is soooo refreshing to see a strong female lead who prioritizes her family, her friends, and her mission above the romantic interest. I really liked the quirky, fantastical atmosphere of the novel. With the clever inventor theme, the literal castle in the sky, Jacs' general optimism, and the development of the relationship between Jacs and Connor, Bartlett really captured and combined some of the best parts of fantasy and steampunk. One of the other things I liked about Contest of Queens is that the contest itself isn't violent. It is a twist on the usual "battle for the throne" trope, and being non-violent allows the book to remain focused on unification, as well as maintain the whimsical air established in the novel. I think it was an excellent choice on the author's part. I wanted to give you guys a little information about Jordan H. Bartlett and her book. Here is a link to her website, where she has links to buy books, an author bio, and some other good stuff, like a collection of fairytales:https://jordanhbartlett.com/ You can buy Contest of Queens (release date in January 2022) from the following link:https://camcatbooks.com/Books/C/Contest-of-Queens Now on to the questions Jordan H. Bartlett was kind enough to answer for us! 1. The only real "magic" in Contest of Queens is scry crystals. Do you picture Frea having magic and magic users, or are scry crystals more like a form of science or invention that has yet to be explained? The only magic elements I wanted to include in Frea were the scry crystals and the Griffins. With both we have seen a fraction of their potential in the first novel and their uses (and abuses) will definitely be explored in later novels. I wouldn't necessarily call the crystals a scientific invention, but because Jacs is very science minded, they will likely be explored in a more scientific manner (to align with how she views the world). 2. We saw some of your thoughts on women versus men in power throughout the book. Have you found that, as female representation in government in the real world continues to increase, your ideas have been realistic? I hope so! I definitely drew from real female rulers and researched matriarchal societies for inspiration, but I think too that, since my world doesn't have foundation in a patriarchy, I feel I wasn't tethered by it, whereas females in power in our world still very much have to navigate our patriarchal values/systems/prejudices. 3. What is your favorite fairytale (and version, if applicable), and why should we all read it? Oh great question, I love fairy tales in general, and I'm a huge Disney fan. I love both iterations of the little mermaid (Hans Christian Andersen's original and the Disney version). Mostly because both deal with the idea of belonging. I moved around a lot as a kid and often felt like a fish out of water, so I really related to her story. I also love that in both the original and in the Disney version, the mermaid finds a sense of belonging at the end (either with the spirits of the sky, or in the human world with the blessing of her family). However, while I love fairytales, some of the messages in the originals about gender and love are a bit outdated (obviously, they were written for a different time) so I recently published a collection of 9 fairytales titled, The Rose Petal Princess, that I'm really proud of and that I hope is a bit more relatable for the modern reader (more information on my website). Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Jordan! Thanks for reading, and, as always feel free to comment your thoughts on the books or on my evaluations below- I love hearing from you guys! Dana

Rant & Rave- A Measure of Serenity by Bryan Prosek

Hi all! I'm still pretty busy, between work and coaching youth cheerleading, but I wanted to pop on and check in on my reading progress. I've now finished the first three books of the Three Dark Crowns series, as well as Sisters of the Snake, This Poison Heart, and A Lesson in Vengeance from Owlcrate boxes, The Secret of the Green Anole from Paper Raven Books, Ink Iron and Glass, and The Beautiful. I won't be doing a full Rant & Rave for these books, but I will give a quick comment for each. For the Three Dark Crowns Series, I'm still really enjoying the characters, and think the books and plot are fast paced and interesting. I did, however, feel like the plot of the third book kind of came out of nowhere. Sisters of the Snake was okay in terms of characters, but I felt like the history and lore wasn't as well thought out (or at least as well depicted) as it could have been. This Poison Heart is my personal favorite Owlcrate so far. With the combination of likable characters, some awesome magic, and a topic I really enjoy (potions and poisons), I couldn't put it down! I also absolutely loved A Lesson in Vengeance- the way it had me second guessing myself throughout the book was amazing. You can tell it was written by a psychologist. The Secret of the Green Anole was my favorite Paper Raven book so far. (It's also great for spooky season!) As for Ink, Iron and Glass, I think the world is creative and fun to learn about. The one complaint I had was that it felt a little juvenile for a young adult book, at least to me. I'll be honest- I bought The Beautiful because I liked the cover of its sequel, The Damned. It has an excellent setting, that I wish was utilized more in the plot and described in more detail, especially with the beautiful, poetic writing style featured in the novel. I thought the romance was hit-or-miss. Some parts had me swooning and others felt forced to me. The plot was mediocre, in my opinion, although I liked the ending. Today's Rant & Rave will be on a book coming out next month- A Measure of Serenity by Bryan Prosek. I was honored to be able to read and review the book early, as well as email back and forth directly with author Bryan Prosek. I even got to ask him a few questions to put here on the blog! A Measure of Serenity follows Serenity Ashdown, a neurodivergent eighteen year old senior at Harvard University. Her father has been conducting secretive government research for years, and one day, while searching for her father in his lab, she falls through a portal to an alternate universe. She quickly discovers that many things on this Earth are different, including constant war and the complete annihilation of the planet's resources. Serenity is swiftly caught by the government in this new world, dubbed "the Feds" by Resistance members, but she changes hands again and ends up with the Resistance. While with the Resistance, Serenity finally figures out the whole story- that the government wants to invade her Earth for resources, and decides to help them with their mission to overthrow the Feds and close the portal between worlds for good. So Let's Rant... I felt like the overarching theme (main character stands up to a much stronger government) was lacking in ingenuity. The surface level plot of Serenity and her activities was interesting and engaging, but I wish there was some kind of spin on the overarching theme to help it stand out against all the other books with that theme (especially within the sci-fi category). I would have liked to see the true motivations for the Feds, past all the excuses they give Serenity. There are people in this world (and parallel universes, I'm sure) that are just plain evil and only want power, but they are few and far between. Sure, one can argue that there's only a few evil high-up Feds and everyone else are just following orders, but I still feel like the reader could use a little more context , even if they are going to end up siding with the Resistance anyways. And Let's Rave... I loved the ending. No spoilers, of course, but I thought the ending fit the book well and left some important things to the reader's imagination. I felt like the characters, Serenity and side characters alike, were realistic. They had dreams, they had motivating backstories, and they had unique personalities. I think the writing style was concise and easy-to-follow. It wasn't poetically written or filled with advanced vocabulary, but it was appropriate for the average young adult sci-fi reader. I wanted to give you guys a little information about Bryan Prosek and his books. Here is a link to his website, where he has links to buy books, an author bio, and some other good stuff:https://bryankprosek.com You can buy A Measure of Serenity (release date November 2nd) from the following link:https://camcatbooks.com/Books/A/A-Measure-of-Serenity Now on to the questions Bryan Prosek was kind enough to answer for us! 1. Do you think that the "other" Serenity could have advocated for peace, given everything that had happened to her? No, I don’t think the other Serenity could have advocated for peace. Like you said, with everything she saw and had been through, I think her heart would have become too cold to be willing to accept peace short of wiping out the feds. That was an advantage that our Serenity had over the other Serenity. Our Serenity had been hurt by the feds, but not like the other Serenity had been. Also, our Serenity’s personality was better suited to advocate for peace. I don’t think peace would have even been in the other Serenity’s vocabulary. 2. In your opinion, would discovering that there are parallel universes be good or bad for humanity? Very good question. I think it could go either way, but for the most part, I think it would be good. Of course, the discovery of a parallel universe bent on invading our universe would not be good. But otherwise, if the new universes were thriving more than ours, they might be able to provide some technology or discipline that would help our universe. And if the new universes were in worse shape than ours, then people here could realize how good they have it. 3. What's your favorite book, and why should we all read it? This is a tough one. I would say my favorite young adult book (since I write young adult) is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. You should read it because it has a little bit of everything. It touches on many young adult tropes (love triangle, enemies to lovers, etc.), and it has action, romance, and of course teens having to deal with some very serious issues (kill or be killed). My favorite overall book is Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz. You should read it because it dives so deep into the protagonist’s mind that you actually feel like you have become him. Gregg’s writing is superb. He develops his characters and the plot masterfully and pulls you right into the story. What wonderful insight! Thanks for reading, and, as always feel free to comment your thoughts on the books or on my evaluations below- I love hearing from you guys! Dana

Rant & Rave- Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake AND The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson AND Power of Four: Island of Exiles by Seven Borup

 Hello All! 

Sorry for the radio silence this past month. I've been extra busy at work with the paving season in full swing and a small promotion, but I did manage to finish three books! Today's Rant & Rave will include Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake, The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson, and Power of Four: Island of Exiles by Seven Borup.  Since this post will be WAAAAYYY too long if I don't cut it short, I'm going to do one rant and one rave for each book.  (I could probably write a super long Rant & Rave just about Three Dark Crowns, so please comment and discuss it with me!)

Three Dark Crowns follows three magical queens vying for the same crown in a yearlong battle to the death.  This is the first book in the series and mostly takes place before the fighting starts.  This book focuses on worldbuilding and getting to know the three queens- Katherine, Arsinoe, and Mirabella.  Katherine is a demure poisoner.  Poisoners can eat poison without getting sick or dying, and have held power on the island of Fennbirn for quite a while at the time of the book, though Katherine shows little potential as a poisoner.  Arsinoe is a determined naturalist. Naturalists have a way with plants and wildlife, and usually have an animal familiar, though Arsinoe has yet to show any sign of a familiar.  Mirabella is a kindhearted elemental. She can control storms and elements to her whims, and is a favorite to win the yearlong battle, but she doesn't want to hurt the sisters she remembers from early childhood.  

The Year of the Witching follows Imanuelle, a young woman living in a puritanical society as it suffers through four plagues- blood, blight, darkness, and slaughter.  Imanuelle discovers that there is much more to the history of Bethel, and the story of her witch mother, than the church is letting on, and she struggles to find the key to breaking the cycle of plagues before it's too late for herself, her family, and all of Bethel.  

The main character of Power of Four: Island of Exiles is Deerface, a young rabbit just coming into colony life.  The colony is comprised of patrollers, who fight off threats to the colony, collectors, who gather the colony's food, Healers, who aid the injured and sick, and messengers, who act as the main line of communication within the colony and its land.  Deerface is disappointed to be chosen as a messenger, but quickly learns that his job is very important.  When he and his teacher go to far into the woods one day, Deerface meets his father, an exile of the colony.  It seems that Deerface's father has banded the exiles together, and is now their leader.  As would be expected, Deerface has some conflicted feelings and difficult decisions to make.  

First the raves:

Three Dark Crowns does an excellent job of making the reader like all three queens.  Throughout the book,  I cheered for each queen at some point, leaving me conflicted about who I really want to see become queen in the end.  Luckily, I don't have to choose just yet. 

Throughout The Year of the Witching, there are not-so-subtle statements fighting racism, sexism, classism, and the hypocrisy of religion. The entire novel is a thinly veiled look at issues prevalent in our society. (It even feels more like a historical fiction book than a fantasy book!)  Imanuelle's conflict, between her upbringing and the problems she sees within the church, is eerily relatable, and not in a way that makes me proud to be a member of American society.  However, I loved that about this book.  It really made me think about society, how it needs to change, and how I can make those changes happen.

In the first Power of Four book, I really liked the way the rabbit society was set up.  It was organized, but not sophisticated.  I felt like this was a good representation of what I expect from rabbits.

And the rants: 

Three Dark Crowns has an ending that is supposed to be a bit of a twist, but I think it was extremely predictable.  (There's two surprises, actually, but one is more unexpected, and therefore nothing to rant about.) The way the book was set up, along with some other factors, really gave it away for me.  That's all I can say without spoilers, but feel free to let me know what you thought if you read the book!

As for The Year of the Witching- the threat level in this book didn't seem very high.  The description made the book seem very doom and gloom-y, but as I was reading, I almost never felt like the main character was in any danger.  This took a lot away from the book, in my opinion.  

Power of Four: Island of Exiles is another Paper Raven book I felt was a little immature for adult audiences, but it also has some content that is questionable for younger children.  This gives it a pretty small audience range of about 11-16 years old.

Up next will be my June Owlcrate book, which was a little late getting here, Sisters of the Snake by Sarena and Sasha Nanua.  As always, feel free to comment and share my blog with other fantasy lovers!

Dana

Rant & Rave- The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He

 Hi All!

This is my Rant & Rave for The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He.  This was the latest Owlcrate book, though I got a bit of a late start on this one.

The Ones We're Meant to Find follows two very different main characters- Cee, a free-spirited woman trapped on a long-forgotten island with a robot and faint memories of her sister, and Kasey, a reformed criminal science genius dealing with the loss of both science and her sister.  The book takes place in an apocalyptic post-climate crisis world.  Through Cee's story, we see the destroyed world as we know it, and through Casey's, we see a novel science-based way of living.  Both stories are captivating in their own way, and all I can say about the book as a whole is "wow!"

So let's rave!

The twist in this book- amazing!  It was perfectly hinted at in a way that still leaves you dumbfounded when you figure it out.  I kept asking myself "how did I miss this, there were so many hints?"  The answer, of course, is that the hints were subtle and a little confusing until everything clicks into place. Joan He does an excellent job both concealing and finally revealing the twist in the book.  Is she planning to switch to mysteries anytime soon?  (I hope not, because I don't really read mysteries!)

The book flows nicely.  It's almost like reading poetry in two very different styles- Cee's chapters are emotional, passionate, and social, while Kasey's are thought-provoking and filled with world-building and problem solving.  However, throughout both chapters, Joan He's beautifully flowing authorial voice shines through.  

And my (admittedly scant) rant:

I really wanted to jump into every detail of this world.  Joan He does a good job of limiting what information the reader needs, but I almost felt like it was a little too limited.  Yes, it provided what was necessary for the book, but I think that a little more about Kasey's world in particular might have added to the flavor of the book, and made the world itself as memorable as the plot.  

Overall, I think this book takes the top spot of all the Owlcrate books I've gotten so far.  (Sorry Sweet and Bitter Magic; I loved your characters more, but the plot of this one is just TOO good.)  I don't really think a sequel to this book would be worthwhile, but I will certainly be following Joan He's career and checking out future books.  I might decide to do a more elaborate review of this book with spoilers sometime soon, but I don't want to make any promises yet.  

Up next is Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake. A friend recommended it to me and I can see why! It has all the dark fantasy, magic, and courtly intrigue I could ask for.  As always, feel free to leave comments about the book or my thoughts on the book in the comments!

Dana