ARC Review: The Steep & Thorny Way

The Steep and Thorny Way | Cat Winters

Published by: Amulet Books, March 8th 2016

Genre: YA, Historical, Retellings, Paranormal

Pages: 352

Format: Ebook

Source: Amulet Books, via Netgalley

A thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Steep and Thorny Way tells the story of a murder most foul and the mighty power of love and acceptance in a state gone terribly rotten.

1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather.

The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night.

Not at all what I expected, but every bit as good as I knew it'd be.

For some reason I expected this to be heavier on the paranormal. It definitely has a very important ghost, but I thought there'd be more of that. Turns out it's mostly historical, which isn't bad at all because it's very well written and researched.

This is another one of those books that you don't enjoy reading because of the subject matter (racism, homophobia, KKK) but that's important to have read (especially as a white person - although I am on the lookout for a YA #ownvoices historical in the same era so I can read an authentic POV!!) So I didn't like it and I didn't enjoy it but I'm glad I read it.

The Steep & Thorny Way is emotional, compelling, and powerful. The characters are realistic and read as real people, the setting is tangible, and the story is horrific. You should read it.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★★

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Mad About The Hatter (ARC Review)

Mad About The Hatter | Dakota Chase

Published by: Harmony Ink Press, August 20th 2015

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling

Pages: 190

Format: Ebook

Source: Harmony Ink Press, via Netgalley

This isn’t his sister’s Wonderland….

Henry never believed his older sister, Alice’s, fantastic tales about the world down the rabbit hole. When he’s whisked away to the bizarre land, his best chance for escape is to ally himself with the person called the Mad Hatter. Hatter—an odd but strangely attractive fellow—just wants to avoid execution. If that means delivering “Boy Alice” to the Queen of Hearts at her Red Castle, Hatter will do what he has to do to stay alive. It doesn’t matter if Henry and Hatter find each other intolerable. They’re stuck with each other.

Along their journey, Henry and Hatter must confront what they’ve always accepted as truth. As dislike grows into tolerance and something like friendship, the young men see the chance for a closer relationship. But Wonderland is a dangerous place, and first they have to get away with their lives. 

What is it with me and reading Alice In Wonderland retellings even though I don't overly like the original? Why do I do it to myself? I'll tell you why with this one - gay representation drew me in. Sadly I didn't like the world, the characters, the threat, the story, or the romance. This is just gonna be one of those kind of reviews.

First, I never connected with the characters. Although it was a totally new and inventive thing to tell this story from Alice's brothers POV, he was just pretty uninteresting. I didn't particularly like Hatter either, after a while. At first I enjoyed his wit and humour but either that dropped off towards the middle or I got tired of it. And when you put those two characters together ... well, no sparks whatsoever. Even though Hatted had 'feelings' for Henry after a day.

The rest of Mad About The Hatter will be better for most people than it was for me. As with the original the world was just ... weird, and not in a good way for me personally. The author did a very good job world building, with enough detail to make everything fleshed out (and I can't say how much was of their own creation because I barely remember the gist of the original.) The story was bizarre, but not interestingly bizarre, just plain wacky. Not a fan of that. When they left Wonderland I thought I might enjoy the story more but I still wasn't that interested, sadly. The threat ... well, it's the same old same old, nothing new brought to the Red Queen, and it never felt dangerous. It felt like there were no true stakes, like nothing bad was ever going to happen to the main characters despite threats of beheading getting thrown about all over the place. I can't explain it.

So not a good choice for me, and despite its LGBT representation, I wasn't a fan. Maybe you'll get along better if you're a fan of the original.

DNF at 58%

(Apologies for the spate of negative reviews lately. Hopefully I can get back on track with my reading and write some proper reviews! I don't like being so down on everything!
~Saruuh)

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A Thousand Nights (ARC Review)

A Thousand Nights | E. K. Johnston

Published by: Disney Hyperion, October 6th 2015

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling

Pages: 336

Format: Ebook

Source: Disney-Hyperion, via Netgalley

Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time.But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.

A Thousand Nights is magical and dark and empowering. From the first page it's rich with cultural details, and it all feels really respectful and authentic, which made me like this book from the start. And it's vivid. It really felt like I was there.

I liked the characters but I didn't love them. The main character is brave in a silent kind of way, which was great to see, and she fights her battles carefully. Lo-Melkiin is obviously a despicable demon, and he doesn't exhibit enough personality to form a connection with, but I really wish we'd seen more of the real Lo-Melkhiin, like maybe an insight into his thoughts throughout all this. I'd imagine he's a poor tortured child and I would love him.

My favourite thing about this book is the magic, which is brought to life by spinning and weaving and embroidering. This felt really, really original, and I couldn't get enough of it. I liked the story and the characters, but I LOVED the magic and the atmosphere of the book.

All in all, a remarkable retelling that I 100% recommend for its attention to detail and magic system.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world-building ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★☆

This book counts towards my Fairy Tale Challenge!

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Saruuh Explores NA: A Court of Thorns and Roses (ARC Review)

A Court of Thorns and Roses: A Court of Thorns and Roses | Sarah J. Maas

Published by: Bloomsbury Children's, May 5th 2015

Genre: NA, (very upper) YA, Fantasy, Retelling

Pages: 416

Format: Ebook

Source: Bloomsbury, via Netgalley

The breathtaking start to a seductive high-fantasy from New York Times bestselling author of Throne of Glass series.

Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price.

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

*is an inconsolable puddle on the floor*

WHY DID IT HAVE TO END??

I put off reading this book for SO LONG because I thought it would never live up to my expectations. And it didn't deliver exactly the story I'd expected but it was way better, way way better, than any of my wildest dreams.

A Court of Thorns and Roses is perfect. The romance is natural and right and just lovely to read. The magic is traditional and feels vast and unpredictable. The main character is a sarcastic, smart badass whom I love dearly. And the villain is TERRIFYING. Everything about this is flawless.

Especially Tamlin, who I fell in love with completely. He's gruff and caring and everything a beast in Beauty and The Beast should be. But I also sorta accidentally love Rhysand, too, and I don't know when or how or why that happened, but it did. And I CANNOT WAIT for the next book, because I suspect it'll have loads more Rhys in it!!! But also Tamlin! Whom I adore, and whose story I am so eager to see unfold.

This book is so more than a series opener. Not only does it build up the world, characters, and threat without a single fault, but it delivers a series-finale-style ending IN THE FIRST BOOK. It's thrilling and scary as hell and my heart was in my throat at least three times. I can't say enough about this book.

Just read it.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world-building ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★★

This book counts towards my Fairy Tale Challenge!

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Crimson Bound (ARC Review)

Crimson Bound | Rosamund Hodge

Published by: Balzer+Bray, May 5th 2015

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling

Pages: 448

Format: Ebook

Source: Balzer+Bray, via Edelweiss

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.

(This is a standalone novel, not part of the Cruel Beauty Universe.)

For the most part of this book, I was enjoying it but I wasn't in love with it. But now I've finished Crimson Bound, I seem to remember the same thing happening to me with Cruel Beauty. The thing about Rosamund Hodge is her stories creep up on me. I enjoy reading them, their fantasy elements, their wonderful worlds, and their effortlessly real characters, but it isn't until everything starts to go to pot and my heart is absolutely wrecked that I discover I love the story. There's a part in this book where Rachelle says she didn't realise she trusted Armand until that trust was broken. That's the way of this book for me.

Crimson Bound had all the wondrous torment I expected, the terrible and alluring magic, the twisty, painful plot, and the heart-pounding desperation. There are so many parts of this story that I enjoyed. I loved the clever inclusion of woodwife charms, how it was set in historical France and still had that high fantasy enchantment, how the Forest was a character in itself, how Rachelle was always yearning to be good even when she had the purest intentions of all of them. Throughout the pages of this book I felt despondency, soaring hope, staggering betrayal, hopelessness, aching love, and purest hate - and the effect is that I'm left reeling, confused, and satisfied all at the same time.

My reviews of Hodge's books are always founded more in emotions than any sort of rational criticism, and that speaks the most about how much I love these books, because even while I didn't love Crimson Bound for half of it, I fell deep by the end and I would now recommend it to literally everyone. To sum up my feelings in actual words: A flawless, taut, devastating story of hope and heroes and salvation.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world building ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★★

A Wicked Thing (ARC Review)

A Wicked Thing | Rhiannon Thomas

Published by: HarperTeen, February 24th 2015

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling

Pages: 352

Format: Ebook

Source: HarperTeen, via Edelweiss

Rhiannon Thomas's dazzling debut novel is a spellbinding reimagining of Sleeping Beauty and what happens after happily ever after.

One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.

Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept. 

As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.

Rhiannon Thomas weaves together vivid scenes of action, romance, and gorgeous gowns to reveal a richly imagined world … and Sleeping Beauty as she’s never been seen before.

The blurb promised spellbinding and dazzling but I found this book to be missing that. A Wicked Thing is pretty much on one level, and that level is an alright story set in that one fantasy/historical world, you know the one - the one in every fairy tale retelling. They all have different names, but the worlds feel the same, with no distinguishing features to be found.

 The fantasy part doesn't come into most of this book, despite Aurora being cursed, and I found it lacking the magic I was hoping for. A heartfelt or sweeping romance might have made me like the book more, as would a main character I could connect with, a more evident threat, a world that was unique or actually explored, or a story that was more there. I was just about interested enough in the plot to reach the end, but most of the book was flat. Being honest, my favourite character was Roderick, and I thought he was very under-appreciated by Aurora even if I understand why she disliked him.

It took me until around 70% to finally find a bit of what I was looking for - danger, magic, excitement - but by then I'd already zoned out. Maybe you'll like A Wicked Thing more than me, but I found it to be monotonous and too much alike so many other, better, books.

[EDIT: just found out this is the start of a series, which explains the lack of everything. Guess the actual story is in the other two books. Boo.]

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world building ★★★☆☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

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Prince of Shadows (Review)

Prince of Shadows | Rachel Caine

Published by: NAL, February 4th 2014

Genre: YA, Historical, Retelling
Pages: 368

Format: Ebook

Source: Purchased

A thrilling retelling of the star-crossed tale of Romeo and Juliet, from the New York Times bestselling author of the Morganville Vampires series.

In the Houses of Montague and Capulet, there is only one goal: power. The boys are born to fight and die for honor and—if they survive—marry for influence and money, not love. The girls are assets, to be spent wisely. Their wishes are of no import. Their fates are written on the day they are born.

Benvolio Montague, cousin to Romeo, knows all this. He expects to die for his cousin, for his house, but a spark of rebellion still lives inside him. At night, he is the Prince of Shadows, the greatest thief in Verona—and he risks all as he steals from House Capulet. In doing so, he sets eyes on convent-bound Rosaline, and a terrible curse begins that will claim the lives of many in Verona…

…And will rewrite all their fates, forever.

Ughhhhhhhhhhh. This book is perfect, truly, seriously perfect. The best Shakespeare retelling I have probably ever read. Prince of Shadows is written in the most beautiful way, both simple and with the complex language nods to the original play of Romeo and Juliet. Even precious quotes are worked in without sounding out of place or pretentious.

My favourite thing about this book is how the narrator, Benvolio (my love!), could clearly see the sheer madness of the 'love' between Romeo and Juliet. It was a wanted change to have a main character who was partly removed from the craziness, who was as aware of the situation as the reader is.

There are countless retellings of this story that interpret it as a love story, that fail to understand what the play really was. They romanticise all the death and the violence and the original message Shakespeare was trying to say in favour of a love that killed many and lasted days. I'm so happy and grateful for this book, which knows what the true tale of R+J is, which knows how supremely messed up it was and doesn't try to play it in a hazy, rose-tinted light. This book makes me so happy and emotional, just for existing. 

For the story, I loved the romance between level headed Benvolio and solemn, smart Rosaline. They grabbed my heart in a way those two title morons never did and I was so so desperate for them to get a H.E.A. Which they did! Also, the historical setting and atmosphere, even down to the details, was to my knowledge spot on. It conjured perfect images of that time in my mind, at least. And Mercutio's curse was treated with aching hurt and understandable fury. Nothing is bad about this book. I'm literally only marking it down a half star because it took me a while to get into it - that's it. I LOVE a R+J retelling and I can't even believe it myself.

Perfect self-aware retelling, perfect characters, perfect love, perfect curse. Bless you Rachel Caine.

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world building ★★★★☆

Writing Style ★★★★☆

---

"The devil can stoke a fire as well as ever God could."

"It was madness, and magic, and in that moment I understood with fatal clarity how my cousin could have thrown away his life, and all our lives, for love. If this was sorcery, then I had learnt to love it."