Review: The Bloodprint

The Khorasan Archives: The Bloodprint | Ausma Zehanat Khan

Published by: Harper Voyager, October 3rd 2017

Genre: High Fantasy, Feminism

Pages: 448

Format: Ebook

Source: Harper Voyager, via Edelweiss

A dark power called the Talisman has risen in the land, born of ignorance and persecution. Led by a man known only known as the One-eyed Preacher, it is a cruel and terrifying movement bent on world domination—a superstitious patriarchy that suppresses knowledge and subjugates women. And it is growing.

But there are those who fight the Talisman's spread, including the Companions of Hira, a diverse group of influential women whose power derives from the Claim—the magic inherent in the words of a sacred scripture. Foremost among them is Arian and her apprentice, Sinnia, skilled warriors who are knowledgeable in the Claim. This daring pair have long stalked Talisman slave-chains, searching for clues and weapons to help them battle their enemy’s oppressive ways. Now, they may have discovered a miraculous symbol of hope that can destroy the One-eyed Preacher and his fervid followers: The Bloodprint, a dangerous text the Talisman has tried to erase from the world.

Finding a copy of The Bloodprint promises to be their most dangerous undertaking yet, an arduous journey that will lead them deep into Talisman territory. Though they will be helped by allies—a loyal ex-slave and Arian’s former confidante and sword master—both Arian and Sinnia know that this mission may well be their last. 

I had no idea what to expect of this, but it was about feminists against the patriarchy in a fantasy world so of course I was on board. But this book has so many facets, and I loved every one of them. 

Religion in a positive light! The Claim is written so well - both how it makes the people who use it feel and the wording itself. Such a clever way to fuse religion and magic. The characters didn't let me down either - the main character has dedicated herself to freeing women from slave chains, by using her magic and status as First Oralist, and I loved her so much for that. There's romance as well, which I love (Daniyar is so sweet, honestly, he'd better be okay in book two!) and Sinnia, another female character, is awesome too. I love how the ladies of this book interact.

There's so much to praise and talk about - the world, the writing, the politics, different inclusions of race, tribes, culture, gender, the patriarchy, and especially the treatment of women. It had the right amount of fantasy and magic too - everything was balanced. I want to read the next book!

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

Review: The Gentleman's Guide To Vice & Virtue

The Gentleman's Guide To Vice & Virtue | Mackenzi Lee

Published by: Katherine Tegen Books, June 27th 2017

Genre: YA, Historical, LGBT+

Pages: 513

Format: Ebook

Source: Katherine Tegen Books, via Edelweiss

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

I have several bones to pick with this book. I thought it was going to be a lighthearted, fun romp through Europe, and admittedly, it was, but I never signed on for all this heartache and pain and ANGST.

Monty and Percy and Felicity are the best characters I could ever ask for. I love all of them. They make this book so easy to love, and I identify so hard with Felicity. I can't wait to read her next adventures. As for the other two, they hurt me so much with their unrequited-but-actually-requited love, their longing glances, little touches, Gods, I love them. I'm so happy this book ended the way it did.

This book was so much more dangerous than I expected though, with everything from highwaymen to pirates to to-the-death fights on a crypt-island. Add to that a healthy dose of sarcasm, humour, and romance, and I honestly could not have loved it more. I do keep calling it The Gentleman's Guide to The Galaxy, though.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★★

Review: Bone

Bone | Yrsa Daley-Ward

Published by: Penguin Books, September 26th 2017

Genre: Poetry

Pages: 176

Format: Ebook

Source: Penguin, via Netgalley

From the celebrated poet Yrsa Daley-Ward, a poignant collection of autobiographical poems about the heart, life, and the inner self. 
 
Bone. Visceral. Close to. Stark.
 
The poems in Yrsa Daley-Ward’s collection bone are exactly that: reflections on a particular life honed to their essence—so clear and pared-down, they become universal.
 
From navigating the oft competing worlds of religion and desire, to balancing society’s expectations with the raw experience of being a woman in the world; from detailing the experiences of growing up as a first generation black British woman, to working through situations of dependence and abuse; from finding solace in the echoing caverns of depression and loss, to exploring the vulnerability and redemption in falling in love, each of the raw and immediate poems in Daley-Ward’s bone resonate to the core of what it means to be human. 
 
“You will come away bruised. 
You will come away bruised
but this will give you poetry.”

I love this so much. This is one of those books I'm going to go back and read again and again. It's just so ... visceral, so real. It cuts right through the bullshit to the heart of everything - family, sex, relationships, femininity. I knew I would like this book but I really, really love it. It's one of those books that touches your soul. (Plus it's queer poetry, which I am ALWAYS looking for.)

Writing ★★★★★

Cover Reveal: DARK OF THE WEST

Today I'm revealing the cover of DARK OF THE WEST, an awesome book coming from Tor Teen next year!

Here's the blurb, and scroll down to see the beautiful cover!

He was raised in revolution. She was raised in a palace. Can their love stop a war? Code Name Verity meets The Winner's Curse in Joanna Hathaway's Dark of the West, a breathtaking YA fantasy debut.

Aurelia Isendare is a princess of a small kingdom in the North, raised in privilege but shielded from politics as her brother prepares to step up to the throne. Halfway around the world, Athan Dakar, the youngest son of a ruthless general, is a fighter pilot longing for a life away from the front lines. When Athan’s mother is shot and killed, his father is convinced it’s the work of his old rival, the Queen of Etania—Aurelia’s mother. Determined to avenge his wife’s murder, he devises a plot to overthrow the Queen, a plot which sends Athan undercover to Etania to gain intel from her children.

Athan’s mission becomes complicated when he finds himself falling for the girl he’s been tasked with spying upon. Aurelia feels the same attraction, all the while desperately seeking to stop the war threatening to break between the Southern territory and the old Northern kingdoms that control it—a war in which Athan’s father is determined to play a role. As diplomatic ties manage to just barely hold, the two teens struggle to remain loyal to their families and each other as they learn that war is not as black and white as they’ve been raised to believe.

Review: The Shadow Master

Shadow Master: The Shadow Master | Craig Cormick

Published by: Angry Robot, June 24th 2014

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 342

Format: Ebook

Source: Purchased

In a land riven with plague, inside the infamous Walled City, two families vie for control: the Medicis with their genius inventor Leonardo; the Lorraines with Galileo, the most brilliant alchemist of his generation. 

And when two star-crossed lovers, one from either house, threaten the status quo, a third, shadowy power – one that forever seems a step ahead of all of the familial warring – plots and schemes, and bides its time, ready for the moment to attack...

Assassination; ancient, impossible machines; torture and infamy – just another typical day in paradise.

That ending! Now I HAVE to read the next book just to get some answers. There was so much to like about this - fantasy that's compelling and intricate without being dense and so slooooow like a lot of other fantasy I've tried lately. Plus great characters with secrets upon secrets, famous faces, and shock upon shock within the story itself. So good.

My only issue isn't with the book. My copy had A TONNE of errors and typos that I presume won't have made it to the final copy. Since I bought it directly from Angry Robot's website, and it wasn't a galley, I was pretty surprised by this.

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★☆

Review: #NotYourPrincess

#NotYourPrincess | Lisa Charleyboy, Mary Beth Leatherdale

Published by: Annick Press, September 12th 2017

Genre: Non-Fiction

Pages: 256

Format: Ebook

Source: Annick Press, via Netgalley

Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of Indigenous women across North America resound in this book. In the same style as the best-selling Dreaming in Indian, #NotYourPrincess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. Stories of abuse, humiliation, and stereotyping are countered by the voices of passionate women making themselves heard and demanding change. Sometimes angry, often reflective, but always strong, the women in this book will give teen readers insight into the lives of women who, for so long, have been virtually invisible.

I wanted to read this purely because I know so little about Native Americans, and practically nothing about Native American Women, which is appalling. I love this book for so many reasons - there are so many different voices, experiences, lives; the format is exciting and although I read it in ebook, I think it'll look beautiful in physical copy; it's unapologetic and uncompromising yet full of so much hope and heart. That's the understanding this book has given me of these Native American women: uncompromising, truly brave women who have so much love and hope and faith.

Review: Blight

Blight | Alexandra Duncan

Published by: Greenwillow Books, May 30th 2017

Genre: YA, Dystopia, Science Fiction

Pages: 528

Format: Ebook

Source: Greenwillow, via Edelweiss

Seventeen-year-old Tempest Torres has lived on the AgraStar farm north of Atlanta since she was found outside the gates at the age of five. Now she’s part of the security force guarding the fence and watching for scavengers—people who would rather steal genetically engineered food from the company than work for it. When a group of such rebels accidentally sets off an explosion in the research compound, it releases into the air a blight that kills every living thing in its path—including humans. With blight-resistant seeds in her pocket, Tempest teams up with a scavenger boy named Alder and runs for help. But when they finally arrive at AgraStar headquarters, they discover that there’s an even bigger plot behind the blight—and it’s up to them to stop it from happening again. A fast-paced action-adventure story that is Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake meets Nancy Farmer’s House of the Scorpion.

I thought I would love this more. As it was, I did like it, and there were parts that really drew me in, but overall I just didn't have that holycrapthisisawesome moment I did in Salvage. Which makes me kinda sad. But there's still some awesome bits:

- AgraCorp is SO COOL. In a totalitarian, never wanting to get involved with them kinda way. They are such a compelling, dynamic threat, and I wanted to delve deeper into their gritty agriculture, army world. Which was why I was a bit frustrated to detour into the shiny, glitzy bits of the world.

- I liked the main characters, their utter differences in upbringing and personality.

- No romance, if you're into that thing!!!

- There's so much to this world that works, from the soldiers to the farming to the blight which was quite frankly horrifying (but I REALLY REALLY wish we'd seen more of that in the second half because it just kinda ... vanished.)

- There's so many secrets in this, especially revolving around Tempest's family, and those actually managed to shock me. I'd JUST started to suspect when the huge plot twist was thrown down but I only saw a tiny part of it coming not the Giant Shock. This worked so well.

-The first half was SO GOOD, the second half ... meh. I lost a bit of interest, to be honest, and there's so many bits of the world I wanted to explore that I was disappointed when the book just didn't go there

-I wanted a big showdown with AgraCorp in the end, that final battle between the old Tempest and the new, but instead it was a fight with a gang which ... eh, it was cool but I still wanted her to fight AgraCorp.

Overall: a really unique, interesting take on the future.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

Review: The Tiger's Watch

Ashes of Gold: The Tiger's Watch | Julia Ember

Published by: Harmony Ink Press, August 22nd 2017

Genre: YA, Fantasy, LGBT+

Pages: 400

Format: Ebook

Source: Harmony Ink Press, via Netgalley

Sixteen-year-old Tashi has spent their life training as a inhabitor, a soldier who spies and kills using a bonded animal. When the capital falls after a brutal siege, Tashi flees to a remote monastery to hide. But the invading army turns the monastery into a hospital, and Tashi catches the eye of Xian, the regiment’s fearless young commander.

Tashi spies on Xian’s every move. In front of his men, Xian seems dangerous, even sadistic, but Tashi discovers a more vulnerable side of the enemy commander—a side that draws them to Xian.

When their spying unveils that everything they’ve been taught is a lie, Tashi faces an impossible choice: save their country or the boy they’re growing to love. Though Tashi grapples with their decision, their volatile bonded tiger doesn't question her allegiances. Katala slaughters Xian’s soldiers, leading the enemy to hunt her. But an inhabitor’s bond to their animal is for life—if Katala dies, so will Tashi.

This is the second book I've read by Julia Ember, so I knew it was gonna be good, but this was SO much better than I even predicted.

I pretty much loved this from page one. It starts with action and throws you right into the world and danger, and I connected with Tashi, the main character, instantly, along with her bonded tiger (who is an adorable killing machine and I want her to be my bestie.) There's so much I loved in this book, from the setting (a monastery!) to the cast of characters (ranging from people soul bonded with animals via magic to monks to invading soldiers) to Tashi, our non-binary hero, to the story itself. I blew through the book, and was at 75% in the space of a blink, I was so absorbed reading it. I even ... felt really bad for the villain (maybe villain? I'm hopeful for him redeeming himself because that boy has serious secrets.)

I honestly CANNOT wait until the next book. There's so much this series can do and so many places it can go, and I know I'm gonna love it.

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

Review: Moonrise

Moonrise | Sarah Crossan

Published by: Bloomsbury Children's, September 7th 2017

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Poetry

Pages: 400

Format: Ebook

Source: Bloomsbury, via Netgalley

'They think I hurt someone. 
But I didn't. You hear?
Coz people are gonna be telling you
all kinds of lies.
I need you to know the truth.'

Joe hasn't seen his brother for ten years, and it's for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row.

But now Ed's execution date has been set, and Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with him, no matter what other people think ...

From one-time winner and two-time Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this poignant, stirring, huge-hearted novel asks big questions. What value do you place on life? What can you forgive? And just how do you say goodbye?

This book was so sad. I expected it to be full of grief but it was just SO sad and lonesome. The premise itself was really unique and interesting and just heartbreaking, with the main character's brother on death row. But he was so alone throughout much of this and that really came through the poetry and the language. I like how the book wasn't a hundred percent about Joe's brother, that there were elements of life outside that, and there was a bit of a romance but not too much to detract from the heart of the book. My only niggle is I wanted justice for Ed, wanted the killer to answer for the crime, but I still like the ending. 

This book is so pure and sad and honest that it hurts.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world ★★★☆☆

Writing ★★★★☆