Every night, while the rest of the world is sleeping, five people working the late night shift meet in the cemetery for a smoke and a break from the mEvery night, while the rest of the world is sleeping, five people working the late night shift meet in the cemetery for a smoke and a break from the menial labor they do. One night, they find a shallow grave has been dug, and a sleep-deprived investigation begins. This novella, spanning only 24 hours, expertly creates an atmospheric, spooky story that is only enhanced by the masterfully done full-cast narration of the audiobook. While there isn’t a ton of substance here, this novella reminded me just why I love Rio so much. She achieves a general unease through unnerving facts and questionable ethics of mad scientists and leaps made from sleep deprivation and it feels almost like an adult episode of Scooby Doo. This is the perfect novella to read when you want to immerse yourself into the spooky atmosphere of fall and makes me excited for whatever Rio does next. I really hope inspiration strikes for some more spooky novellas like this one.
Thank you for the arc. Book out: 09/24/2024...more
"When men fall into the sea, they drown. When women meet the water, they transform. It becomes vital to ask: is this a metamorphosis, or a homecoming "When men fall into the sea, they drown. When women meet the water, they transform. It becomes vital to ask: is this a metamorphosis, or a homecoming?"
4.5/5
update: audiobook is also well done, but I didn’t love the way the narrator did Effy’s voice.
When first year architecture student and the only woman in her program, Effy, is selected to redesign the home of her recently deceased favorite author, Myrddin, she jumps at the opportunity. She takes a train down to the Bottom Hundred, the drowning southern region of her country, to discover the decaying estate; Ianto, Myrddin's mysterious son; and Preston, a literature student from her college who was invited by Myrddin's widow. As she begins working on her project, she is quick to realize that things aren't exactly as they seem and teams up with Preston to uncover some long buried secrets.
Effy has been taking pills since she was a child because she has hallucinated the Fairy King, a prominent antagonistic figure in Myrddin's most famous work, since she was a young child. As she spends time in the Bottom Hundred, fantasy and reality blur for her even more and she begins to see the Fairy King quite often. As this is happening, Effy is also dealing with multiple other traumas that one could definitely say are affecting her mind. We see throughout the book how Effy proves herself over and over not to be a fighter, but to be a survivor, as she is pushed to her limit in an incredibly sexist society. I found Effy to be such a relatable character and I am certain many people, especially women, will as well. It felt so comforting to be in her head, which feels a little counterintuitive to the plot.
The best part of this book, for me, was the atmosphere. This is a gothic seaside tale and Ava Reid does such an incredible job making it haunting and making everyone question everything. I found the ending to be a little bit predictable, but I find that that is the case in a lot of gothic literature and I really find that to be a problem at all. If you're a mood reader I'd highly recommend picking this one up in fall.
There are so many other parts to this story that fit together seamlessly, but I think that discovering them through the book is such a beautiful part of this story. I will say, this book is a lot more than its synopsis. It is a homage to Welsh folklore and the fighting spirit of a young woman who is just trying her best not to drown....more
"In that one brief moment, I actually wondered if 'okay' or something like it might still be possible. But that is how a tragedy like ours or King Le "In that one brief moment, I actually wondered if 'okay' or something like it might still be possible. But that is how a tragedy like ours or King Lear breaks your heart - by making you believe that the ending might still be happy, until the very last minute."
IWWV is a dark academia novel that follows the 7 seniors that study Shakespearean Theatre at a small college. Throughout the years they have all been put into boxes based on their casting, influencing them to unconsciously take on these roles in their personal lives as well. At the beginning of their 4th year, the year of tragedies, things begin to sour. They reach a boiling point a little after Halloween, leading to the death of one of the 7.
I really enjoyed this story and how it was told. Like any dark academia, it felt absolutely addicting to read. There is nothing better than reading about a bunch of scholars so addicted to their craft that their life starts to imitate it. I felt as though Rio nailed exactly what these people would be like, in the overdramatic, exaggerated ways of living and breathing theatre for so many years. Everything escalated so far past what should've happened but that's Shakespeare, baby!
Our story is told by Oliver Marks when he is released from prison after serving 10 years for the murder, and boy do I wish anyone else was the POV. I have very little evidence but I am convinced that this man was the absolute worst of the surviving 6 (see: how he treated James and Meredith). He just exuded "nice guy" vibes to me and I know that's because he was telling the story but god it made me want to strangle him. He treated his sisters terribly, seemed the least affected by the murder, and truly acted like he was the only person in the world who mattered half the time. (Like seriously HE was not in the worst headspace ever and still made the worst decisions after Richard's death). He also didn't seem to care that much about half of his so called friends. He didn't even seem to care that much about James for the majority of the book, who was allegedly his best friend. I guess he was telling a story to a detective after 10 years, but it still felt a little insane how aloof he was.
James was the best of them and Filippa was a close second. I wish we could've gotten one of their POVs, both would have been fantastic alternatives to Oliver. I loved both of them and they deserve the world. I just wanted to take James away from the whole situation and protect him from everything. He seemed to get the short end of the stick every time (socially) and it was so heartbreaking to watch. It was even more heartbreaking to watch when Oliver WAS SO STUPID NOT TO NOTICE ANYTHING SO HE ACTIVELY JUST MADE EVERYTHING WORSE. Filippa was just a good person. I feel as though we really only got to see her when Oliver needed something from her, but I loved what I got.
Alexander and Wren were mainly just... there? I had a soft spot for both of them for very different reasons, but I wish we saw more of them. My theory about Alexander is that he caught on to Oliver not being as good a person as everyone thinks he is and that's why Oliver kinda kept him at a distance.
Meredith was infuriating in a way that is way too understandable for me to actually hate her. I can't say I ever got to the point of liking her, but I definitely understood her actions. Her and Oliver's arcs (separate and together) were by far the most infuriating to read due to MANY reasons. I do have to wonder how much of the negativity towards her was due to the unreliable narrator (which adds a whole new layer to why I don't like Oliver).
Richard was extremely one dimensional... but I think that was purposeful? We never dwelled on anything about him really. Even before things turned south (which was very quick), it felt like he was set apart, like the narrator was begging us not to develop an attachment to him. Looking back on it, this was probably exactly what happened. We learned nothing about him except that he was evil to the point that he was basically plucked straight out of a play.
I feel as though you cannot talk about IWWV without comparing it at least a little to The Secret History, which I did read last year. They are both excellent stories with their own merit, but if you plan on reading both this season, I'd recommend not reading them one after another.
______________________________________
pre-review: oh god I need to read a book with a likeable main character after all that....more
An Education in Malice is a reimagining of Carmilla that takes place in the backdrop of an all girls college in the 1960's, where Laura Sheridan has bAn Education in Malice is a reimagining of Carmilla that takes place in the backdrop of an all girls college in the 1960's, where Laura Sheridan has been sent to study poetry and Carmilla is forming an unhealthy bond with her poetry professor, De Lafontaine. We follow Laura and Carmilla as they descend further into a place neither of them can escape.
There was truly no way that a vampire book with THREE sapphic poets could be anything less than 5 stars for me, but this book really does excel in so many aspects. Laura and Carmilla are the centerpiece of this book and they are perfection. Even while they are rivals, the tension between them is palpable and it just grows as they become closer. While they are definitely into each other before, the whole vampirism thing seems to accelerate the desire part quite swiftly. I liked how their obsession felt softer and could give way to love, directly contrasting Carmilla and De Lafontaine's relationship. That being said, De Lafontaine really holds this story together. She is an older vampire who is really pushing the boundaries of what is morally acceptable with her students. It's clear she less evil than a product of her own environment, but it's impossible to like her. She shows a different side of love and obsession, one that corrupts and hurts and adds so much to the tension.
I love vampire books and I love S.T. Gibson's vampires above all. They are easily my favorite supernatural creatures to read about precisely because of how we see vampires lose or twist their humanity. Similarly to A Dowry of Blood, Gibson utilizes vampirism to discuss abusive aspects of relationships. We see how cruel obsession and power imbalance drives De Lafontaine's relationship with Carmilla and how, while Lafontaine is cruel, she treats Carmilla that way because it is how she was conditioned in past relationships, thus showing how the cycles of abuse can continue in relationships.
I am a sucker for dark academia books and, even though the academia aspect is definitely more on the backburner, this is no exception. Gibson does something really beautiful here in making all three of these characters poets. The original poems shared and the existing ones that are studied add an extra layer to the work as a whole.
S.T. Gibson's writing is magnificent and atmospheric, sucking you into the story completely. Even after reading A Dowry of Blood (which I highly recommend), this book blew me out of the water. While so many aspects of this book stand out, her writing is by far the best part and, for me at least, the core of why this book is so easily 5 stars. I cannot wait to share some of my favorite quotes (which I'll add in when I have time).
Small aside, but it is insanely fitting that I got a Carmilla scented perfume in my literary perfume calendar yesterday. I was definitely smelling that the whole time I was reading this book for the vibes.
Thank you Net Galley & the publisher for sending me an e-arc. I am going to go scream into a pillow and smell Carmilla perfume some more....more
Alice Sun pushes herself harder than humanly possible to exceed in her elite (very expensive) school in Beijing. She is consistently at the top of herAlice Sun pushes herself harder than humanly possible to exceed in her elite (very expensive) school in Beijing. She is consistently at the top of her class and her teachers love her, but her world is about to come crashing down as her parents reveal that they can no longer afford the tuition, even with her scholarship. Dealing with the pressure to be great and the knowledge that she has no control over her life because she is not a billionaire, Alice starts turning invisible at random times. With no one else to turn to, she seeks guidance from her academic rival, Henry Li, and they end up creating an app where students anonymously pay Alice more money than her parents make in a year to blackmail, steal, and destroy information. The stakes get higher and higher as the deadline to pay for next semester gets closer and closer and Alice gets more and more desperate to make the remaining money as fast as possible.
I really enjoyed Alice as a character. She’s an incredibly over-achieving girl and you can really tell her anxieties are in part fueled by the fear that she will fail after everything her parents have sacrificed for her. It’s heartbreaking to see but she really is such a realistic character. You can see how high strung she is especially with how she interacts with her classmates, who she is terrified will find out that she is not as well off as them. I really loved this raw depiction of her relationship with her parents as well.
"I've hated him ever since he sauntered in four years ago, brand-new and practically glowing. By the end of his first day, he'd beat me in our history unit test by a whole two-point-five-marks, and everyone knew his name."
Henry and Alice are a cute show of academic rivals to lovers, where one of them hates the other and the other has been in love with them since they first met. I will still stand by the relationship being very Gold Rush coded (with Henry being the gold rush character and Alice hating him because of how perfect he is), but it goes a lot deeper when you dissect how class and privilege is why only Alice considers them to be rivals – her entire life depends on being the best – while Henry just sees Alice as a smart classmate he has a crush on – his life will not be affected by this change. Henry is also this perfect character in part because of the privileges he has. I really liked Henry as a character, I thought he was sweet and funny. As the book went along, I didn’t really feel any romantic chemistry between them though (which is probably just a me thing). I felt like a lot of their later development was done off page and I really wish we got to see more of it. I will also say that the romance was much more in the background than I expected, so don’t go in expected this to be a straight romance book. The focus of this book is very much on Alice and her struggles, Henry is just a bonus.
The focus of this book really is on disparities in wealth, specifically how people who have a lower income are pushed into doing things they wouldn’t normally consider doing in order to have the same things as rich people. We see as Alice has to grapple with the knowledge that the future she worked towards will be thrown away because her family can no longer afford it unless she uses her powers to do some questionable tasks for her rich classmates. It’s heart wrenching to see especially as she is so smart and hardworking and still can’t move forward because her family isn’t rich. With that being said, there never really was a discussion with Henry and her roommate, Chanel, about their privilege and the weight it carries which I felt was a bit of a missed opportunity. We see Alice struggle so much and seemingly never be able to “win” or be enough, but there is not a deeper discussion of why that is. Nonetheless, I thought the topic was really well done and it was great to see so fleshed out in a young adult book in a boarding school setting.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read and I’ll definitely be picking up more Ann Liang when I’m in the mood for something a bit lighter in the future.
Once every ten years, a woman is allowed to test into becoming a high mage. This year, its Sciona, a bri "The worthwhile run is never the short one."
Once every ten years, a woman is allowed to test into becoming a high mage. This year, its Sciona, a brilliant and driven mage who has shown that she doesn't care about anything except her ego and magic. She is chosen, only to realize that the blatant sexism that has been thrown in her face everyday of her life will not go away just because she is high up in academia. Ten years ago, running with his tribe from a blight that literally unravels people, Thomil is a Kwen who crossed into the city of Tiran with his niece, Carra. Because of the racism in the city, Thomil cannot rise above the job of janitor no matter how smart and capable he is. He keeps his head down just to survive another day. Through chance (a shitty coworker making a shitty joke), Thomil ends up as Sciona's sole laboratory assistant. Despite Sciona's prejudices towards Thomil, she teaches him how to become her assistant and, together, they discover the terrible cost that allows this city to function.
This book is very academic and has a unique magic system that reminds me a lot of coding. While it is really cool, it can also be a little exhausting to read pages upon pages of Sciona infodumping this highly academic magic system to various people (mainly Thomil). The only times I ever put the book down was during those pages of explanation because it truly felt like I was reading a textbook.
"Truth over delusion. Growth over comfort."
Sciona is also a really hard character to read from. While yes, she does have to deal with the sexism of her society, she is still upholding an incredibly racist system and it takes her a while to understand that Thomil is just as much a person as her and even longer to realize that Thomil is not an anomaly among the Kwen in that regard. While having Sciona as the main POV in this book makes it a bit hard to read at times, it allows for Wang to open up a lot of points about the importance of intersectionality and how you can still be an oppressor if you yourself are being oppressed.
Further into the book, we finally get to actually meet Carra, the young niece of Thomil. Thomil has trained himself to keep his head down and accept his fate just to survive, but he did not do the same to Carra. Where Thomil is calm and dejected, Carra is rightfully angry. She doesn't care about her own life if it means that the world will be better for her people. While she isn't a POV, she is a huge catalyst and important character for the plot and is so well written.
This book is about how you are still bad if you are upholding an evil system that you are aware of and have the power to stop. If you are in a place when you can make a change, you are bad if you put your head down and ignore the atrocities and you allow for evil things to keep happening.
The end of this book is bittersweet. Its really easy in a fantasy book to create an easy solution for all of the structural issues in a world, but, like in Babel by RF Kuang, Wang shows that progress cannot be made without sacrifice and violence. And even with that sacrifice and violence, it may take a hundred years to see a tangible change.
This is a book that makes you angry. Not just about this fantasy world, but about the racism, colonialism, and imperialism of our own world.
Song: Butchered Tongue / Hozier
________ pre-review: stayed up til after 3am for this book to absolutely destroy me....more
"the most important thing you can do in this world, the most necessary thing, is to survive it."
At the beginning of Legendborn, 16 year old Bree's "the most important thing you can do in this world, the most necessary thing, is to survive it."
At the beginning of Legendborn, 16 year old Bree's mother has died the day her and her best friend, Alice, are accepted into a precollege program at UNC. Bree, dealing with intense grief, goes through the motions until she finds her one purpose: revenge. As she pushes herself farther and farther away from her loved ones, she becomes obsessed with a secret society based on Arthurian legend that she is convinced had something to do with her mother's death.
While the magic and silly boys are fun, the biggest topic this book dives into is what it is like to be a black woman in the south. It's about having no roots to trace back from because your ancestors were slaves. It's about Bree being the only black person in a room of rich white kids and having the majority of the room hoping for her downfall and half of the room just being blatantly racist towards her. Its about feeling like an outsider in a place she rightfully belong in. Its about Bree finding a network of black women who help her find not only herself, but her ancestors. Its about her learning about her ancestors and finding her roots. And it is so beautiful and well done.
This book also focuses on the grief of our main character Bree, an incredibly intelligent and witty main character who is pushing a lot of people out. We get to grapple with the loss of her mom and, through therapy, her realizations about her family history. The growth of her character really allowed us to see her going through all these stages of grief, and we even got glimpses into how worried her father and best friend were for her which I loved.
Without spoiling, I really really enjoyed the magic of this world. I feel like there aren't that many Knights of the Round Table retellings, and seeing a modern day version of the Round Table was really interesting. I loved the give and take of the magic system and the additional things that we didn't get to see as explored. I found the plot to be a little bit predictable, but I also didn't see a problem with that. It may have been because Bree started in the summer (and was dealing with grief and not really making new friends), but I do wish we got to see the secret society being a bit more *secretive* if that makes sense. I understand they have magic and such to ward but I would've loved to see a larger cast of characters that weren't in the secret society and how Bree interacted with them. I do hope we get to see further explanations about the magic systems in the next book (especially Bree's stuff). Lastly, I loved the flashbacks. I found them incredibly impactful and just a complete other layer to this book.
Additionally, this book is unapologetically queer. We have a prominent nonbinary character, a confirmed bisexual character (not in a relationship), a confirmed lesbian character (not in a relationship), a sapphic relationship and a gay relationship. The representation was honestly something I really didn't expect going in since no one ever talks about it, but I found it to be well done and just loved seeing that more casual representation.
In terms of characters, I loved pretty much all of them. Bree was obviously the stand out as the incredibly bad ass main character, but Greer, William, Nick, Alice, and Patricia were the stand out side characters for me. I am surprisingly okay with the love triangle vibe and really just hoping it turns into a throuple.
My SOLE issue with characters comes from Selwyn Kane. I get it. I really do. He's a sulky bad boy. Sure that's hot or whatever I guess. But he is such a terrible terrible asshole to Bree (while he is completely aware of her trauma that happened VERY RECENTLY) and its all just shrugged off once we find out he also has a traumatic backstory??? Sir you are quite literally bullying people with traumatic backstories for fun why should I feel bad for YOUR traumatic backstory??? Unfortunately character development-wise, but fortunately for my own sanity, Sel does a complete 180 for pretty much no reason and now he's perfectly fine to be around - sure, he's still a bit sassy and prickly, but he's not the literal devil towards Bree....more
A really intriguing critique of the art world and the richness surrounding it - my only complaint is that the story felt like it ended 50% into the plA really intriguing critique of the art world and the richness surrounding it - my only complaint is that the story felt like it ended 50% into the plot and I wish we got to see more of the lives of the characters the cast of characters were interesting, and i loved the art and of course the sapphic-ness ...more
The dark academia, characters, and magic based on language were incredible and sooo cool to read about, however this book is a commentary on colonialiThe dark academia, characters, and magic based on language were incredible and sooo cool to read about, however this book is a commentary on colonialism in academia at it’s core...more