“Embrace your strange, dear daughter. Where’s the fun in being normal?�
Trigger warning: A lot of focus around death, in particular the death of childr“Embrace your strange, dear daughter. Where’s the fun in being normal?�
Trigger warning: A lot of focus around death, in particular the death of children.
Schwab has finally entered the world of middle-grade and I couldn't be more pleased about it.
I'm a huge middle-grade fan and I'm always going on about how many people are missing out on fantastic stories that have been coming out lately, just because they get caught up in the age recommendation. City of Ghostsis one of the those stories that just might convince you that maybe middle-grade isn't for little babies. Hopefully Schwab can help you see the light!
I'll admit went into this book with very high expectations. City of Ghostswas one of my top most anticipated reads this year. Also Schwab wrote it, I think it's ok to have high expectations when going into a book written by this queen! She just has such a way with words, I'm think she might really be an alien - no human could write that beautifully! The more work I am lucky enough to discover, the more I fall in love with her writing. This is no exception to the rule.
The book focuses on our main protagonist, Cassidy, who had an accident awhile back - one of an almost fatal nature. Cassidy was luckily saved and pulled from her almost fate, but she came back different and with a new friend. Like in the Sixth Sense, she can now see dead people. That makes things a little difficult on her social life but she does have a best friend, who happens to be dead, named Jacob. These characters are a lot of fun. I really loved that Cassidy is brave, curious, loyal, and at times very flawed. This girl makes a lot of mistakes but it just makes her all the more endearing. Jacob, on the other hand, is more cautious and protective but has a sassy sense of humor. I fell in love with both of them instantly. They also make many Potter references so how could you not eat these two right up?!?!? Potter references are pretty much the surest way to get me on your side.
OH MY GOD, can it be real? Do we really have a middle-grade book where the author didn't ship the parents off to some unknown place, didn't kill them off and didn't make them out to be complete monsters?! Hallelujah! I was starting to lose faith that this was even possible anymore in middle-grade. Cassidy's parents are present, loving and completely kooky, the best way possible. Her mother is an eccentric whose enthusiasm for everything is addictive and her father is very focused on science and how to explain why everything is happening. They bounce off of each other very well. Oh, did I mention they also happen to be ghost hunters? They are filming a show where they go to the most historical haunted places on the map and explore. Obviously, this is going to create some issues for someone who can see dead people everywhere.
We also have a malevolent ghost woman who has the freaky knack of stealing children and no one ever hears from them again. I loved her backstory and she was the perfect balance to this story to give you a little jolt of creepy. I won't say too much about her because it's best you let her story unravel as you read along.
I've been asked several times if this book is scary. That is honestly really hard to answer since I have no idea what everyone's definition of that is. I would say that it's unsettling at times and creepy. If you have children that are easily scared then this one might be too much but it's pretty tame compared to a lot of the spooky middle-grade books out there.
I highly recommend this one and I hope some other authors such as Marissa Meyer and Leigh Bardugo jump on the middle-grade wagon and grace us with a story as well....more
OH MY GOD! I can't even form words for this one yet. It had such a personal emotional impact on me that I know I'll be thinking about this book for yeOH MY GOD! I can't even form words for this one yet. It had such a personal emotional impact on me that I know I'll be thinking about this book for years to come. It was relatable, inspiring and it broke my heart into a million pieces. I'm completely in love with you Evelyn Hugo.
RTC - when I can put some words to my feelings on this one. ...more
“Every good story needs a villain. But the best villains are the ones you secretly like.�
I didn't think I could love this series anymore “Every good story needs a villain. But the best villains are the ones you secretly like.�
I didn't think I could love this series anymore than I loved Caraval, I was very wrong. I know we are warned at the start of every Caraval not to get too swept up in the game, but I'm long gone - TAKE ME AWAY!
I've read this beautiful book twice now and I think I might have enjoyed it even more on my second read-through, that is possible. When we left off everything we thought we knew was kind of in shambles. Everyone turned out to be someone different from who they claimed to be and Scarlett and Julian were somewhat on the rocks and her sister, Tella has just gotten an invitation to take part in Caraval, so here we go again.
I was completely wary when I realized that we were switching main characters in this one and Tella was going to be our main protagonist and Scarlett would be more of a background character. I didn't hate Tella in Caraval but I didn't relate to her at all and I found her risk taking and impulsive behaviour to be selfish and exhausting at times. Thankfully, I obviously hadn't gotten much of a chance to really get to know this character but I ended up adoring her so much. No, I can't say I related to her, but that was completely fine - I was to aspire to be her! She was fantastic. She was fearless, witty and willing to go to the ends of the earth for those she loved. I really came to love Tella by the end of this book. Dante, who we met in the first book, becomes a major character in this one and he was a welcome one at that. He's not as swoony exactly as Julian, but he's a complete bad boy and he gets the best lines, so you know I had to love him instantly. The sexual chemistry between Tella and him is off the charts and I lived for their banter and there is lots of it. There is a lot a new character, Jacks. I don't want to go too far into this character but I loved to hate this man. He was so deliciously evil and he knew it and enjoyed every minute of it. There is nothing I love more than a villain who enjoys being a villain and he really does. I don't ship him with Tella or anything but I do love their scenes together and I'm dying to see what happens in the finale book.
The biggest change in this book is that, at least parts, of the game seem to be very real and the stakes are much higher. Tella is trying to find their mother, that abandoned them years ago and she has reason to believe that she can find her if she wins this round of Caraval. Probably the coolest element in this story is we are introduced to The Fates and they are fairly scary to deal with. The lore is cool as hell and the encounters are even better. They added another level to the story that I didn't know I needed. Magical and dark.
We also finally find out Legend's true identity in this one or do we? Never can tell with these books! The ending hurt my heart a little but I expected it, we wouldn't have a third book otherwise. It ended with a lot of unanswered questions and a crazy twist that will be glorious to watch play out in the finale book. I am anxiously awaiting my copy of Finaleas I write this review and I would be shocked if it doesn't hit my top ten this year.
I obviously recommend this book. It does seem to be a rather polarizing read, as many readers either love it with all their heart or call it trash. I find it charming, cleaver, a little dark and, of course, magical. ...more
“Why can't a girl be smart without it being explained away as a rare supernatural phenomenon?�
Wow! This one was a really nice surprise. Da“Why can't a girl be smart without it being explained away as a rare supernatural phenomenon?�
Wow! This one was a really nice surprise. Dark, atmospheric and completely haunting. Cat Winters, where have you been all my life?
I picked up In the Shadow of Blackbirdsup on a whim at the library. I admit that it was solely based on the cover and I had never heard a thing about it. I'm so grateful that I chose this one, I literally stayed up all night to read this one. Yep, it was a one sitting book for me. I don't really want to go too deep into this one because it's honestly just a really nice story to discover on your own.
I loved our main protagonist. Mary Shelley. She really rode the line of skeptical and curious - which is what this story needed. The setting for this book is very grim, it is during the First World War and the Spanish Flu is sweeping through, killing millions. It was such a dark story and having people terrified of a flu they couldn't really protect themselves from and wearing masks all the time was horrific to even think about. The things that people are doing out of desperation to stay healthy where there is little food and death at every turn was remarkable and devastating at the same time. During this time, many people sought to find peace when losing their loved one so a lot of "spiritual" professions started popping up to prey on this time. The one in the story is taking photos and hoping to see your dead loved one in the picture. In the Shadow of Blackbirds even has several creepy photos or something you might have seen back then. The whole story is just surrounded in a sense of dread.
The story isn't fast-paced but it's so interesting and I was so invested in what was going on that I it seemed like the book was just flying to me. The book deals with a lot of tough subjects while delving into the paranormal realm in a way that might even make a non-believer question things.
If you love really dark historical fiction with a twist of supernatural then you need this book. It's a five star all the way for me and I have since bought myself a copy for my won collection. I'll be checking out more of Cat's work soon....more
"I don't want a easy life. I want a meaningful one."
This was an intensely difficult read, but so worth it. I’m so happy this book came into my li"I don't want a easy life. I want a meaningful one."
This was an intensely difficult read, but so worth it. I’m so happy this book came into my life. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking, enraging, but at its core � it’s empowering.
Trigger Warnings: Sexual Assault, Rape, Grief, Graphic Animal Death (short but upsetting), Violence, Sex Trafficking, Slut Shaming
Girls of Paper and Fire is a November group read in TBR and Beyond and I’m so glad we chose this one. YA novels are getting more and more solid and important all the time. It’s such a wonderful time to be in the YA community and be able to read all these amazing, diverse stories. This book will 100% be among my favorites this year.
We start with our main protagonist Lei, right at the beginning she is ripped away from her family and life in a horrific scene because she has been chosen to be one of the Demon Kings concubines. I found the first couple of chapters very difficult, I connected to Lei right away and felt her pain terribly. One Lei is at the castle, we meet the other young women who have been “honored� to become the King’s concubines as well. The women are all completely different and all from different walks of life but they share this scary and awful truth about how their lives are supposed to play out from now on. I loved seeing the different types of coping techniques and emotions the young women went through during all this. It felt very authentic and all felt like valid ways of trying to survive something traumatizing.
The world and magic system is very fleshed out and I didn’t have any trouble following it. It was very well-written and I particularly loved hearing about all the different kinds of demons and clans. Since the author takes the time to develop her world and all her characters, this book is a bit of a slow burn. The ending starts to have a ton of action but the rest of the story is reading about these girls lives within the castle and what is going on. Even though it is a slow burn, I thought the pacing was perfect and I wasn’t bored for even a moment. I was much too worried for all the women in this story to feel like the book needed more action.
One thing I love about Girls of Paper and Fire is that we get to know all the side characters and actually care about them. We also have a BEAUTIFUL budding romance between two of the young girls that is beyond swoon-worthy and I ship them 100%. I won’t say who because you’ll have to read it to find that part out! It’s also beyond amazing that this is an ownvoice Asian inspired story � I was over-the-moon to see that. Please give us so much more of these types of stories by authors of color. I’m not saying that to be trendy � I’m saying it because these stories have so much to offer us and give us something new and fresh in the North American market.
Obviously, I’m recommending this book. Please read the trigger warnings at the beginning of this review though because this is a hard read. If you have a trigger towards graphic depictions of sexual assault then please go into this book in a healthy mental state. Overall, I give this book five stars and I feel privileged to have gotten to read this one early.
Thank you to Jimmy Patterson Presents for an advanced reader copy (ARC) of this book, in exchange for an honest review....more
Trigger Warning: Graphic violence that involve children, self harm and creepy ass little dolls.
Wow! What a dark little YA horror gem I found in this Trigger Warning: Graphic violence that involve children, self harm and creepy ass little dolls.
Wow! What a dark little YA horror gem I found in this book. This one is not for the faint of heart.
I have no idea where to even begin with this review. What a strange, dark story. I actually picked this up at the library because I saw the cover and thought it might be a cute, fast read. There is basically NOTHING about this book where the word "cute" would describe it. The YA horror genre is pretty lacking and usually does not offer anything very unnerving or interesting. I thought this book was both.
Our main protagonist, Sophie, has to go stay with relatives when her friend unexpectedly dies after a rather bizarre encounter using an Ouija board app on their phone. The encounter leads Sophie wanting more answers and she thinks she may be able to get them by staying with her uncle, whose daughter Charlotte had died years before. This book starts off dark and stays dark. The second the MC gets to her uncle's home, she is greeted by some by his very strange children. The oldest daughter is basically a stepford-wife, the brother's hand was melted in a fire and goes around having fits and then you have the littlest one who is afraid of bones. Being afraid of bones might not seem like something all the creepy but you'd be dead wrong. The author went as far as having the five year old scared so badly off bones that she wants her own skeleton out of her body so they have to hide the knives so she won't try and cut them out. I mean when I say dark, I mean DARKKKK. My mouth dropped a few times, since this was YA and the style of writing almost read like an older middle-grade. I would've marked it as middle-grade if some of the topics weren't so graphic.
I don't really want to say too much about this one because going in as blind as possible is the best thing. I watch tons of horror films so this book didn't scare me but I did still find it disturbing. I think your average non-horror reader would find this one really creepy though and it does have the potential for nightmares. I loved that the dolls ended up being so tiny - it really just added to the atmosphere the author had created.
I'm torn on whether I would recommend this book, since the subject matter could possibly offend or bother some. I guess if you don't mind books dealing with what I discussed in this review than I'd go check this one out. It's great if you're a horror/paranormal fan. ...more
Note: Just did my reread for my Facebook book club - TBR and Beyond and it's still five stars for me! Loved it.
I LOVED this book. I have been REALLY Note: Just did my reread for my Facebook book club - TBR and Beyond and it's still five stars for me! Loved it.
I LOVED this book. I have been REALLY wary about reading this book because of the controversy but I've been seeing tons of push back and lots of people saying they loved it, including ownvoice, so I decided to give it a try. Not to mention my friends Meg and Samm were going to kidnap me and make me read it if I didn't get to it soon.
I need a day or so to let this book really sink in and I'll address the controversy and what I think a little then.
I REALLY NEED THE FREAKING SEQUEL! LIKE YESTERDAY!!!
Note: If you are one of the people who did not like book or found it offensive, I am not invalidating your opinion. Please do not attack me about mine. I'm not interested in a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ war over a book....more
This book was WUNDERful (see what I did there?!?! lol)! I have to let some of it sink in but man I've been wanting a book like this forever - I hope tThis book was WUNDERful (see what I did there?!?! lol)! I have to let some of it sink in but man I've been wanting a book like this forever - I hope this is a huge series.
Five stars all day long. I can't believe this is a debut novel. This is what high fantasy should always look like - just epic! That cliffhanger thoughFive stars all day long. I can't believe this is a debut novel. This is what high fantasy should always look like - just epic! That cliffhanger though...
Melanie (TBR and Beyond)
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