Author: VenusBloo

ARC Review: Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan

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**The links in this post are for the book’s StoryGraph page for reference. I do not receive any compensation for clicking links!**

Book: Fathomfolk 

Author: Eliza Chan 

Pages: 432 

Source: Orbit 

Publisher: Orbit 

Genre: Fantasy 

Publication Date: February 29, 2024 

Summary: 

Welcome to Tiankawi – shining pearl of human civilization and a safe haven for those fleeing civil unrest. Or at least, that’s how it first appears. But in the semi-flooded city, humans are, quite literally, on top: peering down from shining towers and aerial walkways on the fathomfolk – sirens, seawitches, kelpies and kappas – who live in the polluted waters below. 

For half-siren Mira, promotion to captain of the border guard means an opportunity to help her downtrodden people. But if earning the trust and respect of her human colleagues wasn’t hard enough, everything Mira has worked towards is put in jeopardy when Nami, a know-it-all water dragon – fathomfolk royalty – is exiled to the city. When extremists sabotage the annual boat race, violence erupts, as does the clampdown on fathomfolk rights. Both Nami and Mira must decide if the cost of change is worth paying, or if Tiankawi should be left to drown.  

My Review:

I received a free advanced reader’s copy of Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan from Orbit in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you, Orbit! 

Fathomfolk takes place in a world that is mostly ocean populated by humans and myriad, mythical sea creatures known collectively as fathomfolk.  Fathomfolk live in underwater cities.  Humans live on islands scattered far apart, but in spite of this, it is humans who are in control.  They have technology and industry that has helped them thrive.  Unfortunately, it has also polluted the surrounding waters so badly that fathomfolk are forced to seek refuge within human cities.  One such city is Tiankawi, and this is where the majority of the story takes place.   

Mira has lived in Tiankawi all her life.  A half-siren, Mira has seen first-hand how fathomfolk are treated by humans, and she seeks to make life better for her fellow folk in the city.  She has managed to become the captain of the border guard of the city.  While she knows she was only chosen as a token member, she hopes to enact real change with the little power she’s been given.  Both she and her partner, Kai (the water dragon ambassador) do everything they can to improve the lives of fathomfolk in Tiankawi while working within the humans’ political system. 

Not everyone agrees that the way forward should be peaceful, though.  A rebel group, known as The Drawbacks, feel the only way forward is to fight fire with fire.  So, when Kai’s rebellious sister Nami is exiled to Tiankawi for her latest transgressions, it’s natural she would be attracted to The Drawbacks.  Now, Mira and Kai have to look out for Nami and find a way to stop The Drawbacks from causing the destruction of Tiankawi and the only way of life Mira has ever known. 

The story of Fathomfolk manages to touch on several different themes that are relevant in the real world as well.  These themes range from environmental destruction creating climate refugees to discrimination and racism to rebellion and exploitation of the poor.  The story itself is well-written and addictive, but there is a lot going on in the background to unpack. 

First of all, just like today, humans and their unchecked industry have destroyed much of the environment.  The reason the world is mostly flooded is due to climate change, but humans didn’t stop there.  The polluted run-off from their cities has wreaked havoc on the oceans that the fathomfolk call home.  This, along with in-fighting and civil war amongst the fathomfolk over what should be done about the humans, have forced many fathomfolk to flee to the very cities that rendered their homes unlivable. 

This kind of irony is present throughout the book.  In fact, one would think that being forced to do what it takes to survive would help the fathomfolk band together.  In some cases this is true, like with The Drawbacks, but in most cases fathomfolk treat their fellows just as poorly as they are treated by humans.  There is rampant discrimination and racism within Tiankawi.  Humans discriminate against fathomfolk, and fathomfolk discriminate against interracial couples and families.  I found myself wishing the fathomfolk would put aside their petty differences to work together once and for all. 

Unfortunately, humans did a good job of essentially subjugating all fathomfolk within Tiankawi.  One of the requirements for legal entry into the city is to be fitted with something called a pakalot.  It’s a bracelet that not only limits fathomfolks’ ability to use their magic, called waterweaving, but it also causes pain to the wearer if they even think too negatively about a human.  So, like many times in our real history, humans ruled the fathomfolk with fear and pain.  There ends up being an even more nefarious reason for the pakalots, but you will have to read the book to find that out for yourself.  Needless to say, it made me pretty angry. 

Obviously, I really enjoyed this book!  It used a fantasy story to really illustrate and discuss some touchy but important topics.  The ending was especially unexpected, and I’m very excited to see what happens in the next book.  I believe this is a planned trilogy, and I’m happy about that.  The only annoying thing about the story was Nami’s character.  While she does experience growth, she is incredibly naïve, and she refuses to recognize when the person she’s interested in shows his true colors.  I felt she was too forgiving.  Other than that little annoyance, I found the book to be enjoyable and challenging in equal measure. 

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I gave Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan five out of five stars.  The story is beautifully written, and the characters have depth.  I cared about what happened to all of them, even the ones trying to manipulate people in the background.  I loved how Eliza Chan was able to build this world and create these characters while still touching on important topics like environmental change, refugees, and exploitation.  If you’re looking for your next fantasy read, definitely give this a shot! 

Have you heard of Fathomfolk?  Is it on your TBR?  Let me know in the comments! 

ARC Review: An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

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**The links below are for the book’s StoryGraph page for reference. I do not receive any compensation for clicking links.**

Book: An Education in Malice

Author: S.T. Gibson

Pages: 272

Source: Redhook

Publisher: Redhook

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ+

Publication Date: February 13, 2024

Summary:

Sumptuous and addictive, An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers from S.T. Gibson, author of the cult hit A Dowry of Blood.

Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua’s College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.

On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.

But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.

My Review:

I was given a free advanced reader’s copy of An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson by Redhook in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you, Redhook!

An Education in Malice takes place in the late 1960’s at a small, private university in Massachusetts called St. Perpetua’s.  Laura Sheridan is a young woman from Mississippi with a talent for writing poetry.  She is so talented that the poetry professor, Professor De Lafontaine, admits Laura into her course as a freshman.  Professor De Lafontaine’s star student, Carmilla, takes offense to these and feels threatened by Laura.  The resulting rivalry seems sure to cause trouble.  At least, if it weren’t for Laura’s secret crush on Carmilla.

The more time Laura spends at St. Perpetua’s, the more she starts to notice unusual behavior between Carmilla and Professor De Lafontaine.  At first she’s jealous, both of Carmilla and of the professor.  That is until one night, she sees something between the two that she never should have witnessed.  As a result, both Laura and Carmilla are dragged into a dark world neither of them could have imagined, and a bond is forged that may prove unbreakable.

It took me a bit after finishing this book to decide whether or not I truly enjoyed it.  I did finish it really quickly, reading it within a day, but there was something about the incongruity of Laura’s characterization, the development of her relationship with both Carmilla and De Lafontaine, and the overarching conflict in the book that didn’t quite sit well with me at first.  Once I had time to think about it all, though, I decided I did like this book – not love it necessarily, but like for sure.

First of all, Laura’s seemingly demure and conservative demeaner was purely a front.  It is quickly evident her inner thoughts are anything but pure.  At first, Laura’s descriptions of herself as she appeared to others were giving me whiplash compared to her true inner thoughts.  Then, I gave it some deeper thought.  Here is a young woman who was raised in the conservative culture of The Deep South by a religious family who is suddenly thrust into a world that doesn’t judge her for being who she is.  She was probably experiencing a huge amount of culture shock even if the school itself was also conservative.  Massachusetts conservative and Mississippi conservative tend to be totally different things.

Another source of perplexity for me was the relationships and power dynamics at play with Laura, Carmilla, and De Lafontaine.  Definitely read the content warning for this book because there’s almost a sense that De Lafontaine grooms young women in her classes for her own reasons, and it was definitely problematic.  I will admit that De Lafontaine somewhat redeems herself by the end of the book.  However, I didn’t like how few consequences there really were in this story in general.  It seemed like everyone got what they wanted one way or another.

Finally, the actual “bad guy” in the story never really felt threatening.  It was purely a plot device to force relationships to move forward and insert conflict when plenty already existed.  The resolution to the conflict was somewhat anticlimactic, and I just remember saying to myself, “Wait.  That’s it?”  It ended up feeling like an excuse to exonerate De Lafontaine of all guilt when it would’ve been a more interesting story if she remained the antagonist she was built up to be.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I gave An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson three out of five stars.  I did enjoy reading the story, and I’m always a sucker for a good vampire book.  However, there were more than a few times my immersion was affected by the incongruity of characters and their actions.  Additionally, rather than the initial conflict in the book being resolved, it was deflected onto another character while everyone else suffered little to no lasting consequences.  This book is still worth a read if you enjoyed A Dowry of Blood, which I did, but I can’t help but hope the sequel to Dowry is better than An Education in Malice ended up being.

Have you read any books by S.T. Gibson?  What did you think of them?  Let me know in the comments!

ARC Review: What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

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**The links below are for the book’s StoryGraph page for reference. I do not receive any compensation from clicking links.**

Book: What Feasts at Night

Author: T. Kingfisher

Pages: 176

Source: Tor Nightfire, NetGalley

Publisher: Tor Nightfire

Genre: Fantasy, Gothic, Historical Fiction

Publication Date: February 13, 2024

Summary:

Alex Easton, retired soldier, returns in this novella-length sequel to the bestselling What Moves The Dead.

When Easton travels to Gallacia as a favor to Miss Potter, they find their home empty, the caretaker dead, and the grounds troubled by a strange, uncanny silence.

The locals whisper of a strange breath-stealing being from Gallacian folklore that has taken up residence in Easton’s home . . . and in their dreams.

My Review:

I received a free advanced reader’s copy of What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher from Tor Nightfire via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you, Tor!

What Feasts at Night is the second novella in the Sworn Soldier series by T. Kingfisher, and it takes place several months after the events of What Moves the Dead (read my review here).  Alex Easton and Angus are heading back to Gallacia to ready Alex’s hunting lodge in anticipation of the arrival of Miss Potter.  Alex has promised her a Gallacian excursion to study the unique mushrooms and fungi in the area, and Alex suspects Angus and Miss Potter are excited to spend more time together as well.

Unfortunately, upon their arrival at the lodge, they discover that something is very wrong.  Alex’s groundskeeper is missing, and further investigation in town reveals he died weeks ago under mysterious, perhaps supernatural, circumstances.  Alex is able to hire a local widow and her son Bors in the groundskeeper’s stead to help set the lodge to rights and wait one them during Miss Potter’s visit.

It soon becomes apparent, however, that something strange is still afoot at the lodge.  Bors begins having strange dreams and develops an illness not unlike what people say killed the former groundskeeper.  When the same affliction begins to affect Alex, the entire group must work to discover if legends are real and walking among them.

I really enjoyed getting to read more about Alex, Angus, and Miss Potter in What Feasts at Night.  I loved the first book, which is a re-telling of The Fall of the House of Usher, and I was definitely excited when I found out it was becoming a series.  Alex’s descriptions of Gallacia in the first book were so interesting, and I’m glad this book takes place there.  Gallacia reminds me of a version of Transylvania almost in that it’s mostly villages of superstitious people and an army for hire. 

Those superstitions are at the forefront of this book.  The people in the village near Alex’s lodge believe a creature exists that sneaks in while people are sleeping, sits on their chests, and steals their breaths in an attempt to come back to life.  It’s almost like some sort of malicious ghost.  Just as in the previous book, Alex takes a long time to be convinced of reality even if the reader recognizes the signs all along.  Even with what Alex has seen months ago with the Ushers, they still have a hard time accepting the inevitable.

My only complaint with this book is that it seemed to retread some old ground rather than fully explore something new.  The people affected changed, and the supernatural element changed.  However, the framework of the story remained the same.  We didn’t get to see as much of Gallacia as I would have liked either – just what was in and around the hunting lodge and nearby village.  I still enjoyed the book, and I’ll still read the next one when it comes out, though.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher four out of five stars.  This is another gothic fantasy exploring supernatural phenomena, and the mystery of how Alex would resolve the situation kept me reading.  I’d like to see a bit more depth and variety in future installments, but I will be reading anything else in this series T. Kingfisher chooses to right!  Give these novellas a shot if you’re looking for a quick gothic fantasy read.

Have you read any of the Sworn Soldier books?  What about other books by T. Kingfisher?  Let me know in the comments!

ARC Review: That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming

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**The links below are to the book’s StoryGraph page for reference. I do not receive compensation for clicking links.**

Book: That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf

Author: Kimberly Lemming

Pages: 288

Source: Orbit books

Publisher: Orbit books

Genre: Fantasy, Rom Com

Publication Date: February 6, 2024

Summary:

Anyone else ever thrown a drink at someone’s head, only to miss entirely and hit a stranger behind them? Then have that stranger fall madly in love with you because it turned out that drink you threw was a love potion? No, just me? Well damn.

Dealing with a pirate ship full of demons that just moved into town was hard enough. Now on top of it, I have to convince a werewolf that I’m not his fated mate, he’s just drugged. Easier said than done.

Though I have to say, having a gorgeous man show up and do all of your chores while telling you you’re beautiful isn’t the worst thing to happen to a girl.

My Review:

I received a free advanced reader’s copy of That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming from Orbit books in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you, Orbit!

That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf is the second book in the Mead Mishaps series by Kimberly Lemming.  It takes place not too long after the first book (read my review here), and the people of Boohail are still adjusting to the idea that their goddess Myva was evil and demons aren’t so bad after all.  Cinnamon and Brie, Cin’s best friend, find themselves celebrating in a local tavern, since the people of Boohail will use anything as an excuse to party, up to and including the death of their goddess it seems.  Unfortunately, an incident with an unwanted drink being thrown at a persistent and unwanted local man results in a werewolf named Felix falling instantly in love with Brie. 

Now, Brie has to wrestle with her growing desire for Felix and her moral compass.  Bries feels the effects of the love potion would mean taking advantage of Felix, since his consent is dubious at best. Cinnamon and her dragon husband Fallon are more concerned with the effect the love potion will have on Felix’s heart in a very real way.  The strain of the curse could cause him to die of a heart attack.  Meanwhile, women in Boohail and the surrounding areas are disappearing.  Now that Felix has found his fated mate, he wants to do anything he can to find out who is taking these women before Brie becomes the next victim. 

If it sounds like this book is really two stories in one, that’s because it is.  The first half of the book is mostly concerned with building Brie and Felix’s relationship up, and this is also where the bulk of the sex scenes are.  Just like I cautioned with the previous book, make sure you read the author’s content warnings at the beginning.  The sex scenes are pretty explicit in describing body parts and sexual acts, so just know it’s in the book.

Once Brie and Felix’s relationship is introduced and established, if not resolved, the book moves on to the big mystery that had been forming in the background.  Who is kidnapping women in and around Boohail, and why?  Honestly, this is where the book really got interesting for me.  Don’t get me wrong, I was invested in where Brie and Felix’s relationship ended up, but in this type of book the reader knows they’ll end up together.

The mystery of the missing women ended up being equal parts world-build and comedy, with more emphasis on the comedy side.  Much of the humor was thanks to a character that gets introduced about half-way through the book – a magical, talking sword named Alexis.  Alexis is absolutely hilarious, and her repartee with Brie was a huge part of that.  Brie herself is plenty funny, but her reactions to some of the wild stuff Alexis would say really had me cackling.

As for the world-building, I believe Lemming used this as an opportunity to comment on the subset of men who seem to believe women should only be homemakers and birth givers.  Naturally, when a goddess is killed, there’s a power vacuum, and in this part of the world at least, that power vacuum is filled by a less savory group of individuals seeking power for men.  I won’t give anymore away than that, but some of the remarks made by the characters in the book are quite cutting and makes it clear how the author feels about these types of men and other people who think that way.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  Yes, the sex scenes still make me somewhat uncomfortable, but that’s definitely a me thing.  I’m sure there are plenty of people who will enjoy reading those scenes.  I also think the commentary about misogyny will probably ruffle some feathers, but I personally didn’t have an issue with it.  I really enjoyed reading more about the world the books take place in as well, and I’m curious about where that epilogue could lead!

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming four out of five stars.  It’s an entertaining and often hilarious fantasy story with sassy characters and lots of charm.  The world is interesting with surprising depth, and I’m very curious to see where the third installment takes us.  I hope it’s about Dante, the other dragon in the books!

Have you read any of the Mead Mishaps books? Do you enjoy fantasy romance/rom coms?  Let me know in the comments!

ARC Review: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

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**The links below are to the book’s StoryGraph page for reference. I do not receive any compensation for clicking links. **

Book: The Tainted Cup

Author: Robert Jackson Bennett

Pages: 432

Source: Penguin Random House, NetGalley

Publisher: Del Rey

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery

Publication Date: February 6, 2024

Summary:

An eccentric detective and her long-suffering assistant untangle a web of magic, deceit, and murder in this sparkling fantasy reimagining of the classic crime novel—from the bestselling author of The Founders Trilogy.

In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.

Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears–quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.

Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.

My Review:

I received a free advanced reader’s copy of The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett from Penguin Random House via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you, Penguin Random House and Del Rey!

The Tainted Cup takes place in the fictional Empire of Khanum on the eastern coast of a large continent.  Khanum is made up of cantons separated by huge concentrically ringed walls from the ocean moving inward.  These walls, along with Khanum’s Legionnaires, serve as protection against huge ocean beasts called Leviathans.  Every few months the Leviathans emerge from the ocean floor and attempt to come ashore into the Empire where they cause utter devastation.

At the beginning of one of these wet seasons, as they’re called in the Empire, Dinios Kol is called to investigate a murder on behalf of his master Ana Dolabra.  A high ranking officer has been killed in a most unusual manner, and the murder occurred in the home of one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the Empire.  The discoveries at the scene end up leading both Din and Ana on a journey neither of them could have expected.  What begins as a mysterious death quickly snowballs into political intrigue and deadly danger.  Ana and Din must unravel the mystery in which the existence of the Empire and all they know is being held in the balance.

This book was absolutely amazing!  Everything about it from the characters to the setting and the mystery itself were so unique and interesting.  The Empire of Khanum is one of the most distinctive settings I’ve seen in a book.  The entire Empire is under a seasonal threat from the Leviathans emerging from the sea.  It’s mentioned throughout the story that the entire reason the Empire exists is to kill or turn away the Leviathans when they attempt to come ashore.  One of the ways the Empire has done this is by using the Leviathans’ blood and other parts (after they’ve managed to kill one of course) to synthesize all manner of technology.

For example, there are a class of people known as Sublimes who have been genetically altered to have special abilities.  Dinios Kol is one such person, and he is known as an engraver.  Everything he sees or hears, he remembers.  He never forgets anything, which makes him perfect for his role as an apprentice investigator.  Additionally, much of the technology in this world is plant-based.  The buildings are made of strong, genetically enhanced vines, and there are even fungi and mushrooms that act as air conditioners.  This blend of science within a fantasy setting is such an interesting take on what may otherwise be called magic in another book.  I’ve had a hard time categorizing this book’s genre as a result, but that is by no means a criticism of the story.

Speaking of the story, Robert Jackson Bennett has managed to weave together seemingly unrelated threads to build an engaging and thrilling mystery with this book.  I found myself comparing it to Sherlock Holmes where Ana was Holmes and Din was Watson.  The dynamic between them as they sought to unravel each thread was very similar.  Din would gather and engrave the information in his memory, and Ana would use her prodigious wealth of knowledge to piece everything together.  There were a few instances when I fitted the pieces together myself before the story explained them, but for the most part, the story was difficult to predict.

Aside from the mystery and setting, what really made this story so engaging was the characters, especially Ana and Din.  Both of them have mysteries in their own past, and this book only explains a few of them.  For example, Din has a secret about how his engraving works that isn’t explained until late in the book, but his family and reasons for becoming a Sublime remain unexplained.  Likewise, Ana is quite eccentric, even by the Empire’s standards.  She reads obsessively literally anything she can get her hands on, and she blindfolds herself much of the time to avoid over-stimulation.  Her reasons for these behaviors are explained, but her muddled past and secrets are only mentioned enough to make the reader want more.

Luckily, I saw that the Goodreads and StoryGraph pages for The Tainted Cup have been updated to indicate this is the first book in a planned trilogy!  I’m hoping further installments will explain some of Din’s and Ana’s pasts as well as explore the world more.  I really want to know what in the world is going on with these Leviathans.  What are they really, and why do they try so hard to come ashore?  It’s sort of explained in the book what happens if they do make it ashore, and what is explained doesn’t necessarily seem bad.  It just seems inconvenient for the Empire and people in general.  So, I can’t wait to read more about it all!

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I gave The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett five out five stars.  Just the setting and characters alone make this an interesting and unique book, but then Bennett wove it all into a mystery filled with murder and political intrigue on top of that.  I keep wanting to say it’s like Sherlock Holmes in Ancient Rome except Rome was built on the edge of the ocean in a jungle with giant sea monsters.  Then I realize, that’s not like Rome at all!  And of course, just like any great mystery, the title makes so much sense once you finish the book. Definitely give this book a read if you’re on the lookout for something so different it’s difficult to even categorize! 

Have you read anything by Robert Jackson Bennett?  Are you looking forward to reading The Tainted Cup?  Let me know in the comments!

January Wrap-Up & February TBR

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**Links below are for the books’ StoryGraph pages for reference. I do not receive any compensation for clicking links.**

The first month of 2024 is already behind us, and now, it’s time for a recap of what I read in January 2024.  I also want to take this opportunity to review where I am on keeping up with my reading goals, compare what I wanted to read to what I actually read in January, and list my February TBR.  I had initially planned to do a post every week about my reading, but I felt like that might be overkill.  Instead, I’ll just try to do these combo posts of reading wrap-ups and the next month’s TBR’s in the first week of each month.

January Reading Wrap-Up

I managed to read 5 books in January, and every single one of them was an ARC!  That is definite progress for me, since I tend to devolve into a mood-reading gremlin.  I was also able to write reviews for each of these books.  Keep an eye out on my blog for those, but for now, I’ll list them along with my star rating for each.  You’ll just have to read the reviews to find out why I rated them that way!

As far as my goals are concerned, I had plans to read 9 books in January. Unfortunately, I didn’t have as much time for reading as I would have liked.  In particular, it took me almost two weeks to read The Tainted Cup even though I really enjoyed it.  So, a few of the books I had planned for January will show up in my February TBR below.  I’m hoping to read more in February, and I’ve already started 3 books!

February 2024 TBR

My main goal for February is to stay caught up on ARC’s for books releasing in 2024.  So, the non-negotiable for me is to read the two books coming out in February and the two books coming out in March that I haven’t gotten to yet.  All the other books I’m listing are books I’d like to get to, but I won’t be upset if I’m not able to.  At the pace I’m going so far, though, I should finish at least 3 books by this time next week.  That will put me on a perfect pace to get through this entire list over the course of February.

As you can see, I’ve already started three of these books.  I’ll likely finish The Shining first followed by Fathomfolk and To Cage a God over the course of the next week to week and a half.  I’m so excited to finish the Mead Mishaps series and read Shadow Baron as well.  I’m thinking later in the month I may also do a post about books coming out in March and April that I’m excited about.  April is looking really stacked, so I definitely need to keep up with my TBR in February!

Have you or do you plan to read anything on my lists?  What books are you excited about this year?  Let me know in the comments!

ARC Review: Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey

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**The links below are to the book’s StoryGraph page for reference. I do not receive any compensation for clicking links.**

Book: Valdemar

Author: Mercedes Lackey

Pages: 455

Source: DAW books

Publisher: DAW books

Genre: Fantasy

Publication Date: December 26, 2023

Summary:

The long-awaited story of the founding of Valdemar comes to life in this 3rd book of a trilogy from a New York Times bestselling author and beloved fantasist.

The refugees from the Empire have established a thriving city called Haven with the help of the Tayledras and their allies. But the Tayledras have begun a slow withdrawal to the dangerous lands known as the Pelagirs, leaving the humans of Haven to find their own way.

But even with Haven settled, the lands around Haven are not without danger. Most of the danger comes in the form of magicians: magicians taking advantage of the abundant magical energy in the lands the Tayledras have cleansed; magicians who have no compunction about allying themselves with dark powers and enslaving magical beasts and the Elementals themselves.

Kordas, his family, and his people will need all the help they can get. But when a prayer to every god he has ever heard of brings Kordas a very specific and unexpected form of help, the new kingdom of Valdemar is set on a path like nothing else the world has ever seen.

Perfect for longtime fans of Valdemar or readers diving into the world for the first time, the Founding of Valdemar trilogy will delight and enchant readers with the origin story of this beloved fantasy realm.

My Review:

I received a free advanced reader’s copy of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey from DAW books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you, DAW!

Valdemar takes place about ten years after the events of the previous two books in the Founding of Valdemar series.  As such, do not read any further if you don’t want to be spoiled for Beyond and Into the West.  My reviews for the first two books can be found here and here.

That being said, this is the book in this trilogy that I have been waiting for!  I have been absolutely rabid for this book.  Throughout my journey reading the Valdemar series, I’ve always been interested in learning more about how Valdemar was founded and where the Companions come from.  Anyone else who has been waiting for the answers to these questions will not be disappointed with this book.

Valdemar opens with Kordas contemplating the blossoming city of Haven, the titular country’s capital.  Kordas and his people have endured much during both their escape from the Empire and the past ten years as they’ve worked to establish a relatively safe place to call home.  Kordas feels they may have finally accomplished that last, but he’s not totally satisfied.

The surrounding area is full of strange creatures, even if the dangerous change circles have been cleansed by their allies the Tayledras.  The Tayledras are slowly moving on and away, though, and Kordas worries the people of Haven may not have the means to drive back a large magical threat should one come along.  Additionally, Kordas is worried about his successors and future rulers of Valdemar.

Kordas knows that he is a good ruler, even if he beats himself up about mistakes and can never relax.  He also believes his son Restil will be a good ruler.  But what about those who come after them?  How can Kordas guarantee Valdemar continues to be ruled fairly and well?

I really enjoyed reading about this inner-conflict Kordas had with himself.  I think everyone doubts themselves and their abilities from time-to-time, and that can only be amplified when in a leadership position.  Kordas feels especially responsible for his people because they left a relatively stable, if dangerous, environment for the complete unknown.  He feels it’s his responsibility to protect them, not just now, but well into the future.  This book really did a good job illustrating that Kordas is a skilled leader.  He uses every resource available to ensure his people are safe and secure.

Another interesting perspective is introduced in this book which comes from Restil, Kordas’s eldest son.  He was barely a teenager in the previous two books, but in Valdemar he’s all grown up and learning how to lead the kingdom one day.  Restil is also the source of a lot of sarcastic humor in the book.  It was a great way for Lackey to break up some of the more tense moments.  Kordas and Restil would often work together to solve problems as well, and that was fun to read.

Finally, my absolute favorite part of the book is when the Companions arrive.  I won’t give any spoilers away on how and when it happens, but I really loved this part of the book.  I also liked that Lackey took this opportunity to explain more about Companion magic and magic in general in the world of Valdemar.  These explanations will probably make more sense to readers who have already read other Valdemar books, but I still think the entire trilogy is a pretty good introduction to the world if you’re new to it.  I think the Founding of Valdemar trilogy would be a good starting point for anyone interested in Valdemar, and I definitely recommend reading it if you’re already a Valdemar fan.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey four out of five stars.  This book is a great conclusion to the trilogy, and I really enjoyed reading it.  I loved all the different perspectives and the few surprises that popped up during the story.  The new information about the Companions and the Tayledras was also interesting reading.  Definitely pick this and the other two books up if you’re looking to dive into the world of Valdemar!

Have you read any of the Valdemar books?  Do you want to? Let me know in the comments!

ARC Review: The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry

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**All links are for the book’s StoryGraph page for reference. I do not receive any compensation for clicking these links.**

Book: The Magician’s Daughter

Author: H.G. Parry

Pages: 390

Source: Orbit

Publisher: Redhook

Genre: Fantasy, Historical

Publication Date: February 21, 2023

StoryGraph Summary:

A young woman raised on an isolated island by a magician discovers things aren’t as they seem and must venture into early 1900s England to return magic to the world in this lush and lyrical historical fantasy.

It is 1912, and for the last seventy years magic has all but disappeared from the world. Yet magic is all Biddy has ever known.

Orphaned as a baby, Biddy grew up on Hy-Brasil, a legendary island off the coast of Ireland hidden by magic and glimpsed by rare travelers who return with stories of wild black rabbits and a lone magician in a castle. To Biddy, the island is her home, a place of ancient trees and sea-salt air and mysteries, and the magician, Rowan, is her guardian. She loves both, but as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she is stifled by her solitude and frustrated by Rowan’s refusal to let her leave.

One night, Rowan fails to come home from his mysterious travels. To rescue him, Biddy ventures into his nightmares and learns not only where he goes every night, but that Rowan has powerful enemies. Determination to protect her home and her guardian, Biddy’s journey will take her away from the safety of her childhood, to the poorhouses of Whitechapel, a secret castle beneath London streets, the ruins of an ancient civilization, and finally to a desperate chance to restore lost magic. But the closer she comes to answers, the more she comes to question everything she has ever believed about Rowan, her own origins, and the cost of bringing magic back into the world.

My Review:

I was given a free advanced reader’s copy of The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry courtesy of Orbit books in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you, Orbit!

The Magician’s Daughter takes place in a fictional version of Great Britain during the early 1900’s in which magic is not only very real, it’s becoming increasingly rare.  Magic in this world comes from schisms, or openings in the very fabric of reality.  Magic leaks through the schisms, and mages collect and use the magic for spells and workings.  However, as the years have gone on, the schisms have closed one by one until it seems there will one day be no magic left in the world whatsoever.

The Council’s approach to this problem has been to collect and hoard whatever magic they can find.  Magic is given out sparingly and only in approved circumstances and to approved people.  Harsh new laws against any unauthorized magical use are enforced with violence, imprisonment, and sometimes execution.  The real problem is no one truly understands why the schisms have closed or how to get them back.

Not everyone agrees with hoarding magic as the solution, though.  Rowan O’Connell is like a magical Robin Hood that constantly steels magic from the Council for both his own use and the use of other mages.  He does this while searching for a solution to magic becoming more and more scarce.  Naturally, the Council would like nothing more than to put a stop to Rowan’s thievery, but there’s just one problem – they can’t find him.

Rowan lives on a magical island off the coast of Ireland called Hy-Brasil with his familiar Hutchincroft and ward Bridget, or “Biddy” as she’s often called.  Rowan rescued Biddy from the shores of Hy-Brasil after a shipwreck, but he’s never allowed Biddy to leave the island, for reasons he hasn’t shared with Biddy herself.  Then, when Biddy is seventeen, everything changes.  Rowan is forced to allow Biddy to leave the island and use her as bait in a trap for the Council.  Their success or failure will determine the fate of magic in the world forever.

On the surface, The Magician’s Daughter is a coming of age story for Biddy.  She has lived on the magical island of Hy-Brasil her entire life.  Anything she knows about the outside world is what she’s read in books and stories.  She doesn’t know how a young woman like herself should dress or behave in the outside world.  As a result of her education being largely through literature, she’s also a bit naïve about what leaving the island will be like.

Over the course of the story her belief in herself and Rowan are challenged severely.  I will say she reasons through each situation as logically as she can considering how little she knows about the real world.  One thing she had going for her is her knowledge of magic.  Even if she can’t use it herself, her understanding of certain magical principles and how to use magical objects saved her a number of times.  It was very gratifying to watch her grow as a person throughout the book.

Looking deeper at the story, though, there were several themes addressed that could have been plucked straight from today’s news stories.  The first of these can be summed up as conservation.  The overuse of magic became a huge deal by the end of the book, and it is also a metaphor for overuse of resources in the world today in my opinion.  On the one hand, Rowan and others like him felt that magicians should be giving back instead of just taking magic.  The need for balance was a running theme in regards to magic throughout the story.

People like Rowan believed that magicians are just as much caretakers of magic as they are users of it.  Again, this can be compared to how we treat our world and its natural resources. The Council’s proclivity to hoarding magic for a select few is similar to how wealth is hoarded in the world today. There should be controls, and there should also be checks and balances on that control.  However, too much control is also a bad thing.  It’s all about balance.

In the end, Biddy, Rowan, and others learned these lessons, but not without intense struggle and costs.  I really enjoyed reading about how Biddy worked through problems.  She has a unique perspective being a non-magical person in a magical world.  She also manages to work through her naivete to the point I didn’t find it annoying.  Some books try to make characters ignorant to then turn around and patronize them, but this book didn’t do that.  In spite of some of the bloodier scenes, this book definitely had a cozy feel to it that left me feeling warm inside by the very satisfying ending.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry four out of five stars.  It’s a fantastical coming of age story woven with mystery and magic.  I loved all the characters, but I especially loved how Biddy didn’t give up no matter what.  Even when she thought people closest to her had betrayed her, she kept going until the problem was solved.  I also enjoyed the unique take on magic the story had and the metaphors for common problems in the world today.  Anyone looking for a fantasy story just a shade darker than cozy should give this book a read.

Have you read any books by H.G. Parry?  Are you interested in this one?  Let me know in the comments!

ARC Review: City of Stardust by Georgia Summers

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**The links below are to the book’s StoryGraph page for reference. I do not receive any compensation for clicking links.**

Book: The City of Stardust

Author: Georgia Summers

Pages: 352

Source: Orbit

Publisher: Redhook

Genre: Fantasy, Magical Realism

Publication Date: January 30, 2024

Summary:

Curses are made to be broken.

For centuries, generations of Everlys have seen their brightest and best disappear, taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers, for a purpose no one understands. Their tormentor is a woman named Penelope, who never ages, never grows sick – and never forgives a debt.

Ten years ago, Violet Everly’s mother left, determined to break their curse, and never returned. Now Violet must find her mother, or she will be taken in her place.

To do so, she must descend into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge. She must also contend with Penelope’s quiet assistant, Aleksander, who she knows cannot be trusted – and yet to whom she finds herself undeniably drawn.

Tied to a very literal deadline, Violet will travel the edges of the world to find Marianne and the key to the city of stardust, where the Everly story began . . .

My Review:

I received a free advanced reader’s copy of The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers from Redhook via Orbit books in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you, Redhook and Orbit!

Violet Everly has lived her entire life in the Everly house.  She didn’t go to school or make friends, and she didn’t visit the park or the zoo.  Her mother left years ago, and she’s only had her uncles to keep her company.  They’ve done their best to raise her and educate her, but more than that, they’ve done their best to hide her.

You see, the Everly family has been cursed by an ageless woman named Penelope for generations.  Each generation one of them must die, and now Violet is the last of the Everly’s.  With her mother gone for the past ten years, Violet is the only one left to take her place.  Her uncles’ plan seemed to be working, until one night Penelope figures out what they’re hiding.  In an effort to buy themselves some time, Violet’s uncles bargain for ten more years.  Ten years to find a way to break the curse.  Ten years to find Violet’s mother, Marianne.

All this time Violet has believed the curse is just a family story, and like any other story, it isn’t real.  That is, until she meets Aleksander.  He introduces her to magic and describes a world that can’t possibly be real.  A world where the stars are gods and magic is made of stardust.  It is this world Violet suspects her mother may have disappeared into.  The only problem is if magic is real, then so are curses.  Violet’s time is running out.  She now only has one year left to find her mother and break the curse.  The question is, will that be enough?

So, you know those conspiracy theorists who believe everything is run by a secret society in the background?  In The City of Stardust they’d be right.  That other world Aleksander tells Violet about is Fidelis, and he lives in it.  Aleksander is Penelope’s apprentice, and it is his life’s goal to become a Scholar. Scholars are like magicians with the Talent to manipulate star metal.  They’re the magical engineers of Fidelis, and they can travel between worlds.  This makes it quite lucrative for them to trade between the worlds.  Thus, a society of Scholars rules many things in the background.

Above it all is Penelope.  She scares even the Scholars, and she’s after Violet.  The mystery of why Penelope cursed the Everly family is the core conflict of the entire book, but it’s far from the only mystery.  Finding out who Penelope really is and what makes the Everly family so special are also mysteries that get unwound by the end of the story.  I really enjoyed how interwoven the past was with the present and future in this book.  I also enjoyed how the characters almost all affected the story in their own way.

I say almost all because the only thing I didn’t care for with this book was the introduction of a few characters that didn’t seem to be more than a convenient plot device.  Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, but the way the characters were written, it seemed like they were meant to be more important than they were.  Instead, they just served to give Violet information along her journey to break the curse.  It wasn’t information she could’ve have gotten a different way either, so it just bothered me a bit.  It didn’t bother me while I was reading, though. It was only after sitting with what I had read for a while that this occurred to me, so it’s unlikely to distract anyone reading the story.

Another thing I will caution readers about is the violence and descriptions of that violence in the book.  It’s a bit unexpected, so just be aware it exists in the book.  If this type of thing bothers you, then you may not enjoy certain parts of the book. 

Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed this story.  Georgia Summers’ writing is almost like music.  It just flows and has feeling.  Everything is so descriptive and real.  I truly cared about the characters, even when I wanted to strangle one of them for continuous betrayal (no spoilers!). 

The one thing I was left thinking is how cheated Violet was of her life from the family curse.  She’s essentially lost her mother, never knew her father, and lived cloistered for years.  Then, when she finally feels free, she finds out she has a year to break the curse or die.  It really made me think, what would I do if I knew I had a year to live?  Would I exhaust every option to keep living, as Violet did, or would I do something else?  If I knew magic and other worlds were out there, I might just follow in Violet’s footsteps after all.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I gave The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers five out of five stars.  It was certainly the best book to start 2024 with, and I’ll definitely be re-reading it at some point.  This book is written with lyrical prose and beautiful descriptions.  The main characters have depth, and I cared what happened to them.  The ending is bittersweet, but that’s just life in general.  I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for their next read in fantasy and magical realism.

Do you plan to read City of Stardust?  What other books have you read so far this year?  Let me know in the comments!

ARC Review: Deep Freeze by Michael C. Grumley

~ VenusBloo ~ 2 Comments

**All links are to the book’s StoryGraph page for reference. I do not receive any compensation for clicking links.**

Book: Deep Freeze

Author: Michael C. Grumley

Pages: 336

Source: Forge

Publisher: Forge Books

Genre: Thriller, Sci-fi

Publication Date: January 9, 2024

Summary:

 From the bestselling author of the Breakthrough series: In his next near-future thriller, Michael C. Grumley explores humanity’s thirst for immortality—at any cost…

“A fast-paced juggernaut of a story, where revelations pile upon revelations, building to a stunning conclusion that will leave readers clamoring for more.” —James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sigma Force series

The accident came quickly. With no warning. In the dead of night, a precipitous plunge into a freezing river trapped everyone inside the bus. It was then that Army veteran John Reiff’s life came to an end. Extinguished in the sudden rush of frigid water.

There was no expectation of survival. None. Let alone waking up beneath blinding hospital lights. Struggling to move, or see, or even breathe. But the doctors assure him that everything is normal. That things will improve. And yet, he has this nagging feeling that there’s something they’re not telling him.

As Reiff’s mind and body gradually recover, he becomes certain that the doctors are lying to him. One-by-one, puzzle pieces are slowly falling into place, and he soon realizes that things are not at all what they seem. Critical information is being kept from him. Secrets. Supposedly for his own good. But Who is doing this? Why? And the most important question: can he keep himself alive long enough to uncover the truth?

My Review:

I received a free advanced review copy of Deep Freeze by Michael C. Grumley from Forge Books in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you, Forge!

Deep Freeze takes place in a near-future America where secret labs are very real, and those running them have their own agendas.  John Reiff ends up in such a lab after he is seemingly killed rescuing people from a bus accident.  The bus he is on careens off a bridge into an icy river, and everyone makes it off except John.  He is understandably surprised when he wakes up, who knows how many days later, in a hospital barely able to move or talk.

Now, all of this sounds like a very interesting set up for a thriller, right?  In fact, some of the marketing I’ve seen for the book compares it to books by Blake Crouch.  I loved Pines by Blake Crouch, and Upgrade was a fun time (even if the last few pages seemed to negate the protagonist’s entire argument).  So, I went into this book with expectations for a thriller with sci-fi elements about a man on the run searching for answers.  That, it turns out, is not quite what I got.

I did not in fact even finish this book.  It’s been a very long time since I have DNF’ed a book, actually, and it takes quite a bit to make me do so.  I did give this book a chance.  I read over 100 pages of the book, but when the most exciting thing to happen in the course of the first 100 pages of a thriller is the bus crash in the first 10 pages, then there’s a problem.

Following the accident, very little of interest happens other than a little background information being trickled out about the lab and the people running it.  I know the author was trying to be mysterious, but the whole cloak and dagger government conspiracy was obvious even with frustratingly few details being revealed.  I didn’t really care about the characters or what was happening to them because by the 100 page mark I still didn’t know anything about them!

Speaking of characters, the main turn off for me with this book was that John Reiff is obviously a rip-off of Jack Reacher.  They’re both Army vets with no home, no middle name, and a roaming nature.  They’re both tough and prefer to solve problems with their fists.  John Reiff even says something almost exactly the way Jack Reacher said it.  When asked why he wanders around, Reiff responds with how he wants to see more of the country he has spent his life defending on his own terms.  It was all a bit too on the nose and became very distracting for me, since I’m a huge fan of Jack Reacher.

Don’t get me wrong.  This could have been done in a very interesting way because taking a character like Jack Reacher and dropping him into a sci-fi thriller is certainly an intriguing prospect.  This book, unfortunately, did not do that.  Instead, John Reiff is a washed out copy of Jack Reacher, and he’s stuck in a lab for the first third of the book.  It just wasn’t executed very well for such an interesting concept.

A few other more minor things that bothered me about this book were the treatment of the main female character and the author’s obsession with explaining every scientific detail about process and machines used in the lab.  It almost read as if he just learned all of this cool science stuff and had to share it with the world.  It honestly came off a bit patronizing. 

Which brings me to how he treated the main female character.  Other characters in the book almost constantly mention how brilliant she is and how talented she is as a scientist.  But in the same breath they will mention how naïve she is and how weak it makes her seem.  It’s like she wasn’t allowed to be brilliant without a caveat while the men were allowed to have few, if any, flaws in their character.  Consequently, male characters often seemed to talk down to the female character, and it was incredibly off-putting to read once I noticed it.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy or even finish this book.  While the concept was what drew me to the book in the first place, its poor execution and  other flaws were distracting enough that I didn’t want to go back to it after putting it down.  Plus, I am fine when authors want to take an archetype and spin it into something new.  However, when it becomes obvious that rather than using an archetype, they just ripped off a character from another book, I don’t agree with that.  Maybe other people will still find the story enjoyable, but it just wasn’t for me.

My Rating:

Rating: 1 out of 5.

I gave Deep Freeze by Michael C. Grumley one out of five stars.  This book unfortunately had too many flaws that were too distracting to keep me interested in reading.  I really wanted to like this book, since the ideas behind it were so interesting.  The only thing that even tempted me to keep reading was unraveling the mystery in the background, but it wasn’t enough for me to pick it back up in the end.

Have you tried reading Deep Freeze?  Did you like it or not, and why?  Let me know in the comments!