Me on Let's Revisit a Book! (2)

And we're back with another fun look back at an older YA book to see if I still think it's good or not. Today, or prior to today, I reread Malinda Lo's Adaptation! (There might be a little bleed-through of the second half of the duology, Inheritance, because they do go hand in hand.)

Title: Adaptation
Author: Malinda Lo
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

From Goodreads:

Reese can’t remember anything from the time between the accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: She’s different now.

Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded.

Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won’t tell them what happened, where they are—or how they’ve been miraculously healed.

Things become even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a different place with police enforcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction—and threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.

My revisit conclusion: it's still really good! It's like sci-fi lite, set in the present day with some creeping in of aliens and advanced technology and conspiracy theories and a secretive government (because aren't they all? *winky face*). I do like stories like this, when it's set in the present day and everything's as the reader knows it but there's something that's a little different, something unfamiliar and chaotic in all the mundane.

What books like this seem to be about, to me, is about the unexpected. How sometimes it comes right at us, barreling into us, and we're just left behind to pick up the pieces and move on. But we know something's different, something's changed, and there's no one there to ask why or how or if it can be stopped or how long it's going to last or why us. Why now. And now that it's happened, how do we navigate this familiar but slightly different space when no one's there to guide us? I mean, there are figures there to guide us as best as they can, but it's not 100%. We have to learn on our own, and that can be a frightening prospect when we don't understand what's happened.

So if you haven't read this duology and you're looking for some sci-fi, far less violent and deadly than Independance Day with a fair amount of alien confusion and romance, then give it a chance. It flips back and forth between alien secrets and tension to teenage romance and Reese questioning her sexuality.

I hope you've enjoyed this week of looking back at a couple of slightly older YA books. I'll probably do this again when I get a free week or two. :)

Me on These Rebel Waves

Title: These Rebel Waves
Author: Sara Raasch
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins imprint)

Adeluna is a soldier. Five years ago, she helped the magic-rich island of Grace Loray overthrow its oppressor, Argrid, a country ruled by religion. But adjusting to postwar life has not been easy. When an Argridian delegate vanishes during peace talks with Grace Loray's new Council, Argrid demands brutal justice—but Lu suspects something more dangerous is at work. Devereux is a pirate. As one of the outlaws called stream raiders who run rampant on Grace Loray, he pirates the island's magic plants and sells them on the black market. But after Argrid accuses raiders of the diplomat's abduction, Vex becomes a target. An expert navigator, he agrees to help Lu find the Argridian—but the truth they uncover could be deadlier than any war. Benat is a heretic. The crown prince of Argrid, he harbors a secret obsession with Grace Loray's forbidden magic. When Ben's father, the king, gives him the shocking task of reversing Argrid's fear of magic, Ben has to decide if one prince can change a devout country—or if he's building his own pyre. As conspiracies arise, Lu, Vex, and Ben will have to decide who they really are... and what they are willing to become for peace.

These Rebel Waves is plots and plans and secrets upon secrets. It's adventure and intrigue and survival. It's the past returning, revealing its true intention. It's about people who would see the infirm saved from sickness and an island free from an oppressive ruler. But their missions are never solved that easily.

Lu is a smart, battered, determined young woman. She's fighting hard to see Grace Loray stand on its own, free from Argrid, even if that fighting is done watching and listening to council meetings. It's still work to make sure the island will be free. But there are some things that bother her, make her wonder. Vex is a known stream raider, working illegal jobs and running around under the radar as much as he can. Until he gets caught. Until a demanding young woman walks up to his jail cell, ready to make a deal. Ben is thoughtful. Worried. The deaths of his uncle and cousin still ring true inside him, still make him question his father's plans. Especially when his father comes to him, asks him to research and utilize the magic plants of Grace Loray. Why, when he has named magic evil? Is he being set up, are his true feelings about magic being revealed so he too can burn, or does his father have a plan that would change everything?

This is a rather dense story of political intrigue, secret magic, hope, fear, and freedom. It's intriguing, but it's certainly a lot of plotting and planning, running from place to place in order to either get help or uncover the truth. Or, when it comes to the parts seen from Ben's point of view, it's a lot of hiding his true feelings and being afraid of ending up like his uncle and cousin before everything around him shifts, blasting away his expectations. I was certainly curious as to where Lu and Vex would go and what they would find out, what Ben would discover and what his father's true plans were. And I was intrigued by the magical plants, by there being certain plants on Grace Loray with magical properties and what this meant in terms of healing or battle or missions. I was also interested by the island of Grace Loray itself, the different parts of it and the different groups of people that call it home. Those who went there to make new lives, those who were brought there. Those who hide away, still calling themselves a certain name even though they've never been to the land their ancestors were from. It was interesting to me, thinking about the history of immigration on Grace Loray and some real life comparisons. It was a little long for me, but I'm still curious as to how the next book will play out, considering this is the first in a duology. After the reveals and the ending, I'll be keeping an eye out to see what happens next.

(I received an advance copy of this title from HarperCollins Canada.)

Me on The Handsome Girl & Her Beautiful Boy

Title: The Handsome Girl & Her Beautiful Boy
Author: B.T. Gottfred
Release Date: May 8, 2018
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (Macmillan imprint)

Everyone assumes that Zee is a lesbian. Her classmates, her gym buddies, even her so-called best friend. So many people think that Zee likes girls, even Zee is starting to wonder. Could they be onto something? Everyone assumes that Art is gay. They take one look at his nice clothes and his pretty face and think: well, obviously. But there's more to Zee and Art than anyone realizes. When Art first meets Zee, he knows he's found someone special--someone magical. Zee may not be able to see that magic in herself, but Art is bound and determined to show it to her. What develops is a powerful connection between two people who are beautiful in all the ways they've been told are strange. As they explore their own complexities in gender, sexuality, and identity, they fall for the complexities they find in each other.

The Handsome Girl & Her Beautiful Boy is bold and eye-opening, an honest and personal look into the lives and problems and relationships of two teens who aren't too interested in how other people define them. But when it comes to their own relationship, their own connection, they struggle to define it in a way that makes sense with what both of them want.

Zee likes sports, likes CrossFit, likes hanging out with her best friend who's a guy. Because she isn't like other girls, because she doesn't wear dresses or make-up, most people around her assume she's a lesbian. But she isn't. Art is boisterous and flamboyant, he's chatty and kind and has an eye for nice clothes. Everyone assumes he's gay, that he's lying when he says he isn't. When Art meets Zee, he feels that he's finally found someone who understands, someone who's amazing. It's love at first sight for him. But Zee isn't so sure that she feels the same.

This is a very interesting, very curious, very frank and open book when it comes to teens questioning their sexuality and gender and experimenting. But this is just one story. No two teens are the same, in reality or in fiction. There's no one right way to figure out who you are, no right way to be, and this is Zee and Art figuring that out. This is a hard book to describe, it full of hard moments and gushing texts and exploration and teens having sex (because teens do and will have sex). It's honest and unapologetic and sometimes uncomfortable, but then again so is life. So is being a teen asking questions and figuring things out.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (380)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Girls of Paper and Fire
Author: Natasha Ngan
Release Date: November 6, 2018
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson Books (Hachette Book Group imprint)

From Goodreads:

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honor they could hope for... and the most cruel.

But this year, there's a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she's made of fire.

In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it's Lei they're after--the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king's interest.

Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king's consort. But Lei isn't content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable--she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.

HOW INTERESTING. This sounds so intriguing, even through I'm wary because I've seen a few people mention warnings for assault and rape. It sounds very much like it's about women fighting back against terrible circumstance and terrible men but that the fight is in no way easy.

Me on Lumberjanes: The Moon is Up

Title: Lumberjanes: The Moon is Up
Author: Mariko Tamaki
Illustrator: Brooklyn Allen
Release Date: May 8, 2018
Publisher: Amulet Books (Abrams imprint)

Welcome to Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. The five scouts of Roanoke cabin—Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley—love their summers at camp. They get to hang out with their best friends, earn Lumberjane scout badges, annoy their no-nonsense counsellor Jen... and go on supernatural adventures. That last one? A pretty normal occurrence at Miss Qiunzella's, where the woods contain endless mysteries. As the camp gears up for the big Galaxy Wars competition, Jo and the gang get some help from an unexpected visitor—a Moon Pirate!

Lumberjanes: The Moon is Up is more fun and adventure with the ever-popular and ever-unique Lumberjane scouts of Roanoke cabin.

While the books are about everyone, all 5 girls get their moments, there's a little more focus on Jo this time around, like there was with April in the previous book. Jo's the quiet thinker, the practical scientific one in their group with a love of math and science. She's smart and resourceful. She knows who she is, even when some thought she was someone else when she was younger (Jo is transgender). Her days are spent having adventure after adventure with her friends, but then a letter arrives. A serious one. A letter that could mean great opportunities for her. But it would mean leaving camp. Leaving adventure and fun behind. Plus, there's the whole missing cheese and a sudden appearance by a Moon Pirate to deal with.

As with the previous book, I love the idea of this, of more stories about the girls of Roanoke cabin and the bizarre situations they often fall into, of little prose adventures that work alongside the comics. It's certainly not a series you can go into without at least reading a couple of the collected trade volumes of the comics, but the tone is the same. The adventure and the friendships, the awesomeness of young girls supporting other young girls. The worry if you're doing the right thing. The puns when it comes to badge names and the references to famous women. A must-read for the middle grade crowd of Lumberjanes fans.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Amulet Books through NetGalley.)

Me on Reign of the Fallen

Title: Reign of the Fallen
Author: Sarah Glenn Marsh
Release Date: January 23, 2018
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin imprint)

Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin. A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?

Reign of the Fallen is mysterious and eerie. With magic and danger at nearly every turn, Odessa is haunted by more than the prospect of someone forcing the Dead to attack the living.

Odessa's is a curious voice. Practical and determined, a little sweet and thoughtful, and as time goes on, full of an angry sorrow. She knows her place as a necromancer, embraces it, knows she is secure in her place as one of the few desperately needed in order to keep King Wylding ruling over Karthia. Bringing him back from the dead. She knows her place with Evander, partner and boyfriend. But when the Dead begin to go missing, when the Dead are turned into Shades and turned on Odessa and the other necromancers, it feels like everything has gone wrong. Like the world is falling apart around her. Like she is falling apart.

Initially, I was rather intrigued with the necromancy part of the book and the reason for it. The Dead that continue to rule over Karthia, the mystery surrounding the Shades and their attacks. But then I saw part of the book as an exploration of grief. The sorrow we feel when a loved one dies. The claims we make, as if anything we do could bring them back. In Karthia, they can come back, at a cost to both the living and the dead. But what is the cost when it could reunite loved ones, parents or partners? What is the cost when it reunites parents and children, kings and subjects? And what is the cost, even with a necromancer's magic, when the dead cannot return? I enjoyed this so much, this story of magic and death, of family, of grieving and acceptance. I would recommend this to fantasy YA readers looking for something different, because this certainly felt different. The treatment and process of the necromancer's abilities, the different ways of grieving, the twists and motives behind the rising of the Shades. I'll be keeping an eye out for any more books set in this world.

(I borrowed an e-book copy of this title from the library.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (373)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Fierce Like a Firestorm
Author: Lana Popović
Release Date: August 21, 2018
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins imprint)

From Goodreads:

In the bewitching conclusion to Lana Popovic’s sumptuous and romantic teen fantasy duology, Malina must use her gleam to rescue her twin sister from a magical power more dangerous than Death.

Twin sisters Iris and Malina thought they knew how to reverse the ancient curse that haunts their line, the spell that destines them to use their gleams—unique forms of beauty-manipulating magic—to entice and enchant none other than Death himself.

But both sisters thought wrong.

Instead of ending the wicked bargain with the power of her infinite bloom, Iris is taken to an exquisite, uncanny realm in between this world and the next—a world Death created for her alone. Only, unlike all of Death’s companions before, Iris’s body goes on the one-way journey along with her soul, arriving in a kingdom never meant to sustain a living girl.

Left behind with Niko, her girlfriend, and Luka, the boy her sister loves, Lina searches for a way to save Iris. But as Lina unearths the dark secrets that bind her family to parallel fates of loss and immortality and Iris tries to outwit Death on his own terrain, a power resurfaces that even Mara, the original witch mother, fears. Now both sisters must learn to fully embrace their gleams—or else they’ll truly lose each other forever.

Luscious and breathtaking, Fierce Like a Firestorm is the second book in Lana Popovic’s dazzling duology about freedom, beauty, sacrifice, and the infinite power of love.

The first in this duology was rather interesting and different, about sisters and power and confidence and destiny, and so I'm definitely curious as to where this will go in Malina's journey to rescue Iris. What magic will appear, what the cost will be, if it's a happy ending or one that's only happy for some.

Me on Opal

Title: Opal
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date: March 1, 2018
Publisher: Scholastic

An enchanting story from Maggie Stiefvater featuring Opal, Ronan, and Adam from her bestselling Raven Cycle, taking place after the events of The Raven King.

Opal is a brief return to Henrietta, a return to a dreamer and a creature pulled from dreams. It's the story of a summer through inquisitive and thoughtful eyes.

After Cabeswater, after Gansey and Blue left, Ronan stayed at the Barns. Because of course he would. And he wouldn't be alone. He'd have Adam, when Adam wasn't away at school. And he'd have Chainsaw, who wasn't the best at conversation. And he'd have Opal, the young girl with furry legs and hooves where human legs and feet would be, because he'd pulled her from his dreams.

This is the story of Opal, of life at the Barns seen through her eyes and thought about in her mind. It's a story of curiosity, Opal ever interested in anything and everything she comes across. It's a story of magic, Opal wary of the dreamstuff Ronan keeps off in the long barn, afraid of it but still drawn to it because she's also dreamstuff. It's a story of fear, Opal unsure of what the future holds, the idea of undefined periods of time without Adam around upsetting her. This is a glimpse in time, a moment tethered to the page by the way Opal's mind works, her thoughts and feelings driving it through the house and across fields of sleeping and not sleeping cows. It's seeing that life continued on in Henrietta, some of it good and some not, some of it happy and some full of questions and arguments. It's seeing that, for some, the story didn't end, and instead continues down another road.

(I borrowed a copy of this title from the library.)

Me on The True Queen

Title: The True Queen
Author: Sarah Fine
Release Date: January 2, 2018
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

Now that Ansa knows she is the destined queen of Kupari, she is desperate to find a permanent home for her people, the Kriegere, in the Kupari lands. But as the small band of warriors crosses into the foreign territory, Ansa loses her fragile grip on her newly-acquired—and violent—fire and ice magic and puts everyone, including her love Thyra, in danger. Inside the walls of Kupari, Elli maintains the facade that she is the magical queen, with her secret—that she has no magic at all—on the brink of exposure every day. But as she tries to prepare the citizens to protect themselves from another invasion, unrest spreads as wielders like her beloved Oskar begin to lose control of their powers. As Kupari grows increasingly unstable, with the land literally crumbling beneath their feet, and a common enemy once again threatening everything, these two young women on a collision course with destiny must find a way to save the realm and their people from total destruction.

The True Queen is a conclusion, an ending for multiple journeys. It's a coming together of magic, of different people, and of danger. It's Elli and Ansa finally coming together, magic and balance reunited, but with the land tearing itself apart, they may not have long.

Ansa is on her way back to Kupari. The land of her birth, the land she was taken from. The land that's desperate for her to return as the Valtia, but she worries. Worries about her magic, about how to control it in order to keep her people and Thyra safe. Thyra has faith in her, but Ansa isn't so sure. Elli is struggling to keep things calm in Kupari, in a city that believes her to be their magical saviour when she isn't. When the ground starts moving, when fire and ice wielders begin to lose control, she's at a loss. She can only hope that the Valtia will come to them, will help restore the magic. But danger is always waiting for its time to strike.

What happens in this book are multiple struggles, for survival, for power, and for control. Both Ansa and Elli will do whatever it takes to keep the land whole, to keep everyone alive, to keep everyone they care about alive. But the land is making its demands. This was certainly a conclusion that didn't pull its punches, that made impossible demands of the characters. I don't know if it made me happy, but I do think it made sense in terms of the overall story. Hard choices have to be made.

(I borrowed a copy of this title from the library.)

Me on Before I Let Go

Title: Before I Let Go
Author: Marieke Nijkamp
Release Date: January 2, 2018
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Best friends Corey and Kyra were inseparable in their snow-covered town of Lost Creek, Alaska. When Corey moves away, she makes Kyra promise to stay strong during the long, dark winter, and wait for her return. Just days before Corey is to return home to visit, Kyra dies. Corey is devastated―and confused. The entire Lost community speaks in hushed tones about the town's lost daughter, saying her death was meant to be. And they push Corey away like she's a stranger. Corey knows something is wrong. With every hour, her suspicion grows. Lost is keeping secrets―chilling secrets. But piecing together the truth about what happened to her best friend may prove as difficult as lighting the sky in an Alaskan winter...

Before I Let Go is haunting and eerie. It's a complicated story about life and loss, about hidden truths in small towns, and about coming and going. Leaving and returning. What's left behind and what's lost.

After the sudden news of her best friend's death, Corey is left confused and alone. Worried. Something must have happened. She knows Kyra, she knows that Kyra would've wanted to see her when Corey returned. And so she continues her trip back to Lost Creek, Alaska, to find out what happened to Kyra and to say good-bye. But the town feels different than she remembers. Everyone's a bit more closed off than she remembers. And everyone is mourning Kyra. Nothing is what Corey expected to find and she's determined to discover the cause of Kyra's death and the town's change of heart.

There's a lot said in this book about the different ways we're seen by the people around us, those close and those not so close. To Corey, Kyra is so much. She's creative, bold, open, troubled. In need of support, looking for a way out of Lost Creek so she can get the help she needs. They're best friends. Corey will always care about Kyra, she'll want what Kyra wants. To the town, at first she's a bother. She's unhinged. They don't know how to deal with first her bipolar diagnosis and later her moods, her swings from being manic to being depressed. She isn't like everyone else, and they don't know what to do. Later on, Kyra becomes something more. Something used to serve their needs instead of her own. More of a thing than a person that needs help and support.

This is definitely a serious book told in different parts, through Corey's return to Lost, Kyra's unsent letters, and the town's own view of itself. I would recommend this to fans of mysteries and and thrillers, small towns with potentially dangerous secrets.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Sourcebooks through NetGalley.)

Me on Foolish Hearts

Title: Foolish Hearts
Author: Emma Mills
Release Date: December 5, 2017
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (Macmillan imprint)

The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn't supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn't know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they're both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia's ever seen. As Claudia's world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for.

Foolish Hearts is all kinds of sweetness and kindness. It's the story of a girl who never expected to be involved in anything, who figured she'd continue to spend high school flying under the radar, until she overheard something she wasn't supposed to.

Claudia is okay with just being. She's fine with not being popular, with just being average. She's got a supportive family, a great best friend in Zoe. She's happy with who she is, with her place in the world. Until she overhears a rather personal break-up and is threatened by half of the former couple, demanding she keep quiet. What then follows is a string of unexpected and tense events, leading up to the two being forced to assist with the school's theatre production. It's there, in the auditorium and the costume room, and later on various houses and locations, that Claudia starts to branch out. Make new friends. But is she ready?

This felt like a kind book. There were moments of laughter, of fun, of making connections with people when you never thought you'd get along with, but there were also some serious moments. Some hard, honest moments. Moments about connecting with people, about dealing with people who don't have the best personalities. Moments about feeling unskilled and useless. Moments about feeling comfortable. I haven't read any of the author's previous books, but I rather enjoyed this combination of awkwardness, friendship, and Shakespeare.

(I received an advance copy of this title from Raincoast Books.)

Me on Girls Made of Snow and Glass

Title: Girls Made of Snow and Glass
Author: Melissa Bashardoust
Release Date: September 5, 2017
Publisher: Flatiron Books (Macmillan imprint)

At sixteen, Mina's mother is dead, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone—has never beat at all, in fact, but she'd always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king's heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she'll have to become a stepmother. Fifteen-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen's image, at her father's order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories, displacing Mina. Now Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do—and who to be—to win back the only mother she's ever known… or else defeat her once and for all.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass is full of sorrow and strength, full of searching. Searching for love, for a place to call one's own.

Lynet is inquisitive and compassionate. Curious about the people that visit the castle, because she's never left the wintry world that surrounds Whitespring. She's a sheltered princess looking for something that's hers, something that can only be hers. Something that means she can come out from her deceased mother's shadow that so many people keep her under. People like her father. Her stepmother Mina is the only one who understands, the only one who sees her as herself. But when Lynet discovers the truth about herself, that she was crafted from snow and blood, she wonders what else was kept from her. If she will ever be able to be her own person.

Mina is lonely, unloved and uncared for. Her father only raises her because she owes him her life, that without him crafting her a heart of glass she would've surely died as a child. But what about love? Mina craves a place that's hers, a love that's hers. Isn't she worthy of being loved, even if she has no heartbeat? And when she finally has something that's hers, what will she do when it's taken from her?

I found the premise of this to be rather intriguing, a Snow White-esque retelling all about the princess and her stepmother, the circumstances of their situations and the evolution of their characters. It's so interesting, how they were each crafted of something both fragile and strong. The way glass shatters, the way snow melts, but the way glass reflects and reveals, the way snow can compact and protect. This was surprising, it's all about these young women discovering who they truly are, discovering what makes them strong, and the compassion that runs through them. I would definitely recommend this to those looking for unique fairy tale retellings.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)

Me on Taproot

Title: Taproot
Author: Keezy Young
Release Date: September 26, 2017
Publisher: Lion Forge

Blue is having a hard time moving on. He's in love with his best friend. He's also dead. Luckily, Hamal can see ghosts, leaving Blue free to haunt him to his heart's content. But something eerie is happening in town, leaving the local afterlife unsettled, and when Blue realizes Hamal's strange ability may be putting him in danger, Blue has to find a way to protect him, even if it means... leaving him.

Taproot is a sweet and sad story about two people, one a ghost caught in-between life and death and one a friendly gardener. Both have secrets, but only one could spell disaster.

Blue is a ghost, which makes things a little hard, but it's all good for the most part. He can still wander around through town, and there are other ghosts he can talk to and hang out with. There's lots of opportunities for people watching. And there's Hamal, who strangely enough can see ghosts. So it's not too lonely. But it's not the same. Because he can't touch anything. And there are rumours going around about a creepy dead forest pulling some of the local ghosts to it. Hamal works in a flower shop. He's a helpful and friendly guy, maybe a little shy at times, and he loves his job. And he can see ghosts, which is something he's been able to do since he was a kid so they don't scare him. They can actually be rather friendly. Like Blue. He likes spending time with Blue, but sometimes things can get awkward. As close as they are, Blue's still dead. Maybe it's time for Hamal to make more friends. Alive friends.

I rather enjoy Young's art style here. The different buildings that make up the city. The different characters, the wide range of skin colours and body types. The colours fit well with the story, lots of greens and blues, and then the lack of colour in the strange forest, just black and grey and white. I also liked their facial expressions, Hamal's curious face and Blue's big smile.

I remember reading this as a webcomic, so I'm happy to see it published and expanded at the end (from what I remember). It's a sweet story about friendship and death, about secrets and how we want to both keep them to ourselves and say them out loud before we burst. Because sometimes we wait too long before saying something important to someone we care about. I would recommend this to readers looking for more standalone graphic novels with older protagonists, those in their teens or 20's and later.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from Lion Forge through NetGalley.)

Me on The Tea Dragon Society

Title: The Tea Dragon Society
Author/artist: Katie O'Neill
Release Date: October 18, 2017
Publisher: Oni Press

After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own.

The Tea Dragon Society is all kinds of sweetness and whimsy. It's a kind, gentle story about a young girl discovering an almost lost art and the new friends it brings her while also wondering about her own future.

Greta is a sweet and friendly girl, following her mother's footsteps and training under her to become a blacksmith. But are those skills really useful anymore? Adventurers and magicians are becoming things of the past, and Greta's feeling unsure. While she is interested, while she wants to continue, she wonders if it's okay to keep blacksmithing if so few have any use of what she could create. But then one day she discovers a bullied and scared tea dragon in town.

The artwork is wonderful, a little similar to O'Neill's previous graphic novel Princess Princess but different enough that it holds its own. The mixture of bright and pastel colours, the near-constant appearance of vines and flowers in the backgrounds. The big smile of Greta's, along with that charming little fang. The waterfall-like flow of Minette's hair, as dreamy as her own expression when she struggles to remember. The different body types of the tea dragons, from long and slim Jasmine to plump and drowsy Chamomile. And the different body types of the characters, from Greta's mom being so tall and sort of muscular to Erik, battered and scarred from years of adventuring, moving around in a wheelchair.

An overall message or theme here is that, with Greta's blacksmithing apprenticeship and the art of making tea from tea dragons, history and knowledge is something to be cherished, to be continued as the world becomes more modern. There is still something to learn by heating metal in fire, by striking it with a hammer. Something to learn in taking it slow, in memories good and bad. There's still magic in old things, in slowly creating and nurturing. And there's so much diversity in this book, different races and body types and sexuality. This feels very much like the beginning of something, and I so hope that there will be more from O'Neill set in this enchanting fantasy world of tea dragons. It's definitely something I would recommend to all ages, especially kids looking for something kind and magical.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from Oni Press through NetGalley.)

Blog Tour: Timekeeper

Hello there! Welcome to today's tour stop for the paperback release of Tara Sim's wonderful Timekeeper!

Title: Timekeeper
Author: Tara Sim
Release Date: October 31, 2017 (paperback copy)
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Canadian distributor: Thomas Allen & Son

Two o'clock was missing.

In an alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, a damaged clock can fracture time—and a destroyed one can stop it completely.

It's a truth that seventeen-year-old clock mechanic Danny Hart knows all too well; his father has been trapped in a Stopped town east of London for three years. Though Danny is a prodigy who can repair not only clockwork, but the very fabric of time, his fixation with staging a rescue is quickly becoming a concern to his superiors.

And so they assign him to Enfield, a town where the tower seems to be forever plagued with problems. Danny's new apprentice both annoys and intrigues him, and though the boy is eager to work, he maintains a secretive distance. Danny soon discovers why: he is the tower's clock spirit, a mythical being that oversees Enfield's time. Though the boys are drawn together by their loneliness, Danny knows falling in love with a clock spirit is forbidden, and means risking everything he's fought to achieve.

But when a series of bombings at nearby towers threaten to Stop more cities, Danny must race to prevent Enfield from becoming the next target or he'll not only lose his father, but the boy he loves, forever.

The stunning first novel in a new trilogy by debut author Tara Sim, Timekeeper is perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare and Victoria Schwab.

Get Your Copy Today! Indigo - Amazon.ca - Amazon.com

As this is a tour for Timekeeper's paperback release, it's a good chance to remember some of the nice things I said last year when the hardcover came out. For those interested, the full review can be found here.

Timekeeper is intriguing, enthralling, mysterious, and more than a little somber. It's a story about lonely souls and missing hours, of hope and love and selfishness... I was intrigued by the world-building here, by the need for advancement in clock mechanisms because of the changes to time. Because of time being something slightly tangible, something that can be reined in and controlled... I also liked how the author altered other parts of history, like this world's views of homosexuality. Danny isn't ridiculed or hated, but it's the default of most he comes across that, when they ask if he's seeing anyone, they assume he'd date a girl... As I read this I was struck by a sweet, melancholy tone that carried me along, rising and falling as Danny worked on the clock tower in Enfield and uncovered more and more behind the bombings and the Stopped towns. At times I chuckled and at times I wanted to cry. There were some interesting pokes and prods at a deeper mystery going on, one Danny brushes up against near the end, so I'm curious as to where the second book will go and what will be revealed.

To celebrate Timekeeper's paperback release, here's an excerpt from the eagerly anticipated (and not just by me!) sequel, Chainbreaker!

Daphne remained silent. She was painfully aware of standing between these two men—two sides of a war, two sides of her birth. There was a strangeness to her skin just then, as if it weren’t actually hers. She wanted to scratch at it, see if it would flake off and reveal something truer. Something in-between, something like a mark, that would determine what to say, what to think, what she was.

Also to celebrate, Thomas Allen & Son is holding a giveaway, the prize being a paperback copy of Timekeeper! Quick note that this giveaway is Canada only and ends on October 31. The full rules can be found in the widget.

Click here to enter!

Tara Sim can typically be found wandering the wilds of the Bay Area in California. When she’s not
chasing cats or lurking in bookstores, she writes books about magic, clocks, and explosives. Timekeeper is her debut novel. Follow her on Twitter at @EachStarAWorld, and check out her website for fun Timekeeper extras!

Tara's website - Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Goodreads

Thanks so so much to Thomas Allen & Son for arranging the blog tour and the giveaway. And thank you so much to Tara Sim for the sweetness that is Danny and Colton and Timekeeper. :)

Me on The Tiger's Daughter

Title: The Tiger's Daughter
Author: K. Arsenault Rivera
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: Tor (Macmillan imprint)

The Hokkaran empire has conquered every land within their bold reach―but failed to notice a lurking darkness festering within the people. Now, their border walls begin to crumble, and villages fall to demons swarming out of the forests. Away on the silver steppes, the remaining tribes of nomadic Qorin retreat and protect their own, having bartered a treaty with the empire, exchanging inheritance through the dynasties. It is up to two young warriors, raised together across borders since their prophesied birth, to save the world from the encroaching demons. This is the story of an infamous Qorin warrior, Barsalayaa Shefali, a spoiled divine warrior empress, O-Shizuka, and a power that can reach through time and space to save a land from a truly insidious evil.

The Tiger's Daughter is epic and expansive, the beginning of a tale of two women tied together through birth and fate. A tale of gods and demons, of purpose and status. Of defiance.

O-Shizuka is royalty, destined to be Empress of the Hokkaran empire. She resents being kept in a cage, would rather rule and live how she desires. Away from sycophants and her uncle. Shefali is one of the Qorin, a tribe of nomads, living off on the steppes with their horses and their families, slightly lost in being a quiet girl with a Qorin mother and a Hokkaran father. Together, the two girls are bound together through birth and circumstance and destiny. But first, they were two young girls falling into trouble.

This will be a short review, mostly because I've found myself conflicted. Before reading this, I expected something full of magic and demons. A tale of the epic journey of O-Shizuka and Barsalayaa Shefali, the battles they fought and how they became star-crossed lovers. What this is is more of the start of who they are, who they would become, and what happens when forces around them would try and pull them apart. It's told through letters reminiscing on their childhood and young womanhood, letters from one to the other. For my own reading tastes, from what I thought this book would be, I found it intriguing but so long. So detailed. It's too long for my taste. There was so much lead up to their actual journey, their actual confrontations with demons, and even then it didn't unfold how I thought it would. Unfortunately, this wasn't the book for me. I would recommend this to those who do enjoy long, detailed, layered with complication epic fantasy.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Tor through NetGalley.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (349)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: The Unbinding of Mary Reade
Author: Miriam McNamara
Release Date: February 6, 2018
Publisher: Sky Pony Press

From Goodreads:

There’s no place for a girl in Mary’s world. Not in the home of her mother, desperately drunk and poor. Not in the household of her wealthy aunt, where a girl could never be named an heir. And certainly not in the arms of Nat, her childhood love who never knew her for who she was. As a hired sailor aboard a Caribbean merchant ship, Mary’s profession―and her safety―depend on her ability to disguise the fact that she’s a girl.

Leastways, that’s what she thinks is true. But then pirates attack the ship, and right in the middle of the swashbuckling crowd of bloodthirsty pirates, Mary spots something she never could have imagined: a girl pirate. The sight of a girl standing unafraid upon the deck, gun and sword in hand, changes everything. In a split-second decision, Mary turns her gun on her own captain and earns herself a spot among the pirates’ crew.

For the first time, Mary has a shot at freedom. But imagining living life as her true self is easier, it seems, than actually doing it. And when Mary finds herself falling for the captain’s mistress, she risks everything―her childhood love, her place among the crew, and even her life.

Oooooo, pirates. Possibly lesbian or bisexual pirates. I don't know anything about the actual Mary Reade, so I imagine this would be a rather interesting story.

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (346)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Reign of the Fallen
Author: Sarah Glenn Marsh
Release Date: January 23, 2018
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin imprint)

From Goodreads:

An LGBT fantasy series that follows a talented necromancer who must face down a deadly nemesis who has learned how to turn her magic into a weapon.

Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.

A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?

A lavish fantasy with a surprising and breathtaking LGBT romance at its core, Reign of the Fallen is a gutsy, unpredictable read that will grab readers by the throat and never let go....

This sounds really interesting. The stars of an LGBTQ fantasy series? Necromancy? Complicated zombie politics? I'm all in. :)

Me on Heathen

Title: Heathen Volume 1
Writer/artist: Natasha Alterici
Letterer: Rachel Deering
Release Date: August 8, 2017
Publisher: Vault Comics

Aydis is a viking, a warrior, an outcast, and a self-proclaimed heathen. Aydis is friend to the talking horse Saga, rescuer of the immortal Valkyrie Brynhild, and battler of demons and fantastic monsters. Aydis is a woman. Born into a time of warfare, suffering, and subjugation of women, she is on a mission to end the oppressive reign of the god-king Odin.

Heathen Volume 1 is powerful and determined, furious and full of intent. It's the beginning of a mission, of an epic quest that will take Aydis all the way up to the king of the gods.

Aydis is focused, full of sorrow and rage. Sorrow that her village would cast her out and rage at the laws of the land. Laws that subjugate women, keep them in their homes, bind them to the wishes of first their fathers and then their husbands. But what about women like Aydis? Women who would rather hunt or lead? Women who would not marry a man, who would rather kiss and love another woman? And so begins Aydis' epic quest. To first rescue the trapped Valkyrie queen Brynhild, an immortal with her own past, her own secrets, and then to seek out the god-king Odin. To bring her grievances to him.

The artwork is amazing. Rough and sketchy at times, detailed and expressive at others. The different faces of Aydis, alternating between determination and worry, surprise and sorrow. The laughing faces of the wolves Skull and Hati as they debate over when they think the world will end. The stoic Saga. The fury and resolve of Brynhild. The allure and charm of Freyja. As much as I like Aydis as a character, her complications and her fury, I love Alterici's art style, the shapes of the characters and the at times muted winter colouring.

This is certainly a story I've been waiting for, something steeped in Norse mythology involving warriors and the Valkyrie but with a twist. With attempts at righting the historical wrongs of prejudice and sexism. It's the story of a young woman who wants more out of what her options are, who wants what she wants, wants to love who she loves without being cast out or aside, and how far she will go. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more, either in the collected volumes or in single issues.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from Diamond Book Distributors through NetGalley.)

Me on Wicked Like a Wildfire

Title: Wicked Like a Wildfire
Author: Lana Popović
Release Date: August 15, 2017
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins imprint)

All the women in Iris and Malina's family have the unique magical ability or "gleam" to manipulate beauty. Iris sees flowers as fractals and turns her kaleidoscope visions into glasswork, while Malina interprets moods as music. But their mother has strict rules to keep their gifts a secret, even in their secluded sea-side town. Iris and Malina are not allowed to share their magic with anyone, and above all, they are forbidden from falling in love. But when their mother is mysteriously attacked, the sisters will have to unearth the truth behind the quiet lives their mother has built for them. They will discover a wicked curse that haunts their family line—but will they find that the very magic that bonds them together is destined to tear them apart forever?

Wicked Like a Wildfire is deeply, darkly magical, lush and sinister. It's about the secrets we keep, the family that claims us, and what lurks, waiting for us to fall in love.

Iris is bold and rough, bright and full of thorns. She's the rough sandpaper to her twin Malina's soft glide of silk. She argues with their mother, constantly butts heads with her, and continuously heads out at night to do her own thing. She doesn't understand why, when they were younger and their mother used to encourage their little bursts of magic, now they can't do anything. The lack of using her gleam has it waning in Iris, only appearing in fractal flowers. She doesn't understand their mother anymore. But then she's attacked, then she's taken, then whispers and wants weave their way through Iris, and she and Malina slowly discover the reason why their mother left her family so many years ago.

There's something so visual and expressive about this book. It's the descriptions of Iris' flowers and fractals and glasswork, the descriptions of Malina's songs. It's the emotions and sensations they impart on those around them, the feelings they stir up. The shivers and the shudders, the quakes, the laughter and the tears. This book is full of sisters and magic, of Eastern European and Romany folklore and myth, of secrets. Of fate and purpose and death. Of the power we hold when we fall in love, and the lengths some will go to to grab hold of that power. I would recommend this to those who enjoy contemporary fantasy with layers of family and mystery, something slightly similar to Jennifer Bosworth's The Killing Jar or AnnaMarie McLemore's The Weight of Feathers, but know that this is the first book in a duology so there will be some waiting to read the second book.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)