Me on The Cold Is in Her Bones

Title: The Cold Is in Her Bones
Author: Peternelle van Arsdale
Release Date: January 22, 2019
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster imprint)

Milla knows two things to be true: Demons are real, and fear will keep her safe. Milla's whole world is her family's farm. She is never allowed to travel to the village and her only friend is her beloved older brother, Niklas. When a bright-eyed girl named Iris comes to stay, Milla hopes her loneliness might finally be coming to an end. But Iris has a secret she's forbidden to share: the village is cursed by a demon who possesses girls at random, and the townspeople live in terror of who it will come for next. Now, it seems, the demon has come for Iris. When Iris is captured and imprisoned with other possessed girls, Milla leaves home to rescue her and break the curse forever. Her only company on the journey is a terrible new secret of her own: Milla is changing, too, and may soon be a demon herself.

The Cold Is in Her Bones is a tale about girls who never feel like enough, who never feel smart enough or pretty enough or resourceful enough, and what happens when they take the chance to be themselves.

Milla is a girl who just is. There's nothing overly special about her. She lives with her parents and brother on their farm, she does her chores and does what she's told. But it's never enough for her mother, who always seems to scold Milla for not being more than who she is. Her older brother Niklas is seen as perfect, but Milla loves him so her anger towards him never lasts. When a new girl, Iris, comes to the farm, Milla is ecstatic. Finally, a girl her age she can be friends with. But Iris comes with secrets, secrets that have Milla reconsidering the life she's lived, the things her mother pushes on her. Secrets that start a change in Milla.

This book is all about Milla becoming a fully realized young woman. When she leaves to find Iris, to free her, to discover the truth behind the demon and the voices, she's finally given the chance to just be herself. Away from her mother, away from her picking and her scolding and her expectations. This is for those girls who don't feel like enough, because they are enough the way they already are. Sometimes you don't get the words from your parents that you were always hoping you'd here. Sometimes you have to leave the place you once called home in order to find the place you were meant to be. Sometimes family is made up of people you followed and saved along the way, or people who took you in and supported you for a time. It's a curious fairy tale-esque of a story, a tale of regret and hope and finding yourself.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Simon & Schuster Canada through NetGalley.)

Me on Blanca & Roja

Title: Blanca & Roja
Author: Anna-Marie McLemore
Release Date: October 9, 2018
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan imprint)

The del Cisne girls have never just been sisters; they're also rivals, Blanca as obedient and graceful as Roja is vicious and manipulative. They know that, because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. They know that, one day, the swans will pull them into a dangerous game that will leave one of them a girl, and trap the other in the body of a swan. But when two local boys become drawn into the game, the swans' spell intertwines with the strange and unpredictable magic lacing the woods, and all four of their fates depend on facing truths that could either save or destroy them.

Blanca & Roja is a magical, mysterious tale of sisters and swans, of secrets, of devotion and plans and good intentions. It's fear and sweetness and wonder all at the same time.

Blanca and Roja have always knows that, one day, the swans will come to take one of them. Because that's what's always happened to sisters in their family. That one day two will become one, when only one sister remains while the other becomes a swan, joins all the past del Cisne girls who were taken to become swans. They figure they know what will happen, that the sweet Blanca will be left behind while the swans take Roja with all her sharp edges, but that doesn't stop them from trying to save each other. Then a bear wanders through the woods, then the girls find a cignet, and two locals are drawn in, intrigued by the girls and running from their own lives. Hiding from hard truths.

This is yet another Anna-Marie McLemore book that explores young women and queerness and family and love through a Latinx fairy tale retelling. It's a book about complicated family dynamics and figuring out who you are and hope and pain and confrontation and, in the end, hopefully living freely. It's a book about girls with sharp edges and dreams of the future, about boys with gentle hearts looking for places to belong. It's magic and reality all rolled into one, unable to see the separation between the two. If you're a fan of Anna-Marie McLemore's books, you'll continue to be a fan after this one.

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

Me on Damsel

Title: Damsel
Author: Elana K. Arnold
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins imprint)

When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, however, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon, or what horrors she has faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome prince, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny to sit on the throne beside him. Ama comes with Emory back to the kingdom of Harding, hailed as the new princess, welcomed to the court. However, as soon as her first night falls, she begins to realize that not all is as it seems, that there is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows–and that the greatest threats to her life may not be behind her, but here, in front of her.

Damsel starts like a new chapter in a book where the plot never changes. The prince heads off to defeat a dragon, returns with a damsel he rescued from the tower, marries her, becomes king, has a son, and when the son is old enough, he heads off to defeat a dragon. This is how it is, again and again. Now, it's Emory's turn to defeat the dragon. And so he returns with his damsel, Ama, who remembers nothing of her life before. This is a dark feminist tale, an exploration of rape culture. It's harsh and occasionally graphic, bound to be disturbing and triggering to some. It's the story of a young woman who had something taken from her, whose inner fire is slowly burning out, and how she brings it to life once more. This is all about the pain and fear that so many young women are subjected to by men, both those they know and complete strangers. The fear that they will be beaten or raped if they don't listen, if they don't do what men want, if they don't just stay quiet and sit in an empty room. It's also about the fire inside those young women, the power they hide and the power they set free. This is one of those hard, discussion-starting books that not everyone will want to read because of the abuse and rape scenes.

In terms of whether or not I enjoyed it, not really, but how can you like a book about abuse and rape and young women perpetually forced into situations without their consent? I found the twist to be rather obvious, but I figured what it was after reading the summary. I was curious as to how it would all play out.

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

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (363)

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

Title: Cucumber Quest: The Ripple Kingdom
Author: Gigi D.G.
Release Date: February 28, 2018
Publisher: First Second (Macmillan imprint)

From Goodreads:

The quest to save Dreamside continues! After a surprise attack at sea, Cucumber finds himself in the Ripple Kingdom, home to white sand, blue waves . . . oh yeah, and the giant, terrible squid monster holding Almond and Sir Carrot captive. Can our so-called "legendary hero" rescue his companions from the nefarious Splashmaster?

Nah, probably not.

Good thing Princess Nautilus is here! With her wit, charm, and positive attitude, there's no way they can lose. But saving the day won't be as simple as it seems once a 500,000-year-old secret comes to light . . .

Adapted from the popular webcomic series of the same name, Cucumber Quest: The Ripple Kingdom is the second book of a clever, adorable, and hilarious four-volume heroic adventure that is sure to make you hungry for sweets and action.

If you're looking for more kid-friendly comics, and by kid-friendly I'm talking all-ages, then check out Cucumber Quest. It's bright and fun and all about mysteries and puzzles and being who you want to be instead of what others want you to be.

Blog Tour: The Hazel Wood

Hi there! Welcome to one of today's stops for the blog tour of Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood!

This is like no other fairy tale retelling you've read before. It's haunting and creepy. In no way did I expect that it would go the places it went, reveal the characters it did. As part of the blog tour, here's my review of The Hazel Wood, followed by a question answers by the author!

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 Waiting on Wednesday (347)

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

Title: The Hazel Wood
Author: Melissa Albert
Release Date: January 30, 2018
Publisher: Flatiron Books (Macmillan imprint)

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: Her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

This seems like an eerie present day-set fairy tales are real and dangerous kind of story, a little like The Darkest Part of the Forest. And so I'm in. :)

Me on Hunted

Title: Hunted
Author: Meagan Spooner
Release Date: March 14, 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins imprint)

Beauty knows the Beast's forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city's highest aristocrats, far from her father's old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who's ever come close to discovering them. So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there's no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas... or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva's father's misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he'd been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance. Deaf to her sisters' protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva's only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

Hunted is haunting and mysterious, layered with complications. With magic, with desire. With dreams and impossibility. But who is the hunter and who is the hunted?

Yeva is grasping, yearning for something. Something more than her life as the pretty daughter. Something that resembles the childhood she had in the forest with her father who taught her to hunt. A life with no pressure, no town gossip or persuasion to get married and have children. She finds that peace in the forest. But she's not the only hunter in the trees, scaring up rabbits and deer. Something stalks the forest, searching for a hunter.

Something that races through this book is the idea of freedom, the strong need for it. That desire, to be free of restrictions and rules and obligations, strikes at the heart of so many. For Yeva, it's the desire to live her own life, to return to the days and the place where life was simple, when she could be in the forest and be herself. Listening to the world around her. Hunting with her father and their dogs. She wants something intangible, something different than the quiet lives with loving husbands that her sisters would prefer (which she doesn't begrudge them for, above all else she would want her sisters happy). And she feels that she will find it out in the snowy woods.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Knowing that a book is a fairy tale retelling, knowing where the plot will go, it can get predictable, but this felt fresh and intriguing. The weaving in of different tales and magic, Yeva's own stories and searching, the struggle and combat that was far more internal then external. The romance where both parties respected each other, flaws and complications and all. I imagine fairy tale retelling fans will greatly enjoy this, as will fans of the author's previous books.

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

Me on Spindle

Title: Spindle
Author: E.K. Johnston
Release Date: December 6, 2016
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

It has been generations since the Storyteller Queen drove the demon out of her husband and saved her country from fire and blood. Her family has prospered beyond the borders of their village, and two new kingdoms have sprouted on either side of the mountains where the demons are kept prisoner by bright iron, and by the creatures the Storyteller Queen made to keep them contained. But the prison is crumbling. Through years of careful manipulation, a demon has regained her power. She has made one kingdom strong and brought the other to its knees, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. When a princess is born, the demon is ready with the final blow: a curse that will cost the princess her very soul, or force her to destroy her own people to save her life. The threads of magic are tightly spun, binding princess and exiled spinners into a desperate plot to break the curse before the demon can become a queen of men. But the web of power is dangerously tangled--and they may not see the true pattern until it is unspooled.

Spindle is magical, a tale of gifts and curses, of journeys and dreams, of spinners and demons. A tale of the threads that tie us together, that trap us, and that bind us in order to keep us strong.

Each character is their own person, wonderfully crafted. Each with their own habits, their own personalities, their own minds and bodies. Yashaa, Saoud, Tariq, Arwa. Zahrah. These are real people, real human beings, and this journey of theirs could mean life or death. Hope for the future or destruction of the place they once called home. A special mention must be made to the female characters that E.K. Johnston writes. They know their strengths and use them, they know their weaknesses and seek to learn, to improve. All female characters should be written like this.

It's not hard to see the ways this connects to A Thousand Nights, but it's also wonderful as a standalone story. The brief mentions of the Storyteller Queen and how she locked the demons away in mountains and iron. This isn't quite as fanciful as the previous book, there's more of a connection to the characters, to the people. Perhaps it's their names that make them feel more real as opposed to the legend of the Storyteller Queen, her sister, and the King-Who-Was-Good.

This book is a thoughtful creature. It considers all sides, all possible choices, and slowly weaves them together. Time is taken to stop and think, to look at options and opinions. So rare is the book that does that, that doesn't speed along headfirst into danger. A must-read for fans of fairy tales, fans of magic, and those who crave being told a story.

(I was gifted a hardcover copy of this book.)

Blog tour: Vassa in the Night

Hello! Welcome to the blog tour for Sarah Porter's Vassa in the Night! Many thanks to Raincoast Books for setting up the tour and sending an advance copy. This is definitely not your average story, not your average fairy tale retelling. Today on the tour, you'll find an excerpt of Vassa in the Night. Enjoy!

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (295)

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

Title: Wires and Nerve, Volume 1
Author: Marissa Meyer
Illustrations: Douglas Holgate
Release Date: January 31, 2017
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan imprint)

From Goodreads:

In her first graphic novel, #1 New York Times and USA Today bestseller Marissa Meyer follows Iko, the beloved android from the Lunar Chronicles, on a dangerous and romantic new adventure -- with a little help from Cinder and the Lunar team.

In her first graphic novel, bestselling author Marissa Meyer extends the world of the Lunar Chronicles with a brand-new, action-packed story about Iko, the android with a heart of (mechanized) gold. When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers' leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder and the rest of the Rampion crew, this is a must-have for fans of the bestselling series.

It's Iko! I love Iko. She's the best android best friend a girl could ask for. And now she's getting her own series, her own chance at leading the story. In graphic novel form! I'm so excited for this.

Me on The Shadow Queen

Title: The Shadow Queen
Author: C.J. Redwine
Release Date: February 16, 2016
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins imprint)

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She'll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen. In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol's father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman... and bring her Lorelai's heart. But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn't going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

The Shadow Queen is a dark and twisted fairy tale retelling, a battle of wills and power.

Lorelai is a combination of strong and weak. The sudden death of her father and betrayal of her stepmother hardened her, made her grow up quickly. The sudden responsibility of watching over her younger brother made her watchful, cautious. Her magic, her skill, makes her a force to be reckoned with. It makes her dangerous. But that doesn't mean she isn't afraid. She fears going up against Irina, of being defeated, of not being strong enough. She's afraid that she'll never be strong enough to reclaim her throne. This way of thinking, Lorelai can't see that she's holding herself back. She sees Irina as an unbeatable enemy. Until Lorelai is pushed too far, until Irina's terror hits her where it hurts.

On the other hand, Kol is reckless and foolish, head-strong, and full of fire. Not just because he's a dragon. The unexpected king, he feels the pressure to rule and be sensible like never before. The interactions between him and Lorelai make for some amusing banter as they both trying to figure each other out, figure themselves out, and figure out how to defeat Irina without everyone dying in the process.

As I read this, I wondered if others would compare Irina to Levana of the Lunar Chronicles series. Both have been wronged, ignored, both feel that they've been cheated. Both have committed terrible acts in order to get what they want. There's this trend going on where the villains are shown as being three dimensional, where their motives and reasons are becoming more plausible beyond just being evil and battling the heroes. Where they're actual people.

This book does a good job at keeping up the tension. Lorelai is very good at a number of things, but there were always stepping stones for her to walk across. Always obstacles in her path. Always times where someone was either too reckless, too involved, or too worried about someone else instead of themselves. I thought it was the first in a series, not the first in a series of connected stories, so I was a little confused when a proper ending appeared. That being said, I wasn't disappointed. And I'm curious as to where the following books will go in this fantasy world. I would recommend this to those looking for more fairy tale retellings with interesting heroines.

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

Me on The Radiant Road

Title: The Radiant Road
Author: Katherine Catmull
Release Date: January 19, 2016
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers (Penguin imprint)

After years of living in America, Clare Macleod and her father are returning to Ireland, where they'll inhabit the house Clare was born in—a house built into a green hillside with a tree for a wall. For Clare, the house is not only full of memories of her mother, but also of a mysterious boy with raven-dark hair and dreamlike nights filled with stars and magic. Clare soon discovers that the boy is as real as the fairy-making magic, and that they're both in great danger from an ancient foe.

The Radiant Road is a magical and mysterious fairy tale rich with imagination and possibilities, of history and fireflies. Of hope and fear and purpose.

Clare is a quiet, lost girl. A lonely girl. A girl who locked away all of her memories of her mother and her mother's stories because it was too painful for her to remember. And so she stayed alone in her head, travelling with her father, writing her words in her secret notebook. Because not every child grows up with stories of making and of the Strange. Not every mother taught their daughters about faeries and magic and secrets tucked away in their commonplace books. Clare, with her stories and talk of faeries, is seen as weird and foolish by other kids, so she makes herself grow up fast. Until she and her father return to Ireland. Until she sees the boy with the black hair, until she remembers it isn't all stories and nonsense.

There is a rich world here full of faeries, if that's what you call them, magic, and creation. There is a realm of possibility living alongside Clare's human world, a realm that invites dreaming and making the impossible. A realm of wonder but also of deep, dark, dangerous secrets. With the human world growing, changing, this other world needs protection. It needs Clare and her glorious house with a tree inside of it.

Clare is caught in that space between the fantasies of childhood and the harsh realities of purpose and decision-making. Between possibility, between running through the streets barefoot and fancy-free, and hitting those teenage years when you're forced to start thinking about your future. High school, college, jobs. But in this space Clare discovers who she is, what she can do. What her true purpose is in this little hill house with the yew tree inside of it. I would recommend this to fans of magical and almost poetic storytelling, to those looking for a lost heroine who's on a hard road to find her way again.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Penguin Random House Canada.)

Me on Winter

Title: Winter
Author: Marissa Meyer
Release Date: November 10, 2015
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan imprint)

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana. Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won't approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak as Levana believes her to be and she's been undermining her stepmother's wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long. Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

Winter is a dangerous, explosive ending to a gripping, intriguing, unique series. A series about girls taking charge and fighting back, an evil queen set to rule the world, some clever boys ready to help, and a witty android sidekick.

The book is titled after Winter, a trapped princess, a young woman slowly losing her mind, but it isn't just about her. It's about Cinder's last stand against Levana, it's about Scarlet getting out of her cage and finding Wolf, it's about Cress finding the courage to fight back and not cower in the shadows. And yes, it's about Winter and her fractured mind but still being able to help. I did like how Winter's mental illness was handled, how her attraction to Jacin didn't make it all better. How her mind was fractured, showing her things that weren't there, and how she fought to stay sane. How she wanted to stay sane. How she wanted to get better for herself.

This book is all encompassing. It's hard to describe, hard to discuss without giving anything away. It's massive, which means a lot happens. There are fights and betrayals, racing off down corridors and falling victim to secret plans and plots. There are happy moments, sad moments, devastating moments. This is the end of a story that started all the way back when a disguised prince walked up to a skilled mechanic in a market square, asking for some help. Now that mechanic is a lost princess trying to survive, now that mechanic is a girl with a number of friends, all skilled at different things, all ready to help her. Now that mechanic is no longer alone, but this is the greatest danger she's ever faced.

I do think fans of the series will enjoy this, will be thrilled to see it end in an exciting way. But I will admit that there was a time or two when it felt like the book was dragging. So much is happening. At the beginning, Cinder is heading to Luna with Kai, Wolf, Thorne, Cress, and Iko, and Scarlet is stuck on Luna with Winter and Jacin. Then they all explode together and soon after fracture. Again and again. Back and forth from the palace to the outer sectors. From freedom to captivity. It just felt like a lot was happening, perhaps too much. That being said, I was intrigued by how everything happened, who helped out and who got in their way. Who was still horribly evil. How it all ended.

(I purchased a copy of this book.)

Me on Spinning Starlight

Title: Spinning Starlight
Author: R.C. Lewis
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Publisher: DisneyHyperion

Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it's hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it's just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired. Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi's vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead. Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home-a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers' survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?

Spinning Starlight is exciting and dangerous, a young girl's mission to save her brothers while on the run and on a strange new planet. Liddi must overcome a number of obstacles, like her inability to speak and her very important reason why, in order to keep everyone she loves alive.

Liddi is a compassionate girl, a smart girl in her own ways. Just not in the way the public expects. She's expected to be a technological genius like her brothers. She's expected to take over her family's company. She feels more like an ugly duckling, constantly in the spotlight, everyone talking about her like she can't do anything or say anything or dress right. On a planet of technologists and cutting-edge inventions, Liddi feels like she doesn't belong. And when she uncovers a dangerous plot and flees to another planet, she definitely doesn't belong.

What I found so interesting is that with all the tech, all the advancements, all the space travel, Liddi can't read or write. People still learn, still go to school, still teach, still create, still understand, but reading and writing seem to have been phased out. It's an intriguing possibility, the idea that we will become so visual we'll phase out our written language. Liddi's very out of her element when she travels through the conduit, when she meets Tiav and learns how things are done on his world. When she can't explain her situation for fear of dooming her brothers. She's lost, confused, on the run, but she still pushes herself to fix things.

I vaguely knew the fairy tale this book drew from, The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen. It was great to see a lesser-known tale get the spotlight as a retelling. They don't always have to be Snow White or Cinderella retellings. There are other fairy tales out there, some rather intriguing, some complicated, and some very bizarre.

While this is said to be a companion to the author's previous book, I saw that it's not set in the same universe, so don't expect any reoccurring characters. I would've been happy to see them, to try and remember their story, but I was happy enough to read about Liddi and her problems, her love for her brothers, her desire to prove herself and find a way to save them. Fans of Stitching Snow and other fairy tale retellings should give this a read.

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

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (235)

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

Title: Spinning Starlight
Author: R.C. Lewis
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

From Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it's hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it's just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired.

Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi's vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead.

Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home-a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers' survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?

Haunting and mesmerizing, this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans strings the heart of the classic with a stunning, imaginative world as a star-crossed family fights for survival in this companion to Stitching Snow.

I rather enjoyed Stitching Snow last year, it was more than just a sci-fi fairy tale retelling. Of course, I assumed it was a standalone, but I imagine this is more of a companion than a direct sequel. And it's based on The Wild Swans, a lesser-known fairy tale. More retellings of fairy tales that aren't so well-known, please. How many Cinderella or Snow White retellings can there be?

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (225)

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

Title: A Thousand Nights
Author: E.K. Johnston
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

From Goodreads:

Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.

I'm so excited for this because it's a chance to read more of Kate's words. Kate words are like Tessa Gratton words and Maggie Stiefvater words to me, they mean different things at different angles and they're all about people. They tell magical and heartbreaking stories, and they jab be right in the heart. And the sibling part, the idea that it's just as much, if not more, about the girl and her sister than it is about the girl and Lo-Melkhiin. That's what hooked me.

Me on Magonia

Title: Magonia
Author: Maria Dahvana Headley
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollins

Aza Ray is drowning in thin air. Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live. So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name. Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who's always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia. Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—and as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. And in Aza's hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?

Magonia is mysterious and wondrous, like a brand new fairy tale. It's the story of a girl who discovers she's more than she thought, a girl with a power and a purpose she's unsure of.

Aza has a realistic and practical attitude brought on by living with her disease. It's a bit of an angry but honest view of the world. She sees through the veils we put up, the fake promises and the dreams, and sees the reality of it all. That sometimes it doesn't matter. She's living as much as she can, But then she's taken, taken up above the clouds to Magonia, and she's lost. Confused. This defies all logic. When she starts to get to know those around her, she becomes wary of their plans. Plans that, somehow, involve her and a hidden power she never knew she had. But they never bother to really tell her what their plan is, what her power is, which is so frustrating.

The world-building is so intriguing. Magonia is a curious place up in the sky, full of airships, magical creatures, and the looming threat of war. The ships travel the world, searching for supplies, cursing those who live on the ground. They stay hidden from human eyes, rooting themselves in fable and myth. What child hasn't looked up at the clouds, at their shifting patterns, and wondered if there was something up there? What child hasn't looked up and thought they saw something that shouldn't be there?

I wonder if one of the reasons why I found this book so interesting is because I was able to let go and believe it was all happening. That I was willing to believe in the impossible, the mystical and the magical and the bizarre. My favourite parts were when Aza was up on the ship, the ways in which the Magonians are different than humans. The birds. Don't be fooled by the the title comparisons. Stardust? Yes, I can see it. The Fault in our Stars? No. In no way is that a good comparison to this book. A definite read for fans of fantasy mixed with reality, for fans of the impossible, for fans of characters lost and struggling to find their own voice in order to save what they care about most.

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

Me on Kin

Title: Kin
Author: Lili St. Crow
Release Date: March 3, 2015
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin imprint)

In the kin world, girls Ruby de Varre's age are expected to play nice, get betrothed, and start a family—especially if they're rootkin, and the fate of the clan is riding on them. But after a childhood of running wild in the woods, it's hard to turn completely around and be demure. Even if your Gran is expecting it. Then Conrad, handsome and charming, from a clan across the Waste, comes to New Haven to seal alliance between their two families. The sparks fly immediately. Conrad is smart, dominant, and downright gorgeous. Yet as Ruby gets to know him more, she starts to realize something's... off. Then, the murders start. A killer stalks the city streets, and just when Ruby starts to suspect the unimaginable, she becomes the next target. Now Ruby's about to find out that Conrad's secrets go deeper than she ever could have guessed—and it's up to Ruby to save her Gran, her clan, and maybe even herself....

Kin is a return to a place dark and mysterious where magic twists and turns its way around everything. It's the tale of a girl and her battle with her future, a life of control over a life of freedom.

Ruby is a welcome character. She's brash and bold, fun and caring. Cami and Ellie are everything to her, after kin. But things are different now. Ruby believes she's trapped, trapped between being who she is, a little wild and a little reckless, and being the next Clanmother, which means getting married and having babies as soon as possible. She feels this future is inescapable, so she capitulates in a way. She stops being Ruby and tries to be someone else. She hides from Cami and Ellie. She's in so much denial over everything that she's drowning in it, sinking so fast she can't tell how far away the surface is. It's Ruby lying to herself, pretending, that hurts her the most.

Each girl in each book has come fact to face with the wretched monster that is denial, that is lying to yourself because you think it'll make it easier for everyone else. With Cami, it was the shadows in her past. With Ellie, it was her stepmother's constant abuse. This time around, it's the hated future of popping out babies and never running free that changes Ruby. All three of them struggle to find the strength to push past it, to find that one moment that tells them they're free to be themselves.

Back to New Haven. Back to a town full of magic, of the Families and their dark secrets, to the rootkin and their connection to the moon, to the Charmers and the jacks and the Twisted out in the Waste. This world is lush, dangerous, and wonderfully crafted.

This has been a series of broken girls struggling to fix themselves, to find themselves, to find the strength to fight back against the people that attempt to push them down. They may lie to themselves, to others, they may hide, but in the end it all about them pushing forward and breaking free, no matter how painful it's been. Fans of fairy tale retellings, monsters with sharp teeth, and girls with sharper claws should definitely give this series a read.

(I purchased a copy of this title.)

Me on Valor

Title: Valor
Editors: Isabelle Melançon & Megan Lavey-Heaton
Artists & Writers: Isabelle Melançon, Megan Lavey-Heaton, Jayd Aït-Kaci, Elena "Yamino" Barbarich, Ash Barnes, Morgan Beem, Cory Brown, Ran Brown, Meaghan Carter, Nicole Chartrand, Kadi Fedoruk, Tim Ferarra, Sara Goetter, Emily Hann, Megan Kearney, Michelle "Misha" Krivanek, Justin Lanjil, Angelica Maria Lopez, Laura Neubert, Alexandra Singer, Katie Shanahan, Steven "Shaggy" Shanahan, Annie Stohl, Joanne Webster

Valor is a comic anthology of re-imaged fairy tales showcasing the talent of some of the top creators in the field of digital comics. The purpose of this book is to pay homage to the strength, resourcefulness, and cunning of female heroines in fairy tales. Some of these are recreations of time-honored tales. Others are brand new stories, designed to be passed to future generations.

Valor is fun, adventurous, different, wonderful. All the positive adjectives I can think of. Bright, colourful, expressive artwork combined with rich storytelling. Each story is anchored by a heroine who fights monsters, stands up for herself in dangerous times, or rescues loved ones. Because there are 23 stories, comic and prose, it's a bit hard for me to review each one. All are anchored by heroines going off on quests, taking matters into their own hands. There are white, black, Asian, and even metal heroines. There are straight and gay heroines. They can and do rely on others for support, but these are their stories. Their adventures. Their time to kick butt and take names, if the situation calls for it. As always with anthologies, there are some stories I liked more than others.

There's Prunella by Isabella Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton, where Prunella's scowl is captured perfectly, where she toils away for a witch that cursed her, where she keeps on working for the witch because she pays well. Prunella is grouchy and stubborn but fiercely loyal.

There's Bride of the Rose Beast by Michelle Krivanek, the story of Kari, forced to marry a monster made from a queen's greediness, and the plan to keep the monster from devouring her on their wedding night.

There's Crane Wife by Alex Singer and Jayd Aït-Kaci (text by Ariana Maher), with soft, gorgeous artwork accompanying a heartbreaking story about an injured crane lost in a snow storm and the gift she gave to the hunter who saved her.

There's The Flower in the Gravel by Angelica Maria Lopez, bright with colour, about an abandoned tower of treasure guarded by a dragon and a young girl who doesn't believe in any of that foolish talk. Instead, she races headfirst into a tower filled with dangerous traps to find the greatest treasure of all.

There's Lady Tilda and the Dragon by Sara Goetter, a wordless, emotional tale of Lady Tilda and the dragon she meets in a dark, creepy cave. The artwork is sweet and expressive. I loved how the characters and the setting told the story, making words useless. The ending always leaves me teary-eyed.

And there's Winter's Gift by Joanne Webster and Isabelle Melançon (letters by Megan Lavey-Heaton), about a rabbit travelling through the seasons, using her clever mind and clever wit to outsmart three of them on her journey to the fourth to ask for the rabbits' gift. Bunny never says no, just talks her way around and out of traps, showing that those who look weak aren't necessarily weak.

If you ever get a chance to read this, read it. It's fun and smart, filled with strong and clever female characters who take matters into their own hands.

(I received an e-book copy of this anthology after backing the project on Kickstarter.)