Bone Shaking Witches

Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice)

By Joseph Delaney

Old Gregory has been a spook for years, ridding the county villages of evil. He needs an apprentice, he's already had twenty-nine. Thomas Ward will be his next apprentice, the seventh son of the seventh son. This is the first in a long series (13 books, plus additional short stories and novellas).

Honestly, I half expected this book to unimpress me. Boy was I wrong. Gripping action, creepy lore, and wonderful, yet mysterious characters. Sold.

Thomas Ward is an enjoyable character. He is terrified when he needs to be and resourceful. His actions are completely believable. The girl with pointy shoes, Alice, is an enigma. I expect her to come back, no doubt. And Spook, Old Gregory, the master knows more than he is telling. He is the right amount of mysterious.

Let's talk about the creep factor. Wow. This book has some serious elements of horror. I had to remind myself I was reading a middle grade book because the way Delaney wrote the Mother Malkin scenes and the last apprentice's appearance (no spoilers) had me biting my fingernails. I was on the edge of my seat. Surely, I would have nightmares.

Hands down, this is a great book. I might even continue with the series... if the length didn't daunt me.

4/5 STARS

Up is Down, Down is Up

Summer & Bird

By Katherine Catmull

Summer and Bird are sisters. Their parents disappear and they decide to search for them – this leads them to the magical, the enchanting bird-dimension world of Down. There, an evil puppeteer queen that swallows birds whole manipulates the birds and the two sisters' paths.

First off, I chose this book solely on the cover. The picture does not do the texture and metallic sheen justice. Inside, each chapter title is delicately outlined with an illustration of branches and birds (much like the front).

The writing deserves 5/5 stars. Beautifully written. I couldn't get enough of the writing style. Crisp, enchanting, mind bending, and lyrical.

However....

... the story I can only give 2/5 stars. For most of the book, I had no idea what was going on. It was written in a dream-like manner, abstract and vague. Up was down and down was up. Topsy turvy. Like Alice in Wonderland - minus the whimsy, more confusion.

The description in Goodreads says blending reality with magic. That is one way to put it.

I couldn't grab hold of the characters. Their motivations were clear, their feelings were clear, and yet, I felt very distant from them. The world probably was the reason for my disconnection. Dream logic - you think you're one place, and blink, you're in another. Highly imaginative settings; surreal landscapes.

Perhaps I missed the point. Like a piece of artwork so unusual you feel like there's a deeper meaning that you missed...

2/5 STARS

Purple Iron

Iron Hearted Violet

By Kelly Barnhill

Most princesses are beautiful, dragons are terrifying, and stories are harmless. Princess Violet is plain and clever. When she and her best friend, Demetrius, stumble upon a hidden room with a powerful book, they release an unknown evil power upon their world.

I don't know why, but I got serious "The Princess and the Gobin" vibes. It read very much like an old-world fairy tale. Not exactly immersive, yet relateable.

Unfortunately, I did not connect to any of the characters. That does not mean I did not connect to the story. In fact, there were many elements that I did like. It began simply, then blossomed to complex. 

I admire what Barnhill was writing. She tackled multiple universes, challenging story norms, playing with the narration, and of course in the tag-line, changing the stereotypes of typical fairy tales.

The ending was satisfying and flowed much more quickly than the beginning. I did feel as though the book could've been shorter...

All in all, a solid fairy tale.

3/5 STARS

Bout of Books 12.0 ~ Wrap Up

The week long Bout-of-Books is over. I'm very pleased with my results.

My goal was to complete 2 books and I ended up finishing 3. As well as originally reading 500 pages, and I upped it to 1000, and ended with 1,314 total.

All in all, a wonderful reading week. What a great way to start off the year!

Stay tuned for reviews on "Iron Hearted Violet" by Kelly Barnhill and "World After" by Susan Ee.

15 of 15

New Year. New list of all the books I want to read. This year's list is daunting. As a challenge, somewhat, these are my top 15 most excited to read books. They are not necessarily new. They are the books that I am most looking forward to read.

1. Summer & Bird ~ the cover had me sold immediately

2. The Red Knight ~ a knight, defending the innocent, monsters, a kingdom threatening plot

3. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender ~ gorgeous writing, whimsical fantasy

4. The Wise Man's Fear ~ continuing this incredible journey

5. The Winter Crown ~ you had me at Eleanor of Aquitaine

6. Entwined ~ retelling of a fairy tale, one of my favourite fairy tales, 12 Dancing Princesses

7. Dreams of Gods and Monsters ~ finish the series that captured my fantastical heart

8. The Mime Order ~ find out what happens in this complex society

9. Hild ~ cover and premise, early Medieval/Iron Age, the king's seer

10. Afterworlds ~ meta story about writer and their characters, love the idea

11.The Ladies of Mandrigyn ~ ladies with swords

12. World After ~ evil angels, cruel world, fast action

13. Bitter Greens ~ Rapunzel retelling, 3 separate stories woven together

14. Clariel ~ if only to go into The Old Kingdom once more, return to the place that helped me fall in love with fantasy

15. Bitterblue ~ finish the series, enter the incredible world and love all new characters