10/10!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a fantasy novel set in the modern age, incorporating pieces from both modern times and older fantasy. Now, with that out of the way. . . Daughter of Smoke and Bone is difficult to explain without sounding bizarre. I mean, one of the main recurring aspects are teeth necklaces. But despite the incredibly odd premise, the book works. Even though it is very difficult to explain without spoiling everything and without sounding like someone obsessed with a cult based around teeth, the book is well-written and fun to read. The odd plot definitely works, and in the context of the book, doesn't seem strange at all. One of the things that I most appreciated about this book was the realistic reactions to things. One of the things I take issue with in books is people putting romantic love over everything else and being totally blinded by said love. However, this book takes a more realistic approach to romance, and while the romance is still important, it doesn't overshadow any of the other types of relationships (like friendship). And even though there is a romantic subplot, the romance isn't the only thing taking place. There is plenty of fantasy action that makes it worth reading even if you don't particularly care for romance. All in all, I believe that this book is worth reading for everyone, because no matter what type of book you like, whether you like romance or fantasy, mystery or action, there is some aspect in the book that you will enjoy. There is enjoyment in this book for everyone.

October 12, 2021 Review by Penny

2/10

A Spell for Chameleon is a fantasy novel about a boy without a magical talent who lives in a world where magical talents are expected and required to prevent exile. On the surface, the premise of this book seems good, and I believe that with the proper writing, this book could have gone somewhere. However, this book has too many issues to count. Let's start with the sexism! A Spell for Chameleon was written in the 1970s, so it is relatively old, but the perspective it offers on women is outdated even for that time period. MILD SPOILERS AHEAD! In short, the main character "falls in love" with a girl who is constantly changing in regards to appearance and intellect. The reason that he offers for getting together with her is that he would get bored after a while with any woman who stayed the same, so variety was good. This is so very far from an empowering message, it isn't even funny. As a side note, the main character's name is "Bink". I snorted to myself every time I read it. Who can take a name like that seriously? Anyway, now to the next few points. Skipping past the truly disturbing mockery of a trial they had at one point, let's move on to the writing style. When beginning this book, the plot felt like it was moving in a certain directon. However, about a third of the way through, everything seemed as though it was done, and then the character set of on a tangent to do something else. Tihs happened multiple times. Now, I am all for unpredictable plot twists, but this book felt as if the author didn't have any sort of plan for what the heck he was doing and was just making things up as he went along. It was as if the author started walking down a path, fell into a rabbithole, ended up back out of the rabitthole (through pure luck), and blundered about blindfolded while wandering in circles until he tripped and fell on his face. That is the sort of feel I got from this book. It was just bad. All in all, the only reason I would ever recommend reading this book is simply to make fun of it with friends who have also read it. There is simply no purpose it can serve other than mockery.

April 29, 2022 Review by Penny

10/10!

Lore is a fantasy book that intertwines the modern world with Greek mythology. Essentially, the premise of the book is that every seven years, the Greek gods and goddesses must walk the earth as mortals and try to survive. If a mortal kills them during this time period, they gain all of the powers of said god or goddess. I thought that this was a fascinating idea, especially how the old legends were compared to the modern world. All of the mythology seemed out of place in our current time, and yet the book worked incredibly well and didn't seem ridiculous or forced. While there was romance involved, it was secondary, and didn't get in the way of the actual plot. Without spoiling the book, one of the other things that I found particularly unique about it was that the story seemed to be constantly heading towards a particular theme while subtly sending signals that the theme was wrong. Then, at the end of the book, the true theme shone through. I thought this was an extremely captivating stylistic choice, because I thought at first that I knew where everything was going, but there were small little hints that made everything feel. . . off. The writing style had to be incredibly nuanced to accomplish this, and yet it still felt like a modern book, using modern language and appealing more to young adult audiences. The wording wasn't at all pretentioius, and it was easy to get sucked into the book, because the way that the author wrote made it seem as if someone was telling you a story out loud. All in all, Lore is an extremely good book with an interesting theme that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys Greek mythology or likes modern fantasy books.

August 18, 2022 Review by Penny

8/10

Stepsister is an unofficial 'sequel' to the fairy tale of Cinderella, but told from the perspective of Isabelle, one of the 'ugly stepsisters' that were cast as the villains in the original tale. The book follows Isabelle through her life after Cinderella marries the prince. As a note, this book is based off of the more gruesome version of Cinderella by The Brothers Grimm. This book is an interesting look at a different side of the story, giving dimension to a character who was shown only as evil in the original tale. Part of what I found so fascinating about this book was that it jumped between the perspecive of Isabelle and Chance. Chance isn't just a name, he acutally is the personification of chance or luck. This was the beginning of an ongoing theme about chance versus fate, and whether our destinies are set in stone from the moment of our birth or if they can be changed. I definitely enjoyed this book, mostly because it took a character who was given almost no personality other than 'ugly and cruel' and made her human. Stepsister cast Isabelle as being a deeply flawed individual, but also someone with feelings who recognized that fact and strove to change herself. Another thing that I enjoyed about this book was that the plot was well-written, making appropriate moments such as the climax dramatic and powerful There is a romantic aspect to this book, but it doesn't overtake the theme and isn't really related to the main message. All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fairy tales and anyone who has ever felt lesser than those around them.

February 22nd, 2022 Review by Penny

The Night Circus is a fantasy romance novel about a magical circus that mysteriously appears and disappears from the locations it performs in. The story follows a young woman and a young man who have been set up to try and kill each other due to an old grudge between their mentors. I thought that the premise of this book was interesting, and the imagery all throughout truly made me want to live in this world and see this circus. The writing style was very unique, in a way that I can only desribe as 'floaty'. It felt untethered from the world, in a way that I can't truly explain without you having read the book. That being said, this book is definitely only for some. That same writing style could be something that you love, or something that you hate. I did have a few issues with the book, mostly with the main romance. I didn't feel like the romantic pairing was necessary to the story, and I actually enjoyed reading about the side characters and the story of the circus than I did about the main characters. I feel as if the side characters should have been the main characters, and vice versa. The only other complaint that I have was that at times the plot was a bit confusing, but I can also see how that may have been intentional. The whimsical writing style makes the book feel as though it isn't meant to be fully understood, so in this case, I didn't feel as though the confusing plot was actually that much of a bad thing. All in all, I would recommend this book to people who like books that feel completely untethered from this world and like a more whimsical style of writing.

May 3rd, 2022 Review by Penny

10/10!

Strange the Dreamer is a mix between a fantasy book and romance novel that leans closer towards the fantasy side. It is about a boy who lived in a library for most of his life who leaves the place he has always known to journey to an unknown land he has always dreamed of. One thing that I appreciated about this book was that the characters were all very well fleshed-out. The side characters, while they didn't get as much time devoted to them, felt just as important and three-dimensional as the main characters, perhaps even more so. Every character was unique and had their own story. There is a character in this book for everyone to sympathize with. Another thing that I appreciated was that no main characters were truly cast as a villains. Everyone was flawed, yes, but they all had redeeming qualities or stories that explained their actions. It was easy to sympathize with every character, even if a particular character was one you personally disliked. The last thing that I found extraordinary about this book is that there is a message in it for everybody. There isn't one particular theme to the book that you have to dig for. There is a lesson or message about almost every subject in the book, be it about self-discovery, tolerance, or the harshness of life. This book balances the fantastical with the realistic, making a lighthearted book while also writing about serious topics. The book wasn't overly depressing, and it was very enjoyable to read, but it didn't feel like your typical "and they all lived happily ever after" story either. There was a realistic mix of good and bad, keeping it from being either a tragic or joyful story, but a human story. All in all, I would recommend this book to people who are looking for a book that isn't super depressing but also feels somewhat realistic to the nature of life.

April 15, 2022 Review by Penny

10/10!

A Deadly Education is a fantasy book about a girl with extraordinary magical power who goes to a school of magic. Upon first glance, this seems like your typical Harry Potter knock-off, but it is far better than it sounds, because there is a twist. The school is literally trying to kill the students. They have to worry about monster attacks at the same time as trying to pass their next language test, which is understandably challenging. Also, instead of the main character following the ‘powerful Chosen One’ trope, she instead is extremely powerful in all forms of dark and brutal magic. She has the power level and affinity of most villains. Part of what makes the book so different is that instead of letting her power corrupt her and becoming some dark witch, she is actively trying to ignore her power and not do anything bad. She makes more of an effort to be good than most of the other students, which is a fascinating subversion of expectations in regards to your typical ‘powerful dark witch’. This divergence from a lot of the other ‘magic school’ books that are out there is what I found most enjoyable about this book when I was reading it. The writing style was modern and easy to read, not weighed down by unnecessary words or boring descriptions, though it still did a good job of explaining everything. It struck a good balance between being engaging and giving detail. One thing that I appreciated about this book was that romance wasn’t the main focus of the book. It didn’t exclude or look down on romance, but the book did poke fun at a lot of the melodramatic romance scenes you typically see in books and movies (like the near-death experience kiss thing). All in all, I would recommend this book to people who like the concept of fantasy but sometimes enjoy mocking all of the tropes that so often occur in them.

January 8th, 2023 Review by Penny

7/10

Throne of Glass is a fantasy book about an assassin who is forced to compete in a competition to become the champion assasin of a king she despises. I enjoyed reading this book, because the writing style was engaging and wasn't full of unnecessary detail, and I also enjoyed the plot. However, one thing that I didn't like was the romantic aspect of the book. The stereotypical fantasy love triangle was annoyingly quite present and didn't feel super relevant to the plot. Other than that, I thought that the plot of the book was well-developed with a depth to it that was surprising from a fantasy romance book. While there werent' a lot of actual plot twists, there were a lot of small things that set up for another book without being obvious. One thing that was both good and bad about this book was that it didn't feel as though it was trying to impart a message. I am sure that with careful analysis there is a relevant theme, but it isn't one that is obvious upon first read. In a way, that is good, because it is simply telling the plot rather than getting bogged down in philosophy. On the other hand, it is bad, because it makes the book feel as though it has less of a purpose. It all depends on what you like in a book. I truly enjoyed the plot, and the book was difficult to put down once I started it. That being said, I could understand it if people thought it was too simple of a book or wasn't particularly relevant to life. Despite my dissatisfaction with the romance of the book, the main character never felt like a damsel in distress, instead being a capable and independent woman, so that was one fantasy stereotype that was thankfully absent. All in all, I would recommend this book to people who like reading fantasy books that are more focused on plot content than trying to impress some obvious overarching theme.

January 10th, 2023 Review by Penny

10/10!

The Bone Spindle is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale written in a more modern writing style. Instead of it being a princess asleep in a tower rescued by a prince, the story tells of a prince asleep in a tower rescued by a mercenary and a treasure hunter. I really enjoyed this book, partly due to how enthralling it was and partly due to how it took an already established storyline and made it unique. Despite being very obviously based on Sleeping Beauty, there was enough variance to the plot and characters that the book remained unpredictable and therefore interesting. One thing that I appreciated about this book was that it took the less believable parts of the fairy tale and mocked them, but not in a malicious way. For example, the whole "love at first sight" part that was always a bit. . . fishy in the original version. I mean, why would you just decide to kiss what appears to be a corpse lying in a tower because the corpse looks pretty? I thought that the romance of this book was very well integrated into the plot of the book, so it didn't feel forced. It was part of the plot, but the romance wasn't what defined the characters, because they had goals for themselves that weren't just 'fall in love'. The characters were also well-written with distinct personalities, none of which grated on my nerves at all. One thing that I found about this book that was neither good nor bad, but simply interesting, was that it seemed to go by very quickly. I was reading and reading, and then it ended all of a sudden. Now, that isn't to say that it was a bad ending that was poorly timed, because that is the exact opposite of what I mean. The book was simply so immersive that I wasn't expecting it to end. Without giving away any spoilers, I should also say that the ending of the book was extremely well written. It was a satisfying ending but a cliffhanger nonetheless that has left me waiting for the next book in the series (which is supposed to come out in less than a month)! All in all, I would recommend this book to people who enjoy folt tales retold in a more modern writing style that mocks the more unreasonable aspects of older writing.

January 25th, 2023 Review by Penny