Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Visual Description: The cover is wintery in shades of blue, gray, silver, and white, with some objects golden. In the lower quarter part of the cover is the author's name "Naomi Novik' in gold. Below in dark blue is the title "Spinning Silver". Both are in a Renaissance, Old World font. Below both is a small terrain of a mountain and some trees. Above the title and author's name is a large frame with jagged glass and a column with three shelves with crystal formation jutting up from the top on it's left side. In the mirror is a strong boned young woman with loose brown hair, blue eyes in a gray dress, her sleeves shover to her shoulder, and she's dropping silver coins into her outstretched palm and the coins slowly turn from silver to gold with the coins in her outstretched hands golden. In the top shelf of the column to the left is a silver bag of silver coins, the second shelf is full with a handsome man with long white hair and strong features with no expression on his face, and at the bottom shelf has golden coins spilling out from it. 

Publishing: July 10th 2018, Del Rey

Page Count: Kindle Edition 480 pgs.

Find the Author: Website

"Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders...but her father isn't a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife's dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty--until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers' pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed--and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold. But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it's worth--especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand." - Nabbed from Goodreads

Ok so...Spinning Silver is NOT a sequel to Uprooted. My hopes got high when I saw the cover and how similar it was to Uprooted. Alas, it is not. But - it is a sister novel in spirit!

Novak does what she does most excellently and twists and re-crafts an ages-old tale. With Uprooted it was the dragon who steals maidens. A tale that we have all read, thought of, and known. With Spinning Silver we get a completely re-imagined spin on Rumpelstiltskin. And while (if you watched Once Upon A Time) a re-imagined Rumpelstiltskin isn't a foreign idea to me - her approach as it was in Uprooted is original and enticing.

There are three young women at the center of this spinning tale. They are not instantly heroic girls with perfect hearts and admirable quirks. They are flawed, perfect, skilled, unskilled, soft, and hard in different ways.

Meryem watches for years people taking from her family with no intent of returning what they borrowed. Watching while they had luxuries and necessities that her family didn't. Her parents are absolutely loving and nurturing and kind but they have no back-bone when it comes to moneylending. Correction - they're great at the lending of money but they're terrible at the getting the money back. It hardens her and makes her a steely and clever moneylender. She appears to be far more cold than she truly is.

“They would have devoured my family and picked their teeth with the bones, and never been sorry at all. Better to be turned to ice by the Staryk, who didn't pretend to be a neighbor.” - Meryem

Wanda is the poorest and most vulnerable of the three young women. Her mother passed away years ago leaving two younger brothers, a string of dead babies long buried, and a very abusive father. Wanda is ignorant but not in a dangerous way. She is taken in early in the novel as a servant to pay off the debt that her father owed Meryem's family and she sees them as 'magic'. Their book-keeping is magic and when she learns it then she knows herself that she is now a magician, Meryem's ability to turn a profit is magic, and even Meryem's mothers ability to find a relative and a new friend in a string of strangers are magic in Wanda's eyes. Just as much magic as the elfin ice people who make the winter longer are. She struggles to form a loving connection with her brothers and her journey with the ability to love and to trust and to express love is beautiful to watch.

“I looked at Lukas. He did not look very pleased, but he did not look very sad either. He was only giving me a considering eye. I was a pig at the market he had decided to buy. He was hoping I fattened up well and gave him many piglets before it was time to make bacon.” - Wanda

Irina's the plain daughter of a beautiful, partially Staryk mother who died when she was a child. She's completely overlooked and underrated by her father and step mother. She's withdrawn and cool - so much so that her own nurse from infancy doesn't know if Irina loves her as she loves Irina until later in the story. I don't want to give too much away but she becomes a force to be reckoned with, a true Tsarina who embraces the responsibility to care for her people above all else. Irina's survival instincts have no chill and she is calculating without any shame or hesitation.

“The only thing that had ever done me any good in my father's house was thinking: no one had cared what I wanted, or whether I was happy. I'd had to find my own way to anything I wanted. I'd never been grateful for that before now, when what I wanted was my life.” - Irina

Their stories weave in and out of each other until they firmly tie together in a intricate knot at a height of the plot. I adore that the girls aren't perfect and have realistic flaws. They aren't bad but they aren't entirely good except they are. They are easy to root for, even if they're doing things that contradict each other because each one has a relatable motive.

But, its good to remember going into this story - that this is not the story of girls finding each other and banding together to defeat the big bad. Each girl is powerful in her own right and finds her own victory and losses.

The Spinning Silver world, in comparison to Uprooted, is more-so in our world than a fictionally created fantasy world often is. And it is even more fleshed out by the rare, accurate, and authentic representation of Judaism. Meryem and her family are Jewish. And Novak does not shirk from facing anti-Semitism straight on without looking away. I think, it's easy for writers to...write around horrible realities - especially so when writing Fantasy. But, to write a Jewish family and community in a medieval Russian-esque land without writing anti-Semitism would be lazy and false. One part (again trying not to give too much away) where Meryem is literally forced to acknowledge that a decision she is going to make is entirely self-serving and that it could very much take something that her people might need in the future to keep their lives is a profound moment, gutting moment of reality.

With Uprooted their religion was vague and entirely mystic and often times kind of useless. Religion in Spinning Silver is very familiar and very important - as it was in real medieval times in our world. The Christianity is familiar and usual but the focus on Judaism (Meryem and her family are Jewish) is refreshing and much needed in the genre. Or, well, any genre. There are not a lot of Jewish heroines out there and definitely not many in the fantasy medieval genre.

As for the ACTUAL magic of the world - The Staryk are, I believe, a completely original creation. The Staryk are cold creatures (literally made of ice) who possess their own culture of debts and worth and words and promises that are almost impossible to translate into the language of humanity. They live in another world that only connect to ours when winter comes. It drenched in silver, in cold, in winter. They come and hunt and terrorize humans. They crave gold above all else and they are making winter longer, and longer, and longer. It is them - their King to be more specific - that come for Meryem so that she can turn their silver into gold. And it is by her own human words that she unwittingly binds herself to her fate. Again - they have this whole almost-too confusing culture of words, worth, debt, and repayment.

There are other threats that weave around Meryem and her Staryk plot that aren't even alluded to in the synopsis. Irina's married off to the Tsar (thanks to some Staryk silver magic) who is harboring a terrible, terrible secret. Wanda and her brothers find this magic cottage in the woods where it seems invisible people live. There's a murder. A wedding. Actually like three weddings and like four proposals (attempts included). And I'm not giving away a quarter of what happens by revealing these details.

With winter settling in for the long haul (I'm writing this literally at like 1 a.m. on Midwinter Solstice) Spinning Silver is one of my recommended reads. The only truly negative thing I have to say about it is the way its formatted or the lack thereof. There are so many narratives and none of them are labeled. And they are all written in first person. It's a testament to Novik's writing skills that you can follow along and there are icons breaking them up as they shift characters but it's still confusing. I do think it's clever to for-go titling each one with names in a tale based on Rumpelstiltzskin. Names are very important to the Staryk! BUT its' confusing! And threw me for a loop. Although I must note that I was reading the e-book on my Kindle and I have read accounts where reviewers mention that each character perspective has a different icon assigned to them. The icons did not change in my copy. I would totally not even complain about the lack of titling perspective shifts if that was so in my copy because that sounds clever and cool. So watch out for that! But don't let it deter you from diving into this story because it is well worth the read.

I hope the holidays have and do treat you well this year. If I don't post until after the first of the year (likely with my posting rate, lol) - please have a safe, happy, and warm New Years!

Good reading always,

Jess

“There are men who are wolves inside, and want to eat up other people to fill their bellies. That it what was in your house with you, all your life. But here you are with your brothers, and you are not eaten up, and there is not a wolf inside you. You have fed each other, and you kept the wolf away. That is all we can do for each other in the world, to keep the wolf away. And if there has been food in my house for you, then I am glad, glad with all my heart. I hope there will always be.” - Fav. quote! Read and find out who says it and to whom. lol. 

Wonder Woman : Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Visual Description: Background is blue cast with two cliffs and an ocean but the focus is the large wonder woman icon in blue and gold at the center, filling the lower half of the cover. And behind it is a shadowed image of a teenage Wonderwoman with her arms crossed together. Her hair is flowing to the side and you can see her face except her eyes. They are in complete shadow. At the top in white and call caps is "LEIGH BARDUGO" and below in gold and orange "WONDER WOMAN" and "WARBRINGER".  

Publishing: August 28th, 2017. Random House Children's Books.
Page Count: 364 pgs (Hardcover)
Find the Author: Goodreads
"Daughter of immortals - Princess Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mortal. Diana will soon learn that she has rescued no ordinary girl, and that with this single brave act, she may have doomed the world. Daughter of death - Alia Keralis just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted by people who think her very existence could spark a world war. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery. TogetherTwo girls will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. Tested beyond the bounds of their abilities, Diana and Alia must find a way to unleash hidden strengths and forge an unlikely alliance. Because if they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war."

Leigh Bardugo is one of the best authors in the Young Adult field right now. She's best known for her Six of Crows duology and The Grisha Trilogy. The DC Icon series are clearly angling to get well established YA authors to narrate their series. Sarah. J. Mass (Throne of Glass) helmed Catwoman's book. If you aren't aware of Bardugo and her writing - she's good at what she does and you should read her. So do that. Go read her. And you can start with this. Because I'm giving it a gazillion stars.

I don't do much in the way of comic books but I love Wonder Woman. I've loved her for her iconic image, what she has represented to women and girls, and as I grew older - how she is a pop culture reflection of Goddess spirituality and ancient mythology. I knew that I'd love anything written by Bardugo and I knew that I'd have a hard time saying no to a novelized YA Wonder Woman. Put two and two together and you'd think I would have expected to be obsessed. But, I really didn't expect for it to take me away the way it did.

Themyscera has never been brought to life like this before. Details effortlessly flow without feeling like info-dumping brought to life from Diana, teenage Princess of the Amazons, who belongs to the Island but struggles to belong amongst the people that it belongs to. The terrain, mystical but not alien, is brought to life through her eyes. And then, New York City. And then...well, I won't give too much away but I don't think it'll come as a shock that they road-trip to Greece (and a hell of a road trip it is). 

It's a fascinating concept - a society of women warriors living on a invisible, gifted mystical island separated from the outside, mainstream world. We see it both from Diana's POV and from Alia's POV. Omg - poor, poor Alia. She's basically convinced that she accidentally landed on a Greek-obsessed Cult Island. Not quite, Alia. Not quite.

One of my absolute favorite parts of the mythology that Bardugo created was how new Amazons came to be. When a female warrior is fallen in battle and she speaks the name of a Goddess and is deemed worthy - then she is reborn on the Themyscera as an Amazon. Diana's best friend on the Island and a newer Amazon (in comparison to many) spoke the name of St. Brigit when she went down fighting in a riot (not sure which one!) and was reborn an Amazon. St. Brigid is a carnation of the Goddess Brigid - ancient Celtic goddess of forge and fire. The story is the story of all the Amazons since Themyscera was gifted. EXCEPT Diana. Which, not a big shocker - is part of her teenage angst.

One of the other aspects that makes this a stand-a-lone worthy of it's own series is Bardugo's fully fleshed out cast of diverse characters. Alia is half-Greek, half African American (as is her brother) and there is no shying away from the realities of being a person of color in the modern world. We see it both from the bewildered eyes of innocent Diana and from the world-exposed Alia. It isn't just some side-observation either, it's fully acknowledged and absorbed part of Alia. Basically - it's realistic where others would either forget, neglect, or sugarcoat. Furthermore in the diversity aspect - Alia's best friend Nim is a full-figured plus sized lesbian Indian girl with epic fashion sense. Actually here, just take a look at this fanart I found on Leigh Bardugo's tumblr:

Visual Description: Background is a blue rust texture with two large Ws. From the left (all sitting) Jason, a young black man in loafers, slacks, and a white office shirt. Diana in sandals, blue jeans, and a pink tank top. Her hair is loose, wavy and blue-black. Alia, a young black woman with her hair up on the top of her head, in sneakers, jeans, a blur shirt, and a red athletic jacket. Theo, a dark skinned black young man in blue sneakers, gray jeans, and a green t-shirt. Nim, a full-figured dimple-cheeked olive skinned young woman, in dressy blue shoes, a colorful bodycon dress (legs showing). She's wearing necklaces, make-up, and her hair is loose with it shaven on one side. 

All she needed to flesh out the diversity was a character with a disability.

While there are some fine looking males - the heart and center of the story is coming of age as a young woman and the strength of female friendships. Diana and Alia both come of age in their friendship together and the challenges and plot twists they face together. The choice to stand together, an iconic oath they make to each other, and the mythology and mystery behind Helen of Troy when she was just a girl herself, entwine together to create a anthem of modern maidenhood and the purity of female friendships. 

It's not all coming-of-age angst and mythology, though. There are so many epic twists and unique and original turns in the plot that I will not spoil but can I just say - AWESOME. The BIG twist, the one that I will not speak of or even think of in too much detail - is jaw-dropping and utterly heart-crumbling. There's a legit moment (actually several) where I thought that that they were going to fail, that they were totally going to lose, and that the ending might just be something incredibly dark and tragic. And, if I'm being honest - it is tragic and it is dark and it is bittersweet.

But it's also entirely and completely wonderful. 

And, I could go on and on and on and ON about this and how much I love the mythology, imagery, sassiness, the emotional journey, the character development - but it's like 2 a.m. and I need to go to bed and wrap this post up. So, I shall leave you with this. The Amazon Oath:

SISTER IN BATTLE

I AM SHIELD AND BLADE TO YOU

AS I BREATHE,

YOUR ENEMIES WILL KNOW NO SANCTUARY

WHILE I LIVE

YOUR CAUSE IS MINE

Until next time, 

Jess

The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl In The Tower by Katherine Arden

Maybe I'm naturally inclined to fall in love with stories of brave, magical girls in medieval worlds who are not the typical princesses or damsels. Now that I write that I'm thinking "Well, duh I love those kinds of stories. Why wouldn't I? WHO WOULDN'T?". I think a large majority of the books I love end up being brave, magical girls in faraway times and places. My Grammy asked over Thanksgiving last year...do you ever read non-surreal books? I had to think for a moment. I like what I like! Although, I should probably work on getting a little more variety in reading diet. It's just so hard when there are books like this out there. Actually - this isn't just a fantasy novel. It has history in it. It's set in Medieval Russia so yea...variety. 

There's a lot of parts and thoughts of my experience with the books that I want to share. I think it's safe for you to assume that I highly suggest that you read them. AND when you do so...know that they are part of a trilogy. The third and final installment will be released next year! 

I don't think the author meant to write a trilogy. The Bear and the Nightingale was her debut novel (neat note - she wrote it in Hawaii. Interesting since it's set in Russia and predominantly in the winter time). Bear and Nightingale could stand on it's own however its one of those novels in which finding out that there are more stories to be written makes you deeply, deeply happy as a person, a reader, and a human. 

And so, without further ado...I introduce the best damn thing I've blogged about all year. 

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Visual Description: A wintery night-time forest (colored blue) is pictured with a mysterious glowing cabin and a figure of a girlish woman entering it.

Publishing: January 10th, 2017. Del Rey Books

Page Count: Hardcover, 322 pages.

Find the Author: website, twitter

"At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows. And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales." - Nabbed from Goodreads

We start out slow, drawing out the foundation and foreshadowing possibilities for extended story telling, and giving us enough time to feel the loss and tragedy of Vasya's tragic birth and her mother's decision. We meet her family before we even meet her. And it is this opening picture that sews the emotional core to the reader's subconscious mind. The span of time encompassed in this first book's plot is over sixteen years so while Vasya (Vasilisa) is just a little girl (getting into scrapes) we learn about the political and grown up decisions that lead her unfortunate step mother to be married to her father. Vasya's home is deep within the wilderness. Her Father is a a great Lord but in the first scenes he is in the stables helping an animal give birth to a baby.

Arden does an illustrious job of bringing feudal Russia alive for the reader. A giant oven with a bed over for it for the elderly and sick, descriptions of food (or the lack of it), women covering their hair, the use of a steaming bath house, dangers and lore of distant 'Tatars' invading, reverence of paint icons. A poetical voice lyrically and quaintly describes the world in a way that could only be described from someone who lived in that world. You forget that the author wrote this in Hawaii, had gone to college, grew up with TV and cereal for breakfast, and knows (I'm assuming!) how to work a microwave.

And the CREATURES...the magical, strange, ancient creatures! Everything it seems has a guardian or a creature of its own. A little stout man creature protects the hearth, a prophecy giving bathhouse spirit, a guardian caretaker of the horses in the stables. You will fall in love with them like I did. Russia folklore creatures are both fairies and goblins rolled up in one. Both terrible and endearing. Strange and familiar. Good and bad.

Family and the love that is held by Vasya's family is absolutely rejuvenating. From the premise and the death of her mother in the start you might naturally assume that Arden will follow the trope that Vasya is forlorn and unwanted by her family. Despite her step-mother's malice against her Vasya is given nothing but love and loyalty from her siblings - even from her half-sister (her step-mother's daughter). Her brothers protect and love her. Her father loves her and though his attempts might be stunted by his perceptions of the world and as it 'should be' - he loves her and that love is rarely if ever questioned by the audience. Her grandmotherly nurse Dunya is a mother and guardian to them all. Their home is cozy and warm because of the strength of their family.

And that warmth and strength is what keeps both Vasya and us readers going when the Vasya's world steadily becomes more narrow, more dangerous, and more mysterious. By the time we are in the middle of the book she is a strong-willed teenager who does not fit the cage that, as a woman of that time, she was born to, a Frost King has been seeking her since she was a girl, a Priest is obsessed with her, her tormented step-mother conspires against her, her Father wants to marry her off (apparently the Dad Solution of feudal Russia - get your daughter married so she'll settle down....it doesn't go as planned to NO one's surprise), and the ancient creatures that only Vasya and one other can see are warning of a Bear and it's awakening, and a horrible winter to come. And yes, she definitely inherited her mysterious grandmother's mystical abilities.

If I go further, I will give spoilers. And I don't want to do that. Not for the first book! So, go forth, read away!

Disclaimer: Spoilers (mild but telling!) lay below!

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

Visual description: A silhouette of a girl on a horse galloping down a slope. A large tower rises behind her and in the background the slopes towers of Moscow look hazy. The sun is rising in the background. Snow flake flurries dust the illustration. 

Publishing: December 5th 2017

Page Count: Hardover, 363 pages.

Find the Author: (same as above, lol)

"Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop." - Nabbed from Goodreads blurb.

She literally just unwittingly throws herself into the fire and then she realizes she's in the fire - she just keeps doing her thing. In 'Nightingale' (don't we love Solovey!?) though she was in danger - she was in the safety of her home. Sure, that home was surrounded by neighbors who called her a witch, the guardian spirits were dying, and vampires were literally rising up from the grave to claw at their door at night - but it was still home. The action, the stakes, the choices are far more daunting and heart-pounding. Little Vasya has grown up. She becomes a woman but on her own terms. And if you think the harshness of her childhood realities was heavy? It has absolutely nothing on Moscow. 

Like in the first book - we are introduced first to her family. In this case - it is her sister and brother (Olya and Sasha) in Moscow. Instead of one chapter - we spend a good chunk with them setting up the environment that we know that Vasya is destined to be in eventually. Women aren't just sheltered and covered - they are secluded, separated, partitioned away from the men. They can only go out to church and to visit to each other. If a woman was to step out of this norm - they would bring disgrace and ruin to their family and the repercussions could be a matter of home or no home. On the plus side - her niece sees a ghost of a mysterious girl wandering around. It turns out that Vasya is not the only one who inherited the mysterious grandmother's gifts.

There are new creatures and some familiar. Vasya has wholeheartedly accepted the mysterious, supernatural world that only she can see. She willingly wishes to learn about her gifts and uses her connection to the supernatural to save herself and others. Solovey is her constant and amusing companion. And whether he likes it or not - Morozco cannot help but watch over her.

The relationship between her and her siblings are more tense and partially questionable than we are used to. These siblings have lived in the dangerous world of Moscow and her appearance is dangerous and startling to their world. It's sad to see the stress between her and her siblings when in Nightingale the love she had for her siblings and that they had for her kept everything going in the darkest times. In the darkest times of this story - Vasya must rely on herself.

I can't go much further without giving away things I don't believe should be given away. 

The same illustrious voice narrates and weaves the new faces of feudal, medieval Russia and yet it matches the new daunting, adventurous pace. Where we spent a whole book to meander through her childhood and to set up her world in 'Nightingale' - we cover a few months in one book in 'Tower'. The tempo is like a fire. At first it's just a flicker, kindling, then it lights and the embers burn, and it slowly crackles and starts to light, and then all of a sudden - it takes off! And when it burns - it burns with passion, heartbreak, and magic. 

There's so many tidbits thrown out through the book - questions that are leading and need to be answered. Where does the magic come from? Her grandmother - who was she and who was her people? The legacy of a line of witches and the weight of being born different in a world where being different and a woman at the same time was considered a curse is explored. What will happen to Morozko when no one believes in him? Some questions are answered in this story and some are still yet to be faced...

So. Go read. It's worth it. 

Until next time, 

Jess

A Reading Round-Up!

I've been so busy with life that I have completely neglected sharing some of the books that I've been reading, have read this past year, and my thoughts on them. To be honest, I've mostly been listening to books that past few months but that's another post for another time. I wish I had time to devote a full blog post for each book below but alas - time. I have yet to perfect the art of making time slow down/quicken up so that I might get all the things done that I want to. So, I'll just call this a reading round-up.

FYI - these aren't in any specific order of preference.

Sad Girls by Lang Leav

 Publishing: May 30th, 2017. Andrews McMeel Publishing
 Page Count: Paperback, 362 pages.
 Find the Author: website
 “Your first love isn’t the first person you give your heart to  —it’s the first one who breaks it.” Sad Girls is the much   anticipated debut novel from international best-selling   author Lang Leav. A beautifully written and emotionally   charged coming of age story, where young love, dark   secrets, and tragedy collide. School is almost out for   Audrey, but the panic attacks are just beginning. Because   Audrey told a lie and now her classmate, Ana, is dead. Just as her world begins to spin out of control, Audrey meets the  enigmatic Rad—the boy who could turn it all around. But will their ill-timed romance drive her closer to the edge?" - Nabbed from Goodreads

Lang Leav is one of my favorite poets and this is her debut novel. It's a book that inspired me into the mood for Lana Del Rey. Emotional wanderlust mixes with melancholy and equals into a coming of age story that borders on the surreal. It has a many dark aspects - drug abuse, sexual abuse, self-harm, anxiety, depression. It's name really tells it all - Sad Girls. Sad. Leav's ability to write an emotional impact doesn't go away with the challenge of novel writing. It's a sad novel. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's a devastating novel. It's just a sad one. Read it with a hot cup of lemon honey tea - I did. 

The Copenhagen Affair - Amulya Malladi

Publishing: May 30th, 2017. Andrews McMeel Publishing
Page Count: Paperback, 362 pages.
Find the Author: website 
"Sanya was always the perfect wife, but after a breakdown at her office, it’s her husband Harry’s turn to step up. His proposal? A temporary move to Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital city. He needs to be there to close a business deal and figures the change of scenery will do her good. Within Copenhagen’s glamorous high society, one man stands out—not only because of his intriguing scar but because he sees Sanya in a way Harry hasn’t for years. As allegations of white-collar crime arise, she learns of Harry’s infidelity, and having an affair with Anders seems ever more tempting. Surrounded by old money, smoked fish on dark breads, and way too many bicycles, Sanya slowly moves from breakdown to breakthrough, but where will she end up—and with whom?" - Nabbed from Goodreads Blurb

This is a novel with two natures - two different tones weaving within and out of each other. One is a story of depression and the journey of recovery. It's not an overnight, snap your fingers, "a trip to a new city cures all" action that gets you out of depression. It's a journey of self discovery, new habits, new perspectives, and break through(s). The second is a romantic comedy. It's a funny, chick-lit story that lifts up the shadows of the book and gives you a well-rounded story. It is also a love letter to Copenhagen. Be warned you'll be looking up vacays in Copenhagen through out and after reading. 

Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die #1) - Danielle Paige

Publishing: April 1st, 2014
Page Count: Hardcover 452 pgs
Find the Author: website
"I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero. But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado - taking you with it - you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow brick road - but even that's crumbling." - Nabbed from Goodreads

I had been waiting to read this book for a while when I was able to find it on my libraries digital library. I wasn't sure if it would be worth a purchase to read since it was a series and a author I hadn't heard before. It would definitely be worth a purchase. It's a interesting, unique flip-the-script take on OZ. Paige isn't afraid of cliffhangers or killing your darlings - so be warned. Despite the heavy emotions and do-or-die energy of the series there's a lot of humor and odd and pop-sugary elements that lift up the plot. I should probably do a whole post about the series instead of just a blurb at the end of a round up. It deserves that much for sure. However time is not my friend. I can definitely see the series popping up again.

And those are some of the books that have filled the corners of my time these past couple of months. I hope your autumn has been filled with good reads and good-busy times too.

Until next time,

Jess

The Foretelling - Alice Hoffman

Publishing: Oct. 25th, 2016. Open Road Media.
Page Count: 72 pgs (e-book)
Find the Author: website

"Born out of sorrow in an ancient time of blood and war, Rain is a girl marked by destiny. Her mother, Alina, is the proud queen of a tribe of female warriors, yet she refuses to touch or even look at her only daughter. Determined to win her mother’s love and take her rightful place as the next queen, Rain becomes a brave and determined fighter. But the dream of a black horse clouds her future, portending death. As one devastating battle follows the next, Rain hopes for a different life for her tribe beyond never-ending bloodshed. Peace, mercy, and love, however, are forbidden words in her language—can Rain teach her sisters to speak in a new tongue before it’s too late?" - Nabbed from Goodreads. 

I've been seeking a take on the Amazon culture for a while (outside of Wonderwoman) now. Having Alice Hoffman, author of my beloved Practical Magic, write one was like getting an extra chocolate bar out of the vending machine. Trust in an author goes a long way. It leads you to buy a book without reading based on the expectation that it's worthy to stand on your shelf. It deeply pains me to say that I am happy I didn't buy this book in physical form. Because...it doesn't quite stand up to Hoffman's reputation. 

Yea, that hurt to say. 

She brought me PRACTICAL MAGIC. 

IT'S ABOUT THE AMAZONS. 

And yet...it doesn't stand up. 

We open up on a young Amazonian narrating her life. Her mother is cold towards her, she's raised by the Priestesses, tutored by the best warriors. The premise, the plot is pulling towards the readers. Brings you in with such hope. The world building that is told (told not shown - but more on that later) is shiny and hopeful...at first. And you keep reading because you want to have more...except you don't exactly get it. My personal pet peeve is when a world is built and it's entirely and utterly confusing - you can't figure a picture in your head of what's going down. That's NOT what happened. Foretelling might not live up to Hoffman's reputation but it's still Hoffman we're reading. The problem I faced was that I couldn't connect to the characters, the world was told far more than it was shown, and it went way too fast. The book (in e-book) was only 72 pages. It read like a rough draft (a good one, but still a rough draft) where the characters needed to be fleshed out and the narration needed to be crafted with visual and emotion-based world building. 

72 digital pages was not enough to fully flesh out the plot. There was so much the reader could have experienced. It read like a myth being told - which makes sense considering it is about the Amazons - but what you wanted (and expected) was a novel. 

A positive of Foretelling was the imagery inspired by the many animals Rain and her people were close to. Not just horses - but bees as well were sacred to them. Rain bonded and raised a bear cub as close to her as her horse. The bear became part of her spirit, her strength, her personality. For those who know a little about animal symbolism - it reads as a nod to foreshadowing, a extra foundation of which to understand Rain's personality and motives. 

As for the actual prophecy part of the novel named "The Foretelling"...it was a surprising twist. The prophecy is a mixture of symbolism, self-perpetuated destiny, and the circle of life. Also bad (or excellent) timing. It's a fitting tribute to Rain's journey and of course, she would act the way that she did. It's got all the makings of a emotional punch in the heart. The kind that makes you cry, freak out, get WAY into a fictional story so far that you wonder if you're kind of maybe a nut job - but it...just doesn't deliver the blow. 

I literally pouted after finishing up the 72nd page.  That was it? I wanted more! THERE WAS SO MUCH MORE WE COULD HAVE EXPERIENCED. Novels are meant to give experiences, they're meant to have so much written that the author is forced by their editor to cut their precious baby scenes out. What I read wasn't a finished novel. It was the bones of an potentially excellent novel written by a talented author. Hence, the experience I was expecting (and looking forward to) wasn't what I got.

It wasn't a waste of my Saturday evening. However, I couldn't suggest purchasing it to put on your shelf (the highest degree of recommendation I can give). If you are intrigued by myths and by the Amazons, if you enjoy Alice Hoffman - borrow it from the library or catch the digital on sale. 

3 out of 5 stars. 

Until next time, 

Jess