ellelainey's reviews
2336 reviews

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

2.0

 

 ** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** 

 Copy received through Netgalley 

 ~ 

 Blood Debts (Blood Debts, 01) by Terry J. Benton-Walker 

★★☆☆☆ 

 416 Pages 

 DNF'd at 14% 

 Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me. I gave it until 14%, then I had to give up. It would have been a complete disservice to me, the book and the author to keep reading when I knew I wasn't enjoying it. 

 In a way, I'm sad, because I thought the story had merit, but the execution was the problem. 

 NOTE: due to the formatting issues not translating into the ARC Netgalley gave me – the images, family trees etc appearing as random lines and words on the page – I bought this copy. That means that any editing and grammar errors I found – which were a few – were in the final version, so I had to take that into account in my rating as well. 

 For me, I just didn't like any of the characters. 

 Clem was extremely negative, had fallen out with his twin sister, and kept an easy-going social life with boys in and out of his bed. He takes things too seriously and too much to heart, yet is also one of the most non-serious MC's since I read Red, White and Royal Blue. 

 Cris comes across as petty, socially needy and yet distances herself for some perceived guilt that I can already tell will end up not being her fault at all. There's a long-winded explanation of how she exchanged a childish tit-for-tat bullying escapade with Valentina in school, as justification for their rivalry, which not only backfired but resulted in online bullying and literally in-person bullying. While I somewhat understand Clem's problems – he's got anxiety (so we're repeatedly told) and his mother is dying and he feels inadequate), I just don't get Cris. She's constantly guilt-ridden and defensive about everything from her boyfriend to her hatred of magic. 

 Then there's Valentina, who is the most narcissistic female of any cliché there is in literature. She's a stuck-up, snobbish b*tch who wants everything just so that she can say she has it. She doesn't care about anything but herself – but, it's okay, because she's got this pity-party backstory about how her parents don't love her enough, so I suppose that's meant to redeem her? Nah. Not for me. 

 When I stopped, there were 3 POV's – Cris and Clem, the twins, both had 1st person, present tense POV, while the third POV was for Cris's ex-bestie Valentina, who had 3rd person, past POV. There's nothing I hate more than switching POV and tenses in a book, and this one really bugged me. While I could understand why Valentina had her own POV, I also felt like it was for a completely different story. The two events had NO bearing on each other. 

 I'll admit, I skimmed to see if there were any more POV's and skim-read a few scenes when something caught my interest. Now, I saw that Valentina used magic to cause a road traffic accident and there was NO response in her POV that I could find – I skimmed the next 5 chapters, to see when it would switch to her POV, to see her reaction and it never came. That really disappointed me. That could have been a huge wake-up call for her, a way to bring the once-besties back together, to work together. But it seemed to be done for no real reason, unless I just missed that part. 

 Honestly, I felt that way about a few of the plot points. Clem and Cris were always bickering – often about nothing – just to show that they were 'enemies', which I presume is the set up to the fact they've both been keeping secrets and will eventually have to work together and that by doing so, they'll rekindle their relationship. TBH, I just wasn't interested. Their arguments just felt petty, like two kids who had grown sick of spending time around each other and needed to grow up. 

 Overall, while I found the main plot interesting – this family who has been done wrong by the entire town and magical community, with dark secrets, dead family members and a woman who is actively being cursed to die young – it just didn't engage me. It's going to annoy me, not knowing what will happen later, but it's just not worth continuing when every character is melodramatic and rubs me up the wrong way. 

 It's a real shame, because the book had huge potential. There are some good bones here, between the plot and the themes – appropriation, white-washing history, inter-generational trauma, entitlement, justice, morality, interracial relationship – but it seems to forget those themes and only use them as a backdrop to a family drama that just lacks the punch and power it could have had. 

The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

 ** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** 

 Copy received through Netgalley 

 ~ 

 The Alchemy of Moonlight, by David Ferraro 

★★★★★ 

 377 Pages 

 1st person, single character POV 

 Content Warning: mentions of blackmail, corrupt police officers, violence towards servants, murder, violence, suicide, homophobia, forced captivity, threats to commit the MC to an asylum for 'deviancy' for being gay, spiders!, off-page beheading, mentions of medical situations 

 Themes: unrequited infatuation, arranged marriage, stolen inheritance, forced proximity, manipulation, swapped societal roles, morally grey characters, love triangle, MMM, FF off-page side characters, taxidermy 

 ~ 

 The Alchemy of Moonlight is an excellent gothic horror that takes its cue from classic werewolf literature, while adding a new spin. As my second book by the author – the other a vampire novel – I can see they enjoy juxtapositions. In A Vile Season, the MC was a vampire turned human; here, we have a noble, a Marquis, becoming a servant, to escape his life. And the concept that humans can be just as monstrous as the actual monsters worked perfectly in both books. Here, this worked well, by putting Emile immediately off kilter and in a situation out of his control. 

 From the start, we know that Emile is yet to turn 18, so he's only 17 at this point, which felt quite young. I definitely felt like he was written as older than that, but maybe he was just mature for his age. There were definitely times when he acted his age, which was great to see, but I don't remember any ages being given for Bram or Henri – the two love interests – and they both definitely read as much older. I would have liked a little clarity, because I think the only mention was that they were 'around' Emile's age. Although, saying that, the book is set in 1873, where are wasn't much of a concern, especially among nobility, so I didn't let that affect my rating too much. 

 I adored the formatting – again! – because they take the time to have everything so prettily and neatly arranged. It was just as beautiful as the style of writing, which is so evocative and makes the story crystal clear in my mind. I'm not always a fan of 1st person, since a lot of details can be left out due to the limitations, but I never felt that way with Ferraro's writing. Everything was exactly as I would have wanted it. They have a knack for beginning with a stunning opening line/paragraph, that really sucks you into the story. 

 By 9%, we had been introduced to pretty much every plot point of the blurb, except the reality of who Emile really was. I love this, because we already know this information from the blurb so there's really no reason to hesitate over telling us in the novel. I like to have that out of the way quickly, so that I feel settled into the story and can anticipate getting to the parts I know nothing about. 

 There were a lot of twists in this story. I did guess two from the very end of the book, but I still found myself surprised – always pleasantly so – often, along the way. I really felt like the story went places I wasn't expecting, while giving me everything I wanted from a gothic horror. There were times when Emile needed to flee, and it wasn't a clear cut situation. I loved the times when events didn't happen cleanly or clearly, just to resolve an issue, but they didn't fall apart in ridiculous ways just to continue a bad situation or to force the characters towards a path that didn't feel natural. Everything was so well plotted and paced that nothing felt out of sync. 

 I was quite surprised by the fact that all of the characters are morally grey. They all have that moment where they face some moral dilemma and make the selfish, arrogant or unexpected choice. They all have flaws, they all make mistakes. I loved that when Henri made a mistake that hugely impacted Emile, Henri grovelled and Emile didn't instantly forgive him. For that situation, he needed to not forgive Henri, otherwise it wouldn't have felt right. 

 Saying that, I did feel like there was one big issue I couldn't really get past. I chose not to let it affect my rating, because it's a me problem: Bram. I have to admit that I never really warmed to him, as a central character. He's part of the love triangle that takes us the majority of the book – Emile is torn between the kind doctor Bram and the egotist noble Henri. However, I just couldn't take to him. I never felt like he was a genuine competition to Henri, who I adored. Maybe it was because he came across as too good to be true, for most of the book, and Emile saw him through rose-tinted glasses. Or maybe it was just that I liked Henri more, but I definitely didn't see Bram as a real love interest, even to the end. 

 I loved Emile as a main characters. He's young, a bit naïve, alone and afraid, but he's got a strength about him that comes out when he most needs it. He can stand up for himself, even if he has those teenage moments of temper tantrums and running off to avoid his problems. I think this might be another reason I preferred Henri as a love interest, because he shared those teenage traits, whereas Bram read as much older and wiser, like he just didn't fit with Emile, on the same emotional wavelength. 

 The plot was split into Parts. 

 Part 1 focused on Emile being a servant, exploring the new position, and meeting his two potential suitors. It felt a little slow, especially compared to A Vile Season, which I read just before this. There's one death in this part, which happens off page, but lots of mystery and uncertainty. 

 Part 2 built on that story and progressed better, as Emile was exposed as being a Marquis and his aunt appears at the chateau, to make his life miserable. Two more deaths happen, all off page, where Emile either stumbles upon the remains or sees the aftermath. 

 Part 3 is when they head to Udolpho; his aunt is now a fixture in the plot, there have been multiple deaths, and there's a forced proximity with Henri. 

 I really enjoyed the vast array of secondary characters – Annette, Henri's sister Blanche, Montoni and Ludovoci. They all had so much individuality and potential. I particularly loved how close Blanche grew to Emile, their banter with each other, and the late and brief appearance of Carmilla. 

 Were there any downsides? This was an ARC, so there were a few editing issues, with Emile once being called Henri, as well. I also didn't connect to Bram, probably since he didn't get nearly as much page time as Henri or Emile. I felt the beginning was slow. 

 However, despite all of that, I really enjoyed the book and I feel like it did exactly what it set out to do and I was left feeling satisfied, when I was finished. It was exactly what it needed to be, and what I wanted to read, so I chose not to dock any stars. My enjoyment was a definitive 5* and even taking my issues into account, I would only have marked it as a 4.5 and marked it up to 5 anyway. 

 ~ 

 Favourite Quotes 

 “Did he really think he could just...order me to fall in love with him? Did he really expect a command could thaw a heart? It was shocking. It was unthinkable.” 

 “I never wanted you to leave me, Emile, but I've come to understand that I have to let you go.” 

A Vile Season by David Ferraro

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

 ** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** 

 Copy received through Netgalley 

 ~ 

 A Vile Season, by David Ferraro 

★★★★★ 

 400 Pages 

 1st person, single character POV 

 Content Warning: mentions of assassination, kidnapping and murder, violence, arranged marriage, declining physical and mental health, occult activities, betrayal, secret societies and forbidden love, mentions of killing family members 

 A Vile Season is a softly romantic adventure novel with a vintage style and a unique twist on a classic trope. There are strong romantic suggestions but nothing explicit, while the novel keeps to the traditional aspects of classic vampire tropes: sleeping in a coffin, staking, no reflection, powers and a superior attitude etc. Ferraro manages to give the entire concept a uniqueness by having openly LGBT attitudes, and a world where humans are aware that vampires exist, while challenging the limits of the traditional tropes. 

 I loved everything about this book – from the gorgeous cover and interior, excellent use of flashbacks at appropriate times, the original plot, every twist and turn, the incredible ending, the individuality of each character, and even Beezle the cat! I loved that, even though I guessed the big twist early on, I enjoyed how it was revealed and the impact it had on the characters. 

 The book begins on an incredible first line, then keeps you engaged all the way through. The concept of a vampire becoming human again, for a purpose – and that plot being clear within 6%, so that we know the who, where, what, when and why of how the entire plot is set to begin – means that it takes a truly original twist from the prospect of the vampire being the main character. 

 Count Lucian Cross has spent centuries as a vampire, but barely a dozen years as a human before that, and it's fascinating to watch him try to navigate the newfound emotions that come with humanity. Beyond him, there are a vast array of interesting secondary characters, who all have some impact on the plot, including the two rivals for Lucian's affections: brothers Maxwell and Ambrose. 

 A Vile Season was everything I could have wanted and hoped for. With evocative and emotive writing, a skilled ability at storytelling, Ferraro did a fantastic job of keeping me engaged from start to finish. Now that I'm done, I'm off to read The Alchemy of Moonlight, by Ferraro, since I have it and I can't wait to see what else they're capable of. 

 ~ 

 Favourite Quotes 

 “I would rather strangle him than stroke his ego any longer. Would it be worth sacrificing immortality to bludgeon him to death? I was debating.” 

 “I don't know what I would do without you. You sort of grow on people. Like a fungus.” 

 I chuckled. “Like a fungus. Quite the endorsement.” 

 “I almost said parasite, but that would have been a little too on the nose, with the sucking blood and all.” 

 My eyes widened. “You little brat.” 

The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin

1.0

 ** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** 

 Copy received through Netgalley 

 ~ 

 The Sins on Their Bones, by Laura R. Samotin 

★☆☆☆☆ 

 416 Pages 

 3rd person, multi-character POV 

 Content Warning: SEE REVIEW FOR FULL LIST 

DNFd at 13% 

I really wanted to like this one. From the cover to the blurb to the interior, everything held such promise. And all the rave reviews were from authors on my TBR list. It had so much promise, but unfortunately it just didn't go anywhere interesting. 

- 

First off, I was really disappointed in the "note to readers". If you're going to take time to make a note for triggers, then make it complete. Sadly, this one only lists a few triggers - not even the most triggering - then cops out with "my author website contains additional information and resources". Except, trigger warnings are not "additional information". Why not just include them? 

I gave the author the benefit of the doubt, hoping the website triggers would be spoilery, in terms of "skim this page/chapter to avoid xy content". But that wasn't the case. In fact, the website just listed more triggers, so to provide future readers will full disclosure and the opportunity to know whether this book is for them, I'm listing ALL of the triggers (mine and the authors) here: 

TRIGGERS: 

* explicit, on page spousal abuse & domestic violence in both victim and perpetrator pov 

* mental health issues: ptsd, anxiety, depression, alcohol abuse as self-medication 

* past child sexual abuse by a relative 

* gore 

* possession 

* desecration of a corpse 

* experimentation of unwilling prisoner 

* off page mentions of battlefield 

* off page mentions of rape and child abuse during war 

* explicit drug use 

* religious persecution 

* self harm (stubbing out a cigarette on his hand) 

* threatening to torture children 

* capture, imprisonment and torture of nobles/Dimitri's allies 

Personally, if I'd known about these triggers in advance, I wouldn't have requested the book. There's actually little I hate more than reading abuse in the perpetrators POV and had I been aware this was a factor in this book I would have saved myself and the author the hassle of requesting this book only to DNF it. Without full disclosure of triggers, readers can't make informed decisions about what books are safe to read, and it is one of my biggest pet peeves when they're not listed appropriately. The fact the author tells you to visit their website doesn't count. It's phrased so ambiguously that you don't know it means there are more triggers listed on the website. 

- 

Okay, with that out of the way, let's tackle the book itself. 

The presentation is gorgeous. The book starts with two playing cards of the Joker and the King, which are stunning and each chapter heading is a gothic architecture header. It's really pretty. 

Unfortunately that's where my enjoyment ends. 

The chapter list says there are 3 main povs: Dimitri, Alexey and Vasily, then an additional pov at the end for Zemonyii. 

I didn't get far enough to find out who Zemonyii is, but even after I knew I wasn't going to finish, I continue until I'd read at least one pov for each character. Sadly none of them impressed me. 

Dimitri is the previous Tsar, currently in self exile after being betrayed and beaten in a civil war by his husband, Alexey. He's depressed, bitter and full of self-loathing, consumed with grief. He's lost his power, his position as Tsar, his purpose and his husband, and he's been forced to flee and hide. 

Alexey is Dimitri's husband who manipulated him into a civil war. There's hints that he's possessed by something inhuman, but I didn't read far enough to find out what. He revels in his power, arrogant and unfeeling, and looks down on everyone like they're insignificant. 

Vasily is Dimitri's spymaster and friend. I don't know anything else about him because that seems to be the totality of his personality. There are hints that he and Dimitri have been intimate, but it felt very vague and nothing beyond a suggestion, almost like it was a duty or a way of helping Dimitri through his grief. 

Personally, I didn't like or feel attached to any of them. They all felt vaguely one-dimensional: the victim, the villain and the spy. 

I'm not sure if I was ever supposed to like Alexey or not, but that became impossible when we were told that he's using Dimitri's - his husband's - half brother as a substitute lover, and that the brother is infatuated with Alexey. It felt really unnecessary as a plot point, but maybe it's important later? Who knows. 

- 

Overall, I just felt bored while reading. We knew enough of how depressed Dimitri was, how evil Alexey was, within the first chapter, so other than seeing Vasily spying - which was also uneventful and could have been cut - I don't see why it had to take 13% to get to the events mentioned in the blurb. 

Everyone went on and on about how much they love their country and they'll do anything to protect it but none of them have done anything useful in the last year, and Dimitri is so delicate that Vasily doesn't give him too much bad news at once. They're so afraid that he'll kill himself that they cause unnecessary delays in taking action. It made no sense to me. 

There's a very strong Russian influence but either I just didn't see/understand the Jewish folklore connection or maybe it didn't come until later, but I never saw it. 

A book that was much clearer with the concept was A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft. 

This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska

2.0

  ** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** 

 Copy received through Netgalley 

 ~ 

 This Fatal Kiss, by Alicia Jasinska 

★★☆☆☆ 

 416 Pages 

 3rd person, dual character POV 

 Content Warning: drowning, violence, abusive relationship, sexual assault, suicide ideation, questioning sexual identity. 

 First off, I want to thank the author for the Author's Note full of triggers. It's rare that authors give you that warning at the beginning, letting you know what's ahead. However, I found this list to be incomplete, which was a real shame. 

 I would add – history of depression, mentions of death, rape, self-harm (digging nails in to calm a panic attack) and questioning gender identity. 

 ~ 

 DNF'd at 15% (page 67) 

 Honestly, I contemplated DNF'ing this at 9%, but my policy is to give a book this long around 10-20% to convince me to keep going, so I persisted. I gave it until 15% because I badly wanted to enjoy it, but the story never really took off. 

 For me, this is one of those stories that has so much potential but never reached it. 

 The concept was intriguing and had great potential, it just never felt realised. Maybe because I just finished a similar folklore book I loved, but this one fell flat in comparison. The story meandered along, promising things that it just didn't deliver, becoming slow and bland. 

 In terms of characters, there are really only 2 main characters who matter – at the point where I stopped – which are Gisela and Kazik. Though, by reading the blurb and other reviews, this is a poly romance so there is a third character, though I can't say whether he has a POV or not. 

 Gisela is the main character IMO. She occupied 80% of the POV that I read. She's a water nympth, or rusałki. In the book, they're described as: 

 “Rusałki were maidens who had met untimely and violent ends. They were cursed to haunt the waterways in which they'd drowned, bound to live as restless spirits, unless one of two things happened. 

 The first was if their death was avenged.” 

 The description makes Gisela's future journey sound interesting, but for me she was a selfish, vain young girl with only one thing on her mind. I found her insipid at times, flighty and superficial. Even beyond her desire to become human again – accomplished if a human kissed her – all she could think about was how attractive everyone was: Yulia, Kazik and Aleksey. She didn't even hesitate to think about how best to manipulate others to get her own way. 

 Kazik was, to me, the only interesting character so far. He's been burdened with a heavy weight of responsibility from his family of witches/exorcists and Gisela does nothing but cause trouble. I can see why he'd be annoyed with her. 

 All of the nymphs felt one-dimensional. There wasn't one (yet) who felt smart, brave or strong, and when anyone did risk sounding that way, they were quickly described as being manly, butch or it was implied they were trans/questioning their gender. Gisela herself is always identified as she/her throughout the book, yet when it's mentioned that Yulia sees herself as a man rather than a woman, suddenly it's mentioned that Gisela doesn't feel strongly about her gender identity, either way. It's implied that she'd non-binary, but she 'lets' others call her female because it's 'easier'. It felt like a lazy way to be LGBT-inclusive or to somehow make the poly relationship that followed more likely or acceptable. It never felt genuine or natural to the character. 

 I also felt like the language didn't feel natural to the world, either. The world that was built was floral and folklorish, with a historical fantasy twist, but the language was quite modern and jarring to read. 

 Overall, the book had too many issues – the language, the character inconsistencies, a plot lacking direction, a conflicting concept, and unrealised potential – that I just couldn't get into it. It felt boring, like it was going nowhere very, very slowly. 

 Unfortunately, if it couldn't grab me by 15%, that wasn't likely to change. 

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

5.0

  ** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** 

 Copy received through Netgalley 

 ~ 

 A Dark and Drowning Tide, by Allison Saft 

★★★★★ 

 384 Pages 

 3rd person, single character POV 

 Content Warning: mild violence, references to anti-Semitic behaviour, murder and assault 

 Themes: rich v poor, rivals, murder mystery, fade to black, grumpy x sunshine, pining, betrayal, politics 

 A Dark and Drowning Tide is one of my favourite novels of the year. 

 The novel is an incredible standalone novel where folktales come to life. Told in 4 parts, it follows Lorelai – a young, brash academic who strives to prove herself in a world that looks down on her. The novel has a constant theme of the Yeva people being persecuted and mistreated, segregated and treated like criminals by most people of the kingdom, Brunnestaad. 

 The Yeva people have a strong – though not blatantly stated, although Lorelai is mentioned as being of Jewish faith – resemblance to Jewish people and how they were mistreated in the past. The Yeva live in a segregated community together, afraid to leave for fear of violence, sew identifying symbols onto their cloaks etc. This may be triggering for some readers, as it's a running theme of the novel. 

 Due to this, Lorelai is the underdog – a Yeva amongst enemies and people who might hurt her – but also haunted by her past. Ziegler is her mention, an academic at the university and the only person who has ever seen potential in Lorelai. 

 When King Wilhelm asks his most trusted friends – Johann, Heike, Adelheid, Ludwig and Sylvia – to find a magical pool, the Ursprung, he places Ziegler in charge. And she chooses Lorelai to be her second in command, much to the chagrin of the others in the expedition. The five friends have known and worked with each other for years, leaving Lorelai the outsider, so when the first leg of their journey begins with Ziegler being murdered aboard a ship, it's up to Lorelai to investigate the friends. 

 The only one she can trust is Sylvia – the beautiful, flighty, fairylike princess who has been her academic arch-nemesis for years! 

 The novel is a blend of familiar folklore traditions and a unique, complex world, built from the ground up. Most – though sadly not all – terms are well explained, at the right time, making it easier to understand and follow the world that was unfolding page by page. 

 The plot, strength of characters and style of writing – NOT the same, just giving me the same vibe – remind me of Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy and Ellen Kushner's Tremontaine series. All three are eloquently written, with a vast, unique, well explored world and a hint of whimsical magic, with an added mystery to solve. 

 There are limited suspects to the murder, but there's a constant undercurrent of malevolence, danger and a simmering heat of romance and rivalry between Lorelai and Sylvia. The romance is a definite slow burn – the first kiss is at 70% – and surprised me by going from sizzling attraction and chemistry to fade-to-black quite suddenly. 

 In terms of the mystery, there was a constant tension and suspicion between all the characters. All of the suspects felt plausible at some point, which made it interesting to see how they navigated each other. 

 I loved how Lorelai and Sylvia worked together to solve the murder. Even though Sylvia had grown up with the others, she knew Lorelai would never hurt her beloved mentor and helped support her. Despite being Yeva – who the others all looked down on and hated taking orders from, making the perfect scapegoat for them – Sylvia stands by Lorelai the entire way. 

 I loved their chemistry and how the tension between them slowly morphed from frustration and annoyance to romance and attraction. 

 The novel had the perfect ending, though it came suddenly, within a short space of time. I would definitely read the author again. 

 ~ 

 Favourite Quotes 

 “I'll keep you safe.” 

 Lorelai's heart thudded too fast in her chest. For the first time in five years, Sylvia had said something that shocked her beyond words, beyond derision. She didn't think she'd ever heard those words before in all her life.” 

 “All of them were haunted women. Violence had broken and reforged them, and the sharp edges it left behind made them dangerous.” 

Young Gothic by M.A. Bennett

1.0

  ** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** 

 Copy received through Netgalley 

 ~ 

 Young Gothic, Young Gothic, 01 

 by M.A Bennett 

★☆☆☆☆ 

 427 Pages 

 multi-character POV 

 Content Warning: child loss, abortion, sexual coercion 

 DNF'd at 9% 

 The concept behind this book was utter brilliance – recreating that magical time in history when Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, John Polidori and Lord Byron gathered in one place and came away with the famous conceptual plots for Frankenstein and the Vampyre. 

 Sadly, it felt like the author agreed and wrote the book with that self-satisfied undercurrent of 'look what a great idea I created'. It really put me off, especially when the plot and characters couldn't live up to the promise of the concept. 

 I was surprised that this was billed as Teens & YA by the Hachette Children's Group, yet it contained the heavy triggers of abortion and sexual coercion. However, I can't comment on those because I didn't make it far enough into the book to come across them. 

 For me, the characters – a collection of 'bright and brilliant' creatives – were extremely unlikeable and overly pretentious with holier-than-thou attitudes. All of the characters were trying to be too relevant, using words like 'hench' and 'peng' – which, full disclosure, I have NEVER heard/seen before! – and yet they all failed to be even remotely relatable to real-life teens or creatives. 

 Strangely, the author put a lot of effort into the slang used by the teens, yet there were frequent grammar issues, like “if there would be a point” instead of “any point” and “my eyes are on stalks”. I have no idea if this was another choice made for the characters sakes, to somehow display their creative minds or their personalities, but it really rubbed me up the wrong way. 

 Honestly, it feels like the author wrote a homage to horror movies and literature, and only decided to make it YA to take advantage of the popularity of that market right now, because it felt VERY much like it was written as an adult novel. It had hints of the 90's movie The Haunting. The characters all had egos and reputations – like the viral BookTuber and Brit Award attending rapper – of adults. These did NOT feel like teenagers, in any way. Eve was a stereotypical goth girl, G the Poet was a stereotypical rapper, and Ren was a stereotypical gay teen with a flair for the DRAMATIC and OH MY GOD caps thought processes, to the point where I just rolled my eyes and gave up. 

 Again – full disclosure – I have been that teenage girl with a death sentence hanging over her head, having had cancer at 15 – and I REALLY disliked Eve and her attitude towards her own illness. I know everyone has a different experience of life-changing, terminal situations, and when you survive it leaves you with a shadow, but the way Eve acted, and insisting that she'd 'died' in some way, was frustrating to read and not the kind of message that I'd like to see in YA novels, for teenagers who might go through similar experiences. It doesn't leave a good impression or provide hope. More than that, I felt that Eve especially couldn't just explain or introduce herself, she had to somehow out-do everyone else, to prove that she wasn't just one-dimensional – even though she really was! – and wanted to make it quite clear that she was more than she appeared all the time. It got tiring, even only in the 9% I read. 

 While I do enjoy a good gothic story, Young Gothic mostly drools over anything gothic or horror rather than trying to be something new and individual or clever. There were SO MANY opportunities to take the story in a new and interesting direction, but it clung so tightly to what came before that it never gave itself room to breathe. It relied far too heavily on the past – trying (and failing, IMO) to imitate the Dracula epistolary concept in the first chapter – but it didn't actually COMMIT to any of the many directions it drifted towards. If it had just picked ONE direction and stuck to it, it probably would have been far more successful. 

 In the end, the story and characters didn't capture my interest at all. It was a cheesy horror movie from the late 90s that never quite reached the potential of the original concept. I didn't care where it went, what happened next, or if the characters grew out of their petty competitive clash of egos, because I didn't like any of the characters or connect to them. 

 Unfortunately, I think people will rave about this book because it feeds into all the currently popular tropes in YA horror fiction at the moment. Sadly, this just wasn't enough for me. I wanted something NEW and interesting, something that took what came before and BUILT on it. I wanted it to take the original concept, twist it, mould it, and make it into something smart and clever. 

 Overall, I'm really disappointed. The concept had a lot of promise, but it relied too much on that concept and just didn't even try to reach its full potential. 

The Hollow and the Haunted by Camilla Raines

5.0

  ** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** 

 Copy received through Netgalley 

 ~ 

 The Hollow and the Haunted, by Camilla Raines 

★★★★★ 

 384 Pages 

 3rd person, single character POV 

 Content Warning: mentions of anxiety, grief, loss, death of a parent (off-page), violence, implied homophobia, possession, family feud, panic attacks, visions, family curse, ghost attack, premonitions 

 Themes: rich boy x poor boy, privilege, enemies-to-lovers, psychic abilities, close knit community, hurt-comfort 

 The Hollow and the Haunted, by Camilla Raines is – for me – The Frighteners meets Sixteen Souls. It is everything that I wanted Cemetery Boys to be! 

 Full disclosure: I didn't know this was part of a series when I requested it or read it. It does end on a cliffhanger, but that didn't dampen my enjoyment of the book. In fact, this is one of my Best books of 2024. 

 ~ 

 The Hollow and the Haunted is a brilliant YA PNR story with an MM romance. It's got everything I could have asked for – romance, intrigue, ghosts, a haunting, feuding families and enemies to lovers, and cursed family heirlooms. 

 The book started with an incredible opening of a teen MC – Miles – grave digging! However, instead of having nefarious plans, Miles is there to return an item to the deceased woman, as his family have been hired to resolve a haunting. Things don't quite go to plan...and then Miles sees a strange boy in the mirror – bloody, dead and asking Miles to 'find me'. 

 Miles doesn't know what to do with the warning, until he meets the boy – alive and unaware of the threat. To his dismay, Gabriel Hawthorne is the son of the Hawthorne family, the arch-nemesis of Miles' family! 

 When it comes to characters, I LOVED Miles: the happy-go-lucky, well-meaning, hard-working teen who just wants to do his family proud, and use his gift for good; and Gabriel: the grumpy, rich boy with an ego and a habit of dismissing others, having learned to be cold from his distant mother. Between the two of them, their amazing chemistry and their witty banter, they make an incredible couple as well as great main characters. 

 The secondary characters are brilliant too: their mothers, Felicity and Sarah, have some of the best insults and banter in the book. I loved the relationship dynamics in the novel: Miles and Charlee's friendship, despite being cousins; Gabriel's protective instincts for his brothers; Bram and his clever cat; the chemistry between Miles and Gabriel. The relationships ranged from family to friendship to romance, and each one was completely unique and well-explored in a natural, organic way. 

 Miles is the only POV of the novel, but he's the perfect choice. He's a surprisingly level-headed and smart teenager; instead of screaming and throwing tantrums (like some teenagers in YA books lately), he's quietly disappointed in people, more frustrated with being hurt or getting mad rather than the person he's fighting with. 

 There are a wide range of psychic abilities explored throughout the book, in various ways. There's a wide network of witches/magical families in the community so there are a lot of ways to explore the magical gifts in this world. There's lots of teen life, anxiety and shenanigans throughout, family issues and in-the-closet drama. 

 The pacing was great, the plot clever and well-explored, with false leads and twists, so many suspects and problems to creep in. 

 Although I knew there would be a cliffhanger by around 60-70% – because there was so much story left to tell – this is a duology and it ends on a huge cliffhanger that sort-of resolves the plot of this book while leaving plenty more for the next to settle. This cliffhanger was a real surprise, leaving us with one heck of an ending. 

 I'm really looking forward to Book 2, and I hope it will be in Gabriel's POV, so that we can see more of his side of events. 

 ~ 

 Favourite Quotes 

 “Fate had made their families enemies, bound by death and tragedy. As surely as it had placed Gabriel in Miles's path, it would take him away. One way or another.” 

 “Gabriel hesitated. “It's...home. The only place I've ever lived.” He watched the flames. “It's also cold sometimes, empty. Hollow. I have all this space, but nothing to fill it with.” His eyes flicked over to Miles, there and gone. “Sometimes, I feel like a ghost living here. Invisible. Intangible.” 

Rules For Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore

2.0

  ** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** 

 Copy received through Netgalley 

 ~ 

 Rules for Ghosting, by Shelly Jay Shore 

★★☆☆☆ 

 400 Pages 

 present tense, 3rd person, single character POV 

 Content Warning: mentions of death, grief, loss, child death, ghosts, haunting, the Holocaust 

 Mentions of trans MC who uses binders, transitioning, packers and hormone treatment 

 Reps: queer MC, trans MC, Jewish heritage 

 ~ 

 DNF'd at 30% (approx 118) 

 Pros: cover, blurb, so many great reps 

 Cons: boring, unnecessarily long, rambling memoir style plot 

 Sadly, for me, the book spent far too long focusing on the wrong things. I saw too much of what I didn't need/want to see, and nothing of the parts that actually interested me. Ezra could have been an interesting POV – trans, right in the midst of a transition, queer, Jewish, reluctantly working for his family funeral home, and he can see ghosts! – but we don't need to see every errant thought in his head 100 of the time. We also don't need repeated reminders of those thoughts at every available opportunity. 

 There were a few “twists” in the pages I read, but rather than being exciting and plot twists, they feel like an unnecessarily complicated way of forcing the plot towards a predetermined outcome. In my opinion, there were easier and quicker ways to accomplish these plot switch-ups. Actually, I would say that the story could/should have started at Chapter 4. The story wouldn't have lost anything by starting there, but it would have gotten to the crux of the plot with less wavering. In fact, there were too many times when the plot wandered off in a pointless direction, reminiscing, recapping and drifting when it should have stuck with the essence of the plot. Instead of doing that, it tries to force too much into way too many pages when the main story could have benefited from being 200 pages of a more concise plot. Because it tried to do too much, it didn't successfully accomplish any of the things it tried to do, which is a real shame, because there is SO much potential in the plot and characters. 

 For me, there's zero emotional connection to the main characters. The book focuses more on *telling* rather than letting us see and feel what Ezra is going through. The flow and pacing really suffered because of these issues. 

 Also, there are a lot of Jewish phrases that I'm not familiar with, that are included in the book. Some were over-explained, almost repeatedly, while others were sort of left unexplored to the point where I had to guess what they meant. That part of the book lacked consistency. 

 Overall, the story tries too hard to be something it's not – a concept that's never realised, that it had the potential to be, but couldn't quite reach. It spent too much time reminiscing about the past while hinting at what could happen in the future, yet it fails to be present in its own plot. There was a lack of balance, consistency, a plot that couldn't be cohesive or concise, and there was nothing that pulled it all together. 

 If you want a good ghost story, with an MM romance and an MC who sees ghosts, try the YA novel: The Hollow and the Haunted, by Camilla Raines. 

Phoenix Prince by TJ Nichols

5.0

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine

~

Phoenix Prince, by T.J. Nichols
Brothers of Fire, 04
★★★★★

3rd person, dual character POV with a brief, third POV
Themes: LGBTQIA+, Romance, Royalty, Shifters, age gap, undercover
Triggers: mild violence, missing relative, betrayal, exploration of deteriorating mental health
Genre: MM, Romance, Shifter, PNR, Crime 

~ 

Phoenix Mate is the fourth and penultimate book in the Brothers of Fire series, which continues the story of the Shadow Board and phoenixes, while finally exploring the full extent of Everest's behind-the-scenes machinations. 

Everest has always been an interesting character, but last book we finally discovered that he's been accessing memories of most of his previous lives, which have all led up to this moment. He's been plotting how to use the Shadow Board to find Olier, his missing brother, for many lifetimes, and now all his plans have come to fruition. The problem is that he never planned to live beyond those plans. 

Cadel is a relatively new bodyguard and he's about to ruin all of Everest's plans. While he suspected that his current paramour bodyguard would be loyal, that doesn't prove the case once it comes time to escape captivity within the castle and disobey the King. Instead, it's Cadel who goes with him and proves to be just the solution he needed...in more ways than one. 

The dynamic between Cadel and Everest was brilliantly executed, because Cadel is so by-the-book and Everest is such a rule breaker that they shouldn't fit together, on paper. However, they both offer something the other person is lacking. Cadel's background gives him great undercover capabilities, while Everest can see ten steps ahead. Cadel is the rational logic and reason, while Everest is the action and scheming master manipulator. However, Everest is also a victim of his own intelligence and past, while Cadel enjoys living in the moment and giving opportunities a chance to surprise him. 

The pacing of the book was quite slow, but that was necessary, as there were a lot of pieces being moved in the background and Everest had to play the hostage to get everyone into the right positioning for what he wanted. That gave Everest and Cadel time to explore a tentative romance, which fully blossomed near the end. 

At the end, we got to see Quentin again and the brothers, who all had a part to play. There was a chapter or so of Kaine's POV, which let us see how they all reacted to the eventual reveal of Everest's plans and the subsequent consequences. 

The book was a nice little snippet of how things had been planned and plotted and working in the background for the previous three books – and some of the Familiar Mates books. 

~ 

Favourite Quote 

 “I have never lost a charge.” 

 “I was already lost.” 

Cadel cupped Everest's jaw and tilted his chin. “And I want to find you.” 

 “If this was a game of chess, Everest had built the board, carved the pieces, created the rules, and he was three moves from winning.”