ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Captivatingly vivid and beautiful written, this novella was so good.

I was concerned that the length would detract from my enjoyment of the story, but those fears were completely unfounded. Tobi Ogundiran used every single page to its fullest, somehow managing to weave a story that is both intricate and incredibly fast-paced in less than 200 pages. The characters, no matter how brief their appearance, were fleshed out and felt entirely real. Creating three-dimensional characters is something authors (reasonably) struggle with on a much larger canvas and yet this novella handled it with such ease, I felt like I was simply hearing about people that had once existed.

Pairing that with the use of African mythology and a cosmic war between the gods, this was one you're not going to want to miss. 

“There's an evil in Warbler, and I am the only one who knows about it.”

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Incredibly sad to say that I truly, wholeheartedly disliked everything about this book.

I keep writing and rewriting this review because I feel I am coming off too harsh and that's never my intention. However, I also don't know how to express any of my feelings on this book without sounding incredibly harsh.

The characters were dull, insufferable, and incapable of making a single good decision. The pacing was an absolute mess. The suspense was non-existent. The conversations on feminism and misogyny were so incredibly poorly handled that it would be impressive, if I wasn't so disheartened by it. The suicide plotline is used as a jump-scare throughout the novel.

There's also a weird element that makes it feel like age doesn't exist in this world. Whenever there are flashbacks to when Temperance was 16, she was seen as a child (which is correct) but then her 16 year old sister is in a rush to get married to the same man that took advantage of her sister, and none of the adults have a problem with it, simply because they want to get married first?

On that topic, assault is mentioned so often that it almost loses any poignancy. This, connected with Temperance lying (/telling partial truths) to her little sister about her experiences* making the assault seem like it was really just a case of her getting her feelings hurt, was just... painful in every way.

*I don't believe survivors are ever required to share their stories with anyone. However, in what world would you try to warn your sister away from your abuser by making it sound like he simply rebuffed your attentions? And then she had the audacity to be upset that no one listened to her or took her seriously. (Not that her sister would have, even if she had told her the truth. Her sister was a trash character with zero redeemable qualities, that probably would have lit other women on fire to keep a known abuser warm but! I still think everything should have been handled differently.)


Overall, I'm clearly in the minority when it comes to this book and I truly wish I had something positive to say about it, other than 'that's a lovely cover'. Unfortunately, I don't and I genuinely cannot think of a person that I would ever suggest this to.

I'm grateful for the chance to read it, but I'm even more grateful to be done. 

 “May our philosophies keep pace with our technologies. May our compassion keep pace with our powers. And may love, not fear, be the engine of change.”

A powerful case against AI considering I swear this horrendous novel was an AI attempt at a Robert Langdon book. Seriously. What was this?

Dull, boring, predictable, and incredibly slow-paced this was easily the worst of the series. I had to force myself through this one, which was surprising. Part of the reason I read this series is how compulsively addictive it is - as cheap and formulaic as they may be.

The only reason I'm not giving this one star is because the second half was at least minorly enjoyable, once things actually began happening. But... it was a close call.

Overall, unless for some reason you really want to read every Robert Langdon book or completing every work by Dan Brown is on your incredibly uninspired bucket list, I would recommend skipping this one. 

The landscapes in here were gorgeous. I also loved how it managed to be both devastating and hopeful. 

I don't rate graphic novels, but this was a good one. 

 “He allows everyone to think the worst of him, and all the while, he sacrifices everything he wants for the betterment of others.”

If I had a nickel for every case of mistaken identity in this series....

I absolutely love Brigid Kemmerer, but the first 60% of this book was excruciating (and this is coming from someone that rated Defy the Night 5 stars). I felt like I was watching as this hit every negative stereotype about second books with ease and agility. Not only did nothing happen, but when something did happen it was extremely annoying.

Neither Corrick nor Tessa felt like themselves in this book. They were both given to flying off the handle and taking everything personally, which was especially surprising coming from Corrick - considering that his entire character is built around his inability to express his emotions. As for Tessa, she was naive and childish and not in the way that I think she was meant to be. More in the way of, "who decided to bring this moronic child on board a political expedition, as she is giving away state secrets to the captain on DAY ONE?"

Not to mention the odd male chauvinistic aspects? That were so weird? The weird competition between Rian and Corrick was both juvenile and so exceedingly stereotypical, creating tension where none was needed. I understand why Corrick said it, but the "I could have had you anytime I wanted...." line was so fucking icky? And I think it was meant to be hot, which is even weirder. Especially in a YA novel.

Honestly, Harristan saved this book for me. His parts were admittedly minor, but I was grateful to be in his perspective every time and to learn more about him. Even the plot with his kingdom was a breath of fresh air compared to being on the damn boat listening to Corrick be an ass and Tessa be a child.

I sound like I hated this and I didn't. I actually enjoyed the last 40%, even if I was rolling my eyes. I just loved book one so much that I wanted better from this book and I'm really sad that it was just okay.

However! The end redeemed the book to some degree and I do think that the series finale is going to be much more up my alley. As for this one though... this is what everyone thinks Siege and Storm is lol. 

 "Run fast and don't look back."

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Poetically written and thoroughly researched, 'Song of the Huntress' felt more like an experience than a book.

Even for someone with admittedly little knowledge on the historical events this novel retells, I found myself completely immersed in the politics and setting, due to the author's lyrical and yet concise prose. The Wild Hunt has always been a part of mythology that has fascinated me and it was easily my favorite aspect of this book, though I wish that it had been given more time.

As it was, this is a slow-paced, dense book that focuses more heavily on character development than anything else. Which was fine, but also quite tedious at times. I found myself struggling to connect with the story, whenever the chapters started to feel like a repetition of conversations we had already had and emotions we had already felt, just slightly reworded for the new context.

Though I found the character development monotonous at times, I can't deny that it produced vivid, three-dimensional, and compelling characters. Æthel particularly was such a fascinating character to follow, as her intensity and courage weren't excuses to keep her from tenderness and vulnerability. Ine and Herla were also extremely interesting (as were their dynamics with each other), but Æthel was easily my favorite of the three protagonists.

Without giving any spoilers, in the beginning, I struggled with the developing romance between Herla and Æthel. I understand that one of the characters was supposed to be regaining a sense of self, but having them secretly watch the other character bathe (only to never bring it up again) was both bothersome and unnecessary. I had to pretend that it hadn't happened by the time their romance was a prevalent part of the book.

On a more positive note, I was particularly fond of how this story blended historical fiction with fantasy, blurring the line between mythology and reality in such a dreamlike way. I see the comparison to "The Bear and the Nightingale" though I feel like this book was much less whimsical and more... academic leaning when it came to the power-struggle between paganism and Christianity.

Overall, I enjoyed this! Though I wouldn't recommend it to someone trying to fight a reading slump, I do think this was an incredibly well-crafted, interesting story that many people will enjoy. I'm grateful for the chance to have read it. 

 “He should be the Iron King, and I should be the Iron Queen. Yet Iron Demon and Iron Widow is all they'll let us be.”

Absolutely here for the rise of unhinged female characters.

That being said... I have some mixed feelings on this.

Despite being set in an extremely bleak world, Iron Widow was extremely engaging and cathartic, with such interesting world-building and a very distinct main character. Unlike some books that fall into the trap of becoming unnecessarily complicated for the sake of being different, Iron Widow was both unique and simple, easy-to-follow while intriguing and leaving the reader wanting more.

As for my issues with it, some of them are personal and some of them I can't articulate. The one I will touch on is that I feel like this suffered because it was a YA novel. Perhaps that's just me, but I kept thinking it again and again. I feel like so many things were brushed over due to this being meant for a younger audience, which just meant that there was occasionally an extremely grim topic dealt with simplistically and almost... frivolously, rather than being expanded upon and fully ever dealt with. Some of the realizations Zetian comes to are made so quickly due to the fast-pacing and writing style, that it just feels... forced when it could have been even more impactful.

I'm not saying 12-18 year old's can't handle graphic or heavy topics; I'm simply saying that the tonal shift created a weird dissonance that pulled me out of the story.


While I have mixed feelings on this book overall, I did still enjoy it and I will be reading the sequel whenever it comes out.