howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

“Relationships are built in the silences. You spend time with people, you observe them and interact with them, and you come to know them—and that is what apartheid stole from us: time.”

a·part·heid (noun)
1 a rigid former policy of segregating and economically and politically oppressing the nonwhite population.
2 any system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste, etc.

“We tell people to follow their dreams, but you can only dream of what you can imagine, and, depending on where you come from, your imagination can be quite limited.”

This review took me over a month to write, because this book was so profound, so heavy, and made such a tremendous impact upon my life that I just didn’t think my own words could ever do it justice. I still do not believe that my words can do this book justice, but I’m going to try my best to tell you why you absolutely should not hesitate to pick up a copy of it immediately.

“People love to say, “Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” What they don’t say is, “And it would be nice if you gave him a fishing rod.” That’s the part of the analogy that’s missing.”

Trevor is a magnificent storyteller, but more than that, he manages to word things so eloquently and in such an air-tight manner that it’s impossible not to understand them. If you are someone who is uncertain on the travesties of racism, colorism, classism, apartheid, modern segregation, and the chain of poverty—and how all of these things combine to hold down marginalized individuals, whether we’re talking about South Africa in the 90s or the USA today—I can almost guarantee that Trevor’s explanations, stories, and anecdotes clear the fog on these topics. Even as someone who has spent my entire adult life trying to understand these topics as much as possible, and to recognize and not take advantage of my own privileges as a white individual, there was so much in this book that I didn’t know, or had never truly allowed to sink in, and it genuinely changed who I am as a person.

“If you're Native American and you pray to the wolves, you're a savage. If you're African and you pray to your ancestors, you're a primitive. But when white people pray to a guy who turns water into wine, well, that's just common sense.”

Not only does Trevor explain a lot about South Africa’s specific struggles with apartheid and the political climate of his childhood, he also manages to convey the absolute traumas that colonialism have wreaked about this world. He spends a great deal of time explaining how the cultures of many African peoples have been suppressed and erased over the years, even in subtle ways that I hadn’t given nearly enough thought to before—like his family and friends’ increasing frustrations with living in a society that did not value the languages that already existed, but instead, forced the original inhabitants of the lands to change their languages, religions, and practices to accommodate the newcomers.

“When you make the effort to speak someone else's language, even if it's just basic phrases here and there, you are saying to them, ‘I understand that you have a culture and identity that exists beyond me. I see you as a human being.’”

Throughout the troubles and strife, Trevor also weaves delightful, captivating stories about his own childhood and the experiences he had whilst growing up as an illegal biracial child in South Africa. He explains how he had to keep hidden in his younger years, and could not speak to his own father in public, for fear of what would happen if the neighbors realized who Trevor’s white father was. In the midst of the heartaches and fears he describes, he also conveys a slew of hilarious childhood adventures, and slowly, shows the reader how he came to be this incredibly charismatic, multilingual individual we know and love today. (For this matter, I cannot recommend the audiobook format highly enough, as Trevor himself narrates the book, and his deliveries and impressions cannot possibly be outdone by words on a printed page.)

You can find this review and more on my blog, or you can follow me on twitter, bookstagram, or facebook!

#1 A Darker Shade of Magic ★★★★★
#2 A Gathering of Shadows ★★★★★
#3 A Conjuring of Light ★★★★★

I cannot believe that I waited nearly a year between the first book and this one, but here we are, and now I’m convinced that Victoria sacrificed an unhealthy number of virgins for her writing skills, because this series is absolute magnificence. I loved A Darker Shade of Magic so much that I was nervous to see if the second book would hold up, but let me tell you, it absolutely did, and now I am both horrified and desperately in need of seeing how it all ends up.

“I am Delilah Bard,” she thought, as the ropes cut into her skin. “I am a thief and a pirate and a traveler. I have set foot in three different worlds, and lived. I have shed the blood of royals and held magic in my hands.”

I only thought that I loved the characters of this series in the first book, but that was nothing compared to the feelings that I have for them by this point. There’s Lila, who took me a little bit of time to be won over by in ADSOM, but who has me utterly captivated in this installment. Her brash, headstrong, clever nature is only magnified even further as she comes into her own in the world of Red London, and while she still feels this evident need to prove herself and to come out on top, her entire attitude has been tempered—if only slightly—by the pains that her previous actions have caused. She’s also still determined to avoid dealing with her feelings towards a certain redheaded Antari, which lends beautifully to the incredible slow burn of the brief romantic undertones to these books.

“I do not know why you two are circling each other like stars. It is not my cosmic dance. But I do know that you come asking after one another, when only a few strides and a handful of stars divide you.”

Precious Kell, on the other hand, is still my favorite; I’m constantly torn between being amazed by his skills and abilities, and wanting to jump in and protect him from the cruelty he faces, not only as one of the last remaining Antari, but as the neglected adopted son of the King and Queen. My years of reading fantasy novels have taught me that it’s difficult for me to relate to “lawful good” characters who rely so heavily on their virtues and honor, as Kell does, but Victoria writes him so flawlessly that it never grows stale or predictable. On top of everything else, his relationship with his brother, Rhy, is one of the most wholesome, pure, and precious things I have ever seen in my entire life.

Rhy held Kell’s pain in his hands, while Kell held Rhy’s life in his.

Rhy Maresh is, I think, one of the most lovable fictional characters who has ever been written. I don’t know if I have ever met a fan of this series who does not adore him at least a little bit, especially upon getting to know the quiet self-loathing that resides under his charisma and charm. He broke my heart so many times during his struggles with the lengths Kell has gone to in order to save him, and the fact that he values his own presence in the world so little is crushing, yet nevertheless, Rhy is a constant source of drama, amusement, and sweet brotherly love in a world full of violence and fear. The fact that both of these princes would so readily give up everything for one another is perhaps my single favorite aspect to this gorgeous series thus far.

“Fix your crown, my prince,” he called back as he reached the door. “It’s crooked.”

Of course, this review would be wholly incomplete without taking a moment to talk about the utterly fantastic addition to the cast: Alucard Emery, privateer, playboy, magical aficionado, and captain of the Night Spire crew. He is hilarious, delightful in every way, and an absolute deviant who never fails to keep you guessing. I love his entire presence in the story, and though I am left with a million and one questions about his past and how it relates to the lives of the Maresh family, it is easily one of the things that I am most excited about tying up in A Conjuring of Light.

“Magic is tangled, so you must be smooth.
Magic is wild, so you must be tame.
Magic is chaos, so you must be calm.
Are you calm, Kell?”

Besides the wonderful cast of characters (including one special individual who I’m not going to mention here for fear of spoiling anyone, but let me say that I am absolutely ecstatic to see things through his perspective on occasion, and terrified to see what he will do next), there’s also the fact that, once again, Victoria proves her writing prowess through incredible action scenes and magical world-building. There is a tournament featured in this installment that never grows stale or dull; despite its potential for repetition, as is frequent with “trials” in books, not once did I lose the feeling of gripping the edge of my seat.

“I gave him my life, but you cannot ask me to stop living.”

This sequel also delves much further into the history of Red London and its surrounding lands, as well as the political climate between the kingdom of Arnes and its allies and potential enemies. It was such a fantastic buildup of information, but I can’t help but wonder how it can all possibly be addressed in the finale. That said, I have no doubts that I will be pleased with how everything turns out (and it doesn’t hurt that I know there are further books coming along in the future, too!).

They crashed into each other as if propelled by gravity, and he didn’t know which one of them was the object and which the earth, only that they were colliding.

I don’t think I can say too much more without spoiling any of the twists and turns in this installment, so I’ll end this review on this note: if you enjoy fantasy worlds with lovable characters, a brilliant (yet never overdone) magic system, world-building and history for days, and enough twists and turns to never let you find a moment’s rest, I cannot recommend this series highly enough—and I cannot wait to read the final piece to the story!

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Buddy read with Terry and Julie! ♥♥♥

You can find this review and more on my blog, or you can follow me on twitter, bookstagram, or facebook!

#1 The Cruel Prince ★★★★★
#2 The Wicked King ★★★★★
#3 The Queen of Nothing ???

If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.

It had been years since I’d picked up a Holly Black book, but I loved her writing as a kid, so I was a little bit apprehensive about re-entering her little fae world. Believe me when I say, though, that this book was everything I wanted it to be and so much more. Her writing is impeccable, the lore is woven seamlessly through the tale, the characters are lovable and disastrously grey (which is my favorite, forever), and I just wanted more.

“I promise you this” – I throw his own words back at him – “this is the least of what I can do.”

→ Jude ←
I’m going to get this out of the way early: if you asked me what my favorite thing about this book was, I would probably take three years to decide between Holly’s writing voice itself… or this fantastically grey, authentic, human protagonist. She is angry, terrified, clever, and determined. I’ve heard many people say they thought she was annoying, and while I totally respect everyone’s opinions, I can’t see it – if anything, she just felt tremendously real to me.

Even if, by some miracle, I could be better than them, I will never be one of them.

She has undergone incredible traumas, and continues to live through daily abuse – be it verbal or physical – yet, she manages to shove down her pain and fears for the most part. The fact that she was willing to admit to herself that she was secretly terrified, every moment of every day, made her a three-dimensional character that I could relate to. Despite her fears, she does everything she can to even the playing fields, which I found rather admirable.

And then… that ending? I mean, I won’t spoil, but damn. Jude is more than willing to vilify herself to do what she thinks is best for the people she loves and hopes to protect, and it just made me love her even more than I already did.

I am coming unraveled. I am coming undone.

→ Prince Cardan ←
For all that I loved Jude’s moral greyness, Cardan’s left me feeling conflicted a lot of the time. I feel like I have a little bit of an unpopular opinion in that I wasn’t left swooning for the prince; unfortunately, a lot of his behaviors were borderline unforgivable for me.

That said, I do understand that Cardan’s life has been far from easy, and a lot of his behaviors can be somewhat explained (though not justified) by his circumstances. And, I won’t lie, the shift in his attitude towards the end of the book is adorable and far more lovable than his entire existence in the first half of the book, so I still have high hopes that he’ll win me over in the sequel!

Despite myself, despite what he’d done and what he was, I came to love him. I do love him. It’s just not a comfortable kind of love.

→ family ←
Reason #347 why Holly is such a fantastic author: she can make your feelings for a character shift so quickly in one direction or the other, with little to no warning, and Jude’s family is evidence of this from start to finish.

• Madoc – Jude’s “father figure”, who took away her parents only to take her in and raise her. He’s brutal, yet doting, and Jude’s feelings for him were a really interesting and realistic view of Stockholm syndrome, in which she constantly was reminded of the terrible things he had done for her, yet she couldn’t seem to stop herself from loving him and wanting to please him. The best part of this is that his character arc is written so flawlessly, I fell for it, too.

• Taryn — her twin sister, who ranges from “meh” to downright infuriating and hate-worthy, depending on which scene you’re reading. (Mostly the latter.)

• Vivienne — she’s bisexual, rebellious, fun, caring, snarky, and one of my favorite characters in this book by far. I loved each chance that we got to spend time with her, and if there was ever a novella about her life with her cute little mortal girlfriend, I’d be so here for it.

• Oriana — the other half of Jude’s makeshift parenting duo, who strikes out as aloof and cold, but has a surprisingly love development process throughout the story that made me genuinely hope we see more of her in the future, as I think she could be a valuable ally for Jude in the coming trials.

• Oak — Oriana’s son, who is tiny, adorable, and wild. He’s the perfect portrayal of Fair Folk in that, despite how lovely and charming he can be, he has a vicious and mischievous streak in his bones that few fae are wholly exempt from.

“Plenty of mortals are better at plenty of stuff than the Folk. Why do you think we steal them away?”

→ fair folk ←
One of the many things I enjoyed about this story is how many side characters there were, and how fleshed out most of them felt! My favorite side character was easily one of Jude’s fellow spies, Ghost, who takes it upon himself to spend immense amounts of time training her in how to sneak, steal, and kill. It’s not just that he mentors her, though – it’s that he respects her, and treats her as his equal throughout all of their interactions. So help me, if he does not get MAJOR screen time in the following books, I WILL RIOT.

Among other noteworthy characters were Locke, who is a complete raging asshole that I will never forgive in a million years ever, and the rest of Cardan’s posse, who were also, well… complete raging assholes that I will never forgive in a million years ever.

Faerie might be beautiful, but its beauty is like a golden stag’s carcass, crawling with maggots beneath his hide, ready to burst.

→ final thoughts ←
All in all, while there were some aspects to the story that I didn’t love, I thought this was such a phenomenal story with a delightfully bizarre and varied cast of characters. I felt like I couldn’t get enough of the world that Holly Black wrote, and the idea of having to wait an entire year to see what happens next physically pains me. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories of fair folk, political intrigue, backstabbing, love, family, and conniving schemes.

Content warning: Let me emphasize that, when you see TWs for abuse, people are not joking – as someone who has been bullied and abused, parts of this book were actually incredibly difficult for me to swallow. If you are triggered by scenes of abuse and harassment, please practice self-care before, during, and after this read.

Buddy read with Julie! <3

Ooooof. This was... such a ride. We need more honest, raw, beautiful queer stories like this depicting both the unhealthy and the healthy aspects of relationships, especially in YA. While not every queer story needs to be painful, not every one has to ignore the very real fact that queer relationships, like all other relationships and friendships in life, still have the potential to be toxic, to be abusive, to suffer from power imbalances, to fall apart. We also need more stories reminding teens that your first love doesn't have to be your last love, and that you don't have to stop loving someone to love yourself enough to say goodbye.

Poor, sweet little gay babies. I just wanna hug 'em all (except LD, screw her until she learns how to treat people).

I'm also absolutely, wholeheartedly consumed with love for how effortlessly diverse the cast in this graphic novel is. We've got an Asian-American main character, queer girls everywhere, trans characters, healthy discussions of polyamory (and how to know the difference between a healthy polyam relationship and when you're actually being taken advantage of), characters of every race and size and shape, and damn, if every girl in this book isn't beautiful. Well done, Tamaki. ♥ I have a new favorite, that's for sure.

So creepy, so fun, and I loved this so much. Each page you turn lends another one-liner, most of them feeling like the middle or ending of a story that the accompanying illustration fleshes out further. It's a brilliant method for horror story-telling, because our imaginations will always be one of the most terrifying sources of nightmares. It doesn't hurt at all that the illustrations themselves range from morbidly humorous to ominous to downright chilling (there's one in particular that literally did make me look back over my shoulder, just like Joe Hill's introduction promised I would). I also loved the little nod to the Locke & Key graphic novel series in one of them — if you've read them, I hope you catch it, too!

That was fun, in a sort of cheesy way (not saying that as a bad thing, just know what you're getting into ahead of time). I definitely saw the ending coming from a mile away, but it didn't make it less fun to watch it unfold. The only reason I'm not giving it a higher rating is because the writing itself was a little oddly formatted for my taste: chapters kept cutting off at weird points, and the dialogue often felt really unnatural to me, or over-the-top melodramatic. Case in point:

"Can't you see it? He's got us all FOOLED! Santa is just an anagram for Satan!"

2.5 stars

Don't mind me, just continuing my reread of the original series. This one always ranked up there with Stay Out of the Basement as one of my least favorite R.L. Stine books. I just think it's really boring and not a fun concept, and I always felt that way, even as a kid. That said, the audiobook narrator (Kirby Heyborne) really helped me finally get motivated enough to pick it back up and finish it and he made it fun! If you aren't familiar with him but are familiar with Jesse Bernstein, he reminded me a lot of Jesse in the way he did his voices and was over-the-top enthusiastic (which is perfect for kid listeners IMO). Anyways, moving on! One of my all-time faves is next in the series: Say Cheese and Die!

This was pretty neat! I thought it packed a pleasant, morbid punch in a very short span of pages, but at the same time, I would love to read a full novella involving this world and these creatures because they sound pretty terrifying.

I love Murderbot SO DAMN MUCH. This was literally one of the most entertaining things I have read in my entire life and I can't wait to continue the series. 😍 Full review to come!