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978 reviews by:
leighsnerdlife
I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins Canada in exchange for an honest review.
I have literally just read the final page of this book, and felt that I absolutely had to start putting my thoughts down. I am stunned. Kingdom of Souls has blown me away; I can’t believe this is Barron’s literary debut.
The story is YA fantasy, but far darker than expected. It’s a lush, magical and very harsh world. The main character is 16 year old Arrah, and her journey would break even the strongest adult. She loses so much and sacrifices everything for the greater good. But just when you think it couldn’t get any worse for her - it does. She is a great example of Barron’s ability to create deep and complex characters.
Kingdom of Souls manages to turn common YA tropes upside down, guaranteeing more than a few surprises for the reader. It’s refreshing! And no spoilers, but the ending featured an excellent twist that has left me with so many questions. Thankfully, this is the first in a series, so I’ll hopefully eventually get the answers. But it’s going to be so hard to wait!
I have literally just read the final page of this book, and felt that I absolutely had to start putting my thoughts down. I am stunned. Kingdom of Souls has blown me away; I can’t believe this is Barron’s literary debut.
The story is YA fantasy, but far darker than expected. It’s a lush, magical and very harsh world. The main character is 16 year old Arrah, and her journey would break even the strongest adult. She loses so much and sacrifices everything for the greater good. But just when you think it couldn’t get any worse for her - it does. She is a great example of Barron’s ability to create deep and complex characters.
Kingdom of Souls manages to turn common YA tropes upside down, guaranteeing more than a few surprises for the reader. It’s refreshing! And no spoilers, but the ending featured an excellent twist that has left me with so many questions. Thankfully, this is the first in a series, so I’ll hopefully eventually get the answers. But it’s going to be so hard to wait!
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I whipped through The Babysitters Coven super fast - it’s a fun story! It reminds me of the style of YA that was popular while I was growing up - even the pink cover felt like a throwback. It all made me feel very nostalgic…
The plot is definitely familiar - girls with powers who find out they have been chosen to save the world. But Williams totally owns it, having the characters point out the parallels to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and even The Babysitters Club. The story has a lot of early-Buffy/Faith vibes, which I’m totally here for!
Did I mention this is William’s debut? It’s also the beginning of a series - and a pretty good start too. This book has a fully fleshed out plot with a proper resolution, while at the same time hinting at the stories to come. Sadly, that can be a bit of a rarity in YA series. My only wish is that it was a bit more fleshed out. There were a couple of chapters that I feel could have benefited from more detail. But overall, a great read.
I whipped through The Babysitters Coven super fast - it’s a fun story! It reminds me of the style of YA that was popular while I was growing up - even the pink cover felt like a throwback. It all made me feel very nostalgic…
The plot is definitely familiar - girls with powers who find out they have been chosen to save the world. But Williams totally owns it, having the characters point out the parallels to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and even The Babysitters Club. The story has a lot of early-Buffy/Faith vibes, which I’m totally here for!
Did I mention this is William’s debut? It’s also the beginning of a series - and a pretty good start too. This book has a fully fleshed out plot with a proper resolution, while at the same time hinting at the stories to come. Sadly, that can be a bit of a rarity in YA series. My only wish is that it was a bit more fleshed out. There were a couple of chapters that I feel could have benefited from more detail. But overall, a great read.
Spin the Dawn was a pleasant surprise, as I wasn’t that thrilled about it after reading the summary on Goodreads. I guess the lesson is don’t judge a book by its blurb?
The plot is pretty unique - a tailor/seamstress hero and her magic scissors go on a journey to provide for her loved ones. It sounds like an old fairy tale, which added a cool dimension to the book. There is a bit of a love story, but it’s more of an accompaniment to the main plot rather than the focus. And thankfully, it wasn’t the dreaded insta-love so prevalent in YA.
Lim has created a very detailed world, providing a solid base for the books to come in this series. The main characters (Maia and Edan) were very solid and well constructed, but unfortunately the rest of them were a bit flat. The princess whom Maia was creating dresses for spends the entire story in a miserable state, but we don’t get to really explore her situation. Expanding her role would have added a bit of intrigue, and would have given some depth to the tailoring competition Maia was a part of.
Overall, Spin the Dawn is a solid start to a new series. If you enjoy fantasy I highly recommend it.
The plot is pretty unique - a tailor/seamstress hero and her magic scissors go on a journey to provide for her loved ones. It sounds like an old fairy tale, which added a cool dimension to the book. There is a bit of a love story, but it’s more of an accompaniment to the main plot rather than the focus. And thankfully, it wasn’t the dreaded insta-love so prevalent in YA.
Lim has created a very detailed world, providing a solid base for the books to come in this series. The main characters (Maia and Edan) were very solid and well constructed, but unfortunately the rest of them were a bit flat. The princess whom Maia was creating dresses for spends the entire story in a miserable state, but we don’t get to really explore her situation. Expanding her role would have added a bit of intrigue, and would have given some depth to the tailoring competition Maia was a part of.
Overall, Spin the Dawn is a solid start to a new series. If you enjoy fantasy I highly recommend it.
I picked up The Oracle Year at FanExpo a year or two ago. I love buying books there; the author is usually present and willing to talk about their publishing journey - and their book, of course! Soule is traditionally a comic book writer and The Oracle Year is his debut novel.
The story is written like a summer blockbuster action flick, which isn’t really surprising given Soule’s work history. It’s not my usual type of book, but I really enjoyed it! It’s a fun look at an unusual question - what would happen to a prophet in today’s world?
The pacing of the tale is kept at a steady clip, and most of the characters feel solid and well developed. I will admit to a small bias - the female lead is named Leigh and she’s a ballsy reporter (have I mentioned my childhood dream to be just like Lois Lane!?). Anyways - I loved that bit. The character nicknamed Coach did feel a bit flat, but that almost felt intentional? Can’t say for sure, but it definitely didn’t take away from the story.
The ending was a typical action movie wrap-up, and overall the book was a lot of fun. I hope it does get picked up by a studio - I’d watch it.
The story is written like a summer blockbuster action flick, which isn’t really surprising given Soule’s work history. It’s not my usual type of book, but I really enjoyed it! It’s a fun look at an unusual question - what would happen to a prophet in today’s world?
The pacing of the tale is kept at a steady clip, and most of the characters feel solid and well developed. I will admit to a small bias - the female lead is named Leigh and she’s a ballsy reporter (have I mentioned my childhood dream to be just like Lois Lane!?). Anyways - I loved that bit. The character nicknamed Coach did feel a bit flat, but that almost felt intentional? Can’t say for sure, but it definitely didn’t take away from the story.
The ending was a typical action movie wrap-up, and overall the book was a lot of fun. I hope it does get picked up by a studio - I’d watch it.
Thank you HarperCollins Canada for a copy of this book!
The title of this book may be a bit long and unwieldy, but the story itself is absolute perfection.
The plot is centred around two teens: Pearl, the spirit of a girl who died during the WWI era, and Frankie, who was left in an orphanage with her siblings during WWII (while her father went off with his new wife’s family). Pearl narrates, jumping between Frankie’s life and her own interactions with other spirits - all while trying to sort out her own past.
The narrative style is unlike anything I’ve read before; when Pearl follows Frankie and pokes her way around her thoughts, it reads like a normal story written in 3rd person. But when Pearl is on her own or with other spirits, her storytelling loses cohesion. Quotation marks disappear and speech starts to blur into the rest of the text; the occasional comma does the same, which makes her words read more like a stream of consciousness. She is out of step with the rest of the world, insubstantial in action and thought. It’s brilliant.
The end includes some unexpected and emotional revelations, touching on Frankie trying to make her way in a male-dominated world, and Pearl facing the circumstances of her death and the people she left behind. The sadness, anger, resignation and hope laid out on the page left me struggling to detach from the story once I had finished. It will definitely stick with you.
The title of this book may be a bit long and unwieldy, but the story itself is absolute perfection.
The plot is centred around two teens: Pearl, the spirit of a girl who died during the WWI era, and Frankie, who was left in an orphanage with her siblings during WWII (while her father went off with his new wife’s family). Pearl narrates, jumping between Frankie’s life and her own interactions with other spirits - all while trying to sort out her own past.
The narrative style is unlike anything I’ve read before; when Pearl follows Frankie and pokes her way around her thoughts, it reads like a normal story written in 3rd person. But when Pearl is on her own or with other spirits, her storytelling loses cohesion. Quotation marks disappear and speech starts to blur into the rest of the text; the occasional comma does the same, which makes her words read more like a stream of consciousness. She is out of step with the rest of the world, insubstantial in action and thought. It’s brilliant.
The end includes some unexpected and emotional revelations, touching on Frankie trying to make her way in a male-dominated world, and Pearl facing the circumstances of her death and the people she left behind. The sadness, anger, resignation and hope laid out on the page left me struggling to detach from the story once I had finished. It will definitely stick with you.
Thank you, HarperCollins Canada and Indigo for this beautiful, finished copy of Jasmin Kaur’s new book!
How do I describe this book and do it justice? I don’t think I can; this novel of poetry & prose is an insightful commentary on the experiences of women of colour living in Canada. But really, that only scratches the surface of it. Jasmin has created a hard-hitting, emotional and revealing piece of art that I struggled to put down, even after finishing it. I highly recommend everyone experience it for themselves.
How do I describe this book and do it justice? I don’t think I can; this novel of poetry & prose is an insightful commentary on the experiences of women of colour living in Canada. But really, that only scratches the surface of it. Jasmin has created a hard-hitting, emotional and revealing piece of art that I struggled to put down, even after finishing it. I highly recommend everyone experience it for themselves.
I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway, and my unbiased review is now up on my blog. Spoilers - I loved it. http://the-bookish-life.com/review-unbound-shawn-speakman/