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389 reviews by:
luckylulureads
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.
Scout’s Honor is a delightfully campy story about belonging, legacy, and addressing trauma.
Former Ladybird Scout Prudence Perry finds herself pulled back into her double life as a Ladybird after getting grounded. But Prie left the Ladybird’s for a good reason…they aren’t just your average scout troop. The Ladybirds are part society darlings, part inter dimensional grub hunters. And at the ripe old age of 13, Prue witnessed a tragedy that left scars both visible and not. Unfortunately for her, Prue’s family is legacy status. AKA, Prue was literally born for this, and her mother isn’t going to let her get out of her “duties” lightly. And so, Prue finds herself training the newest Ladybird scouts, in a fast track no less.
Scout’s Honor does a lot of things just right: an interesting and unique premise, social commentary that doesn’t feel too heavy-handed, female friendships, and the reality of living in a triggering world with PTSD. I particularly loved how Prue grows over the course of the books, and how we get to know the “babybirds,” as Prue calls her initiates.
The world building is fairly complex, and the mechanics of mulligrubs could be a bit convoluted. A few times I did find myself noting things that seemed to be contradictory, only for them to later be fleshed out. Because of this, I didn’t find it to take away from the overall reading experience too much.
The author also played with some interesting writing conventions, and sometimes the text would thurn into stanzas. It evoked a montage-like quality to the narrative that I enjoyed a lot,
In the end I feel like my questions were answered, the characters had growth, and there’s been an awesome setup for a sequel. I really look forward to what’s next for Scout’s Honor!
(Also, if this was adapted into a TV show and/or a graphic novel series, as a complement to the books, I would be ALL OVER IT.)
Scout’s Honor is a delightfully campy story about belonging, legacy, and addressing trauma.
Former Ladybird Scout Prudence Perry finds herself pulled back into her double life as a Ladybird after getting grounded. But Prie left the Ladybird’s for a good reason…they aren’t just your average scout troop. The Ladybirds are part society darlings, part inter dimensional grub hunters. And at the ripe old age of 13, Prue witnessed a tragedy that left scars both visible and not. Unfortunately for her, Prue’s family is legacy status. AKA, Prue was literally born for this, and her mother isn’t going to let her get out of her “duties” lightly. And so, Prue finds herself training the newest Ladybird scouts, in a fast track no less.
Scout’s Honor does a lot of things just right: an interesting and unique premise, social commentary that doesn’t feel too heavy-handed, female friendships, and the reality of living in a triggering world with PTSD. I particularly loved how Prue grows over the course of the books, and how we get to know the “babybirds,” as Prue calls her initiates.
The world building is fairly complex, and the mechanics of mulligrubs could be a bit convoluted. A few times I did find myself noting things that seemed to be contradictory, only for them to later be fleshed out. Because of this, I didn’t find it to take away from the overall reading experience too much.
The author also played with some interesting writing conventions, and sometimes the text would thurn into stanzas. It evoked a montage-like quality to the narrative that I enjoyed a lot,
In the end I feel like my questions were answered, the characters had growth, and there’s been an awesome setup for a sequel. I really look forward to what’s next for Scout’s Honor!
(Also, if this was adapted into a TV show and/or a graphic novel series, as a complement to the books, I would be ALL OVER IT.)
Thank you to the publisher and Book Riot for sending me an ARC in a giveaway. I feel so lucky to have gotten this
This book broke my heart, you know? But it happened in the best way possible. Moreno-Garcia is, to me, a literary master. She makes each page feel like it’s own story, the sentences bound together with prose both poetic and profound. And within it all, a captivating story about a woman whose heart makes her more of a hero than she believes she has a right to be. This is the kind of story that stays with you, lingers in the corners of your mind and surprises you at the most unexpected moments. Its perfectly bittersweet nature speaks to the human condition in a way that both haunts and delights. So good.
Giving it five stars because I had a good time reading. There was plenty of spice, the plot made sense, and the characters were great. The only things that could have made it better imo would be to give Hermes and Dionysus more page time, and to flesh out the world-building.
Looking forward to the next book.
Looking forward to the next book.
Spectacular anthology of stories about love. Each character and scenario felt unique and fresh, and I love Babalola’s writing style.
I enjoyed every story, but my favorites were: Osun, Nefertiti, Attem, Psyche, and Thisbe.
I enjoyed every story, but my favorites were: Osun, Nefertiti, Attem, Psyche, and Thisbe.
Wow.
This book was poignant, powerful, and eye-opening.
At its heart, it’s a story of a young woman who chooses her community and herself above all else. It’s a story of loss and grief, wrapped up in love and hope.
It’s beautifully written, and shares with readers Ojibwe language and traditions and strength.
Daunis is a perfectly imperfect person, and I found her very relatable. To the world, she’s good at all the right things. Internally, she struggles with complicated emotions and trauma. Not to mention, she feels like she toes the line between her two communities.
Enter Jamie. He’s frustrating and imperfect, and also impossibly patient and understanding. There’s a bit of an enemies to lovers dynamic, which I’m a sucker for.
Finally the plot—I think the characters are truly where this book shines, however when the mystery finally starts unraveling I was rocked to my core. The clues were all there, right under the readers nose.
So much more I could say, but I’ll leave it there—a fabulously written story about a woman coming into her own and stepping up to protect her community.
CW: rape, murder, drug addiction and overdose, suicide, kidnapping
This book was poignant, powerful, and eye-opening.
At its heart, it’s a story of a young woman who chooses her community and herself above all else. It’s a story of loss and grief, wrapped up in love and hope.
It’s beautifully written, and shares with readers Ojibwe language and traditions and strength.
Daunis is a perfectly imperfect person, and I found her very relatable. To the world, she’s good at all the right things. Internally, she struggles with complicated emotions and trauma. Not to mention, she feels like she toes the line between her two communities.
Enter Jamie. He’s frustrating and imperfect, and also impossibly patient and understanding. There’s a bit of an enemies to lovers dynamic, which I’m a sucker for.
Finally the plot—I think the characters are truly where this book shines, however when the mystery finally starts unraveling I was rocked to my core. The clues were all there, right under the readers nose.
So much more I could say, but I’ll leave it there—a fabulously written story about a woman coming into her own and stepping up to protect her community.
CW: rape, murder, drug addiction and overdose, suicide, kidnapping
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
In a Garden Burning Gold is the beginning of a fantasy Duology that feels incredibly fresh and unlike anything I’ve read. The story follows a set of twins on their parallel journeys to save their family and its legacy. Lexos and Rhea are children of a Stratagiosi, the leader of their nation, who has power over death and imbues powers to his own children. But, his rule is threatened by his seeming instability. So, Rhea and Lexos embark on their own journeys to do what they feel must be done.
I teetered between giving this book four and five stars, but I decided to round up because of how this book ultimately drew me in and left me wanting more. In fact, I almost want to reread the book immediately.
This book was hard to get into: Thyzakos is clearly inspired by Greece in many ways, and so I found myself wanting to draw precise connections between all of the countries/territories and real life cultures. However, I think this kept me from really enjoying the book as a fantasy world. Making that mental shift (and letting go of “maybe this is Russia,” etc) helped me immerse myself into the story’s world more fully. It was like trying to conflate Middle Earth with our world—the cultural influences are there, but ultimately it’s a unique place of it’s own. Note: there’s no map in the ARC, but I would love for a map to make its way into the official book.
It’s also clear that the beginning of the novel does a lot of heavy lifting with the world building, which makes the first 10-20% a bit heavy to move through. But by the time the twins separated, I was fully invested.
There’s political intrigue, a unique magic system, and a beautifully woven story of two siblings who process a century’s worth of trauma in completely different ways. Near the end of the book I was at the edge of my seat, so to speak, watching these two twins on a collision course, their actions having unknown, wide-scale impact on the world.
I honestly could have had 100 more pages just to enjoy some of the relationships a little more deeply, and learn more about the magic system. But the epilogue gives me really high hopes that the sequel will fulfill all of that for me. I’m super excited about this world, and what’s going to happen next.
In a Garden Burning Gold is the beginning of a fantasy Duology that feels incredibly fresh and unlike anything I’ve read. The story follows a set of twins on their parallel journeys to save their family and its legacy. Lexos and Rhea are children of a Stratagiosi, the leader of their nation, who has power over death and imbues powers to his own children. But, his rule is threatened by his seeming instability. So, Rhea and Lexos embark on their own journeys to do what they feel must be done.
I teetered between giving this book four and five stars, but I decided to round up because of how this book ultimately drew me in and left me wanting more. In fact, I almost want to reread the book immediately.
This book was hard to get into: Thyzakos is clearly inspired by Greece in many ways, and so I found myself wanting to draw precise connections between all of the countries/territories and real life cultures. However, I think this kept me from really enjoying the book as a fantasy world. Making that mental shift (and letting go of “maybe this is Russia,” etc) helped me immerse myself into the story’s world more fully. It was like trying to conflate Middle Earth with our world—the cultural influences are there, but ultimately it’s a unique place of it’s own. Note: there’s no map in the ARC, but I would love for a map to make its way into the official book.
It’s also clear that the beginning of the novel does a lot of heavy lifting with the world building, which makes the first 10-20% a bit heavy to move through. But by the time the twins separated, I was fully invested.
There’s political intrigue, a unique magic system, and a beautifully woven story of two siblings who process a century’s worth of trauma in completely different ways. Near the end of the book I was at the edge of my seat, so to speak, watching these two twins on a collision course, their actions having unknown, wide-scale impact on the world.
I honestly could have had 100 more pages just to enjoy some of the relationships a little more deeply, and learn more about the magic system. But the epilogue gives me really high hopes that the sequel will fulfill all of that for me. I’m super excited about this world, and what’s going to happen next.
