Tower of Thorns

Book Title: Tower of Thorns

Author: Juliet Marillier

Series: Blackthorn & Grim #2

Date Started: June 28th 2020

Date Completed: June 29th 2020

Genres: Historical, Mystery, Fantasy, Romance

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

Here come the criminal fae-loving detectives back to be deceived by another crazy lady once again. These books are a lot of fun, and indulgently vivid and engaging. Having read the second instalment now, it's clear that while the backstory is darker than what I've encountered in Marillier's other work, the story is actually a bit lighter and more entertaining without the deeply-invested angst - although I doubt that will continue into the last book where Blackthorn's revenge has got to be paid off.

I'm really glad that we're getting to see more of Blackthorn and Grim in different situations. They really are the main attraction here, everything else are obstacles and a distraction, really. I'm waiting for the endgame impatiently at this point, which is really praise on the way the story has been paced so far through the trilogy since I'm so invested - you just know Blackthorn isn't going to be able to satiate her need for revenge forever, and you just know they're both going to end up back in Laois. It's time to see that, now.

For Tower of Thorns specifically, I did feel like things dragged out longer than necessary. The audience knows what's going to happen a good 50 pages before the characters do, if not more, and the delay starts to grind a bit. Though I will say that, once again, Blackthorn and Grim's tentative relationship is a nice break from the sometimes sickly romance or angst of the other characters, even if their denial of each other is painfully obvious by now.

Considering I read both instalments in this series in a day each, I'm enjoying them. They're more entertaining binge experiences for me, but I did wake up this morning and was a little disappointed to realise I'd finished it. I'll probably be onto the last book as soon as I've finished what I'm currently reading. And the end of this is going to be good.

House of Names

Book Title: House of Names

Author: Colm Tóibín

Date Started: June 23rd 2020

Date Completed: June 28th 2020

Genres: Historical, Mythology, Fantasy

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

I love my Greek mythology, and I love their reimaginings. House of Names was a good addition to this growing genre, and it was honestly really refreshing to read a retelling of a myth that wasn't the Trojan War (even if it ties into it, as all Greek myths ultimately do). But, I do have to say that it brought to my attention the things that seem to be becoming standard in the genre that I'm not the biggest fan of.

Style-wise, these retellings always seem to be split into full parts where only one character narrates a chunk of the story before wrapping up that character's 'voice' and moving on to someone else. On a personal level, I would much prefer switching perspectives per chapter so the different voices run alongside each other; what you get with these big chunks is that some characters' motives almost feel abandoned or irrelevant once their section has finished, and it's so much more complex than that. It's not just in House of Names, I've noticed it seems to be becoming a trope for Greek retellings. There's also this very plainsong style of prose that's turning up again and again in this genre, and I find it hard at times to really feel the anguish of the characters, which is just a shame.

I always wonder how much these stories make sense to people who haven't happened to go to private school or done a course in Classics. There's certainly a compelling story to be enjoyed, but this tale particular was thought-provoking for me. Orestes' myth is one of the most notorious Greek stories because it's so unfair. To break it down, Orestes is given the ultimatum to avenge his father - but he has to kill his mother to do so. Killing a parent (father first, but mother isn't far behind) is pretty much the worst thing you can possibly do in the ancient world. But Orestes is going to be chased by the Furies (executioners of divine justice) either way. But I have to say, that didn't really come across here, even when I knew about those Greek values. In all fairness, this book does choose to take a more historical route than mythological but even so, Orestes's dilemma isn't really put at the forefront of the story (and the book ends before any consequences can happen). That affected the drama for me.

Despite the thoughts that arose about the genre for me, I did enjoy reading House of Names a lot. I felt like it humanised Orestes and Electra especially, which I haven't really come into contact with before (even if it didn't take them in any particularly new directions). I love this genre dearly, but I do always wonder about it when I read another addition to it.

Dreamer's Pool

Book Title: Dreamer's Pool

Author: Juliet Marillier

Series: Blackthorn & Grim #1

Date Started: June 22nd 2020

Date Completed: June 23rd 2020

Genres: Historical, Mystery, Romance, Fantasy

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

Dreamer's Pool turned out to be more of a detective story than an adventure. It wasn't quite as serious as I expected it to be (accidental magical swaps feels more Scooby-Doo than Marillier) but enjoyable nonetheless.

Of course, when it came to the worldbuilding, I got exactly what I expected from Marillier: a good epic-scale story with multiple threads leading to a whole tapestry. Blackthorn & Grim should be a good trilogy, though I'm sad we didn't get to the meat of it in this one. The real interest is in the underlying premise and its future potential with these two characters and their revenge plot. Luckily Blackthorn is just as impatient as we are as the reader, so she keeps the action moving even if she doesn't get to where she needs to be immediately.

One of the things I loved so much about the other book of Marillier's I read was the subtle politics underneath everything. This time, it's a lot more gender-focused, but still just as gentle and unintrusive. I love the blend of historical facts with these more contemporary themes, and it makes it very satisfying to read - though I must admit I'm a bit uneasy about some of the things touched on/featured in this one. But I also applaud other parts, so I suppose a balance isn't a bad thing. Though steer away from this if sexual violence is triggering for you.

Dreamer's Pool was good fun and I'll be continuing with the series soon enough, but I also quietly hope that another series might be more like Sevenwaters since that's the richer, darker side of Marillier's writing that I feel in love with.

The Sisters Grimm

Book Title: The Sisters Grimm

Author: Menna van Praag

Date Started: June 18th 2020

Date Completed: June 22nd 2020

Genres: Fantasy

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: One Star

Final Rating: Two Stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

Okay. Usually, when I'm not enjoying a book, I try and get 25% of the way through to really give it a good run up at convincing me it's worth my time. And, while the 15% of the way I got through The Sisters Grimm didn't take me that much reading time, I just did not want to continue at all.

The first thing that hit me was that it felt very Disney: wishy-washy fairytale/fantasy with kind of sickly sweet but very bluntly 'twisted' darkness that it just kind of felt silly. You also have quite a lot of sex which is so obviously added to make it feel 'mature', but just makes it feel even more misjudged and childish because it's completely pointless. How old are these characters anyway? Aren't they supposed to be approaching their 18th birthday? I have nothing against girls owning their sexuality but the characters are written with such freedom, independence and priorities that make them feel like they're in their mid-twenties and that's honestly confusing.

The changing perspectives definitely don't help this when they're entirely unmotivated and near impossible to distinguish without the named headings. POVs even change within chapters for seemingly no reason, mixing differently storylines until there's way too much going on and you can't separate one thing from the others. It's almost like Praag was worried that we'd forget about the other characters if she focused on one at a time so she just squished them all together when maybe the book should have been focused on just one of them.

The Sisters Grimm is also so overwritten with vague information-dumping. 15% is a decent amount through a nearly 500-page book and I still have no idea about how this world is supposed to work - even though 70% of what I read was shoving worldbuilding down my throat. I just wanted to shout at it to stop trying to be mysterious and actually tell me a story. The diversity of its protagonists could've driven this, but it fades when no one feels distinctive. A lot of effort went into detailing every tiny little thing that happened in their childhood and with their families, but I honestly couldn't tell you which unnecessary exposition was for which character. I think that's actually the main problem: the book is so concerned with telling us everything that happened before the story that it never gets to the fricking story.

And, yes, I only read 15%. Surely this changes? Well, reading other reviews, I'm not convinced it does. I would've been willing to press through if things progressed further than these tiny snippets of each person's melodramatic domestic life, but it doesn't seem like it will. (I actually very rarely refer to other people's reviews while reading a book, but I needed some confirmation that I wasn't wasting my time - which, sadly, I did not find). It's fair to say Praag lost my trust in her to tell me a story pretty quickly and sadly I just didn't want to keep reading.

The Binding

Book Title: The Binding

Author: Bridget Collins

Date Started: June 10th 2020

Date Completed: June 18th 2020

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Historical

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

The Binding is a carefully crafted story about two men, some books and a number of fires. I would recommend maybe skipping this review if you like to go into things with no context, though, as it's hard to talk about this book without touching on mild spoilers.

The story is based around the premise that books contain people's memories - the ones that they (or others) would rather be forgotten - and the 'binders' that have the ability to take them. It's a cool idea, and I actually would've liked to dive deeper into the world and all the little things that are mentioned: the trade of 'originals' and fakes (i.e. novels), the Crusades which supposedly involved burnings of binders etc. Though I do appreciate the focus on the main storyline - which is ultimately the heart of this book and a big strength.

One of the things that really impressed me was the inventive structuring of the story. It's quite complex when you step back and look at the timeline with all its little interwoven elements, but it feels very simple while you're reading it because it's so carefully and sensitively laid out. There were times when I was worried we were going to go down a cliched route, but then Collins mixed it up again and kept me engaged.

The one thing that was very predictable - and spoiler warning guys - was the romance. The two protagonists are very obviously in the hate-to-love trope from the moment they have a scene together. I think the fact that they're two men is supposed to throw us but, honestly, it's not particularly subtle once you 'get over' that. It's actually amusingly blatant. No less sweet, though.

There are some things that feel offbeat of a little obvious, but The Binding was a very enjoyable read overall. It's impressive how cool an idea the whole thing is based on, and Collins' retraint from making that a gimmick like so many other authors do. I look forward to what she comes up with next, and I certainly wouldn't turn down something set in the same world to see what else the concept has in its potential.

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow

Book Title: The Lost Future of Pepperharrow

Author: Natasha Pulley

Series: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street #2

Date Started: June 5th 2020

Date Completed: June 10th 2020

Genres: Historical, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

19th Century Japan, international politics, a clockwork octopus, female scientists and theatre owners, and ghosts. Um, yes. Yes, please. I read The Watchmaker of Filigree Street when it came out and, honestly, I don't remember what's happens - only that I loved it and its characters. The Lost Future of Pepperharrow will probably follow a similar fate because I loved it all over again, even though I was unsure what to expect.

A lot happens in this novel, but it did occur me towards the end that there's a lot of characters talking about what might happen to them amongst the actual action. Somehow, that's just as engaging as the actual investigating or peril, in no small part because of Thaniel and Mori's relationship to the supernatural and the tone built up in its vibrant world. There was an edge of puzzle-solving, it felt, reading, and while I don't think the audience is really given a fair chance to solve the mystery before the heroes, it's definitely a satisfying tool to keep them hooked.

From what I can tell, it felt like the history and Japanese culture was authentic, especially reading the notes at the back - Pulley clearly knows her way around Japanese politics and even the language, and it comes through. Of course, it's a fictional story with sci-fi/magical realist influences, but it really felt like the political and historical struggles were real too. In fact, it blended the ghosty science almost seamlessly and utterly believably.

There are great characters all round, but if you know me you'll know I won't be able to miss the chance to praise Pulley's female characters. Like seriously. The three main examples - Six, Thaniel's adoptive daughter; Dr Grace Carrow, Thaniel's ex-wife; and Takiko Pepperharrow (I would presume who the title refers to), theatre owner and [oops, spoilers] - are all vastly different, all flawed and scared of things, and all very strongly motivated and determined. Considering they aren't even the main protagonists, it is an enormous breath of fresh air to get that kind of complexity on the fringes of this epic tale.

Like its predecessor, The Lost Future of Pepperharrow is tender and gentle and badass - and unlike anything I've ever read. Part ghost story, part detective thriller, part literary fiction, threaded together with historical politics, romance and science boarding on steampunk, this book is an absolute delight.

Talina in the Tower

Book Title: Talina in the Tower

Author: Michelle Lovric

Date Started: May 31st 2020

Date Completed: June 5th 2020

Genres: Historical, Adventure, Fantasy

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Two Stars

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

I adored Michelle Lovric's first children's novel, The Undrowned Child, when I was a kid - and it held up pretty well when I reread it. But sadly Talina in the Tower didn't have the same magic to it for me.

I'm aware that The Undrowned Child was quite fancily written for a children's book, but I don't remember having any trouble understanding it. Talina felt a lot more convoluted and quirky without actually feeling magical. It matches the grim darkness I was expecting from Lovric's previous books, but it loses the whimsy and spark that The Undrowned Child thrived on.

Of course, reading this book as an adult is bound to muddle up some of the enjoyment. I didn't feel much peril, but I suppose that's my age. The fact that nothing really happens, though, I think is more of a problem. There's no sense of momentum or cause an effect; lots of things just happen and I couldn't really keep track of them or how we were progressing at all. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but it might be a bit of an issue in a kid's book.

I imagine there's probably a crossover to The Undrowned Child at some point (pretty sure Gasperin was the protagonist's surname from that) and a lot of the reason I kept reading was to try and reach a point where Teo or another familiar face turned up. But I read 38% of the way through, and my enthusiasm wasn't quite enough to keep going anymore.