Fishbone Cinderella, Elizabeth Lim

Book Title: Fishbone Cinderella

Author: Elizabeth Lim

Date Started: May 30th  2026

Date Completed: June 23rd 2026

Genres: Historical, Fantasy

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

I've been a big fan of Lim since I first read Six Crimson Cranes, and I'm so excited to see her getting to do different things. Fishbone Cinderella wasn't my favourite, but ultimately just because it didn't feel particularly new or creative. I'm still very much eager to see this author's style and bibliography continue to develop.

The magical realist element of a matriarchal curse could've elevated this book beyond the familiar story (and was, I think, the intention), but its inclusion was a bit peculiar; you'd go through huge chunks forgetting it even exists, and then it would reappear and be working very hard to hold the story together. While magical realism allows flexibility in how present the fantasy elements are in the story until they can provide poetic license, I felt it never comfortably fit in the book, and so didn't give the narrative satisfaction at the end.

Similarly, the perspectives from different generations of women ends up being vital to the resolution, but inconsistent while reading. I almost wish the timeline had jumped about more so that by the end I was attached to all of them, rather than being slightly underwhelmed that what felt like a secondary character completed the narrative.

That being said, I adore the way the book pulls together its plot strings and the timelines, with a good dash of a Chinese fairy tale in there for good measure - it just felt like what came before was just setting that up rather than existing fully realised on its own.

The Fragile Threads of Power, V.E. Schwab

Book Title: The Fragile Threads of Power

Author: V.E. Schwab

Series: Threads of Power #1

Date Started: March 17th  2026

Date Completed: May 26th 2026

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

I, unfortunately, skim-read this book from 200 pages in (once those first 200 pages had taken me over a month to get through). If it wasn't V.E. Schwab, I would've given up entirely.

This book seems to set out with the intention of telling a new story, with an enormous amount of new characters (that I couldn't keep track of), but it just cannot let go of the references, guest appearances and nostalgia of the original trilogy. And it absolutely holds back what this story could have been. At some point, it feels like a continuation but at others it seems to completely forget the central story and goes on a complete tangent for seemingly no payoff.

The structuring in general was strange. We jump between now and 7 years ago (and I still don't see the need), sticking with one character for ages and then forgetting they exist for the rest of the book. I had no sense of how all their stories tied together, and my only assumption is that it's laying groundwork for the rest of the series, but it made this book a really confusing experience.

Overall, you could've cut at least 150 pages; there's so much description, reliving essentially the same scenes, really driving home the protagonists' tortured hero narrative. Less is more is something I thought over and over again reading this book, as we fell into this swirling repetition of prose, prose, prose for the sake of prose. Yes, we love this series for its worldbuilding, but if we're coming back for a sequel series, we'd appreciate a little more plot that isn't just the protagonists' angst. Nothing happened in the first 200 pages!

I'm honestly super disappointed. A Darker Shade of Magic is one of my favourite books and while I've not always gotten along with some of Schwab's other work, I was hoping this step back into the familiar would pay off, but alas. I've still given it three stars because, if you're more attached to the original, you may get more out of it. If this is what Red London is now, I think I'm ready to move on.

A Court of Frost and Starlight, Sarah J. Maas

Book Title: A Court of Frost and Starlight

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #3.5

Date Started: January 18th  2026

Date Completed: January 28th 2026

Genres: Fantasy, Romance

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

A Court of Frost and Starlight is a very novella-esque bridge between novels without a real story, which is a bit sad given Maas has crafted some fantastic short stories with ARCs and consequence for Throne of Glass. It's not a bad idea to set up where the cast find themselves after the first trilogy, getting ready to move into the next, but this book felt mainly motivated to prove one thing: that Feyre and Rhys are the most perfect people to ever exist, apparently.

Yes, okay, we get it. Feyre and Rhys are the most considerate, charitable millionaires ever. Yes, they went through war and now they can only see those families who lost loved ones, how lucky they are (yes, how lucky). Ah, shopping, a luxury they hate but do frequently, as long as we know how guilty they are about it. I exaggerate and there's nothing wrong in principle with these character elements, it's just laid on so thick so many times in this short book, which you probably could see coming when you realise it's a Christmas-themed short story where the most conflict comes from what to get each other as presents.

ACOTAR honestly has never hit me like TOG does. I think it tries to be darker and sexier, but roots that in very surface-level motivations and emotions, which (yes) definitely leads to the steamier scenes sooner, but also feels like it doesn't build up such a complex system of relationships. The war felt much smaller than TOG, even though I'm pretty sure we spend a lot more time on the battlefield. For me, I crave that other sense of epic, mythic sagas where characters both champion and impede each other with their own quests above intimate friendship groups leading the way into battle. There's nothing wrong with the latter, it's just not as moving for me.

I am, however, excited at the prospect of Nesta and some of the other side characters coming to prominence for the next book. Ultimately, they began as foil and conflicts for Feyre and Rhys, but have grown with the series, so to me feel more fleshed out as characters with all the bad as well as the good and charitable. I suppose, following on from why I think I connect with TOG more than this series, I find the way Maas writes messy and defensive compelling.

Unravel the Dusk, Elizabeth Lim

Book Title: Unravel the Dusk

 Author: Elizabeth Lim

Series: The Blood of Stars #2

Date Started: January 8th  2026

Date Completed: January 18th 2026

Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Adventure

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

I quickly followed up with this second book of the Blood of Stars duology, having read the first only a few weeks ago. I love a good Elizabeth Lim adventure, and while I think Unravel the Dusk was trying to do a few too many things at once, it was as always an enjoyable ride.

The threads present in the first book that were clearly going somewhere came to fruition in this second book, which was really satisfying. Side characters completed arcs, as well as the protagonist and her closest allies. The very gentle nods to the mythology of Six Crimson Cranes was also well balanced as a reference without feeling forced.

Ultimately, there were a few too many directions pulling the plot - and Maia's plans - to a speedy conclusion. The build up of the first book set the scene very well for this grand conclusion, but the closer-to-home emotional narrative struggled. Maia, having achieved the impossible multiple times, with her head still attached to her body, would commit to a decision or plan, but be swayed a chapter later for what felt like the sake of romance-fueled angst - her so called breaker of fate plot device didn't come as clearly to a head as expected.

I don't mind a happy ending, but you don't have to bait a sad one that heavily for it to feel earned; we were all behind Maia after what she accomplished in Spin the Dawn. I wish the follow up had been a bit less about her creating her own conflict and pushing everyone away and instead grappling with the tidal wave of chaos already happening in the war-torn country around her - that, yes, she definitely played a part in exacerbating. She could have atoned and grown through her mistakes with her feet on the ground rather than floating around a mess of ruminating.

With all that said, my preferences misdirected, I did of course still enjoy Unravel the Dusk. Lim paints fantastical portraits of worlds and magic and the people within it in such an engaging and vibrant way. I really liked how these books were two halves of the same story, rather than just reiterating the same narrative and character arcs over multiple books. Maia reaches the end of a journey in Spin the Dawn - the resolution is offered for that individual book - and she begins another here. But it was one that was inevitable after the first, she has baggage behind her now, and she has to learn something new once again.

The Vilage Village, Lemony Snicket

Book Title: The Vile Village

Author: Lemony Snicket

Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events #7

Date Started: January 6th  2026

Date Completed: January 8th 2026

Genres: Adventure, Mystery

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

I’m continuing my adventures of completing childhood and teen series; A Series of Unfortunate Events is truly a classic for my generation, and I’ve enjoyed their screen adaptations so I’m determined to finish the books eventually. They’re such quick and easy reads at this point they almost feel like heavily-written graphic novels.

I do admire the way the writing is always introducing reasonably big words and concepts, but does it in such an accessible way, as if the narrator is having a conversation with someone they truly respect. A key theme is the ongoing patronising of children’s intelligence and emotions, but it’s so well balanced with introducing all of this vocabulary and culture plainly and for fun.

This isn’t one of the standouts of the series, and feels quite a bit shorter in its arc, but still perfectly enjoyable to follow along the Baudelaire siblings a little further. Despite having watched the TV series, a fair part of the mystery is lost in my memory so the puzzle solving is definitely still satisfying. Halfway through the series now!

A Small Matter of Impending Catastrophe, Derek Landy

Book Title: A Small Matter of Impending Catastrophe

Author: Derek Landy

Series: Skulduggery Pleasant

Date Started: December 5ht 2025

Date Completed: December 17th 2025

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

These audiobook/podcasts are great and I'm really pleased they're clearly doing well enough to make more of them - but they don't really translate into novels. While taking the full advantage of a sound-based medium, using music to solve puzzles and showcasing a low-vision character in strokes of genius, the charm of its performance is mostly lost in translation.

Without space for Derek's token action sequences and environmental storytelling, you end up with a lot of new information shared very quickly in these novella-style stories. I've found it harder to connect with the characters as most of their personality exists in long conversations (minus the voice acting) on the page, and the pure and simple mystery genre misses out on some of the cross-boundary flairs of the main series.

Despite my lower-than-usual rating of the book, I really do enjoy the audio productions and think the episodic podcast style works really nicely. The sound designers, directors and actors all do a fantastic job of bringing Derek's unique humour to life and I'm excited to see what new stories they'll do with it - I would love them to develop into multi-part stories with proper character arcs, as that seems to be the missing ingredient holding it back.

No Friend To This House, Natalie Haynes

Book Title: No Friend To This House

Author: Natalie Haynes

Date Started: June 29th  2025

Date Completed: August 22nd 2025

Genres: Historical, Adventure

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆ 

I loved the way this novel told all the little stories that weave together myth, all the crossed paths of epic heroes and the creation of mythical beasts, the legacy of these cities and temples - in the first third, we really got to delve into that and it kept the momentum up enough to stay interested. And, then, I enjoyed the last part of the book, where of course the creative license of retelling has the most to play with. The biggest chunk in the middle, I honestly really struggled to stay focused throughout.

Medea's chapters - yes, the supposed protagonist of the story, basically repeated the same prose over and over again. I've never been a fan of first-person narration, but in this context it makes the female perspectives feel defensive rather than diverse and included. Part of why the figure of Medea has captivated us for hundreds and hundreds of years is really that, even as a sympathetic character, there is space to imagine what could make someone act in the way she does. Writing it out into black and white (which may not have been the intention but was the result) loses that.

No Friend To This House is a retelling that tells everything and shows almost nothing at all. It feels like a stage play in that sense, which, sure, is a nod to the original versions of the myth - but why not just go and read those, which will always be incomparable masterpieces. We're just retelling the same events through new eyes - but we don't seem to be expanding these characters' perspectives, their backstory. Sure, they're given grounded motives, but it's like theatre where we're just expected to accept it to serve the performance. Rather than a story exploring who these characters are out of the plot, so that when they finally take to the stage, we understand them.

He Who Drowned the World, Shelley Parker-Chan

Book Title: He Who Drowned the World

Author: Shelley Parker-Chan

Series: The Radiant Emperor #2

Date Started: March 2nd  2025

Date Completed: March 16th 2025

Genres: Historical, Adventure, Fantasy

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

Full disclosure, I didn't love She Who Became the Sun but was fascinated by the way it was telling its story and its LGBTQ+ representation - but despite that still being great in this novel I, somewhat unsurprisingly, didn't love this sequel either.

These books are full of military escapades, deadly politics and domestic strife, and I have no doubt their interpretation of history (that I'm not familiar with) is creative. But I've just found both books too dense for me to really enjoy them. I've struggled keeping track of nicknames and titles on top of the characters' actual names, and the relation of locations to each other on the map - admittedly, made more difficult by reading on kindle rather than a paperback you can flip back to the start for reference.

But I think the fantasy elements are quite a good example of why there's just a bit too much going on for me; they're so light-touch that it almost feels like magical realism and only show themselves in relation to ghosts. I love this idea - and the way it's used in the finale even more so - but you go a hundred pages between instances of it appearing at all in the world. We flip between intense periods of military strategy and war, to extended bouts of martial conflict and back again. I can see where creative license has filled in gaps in a pre-realised timeline, but I found it hard to really immerse myself in.

Credit where it's due, the fluidity and organic openness to gender and sexuality in this duology is groundbreaking and liberating, and I strongly hope Parker-Chan goes on to write more of it - but maybe a little lighter on the strict militaristic records. I'd love to be able to spend time with the characters, but these books so faithfully follow a historical timeline that I find it difficult to spend time with them over their conquests.

Only Human, Sylvain Neuvel

Book Title: Only Human

Author: Sylvain Neuvel

Series: Themis Files #3

Date Started: January 27th  2025

Date Completed: February 1st 2025

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Two Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

I’ve never been able to settle into science fiction literature, and while the first book in this series had a mythic/fairytale quality that I liked, the trilogy has progressed into pure sci fi (which is absolutely fine, I’ve just found my attention waning unfortunately).

That being said, there were three things that kept sticking out to me reading this; the transcript style often doesn’t lend itself to the drama the story seems to need, the characters can often very flippant with their generation of countries (I get some of them are supposed to be bad people but even the main cast do it), and - most importantly - I don’t buy the melodramatic father/daughter drama for a second, it’s far too shallow and performative on both sides.

I miss Rose being the main character, and I miss Kara all around. I think that, for me, was why almost all the beats in Only Humans just didn’t hit; there didn’t seem to be an emotional anchor in the way the other books had. I’ve read a lot of books about governments turning into facist world-ending adrenaline junkies and having a field day being corrupt politicians, whether it’s against aliens or the lower classes or each other. I want to pay more attention to the people standing against them.

The Ersatz Elevator, Lemony Snicket

Book Title: The Ersatz Elevator

Author: Lemony Snicket

Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events #6

Date Started: December 12th  2024

Date Completed: December 15th 2024

Genres: Adventure, Mystery

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

A Series of Unfortunate Events were such classics in my childhood - everyone read them and loved them. I only got halfway through them (despite having the box set) because they started to get repetitive, but the Netflix adaptation has given me confidence that things get shaken up. So, as I continue my mission to finish the various incomplete series from my childhood and early teens, now is the time.

I really appreciate how fun and clever these stories are as an adult, as well as how fantastic it is to see children's protagonists celebrated as clever and brave and inventive - while the adults around them are largely unwilling to commit to facing the unfortunate events that befall the Baudelaire orphans. It's reminded me that most of my most beloved childhood books similarly celebrated kids who were clever and curious, who tried hard even when no one else would, and who knew that the relationships with those around them was the most precious thing they had. There should be more children's fiction that tackles dark and scary things like that.

Plot-wise, I vaguely remember all the mysteries from the Netflix series (though I'd have to look up V.F.D. again), but it's fun to see them in original form. I definitely feel like Lemony Snicket is partially to blame for the modern idea of click-baiting though. The bizarre elements - while still truly bizarre even now - do work impressively well with the quirks of the narrator. This was a very special type of series, and I'm looking forward to finishing it.

Ten Thousand Stitches, Olivia Atwater

Book Title: Ten Thousand Stitches

Author: Olivia Atwater

Series: Regency Faerie Tales  #2

Date Started: November 17th  2024

Date Completed: November 19th 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Romance

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

I usually hate the 'X meets X' style taglines, but I have to say on this occasion that Bridgerton meets Howl's Moving Castle (original Dianna Wynne Jones version) is the perfect description for Olivia Atwater's book - just add a sprinkling of Cinderella and you know exactly what you're getting in for.

Ten Thousand Stitches was cute and fun, with enough of its own quirks to take seriously. Of course the logic of the class justice is half there for the commentary and half just to be convenient for the plot, but it works hard enough to characterise our heroine and ensemble to keep the suspension of disbelief. When you mix in a generous helping of faerie - and clearly a love of embroidery, which I massively enjoyed - it becomes really quite entertaining.

I do feel like the novel felt very short, more like a long fairy tale, which was a bit of a shame as you knew every beat before it really had a chance to happen. We move at such a pace through the whole story that suddenly it's over - and I could have happily read another 100 pages at least!

Everything You Need is in the Library, Michiko Aoyama

Book Title: Everything You Need is in the Library

Author: Michiko Aoyama

Date Started: November 14th 2024

Date Completed: November 16th 2024

Genres: Contemporary

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

I realise it's sort of unfair how closely this novel feels to The Cat Who Saved Book, but I also can't see much beyond it. These little chapter stories about how books can mend the fissures between us, nurse our discontent with the modern world, and ease the lost parts of ourselves trying to be happy are always sweet, but not always distinctive.

These sorts of Japanese books read like short story anthologies - which aren't my favourite, but I do like the way they link seemingly separate stories with a common connection that makes us appreciative of the way all our lives intersect with one another. The Japanese temperament to find relief from mindless business and stress is enviably beautiful; one single, simple thing turns the modern world on its head and anchors us in what really matters.

The quiet slowness of this type of story - the soulful devotion to books and the effort of those who care for the roofs over their heads - is always special. They always seems to say, 'it's going to be okay. Keep trying, someone is listening and rooting for you.' Even if it's not the most original one out there, it's still a comfort to read.

Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher

Book Title: Nettle & Bone

Author: T. Kingfisher

Date Started: November 5th 2024

Date Completed: November 14th 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

If you've been aware of my reviews for a while, you'll know I am a sucker for fairy tales and their retellings. Even if they're nothing new, I still love devouring their quests and riddles - Nettle & Bone is no exception, but sadly wasn't on the highest peaks of the pile.

My main challenge with this book was that there were no stakes, and thus not much momentum. Everything happens rather easily, and Marra (out protagonist) often doesn't have much to do with the resolutions. Even the darker themes of systemic domestic abuse and individual exposition - something that felt like it had the opportunity to nuance the plot - sadly didn't really turn up in the story itself. The whole thing felt rather TV, which was a bit of a shame given the 30-year-old protagonist.

I enjoyed the old-fashioned fairy tale world with its bone dancers, fairy forts, and angry ghosts. The best part was the first few chapters, where we are thrown right into the middle of Marra pursuing the impossible tasks she has been given. It felt creative and atmospheric, but unfortunately once we walked out of the mist (with Marra only completing two of the three tasks, no less), everything became quite straightforward.

Nettle & Bone was a pleasant enough read, but does it offer anything new to the fairy tale retelling craze? Not really.

Queenslayer, Sebastian de Castell

Book Title: Queenslayer

Author: Sebastian de Castell

Series: Spellslinger #5

Date Started: May 5th  2024

Date Completed: June 2nd 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Action

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

The Spellslinger books are always fun and easy reads with enough excitement and political sleight-of-hand to keep things interesting. I got the first two books for review years ago, so it says something that I'm still reading.

Queenslayer takes place in a new corner of this story's world, with Kellen and Reichis mostly going it alone. While this has happened before, I find it quite impressive that de Castell moves his protagonist away from the established ensemble to explore completely new things. It's something that almost never happens, with authors avoiding resetting the narrative, I suppose to stay in their comfort zone with relationships the audience already love. But Spellslinger is more exciting for it - and it's one of the reasons I keep coming back. Each book feels like a new story - properly, rather than the next chapter of the same old thing.

With that being said, I do ironically have to contradict myself by saying that each book's plot does end up quite repetitive - Kellen and Reichis insist they aren't friends until one of them gets attacked and fears for the other's life, Shalla turns up to gloat, we're introduced to the next female interest that Kellen studiously avoids making a love one, and we get roughly 5-6 daring escapes from insurmountable odds. The changing scenery is ultimately necessary to keep a familiar story fresh, but if it works it works!

Waking Gods, Sylvain Neuvel

Book Title: Waking Gods

Author: Sylvain Neuvel

Series: Themis Files #2

Date Started: April 6th  2024

Date Completed: May 5th 2024

Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

I remember really enjoying the first novel in this series when I got it for review a few years ago. It was science fiction but with a strong current of mystery, archaeology and human-centric drama and philosophy. Waking Gods wasn't quite the same experience with me, but I expect this is because it suffers from middle-book-in-a-trilogy syndrome. That and it features the most unconvincing ten-year-old ever.

The transcript style of prose gets old pretty quickly and loses its novelty - it worked pretty well in the first book but I think it loses the story's momentum once the mystery element has gone. The problem with just dialogue is also that you lose a lot of the subtext, and writers are tempted to be far too direct with their characters' intentions. And once you have more than two characters in a scene it becomes hard to follow - not the best for a character-based novel!

The story in general felt like filler; lots of weird mysterious events are introduced but with no real progress on uncovering them. I guess it'll be revealed in the final book of the trilogy, but it's always a frustrating experience to have to read a whole book with no satisfying resolutions and just more questions. I hope the final book balances the action and talking across both the plot and the relationships a bit more, so we get satisfying answers to the alien mysteries and vaguely convincing closure to the characters' arcs.