The Paper Magician

Book Title: The Paper Magician

Author: Charlie N. Holmberg

Series: The Paper Magician Triology #1

Date Started: August 4th 2018

Date Completed: August 5th 2018

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Historical, Adventure

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars

Final Rating: Three stars

Review:

This book was exactly what I wanted when I read it. It was during the BookTubeAThon, I'd been really getting into 18th century-style magical Londons, and I wanted somehting just enjoyable and quick. The Paper Magician was all of those things.

It's a really interesting idea, and the discipline of paper magic was really nicely done. It was well explained and imaginative; I hadn't quite seen anything like it before - and that's a real feat. Unfortunately, past this area the rest was a bit lacking. I think it'll probably come up more in the sequels, but for now it felt like only the paper magic had been paid much attention to. I still don't understand how it fits into the world's magic politics, or even really how the whole magic education works. In The Paper Magician we follow our protagonist on an apprenticeship, but we don't know much about where this fits in the grand scheme of things. This could've been particuarly useful considering the whole context and tone of the world was kind of unclear: clearly 18th century inspired, but there were modern things like plastic and definitely more modern relaionships, but mentions of things that could also be steampunk? The world outside of the little cottage we find ourselves in is still a mystery, but it wasn't one the author was interested in solving for us.

Part of me feels like this was like a prequel to the actual story (I mean, the main conflict is a tool to reveal a massive amount of exposition for the protagonist - well done in the circumstances, but also a bit unsatisfying). There were so many questions posed and none of them answered, because they weren't really relevant to this exact story. This was the Act One where our heroine is thrown into a new situation and has to catch up with the other characters who have several years groundwork on the story. I can't quite decide if that was handled well or poorly; on the one hand having that exposition communicated with its own plot line makes it far more engaging and easier to process. But on the other, why is our protagonist's story so saturated by stories that aren't her own? Yes, I know I'm reading too much into it - at the end of the day, it was enjoyable to read. But my brain can't help feeling a bit confused at the author's choices.

The one thing that I think might be a decider for some people is the romance, and I have to say I was a bit uncomfortable with the teacher/student 11-year-gap relationship. But aside that it's very instalove, the vagueness of the world again confused the tone of this. Is it totally fine? Because that kind of thing isn't generally thought of as fine. Yet teachers/professors/whatever-they-were-supposed-to-be basically got told it directly to these faces and didn't comment or even really react. It's not of massive consequence to the story (yet) but it stopped me from being able to properly engage. That being said, the way in which the author shows falling in love was so interesting, and again merged it very well with the main quest storyline.

The Paper Magician feels like a very short introduction to the series, and even though I had my issues with it I did enjoy reading it and will probably go on to read the next books. It's imaginative and fun, but it didn't feel like a fully-formed book.

The Madman's Daughter

Book Title: The Madman's Daughter

Author: Megan Shepherd

Series: The Madman's Daughter #1

Date Started: August 2nd 2018

Date Completed: August 3rd 2018

Genres: Romance, Historical, Mystery, Horror

Quality Rating: Five Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Five stars

Review:

I didn't finish reading The Madman's Daughter because wow, this was a car crash for me. Apparently I'm in the minority here, and that's fine. I'm glad some people enjoyed their time reading this book. I just definitely wasn't one of them.

To start with, nothing has enough establishment to be worth anything. We're given the context after the punchline so it doesn't have an impact. You're going to tell me oh! That's my old servant who I was really close to and think about everday, only I didn't tell you, reader, until he was standing right in front of me so I could have an excuse for fawning over him. It's not even like it's hard to go back a few pages in editing and mention a piece of information. As it is, the audience doesn't get to go through the story with the character because they don't know what they need to, they just sit there and get told things when the character feels like telling them.

And Juliet, for me, sounded like priviledged whining. Yes, she's had some horrible experiences and her fair share of misfortune, but you can't throw the sad orphan cliche into my face and expect me to immediately root for her. Oh, no I used to be rich but then I was left on the streets, but I was perfectly fine and managed to become a servant in a laboratory (which is obviously the worst place I could have found), but it's fine because my rich friend still takes me to all the lavish parties. Also I'm so naive and innocent, but I'm clever I'll have you know. I just choose to spend my time fawning over boys and doing nothing to drive my own story forward - see, I really have the worst of all lives, pity me, pity me.

(Do I think I was maybe harsh that description? A little. But do I think it has fair grounds? Yes. And did I have a lot of fun doing it? Absolutely.)

Apparently this is also a world in which teenagers has high school parties in the 1800s. Where girls who fought back managed to get away without being ostracised; where orphans were fine just being on the street; where boys weren't thinking about marriage at 19, and girls weren't being married off or betrothed in their teens. Alright, not all historical novels have to be absolutely faithful to their time period, but if you're doing a retelling of the gothic genre surely it's a time to try and replicate that tone the best you can?

And there are certainly some efforts to try and recreate the time period in the prose. Hell, I was uncomfortable with the way people of colour and those bearing disfigurment were talked about because it was trying to show the social attitudes at the time, I guess. I mean, admittedly, all the characters are flat as a pancake, but I still wasn't comfortable with the fact that you have the main cast and then an ensemble of natives with disfigurements, whose only qualities are that they're natives and they have disfigurements. (Maybe that changes later in the book, but by the halfway point it certainly hadn't shifted, and so much attnetion was being given to shoving a love triangle down your throat that I wasn't hopeful.) I also wasn't happy with the way sexual harrassment was dealt with. While I get the desire for representation and the opoprtunity to show girls fighting back, the whole world felt so unbelievable that it couldn't come across as anything more than ticking the 'tough issues' box. It's brushed off so casually, and doesn't seem to have repercussions, that I didn't feel like it was actually addressing the issue.

And goddamnit, why is there a love triangle? Why?! What is the purpose of it? There's basically no story other than the love triangle. Everything that happens is purely to create tension between the boys, or between Juliet's father and the boys, or give Juliet an excuse to get all personal and defensive of one of the boys. There are so many things that wouldn't logically happen, but do because the author wants the love triangle there and it's so damn frustrating. Have we not moved on from this? Have we not realised that protagonists that you put in love triangles end up coming across as selfish and mean any way you put it because they're leading two people on? There could've been a story here, but you could barely see it if there was.

There seems to be a misunderstanding of the gothic genre for torture-porn and brooding selfishness. There's so much more to it about relationships and how the way we manage the human experience affects those around us, but for me this book was a love triangle trying to be set in an Edgar Allen Poe meets Pretty Little Liars universe. Maybe that's your thing, in which case go crazy. I just think it was more concerned with appealing to specific genres than about telling a story.

Girl Meets Boy

Book Title: Girl Meets Boy

Author: Ali Smith

Date Started: August 2nd 2018

Date Completed: August 2nd 2018

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

Quality Rating: Five Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Five stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for this ebook for review ◆

Girl Meets Boy was one of the most wonderful books I've ever read. Impactful with its purpose and intimate with its style, Smith retells the story of Iphis with a new myth; one of acceptance, acitivism and love.

Smith shows intimacy with such a gentleness and quiet. Representation of homosexual relationships - especially between women - have long battled with the desire to be shown as just as fierce, but without the partiarchal competition that seems to be coded into our expectations of what romance should be. Smith doesn't try and pick one direction because she isn't really doing it for the sake of ticking the representation box; two of her heroines are lesbians because, well, they happen to be lesbians. It's a part of them, it's not there to move the story on. I think what caught me so deeply about this novel was the fact that the characters are so naturally themselves, in both their moments alone and with other people. Being able to show the difference between the two is what clinches it. That intimacy in the relationships, but also almost with the reader too, is what speaks so personally to the audience. There are sparks of humour that feel like in-jokes when we've seen them in the private world of a character before they share them on the outside.

The novel is just the right length, even under 200 pages. There's something to be said for a story that knows what it needs and fulfills that. While I understand the risks of publishing short books, there are so many out there that are padded with unnecessary filler that distracts from the actual story. Girl Meets Boy is short but to the point, and all the more powerful for it. The audience is left staring at the moral of the story (quite literally), and that's what makes it like a myth.

And the way in which Iphis' story is retold is so creative. It injects just the right amount of modernity to make it feel immediately relevant, while keeping those little ties back to the inspiration. For a Classics lover like, you get the feminist retelling as well as the storytelling of the original (of course the heroines know the Greek myths, of course they do). Iphis wasn't a myth I was quite as familiar with, but I still felt like I was in on the narrative. There are some retellings that are the spitting image of the original with a flowery sentence every few lines, or some are so distant from its inspirations that if you don't know the original to begin with you miss out on half the point of the whole book. Retellings are a wonderful platform for new commentary on the human experience within society, but some authors seem to forget that a commentary should be accessible by those it's commenting on. But Smith knows what she's doing; whether it's simply paralleling the myth of Iphis with her own heroines, or letting you sit down and enjoy our girls whispering the story to each other in bed, you don't have to have taken a classics degree to fall into this novel and (happily) never find your way out again.

Maybe it's particular to me, but I could see parts of myeslf in almost every character. And that's a truly rare and important thing. I'm definitely not the spitting image of any of our heroines and their supporting characters - I don't think I've ever found a character that I identify wholly with - but peering through the cracks and seeing individual qualities, reactions, and instincts reflected in a fictional creation still works wonders on the imagination. And it captures the essence of mythmaking because everything immediately feels cathartic because for once you feel as much like you're going through it with them as you can claim in a book review to make it sound nice.

I've always enjoyed reading Smith's stories, and there's no end to the way she can offer you an unexpected perspective on the human experience. But never have I fallen so in love with one of her books. This book caught me like a fish and it will be beloved to me for years to come.

The Carnelian Crow

Book Title: The Carnelian Crow

Author: Colleen Gleason

Series: Stoker & Holmes #4

Date Started: July 30th 2018

Date Completed: July 31st 2018

Genres: Adventure, Romance, Historial, Mystery, Fantasy

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Four stars

Review:

Oh, these books are fun. Every time I race through them and want the next one immediately. Yeah, they're silly and border on absurdity, but I enjoy every second reading them and I appreciate an action and puzzle-solving mystery with female heroines.

Honestly, I ended up skimming the text a bit. Luckily, it's the kind of book where you can miss the odd sentence and still understand what's going on - a lot of internal monologue that has varying degrees of interest. I'm not ultimately here for the inner musings of Mina and Evaline; they tend to be a bit simple and shallow in the grand scheme of things. Their mystery-solving, puzzle skills and action, however, is definitely what's kept me coming back. The interactions between characters, too, but I'll get onto that. But it's satisfying to watch these girls go through deliciously gothic murder mysteries and grand robberies when I'm so used to watching boys in those roles. I don't really care how feasible it is, that's not the point to me.

That being said, I feel like The Carnelian Crow finally shows things starting to fall together and gain proper rhythm. Each novel stands very much on its own as well as holding little details that have clearly been building up to the final chapter, but this was the first time I felt like I could see people's paths intersecting and pointing in the same direction. I'm not sure whether the fifth book in the Stoker and Holmes series is the final one, but we're defintely coming near to the end.

One thing that did bug me a little bit about The Carnelian Crow (there's always one thing that gets me each time) was the way it addressed marriage. Now, I'm ambivalent because I appreciate it being explored in the first place, but I think the way everyone outside of the situation was demonised is slightly counter-intuitive. We get a situation where Evaline is in the predicament of having to marry in order to keep her family finacially secure, and only she feels reluctant to do it. Yes, it was the societal expectation, but you're telling me that not even the other women vaguely understand the pressure? Or, at least, they would notice that she's uncomfortable and reason with her, rather than just acting confused at her hesitation. The only person that vaguely responds understandably is Mina (predictably, because they're the most developed) - and I did like that. She's slightly cold about it, but she gets into an argument about it with Grayling who just can't understand. That bit was great. But having everyone other than the main characters react thoughtlessly just doesn't make sense and taints the argument.

With a warning of mild spoilers (not really it was obvious), the best part of this book is the fact that Mina and Grayling finally get together. It's taken bloody long enough. Dylan, with the greatest affection, is an unnecessary distraction who's purpose I still don't entirely understand in both the characterisation and narrative of our heroines. What we really wanted was for young-detective heroine Mina and the polite-but-respectful Inspector to speak their minds about more than their suspects. (If you want the way to my heart, give me a love interest that values and encourages the intgellience and curiosity of the heroine.)

The only reason I didn't read The Carnelian Crow sooner was because how expensive it was on kindle (£9 on kindle?! Come on!), but after reading Ash and Quill I wanted more fun and caved in. Do I regret it? No. Did I wish it was less expensive, oh yeah. Would I pay the same to get the next book right now? You bet I would.

Ash and Quill

Book Title: Ash and Quill

Author: Rachel Caine

Series: The Great Library #3

Date Started: July 29th 2018

Date Completed: July 30th 2018

Genres: Adventure, Historical, Romance

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Four stars

Review:

For a history nerd and a book nerd, these books are just a dream. You can tell that Caine is enjoying it just as much as you are, and without making it feel like the reader isn't allowed in on the fun. It might not be high literature but damn if it isn't entertaining to the last word.

With every book in this series we see more of the world the characters live in, more of the reach of the Library, and more of what people are capable of. In an alternate history story this is so important because it gives the reader context for why things are different from what we know; sometimes in these kinds of stories it's hard to fully understand why people do what they do because the line between our reality and this fictional one are so blurred that you forget the differences. The Great Library series has continued to extend its worldbuilding outwards - to new cities, new countries, new communities - to give us this exploration. As the stakes rise for the characters, our understanding of its significance grows alongside it.

To put it simply, I get entirely sucked in by these books, and I have such a good time reading them. They may mostly consist of slightly melodramatic interactions between the ample cast about the growing severity of their situation, but those interactions are fun, and when you get to the action scenes or the climaxes, it's exciting. I argue it a lot, but I think enjoyment is just as valuable as hard 'quality' - and it's not like these books are badly written, at all. They're predictable at times, and dramatised, and there are some questionable behaviour dotted along, but as I write this review I find myself at no loss of things to praise as well.

Case in point: these books are well loved for their diversity, and rightly so. From the hugely diverse nationalities of the cast of protagonists, to the variety of religions, beliefs and schools of thought, and even the various countries scattered across the globe they visit, The Great Library series feels rich and real right from the start. It's a testament for how much diversity gives to a story without even being the main focus.

And The Great Library series is very realtionship driven. Each individual has their own strengths and flaws but it's how those qualities flow or conflict with everyone else that makes the story. As much as there is a story and world behind them, it's those kind of dynamics that create depth and meaning. And, more so, the fact that some of those dynamics aren't just lovers, or friends - they're rivals, and mentors, and estranged family. There's so much, it's just interesting to watch it play out.

The only reason I didn't read this entire book in one day was because I didn't want it to end. Immediately after finishing I went and bought the next one, and just managed to restrain myself from reading it there and then. We've still got to wait a whole year for the final book to come out, and from how high the stakes were left in this book I think I need to pace myself before the conclusion.

Fire From Heaven

Book Title: Fire From Heaven

Author: Mary Renault

Series: Alexander the Great #1

Date Started: July 2nd 2018

Date Completed: July 28th 2018

Genres: Historical

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars

Final Rating: Four stars

Review:

Fire From Heaven is just pure, classical joy. I can't believe I've never read a Mary Renault book until now, she's like the Margaret Atwood of historical antiquity. And I really enjoyed this book, even if it did take me an age to read.

Something I've always loved about texts from or about antiquity is that they're mostly constructed of moments in time. It's like the stories were told in mosaics that gradually came together over time without a necessary order - and I guess they were. When you think about the history of oral storytelling and the fact that everything was spoken where you might miss parts in the middle, the stories are often designed to be able to be picked up from wherever. As long as the character is known to you, you can enjoy it. Which of course adds to the dreaminess; how you can make grumsome slaughter poetic as well as grim I don't know, but it amazes me.

Alexander the Great is one of the more lacking areas of ancient history in my knowledge. I've studied Classics, but Alexander and his campaigns weren't included, so the only information I really had going in was that this man conquers the entirety of the Persian empire and doesn't stop there. And I think I might have enjoyed it more because I didn't know the original story. It felt a lot more like a well-constructed storyline even though it's based on reality (well, as much of reality as we can get from highly biased and old records).

This was one of the most accesible retellings of classical history/myth I've read, actually. Even if the little nuances are lost without prior education/awareness, Renault manages to get across the politics, the religion and the social dynamics through his characters and theie experiences alone. I was aware of the Persian wars and Xerxes, I recognised the Herodotus references and I knew what they were talking about when they quoted Homer, but I'm sure the Athenian politics and Aristotle's philosophy was lost on me - but that didn't actually matter. I didn't feel patronised but I also wasn't overwhelmed by all the new information I was being given.

If you need an in-point for this series, it has very strong Songo of Achilles vibes. In fact the relationship between Alexander and his closest friend is likened to that of Achilles and Patroclus about a hundred times. If you haven't read any retellings of classical mythology/history, this is maybe a little dense to start with. But once you have even a basic knowledge and interest in ancient history, I would strongly recommend getting around to Mary Renault.

Spinning Silver

Book Title: Spinning Silver

Author: Naomi Novik

Date Started: June 25th 2018

Date Completed: July 1st 2018

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars

Final Rating: Four stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

Do you need a book to help your Katherine Arden cravings while you're waiting for the Winter of the Witch? (As much as I hate to compare books to directly, in this case it's just too perfect.) Do you want to stay inside when it's way too hot outside and read about the winter weather that's just as dramatic as this heat wave? Well, I've got the book for you, and you'll end up not being able to put it down even though the heat kind of breaks the imersion, but hey.

There's something about fairytale-style prose that is just enchanting. Haha, yeah, maybe not the more original choice of words, but that classical modesty about fantastical objects and happenings just gets me. Somehow, the lack of surprise at magic makes it seem all the more wonderous; it's almost commonplace. It's especially striking in a book like this, where we seem a historical setting just non-specific enough to feel timeless. It echoes through history, it's everywhere. However, it might be said that the objectivity this kind of narration brings can sometimes create anticlimaxes; the 'final stand' felt a bit... well, flat. Because the prose is almost nonchalant about it. It didn't ruin the book, but the climax felt like it was designed for a little more drama than the writing style allowed.

I assume there are three loose retellings running through this novel, with three protagonists spearheading each. I make a guess there because they're so well weaved together, and their paths cross so subtly that I can't tell. It feels like each story is being given its due in running its course - bringing it to a new audience, let's say - but they're elevated into something more by being combined with each other. Sometimes these kinds of multiple retellings can feel like a short story collection that's had its chapters mixed up, but Spinning Silver takes the themes and characters from each and places them neatly into a little world, letting them run their destinies into one another - presumably smiling at the chaos that ensues.

I'd like to think that a great deal of the books I come into contact with will have good female characters these days - or at least the ones I choose to read - but Spinning Silver caught me off guard. Because they weren't just good, they were proper characters. Let me clarify: to be good, they have to have a purpose, not be there as a decorative or to make a snappy comment every few pages; think of it like a literary Bechdel test. But to have proper characters, they have to have motivations, relationships, complicated personalities and developed backstories - which is hard for any character regardless of gender, it just happens to be seen more in male than female characters. Spinning Silver is led by three strong, varied women that all make (quite disasterous) mistakes, but won't take shit by the end. And what I especially loved was that we got to see them grow into those roles. Maybe one was born a bit of a rebel, one kindhearted, one inquisitive, but they learn to be more than their original persona, which I appreciate. They also learn through different experiences, and learn to be different things: I don't want to break it down to 'the cunning one', 'the brave one' and 'the bold one' because that would be simplifying their characters, but the point is that they aren't all the same by the end. To juggle that along with the other characters and storylines and have it pay off and be involved with the story is damn hard, but Novik does it and she does it well.

I really enjoyed Spinning Silver - it was a lot more classical than I expected it to be, but I say that with pleasant surprise. It's makes me happy that there are fantasy books that are coming out that keep the old European fairytale style alive. As mentioned, if you liked The Bear and the Nightingale, this'll be right up your street. I'm excited to go back to Uprooted by Novik (that's I've had for like three years, oh dear), and I look forward to more in this vein in the future.