The King of Crows

Book Title: The King of Crows

Author: Libba Bray

Series: The Diviners #4

Date Started: January 16th 2020

Date Completed: February 10th 2020

Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Mystery, Romance, Horror

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Five Stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

I’ve been awaiting the finale of The Diviners series for a few months and suddenly it appeared at my door, when I’d quite forgotten about it. And suddenly I was sucked straight back down the rabbit hole into Bray’s supernatural, ghostly 1920s New York adventure, even on crowded commuter trains in the gloom of British winter. It barely took me three days, and I absolutely loved it.

Okay, yeah, the final resolution was actually quite easily solved, but it was emotionally satisfying and at the end of the day that’s more important for me. I’ll admit that the way characters’ emotions were generally put at a level that was convenient for the plot rather than their arcs annoyed me a little (Sam should be more worried about his mother, surely? Evie should be more upset about Will? Why has everyone forgotten about Woody?!). But it’s also the kind of thing that you get used to with this series; with a cast of characters so big it’s likely that some of their side-plots are going to fall through the cracks.

To the book’s credits, all of the characters do still sustain a full arc, finishing neatly in this final novel. I thought it was slightly obsessed with the romances, a little more than was necessary, but nevertheless allowed the protagonists to grow within themselves. I don’t have the time to single every person out, so I’ll just say this about Evie, arguably the main protagonist but my personal favourite either way. Evie is a very flawed character, who I root for ceaselessly. And everyone knows I’m a fan of Evie and Sam, but I loved that this also felt like the platonic love story of Evie and Theta, and Evie finally coming to terms with having balanced friendships with what I can only see as depression and possibly PTSD. That in itself means a lot to me. 

All round, Bray allows her characters to have conditions, histories or general struggles that they suffer from, but can live through – as well as defeating the king of an undead army while they’re at it. You have a disabled character, characters with mental health difficulties, characters of African, Chinese, Irish heritage, characters of varying sexualities (including asexual!). I have never read another book that has that much representation. And none of their stories – none of them – are solely about these parts of their character.

One of the things that has always been strong with this series is its portrayal of 1920s America – a fair amount of which is based off of fact which might surprise some readers. And while the last instalment does feel less political than the rest of the series it was, after all, tying up the ends of the story with its political points already made many times. And the representation truly is gold, all the way through. The cast is so diverse, their identities normalised but acknowledged with all the societal prejudices they come with. But Bray represents it proudly, which makes it empowering.

This series has been an absolute joy to read from start to finish. It’s entertaining to read, indulgently romantic without being sickly. It knows when to make a scene exciting or scary, heartfelt or cold, and its representation is one of the best examples of diversity in YA out there at the moment. The King of Crows was a fitting end to the series, and for once I’m actually excited about the potential for a sequel series that’s sort of (?) hinted at in the epilogue.

The Midnight Lie

Book Title: The Midnight Lie

Author: Marie Rutkoski

Series: The Midnight Lie #1

Date Started: January 16th 2020

Date Completed: February 6th 2020

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Mystery

Quality Rating: Two Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Two Stars

Final Rating: Two Stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

A few years ago I was persuaded to read The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski. I thought it would be too much of a romance for my tastes, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it complex, political, nuanced and exciting. When The Midnight Lie came up, I was prepared to be blown away once again. Sadly, this book turned out to be everything I had wrongly assumed the first time round, only this time my expectations were pretty high.

I had two main problems for enjoying this book. The first was that I couldn’t get behind the main character, Nirrim. As a Half-Kith, a ‘lesser’ citizen preyed upon by law enforcement and just about everyone above her, she’s been brainwashed into thinking she’s inferior. Or at least when it serves the plot. The problem is then that she comes across so stupid and/or hopeless that it’s dull. Subsequently, everyone referring to her like she’s clever drags things into unbelievable territory.

My second reservation is the representation of the lesbian (bisexual?) relationship. It begins with us being persuaded that the love interest is a man because Nirrim’s eye-sight and hearing is conveniently easily-led (some girls can seem ‘masculine’, that’s fine, but for the rest of the book she’s pretty feminised in everything apart from clothes – and I suppose the fact that she’s a lesbian (but associating that with masculinity is already problematic). There’s a part where Sid is described offering Nirrim her arm ‘like a man would,’ and when I read that it immediately crystallised what I didn’t like: it really felt like all that had been done was change the gender of one of the characters. But sexuality is so much deeper than that (and gender is likewise, women aren’t just ‘like’ men or women), especially in a society that shuns non-heteronormative orientations.

The plot itself is actually pretty slow; there are these massive stakes but it never actually feels massive. It’s too familiar, it’s too predictable (painfully so), and there’s way too much talking for us to feel the urgency of the moment anyway. Nothing really happens. I don’t really know what the story was supposed to be. A love story? Well, that already rings false. A dystopian class drama? There isn’t enough attention paid to Nirrim’s character traits in that case (she has no problem frivolously throwing a very expensive item into a bet, and she doesn’t seem that offended by Sid’s honestly superficial approach to things). A mystery about where magic comes from in this world? That’s basically never in the forefront so I’d call it a cheap option. But turns out that’s actually what it is.

The key fantastical element that allows Nirrim to succeed (something about Nirrim having an over-active imagination? Magic blood? Mind control?! I’m still unclear) is mentioned at the beginning and then disappears for 300 odd pages and comes into play right at the end. And what a strange ending it is. So off-beat, different from everything up until then, but unfortunately not at all satisfying. There was me criticising the romance for being too important to the story, and then the finale has literally nothing to do with any of it. (Top tip to publishers (ft. SPOILER), maybe selling something on the LGBT element isn’t a great idea when the relationship doesn’t actually last).

The Winter of the Witch

Book Title: The Winter of the Witch

Author: Katherine Arden

Series: The Winternight Trilogy #3

Date Started: January 10th 2020

Date Completed: January 12th 2020

Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Adventure, Romance

Quality Rating: Five Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Five Stars

Review:

The Winternight has rooted itself as one of my all-time favourite trilogies with every single book. It's so beautifully written, so well balanced between bitter and sweet, between history and fairy tale, and so bloody empowering on all accounts. Sure, it's everything I've ever loved about stories in one, but whether you're already caught in the magic of the genre or not, these books will bewitch you.

Vasya as a heroine has been one of the most powerful forces I've ever read. She is so flawed, making mistakes and being powerless and terrified a lot, but these qualities are shown alongside her strength which is what ultimately highlights it. She knows how to come back to who she is, what she wants, what she thinks is right. Her relationship with the frost demon empowers her as an individual, rather than making her a vessel for some romance in the story. As a character, and as a protagonist, she is active, tenacious and so real.

The structure of this final book is like a fairy tale, and it took me a while to catch up to that. You think the battle is over and then realise you haven't learnt the lesson yet. You defeated the beast, but you haven't solved the story. That, I think, was pure genius and made me fall in love even more. The Winter of the Witch is so packed full of action; it starts off right where the last book left off and it doesn't let you breathe for a single second until the end.

More than anything, these books mean a lot to me because they tell my kind of story: they explore unity, acceptance of others and self-acceptance, self-betterment, wonder, justice, change. This book is an adventure that addresses all of these perfectly. Political without preaching politics because it is about morality, and really that's what politics is all about. And it does it in the most wondrous fairy tale weaved with history and fantasy alike.

The Starless Sea

Book Title: The Starless Sea

Author: Erin Morgenstern

Date Started: December 1st 2019

Date Completed: January 10th 2020

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Adventure, Romance

Quality Rating: Five Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars

Final Rating: Five Stars

Review:

Erin Morgenstern's books are stories that have honey drops of wonder pouring off of them. They're falling stars of mysteries that you desperately need to know the explanations to, but can't bear to finish. They're the experience of being a child and reading a fairy tale for the first time and being beside yourself because nothing will ever be the same again.

The damn creativity that this woman possesses, grapples with, and reins in to command, is so rare to find, especially in Western countries that have forgotten a lot of their storytelling roots. But Erin has a tangible love of stories, and fate, and magic, and endings, and belief and wonder. As well as a passion for newer ways of storytelling; video games and blockbuster movies and all the things technology offers us. She picks everything like a meticulously woven thread, and weaves it into her own story where it belongs - never forced, never purposeless, but naturally.

For most of The Starless Sea I was shouting 'what the hell is going on' at the pages in front of me. In the, I'm-going-to-keep-reading-right-this-second-because-I-need-to-know way (even though it took me more than a month to read because being an adult sucks). And honestly, that confusion grew the further into the book I went, and am I still entirely sure what all the metaphors were about? Hell no. But never have I been so content in uncertainty, to go along with a story that leaves me so utterly dumbfounded, but so utterly besotted.

The synopsis of this book is probably obsolete, but it is a story about stories. About storytellers. About redefining what a story is, what is should be, what it can be. Confused yet? It is dense and it is beautiful. It is about the son of a fortune-teller who walks away from something and then realises he was always walking in that direction anyway. It is about the man he falls in love with, the woman who decides his fate, the girl who is seeking him. There is a pirate who is also a rabbit, a man that is lost within time, and a Persian cat. It is a masterpiece and it loves anyone who opens its covers. I recommend you're the next one to do so.

Godsgrave

Book Title: Godsgrave

Author: Jay Kristoff

Series: The Nevernight Chronicles #2

Date Started: October 9th 2019

Date Completed: November 28th 2019

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Action

Quality Rating: Five Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

Godsgrave continues on the story of Mia Corvere from the first book with just as much gore, sex and glory. I have to say I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first book just because, with so much going on, it was so dense. It wasn't a bad thing for the story, and it wasn't a deal-breaker, but it was harder to read continuously.

Look, I need to take a moment to talk about how Jay Kristoff pulls off his twists because they're some of the few 'shocks' that I would actually give that name. There are some things that I can predict, and then there are some things I don't see coming at all, which is significant partially because a great deal of misdirection is used. He distracts you and makes it seem like something isn't important when it turns out to be the key to everything. But he also understands his readers. He is aware of their expectations both narratively, from genre to gratification, but also contextually. Kristoff knows the industry he works in and the other works it puts out, and he uses that to lead his reader down one path, implies they should be looking down another, and actually have the puzzle hidden behind a third direction altogether, letting all three converge at just the right time to be revealed. That's writing skill.

The tension works because violence and the threat of death are taken seriously in the story, so they have weight. Here's a little tip: don't get attached to anyone. Like anyone. Just because a character is named or instrumental to the story means nothing when this guy gets near them. And the tension also works because you know Kristoff is going to give you a conclusion by the last page. I can't tell you how satisfying it is to have a whole story arc and its goals achieved in a single book, even if it is part of a series. Kristoff knows how to add more questions rather than leaving things unanswered. He makes you want to come back for more rather than bribing with answers he's denied you.

Mia is interesting. Mostly because she's hard to predict. Not where it makes me question her consistency, but in a very human way that makes a unique spin on the very bloody, brutal world she lives in and the part she plays in it. She's hard and she's soft, and that's what's going to decide how this story ends more than her ability and luck. You don't often get characters like that. (I'd also like to thank Kristoff for some bisexual representation where a bi character actually has relationships with both genders).

With each instalment fulfilling its own narrative goals, I can't imagine what the last book in the series is going to be after it's done wrapping up its own story as well as the overarching epic that's been brewing for something like 1000 pages now. I hope it's just as jam-packed of everything, but I also hope I can't put it down.

The Master Magician

Book Title: The Master Magician

Author: Charlie N. Holmberg

Series: The Paper Magician #3

Date Started: October 23rd 2019

Date Completed: October 21st 2019

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Adventure, Mystery

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

The Master Magician is the final instalment in an easy, enjoyable series of books. Magical, adventurous and cute (but kinda sickly sweet, you know), it's the kind of thing you pick up when you just aren't feeling up to a 600-page epic that's going to try and trick you and have you on the edge of your seat. I just wanted some magic, some mystery, and pretty metaphors.

Holmberg's triumph with this series is its magic system, and she absolutely dives into it. From the things you can do with each discipline of magic (paper, smelter (metal), polymaker (plastic), gaffer (glass), excisioner (blood), more that I'm sure I've forgotten), to the ways in which magic affects 18th Century London and the authorities governing it. I'll admit, sometimes things don't make sense; a trick with paper that was conveniently used earlier now doesn't occur to the characters, or something that could've completely solved a problem earlier is introduced without comment later on. But for the pure creativity of the magic system and how exciting it is to see everything develop, it doesn't really matter. Holmberg pulls something new out of the bag for practically every page you turn.

Let's be honest, each one of these books is basically the same formula when you think about it, but it's done in a way that you don't really notice unless you do sit down and think about it. Ultimately, that's what all stories are anyway. I will say that what annoyed me slightly was the collection of side stories that were very easily solved, to the point it made me wonder why they were there at all. But, oh well. What I'm basically saying is that The Paper Magician series isn't going to be winning any awards for its writing, but we need to remember that books and stories are just as important as entertainment as they are pieces of literature.

I do wonder how Ceony is still alive at this point when her instincts and ability to stay out of trouble are practically non-existent - and knowingly so - for the plot's sake. Yes, you need a way to get her into the middle of the danger for tension but this girl has the best luck at not dying when she really should be dead I have ever come across. The other characters are also incredibly irresponsible when they tell her anything to do with the plot considering her track record, but where would the fun in that be.

The Paper Magician trilogy has been a nice, pretty series wrapped up in a nice, pretty bow. It's not always my thing, but it's been fun, I've had a good time. I fully support easy, enjoyable reads, especially since we all need those simple stories to pull us away from the real world every now and then.

The Scorpio Races

Book Title: The Scorpio Races

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Date Started: September 27th 2019

Date Completed: October 7th 2019

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

Quality Rating: Five Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Five Stars

Review:

To say this book wasn't what I expected means a couple of things, but mostly it means I didn't expect to be so knocked off my feet. The Scorpio Races is very different from a lot of things out there, and it's fearlessly confident of its worth; there's no feeling that things are being pushed in or hurried up to keep the reader entertained. It is a gentle, fierce book, and is proud of it.

I love that the writing is so understated. This story is slow-burning, and all the more satisfying for it. The stakes are sky-high for these characters in very personal ways, but the narrative ebbs and flows with the natural timing of things like waves. It seems to instinctively know when to introduce the little threads of feminism or class politics, when to give you a small thrill, when to fill you with dread. It almost feels like there isn't a writer at all, which is all the more impressive on Stiefvater's part.

The main crux of the plot is the annual race with people-eating horses - and yes, I've simplified that because I think the story is really about the people. Stiefvater basically gives a masterclass on how to unite character motivations with a narrative so that the audience both understands the person and fully backs in the story. On top of that perfectly structured groundwork, she starts laying worldbuilding and lore and vibrancy: a world that is grounded in its realism, set on an offshore island sometime in the late 20th/early 21st century presumably, but magical enough that we can fall head over heels into the dreamlike atmosphere.

Both protagonists, Sean and Puck alike, are equals in this story. The ending perhaps felt like it wrapped up Sean's story a little neater than Puck's, but I didn't feel like any part of the plot was favoured at all until then. Because we were watching two very different but still comparable stories at once, entirely balanced, their arcs (and the romance) was so much more interesting. I didn't know who I wanted to win the race, I just knew that I wanted them both to get what they needed in the end. And that's a stronger driving force than any material goal.

Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle was enjoyable, but I honestly believe that The Scorpio Races is a mini-masterpiece that deserves just as much recognition. Maybe it should even be added to the lines of classics that favour like Black Beauty and Flambards, not because it happens to have horses in it, but because it understands the thoughtful stories they seem to tell with those around them, and the fierce inspiration they seem to give to writers.