Category: Paranormal

The Seelie Queen by Kortney Sizemore-Gallagher

I received a free eARC of The Seelie Queen thanks to the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

From reading the synopsis on Amazon, it’s unclear to really get the complete gist of the book. It is not inaccurate: this story is about a teenage girl, Adella, at her third new school in a year having to deal with extraordinary challenges. But it doesn’t let us know that we will be dealing with magical and mythical beings, contrasting and perhaps conflicting kingdoms, and so much more. I think this definitely should have been included, as it’s very important to the story but also so intriguing! 

I’ll be honest: stories about Fae and the like typically aren’t what I read. There isn’t necessarily a reason why, I’ve just never really gravitated toward them. After reading this story, however, I’ve started to rethink my choices.

The Seelie Queen: What Did I Think?

I really liked that Sizemore-Gallagher centered this on a female character. I love my strong female protagonists and not only did she make Adella her protagonist but she made her “sidekick,” Anna, a strong badass too! Anna was actually my favorite character. She was strong, smart, and her personality felt recognizable. 

There were a couple of points in the story that didn’t quite make sense to me or were confusing. Some seemingly important plot points were not mentioned again. At the end when the narrator was switched, it took me a minute to realize this because it wasn’t indicated.

I really liked the worlds that were created in this novel. I thought the concept of people drawing energy from contrasting sources was so unique. Also, the fact that one person could have both qualities or share aspects from both kingdoms was so interesting. I would have liked to have learned more about them both, however. They’re such an important part of the book and how the characters live and interact. I hope that we get more about the magic in the second book, if there is one.

Overall, I enjoyed this story involving seemingly friendly kingdoms with magical beings and teenage drama that became a little too live or die. I hope after that cliffhanger at the end, we get a second book so we can find out the fates of Adella and her friends.

The Seelie Queen is available for purchase, so be sure to pick up your copy!

The Seelie Queen by Kortney Sizemore-Gallagher

Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston

I won a free ARC of Amari and the Night Brothers during NYCC/Metaverse in exchange for an honest review. Special thanks to Epic Reads and the publisher Balzer + Bray for the physical copy I was provided. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this book we follow Amari Peters, a young girl who just wants to find her missing brother, Quinton. When she gets an opportunity to visit the special camp that he used to attend every summer, she’ll find that things aren’t always as they seem, and she’s off to the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Soon she finds out what her supernatural talent is, but will she be able to save Quinton in time?

I really enjoyed this book. It had everything I like in a middle grade novel. There were interesting characters, it was set in a fun world, there was magic, and we got to follow a strong Black female main character. So let’s get a little bit more into the specifics of what I really liked.

Amari and the Night Brothers: The Breakdown

First, let’s talk about this world building. This book has dual worlds in it: the natural world and the supernatural world. Alston did a great job juxtaposing the two throughout the book. Along with this, there were the specific jobs and departments that were a part of the supernatural world that I especially enjoyed. These included: Department of Coverups, Department of the Unexplained, etc. I thought these were fun additions to a book about a supernatural world and I can only imagine what a middle grade reader who enjoys magic would think.

So what about the magic? I’ll admit, I do hope there is more about this in the second book. What we were given was interesting, but I wanted more about how it worked. I don’t want to give any spoilers away about this aspect so I’ll just leave it at that.

Alston wrote interesting and recognizable characters. I love that the hero of our story is Amari, a young Black girl from the “wrong side of town” who just wants to find her brother. I love that we see her internal struggle with self-worth, because that is such a true-to-life issue, and it’s been validated for her by her peers. Alston did a great job with Amari’s character and showing her growth from self-doubt to self-assured. I also liked that he made her best friend, Elsie, a weredragon who is a science genius. The characters in here were so thought out and had such awesome quirks, I loved them!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I fled through it, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next with Amari and her friends. I can’t recommend this enough! It’s due for publication on 1/19/21 so be sure to get your copy!

Amari and the Night Brothers

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

I read Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo as one of my buddy reads for this month. I enjoy Bardugo’s writing; I’ve only read the Grishaverse trilogy so far, but I loved it. When I heard she had an adult book coming out, I had to read it. Then the content warnings and trigger warnings came out (list is courtesy of Roe from Goodreads) and it was all over Twitter. And I became wary…but also a little intrigued. Because as I mentioned in my Banned Books post, when people talk about a book, I need to read it. So, I read it.

Ninth House: Thoughts

Honestly, I’m not really sure how I feel about this book. It was predictable, so for that I didn’t find enjoyment. I also found things too convenient at times. The book was written in multiple aspects, implementing flashbacks as a way to get to know the different characters. I didn’t mind this style and actually at different parts of the story I found myself wishing to read more from different characters point of view because that character’s story was intriguing.

I didn’t really care for Alex, which is a shame since she was the main character. Strong female protagonists are favorites of mine to read about, but I could not get behind her. She was just bland. It may be a bit of an unpopular opinion but I wanted to know more about Darlington, or even Dawes. They seemed interesting. I also wanted some clarity surrounding the societies. They seemed to jumble together for me. Perhaps that’s just for me personally, but I didn’t get a clear sense of them and their differences. They just felt too similar.

Bottomline

Overall, I am not sure Ninth House really was as great as I thought it would be. Will I pick up book two? Yes. After that ending, I have to know what happens. And again, I do love Bardugo’s work. The potentially triggering content that everyone mentioned is there. It’s a lot of gore and sexual violence, and it is throughout the entire book, so you can’t really just skip a certain chapter. Just stay true to yourself and your own limits.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

In Wicked Fox, we follow Miyoung, a gumiho, or nine-tailed fox who uses the energy of men in order to survive. Miyoung encounters Jihoon, a human male, and instead of devouring him, she saves him. Thus, a dangerous friendship arises, which causes her to lose her gumiho soul. When faced with the choice to regain her gumiho immortality, Miyoung is forced to decide. Whose life is more important: hers, or Jihoon’s?

I read this as a buddy read. I was skeptical going in, as sometimes fantasy isn’t my thing, but overall I enjoyed it. This appeared on my August TBR but I finished this one in September. There were parts of the story that I really appreciated and other parts that I thought could have been better, as with most books.

What Worked in Wicked Fox

I liked the strong side cast that Kat Cho created. I liked that Jihoon’s Halmeoni was a strong female character and she was a significant part of the story. While the main characters felt irritating, especially when they kept doing things when you’re reading and going “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!,” I have to say, at least Kat Cho created some realistic characters. The lack of communication, the back-and-forth indecisiveness, the roller-coaster of emotions; although it made for a frustrating read, it made for realistic and relatable characters.

I also enjoyed the relationships we see between Miyoung and her mother, and Jihoon and his mother. They’re both complex but in different ways, and they have an arc during the story. I thought this was a nice inclusion in the story.

What Could Have Been Better

The pacing in the book felt off. The length of the book felt too long for the way that the story was written, so either the pacing should have been adjusted, or it should have been shortened. Another thing that could have been better was an explanation for the circumstances around Nara.

This book didn’t end up being a favorite, but it wasn’t one that I hated either. After that ending, I will of course read the sequel, because I have to know what happens!

August Wrap-Up

Well, y’all, I didn’t get to all the books I had wanted to. I had tried to read 8 books during August and I was only able to fully complete 5 of them. I’m in the middle of 2 others and one I wasn’t able to get to. Let’s dig in, shall we?

So what did I read this month? To recap, there was White Fox by Sara Faring, How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi, The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe, Eleanor, Alice, & The Roosevelt Ghosts by Dianne K. Salerni, and Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney C. Stevens.

I didn’t find any new favorite books this month, but there were two that I did enjoy more than the others. Those books were White Fox by Sara Faring, and Eleanor, Alice, & The Roosevelt Ghosts by Dianne K. Salerni. I hadn’t read from either of these authors before but I found myself enjoying both books and I will look for more books from them in the future. Faring did a great job with the atmosphere in White Fox and I found that a particularly strong element in that story. Salerni really brought the characters to life in Eleanor, Alice, & The Roosevelt Ghosts and made me want to continue down the history tunnel. I gave each book a 4/5.

The books that were misses for me were a tie between Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney C. Stevens and The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe. Both had interesting premises but seemed to fall flat in their execution. I struggled to get through both and can’t say I’d recommend either one. Both received 2/5.

So there you have it, folks. What books did you read last month? Were you able to find some awesome new books? Any that you’d recommend?