Category: Supernatural

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

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?

Eleanor, Alice, & The Roosevelt Ghosts by Dianne K. Salerni

I won a free copy of this book during BookCon thanks to Holiday House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

This is a middle grade book set in 1898 New York City, a time when humans and ghosts co-exist. We’re following cousins Eleanor and Alice, who team up when they suspect sinister ghosts in their house who are not there for friendly reasons. Previously unable to get along, the girls set aside their differences in order to eradicate the ghost from the home of their Aunt Bye, each for different motives. Ghost hunting isn’t as easy as it may seem, and these girls are in for a frightening time. But with each other’s help, and their own unique skillsets, they may be able to fend off the ghost for good.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick read and super interesting. The way Salerni combined history and supernatural elements in this book was such a good way to get younger readers interested in history. I know even myself, having my BA in history, wanted to keep reading up on the characters mentioned in this story because the way they came to life in the story was so fascinating. I just wanted to keep learning. 

Some of the elements in this story seemed a bit heavy for middle school grade, although I’ve been out of middle school for quite some time, so I can’t remember what types of books I was into. But this book contains murder and attempted murder. I would just take that into consideration when deciding if this is right for you and/or your child.

Overall, however, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. It was a fun spin on history and a quick read. It would be a good read for fall. Publication is set for September 1.