Review: “The Starlight Claim” by Tim Wynne-Jones

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Title: The Starlight Claim

Author: Tim Wynne-Jones

Genre: Ya & Thriller

Pages: 241

My rating: ★★★☆☆

Read from: 17/09/19 – 20/09/19

The E-Arc The Starlight Claim was kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has not altered my opinion of the book.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Fast-paced, evocative, and intensely suspenseful, Tim Wynne-Jones’s latest psychological thriller finds a teenager setting his wits against the frigid wilderness and a menacing crew of escapees.
Four months after his best friend, Dodge, disappeared near their families’ camp in a boat accident, Nate is still haunted by nightmares. He’d been planning to make the treacherous trek to the remote campsite with a friend — his first time in winter without his survival-savvy father. But when his friend gets grounded, Nate secretly decides to brave the trip solo in a journey that’s half pilgrimage, half desperate hope he will find his missing friend when no one else could. What he doesn’t expect to find is the door to the cabin flung open and the camp occupied by strangers: three men he’s horrified to realize have escaped from a maximum-security prison. Snowed in by a blizzard and with no cell signal, Nate is confronted with troubling memories of Dodge and a stunning family secret, and realizes that his survival now depends on his wits as much as his wilderness skills. As things spiral out of control, Nate finds himself dealing with questions even bigger than who gets to leave the camp alive.

Review:

I could sum this entire review up in one sentence: I expected more. This did not have enough suspense, enough thrill, enough drive to keep me reading. Sure, it was a fast enough read, but sitting down to actually read it took some time. It was simply not all that exciting.

For starters, the book is supposedly a psychological thriller. The only thrilling thing was waiting to see how the day would be saved, because there was never a doubt in my mind that it would be. It was inevitable that Nate would be just fine, which made the whole thing a lot less thrilling. I did enjoy the survival aspect of the book, it was intriguing to see how Nate fended off against mother nature herself. The thing I struggled with was this crew of menacing escapees. They were quite tame and boring in my opinion, they all had big mouths but that was about it. I was never even worried about them. The way the author wrote them paired with how he wrote Nate’s response to their actions simply struck them off the list of things to be worried/excited/intrigued about.

The thing I loved about this book was the growth. Both Nate’s growth as a character and the progression of some of the other characters. We see Nate arrive at the cabin, all alone, looking for answers about his best friend Dodge and trying to come to terms with what actually happened. The psychological aspect of the novel was also enjoyable. Nate’s continuing memories of Dodge made Dodge a character of the novel, even though he is never really there. It was interesting to see Nate try to find his own, now that his world had been so thoroughly turned on its head.

In summary this book sadly did not make it into my list of favorites. It was entertaining enough, but very forgettable. I simply wish it had had more suspense and thrill to it, since that was what I was expecting. If you’d like to read a book about fending for yourself and trying to become independent, while being imprisoned by a snowstorm in a place where both your neighbors (the escapees) and nature is trying to get rid of you, then this would be a perfect read for you!

Also, it is worth noting that this is apparently an intergenerational sequel to the book “The Maestro”. I would definitely recommend reading that first, I have a feeling The Starlight Claim would have been a lot more enjoyable if I had some more backstory!

❀ Mathilde

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Review: “Mooncakes” by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

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Title: Mooncakes

Authors: Suzanne Walker, Wendy Xu

Genre: Graphic Novel & YA Fantasy

Pages: 259

My rating: ★★★★★

Read from: 17/09/19 – 17/09/19

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The E-Arc Mooncakes was kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has not altered my opinion of the book.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.

Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.

One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.

Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

Review:

Let’s start with talking about the artwork and the drawings in this graphic novel, because they are SO GOOD. I love the art-style and the coloring! They make the entire story feel very soft and safe, which is exactly the vibe I was hoping to get. Lots of soft colors like pink, yellow and green. I also love the way Wendy Xu drew the magic, both in small spells like changing one’s clothing and searching for something, and in the bigger spells (which I won’t mention for fears of spoilers). I will include some pictures (screenshots) from my e-arc below, to better show the art-style and the drawings. The pictures are spoiler-free, as long as you don’t consider knowing what the grandmothers and their garden creatures look like as a spoiler (which I don’t).

On to arguably the most important part of ordinary novels: the plot.
The plot was in my opinion nothing short of amazing. There is enough stuff happening to drive it forwards at the same time as it takes its time getting there. Mooncakes was an incredibly fast read, a little too fast for me. I wish we had been given more, but I understand the restriction. My E-arc had 259 pages from beginning to end, but I could easily have sat down to read well over 500 pages of this fluffy story.

The plot follows Nova and Tam as they both try to figure out who they are and who they want to become. The plot is built around this horse demon in the woods, which they have to try to somehow defeat. But the plot is also about Tam returning to a life they thought they had left behind, and about Nova struggling to find the courage to make a life of her own. The story is also heavily influenced by the role and ties of family and friends, both good and bad. I loved the story! I found the plot to be engaging and I think it ended in a very fitting way for this kind of novel. The only negative thing I have to say is that I wish we were given a bit more backstory on Nova and Tam, and that we got to see a bit more in the epilogue (unless there will be a sequel, which I am hoping for).

One thing worth noting about this graphic novel is the amount of representation it has. Both Nova and Tam are Chinese-American. Nova is disabled, she wears hearing aids and can’t do without them. Tam identifies as non-binary, meaning their pronoun is “they”. Nova’s two grandmothers are in a F/F relationship.

This review is getting way too long, so in summary: this graphic novel is amazing! It has lots of representation, banter, magic, puns, teenage angst and mythical beings. I definitely recommend getting this! I’ll probably buy a physical copy, just to have it for whenever I want to re-read this.

Here are the pictures/screenshots mentioned earlier (I apologize in advance for the awful quality):

❀Mathilde

Find me on Goodreads here.
Or on Bookstagram here.

Review: “Shadow Frost” by Coco Ma

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Title: Shadow Frost

Author: Coco Ma

Genre: Fantasy & YA

Pages: 400

My rating: ★★★☆☆

Read from: 20/05/19 – 27/05/19

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“Shadow Frost” was an E-Arc kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has not altered my opinion of the novel.

Synposis from Goodreads: When Asterin Faelenhart, Princess of Axaria and heir to the throne, discovers that she may hold the key to defeating the mysterious demon terrorizing her kingdom, she vows not to rest until the beast is slain. With the help of her friends and the powers she wields—though has yet to fully understand—Asterin sets out to complete a single task. The task that countless, trained soldiers have failed.

To kill it.

But as they hunt for the demon, they unearth a plot to assassinate the Princess herself instead. Asterin and her companions begin to wonder how much of their lives have been lies, especially when they realize that the center of the web of deceit might very well be themselves. With no one else to turn to, they are forced to decide just how much they are willing to sacrifice to protect the only world they have ever known.

That is… if the demon doesn’t get to them first.

Review: The book has a very intriguing premise. It promises magic powers, a brave princess fighting for her people and plots hidden in plots. It stayed intriguing enough for me to finish it, but sadly there were a couple bigger issues with it. The main issue was the pacing of the plot, it felt a little all over the place and I struggled keeping up with it at times, then other times I found myself bored to death. By this I mean the “main” plot seemed to be running headfirst at me in the first 20% of the book, then it was as if I didn’t see it again until closer to 60%. All the travel went incredibly fast just to be stuck in the same place for several weeks with no progression of any kind. It made it a bit harder for me to enjoy the story. The other big issue was the lack of character development, it all felt quite rushed and unfinished in a way. Some of the relationships between characters seemed to develop off-page, so the reader is left without a ticket to join the ride, which is what I usually want to be part of. When I reached the ending of the book, there were so many big revelations that I struggled understanding what was even going on. This seemed to be the main struggle with my reading, I had a very hard time simply understanding and caring enough about what was going on. I think the book would have benefited from having less “big” characters or chapters dedicated to different povs (there are several povs, but they are hard to keep track of), in order for the readers to get closer to the characters. I also feel some of the characters were a bit simplex, and they all had that “over-powered-hero”-role in one way or another. It was like reading a book with 6 Harry Potter Chosen Ones.

To end it on a good note, I’d like to say that when I did manage to bond with the characters I found them very entertaining. I loved the magic system, but hey, elemental-based magic? Sign me up! I also liked some of the big reveals, I just felt that there was way too many of them happening in the same two chapters. If this book had been split in two books, or even some of the characters had been given novellas or their own books, it would have been better. For now, there was just too much happening at once. I had a lot of fun buddyreading this with two of my close friends on Bookstagram though, and the book was definitely both entertaining and worth the read! I’d recommend this for people who love ya and aren’t all that technical on the style of writing and such (I often find myself unable to properly get into a book if the writing disagrees with me, but not everyone’s like that!). It’s a super fun fantasy novel and even though it deals with some stereotypical roles in fiction, I found it to be a fresh breath of air! Definitely check it out if you like books about magic!!

As this is also a debut novel, I find I am super excited to follow Coco Ma and watch her grow as an author!

❀Mathilde

Find me on Goodreads here
Or on Bookstagram here

Reading Goals

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Let’s talk reading goals! Are they good? Are they bad? Do you have any? I for one have several reading goals for 2019:

  • Read 100 books
  • Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
  • Cross off 20 countries from #readtheatlas (this is a challenge to read one book from each country in the world (or a book by an author from that country, etc.), and I want to read books from 20 different countries)
  • Start using Netgalley (done)
  • Start a blog (done)
  • Start writing a book

My most important goal is to read 100 books. Why is this so important to me? Because in 2018 I read 99 books and I am still annoyed at being so close to 100 and not making it. This is also the goal I intend to talk about in today’s blog post! I’ll be making a post on the #readtheatlas later.

So far in 2019 I’ve read 52 books (I track it on Goodreads, click here if you want to add me!). This means that I’m 15 books ahead of schedule, which I am proud of! I’ve steadily read more books this year than I previously would have, which is something I strive to do. Reading more books means I spend less of my time just dallying around youtube looking at nothing in particular. It means I spend my time doing something I love, whilst also expanding my understanding of languages and literature.

This term at uni, I have taken two literature courses: Multicultural Literature (in America) and The Victorian Period. Throughout these courses I have read books like: Dracula, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Passing, The Woman in White and many more. Needless to say, I loved the courses! But not only have I read some amazing book, I’ve been part of some amazing discussions around them and the themes they present. I feel like I am developing a new way to view literature and I am very excited about reading more classics and broadening my horizons even more! This makes me very happy, because I was for a while scared to turn into a reader who almost only stuck to their comfort genres. I don’t want to do that, I want to constantly challenge myself!

Have I read almost only fantasy this year (apart from school)? Yes. Yes I have. Is that going to change this summer? Absolutely. This summer I plan to read both The Iliad and The Odyssey as well as many other classics I have had on my shelf for years. I also want to strive to read more non-fiction, and to try genres I have never tried before. I just have to survive my exam period first!

In regards to reading goals, I think they are a good thing to have, as long as they never end up over-shadowing the actual joy of reading. If you stop reading for fun and start reading to reach a certain number, then you need to take a step back and drop the goal for a while. I love having goals to aim for and I am excited to see how the rest of my reading year goes! Hope you are excited about yours too!

❀ Mathilde

Review: “Ever Alice” by H. J. Ramsay

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Title: Ever Alice

Author: H. J. Ramsay

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Retelling

Pages: 347

My rating: ★★★☆☆

Read from: 05/04/19-29/04/19

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Ever Alice is written to be a sort of sequel to the original Alice in Wonderland. We follow 15 year old Alice who got thrown in an asylum for all her talk about Wonderland and talking rabbits. Through a turn of events, Alice finds herself back in Wonderland once more, but this time things are different. She is there on a mission to kill the reigning Queen of Hearts. The premise of this added to my love for retellings made me pick up the book.

Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a thousand peanuts in my eye.

As the 3-star rating might suggest, this book did not become a new favorite of mine. There are several reasons for this: no atmosphere, no plotting or scheming, simplex characters and two unlikeable main characters.

My first and biggest issue with the novel is that I don’t think the author managed to capture the essence of the madness and nonsense that is Wonderland. Every time there were instances that were supposed to show this, it felt like a cheap shot. I’ve read several other retellings of Alice in Wonderland, and they managed to capture the atmosphere and the feel of Wonderland in a way this novel simply didn’t. Way too many instances of the “nonsense” that is supposed to make up Wonderland was simply the author combining two words that usually don’t collocate, or something as mundane as that. It was rather sad, as I am usually in awe of finding the atmosphere of Wonderland in books by other authors than Carroll. That being said, I think I would have given this book a higher rating if I had not already read several retellings.

Another big issue for me was the simplicity of the characters. I prefer characters who are morally ambiguous, complex, flawed and with a lot of layers. The characters of this novel simply didn’t make the cut. We follow the povs of Alice and the Queen of Hearts and neither managed to capture my interest. Alice as a character is whiny, jealous and not very smart, she just follows the stream where ever it goes. The Queen is selfish, delusional and a general hot-head. I think I had too high expectations of the scheming and plotting behind trying to assassinate a queen, that I got very disappointed when neither ever happened. The plot seemed to roll along on its own with no interference from the main character, and this left me unengaged in it.

Before wrapping up this review, I’d like to mention some of the positive aspects of this book. I loved some of the lesser characters and some of the dialogue! I was for the most part entertained by the story, and at times I was even invested in the direction of the plot. The novel had quite a few parts that made me laugh and I really liked how the characters were actually animals and not just humans with some characteristics. My favorite quote from the novel was this:

Maybe in the Land of Eng someone should ask them their opinion. Animals are always so full of ideas, thoughts, and whatnot. Maybe that’s why they don’t say anything – nobody has properly asked them.

The ending did give the story a little twist, but it arrived far too late. I wish we had seen some more interesting details leading up to this twist, it lacked the punch I was hoping for. Most of the ending also just left me confused, and it seemed to hint at a sequel, which felt out of place. All in all, the book wasn’t bad but it sadly wasn’t good either.

Review written by: Mathilde

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Review: “The Sisters of the Winter Wood” by Rena Rossner

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“For there is no friend like a sister

In calm or stormy weather;

To cheer one on the tedious way,

To fetch one if one goes astray,

To lift one if one totters down,

To strengthen whilst one stands.”


Title: The Sisters of the Winter Wood
Author: Rena Rossner
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 464
My Rating: 4 stars
Read From: 29/12/18 to 30/12/18

This is a book I picked up for two reasons:
1. The inspiration behind the book comes from jewish mythology and jewish history (pogroms and immigration), which is super intriguing to me, as I love all things mytholgy, and historical settings.
2. The cover is absolutely stunning.

I read this book in 1 day, which should already give you a clue that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The historical setting was fabulous, and made the book stand out against all the other fantasy books I have recently read. The magical elements of the story tied nicely into the historical events, and provided a story both fast-paced, intriguing and enjoyable.

Pros:

  • The historical setting
  • The religious conflicts (jews and christians)
  • Mythology (shapeshifters)
  • Sisterly / family bond is the main focus, not romance
  • Unique and enchanting story. The book is written from the dual povs of sisters Liba and Laya, but Liba’s chapters are written “normally” while Laya’s chapters are written as “poetry” (in verses). This might throw of some people, but I really enjoyed it and feel like it tied well into the personalities of the sisters.
  • Easily read, the story progresses nicely and kept my attention from a little after the beginning to the end

Cons:

  • Too much Yiddish/Hebrew words that I needed to look up in the glossary. Made me fall out of the story from time to time.
  • A little too easy for my taste, I wish the story was a little darker and had a little more depth
  • Very “ya” main characters, meaning they are young girls and will act accordingly (main characters might be annoying to read about)
  • The ending felt a bit rushed

In my reviews, I like to explain why a book got the rating that it did. The reason this book is at a 4-star rating, as opposed to a full 5-star rating, is that I struggled with all the Yiddish/Hebrew words that were being used, and the way in which they were being used. A lot of the, to me, foreign words felt completely unnecessary and made it a little easy to lose focus whilst reading. At one point in the book, there were 4 such words in just one sentence. I do appreciate the fact that there is a glossary at the end of the book, but when I have to look up 4 words in one sentence, I find myself unable to register what is actually being told in that sentence. Another thing that is behind the “low” rating, is that I feel like the book didn’t live up to it’s potential. The story is very “ya”, in the sense that it is not very deep, challenging or complicated, which I wished it to be. I also wished the book had been a bit darker, but that is wholly a subjective preference.

I still landed on a 4-star rating, because when I look away from all critique and such, I find I had a good time reading this book, the story was interesting and it captured me. I loved the magical/mythological elements of the story, and how they played out. They gave the book a very “fairy tale” feeling.

Do I recommend this book? Yes. It was enchanting, magical and intriguing.

I recommend this to people who do not have anything against reading Young Adult books. If you are at all interested in the historical aspects of jews, pogroms and the religious struggles of jews, or interested in shapeshifters that shift into bears and swans, magic and other mythological elements, then I think you will enjoy this book!

Review written by: Mathilde

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