When Schools Attack

 

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

My Rating: Five out of Five Stars.

My Review on Goodreads

Here I am, almost three years late writing this review. I just never got around to it, until now. Yeah, I was so sucked into this book. It's really dark. This is about kids who go to a school that is literally trying to kill them because they are magic-users. The goal is to get to Graduation Day, which you hope that you can survive. And they are much safer in the school than elsewhere. It's giving moreso The Hunger Games than Harry Potter.

The narrator is El, and she is extremely sarcastic and negative, ill-tempered/grumpy. However, she has great reason. She is avoided and/or disliked by the other students because a prophecy says she's going to be the Dark Lord (or Lady). But the reader doesn't ever have any reason to see her that way. And it made me think hard about how we prophecy over people in our society (I mean in a non-religious sense). We put people into categories and assume that they will be this or that. That's a huge burden for anyone to carry, so it makes sense that it has made El the way she is, despite her sweet, kind, loving mother.

If it sounds like I don't like her, I actually loved her. I appreciated her snark and her smarts, and the vulnerability she managed to hide from most people shone through (a great choice for Novik to write this in first person).

I tend to avoid a lot of YA because I don't like the tone for most of them, but I'm irresistibly drawn to boarding school stories, and I love fantasy, so this was very up my alley. I'm also a huge anglophile and this book feels very British. As a feverish watcher of British television shows, this was almost a comfort read. Having said that, it is very dark because kids are constantly dying in this book. It's terrible how vulnerable this kids are and there doesn't seem to be a huge push from adults to save them. In that sense it definitely reminds me of fare like The Hunger Games and Battle Royale. I think the humor and the pragmatic and deadpan voice of El makes this book a lot more comfortable than it should have been on paper.

**A note about one aspect that I can see as problematic about someone's hair making them at risk for being preyed upon by monsters. I don't think it was meant to be culturally insensitive, but I completely acknowledge why it caused offense. I think that it's super important for authors to think about those aspects and get people from those communities to read their books so that doesn't happen.

I like romance, but I agree it can take over a non-romance book very quickly. I liked how the chemistry between El and Orion was handled. I'm not going to lie. Orion gave me a big Draco Malfoy vibe.

Yeah, this was fun, enjoyable, unputdownable. I'm so glad I listened to the audiobook because it made this such an immersive experience. I still need to listen to the next books in the series. This is the third book by Naomi Novik that I've read and this is another five star read for me.

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The Agony House by Cherie Priest

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

My Review on Goodreads

Coming home to New Orleans has not been the grand welcome that Denise, her mother Sally and stepfather Mike would hope for. They have purchased a broken down house with the goal of refurbishing it and turning it into a bed and breakfast with the meager funds they are getting through a small business loan. Denise is less than happy to be leaving her friends behind, starting at a new school, and living in a funky, dirty, falling down house. Add on to the fact that it's haunted by two presences: a small woman and a big man. While the woman seems benevolent, the man is far from it. She finds a comic book in the attic from an artist and author who was quite popular in the 1950s, one that may unlock the mysteries of the house, which seems to fall apart quicker than they can fix it.

This was such an entertaining read. I listened to the audiobook, and I loved how there was actually a dramatic reenactment of the comic book with different actors. That was my favorite part of the book. I enjoyed the twist of the ongoing series in which its lead is the intrepid young woman who constantly has to save her boyfriend, who constantly is the one in danger. A nice turnaround from the typical scenario. Careful attention to this plot device will reveal much of the underlying themes and mystery in the book.

Along with the ghost story and mystery of the house, there's a good story about a young teen finding her feet in a new place and making friends. There is also some great commentary about Hurricane Katrina and the upheaval that the city has not fully recovered from. Additionally, the story explores themes of gentrification and racial profiling, but in a very organic manner. I do think some of that was simplified, but that's understandable as this is appealing to a younger audience.

I loved the characters, from Denise to her parents (both kind and caring with good sense of humor), to the friends she makes, her nosy neighbor Terry (an aspiring ghost hunter), Norman (a hunky young man who had about eight thousand jobs and is a potential love interest, and Dominique (who starts out as an abrasive potential enemy but becomes a friend in the end). I thought the ghostly presences were well down, and how things seem to escalate as the story unfolds.

Despite this being a ghost story with some dark themes, there's a lot of light here as the focus on family, connection and community prevails over the very present evil that the characters face. It wasn't exactly scary, but it was nicely spooky and a very good read for October spooky season.

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Ghost Talking at Midnight

 

 

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

My Review on Goodreads

I love a good dark urban fantasy with ghosty goodness and a health dose of "what am I reading." This fits the bill. There's also a great, and unique lead narrative voice. This had a post-apocalyptic feel, after some event that caused civilization as we know it to decline. Ghosts roam around freely, and Ropa has the ability to communicate with them. For a price, she will help them achieve what they are lingering around for. A desperate, recently dead ghost asks for Ropa to help her child, but has no way to pay. Ropa is supporting her grandmother and sister, so she doesn't work for free. However, she is convinced to help the spirit, finding a sinister far-reaching conspiracy of missing children.

This is a very unique feeling young adult story with a variety of textures. Huchu's writing is very sensorial, immersing the reader in the world he had created, mostly bad with a little bit of good. There are some genuinely scary moments, along with lots of intense, thrilling sequences. While I had some ideas about where things were leading, I didn't predict the way this story was going to play out at all.

I would recommend the audiobook for this one, because it really adds to the experience. Dark, atmospheric, complex, and suprisingly humorous in parts, I enjoyed this book quite a bit.

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There Was Once a Girl Who Became An Evil Queen...

 

The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars.

My Review on Goodreads

This was an epic read. I believe this is some of Gena Showalter's best writing. I don't look down on young adult books. I just want to preface what I'm about to write by saying that. However, I feel that while there is a bit of a YA tone to the story and it's about young adults, the emotional beats and complexity of the story speak to a mature story with a very epic scope.

I have a bee in my bonnet about the movie Frozen. I think it was poorly written and has some very implausible aspects. I feel that this novel represents the potential that Frozen has. It's a villainess origin story, but it's much more than that. It's about a villainness who was never the villain, but has been cast into a roll by circumstances beyond her control.

Readers who love fairy tales and their retellings should really enjoy this book. It gives so much depth to the characters that are cast in the negative light in those tried and true tales.

Everly is such a good character. She is very layered and complex. She never comes off as evil, and in fact, my heart hurts for her because of the terrible way she's treated by others. There were points in the novel I really wanted her to go nuclear. I wanted her to make those who tormented her suffer. My heart absolutely shattered for her as she suffers loss after loss. It's completely awful what they do to her. After everything, she's the one you want to win. There's only one other person in this book that I truly valued on the same level as her, and I cannot talk about that right now. Everly was such a standout character, the others faded in comparison. I wasn't feeling her love interest at all. Through Everly's gaze, he's super hot and studly, but I hated some of the things he did to Everly. As a result, I didn't care about the romance. I just loved Everly. Of course, I want her to be happy and if that's with her love interest, great.

The worldbuilding was quite interesting. Honestly, I feel like the names of the different kingdoms were a bit silly, but it's forgivable. That aside, the different creatures/beings/species were really cool.

I listened to the audiobook and let me tell you, there were moments where this woman was too stunned to speak. This became one of those audiobooks that I couldn't turn off. I love that feeling, especially recently, when it's harder for a book to hold my interest. The narrator was really good. I appreciate when the narrator is able to capture both masculine and feminine voices in a believable fashion.

I've been a fan of Gena Showalter going on twenty years. I love her books. Like any other author, she has her high points and low points. For me, this book is one of her highest points. She put Everly through so much, but it was such a journey, and I was deeply invested the whole time. She wrote the hell out of this book. Even with the things I didn't care as much for with this story, none that takes away from the experience enough that I can't give it a richly deserved five stars. I don't know how the other books in this series will measure up.

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Femme Fatale

 

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

I was legitimately going to give this book a three star rating, but damn, the romance part really got me. I know, I'm a sucker. I mean, honestly this is about the villains. Yes, the hero is a villain (sort of) and the heroine is a villain (sort of). The heroine Alessandra, has a Cruella de Vil (but without the puppy killing) or the wicked stepsister vibe. Maybe a little like real life Lucrezia Borgia. Some of their actions really bothered me. For instance, they throw this guy in prison and forget about him (for robbing from the rich and feeding the poor). In my mind, the guy was kind of a bore, but he was helping people. The King orders the deaths of people like it isn't a big deal. I like a possessive hero who will kill when the heroine is threatened, but he was really cold blooded about it. I'm glad he didn't order the peasants' deaths, but he comes off as a power mad dude who is bent on conquering other countries. I realize whether those villainous traits is up to interpretation, but I found it cringeworthy. I think that if the author wanted us to believe it was the influence of the Shadows, she didn't really make that clear, so it feels cringey.

One thing I really did like was that Alessandra is not an innocent sweet type. She's been around the block a lot. She's slept with dozens of men (and she was only 18), in her own words. I'm always torn about that a little. I like to think I'm enlightened, but still I am not pro-sleeping with a lot of people for lots of reasons. However, I do like that it has a good message about not judging women for who they sleep with (or don't). Also, it speaks about how our patriarchal society makes women so competitive with each other when it's not really necessary. Especially when no one judges men for doing worse. I liked her unapologetic nature and how she doesn't let what others think about her drive her. I also appreciated how goal-driven she is, although I didn't like some of her methods. It was so cool that she made her own clothing and everyone was following her fashion because she chose to stand out, and the King noticed her. And she was a badass.

I was confused about the setting. I wasn't sure if the writer was going from a Renaissance Italy kind of vibe or early 20th century. I felt like she needed to choose which one she was going for. I realize that this was a made up kingdom and world, but it just got weird when one part of the book seemed fairly modern and the other part had them going to a tavern, and they ride in carriages. It's not a major thing by any stretch, but It did stand out to me.

The fantasy aspect was very subtle. I mean, basically it was the fact that the King could manifest shadows. I would have liked a little more fantasy in the book. However, I thought that was interesting. I feel like it was not well-explained how the touch thing worked. I finally worked out what I thought was the mechanism. I think the story would have benefitted from a few more touches of magic to make the world-building a little more solid.

The romance was far and away the best part of this story. Quite frankly, I think this should be labeled as a paranormal romance. I loved how the relationship between Alessandra and the Shadow King builds so beautifully. I really enjoyed how they spent time together and talked a lot. Part of it was because they couldn't touch, but that was such a different dynamic for Alessandra as so many of her interactions (I hesitate to call them relationships) were physical. In this case, the not touching gave them time to build their feelings and that unconsummated tension really came through. Also, the King clearly respected Alessandra and valued her. She had gotten so little of that in her life. Alessandra's walls were coming down and she was finding it harder to remember she wanted to woo and marry the king so she could take his thrown. I really believed in their love for each other. And wow, the chemistry was so good between them. There aren't any on scene love scenes, but the author manages to keep things hot enough that I didn't even miss them.

The sucker punch of the mystery was very well done. I figured that things weren't going to be as easy as it seemed. While I had a feeling about what was going on, it wasn't a gimme. I like my mysteries to keep me guessing and wondering, and this fulfilled that for me.

I'm glad I hung in there with this book. I was turned off by the beginning, and honestly, I didn't like the narrator's voice for Alessandra at all. She wasn't a bad narrator, but I would have liked a deeper, more sultry narrator for Alessandra. I think it would have been more in keeping with her personality. However, I think the narrator did a good job with the male characters.

Yeah, if you are looking for a romance with morally questionable lead characters, you'll probably like this book. While I rooted for their romance, I was still queasy about some of their life choices (like ordering the deaths of people so casually).

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