ARC Review: Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim

Her Radiant Curse
by Elizabeth Lim
Publication Date: August 29th 2023
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Find This Book: Her Radiant Curse
Source: NetGalley eARC
Rating: 4/5

One sister must fall for the other to rise.

Channi was not born a monster. But when her own father offers her in sacrifice to the Demon Witch, she is forever changed. Cursed with a serpent’s face, Channi is the exact opposite of her beautiful sister, Vanna—the only person in the village who looks at Channi and doesn’t see a monster. The only person she loves and trusts.

Now seventeen, Vanna is to be married off in a vulgar contest that will enrich the coffers of the village leaders. Only Channi, who’s had to rely on her strength and cunning all these years, can defend her sister against the cruelest of the suitors. But in doing so, she becomes the target of his wrath—launching a grisly battle royale, a quest over land and sea, a romance between sworn enemies, and a choice that will strain Channi’s heart to its breaking point.

Weaving together elements of The Selection and Ember in the Ashes with classic tales like Beauty and the Beast, Helen of Troy, and Asian folklore, Elizabeth Lim is at the absolute top of her game in this thrilling yet heart-wrenching fantasy that explores the dark side of beauty and the deepest bonds of sisterhood.

Channi first makes her appearance in Lim's duology, Six Crimson Cranes. Following in its footsteps, Her Radiant Curse spins a lush tale steeped in beautiful world-building and Asian mythology. I don't think you will have to have read anything else by Lim to enjoy this one. While it is connected to Six Crimson Cranes, it is a prequel and a standalone. Perfect for testing out the waters! 

The sisterly love and friendships depicted in this book were so special, the magic system is well-developed, and the action sequences were fun. Channi and Vanna's bond is the main crux of the story, and it was so touching to see how these two girls are willing to do anything for the other, and how their relationship is shaped from childhood into adulthood. 

This did not quite get five stars from me because the plot wasn't woven together as tightly as I expected. I absolutely devoured Six Crimson Cranes, even the soft 'fluffier' scenes really added to and developed that story more, and Her Radiant Curse did not quite live up to that. I think the abundance of travel sequences took some of the sense of urgency out of this for me, which is why I have given it four instead of five stars.

ARC Review: Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove by Rati Mehrotra

Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove
by Rati Mehrotra
Publication Date: October 18th 2022
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Find This Book: Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove
Rating: 4/5

**An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove centers around Katyani, the adoptive daughter, bondswoman, and royal guard of the Queen of Chandela. Her future has never been in doubt: she will be her adoptive brother's most trusted advisor when he becomes king. Attending to Ayan and his cousin Bhairav, Katyani is shipped off to a monastic school of a famous guru where they will hone the skills needed to be the next leaders of the kingdom (including magic and mosnter hunting). Nothing could annoy Katyani more than leaving court and being shipped off to a rule-abiding school in the middle of a forest, except her run-ins with Daksh, the guru’s son, who can’t stop going on about the rules and whose gaze makes her feel like he can see into her soul. (Yes, there is a slow-burn romance!)

But when Katyani and the princes are hurriedly summoned back to Chandela before their training is complete, tragedy strikes and Katyani is torn from the only life she has ever known. Alone and betrayed in a land infested by monsters, Katyani must find answers from her past to save all she loves and forge her own destiny. Bonds can be broken, but debts must be repaid.

This book is a fantastic standalone fantasy, set in medieval India. It will suck you in with Katyani's fun yet brash personality and with a fast-paced plot full of with magic, Indian mythology, and court intrigue! Katyani's dedication to her promises, and her loyalty to her friends and family created a loveable heroine who uses more than just her brute strength when in the face of danger. The slow-burn romance could have used a bigger pay-off which is what knocked this down a star for me, but the world-building was well fleshed out and Katyani's struggle for her identity and sense of home really made this book stand out.

ARC Review: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Daughter of the Moon Goddess

by Sue Lynn Tan

Publication Date: January 11th 2022

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Find This Book: Daughter of the Moon Goddess

Rating: 4/5

**An ARC of this book was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Daughter of the Moon Goddess was a fantastic debut for Sue Lynn Tan. Our main character, Xingyin, is an immortal so the pacing was really unique in this book. The story takes place over many, many years while Xingyin struggles to try and free her mother from her exile on the moon. The immortal realm and their magic system was well developed and fascinating to read. There are a lot of cool characters in this adventure that each added on to the twists and turns!

The writing style was absolutely magical, and sucked me right into the scenes I was reading. Xingyin and Liwei have some beautiful platonic and romantic moments together, with prose I'll remember as quotes for a long time.

My one and only qualm was with the pacing of events. As I was reading I was never quite sure what the arc of the story was headed towards because every event and battle seemed like *the* most important. I kept thinking "this seems early/late for a climax" which was a bit off-balance feeling. This book an awesome epic with A LOT of plot crammed into the pages — so just be ready for that and I think this work will blow you away. Seriously, it almost felt like a standalone story, you get a lot of content when you pick up Daughter of the Moon Goddess! It’s marked as a duology so I’m curious to see what’s in store for Xingyin in book two!

ARC Review: Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Lore
by Alexandra Bracken
Publication Date: January 5^th 2021
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Find This Book: Lore
Rating: 5/5

I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bracken opens strong with an intriguing overview of this book's world building presenting greek mythology in a brand new way. Zeus, always known for his complex punishments, have sentenced the greek pantheon to become mortal every seven years, where the lineages of greek heroes have the opportunity to kill them and become gods themselves. An ancestor and one of the last remaining original gods team up for a fascinating revenge story!

Lore is a refreshing stand alone book about ancient bloodlines hunting the Greek gods that is great for novice and dedicated lovers of greek mythology alike. I eat up everything involving Greek mythology, but this was truly something special! There is edge-of-your-seat action and betrayals, and a fun new way to look at New York City. This is another must-read from Bracken!

Review: Helm Abomination by Gryffyn Phoenix

Helm Abomination (Haven Awakening #2)

by Gryffyn Phoenix

Publication Date: June 15^th 2016

Publisher: Avalerion Books, Inc.
Source: Author

Find This Book: Helm Abomination

Rating: 4/5

I was provided a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

As you may know, I was given a copy of Haven Awakening a week or so ago. You can read the review if you’re interested HERE.  This was so I could read and review an ARC of book two which just came out! I was super pumped after Haven Awakening and jumped right into Helm Abomination, and while this book left me with many questions I’m hoping they’ll all be resolved in future books!

I really loved the chill, stylized writing of the author. Verity felt like a girlie girl naïve, totally sheltered 16-year-old girl. I thought some of the gay remarks were weird and off-putting, but she’s an ignorant teen who hasn’t interacted with anyone but her 2 siblings so I guess it’s understandable, but this knocked the book down a star for me. I respected how sweet Verity is with all of the ‘monsters’ they come across throughout the novel. Cass and trained Haven to kill everything and Helm adapted to do the same. Verity on the other hand recognizes that killing doesn’t need to be the answer. These creatures are hurting and are quite amiable when cared for. Helm becoming a sanctuary for these misunderstood animals was like a page out of Hagrid’s book and I adored how great it turned out. Mythological creatures as pets? YES PLEASE.

Reading about Helm after spending all of book one in Haven was awesome. I’d so rather live in Helm and I felt like I got to learn about and understand more of the guys living at Helm than I did of the people back in Haven. My favorite character in Helm is probably Book, their researcher, because he’s a shy introvert in the dramatized extreme. Watching him come out of his shell for Verity was so cute because they are both sweetie pies. While Verity does get a bit clichéd when she goes into the “I’m so average” spiel, I appreciate how non-typical she is in other regards. She actually talks to her parents, she actually cracks open some books and does school work. When she gets thrust into this world she doesn’t suddenly become super badass and awesome. She learns and trains really hard to create and improve upon her skills. She doesn’t need a makeover to get the cute guy. Cute guy already likes her and she wears the makeup to bring confidence to herself. No eyebrows were knit in the making of this book. The most important part- she eats like a normal human with the healthy food and junk food mixed in giving her a normal human figure. Who knew I would crave all of this normalcy out of a fantasy book? It was so revitalizing to not be constantly thinking “ok… that will never happen in real life”. Everything sort of fit in with the fantasy and created universe of the book.

This book was just as easy to pick up and enjoy as book 1, though it left me aware of just how much Verity and I didn’t know/understand. I feel like the origin story of Helm and Haven has so many conflicting variations that I’m still not really sure why they were formed or why they suddenly became enemies aside from just the appearance of Cass, but that really doesn’t tell me much. This vagueness by the end of book 2 is also a reason I can't give the book all 5 stars. How does a newbie like Cass suddenly turn up and create upheaval within Haven all that time ago? Why would the citizens of Haven allow her to turn them into this? Heck I still don't know what Cass is or what her powers consist of. I need details in the next book. Also, where does Cass gets all of this anger and hatred from? The girl needs to take a chill pill, I’m still not sure where this conflict came from/what it’s based on. This clearly all started before Verity got the magical eyes. Additionally, we have some sort of prophecy that implies Verity kills Haydn, her boy toy, but it’s not really clear where this prophecy came from, what it’s exact words are, or how Haydn, Kaydn, and Cass are connected. They have a huge reveal that Verity can’t kill Cass without Cass bringing Kaydn with her and that if Kaydn dies so will Haydn. I get that there was totally no time in the moment to explain this all to Verity… but I still at some point need an explanation to this. Lastly, what the heck is up with Verity’s family? What are her parents? Are they even related? What happened to her siblings? Where the heck did Grandma just poof off to? What is their ancestry? How does Verity’s body changes affect her life/the future of the plot??? You better be writing Gryffyn, because I NEED ANOTHER BOOK. I NEED ANSWERS.

PS please put in more domovi scenes because the lil purple creatures are so cute and their relationship with Verity really evolved this book and I’m hoping for hugs and maybe a conversation one day. Verity will certainly need her domovi now more than ever after that killer ending. *wink wink* Haha. Puns.

Review: Haven Awakening by Gryffyn Phoenix

Haven Awakening

by Gryffyn Phoenix

Publication Date: July 11^th 2014

Publisher: Avalerion Books, Inc.
Source: Author

Find This Book: Haven Awakening

Rating: 5/5

I was provided a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

This novel was set at the perfect pace with a character I could understand and relate to, on top of being told in a great writing style. The plot is about Verity/Very/Lucky Flower who was blinded in an accident at the age of 12. At the age of 16 her parents sign her up for an eye transplant where she doesn’t get normal eyes. Verity acquires magical eyes that see through all of the different dimensions. She can see the paranormal oogey bogeys and the creatures that go bump in the night. Naturally this freaks her out and a girl named Cass (who I thought was really cool at her first impression but slowly devolved into a terrible person) takes Verity to Haven to train her in how to use her eyes. The teens at Haven are all magical/paranormal in some way and use their abilities to fight evil creatures and maintain balance in the world. The only problem is that they need Verity’s eyes to see the monsters. So not only does Verity need to learn how to use her eyes, she needs to learn the lore to identify these creatures, and she needs to survive the fight in order to keep seeing for Haven. However, in these fights Haven’s enemy, a group named Shade, was doing the majority of the Verity-saving. Pretty unsettling if you ask me that this supposedly evil group is doing more of the honorable protecting than her ‘friends’. This kindles a romance between Verity and Haydn, a member of the Shade who wants her to change sides and live at Helm instead of Haven.

I was glued to the pages of this book while reading it. I was so involved that I almost forgot to give my dog is lunch! I can’t remember the last time I’ve read a book in less than 12 hours. Normally I take at least two days because I have to put the book down and do other things. This was not the case with Haven Awakening. Over the course of several months, Verity befriends some of the citizens of Haven which was really cool to read about. So many mythological creatures appeared throughout the book and had such great interactions with Very, it was such an enjoyable read. I was reading about elementals, wraiths, afrits, unicorns, dwarves, nephilim, elves, spiritual energy in trees and rocks, wiccans, the whole shebang and it was awesome. It sort of felt like a mix between Percy Jackson, and The Companions Quartet by Julia Golding (though I never finished the quartet). Both are also great on the mythical creatures’ front and these are my favorite kind of stories. I even learned about some new creatures such as Zoroastrians which seems to be a sort of rock entity, and a Tsiatko which is a sick Native American spirit. Drawing from different cultures only improved the book in my eyes. Diversity and the American melting pot is something too many people are trying to erase and forget about these days.

On top of the magical creatures there’s lessons about friendship, family, trust and betrayal sprinkled in for good measure. Good stuff, good stuff. While the book started off a bit clichéd, right on page one was cringe-worthy, just past that was were the good stuff starts and it never stopped. While debating between staying in Haven or switching to Helm’s side, Verity’s friends in Haven were with her the whole way. Even when faced with leaving them, her friends supported her. I was SOOO happy I didn’t have to read a scene about Verity leaving and all of her friends now becoming her enemies just because they were on different ‘sides’. It was also nice to read about our hero returning to their family and trying to make both lives work instead of disappearing and never contacting their family again. That was refreshing. Haven Awakening was perfectly blended and balanced between all of the different themes, romance and action, and the author’s writing style was unique and gratifying. I’ve got Book 2, Helm’s Abomination lined up to read next!

Review: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1)

by Rick Riordan

Publication Date: Oct 6^th 2015

Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books
Source: Bought

Find This Book: The Sword of Summer

Rating: 5/5

I preordered this book the second it was available and was sitting as patiently as possible to await it’s arrival. Let me just say this- I was not disappointed! While I’m not sure if it reaches Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus standards, it was just as good, if not better than the Kane Chronicles. This book brings together a homeless boy in Boston, a deaf elf, an unappreciated dwarf who’s trade is bulletproof ascots, and a strong, empowering woman of color. None of these characters felt stereotyped and each brought something new and fresh to the story. Thank you Uncle Rick for bringing together some diversity here! Each of the characters had their own depth and backstory and while we got a satisfactory summation of each, I hope that that’s something Riordan will dive deeper into in future books.

For those of you that may have been wondering, Riordan pours on the sass and wit in this wonderful volume of Norse Mythology. There are many jokes for long-term fans of Riordan as well as just genuinely funny remarks. It’s similar to his old series, but at the same time The Sword of Summer is distinctly different. They travel to some of the different realms, encounter a squirrel, and have a very intense deep sea fishing expedition! In Midgard the world is set in Boston which was pretty cool. Knowing a bit about Boston drivers from living there myself it was also amusing to see this city from Magnus’s perspective. Additionally, we get to see Annabeth in the book momentarily and Magnus clearly doesn’t appreciate how much of a badass she is: yet.

Ok so general plot: Magnus is destined to pull his Father’s old weapon The Sword of Summer out of an old Norse shipwreck here in Boston and this basically triggers Ragnarok because that sword has been missing for centuries and it’s needed to cut Fenris Wolf free to start the apocalypse. For a unique twist, Magnus our main character gets killed in the first chapter. We then proceed to delve into Norse myth along with Magnus, which I thought was great because I don’t know them was well as I know Greek Myths. As usual the whole story flowed well and this is just another huge Riordan masterpiece. 

I would definitely recommend this to Riordan Fans, fans of Norse mythology, or anyone looking for characters other than strong hero-type hetero-normative white males! Not even Magnus truly fits that stereotype and it was just pure amazingness.