Crescent City is the third series from the best selling author Sarah J. Maas. As of this blog post there are three books in the series, House of Earth and Blood, House of Sky and Breath, and House of Flame and Shadow. No more books in this series have been announced. 

What is the series about? (SPOILER FREE)
The series follows Bryce Quinlan, a half-human, half-Fae citizen of Crescent City in the world called Midgard. They have the internet and smart phones and all that jazz, but it's powered by a type of magic called firstlight. Bryce comes off as a party girl as does her best friend and heir to the wolf-shifter throne, Danika. But when Danika is murdered, Bryce falls apart. She must piece together the last days of her bff's life to solve the mystery of who killed her and why, and in the process learns far more than she bargained for. She's also partnered up with over-powered angel/slave Hunt Athalar. Their choices together have the chance to change the world as they know it.

Does it live up to the hype?
I knew very little about this series going in except that the first 100 pages were famously confusing and that book 2 ended with a major cliffhanger that had everyone buying book 3 as soon as it came out. 
It lived up to the first 100 pages being confusing. Knowing nothing would be explained, I rode it out and waited. There was a lot of info dumping in a short period of time and then other things mentioned and never explained.
It also lived up to book 2 ending with a cliffhanger. I could see why people flocked to book 3. And yet, I realized no one I knew had discussed book 3 much. After finishing it, I understand why. It was not my favorite.
These books were fine, don't get me wrong, but there were subplots and characters that seemed slapped in there for length and had very little impact on the main storyline. Be aware this series also has much less smut than ACOTAR, but more than Throne of Glass. 

So does it live up to the hype? It was a fine read, but it wasn't one I'll be re-reading and if there's a fourth book, I might not buy it immediately. 


This series is for you if you like contemporary fantasy but want a secondary world, if you like multiverse/connected universe concepts, and if you love the SJM style of leading ladies who have secret plans all along. It's not for you if you love mysteries because you enjoy solving them, if you're looking for sword and sorcery fantasy, or if you are looking for quick reads (each is over 800 pages.)


Have you read Crescent City? Which series from Sarah J. Maas is your favorite? Let's discuss in the comments!

Hi blog readers!

Sorry for the mini-hiatus! My day job has required longer hours and even some weekend hours recently, and I've been reading a very long set of books so I haven't had time to finish books or post about them! As an apology, here is a list of what's coming soon!

Is It Worth the Hype? The Crescent City Series

Is It Worth It? A Developmental Edit (Including a comparison to feedback from beta readers)

My favorite resources for editing your novel

Podcast Episode: Legends and Lattes


Hopefully work calms down soon and I can post more regularly. Thanks for your patience!

The Letters of Enchantment series by Rebecca Ross includes two novels: Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows. Divine Rivals was recommended to me by the editor I hired (remember that new years' goal? I'll post about that experience soon!) She said it would be a good comparison title for my manuscript, and when I started reading, I couldn't put it down! (Am I flattered she thinks this is a comp for me? YES!)

Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows follow Iris Winnow and Roman C. Kitt, two budding journalists, in an early 20th century fantasy world. War has broken out between two of the last gods, Enva and Dacre, and though their city remains neutral, Iris wants to report more about the war because her brother enlisted--and hasn't been heard from since. In the meantime, Iris is competing with Roman to be hired full time by the best paper in town. Iris is barely keeping afloat financially as her drunken mother drinks their income, while Roman is the son of a cold railroad mogul. What connects these rivals are their enchanted typewriters, which allow them to send letters magically to each other--but only Roman knows who he is writing.  Rivals at work and lovers by letter--it's a WWI/magical twist on the movie You've Got Mail.

I loved this series. I normally dislike rivals to lovers because I often get infuriated with whichever of them I think is in the wrong as a rival. However, this couple really worked for me. At the end of the first book I screamed and race to download the sequel. I'll probably buy hardcopies because I enjoyed them so much--an honor I've only ever bestowed on one other ebook. 

Could I find something to complain about in this series? I'm sure, if I tried hard enough. But I devoured them so quickly and was so absorbed by them that I didn't have time to be distracted by any faults. 

This series is for you if you enjoy rivals to lovers, fantasy with 20th century technology, and You've Got Mail. This series will not be for you if you want a real world WWI novelization, if you are not in the headspace to read about alcoholic family members, or if you are not in the headspace to read about war and being in a warzone. 


Have you read Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows? (I won't bother asking if you only read one, the ending of Divine Rivals demands you pick up the sequel!) Let's discuss in the comments!

One type of writing resource book I love is a reference I can go back to time and time again. The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi is one such book (series!) that I keep next to me whenever I edit. However, I'm always on the lookout for more! I found 1,000 Character Reactions from Head to Toe by Valerie Howard while browsing Amazon and received it as a gift over Christmas.

Overview
At just 88 pages, this book is a quick read. What you get is basically a thesaurus of body parts in order from head to toe (plus some overall things like skin). Each entry contains actions or sensations associated with that part of the body. Sometimes the action is linked to an emotion, such as cheeks burning with embarrassment. After each short list (which is never longer than a page plus a few lines) there are empty lines for you to write your own entries for that body part.

My Experience
I felt like each entry's list was too short. I also wanted more of them connected to a cause, like embarrassment, since a reaction is happening because something is causing it to happen. Some body parts were also conspicuously absent, so don't expect this to help you write a romantic encounter, for example. I think the empty lines are a good idea, because plenty of reactions aren't present, but it also made it look like the author didn't do enough of the research for you.

Is It Worth It?
This book is $5 for a paperback on Amazon and $0.99 on Kindle, though the empty lines for you to write on become useless on the Kindle. If you're trying to add more reactions and emotions to your writing, I think The Emotion Thesaurus is a better option, but if your budget can't accommodate a $17.99 Emotion Thesaurus at the moment, this book could be a good substitute or even just an entry into the concepts if the larger book is too intimidating. If your budget can handle either book, go with the more robust Emotion Thesaurus. 



Have you used 1,000 Character Reactions from Head to Toe? Did it help you improve your writing? Let's discuss in the comments!

ACOTAR, or A Court of Thorns and Roses, is a series by Sarah J Maas with a huge following. As of this blog post, the series isn't complete yet, so to be clear this review covers A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight, and A Court of Silver Flames. 

What is the series about? (SPOILER FREE)
This series (mostly) follows Feyre Archeron, who lives in a world where a wall separates the human realm from the seven Fae courts. (On other continents there are other situations, but we're focusing on her island, Prythian). Feyre and her family (sisters Nesta and Elain and their dad) live destitute after their father's trading business fell apart years ago. Feyre hunts to feed the family and no one else does literally anything. However, after Feyre kills someone she believes is a creature, but is actually a Fae, she's forced into a deal: leave the human world behind and live at a Fae court, or die. The series follows her adventures in the Fae world. The first book is a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast but the rest of the series moves away from that model. 

Does it live up to the hype?
This series was consistently sold to me as fairy smut. I will say there is more smut as the series goes on (looking at Silver Flames here) but the first several books had only a couple of explicit sex scenes each. Less than Fourth Wing, honestly. However, I really enjoyed the twists and the surprises in the plot. My favorite book was A Court of Mist and Fury, although the first act of Wings an Ruin is a close second.

I could list some complaints, but they are spoilery. Suffice to say, I disliked some characters and even though it seems most other readers warmed up to them, I didn't. My least favorite of the series might be Silver Flames because of that problem. 


So, does it live up to the hype? Yes, I think so. When the next book comes out, I will read it right away. I will say that if the first book doesn't do it for you, give the second one a chance, it changes so much.


This series is for you if you like Fae, Romantasy, and are Team Xaden from Fourth Wing. It's not for you if you're looking for sweet/non-explicit romance, dislike Fae/fairies, or if you're not in the headspace to read about starvation, torture, or abusive relationships. 


Have you read the ACOTAR series? What do you hope the next book will be about? Let's discuss in the comments!

After a short hiatus, I am back with a review of Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. The first book came out in 2003, and now it's an eighteen book series. It won several awards in the category of best first novel (Agatha Award 2003 and Macavity Award 2004) and also several nominations in the same vein. It was recommended to me by a friend and I picked it up at a second hand bookstore.

Maisie Dobbs, the titular character, is a female detective starting her own agency in the years after WWI in London. As a WWI nurse, a former detective's apprentice, and a college-educated woman, she's certainly seasoned and ready for the job. However, when her first mystery comes along, she can't help but keep digging into the past, finding a connection to those closest to her.

This book reminded me a lot of the early seasons of Downton Abbey, since Maisie grew up as a "downstairs" girl. I thought the mystery and the look at the immediate effects of WWI on veterans and citizens was an interesting angle that I hadn't seen before. 

My largest problem with the book was that the mystery was interrupted by a 150 page flashback to Maisie's childhood/youth. It was information that I felt could have been sprinkled in more delicately over time. The entire flashback, I just wanted to get back to the present. Then in the present, the mystery was solved, and Maisie kept looking into it for what seemed like no reason to me. Without understanding why she was doing it, I couldn't root for her to succeed--because I didn't know what success would look like. Eventually, what she was digging into tied back to people she knew, but it took a lot of time to get there. If I was a less patient reader, I don't think I would have gotten that far.


This book is for you if you like WWI books, Downton Abbey, and female detectives. It's not for you if you read mysteries only to solve the mystery, if you dislike historical settings or WWI in particular, or if you are not in the headspace to read about PTSD, major facial wounds, or death in war.



Have you read Maisie Dobbs or the rest of her series? Which book is the best out of all eighteen? Let's discuss in the comments!

One for My Enemy is written by Olivie Blake, the author of the best selling Atlas Six trilogy. It was originally self published, and has since be re-published by Tor after the success of Atlas Six (also pubbed by Tor). I read the Tor pubbed version, which may have differences from the original self-pubbed version. I was given the book as a Christmas present from my brother-in-law.

One for the Enemy follows two witch families in NYC, the Fedorov brothers and their father and the Antonov sisters and their mother. Written with Romeo and Juliet as a very forward theme, the book follows the eldest Antonov sister Marya and her history of romance with the eldest Fedorov brother, as well as the youngest of each house, Sasha and Lev, and their romance. When the rivalry between the families crosses from messing with business to murder, each member of the family must ask themselves how they got here, and what they are willing to sacrifice for family.

Since this wasn't a 1:1 R&J retelling, it did surprise me and remain unpredictable for the most part, which I appreciated. The illustrations were also interesting and very well done. It also seemed like the author set up a complicated world that she could revisit someday. 

One of my largest complaints was a problem I had with The Bear and the Nightingale: everyone had too many nicknames. And by everyone I do mean everyone. Sometimes more than one nickname. It turned an already large cast (there were seven Antonov sisters) and made it feel three times as large. I also am not an insta-love trope fan, which is a problem I have with R&J itself, so not a surprise that it became a downside for me in an R&J retelling.

This book is for you if you enjoy Romeo and Juliet, crime family drama ala The Green Bone saga, or if you're looking for urban romantasy. It's not for you if you don't want to read about insta-love, violence resulting in murder, or are not in the headspace to read about drug dealing.


Have you read One for My Enemy? What about Atlas Six? Let's discuss in the comments. 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig has been brought up to me by several people: my mom, my sister, and one of my friends, who gave me the book as a gift. It seemed like the universe really wanted me to read it, so I finally did. This book was on many best seller lists and major book club lists as well as winning a Goodreads Choice Award for best fiction of 2020.

Content warning: a character commits suicide, a cat dies

The Midnight Library follows Nora, a British 35 year old who has just been fired from her dead end job at a music store, whose cat has just died, and who basically is friendless and abandoned by her only remaining family. She ends up committing suicide and wakes in a sort of purgatory, a library. The librarian, her childhood librarian, explains the rules: every book in the library is a life she lived differently and she can ask to see any of them. Most are lives where she didn't do one of the regrets listed in her book of regrets, but some are just very small tweaks to reality. Nora explores these other lives to find one worth living, though many are not as happy as they seem. As time runs out and she moves closer to true death, she must decide what matters most to a life worth living.

As many have said before, this book is very It's a Wonderful Life, but offering more alternate realities than could have fit into a movie. Though the final choice is predictable, it's interesting to see how many different versions of Nora's life the author was able to conjure. I found it interesting when she ran into other people in her situation, and that not everyone's midnight library was a library at all. It felt like a deep character study of Nora, which could be helpful to recreate if you as a writer are struggling with character.

On the downside, Nora's cat at one point died of the same thing that killed my late cat, so that left me in tears for a while. I was also frustrated by how bad Nora was at fitting in to the lives she stepped into--she never got better at it! I guess improv isn't for everyone, but it's a useful life skill.

This book is for you if you love It's a Wonderful Life, multiverses (but make it contemporary fiction), or if you yourself are struggling with regrets. This book is not for you if you are not in the headspace to read about suicide/suicidal ideation or dead cats (especially if a heart defect was involved), or if you're looking for more fantasy/sci-fi high-stakes multiverse hopping. 


Have you read The Midnight Library? Stealing this question from my mom, who asked her book club: what would your midnight library be? Let's discuss in the comments!

Sword Catcher is the first adult fantasy from Cassandra Clare, of Shadowhunter fame. I enjoy that series from her because of how she can manipulate reader emotions about characters. She's also written the only love triangle that I consider a real triangle (Will/Jem/Tessa). Suffice to say, I think she's a master at character and was excited to see a new world from her. 

Sword Catcher focuses on Kel, the titular sword catcher aka body double for Prince Conor. He steps in where there could be danger and his only job is to die for the prince, if necessary. With a little magic and a lot of coincidence, they look alike. When not on duty, Kel poses as the prince's cousin. Kel discovers a new crime lord has sprung up in the capital city who has eyes on taking down the prince (who is basically a regent due to his father's mental health) and Kel makes some unlikely friends in trying to protect the prince. One such unlikely connection is Lin, the only female physician from the local Ashkar people. Ashkar people are pretty much analogous to Jewish people at certain times in history--restricted movement, specific clothing requirements, no inter-marriage--and are the only people in the world who can use magic. Lin wishes only to save her bff/surrogate sister Mariam from a chronic illness that's about to run its course. But when Lin discovers a magical object that may be the key to saving Mariam, the problem becomes how to make it work, and why it seems to work only when she's called to the palace for some emergency healing. 

The world was very well-built. I understood what was going on, even when only shown a portion of the world. The characters' desires were clear and their actions always made sense in serving those wants. I liked the clear analogy to Jewish populations in the past with the Ashkar people and the LGBT+ friendly world. This kept it from feeling like just another fantasy Europe. There was a lot of diversity in characters from other places and thoughtfully developed languages. 

Unfortunately, there was so much worldbuilding that I started skimming over country names and character names if I didn't think they'd be relevant. Some names were also frustratingly similar, like Falconet and Fausten. The set up of the book also took too long, though I suspect this is because this book is clearly book 1 in a series, so the set up needed to set up the whole series and not just a stand alone. Still, it took a while for things to get moving.

This book is for you if you like Cassandra Clare's characters and writing voice, if you want to read a book with fantasy-Jewish elements, and if you want to start a series with some serious worldbuilding. It's not for you if you want a book that can stand alone, if you need a fast pace from the start, or if you prefer low/urban/contemporary fantasy to high/epic/secondary-world fantasy. 


Have you read Sword Catcher? What did you think? Did you expect two characters to get together who haven't yet? (I did!) Let's discuss in the comments!

Violeta by Isabel Allende was given to me for Christmas this year. I managed to squeeze it into January, making it my sixth read that month. I knew nothing about the book beforehand, so I went in with no expectations.
 
Violeta is an adult historical fiction following Violeta through her life from the 1920s onward in Chile. It included events American audiences would find familiar, like WWII, and less familiar, like the military coup in Chile. It was written as if it was a giant letter from Violeta to Camilo, whose relationship to Violeta becomes clear as the story progresses.
 
I enjoyed learning about 20th century Chile from this book, because I knew very little about that. Something that surprised me was that despite the distance and different histories, a lot of familiar events acted like major milestones in Violeta’s life. I liked the different events that I'd not heard about before, because I worried initially that this book would be too similar to stories of 20th century Americans that I’ve read before.
 
Something harder for me was the writing style. It had a lot more summary than scene, which matched the epistolary-like structure, but still didn’t work for me. It made the events feel too distant from me, and I had trouble understanding some of Violeta’s choices because I was so far removed from the moment. She also had awful taste in men. Warning: this book contains both physical and psychological abuse.
 
This book is for you if you are looking for female-lead historical fiction, if you want to learn about 20th century Chile, or if you want fiction with the flavor of memoir. It’s not for you if you’re looking to read deeply about specific events or real people in Chile’s history, or if you’re not in the headspace to read about an abusive relationship, drug use, or pregnancy complications.
 
 
Have you read Violeta? What about Isabel Allende’s other books? Let’s discuss in the comments!