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The Bone Orchard: A Book Response

18/3/2024

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The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller
I picked this book up on a whim -- or rather, downloaded it from Libby on a whim. I was attracted first by the cover and then by the blurb: psychics, necromancy, magic and alchemy, an Empire on the brink of civil war, and a murder-mystery all in one! Colour me intrigued!

I was even more surprised to find that the book is set in a vaguely Victorian-esque? Regency-esque? era rather than a pseudo-medieval one, although definitely in its own world rather than ours!
As ever, spoilers ahead!

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After the Forest: A Book Response

1/3/2024

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After the Forest by Kell Woods
After the Forest by Kell Woods showed up as a newly purchased item at my library, and after reading the summary, I downloaded it as an e-book on Libby. I love fairytale retellings, and this one about Hansel and Gretel (or Hans and Greta, as they're known in the book) looked promising.

This post will contain spoilers, so exit out if that sort of thing bothers you!

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The Book of Dragons: A Book Response

12/1/2024

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The Book of Dragons, edited by Jonathan Strahan
While at work, I saw this book on display on our shelves. I love dragons and I'm a sucker for a pretty cover, so I picked it up on a whim and discovered--somewhat to my relief, because it's hefty at 553 pages--that it was an anthology of dragon stories by some of my favourite authors.

I finished it over the course of a week, and I loved it! Fair warning that this is not a spoiler free post, by the way.

Just as a I did for Frederica by Georgette Heyer, I wanted to write a book response for it. If you're wondering, a book response is a very casual book review (to me, anyway). There's nothing particularly in-depth about this response; I'm only commenting on the stories and poems I liked. There were a few I didn't enjoy, and I didn't feel like bothering with criticism or outlining why I didn't like them. So without further ado, let's dive in!

'Matriculation' by Elle Katharine White - this is a cyberpunk-esque, magic-meets-science, urban fantasy. The featured dragon is a mechanical marvel of invention, responding to code-like commands swiped onto its touchscreen-like control panel. There's also a charming gargoyle, a magical university with vaguely threatening undertones, vampires who are surprisingly kind for how mercenary they are, blood as currency, and themes of grief and loss and sacrifice throughout. I was immediately hooked, and I'd love an expansion into this world, as it closed on a bittersweet cliffhanger.

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Frederica: A Book Response

24/1/2022

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Book Cover of Frederica by Georgette Heyer
Frederica by Georgette Heyer
This book brought me unexpected joy! I love period and Regency romances, and having exhausted Austen and the Bronte sisters’ works, I’ve been slowly making my way through Georgette Heyer.

Most of her work is fluffy and fun but not quite ...hm, engaging? But Frederica was a romp, a delight, and emotionally engaging!


Featuring a sarcastic Marquis almost fatally bored with life who enjoys teasing (read: annoying and subverting the demands of) his avaricious sisters, the titular heroine who manages her siblings with spunk and humorous frankness, absolutely hilarious and endearing little brothers, and a very beautiful if vapid (but still sweet!) younger sister who falls for a Regency himbo.

The relationship is a slow burn where the main couple develop a friendship first, and they just so genuinely like each other that it doesn't actually feel like a burn. The Marquis undergoes a wonderful, accidental development as a person, quite literally despite himself. He genuinely can't help but be charmed by Frederica and her siblings. I'd say Frederica reminds me of Anne Elliot if she had a nicer family and Elizabeth Bennet's liveliness. 

It's a little slow in its first couple of chapters before it amiably sweeps you along. Every single character was either delightful or amusing, and I loved the sarcasm and teasing and characters saying what they absolutely don't mean half the time.

​I also loved the misadventures of the siblings and the crotchety aunt who is supposed to be minding them in London and even the valets and butlers and people they encounter on the street! Literally every single minor character was pretty well fleshed out enough to feel real and also be fun to read about. 10/10 would read again.

I hope it gets made into a film or miniseries, I think it would do great! ​I can’t recommend it enough, especially if you enjoy Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion (my two fave Austen novels)!
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Apartment by Hyba Ouazzani | An Enthusiastic Review

2/8/2021

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In November of 2020, I was given the amazing opportunity to read an early copy of  my dear friend Hyba's thriller novella Apartment. I've been meaning to share my thoughts on it for ages now, but happily this post coincides with her release of Apartment's literary companion, which offers glorious behind-the-scenes information, exploratory tidbits, and authorial commentary of this fantastic, chilling tale—all for free! 

​Now I'm not a fan of horror, generally, and thus also tend to avoid thrillers. (This is just because I'm easily affected by what I read and am a big wimp). But I love Hyba's writing, and the sneak peeks I saw of this novella on her tumblr got me hooked pretty fast. Especially as Apartment is not gratuitous with the horror; it's more of a psychological, twisting (and twisted!) mystery.
I still vividly remember sitting outside my local Starbucks as dusk fell around me, ripping through Apartment with one hand and scribbling all my thoughts and reactions into my notebook with the other.
It was such an exhilarating read, and the tension ramps up so spectacularly, so steadily, until it all just explodes into action! Even though none of the characters are clean-cut "good" people (and some of them are downright awful), as a reader I found myself quickly invested in their fates, their backstories, and their interactions with not only each other, but the environment of the titular locale!
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said notebook with my scribbled reactions
It's so funny, up until almost three quarters of the way in, Angela was my favourite character, and then suddenly it was Alex who was I rooting for and aching for and hoping desperately would escape the situation she ends up in. James, in contrast, was the character I hated the most (not because he was written badly, but because he's such an awful person written so well I couldn't help but to hate him), and then in a masterful few scenes, my feelings for him got so complicated.

(I hereby declare it Hyba's specialty—constructing believable but complex characters you feel strongly about, even if those feelings fluctuate wildly).

And then I got to the conclusion, which completely stole my breath, It was satisfying and cutting and gutting, all at once! I remember shutting my computer and just staring at the empty parking lot of the Starbucks, chilled and out of breath, as if I had been running. Apartment just gripped me so tightly in its thrall, which is fitting, considering that's essentially what the horrible building does to its inhabitants!

When I look back at my notes while reading, a few phrases jump out at me, and I think these will give you a good idea of what you'll be experiencing without spoilers: 
  • stifling environment
  • eerie yet vivid imagery
  • secret temptations
  • insulating and constricting points-of-view
  • a deadly mix of paranoia, boredom, and entitlement
  • violation and disruption
  • savagery
  • circumstantial villain-turned-hero
  • claustrophobia and surveillance
  • magical realism
  • delusion, euphoria, despair

All in all, it was an excellent read!  So what are you waiting for? Go get yourself a copy and dive into it!
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