Book Review – Dawn

30 Jan 2025 2 Comments

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

I read Dawn by Octavia E. Butler for a book club discussion at the end of 2024. I had too many physical books that I needed to read, so I listened to this one as an audiobook, narrated by Julienne Irons. Dawn is the first book in the Xenogenesis or Lilith’s Brood series (paid links).

I previously read Parable of the Sower by this same author (paid link) and you can find my review of it here.

I listened to the audiobook edition.

Here is the blurb:

When Lilith lyapo wakes from a centuries-long sleep, she finds herself aboard the vast spaceship of the Oankali. She discovers that the Oankali—a seemingly benevolent alien race—intervened in the fate of the humanity hundreds of years ago, saving everyone who survived a nuclear war from a dying, ruined Earth and then putting them into a deep sleep. After learning all they could about Earth and its beings, the Oankali healed the planet, cured cancer, increased human strength, and they now want Lilith to lead her people back to Earth—but salvation comes at a price.

Hopeful and thought-provoking, this post-apocalyptic narrative deftly explores gender and race through the eyes of characters struggling to adapt during a pivotal time of crisis and change.

I have so many thoughts about this book! It made for a great discussion with the book club. This is a hard book to say that I enjoyed because it was quite an uncomfortable read. The Oankali claim to care for the humans that they saved and to have our best interests in mind. But Lilith discovers that if she disagrees with the aliens, they can never accept her arguments and will keep gaslighting her and manipulating her until she is ultimately forced to agree with their decisions. All of her agency is an illusion. Yet at the same time, how much does she owe on behalf of humanity to the aliens who saved our species and our planet from our own destruction?

This book also deals with the topic of sexual consent quite a lot for being first published in 1987. The aliens claim that their species needs to exchange genetic information with each new species that they encounter as they travel through the galaxy. This means that they ask Lilith to have a part-human, part-Oankali baby as part of their conditions for returning the surviving humans to Earth. The aliens also act as match makers, trying to set her up with different men, oblivious to her own choice in this. If the price of mankind’s survival is to interbreed with aliens, then is our species truly surviving?

I loved how Lilith becomes an unreliable narrator to the other humans when they awaken. Her initial doubts about the aliens are duplicated by the other humans and she is self-aware enough to realize how she must sound to them, but cannot convince them that she isn’t under the control of the Oankali (because she is, even if she tries not to be). The factions that developed between the different people and how the group acted when placed into this situation was fascinating.

I thought that some of the science ideas in this book were also novel. One example was that the Oankali are fascinated with cancer and how it allows cells to proliferate. They cure Lilith of a tumor she didn’t know that she had, as well as eliminate her genetic predisposition to cancer. They use cancer as inspiration for their own medical advances.

This story continues in two more books, Adulthood Rites (#2) and Imago (#3), and I plan to read those later this year (paid links). Have you read anything by Octavia E. Butler? Let me know in the comments!

Find more of my reviews here.

Graphic Novel Review – The Boys Vol. 1

28 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Comics, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I didn’t read very many graphic novels in 2024, but I did finish reading The Boys Volume 1 Omnibus by Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson (artist), Peter Snejbjerg (artist), Rodney Ramos (inker), Tony Avina (colorist), Greg Thompson (letterer), and Simon Bowland (letterer). I have been a fan of the television series on Amazon Prime, so I thought I’d see how the original source material compared to that (paid links).

I read the graphic novel edition.

Here is the blurb:

In a world where costumed heroes soar through the sky and masked vigilantes prowl the night, someone’s got to make sure the “supes” don’t get out of line. And someone will! Billy Butcher, Wee Hughie, Mother’s Milk, The Frenchman, and The Female are The A CIA-backed team of very dangerous people, each one dedicated to the struggle against the most dangerous force on Earth – superpowers!

Some superheroes have to be watched. Some have to be controlled. And some of them – sometimes – need to be taken out of the picture. That’s when you call in The Boys! After the opening story arc introducing Hughie to the team (issues 1-6), Dark avenger Tek-Knight and his ex-partner Swingwing are in trouble (issues 7-14). Big trouble. One has lost control of his terrifyingly overactive sex-drive, and the other might just be a murderer. It’s up to Hughie and Butcher to work out which is which, in Get Some.

Then, in Glorious Five-Year Plan, The Boys travel to Russia – where their corporate opponents are working with the mob, in a super-conspiracy that threatens to spiral lethally out of control. Good thing our heroes have Love Sausage on their side.

Of course, the show has made changes, but at the heart of it, The Boys source material contains the same over-the-top, irreverent, and profane story that I expected. This first volume starts off with the introduction of Hughie, much like the show. However, there is significantly less focus on The Seven in this opening volume than I would have expected. Yes – it does feature Starlight’s introduction to The Seven, and it’s even more horrific than in the show, but little else involving that most elite supe team happens in this book.

If you’ve watched the show, you’ll be familiar with how The Boys infiltrate Tek Knight’s twisted not-quite-Bat-Cave, as well as their trip to Russia with the help of Little Nina. In the original story told in this graphic novel, these events happen earlier and for different reasons, but you can see how these versions inspired what happened later in the show.

I’m not sure that I need to read more issues of this series since this first volume satisfied my curiosity. The show definitely becomes more political and I didn’t see much of that in this first graphic novel, although that may be because it was published in 2006.

Have you read any of The Boys? Should I keep going with this series? Let me know in the comments.

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – The Saint of Bright Doors

24 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera is a stand-alone novel that won the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Novel (paid link). It was also nominated for the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novel. The premise sounded intriguing, so I picked it up. I have not read anything else by this author.

I read the e-book edition.

Here is the blurb:

Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy.

He walked among invisible devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen.

Everything in Luriat is more than it seems. Group therapy is recruitment for a revolutionary cadre. Junk email hints at the arrival of a god. Every door is laden with potential, and once closed may never open again. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, looming portals through which a cold wind blows. In this unknowable metropolis, Fetter will discover what kind of man he is, and his discovery will rewrite the world.

I enjoyed the beginning of this book, but as the story evolved, I found myself getting less invested in what happened. The initial premise finds the narrator, Fetter, in the city of Luriat where he attends therapy sessions for people with special powers who thought they were destined for something great, only to later discover that they aren’t that special after all. I liked that idea and was entranced by the beginning of the story.

Fetter becomes caught up with a group of rebels who let him indulge his fascination with the Bright Doors that mysteriously appear throughout Luriat. I had hoped for more from this plot line, but the investigation of the doors fizzled as Fetter became obsessed with murdering the leader of a religious cult, who was coincidentally his father. Nothing about this goes well for him, and he has to abandon everything he built in Luriat.

I read that this book was described as part of the magical realism genre, and perhaps this genre is not for me. This is not the first time that I’ve struggled with a magical realism book (see my review of On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu here). The Saint of Bright Doors introduced many ideas and mysteries, but then never delivered with any explanation or greater purpose to any of it. Fetter’s reality shifts and becomes more surreal, but by the end of the book I didn’t care about what happened to him.

I would still consider reading another book by this author, but only if it was not considered magical realism.

You can find more of my book reviews here.

Book Review – The Gods Below

21 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Gods Below is the first book in a new series (The Hollow Covenant) by Andrea Stewart (paid links). I have not read the author’s previous books, but received this as a beautiful hardcover edition from Fairy Loot.

As a reminder, if you don’t want to miss all my book-related posts, you can find me now on Instagram as @ihazabookproblem (here is a link).

I read the hardcover Fairy Loot edition.

Here is the blurb:

A divine war shattered the world leaving humanity in ruins. Desperate for hope, they struck a deal with the devious god Kluehnn: He would restore the world to its former glory, but at a price so steep it would keep the mortals indebted to him for eternity. And as each land was transformed, so too were its people changed into strange new forms – if they survived at all.

Hakara is not willing to pay such a price. Desperate to protect herself and her sister, Rasha, she flees her homeland for the safety of a neighboring kingdom. But when tragedy separates them, Hakara is forced to abandon her beloved sister to an unknown fate.

Alone and desperate for answers on the wrong side of the world, Hakara discovers she can channel the magic from the mysterious gems they are forced to mine for Kluehnn. With that discovery comes another: her sister is alive, and the rebels plotting to destroy the God Pact can help rescue her.

But only if Hakara goes to war against a god.

My favorite part of this book was the unique worldbuilding and magic system. The mystical and dangerous barrier between realms reminds me of the Shadowfold from Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone books. I really liked how vastly different the realms become when they are transformed in the aftermath of their “restoration”.

The magic used by Hakara and others involves the ingestion of gems which echoed Brandon Sanderson’s magic system in his Mistborn series. However, this author’s version felt more organic and natural to the setting than in Sanderson’s version.

As far as characters go, this book introduces multiple viewpoints, setting up a complicated series. I enjoyed Hakara as someone who is sympathetic, determined, and resourceful. She uses her skills creatively and struggles throughout the story. Her sister Rasha offers us a view into Kluehnn’s followers and a restored realm.

Mullayne’s viewpoint follows an aspect of the story that does not directly connect to the rest of the characters, but still serves an important purpose. Thassir is the mysterious and powerful stranger whom Hakara is pointedly NOT attracted to (guess where this goes?). The best parts of Thassir’s character are the mystery of his background and that he absolutely LOVES cats. In one particular scene, he risks all of the group’s careful planning to burst from hiding and prevent a cat from triggering a trap they had set.

I think of all the characters, I was least enamored with Sheuan, the desperate daughter of a failing clan and an informant for the rebels in a threatened realm. She betrays Mullayne’s trust in her bid to improve her clan’s situation. She also has a romance subplot that was very abrupt and unbelievable to me.

This book ends with action and some of the smaller plot threads are pulled together, but the larger story isn’t over. This is definitely the beginning of a series and NOT a stand-alone read.

I want to keep reading to discover more of Thassir’s background. I want to find out if Hakara and her sister can ever reconcile. And I want to see more of this world that Andrea Stewart has created.

Have you read any books by Andrea Stewart? Which ones would you recommend? Let me know in the comments.

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – The Underground Railroad

18 Nov 2024 1 Comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

Sometimes I decide to step back from genre fiction and read something more mainstream. Although part of the premise of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is fantastical, that is not what the book is about (paid links). This novel won several awards, including the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction. Read on below to find out more.

I read the hardcover edition of this.

Here is the blurb:

Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood–where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned–Cora kills a young white boy who tries to capture her. Though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted.

In Whitehead’s ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor–engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora and Caesar’s first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. But the city’s placid surface masks an insidious scheme designed for its black denizens. And even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom.

Like the protagonist of Gulliver’s Travels, Cora encounters different worlds at each stage of her journey–hers is an odyssey through time as well as space. As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is at once a kinetic adventure tale of one woman’s ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share.

This was a hard book to read on an uncomfortable subject. This alternate history story set in the pre-Civil War American South features a literal underground railroad. Rather than providing a way for slaves to escape to freedom, this railroad is a literary device that the author uses to show the effects of slavery and racism in different constructed social settings.

Cora starts her journey as an enslaved young woman on a traditional southern plantation. The terrors on the Randall Plantation are those that are we’d expect from history. When the “kinder” of two brothers who own the plantation dies and Cora catches the eye of the remaining brother, her situation turns more imminently dangerous, impelling her to flee with the help of another slave.

In each destination that Cora reaches, she finds arguably better treatment. Yet none of these places treat her the same as the whites, even once she finds a freer community in the north. She has the illusion of freedom, but others are making decisions about what is best for her. She never has the agency that she should.

Throughout Cora’s story, she loses everyone who tries to help her. Cora doesn’t dwell too much on these losses and while this could make her characterization seem shallow, I felt like this was also a way for the author to make a specific point. Cora was originally abandoned by her mother, and given that families were torn apart in the slave trade, this was part of her life and something that she would have had no control over. It doesn’t seem fair that even when Cora finds some degree of safety and freedom, she still loses those she cares for, but her life is not fair because she cannot escape the color of her skin.

I’m glad that I read this book, but I don’t think that it added anything to what I personally already believe about human rights and discrimination. It was definitely a worthwhile book and offers a unique perspective on how racism has changed through history and how abolition hasn’t solved racial discrimination. I will probably donate this book to my local library so that other people can read it.

Have you read any books by Colson Whitehead? Is there another one that you would recommend I read? Let me know in the comments!

You can find more of my book reviews here.

Book Review – The Hemlock Queen

14 Nov 2024 1 Comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The Hemlock Queen is the sequel to The Foxglove King, and the second book in The Nightshade Crown series by Hannah Whitten (paid links). I really enjoyed the first book, and you can find my review of it here.

I read the hardcover edition of this.

Here is the blurb:

The corrupt king August is dead. Prince Bastian has seized the throne and raised Lore—a necromancer and former smuggler—to his right hand side. Together they plan to cut out the rot from the heart of the sainted court and help the people of Dellaire. But not everyone is happy with the changes. The nobles are sowing dissent, the Kyrithean Empire is beating down their door, and Lore’s old allies are pulling away. Even Prince Bastian’s changed. No longer the hopeful, rakish, charismatic man Lore knows and loves, instead he’s reckless, domineering and cold. 

And something’s been whispering in her ear. A voice, dark and haunting, that’s telling her there’s more to the story than she knows and more to her power than she can even imagine. A truth buried deep that could change everything. 

With Bastian’s coronation fast approaching and enemies whispering on all sides, Lore must figure out how to protect herself, her prince, and her country before they all come crumbling down and whatever dark power has been creeping through the catacombs is unleashed.

Second books in a trilogy are tough. I often regret not being able to start the second book immediately after finishing the first one because I tend to forget small details of the characters’ relationships and the worldbuilding. I ran into this problem with The Hemlock Queen, but was still immediately swept up in the story.

This second volume picks up in the immediate aftermath of the previous book. Bastian is now King, but Lore quickly realizes that something is wrong with him, almost like he is two different people. She begins to hear a voice in her own head, and while it won’t answer her questions, she can’t continue to ignore it. I felt like this book was a little more unfocused than the first one, with Lore herself seeming lost between navigating Bastian’s odd moods and her own role in his regime.

The history of the gods in this world was explained better and I felt like I had a greater understanding of the magic. The larger political picture also played a role, and I’m curious to see if more political intrigue will feature in the final book.

Lore continues to navigate her fraught relationships with men, with Bastian and Gabe both continuing to show that they care, but refusing to let her get any closer. This second installment in the series does finally deliver on some of the spiciness set up in the first book, but I don’t want to ruin it by saying more.

The ending also comes to a tragically perfect conclusion that clearly sets up the final book, The Nightshade God, due out in July 2025 (paid link). I liked this series enough that I had to pre-order this. Also – don’t read the blurb on this final book until you’ve read the earlier ones – spoilers!

For anyone who enjoys pretty pictures of books, I have also started an Instagram (or Bookstagram) where you can see me put together pretty displays like these below. I’ll have posts there (ideally) 6 days a week. You can find me at @ihazabookproblem.

Do any of you have your own Bookstagram? Let me know in the comments and I’ll take a look!

You can find more of my book reviews here.

Book Review – The Past is Red

11 Nov 2024 1 Comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

I don’t think that I had ever read anything by author Catherynne M. Valente, and that’s one great reason to participate in a book club. The Past Is Red is a novella that was chosen by one of my book clubs and was not a story that I’d been aware of until then (paid link). It was nominated for the 2022 Hugo Award for Best Novella. Read on below to see what I thought.

I read the e-book edition.

Here is the blurb:

The future is blue. Endless blue…except for a few small places that float across the hot, drowned world left behind by long-gone fossil fuel-guzzlers. One of those patches is a magical place called Garbagetown.

Tetley Abednego is the most beloved girl in Garbagetown, but she’s the only one who knows it. She’s the only one who knows a lot of things: that Garbagetown is the most wonderful place in the world, that it’s full of hope, that you can love someone and 66% hate them all at the same time.

But Earth is a terrible mess, hope is a fragile thing, and a lot of people are very angry with her. Then Tetley discovers a new friend, a terrible secret, and more to her world than she ever expected.

This novella is divided into two parts. The first one is a previously published novelette – The Future Is Blue – while the second part is new material. Together they tell the story of a post-apocalyptic world in which the inhabitants are not trying to rebuild the society that was lost, but are content to simply live amid the remnants.

I had a hard time getting into this story and didn’t finish it in time for the book club discussion (although I did still finish it). The story is set in Garbagetown which is where those humans who have survived catastrophic sea level rise have managed to eke out an existence on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. I think that part of what limited my enjoyment of this story was that the timeline hops around and there wasn’t a well-defined plot. Our narrator is not always reliable, which also made it challenging to orient myself in this unfamiliar future world.

Despite these things, Garbagetown itself was fascinating, and I would have loved to have learned more about how it reached its current state. The city is divided into different regions, each named for the type of garbage that they contain. The inhabitants all dream of the day that they will find solid land, and this tiny sad bit of hope keeps many of them going.

Part of this story evoked the old Kevin Costner movie, Waterworld, but without the Mad Max-ian aspects of fuel-obsessed clans fighting over resources. While our protagonist, Tetley, has to still find enough supplies to survive, she also never tries very hard to do more than that. When Tetley finally makes contact with an unexpected friend, I had hoped that this would lead to more of a science fiction-y resolution to the dilemma of those trapped in Garbagetown. But this was not that kind of story, and I’m probably not the right audience to truly have enjoyed this book.

What novellas have you enjoyed and would recommend? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my book reviews here.

Book Review – Somewhere Beyond the Sea

09 Nov 2024 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , ,

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the newest book by T.J. Klune, and is book #2 in the Cerulean Chronicles. I enjoyed book #1 – The House in the Cerulean Sea – a lot and you can find my review of it here (paid links).

I read the e-book edition.

Here is the blurb:

A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.

Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one.

He’s the headmaster of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.

Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. And there’s the island’s sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children.

But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve.

And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home—one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from—Arthur knows they’re at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart.

Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur’s story.

The ending of the first book made it obvious that there would be a sequel, but did not leave any significant hints of how that story would go. The plot in the second book tells a new story, but it is thematically a continuation of the first book. Not much time is spent on re-introducing the characters, so if you’re interested in reading this series, go back to start with the first book.

While I have to say that I didn’t like this second book as much as the first, I don’t want that to really detract from my review at all. Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a wonderful book, but the first one is truly a tough act to follow.

Linus is no longer the main driver of the story in this book, but remains pivotal as support for Arthur as he navigates the more public role he has chosen to take on. The children at Marsyas grow up a bit in this sequel, while still engaging in their endearing shenanigans.

So why didn’t this book quite live up to the expectations I had from the first one? I felt like the plot was too loosely constructed and rather unfocused. The characters on Marsyas also never felt like they were in enough danger to me. I didn’t believe that DICOMY would take the children away from Arthur and Linus, so the story lacked the tension and conflict that I wanted to see. However, this was still a book that I enjoyed, and I think that my negative nitpicking is truly a reflection of how GOOD the first book was.

I have put all of TJ Klune’s other books on my to-be-read list. Which one should I start next? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – Drums of Autumn

30 Oct 2024 2 Comments

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I have finished another book in the Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon. Drums of Autumn is the fourth book in the series (paid links), and you can find my reviews of the earlier books in the series below:

I listened to the audiobook edition.

Here is the blurb:

What if you knew someone you loved was going to die? What if you thought you could save them? How much would you risk to try?

Claire Randall has gone to find Jamie Fraser, the man she loved more than life, and has left half her heart behind with their daughter, Brianna. Claire gave up Jamie to save Brianna, and now Bree has sent her mother back to the Scottish warrior who was willing to give his life to save them both. But a chilling discovery in the pages of history suggests that Jamie and Claire’s story doesn’t have a happy ending.

Brianna dares a terrifying leap into the unknown in search of her mother and the father she has never met, risking her own future to try to change history . . . and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past . . . or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong.

I thought that this installment of the series took longer to get started, but ultimately brought the characters together in new and more complicated ways. This book also added more time spend in different viewpoints, with Brianna and Roger becoming more involved in the central plot. Thankfully, the trans-Atlantic journeys in this volume went by in fewer pages than that in the previous book.

Many of the problems that the characters encounter could have been easily solved if they had been more open about talking to each other. Unfortunately, certain assumptions are made that nearly lead to catastrophe. But without circumstances like that, we wouldn’t find conflict and tension in stories, which would make them a lot less interesting to read.

In the third book, Voyager, and again in this one, the characters speculate on the nature of their time travel. This aspect of the series starts out as a completely mysterious occurrence, but as they try to figure out how to intentionally travel through time, I have to wonder how this will play out in future books.

I just started the next book, The Fiery Cross, so I’ll be back with a review on that one in 6 to 8 weeks (paid link)!

Have you read any of the Outlander books? Have you watched the show? I just saw the first episode of the first season last week (for the second time). Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – The Familiar

28 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , ,

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo is a new stand-alone novel set in late 16th century Spain that incorporates significant fantasy elements. I have enjoyed several of Bardugo’s other books, so read on below to see what I thought of this one (paid links).

You can find my review of her other books here:

I read this in hardcover.

Here is the blurb:

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family’s social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England’s heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king’s favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

This book opened more slowly than some of the author’s other stories, but Luzia’s life was richly depicted and it was easy to get drawn in to the sense of place that was established in the opening. As she gets drawn into the schemes of those better off, she tries to grasp some small piece of agency for herself, making her choices more understandable as she knowingly puts herself at risk.

Like much of Leigh Bardugo’s other novels, there was an element of romance within this story. This threw me at first, because I had not read the description of one character accurately and had made some incorrect assumptions. However, I was able to reorient myself and this ultimately didn’t take anything away from the story for me.

I felt like I didn’t understand the magical aspects of this world quite as well as I would have liked. Perhaps that was because this was a stand-alone novel and I simply had fewer pages to become comfortable with the backstory and myths that were revealed as the plot unfolded.

Despite these nitpicks, I did enjoy this novel. I found it to be a refreshingly different type of story from the author, and while I would love to discover another novel that was as good as Six of Crows, it is also great to know that she can vary her work to keep it fresh.

Which of Leigh Bardugo’s books have you read? Which was your favorite? Let me know in the comments (above)!

Find more of my reviews here.

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