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The Queen of Nothing

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
Queen of Nothing cover

The Queen of Nothing came out last week and… it was so good! If you’ve read The Wicked King, then you know that the ending of that story left you needing this book. If you haven’t read The Wicked King, I recommend you go read it before you read this review, because it will contain spoilers.

Jude is living with her sister in the mortal world now. She might be used to living in the fairy world, but now she has the same problems as the rest of us mundanes. She has no skills and no status with the government either. So to earn money, she’s been taking odd jobs from a fairy.

All of this changes when Taryn shows up at her doorstep. Jude has to return to fairy to protect her identical twin–and then becomes embroiled in fairy politics once again. I don’t want to give away much more than that, but I will say that the cover of this book is perfect for the story.

What I Liked:

What I like most about the Folk of the Air trilogy, including this book, is Holly Black’s voice. She has a style of writing that draws you in. I love the world she paints and the characters she creates. Plus, I love Jude and Cardan. These books have been criticized in the past as portraying their relationship as toxic, but both characters were toxic. In The Queen of Nothing, both the characters grow and so does their relationship.

I can’t think of anything I disliked. The Folk of the Air books tend to run on the shorter side of fantasy books, but they can easily be read in a day or two. Ms. Black doesn’t pad the books to make the book longer.

Conclusion:

Should you read The Queen of Nothing? If you read the first two books, then yes, probably. There’s a lot less toxicity between Jude and Cardan in this book. If you live for that in this series, then you might not want to rush this to the top of your TBR. I loved this book, however, and will definitely want to give this series a reread at some point.

Other books in the Folk of the Air Series:

That Night

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment
That Night cover

School shootings are far too common these days. That Night is a story about two families dealing with deaths from a shooting at a movie theater that killed 18 people. It had a lot of humor in it, but it had its serious moments at the same time. I loved the book and find it hard to believe it currently only has 501 ratings on Goodreads.

The shooting caused Jess to lose her brother Ethan. Her mom walks around in a fog and can’t hold down a job, and her best friend is away at another school trying to cope. Lucas, a boy she thinks is cute but doesn’t really know, also lost his brother.

When Jess gets a job at the same hardware store Ethan works at, he initially doesn’t want her to be around. Eventually, they realize they like each other. But Ethan doesn’t know her secret…

That Night is a contemporary love story that I flew through. I loved the characters, and I loved Jess and Lucas together. The survivors of the shooting all have their own ways of dealing with the tragedy. Jess and Lucas’s families are so different, but they work. I loved the small-ish town setting, where most people know each other and look out for each other.

I love how these characters are funny. It helps lighten up a book that was triggered by such a serious event. Its a book that, even though there’s sadness inside, it’s also accompanied by hope. Sometimes we need a little bit more of that.

In another year or two, there won’t be clusters of empty seats at graduation, or an entire “In Memoriam” section in the yearbook. They’ll move on and try to forget about that night.

p. 301

There are a lot of tragic things that happen in the world. As I write this, there was a school shooting today. Even more than that, I know of so many young people that are depressed. Although a book is unlikely to change that, That Night might be a good book for people who who have experienced tragedy in their life and are having difficulty coping. I really loved this book, and it’s a little sad that more people haven’t read it.

Reverie

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Reverie cover

I recently had the opportunity to read Ryan La Sala’s Reverie. I have to thank Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an advanced reader copy.

This book has a strong beginning. Kane is trying to piece his life back together after he was found, nearly drowned, near a river. In addition, he may be in trouble with the police. What can be more exciting than that?

As Kane is trying to put his life back together, he discovers that there were people he was close to prior to his memory loss. Or at least, that’s what they tell him. He’s having difficulty figuring out who to trust and he’s a big ball of confusion. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, for me, this book then tries to do too much. Kane finds himself in a “reverie”, which is like a dream that’s been turned into reality. Everybody around the dreamer gets sucked into these reveries. Most people don’t realize what’s going on, but Kane (and a few other people) are lucid during these reveries, and have to make sure that they go smoothly. If they don’t, people can get hurt in real life (I think).

The book is very imaginative. It is pretty cool, seeing what sort of dreams people come up with, and how Kane and his friends move them along. However, these reveries start coming while Kane is still trying to figure out what happened, has the police breathing down his neck, and… for me it was a little overwhelming.

The characters in Reverie were well done. Kane isn’t always the nicest guy in the world, but he’s a consistent character. His sister, Sophia, seems like the nosy (realistic) little sister type. Plus there are friends and a main antagonist. One of the characters, Poesy, is quite the interesting addition to the small town where this book takes place.

There were a few loose ends in this book for me. What happened with the police? It didn’t really explain how they stopped pursuing his case. Also, the characters at the end of the book seem to still be in some danger, and I was still a little worried about them.

While this wasn’t the book for me, I do think there will be a lot of people that will like it. It was imaginative and different. Being La Sala’s debut, I think as an author he has a lot of potential. Reverie doesn’t come out until December 3rd, but you can pre-order it now.

Naughts & Crosses

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Naughts and Crosses

What would life be like if hardcore racism still ran amok, except darker-skinned people had all the power and white people didn’t? This is the story of Naughts & Crosses.

Callum is a naught, or a white person in this world. His best friend in the whole wide world is Sephy, who is a cross. Callum’s mother used to work for Sephy’s family and they grew up together. When they were young, they didn’t think anything of it. As they grew older, they had to sneak off to be together.

Things start to get real when Callum and a few other naughts are allowed into Sephy’s school. It was really just a political move; the crosses don’t really want them there. Callum believes that he needs to pretend that he’s not Sephy’s friend when they’re at school, yet Sephy doesn’t understand why. This causes a lot of problems, because nobody thinks naughts and crosses should be friends.

At the same time, a group of naught terrorists is trying to fight for equality using violence. Tragically, they are pulled apart over time, even though in their hearts, they still love each other. I won’t tell you how their story ends, but this is not the book to read if you’re looking for a traditional happily ever after.

This is one of those books that is designed to make you think. A lot of the events in this book must have been inspired by history, such as the integration of schools in the United States, where the national guard had to be called in to ensure the black kids got to school safely. The Liberation Militia, the terrorist group of naughts in this story, could have been inspired by the more violently minded wing of the civil rights movement. There were little details, such as band-aids coming in colors for light-skinned people, that were also brought up in this book. My son experienced this the other day; some of his Halloween makeup was unusable because it was made for white people.

I enjoyed the book and the pages practically flew by. Will I read the next four books in the series? Maybe. The main characters in the next stories are different and so it’s not my top priority though.

While I don’t know about the rest of the series, I recommend Naughts & Crosses. Don’t read this book if you’re in the mood for a happily ever after, but if you’re in the mood for a tragedy that makes you think, this might be just the book for you.

Dive Smack

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Dive Smack cover

Have you ever had one of those books that you think “I really need to read that book.”? For me, Dive Smack was one of those books. It sounded pretty exciting, although it ended up being a different kind of book than I expected. Not in a bad way though.

Theo Mackey has had it kind of rough. His mom died in a fire that he thinks he set; his dad died shortly afterwards. Now he lives with his grandfather, who seems a little crotchety and doesn’t want him hanging out with his uncle (it’s not his biological uncle, but he feels like his uncle).

The only thing he really has going for him is his diving. Even that starts going haywire when he starts getting distracted by a family history project he has to do for school. Soon, he discovers that what he thought was true… really isn’t. What he uncovers will upend his life forever.

What I Liked

This book ended up having quite a lot of thrills and mystery to it. Not everything is as it seems. Even though it was not what I was expecting when I started reading this book, I liked this aspect a lot.

I also liked the characters. Although I don’t read a lot of books with male protagonists, Theo seems like I’d imagine a guy would be like. He’s (understandably) upset over the death of his parents. And he has a thing for a girl. I think the characters in this book were well done. Theo also has rivalries with some of the other boys on his team, which is probably normal? I don’t know; I’ve never been a guy.

Other Things?

I can’t really say I disliked any aspect of Dive Smack, although maybe the pacing could have been a little different at the beginning.

Conclusion

If you’re interested in diving, swimming, thrillers, and arson (reading about it, not doing it or being the victim of it) then you might like Dive Smack. It wasn’t my favorite book of the year, but I liked it well enough to give it four stars on Goodreads. Both the Kindle and hardback prices are pretty good, or it might be available at your library. I found the Kindle edition on sale for $1.99, so I got pretty lucky there.

Color Outside the Lines

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Color Outside the Lines cover

Color Outside the Lines was one of the books that I was really excited about at the beginning of this year. My family is an interracial family, and I was looking forward to reading about couples who don’t look like each other. I did enjoy several of the stories; however, it didn’t quite live up to the hype that I initially gave it. Like all anthologies, I enjoyed some stories more than others. Thank you to Edelweiss and Soho Teen for providing me with an advanced reader copy!

The Good

Color Outside the Lines had a lot of variety to the stories. They weren’t all contemporary. Some were contemporary, while others were historical or even science fiction. There were different cultures involved, including made up cultures and there was one story about an adoptive family. Each couple had different challenges.

What I Might Have Liked Better

I like to read love stories with happy endings. I can’t really think of any truly happy endings in this book. At best, there are several that are open-ended and hopeful. There are a few that are heartbreaking though.

In many of the stories, there is a disconnect because of the cultures. You get the feeling that maybe it won’t work out because of the cultural difference. It kinda left me sad because I know that interracial couples today can work out just fine and nobody really cares. If this book had been written twenty-five years ago, I might have agreed with the way these stories are presented, but unless teens are more racist than adults (which I doubt) I think this book places a little more disconnect into intercultural love than actually happens these days? Or maybe I’ve just lived in a little Pollyanna bubble for half my life and everybody else experiences difficulties that I have not.

Overall

Overall, I did enjoy the stories in Color Outside the Lines, although it didn’t quite live up to the hype I placed upon it in my head. The picture of intercultural relationships it seemed to radiate: one where intercultural relationships are hopeful at best and sometimes heartbreaking, and where misunderstandings abound, has not been the situation that I’ve seen. Oddly enough, one of the most hopeful stories, “Something Gay and Magical” was written by Adam Silvara, who wrote They Both Die at the End. Who would see that coming? Although I liked many of the stories, they didn’t really leave me with the same sense of joy that other books like Summer Days and Summer Nights have. It is worth borrowing from the library though.

Every Stolen Breath

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Every Stolen Breath cover

Wasn’t there a time several years ago where people were organizing mobs on Twitter to attack people? Or maybe that was just me. In Every Stolen Breath by Kimberly Gabriel, that exact thing is happening, except in this book, the mobs are getting together for murder.

As soon as I read the description for this book, I knew I wanted to read it. Thank you Netgalley and Blink for allowing me to have early access to this title!

A “death mob” killed Lia’s dad several years ago. Now, she knows that they’re going to attack again. She doesn’t want to let them get away with it. She’s found out where the next attack will be, and she’s ready for them. With her cell phone handy and ready to record, she’s going to catch the perpetrators on camera and make sure the police can arrest them.

Only, it doesn’t work out as well as she’d hoped. Somehow, they figure out what she’s doing, and she has to flee to save her life. She loses all her evidence. Does she let that stop her? No. Lia is a strong character with her mind on a mission. She’s determined to bring her dad’s killer’s to justice, even if it puts herself into danger.

This was a great book. What isn’t scarier than people organizing themselves into mobs on Twitter to go out and attack people? Every Stolen Breath is a lot more complicated than that; the group is organized and its fingers reach farther than Lia originally expected. I enjoyed being Lia’s journey as she (sometimes foolhardily) tries to solve this crime spree.

Lia is a great character with a believable life. She is more reckless than I would have been, but unlike in some books where the main character goes out on her own to solve a crime, at least Lia makes an attempt to be careful. She has great friends, and even meets someone along her journey. There’s a little bit of a romantic subplot in this story.

The Chicago setting is great (I’ve only visited it once in person once and then virtually through books like Divergent). I could imagine being at the different places the author describes.

Every Stolen Breath is suspenseful and makes you want to read more. It was an exciting book that I read in less than two days. If you’re looking for a suspenseful book that reads like it could actually happen, I highly recommend it. The book will be released on November 5th, but you can pre-order it now.

The Beautiful

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The Beautiful Cover

October has been an amazing month for new releases! I recently read Renée Ahdieh’s The Beautiful. I believe it is part of a duology. This story is set in New Orleans in 1872.

I originally didn’t have any interest in reading this book, because I wasn’t really interested in reading a “vampire book”. I don’t read a ton of paranormal type books (although I love the Shadowhunter books, they don’t really seem paranormal). At any rate, it wasn’t until I read the first couple of chapters when it was over at Bookish First that I decided that I wanted to read it. I really liked it.

Celine is escaping her past by moving from Paris to New Orleans. The local convent is putting her up for a while, which starts to cause problems when she’s invited to make a dress for Odette, who must have been quite the scandalous lady back in those days. There, she meets Sébastien Saint Germain, who is wealthy, but isn’t exactly a gentleman. They have an instant attraction, but it doesn’t look like they can be together.

People start ending up dead around the city, and a lot of them have some connection to Celine. So now the question is, what’s causing it? Can it be stopped? You’ll have to read the book to find out more.

The Beautiful was great for several reasons. First, I loved the characters. Celine is a strong girl who won’t be bullied and stands up for herself. She may have had some problems in her past, but I don’t really blame her for what happened. Bastien seems to be her perfect match, personality-wise. The other characters that surround them seem lifelike and have their own lives apart from Celine. We get to see glimpses of the villain throughout the story, but we don’t exactly find out who he is until the end. This book might need a reread at some point, just to be able to read it knowing who the villain is.

The setting is good too. I loved being immersed in New Orleans after the Civil War. There is a lot of French (and a handful of Spanish) used in this book. It’s generally easy to understand, although I’m a polyglot, so maybe I’m not the best person to ask about that. The characters discuss pop culture references of the day, including Les Misérables (which I’m currently about halfway through listening on audiobook). Reading this book feels like being transported to another time and place.

If you’re looking for a book that’s a little creepy and also has a little romance, you might like The Beautiful. Vampires aren’t a huge feature of this book, but that was okay with me. I suspect there will be more vampires in the second book of this duology, but I can’t be sure. October might be almost over, but there’s still one day left, and a little murder mystery can be read any time of year.

Song of the Crimson Flower

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Song of the Crimson Flower cover

I recently had the privilege of reading Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao. I have to thank Bookish First and Philomel Books for the Advanced Reader Copy. If you’d like to get physical ARCs for review, it’s a great place. If you use referal code 56cf541090ca608b4 you can start earning free books and help me at the same time!

Song of the Crimson Flower was a beautiful book. Lan is in love with a boy, Tam, who seems reluctant to marry her (but he’s very romantic). Bao is an orphan boy who works for Tam’s father as a physician’s assistant. He’s been in love with Lan for years, but his lack of social status and shyness have made him reluctant to tell her.

After a brush with death reminds Bao of how short life is, he decides to tell Lan the truth. She harshly rejects him. After he runs away, Lan feels bad for how she treated him, but by that point, he’s been magicked into his flute. He has a body only if someone he loves touches him periodically. The only way for Bao to break the spell is for him to find someone to love him in return within two weeks.

I loved these characters. Bao is such a soft, squishy, cinnamon roll boy and I can’t help but want good things for him. Lan is a sweet girl too, although like everyone, she can sometimes make mistakes. There’s also an evil antagonist who’s the hero of her own story, along with other people that they meet along the way who have their own wants and desires. Ms. Dao does a wonderful job creating complex characters that you can’t help but love.

The setting was unique and complex. Song of the Crimson Flower is a companion to the Rise of the Empress series, which I have not read. My guess is that I would enjoy this book more had I read the other two books in the series, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns and Kingdom of a Blazing Phoenix, first, but I didn’t. You don’t have to read the other two books to enjoy this one though. I suspect that the two other books in this series contributes to the lifelikeness of this setting.

The book has a good message to it. Don’t let society’s expectations cause you to be pushed into a lifetime of unhappiness. While you may think that you can figure out the ending just by reading the synopsis, there is a twist to it that I particularly enjoyed (but won’t give away here).

If you’re looking for a sweet love story in a beautiful fantasy setting, I highly recommend Song of the Crimson Flower. Although it was the first book I read by Julie C. Dao, it certainly won’t be the last. I will probably go read the other books in the series and read other books she writes in the future. The book hasn’t been released yet, but will be available on November 5th.

Ninth House

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Ninth House cover

So many amazing books have come out this month and Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House is one of them! This is a book that can be read any time of year, but if you’re looking for something a little creepy in October, you might want to check out this one.

You may have heard stories about creepy secret fraternities over at Yale like Skull & Bones before. George Bush was a member and… was he involved in the occult? Ninth House takes the idea of creepy Yale fraternities and makes an awesome tale about it. It has ghosts, murder, and creepy fraternity magic.

Alex Stern sees ghosts. You might think that’s kinda cool, especially at this time of year, but for her, it nearly ruined her life. Before she learned to keep her mouth shut, people thought she was crazy. But it did land her at Yale, so there’s that. The Lethe House, or Ninth House that oversees all the other creepy fraternities, could really use her skills.

Still, Yale isn’t a picnic. Alex needs to keep up with her classes, along with her fraternity activities. It can be pretty stressful. When a girl is murdered, Alex decides to investigate–then discovers that there’s a lot of bad things going on at the campus.

There’s a lot of things to like about this book. Creepy fraternities? Yes! Bad guys getting what they deserve? Also there… well, kind of. This is Yale we’re talking about, and people with lots of money sometimes use that money to keep things quiet. There’s quite a few bad people in this book, and some of them do get what they deserve.

I love the character of Alex Stern. She’s had such a hard life, but she keeps on going. Ninth House doesn’t give you all the answers right away; you’ll want to keep on reading to find out what actually happened in her past. There are still a few unanswered questions by the end of the book. It looks like this book is a duology, so we’ll have the opportunity to find out what happens… in the next book.

The creepy Yale fraternity setting is great. There’s a map in the front, which I found useful, but the book does a great job bringing you into this world. I’ve never been to Yale, so it was a lot of fun being immersed into the life of another college.

This book does have some trigger warnings you should be aware of. There is sexual assault. Drugs. Murder. I didn’t think there was anything gratuitous, but your reading mileage may vary.

Overall, I really liked Leigh Bardugo’s adult debut, Ninth House. I do plan on reading the next book sometime after it comes out. If you’re looking for a creepy book for October, you might want to check this one out.