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Wicked Fox was — Wicked!

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment
Wicked Fox cover

I first heard about Wicked Fox by Kat Cho this spring. From the title, I thought “meh” but then I saw that cover. Then I knew I had to read that book. I was fortunate enough to get an Advanced Reader Copy through Bookish First — I’ve had a lot of good luck with them recently and have started to love them. The book was amazing! I’ll be sharing this book with my daughter.

Jihoon is a teenage slacker in the equivalent of his junior year of high school (I’m just going to dispense with last names and name suffixes for purposes of this review, even though they’re in the book). Miyoung is also a teenager, but she has a secret: she’s half gumiho, which is like a Japanese kitsune or a Ninetails in Pokémon. This story takes place in modern-day Seoul, Korea, so the mythology is a little different.

We discover early on that Miyoung is not your average gumiho: these creatures are immortal, but they have to feed off of the gi, or energy, of unsuspecting humans once a month in order to live. Miyoung always tries to find the dregs of society to feed off of; she doesn’t want to harm the innocent. When Jihoon discovers her secret, she doesn’t destroy him; she asks him to keep her dangerous secret. When she shows up at his school, things could get a little bit awkward. Jihoon tries to strike up a friendship with her, but she tries to push him away.

Like any good story, that isn’t the end. Miyoung’s life is in danger, and Jihoon might become collateral damage. Dun dun dun! You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens.

What I Liked

I liked a lot of things about this book. One of the things I love about it is the setting. I’ve read several books in the last year that take place in a fantastic place inspired by medieval Japan or China, but nothing that took place in Korea. The book immersed me in this world: the food, the clothes, the way people address each other. I’m a student of history and a little bit of archaeology, so I appreciated some of the details that matched up with some of the history books and archaological magazines that addressed this culture.

The characters were great too. Jihoon didn’t live in this bubble where he finally popped into life when he met Miyoung. He has friends and family members, and not all of it is good. Miyoung also has a family history, and you can’t help but dislike her mother. Towards the end of the book, you discover that not everything is as it seems.

The book also has a great theme of abandonment by family members, and how it can affect you. Both Jihoon and Miyoung have complicated histories with their families, and it affects how they relate to the people around them. I thought it was well done.

What I Liked Less

I loved almost everything about Wicked Fox, but if I’m going to get nitpicky, there’s a part towards the end of the book where Jihoon has health problems and he has to pay the rent from his own labor and go to school… it seems a little unrealistic. But this is really nitpicky; I loved the writing style and I just saw this as a minor plot hole.

Conclusion

Should you read Wicked Fox? Absolutely! This book is great if you like contemporary fantasies, enjoy books set in Asia, and like books that are light in the romance department. There really aren’t any scenes that are objectionable for younger YA readers.

The book winds up nicely, but there is room for another book in the series. A second book is planned, and I already added it to my TBR.

Wicked Fox will be released on June 25th, but you can pre-order it now.

Alex, Approximately

By Brookelorren on 8 Comments
Alex, Approximately cover

Alex, Approximately is a sweet, enemies-to-lovers story where the characters unknowingly already care for each other.

At the beginning of the summer, Bailey moves across the country to a small town in Northern California. Her online friend Alex lives here, but because of a tragic event that happened in her past, she’s afraid of telling him that she moved into town. Instead, she tries to find him first; if he seems like a cool guy in real life, she’ll reveal herself to him.

After starting a summer job that her dad makes her get, she begins to be tormented by Porter, one of the security guards there. He’s probably tormenting her because he’s attracted to her. At the same time, Bailey finds that she can’t act normal around him because she’s attracted to him as well. Over the summer, she finds herself drawing closer to Porter and drifting away from her online friend Alex. Although if you read the synopsis, you know that Alex and Porter are the same person. Eventually, they find out the truth.

What I Loved

I loved Alex, Approximately and devoured it in two days. When I couldn’t read the book, I kept thinking about the characters. Both Bailey and Porter had previous hurt in their lives (which we do find out about) and it affects their relationship in a realistic way. They’re three-dimensional characters who have a variety of interests, friends, and family relationships. Bailey (oh my) acts like a teenager sometimes, getting upset and doing stupid things. I love how she develops as a person.

The setting was great as well. I’ve been to Northern California a few times before, and I could just picture this little town near the redwoods and the ocean. The museum where they worked at was another setting that stood out in my mind.

What Could Have Been Better

Bailey doesn’t hear from her mom the whole summer. She lives with her dad, but wouldn’t a teenager at least want to hear from her mom every once in a while? Other than this, there wasn’t really anything I could think of.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a cute contemporary romance to read this summer, Alex, Approximately would be a good choice. It has beaches, summer jobs, great characters, and a sunny (well, sometimes foggy, this is Northern California) setting. I’m glad that I read it and definitely recommend it to others.

Spin The Dawn

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
Spin the Dawn cover

I recently finished reading Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim (thank you Netgalley, for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy) and I loved it! Just look at that gorgeous cover! And there’s magic! After reading this book, I definitely plan on reading the second book in this series.

I have to admit though, for a while I wondered “why did I request to read a book about sewing?” Because as much as I love the cover and the whole magic thing is great, there was a part of me that started thinking what can be interesting about sewing? As it turns out, there’s way more to this story than a girl making clothes.

Maia has always wanted to be a tailor. I love her. She has three brothers, but loses two of them in the war. Her father isn’t the same as he used to be, debilitated by a broken heart. And when her other brother comes back from the war, he has a bad leg. And he’s never been able to sew. So when the emperor sends envoys planning to take a family member to become the emperor’s tailor, Maia decides she needs to impersonate her brother and go in his place. She can’t go herself because girls can’t be tailors. It’s either that, or she’ll have to marry the baker’s son. Eew.

When she gets there, things aren’t as easy as they seem. She has to compete for this position. And the other tailors play dirty. But even after the competition, that’s not the end of the story. There’s way more to it. So much more, that there’s another book (which I definitely plan to read). But I can’t say much more because spoilers.

Not only are there evil villains, magic, and political intrigue in this story, there is also a love interest. I really like them together. But I can’t say any more about that either.

Can I think of anything I didn’t like? Not really. It’s a beautiful book and I highly recommend it for people that enjoy fantasy.  The book isn’t out until July 9th, but you can pre-order it now.

The Land of Yesterday

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
Land of Yesterday cover

I recently read The Land of Yesterday by K.A. Reynolds. Isn’t that a gorgeous cover? It’s an adorable middle grade book that deals with the feelings one experiences when dealing with loss.

When Cecelia’s brother Celadon dies, she’s left feeling guilty. In order to get her brother back, she attempts to travel back to the Land of Yesterday — a place full of magic and dangers. To top it all off, her mother has also left for the Land of Yesterday, plus the house has gone crazy and is imprisoning her father. Will Cecelia be able to fix everything? Or will she also end up trapped in Yesterday?

On the surface, this book seems like a scary adventure full of magic, but there is a deeper meaning to this book. There are several beautiful quotes in here, such as this quote about recovering from grief:

When we’re ready, we can finally move beyond Yesterday and return to living in Today

p. 235

Or how death is permanent:

If someone died in Today, they couldn’t return to the land of the living.

p. 244

The book is full of clever names, like the town they live in: Hungrig (it means hungry in German). The book seems to capture the world through a kid’s eyes and seems to have humor that a kid would enjoy. For example, some characters that haven’t experienced loss speak gibberish in the land of Today.

Although this book isn’t on my list of favorites, I thought it was cute and had a lot of beautiful quotes. My boy (who is 12) also read it. He didn’t gush over it like he does with Lauren Magaziner’s books, but he didn’t have anything negative to say about it. I think some of the clever names went over his head.

I would recommend this story especially to kids that are dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
Ghosts of the Shado Market cover

Cassandra Clare’s Ghosts of the Shadow Market came out on Tuesday, and I was so excited to read it! While I know a lot of the novellas came out earlier, I didn’t buy them and decided to wait until this week to read them. I loved this book, and am now excited to try to find time to reread some of these books!

This book assumes you are familiar with The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Dark Artifices. My review may contain spoilers for these books.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market contains ten short stories (some of which are novella length). Jem/Brother Zechariah is a constant presence in these. They should probably be read in order (at least for the first read-through). There is a common thread running through these stories: Jem is looking for the Lost Heir. The stories take place between 1901 (with the children of The Infernal Devices characters) and 2013 (which occurs after The Dark Artifices).

What I Loved

The Characters. Because this book takes place over a long period of time, there are a ton of characters in this book. Some you’ll be familiar with, but there are others that will appear in The Last Hours trilogy. I never realized that Lily (the head of the New York vampires) was so smitten with James Carstairs! It was fun to see little Jace and the little Lightwoods years before The Mortal Instruments, along with the other characters.

The Worldbuilding. This is one of the things that I love about Cassandra Clare’s books. The world and lore is so intertwined and full.

The Historical Background. I’m a student of history, so I’m familiar with The Great Depression, World War II, etc. The book was well-researched, and I even learned something. When London was bombed, the shops tried to stay open. Some of them that had been bombed were still open, hanging out signs saying they were “more open than usual.” I thought that was funny (I checked, and they actually did have these signs out).

The Humor. I laughed out loud in several places in this book. “Isabelle is the love of my life, but her seven-layer dip is like the nine circles of Hell,” Lily’s constant nicknames for Jem, and several other places in the book were quite funny.

The Story. In Ghosts of the Shadow Market, you get to find out things that happened after Queen of Air and Darkness, and how Alec and Magnus ended up adopting Rafael. While it won’t be necessary to read this book to enjoy The Last Hours or The Wicked Powers, this book enriches the Shadowhunter universe.

What Could Be Better

Because The Last Hours won’t be released until next March, it took me a while to figure out who was whose kid (and don’t quiz me even now, I’m still a little fuzzy on these). I still enjoyed the stories that took place in 1901, but I think I will like them better once I’m more familiar with these characters and who is who.

One of the stories takes place in 1989 and one of the characters refers to Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. The song came out in 1983 and was mostly popular in that year and 1984. I really couldn’t imagine someone referring to the song in 1989 unless they were hopelessly behind the times. Which perhaps the character is.

Conclusion

If you enjoyed The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Dark Artifices, I recommend this book. If you haven’t read all twelve of those books yet, I recommend you read those first. Ghosts of the Shadow Market adds to the Shadowhunter world and advances the story. It’s made me more excited for Chain of Gold, which is coming out next March!

The Evil Queen

By Brookelorren on 4 Comments

We all know the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Disney cartoon came out over 80 years ago and, to be honest, the story feels dated. The Evil Queen is a Snow White retelling that gives the story an interesting twist.

Everly is a girl who grew up in a typical high school in America. Only she’s not normal. Everybody seems to hate her for some unnatural reason. She doesn’t know why. She’s only had one boyfriend (over the summer) but he broke up with her before school started again because he was embarrassed for people to think they were together. She’s very cynical towards life.

Her mother always told her fairy tales, like most mothers do, but she doesn’t think anything of it until she starts seeing a girl other than herself in her mirror. The girl is kind to animals, helps the villagers… the calls the girl Angel.

One day, Everly’s world is turned upside down when she realizes that the girl in the mirror is an actual girl living in a land called Enchantia, she is a sorcerian, and she has to leave her current world for the fairy tale one. She falls for a boy who hates sorcerians (although he doesn’t know she is one). Events outside of her control force her to do things that make her think that she’s the Evil Queen in the Snow White story. While everybody seems to be against her, her sister seems to be in trouble and she’s helpless to save her.

Things aren’t exactly as they seem, but you’ll have to read the story to find out what happens.

What I Liked

This story is unlike other fantasy books I’ve read. In most fantasy books, the characters talk differently. Everly, who came straight from your local high school, talks like a teenager. Sometimes the locals in Enchantia don’t really understand her, since she’s using contemporary slang.

The Enchantian characters in this book also don’t seem like your typical Disney characters straight from the 1930s. Prince Charming and Everly exchange sexual innuendos, and two of the female characters are romantically involved. It’s nice how the story breathes a spark of new life into an old classic story.

This story also conveyed the message that we are who we choose to be, not who we are fated to be. I can’t say much more without giving away the plot, but not all the characters seem to fit into their given roles.

What I Didn’t Like

I didn’t care for the prologue, but I don’t like most prologues. Everly had her problems at time, but that’s typical of teenagers.

Overall

Overall, I thought The Evil Queen was an interesting take on the Snow White fairy tale. If you’re looking for a story about a damsel in the forest washing clothes for some elderly dwarfs, this isn’t it. What it is is a story about a girl from today, who gets thrust into a fairy tale world, thinking she’s expected to be one character, but discovering that she can make her own choices and isn’t necessarily stuck to one particular role. I enjoyed it, and will probably read the second book in the series when it comes out.

Soul of the Sword

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
Soul of the Sword

I was recently given the opportunity to read Soul of the Sword, the second book in Julie Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox trilogy (thank you, Netgalley). I loved this book, just like I did the first book in the series, and I’m looking forward to reading the conclusion when it comes out.

Since this is the second book in a trilogy, there are spoilers for Shadow of the Fox in this review. I wrote a review for the first book if you’re interested.

Kage Tatsumi is now possessed by the demon Haikamono, who is still trying to find the scroll for his own reasons. He now knows that Yumeko is half-kitsune, but for now, they part ways. Both of them are still trying to get to the Steel Feather Temple.

Soul of the Sword still has the great Japanese-inspired setting and rich mythology that Shadow of the Fox had, but the characters and the world develop more fully in this sequel. We learn more about the corruption that has seeped into the universe, as well as more of the history.

Yumeko develops into a stronger character in this book. Although she keeps her sweet spirit, she continues to develop as a person, taking her destiny into her own hands and fighting for her friends. She needs this strength of character (as well as the kitsune magic she is getting better at wielding) when she faces enemies towards the end of the book.

Suki, one of the minor characters in the first book, takes a more important role in Soul of the Sword. I was wondering why she was in the first book; in the second book, her role becomes clearer. I still think that she will have a part to play in the final book of this trilogy.

Yumeko and Tatsumi continue to develop feelings for each other in this book, but will they ever have a happy end together? At the end of this book, I don’t even know if they’ll end up together. There is another couple in this book, but I won’t give it away here. I did see it coming long before they actually became something of an item.

The book doesn’t exactly end in a cliffhanger, but Yumeko and Tatsumi’s job is not done. There is a twist at the end that I didn’t expect. I definitely want to read the next book to find out how this story concludes.

Shadow of the Fox

By Brookelorren on 3 Comments
Shadow of the Fox cover

There are some authors that I consistently see, week after week, and always think “I have to read something by that author” whenever I see their name mentioned. Julie Kagawa was one of those authors. So when Netgalley offered the Soul of the Sword ARC, I had to apply for it. Then I realized it was the second book in the Shadow of the Fox trilogy. Luckily for me, I just happened to have seen the book on sale earlier this month and I picked it up (sadly, it’s not on sale as I write this). I loved this book and am enjoying the second book in the series at the moment.

Yumeko is half-kitsune (kitsune are magical fox-creatures in Japanese folklore). She grew up in a temple, and is quite naïve to how the world works. Still, she has a pure heart. Suddenly, her life is thrust into chaos, when the temple is attacked and she is tasked with guarding a scroll. Should she fail, the world could descend into darkness. At the same time, she runs into Kage Tatsumi, a boy who has been tasked with finding the scroll. They end up traveling together to try to find the Steel Feather Temple. If Tatsumi finds out that Yumeko is kitsune or has the scroll, it could be curtains for her.

What I Loved

This was a really cute adventure story. Yumeko is such a sweet, innocent character who always seems to see the best in people. As she travels with Tatsumi, they are attacked by someone who wants to stop them from getting the scroll. Still, her kind, optimistic nature attracts other characters that join her, vowing to protect her (despite the fact that Tatsumi would rather be traveling by himself in the first place). Tatsumi and Yumeko start to develop feelings for each other in this book, but don’t expect any kisses any time soon.

The setting to Shadow of the Fox is gorgeous. It is full of Japanese mythological creatures, and I kept highlighting words for me to add to my book journal later on. The world itself has a vibrant history of its own. Since I’m reading the second book at the moment, I’m seeing more of the world, and I absolutely adore it.

There are also complex villains and relationships in this book. In the very beginning, we are introduced to Suki, a young maid who is killed by her mistress. How does this all fit in? You actually don’t really begin to see much of how she fits into the whole story in this book, but there is more in Soul of the Sword. Who is attacking Yumeko and Tatsumi? I’m just beginning to see the bigger picture in the second book, but there’s a lot here.

Conclusion

Should you read Shadow of the Fox? Yes, if you enjoy Japanese inspired fantasy and fun, sweet characters. I’m definitely a fan of the series, plan to read the third book at some point after it becomes available, and am likely to read more Julie Kagawa books in the future.

Sky in the Deep

By Brookelorren on 4 Comments
Sky in the Deep cover

Sky in the Deep is a book about a young Viking warrior by Adrienne Young. It was an interesting read that kept me wanting to find out what happened next.

Eelyn is a warrior for her tribe. It’s just her and her father now; her brother died five years ago, and her mother died long before that. After getting captured during a battle, her life is upended. Unfortunately, it would give away major spoilers to say what distracted her and caused her to get captured.

Eelyn is forced to live with her enemies and serve them as a slave. Her only goal in life is to escape and run back to her father and her own tribe, but with winter approaching, that’s not possible. The tribe she’s forced to serve has been her tribe’s enemy for as long as can be remembered, and they serve a different god.

Over the course of the story, she begins to realize that her enemy tribe is not much different than the people she grew up with. And she falls in love. Eventually, an even bigger threat than her enemy tribe shows up and… her tribe has to work with her enemy tribe to neutralize the threat.

I enjoyed this story. While Sky in the Deep started off a little slow for me, it picked up fairly quickly. The characters, her relationship with the family she has to live with, and the plot where her tribe of birth is forced to join with the enemy tribe to vanquish the outside threat was all enjoyable. The book is light in the romance department, but the love story seemed realistic.

If you’re looking for a Viking story with some violence, an enemies to lovers romance, and a story with family (both found and what you’re born with) you might enjoy Sky in the Deep.

The Thirteenth Guardian

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment

I had the opportunity to read an ARC of The Thirteenth Guardian by K. M. Lewis (thank you Netgalley). My feelings on this book are nearly the opposite of what I felt about Children of Blood and Bone. While Children of Blood and Bone had fantastic writing, but just wasn’t the book for me, The Thirteenth Guardian had a story that clicked with me, but the writing itself didn’t match my love for the story.

What I Liked

I loved the story. The world is in chaos. Six individuals have to make their way to Innsbruck, Austria, because they have genetic traits that for some reason make them valuable. We don’t know why these people are special, or what the big secret is, until the very end. The book synopsis doesn’t really tell you that this is a disaster book, but this book is like Revelation on steroids.

The mysterious events are pretty cool, and seem to mirror the Biblical Exodus. The book heavily draws from the Bible and even some Medieval art. I loved this aspect of the story. As someone who lived in Italy for several years, I loved how some of these scenes took place in Rome and The Vatican, which I’ve visited a few times.

What Was Lackluster

Although I enjoyed this book so much that I sped through it in two days, I had to downgrade this book an entire star because I had problems with the writing.

Dialogue

The dialogue felt a little wooden and most of the characters didn’t use any contractions in their speech. I realize that some characters (like Data on Star Trek) talk without contractions as a part of who they are, but this is prevalent throughout the story. Here is one example I highlighted where the dialogue just wasn’t good:

"Oh, no.  That is horrible news, Leo."
"Yes it is."

Do people really speak like this?

Head Hopping

This may be a stylistic issue on my part, but I prefer when we can’t see into every character’s mind. One instance of this that stuck in my mind was where the book hopped into a minor character’s head for one paragraph so we readers could see that she was attracted to the other character, and then went back to a main character. Was that necessary? Maybe the author could have shown her flirting, or left that out entirely. At the time, I thought maybe that paragraph foreshadowed a relationship between the two… but no… that character was killed off shortly afterwards.

The Ending

Most of the end of this book was fine. We find out what the secret is, the characters are ready to start the next chapter of their lives, and then… they start talking about going on this quest that would literally require a Deus ex machina to complete. Without giving away too much, the world has gone through Revelation on steroids, technology of any kind is pretty much kaputt, and they start talking about finding a large object at the bottom of the ocean thousands of miles away. The book is supposed to be part of a trilogy, so I guess they do go after it? I don’t know how they’ll manage it.

Conclusion

I enjoyed The Thirteenth Guardian. If I see the sequel on Netgalley at some point, I would read it, despite my critique about the writing. This is his debut, and it is an indie book, so I do believe that there’s a good chance that his writing will improve. Even if the criticisms remain in place for the sequel, it was a good story and I wouldn’t mind seeing how the characters would pull off this impossible task.