“Everyone is a puzzle, Tea, made of interlocking tiles you must piece together to form a picture of their souls. But to successfully build them, you must have an idea of their strengths as well as their weaknesses. We all have them, even me.” 

“The Bone Witch” by Rin Chupeco is a dark fantasy novel mixed with various asian cultures that gives it a different feel from popular Euro-centric novels. It felt unique and new. However, an attempt to be out of the norm made the novel lose its mystery and tensions. 

Tea Pahlavi was 12 years old when she accidentally brought her older brother, Fox, back to life and learnt that she was a bone witch. Then, a veteran bone witch finds Tea and takes her away (and Fox) to be trained in the way of the asha — women who are proficient in magic. 

Once she arrives to the Willows, Tea begins several years of training in the way of the asha — in magic, song, dance, craft and battle — as she unravels the mysterious of what it means to be an bone witch and the new world she lives in.

“The Bone Witch” promises magic and a new world, but instead it gave occasional magic and an inside to look to the geisha-like asha. The way of the asha was beautiful, and Chupeco stayed true to what many maikos (apprentice geisha) go through — their lessons, their life, their requirements — but it focused too long on it, making the pacing of the novel suffer.

“Then perhaps we should carve a world one day where the strength lies in who you are, rather than in what they expect you to be.”

The story telling of the novel was new and unsuccessful. There was a future and a present storyline. At the start of each chapter we got a glimpse into the future — an older Tea. In this future she is exiled and telling her story to a young man as she brings to life the demon-like deava she was originally trained to destroy in her younger years. 

This glimpse into the future took away from any mystery, shock, and excitement the novel could have produced. This dual storytelling is tricky and it either can ruin the reader’s adventure or enhance it. In this case it was the former. 

Th diverse cast of characters were able to keep the story afloat after each chapter was essentially ruined by the future section at the start. There were characters of various ages, backgrounds and sexuality with different goals, motivation and interests that motivated them throughout the novel. Such as, Likhn — a young boy who wants to become a dancer asha more than anything in the world but cannot due to old traditions and Fox — a devoted and protective brother who is grateful at this new chance at life, but holds secrets and mysterious intentions. 

The novel occasionally was thrilling and as a whole it was a bit underwhelming, but it still showed promise. There are still questions to be answered and we still don’t know how and why Tea was exiled from the asha life. 

I look forward to see how Chupeco will continue the dual storyline and how she plans to end to bring them together.

“The first are performing asha, known for their dancing and their singing, though their magic may be weaker than others. The second are fighting asha, known for their magic and their prowess, though they may not be the most gracious of hosts. The third are Dark asha like us, the strongest of them all.” 

My Rating 3/5
GoodReads

“It wasn’t a romance; it was too perfect for that. With texts there were only the words and none of the awkwardness. They could get to know each other completely and get comfortable before they had to do anything unnecessarily overwhelming like look at each other’s eyeballs with their eyeballs.”

Personal Rating: 5/5

GoodReads Average Rating: 3.96/5

Mary H.K Choi’s Twitter

The minute the words— student, magic and school — compile into a sentence the mind immediately pictures a magnificent stone castle in the middle of nowhere in England and a boy with a lightning scar. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is considered a modern classic, and anything remotely similar may be accused of having a sameness. However, the concept of a school where magic is its main curriculum and a boy with a destiny is not new. Novels such as “A Wizard of Earths” by Ursula K. Le Guin (1968) and “The Worst Witch,” by Jill Murphy (1974) both follow a similar concept — the boy who lived is not an original idea per se, but the way the story was told was what made it memorable.

“The Crowns of Croswald” by D.E. Night follows the same suit.

When Ivy Lovely is forced to leave the house she grew up in, she finds herself enrolled in the Halls of Ivy, a school where students learn to master their magical blood and power the Croswald’s gems. There, Ivy starts unpacking a mystery around the school - paintings awaken, forgotten things are remembered and a dark magic brews. Through her studies and her adventures Ivy learns secrets about her past and the world she lives in.

The world of “Croswald” is rich with magic, mystery and adventure, both new and familiar. Ivy is a 16-year-old girl who thought she was nothing more than a scaldrony maid. When Ivy is exiled from her home in Surry for saving a little scaldrony dragon she is immediately pulls herself together and tries to move on— only to be swooped up by a magical cabby that takes her to a magical school. There, she begins her studies as a Scrivenist.

Lovers of YA and fantasy will swoon over Night’s magical creation. I know I did. She builds a complex fantasy world where pixie-like creatures are used as a light source, a magician’s ultimate goal is to be knowledgeable and ghosts are the executive chefs to every meal. Following common motifs and lore that come with magic school shenanigans — Ivy’s adventure is still unique and she stays true to her beliefs (which is always nice — not being swayed by the random “love interest”). 

Honestly, you will be won over by the intricate magic system and world revealed throughout the story. Unfortunately, this brilliance in the world building may sometimes be lost when common young adults tropes force themselves through the plot (*cough* random forced romance *cough*). There is also a strange blend of middle-grade and young adult in Ivy’s personality, in moments you feel that she is 12 or 13 in other she feels 16 years old.

While this blend may be strange it does not take away from Ivy’s story arc and wonderful character development. She, like any new-to-school-in-YA girl, struggles making friends and staying out of trouble. Ivy also teaches the audience that only persistence will get you what you want — even if it means getting your roommate locked in The Forgotten Room for several hours, which is a really nice message.

Overall, “The Crowns of Croswald” was a solid start to the Croswald series and I look forward to reading the sequel.

Rating: 4/5

GoodReads

Author Website

Debut author-illustrator Ethan M. Aldridge will captivate readers with this full-color fantasy graphic novel that has all the makings of a classic, about a changeling and a human child who were switched at birth and must now work together to save both their worlds. Perfect for fans of Amulet.

Edmund and the Childe were swapped at birth. Now Edmund lives in secret as a changeling in the World Above, with fae powers that make him different from everyone else—even his unwitting parents and older sister, Alexis. The Childe lives among the fae in the World Below, where being human makes him an oddity at the royal palace, and where his only friend is a wax golem named Whick.

But when the cruel sorceress Hawthorne takes the throne, the Childe and Edmund realize that the fate of both worlds may be in their hands—even if they’re not sure which world they belong to.

I feel that I might be a bit biased considering I am a big fan of Ethan's art work. I actually own a few prints by him and hope to continue to grow my collection. This being said, I have had his book on pre-order since the day it was available and I was super excited when the ARC arrived on my door step.

The ARC is in black and white, which doesn’t let me see the novel in its full and magical glory - even though I've seen it on tumblr and his Patreon. 

What's nice about this middle grade graphic novel is that it teaches the importance of families. The ones we are raised in and the ones we chose. Through the story, Edmund and the Childe bring up what it means to be part of a family, and who really belongs to the human family. The Childe, who never really had that experience or relationship, learns that it means more than being born to someone - and honestly it is beautiful. 

The most majestic and unique part of this novel is that it’s 95% done with traditional water color illustrations. In a world where everything is digitized and on photoshop this little book is odd but perfect. Aldridge's art reminds me a lot of E. H. Shepard's Winnie the Pooh art style with the thick ink strokes and beautiful colors. 

It's truly modernized nostalgia filled with magic. 

I really don't want to spoil too much of the story, because it's wonderful and I want the whole world to read it. What you really need to know is that it is a fantasy story filled with changelings, golems, witches, sibling love, trolls, evil aunts, rats, fights and a DRAGON.

I look forward to reading it again in its full color glory. I also look forward to the second book - since there are so many loose ends that need solving!

Pre-Order Now!

Book Release: August 7th, 2018

My Rating: 5/5

This book was provided to me in exchange of an honest review

In 2157, the Adryil—an advanced race of telepathic humanoids—contacted Earth. A century later, 15-year-old violist Iris Lei considers herself lucky to attend Papilio, a prestigious performing arts school powered by their technology. Born penniless, Iris’s one shot at a better life is to attract an Adryil patron. But only the best get hired, and competition is fierce.

A sudden encounter with an Adryil boy upends her world. Iris longs to learn about him and his faraway realm, but after the authorities arrest him for trespassing, the only evidence she has of his existence is the mysterious alien device he slipped to her.

When she starts hearing his voice in her head, she wonders if her world of backstabbing artists and pressure for perfection is driving her insane. Then, she discovers that her visions of him are real—by way of telepathy—and soon finds herself lost in the kind of impossible love she depicts in her music.

But even as their bond deepens, Iris realizes that he’s hiding something from her—and it’s dangerous. Her quest for answers leads her past her sheltered world to a strange planet lightyears away, where she uncovers secrets about Earth’s alien allies that shatter everything she knows

In Mary Fan’s Starswept we follow the story of 15-year-old Iris Lei, a young viola player in a prestigious arts school, who is trying to make it in order to finally meet her mom. However, this is no ordinary art school. In Papilio, artist compete to become the best in their art in order to get sponsored by an Adryil, an alien race from Adryil. Late one night, while wandering the hallways of Papilio, she meets an Adryil boy named Dámiul and soon learns that not everything is what it seems.

It only took two pages for me to be completely immersed in the world of Starswept, mostly because I was excited that Iris was a viola player. As a former viola player, it caught me off guard that an instrument that is usually cast aside or ignored, is in the key entrustment of the protagonists. It brought me warmth and glee. Even though that tiny detail was what made me want to read more, Fan’s world building and fast paced story telling resulted in me reading all 400 pages in one day. I could not put it down.

As a description heavy lover, I was throughly pleased. Fan immediately immersed me in her world with all the small details of the new alien species, language, history and what it means to be an artist (especially a musician). 

She is a solid writer.

“Imagine all the stars in the galaxy in one pair of eyes, all the sureness of home in one pair of arms, all the heroics of a thousand epic tales in one noble heart.

This is my love.”

However, Starswept does follow the traditional tropes of YA: girl meets mysterious guy - her life changes - another boy also secretly loves her - and she gets with mysterious guy who hides secrets. Despite this, Fan was able to keep me so immersed, invested, and intrigued with what was going to happen next that I was not bothered with these tropes (it was once I started this review, that I realized how tropey it was).

While the relationship between Iris and Dámiul is considered the main focus of the story, it sometimes takes a back seat as the story dives into a darker and more serious tone as Iris learns more about what the Adryil are really doing with the artists of Earth. Their relationship was kinda insta-love which usually bothers me to the end of the earth but Fan wrote their developing relationship so beautifully, that I forgave it…for now. More than the love, its a story about how we perceive ourselves and our worth, while fighting for our beliefs.

I do not want to go too much into this book and any spoilers because I really think people should read it and experience it. It is diverse, has decent character development, beautiful prose, and a handsome male protagonist who is not cocky or broody (he is a sweetheart who wants to make the world a better place).

Space, aliens, music, interesting twists, love and fantastic story telling - what else can you ask for?

My Rating: 4/5

Check out my review for book one Spindle Fire

Winter Glass is the sequel to Spindle Fire, a retelling of the classic fairy tale: Sleeping Beauty. Book two picks off right where book one ended.

Aurora, Isbe and Prince William are back in Deluce preparing for the looming war with Malfuer, the evil faerie queen. Along with William and Aurora's wedding in order protect their kingdoms and gain a bigger military force. However things don't go as planned -- like it should honestly. 

While Spindle Fire was character driven, Winter Glass was plot driven. The war was the main focus of the plot and most of the characters decisions were based on the war. 

I feel that Hillyer really grew as a writer -- I felt that her structure flowed more and she was able to build her characters to be more dimensional. Characters like Aurora who felt really hallow in book one were more fleshed out. I guess I have to credit that to character development too, but Hillyer finally made me feel for her! Which was very nice. 

Just like in book one, Winter Glass is told through various point views, but Aurora and Isbe are the main narrators. Once again Hillyer was to bring a beautiful almost visual narrative to Isbe (who is blind) without using descriptions that depend on sight. I am was very impressed, especially when Isbe was at the Ice King's kingdom, I could picture everything so clearly by just the sounds, feelings and movement. 

However, the "plot twists" were predictable and I was a bit upset when I guessed them correctly. Nothing really made me go GASP, which is fine I suppose but I enjoy when authors can foreshadow and I miss it. One of my biggest complaints about book one was the forced relationship Aurora had with Heath. In book two Aurora again had a forced relationship that came out of nowhere and I couldn't really understand where it bloomed from...it was a bit annoying. 

I feel that Hillyer did a good job with Winter Glass. I definitely enjoyed it a lot more than Spindle Fire. If you enjoy classic fairy tale re-telling I think you'd enjoy this little duology! It has romance, magic, friendship, adventure, self discovery and most importantly self-love.

Pre-Order Now!
Out on April 10th, 2018

My rating: 4/5