I spent months trying to read this book and it’s time to move on. I’ve been sitting on it since February and as much as I’d like to finish it, I can’t stand to read another 250 pages. I’m still rating it because I made it past 50%. There is honestly a lot to like about this book, it’s smartly written and includes a lot of interesting social commentary about language and colonialism.
The reason I’m moving on? It’s incredibly dull. No shade if you loved it – but even after 300 pages I found it slow moving and it didn’t capture my attention. While the ideas presented are great, they are repetitive. It’s a brilliant concept, but I wanted to see Kuang push the boundaries with it instead of just beating us over the head about the injustice of England growing rich and strong by stealing from other countries. It’s accurate, but not that insightful beyond its initial premise.
I liked her newest book, Yellowface, but it suffers from some of the same shortfalls in that it says the same thing in many different ways. The difference is that Yellowface is short and doesn’t take itself too seriously, making for a fast and engaging read. I do admire Kuang for what she does in this book, but the plot could definitely be tightened up to make this a shorter and easier read. It doesn’t turn me off her writing though. I would definitely recommend Yellowface and I also liked her debut, The Poppy War.
On a side note, I hated the footnotes. First of all, the little asterisk in the text was so small I literally always missed it, but it didn’t matter because the footnotes were boring as hell anyways.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Author: Elizabeth Lim Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult Pub. Date: July 2021
After I read and loved The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, I found Six Crimson Cranes suggested as a similar read and quickly purchased a copy of the beautiful UK edition. Six Crimson Cranes is about 17 year old Princess Shiori and her 6 brothers, who are cursed by their step mother. Her brothers are turned into cranes and Shiori is forced into silence, her identity hidden by a bowl covering her face. She is abandoned far from the castle where she grew up and forced to try and break the curse and save the kingdom.
I did enjoy this. It wasn’t my favourite, but it wasn’t hard to read and was a compelling story. There are lots of really likable characters, it has a creative and intriguing world, and Shiori has a lot of characterization. There’s a lot going on and it made for a compelling start to the novel. Between the dragon and the curse, there’s a lot of action to take in. Although I did think the book struggles with some pacing issues. It starts off quick and it has an explosive ending, but it gets a bit lost in the middle of the book and I found the story dragged once Shiori is cursed. She spends a lot of time at Castle Bushian, and while this is a very important part of the story for character development and relationship building, I really think it could have been trimmed down. At 450 pages, I think this book could easily have been 50-75 pages shorter.
That said, it has a very smart plot, but maybe a little bit too smart. In some ways it’s predictable (I had no trouble guessing who was behind the shenanigans at Bushian Castle), but in other ways it’s convoluted. There’s a lot going on in the kingdom, but limited information is revealed to the reader before the end of the book, which I found confusing and overwhelming after such a slow middle. I will be returning for book 2 once the paperback releases, but I kind of wish this had been a standalone instead. That said, there is definitely some unfinished business, so I’m excited to see where things go in the next book!
I’ve been a fan of Heather Fawcett for years (BC based author!) and I’m so glad to see so much buzz about Emily Wilde this year! If you liked this one, definitely go check out her YA series, Even the Darkest Stars, which I also love. Besides that she has a few middle grade books that are still a lot of fun. I’ve seen Emily described as “cozy fantasy” and I would describe all her books that way.
Because her last few books have all been middle grade, I assumed Emily Wilde was also middle grade. I was delighted to learn that it’s actually her first adult fantasy! It reads a bit more like YA, but there’s definitely some violence in here. It’s very infrequent and not gratuitous, but who knew such handsome faeries could be so casually violent when they get angry.
Anyways, let’s get into it – Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is set in the fictional country of Ljosland (although Google informed me this is also a small village in Norway). It’s appropriate because Ljosland is a cold, northern country that made me think of Finland or Iceland (or Norway). Emily is a young professor who has been working for many years writing an encyclopaedia of faeries and this is her last field trip to research “the hidden ones”.
Initially she finds it hard to fit in in cold Ljosland and is not sure why the villagers have rejected her. Things get even more challenging when her enigmatic colleague Wendell Bambleby arrives at her cottage and she fears he has come to piggyback off her research and success. However, the two soon discover that there is something nefarious going on between the hidden ones and the villagers and Emily must apply all her research of faeries to help protect the villagers.
This is quite different from most other fantasy novels I’ve read and even though I found it a bit slow moving, I really enjoyed it. I’ve always said that Heather Fawcett is great at creating setting and atmosphere and this novel was no exception. She really excels at writing these desolate, cold landscapes and despite the chill, I love to escape into them. What I liked about this book is that Fawcett trusts her reader to be able to infer information and context without spelling it out for them. This world is very similar to our own world (though set in 1909), with only subtle changes in terms of geography and the existence of faeries. Her world building is strong and I felt like I walked straight into this slightly kooky world that was fully realized without a lot of tedious info dumping. In short – she’s good at showing, not telling. A skill many fantasy authors have not been able to hone.
Emily is a great character. She’s relatable, yet flawed. She’s intelligent, capable, and quick-witted, yet she recognizes when she should ask for help. She makes lots of smart decisions and plays hero to several of the villagers, yet she also makes mistakes and requires a rescue of her own. Despite being set in a fantastical world of faeries, she’s incredibly genuine and believable, which I think will appeal to a lot of readers.
Like any good fantasy, this story also has a side-romance. It’s definitely subtle, but this is one of my favourite types of romances. It doesn’t dominate the storyline, rather Fawcett focuses on relationship building, while weaving a simple element of romance between the characters. Their love is tangential to the story, but makes it so much more meaningful because of it. Any good series author will also weave ongoing plotlines throughout multiple novels, which Fawcett has done, so I can’t wait to see where this relationship goes in the next book.
So overall, there was a lot to like about this book, but I do have some criticisms as well, mostly with the ending. The book moves along at a pretty slow pace – I didn’t mind it, but overall I thought it had some pacing issues. What I didn’t like was how quickly everything wrapped up at the end of the book. I felt like the story ended too quickly and was not resolved. There’s no real conclusion to the conflict the village was having with the faeries and it seemed to me like Emily and Wendell were just disappearing off into the night without accomplishing their objectives. Otherwise, it was a really fun book. I’ll definitely be picking up book 2 when it releases and may now have to get to a few of her backlist books that I haven’t read yet!
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Spoilers Below
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What was the most frustrating to me was how Emily stopped the poisoning plot because “it didn’t feel right”, basically because it wasn’t in line with the faeries stories and she didn’t want to see things ended that way. So instead they run away and leave things even more unresolved in my opinion. As a reader, it just didn’t feel very satisfying. I was hoping to see some resolution in Emily and Wendell’s relationship as well, but that one I could accept because it will be continued in book 2. It doesn’t sound like we’ll be returning to Ljosland, so the poor village is going to be more or less left on their own. Overall, I just felt like I had whiplash from how quickly the story ended and it left me feeling a bit unsettled and incomplete. I would have liked to see a bit more closure to the main plot points. It just felt a bit sloppy.
I really loved this book! I’ve been hearing a lot of really good things about it and after reading and loving Daughter of the Moon Goddess, I decided to pick this one up. It’s a short standalone fantasy and I really wish there were more books like this out there. You rarely find standalone fantasy books and I think it’s really special when you find a beautifully written one like this.
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is about a 16 year old girl who sacrifices herself to be the Sea God’s bride. Her village has been at the mercy of the sea for 100 years and every year they sacrifice a young and beautiful bride to try and please the Sea God and stop the storms. This year’s bride, Shim Cheong, is in love with Mina’s brother, so Mina jumps into the sea in her place and enters the Spirit Realm. There she discovers that things aren’t quite as they seem on the surface and she starts searching for a way to free the Sea God from a deep slumber and save her village.
The writing is definitely the first thing I want to comment on because it is really beautiful. The story of Mina’s journey through the Spirit Realm is interspersed with stories that her grandmother shared with her as a child. The author connects myth to reality and uses the medium of stories to uncover the truth of the spirit realm. The story is filled with magic and the beautiful prose used by the author only elevates the setting.
It’s hard for me to say whether it’s a character or plot driven novel because I think it is such a good blend of both. The story starts off with a bang and we’re quickly introduced to a whole new world. There is lots of action throughout the book and the world building is very well realized without being confusing. We’re introduced to lots of new characters, but it’s never overwhelming. The book has a lot of depth and Mina’s character not only grows throughout the story, but her storytelling also inspires growth in others.
Overall it’s just a really smart book. There are a few twists within the story, some of them are easy to see coming, while others surprised me. I loved the inclusion of the ancestors in the story and even though I saw the main twist coming, the how and why were still a mystery to me until the very end. It’s a smart book and together all of the elements add together to build something truly magical.
With a 16 year old protagonist, it sounds like YA, but it didn’t read that way to me. There are definitely books out there that feature children or teenagers that are still written for adults. I don’t necessarily think this is one of them, but the magic and prose combined made this not your typical YA novel. It’s my first 5 star read of 2023 and I’d definitely recommend it. I’m strongly debating whether I might be ready to make a soft launch back into the world of fantasy – for me I think it’s more about being intentional about what fantasy books I read and picking up ones that interest me and not just because they’re hyped up on social media (looking at you SJM and JLA). That said, this one deserves the hype.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Author: Diana Wynne Jones Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy Pub. Date: Apr. 1986 (read Jun. 2022)
Since I’ve never written a review for this one before, let’s start by saying I’ve probably read Howl’s Moving Castle a dozen times since childhood and it remains one of my all-time favourite books. No matter how many times I’ve read it, it still surprises me every time with its intricate plot and the whimsical characters always bring a smile to my face.
What I think makes this so special is that it’s both a beloved book and movie, each with its own fan base. From what I’ve read, the movie is more popular than the book (some people don’t even know it’s based on a book), but that they should be viewed as two separate pieces of art because they are quite different. I wouldn’t know because I haven’t actually seen the movie. I’m tempted, but Howl and Sophie have lived so completely in my imagination since I was a child that I decided never to watch it to forever preserve the way I envisioned this world it as a child. I’ve read a ton of Diana Wynne Jones, but Howl’s Moving Castle will always be my favourite (though I do hold a soft spot for The Lives of Christopher Chant).
So what to say about Howl. Howl’s Moving Castle is a middle grade fantasy set in the land of Ingary, where there are floating castles, vain wizards, fire demons, vengeful witches, and seven-league boots. Sophie Hatter is the eldest of 3 sisters and as such, destined to fail miserably should she ever set out to seek her fortune. However, when a nasty run-in with the Witch of the Waste lands her under a curse that turns her into an old woman, she decides it’s time to set out anyways, fortune or not. She finds herself in Howl’s castle, an evil wizard who entraps young girls and eats their hearts, and rashly enters a bargain with a fire demon to try and break her curse.
As it turns out, wizard Howl is neither evil nor a heart-eater, and we slowly get to know this vain and brash wizard as Sophie settles in at the castle with Howl, his assistant Michael, and his fire demon, Calcifer. From there, the book is filled with hijinks and adventure as Sophie sets out to change the lives of everyone around her.
So let me elaborate on all the reasons why I love this book. First of all, it’s fun. Diana Wynne Jones has written some darker novels to be sure, but humour always features in her books and she is in fine form in Howl’s Moving Castle. All of her characters are spunky and find themselves in serious, yet ridiculous situations. All of the characters are over the top, but you can’t help but laugh out loud and Jones never takes herself too seriously. Howl is brash and Sophie is brazen, but they have such chemistry!
Which brings me to my second point – it has heart. Each character in this book is expertly crafted and they all have so much characterization! Sophie is a young mousy girl, but when she is transformed into a 90 year old woman, she realizes nothing matters anymore and throws all caution to the wind. Instead of being upset about her severely shortened lifespan, she just embraces being an old lady and lives life more than she ever did as a young woman. In contrast, Howl is an avoider, but Sophie’s new found outlook holds him to account like no one has ever been able to do before. On the surface, these are two characters that don’t like each other, but if you delve just a little bit deeper, you’ll find two extremely kind hearted people in orbit of one another.
But in addition to Sophie and Howl, there’s a vibrant cast of secondary characters that will warm your heart just as much! I adore an author that can create side characters that are just as well developed, and Jones is a master. We fall in love with both Michael and Calcifer, but even Lettie, Martha, and Fanny have their own roles to play. There are no throwaway characters and no throwaway interactions.
Which brings me to my last point – this book is smart. It’s subtle, but it has a very clever plot and no ideas are wasted. It’s something that a lot of my favourite literature has in common. Jones has taken the time to understand and craft this world and this plot and while a lot of it may seem random, each scene has its own place in the story. It’s the reason I can read this book over and over again, because I honestly forget half the plot each time, even though I never forget the characters. It really is full of magic and adventure and whimsy, while also being genius at world-building. Ingary exists so completely and fully formed that I don’t feel like I’m discovering it so much as walking off the page into it, and that is the mark of a truly talented writer.
So I will continue to return to this world time and time again and I encourage you to visit it too. It is absolutely the kind of middle grade that can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone. A very special place in my heart!
The Paperback Princess 