Tag: fantasy book

Book Review, Fantasy, Fiction

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Fantasy

When Woman Were Dragons is set in almost our world, but not quite. The Mass Dragoning of 1955 saw thousands of women spontaneously turn into dragons, but it’s not spoken about anymore. Even Alex’s aunt, who has since transformed herself is no longer spoken of.

The concept behind this book and the way that society responded was fascinating and applicable to real life. The repression of women and conversations about their experiences was blown up to dragon-scale, but was still relatable. That said, it was someone one-dimensional and repetitive.

Alex finds herself raising her younger cousin, Bea, who she has been trained to introduce as her sister so as not to reference the aunt that became a dragon. Bea, however, is preoccupied with dragons, which consistently gets her in trouble. Alex must navigate empathy for her cousin with the expectations of society. Alex’s circumstances made her a compelling main character. She was forced to grow up so quickly and come to her own conclusions about the world around her.

The situations that Alex and Bea dealt with began to feel somewhat repetitive to me after a while and often didn’t seem to move the plot forward. In contrast, a lottt happened at the end of the book that I think could have been slowed down and explored more fully. This lack of balance kept me from fully loving this book

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Buy When Women Were Dragons at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fantasy, Romance

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna ~ Book Review

Morgan

Berkley Books
Fantasy/Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

What a warm hug of a book. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is part found-family, part romance, part witchy fantasy and completely heartwarming. Mika Moon exists in a world where witches are taught not to spend time together for fear of causing unanticipated harm. Her magic has been used by those around her all her life and has a result of these two circumstances, she lives in solidarity, never staying in one place for long. When she is brought into Nowhere House to care for three mentor-less witches, Mika realizes that love might not be as far out of reach as she expected.

I got majorrr The House in the Cerulean Sea vibes from this book. The three young witches are quirky and there comments are so funny and on the nose. The rest of the cast of characters is just as unique and lovable and the way they welcomed Mika in was beautiful. Mandanna created details about each character that made them so interesting. The relationships, both romantic and platonic, were multifaceted and made for such a unique way of telling Mika’s story.

I was such a huge fan of the writing style. It’s witty and funny and doesn’t shy away from profanity, but in a way that’s amusing and adds to characters’ personalities. There were so many layers to this story and so much eccentricity, but it all worked together to form a vivid plot with some of my favorite characters I’ve crossed paths with in a long time. 

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches on Goodreads
Buy The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches at an indie bookstore near you

Book Review, Fantasy, Fantsy

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas ~ Book Review

Morgan

Bloomsbury Publishing
YA Fantasy
Release Date: May 3, 2016
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

What struck me most about A Court of Mist and Fury was Feyre’s growth over the slow-burning narrative arc. The strength she grows as she becomes more comfortable and understanding of her new reality was incredible to watch. While the men started out with the most power, I loved watching her take her power back and take ownership of it.

The decision Feyre makes near the beginning of the book felt kind of rushed and not fully explored to me, but it opened the door for her return to Rhysand, which is where the story really took shape. Although I found it a little hard to keep track of all the new characters, their support and acceptance of Feyre was commendable and I liked the way they banded together to try to figure out the underlying mysteries of their world.

This definitely felt more slow moving to me than A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I liked the characters a lot and the action really picked up toward the end. While I was reading I wasn’t sure if I’d feel compelled to pick up the next book in the series, but I can’t stop thinking about the cliffhanger of an ending.

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Buy A Court of Mist and Fury at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fantasy, Fiction

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas ~ Book Review

Morgan

Bloomsbury Publishing
Fantasy
Release Date: May 5, 2015
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

The hype is so real!! For some reason I was convinced that I wasn’t much of a fantasy person (despite loving Harry Potter), but A Court of Thorns and Roses proved that very wrong. When Feyre accidentally kills a faerie disguised as a wolf, she is forced to live out the rest of her days in the faerie world, or lose her life.

I got major Beauty and the Beast vibes as Feyre begins to get to know her captor, Tamlin and explores his grounds and her new world. The world-building wasn’t too overwhelming, and I was able to get sucked into the story fairly quickly.

The romance in this book was so unexpected and well done. It was a pretty main theme throughout the story as Feyre learns more about Tamlin and his past. I loved the setting of Tamlin’s estate and the atmosphere it set (I got a Bridgerton feel).

The action picks up a lot in the last quarter of the book and the pacing change kept me completely invested until the end. I will absolutely be picking up book two.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy A Court of Thorns and Roses at an indie bookstore near you
A Court of Thorns and Roses on Goodreads