Book Review: Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver

Published: 2019

Pages: 304

Genre: Gothic, Horror

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"Something has been let loose..."

In Edwardian Suffolk, a manor house stands alone in a lost corner of the Fens: a glinting wilderness of water whose whispering reeds guard ancient secrets. Maud is a lonely child growing up without a mother, ruled by her repressive father.

When he finds a painted medieval devil in a graveyard, unhallowed forces are awakened.

Maud's battle has begun. She must survive a world haunted by witchcraft, the age-old legends of her beloved fen – and the even more nightmarish demons of her father's past.

Spanning five centuries, Wakenhyrst is a darkly gothic thriller about murderous obsession and one girl's longing to fly free.
I was extremely excited to read Wakenhyrst, I'm a huge fan of Michelle Paver's writing style. I absolutely tore through Dark Matter and I couldn't get enough of the creeping dread and icy cold fear that it invoked. When I heard Paver had written a historical, Gothic fiction I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

Wakenhyrst started out strong, it was beautifully atmospheric with the eerie fen such a constant presence that it almost developed as much as the characters.

The central figure of the book, Maud Stearne is an intelligent and scholarly girl who is dominated by an overbearing father who holds strong views about the roles of women and men. Maud is an intriguing and unusual main character, in turns she's insular and proper and in other she's as wild as the fens. It would be easy to dislike Maud because of her changing nature, and often selfish pursuits. However, her love and compassion for other characters grows throughout the book and she becomes a much more sympathetic character. Her development is so strong it often overrode the suspense and chill factor for me.

I was far more invested in Maud than I was the eerie ghost story that I feel like Wakenhyrst was trying to spin. It's by no means a criticism. Maud is potentially Paver's strongest character yet, and certainly the most multi-faceted. However I did miss the oozing and seeping feelings of dread I had built up in her previous books.

I hope that the next book manages a more even balance - because the bottom line is Michelle Paver is an artist at weaving words and I can't wait to see what she does next.

My Rating /5: 

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Book Review: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Published: 2016

Pages: 352

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, YA

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Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…

But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself.

There's no doubt that Roshani Chokshi writes beautifully, The Star-Touched Queen is a lush romance inspired by Hindu myths and classic fairytales. Like it's predecessors, it's a world of fantasy that's described lavishly.. Each sentence is positively dripping with beautifully crafted description that feels like a feast for the eyes. But, if you dig a little deeper and really think about the phrasing, that's where it's begins to fall apart. 

Take for instance;

"You look like edges and thunderstorms. And I would not have you any other way."

And really think about it. Yes, it sounds beautiful. But, what does it really mean? Can you imagine someone who looked like an edgy thunderstorm? Is it really the compliment it seems to be?

For me, The Star-Touched Queen is like a collection of really beautiful words, sentences and paragraphs that don't really achieve anything. 

And it's not just the purple prose. In The Star-Touched Queen, we're led to believe that Maya is a headstrong, smart, independent woman who we should be rooting for. Her behaviour doesn't really reflect that. It begins with a really flimsy case of instalove which, for me, diminishes the character and once again puts her firmly in the realm of "I needed to fall in love to be useful" heroines. 

Maya is also the perfect example to show that love makes us stupid. Her behaviour in Akaran just becomes more and more foolish as she spends more time there. It seems like she's the star-touched queen of rash decisions and regret, more than a powerful ruler. 

The story is flimsy at best, and spirals out of control as the book progresses. I actually found myself having to re-read huge segments as I couldn't understand what was happening in later chapters. 

Towards the last half, the only thing that kept me reading was Kamala. The introduction of a zombie horse that just wants to bite people and things was unexpected, but I was grateful for the injection of a character with a strong personality. However, the introduction of Kamala also served to highlight just how flat, and empty Maya was.

Sadly, in my opinion The Star-Touched Queen was a massive case of style over substance. If Roshani Chokshi ever writes a book about the overly sassy zombie horse - I'm there. But, I think I'll be giving book two a miss. 

My Rating /5: 

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Book Review: The Girl From the Other Side Volume 1 by Nagabe

Published: 2017

Pages: 180

Genre: Manga, Fantasy

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Once upon a time...

In a land far away, there were two kingdoms: the Outside, where twisted beasts roamed that could curse with a touch, and the Inside, where humans lived in safety and peace. The girl and the beast should never have met, but when they do, a quiet fairytale begins.

This is a story of two people--one human, one inhuman--who linger in the hazy twilight that separates night from day.

Hot on the heels on The Ancient Magus Bride comes The Girl From The Other Side. Both books focus on the developing relationship between an otherworldly creature, seen by humans as a monster, and a human girl. However, while romance is at the core of The Ancient Magus Bride, The Girl From The Other Side instead focuses on the nurturing bond formed between Teacher and Shiva.

It's a beautifully soft fantasy, imbued with magic and love. Unlike The Ancient Magus Bride, where Elias clearly holds all of the power in the early books, it's clear that it's Shiva who is in charge. From stomping around the woodlands to demanding that Teacher has tea parties with her, Shiva knows how to get her own way. But, it's never in a whiny, petulant manner. Shiva is instantly likeable and it's easy to relate to her. Anyone with children, or young relatives will know how charming a child can be. It's also easy to connect with Teacher, despite his arcane background. He clearly loves and cherishes Shiva, and the way he dotes upon her adds a joyful warmth to an eerie fairytale. 

The artwork is well-matched to the story, almost looking like old fairytale illustrations or woodcuts. The panels are full of incredible details that are an absolute pleasure to explore. 

I can't wait to read the next volume. 

My Rating /5: 

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Book Review: The Ancient Magus Bride Volume 7 by Kore Yamazaki

Published: 2017

Pages: 180

Genre: Manga, Fantasy, Romance

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Lullaby, and Good Night...

After mistakenly putting Elias under a sleeping spell, Chise can't find a way to wake him up! She turns to Angie for help, and brews a potion meant to undo the spell--but the process is so exhausting, Chise ends up falling asleep herself. Upon entering a dream world, she crosses paths with the person she least expected: Cartaphilus. But something's off--the amoral alchemist seems to have lost his threatening edge. Meanwhile, in the outside world, trouble is brewing...on a dragon-sized scale!

Kore Yamazaki's mystical manga is absolutely spellbinding, and this volume is no exception. Volume 7 picks up after the cliffhanger in Volume 6, and soon resolves the chaos. If anything, I felt like this was resolved a little bit too quickly - it didn't keep the momentum and suspense of Volume 6. It felt more like an afterthought before Volume 7 spun its own story. But, that's a minor grumble, as with all previous volumes of this fantasy-romance, I sped through the pages. 

As I've found previously, my favourite moments of the series are the sweet, everyday interactions between the characters so I really enjoyed the section where Chise met up with Angelica and her family. It was wonderful to get a deeper view on some of the minor characters in the series. I also really enjoyed meeting some of Renfred's friends (or colleagues, may be more accurate. Does that man actually have any friends?) and found Torrey to be especially delightful. A nice zing of energy added to an often sombre cast of characters. 

While the artwork is beautiful, it's the strong thread of story and the developing relationship between Chise and Elias that keeps me coming back to this series.

A small criticism of this volume is that the artwork became quite dark towards the end, so it became difficult to see what was happening clearly, but with extra studying it became easier to unfold. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I can't wait to read Volume 8.

My Rating /5: 

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Book Review: The Wisdom Of Sally Red Shoes

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ruth Hogan's second novel has lost none of the charm and wit of her hugely popular debut The Keeper Of Lost Things.

This novel takes a slightly darker turn than her debut and is self-informed by the author's own battles with cancer. That's not to say this is a dark book, it's not. It deals with death, loss and grief with the wonderful wit, warmth and wonder first experienced in The Keeper Of Lost Things.

The story follows lead character Masha, and secondary character Alice. Both women are well fleshed out, with quirks and flaws that make them both real and endearing. I found myself both laughing and crying along with Masha, a complicated but deeply likeable woman dealing with the loss of her son.

What I liked the most about this book is that while there IS a romance, it's certainly secondary to the friendships and bonds that Masha and Alice have with other people in their life.

It's an extraordinary novel, full of gentle wisdom and joy even while following Masha and Alice through dark and troubling periods in their lives. There's such pleasure in watching Masha learn to live with her grief and blossom through the connections she makes.

Ruth Hogan is a skilled writer, and I think her personal experiences have really fed into this book. You can feel the heart and love and overall the hope.

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Book Review: Siena

Siena by Zoe Blessing
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Zoe Blessing's debut of the Forestfolk series features a gorgeously imagined world populated with tribes and 'aberrations', people blessed with gifts out of the ordinary. Right from the beginning the story is a slow burner, but it never feels extraneous or meandering, instead it feels very much like the book is designed to world build in preparation for further books in the series. It also spends a large portion of time introducing the important characters in Siena's world, leaving each character well fleshed out and very real.

That's not to say that the story is aimless or boring, it has a strong thread throughout and I really enjoyed the pacing. Siena is an unusual main character for a fantasy novel, her strengths lay with gentleness, kindness and understanding rather than the sassy heroine or battleworn hero usually preferred by this genre. She was never written as being weak despite lacking physical strength.and I like that she was a multilayered character with more to offer than good swordskills and a sharp tongue.

My only criticism is that the book seemed perhaps pitched to a younger audience than most YA novels, and as such lacked a little depth. Relationships were formed almost instantly, battles were over quickly, Siena found a place easily. I would have preferred just a little more conflict and counterbalance to everything being so wholesome.

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