Thank you to Wednesday Books for sharing a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Edinburgh, 1817. Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry. Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die. When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought. Because Hazel has made a deal with Dr. Beecham: if she can pass the medical examination on her own, the university will allow her to enroll. Without official lessons, though, Hazel will need more than just her books – she’ll need bodies to study, corpses to dissect. Lucky that she’s made the acquaintance of someone who digs them up for a living, then. But Jack has his own problems: strange men have been seen skulking around cemeteries, his friends are disappearing off the streets. Hazel and Jack work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves, but in the very heart of Edinburgh society. This deliciously creepy Gothic tale about a female surgeon, the resurrection man supplying her with bodies, and all the magical horrors they face is sure to haunt readers in the best of ways. Anatomy certainly delivers on compelling characters--Hazel is ambitious, relentless, and definitely reliant on luck and privilege as she attempts to navigate the wealthy, male society of medicine in Edinburgh. She was just plucky enough to get into some terrifying scrapes, but empathetic in using her surgical skills and country home resources to help others. I rather liked the challenge she set to the instructors at Dr. Beecham's lectures. That provides a fantastic lesson from the outset in never giving up on your goals despite facing ridicule from classmates and authorities. The graveside romance aspect comes on a bit strong at moments--not sure I would call kissing in a grave the most romantic thing I've ever read--but Hazel and Jack fit well together, and their partnership seemed borne out of genuine attraction rather than instalove, which I appreciated. Pacing was spot on throughout the novel, and the last quarter is packed with exciting reveals. I always appreciated Schwartz's attention to keeping page count moderate. Anatomy never drags, and each scene feels like it takes the proper length of emotional time to process. I sped through the novel in a day because I didn't want to stop reading! There are some fascinating parallels between Hazel's world in 19th century Scotland and the modern day in regards to who is viewed as medically expendable, and whose lives are worth saving. The conspiracy that Hazel discovers is far beyond the scope of malice evident in contemporary healthcare systems, but the underlying premise is the same. Anatomy is not just a love story, it's also a book about systemic inequality and the difference in care between the rich and poor residents of a city. Overall, I'm giving Anatomy 4/5 stars, and recommending it to any reader craving a magical Gothic mystery.
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Thank you to Wednesday Books for sharing a copy in exchange for my honest review.
A queer YA #MeToo reimagining of Thelma & Louise with the aesthetic of Riverdale, for fans of Mindy McGinnis, Courtney Summers, and Rory Power. When Trixie picks up her best friend Lux for their weekend getaway, she’s looking to escape for a little while, to forget the despair of being trapped in their dead-end Rust Belt town and the daunting responsibility of caring for her ailing mother. The girls are packing light: a supply of Diet Coke for Lux and her ‘89 Canon to help her frame the world in a sunnier light; half a pack of cigarettes for Trixie that she doesn’t really smoke, and a knife—one she’s just hanging on to for a friend—that she’s never used before. But a single night of violence derails their trip and will forever change the course of the girls’ lives, as they go from ordinary high schoolers to wanted fugitives. Trying to stay ahead of the cops and a hellscape of media attention, the girls grapple with an unforgiving landscape, rapidly diminishing supplies, and disastrous decisions at every turn. As they are transformed by the media into the face of a #MeToo movement they didn’t ask to lead and the road before them begins to run out, Trixie and Lux realize that they can only rely on each other, and that the love they find together is the one thing that truly makes them free. Queer Thelma & Louise! Road trip! Fighting the patriarchy! There were so many things about this novel that I wanted to work for me, which absolutely sold me concept-wise. I think this book had such potential to be incredible. Unfortunately, aspects of the execution fell flat and I didn't love the assembly of all those intriguing individual elements. The story felt more surface level than I wanted. I was reading a collection of scenes, which related to one another plot-wise, but didn’t really connect me to any deeper emotions. Some of the themes Trouble Girls means to tap into are female rage, queer joy, and the desperation of a best friendship in front of a tragic background. One thing I did appreciate--Trixie and Lux seemed like real life teens. They acted their age 100% of the time. All their rash decisions, poor money management, and mistrust of any offered help (sometimes justified, other times unfortunate) led to fantastic characterization as two teen girls from less-than-perfect home lives, looking to find their way out of a mess. Trixie's longing for her home life deepens over the course of the story, even as we see how imperfect her past has been. To me, that was the emotional height of the story. Life grew so complicated around her, and Trixie wished to go back to the simplicity of the life she knew in her mother's house, with her old job and best friend. Speaking of whom, I need to talk about Lux. My biggest issue is that Trixie treated Lux like a manic pixie dream girl. I’m pretty sure this was meant to be a queer reimagining of this trope, but it fell flat for me because subverting the concept requires a bit more than “hey! they’re sapphic!” for me. Trixie’s narration therefore doesn’t allow Lux much agency outside of how Trixie sees her, which irritated me throughout the novel. I would have felt much more connected to the story with dual narrators who could counter this effect of over-writing Lux’s story with Trixie’s perspective. I don't think this characterization did the novel a great service, as you can't really have Thelma and Louise and only narrate for Thelma. Their brief romance also fell victim to this unequal characterization. Lux and Trixie supposedly carry on this whirlwhind romance, but between Lux's naïveté at the beginning of the story and Trixie's yearning, there wasn't much chemistry between them for me. Nor does a life on the run seem conducive to starting a relationship, or giving it page time to develop. Ultimately, I think most aspects of the novel fell flat for me. I don't think I'd have a different experience on a second or third read, but I'm glad I finished the story and committed to learning the ending. I always say my issues with books are mine, and you should make your own reading choices, so I bet Trouble Girls will resonate with some of you. It's worth checking out from the library, especially if you're interested in stories about female agency and sexual assault. I'm giving Trouble Girls 3/5 stars. Thank you to Wednesday Books for sharing a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Seventeen-year-old Julie has her future all planned out—move out of her small town with her boyfriend Sam, attend college in the city, spend a summer in Japan. But then Sam dies. And everything changes. Heartbroken, Julie skips his funeral, throws out his things, and tries everything to forget him and the tragic way he died. But a message Sam left behind in her yearbook forces back memories. Desperate to hear his voice one more time, Julie calls Sam’s cellphone just to listen to his voicemail. And Sam picks up the phone. In a miraculous turn of events, Julie’s been given a second chance at goodbye. The connection is temporary. But hearing Sam’s voice makes her fall for him all over again, and with each call it becomes harder to let him go. However, keeping her otherworldly calls with Sam a secret isn’t easy, especially when Julie witnesses the suffering Sam’s family is going through. Unable to stand by the sidelines and watch their shared loved ones in pain, Julie is torn between spilling the truth about her calls with Sam and risking their connection and losing him forever. I was really looking forward to this one! Contemporary fiction with a touch of whimsy, to aid Julie in grieving Sam. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me as well as I'd hoped. Although I finished the novel, a couple key aspects just bothered me until the end. First of all, the novel takes place entirely after Sam's death, so we only see his character from Julie's point of view. We didn’t have very many “before” scenes, and some of them were from a perspective where Sam was already gone. I just couldn’t bring myself to care about their relationship, beyond a basic sense of sadness. It was hard to imagine Julie and Sam moving out together, planning a future, when the timeline of their relationship was completely relegated to before the book even starts. I wasn't emotionally invested in Julie's grief for Sam, and even his phone calls didn't give me a real appreciation for his character. The premise of being able to talk to your loved one after their passing is interesting, but the rules seemed quite arbitrary and changed to suit the story. I can kind of understand the reasoning behind the nebulous representation of grief, but I didn't like how that was set up for Julie to just use at her convenience, sometimes contradicting theories she had about the calls in the text directly. This relates to my dislike of the ending of the novel. No spoilers, but it involves a specific inconsistency that I felt was just thrown in to give the story a neat wrap-up, and lacks justification in line with previous plot points. The thing is, Dustin Thao’s prose is so lovely. Even when I was skeptical of the premise, or I wasn’t quite sympathizing with Julie, I just couldn’t stop reading. Julie can be a grating character, to put it mildly, but Thao turned her storyline into a beautiful grief arc as she learns how to keep Sam's memory alive after he'd passed. The narration of a character some would call unlikeable does her justice in a way that feels so true to the core of the story. You've Reached Sam really knows what it's about in the best of ways. For this, I'm rating the novel 3/5 stars. I think this is a case of the novel reaching the wrong audience. I would recommend giving it a try if you're interested in the premise and ready to do a bit of soul-searching. Thank you to Wednesday Books for sharing a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Raised by conservative parents, 18-year-old Meg Hennessey just found out her entire childhood was a lie. Instead of taking a gap year before college to find herself, she ends up traveling north to meet what’s left of the family she never knew existed. While there, she meets Micah Allen, a former pastor’s kid whose dad ended up in prison, leaving Micah with his own complicated relationship about the church. The clock is ticking on Pastor Allen’s probation hearing and Micah, now 19, feels the pressure to forgive - even when he can’t possibly forget. As Meg and Micah grow closer, they are confronted with the heavy flutterings of first love and all the complications it brings. Together, they must navigate the sometimes-painful process of cutting ties with childhood beliefs as they build toward something truer and straight from the heart. In Erin Hahn’s Never Saw You Coming, sometimes it takes a leap of faith to find yourself. Never Saw You Coming is an earnest and heartfelt recounting of Meg's journey to finding faith in herself and keeping her beliefs through a challenging time of transition. I haven't read a lot of novels where religion and the church are major themes, and I feel there's a slight bias against books that have religious characters. I appreciated Hahn's deconstruction of purity culture and how Meg was exposed to new people and environments that led her to challenge the beliefs she'd grown up with. I'm not Christian. I feel like I should throw that out there. However I love reading books about characters from different backgrounds and as a reader, I have the ability to empathize with them and understand that an author isn't moralizing at me just because their characters have beliefs that I don't share. Some people are of different opinions. I've seen a few critiques of NSYC that discuss how Meg's faith in God and Jesus made them feel, and that's totally valid! If you don't think this is your thing, please pass. However, I'd encourage you to take a chance on this book. Hahn offers a well-rounded discussion on the Church, and it's a great novel to read if you'd like to challenge your perspective. The romance was sweet--Meg and Micah clearly had chemistry, and they worked hard to be together in ways that felt comfortable to them, especially given each of their different perspectives on what a relationship should look like. Their relationship is so considerate and communicative, and I was totally swooning by the end. Hahn isn't afraid to jump into difficult discussions, like the Church's treatment of queer individuals and body-shaming young women, and the narrative is very streamlined throughout. Never Saw You Coming is an inherently readable novel--I didn't want to put it down for a second. Overall, I'm giving Never Saw You Coming 4/5 stars, and I think it's set up to be one of the fall season's most acclaimed novels. I'd highly encourage you to preorder your copy or to reserve at a local library! Thank you to Wednesday Books for sharing a copy in exchange for my honest review.
In Perfect on Paper, Leah on the Offbeat meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before: a bisexual girl who gives anonymous love advice to her classmates is hired by the hot guy to help him get his ex back Her advice, spot on. Her love life, way off. Darcy Phillips: • Can give you the solution to any of your relationship woes―for a fee. • Uses her power for good. Most of the time. • Really cannot stand Alexander Brougham. • Has maybe not the best judgement when it comes to her best friend, Brooke…who is in love with someone else. • Does not appreciate being blackmailed. However, when Brougham catches her in the act of collecting letters from locker 89―out of which she’s been running her questionably legal, anonymous relationship advice service―that’s exactly what happens. In exchange for keeping her secret, Darcy begrudgingly agrees to become his personal dating coach―at a generous hourly rate, at least. The goal? To help him win his ex-girlfriend back. Darcy has a good reason to keep her identity secret. If word gets out that she’s behind the locker, some things she's not proud of will come to light, and there’s a good chance Brooke will never speak to her again. Okay, so all she has to do is help an entitled, bratty, (annoyingly hot) guy win over a girl who’s already fallen for him once? What could go wrong? The tagline pretty much says it all: "Her advice, spot on. Her love life, way off." I enjoyed Perfect on Paper's fresh rom-com energy. Darcy operates as an under-the-radar Agony Aunt at her school, which lands her in hot water when the Brougham catches her emptying the locker. She makes some tough choices, does quite a few things wrong, but always wants to help her classmates and support her friends. I really can't fault her for that. Gonzales does a great job at creating empathy for her characters throughout the novel. There's room for readers to disapprove of or question their actions, but still have heart to love them and want to see the ends of their stories through. Some moments felt overly moralistic, as though the novel was trying very hard to be inoffensive and model "good behavior" for readers, but for the most part I truly enjoyed the realism of each character. We get to see Darcy's flaws and mistakes, even while she's being kind or funny or supportive one chapter later. And that's something we get so rarely in queer characters--the ability to have flaws and be imperfect, maybe not a role model for "ideal citizen." Even though it's true. Queer people aren't exempt from being human--we can be petty and precocious and anxious all at the same time as fun, reactive, and empathetic, just as Darcy is. My favorite topic addressed in the novel is biphobia--Darcy is bi, and encounters erasure of her identity, and the idea that bi people aren't queer if they're in an m/f relationship. That harmful misconception is addressed in the novel, and this discussion will be so validating for bi readers. If you're out there, reading this, please know that I'm happy to talk or find more books with bi characters for you! It's a hard knock life out there in terms of queer rep in media, so this is me saying you're not on this path alone. Look no further than Perfect on Paper for a nuanced contemporary rom-com that offers discussion of queer issues, honesty & trust in friendship, and how to step back and learn from mistakes. Darcy and her crew will make their way into your hearts in a snap. 4/5 stars. Thank you to Wednesday Books for sharing a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Lara's had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He's tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he's talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe...flirting, even? No, wait, he's definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara's wanted out of life. Except she’s haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers. Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she's finally got the guy, why can't she stop thinking about the girl? This adorable queer romance has been on my most anticipated list for a long while now, and I'm so so excited that I got to read an ARC! Cool for the Summer follows Lara's senior year romance(s?) while she tries to figure out if the boy she's always wanted might be falling out of favor for the girl she just met. I enjoyed the storytelling--alternating timelines between Lara's current year in New York and her summer in Outer Banks allow us to see the buildup of Lara and Jasmine's relationship. Their friendship turns into something more during the summer, and this extra description was central to getting me to root for their relationship to begin again in the present timeline. My favorite chapter was their weekend with Jasmine's mother--Adler's account of their dinner made me feel absolutely starving! CFTS is also kind of a Grease retelling, which I enjoyed. There's a lot of mutual pining in the best of ways. Miscommunication tropes are so over, but CFTS genuinely has us in Lara's headspace while she's deciding how to be true to her heart. Good narration cannot be under-appreciated, so this point is just to say that I liked reading in Lara's voice. She reads like a real high schooler--there's a fair bit of friend drama, but she's got real heart underneath it all. This is tiny ( I kind of want to get into the habit of injecting doses of non-book-media-appreciation into my reviews) but Cool for the Summer also tuned me into its namesake Demi Lovato song, which I've listened to about 50 times since finishing the book. Definitely a bi anthem, and you should listen to it while you read a particular scene in the novel (you'll know it when you read it) I think this book will resonate with a lot of queer readers--it's so heartfelt and written with the best impact. This might sound weird, but it's just a really safe book. Cool for the Summer is a short but comforting read. Weirdly, reading it actually started a reading and reviewing slump for me. I've hardly turned a page or written a word since I finished. I'm just that stuck thinking about Lara, Jasmine, and the rest of their adventures. 5/5 stars for a beautiful novel that I can't wait to see out in the world. Thank you to the author for sharing an ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Iris Oxtabee has managed to navigate the tricky world of unspoken social interactions by reading everything from neuroscience journals to Wikipedia articles. Science has helped her fit the puzzle pieces into an understandable whole, and she’s sure there’s nothing it can’t explain. Love, for example, is just chemistry. Her best friend Seth, however, believes love is one of life’s beautiful and chaotic mysteries, without need for explanation. Iris isn’t one to back down from a challenge; she’s determined to prove love is really nothing more than hormones and external stimuli. After all, science has allowed humanity to understand more complex mysteries than that, and Iris excels at science. The perfect way to test her theory? Get the popular and newly-single Theo Grant, who doesn’t even know Iris exists, to ask her to prom. With prom just two weeks away, Iris doesn’t have any time to waste, so she turns her keen empirical talents and laser-focus attention to testing her theory. But will proving herself correct cause her friendship with Seth—and the tantalizing possibility for something more—to become the failed experiment? This sweet spring romance is perfect for anyone seeking a fluffy YA contemporary with an experimental side. Iris Oxtabee believes love is all chemicals, and her understanding of neurochemistry and evolutionary biology is all she needs to get a prom date. Of course, life gets in the way. I loved this one! Let me start by saying I love the neurodiversity rep here—Iris has NVLD, a learning disorder that affects her understanding of social cues. I don’t share her diagnosis, but have a condition that can also affect socializing and induce anxiety. We don’t get a lot of neurodiverse rep in YA romance, and it’s something I always love seeing more of. At the end, there was a particular plot point that relied on Iris's humiliation which I didn't love, but LaBar handled it very well and it's clear to readers no joke was had at Iris's expense for that. Her scientific approach made her an interesting narrator, and the dramatic irony from some of her obliviousness to her own romantic attraction was actually kind of sweet. She made some poor choices (experimenting on other people, for a start) but Iris had so much heart that I couldn't help but root for her. Iris's science experiments were a favorite part of mine! I'm a future scientist, and I’m actually taking some classes related to her research right now, so it was doubly interesting for me because of that. I know non-scientists may not love the mentions of hormones and evolved chemical responses to stimuli, but I found them charming (and educational). I don’t entirely believe Iris is right—love can be a spiritual and emotional experience not entirely quantifiable—but the concept of the book hooked me from the start and I was eager to see where Iris’s conclusions led. If you liked Meredith Goldstein's Chemistry Lessons, you'll like Prom Theory. Check out my STEM YA list for more recs! Believe me, it’s hard to spoil a romance novel, so let me just say that I was swooning for the love interest. I think you can tell from the synopsis that this is a childhood friends to lovers novel. Seth is the absolute sweetest, and clearly cares so much for Iris. All their little habits, and the way they’re so protective towards each other made every page they weren’t together truly angst-filled. Esther, their other best friend / occasional third wheel, was so much fun and a great foil to Iris. I liked that her side plot had depth and she wasn't dismissed for her knowledge of the stereotypically "feminine" things that Iris dislikes. Overall, I'm giving Prom Theory 4.5/5 stars as an adorable new romance release which you should definitely pick up! Out today! Thank you to Abrams for sharing an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Apologies for late review!
The first book in an epic and romantic YA series following the fictionalized descendants of the only officially recognized empress regent of China Gemma Huang is a recent transplant to Los Angeles from Illinois, having abandoned plans for college to pursue a career in acting, much to the dismay of her parents. Now she’s living with three roommates in a two-bedroom hovel, auditioning for bit roles that hardly cover rent. Gemma’s big break comes when she’s asked to play a lead role in an update of M. Butterfly filming for the summer in Beijing. When she arrives, she’s stopped by paparazzi at the airport. She quickly realizes she may as well be the twin of one of the most notorious young socialites in Beijing. Thus kicks off a summer of revelations, in which Gemma uncovers a legacy her parents have spent their lives protecting her from—one her mother would conceal from her daughter at any cost. Heiress Apparently is a sweet new contemporary novel centering Gemma's relationship with her family--previously shrouded in mystery that evaporates when she travels to Beijing. I loved Gemma and Alyssa's relationship. They're strangers at the beginning of the book, but as they learn more about their family they grow closer and it's so adorable. As they acknowledge, they're more than cousins--they're sisters. They share a glamorous heritage which Gemma knows little about but Alyssa is eager to share. I'm really hoping the next book in the series is about Alyssa! The ending moments especially... I don't have much to say other than it just made me feel all the warm and fuzzy feelings. I was just so happy for Gemma, because I'd grown to care for her so much throughout the novel. I hesitate to call this found family, because technically Gemma is learning about her blood family, but it operates on a similar premise. So much of the novel finds Gemma bringing people together and expanding her family from the small group she'd had in the US. I also enjoyed her narration through the hard time she faces as a Chinese-American and not feeling fully accepted by either community. This really resonated with me because as an Indian-American, I feel the exact same way. Not Indian enough for some, not American enough for others. It can be so difficult to be part of a diasporic experience, and even more so in Gemma's case where she's got this pressure on her as an actress to represent millions of people on the silver screen. I couldn't imagine how tough that must be--but I don't have to, since Ma narrates it brilliantly in the novel. There's also a bit of a romance! It's not quite a Romeo-and-Juliet situation (if you want R&J set in China please check out These Violent Delights) but there IS a family feud and many complicated feelings. Love interest Eric is interested in sustainable fashion (to the benefit of our girl Gemma--I would LOVE to see fan art of her in that suit!) and protecting his sister Mimi from being manipulated by Alyssa (no spoilers, but that's so far from the truth of what's going on). He's so sweet with Gemma, and just all-around amazing. I totally shipped them, and always hoped she'd break up with her jerk of an LA boyfriend to get with Eric instead. Overall, I'm giving Heiress Apparently 4/5 stars for general adorableness and also being a wonderful permutation of the modern-royalty trope. Will definitely be recommending this one in the future. A slick, twisty YA page-turner about the daughter of a con artist who is taken hostage in a bank heist.
Nora O’Malley’s been a lot of girls. As the daughter of a con-artist who targets criminal men, she grew up as her mother’s protégé. But when mom fell for the mark instead of conning him, Nora pulled the ultimate con: escape. For five years Nora’s been playing at normal. But she needs to dust off the skills she ditched because she has three problems: #1: Her ex walked in on her with her girlfriend. Even though they’re all friends, Wes didn’t know about her and Iris. #2: The morning after Wes finds them kissing, they all have to meet to deposit the fundraiser money they raised at the bank. It’s a nightmare that goes from awkward to deadly, because: #3: Right after they enter bank, two guys start robbing it. The bank robbers may be trouble, but Nora’s something else entirely. They have no idea who they’re really holding hostage… This is one of the most interesting and original thrillers I've read in a while! It takes place over the course of a bank heist, and centers on Nora O'Malley (I loved her immediately). I checked The Girls I've Been out from the library with middling expectations and I've just been blown away by everything about it. I'd hesitate to call Nora an unreliable narrator, since she's interested in telling the truth and unraveling past lies she's told her friends. The triple timelines make for an interesting read (and lengthen the book) as we see Nora's past lives, her arrival to Lee, and the bank heist simultaneously. This could be a lot to handle for a reader, but Sharpe uses short chapters to the best effect and I ended up enjoying her narration. The con-woman angle was fresh. Nora's mother committed and permitted all kinds of abuse, which was horrifying to read about in the chapters where Nora explains some of the girls she's been. Sharpe includes a positive portrayal of talk therapy and mental health treatment, which I always take time to appreciate in a book. What was more interesting to me was the "lessons" she gained from those girls, and the creative action-packed sequences she leads. I couldn't put the book down once I'd started. This is both because it reads so fluidly I kept wanting to find out what's next, and also because the formatting led the 336 pages to fly by. In terms of writing style and voice, I waffled between "into the drama" and "over it." A lot of Nora's narration was overblown, but as I became more invested in her backstory I began to understand why. Her struggles with identity and feeling comfortable in her new life were a central theme in the book and definitely merited some of the more overdramatic lines. What really made the book for me was the chapter sequencing and the sharp turns of the story. Also just have to give a shoutout to Nora being bi--we have been BLESSED with this character. I love a good morally grey queer story and Tess Sharpe absolutely delivered. Her girlfriend Iris is the sweetest (with the best fashion sense) and her ex Wes deserves a whole book of his own. Their group dynamic is funny and heartfelt, an excellent counter to the high-octane violence of the heist. 5/5 stars for this dark, twisty story. I'm very intrigued and will definitely be buying a copy for myself soon. Deep in the wood lives a witch queen and her eight tree siren daughters. For centuries they have harvested souls to feed the heartless tree, using its power to grow their ever-reaching kingdom of ash, birch, and oak.
Owen Merrick lives at the edge of the forest, mapping the stars for the king in his father's observatory. For years, he has resisted venturing over the garden wall, until one day he must enter the woods to find his missing sister. But one of the witch's tree siren daughters, Seren, decides to save his life instead of end it. Now, no matter how hard he tries, he can't stop thinking about her--the birch-bright hue of her skin and the way violets bloom in her hair. Every night, he goes into the wood to meet her, and their love for each other grows. But when the constellations shift, the stars foretell an inevitable war between the witch queen and the king. With Seren compelled to fight for her mother, and Owen forced to join the king's army, they are plunged into the heart of a conflict that seemingly no one can win and that might destroy both their kingdoms forever. The prose is EVERYTHING! That's the first (and almost only) intelligent thing I have to say about this novel. Every line was beautiful. I loved the switch between verse and prose as Seren works towards humanity. Her chapters alternate with Owen's as he describes life on the edge of the woods and she narrates being her "mother's youngest monster." This is the most poetic horror story/romance tale I've possibly ever read. Every sentence is a masterpiece, and I can appreciate all of it on a craft level. I especially loved what I labeled the "recall moments," where Owen would repeat lines of text from his observations about Seren or other powerful phrases. We also get a gorgeous monster girl & scientist boy dynamic that I am living for. Seren is a very specific brand of nature horror--if you loved the body horror of Wilder Girls but wanted that book to be set in a fantasy world, then Heartless Wood is for you. Again, the magic of Meyer's writing only adds to this. Seren is so beautiful but so monstrous, and all intimately connected to the forest in such a visceral way. She's made of bark and sap, birch and violets. I was fascinated by all of her, just like Owen. Think Wicked Saints Nadya/Malachiasz but with less religion and more forest. Into the Heartless Wood is an introspective book. There's just as much dedication to showing Seren and Owen growing together as the war between the witch queen and the king. I'd liken this to an enemies-to-lovers romance, but the problem those two face is that they recognize each other as kindred even when they should be enemies. I loved this pull against destiny as a plot device--I really rooted for them to be together and overcome the violence in their circumstances. Maybe this wasn't the direct intention, but I also think the novel did a great job of portraying abuse. Seren and the Gwydden (her mother) have a twisted relationship based on the Gwydden's immense power and control over her tree siren daughters. Seren works so hard to overcome the doubt her mother sows, and to be more than she was born for. I have deep admiration for how Meyer tackled this narrative. I'm giving Into the Heartless Wood 5/5 stars. It's an absolutely gorgeous novel that you'll want to crawl into forever. |
The BaronessHey, I'm Shreya! I love to read, write, travel, and drink tea. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of bookshop.org and I will earn a small commission if you click the above link and make a purchase.
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