![]() 3-3.5/5 “Home is where you are, Rae” First off, I want to give a big thank you to Nicole Dykes and Wildfire Marketing for providing me with an arc of Runaways in exchange for an honest review! This is the second book I've read by Nicole Dykes, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that she is not afraid of confronting dark themes and heavy content. Runaways covers 4 years in the lives of Rae and Law, high school sweethearts who are forced to run away when Rae’s home becomes increasingly unsafe. I’m not sure what the spice-level typically is in Dyke’s books but it’s pretty minimal in this one (despite what the cover might imply), which feels appropriate given the content. This was a really quick read that hooks you in from the start - I finished in about four hours. I thought the book was gripping even though it’s definitely a tough read. I appreciated the growth that Law and Rae had both as individuals, and as a couple. Their relationship had to adapt and change in order for them to hold onto and support each other through everything they go through and I think that it was really well-done. I always love a found-family, and seeing Law and Rae move past the people who let them down to create their own home and safe space in unlikely places was the highlight of the novel for me. I’m always a little hesitant when it comes to romance novels that feature abuse and trauma. I’ve only read a few novels in this genre that I felt managed to give the issues the weight that they deserved and also incorporated a romance that felt organic, constructive, and valuable to the story/character growth. I think Runaways is a good start, and definitely does not make light of abuse or use it as a throwaway obstacle to keep the characters apart. I do wish that we had seen more of Rae’s healing process. As soon as this danger was removed, the story focused more on issues in Rae and Law’s relationship rather than the inevitable repercussions of what she went through at home. I don’t necessarily think that this was a bad representation, but I think the book could have given a little more attention to this dimension of the themes. Plotwise, I will say that I kept waiting for a big confrontation in the last 30% and it never came. Even though I was happy with the ending and where everything left off, it felt like it sort of fizzled out and wrapped up very quickly. Final thoughts: give me Hayden and Nash or give me death.
0 Comments
![]() Once upon a time “I just really need it to be a love story, you know? I really, really need it to be that.” This week’s #throwbackthursday is my favourite read from 2020. I always say that My Dark Vanessa is one of the best books I’ve ever read and it’s definitely one of my favourite reads of all time, though it always feels a little strange defining it as a “favourite” because of the subject matter. The book uses two timelines to tell the story of Vanessa and the abuse she suffers at the hand of her English teacher, Jacob Strane. The first timeline takes place when a fifteen-year-old Vanessa starts classes at her new boarding school and first meets the forty-two-year-old Strane. Strane quickly singles out Vanessa and the two eventually begin a sexual relationship that will continue on and off for almost twenty years. This brings us to the second timeline. Vanessa’s life has been shaped and defined by Strane, but now he is being accused by another former student who has reached out to Vanessa. Vanessa has to choose whether or not to remain firm in her belief that her 15 year-old self willingly entered this relationship, or if it is time to stop allowing herself and Strane to define what happened as a “love story” I’ve struggled with writing a review of this book for a long time because I just don’t know how to do it justice. I think that it’s such a beautiful book, both the writing on its own and the way that it handles its subject matter. Vanessa is allowed to be a 15 year old - prickly, irritable, and angsty, but the reader never loses sight of what is happening even as her narration portrays the development of their relationship as romantic. I actually laughed out loud near the beginning of the book when Jacob first gives Vanessa a copy of Lolita and tells her that it reminds him of them because it was such an obvious cliche, almost too on the nose. But quickly, Vanessa begins to use Lolita and this warped interpretation of the characters to define herself and how other people treat her. This feels like a good way to describe the book because it’s all so quietly horrific. The story feels inescapable, and the 2017 timeline does nothing to give readers a break as Vanessa struggles to reconcile the way she has defined her life and relationship with Strane to what she knows is the reality. This is by no means an easy book, but I think that it’s an important one. It’s hard to believe that this is Kate Elizabeth Russell’s debut novel considering the skill that she displays here. I really cannot adequately express how much I love this book and even though the experience of reading it isn’t necessarily enjoyable, I think it’s a visceral and valuable one. ![]() Once Upon a Time This week’s #throwbackthursday is a much slept-on fantasy series that I first read back in middle school. The first thing that drew me to The Beautiful and the Cursed was the absolutely gorgeous cover, and the unique concept kept me hooked. I’ve seen a few reviews on Goodreads that have said that it’s similar to a lot of other popular YA series, but I have to disagree. Maybe the plot is similar (girl discovers magic world, finds her own powers, saves the day and falls in love, blah blah blah), but I think that Page Morgan has created such a unique world and characters that this series stands apart. Basically, Ingrid and her family have moved to Paris under mysterious and somewhat dubious circumstances. Their home has gargoyle statues all over it because architecture. What Ingrid doesn’t know is that this means she and her family are now under the protection of Luc, a gargoyle who is tasked (re: cursed) to safeguard the house and its occupants. Luc has a human form (hot, obviously) and he and Ingrid begin a tense friendship. The first book is centered around Ingrid’s search for her twin brother Grayson, who has gone missing. The second and third books expand the story and introduce new characters, all of whom are interesting and well-developed. Ingrid and Luc are still main characters in the second and third books, but Gabby and other new characters get a larger role in the story. In fantasy series we’re used to seeing faeries, vampires, werewolves, etc. etc., and so even though they might have their own magic systems, we as readers have expectations for how they will behave. This book introduces a completely new mythology with a complex hierarchy and system, but it never becomes confusing. Every piece of information is naturally worked into the story so while the reader never feels like they’re getting a direct explanation, it is still easy to understand and follow along with what’s happening while still maintaining some mystery throughout. The romance between Luc and Ingrid is so fantastically done. It doesn’t overpower the story, but the yearning between the characters is apparent in every scene that they have together. Their characters are well-developed and multifaceted as individuals, and seeing them grow together enhances the atmosphere of the entire book. Definitely check this one out if you love fantasy and anything Gothic! ![]() 3/5 "I am a Goddess of Life, a Queen of Death. I am the beginning and end of worlds." Okay for starters, am I the only idiot that thought this was a trilogy??? I’ve watched/read countless reviews of this series, I follow Miss Scarlett St. Clair herself, and I still didn’t realize this fact until I was half done with this book. Am I upset, even though it’s my own fault? Yes, because now I have to wait until 2022 to find out WHAT THE F**K HAPPENS But I digress. If you’ve been following along you might have picked up on the fact that it’s taken me approximately 7 eons to finish this freakin’ book. It definitely wasn’t the book’s fault, I just found myself in a bit of a slump and I wasn’t really motivated to read. I actually enjoyed this one a lot more than A Touch of Ruin (book two). I’d actually really struggled with ATOR because Persephone was completely insufferable, and if I hadn’t already had book three then I probably would have DNF’d the series. However, I’m trés glad that I impulse bought all of them. In this installment I found Persephone to be a more confident and consistent narrator. She was much more willing to communicate with Hades and acknowledge when someone else had more experience/knowledge than her, which to me makes her seem stronger. My only real issue with the book, and really the entire series, is that it can’t seem to decide what it wants to be. In this book specifically, nothing really happens plot-wise until about 300 pages in and even then it’s happening more on the periphery of the main characters. Instead, there’s smut about every 4 pages. This can actually get a little repetitive but really, who am I to complain? This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I think it would be a better read if the characters either engaged with the mystery/political plot more or if it was just a straight up fantasy romance that focused entirely on Hades and Persephone’s relationship. As it is, it’s essentially focused on the romance but then the Impious and murder mystery plots get left behind and are underdeveloped. I also think there were so many characters that were just underutilized, especially Hades. He literally just shows up to bonk Persephone and then dips. At the start of the series he’s a really interesting, morally ambiguous, set in his ways character with a clear soft spot for Persephone. Over the next couple of books, particularly in this one, all of that takes a back seat and he becomes a bit one dimensional. Same thing goes for Hermes and Apollo. They could be really dynamic characters but they’re relegated to posse members who’s only role is to praise Persephone. Zeus and Poseidon are being set up to be interesting villains but we see so little of them, even during the final battle scene, that there just isn’t much there yet. I get that the main appeal of these books is the smut, but taking out some of those scenes to focus more on character and world-building would only serve to improve that aspect of the story and the series as a whole. However as mentioned before, I think that Persephone displayed some great character growth after the complete mess she was in book two. I’m a fan of unreliable or unlikable narrators, but that definitely wasn’t the intention with Persephone so I’m happy that she’s gotten to the point where she’s more confident in herself and willing to explore her powers. The set-up to book four was fantastic because we got to see Persephone really exercising the powers that she’s been training since A Touch of Darkness. And spoiler alert, it’s going to be a nice change to see Persephone save Hades for a change. I know that there’s a whole separate series from Hades perspective, but I’m hoping for dual POVs in A Touch of Chaos. I doubt that it’ll happen, but a girl can dream. Not only will it give us better insight into what’s going on with the Gods and Hades himself, but I think that it would add more danger and tension to the entire story. Overall I think that this book had a lot of potential that maybe wasn’t realized, but it’s still a pretty enjoyable read and I’m glad I’ve continued with the series. |
Find Me!
|