Athena's Child by Hannah Lynn: Review

 

Athena's Child

Hannah Lynn

Publishing date - 16th July 2020

Daughter. Sister. Priestess. Protector.

Son. Brother. Demi-God. Hero.

Monsters.

Gifted and burdened with beauty far beyond that of mere mortals, Medusa seeks sanctuary with the Goddess Athena. But when the lustful gaze of mighty Poseidon falls upon her, even the Temple of Athena cannot protect her.

Young Perseus embarks on a seemingly impossible quest. Equipped with only bravado and determination, his only chance of success lays in the hands of his immortal siblings.

Medusa and Perseus soon become pawns of spiteful and selfish gods. Faced with the repercussions of Athena's wrath Medusa has no choice but to flee and hide. But can she do so without becoming the monster they say she is.

History tells of conquering heroes. Tales distorted by time. Medusa’s truth has long been lost. Until now. Now it is time to hear her truth.

My mum bought this for me as a gift. I had never heard of it before it turned up at my doorstep. It is a very short book, probably classifies as a novella. Therefore, I read it in two days, technically three given I finished it at 1 in the morning.

I think it was a really interesting time to read this novel given the feminist conversations that are happening right now after the murder of Sarah Everard. The writing was very beautiful especially the opening and ending. But the plot feels like it could have been gone into more details. I feel like the novella would benefit from an extra 30 pages that helped us connect more emotionally.

This is an indie author therefore you can only get it on amazon. I really loved the feeling of the book and the size of the writing. This book was a great 4 star read if you liked Circe you are going to love this. It felt very similar in atmosphere to Miller's books. 

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland: Review

House of Hollow

Krystal Sutherland

Publishing date - 6th April 2021

Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats. 

Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind. 

As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children. 

The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous – and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years.

I picked this book up on a whim because it was on the Waterstones buy one get one half price table and it was signed by the author. This is very different from my usual reads and it has made me realise it is a genre I want to explore more.

We learn early on that two of the three sisters are LGBT, so it was lovely to see sapphic representation in a novel without any love interests. 

I found the plot spooky but not scary. The majority of the scary aspects of the novel happened in the last 50 pages. I'm not a horror fan and i found the scary aspects very manageable. Leading to me believing this is an appropriate horror book to give to young teens who like horror. As the gore was not too intense. This aim towards younger audiences also made it great for people who are worried about the horror genre.

I personally didn't find there to be any plot twists. I worked out all reveals a page or so before the characters did however, I think this was a choice by the author and I don't think the plot reveals where meant to be too shocking. As ultimately this book was an incredible exploration of grief specifically the grief that comes from familial loss. This obviously means that the books comes with trigger warnings for suicide, kidnapping, and death of a loved one. However nothing was gone into graphic detail but if you are very sensitive. This is not the book for you

What made the book so special was the incredible characters. I really felt for all of them even those who were unlikeable. Everyone was morally ambiguous therefore the characters get very realistic inside a very fantastical plot and they really grounded the novel.

I read this book in two days. It was an easy 5 star read. I would recommend it to everyone even those who, like me, don't read horror novels. 

What's up Beanie? Review

What's Up Beanie? 

Alina Tysoe

Publishing date - 3rd August 2021

I received this book for free from Netgalley but that doesn't change my opinions

I follow this account on Instagram and love her artwork. I have bought merch from her. I love her style. This did not disappoint. I will definitely be picking it up when it releases.

The idea is nothing groundbreaking if you like what she posts on Instagram you'll like this. It's fun relatable comics that are hopeful and cute. Her art style is delightful and I was impressed by how few comics had previously been posted.

My one issue was that the ebook I received had the comics out of order no matter what I did. So I wouldn't recommend the ebook, just in case, this wasn't just an arc issue.

A solid 4 star read for me. I will be buying one for me and a few friends as a present.

Shine Your Icy Crown: Review

 

Shine Your Icy Crown 

Amanda Lovelace

Published January 26th 2021

I received this book for free from Netgalley but that doesn't change my opinions

This is Amanda Lovelace's second book in her 'you are your own fairytale' series. I personally do not enjoy this series as much as her first because I think this is a much lighter series than her 'Women are some kind of magic' series. There is still a helpful list of triggers at the beginning of the book but this series is definitely appropriate for a younger audience than her first. It could even be a great introduction to poetry if you are 12ish.

Feminism and valuing yourself is the key theme of this book, and it is done beautifully, Yet it doesn't do anything new with the topic unlike her book 'The Witch doesn't burn in this one'. This brings me back to this being better for younger audiences or people just beginning their journey with feminism. Something I adored about this book is the use of the big sister. The format of this book is a poem about a struggle and then big sister advice. This could be read as an actual big sister of the voice we follow or I read it as older women's advice to those younger, using the word sister as in sisterhood rather than familial.

Personally, I was a bit disappointed by this as I have enjoyed each of her books more than the previous and this is definitely the one I enjoyed the second least (I was not a fan of 'The princess saves herself in this one). I still think this has many positives and that this will be a great read for those new to poetry but Lovelace can write incredibly emotive pieces and I didn't especially find any of those in this book. I will absolutely be continuing with the series and buying this book as I am still a big supporter of this author and this book was a 4 star read for me so I obviously did still enjoy it despite my critiques.

The Burning Kingdoms

The Burning Kingdoms

Sally Green

Published August 27th 2020

This is the final book in The Smoke Thieves series and therefore this review will contain spoilers for the first books in the series.

I pre-ordered this book as I have with every Sally Green novel and made sure I wasn't reading any other books when it was released so i could dive straight in. I didn't have too high expectations for this book as i had found the second book was a disappointment. The finale was definitely better but I think overall the series was a let down. 

Sally Green's characters are what make her books so compelling. I loved all of the main characters and felt they were all very fleshed out. The relationship in this novel were tied up in a way I believe will satisfy most readers, possibly it was tied up too nicely.

For me the biggest issue I had with this book was the ending. It felt very convenient and unoriginal despite this being a total plot twist. It felt as if Sally Green had no idea how she was going to end it so pulled this random idea out of the blue that led to the ending she wanted. Possibly if there had been clues throughout the series it would have impressed me.

Her first series Half Bad is my favourite series of all time and fantasy like this isn't particularly my genre. However I'm not sure i would recommend the series to anyone as I think other series will do this similar premise way better. Saying all that she is still firmly one of my favourite authors, I find her writing style so comfortable. I am already excited for whatever she publishes next, I'm really hoping for her to do a standalone and to see what she can do with that.

In conclusion, a disappointing end to the series but still worth the read if you have read the other books in the series especially after the cliff hanger we were left on in the second books. I give the 3 stars

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche

Purple Hibiscus
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Published April 12th 2012

I cannot express how much I adored this book. I read it as it is the only full length novel which I am required to read in my mandatory English literature class and I'm hoping to get through all of that reading list before September. I read her essay 'We Should All Be Feminists' in the summer and was amazed by how incredible it was. So I started with this novel because I already wanted to read it.

This book was borderline perfection. The only possible flaw I could find in the book is that the last chapter kind of rushes through what happens but that was just personal preference. I possibly think the book would have been more enjoyable without the last chapter, but in terms of themes and analysis the final chapter was essential.

Aside from this, i loved every second of this book. It was haunting and beautiful and horrifying and hopeful. I had no idea of Nigeria's history. I had no idea that this time period in Nigeria even existed. I learnt so much about Nigeria and it's culture and am now planning to try read books from as many different African countries as possible.

Ultimately, this book is about Kambili and her family dealing with her abusive father. If you are at all triggered by abuse i wouldn't recommend this book. Some of the scenes were really hard and horrifying. But Chimamanda being the genius she is, she manages to weave so many different topical themes into the novel like colonisation and the effects of forcing Christianity upon people. I'm so excited to write about this book at university and explore the themes more.

In conclusion, this novel is a masterpiece and I think everyone would benefit from reading this unless any of the triggers I'll mention below effect you. I learnt so much about a new culture and feminism along with gaining a new favourite book with characters who i love so dearly and are so developed and are in no way pushed to the side in order to focus on the plot of the novel as i often feel literary fiction does.

TW - beating, burning, miscarriage, poisoning, prison

Alex In Wonderland by Simon James Green

Alex In Wonderland
Simon James Green
Published June 6th 2019

I have read all of Green's full length novels. I love him as an author, his protagonists are all gay British teen boys and it is amazing seeing teenage boys being written so well. I'm a sucker for just how British these books are. I find them genuinely hilarious. They can be quite vulgar but so can teenagers and sometimes it is jarring but realistically that is because authors shy away from addressing that aspect of teenage life and Simon Green never does. This book was such a comfort read, I felt safe while reading it. I couldn't recommend this book enough to any queer teenager but especially gay boys because they are so filled with hope and happiness. I loved this book from started to finish but i never needed to pick it back up and the end felt like it happened to quickly possibly like it needed an extra 20 pages to feel more realistic. This is such a solid 4 stars. I'm thrilled I picked this up.

In a Dream You Saw a Way to Survive by Clementine von Radics

In a Dream You Saw a Way to Survive
Clementine Von Radics
Published 9th April 2019

Clementine has three collections out right now and this is her most recent one. I read it for my Charms OWL as it is national poetry month in America so I am trying to prioritise reading poetry over other books. The thing about her poetry is that it isn't the kind of poetry that helps people understand what those who suffer an abusive relationship go through. Instead her poetry make those who have felt the same as her feel seen. Due to this I didn't connect with a lot of her poems as I have never experienced abuse in any form. But the poems I did relate to hit my like a brick. She is incredible at what she does.
Obviously this poetry collection comes with trigger warnings for abuse but the abuse is never described, just the emotional decisions during and after her relationship.
I am going to give this collection of poems 4 out of 5 stars because her poetry is amazing but this collection doesn't write about a topic which i can relate to and therefore it didn't have the emotional hit that I look for in poetry. Clementine's writing style is very accessible so if you have never read poetry before but are interested I believe she is probably a good place to start.

A Bird Flew

I.

When my uncle died,
we held a funeral for him
and four people came.
He spent the last decade of his life
Drunk, living in a van
in the Fred Meyer parking lot,
but before that
he lived with my family.
When I was little
he taught me how to read,
how to make pancakes,
that the birds
in our neighbourhood
were doves,
and how to kill them
with a well-thrown rock.
But with each passing year
he became more dead dove
more flightless thing
more ghost
haunting living body.
After he got knocked
out of every bar in town
he couldn't stay
at our house anymore,
he washed up at our door
one too many times
slushmouthed and bloody.

II.

This man is my family.

He bought me a new book

every year on my birthday

even in the cold years

he could barely buy food.

It's shocking, isn't it?

The people we love

and all the different people

they can be.

He died two years ago.

I said his name this morning.

I swear,

somewhere a dove flew

before it met with a rock

Emma

This book by Jane Austen is one of my mum's favourite's so when I saw it advertised I knew i was going to go see it whether I want to or not. This film is like a warm bath on a freezing cold day. I think before the end of the year I will have re-watched this film at least 3 times. I left the cinema buzzing because of how much I loved this film.
The main romance was incredible. Mr Nightly was so worth swooning over, some Austen love interests only have bad qualities which we are expected to overlook because the main character is good enough to. But in Emma MR Nightly was the ideal broody mysterious kind love interest that everyone wants in their romance movies.
Although to say this is a romance movie detracts from all the other things this does so well, such as be hilarious. It made me laugh out loud multiple times which I never expected to happen. and as if the film wasn't perfect enough, Bill Nighy was in it and he is just splendid in everything.
In case you can't tell, this film is an easy five out of five stars for me. I will force so many people to watch this throughout my life.

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

Sea Witch
Sarah Henning
Published July 31st 2018

I picked this book up on scribd mistaking it for 'To Kill A Kingdom', luckily I knew very little about either of those books so it wasn't disappointed by the different plot line to what I expected; instead I just presumed that I had got the wrong idea about what 'To Kill a Kingdom' was about. I was around 25% of the way through before realising that I was in fact reading a different book and had never heard of 'Sea Witch'.
Fortunately I really enjoyed this book. I rooted for every romance in the book, I had no idea where the plot was going to go (possibly because i had expected a completely different book). I loved the writing style which moved the plot along so quickly yet made sure all the characters where still developed thoroughly.
In 2019, I realised fantasy really wasn't my genre, after reading many of the years most hyped fantasy books and finding them quite average. However I do enjoy the occasional urban fantasy and fairytale retelling and for me this was the perfect fantasy novel. This was the first book I completed for my OWLS and it gave me my history of magic OWL. I knew this was going to be the first one i completed because it was the only audiobook I had. So i started it at midnight April 1st and had to force myself to go to sleep and not finish the book and stay up till like 6am.
As you can tell from my glowing review this was a 5 star read for me. There was nothing wrong with this book. There is a sequel to this book but i don't think i will read it because this was such an amazing stand alone and many of the reviews for the sequel say it is not as good. This book isn't a new favourite and I don't think it is a masterpiece but I would genuinely recommend this for everyone even those who aren't big fantasy lovers.

Review - Moana

Moana
Disney
2016

I have only seen this film once before and that was the week it was released in cinema. Unfortunately this film followed Zootopia which is my favourite Disney film ever and so at the time I was wondering whether Zootopia had set a precedent for a new Disney, so the film was probably set up to fail in my eyes.
In the UK Disney+ has just been released and for whatever reason Moana has always been my most recommended so i gave in and watched it and felt so overwhelmed by the meritocracy of this film. The first half an hour is easily the best part. The film lacks depth, I really feel the needed to explore the cultural side of the story more, at no point does the film make you feel emotional and all good Disney movie make you need a good cry.
Overall this film is a disappointment, it has the potential to be so much more. However the actress who plays Moana has recently come out as queer so an extra half a star because we have a queer actress playing a disney princess and that matters. Therefore this film is a 3.5 star film.

Review - Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson
Published 1948

I adored this book. It was so intense and thrilling that even though i knew the plot of the novel there were times i had to pause my audio book because it was too intense. This book was artfully written and i am disappointed in how we market this book nowadays because the fact that Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are the same person was all i knew about this book and I think if i hadn't of known this it would have been the greatest plot twist of all time.
This book is very short i read it within 24 hours and would be brilliant for a read-a-thon or a long journey because it was captivating and the language was easy to understand, even though it is a classic.
I could not recommend this book more I loved it. In recent years I have not managed to read a classic novel that has really caught my attention but this well and truly did. 5 out of 5 stars easily

October Wrap up

Hi,

October was a brilliant reading month for me. I devoured a load of audiobooks on scribd, which is my new favourite thing in the world. I have access to so much poetry (which I should definitely be reading more of) and brilliant audiobooks.

BOOKS

Life of The Party by Olivia Gatwood

This is Olivia's first traditionally published poetry book, which I was so excited for after reading 'American Best Friend' last December. Some of the poems were repeated which was a tad annoying and I do think if you are going to pick up any of her works I'd still recommend 'American Best Friend' over this. However I think this was the best poetry book that tackle sexual assault and rape I've ever read. I have no personal experience with sexual assault or violence so I often find those poetry book inaccessible but I believe this collection manged to hi every women, those who had experienced it and those who had, hopefully this collection will even impact upon men who really are the people who need to be educated most on the sexual violence that women go through. I adore this poetry collection as I believe I will with everything Olivia Gatwood puts out. an easy four star though obvious trigger warning for sexual assault or violence, murder, sexism and rape (I believe that is all).

The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck

I'm not quite about my love for Steinbeck's novel 'Of Mice and Men' but I had never read another book by him so I decided to give this one ago. To me the beauty of Steinbeck will always be his characters and this book is no exception. He writes the worst parts of ourselves so we don't like any of the characters but we know the are real and even relate to them at times. I thoroughly enjoyed this book but it wasn't at the same standard as 'of mice and men' but I will definitely check out more by him. A solid 4 stars

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Recently there has been a surge of romance reading with those I follow on booktube, so I decided to dip my toe in and read Well Met as it was meant to be a fairly PG romance novel. If you genuinely want no sexy scenes this isn't the book for you but it was contained to only one chapter which made it manageable for me. I loved this book, I have been in a bit of a reading funk this year and this book reminded me to read books I enjoy. I read this book in 24 hours it was brilliant. Highly recommend if you want a fun read. 4.5 stars

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

I believe this is my 6th reread of this book but it was my first time listening to it on audio and for the first time I cried, and not just a little bit. I balled at this book, it hurt my heart so badly. I've always said that this book has a different meaning every time I read it and this time it was the heart-breaking story of a girl watching the boy she loved fall out of love with her and in love with someone else. I was devastated, an obvious 5 stars.

Love a la Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm

I picked this up to be a cheesy rom com and that's what it was. It wasn't anything special and I think I've realised that Americans abroad stories aren't my cup of tea because I feel like it's always so obvious that the author has never been there. If you are into cooking I think this will be more interesting to you as food does play a very large role in the story. An average 3 stars, a very enjoyable read but I'm not sure I'd pick up any other book by her.

Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee

I loved this book. It had be hooked from the very beginning. The romance was perfection, the plot was believable and it felt fairly historically accurate. I just adored everything about this book and I will definitely be reading the sequel and everything else Mackenzie Lee puts out. 5 stars

Down Among The Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

I got this book for Christmas and wanted a bit of a spooky read for Halloween, even though I'm not really a fan of Halloween. I loved this. I am in awe of the character development that she managed to established in so few pages. I read it as an audiobook (no one is surprised) and I wouldn't really recommend the audiobook, some of the voices are a bit difficult to listen to and sometimes you can her the narrator sigh or swallow. The story is brilliant still and perfect still spookiness for anyone who isn't super into Halloween or spooky books but craves a little creepiness. A 5 star read.

TV & FILM

Clueless

I didn't like this movie. I know it's a classic but why are we ignoring the fact that he is a paedophile and the characters are all flat and none existent. I thought this movie was so pointless. I am clueless as to why they thought this would be a good movie to make and why so many people love it.

The Young Offenders (TV show)

I loved this. I think I might write a full review of the show and why I think it is genius. I cried during at least half of the episodes, they were all so heart-warming and funny and delightful. One of the best shows I've seen all year. Honestly it might have become an instant favourite. I need to get my hands on the movie sometime soon. 5 stars for this beauty

Great British Bake Off (Season 10)

I'm completely obsessed with this show. It's the highlight of my week every week. It is just a show about people being lovely to each other and baking tasty looking treats. I specifically thought the contestants this year were lovely helping everyone out when they needed it. Obviously 5 stars

Big Mouth (season 1)

I have no idea what I think about this show. I don't find it funny, it disgusts me at points yet I keep watching it and I know I will finish the full show eventually. It's a really easy show to watch and I've had a bit of a struggle this past month and this show has distracted me. It's very much a background show and I don't really have enough of an opinion on it to rate it.