If you are unaware what the Buzzword Readathon/Challenge is see my prior post HERE. Last month the buzzword was any of the 5W1H (who, what, where, when, why, how) and I ended up completing Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire which I really enjoyed!!
With February you can pick a book with pronouns/possession words (me, you, she, her, he, him, their, we us) and my options are:
Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship. More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.
I personally loved Alosa! She definitely that archetype fierce female protagonist that is prevalent in YA fantasy but I still enjoyed her immensely! She is vibrant, coarse and stubborn and a highly entertaining perspective to read from. I liked the fact that we got to know more about her background and why she is they way she is but there are still so many questions that I have about her that I hope is explored in the next book. It’s quite nice to see the contrast between Alosa the Captain and Alose the siren and how terrified of the unpredictable nature of that side of her and how she isn’t quite able to control it. I definitely want to learn more about the sirens and her mother.
Riden came across as too likeable in a way. I think he is way too devoted to his brother to be so captivated by Alosa and eager to please her too quickly, like he gives in to her too much. He was just a little too perfect of a counterpart for Alosa, I would of appreciated more conflict from him, even though I found their banter to be great to read I wish he would of pushed her as their prisoner more. We are given quite an in depth background as to how he came to be on the ship with his brother which I appreciated and gave the book more depth.
I really enjoyed the fact that this book didn’t shy away from the cutthroat nature of pirates. Deals are struck, crew members are knocked out and killed on the regular which upped the stakes. It keep me so much more invested knowing that not all of the characters are safe. We don’t learn as much about the world as what I would of liked but we are given quite a thorough history of the pirates and how Alosa’s father managed to secure his title as King. If Siren’s exist in this world is I’m left wondering if there are any other magical creatures that might make an appearance in the next book, I’m definitely excited to find out!
⭐️4/5 Ruthless, intriguing and adventurous!
*THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD*
The sorority girls at Kappa Rho Nu—the Ravens—are determined to restore balance to the world. After destroying an ancient talisman and barely saving their sorority in the process, they’ll go to any lengths to keep their secret as Westerly’s most powerful coven of witches. Unbeknownst to the Ravens, new rivals and ancient evils lurk on Westerly’s campus. With Kappa Rho Nu’s future on their shoulders and their pasts still haunting them, will Scarlett and Vivi be able to save their sisterhood once again?
Scarlett just came across and very insecure throughout the course of this book. Always second guessing all of her decisions and not really standing up for herself as the president of the sorority. It makes sense now having finished the book why the other sisters kept making remarks about Scarlett’s presidency but the fact that she would just take it and not call them out on being rude and toxic didn’t make sense to me.
Vivi also didn’t really grow in any kind of way throughout the course of this book. She realises at the end how some of her actions and decisions weren’t the best but I feel like if she went back she would absolutely do the same thing. I think she really disregarded the feelings of her sisters when they tried to have the intervention with her despite saying over and over how much of a raven she is, immediately becoming super defensive and dismissive and ran straight over to the Theta’s and joined them. I also don’t understand why she didn’t just explain to Mason about Tim and why she was meeting up with him. She totally just did what Scarlett did to him and I thought it wasn’t nice of her to just blow him off time and time again and then be surprised when he breaks up with her.
I didn’t enjoy the fact that we get this new storyline with the Hadesgate but we don’t get a history of who contained it last time, or who the witch was in the old house that Vivi had the vision about. Also we find out in this book that there are guardians/witch hunters that Scarlett was warned about her whole life which is one of the reasons why they are so serious about containing the secret about their magic. But again were just given kind of the bare minimum that is told to us by Xavier but we don’t get any kind of in depth explanation about who they are and how they were established.
The whole plot was just everything turning against the Kappas all at once and them just being like oh is someone sabotaging us??? It was blatantly obvious that there was someone out to get them but there just wasn’t that sense of urgency until they lost their magic. I feel like the girls are all so cavalier about their magic and will just do a spell whenever something inconvenienced them and it was definitely interesting to see them having to try and navigate their lives without it. There was just nothing that was super surprising or gripping about this book, I was interested enough to see how it would end but this didn’t leave a lasting impression on me at all!
⭐️2/5 stars Underwhelming and forgettable!
*DEFINITE SPOILERS BELOW*
After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to have him want her dead for murdering his best friend in cold blood. If Juliette were actually guilty of the crime Roma believes she committed, his rejection might sting less.
I found Juliet in this book to be frustrating. I could tell straight away that something was happening behind the scenes with her father as he sent her to ‘work’ with Roma. But because she was so wrapped up in finding out who the blackmailer was and dealing with Roma directly again she was oblivious to what was happening around her until it was too late and she had to scramble. For someone who is supposed to be the heir to the Scarlett gang she is rarely ever with her father or privy to any of his meetings and plans I felt.
Roma was not all that impressive either to be honest. The first half of the book before he found out that Marshall was still alive was just him having conflicting feelings towards Juliet and not really getting anything done. Honestly he didn’t really add anything significantly to the book other than just being a Montagov. I didn’t really come away from the book having that much of a connection to him.
One thing I loved was the evolution of Benedikt and Marshall. Ben finding out that he was still alive and then their reunion where you could feel the tension stirring between them to the eventual declaration of their love! I found it to be incredibly heart warming and lovely to read. I also was very much surprised with Rosalind and Kathleen and how integral their roles were in the plot.
I think what really bogged down this story for me was all of the political talk about the revolution and the different factions within the city that came to a head in the end. I couldn’t find myself being that invested even though it took up so much of the storyline. I know what they were talking about was significant but it derailed the whole story so completely that I feel like the original premise was lost.
⭐️2/5 stars Fell flat for me!
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn’t save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster.
Cora’s character is just so complex. I love that we get a brief background on her and her experiences in childhood with her weight and how ostracised she was by her peers. I think it’s quite tragic that she thought the only way she could escape would be to try and commit suicide but I’m glad she found her way through her door and to the trenches. I thought it was quite brave of her to approach Eleanor and request the transfer, she obviously knows how to advocate for herself and through her experiences recognise when she’s had enough.
I’m a little miffed at Eleanor for her reaction to Cora’s decision to go to Whitethorn. I think she definitely took it too personal and reacted when I think she should of tried to be a bit more compassionate and try to reason with Cora. I just feel like when she was aware of how serious Cora was she kind of shut her out and sent her on her way.
I was very much invested in Cora’s time at Whitethorn and how they try to break the girls and reset their minds. We are introduced to a few new characters and revisit some old characters which was fun to see. I almost didn’t recognise Regan at first but I loved that we get to know what happened to her when she came back through her door and her new abilities. The other characters weren’t as memorable to me, they all kind of blended together a little bit but I’m hoping we learn more about them individually as the series continues.
I think this book in particular is one of my favourites in this series. Cora feels a lot more relatable as a character and overall the plot and pacing were still quite fast but highly engaging. I would of loved if this was a full length book that could of delved a lot deeper into Whitethorn and the Headmaster and his decisions. But for being a novella I think there was the perfect amount of context, mystery and thrills!
⭐️4/5 stars One of my favs from this series so far!
Amy Leigh Reads 