Tag: Seanan McGuire

Reviews

In An Absent Dream Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on In An Absent Dream Review

This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should. When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she’s found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.

From what we learn about Katherine I can see why she would want to escape to the Goblin Market and how she would thrive in this world. She is very stubborn and I could see how her choices would affect her later on in the plot and they eventually did. She was both selfish running away from her family and coming back multiple times, she didn’t really understand how that could affect them, but also she would do just about anything to help Moon and stop her from becoming an owl, taking on her debt and paying it all off with no thought of the repercussions.

The world building wasn’t quite enough for me. There was definitely multiple discussions about the rules and debt and how giving fair value and not asking for too much was key in this world but the actual setting wasn’t explored enough for me. It lacked that depth I needed to become fully engaged and invested in the plot.

I felt like all of the action and adventure aspects in these books were just passed over. I wanted to know about all of the things Lundy got up to in the years she was in the Goblin Market instead of briefly being told them when she returns to her family. This is definitely more of a character driven series which explores the characters growth over their journey’s and their frame of minds throughout as opposed to what is actually happening within the worlds.

Overall I feel a bit ambivalent towards this book in particular. It was interesting sure, and seeing how Lundy interprets the rules and debts captured my attention but overall it just feels like something is missing in the story. And again like the rest of the series I think it was the fact that they are just so short and doesn’t give me enough substance.

⭐️3/5 stars Just an ok one for me…

Readathons, Wrap Ups

Medieval-A-Thon Wrap Up

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Medieval-A-Thon Wrap Up

This was such a fun immersive readathon to participate in! I had so much fun and ended up completing some books I had been meaning to read for a while now so I am stoked! I strayed away from my original TBR I had set for myself but I still had lots of fun and read some great books and completed my goal!! I am both a Master Blacksmith & a Fashion Trend Setter making me an Empress!

The books and prompts I completed were:

Blacksmith

Tailor_Seamstress

Read a books with gold, silver or bronze in the title or cover: The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty

A book you’re scared to read: Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

A book with a weapon on the cover – Light in the Dusk by Jessi Elliot & K.J. Sutton

A hardcover – A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

A series finale – Lightbringer by Claire Legrand

Read a book your unsure about – Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

First book to a series – Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima

A book embossed or foiling on the cover – The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The last book you bought/borrowed – Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Prettiest book on your shelf – Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

Wrap Ups

January Wrap Up

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on January Wrap Up

This month was pretty chill in terms of reading. I am very happy with what I was able to get to but I definitely feel like I could of picked up more during the month.

The Deck of Omens by Christine Lynn Herman – ⭐️3/5 stars

The Deep by Rivers Solomon – ⭐️3/5 stars

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab – ⭐️4/5 stars

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power – ⭐️3/5 stars

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire – ⭐️3/5 stars

The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty – ⭐️4/5 stars

Lightbringer by Claire Legrand – ⭐️5/5 stars

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire – ⭐️3/5 stars

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Reviews

Down Among the Sticks and Bones Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Down Among the Sticks and Bones Review

There is something about Seanan McGuire’s writing that is both whimsical and compelling. I found myself lost in the story and enraptured by the world of the moors.

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline. Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you’ve got. They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.

Jack and Jill just aren’t my favourite protagonists. They just grated my nerves which makes me unable to connect with them. I mean they were only 12 when they stumbled into the moors and they had to adapt to survive but I just found them both to be unlikeable. It was interesting to see their choices about who they wanted to stay with and how they reacted to each other’s choice and the subsequent way their lives devolved.

There is a discussion to be had about their parents and the dismal childhood they had to endure, being regimented into the roles they deemed where appropriate and being unable to grow, change or evolve out of those roles. They cared more about how they were perceived by their peers rather than catering to their children’s needs first and that really made me dislike them.

These novellas I don’t think are going to gel with me as a reader simply because I need more substance. I want to learn all about the world and find out what actual creatures and monsters inhabit the moors. I want to know how everyone came to be here and the way the Vampires took over. Is there a magic system and how does it work, what is the history? Whereas I think these books are just supposed to touch on the individual characters experiences in their worlds and how it changes them before coming back to the real world where they are supposed to readjust.

Overall it was an interesting reading experience.

⭐️3/5 stars I just want to know more!!