daystar-daydreamer

[daystar-daydreamer]

The Colossus of Rhodes by Caroline Lawrence

Category: Middle-grade

Genre: Historical drama

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌑 4/5 stars

Recommended for: 7-10

I really liked having Marcus, Flavia’s father, around here. He doesn’t get in the way of the kids’ adventures, but he’s also not a neglectful father like so many middle-grade parents. He contributes plenty to the plot, and he’s also a pretty nice guy all around most of the time. 

About halfway through the story, it’s revealed that one of the members of Marcus’s new crew, Zosimus, is a mole working for the slave trafficking ring. Before the reveal, I’d found him charming and I really liked him. I didn’t see it coming whatsoever, and even after the twist, he was still a pretty solid villain for what little page time he got. 

The scene where the characters were interrogating him and he started singing like a bird when Lupus threatened his pigeons was way funnier than it probably should have been. 

Shortly before Zosimus’s reveal, Lupus spends the night on a little boat tethered behind the ship, and while everyone was sleeping, Zosimus cut the rope, and Lupus drifted to a desert island inhabited by a woman named Julia and her slave, Pinchas, who told Lupus what was happening to some of the children who were being kidnapped. I was hoping the storyline with Pinchas and Julia would go somewhere. Sure, they gave Lupus some interesting information, but it didn’t do much more than that. I wish we’d gotten to know them a little better. 

During the climax, the kids pretend to be slaves so they can get close to the mastermind and rescue the kids who’d been kidnapped. I thought that was pretty clever. And so was the reveal that Magnus, the villain, had been a mile ahead of them the whole time. 

Lupus, however, had gotten separated from them, and he’d heard that his mother was on the island so he was trying to track her down. And then Magnus revealed that if he went to his mother, his friends would end up being sold into slavery! It was tense in the best way possible, and this time, it did live up to its heartwrenching potential; Lupus had to make the choice for himself rather than essentially having it made for him.

[daystar-daydreamer]

The Gladiators from Capua by Caroline Lawrence

Category: Middle-grade

Genre: Historical drama

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌑 4/5 stars

Recommended for: 7-10

March AD 80. In Rome, the Emperor Titus has announced that there will be a hundred days of games to open his new amphitheatre (now known as the Colosseum). Flavia, Nubia and Lupus take this opportunity to go to Rome and search for their missing friend, Jonathan. Their search leads the young detectives straight to the games, where they must face wild beasts and gladiators to accomplish their mission.

This series has a new champion: Gladiators from Capua!

Reading about the kids watching the events was surprisingly engaging, and it got even better when they got themselves caught up in it! I was really hoping the plot with those guys trying to assassinate the emperor would get more attention than it did, but oh well, that not going anywhere didn’t affect the quality of the story that much. 

I also really appreciated that the kids weren’t horrified by the games on principle… Well, Nubia was, but that’s to be expected of her. Like so many Romans, the fact that Gladiator Games Happened was just a fact of life, and the idea of making slaves fight and sometimes kill each other – and the whole concept of slavery as a whole – didn’t disgust them like it does. So many other period pieces I’ve read have this anachronism, where the characters just hate it because Blood Sport Is Bad, which is a relatively modern way of thinking. 

Towards the beginning of the games, Nubia won a gladiator from a lottery ball, and at the end, she had to choose between taking home Jonathan or her older brother, Taharqo. But Taharqo was happy as a gladiator and didn’t want to go home, which, well, good for him. But I thought that was pretty disappointing. 

I really wish Nubia had to make the choice whether to save Jonathan or Taharqo herself, rather than having the choice made for her. It would have been a lot more emotional than having Taharqo essentially telling her to take Jonathan and go! There could’ve been tearful goodbyes and a nice hard sucker punch right in the feels, but we didn’t get that here! And maybe, at the last minute, the rather bolder Flavia decides to cash in a favor from Titus and get the one Nubia had to leave behind back; this series isn’t averse to letting the emperor swoop in and bail the heroes out.

[daystar-daydreamer]

The Enemies of Jupiter my Caroline Lawrence

Category: Middle-grade

Genre: Historical drama

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌑 4/5 stars

Recommended for: 7-10

Jonathan's father, Doctor Mordecai, is summoned to Rome to help the plague victims. The four young detectives are wanted too, as the Emperor Titus believes that they can find the mysterious enemy who seeks Rome's destruction.

Can the friends prevent disaster? And what is Jonathan's secret mission?

The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina was… Mediocre (But it wasn’t as bad as Secrets of Vesuvius, so it gets a pat on the head for that!), so I’m just going to skip reviewing it. So onto the Enemies of Jupiter! 

As the series progresses, I can clearly see how the author’s improving. The characters are getting more fleshed out, the plot threads are more developed and connect with each other better, and the soap-opera elements are much less obnoxious. The story is about the kids trying to fix a prophecy to stop a plague going around Rome, and Jonathan in particular trying to set up a run-in between his parents. The story meanders sometimes, but it always comes back to those two central pillars, something which I found that previous books had struggled with. 

During this book, the emperor suspects that a fever sweeping through Rome is being caused by a prophecy about Prometheus, who was, in a way, the first doctor. So they investigated the doctors treating the plague, looking for the more arrogant ones - the ones who thought that were “one step down from Jupiter”. The doctor Nubia looked into, Diaulus, easily took the crown! She said that he thought he was one step up from Jupiter, which made me giggle. Lupus’s, Egnatius, thought that piss was a panacea. Yuck!

The climax, where Agathus, one of the emperor’s slaves, revealed himself to be trying to burn down all of Rome as revenge for what happened to Judea and forced Jonathan to help him was really exciting! I couldn’t stop reading as Jonathan tried to find a way to stop Agathus. And the ending where the fire started anyway had me on the edge of my seat. 

And poor Jonathan went and signed up to be a gladiator!

[daystar-daydreamer]

I know a book you should read! It's sci-fi, not too long like Sarah J Maas haha, no dragons, and I think the plot + characters is super intriguing. It's called Cosmic by Aubrey Butler! Found it on Amazon

I’ll think about it; it seems like it’s adult rather than YA and it’s quite pricey, but it looks fairly interesting.

Here's the link to the book in case any of you guys are interested

[daystar-daydreamer]

The Dolphins of Laurentum by Caroline Lawrence

Category: Middle-grade

Genre: Historical action-adventure

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌑 4/5 stars

Recommended for: 7-10

In the fifth volume of the popular series of historical mysteries, a ragged stranger and the prospect of losing her family's fortune lead Flavia Gemina and her friends, Jonathan, Lupus, and Nubia to a seaside villa. There, they discover a shipwreck and sunken treasure--and that someone else is after the treasure, too. As they solve the riddle of the wreck, the four friends also stumble acorss the terrible mystery of Lupus's past.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

I think this one is the best of the bunch so far. 

In this book, the kids are trying to get treasure from a shipwreck, and Lupus is the only one of them who can dive to that depth, and according to the book, diving that deep more than seven times in one day is dangerous. And Lupus really pushed that limit!

Him making so many risky dives had me on the edge of my seat; I could have been frustrated, but I wasn’t. I think it’s because 1) He’s eight, and kids are known for being reckless 2) He was being smart about being stupid… He knew what the limits were and knew better than to push them, but when someone is as emotional as Lupus was, common sense often goes out the window. 

I liked that we learned more about Nubia and Lupus’s backstories, and it was great having Marcus around again. The tricks the kids devised to get to the treasure - modifying the boat to make it easier for Lupus to dive off of it, and using an anchor to make him sink faster and a ball of cork so he could float the amphorae to the surface - were cool. 

What was not as cool was the attention given to the music the kids play. I don’t care! If it doesn’t advance the plot, it shouldn’t take up so damn much of it. 

At the end of the book, Venalicius was revealed to be Lupus's uncle, who had murdered Lupus's father, cut out his tongue, and then kidnapped him so he wouldn't squeal. And then when he died - from making too many dives so he could get the treasure for Lupus -, he left his ship to the kid. The reveal of Lupus's backstory was good.

But Venalicius turning good was the mother of all ass-pulls, and a man like him who ruined so many lives doesn’t deserve any kind of forgiveness or redemption! I’m glad he’s dead, and I hope he’s burning in the deepest pits of hell. 

Having three guys thirsting after Miriam was hilarious, but it felt like padding, especially because we already all know who she’s going to end up with (ick!). 

I got all the books in this series at the same time, and The Gladiators of Capua has a young black Retiarius on the cover. Towards the beginning of this book, Taharqo popped up at a slave auction and Venalicius said he’d be good as a gladiator. I had a strong suspicion that he’s the Retiarius on the cover. And then it was all but confirmed towards the end of the book. Let’s goooooo baby!

[daystar-daydreamer]

The Assassins of Rome by Caroline Lawrence

Category: Middle-grade

Genre: Historical mystery

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌑🌑 3/5 stars

Recommended for: 7-10

Jonathan goes on a secret quest to Rome, and Flavia, Nubia and Lupus set out to find him. Their dangerous mission takes them to the Golden House of Nero where a deadly assassin is rumoured to be at work - and they learn what happened to Jonathan's family during the terrible destruction of Jerusalem nine years earlier.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

The Assassins of Rome felt like a soap opera, but it wasn’t as obnoxious about it as SoV

At the beginning of the book, it seems like the story is going to be about tracking down an assassin. But then that assassin, Simeon, turns out to be Jonathan’s uncle, and Jonathan accompanies him on a mission to Rome, where the book then becomes about the other three kids trying to find Jonathan and Jonathan searching for his mother. I don’t get why the part where the kids were looking for Simeon had to be there. But the part where he and Jonathan were trying to sneak into the palace kept me on the edge of my seat, especially the part where they got caught!

I really liked Jonathan and Susannah’s relationship - or at least, the beginnings of one. Jonathan really loves her, even though he hasn’t seen her since he was a baby, and the same is true the other way around (Well, duh, a mother will always love her kids).

I couldn’t give two hoots about Flavia and co’s arc of the story. Maybe if we’d gotten to see more of Miriam freaking out over Jonathan and Mordecai, and Flavia’s involvement in that, I might’ve cared more. I also wish we’d gotten more Mordecai in this particular book; he could’ve gotten out sooner and discovered Jonathan was missing, that would’ve been fun. 

The emperor swooping in to give the heroes all the answers and set all the slaves free was the mother of all Deus Ex Machinas.

[daystar-daydreamer]

In my fantasy world, it's not uncommon to find old shipwrecks having been repaired - and, more often than not, modified - and inhabited by merfolk. Landfolk archaeologists hate them.

[daystar-daydreamer]

The Pirates of Pompeii by Caroline Lawrence

Category: Middle-grade

Genre: Historical whodunnit

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌑🌑 3/5 stars

Recommended for: 7-10

It is AD 79. The Roman world is reeling from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Hundreds of refugees are living in a makeshift camp, trying to come to terms with what has happened. Then even more tragedy strikes: the camp's children begin to disappear. Flavia Gemina and her friends Jonathan, Nubia, and Lupus are determined to find out more and start to investigate a powerful and charismatic man known as the Patron. A dangerous trail leads them to the caves and grottoes of Sorrento, where they encounter pirates, slave dealers, and possible death.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

I’m not going to be reviewing The Secrets of Vesuvius because all I have to say about it is that after the life-or-death (At least for the dogs) stakes of the last book, that glorified easter egg hunt feels like a downgrade. And I can see the author thought so too, so she added a hefty dose of soap opera to make it more exciting. It didn’t work. And Gaius is NASTY for making moves on 14-year-old Miriam. I get the book is set in ancient Rome and that sort of thing was normal, but goddamn!

Now onto the Pirates of Pompeii. This one is much better than SoV, and a little better than ToO. 

I like that we get some of Nubia and Lupus’s backstories (Which I suspect will become relevant in later books), and the little seeds of foreshadowing sprinkled throughout the book: Julia . The character work is stronger in this book than the previous two.

I don’t really like that arc where Flavia started acting more like Pulchia. Firstly, it seems really out of character compared to the Flavia from the previous books. At least it didn’t last very long. 

I did find it funny how Pulchia kept calling Flavia ‘Fulvia’. And Pulchia’s character development was nice too, though I admit I kind of hoped she’d get offed because she was so insufferable. And even if Pulchra isn't such a piece of crap now, I don't think Leda will be jumping at the chance to be her friend.

It was nice of Flavia to set Nubia free, even if I saw it coming.

[daystar-daydreamer]

The Thieves of Ostia by Caroline Lawrence

Category: Middle-grade

Genre: Historical whodunnit

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌑🌑 3/5 stars

Recommended for: 7-10

The dogs on Flavia's street have started dying mysteriously, and she is determined to find out why. Her investigation leads her to three extraordinary people: Jonathan, her new neighbor; Nubia, an African slave; and Lupus, a mute beggar boy. The four embark on a search for the killer ... and that's when the excitement begins.

Flavia’s introduction seemed way too ham-fisted, but maybe that’s because it’s written for a much younger audience than myself who need to be told things more directly. I also wish she had more flavor. She’s got a personality, sure, but none of her traits stand out much. 

And the way her most important trait - her detective work - wasn’t shown very much. A clue drops, we get told that Flavia made a connection, but we don’t even get a hint as to what said connection is before the next clue drops. The story should have shown a little more of her thought process so we could try to puzzle out the mystery alongside her. 

The way she saw Nubia - almost like a new doll she’s excited about - would have been annoying, but it’s stated that Flavia’s never had a friend before, so being over excited and not knowing exactly how to conduct herself is understandable and gives her a much-needed layer. And their friendship moves on from surface-level very quickly, and it was very cute. Nubia wasn’t all that useful to the story. I hope she becomes more relevant later on. 

Neither was Venalicius. For a guy who was given so much attention, he sure became useless after Marcus bought Nubia! I expected a terrifying character who got so much attention to get more use in the plot. 

Libertus being the culprit seemed to come out of nowhere. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I hadn’t known it was him behind the killings, so I could look out for the foreshadowing. 

There should’ve been more red herrings than Avitus and Lupus. Lupus sucked as a red herring. 

He didn’t suck as a character, though. He’s a good kid who's been dealt a bad hand and that makes him very easy to sympathize with. That’s also why he was a terrible red herring.

The thing with Lupus trying to steal the money didn’t seem to add anything to the plot and the scene at the end where Mordecai got the other kids to forgive him was too ham-fisted. If the author wanted a forgiveness theme, she should’ve written it in much more subtly than that.

[daystar-daydreamer]

In the Shadow of Heroes by Nicholas Bowling

Category: Young adult

Genre: Historical fantasy

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌑 4/5 stars

Recommended for: 11-15

Fourteen-year-old Cadmus has been scholar Tullus’s slave since he was a baby – his master is the only family he knows.

But when Tullus disappears and a taciturn slave called Tog – formerly a British princess – arrives with a secret message, Cadmus’s life is turned upside down. The pair follow a trail that leads to Emperor Nero himself, and his crazed determination to possess the Golden Fleece of Greek mythology. This madcap quest will push Cadmus to the edge of the Roman Empire – and reveal unexpected truths about his past…

Spoilers under the cut

FUCK YEAH ROMANTASY! It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that drops magic into a Roman inspired, or in this case, straight-up Rome. It’s a nice change of pace from the vaguely pre-industrial or dingy Victorian fantasy settings we see so often. 

I like Cadmus — he’s a good kid. I love how vulnerable he is — he’s a sheltered kid on his own for the first time without Tullus to take care of him and he’s appropriately frightened and confused. I also like Tullus. He reminds me of Linus Selius from I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii. 

I don���t like the way Druscilla treats Cadmus, but I appreciate the way it was handled. It shows pretty well how most people probably treat Cadmus. Druscilla herself was strong, imposing, despite the way she talks down to Cadmus, she didn’t seem like an all-round bad person.

Bufo is a dick. I thought he was going to be a dick for the entire book, then he went and protected Tullus from Nero. That was nice of him. Also, one of my favorite exchanges in the book involved him:

“Don’t think there’s any contest for who’s the most senior slave in this place.” “You may as well claim to be the world’s tallest dwarf.”

*cackling* 

Cadmus tricking Tog into going to Athens was a dick move on his part, and considering the rest of the book, even the rest of the Athens arc, also somewhat out of character for him. He’s such a Good Boi, so sweet and earnest for pretty much the entire rest of the book. What possessed him to lie to his friend’s face like that?

And speaking of Tog, I really like her. She’s tough and no-nonsense and I thought she was going to be that flat for the whole book, so I wasn’t too keen on her at first… and then she adopted that little mouse. I like the softer side of Tog better than her tough side. And Togodumna isn’t impossible to pronounce. 

Reading about Nero, on the other hand, is like listening to nails on a chalkboard. He was screechy, grating, and utterly unbearable. 

The chase scene out of the palace was exciting. I also enjoyed that Cadmus and Tog wrecked some of Nero’s stuff on the way out! The climax being the catalyst for the great fire of 64 AD (I think?) was a neat touch too. 

The tomb being set up to trigger for anyone bigger than Cadmus was pretty clever. The Golden Fleece blanket too. 

Eriopis, the priestess, being Cadmus’s sister came a little out of nowhere. I thought that she was going to be a gorgon and I was eagerly waiting for her to unleash her powers on Nero’s Heroidai, and I was disappointed when that never happened.

[daystar-daydreamer]

Looks like it's time for me to give this series another shot

In anticipation of Mogtober, here's an old piece of my favorite Nevermoor trio 😊

If you like middle grade or magical books, and haven't read this series, what are you doing?? Go read it. It's so good!

[daystar-daydreamer]

Phoebus comes over to visit your muse(s) after they land themselves in the hospital for something that was definitely their fault.

Speed coloring practice.

[daystar-daydreamer]

In the pines

[daystar-daydreamer]

Security at every level of an airport is absolutely ridiculous. Until you get to the baggage claim. Then it’s just like take whatever bag you want.

[daystar-daydreamer]

"Soy Ira, Capitán de los Siete Pecados Capitales de los Siete Mares.

"¡Prepárate para una muerte lenta en las profundidades!"

[daystar-daydreamer]

love to the strong 💐

[daystar-daydreamer]

Book review: Hollow Chest by Brita Sandstrom

Category: Middle-grade

Genre: Fantasy/mystery

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars! :D

Recommended for: 8-13

Charlie has been having nightmares. Eyes watching him in the night, claws on his chest, holding him down. His dreams have been haunted for years, ever since German bombs rained down on London, taking his father's life, taking his city's spirit, taking his beloved brother, Theo, off to war in France. Now Charlie is left to take care of his grandpa Fitz while his mother works, waiting for the day when Theo will come home. And with World War II nearly won, that day is almost here. Grandpa Fitz warns Charlie that soldiers sometimes come back missing a piece of themselves, but Charlie isn't worried. Whatever Theo has lost, Charlie will help him find it. When Theo finally does return, though, he is cold and distant. Their family, like the city itself, feels more broken than ever. But Charlie refuses to accept that the brother he knew is gone, and soon he discovers the reason for his brother's change: war wolves. Terrifying ancient beasts who consume the hearts of those broken by grief. The wolves have followed Theo and hundreds of other soldiers back home from the front. And if Charlie truly wants to save Theo, he's going to have to find them and get his brother’s heart back. But can a heart that's eaten ever be replaced?

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

The story got me to like Charlie, his mother, and Fitz within the first few pages. Fitz seems to be developing dementia, and I can tell you from personal experience that it’s a nightmare. :(

Early on in the story, the church makes a trip to a military hospital, and so much emphasis was put on it that I was sure Theo would be there. He wasn’t, but Reggie was. I like Reggie. He’s funny, and I got attached to him relatively quickly for a side character. 

Theo, however, is… Not quite so easy to get attached to. I get that he’s less affectionate because the war wolves ate his heart (And probably also PTSD, but this book is about the war wolves), but most of the chapters with him around are a slog. 

And the wolves themselves are creepy as hell. Did they try to wipe Charlie’s memories of them after the first encounter? Because it seemed like it to me. That actually made my skin crawl, the way those things could get into someone’s head and mess around in there!  

Dishonor was creepy, but I had a feeling from the first meeting that he wouldn’t be the villain. I was a little thrown off, however, by the other war wolves as well. The story had presented them as the villains, but they didn’t seem to act like it. They were weirdly helpful, and it was only until the very end that I realized they weren’t actually all that villainous, the soldiers let the wolves have their hearts and the wolves were just trying to survive like regular wolves, the biggest difference being their intelligence and choice of prey.  

Charlie telling a story to Theo and a story to his mother was really sweet. I especially liked the story about the feral girl who became a princess.