allyofavonlea

[allyofavonlea]

Absolutely loving this Happy Place-era interview with Emily Henry, where she talks about seasons, and the healing she hopes her readers get from her writing, and so many great insights into her writing.

I particularly loved learning about her parents relationship and how they provided an example for Emily to feel safe when arguing, which is something we see in Happy Place.

Highly recommend if you’re an Emily Henry fan!!

[allyofavonlea]

It’s okay if it takes you some time to find (happiness) again. And it’s okay if you find it just to lose a bit of it here and there. That’s the beauty of it, yeah? It comes and goes. Not every day is a happy one and it shouldn’t be. It’s in the trying, I think.

IN THE WEEDS, B. K. Borison

[allyofavonlea]

I know I can be too much, but I think I’m just enough for you.

MIXED SIGNALS, B. K. Borison

Lovelight Farms (1/4)

[allyofavonlea]

When I also tell you that there is a romance in Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid that has me absolutely losing my mind, foaming at the mouth, clawing at the walls*. I knew there would be because I literally asked Reid in a Q&A if there would be “romance like your previous work” and they answered in the positive.

I’m exactly halfway through, so we’ll see how this ends, and this is the first time in years I haven’t skipped to the last page to “prepare myself” for what I’m about to read. (I say this because, yeah, things could still go downhill, but the trust I have in Ava as an author is pretty solid and I’m pretty sure this is going to be a six star read for me.)

If you liked Juniper & Thorn and especially the Wolf and the Woodsman, you will love this. Stylistically, it’s a tiny bit different but everything that makes Ava “Ava” is still here.

(*not to mislead anyone into thinking this is a typical romance with purple prose and flowery words. It really isn’t, but it is specifically something that I LOVE and Reid masters it in spades. Think of the gruesome love between Sevas and Marlinchen, and the kindred spirit that recognizes a monster in each other, and you’ll see echoes of that here.)

[allyofavonlea]

In The Weeds already has me laughing out loud. I didn’t think I was going to like this because One Night Stand to Second Chance Romance isn’t my cup of tea, but I find myself loving it.

[allyofavonlea]

A display from a smalltown second hand bookstore. What has been found in books.

[allyofavonlea]

What The River Knows

by Isabel Ibañez

★★★★☆

A unique, lush, enchanting historical fantasy with forbidden/slow-burn romance and a story brimming with magic, mystery, love, betrayal, lies, and friendship.

Inez spends her time drawing and hiding from Argentinian high-society responsibility while her parents are gone to Egypt six months out of every year. One day, she receives a letter from her uncle that her parents are missing and presumed dead after an excursion. Right before their deaths, her father sent her a mysterious ring brimming with magic and glimpses of the past. Filled with questions and needing answers, Inez sets sail for Egypt whereupon she meets a wily, charming, insufferably cute Whitfield Hayes who reveals that her uncle insists she go back to Argentina immediately. In fact, every attempt to glean any information about her parents and their deaths is met with misdirection, avoidance, or omission. Never one to give up, Inez sneaks aboard her uncle’s boat to set sail upriver to his archeological excavation site and seek the answers she needs.

This was wonderful to read, and Inez is a curious, independent, strong FMC whose stubbornness was well written so as to be entertaining. I absolutely loved seeing Egypt through her eyes, and loved her banter with Whit.

THE ENDING had me on my knees. In fact, the only reason I knocked off a star was because I felt that things were getting a bit too repetitive halfway into the book. Inez kept asking her Uncle and Whit about her parents, and they kept refusing her. Once they finally begin the adventure to the excavation site, things pick up and continue accelerating until that absolutely whirlwind ending that I did not expect at all. I NEED THE SEQUEL NOW!!

(Also, I love that Ibañez wrote Egypt in this time period without shying away from the effects of British Imperialism. We are reminded of it time and again, and Egypt is never romanticized.)

[allyofavonlea]

Perhaps it is always restful to be around someone who does not expect anything from you beyond what is in your nature.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

by Heather Fawcett

★★★★★

A comforting, romantic, winter adventure reminiscent of Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Album… but BETTER.

We follow gloriously curmudgeon Miss Emily Wilde, faerie scholar extraordinaire, as she fastidiously researches the fae in the remote village of Ljosland. Along with her trusty dog companion, Shadow, whose every scene brings a smile to the face, and her curiously charming friend Wendell Bambleby (who sends her drawings he’s done of her!!! So cute!!!) during countless treks through the magical wilderness, encountering all sorts of fae friend and foe.

I cannot recommend this enough for a winter read, as this book brings the same feelings of being swaddled in hundreds of blankets, just as Wendell loves to be. The characters are lovable and memorable, from the townspeople to Emily and Wendell themselves. You can’t help feel a rosy glow of happiness reading the exchanges between these two, and the ever-present love that exists between them.

The story is told in the form of journal entries with countless footnotes about other faerie related scholarship that brings such a gorgeous touch to the book. Appeals to both the inner child and the inner romantic, and to anyone who wishes for a wintry adventure along with a nice cup of tea.

I cannot wait for the sequel to be out this upcoming January!!

[allyofavonlea]

3.75-4.5 stars.

Emotional, powerful, full of love and overcoming hopeless situations. Sorcery of Thorns follows the escapades of Elizabeth Scrivener, an orphan who grew up within a magical library and is now training to be one of the library wardens. When a series of gruesome murders start happening throughout the libraries of the city, Elizabeth has to team up with gloriously charming and outlandish Nathaniel and his assistant, Silas (the single greatest character of the century), to save the libraries and the city from a bigger threat than anyone could have imagined.

I had only a few minor complaints which kept this from being a five star read for me, and it was only because of how much I grew to love our main three Elizabeth, Silas, and Nathaniel. Where this book suffers is in not spending more time growing these relationships, both platonically and romantically.

While Elizabeth is a great character on her own, I found the chapters in which she embarks on solo trials and tribulations to be the most disengaging. There were quite a few segments of the book which could have been shortened (particularly a three chapter long undercover stint in one of the magical libraries). While Rogerson did state that she intended for this to be more fantasy leaning, with a tertiary romantic plot, it still could have benefited from delving deeper into the friendships between the three characters.

Similarly, one of my biggest critiques of said romance is that Elizabeth learns about Nathaniel through Silas, instead of spending those moments with Nathaniel himself.

All of this to say that I wish this was entirely more character driven because these characters are, quite frankly, unforgettable! If you love Howls Moving Castle you will love the dynamic between Elizabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas.

[allyofavonlea]

★★★★★

I kid you not, this was a feat of literary brilliance. I enjoyed this more than Sorcery of Thorns because it gave me what SOT did not — a complete focus on the relationships between the three main characters. I could read ten more novellas about hijinks between Elizabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas and be perfectly content.

As far as feel-good reads, this novella really goes above and beyond. We follow Elizabeth, Silas, and Nathaniel as they work to uncover the secrets within Thorn Manor, particularly why the manor has decided to lock everyone within it’s doors. What follows is a series of fairy tale-esque escapades that were such a joy to read! I truly cannot recommend this novella enough for fans of Sorcery of Thorns.

[allyofavonlea]

What The River Knows has me reeling over that ending. Like what???

MAJOR SPOILERS UNDER CUT

First of all, the death shocked me. I did not expect that to happen. I thought everyone was making it out alive and I was in pure shock for about ten minutes, full not processing what I was reading.

I think Whit is pulling a fast one on his family, I think. Per his strange final POV. He’s been cut off by his mother, I’m assuming? Who else would the She be who has finally cut him off completely? So he sends the telegram to Porter and says “his plan is in motion, it just has to work”. Then he proposes.

But this brings up all sorts of questions - he’s spent the entire book telling Inez not to trust him and that he only trusts his brother and sister. Leading me to think there’s some nefariousness with his parents.. perhaps his mother is a bit devious? He’s intentionally very mysterious.

Also, if he marries Inez, and I hope they go through with it, he’s obviously going to ruin the betrothal to the secret, unrevealed fiancé.

I am just all sorts of WTF about this but mainly excited for book 2.

Here’s some things were left with:

Porter is coming to see Whit, as planned by Whit? He intended for his brother to sail out with that telegram?

Whit is interested in alchemy, like Inez’s mother. They are both looking for the same pamphlet/scroll but neither was able to find it

The mention of Nefertiti’s tomb makes me wonder if she will be the next tomb we’re looking for in book 2

The mom is alive and missing, but the lover she had the affair with is dead

There’s another big boss we don’t know about

That annoying dude still has Cleopatra’s ring

Papa is still alive, I’m assuming. And now Inez has to find him

Wondering if there will be some second book romance shenanigans because of a betrayal ? I hope not. I want to see them grow their love, not create even more distance.

[allyofavonlea]

WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING

You know what, it lagged a little in the middle there and I wasn’t sure it could recover but holy shit!!!! Those last few chapters oh my GOD where was that intensity for the first 1/2 of the book?!?

WOWOWOWOW I NEED BOOK 2 NOW

[allyofavonlea]

★★☆☆☆ (2.75 stars)

A true Rebecca Ross story, rife with enchanting prose, tender romances, a hint of bittersweet longing, and a tiny bit of heartbreak along the way.

The story follows Clementine, who seeks revenge on the two magicians who usurped her family’s wardenship of her small town. She begins working with one of the two magicians, Phelan, and uncovers a whirlwind of secrets along with a centuries-old conflict between powerful players.

This was not my favorite of Ross’s works by a long shot but I still enjoyed the worldbuilding and relationships between her chatacters which Ross really excels at. Despite this, it took me several weeks to get through, because the story itself didn’t grasp me the same way her other books have.

Still, the dreaming-based magic system and the countless deceptions within the story were great fun to read.

[allyofavonlea]

“Beyond her unparalleled tinkering, she is a skilled alchemist.”

[allyofavonlea]

So she became an owl, and flew away to hide in the dark. And she will hide there till the world ends.

[allyofavonlea]

Love is not the sharp-edged thing she’s always believed it to be. It’s not like the sea, liable to slip through her fingers if she holds on too tight. It’s not a currency, something to be earned or denied or bartered for. Love can be steadfast. It can be certain and safe, or as wild as an open flame.

A Far Wilder Magic

[allyofavonlea]

You don’t have to take up a sword. Survival is bravery too.

A Study In Drowning