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Call Down The Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

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  So my intention was to review this prior to starting Mister Impossible, the second book in the series, because I find it difficult to review single books in a series if I’ve already read the whole thing. Evidently, that did not happen (idk why I bother planning anything, smh), but also I think more people need to read this series SO HERE WE ARE.   Call Down The Hawk is the first book in The Dreamer Trilogy, the adult follow up to Maggie Stiefvater’s YA hit ‘The Raven Cycle’. It focuses heavily on the ‘dreamers’ from TRC, people who are able to pull fantastical items out of their dreams. This is a book with lots and lots of characters, but I’ll outline the main POVs below. We have, in no particular order: The Lynch brothers, the brothers Lynch, ostensibly our protagonists, and the main carryovers from the previous books. Declan, Ronan, and Mathew are, respectively, a muggle, a dreamer, and a dream. Their plot primarily revolves around them becoming embroiled in the wider world of the
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Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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     I bought Cage of Souls on a whim. In a rush to finish my 2020 r/fantasy bingo card (yes, I *am* only just getting round to reviewing it, 3 months later), I got it for £3 in an audible sale, and honestly? That's one hell of a deal.  Cage of Souls follows Stefan Advani - student turned activist turned political dissident, as he is sent to a prison known only as The Island. The narrative is split in two, the present day following Advani's experiences in prison, alongside sections showing what, exactly, he did to end up there. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of this sort of structure. I'm a very character focused reader, and I don't like how the secrecy necessitated by non linear narratives obscures information that it might be interesting to have earlier in the book. Tchaikovsky makes it work here though, and the breaks between segments work well to both build tension and give breaks between the heavier, more depressing sections. It's not a technique I'm goin
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Review of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

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  Published in 2005, with a film released in 2010, Kazuo Ishigro's science fiction masterpiece feels disturbingly relevant in the age of pandemics and quarantine. Following a young woman named Kathy as she recounts her time growing up, Never Let Me Go is a love story juxtaposed against a creeping, science fiction horror, juxtaposed against a deeply tragic parable about the power of subtle propaganda to perpetuate deep rooted systemic abuse. Ishiguro’s masterful grasp of restraint, perspective, and emotionality had me gripped from the start. At first, it was the mystery that kept me reading, then it was the overwhelming sense of horror as the truth behind our protagonist’s situation was revealed. From then on, the book is a breadcrumb trail, interspersing fragile glimmers of hope with the unrelenting tide of despair at a conclusion it was clear was coming from the start.  This book isn't going to be for everyone. It's slow, and many of its most interesting parts are sub text
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10 Adult Reads With Disability Representation

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The Healer's Home by SE Robertson

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  Robertson once again proves their strength for character writing. Keifon and Agna feel like real people, as do the friends and acquaintances they meet along the way. I know Keifon, at every stage of his life from a kid in a rough spot, to alcoholic on the streets, to recovering apprentice doctor, older than his compatriots but far wiser. And I've *been* Agna - the girl so weighed down by the expectations imposed by their family and the expectations imposed by what sounds like fairly awful bullying, that she is terrified to even consider the thought that someone might hold genuine affection towards her. Like, there have been points in Agna's storyline where I've just had to put the book down because it's been too much. These people are so real it hurts, and watching them move closer and closer towards healing is all the more moving because of it. One thing I think I underestimated in the last book was Robertson's knack for worldbuilding. This isn't the grand, s
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The Siege of Skyhold by John Bierce

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  The Siege of Skyhold picks up shortly after where The Lost City of Ithos left off, with the apprentice mages recovering from the gruelling battle they just survived. Everyone's a little shaken and channelling that, in typical progression fantasy style, into getting guder. The first half of this book is dedicated to that process, with everyone focusing in on different areas. Sabae is working on her lightning affinity, previously subject to the same neglect as her healing affinity. Talia is busy coming up with something typically gruesome. Godrick is struggling to come up with armour that will take him once and for all out of his father's shadow, and Hugh is doing a thing with wards. It's, as always, fun to watch them all working and experimenting with the exceedingly complicated magic system of Mage Errant, and whilst there are definitely times where the exposition dumps drag, they do just sort of come with the territory in this series - someone clearly likes them if Bierc
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The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore

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  I’ll keep this as spoiler free as I can, but it’s a very character heavy book, so ideas about what constitutes a spoiler may vary. If the premise interests you, I highly recommend just diving in. Also upfront, this book (and thusly this review), has sexual assault as a major theme. I think I cover how it’s handled fairly well here, but if you need more details, please feel free to lmk.    I don't really know where to start with this book. I tried several times to come up with something, only to find myself flailing, partly because in general I find it easier to talk about books I didn’t like than ones I did lol. The Mirror Season is one of those books that you don't realise is making you feel things, then you get to the end and start contemplating your life choices. The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore is a YA magical realism book following Ciela, ‘La Bruja de los Pasteles’, a young woman with the ability to tell exactly what kind of pastry someone needs to make their li
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