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Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow (Review) by Jessica Townsend

January 1, 2019 | fantasy, Reviews, Young Adult

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow was one of the books I was most desperately looking forward to in the latter half of this year. Admittedly it hasn’t exactly been long since I read the first novel in the series, Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, back in September, but I loved it so much that I’ve honestly thought about the sequel at least once a week since. Now I’ve finally managed to get my hands on it, and it did not disappoint.

Plot summary: Morrigan Crow has been invited to join the prestigious Wundrous Society, a place that promised her friendship, protection and belonging for life. She’s hoping for an education full of wunder, imagination and discovery – but all the Society want to teach her is how evil Wundersmiths are. And someone is blackmailing Morrigan’s unit, turning her last few loyal friends against her. Has Morrigan escaped from being the cursed child of Wintersea only to become the most hated figure in Nevermoor?

Worst of all, people have started to go missing. The fantastical city of Nevermoor, once a place of magic and safety, is now riddled with fear and suspicion…

Star Rating for Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow: * * * *

I’ve been so nervous about starting this book – would it have the same quirkiness, the same loveliness, the same excitement? I needn’t have feared – it totally did.

Morrigan is now a member of the Wundrous Society and classes have started in order to teach the new members how to use their new powers. Only the school isn’t too thrilled about having to teach a Wundersmith and Morrigan doesn’t have too easy a time of it. The schoolroom setting means that the atmosphere of the first book, when Morrigan was going through the Trials, is preserved and the general feel is the same.

The imagination of Jessica Townsend is wonderful. Everything she creates is so unique and quirky, whilst having an over-arching plot that doesn’t feel at all contrived. There are some fantastic ideas in Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow and I have zero complaints about the way any of them were executed. All the old characters are present (plus some new ones), as is the wonderful Hotel Deucalion. I really wish my bedroom changed according how I was feeling…

It does have Middle Book Syndrome, in that Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow doesn’t really advance the plot much, if at all. I feel that this book could be safely removed from the series and no gap would be felt. That said, it was only afterwards that I realised this, as I was having too much fun reading it. In short, it’s an unnecessary book, but a really enjoyable one.

There was a plot point that annoyed me, which is why I gave this book four stars instead of five, like the first. It was one of those ‘you really need to give this information to somebody in authority’ things, and they wind me up like nothing else. A reason is given, so I’ll give the author a nod for recognising the problem, but it didn’t really sit right in my head.

I do love this series and Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow was absolutely not a disappointment. It was only one niggle away from being just as good as the first, and that’s high praise for the second book in any series. I love the tone, the story and the characters and I’ll definitely be pre-ordering the third book as soon as it’s announced.

Read my review of Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, or find Jessica Townsend on Twitter.

Red Sister (Review) by Mark Lawrence

December 27, 2018 | fantasy, Reviews

Red Sister took me two whole weeks to read, mostly due to attempting to move into a new house (with all the requisite furniture purchases and utility company wrangles) and an important family berveavement (not that a family bereavement is ever unimportant). Still, the length of reading time shouldn’t be taken as anything even remotely like a criticism of Red Sister – I loved this book. If anything, it’s remarkable I managed to read it in only two weeks!

Plot summary: At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist.

But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse.

Stolen from the shadow of the noose, Nona is sought by powerful enemies, and for good reason. Despite the security and isolation of the convent her secret and violent past will find her out. Beneath a dying sun that shines upon a crumbling empire, Nona Grey must come to terms with her demons and learn to become a deadly assassin if she is to survive…

Rating for Red Sister: * * * * *

Assassin nuns? I know, right. Just try explaining the plot of this one to a work colleague who asks what you’ve been reading. Any reading credibility you just had is gone. Except… it’s not that, not really. Red Sister is a detailed, unique and fairly formal work of epic fantasy and I could not put it down.

I used the word ‘formal’ there to avoid having to use ‘heavy,’ which implies the arduous slog that I recall every time I consider starting another Dickens novel. Red Sister isn’t heavy in that sense of the word – the pages fair flew by and I never struggled picking the book up to continue reading. It’s just that the plot isn’t a light one, the world-building is very detailed and the dialogue is quite, well, formal. It’s not a light, easy read.

But it’s oh-so-worth it. Calling them ‘assassin nuns’ doesn’t really do them justice, because they are bad-ass. Essentially we have a training academy, but the students head off into four different disciplines – some of them go down the religious worship route, but others become poisoners or assassin-type figures. We’re not talking a Harry Potter or Morrigan Crow type school though. The Convent of Sweet Mercy is very dark and brutal and, for clarity, Red Sister is not a Young Adult book. There are some brutal fight scenes and a smattering of torture-esque grossness. But, it is relevant to the plot. Honestly.

There are two points that I particularly appreciated about Red Sister, that made it a little different from all the usual fantasy series:

On commencing her education, Nona is not immediately bullied, despite the fact that classes have already started and friendship groups have already formed. She is not a lonesome outsider – she has a closeknit group of female friends, who did not dislike her on sight.
Particulary this – I was rolling my eyes at all the ‘Chosen One’ stuff, when it was bloody obvious who the Chosen One was going to be… except not. We still genuinely don’t know who that person is, or even if there is a Chosen One at all. It was really creative and unique, and I loved it.

It is slow to start… and continue. And finish. But in a good way! You know like in Harry Potter, when you wish you could spend more pages learning about all their classes and the way Hogwarts works? Well, you have your wish in Red Sister. A large portion of the book is given over to entrenching you into Nona’s world. Sure, the over-arching plot is referenced every now and again, just to remind you why you’re there, but it’s mostly a slow-burn of a book. Don’t think that it’s boring, however. I loved every single second and would happily have read another 100 pages.

The world-building in this book is wonderful. Not just the Convent of Sweet Mercy, but the wider world, where the ice is slowly moving in to cover the remainder of civilisation thus far left unmarked. Some of the passages detailing the history of the land (briefly) have a lovely poetic sense to them and I hope we find out more in the next book.

No child truly believes they will be hanged. Even on the gallows platform with the rope scratching at their wrists and the shadow of the noose upon their face they know that someone will step forward, a mother, a father returned from some long absence, a king dispensing justice . . . someone. Few children have lived long enough to understand the world into which they were born. Perhaps few adults have either, but they at least have learned some bitter lessons.

If I had a criticism of Red Sister, it would be that it’s quite difficult to separate all the characters. It’s not that there’s a lot of characters exactly, but I did feel that all the teaching staff at the Convent, as well as the majority of the novices, did tend to blend together slightly. It was difficult to remember who was who. However (it’s amazing how many excuses you can make for a book you liked, isn’t it?), this didn’t actually impact my enjoyment in any way as the ‘important’ characters, the ones who were relevant to the plot, were noticeable enough to remember.

There are zero romantic sub-plots, which is always a plus in my book. There’s a throwaway reference to Nona having a crush on a couple of the other girls, but it definitely doesn’t form into a storyline.

I kept swinging between ratings for Red Sister, between four stars or five. In the end I decided that this book was a five star read – I was glued to the pages throughout and I’ve already preordered the next book, Grey Sister. I never pre-order books, so if that’s not a sign that this book is amazing, I don’t know what is.

Visit Mark Lawrence’s website here, or find him on Twitter.

My Moving House TBR

December 22, 2018 | TBR

moving house books tbr pile

If I know you in real life, chances are I’ve mentioned that we’ve bought a new house and were moving into it on 7 December 2018. Hell, if you didn’t know me in real life and you just happened to pass me in the street, chances are I mentioned it anyway.

I love our new house. It’s a cottage in a tiny rural village (seriously, the owner of the sole village shop commented that she didn’t recognise us when we walked in) but which was extended backwards to join with an old workshop so it’s all twisty and quirky, with stone chimney breasts and fireplaces, and argh.

Anyway, much as I love it, I’ve spent weeks packing and organising and generally falling over with tiredness. I was also realistic about the prospect of not seeing the large majority of my books again for a good few weeks/months. I mean, we know where they’re going to but, much as I attempt to convince my partner otherwise, they’re hardly a priority. With that in mind, I separated out the books that I’m likely to want to read in the immediate future and subtely slipped them into the back of the car when nobody was looking… Between these and Christmas books, I should be alright for a little bit 🙂

New books

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

book cover red sister by mark lawrence I’m actually in the middle of reading this already and I love it. I mean, it’s taken me a fortnight so far and I’m only 4/5 of the way through it, which is the longest by far I’ve spent on any one book so far this year, but that’s moving for you.

It’s very similar to Nevernight, but more serious and much more detailed. Honestly, it’s so engrossing and the world building is wonderful, but it’s not something you can just pick up in an idle moment.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

If I’d clicked that this book was about institutionalised time travel, I’d have picked it up a long doomsday book cover connie willis time ago. Much like The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., The Chronicles of St. Mary’s, and The Psychology of Time Travel, there’s nothing I like more than government-sanctioned temporal shenanigans.

I think this one is about a scholar who goes back in time to study the Plague. I don’t know the rest of the plot, but my psychic powers tell me that she somehow gets stuck and has to find her way back to the 21st Century. Hey, I love this genre, but I know its tropes.

House-Bound by Winifred Peck

house-bound persephone classic book cover winifred peck I own so many Persephone classics and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten around to reading any of them. In theory, however, in my new house I’m going to have my pretty collections of matching books in the dining room behind glass cases… which means I actually have to read the damn things.

This one looks interesting and snarky, kind of like The Diary of a Provincial Lady, which I adored. It’s dry and funny, and so I have high hopes for this novel, which is about a group of middle class women who suddenly realise they can no longer afford household servants…

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

I bought this book, as well as the above three, all on the same book shopping jaunt with an ember in the ashes book cover sabaa tahir Charlotte. Plus another four, obviously. I picked it up purely based on the cover, Charlotte told me that it was good and so I shrugged and added it to the pile. I’m just that suggestible when it comes to books.

I should add that I’ve heard nothing but good things about this series, particularly the second book. I might start this series in the New Year as I have A Thing about finishing existing series in the year I start them. I mean, I never stick to it, but it’s a distinct preference regardless.

The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers

the riddle of the sands erskine childers book cover penguin This may seem like an odd choice for a TBR pile, considering I get the title wrong, forget the author constantly and actually have no idea what it’s about. And that would be a totally fair assessment.

My logic is that I recently read Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which I bought at the same time as The Riddle of the Sands and in the same pretty Penguin edition. I was pleasantly surprised by Tarzan and my supposition (which admittedly now seems somewhat faulty) is that this book may be good too. Even though it’s by a different author, about a different topic. Huh.

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

I was hoping to conclude this trilogy this year and was disappointed/frustrated to learn that, two dark reigns book cover kendare blake actually, the author couldn’t finish this in three books after all. ~~Even though she definitely could.~~

That said, I do enjoy this series and I am looking forwarding to reading this installment. It’s a YA fantasy that’s just a bit different from all the others. No prophesy, no ‘chosen one,’ no dark and brooding boy… just good old triplet princesses attempting to murder each other. What more could you possibly want?

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

birdsong book cover sebastian faulks I’ve had this book for years and never picked it up, despite knowing how amazing it’s supposed to be. I just don’t suppose I’ve been in the mood for what looks to be heavy (both emotionally and in a literary sense) war fiction.

However, I recently reread All Quiet on the Western Front (review here) after attending the Remembrance Day church service with the Scouts, and it horrified me, as always. Birdsong is supposed to be a wonderful book and, if people can live through those experiences, I’m damned sure I can survive reading about them.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee

I wasn’t bothered about this book for a good, long while – it just didn’t seem to be my kind of thing. But then I was ambling through Waterstone’s on my lunch break one day (having a book shop so close is lethal), and had a flick through. I think I needed a second book for The Offer, as always.

Anyway, I had a little smirk even on the very first page. It seems like it might be a lot more interesting and funny than I’d expected, so I’m definitely going to give it a go. It’s potentially the very thing to cheer me up during what I’m sure will be a long and miserable January.

Rereads

All links go to my reviews, where there is one:

The Collector by John Fowles

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence

The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (it is Christmas, after all!)

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

The Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe

The Pirates! in an Adventure with Moby Dick by Gideon Defoe

In an ideal world, we’ll be able to get my books out and on cases within a few weeks. And who knows, that may happen. I have the luxury of having a boyfriend who, whilst not a reader himself, does understand how important my books are to me. So it might happen… right?

What’s on your reading list this Winter?

Mythothon (slightly) Late Sign-up and TBR

November 4, 2018 | mythology, read-a-thon

In my defence, I had always planned on joining in with Mythothon. It’s just that I never actually got around to posting my TBR or, you know, signing up at all. But here we go…

This is a month long event run by Foxes and Fairytales. Click here to sign-up and read the full rules. The challenge isn’t to necessarily read books about myths, it’s more about reading books that fit into the following myth-related prompts. There’s a bingo board and potential prizes to win, so definitely check it out.

My TBR will ~~likely~~ definitely change, but here’s an idea of what I might be reading:

Zeus. King of the Gods. God of the Sky. Read a book at least 400 pages long.
Hera. Queen of the Gods. Goddess of Marriage, Mothers and Families. Read a book about royalty.
Death and the Virgin: Elizabeth, Dudley and the Mysterious Fate of Amy Robsart by Chris Skidmore
Hebe. Goddess of Eternal Youth. Read a Middle Grade or Young Adult book.
The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus #1) by Rick Riordan
Poseidon. God of the Sea. Read a book which features the sea – mermaids, pirates, surfers etc.
Hermes. God of Travellers and Thieves. Read a book set in a country not your own.
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan.
Aphrodite. Goddess of Love and Beauty. Read a book with a beautiful cover.
The Mermaid and Mrs Gowar by Imogen Hermes Gowar
The Hydra. Multiheaded Serpent. Read a book with more than one POV.
Two Dark Reigns (One Dark Throne #3) by Kendare Blake
Iris. Goddess of the Rainbow. Read a book with your favourite colour on the cover or in the title.
Ancient Greece. Read a book set in the past.
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Hestia. Goddess of the Hearth. Read the first book in a series.
Dionysus. God of Wine. Celebrate this year by reading a 2018 release.
Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass #7) by Sarah J. Maas
Achilles and Patroclus. Read a book with an LGBT+ protagonist.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily. M. Danforth
Free Choice.
Homer. Read a retelling (of a myth, fairy tale, classic novel etc.)
Hephaestus. God of Fire and Smiths. Read a book with a disabled character.
Ares. God of War. Read a book with a compelling antagonist or a written from the villain’s POV.
Echidna. Mother of Monsters. Read a book about monsters – dragons, zombies, serial killers etc.
In the Labyrinth of Drakes (The Natural History of Dragons #4) by Marie Brennan
Herakles. Read a hyped or popular book (define ‘popular’ as you wish).
Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2) by Laini Taylor
Gaia. Primordial Earth Goddess. Read a book which was published at least 5 years ago.
Athena. Goddess of Wisdom, Strategy and Crafts. Read a book that’s not the first in the series.
Bearing an Hourglass (Incarnations of Time #2) by Piers Anthony
Artemis. Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt. Read a book with an animal on the cover or in the title.
Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Persephone. Goddess of the Underworld and Springtime. Read a book which is less than 200 pages.
Apollo. God of Prophecy, Plague and Poetry. Read a collection of poetry or short stories.
Hades. God of the Underworld and Riches. Read a book which you got for free (library, from a friend, ARC, Kindle offer etc.)
Demeter. Goddess of Agriculture. Read a book with a nature word in the title – e.g. leaf, wind, flower etc.

Here is the bingo board. I’m going to aim for three complete rows, which should be about twelve books or so, allowing for interlocking spaces. I’ll check-in at the end with a coloured in board.

Have you read any of these books? What are you reading for Mythothon?

Quarterly Check-In – July to September 2018

October 9, 2018 | best of, wrap-up

Well, it’s been a slightly mismatched quarter.

I read 15 books in July, which is slightly above average, then 17 books in August. That was down to the fact that I went and spent £120 on books for my birthday, and then had a week off from work, so I essentially just sat here and read all my new books for a week. I had a great time and I read so many amazing books. It was really tough choosing a favourite for this month.

Then September… off. September was not a good month. Five books in September! My average before that had been 14 books per month! Whilst it doesn’t bother me, not as such, it is a little strange considering that there was no real reason for it. I wasn’t on holiday, or particular busy, or… anything really. Possibly I was just in a funny headspace as we’re attempting to buy a house and it’s every bit as stressful as people promised it was.

Still, onwards and upwards, right?

This quarter I spent £131.04 on books, which is surprisingly only £10 or so more than usual, which I can definitely deal with.

Over the year, I’m averaging 13 books a month, which I’m happy with. It boils down to 147 pages a day, which is very similar to my average pages per day for the first and second quarters of the year, which was 152 and 148 pages a day respectively. Weird. Clearly my reading habits don’t tend to vary much!

I’m doing quite well with whittling down my TBR as well. The average time the books I’ve read spent on my TBR before reading is 1.8 years, which means I’m finally reading those older books.

I’ve decided that I’m going to do Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-thon this time around. I’ve done it once before and didn’t do very well, but that’s alright.

And as for the books themselves: absent in the spring agatha christie mary westmacott

Best Book of July 2018:

Absent in the Spring by Agatha Christie/Mary Westmacott

Worst Book of July 2018:

Lumberjanes: Volume 1 by Noelle Stevenson et al.

city of brass book cover s.a. chakraborty neverworld wake book cover marisha pessl

Best Book of August 2018:

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

Neverworld Wake by Marisa Pessl

Worst Book of August 2018:

Ongoingness: The End of a Diary by Sarah Manguso

to all the boys ive loved before jenny han book cover

Best Book of September 2018:

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Befpre by Jenny Han

Worst Book of September 2018:

The Hoarder by Jess Kid

I’m really happy with the books I’ve read this year. Not just the amount, although I do fail to understand how I’ve read so many, but the quality as well. I’m looking forward to seeing what the last quarter of the year will bring!

See you in December!

The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor) (Review) by Jessica Townsend

October 5, 2018 | fantasy, Reviews

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow isn’t the type of book I would usually opt for. I’m not generally a huge fan of middle-grade, with the exception of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. However, I’d seen so many glowing reviews of The Trials of Morrigan Crow that I just had to give it a try. I reserved it at the library, shlepped down to the Children’s Library, devoured the whole thing in a day and ordered my own copy before I’d even finished the last page. I loved this book.

Plot summary: Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she’s blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks–and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.

But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.

It’s then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city’s most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart–an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests–or she’ll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.

Star Rating for The Trials of Morrigan Crow: * * * * *

I honestly knew I was going to love The Trials of Morrigan Crow by the first page. Morrigan is a ‘cursed child.’ She was born on Eventide, which apparently gives her village the right to blame her for every minor injury, cow ailment and bad job interview that comes their way. There’s even a whole system set up that forces her father to pay recompense for their financial losses, and I love a good institutionalised fantasy. The real kicker for Morrigan is that every cursed child is doomed to die at midnight on their eleventh birthday, not that her family seem even remotely bothered.

Luckily, for Morrigan, an affable stranger rolls up and whisks her away to a secret world called Nevermoor, and the story really starts.

The world-building in The Trials of Morrigan Crow is incredible, both in Morrigan’s normal, home world where there is a whole system set up to deal with cursed children, and also in the magical world of Nevermoor. It’s not really reminiscent of any other fantasy novel I’ve read, children’s or otherwise, albeit it there is a sort of magical school. It doesn’t matter, it’s not the same. I loved the idea of a magical society and the children having to undertake special trials to get in.

The tone is perfect, as well. It’s a light book, being aimed at children. There are some lovely scenes, especially at Christmas, that made me smile like an idiot. There are, however, some darker aspects that prevented the book from being overly fluffy. Honestly, it strikes the perfect balance between sweetness and darkness.

The fact that it’s a children’s book does not mean that the writing is any lesser quality. It’s actually written very well. It’s fast-paced, but it’s not jumpy or confusing, and the dialogue is never stilted or unnatural.

I keep stalking the sequel, Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow, to see if it’s been magically brought forward for release. It hasn’t, but at least we don’t have long to wait – it’s out on 31 October 2018. I’d pre-order it, but if I buy the hardback then it won’t match my copy of the first book… it’s a hard life. Library it is then!

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