young adult fantasy – Pleasant Nights

Title: The Girl

Author: Victory Witherkeigh

Genre: YA Fantasy

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I’m not a huge YA fantasy fan, but I’m all in when a good one comes along. This was not it. I skimmed the last 25% just to get this one over. There is a place for teen drama in books, but this one couldn’t decide if it was about teen drama or fantasy or abuse or one of the other many genres it touches on.

From Goodreads: The parents knew it had been a mistake to have a girl. At birth, the girl’s long, elegant fingers wriggled and grasped forward, motioning to strangle the very air from her mother’s lungs. As she grew older, she grew more like her father, whose ancestors would dream of those soon to die. She walked and talked in her sleep, and her parents warded themselves, telling the girl that she was evil, unlovable, their burden to bear only until her eighteenth birthday released them.

The average person on the streets of Los Angeles would look at the girl and see a young woman with dark chocolate eyes, curly long hair, and tanned skin of her Filipina heritage. Her teachers praised her for her scholarly achievements and extracurricular activities, from academic decathlon to cheer.

The girl knew she was different, especially as she grew to accept that the other children’s parents didn’t despise them. Her parents whispered about their pact as odd and disturbing occurrences continued to happen around her. The girl thought being an evil demon should require the skies to bleed, the ground to tremble, an animal sacrifice to seal the bargain, or at least cause some general mayhem. Did other demons work so hard to find friends, do well on their homework, and protect their spoiled younger brother?

The demon was patient. It could afford to wait, to remind the girl when she was hurt that power was hers to take. She needed only embrace it. It could wait. The girl’s parents were doing much of its work already.

If this were what the book was about, that would be a MUCH better book than it ended up being. But this was maybe 1/3 of the book. The rest was just unwarranted parental abuse and teenage drama. The reader isn’t clued into that abuse until over halfway through the book. And the abuse is a lot. Very verbal, emotional trauma. But the drama, oh my gosh, the drama. Whoooo… cares…..??? Sure, YA books are targeted to teens, but the drama felt so out of place in this book. It had the potential to be so much more. What a disappointment.

Shadow and Bone

Title: Shadow and Bone

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Genre: YA fantasy

Obviously, I’m way behind on the Grishaverse. But with the new Netflix show, I’m making a point to get through a few of the books. I’ve been told the show covers this and some of Six of Crows, so that one will be up next. I have a love hate relationship with YA fantasy. Some are just great and I end up loving them. Some just bore me to tears. So, I’m usually reluctant to try the genre, even if it gets good reviews. Because most people like it, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I will. I loved The Broken Earth trilogy (The Fifth Season review), and the Lunar Chronicles (Cinder, Winter, Fairest, Cress sorry Scarlet for no review on your book), although this is a bit more sci-fi. But I’m happy to say so far so good on this one. I flew through it.

From Goodreads: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend, Mal, is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

Alina was a lot of fun as a character. Smart, snappy, sarcastic, but still vulnerable. And although the book is mainly about Alina, Mal plays an important role as well. He’s also pretty great, loyal, and kind. As Alina is pulled from one person to another, she realizes how strong she really is deep down.

I was a bit shocked when the book ended at 58% complete on my kindle, but it had a couple excerpts from other books after that. I think this is brilliant marketing, by the way. I couldn’t believe I had finished the book in just a couple days. I couldn’t put it down and really got sucked into the world. I can’t wait to visit the Grishaverse again.