Tag: Review

Hey all, Dani here.

Okay, so my book review for today is one I received in my OwlCrate box…I think it was the December box. I definitely like the OwlCrate exclusive cover’s color choices better than the original, but they are both nice to look at. Anyway, this is a book that I probably would have put off getting, or might have borrowed from the library, if I didn’t get it in a subscription box. But now that I’ve read it, I can say that I did enjoy it, and I’m glad to have a copy in my personal library.

Summary

A contemporary novel about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream leads her to new friends—and maybe even new love.

The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn’t supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn’t know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they’re both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia’s ever seen. As Claudia’s world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4.5 stars

This was a cute, somewhat geeky, contemporary read. I actually really enjoyed having Claudia and Iris be forced together in both a school project and then also for the school production. The developing female friendship was one of the strongest aspects of the book, for me. I like that we are starting to get more books that have female friendships that have more substance to them. It is nice that not all friendships are just because of being in the same clique or just because of participating in the same extra-curriculars. And I liked that Claudia and Iris didn’t always agree. Friends can still be friends even if they have differing opinons. Since it was a newer friendship too, they had some bumps in the road to get through, and I think those strengthened their bond, which was also really cool.

However, it is that somewhat geeky part that caused me to lower the rating. I believed Iris in her fangirling over the band TION, because it was very clear that she was an unapologetic fan of theirs. I loved when she would gush about a music video, or an album, or a band interview or show DVD. It was adorable to see how excited she was about it all. But when it came to Claudia and the MMORPG she plays, it felt more like someone rattling off facts trying to sound like a fan instead of someone who is clearly passionate about the game. And that was disappointing to me. Perhaps Emma Mills isn’t a gamer. Or maybe she is. I don’t know. I just wanted to feel that same passion and excitement for this hobby that Claudia spends so much time with, especially since she gets her new friends to play as well. But maybe that’s just me.

I still enjoyed the book. It was a nice contemporary read, and it didn’t take me long to finish it. Sometimes it is nice for me to read something like this, where I don’t have to fully invest myself in figuring out the worldbuilding and the magic systems and the politics of a fantasy realm. So, I can honestly say I would recommend this book if it sounds interesting to you.

Where to Buy

You can pick up your own copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.

Hey all, Dani here.

Since I’ll be reading and reviewing Charlie N Holmberg’s upcoming release, The Plastic Magician before its release day in May, I figured it was only fair that I share reviews for the previous three books in the series. Today is finally the time to give more than a mini-review for the first book.

I was told about this series by one of my friends (who I think of as more like a sister), and she talked about the interesting magical system and told me to read the trilogy. They are interesting books and they aren’t very long–less than 200 pages each–so they are pretty easy to read through, which makes them perfect for readathons.

Anyway, let’s just jump into the review.

Summary

Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic… forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined — animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner — a practitioner of dark, flesh magic — invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4 stars

I read this book for the first time during one of Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathons, and because of its length, I read it in I believe just over an hour. It helped my readathon start off rather nicely. Starting readathons with shorter novels or with graphic novels or manga, I find to be rather helpful because then you feel rather productive and accomplished from the beginning.

The descriptions of paper magic were really cool. But from the beginning I found myself as upset as Ceony at not getting to choose her apprenticeship. As someone at the top of the class, she should have been able to pick her own path. Then again, there is a certain logic to having a top student purposefully placed in the smallest group of magicians.

And Thane’s teaching style is a bit odd, since he sometimes leaves for days. But he always expects Ceony to have finished all of the assignments by the time he returns.

Let’s be honest too, because Thane clearly needed Ceony there. The man has no clue how to cook or shop for groceries. That might have been one of the things that started to bring these two together.

Of course, there isn’t a lot of time to really work on any sort of potential romance, because an Excisioner comes and rips Thane’s heart out, and it was only by Ceony’s quick thinking of folding a paper heart that keeps him alive long enough to save him…which involves going into his real heart and traveling through its chambers.

It is that adventure that really makes Ceony fall for Thane, because she is in his heart and experiencing some of his memories. It is bound to make people closer. So this is a decently paced shorter read that I think would appeal to a number of people.

Where to Buy

You can get your own copy of The Paper Magician from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.