October 2022 Reading Wrap-up

This post is gonna be a bit of a different post than usual, but I wanted to talk about my reading progress from last month.

I was dealing with a lot of stuff before I got this blog going, and it unfortunately affected my work ethic, as well as pushing me into a little reading slump for a while.

But this October, I really got everything together. I started reading books again, I started writing nearly every day, and I got this blog going. I haven’t felt this invigorated in so long, and it feels completely and utterly amazing.

So, here are my reading stats from October, courtesy of The StoryGraph. Don’t worry, I won’t go into that much detail, but I thought I’d share it.

The Graphs

Unfortunately, even though I got back into reading this month (finally), I didn’t actually read too many books.

I only read two. (I know… 😢)

But two is better than one – which is what I read in September, haha – so I’m gonna count it as progress.

From the graphs above, I guess you can guess some of the stuff I like to read. I looove humor and adventure, and some light-heartedness occasionally. But I also like lots of other stuff, which you’ll probably see as I read more books.

The books I read this past month were When Life Gives You Vampires by Gloria Duke and Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells, the sixth installment to The Murderbot Diaries.

This is a pretty accurate depiction of what I read, actually. I’m a big fantasy, sci-fi, and science fantasy reader. Sometimes I will do romance though, especially since it usually seems to weasel its way into most books.

I’m not usually a contemporary reader though, so you might see a different looking graph next month.

When Life Gives You Vampires

I just reviewed this recently. Yesterday recently, actually, but I thought I’d give it a little sample of what’s there. I really liked the main character – Lily Baines’ – personality. She had some minor things about her that irritated me, but otherwise she was a fun narrator.

The love interest, Tristan, was also dreamy, and though he had his issues, he genuinely cared for Lily and wasn’t Edward Cullen creepy. Oh, and speaking of Ed, the Twilight references are glorious.

Everything else was pretty decent, however, I wouldn’t put it above average. I gave it 3 / 5 stars: ⭐⭐⭐ (or the bat equivalent, lol).

You can read my full review here.

Fugitive Telemetry [The Murderbot Diaries #6]

I’m gonna be straight with you guys: I love The Murderbot Diaries. Everything from Murderbot’s/SecUnit’s sass, the internal narration, and the character interactions. It’s all beautiful.

Fugitive Telemetry might not be my favorite of the series, but it’s still very, very good. Since I don’t have a review yet (I’m working on a bigger review for the entire series so far), I’m just gonna give you the gist of this book. Murderbot basically has to do some detective work and figure out who killed a tourist at Preservation – the planet that MB resides on with its human friends.

And the sarcasm in this novella is just as on point as it was in the others, let me tell you. Especially because MB is dealing with people it doesn’t know, and those of us who’ve read the others know just what kind of sass-fest that turns into. I don’t have a review for this yet, cuz I’m doing that bigger review, but I rated this 4 / 5 stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.

Anyway, these are my reading stats from October 2022. It’s not super impressive, and I’m honestly not aiming for it to be, but I hope to increase the amount of books that I read beyond two. Haha. I think that I’m gonna do this every month, so I hope that at least a few of you were able to enjoy it. 😁

How many books did you read last month? What are your go to genres? Thanks for tuning in and have a wonderful day/night!

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Slightly Desaturated | A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab [A Book Review]

If magic coursed through anything and everything, was this what it felt like when it found itself again?

About This Book

Title & Author: A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

Series: Shades of Magic

Length: 512 pages

Publication: Tor Books [January 17, 2017]

Book Description

Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift, and into Black London.

In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. As Red London finishes preparations for the Element Games – an extravagant international competition of magic, meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries – a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrill of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again – and so to keep magic’s balance, another London must fall.

My Review

Star Rating: 🔴⚪⚫🔴 • 4 / 5 Londons

Note: This novel is a sequel to A Darker Shade of Magic. You can see my review of that here.

Honestly, because this book suffers from Middle Book Syndrome, I was very tempted to give it a 3.5 / 5, but eh, I’ll let it have that extra half-point because I liked the first book so much, and I’ve heard good things about the third one.

For this book… For this book, I’m a little divided. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the first 150 pages as well as the last 150 pages. I also really love most of the characters, both new and old, and the character development and interactions in this book are *chef’s kiss.*

On the other hand, the middle 200 pages are a total slog. Also, as much as I enjoyed her character in the first book, Lila Bard was quite annoying at several points in this novel.

Lila groaned and looked down at the course rope cinched tight around her hands, doubly grateful that the bastards had left her legs here, even if she was trapped in an abominable dress. A full-skirted, flimsy green contraption with too much gossamer and a waist so tight she could hardly breathe and why in God’s name must women do this to themselves?

Good. God. Please. Shut up. It’s just a dress. She talks about it like it physically pains her to wear one, or like she’s allergic to them, or something. Because girl, that is what we call an overreaction.

And dialogue like this is only part of what annoyed me about her in this installment. Some of her character traits were very close to Mary Sue levels on a few occasions – being able to master a brand new language in just a few weeks, becoming a master at magic in just four months despite the fact that it took literally everyone else years to do this. And let’s not forget how often people tell her she’s “Not like other girls.”

She did have a couple of good lines though…

“I know where you sleep, Bard.”

She smirked. “Then you know I sleep with knives.”

Not to mention, I kind of feel like she stole the spotlight from my man Kell. Ya know, the main character?? And speaking of said main character, I really like where Schwab took his arc in this book.

Kell’s relationship and mysterious new connection with Rhy Maresh – his foster brother and heir to the throne of Arnes – was taken in the best direction. They had to deal with the fallout of the events of A Darker Shade of Magic, and I loved how they dealt with their shared pain, emotions, and PTSD, and how they eventually made themselves to be better and began letting their problems go, in order to make each other happy.

I also liked how Kell developed true goals and desires here. In A Darker Shade of Magic, despite his habit of collecting and trading contraband between the Londons, he was still Red London’s magic lapdog that was totally okay with being Red London’s magic lapdog. In A Gathering of Shadows – after experiencing a true adventure, as well as nearly dying for the first time – he wants to be free and go out and see the world whenever he wants. I loved seeing grow as a character like this.

I also enjoyed seeing Holland again and finding out what he’s been up to. AKA, how he moved the plot along while the other characters threw tournaments and parties. And – poor Holland – now that he’s free of Athos Dane’s curse, he just wants to save his world. And all he gets is done overpowered shadow-king who wants to “help.”

“What do you want?” asked Holland.

To live, said the shadow. I can save your life. I can save your world. It is a simple deal, Antari. My power for your body.

“And whose mind?” Holland challenged. “Whose will?”

Now talking about new characters, Alucard Emery was an absolute joy. He was the swashbuckling, handsome, and charming privateer and captain of the Night Spire. I also really liked his interactions with Lila, and how, similar to her interactions with Kell, he wouldn’t tolerate her crap if it went too far.

I also really liked that we finally, sort-of got to meet the main antagonist. We sort of got a glimpse of him in the first book, but he was never properly introduced. I won’t spoil anything more though!

I wish we got to see more of the other Londons, though. Most of the book was spent in Red London, and it felt like we hardly ever saw the other three, especially compared to the first book. I would have loved to see more of Grey London, since it’s basically our London from 1801. Kell only popped in like, twice, and one of those visits was super brief. I immensely enjoyed how Grey London was featured in A Darker Shade of Magic, and how it had characters based on real, historical figures.

It was also nice to pop in and see what was up with White London too, but, like Grey London, I really wanted to see more of it. It was awesome to see Black London for the first time, and that’s a location I understand wanting to save for the finale. It was fascinating to see its current state, and I hope the characters return and spend a good deal of time there in A Conjuring of Light.

But, for the majority of it, I did enjoy this book. And that ending got me excited for the last of the trilogy (and OMG THAT CLIFFHANGER!!). I recommend this book to anyone who liked the first one and is looking to continue the series, especially since it’s the kind of sequel where reading the first book is actually required to understand it.

Have any of you guys checked out this series? How did you feel about this book, if you’ve read it?

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day/night!

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(My) Most Anticipated Books Coming Out November 2022

You read the title right. I’m gonna give you guys a little list of the books that are coming out next month that I wanna read. And that’s a hard “I,” by the way. These may not be the most anticipated ones from all of those popular lists, these are the books that look interesting to me personally. So get ready for some fantastical and weird ones, cuz that’s the stuff I like to read.

Also, quick note. November is a good month this year. November 8th? A very good day. A very, very good one. I swear to God, I did not just look just look at which books came out on this day and call it a post. I’m just that lucky, I guess.

#3: Scattered Showers • Rainbow Rowell

Release Date: November 8, 2022

Length: 288 pages

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Excitement Level: 🌈🌈🌈🌈 • 4 / 5 rainbows

Confession time: I haven’t actually finished any of Rowell’s books. The only one that I’ve read any of is Carry On, and I think I got maybe a third of the way through it before I had decided that it was moving too slowly for my liking. (I loved everything else about it! Why, oh why, was it so glacial, though??) But this book is essentially a collection of short stories, and they all look so interesting! I’ll just pretend I’ve read the Simon Snow trilogy when I get to the Simon Snow one.

Book Description:

Rainbow Rowell has won fans all over the world by writing about love and life in a way that feels true.

In her first collection, she gives us nine beautifully crafted love stories. Girl meets boy camping outside a movie theater. Best friends debate the merit of high school dances. A prince romances a troll. A girl romances an imaginary boy. And Simon Snow himself returns for a holiday adventure.

It’s a feast of my irresistible characters, hilarious dialogue, and masterful storytelling – in short, everything you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell book.

#2: Children of Ragnarok • Cinda Williams Chima

*Children of Ragnarok* by Cinda Williams Chima

Release Date: November 8, 2022

Length: 560 pages

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Excitement Level: 🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖 • 5 / 5 (Viking) helmets

I had absolutely no idea Chima was starting another series, so it was a pleasant surprise to discover when I was looking into what books were coming out soon. And it’s a Viking fantasy to boot!

It’s been a bit since I’ve read anything by Chima, but I absolutely adored the Seven Realms series and the (original three) Heir Chronicles books. (Didn’t enjoy Flamecaster though, so never read the Shattered Realms.) So I’m really looking forward to something new by her.

Book Description:

Ever since Ragnarok – the great war between the gods and the forces of chaos – the human realm of the Midlands has become a dangerous place, bereft of magic, where most lead lives of desperation.

Sixteen-year-old Eiric Halvorsen is among the luckier ones. Between fishing, going vikingr, and working his modir’s farm, the family has remained prosperous. But Eiric stands to lose everything after being convicted by a rigged jury of murdering his modir and stepfadir. Also at risk is his half-sistyr, Liv, whose interest in sedir, or magic, had made her a figure of suspicion. Then a powerful jarl steps in: he will pay the blood price if Eiric will lead a mission to the fabled Temple at the Grove – the rich stronghold of the wyrdspinners, the last practitioners of sorcery.

Spellsinger, musician, and runecaster Reggin Eiklund had spent her life traveling from town to town, performing at alehouses all for the benefit of her master, Asger, the fire demon she is desperate to escape. Then after one performance that amazes even Reggin herself, two wyrdspinners in the audience make her an irresistible offer: return with them to the temple to learn sedir, forever free of Asger.

Eiric, Liv, and Reggin’s journeys all converge in New Jotunheim, the site of the Temple at the Grove, a paradise fueled by magic. They soon realize a great evil lurks beneath the dazzling surface, and they old betrayals and long-held grudges may fuel another cataclysmic war. It will require every gift and weapon at their command to prevent it.

Sweeping adventure, breathtaking twists of fate, and immersive worlds based on Norse mythology are woven into this first volume of the Runestone Saga.

#1: Cursed • Marissa Meyer

Release Date: November 8, 2022

Length: 478 pages

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Excitement Level: 🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵• 5 / 5 spools (of golden straw)

I love, love, love fairytale retellings. And Marissa Meyer is the Queen of fairytale retellings. I loved the Lunar Chronicles, and I loved Gilded even more. This is probably my most anticipated book all of the year.

And yes, this is a sequel – the sequel to Gilded, actually – so if you haven’t read that one, please check it out before reading this one when it comes out.

Book Description:

Be still now, and I will tell you a tale…

Adalheid Castle is in chaos.

Following a shocking turn of events, Serilda finds herself ensnared in a deadly game of make-believe with the Erlking, who is determined to propel her deeper into the castle’s lies. Meanwhile, Serilda is determined to work with Gild to help him solve the mystery of his forgotten name and past.

But soon it becomes clear that the Erlking doesn’t only want to use Serilda to bring back his one true love. He also seeks vengeance against the seven gods who have long trapped the Dark Ones behind the veil. If the Erlking succeeds, it could change the mortal realm forever.

Can Serilda find a way to use her storytelling gifts for good – once and for all? And can Serilda and Gild break the spells that tether their spirits to the castle before the Endless Moon finds them truly cursed?

These are the books releasing this November (and next week, I guess, lol) that I’m most excited for. (I’ve limited myself to three, because I still want to have time to read spontaneously.) Do any of them look up your alley? What books coming out next month are you looking forward to?

Beware the Candles… | Wax by Gina Damico [A Book Review]

Evil has met its match.

About This Book

Title & Author: Wax by Gina Damico

Length: 394 pages

Publication: Clarion Books [June 6, 2017]

Book Description: Paraffin, Vermont is home to the Grosholtz Candle Factory. There, seventeen year old Poppy finds something unsettling: a room filled with dozens of startlingly lifelike wax sculptures. Later, she’s shocked when one of the figures – a teenage boy who doesn’t seem to know what he is – jumps naked and screaming out of the trunk of her car. Poppy wants to return him to the factory, but before she can, a fire destroys the mysterious workshop.

With the help of the wax boy, who answers to the name Dud, Poppy tries to find out who was behind the fire. Along the way she discovers that some of the townspeople are starting to look a little… waxy. Can they extinguish the evil plot?

My Review

Star Rating: 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️- 4 / 5 candles!

The town of Paraffin smelled of rot…

…Annnd lots of other stuff. But we’d be here all day if I described everything that Wax’s setting smelled like.

(Just kidding, lol. It was a seriously long opening paragraph, though.)

Wax, written by Gina Damico, was a delightful little read that ended up being a pick-me-up after a bit of a reading slump.

The novel takes place during a lovely November in Paraffin, Vermont. (Not a real town in Vermont, apparently, but it is a real type of wax. Get it?)

Our protagonist is the bullheaded and sassy Poppy Palladino 🌺🎭, a control freak, theater kid, who’s currently dealing with the fallout of an embarrassing incident that happened on love TV.

It was her one true love, and you don’t throw away your one true love over something as silly as profound emotional scarring.

(Fair Warning: Just gonna be a little upfront about the tone. Despite being very humorous, this is definitely a bit of a horror story. There’s a little body horror in this, actually, even if it’s mostly wax sculptures that look like people. But if you can’t stand any type of horror at all, then this might not be for you.)

Concerning the rest of the characters of the book, I thought they were all pretty great. I loved Poppy’s artsy, health nut, yoga teacher parents, even if they were a little comically oblivious at times. I also loved her best friend Jill; she’s the type of girl anyone would’ve wanted to be on their side in highschool: loyal, brave, and sassy.

The best character in the book though, was, by far, Dud 🕯️😇. Our dueteragonist here is a total sweetheart, and deserves to be protected at all cost. He’s just so innocent and loveable, and his origins as a living candle sculpture made him all the more interesting. I loved watching him develop his personality and build an identity. His relationship with Poppy was the absolute best part of the novel, as well; I adored how they made each other their best selves just by interacting with one another.

The antagonists were the weakest part of the book. Their concept was interesting, but I found their motives to be a bit weak. They were pretty funny, even if they acted pretty cliche. I still kinda liked them though.

The plot was pretty fun, too. I loved the intrigue that sort of floated in the background at first, but then gradually started to encompass the entire story as it went on. There was a kind of irritating expository element to the story, however. I think it was meant to gel with the satirical tone of the novel, but I just found it to be an annoying storyteller mechanic. Like, sometimes the plot would just pause for a second until it was time for this element to appear again. It does work extremely well in one instance, though, but I can’t talk about it because [SPOILERS].

And the ending – Oh My God! – that ending!! Definitely my favorite part of the book and more than worth the read to get there! My heart was pounding in my throat, and I was actually in tears!

All in all, I really enjoyed Wax. If you like creepy stuff and scented candles, then this book might be for you. It’s also an excellent fall read, being set in November, as well as having a mildly unsettling (but also humorous) tone. Paired with pumpkin or cinnamon spice candles, with a latte or some hot chocolate, underneath a cozy blanket.

Thank you so much for reading! Have a wonderful day/night!

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Magic and Mystery and (Quite Possibly) Romance | A Review of Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

“Do you know what you’re about to step into? Nothing but heartbreak will come from this.”

Series: Once Upon a Broken Heart

Length: 416 pages

Publication Date: September 28, 2021

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Book Description: For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings… until she learns that the love of her life will marry another.

Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.

But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game – and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy…

My Review

Star Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 – 4 / 5 stars!

This book was fast-paced – just the way I like it. 😁

It was probably the best thing about it for me, if I’m being honest. I also absolutely adored the Magnificent North – the main setting of the story – and the way that Garber described it made it sound so mystical. A whimsical, winter wonderland, if you will. I also loved all of the magical items and creatures in the book too: cute little baby dragons, snowy spirit foxes, and the magical “recipe” books that show up every once in a while.

Confession: I haven’t read the Caraval trilogy. And I have no plans to, as of right now. I just thought the premise of this novel sounded interesting, and kind of up Guilty Pleasure Alley for me. So I picked it up and gave it a shot. And I loved it.

It was super easy to get into Once Upon a Broken Heart though, and I think it was a great spinoff in that respect. (I consider the best types of spinoffs to be those where no required reading of the original material that inspired them is necessary to understand the new stuff. I might be biased though, because those are my favorite types of same-universe-based-books.)

Anyway, even though I liked how fast this book moved, this book almost seemed to move a little too fast, sometimes. Like, things were literally happening one after another, and it felt like the characters never had the time to breathe or grow properly. I get that plot-driven storytelling is a thing, but this was almost too much plot slapped into one novel.

“People who don’t like me call me Jacks.”

Jacks 🃏 was absolutely the star of the novel, and it’s a crime that he wasn’t in it more. He wasn’t the protagonist, but I think he would’ve been a better one than we actually got. (Then again, he was a major character in the Caraval books, so he would’ve had too much baggage in his POV for new readers to understand.) Sassy, intentionally incorrigible, and drop-dead gorgeous (and most importantly, interesting). As well as the kind of guy that I’d never date in real life, as he’s mildly toxic and completely untrustworthy. And hey, he had blue hair for most of the book, and who doesn’t like blue hair? Do you know how many brunet protagonists I’ve had to read about over the years?

And speaking of characters with unusual hair…

Once Upon a Broken Heart’s actual protagonist is Evangeline Fox 🦊, who is crowned in rose gold. Straight up, I gotta say that I loved her last name and its connections to the little stories she talks about throughout the book. I also gotta say, though, she was kind of… pretty annoying. She was meant to be seventeen years old, but I felt that her maturity level was closer to thirteen. She was almost comically naive, and made some pretty dumb decisions, particularly early on. She’d also flip-flop between very extreme opinions over and over again, and it threw me off with how unrealistic it could be sometimes. But she had drive, and was a fairly active protagonist with goals, so I won’t begrudge her too much. (And she got far less annoying in the second half of the novel, so there’s that, too.)

The Fates were also very interesting, though they seemed to show up for no apparent reason, as of the end of this novel. I expect to see more of them in the sequel, since that’s what they’re for. I also expect to see more of Marisol, Eva’s stepsister, who was a big “is she or isn’t she evil” type of character. The book was deliberately confusing on the state of Eva and Marisol’s relationship, and it still wasn’t defined by the ending. But, I guess that’s what sequels are for.

And yes, even before I saw that there was a sequel announced, (I read this a bit ago, btw) I knew this book was gonna have one. There were just too many plot and character threads left undone, not to mention the cliffhanger, and the fact that Evangeline didn’t open the [REDACTED DUE TO SPOILERS].

“I believe there are far more possibilities than happily ever after and tragedies. Every story has the potential for infinite endings.”

There’s one last thing I’d like to mention before I conclude this review. I loved the vampires in this book so much. (Yes, there were vampires in this book.) They weren’t sparkly, immortal, angst-y, teenage hunks. They were really vampires; the kind that attack humans and suck their blood and are absolute predators, who don’t care about making out with teenage girls.

Oh! You were wondering whether I recommend this or not? Well, the answer is… a resounding yes! Go ahead and read this if you like fantasy books with weird and creative world building and romance. Well, go on.

World Building in Color | A Review of A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Kell wore a very peculiar coat. It had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two, which would be unexpected, but several, which was, of course, impossible.

Series: Shades of Magic

Length: 416 pages

Publication Date: January 19, 2016

Publisher: Tor Books; Reprint Edition

Book Description: Kell is one of the last Antari – magicians with the rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes – Red London – and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.

My Review

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 out of 5 stars!)

This book really did it for me. I can’t get enough of historical fantasies set in London (when they’re done right), and Schwab met that need with gusto – she went and added three more Londons!

Her writing, though I found it wordy, vividly described all of the different worlds so colorfully. From the vibrant and lush descriptors for the richly magical Red London, to the drab and rainy details of Grey London, Schwab really managed to make all of the settings feel distinct from one another.

Kell was a great protagonist, one that I felt I constantly wanted to know more about as the book went on. His coat was an excellent supporting character – and it does deserve to be included as one, believe me! – and it was just as interesting as Kell himself.

I thought Lila Bard was a fine second protagonist. I’ve seen her getting a lot of hate in other reviews, but I honestly liked her a fair amount during my journey through A Darker Shade of Magic. We’ll see if that changes going forward into the sequels. (She has a rather obvious “secret” that I’m quite annoyed is being teased.)

The plot was also fun to get into once the book picked up. I really liked all the machinations going on behind the scenes and the subtle plot threads that were laid out at the beginning. They all culminated nicely at the end, and the novel didn’t really leave on a cliffhanger, which was nice, even if there were still a few unanswered questions (like Lila’s “secret”😤🙄). I won’t spoil it more than that, though!

Anyway, I highly recommend this book! To everyone mostly, cuz I liked it just that much! But especially so if you like fantasy, or historical fiction, or historical fantasy fiction. This book tells its story well, and I can’t wait to read the sequels!