Happy Wednesday everyone! The new books just don’t stop coming! Also, look – new graphic for the featured image!
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings (and was previously hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where it was known as Waiting on Wednesday) to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. They’re usually books that have not yet been released.
This week’s book is:
Girls of Dark Divine by E.V. Woods!
Yeah, I know this technically came out yesterday, but I was a little off my game last week in terms of blog activity. And this book does look interesting.
A group of hauntingly beautiful girls have been bound together by a cruel curse—and one of them will go to any lengths to save them from their violent dance. A breathtakingly gorgeous gothic fantasy about love and control that will never let you go. This spellbinding debut is perfect for fans of Stephanie Garber!
In the legendary ballet theatre of New Kora, the girls on stage enchant the audience each night with their grace and divine beauty. Before Emberlyn became the show’s star, it was her dream to become one of the ballerinas… until she learned the price of their living nightmare.
A curse has bound the girls to the show’s mastermind, Malcolm, so they must obey his every command. They are controlled by the magic’s invisible strings that has the power to wield their limbs like marionette dolls. Only the commands don’t stop when the curtain comes down, and the girls live a life of fear from Malcolm’s wickedness and the twisted truth that each dancer is destined to turn to dust when the curse finally consumes her.
When the troupe is invited to perform in the glitzy city of Parlizia, Emberlyn knows this could be her best chance to save them all. She meets an elusive boy made of shadows with a magical connection to the girls. Together, they work to unravel the haunting truth about their creation and fight for their survival. But the cost of freedom might be too high, and as she dances closer to the edge of darkness she realizes she might break the curse… or break her own heart forever.
Are you looking forward to Girls of Dark Divine? What other books are coming out in the next few weeks that you’re looking forward to?
As always, thank you all so much for reading and have a fantastic day/night!
That was one thing Rinka had always loved about humans, in the books she had read-like the faeries, they were governed by their hearts, by their passions. Their love of food and beauty, their love of country and home, even their love of love itself.
PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
RELEASE DATE: 26 August 2014
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
In this captivating novella, prequel to the upcoming Winterspell, Claire Legrand weaves a story of magic, political intrigue, and forbidden love.
Rinka is a faery, passionate and powerful, determined to maintain the tenuous peace between faeries and humans.
Alban Somerhart is a human, a reluctant king trapped in an arranged marriage, desperate to prevent war.
Their love could save the kingdom of Cane—or shatter it forever.
This entrancing tale sets the stage for the rise of a wicked queen, and the journey of a lifetime for a human girl named Clara…
My Review
“Anise,” Felazita whispered, tucking the blanket more closely around the child. The word dropped from her tongue like the beginning of a dance.
“I’d like to name her Anise.”
So, I finally got around to reading the Winterspell prequel novella. And it was okay. It wasn’t something that I really got into, but it made me appreciate stuff about Winterspell more, and reminded me about stuff I enjoyed about the book.
I wasn’t super into Rinka or Alban or their relationship, but I could understand why they were into each other, and I appreciated the background for the main story. I also liked seeing more faery characters, and it was nice to see faeries as a whole portrayed more sympathetically, as Anise and her cohort just didn’t do that for me in the main installment.
Summerfall really made me realize that one of the things I really enjoyed was the world of Cane and the way magic worked. It was cool to see more of it. I also liked seeing Cane in a more peaceful state, as opposed to the dystopian winter nightmare that it is for essentially the entirety of Winterspell. Aside from the epilogue, of course.
All in all, even though I didn’t really care much for the characters – especially since I already knew what had happened to them before I read it courtesy of the novel sequel – I appreciated a lot of other things this novella had. I also definitely recommend Summerfall to those who read and enjoyed the main story of the novel.
“Clara?” he questioned. His thumb circled softly against her palm, and love swelled in her like the rising sun.
“It will be a long journey,” she agreed, leaning down to kiss him, “but we will make it, together.”
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A brief epilogue to Claire Legrand’s YA Nutcracker re-telling, Winterspell. (Available for free download at Claire’s website.)
My Review
Yes, Clara had thought of these things. She had prepared herself to expect differences-an older world, progress made without her, decisions come and gone.
But knowing something and actually seeing it were, she was now finding out, two radically different things.
I don’t have too much to say about Homecoming either. Not only is it even shorter than Summerfall, what with it being a short story as opposed to a novella, but it’s really not anything more than an extra epilogue, as it says on the tin.
It was nice to see all the characters reunite after everyone split off at the end of Winterspell. I also liked seeing how everyone grew as characters apart from one another, as that doesn’t usually happen; especially for an extra epilogue like this. It was really nice to see Cane mostly patched up though, and that was probably the thing I enjoyed the most about this short story.
I definitely recommend this if you enjoyed Winterspell and wanted to see that happy ending that didn’t quite make it into the novel. Especially since it’s free on Claire Legrand’s website. Really, there’s no excuse not to if you’re a fan of the novel.
Anyway, as always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!
Darkly romantic and entirely enchanting, this reimagining of The Nutcracker from Claire Legrand brims with magic, love, and intrigue. New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer (Cinder) says “this is not your grandmother’s Nutcracker tale.”
After her mother is brutally murdered, seventeen-year-old Clara Stole is determined to find out what happened to her. Her father, a powerful man with little integrity, is a notorious New York City gang lord in the syndicate-turned-empire called Concordia. And he isn’t much help.
But there is something even darker than Concordia’s corruption brewing under the surface of the city, something full of vengeance and magic, like the stories Clara’s godfather used to tell her when she was a little girl. Then her father is abducted and her little sister’s life is threatened, and Clara accidentally frees Nicholas from a statue that has been his prison for years. Nicholas is the rightful prince of Cane, a wintry kingdom that exists beyond the city Clara has known her whole life.
When Nicholas and Clara journey together to Cane to retrieve her father, Clara encounters Anise, the queen of the faeries, who has ousted the royal family in favor of her own totalitarian, anti-human regime. Clara finds that this new world is not as foreign as she feared, but time is running out for her family, and there is only so much magic can do…
My Review
So many stories yet to be told, so many secrets to be unearthed. It would happen soon; Clara would make sure of it, and if Nicholas tried to evade her, well, she still had her daggers.
It’s been quite a while since I last looked at a book retrospectively. But there are still a few books I’d like to look at retrospectively, and this time of year is absolutely perfect for talking about Winterspell by Claire Legrand.
I’ve loved this book ever since I read it years ago. I’m a total sucker for retellings, fairytale or otherwise, and this novel is a retelling of The Nutcracker 🎄🥜, which is something I also adore. So this book was a match made in heaven for me.
Winterspell primarily follows Clara Stole ✨ after her family is attacked by and she is forced to flee to Cane, a strange, wintery, and magical land. Clara starts off a little unsure and nervous – but fiercely protective of her family – and she has a lot of growth throughout the novel, and ends it as a strong young woman ready to face anything. She is Winterspell’s Clara/Marie.
Nicholas 🌰 is an interesting take on the Nutcracker (the character). He’s a little gray, compared to the more helpful and trustworthy and wholesome character in the original, but he still retains many of these same qualities. He’s just a little more complex. I actually enjoyed him for the most part, and I loved the twist of him being a secondary POV character.
Anise ❄️ was the villain, and the leader of the faeries. Though she irritated me a lot of the time, I still understood her motivations, and I thought she was a fine antagonist. She’s also my favorite interpretation of the Sugar Plum Fairy as a villain yet (and I think she was one of, if not the first version of this take – I’m probably wrong though, haha).
“You’re powerful, Clara. Or you could be, if you would let go of your fear long enough to realize it.”
Regarding the plot… of course I loved it. It’s basically The Nutcracker, but with enough unique changes to help it stand on its own (in my eyes). It’s kind of like a slightly edgier, YA version of the story, in a way. I liked all the changes Legrand made to the story, and I appreciated the stuff that she mostly kept close to the original. The world was also fantastic, and I enjoyed the conflicts between the three fractions of Cane: the humans, the mages and the faeries.
I enjoyed the writing, too. The dialogue felt pretty natural, the descriptions and such weren’t too overly detailed, and the POV choices were 🧑🍳💋. I loved how the book was primarily in third person following Clara, but was intermittently broken up by the first person perspective of Nicholas giving context to the events leading up to the main plot. It was wonderfully woven together.
I think the only thing I’ve ever really felt was noticeably weak (to me personally), was the romance. It just wasn’t something that I found I could really buy into, for some reason. I enjoyed Clara and Nicholas okay – they are the iconic pair of Clara/Marie and the Nutcracker, after all – and I’m happy for them. But to me, that little tryst in the middle of the book between Clara and Anise really felt like it came out of nowhere. And then the romance between them disperses just as quickly.
His eyes shone with an anguish Clara understood well. Loss, horrible loss. Pain and anger, and the world being pulled out from beneath one’s feet.
I wish there had been a bit more time to develop Clara and Anise’s relationship, as I felt it was quite interesting. Oh well. Also, the romances between these three characters (Clara and Nicholas, and Clara and Anise) also felt unequal for the first three fifths of the novel. But as Clara grows as a character… yeah, so eventually sets everyone straight, haha. I will say I was happy with the ending.
Looking back – and going through the book again for the nth time – I don’t think I’d change my rating at all. For me, Winterspell still holds up. When I first read it, I immediately went back and read my favorite scenes. Then, later that same year (like a month later around Christmas time), I basically reread the whole thing again. I’ve never gotten tired of this retelling. I find myself reading pieces of it every few years, at the very least.
This was a solid foray into the YA sphere by Legrand, and as I enjoyed this one so much I really should check out her other stuff. I will – eventually, lol. Though it did definitely have its weaker aspects (like the romance).
I definitely recommend Winterspell to YA fantasy fans, as well as fans of The Nutcracker and other Christmas set and Christmas themed stories. Not to mention, it’s absolutely perfect reading for this time of year.
She had forgotten how to care about the city that had taken so much from her. Forgetting was the only way she had found to keep moving every day.
As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!
The pulse-pounding third novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Lightlark Saga, by acclaimed author and #BookTok sensation Alex Aster
Love kills kingdoms…
Back in Grim’s castle on Nightshade, Isla is reeling in the wake of a brutal battle and the devastating truths it exposed. Her future—and the fate of the world—now hinge on a heart split in two.
Past Isla, who fell in love with the ruler of Nightshade, fights to resist feelings she considers treasonous. The Isla of the present, who has seen the ruin her powers can cause, will do anything to save Lightlark and its king.
As the line between enemy and friend is tested, Isla is more desperate than ever to understand the oracle’s final prophecy and change her heartrending fate. But a storm is coming. And with it, a long-buried evil greater than anything the realms have faced before.
With the clock ticking on her destiny and the survival of two warring kingdoms hinging on her own shattered heart, Isla Crown will either save the world—or destroy it.
My Review
“You feel it, don’t you?” The augur said, watching her far too closely. “Power… it’s in the blood, you see.”
So. It wasn’t as bad as Nightbane. But Skyshade wasn’t that great either.
Despite the fact that I made the conscious decision to “hate read” this book (and this series in general), I always have this hope inside me that the book will exceed my expectations completely and turn out to be at least decent. This hasn’t really been the case with the novels in the Lightlark Saga, unfortunately. I’ve found all three books to be disappointing in some way, though some definitely more than others.
Let’s start with the one thing that I legitimately liked – the cover. Whoever the publisher has do the Lightlark book covers does a great job. The book cover art is always eye-catching and gorgeous.
Now for everything else.
Heart. Hers was split in half. One part wanted him more than anything- remembered. Another wanted to stab him through the chest again.
The characters continue to be either insufferable and annoying, or bland and irrelevant. Isla Crown somehow becomes worse. She doesn’t learn from any of her experiences or training really from the last book and continues to eff everyone over with her powers – whether it be her refusing to use them or letting them completely out of control. Also, she’s an actual serial killer now, guys! WTF, I know. It’s just, ugh. I hated her before, so now I don’t know what to feel.
It’s even more annoying because both of the “hot” 500+ year old men that she can’t choose between completely forgive her for this. Grimshaw is absolutely no surprise, he’s even worse than Isla is, but Oro… Dude, you can do so much better than her. (Oro and Isla also continue to have no chemistry, btw.)
“You’re right. I don’t know what love is. I don’t know how to love. If you ever gave me another chance to love you, I would learn. I would learn the right way to love you.”
The other side characters once again didn’t really matter, and the other two rulers – Cleo and Azul – hardly made appearances. (Except for when the plot needed them to be, or Isla needed a plot device.) Also, what the heck happened with the Starlings this book? Did Aster forget about them? Because the Wildlings showed up, but sometimes in Skyshade it seems like she forgot that the Starlings were now Isla’s people too and not just the Wildlings, seeing as I don’t think they show up at all.
The writing still wasn’t the best. There have been some improvements from Nightbane, but it’s still not that great. However, I will say that the majority of the things I noticed while reading had to do with editing. (But these mistakes definitely should have been caught in editing.)
Here’s some weird prose, or writing and editing mistakes I noticed:
“Remember?” the old woman said. “I’m still finding blood stains in my floorboards.”
(I’m pretty sure it should say “on my floorboards”, but I could be wrong…)
She took his hand. Grim’s wide shoulders melted in relief until she said, “Take methere.”
(I swear to you, this IS NOT a typo on my part – this was exactly how it was in the book. There are also several paragraph errors in Skyshade, whether it be a paragraph break where there shouldn’t be one or a lack of a paragraph break where there should.)
“Your blood spoke to me in many tongues. You wear your fate like a crown of blades. Doesn’t it hurt?”
(This one reads very oddly to me. I know there’s something wrong with it, but I guess I’m having trouble putting it into words at the moment.)
(Anyway.)
The story itself… At the very least, it’s fast-paced so it didn’t feel like it lasted too long whilst reading. The actual plot was, hm, meh. It could have been worse. I didn’t like the Big Plot Twist, however, mostly because it wasn’t foreshadowed properly at all. Like, there was pretty much no chance that you could guess what or who it was – it just appears before you and you’re like “Huh?” The way it was handled was just frustrating and bad.
Oh, wait! I just remembered, there was another thing that I did like a little about this book. It suddenly got unexpectedly kind of morbid, which I kind of enjoyed only because it came a bit out of nowhere. But yeah, kudos to the novel for impressing me there, I guess.
“Many would have died. Only the strongest would have made it through. Many did die, in the creation of Lightlark. Their bodies were used as the foundation of the island. It gave it power. Did you know?”
So yeah, even though I hadn’t gotten my hopes up or anything, I didn’t enjoy Skyshade. Lightlark is still the best book in this series so far, guys. It was nice to see that it seems that Asters writing improved a little bit. (But it could be much better than it is.)
Though I didn’t like this book, I think that ACOTAR and Fourth Wing fans, as well as fans of that type of romantasy in general, will probably enjoy Skyshade and the other novels in the Lightlark Saga. People that like YA fantasy and don’t care about how good the pride is might like it as well.
As always, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
Happy Friday everybody! I’m here a second week in a row! Yay!
First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.
What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?
If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:
📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page 📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first 📙 Finally… reveal the book!
Here’s the first line:
Isla Crown watched the man she loved disappear as the world fell away.
Know the book already? If you don’t, here’s another couple of hints…
Huh. Still no idea? Here are some gorgeous photos of books to admire while you think about it a little more…
The pulse-pounding third novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Lightlark Saga, by acclaimed author and #BookTok sensation Alex Aster
Love kills kingdoms…
Back in Grim’s castle on Nightshade, Isla is reeling in the wake of a brutal battle and the devastating truths it exposed. Her future—and the fate of the world—now hinge on a heart split in two.
Past Isla, who fell in love with the ruler of Nightshade, fights to resist feelings she considers treasonous. The Isla of the present, who has seen the ruin her powers can cause, will do anything to save Lightlark and its king.
As the line between enemy and friend is tested, Isla is more desperate than ever to understand the oracle’s final prophecy and change her heartrending fate. But a storm is coming. And with it, a long-buried evil greater than anything the realms have faced before.
With the clock ticking on her destiny and the survival of two warring kingdoms hinging on her own shattered heart, Isla Crown will either save the world—or destroy it.
What books have you been reading lately? What’s on your TBR that you’re currently the most excited about?
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!
Hey everybody, it’s been a while. Happy Friday! Jeez, I can’t believe it’s been over a month since the last time I posted one of these!
First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.
What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?
If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:
📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page 📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first 📙 Finally… reveal the book!
Here’s the first line:
Jenna Grodonsky was terrified of the snow.
Any ideas? If not, here’s another hint or two for you…
Still don’t know? Here’s some awesome pictures of books to start at while you consider it…
Annnd the book is… 🥁🥁 Snow Drowned by Jennifer D. Lyle!!
There’s a saying on Fall Island: the snow will get you.
Gracie Hutchinson has lived here her whole life and knows there’s some truth to those words. Every few years someone dies in a snowstorm, or loses their mind, or disappears without a trace. Sometimes it seems like more than just New England weather. Now, a hundred-year-storm is approaching, and while most of the locals have taken the ferry to the mainland, Gracie must stay behind.
But she’s intrigued to find someone else her age has stayed too—Joseph Wescott, whose mysterious family lives in Wescott Manor, descendants of the legendary first settlers of Fall Island. Together, they stumble across something even more unsettling than the coming storm: the body of a stranger, murdered in a grim ritual. Someone on the island believes the old Fall superstitions have a dark power—and now, they have Gracie in their sights.
As the hours count down to the blizzard’s landfall, it seems the only safe place to go is Westcott Manor. But Gracie wonders if there’s another reason why she’s been brought there, one that has to do with Joseph. She’ll discover secrets that have been kept for generations, a hidden history, and the terrifying truth about Fall Island. Because even when the storm ends, there’s no escape from the horror beneath the snow.
What books have you been reading lately? What’s on your TBR that you’re currently the most excited about?
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!
First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.
What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?
If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:
📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page 📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first 📙 Finally… reveal the book!
Here are the first lines:
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! I imagine myself saying from the pulpit in the pink sanctuary of our church. My name is Edgar Poe, and today, for reasons I don’t fully comprehend, I’m obsessed with the seventy-two bodies buried beneath us.
Any guesses? If you’re still having trouble, here’s another hint or two…
Still have no idea? Here’s some gorgeous pictures of books to stare at, while you think about it a bit longer…
Annnd the book is… 🥁🥁 The Raven’s Tale by Cat Winters!!
Seventeen-year-old Edgar Poe counts down the days until he can escape his foster family–the wealthy Allans of Richmond, Virginia. He hungers for his upcoming life as a student at the prestigious new university, almost as much as he longs to marry his beloved Elmira Royster. However, on the brink of his departure, all his plans go awry when a macabre Muse named Lenore appears to him. Muses are frightful creatures that lead Artists down a path of ruin and disgrace, and no respectable person could possibly understand or accept them. But Lenore steps out of the shadows with one request: “Let them see me “
What books have you been reading lately? What’s on your TBR that you’re currently the most excited about?
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings (and was previously hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where it was known as Waiting on Wednesday) to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. They’re usually books that have not yet been released.
Red, White & Royal Blue meets A Darker Shade of Magic in this swoony debut young adult romantic fantasy following a magical young prince and a noble seer who fall in love in the midst of war and intrigue.
Shy Prince Edmund will be a great king one day: it has been Seen again and again. With rare magic giving him dominion over the nation’s plants and weather, Edmund feels a great deal of pressure to live up to his nation’s many expectations, including making a perfect diplomatic alliance through marriage. That is, until he meets Lord Aubrey Ainsley.
Charming, romantic, and politically insignificant, Aubrey is a Seer, but not even he could have predicted catching the eye of Edmund, the Prince of Fortune—nor that the anxious prince who talks to plants more than people could feel so right for him. Aubrey’s dream-visions have been full of battle, not love, but to say that Prince Edmund has captured his fancy would be a grand understatement.
As the two become more and more intertwined, the nation of Saben falls under attack. War and dark sorcery loom on the horizon. To save their homeland, Edmund and Aubrey must resist the outside forces seeking to drive them apart and find the power within themselves to create a future for Saben—and each other—they never could have imagined.
Are you looking forward to the next volume of Prince of Fortune? What other books are coming out in the next few weeks that you’re looking forward to?
As always, thank you all so much for reading and have a great day/night!
Hey everyone! Happy Friday! It’s been a couple of weeks!
First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.
What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?
If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:
📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page 📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first 📙 Finally… reveal the book!
Here are the first lines:
I walk to the bus station by myself. There’s always a fuss over my paperwork when I leave. All summer long, we’re not even allowed to walk to Tescos without a chaperone and permission from the Queen-then, in the autumn, I just sign myself out of the children’s home and go.
Know it already? If you don’t, here’s a couple more hints for you…
Still don’t know? Please admire these lovely photos of books while you think…
Annnd the book is… 🥁🥁 Carry On by Rainbow Rowell!!
#1 New York Times best seller Booklist Editors’ Choice 2015 – Youth Named a Best Book of 2015 by Time Magazine, School Library Journal, Barnes & Noble, NPR, PopSugar, The Millions, and The News & Observer
Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who’s ever been chosen.
That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.
Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here–it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.
Carry On is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story – but far, far more monsters.
What books have you been reading lately? What’s on your TBR that you’re currently the most excited about?
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!
In his continuing quest to earn college recommendation letters from the gods, Percy has to pet-sit the goddess Hecate’s polecat and giant mastiff during Halloween week. What could go wrong?
Rick Riordan’s newest Percy Jackson adventure is full of hilarious set pieces, a diverse cast of gods and monsters, and many other delightful tricks and treats.
Percy Jackson, now a high school senior, needs three recommendation letters from the Greek gods in order to get into New Rome University. He earned his first one by retrieving Ganymede’s chalice. Now the goddess Hecate has offered Percy another “opportunity”—all he has to do is pet sit her polecat, Gale, and mastiff, Hecuba, over Halloween week while she is away. Piece of cake, right?
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover settle into Hecate’s seemingly endless mansion and start getting acquainted with the fussy, terrifying animals. The trio has been warned not to touch anything, but while Percy and Annabeth are out at school, Grover can’t resist drinking a strawberry-flavored potion in the laboratory. It turns him into a giant frenzied goat, and after he rampages through the house, damaging everything in sight, and passes out, Gale and Hecuba escape. Now the friends have to find Hecate’s pets and somehow restore the house, all before Hecate gets back on Saturday. It’s going to take luck, demigod wiles, and some old and new friends to hunt down the animals and set things right again.
My Review
Her onyx eyes glittered. She sat forward and laced her fingers, looking more like a principal than my real principal ever did. “You may call me the Torch Bearer, the Star Walker, the Night Wanderer, the Disturber of the Dead, the daughter of Perses and Asteria, the Triple Goddess!”
“Uh-huh,” I said, still clueless.
You’re probably thinking, Percy, you’ve been dealing with the Greek gods for years. How could you not know her?
So Percy Jackson book seven came out… and I enjoyed reading it. And yes, I understand that nostalgia had some impact on my reading experience and overall rating, as it did with book six. Because of this I have altered my rating accordingly for Wrath of the Triple Goddess. (As even though when I read both books six and seven both felt like five star reads, I know in my soul that they weren’t as good as The Battle of the Labyrinth or The Last Olympian. So think of four and a half stars as the same rating for Chalice of the Gods now, I guess. I was a bit overzealous with that review.)
Out of the two new PJO novels, I’m honestly not sure whether I enjoyed The Chalice of the Gods or Wrath of the Triple Goddess more. On the one hand, TCOTG was the first actual-not-a-spinoff Percy Jackson book in years, and I loved the cameos and references, and seeing how Percy, Annabeth and Grover have grown up. But book seven was fun too, and it had Halloween vibes out the wazoo, which I always adore. I guess I enjoyed them equally?
Anyway, I never knew I needed a PJO book set around Halloween until now. It was great, and the book was released during the literal perfect time of the year for it. It’s still a little weird to me reading novels from this series that take place in the fall – nearly all of them, except for The Titan’s Curse which takes place over winter break – are set over the summer. But it’s a nice change.
Grover and I exchanged a look of relief. Whenever Annabeth joined the chat, the odds of us doing something idiotic went way down. The odds were never zero, mind you, because I was still in the mix.
Percy is still as sassy as ever, perhaps even more so than book six, and Annabeth and Grover still balance him perfectly. This really is one of the greatest trios I’ve ever had the pleasure of following. Grover also doesn’t feel like a third wheel here, which was a very minor problem in TCOTG, and his feelings on potential third wheel status and Percy and Annabeth moving on from him are addressed here and it’s great.
And I can’t forget about Percabeth, one of the greatest relationships ever written. Still here and still fantastic – Percy and Annabeth really are a great couple. They just work so unbelievably well together.
Annabeth and I were more than just two people. We were a pair, and when we stood at the crossroads, we did it together.
The plot, even though I really enjoyed it, might be a slightly weaker aspect of this novel, as it was with book six. But that probably feels that way because it doesn’t feel as big as the plots of my memories, nor is it a world ending prevention story like basically all other Percy Jackson novels and spinoffs. It was fine on its own, but is far more down to earth than the rest of the series (save TCOTG).
I can’t believe the final book in this additional trilogy to the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians is coming out next year. That’s twenty years after the original book, the one that started it all – The Lightning Thief – did. I can’t believe it’s been that long already. Just, the timing. I can’t wait to see how this ends. But at the same time, I’ll once again feel a little sad to see it go.
“Hey, Wise Girl,” I said, trying to keep the panic out of my voice, “be wise. I don’t know much, but I do know we’re stronger together. Always.”
I definitely recommend Wrath of the Triple Goddess to fans of the Percy Jackson series. Alsoto fantasy fans who enjoy middle grade and YA stuff. But mostly to preexisting fans, ’cause you have to read the original five books (and book six) and have some knowledge of the sequel/spinoff series the Heroes of Olympus to really enjoy this novel. Also, read this book in October – the vibes are perfect.
Anyway, as always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a fantastic day/night!
