JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

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.

Nevermoor is the first book in an enchanting new series by debut author Jessica Townsend, taking us deep into a magical world filled with unicorns, dwarfs, vampires, and young children with extraordinary gifts.

Morrigan Crow is a wonderful protagonist for both kids and adults. She’s empathetic, observant, smart and independent. She desperately wants to feel loved and wanted, and she wasn’t getting that at home from her father or her stepmother. She was always destined to die on her 11th birthday, so they always wrote her off and never really valued her and she always felt under appreciated in life.

However, when the hilarious Jupiter North appears and takes her with him to Nevermoor, we are thrust into a wonderful world of magic and intrigue.

Jupiter is by far my favourite character in the entire novel, purely because of his dialogue. Jessica Townsend has done a marvellous job of his characterisation — it’s so easy for the reader to imagine him as they’re reading the novel.

‘I’m still wearing my hat, aren’t I? Goodness me. How rude.’ He arched an eyebrow at his dumbfounded audience. ‘Dont be alarmed; I’m ginger.’
‘Ginger’ was an understatement, Morrigan thought, trying to hide her astonishment as the hat came off. ‘Ginger of the Year’ or ‘King Ginger’ or ‘Big Gingery President of the Ginger Foundation of the Incurably Ginger’ would have been more accurate.

‘Sorry about this, Mog. Rubbish timing. I didn’t even get to show you the duck pond, or the Things-In-Jars room.’
‘What’s in the Things-In-Jars Room?’
‘It’s where I keep all my things in jars.’

Despite what people may think, this book is not the next Harry Potter. It’s whimsical, magical and wonderful, but it feels more like Alice in Wonderland than Harry Potter. This is a unique, hilarious and original start to a new children’s book series and I’m really looking forward to seeing where Townsend takes it.

With spectacular characters and enchanting magical abilities, it’d be easy for a child to get lost in this story. It’s a grand adventure as Morrigan tackles each test to try and secure her place in Nevermoor.

“When Morrigan went to bed that night, her hammock had changed again, this time into a wooden bed frame with stars and moons carved into the legs….by morning, her bed was a futon. Perhaps the Deucalion hadn’t made up its mind about her after all.”

Nevermoor explores imagination and creativity, but it also illustrates the importance of belonging. Morrigan may not always admit it, but she wants what she’s been lacking her entire life — a family. In Nevermoor, she finally feels like she’s found her purpose.

The Hotel Deucalion, where Morrigan lives in Nevermoor, is full of wonder and intrigue. Things shift around without any warning, and there are secret parts of the hotel that the children aren’t meant to venture. It even grows its own chandelier!

“Morrigan awoke one chilly morning at the beginning of winter to find that her new home had transformed int a Christmas wonderland overnight. The halls were decked with ribbons and evergreen boughs, the foyer lit up by shining, shimmering fir trees dotted with silvery bauble. The Smoking Parlour rolled out emerald-green waves of pine-scented smoke in the morning, red-and-white-striped candy cane smoke in the afternoon and warm, spicy gingerbread smoke at night.”

The only thing I disliked about the book (although it was a tiny thing) was that it took a little too long to get started. We’re a few chapters in before Jupiter whisks her away to Nevermoor and until then, I found my attention starting to wane. However, as soon as we’re thrust into Nevermoor and Morrigan’s trials, I was loving the book and completely devoted to the story.

I recommend this book to anyone who grew up loving Harry Potter or Alice in Wonderland and is looking for something fun to dive into. I also recommend this to any parent looking for a Christmas gift or birthday gift for their child or someone else’s child. It’s marvellous, thrilling and ‘wunderful’. Suitable for children aged 8-13.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nevermoor
Jessica Townsend
October 2017
Hachette Book Publishers

The Half Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker

Since the death of Ragnvald Eysteinsson’s father in battle, he has worked hard to protect his sister Svanhild and planned to inherit his family’s land when he comes of age. But when the captain of his ship tries to kill him on the way home from a raiding excursion, he must confront his stepfather’s betrayal, and find a way to protect his birthright. It is no easy feat in Viking-Age Norway, where a hundred petty rulers kill over parcels of land, and a prophesied high king is rising.

But where Ragnvald is expected to bleed, and even die, for his honour, Svanhild is simply expected to marry well. It’s not a fate she relishes, and when the chance to leave her stepfather’s cruelty comes at the hand of her brother’s arch-rival, Svanhild is forced to make the ultimate choice: family or freedom.

Drawing from the Icelandic Sagas, The Half-Drowned King takes inspiration from the true story of Ragnvald of Maer – the right hand man of King Harald Fairhair – and his sister, Svanhild, as she tries to find freedom in a society where the higher her brother rises, the greater her worth as a political pawn.

Hartsuyker’s The Half-Drowned King is the first novel in a viking trilogy set in long-ago Norway. It is a heavily fictionalised retelling of the Saga of Harald Fairhair, which was written in the 13th century. This swashbuckling debut is about family, friendship and love. It’s also about revenge and punishment.

Similar to Game of Thrones, The Half-Drowned King is full of murder, mayhem, betrayal and terrible life choices. The trilogy is about the rise of Harald, who eventually became the first King of Norway in the 9th century.

The novel switches back and forth between Ragnvald’s POV and his sister Svanhild’s POV. Ragnvald is twenty years old and incredibly bold and determined. He is betrayed in the opening chapters of the book — a plot orchestrated by his stepfather — and then over the course of the novel he swears allegiance to both King Hakon and then King Harald. He wants to win enough land and enough power to seek revenge on his stepfather.

“Ragnvald was not sure later what warned him; perhaps the quiet that lay over the farm felt deeper than that of sleep. He already had his hand on the hilt of his sword when he heard a woman’s low moan, a despairing sound.”

Svanhild is resourceful and independent, and has higher hopes for herself than just being someone’s wife. She escapes an arranged marriage but then cunningly aligns herself to her brother’s betrayer, Solvi. She then marries him.

“The days passed slowly at Hrolf’s farm. Whenever Svanhild could, she asked for work outdoors with the sheep and goats. Hrolf had few cows, for they could not survive well on such sparse grass. She stayed outside all day long, her hands growing brown in the sun, only coming inside and exposing herself to the barbs and sniping of Hilda’s sisters when she had to.”

Hartsuyker doesn’t shy away from depicting the torture and violence of that time period — rape, mutilation and slaughter. The battles and the raids stretch on for pages and the author does a great job of depicting those in enough detail so that the reader is interested, but not too much description where the reader is bored and needs to skim the chapter.

Ragnvald matures a lot over the course of the novel, learning that just because the land is his birthright doesn’t mean he’s earned it. He learns a lot about leadership and honour from those around him — he takes charge and makes smarter decisions. Additionally, Svanhild learns to trust her instincts and stick to her own decisions. She wants a say in her fate. She really comes into her own over the course of the novel, speaking freely to those that she disagrees with and escaping when she senses ill will against her.

The one downside to this novel is that there are way too many characters. I understand that this is supposed to be a retelling but there are so many people in this story and they all have obscure names that seem too similar. I often found myself confused and I had no idea who anyone was and I had to flick to the glossary at the back of the book to familiarise myself.

I recommend this to fans of Game of Thrones. It’s violent, bloody and murderous, but it’s also addictive and wildly enjoyable. I’m looking forward to the sequel.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Half Drowned King
Linnea Hartsuyker
August 2017
Hachette Book Publishers

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

A ruthless young assassin continues her journey for revenge. The sequel to Nevernight.

Assassin Mia Corvere has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church ministry think she’s far from earned it. Plying her bloody trade in a backwater of the Republic, she’s no closer to ending Consul Scaeva and Cardinal Duomo, or avenging her familia. And after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia begins to suspect the motives of the Red Church itself.

When it’s announced that Scaeva and Duomo will be making a rare public appearance at the conclusion of the grand games in Godsgrave, Mia defies the Church and sells herself to a gladiatorial collegium for a chance to finally end them. Upon the sands of the arena, Mia finds new allies, bitter rivals, and more questions about her strange affinity for the shadows. But as conspiracies unfold within the collegium walls, and the body count rises, Mia will be forced to choose between loyalty and revenge, and uncover a secret that could change the very face of her world.

Godsgrave is the second book in the Nevernight Chronicles, an epic fantasy series about a young assassin and her desire for revenge. She deliberately sells her freedom so that she can compete in the gladiatorial games and kill the two men who were responsible for her father’s death — Scaevo and Duomo.

I’ve just realised that despite having read Nevernight (book one in the series), I haven’t yet reviewed it for this blog. SO after this I’ll be returning to where it all began so I can provide a review for the beginning of the Chronicles. If any of you haven’t yet started this series, don’t read my review of Godsgrave — too many spoilers! And believe me, this is not the kind of book you want spoiled. Jay Kristoff is the master of unexpected twists and turns and leaving the reader feeling like they had absolutely no idea what was coming. He leaves the reader in shock, awe, surprise, and at times devastation (he doesn’t shy away from killing beloved characters).

“Pig’s blood has a very peculiar taste. The blood of a man is best drunk warm, and leaves a hint of sodium and rust clinging to the teeth. Horse’s blood is less salty, with an odd bitterness almost like dark chocolate. But pig’s blood has an almost buttery quality, like oysters and oiled iron, slipping down your throat and leaving a greasy tang in its wake.”

The second book in a fantasy series usually falls victim to ‘second book syndrome’, where the plot is really just the characters plodding along and devising action and being mad about whatever revenge they need to get. Really, book two is just the characters getting from point A (the origin of the story in book one) to point B (the amazing showdown that occurs in book three).

However, Godsgrave is a marvellous sequel. It furthers the plot, which is what a sequel is supposed to do. We’re supposed to feel like there’s a mini story in each book of a series, and Jay Kristoff definitely delivered. All of the characters are three dimensional and you are really draw into each of their struggles. I wouldn’t be friends with some of them if I met them in real life, but I loved reading about them and I sympathised for them in the book.

“How did you come here?” she asked, looking at the track about them, the silhouette of Crow’s Nest in the distance. “This place?”
Bryn sniffed. “Bad harvest. Three years back. Village didn’t have the grain to pay our tithe to the Itreyan administratii. They locked our laird in irons, had him and his whole familia flogged in the stocks.”
“We didn’t like that,” Byern explained. “Me and Bryn were too young for our da to let us go, but anyone big enough to swing a sword march ed up to the magistrate’s door. Dragged him down to the stocks and gave him a flogging right back.”

Additionally, we come to understand more about Mia in Godsgrave. She is the orphaned daughter of an executed traitor. She wants revenge. Besides being an amazing swordsman (or swordswoman!), she’s ruthless, clever, intelligent and devious. At times she seems unfeeling, but she’s also inquisitive and trusting and funny. She develops a relationship with a female character (no spoilers as to who it is!) and we learn a different side to Mia. There’s more of Mia’s feelings and doubts written into this book. She starts to feel more relatable in Godsgrave compared to Nevernight. I finished the book feeling like I knew her better — her desires and motives. She struggles to embrace her darkin side and what it means to be darkin, especially after she meets another character in the book who is also darkin. I think that Mia’s darken side will be further developed in the next Nevernight Chronicles book.

What is my name?
“CROWCROWCROWCROW!”
Dark delight in her belly.
Warm blood on her hands.

Godsgrave is more brutal than Nevernight, upping the violence, fighting and death and describing it in more detail. The sex scenes in the book are also longer and described in more detail, and Jay writes these with sensitivity and understanding (for a man, he actually writes F/F sex scenes rather well). Once Mia is inside the gladiatorial collegium and fighting for her life amongst other warriors, she soon learns that what she thought was real might not be. Who she trusted might have betrayed her and she may need to realign her allegiances.

“Who’s Arkades?”
“The Red Lion, they called him,” Mia said.
“…Executus used to be a slave like us?” Matteo asked.
“Not like you, you worthless shit,” Butcher snarled. “He was fucking gladiatii.”
“Victor of the Venatus Magni ten years back.” Mia spoke softly, voice hushed with awe. “The Ultima was a free-for-all. Every gladiator who’d been signed up for the games was released onto the sand for that final match. One warrior sent out every minute until the killing was done. Must’ve been almost two hundred.”
“Two hundred and forty-three.” Butcher said.

I have to give a shout out to Jay for the ‘refresher’ at the beginning of the book. Normally, fantasy books just dive straight into the plot and it’s usually been at least a year since the last book and so I have no idea what’s happened. But there’s a few pages at the beginning of Godsgrave that list all of the characters and what happened to them in the first book. It was amazing. I didn’t have time to go back and reread Nevernight so I LOVED that I could read a recap in three pages. Thank you Jay!

A rather entertaining part of the novel is Mister Kindly. He’s a shadow who wears the shape of cat (although he is not really a cat at all) and he accompanies Mia on her journey. He lives by eating her terror. Some may think of this as a bad thing, but Mister Kindly allows Mia to be fearless. He takes away her fear and she is free to be her usual, badass self. As a result, she ventures head first into danger with no thought about her own safety. Luckily for her, she’s skilled enough to survive.

And of course, Jay Kristoff again provides hilarious footnotes throughout the book that not only provide backstory to the plot but also witty aside. In my opinion, they are optional. You don’t need to read them to understand the plot of the book but they are a fun, snarky aside to read throughout.

This book is an emotional rollercoaster. The stakes are higher and the pace moves faster and faster until you can’t put the book down and you’re desperate to get to the end. Just like in Nevernight, Mia has to go through trials and tests to come out as victor. But in Godsgrave, there’s more at risk. She needs to win. And win she will.

I recommend this to adult readers, because of the content. This is NOT a YA book. Most people would know this if they’ve read Nevernight, but I’ll repeat: this is not a YA book. It is a novel for adults. I also recommend this to lovers of fantasy. It’s an amazing series and I can’t wait to read the next book in 2018.

Godsgrave
Nevernight Chronicles #2
Jay Kristoff
September 2017
HarperCollins Book Publishers

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

She’s a soldier.

Noemi Vidal is seventeen years old and sworn to protect her planet, Genesis. She’s willing to risk anything—including her own life. To their enemies on Earth, she’s a rebel.

He’s a machine.

Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel has advanced programming that’s begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he’s an abomination.

Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they embark on a daring journey through the stars. Their efforts would end the fighting for good, but they’re not without sacrifice. The stakes are even higher than either of them first realized, and the more time they spend together, the more they’re forced to question everything they’d been taught was true.

Defy the Stars is the first novel in a new fantasy/science fiction duology by Claudia Gray. It’s an action-packed, galaxy-hopping story about a teenage girl Noemi and a robot/machine boy Abel travelling from planet to planet so that Noemi can save her home planet of Genesis.

“In three weeks, Noemi Vidal will die — here, in this very place…Every single one of them volunteered, but none of them is truly ready to die…And the Masada Run will be their greatest sacrifice. It’s a suicide mission — though no one uses the word suicide. Seventy-five ships will strike at once, all running at the same target. Seventy-five ships will blow themselves up. Noemi will be flying one of them.”

At first, the world and setting is a little hard to wrap your head around. Noemi is a fighter pilot on planet Genesis and has been trained to killed even the most skilled of mechs (robots). During Noemi’s practice for the Masada Run, she discovers an Earth spaceship that was abandoned during the last war. Aboard that abandoned ship is Abel, an advanced mech who has been trapped for 30 years alone.

She raises one dark eyebrow, trying to joke despite her obvious tension. “Shouldn’t you watch your feet instead of mine?”
“The grid’s pattern is static and stored in my memory. I could walk through the store blindfolded.”
“Of course you can.”

The book alternates point of view between Abel and Noemi, and Abel is my favourite character of the book. He’s witty, hilarious, quick, and provides great comic relief from the plot. He is programmed to recognise Noemi as his superior, so he’s forced to help her travel through the universe in an effort to save her planet from destruction.

He does so, then rises from his station. “Before we receive final landing clearance, I should change clothes.”
“Why? You look, um, nice.”
“I dressed to suit what I assumed would be our cover story, that of wealthy travellers arriving at a Kismet resort. Our new cover is that we are baldly in need of work. Therefore, we should look impoverished, or at least unfashionable.” Abel pauses at the door to study Noemi again. “What you’re wearing is fine.”

There are some religious underpinnings in the book that at times seem unnecessary and confusing, but they don’t do too much to detract from the overall plot.

The highlights of the book are the pacing and the characters. Defy the Stars moves really quickly, with the characters moving between planets and working quickly to save Genesis. Granted, there were a few times in the book where I’d lost track of why they were where they were. It felt like a James Bond movie – how did he know where to go and what was he doing there again? But I think this is the kind of story where you just kind of have to roll with it.

Whilst Abel outshines Noemi for most of the novel (she’s a bit bland at times), they compliment each other really well. They’re likeable, relatable and they’re incredibly independent characters that readers will really enjoy reading about.

“It’s a good story, one that holds up to repetition. This is fortunate for Abel, who has now been trapped in the Daedalus for almost thirty years…Burton Mansfield is a genius, the creator of all twenty-six models of mech that currently serve humankind.”

If you get confused at all whilst reading the book, go back and reread chapter one. You may not know it at the time, but Claudia Gray explains pretty much everything you need to know in those nine pages. I found it super helpful to re-educate myself about the Masada Run and the relations between Earth and Genesis and the role that Noemi plays in the history of the galaxy.

“If my suggestion earlier gave offence, I apologise.”
She shrugs. “You’re programmed to say that, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
Figures.

Claudia Gray brings the story together really well, using action to propel the story forward and bring it to a satisfying yet intriguing end. She sets up the sequel really well, and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next. I recommend this to younger readers who are looking for something fun and exciting.

Defy the Stars (Constellation #1)
Claudia Gray
May 2017
Allen & Unwin Publishers

King’s Cage (Red Queen #3) by Victoria Aveyard

King’s Cage is the third instalment in Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series. I’ve reviewed the first two on the blog: Red Queen and Glass Sword. This review may contain spoilers for anyone that hasn’t read it yet.

We pick up where we left off at the end of Glass Sword: Mare Barrow is a prisoner to King Maven. She is powerless without her lightning ability (due to the presence of Silver Stone in the palace) and she is tormented by her captors. King Maven keeps her in a cell for months and she finds out very little information about the outside world. Maven’s mother may have once been controlling him, but now that she’s dead and he is King, he is every bit as lethal as she once was. He continues to weave his dead mother’s web in an attempt to maintain control over his country — and his prisoner, Mare.

Victoria has taken a very different turn with this book. Mare is no longer the strong fighter we saw in books one and two. She is helpless, forced to be Maven’s pawn in his public game. Maven parades her in front of televisions and forces her to say things to the public that aren’t true. Her allies, Cal, Cameron and Kilorn, can only watch from outside the walls of the palace as their leader Mare deteriorates and becomes Maven’s victim.

“I drift on a dark sea, and shadows drift with me. They could be memories. They could be dreams. Familiar but strange, and something wrong with each…Purple eats at the edge of my vision. I try to turn in to its embrace, knowing what it holds. My lightning is so close. If only I could find the memory of it and taste one last drop of power before plunging back into darkness. But it fades like the rest, ebbing away.”
-MARE BARROW

There is a lot on internal dialogue in this book. The book switches focus from Mare to Cal to Cameron and to Evangeline, and we come to understand all of their thoughts, fears, insecurities and worries. Victoria really gets inside their head so that the reader really understands who they are. They are three dimensional, fully-crafted characters who we sympathise with and empathise for.

King Maven is always an external character — despite the snippets we get when Mare is in the same scene with him, we don’t learn much more about him other than what others think of him. Or, from what we can read between the lines when he’s revealing something to Mare. There’s a particular scene where King Maven tells Mare about someone he used to love, and it does well to illustrate the kind of person he could’ve been had his mother not manipulated him and damaged him (psychologically) with her special ability.

The Queen used to invade his mind and force him to think things and do things he normally wouldn’t do. Maven reveals he was born disabled, but that the Queen wove herself inside his mind and forced him to walk properly. It hurt him so much that he hated her, but she still wouldn’t stop. And even until her death, she was manipulating him.

“Maven is a talented liar, and I don’t trust a single word he speaks. Even if he was telling the truth. Even is he is a product of his mother’s meddling, a thorned flower forced to grow a certain way. That doesn’t change things.”
-MARE BARROW

Most of the book is focused on Mare, but we do occasionally learn what the rest of the Scarlet Guard are up to, still fighting the cause and working to break Mare out of her cage. I did feel bored by Mare throughout the book. King’s Cage is about 600 pages, and yet Mare doesn’t fight back at all for most of it. She does as she’s told, and she doesn’t even try. I can understand this given she doesn’t have her powers, but she’s the leader of the Scarlet Guard. In books one and two, she was so fierce and I was expecting her to be more like that even whilst being held captive. But she is so complacent and plain in the book and I found myself quite bored.

“Cal follows orders, but he can’t make choices.”
-KING MAVEN

I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series because I know it’s the last and I want to know how Victoria will resolve things. Although, I don’t think this book needed to be as long as it was and I would’ve liked to see it condensed. Perhaps Victoria could’ve merged books three and four?

Has anyone else read this book? Or perhaps the first two in the series? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

King’s Cage
Victoria Aveyard
February 2017
Hachette Publishers

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