JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

REVIEW AND AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Relic by Bronwyn Eley

In the city of Edriast, there is no deadlier duty than to serve as the Shadow.

As the personal servant of the powerful Lord Rennard, the Shadow’s life is all but forfeit. Rennard possesses one of five rare and dangerous Relics – a jewel that protects his bloodline, but slowly poisons everyone else in its proximity. When the current Shadow succumbs to its magic, nineteen-year-old blacksmith Kaylan is summoned to take his place.
It’s an appointment that will kill her.

As the time Kaylan has left ebbs away, hope begins to fade… That is, until she discovers a plot to destroy all five bloodlines in possession of the Relics.

A rebel force plans to put an end to Rennard’s rule and Kaylan suddenly finds herself embroiled in a cause that might just be worth fighting for.  But no cause is without its costs…

As her life hangs in the balance and rebellion bears down on Edriast, Kaylan must decide where her loyalties lie – and how she’ll leave her mark on the world.

Relic by Bronwyn Eley is the first novel in the dark YA fantasy series, The Relic Trilogy. Set in the fictional city of Edriast, teenager Kaylan is selected as the new Shadow — a cursed role serving Lord Rennard, that guarantees imminent death.

Bronwyn’s debut novel is an enjoyable read. I enjoyed the premise, and the characters, and the pacing. At times, I felt the stakes weren’t that high but I still think fantasy readers will be entertained by this debut story. The relationship between Lord + Shadow is an interesting one, and certainly something that readers will be intrigued to find out more about.

“I flinched when Lirr’s hand rested on my lower back, firmly pressed against me as I tried to back away from his approach. I didn’t look at her, though, keeping my focus on Rennard. When he stopped, he was so close I could smell the heavy wine on his breath, so strong it was as if the fumes were pouring out of his skin.”

Friendships and alliances are a strong element in this book. Kaylan forms connections with a few other people whilst living as the Shadow, including Lord Rennard’s wife Jesper, and the delightful Markus.

Family is also a strong element in this book. Kaylan is really close with her family, particularly her siblings. It pains her to leave them behind when she is chosen as the new Shadow and she does her best to try and reconnect with them and check in on them after she’s left. It’s a heartwarming element to the story.

A few of the characters didn’t feel like they were fully fleshed out — Lord Rennard is an interesting character, although I didn’t feel like he was as three-dimensional as he could’ve been. I imagine we’ll come to know more about him and his motivations as we progress through the series. Additionally, Bellamy is a character we only hear about from other people. We don’t fully understand his intentions — good or bad — but I imagine this is setting things up for the sequel.

“Pride flourished in my chest briefly, suddenly replaced by a dark knot. In doing my job, I was helping Lord Rennard get one step closer to Bellamy. And what did I know about him? Nothing. Lord Rennard had put me in the middle of a dance without me knowing any of the steps.”

Kaylan is a relatable character that readers will sympathise for and empathise with. She’s a likeable character — a young girl who has been thrust into an unfortunate situation that she can’t do anything about. And it has a huge ripple effect on the rest of her family and friends.

At times, we’re dealing with an unreliable narrator and that’s always a welcome and enjoyable element in the fantasy genre. Over time, Kaylan’s mind falls victim to being Shadow and Kaylan can’t tell what’s real and what’s not. As a result, sometimes the reader is in the dark about the events in the book. This helps build the tension in the story,

“Better to come clean now, tell him why I wouldn’t be attending the celebration as a guest. Remove that look from his eyes. Quell any hopes of dancing under the stars with me. It couldn’t happen. And yet, I couldn’t stand the idea of those eyes turning cold and sorry.”

The world-building feels a little underdeveloped, and the plot points a little similar to many other fantasy novels. And the pacing is a bit slow in parts. But, the story kept my attention and the characters are interesting and I think YA readers will be entertained by this debut.

Rebellion is mentioned a lot in this book, but we don’t ever get to see any acts of rebellion. I look forward to the next book in the series, where the tension between Bellamy and Lord Rennard will no doubt reach boiling point.

Recommended for teenage readers and fans of fantasy novels. 12+

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

Relic
Bronwyn Eley
September 2019
Talem Press

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH BRONWYN ELEY

How do you juggle full-time work and writing?

Quite easily, honestly! I actually have three jobs (including my authoring) – my full-time work at Booktopia and I’m also a barista on Sundays at a cafe. Basically, I leave work and go to sport and then sit my butt down in front of the computer with some yummy snacks and beautiful instrumental music and just write! I always write after work and on the weekends, never in the morning before work. I don’t know how people do that – I like sleeping!

What skills from the military helped you write fantasy?

I’m not sure if my skills from the military helped write fantasy specifically but it helped writing in general. This is because I am a much harder worker now than I used to be. Being in the military got me to used long working days and that’s what writing with a full-time job is! It also showed me that I can do and be a lot more than I think. It made me believe in myself, so if I’m ever having a long day and finding it hard to write after work, I just remind myself of all the crazy and incredible and hard things I got through in the military. Then I think that sitting in front of a computer with some tasty snacks doesn’t sound too bad after all!

What element of novel writing do you think is your biggest strength?

Finishing the novel? Haha. Seriously, though, I am good at getting the words down on the page. Sometimes too many words! I’m definitely a waffler. I also like to think that I’m good at dialogue, that it comes across as natural.

What element of novel writing do you most struggle with?

Condensing my word count! As previously stated, I am a waffler and having to cut unnecessary words and scenes – or condensing them – is really challenging for me. Luckily, my wonderful editor is a total badass when it comes to this!

Working at Booktopia must give you an insight into another side of publishing that most people don’t see. What benefits do you think there are to writers knowing more about the publishing and/or bookselling process?

Great question! Working at Booktopia has been both a blessing and a curse in this regard. It’s great knowing the backend of the book publishing process: the realities of selling books, of becoming a bestseller, of what interests the booksellers, of how enormous the demand is – all incredibly helpful knowledge. On the other hand, it sometimes makes me wonder if there is even a point in me trying to make this work. So many books don’t even make a tiny splash, while others explode.

I do think it would benefit writers to understand how their books are processed – from the suppliers to the bookstores – and if they can help the process along. It’s also just really interesting! Seeing the trends and the people behind the books… it’s an interesting little world!

The fantasy genre is often filled with a lot of familiar tropes, storylines and characteristics. How do you craft your writing to either avoid or embrace these common elements?

I start by reading a lot of books in the fantasy genre in order to know these tropes and elements. I then decide which elements I don’t like – which is easy for me – and avoid them like the plague. On the other hand, if some moment or character in a book sticks with me, I make sure to investigate why it did so. I don’t want to force anything into one of my stories that doesn’t feel natural or right but if I can include/avoid these tropes then I will.

What can we expect from the next book in the series?

I’m going to avoid spoiling things from book one but I’m so glad you asked this question. I love book two, despite it still needing a lot of TLC. It’s all about stepping forth into the world and experiencing everything for the first time. Kaylan has a lot of challenges ahead of her and she is going to come to understand things she never thought she would.

There are a few new characters – two who I love to write so much and I really think readers are going to adore both of these people.

RELIC, Bronwyn Eley’s debut fantasy novel, is slated for release September 12.

About the author
Bronwyn joined the military right out of high school, where she learnt (among other things) to disassemble and reassemble a rifle blindfolded. After that she spent a lot of her time travelling around the world. Her favourite places (so far) are Scotland, Mongolia, Iceland and Ireland.

Bronwyn finally found her natural habitat when she landed her first job in the publishing industry. While she has always been a writer, it was only when surrounding herself with books that she realised her life’s dream was to become an author. Relic is her first novel.
Bronwyn lives in Sydney and spends her time eating chocolate, reading and practising her martial arts.

You add Relic to Goodreaders HERE, and visit Bronwyn’s website HERE

Evermore (Everless #2) by Sara Holland

The highly anticipated sequel to New York Times bestseller, Everless!

Jules Ember was raised hearing legends of the ancient magic of the wicked Alchemist and the good Sorceress. But she has just learned the truth: not only are the stories true, but she herself is the Alchemist, and Caro—a woman who single-handedly murdered the Queen and Jules’s first love, Roan, in cold blood—is the Sorceress.

The whole kingdom believes that Jules is responsible for the murders, and a hefty bounty has been placed on her head. And Caro is intent on destroying Jules, who stole her heart twelve lifetimes ago. Jules must delve into the stories that she now recognizes are accounts of her own past. For it is only by piecing together the mysteries of her lives that Jules will be able to save the person who has captured her own heart in this one.

Return to the intoxicating land of Sempera, where the rich live for centuries and the poor bleed time to pay for a loaf of bread. Can the Alchemist overcome the Sorceress once and for all?

Evermore is the second and final book in the YA fantasy duology from Sara Holland, picking up where things left off in Everless. If you haven’t read Everless, this review will be filled with spoilers — you are warned!

Last year, I read and loved Everless, and I’ve been eagerly anticipating reading the sequel and reviewing it for the blog. I’ve read quite a lot of negative reviews online, but I liked this sequel. Did I think it was truly amazing? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did I feel it wrapped up the storyline in a satisfying manner? Yes.

Despite there being a lot of travel in this book (like many fantasy sequels), the pacing is quick and the stakes are high, and the tension rises with each passing chapter. There was a lot of history in this book — Jules explores her past and her connection to Caro, to find out what their backstory is and how they’re destined to cross paths in every lifetime. This element may not be for everyone but I found it incredibly necessary to the storyline, and I really enjoyed it.

“Liam Gerling flits across my mind again, the complete belief in his eyes when he stood in an open field and told me I was the Alchemist. I wish he were beside me, if only to show Amma that I’m not mad. Not yet.”

Jules and Caro are pretty far removed for most of the novel, which sometimes drags the novel. The confrontation at the conclusion is satisfying, but I would’ve liked the climax to be a little more drawn out and brought earlier into the story. It felt really rushed. We do spend a lot of time exploring Jules and Caro’s backstories and while this is important, other elements of the story could’ve perhaps been embedded throughout to break up the storyline and ensure the reader’s attention didn’t waver.

The concept of blood being exchanged as currency wasn’t used very frequently in the story, and that saddened me. That concept felt truly original and it was one of my favourite things about Everless — it completely hooked me into picking up the series.

However, its lack of presence in this book just highlights how cut-off Jules is from the rest of civilisation. She’s often in the middle of nowhere, travelling somewhere that will give her answers to her past and her connection with Caro. It was a necessary sacrifice, I’m sure, but something I dearly missed.

“As she speaks, she dances out of the way of all my blows, her movements quick and graceful and efficient. She doesn’t seem to be trying to hurt me, but I realize that we’re closer together now than before. Caro is luring me to her — just like she lured me here, I think bitterly, foolishly.”

Something about this book felt so different to the first one, and not always in a good way. I think Evermore felt more generic, more like stereotypical fantasy than Everless did. And I’m sure that has something to do with the structure of the book. Jules is on a journey for most of the book — she’s travelling a lot and she’s learning a lot of information about her past and its significance, and she’s keeping a low profile. It feels pretty similar to a lot of other fantasy books.

That, combined with the fact that Sara Holland’s incredible magic system from book one doesn’t really get prime position, made for a slightly less-than-impressive sequel.

“My stomach lurched. A year. And these people don’t even care; they’re laughing and smiling as they roll up their sleeves, exposing their arms and palms like fish bellies to the dancing candlelight of the hall. Their flesh is smooth. Unblemished. No signs of having been bled before.”

Two books felt like the appropriate amount for this story — I actually was expecting this to be a trilogy, not thinking too much about it, until I neared the end of Evermore and realised that the story was wrapping up! I really appreciated that. Not all fantasy series need to be 3+ books.

I recommend this series to YA fantasy readers. It sits pretty comfortably in that space, so I feel confident that readers who love and regularly read fantasy will be the core audience for this series.

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

Evermore (Everless #2)
Sara Holland
August 2019
Hachette Book Publishers

The Astrid Notes by Taryn Bashford

Astrid Bell
Dutiful daughter. Classical singer. Secret pop songwriter. And suffering from stage fright.

Jacob Skalicky.
Trust-fund kid. Indie singer. Immensely gifted performer. And refusing to sing again.

Are they polar opposites? In his grief and fury at the world, Jacob certainly thinks so. But when Jacob loses everything and Astrid uncovers a shocking family secret, they may need each other to make sense of their lives.

The Astrid Notes is the second YA novel from Queensland author Taryn Bashford, this time set within the complex and high-pressure world of music and singing.

Jacob — who readers may remember from The Harper Effect — is navigating his way through a difficult time. After a late night gig, his fellow band members all die in a car accident. Jacob has survivor’s guilt, feeling like he’s lost his purpose and he starts to give up on his music and his singing.

To make everything worse, Jacob’s parents are fairly absent from his life but his father is constantly pressuring him to reconsider his career and his path, and to give up on this music dream of his. His father is a bully, and the reader can physically feel the effect that his father is having on Jacob’s physical and mental state.

Astrid is conflicted about many things. She’s an incredibly talented opera singer but she has stage fright and she doesn’t know how to fix it. She’s six months shy of 18, which is when her father promised to tell her how her mother died, but she wants to know now. Why does she have to wait? Astrid assumes her mother —who was an extraordinarily talent singer as well — died giving birth to her, and Astrid feels an enormous amount of guilt about this.

Naturally, when Astrid and Jacob’s paths cross, they have much in common.

“Four days after breaking my hand. I bite the bullet and am standing outside the doc’s house listening to Astrid sing. I like her sound even more than I like Yolanda Gustav. How can someone so small pack that much power?”
JACOB

The Astrid Notes explores some pretty heavy topics — death, alcoholism, depression, and parental pressure. I imagine there’ll be many readers out there who could find some comfort in what these characters are going through.

The POV shifts between Jacob and Astrid quite often — sometimes after only two pages — and I think the characterisation within these short moments was managed really well. From the beginning, we understand the characters’ motivations, their fears and their worries, and how their interactions with other people is a reflection of their struggle to overcome the issues they’ve been going through.

“Something has changed. He’s changed. It’s as if the older I get, the more the unpredictable side of him is taking over. Mr Maestro’s winning. It’s like living inside my own opera and the demon has gained ground. And I’m to sing, whether I want to or not.”
ASTRID

I think what does let this book down is some of the jarring references to pop culture that date the book and add nothing to the character’s inner dialogue. It makes the text read a little too juvenile for the characters, and the references do feel out of place — if there was no way to seamlessly weave them in, then I think they should’ve been culled in the editing.

“As always, I lost that argument. Should’ve kept my mouth shut because I probably made everything worse. Like the main character in a Step Up movie, I either pass this audition or my music dreams are over.”
JACOB

“I’m small, so being engulfed by Maestro has always felt like being hugged by the hero at the end of a movie or when the music score from the final scene of Lord of the Rings blasts in your head and you’re sure everything’s going to end well.”
ASTRID

A heartwarming and engaging follow up to The Harper Effect, with loveable, relatable characters and a rich plot. Taryn Bashford captures the world of elite music with authenticity. You’ll fall in love with Astrid and Jacob from the beginning, all the way through to the last pages. Recommend for young readers, 12+

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

The Astrid Notes
Taryn Bashford
July 2019
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Castle of Lies by Kiersi Burkhart

Thelia isn’t in line to inherit the crown, but she’s been raised to take power however she can. She’s been friends with Princess Corene her whole life, and she’s scheming to marry Bayled, the heir to the throne. But her plans must change when an army of elves invades the kingdom.

Thelia, her cousin Parsival. and Corene become trapped in the castle. An elf warrior, Sapphire, may be Thelia’s only hope of escape, but Sapphire has plans of their own. Meanwhile, an ancient magic is awakening within the castle, with the power to destroy the whole kingdom. Can Thelia find a way to protect her future – and her life?

Castle of Lies by Kiersi Burkhart is a YA fantasy novel that explores magic, loyalty and secrets, amidst a terrifying elvish invade.

The Holy Kingdom is bankrupt, ruled by an alcoholic King who isn’t concerned with much except himself. His daughter, Corene, is secretly engaged to the King’s ward Bayled, who has been promised the throne. Corene’s cousin Thelia is scheming to take the crown, despite having no right to it. And then, the King announces that he’s promised his daughter Corene to a Southern Lord to help secure an alliance ahead of an oncoming Elvish invade.

This book really disappointed me. The plot is not engaging, and there isn’t much depth to the story. There are too many characters in the book, and it switches POV between four different ones — Thelia, Bayled, Parsifal and Sapphire. Half the time, I forgot whose POV I was in, because a lot of the voices read the same and I found myself very disinterested in all of them.

The characterisation is very surface level and the characters themselves felt very flat. For example, Thelia is supposed to be savvy, secretive and sneaky, but that’s not how I felt when I read her. She doesn’t feel threatening or intelligent. She’s bold and brash but she’s not frightening.

The writing in the book is a little too simplistic. Descriptions are basic, and the vocabulary doesn’t quite connect with the atmosphere and setting. The war and politics in the book doesn’t read authentic, and a lot of it seems skimmed over, thus losing its credibility.

“Washing and brushing and putting up my hair takes all my willpower. Sitting at my vanity, I stare into my own brown eyes as I draw dark lines like a barrier around them, holding me in. I reach for my lip stain, but like a gust of wind has swept through my room, it falls off the edge of the vanity and rolls away.”

Many of the characters read very immature, even for their age. The stakes are high, the tension is mounting, and there’s a very real threat coming their way, and yet the main characters seem to be involved in such petty arguments and unnecessary altercations.

The world-building in the book is one of its strengths — the castle and the kingdom, and the lands surrounding Four Halls are fully fleshed out and I could easily imagine how this setting physically looked.

There’s plenty of romance in this book, if that’s of interest to you. There are multiple pairings, or love triangles, and most of the tension in the book is between characters who are either together, or want to be together.

“Every conversation with Thelia I’ve ever had since I came here as a little boy has been like this one — with her reflexively condescending to me. I’m wrong, I’m ignorant, I’m a foreigner. I tried over and over to befriend her because she was so close to Corene, but it wasn’t many cycles before I gave up.”

Castle of Lies has potential, but I wouldn’t recommend this book to adult readers. It’s a shame because I feel like the premise of the book, and the writing style, would be interesting to a young reader — 12 or 13. But, there are sex scenes in this book and that means I can’t confidently recommend this book to a young audience. I don’t know that the storyline will be enough to hold their attention.

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

Castle of Lies
Kiersi Burkhart
July 2019
Walker Books

I Am Change by Suzy Zail

They told her that her body belonged to men and her mind didn’t matter. They were wrong.

“What if I don’t want to marry?” Lillian held her breath. She had never said the words out loud. “Not want to marry?” Her aunt frowned. “What else would you do?” Set in an Ugandan village, Lilian has learned to shrink herself to fit other people’s ideas of what a girl is. In her village a girl is not meant to be smarter than her brother. A girl is not meant to go to school or enjoy her body or decide who to marry. Especially if she is poor. Inspired by and written in consultation with young Ugandan women, I Am Change is the tragic but empowering story of how a young girl finds her voice and the strength to fight for change.

I Am Change is an extraordinary novel from Suzy Zail, about dreams, destiny, expectations, and one young girl’s determination to follow her passion and reject the future that is expected of her.

Suzy Zail’s book is fictional, but it is based on countless research and interviews with young Ugandan women. Lilian’s story in the book was inspired by 30 different Ugandan women, and all of the experiences that Lilian had in the book, are based on real life events that happened to at least one Ugandan woman.

At times, it was incredibly distressing because Ugandan women are often subjected to horrible customs and treatment from others. I Am Change explores traumatic topics such as genital mutilation, rape, forced child marriage, infant death, and poverty.

In developing countries around the world, over 200,000 million girls don’t have the opportunity to go to school or develop an education. In I Am Change, Lilian is determined to finish her schooling and go to university. She doesn’t want to be forced into a marriage, and she doesn’t want to follow the path that her mother expects of her purely because she’s a girl.

“The final bell rang and the class spilled from the room. Masani had followed one of the older boys to the back of the sports shed. Lilian snuck after them to watch. She wanted to look away, wanted to feel angry with Masani, but she couldn’t muster disgust, or even disappointment, just guilt that the watching warmed her body.”

Lilian wants to be a teacher, but no one believes it’s possible, or that she’s able to achieve that. She must get married and have babies — that is her role. That is the role of every woman in Uganda. Lilian’s father and aunt are the only two people who believe in her, and combined, they help her throughout the novel. But I imagine in the real world, many girls do not have support from their parents or extended family.

I Am Change is essential reading for adults and young readers — most readers in Australia probably have no idea what it’s like to live the kind of disadvantaged life that Lilian and her friends go through. And it’s horrifying to think that there are hundreds of thousands of women who have lived or are living these kinds of experiences around the world.

Not only is the story beautiful and the characters inviting, but the writing is fantastic. Suzy Zail crafts sentences that flow incredibly well, the dialogue is realistic to the age of the characters, and the story itself is engaging.

“Dimple didn’t return to school at the end of the wet season and with Trinah gone and Nasreen about to be married, Lilian’s only female company was Masani, who spent her lunchtimes emptying boys’ pockets of coins. Thomas still tried to buy Lilian with pencil sharpeners and cold drinks but his greasy smirk made her skin crawl.”

I Am Change is about awareness and education, and the importance of women receiving the same opportunities as men in developing countries. I anticipate many people will read this book and be moved by the characters, the circumstances, and Lilian’s courageous actions to break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage in her family. Highly recommended.

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

I Am Change
Suzy Zail
August 2019
Walker Books Australia

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