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February 11, 2018

REBEL OF THE SANDS by Alwyn Hamilton

February 11, 2018

Book cover & rating - REBEL OF THE SANDS by Alwyn HamiltonThe first 200 pages were not written well. I was bored and felt growing discomfort with the mangled Middle Eastern culture this fantasy book was premised on. At least the next 150 odd pages picked up a little in terms of plot and also storytelling, so I didn’t end up thoroughly hating Rebel of the Sands. Still, this book has so many problems, I’m relieved I didn’t order the sequels before finishing this one first.

· Categories: Fiction Keywords: ableist, abuse, alcoholism, assault, beliefs, betrayal, canadian authors, choices, cousins, death, disability, diverse books, domestic violence, ethics, family, gender, ghouls, half-siblings, identity, insurgency, jinn, magic, murder, mythology, on the run, poc characters, relatives, religion, romance, royalty, secrets, self discovery, shapeshifting, siblinghood, truth, violence

June 7, 2017

SPELLSLINGER by Sebastien de Castell

June 7, 2017

Book cover & rating - Spellslinger by Sebastien de CastellSpellslinger is a rather quirky book, which I enjoyed very much. A young mage who’s struggling with magic, a traveller passing through who can’t keep her hilarious social commentary to herself, and a snarky talking squirrel cat? This combination was most peculiar, making me laugh and smirk throughout.

· Categories: Fiction Keywords: abduction, abuse, ambition, beliefs, betrayal, bullying, canadian authors, conspiracy theories, culture, death, dysfunctional families, eugenics, family, gender, humour, identity, inequality, jealousy, lies, loyalty, magic, monsters, mystery, oppression, power, revenge, rituals, sacrifice, secrets, self discovery, siblinghood, slavery, snarky characters, truth, violence

January 14, 2016

Cut the Lights by Karen Krossing

January 14, 2016

Book cover & rating: Cut the Lights by Karen KrossingWhen it comes to contemporary fiction, I love books with protagonists who have ambition and passion for something. Cut the Lights fully delivered in that department. Drama and theatre were the main focus and very little detracted from that. I think in part that stemmed from the shortness of the book. The length didn’t allow for much else beyond theatre, which means there were no unnecessary distractions.

· Categories: Fiction Keywords: ambition, bi- or multiracial characters, canadian authors, depression, family problems, friendship, novellas, theatre and drama

December 8, 2015

FRIENDS WITH BOYS by Faith Erin Hicks

December 8, 2015

Book cover of FRIENDS WITH BOYS by Faith Erin HicksFor the most part, I enjoyed Friends with Boys but… there are two buts. Firstly, the title is infinitely deceiving. Boys shouldn’t be plural. The boys in her life were her brothers. The boy who was a friend wasn’t the focus either. I’d say a more appropriate title would’ve been this: Finally Friends with a Girl. Secondly, were did the ending go to? Quite literally, I thought my copy was missing pages.

· Categories: Graphic Novels Keywords: brothers, canadian authors, family, friendship, ghosts, high school, siblinghood

November 25, 2015

A THOUSAND NIGHTS by E.K. Johnston

November 25, 2015

A THOUSAND NIGHTS by E.K. JohnstonA Thousand Nights is a magical book. The prose is exceedingly beautiful. If literary fiction were to bridge over to the young adult segment, this book would be a stellar example of the genre. In some ways, I think that if readers were to expect a slow story, magnificent in words over a fast-paced one, then the reviews wouldn’t have come to be as mixed as they are now.

· Categories: Fiction Keywords: bravery, canadian authors, death, demons, family, funerals, gods, grief, hope, imposters and imposture, legends, magic, marriage, mysticism, prayer, retellings, romance, siblinghood, sisters, suffering, violence

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About

Joséphine. Word reveller. Loves books. Reads books. Talks about books. Photographs books. When she’s not blogging, she can be found on Instagram under @wordrevel.

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