The Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec
Genre: Fantasy
The Weaver and the Witch Queen follows the story of Gunnhild and her two friends who are bound together by prophecy and, for two of them, a blood oath. Gunnhild is a flawed character, protective, obstinate at times, and angry. Her devotion to her friends is wonderfully solid. Oddney, with whom she has a blood oath, is interesting. She is often a voice of reason and has a sensitivity to her that I find appealing. Signy, Oddney's sister, is spirited and a strong character in her own right.
Gornichec's writing is very accessible. She does an amazing job of weaving the story, incorporating the characters, and covering various themes. I really liked the inclusion of diverse characters. The story takes place in the Viking era drawing on myths and legend; however, at times it feels modern day. I think this lends well to creating a story that would appeal to a wide group of readers. The world building is lacking somewhat, but the reader can easily fill in the gaps given the story and what is provided. The book jumps right into the story and has a really good even pacing. It kept me engaged while curious as to the future of the characters and their journeys. There is plenty of mystery and intrigue and just enough hints to keep the reader going. Overall, a great read with interesting likable characters and a solid story.
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Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1) by Rebecca Ross
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Oh my goodness, this book! It reads like a WWII romance with a little bit of a fantasy twist. I went into the book with no expectations Normally, I would have passed it over based on the premise, but I'm so glad I didn't.
The story navigates between written letters and narrative. Iris and Roman's interactions and letters had me hanging on the cusp of anticipation for their budding romance and fearful understanding that things would go drastically wrong somewhere along the way. What really made the book for me is Ross' writing. It carried me like a wave through the story. I was all in. I may have hugged the book at certain times and threw my hands in the air angry ugly crying at others.
It's a hugely character driven book. Though the story is sprinkled with moments of action and magical elements, it doesnt exactly take front seat in the story. In addition, while there is a fantasy element, it actually feels very much like a historical fiction book. At times I even forgot there was a whole fantasy twist with the war being between gods. I honestly think the god element could have been missing from this book entirely and easily fallen into magical realism. Granted, I think that is one or the reasons I liked the book. Its pretty accessible and something I think readers who don't gravitate to fantasy would enjoy. The cliff hanger at the end will have me desperately waiting for book two. Overall, this is definitely one of my favorite reads this year.
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Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
Genre: Romance
I loved this book! It was a one day read for me.
Elsie is a adjunct professor with a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. She's overworked and underpaid making extra cash through FAUX, an app that hires out fake girlfriends. When the opportunity of a lifetime arises, she quickly is thrown into the interview game for a professor position at MIT. The problem? One of the interviewers is Jack, the brother of one of her favorite clients. He is also the publisher of a paper that singlehandedly destroyed part of her mentor's career and caused a major rift between theoretical and experimental physicists.
The chemistry between Elsie and Jack is amazing. The banter back and forth is a lot of fun. The characters also show a lot of growth through the book. Elsie and Jack aren't the only ones that shine through this book, there are also a lot of amazing side characters that hold their own in the story. I honestly would love to take a glimpse into some of their side stories.
Like her other STEM-centric romances, Ali Hazelwood successfully balances science and romance. On the romance side, there is plenty of spice if you like your romance to have some heat. Hazelwood has a wonderful way of creating these moments with intimacy and combining it with additional insight into the characters.
I also liked Hazelwood's nod to the struggles of women in STEM. Like her previous novels, she points out the difficulties and sexism met by women in the STEM fields and academe. Some of this is pretty on the nose and predictable, but is worth mentioning. There is also a nod to the need for women to support other women in the field.
Overall, Love, Theoretically is a smart, fun, and swoon worthy romantic read. Elsie's disappointment and self actualization brought me to tears while the conversations and banter made me laugh. So far it's one of my top romantic reads of 2023.
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The Book that Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence
Genre: Fantasy
It might be the characters, the story, the writing, or simply fate but I absolutely loved this book. Lawrence draws on the magic of a library and books while driving home an important message about the dangers of knowledge when in the hands of people with nefarious motives. In addition, he notes that often people will search out knowledge that supports their argument and opinion as proof to the rightness while ignoring anything counter.
Ultimately, the story is about a boy and a girl, brought together across time to connect with each other. Livira is strong, tenacious, curious, and inventive. Evar is compassionate, kind, patient, and introspective. Through their stories and their worlds, readers are introduced to an ongoing war and made to question, along with the characters, if maybe the answer lays in understanding and tolerance rather than violence. While the story bounces between Evar and Livira's points of view, in the periphery are some really wonderful and interesting characters. Each of these relationships add to Evar and Livira's growth and identity.
While the character's added greatly to my overall enjoyment of the story, I also loved the twists and turns. There is a bit of a mystery of sorts but not in the who-done-it sense. I kept wondering as to the nature of the library, the mysteries it held, and the truth of Livira and Evar. There are a few twists and turns that really had me reflecting back to earlier in the story. I honestly might read this title again just to see if I can recognize the subtle hints that Lawrence gives to the true nature of their involvement.
In all, I think it's Lawrence's writing that caught me. While I loved the prose, I did find some redundancy at the beginning and at times I felt a little sideways at the time transitions between points of view. Eventually, I discovered that this might be intentional given the nature of the story. Regardless, this will definitely be a reread for me sometime in the near future.
