The Ravens by Kass Morgan & Danielle Paige

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Hodder & Stoughton & RB Media in exchange for an honest review.

The Ravens is the story every witch-obsessed teenage girl wants to read (and quite a few young adults too). It is simply the story of two college girls who are part of a sorority which actually turns out to be a coven. We have Scarlett, the more experienced and older sorority member who is keen to fight for her place as leader (and also for her failing relationship with her boyfriend) and Vivi, the new girl who is discovering she is a witch for the first time (among a blossoming romance with none other than Scarlett's boyfriend). Tensions rise when the use of dark magic is suspected and a girl from the sorority goes missing.

I was lucky enough to be given both an audio and an e-ARC of this book, so I'm in the unique position of having listened to 75% of it and read the other 25% physically. I will say, I wish I had listened to less of it as I connected so much more with the written version. The audiobook is fine and there's nothing inherently wrong with it, but this book has a very specific style of dialogue and I think it got lost a bit in translation. When I was listening, I found that the characters blended together more. I could tell Vivi and Scarlett apart but I had no idea there were even two male characters until I read someone else's review on Goodreads. The dialogue being very stylised also means that it comes off a bit awkward when it is read out loud.

As soon as I switched to the ebook though, I was hooked. Instantly the characters and plot came to life, and I desperately wanted more of this world. I think this is a fantastic set up for a much larger, Buffy-esque series focusing on this sorority fighting the powers of darkness and I really want that. This is a solid fantasy story with a cool use of magic, interesting worldbuilding and great characters to populate that world.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I definitely have plans again to read it entirely in print as I think it will get a higher rating from me. As it is, it still has a lot of strengths and I want to be clear that my view of the audiobook is mostly down to personal taste and preference. If you enjoy witchy stories and like a focus on exploring the supernatural through college-age characters, you should definitely give The Ravens a try.

Overall Rating:

The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of Christina Henry and I was extremely excited for this book, so when I say I am a little disappointed that does not mean this book is bad. This is her first book I've read not based on a fairytale/historical story and I was eager to see what she could do. Sadly this has got a completely different tone from her other work which threw me.

Ghost Tree is the story of Lauren, a fifteen year old girl who lives in a town called Smiths Hollow. Her dad was brutally killed the year before and ever since then, things have been going wrong. When two girls are found dead in a neighbour's yard, Lauren starts to uncover a dark mystery surrounding the town involving a monster and a whole lot of dead girls.

I will be brief with my criticism because I really wanted to adore this book. Firstly, it felt like it skewed a lot younger than her other works. I've seen it shelved as both YA and Adult, but the style reads on the young side of YA for me with the content being less suitable for younger readers. This left me feeling confused as to how to judge it. As an adult book it is way too repetitive, especially for its length. Nothing much happens for the majority of it and I found the writing a little simplistic to even say that character development was happening during that time. I would be far more forgiving of this if I knew for certain it was for younger readers, although then I have to question the more graphic content. The story itself is relatively formulaic, with nothing that happened surprising me at all.

If you're wondering why my rating is 4 stars after that quite large complaint, the main saving grace of this book is the end. The climax is fantastically paced and written, and this is where Henry really got to shine. I was genuinely very gripped and it was such a breath of fresh air after the rest of the book dragging a bit. I would 100% be interested in a sequel to this story because I feel like the characters really came into their own at the end and I think there is potential for an engaging plot to come after it. Even though I knew what would happen, it was so well-written that I didn't mind.

Overall, I am saddened that I wasn't blown away by The Ghost Tree. I have read all of Christina Henry's standalone books and this one just felt so different, both in tone and audience. Ultimately this was shelved as an adult fiction book specifically on NetGalley, and for that audience it definitely misses the mark.

Overall Rating:

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Diamond Book Distributors in exchange for an honest review.

I am LIVING for this wave of cute fantasy graphic novels with great representation in them. Mooncakes is the story of Tam, a non-binary werewolf who comes back to their old town and reconnects with their old childhood friend, Nova. Nova is a deaf witch who has been investigating some mysterious demon activity in her town and, when Tam gets dragged into the demon activity, it's up to the both of them to put a stop to it.

Firstly, this graphic novel has a great art style. It's cute but not so much that older readers would be put off by it. The colours and particularly the way the magic is shown in the universe creates a lovely atmosphere that sets the tone for this world. Secondly, I fell in love with pretty much all of the characters. They aren't the most developed in the world (which to be fair, is standard for a graphic novel) but they're so likeable and every character has a key role to play in the narrative which was a neat touch. I adore Nova and Tam and could honestly read a good dozen or so stories about them.

Overall, Mooncakes is the perfect read for anyone who loves cute fantasy stories with great art and lovable characters. It joins a proud group of witch-themed graphic novels which makes it a fantastic Halloween read for those who aren't necessarily into horror. It is definitely worth checking out.

Overall Rating:

I'm a Gay Wizard by V.S. Santoni

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Wattpad Books in exchange for an honest review.

This books is a whole ton of fun. I wasn't really sure what to expect from I'm a Gay Wizard given that it is a Wattpad book and I couldn't really remember the plot when I started reading it. This is the story of Johnny and his friend Alison, two young people who are kidnapped by an institute when it's revealed they can do magic. Their powers mean that they must now attend school at this institute, although the plot focuses more on the shadowy goings-on of this world. There is also a lot of teen romance and tons of representation in here (gay Latinx main character with a trans best friend).

One of this book's greatest strengths is its creativity. To be honest, I was kind of expecting a Harry Potter rip-off but this has nothing in common with that series at all. The institute is not a fun magical school but a place of imprisonment, and the bulk of the magic system focuses on the use of a dream world. The characters are also pretty good. Some of the side characters suffer from being a little one-dimensional but Johnny was very likeable and I was rooting for him.

Sadly, I could not make it all the way through this book. This is more down to my own personal tastes than any real criticism. This book introduces a LOT of new terms that exist in this magical world and I just couldn't keep track of any of them. At the halfway point I realised I wasn't following it very well and so I just skim-read the rest. I'm not a fan of fantasy books that have lots of new terms or really convoluted plots, and sadly this one was just a bit too much.

If you can read books with those elements though, then I'm a Gay Wizard could be a good book to check out. It is definitely Young Adult and some of the elements (especially at the start) betray its origins as a Wattpad book. There are a couple of high school cliches and other small details which maybe should have been ironed out in the editing process. Overall though, I was pleasantly surprised by this book and it definitely deserves kudos for having such creativity and representation in it.

Overall Rating:

The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful beautiful book. I was so excited to read this because the words 'queer witches' are instant attention-grabbers for me, and thankfully The Lost Coast did not disappoint. This is the story of a close-knit group of witches who live in a town surrounded by redwoods. One of their group has recently 'changed' so while she is physically present, she is no longer herself mentally. They cast a spell to call someone to them to help find her and the spell brings Danny, a girl who does not know she is a witch but has strong finding magic. When Danny arrives, a boy is found dead and the mystery behind what happened to their friend becomes a little more complicated.

I think the first thing I have to discuss about this book is the writing style. I am normally not a fan of overly poetic books and this certainly counts as one. Usually extended metaphors and dreamy prose yank me out of the story and distract me from the plot. However, Capetta's writing is beautiful and I found the story so compelling that it was only occasionally that the flowery language distracted me. It still did happen but there were also some powerful and/or beautiful sentences which I really did love. This writing style definitely won't be for everyone though and it's something to bear in mind. The book also switched between third and first person between chapters which bothered me at first but I soon got used to. Again, I can see this bothering some people.

The characters are perhaps this book's biggest strength. I didn't quite fall in love with everyone in the admittedly-large cast but I almost did. Hawthorne was definitely the weakest and I kept getting her mixed up with Haven due to their similar names. Everyone else had fairly distinct personalities and I found myself missing them in the second half where there seems to be less focus on the side characters. There is a lot of queer content in this which was great and it was incorporated well into the plot. The plot itself is actually stronger than I expected from this kind of story and I found the ending satisfying which almost never happens with books where plot isn't the main focus.

Overall, this is a gorgeously-written and compelling book about queer witches and the complexities of close-knit groups. If you like the sound of this book, you're almost certain to enjoy it as the blurb gives a perfect sense of what you're going to get. This is a standalone as far as I'm aware and I'm not sure a sequel would work but I almost wish I had more from this world and I would certainly love more about these characters. I will definitely be keeping an eye on Capetta's future work.

Overall Rating:

.5