Book Review: All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter

 

Goodreads Summary: Long ago, Miren O'Malley's family prospered due to a deal struck with the Mer: safety for their ships in return for a child of each generation. But for many years the family have been unable to keep their side of the bargain and have fallen into decline. Miren's grandmother is determined to restore their glory, even at the price of Miren's freedom.

A spellbinding tale of dark family secrets, magic and witches, and creatures of myth and the sea; of strong women and the men who seek to control them. 

Goodreads Ratings: 4.03 stars with over 3,700 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Horror, Gothic, Mythology, Mermaids, Historical Fiction, Fairy Tales

Goodreads Challenge: 13/48

2022 Reading Challenge: #7 Read a book about a mythical creature (see the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, Readers! I hope everyone is doing well and reading lots of exciting things. I'm just going to jump right into the review since I posted life update nonsense the other day. This pick was a random thing for me as I've been trying to stay more towards Kindle Unlimited or what I already have on my kindle. All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter really stood out to me. When I picked out All the Murmuring Bones, I needed something dark and witchy. This book absolutely fulfilled that need.

The story tells about a family who becomes powerful due to an agreement with the Merfolk. It then gets into the tale of Miren, who's the last of the O'Malley's. The beginning was a little hard for me to get into. There is a lot of scenery description before it gets into Merin's portion of the story. Once she is introduced, however, it's a lot easier to follow. 

All the Murmuring Bones reads like a gothic fairy tale, which I enjoyed. The story definitely discusses mermaids, and it shows the mermaids through old family lore passed on from one generation to the next. However, at the heart of it is what all that amounts to for Merin when she's the last of the true O'Malley's. It's a fascinating explanation of generational expectations and the pressures of them. The story builds and ultimately allows Merin to grow and decide who she wants to be regardless of the family's expectations.

The family secrets that Merin is trying to escape from are really dark. Part of me feels like there could have been more detail surrounding how Merin felt about these secrets. She's definitely appalled by them, but I feel like the way she's on the run, and the reasons behind it overshadow having to grow up with this knowledge. I expected more emotion regarding all the big reveals, but it felt a little glazed over? I hope that makes sense. 

There is part of the story where Merin comes to find a long-lost uncle (spoilers, sorry.) This section of the story seems so incredibly familiar to me, and I can not place why. I don't know if this stems from a fairy tale or if another book had something similar, but it felt incredibly familiar. This may bother me until I figure it out. The rest of the story seemed entirely new to me; it's just this one setting in the story that feels like deja vu. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I liked Merin as the main character. When she started figuring out who she was, I thought she was pretty badass. Her decisions and the way she acted about those decisions seemed a little out of character if you compare it to the beginning of her story, but I liked it. I would definitely recommend it if you want gothic fairy tales, paranormal creatures, and main characters who just don't give a shit about other people's expectations. There's also some magic and maybe some murder.

Book Review of The Reflections of Queen Snow White by David Meredith

Goodreads Summary: What happens when "happily ever after" has come and gone?
On the eve of her only daughter, Princess Raven's wedding, an aging Snow White finds it impossible to share in the joyous spirit of the occasion. The ceremony itself promises to be the most glamorous social event of the decade. Snow White’s castle has been meticulously scrubbed, polished and opulently decorated for the celebration. It is already nearly bursting with jubilant guests and merry well-wishers. Prince Edel, Raven's fiancé, is a fine man from a neighboring kingdom and Snow White's own domain is prosperous and at peace. Things could not be better, in fact, except for one thing:

The king is dead.

The queen has been in a moribund state of hopeless depression for over a year with no end in sight. It is only when, in a fit of bitter despair, she seeks solitude in the vastness of her own sprawling castle and climbs a long disused and forgotten tower stair that she comes face to face with herself in the very same magic mirror used by her stepmother of old.

It promises her respite in its shimmering depths, but can Snow White trust a device that was so precious to a woman who sought to cause her such irreparable harm? Can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? And finally, can she release her soul-crushing grief and suffocating loneliness to once again discover what "happily ever after" really means?

Only time will tell as she wrestles with her past and is forced to confront The Reflections of Queen Snow White.
Goodreads Rating: 3.94 stars with just over 200 ratings
Genre Listing: Fantasy, Romance, Retellings, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Adventure,
Get the Book: Amazon
Book Challenge: Pop Sugar's 2016 Challenge, Book Based on a Fairy Tale  Book 4 out of 40

Edited 12/1/2016

First things first, big thanks to David Meredith for sending me a copy of his book in exchange for a review! I greatly appreciate it!

If you like fairy tales and retellings of classic fairy tales, I highly recommend David Meredith's The Reflections of Queen Snow White. It's a very short read at 155 pages. It moves along quickly but gives a very complete and emotional story. When I say emotional, I mean it. I cried at least twice while reading it. I'm a giant sap.

The thing I love the most about this story is that it's not an ordinary retelling. I feel like most retellings take us back to the character's prime and just tells the already known events in a different light. In The Reflections of Queen Snow White, however, we're taking well past the events of her youth. We see an older Snow White in her late 30s or early 40s mourning the death of her beloved Charming and preparing for her own daughter's wedding. She's extremely depressed and trying to find herself, which incidentally happens in front of the magic mirror.

I love the approach taken in this story. Instead of seeing a character fighting monsters and evil, we see Snow White mostly fighting herself. She has to reflect on her life and who she is to pull herself out of her depression.  I found this interesting, because as readers we still visit the main events of the Snow White tale, but instead of seeing them as they happen we get to see how they shaped her to become Queen.

I felt that David's version of Snow White was a very strong lead character. It's amazing to me that I was able to feel so much for a character in just a few short pages. That to me is a huge accomplishment. I can't imagine it's easy to tell a great story in a long novel, let alone a short one like this. I enjoyed the opening scene and how it's not from Snow's point of view, but two hawks that were soaring high. In hindsight of reading it, I sort of feel like the hawks represents Snow White and Charming. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but that is my take on it.

I can't say enough good things about this book. It started well, kept me hooked throughout, and ended beautifully. I highly recommend this one to anyone who wants a short read or likes fairy tales. I think it took me 3 or 4 hours to read, which was nice because I was reading it during a 6-hour car ride.

Book Review of The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Goodreads Summary: New York Times Bestseller * Indie List Bestseller * Soon to be a Film from Universal Pictures * A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2013 * Waterstones Children's Prize Nominee * Children's Choice Reading List Selection

The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys were taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair plucked from youth and spirited away.

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy-tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?

The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.

Goodreads Rating: 3.96 stars with over 15,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Children's, Young Adult, Fairy Tales, Magic, Romance, Fiction, Adventure, Witches

Get the Book: Amazon, Book Depository

Review: 

Edited 12/1/2016

Yay! I read a book off my TBR list I mentioned earlier. I'm proud of myself as I've wanted to read this one for a while.

The School for Good and  Evil by Soman Chainani is a very charming story centered around fairy tales. I'm not sure why, but I've been on a fairy tale kick lately. Two girls - Sophie and Agatha- are whisked away to become students. One is to be a student of good and the other a student of evil. Of course, all of the best fairy tale characters were trained at this school.

I'm not sure if this was supposed to be satire or not, but I found most of the "good" students to be utterly repulsive in attitude. They're very shallow and only concerned about looks and being liked by princes. I think that might have been the point, though.

I adored Agatha, and I believed that the evil students were rather charming. I thought Agatha was very brave and the true embodiment of "Good." I genuinely enjoyed that she decided she didn't need a prince and knocked Tredos down a few pegs.

I enjoyed that it included bits from other fairy tales and referenced things like Sophie's pet being aptly named "Grimm." I thought the story had a great sense of humor. One quote I liked from it was "The gargoyles have orders to kill intruders on sight and have yet to grasp the difference between student and intruders-." That gave me a nice chuckle. I will say that this is geared towards middle-grade readers, but I think it's a bit dark and violent for that age group. I'm not a parent or a teacher, though, so keep that in mind if you plan on letting your kiddos read it.

I know that there are two more books in the series, but I probably won't read them. It's not that I didn't enjoy this book because I did. I just feel like the first book had an excellent ending to it. Not everything needs to be a series.

Book Review of The Woodcutter by Kate Danley

Goodreads Summary: Deep within the Wood, a young woman lies dead. Not a mark on her body. No trace of her murderer. Only her chipped glass slippers hint at her identity.

The Woodcutter, the keeper of the peace between the Twelve Kingdoms of Man and the Realm of the Faerie, must find the maiden’s killer before others share her fate. Guided by the wind and aided by three charmed axes won from the River God, the Woodcutter begins his hunt, searching for clues in the whispering dominions of the enchanted unknown.

But quickly he finds that one murdered maiden is not the only nefarious mystery afoot: one of Odin’s hellhounds has escaped, a sinister mansion appears where it shouldn’t, a pixie dust drug trade runs rampant, and more young girls go missing. Looming in the shadows is the malevolent, power-hungry queen, and she will stop at nothing to destroy the Twelve Kingdoms and annihilate the Royal Fae…unless the Woodcutter can outmaneuver her and save the gentle souls of the Wood.

Blending magic, heart-pounding suspense, and a dash of folklore, The Woodcutter is an extraordinary retelling of the realm of fairy tales.

Goodreads Rating: 3.61 stars with over 3,600 ratings

Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Young Adult, Mystery, Retellings, Magic

Get the Book: Amazon, Book Depository

Review:

Edited 12/1/2016

The Woodcutter is a retelling of several classic fairy tales. It takes a similar approach as Once Upon a Time or Into the Woods. What I mean by that is instead of just telling one story it gives all of the fairy tale characters their world and lets them mingle. In this story, however, something goes terribly wrong, and the stories aren't going as planned. Enter the Woodcutter. A mysterious entity all his own, who's sworn purpose is to protect the twelve kingdoms.

I almost didn't finish this book. It has a slow start to it and is worded like a classic story (which makes it even harder for me to get into.) That being said, I'm glad that I kept reading. It's a bit of a tedious read right until the Woodcutter gets into his quest. I couldn't put it down once it finally caught my interest.

I thought how Kate Danley retold the fairy tales was interesting. The princes of the twelve kingdoms are captured, and it's up to the Woodcutter to restore the balance. He guides some of the princesses along to find their prince. What's nice about this is that it makes some of the princesses background heroines. A few of them go on their quests to give their princes true love's first kiss. It's a nice change of pace from all of the fairy tales that have the princesses waiting around for their prince.

In a way, I felt that the Woodcutter had two journeys. The primary mission was trying to save the kingdoms. Then there's the second voyage, and this one is a quest that gets him what he wants most in life. I won't go into much more detail on this. Spoilers and whatnot. I promise if you read the book you'll understand what I mean, though. Both journeys are touching and well done.

As far as characters go, I felt we were given just enough details to keep the story going. I don't have a whole lot of thoughts on the characters. The Woodcutter obviously was the most developed character; it was obvious he loved the people he protected and his woods. The rest of the characters served their purpose, but I don't feel like I can add more to that. Sorry, I know that leaves a lot to be desired. I just don't feel strong one way or another beyond that the characters worked.

I tend to think about the ratings I'm going to give while I'm reading. Up until the last two or three chapters I was going to give this three moons. The last two or three episodes, however, have made me decide to give it four moons.

Book Review of The Story of Awkward by R.K. Ryals

Goodreads summary: If you are looking for a happy book about beautiful people, this is the wrong story.

If you are looking for a narrative without emotion, without regrets, and without mistakes, this is definitely the wrong story.

This is by no means an uncomplicated tale about uncomplicated people. It is by no means sweet or light.

This story is ugly.
This story is complicated.
This story is emotional.
This story is tragic.

In short, this story is about being awkward.

Peregrine Storke is an artist with an odd sketchbook full of pictures she’s drawn since she was a child. It is a book full of strange sketches and awkward characters, for there is no better way to hide from bullying and life than to create a world of your own. With a stroke of her pencil, she has given life to a spectacled princess, a freckle-nosed king, a candy-loving troll, a two-horned unicorn, and a graceless fairy.

At nineteen, Peregrine leaves her home, her sketchbook, and awkwardness behind. But what happens when something goes wrong in the world of Awkward? Trapped inside of her complex realm with the bully she thought to leave behind, Peregrine discovers there is nothing worse than falling for your own villain.


Goodreads rating: 3.93 stars with 903 ratings

Genre Listings: Young Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction, Paranormal, Fairy Tales, New Adult, Coming of Age

Get the Book: Amazon- Paperback

Review:

Edited 12/1/2016

There's something wonderful about picking a book at random and it being the exact book you needed to read. When I started this book, I didn't know much about it. I just thought the cover and title were quirky and that I'd give it a shot. The Story of Awkward, however, ended up being a gift from the book Gods. This book is very likely going to have a place near and dear to my heart for years to come. That being said, it is not a  great book. It's a very entertaining story that pulls at the heartstrings, but it still has some flaws. Which, I guess is fitting since it's a story about embracing those flaws. My mind is spinning with contradictions right now.

Let me start out this review with a disclaimer: If you do not like overly cheesy stories, this may not be the book for you. Despite the description saying it's ugly, emotional, and tragic; it's a very sweet story.

The Story of Awkward is a very short read, to the tune of 265 pages. Despite the issues it tackles, I found it to be a very light, and at times even a comical read. In the beginning, of the story, we get a very brief overview of the torment Perry has gone through. I found her to be easy to relate to. It's not an overwhelming amount of character depth, but I feel like it's enough. Perri threw her torment into her drawing and created a fictional world where she belonged. I think that's what made me relate to her, but instead of pictures I threw myself into books (shocking, right?). Perri's real-world is shaken when she finds out that her fictional world is real and needs her.

She's thrown into saving the world she created with Foster, her best friend's brother and one of her tormentors. This is where the story gets pretty cheesy. To save her world, Perri has to admit a lot about herself, learn about herself, and even learn to forgive Foster. From here out, the story is cliche. I think it might have meant to be cliche, though. Despite the cheesiness and predictable storyline, I still found it endearing.

Going back to my initial comment about needing to read this- I did. Even at 27 years old I still struggle with my awkward quirks. This book is about accepting those quirks and has a great message. This is a journey about going from wanting to forget the past, to realizing the past is what shapes you. I admired that, even if it was cheesy.

Aside from Perri, Foster, and Elspeth, there isn't much character development. I'm oddly okay with that because I don't know if giving Nimble, Herman, and Weasel more development would have improved anything. I did get slightly miffed because once they were away from the swamp Herman seemed to disappear like the author forgot about him completely. I found myself wondering where he was and it distracted from the story, even though he wasn't a big part of the story.

I wanted to hate Foster. I did. He ended up being sweet, funny, and just as damaged (if not more so) than Perri. He ended up being my favorite character in the story. There's a particular scene that turned me for him. I won't give too many details because I don't want to give spoilers, but it involves Foster grabbing Perri's hand so that she won't be afraid of the dark. I awed, probably out loud. Yeah. I'm a sap, I know.

The amount of highlights I've made for this book is ridiculous (have I mentioned how much I love that feature on Kindle?). Here are some of my favorites:

"Her name was Nimble because anyone who isn't naturally graceful should be given a graceful name."

"Even when we grow up, the child remains. It's the child that shapes the adult. What happens to you when you are young shapes what you become later. Whether you think you belong here or not is beside the point. The little girl that drew Awkward still lives inside of you."

"It isn't about being awkward. It's about not being ashamed to be awkward. It's about embracing what makes us different. Perfection and Stereotype are threats to that."

"Love isn't roses. It's the little square caramels and a root beer from the gas station because he knows that's your favorite snack. It's watching a musical with you without groaning. It's handing you your glasses at night because he knows you're too blind to find your way to the bathroom without them. Love is awkward." - This is probably my favorite quote in the book. I'd like to do something artsy with this quote and put it on my wall. It's lovely and imperfectly perfect.

"Silence was louder than noise. I often filled it with awkward, nonsensical conversation." (Oh, good. I'm not the only one. <__<  >_>)

"In the real world, we did a lot of things in the real world, princes didn't rid on stallions and save princesses from towers. In the real world, they smelled a lot like dirt, sweaty skin, and cotton candy. In the real world, they were friends first. They didn't fall in love over a first kiss and no conversation. IN the real world, they were kind of awkward."

"You couldn't attack someone with something they'd learn to deal with."

"There are moments when tears are all you have, when crying releases everything and leaves you fresh. It gives you a clean slate to work with."

"Princes should never be perfect. They should have nightmares. They should be picky eaters and made queasy by the sight of blood. They should be blunt and occasionally a little arrogant. They should be loyal and determined. Most of all, they should be awkward and real."

Overall I enjoyed this story. There were some flaws, but it wasn't anything that turned me off of the book. I felt this was a cheesy, cliche, but an endearing story that pulled at the heartstrings. I'm very happy to have read it. It was wonderful spending this snowy Sunday with these characters.

Four out of Five moons.