Tag: historical

ARC, books, middlegrade, Review

Book Review: Escape to the River Sea by Emma Carroll

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Book Review: Escape to the River Sea by Emma Carroll

Journey to the River Sea was one of my favourite books as a child. I still have the old battered copy that I bought at a school book fair. When I knew this book was going to be a thing, I decided I was going to reread the first book and then the new one. When I was lucky enough to get an e-arc through NetGalley, I put both on my TBR and read them back to back.

Set in 1946, Rosa Sweetman has been living in Westwood after having left her home and family in Vienna as part of the Kindertransport. But now all the other children have returned home, and Rosa is still waiting. After a mysterious visitor comes to Westwood, Rosa decides she wants to join her in visiting her family in Brazil. The visitor is on a quest to find a Giant Sloth, and Rosa would love to be part of that. This trip turns into more of an adventure than Rosa knows, and she finds jaguars, a new family and herself along the way.

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Adult, ARC, blog tour, books, Review

Blog Tour – Sistersong by Lucy Holland

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books1 Comment on Blog Tour – Sistersong by Lucy Holland
Blog Tour – Sistersong by Lucy Holland

Though I’m not the biggest reader of historical fantasy, I adore books that take inspiration from myth and folklore. I’m also a history nerd who was fascinated to find a fantasy book set during the Saxon invasion. It’s not a period that you see many books set during, so I’ve been excited about this one for a while. I’ve been meaning to get to this book since it was released last year, so I was happy to get on the paperback tour with Black Crow PR.

As well as talking about the book in general, I will be talking about the use of folklore. I’m not hugely familiar with The Twa Sisters, as ballads aren’t my area of expertise, but I like how this one was retold. As well as that, we have hints of other tales from Cornwall and a nice mix of Celtic – and Norse – folktales. Some of these are seemingly original to the text, whilst others are connected with tales that we all know.

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ARC, books, Review, Young Adult

Book Review: The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Book Review: The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker
Book Review: The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker

I think you all know how obsessed I am with Japan and Japanese culture by now. Though a lot of that interest is pop-culture focused, I’m both a history geek and a myth & legend fanatic at heart, so there are other areas I’m interested in too. This interest and my love of YA books meant that The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker was a must-read for me, and I was lucky enough to get an ARC through Harper360’s newsletter. I’m super grateful for this one, even if I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I hoped.

This book follows Ren, a half-Shinigami half-Reaper girl who has been living in 1890’s London her whole life. She was bullied for being different, and the only person who really cares for her is her younger half-brother, Neven. One day she injures another Reaper with her shinigami powers and has to go on the run. She heads to Japan with only her brother for company, desperate to become a Shinigami.

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ARC, books, Review, Young Adult

Book Review: Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Book Review: Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood
Book Review: Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

I’ve never read Jane Eyre before, but the moment I stumbled across Within These Wicked Walls, I knew I had to read it. This is a YA historical fantasy retelling of the famous novel set in Ethiopia. It’s fascinating, atmospheric and everything that I could hope for. But even I noticed that aside from a name and a fire, there wasn’t very much of Jane Eyre in it.

Within These Wicked Walls follows Andromeda, a debtera – or exorcist – who creates amulets to rid people of the Evil Eye. Her mentor had kicked her out so now she’s on the look for a patron, and Magnus Rochester is the only one who’s offering. His house is cursed and more dangerous than she expected, but as they slowly fall in love, she knows she would do anything to free him.

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Adult, ARC, books, Review

Book Review: Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books1 Comment on Book Review: Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark
Book Review: Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark

I’ve been reading more adult fantasy recently, it seems, and I’m really getting into it more. We’re getting more diverse reads by some amazingly talented authors, and Master of Djinn is one example. I was very lucky to get a finished copy of this book early thanks to the wonderful Nazia from Orbit.

Master of Djinn is technically the third book in a series. But as the first full-length novel, it can be read as a standalone. In this book, we follow Fatma, the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities in 1912. This book is set in Cairo, and after the members of a secret brotherhood are killed by a man claiming to be al-Jahiz, the long-dead man they worshipped. The ministry is pulled on the case to find out what’s going on. They need to stop it from hurting Egypt’s place on the world stage. With a new partner and her girlfriend, Siti, Fatma must unravel the mystery of what is really going on.

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