Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters – Emily Roberson

Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters by Emily Roberson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: October 20th, 2019
Publisher: FSG
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Mythology, Retelling, Forbidden Love, Competition, Reality TV

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REVIEW:

This book was such a pleasurable experience. I feel like sincerely thanking the author for writing it because we all need positive distractions in our lives. I’m a university student who takes school seriously but I also need time to chill with a fun and surprising book. This story combines so many of the things I enjoy immersing myself in: mythology, retellings, forbidden love, competition and reality TV. I especially liked the ways in which Emily Roberson negotiated antiquity and modernity. On the one hand, Ariadne and everyone else in her world believe in the gods—Poseidon, Athena and such—and will do anything to please them. On the other hand, technology is very much present in everyday life and myths are understood as truths to be remembered but also, to some, truths to be questioned.

Wicked Fox – Kat Cho

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Penguin Random House Canada
Published: June 2019
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons BFYR
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Mythology

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REVIEW:

Somehow I knew this would not work well for me and I am all about mythology in my fantasy reads. But after reading the cheesy summary mentioning a forbidden romance that could potentially become Miyoung’s downfall, I was like, ‘‘I really hope YA Fiction moves on from this type of character arc, man.’’ I gave it a chance anyway because sometimes blurbs are awful but the characters wonderful so it’s always possible to be surprised when it comes to books.

Circe – Madeline Miller

Circe by Madeline Miller

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Hachette Book Group Canada
Published: April 10th, 2018
Publisher: Lee Boudreaux Books
Recommended Age: 15+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Mythology, Adventure, Magic, Family

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BLURB:

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

Aru Shah and the End of Time – Roshani Chokshi

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Published: March 27th, 2018
Publisher: Rick Riordan Presents
Recommended Age: 8+
Pacing: Normal/Fast
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Quest, Adventure, Mythology

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BLURB:

Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she’ll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from her latest archeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur? One day, three schoolmates show up at Aru’s doorstep to catch her in a lie. They don’t believe her claim that the museum’s Lamp of Bharata is cursed, and they dare Aru to prove it. Just a quick light, Aru thinks. Then she can get herself out of this mess and never ever fib again. But lighting the lamp has dire consequences. She unwittingly frees the Sleeper, an ancient demon whose duty it is to awaken the God of Destruction. Her classmates and beloved mother are frozen in time, and it’s up to Aru to save them. The only way to stop the demon is to find the reincarnations of the five legendary Pandava brothers, protagonists of the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata, and journey through the Kingdom of Death. But how is one girl in Spider-Man pajamas supposed to do all that?

Poison’s Kiss by Breeana Shields

Poison’s Kiss by Breeana Shields

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: January 10th, 2017
Publisher: Random House BFYR
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology, Romance, Siblings

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BLURB:

Marinda has kissed dozens of boys. They all die afterward. It s a miserable life, but being a visha kanya a poison maiden is what she was created to do. Marinda serves the Raja by dispatching his enemies with only her lips as a weapon.

Until now, the men she was ordered to kiss have been strangers, enemies of the kingdom. Then she receives orders to kiss Deven, a boy she knows too well to be convinced he needs to die. She begins to question who she s really working for. And that is a thread that, once pulled, will unravel more than she can afford to lose.

Review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: September 20th 2011
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Point of View: 1st Person & Masculine
Recommended Age: 14+
Pacing: So Slow
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Mythology, War, Romance, LGBT, Prophecy

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BLURB:

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their difference, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something deeper – despite the displeasure of Achilles’ mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess.

But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

Author Interview: Tara Sim (Timekeeper) ❤

Dear readers, today I have the opportunity to introduce you to a new voice in Young Adult literature, Tara Sim! I have had the chance to read her novel, Timekeeper, a few weeks ago and I immediately contacted the author for an interview. I was that delightfully surprised by it. You can read my review HERE. 

Review: The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo, #1) by Rick Riordan

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publication Date: May 3rd 2016
Publisher: Disney-Hypersion
Point of View: 1st Person & Masculine
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Fast
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Mythology, Adventure, Monsters, Mystery

BLURB

How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favour.

But Apollo has many enemies – gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

Review: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: April 26th 2016
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Point of View: 1st Person
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology, Romance, Soulmates, Magic, Destiny

BLURB:

Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds friendship and warmth.

But Akaran has its own secrets – thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran’s magic, Maya begins to suspect her life is in danger. When she ignores Amar’s plea for patience, her discoveries put more than new love at risk – it threatens the balance of all realms, human and Otherworldly.

Now, Maya must confront a secret that spans reincarnated lives and fight her way through the dangerous underbelly of the Otherworld if she wants to protect the people she loves.

Inspired by Indian mythology.

The Wicked + The Divine #1 (The Wicked + The Divine #1) by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie

The Wicked + The Divine #1 by Kieron Gillen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: NetGalley
Publication Date: November 25th 2014
Publisher: Image Comics
Genres & Themes: Adult, Comics, Mythology, Urban Fantasy, Superpowers, Mystery, Action

BLURB: Every 90 years or so, twelve gods incarnate in the bodies of the young. They are charismatic and brilliant. They stand before crowds, speak in tongues, and send them into rapture. They’re rumored to perform secretive miracles. They save people’s lives, either metaphorically or literally. They are loved. They are hated. They are brilliant. Within two years, they’re dead.