A Madness so Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

“Sometimes the loveliest places harbor the worst monsters.” 

Another arc I was blessed to received. This book just recently came out, and seeing as I just finished a novel of my own regarding mental asylums, I immediately leaped upon the chance to read it. I wasn't blown away, but I definitely wasn't disappointed. 

Stats:

Genre:  Historical fiction

Feelings: More or less. Not heart-wrenching, but moving.

Happiness: I loved a lot of the character dynamics, and those made me smile.

Cuteness: Not really.

Fast pacing: Slow as molasses, but still interesting. Nothing felt forced.

Series: Nope

Read if you like: Mental health, the history of asylums, murder, mysteries, detectives and angst

Content: Talk of rape. Some disturbing mental treatments, some including a pregnant woman going into labor that were quite horrifying. 

Trigger warning? Loss of a baby

In one sentence... A girl sent away to an asylum for something that wasn't he fault is taken away by a detective who obsesses over death, hoping to use the cover of her insanity to help him solve murder.

Thoughts: Creepy mildew wood and ice cold water

Messages: Interesting thoughts on the way life was for woman and mental patients.

Overall

Rating: 3.5/5

Very vague spoilers regarding character relationships

-The characters-

Ah, Grace. And interesting, well developed character. And yet, I never really connected with her. I didn't hate her, but she felt distant. That being said, her voice was strong, fitting well with the setting and aesthetics.

She dealt with some real crap, and early in the book, I felt for her. A lot. I was about ready to jump into the book to hide her away. As it progressed, the story got a bit slower, which may be why I didn't care for her just as much. That being said, she stayed strong, never once slipping. 

Thornhollow was a lot of fun. A few of the reviews I've read have compared this to the book Jackaby. 

Well, Thornhollow is nothing like Jackaby. He's dark, starting out uncaring and rude, wanting what he wants and not truly caring about Grace. But you can see that bit of quirk underneath, which makes him interesting. He's a lot of fun, really. His banter isn't that sarcastic or snarky, but somehow so entertaining. 

The side characters were great, and you could tell that they were developed. Each one had a unique voice, even characters that showed up for a short time. That's something I love in historical fiction. 

Also: NO ROMANCE. Can I just say how happy I am about that? Neither characters are ready for romance, and while I can see them in a relationship, I just loved that it wasn't forced. I loved watching their relationship grow into something protective and realistic. I think that's what this book's best trait is. Realism .

-The Writing and Structure-

I've heard nothing but good things about McGinnis's writing, and now that I have read her work, I agree. She definitely knows her words. I have yet to read Not A Drop To Drink, but I really hope she keeps writing historical fiction. 

The structure was probably the weakest part. It was slow.

While there was murder, everything felt weirdly paced. There were a lot of plot lines going on, consisting of Grace's father, the actual murder, Grace's secret insanity, and then the asylum backstory. All of these felt randomly pushed together, some of them not relating when all along I thought they would. The whole thing felt vaguely disjointed, and when different plot lines didn't connect at the end, it felt un-fulfilling.

Still, the writing was so good, and the actual plot points so interesting, that it wasn't a boring read, it was just less engaging than others I've read. 

Also: Totally random, but when an Irish character is introduced, and McGinnis attempted to write the accent so it read how it would be said...it just annoyed be. Like. No. Please don't do that.

-Messages and Other-

This book had less obvious messages it was trying to say, at least for me. It was an enjoyable read, but in the end, I didn't leave with anything new. That being said, it was definitely such a fascinating peak into this setting. 

The treatment of mental patients has grown so much, and the treatments in this day and age were so screwed up.

 I adored the descriptions, the look into the way things works. You could just tell how much research McGinnis did. 

Really, every person in the world has a dark twisted side, and this book really accurately showed how someone as quiet as Grace was, can have something lurking inside. It was a fascinating peak into the mind, and the early 19th century. 

Overall, this book didn't blow my mind, but it definitely will be put fondly onto my shelf.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Do you really want to know where we come from?" she said. "In every century, in every country, they'll call us something different. They'll say we're ghosts, angels, demons, elemental spirits, and giving us a name doesn't help anybody. When did a name change what someone is?

Well, finally, I'm here with a review for a book I read the end of February. Do not judge me. 

If you like crazy cool faeries, dark atmospheres, and messed up characters, try this one out. For all the little things that bothered me, it's an enjoyable book.

Stats:

Genre: Faerie paranormal. 

Feelings: I didn't connect with the book as much as I wanted to, except for sibling love.

Happiness: See above

Cuteness: I personally didn't ship it. At all. 

Fast pacing: It was a steady solid story, but because of some reading problems I had going on, it dragged at a few parts.

Series: No

Read if you like: Faeries! Dark faeries. Changeling stuff, awesome sibling characters, POV characters who think they're awful but they aren't.

Content: Some kissy kissy touchy touchy. Some bloody stuff, some bits where Mackie mentions girls chests and other bits, so if any of that bothers you...well. Also profanity, teenage drinking, and stuff like that.

In one sentence... Mackie Doyle is a changeling and because of that dark magic is coming, and he is determined to stop it and rescue a missing child from the fate like his.

Thoughts: Cold wet grass and cold air. 

Messages: Not a message-y book, but it sent a lot of nice messages about the whole "You're not as dangerous and awful as you might think" thing.

Overall:

Rating: 3.5/5 I really liked it, but I don't think it was the right time for me to read it and get more out of it.

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely Bits:

This was a lovely book through and through. Not perfect, but lovely. It had some great vibes and prose, and plenty of cool characters.

-Characters-

Mackie was a very interesting main character. I love reading about changelings, so getting a first person POV from one was really neat. He was likable, mainly because of how much he almost despised himself. That was really powerful.

Tate was definitely a refreshing character, though I didn't like her as much. She was far from the submissive female side character, and that was appreciated. I'm not saying that in the Blue-Sargent-Raging-Feminist way, but more of, it was a different character trope I hadn't seen for a while.

 Emma, on the other hand, I loved. I really love a good sibling relationship, and this one was effortlessly flawless. There dialogue and actions were relaxed and done so beautifully without shoving there sibling love on the reader.

The Faeries and villains? They were cool. They were twisted and evil, far from any type of faerie I have read about. 

-Structure and Plot- 

The plot was well thought out which perfectly led up to an epic climax. I liked the slow and steady pace, with the perfect amount of excitement scattered throughout. Other than that, there really isn't much to say about plot and stuff.

I'm just upset that this is Brenna's first book and it's this good.

-Messages and Other-

Mackie felt like he was not normal, or he was dangerous, but he proved multiple times that he was good. And that in itself is a really interesting thing. 

Brenna's prose was like fire. It flickered steadily, but occasionally burst up in a beautiful one liner or paragraph that you just grinned at yourself because you like it so much. I definitely want to read all the others of her books. They sound brilliant.

The Less Lovely Bits:

I don't really know why or how it dragged at one point, but it did. It's weird to be, because I loved the prose and characters and concept, but the whole story seemed almost flat. I'm really not sure why? Looking back I can't find anything that really threw me off. 

I think it's a combination of many little things that bugged me. I think the main problem is that I hadn't known what to expect really. And the atmosphere was more modernly scary that I thought. When I hear Faeries, I think something more ethereal and lightly dark if that makes sense. This one was like a punk rock faerie story, which will appeal to many and even me, but not what I had been expecting and wanting to read. 

Mackie is one of those characters that was interesting, and I felt like I should totally connect with, but I just didn't. Maybe it's because he was so distant. Maybe it was the constant complaining about the people of his town being fake, or the constant lust after that one school girl. Or the weird back and forth with him and Tate. I don't know what it was, but I didn't connect as much as I really desperately wanted to.

Overall, I really think a lot of people will enjoy this. It's got some real cool concepts, and some great rock vibes, and interesting characters.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

Millions of healthy young adults and children dropped dead from the flu, boys got transported out of the country to be blown to bits, and the government arrested citizens for speaking the wrong words. Such a place couldn’t be real. And it couldn’t be the United States of America, “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
But it was.
I was on a train in my own country, in a year the devil designed.
1918.

I've got a lot of emotions about this book. I have picked up this book so many times. Spaniish influenza and ghosts?? But every time it never gets read. Well. I read it.

Stats:

Genre: Paranormal-ish Historical

Feelings: YesSs

Happiness: Ah yes.

Cuteness: Not really?

Fast pacing: Debatable. But very engaging.

Series: No.

Read if you like: Ghosts, historical settings, sicknesses, creepy things, photography.

Content: Some "intense" kissing. And that's basically it.

In one sentence... He's dead, right? 

Thoughts: An old photograph, a compass, and a pair of aviator goggles.
*NEW*Messages: Life is hard. You lose people. But you lose a little bit of yourself if you hang on too tight.

Overall:

Rating: 3.5/5

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely Bits

The writing. This story swept me up right away. The writing was gorgeous and simplistic, with some amazing images of life in this hard time. You get a lot of emotions from characters you don't even know the name of. 

Every character introduced was well shaped and had an instant personality, which was refreshing. I really liked getting this new picture of this way of life. I feel like, often times, we hear about these awful times and sometimes pass them off. But in this book...you see how it really was and it was awful and interesting.

This book just had a lot more ghosts and death than I thought. And while a lot of it was weird, it was great. It just gets crazy, man. With Stephen? When Stephen starts speaking from her body, or when Mary starts getting his dreams...it gets crazy, guys, but well done.

The plot was really well structured. The story web was so complicated and crazy, so if Mary hadn't mapped out on a regular basis what was happening I would have been lost. Honestly I never had a single idea what was going on. At all. And I liked that.

This book stood out to me 

I really liked the female characters in this book. Aunt Eva was strong, and when she realized she made mistakes, quickly fell back. She focused on her love and dedication to her niece, even when awful things happened. She was a great character. She cut off all her curls and went to work at a shipyard. Mary was the type of girl who would take apart everything to figure out how it worked. She'd leave the house and work at a hospital to help and research. She was likable...but not.

The Less Lovely Bits:

I honestly don't know how I feel about Mary? I can't imagine being in her situation so I can't tell if its realistic or immature. But she kinda of...annoyed me. She was fun to read, but sometimes I couldn't quite figure out how I felt. 

Same with Stephen. He was okay? I am having trouble really putting together my opinions. Other than that, there was very little I disliked. Some things really didn't sit well, and that's it.

Overall, it was great. It was emotional and lovely. So so lovely. So so so lovely. Read it. Go. Now. I really want to read her latest book.

Shorties Entry 1: Green Angel by Alice Hoffman, Fairest by Marissa Meyer, and Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

Ah, reviewing books. A lovely thing to do that gives you all sorts of lovely feelings. And then when someone actually says they're going to read a book you review? And end up loving it? Or when someone follows or comments? That's when the impromptu dance party happens.

But of course, there's procrastination. I finish a book. I decide not to review it right away. But then all of a sudden I'm finished with my next book faster than I thought and then I have two books to be reviewed. 

And then my biggest problem is shorties. It's hard to write a review for a short book. So today, I will be giving you three mini reviews of three shorties I recently read.

There's Green Angel by Alice Hoffman, a lovely and adorably tiny novella... Fairest by Marissa Meyer, the long awaited novella prequel to the Lunar Chronicles... and Through the Woods by Emily Carroll, a super awesome collection of four graphic novel stories.

I am a super rebellious person, so I'm about to do something totally out of hand and crazy. I... am going to go out of order and review Fairest first. Gasp!

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Levana knew a great deal about beauty, just as she knew a great deal about ugliness.

Stats:

Genre: Sci fi fairy tale

Feelings: OH HECK YES. 

Happiness: Happy as in I AM SO GLAD MARISSA MEYER EXISTS TO GIVE US THIS HEART WRENCHING PIECE OF BEAUTY.

Cuteness: *sobs from the corner*

Fast pacing: Eh? 

Series: Prequel the The Lunar Chronicles, which at the moment consist of Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress. Read in order!

Read if you like: Uh....The Lunar Chronicles? 

Content: A lot more sexual content, considering how clean the others are. Still, they are pleasantly free from graphic material.

In one sentence... Behind every villain....is a story about a victim that never gets told...until now.

Thoughts: A white veil over a scarred face, grief at its worst. I was going to say Agony, but then I would start singing "Into the Woods" and never stop.

Overall:

Rating: 4.5/5

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely Bits:

Marissa Meyer. Can I just include her as the loveliest part? She's such a real, fun person. Going to the Fairest Launch Party was the greatest thing to happen to me ever. And this is how she come out on stage. So your argument is invalid.

\

You Shall Read my Books!

Anyway, yeah.  She is an amazing storyteller. Her writing has definitely matured, and this whole story is beautiful. I still hate Levana, but I love to hate her. She took this character that started out in Cinder as a little "Meh," and made her this intense, amazing villain. The story had thick emotions and a lot of surprises. I'm very much looking forward for Winter. Bah, why am I trying to sound professional. I NEED WINTER MORE THAN I NEED LIFE.

The Less Lovely Bits:

I really have nothing to say? It had less of a story arc as her other books, I think, but there was nothing I disliked about it. Except that it was short.

Green Angel by Alice Hoffman

I didn't want to be prideful anymore. I wanted to be as hard as and brittle as the stones I carted into the woods. Stones that could not feel or cry or see. I wished not to feel anything at all. 

In no time, what I wished for, I became.

Stats:

Genre: Atmospheric Fantasy

Feelings: Yeah.

Happiness: Yes, because prose

Cuteness: Naw.

Fast pacing:  No but this book is TINY.

Series: I don't think so? Actually I believe there IS a sequel, but it reads like a standalone.

Read if you like: Dystopia setting, sad depressing characters, and prose.

Content: Not really anything I can remember.

In one sentence... A girl dwelling in regret and hatred in the aftermath of disaster. 

Thoughts: Thorns, old leather, and green growth in cracked ground.

Overall:

Rating: 4/5

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely Bits:

The prose. I want to bathe in the prose. It was very raw and to the point, reading like a messy poem. I got so immersed in the language. 

It was a very quick read, and definitely made me feel feelings. Not really sure what to say? it's a 116 page book, okay.

The Less lovely Bits:

It was very rough and in your face, at times. "This is what I am feeling! Feel it! Feeeeeell the feeeelings!" You kind of had to suspend belief a bit? But really, there was little I disliked.

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

It's cold where I am. And so lonely. But in Loneliness I will remain. Unloved, unavenged and forgotten until I am whole again.

This book. This book! It made me squirm, and grin at the same time. The artwork was so gorgeous. I wanted to bury myself in it forever. I love this style of story so much, I'm dying to read more of her stories.

Stats:

Genre: Horror graphic novel.

Feelings: Ish? Scary feelings.

Happiness: Happy because the CREEPY.

Cuteness: Nope.

Fast pacing: Very fast read.

Series: It's a collection of stories.

Read if you like: Feeling unsettled. Unexplained monsters and fears.

Content: Some really creepy images. 

In one sentence... Four weirdly creepy stories that you won't be able to stop thinking about.

Thoughts: Cold, snow, a hole in the ground. Cold fingers, cold hearts.

Overall:

Rating: 5/5 

This review is SPOILER FREE

 The Lovely Bits:

The artwork, guys. It was stunning and unique, while still packing a punch. I could spend forever looking at each page, enjoying each word. 

See, I love scary things. I love shows like Supernatural. But after a while I get tired of the in your face guts and gore. This book, does have some blood, but it's less of a formulaic monster book. You don't actually know what's going on. It leaves you feeling unsettled and nervous. I like the unsettling books. It was a refreshing break from the forced horror books I always find m

myself reading.

The Less Lovely Bits:

Not every one of the stories was perfect. The Lady's Hands Are Cold was a little more meh, but other than that this book is a+

At that is all! Those are three of my recently read and adored shorties. I look forward to writing more posts like these in the future. Let me know if you want me to write more Shorties posts, or if you have any shorties I should read.

Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

 “Birthdays were wretched, delicious things when you lived in Beau Rivage. The clock stuck midnight, and presents gave way to magic.

Curses bloomed.

Girls bit into sharp apples instead of birthday cake, chocked on the ruby-and-white slivers, and collapsed into enchanted sleep. Unconscious beneath cobweb canopies, frozen in coffins of glass, they waited for their princes to come. Or they tricked ogres, traded their voices for love, danced until their glass slippers cracked.

A prince would awaken, roused by the promise of true love, and find he had a witch to destroy. A heart to steal. To tear from the rib cage, where it was cushioned by bloody velvet, and deliver it to the queen who demanded the princess's death. 

Girls became victims and heroines.

Boys became lovers and murderers.

And sometimes... they became both.” 

This book, I actually read last year, but the long awaited sequel came out Tuesday, so I figured I would make a quick review. Because I love this book. Ish. I will try to write coherent thoughts. 

Stats:

Genre: Dark fairy tale retelling

Feelings: Some?

Happiness: Some snark and fun back and forth conversations.

Cuteness: I have mixed feelings about the romance. 

Fast pacing: Ish

Series: YES. And no. The new book, Tear You Apart, is a companion about Viv.

Read if you like: Once Upon a Time, and really dark fairy tales.

Content: Ehhhgggghhh. Some intense kissy stuff. Stupid romance thrown in. "Suggestive" comments. The most graphic it gets is the really annoying kissing with all the *BACK CLUTCHING* that makes me roll my eyes. 

In one sentence... A town where everyone gets a role in a fairy tale ending in death or sadness, and a girl on a mission for truth.

Thoughts: A apple, a blade, and dark flowers.

Overall:

Rating: 4.5/5

This review has LIGHT ROMANTIC SPOILERS in the negative section

The Lovely Bits:

I really like this book. When I say it's dark, I mean it. Fairy tale retellings can get old. But these are the types of fairy tales where Cinderella's stepsisters cut off bits of their feet. The dark kind. And it was glorious.

This is a very much concept driven book. After my first read, I did love the characters. I have given some thought and realized there's really more in it I didn't like that I thought. That being said, I still love the plot and story so much, it will remain a favorite.

The writing was lovely, thought simplistic. It was dark and weird, and very much pleasing. I ate up this whole book. Even the awful characters you kind of /like/.

I have so many mixed thoughts about Mira. She could be so obnoxious at times, but she was also realistic. She made terrible decisions but she was only 15. She was human. Wanting more. So I related with her. But there were times I wanted to smack that girl.

I feel like this is another case where I like the book so much that the little things in it that would normally disgust me don't bother me as much. I can understand why many people hate this book, but I loved it. 

The Less Lovely Bits

Before we get to the awful romantic square thing, I am going to talk about Mira. I did say she was relate-able, but she was also ridiculous. She complained about not being able to drive or go to parties. She said she could never date or watch R movies. I understand that Sarah Cross was trying to make it obvious that she is sheltered, but...she's 15. I'm 15. I am not allowed to go to wild parties or watch R movies and chance are I won't be dating for a long time. So instead of relate-able she came across of obnoxious.

Sarah Cross also I think made her a little too...mellow with things. She goes to this place and meets these weird people...including a girl who coughs up jewels and flowers...and calls it "weird".

What.

Okay. Now for the messed up romance. Before I say anything I'd just like to say that Blue, Felix, and Freddy...they're brothers. Yep.

Blue: The Bad Boy. The annoying teen with conveniently colored blue hair and sass. Least annoying out of all of them. But the forced tension with him and Mira was annoying. She's 15. Make this cute. Not weird.

Freddy: The Nice Guy. Oh but he's so dedicated to her! And if she is to go through with her role as sleeping beauty, he's her true love!

Felix: The Mysterious Man. A freakin 21 year old who shares a bed with her and DOES WEIRD THINGS. Stop. She's 15. Stop. He's making her feel obligated to do something, even to the point where she gets a nightgown and all that. She's 15. Never dated. And yet suddenly bravery and experience. 

Oh no, of course when Blue offers her a place to stay it's a terrible idea! But a 21 year old? Psh. Much better.

Here, look. I made a diagram for this.

Yeah. The romance of this novel sucked majorly.

Overall, I still finished this book loving it. I managed to swallow my furious-ness about the romance enough to realize that this story had so much promise and I really thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Partly also because the other not-main characters. Tear You Apart, the new one, has so much promise because it's about Viv, who is awesome.

I would definitely recommend this to people who have the patience for a weird love square and really like dark fairy tales. It's worth it.