Review: Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

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Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

Published: 4th June 2019 | Publisher: Tor | Cover Designer: Will Staehle | Source: Publisher
Sarah Gailey's Website

Sharp, mainstream fantasy meets compelling thrills of investigative noir in this fantasy debut by rising star Sarah Gailey.

Ivy Gamble has never wanted to be magic. She is perfectly happy with her life—she has an almost-sustainable career as a private investigator, and an empty apartment, and a slight drinking problem. It's a great life and she doesn't wish she was like her estranged sister, the magically gifted professor Tabitha.

But when Ivy is hired to investigate the gruesome murder of a faculty member at Tabitha’s private academy, the stalwart detective starts to lose herself in the case, the life she could have had, and the answer to the mystery that seems just out of her reach. From Goodreads.

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I was sent this review copy for free by Tor for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Rep: A lot of side characters are gay, lesbian, or bi/pan, but no labels are given.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features death, cancer, abortion, discussion of a teacher/ex-student relationship, possible alcoholism, an attempted mugging, a knife attack, a stab wound, graphic descriptions of a dead body cut in two, and magical surguries, where internal body parts float in mid-air.

Continue reading Review: Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash.

My Spiritual, Magical and Self-Care Goals for 2020

It's 2020 at last, and we're all starting to make plans or goals for the year ahead, and maybe even resolutions. I've made myself a few goals relating to my spirituality, magic and self-care for the year, so I thought I would share them with you.

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My  2019The Broke and The Bookish Secret Santa Gifts

This past Christmas I took part in The Broke and the Bookish's Secret Santa, hosted in 2019 by Jana of That Artsy Reader Girl on her own. It's a Secret Santa where you sign up for a certain tier (1 book and a small gift, 1-2 books and a couple of small gifts/goodies, 2+ books and small gifts/goodies), you're paired up with someone in the same tier, and you send your Santee presents! I signed up for the last year, and received a box full of lovely things from Hannah of Hannah's Bookshelf! I thought I'd share with you all the wonderful gifts she sent me. (All photos can be clicked on to enlarge.)

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Review: Impossible Causes by Julie Mayhew

This post contains Ad: Affiliate Links - marked with an asterisk (*) - which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Impossible Causes by Julie Mayhew

Published: 17th October 2019 | Publisher: Raven Books | Source: Won in a giveaway.
Julie Mayhew's Website

For readers of All the Missing Girls and You Will Know Me, Impossible Causes is a gripping thriller about isolation, power, and the lies that fester when witnesses stay silent.

For six months every year, Lark Island is fogged in, its occupants cut off completely from the mainland. The community is small, tight-knit, and deeply religious. Lark seems like a good place for 16-year-old Viola Kendrick and her mother to be alone as they mourn Viola’s father and brother, both killed in a tragic accident.

But the islanders are hiding dark secrets. As the winter fog sets in, Viola gets to know the Eldest Girls—the only three teenagers on Lark—and begins to learn about the island’s twisted history, including an old story of a young girl, whose death the islanders insist was accidental. When a man’s body is found at the end of Viola’s first winter on Lark, Viola finds herself at the center of a murder mystery: one that asks whether the man’s death was a righteous act of revenge, or a cold-blooded killing.

Eerie and menacing, timely and moving, Impossible Causes is an unputdownable thriller that examines the consequences of secrets kept at young women’s expense. From Goodreads.

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I won this proof in a Twitter giveaway held by the publisher. What I have written is an honest review.

Rep: Two lesbian side characters.

Trigger Warnings: This book features sex, death, a funeral, animal sacrifice, photos of naked people being taken without their consent, murder, and rape.

Continue reading Review: Impossible Causes by Julie Mayhew

Photo by Sandra Ahn Mode on Unsplash.

My Most Anticipated Retellings From Jan - June 2020

Titles marked with a (^) are ad: affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Titles marked with an asterisk (*) were gifted to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

It's now 2020, it's a brand New Year! And you know what that means? A year chock full of brand new books is ahead of us! And as regular readers will know, what I am most looking forward to is all the retellings! I do adore a good retelling! So here are the retellings I'm most anticipating in the first half of this year!

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Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash.

Looking Back over 2019, Looking Forward to 2020

Titles marked with an asterisk (*) were gifted to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

It's New Year's Eve! Can you believe the year has flown by already? It's gone by so quickly! I swear, the older I get, the quicker the years go by!

But it's the time of year when I look back over my reading and blogging over the past year, and share what my plans are for the next. So without further ado, onwards!

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Review: Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan

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Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan

Published: 5th November 2019 | Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton | Source: Publisher
Natasha Ngan's Website

In this mesmerizing sequel to the New York Times bestselling Girls of Paper and Fire, Lei and Wren have escaped their oppressive lives in the Hidden Palace, but soon learn that freedom comes with a terrible cost.

Lei, the naive country girl who became a royal courtesan, is now known as the Moonchosen, the commoner who managed to do what no one else could. But slaying the cruel Demon King wasn't the end of the plan---it's just the beginning. Now Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans. The journey is made even more treacherous thanks to a heavy bounty on Lei's head, as well as insidious doubts that threaten to tear Lei and Wren apart from within.

Meanwhile, an evil plot to eliminate the rebel uprising is taking shape, fueled by dark magic and vengeance. Will Lei succeed in her quest to overthrow the monarchy and protect her love for Wren, or will she fall victim to the sinister magic that seeks to destroy her? From Goodreads.

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My other reviews of the Girls of Paper and Fire Trilogy:
Girls of Paper and Fire

WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the previous book in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

I was sent this proof for free from Hodder & Stoughton for the purposes of providing an honest review.
Rep: Malaysian characters (A high fantasy world inspired by Malaysia). No labels, but there is an f/f relationship involving the protagonist and a secondary character, and an m/m relationship involving secondary characters.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features vague sex scenes, inuendo, blood, vomit, discussion of rape and sexual assault, kidnap, death, murder, dead bodies - including burnt dead bodies, aftermath of a village burned to the ground, funerals, war and battles.

Continue reading Review: Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan