VASSA IN THE NIGHT: Gorgeous Cover, Weird Book, Ideal Halloween Read

Title: Vassa in the Night
Author: Sarah Porter
Narrator(s): Madeleine Maby
Series: stand-alone
Length: 10 hrs 47 mins
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: September 20, 2016
Source: ARC received from publisher, purchased audiobook
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now—but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood.

In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.

But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair…

What a lovely, weird little book. It was so different and unique and definitely something you have to be in the right mood or frame of mind for. But it was definitely MY kind of book. :D I'm all about the weird. It's also a retelling of sorts, but as I'm not very familiar with the original story, I can't attest to how closely this novel follows the tale of Vassilissa the Beautiful. But I can say that I'm very much in the mood for more Russian folklore now because of this book.

I love stories of fair maidens trying to outwit spiteful, underhanded tricksters. Enter sarcastic, unflinching Vassa as the fair maiden and old, seemingly harmless Babs as the trickster, and I was hooked. I really enjoyed reading to discover the connection between these two and where Erg, the faithful wooden sidekick fit in. Lest you be worried, a talking wooden doll is probably the least creepy thing about this book.

Honestly, I loved Vassa and Erg separately, but it was their banter and every encounter that made this story fun. This book could have simply been menacing and creepy, but those two together brought a hint of levity to the story that was sorely needed. Especially since there were other factors that made this novel just completely bizarre, including the fact that the store dances upon a pair of chicken legs, there are hands sans bodies that govern the store, and the security for the store (besides the severed hands, obvi) is a man-who-is-not-a-man-at-all riding a circuitous route around the store.

You discover all of these things very early on and they're not even the weirdest part of the story. Yep, it gets even weirder. For example, how all of these things are linked and why there's a witch's curse to begin with. There's little romance and a whole lot of dismemberment, so it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I kind of liked how nonchalant the book was about all of that.

And even though I had a copy from the publisher, I waited to listen to this story because there are just some stories you know are going to be better on audio, and this is one. Madeleine Maby gets every bit of Vassa's snark right and her voices for the other characters are kinda perfectly creepy. This was actually the ideal novel to read (or listen to) right before Halloween.

GIF it to me straight:

After this book, I really shouldn't have been surprised at how easy it was to find a dancing house GIF.

About the author:

I write stories that seem to me to be quite true enough for all practical purposes. Among them are VASSA IN THE NIGHT, THE LOST VOICES TRILOGY, and the forthcoming WHEN I CAST YOUR SHADOW and TENTACLE AND WING. Realism makes little sense to me and I experience more truth in the fantastic. I always have new novels underway, both Young Adult and Grownup/ Literary/ Speculative. When not writing my own weird stuff, I can often be found leading creative writing workshops with amazing young NYC public-school writers via Teachers & Writers Collaborative. Or I might be drawing, or gardening, or wandering wraithlike through the streets. I live in Brooklyn, land of mystery, with my awesome husband Todd and our two cats, Jub Jub and Delphine.

Find Sarah:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram

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Labels: audiobooks, beautiful covers, favorites, magical realism, retellings, reviews, sarah porter, tor, vassa in the night

{WOW} SPELLBOOK OF THE LOST AND FOUND by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...








's Pick:



Title: Spellbook of the Lost and Found
Author: Moïra Fowley-Doyle
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books
Publication Date: May 2, 2017

The highly anticipated second book from the acclaimed author of The Accident Season is a gorgeous, twisty story about things gone missing, things returned from the past, and a group of friends who might need to give up more than they bargained for—unless they already have.

Olive, Rose, Laurel, Ivy, Hazel, Rowan.
Six teenagers, connected in ways they could never have imagined.

After the town’s summer bonfire party, Olive and her best friend, Rose, begin to lose things. It starts with simple items like hairclips and jewelry, but soon it’s clear that Rose has lost something much bigger, something she won’t talk about, and Olive can’t stop feeling that her best friend is slipping away.

Then lost things start appearing. Fields are filled with odd treasures; the lake sparkles with trinkets; seductive diary pages written by a girl named Laurel show up all over town. And Olive finds Ivy, Hazel, and her brother, Rowan, secretly squatting in the nearby abandoned housing development. Hazel and Rowan are wild and alluring, but they seem lost too, and like Rose, are holding tight to their secrets.

It’s the damp, tattered spellbook that changes everything. Full of mysterious hand-inked charms to make things go missing and to conjure back others, it might be their chance to find what they need to set everything back to rights. Unless it’s leading them toward secrets that were never meant to be found . . .

I really enjoyed the author's first book and I love magical realism, so it was a no-brainer adding this title to my TBR...even if it doesn't come out for months and months and months. But that cover would be a gorgeous addition to any shelf. :D


What are you desperately waiting for this Wednesday? Let us know in the comments or share a link to your own WoW post!

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Labels: beautiful covers, magical realism, moira fowley-doyle, penguin, spellbook of the lost and found, waiting on wednesday (wow)

{WOW} THE SECRET OF A HEART NOTE by Stacey Lee

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...








's Pick:



Title: The Secret of a Heart Note
Author: Stacey Lee
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: December 27, 2016

“Most people don’t know that heartache smells like blueberries.”

As one of only two aromateurs left on the planet, sixteen-year-old Mimosa knows what her future holds: a lifetime of using her extraordinary sense of smell to mix base notes, top notes, and heart notes into elixirs that help others fall in love—all while remaining incurably alone.

The rules are clear: Falling in love would render her nose useless, taking away her one great talent. Still, Mim doesn’t want to spend her life elbow-deep in soil and begonias. She dreams of having a normal high school existence, including a boyfriend. But when she accidentally gives an elixir to the wrong woman, Mim has to rely on the lovesick woman’s son, the school soccer star, to help fix the situation. As she races to set the lovers straight, Mim quickly realizes that when it comes to falling in love, the choice isn’t always hers to make.

Stacey Lee is the author of the critically acclaimed UNDER A PAINTED SKY and OUTRUN THE MOON. Hopeful, funny, and romantic, THE SECRET OF A HEART NOTE is a sweet and charming coming-of-age story that speaks to all of the senses.

I really loved Under a Painted Sky -- I've already listened to that audiobook a couple of times -- and I thoroughly enjoyed Outrun the Moon when I read it earlier this year, so it should come as no surprise that I'm eagerly anticipating Stacey Lee's next novel. I love the idea of aromateurs and extra sensory perception to determine what emotions smell like. I am also a huge fan of magical realism, so obviously this book's been on my radar for some time. Plus, look at that adorable cover!!! :D I can't wait to hold a finished copy in my hands!

What are you desperately waiting for this Wednesday? Let us know in the comments or share a link to your own WoW post!

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Labels: beautiful covers, harper-collins, magical realism, stacey lee, the secret of a heart note, waiting on wednesday (wow)

ROCKS FALL, EVERYONE DIES is Really Off the Beaten Path

Title: Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies
Author: Lindsay Ribar
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books
Publication Date: June 7, 2016
Source: ARC received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Twin Peaks meets Stars Hollow in this paranormal suspense novel about a boy who can reach inside people and steal their innermost things—fears, memories, scars, even love—and his family’s secret ritual that for centuries has kept the cliff above their small town from collapsing.

Aspen Quick has never really worried about how he’s affecting people when he steals from them. But this summer he’ll discover just how strong the Quick family magic is—and how far they’ll go to keep their secrets safe.

With a smart, arrogant protagonist, a sinister family tradition, and an ending you won’t see coming, this is a fast-paced, twisty story about power, addiction, and deciding what kind of person you want to be, in a family that has the ability to control everything you are.

Weird and different and weirdly different. That about sums up this book. It's quirky AF, but perfect for a reader like me who's pretty much read it all and ready for an odd little novel like this. Also, to be fair, I would consider it more magical realism than outright paranormal. And for most readers, it probably will seem suspenseful, but with regards to that "ending you won't see coming"...I totally did. Way, way, way before I was supposed to...and yet it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the story one bit. Probably because it didn't make the story predictable; I simply understood something early on that made everything else make a whole lot more sense.

This book is really off the beaten path. It started off slow but as my theory came to fruition, I couldn't put the book down. The protagonist is from a family of thieves, but what they steal will never be missed. The family justifies their theft of feelings and personality traits by using their gift to protect the town from the cliff that looms above them. And that suits Aspen fine until he meets a townie who makes him question the truth about his family and his cousin's tragic death months earlier.

Aspen is kind of a prick when the story begins, every bit the "smart, arrogant protagonist" he's described as in the summary, and he remains such for the better part of the book. He doesn't know the people making the sacrifices for the greater good, and so he shrugs off any guilt he might feel. He's very talented, too, but he doesn't just use his gift with respect to the cliff. He's but a mere visitor to Three Peaks, but he's been using the gift all his life: on his friends, to get out of trouble, even to sober up after a night of drinking. But never on family.

When using the gift on the love of his life starts to have repercussions, Aspen has to reevaluate his actions. Especially when he realizes that someone he trusted has been using their gift on him...all his life. He goes through a crisis of conscience, worrying about the people he's changed and his own free will and who he might have been, had his own personality not been altered. And I've got to admit, the drastic change in his demeanor endeared him to me.

Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies is a clever and introspective look at free will and sacrifice and family. It's not for everybody and it doesn't wrap up perfectly, but it does end on a hopeful note. If you like shrewdly different stories, this book might be up your alley...or take you down the path less traveled. (Watch out for falling rocks!) Either way, it's an excellent read.

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

Lindsay Ribar lives in New York City, where she works in book publishing by day and writes YA novels by night. She attends far too many concerts, watches far too much nerdy TV, and consumes fanfiction like it's made out of chocolate. She is fond of wine, cheese, and countries where they speak English but with really cool accents. Oh, and she has a Harry Potter tattoo.

Find Lindsay:

Twitter | Goodreads | Tumblr

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Labels: lindsay ribar, magic, magical realism, penguin, reviews, rocks fall everyone dies

Know What You're Getting Into When You Make a Deal With the Devil

Title: Devil and the Bluebird
Author: Jennifer Mason-Black
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Amulet Books
Publication Date: May 17, 2016
Source: ARC received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

“Devil-at-the-crossroads” folklore finds its way to YA via this moody, magical tale.

Blue Riley has wrestled with her own demons ever since the loss of her mother to cancer. But when she encounters a beautiful devil at her town crossroads, it’s her runaway sister’s soul she fights to save. The devil steals Blue’s voice—inherited from her musically gifted mother—in exchange for a single shot at finding Cass.

Armed with her mother’s guitar, a knapsack of cherished mementos, and a pair of magical boots, Blue journeys west in search of her sister. When the devil changes the terms of their deal, Blue must reevaluate her understanding of good and evil and open herself to finding family in unexpected places.

In Devil and the Bluebird, Jennifer Mason-Black delivers a heart-wrenching depiction of loss and hope.

Devil and the Bluebird was nothing like I was expecting and I may have liked it all the more because of it. You tell me there's a devil in the story, and I am so in. Plus, sister stories are always worth a read, having two sisters of my own and never really understanding either of them completely. And it should also be known that I can't say no to characters named Blue. ;0)

Much as Blue had been expecting someone different when she went to the crossroads, I was just as surprised at the identity of the would-be devil. Namely, that he was a her. Honestly, that shouldn't have really shocked me, not with all of the Supernatural I watch, but it did change all of my expectations for this book.

I guess I was hoping for some forbidden romance between the devil and Blue. Which would have been top-notch, but I think what the author does with this story is even more amazing. It's a coming-of-age story, about finding your voice (literally) and discovering your own path, and all of the ups and downs that come along with it. It's a story of loss and hope, of love and acceptance. That last one plays a BIG part in this story.

Blue makes friends and allies on her trek, but she also finds the meaning of true evil along the way. She discovers that things are not always what they seem but that she should trust her instincts when it comes to real danger. And she learns that family can come in many forms.

This story felt like a folk song, eclectic and rich. (It also made me want to rewatch Supernatural.) What a beautiful, poignant novel, full of heart and a hint of magic. A very lovely debut, to be sure.

GIF it to me straight:

NTS: Always get the terms of the contract IN FULL before offering up your soul to a beautiful, silver-tongued devil.

About the author:

Jennifer is a lifelong fan of most anything with words. She’s checked for portals in every closet she’s ever encountered, and has never sat beneath the stars without watching for UFOs. Her stories have appeared in The Sun, Strange Horizons, and Daily Science Fiction, among others. DEVIL AND THE BLUEBIRD is her first novel. She lives in Massachusetts.

Find Jennifer:

Website | Twitter | Tumblr | Goodreads

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Labels: 2016 debut, abrams, beautiful covers, devil and the bluebird, folk lore, jennifer mason-black, magical realism, music

THE RAVEN CYCLE Comes to a Close - My Spoiler-free Lamentations

Title: The Raven King
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Narrator(s): Will Patton
Series: The Raven Cycle, book #4
Length: 11 hrs 51 mins
Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Publication Date: April 26, 2016
Source: purchased audiobook & signed HC
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

The fourth and final installment in the spellbinding series from the irrepressible, #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater.

All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

In a starred review for Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Kirkus Reviews declared: "Expect this truly one-of-a-kind series to come to a thundering close."

I don’t think there was ever any chance that I was going to be disappointed by this final book, but I am so far away from that on the spectrum that I may have just accidentally looped back around and hit it by mistake, but that’s only because I’m disappointed that it’s over and I have no more Raven Boys to look forward to. I mean, I was seriously afflicted with TEABS when I finished last night, and even my husband commented on it. And he usually doesn't notice anything about my reading except that I'm doing it and that he should steer clear until I'm not. ;0)

I loved the mix of jovial moments with the altogether creepy, that this book wasn't all doom and gloom, even though the author maintained on numerous occasions that she was going to kill off our beloved Gansey. I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud at my desk yesterday while listening or how many times I was nearly brought to tears...or even how many times I was thoroughly creeped out and ready to hide under my desk. I ran the full gamut of emotions with this book, but that should surprise no one, since every previous book caused the same reaction...at least from me.

Oh, the immaculate pain this book caused me. It's one thing to know you're reading the end of a series...it's a completely different thing to know that you're reading the final book in your favorite series. That you can never read it again for the first time. That you can't unknow what you're about to know. That you're about to see how all of those complicated threads are about to be woven together to produce the most magical of AHA moments.

Whereas the previous books introduced us to new characters who would be integral to certain aspects of the story, The Raven King was really focused on Blue and her Raven Boys. Sure, a friendly face becomes more than the bit player we supposed him to be in the last book and many of our previous acquaintances are there, but this book is the most Raven Boys book of the bunch. And just so we're clear, there is just as much death in this book as any of the books that came before it...I'm just not telling you who dies. But since we've lost some characters we've loved and some we've loathed, you should know by now that Maggie is not afraid to kill off any of our darlings.

She's also not afraid to explore what makes her characters who they are, what drives them. Some are so focused on the something more aspect, while others just want to be known. And sometimes I just wanted to hold their hands and help them through this dark time, but I also recognized that they didn't really need that because together, they were stronger than any of them knew. They were each separate characters that could hold their own, but together as a unit, they were a character in their own right, brave and strong and true.

And their complicated relationships have only grown more complicated...but also less so. You can currently find me sailing around the moon, so happy am I with my ships. But that's not to say it didn't take a lot of work for them to get where they're at. I love that this book is all about the honesty, letting go of all the secrets and seeking out the truth, regardless of the outcome. It was a hard road, but at least the previous books paved the way.

I'll probably end up listening to all four books back-to-back very soon - even though I just did a re-listen a few weeks ago - just because I'm not ready to say goodbye yet. These characters earned a spot in my heart from day one, and it won't be easy letting go. I love everything Maggie writes, but these characters and this story - this quest - have become very dear to me. And I couldn't have asked for a more perfect conclusion for Blue and her Raven Boys.

GIF it to me straight:

And for your viewing pleasure, my #feelsplosion from Goodreads:

Previous The Raven Cycle reviews:

The Raven Boys
The Dream Thieves
Blue Lily, Lily Blue

And all Maggie-related posts here on the blog can be found here.

About the author:

All of Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she's tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She's made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.

Find Maggie:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Labels: audiobooks, beautiful covers, fantasy, favorite authors, favorites, ghosts, maggie stiefvater, magic, magical realism, paranormal, reviews, scholastic, the raven cycle

This One Was Spit-Your-'Shine-Out Funny

Title: Down with the Shine
Author: Kate Karyus Quinn
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: April 26, 2016
Source: received from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

There's a reason they say "be careful what you wish for." Just ask the girl who wished to be thinner and ended up smaller than Thumbelina, or the boy who asked for "balls of steel" and got them - literally. And never wish for your party to go on forever. Not unless you want your guests to be struck down by debilitating pain if they try to leave.

These are things Lennie only learns when it's too late - after she brings some of her uncles' moonshine to a party and toasts to dozens of wishes, including a big wish of her own: to bring back her best friend, Dylan, who was abducted and murdered six months ago.

Lennie didn't mean to cause so much chaos. She always thought her uncles' moonshine toast was just a tradition. And when they talked about carrying on their "important family legacy," she thought they meant good old-fashioned bootlegging.

As it turns out, they meant granting wishes. And Lennie has just granted more in one night than her uncles would grant in a year.

Now she has to find a way to undo the damage. But once granted, a wish can't be unmade...

I live in the South and I know people who know people who have friends that brew their own moonshine -- and I freely admit to having partaken in it a time or two. But I'm not one to watch Moonshiners and I've never taken an interest in it, one way or the other. I do, however, love a good dose of magical realism, so it's a good thing the wish-granting aspect took center stage in this book.

Down with the Shine was very...different and weird and I liked it quite a lot. It was darkly humorous, which was actually just what I was in the mood for when I picked this novel up. Lennie is an outcast among her peers, ostracized because of who her daddy is, and the only person who accepted her has been dead six months. In an attempt to honor her friend's memory -- and in a bout of self-pity, let's face it -- she decides to crash the invitation only party of the affluent queen bee, where social pariahs like herself are most unwelcome. That is, unless they come bearing gifts, like the very moonshine Lennie's uncles would disown her for taking.

The hilarity of Lennie's ignorance -- when it comes to the moonshine and her own wish-granting abilities -- is only second to the repercussions of unleashing such a farce on the very kids who have tormented her for years. This book had me cackling one moment and left me thoroughly creeped out the next, from the sheer stupidity of some of the wishes to the hired goons Lennie's fugitive father employed. It was morose at times but also very funny, and me and my dark sense of humor just clicked with it.

The thing is, when dealing with wish-granting or faeries or maybe just life in general, specificity is key. Lennie had a gazillion wishes to undo but she couldn't do so without risking making things even worse. Without any way to completely wipe out all of the wishes she'd granted, Lennie had to get creative, and in doing so, she really surprised me as a character. She was just a naive, woe-is-me heroine when the story began, but she really came into her own by the end.

This novel also had a very clever ending. Honestly, the whole novel was clever, in a facetious, unpretentious manner, and it felt like I was laughing with the story rather than at it. Because of this book, I am more interested than ever to pick up the rest of the author's work. I hope her other books are as weirdly funny as this one. ;0)

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

Kate Karyus Quinn is a chapstick addict with a love for live theater and a BFA from Niagara University to prove it.

After growing up in the suburbs of Buffalo, NY, Kate left her hometown for Southern California and film school, where she earned an MFA in Film and Television Production from Chapman University.

After finishing her degree, she moved with her husband to Knoxville, Tennessee. However, she recently made the move back home, with her husband and two children in tow. She promised them wonderful people, amazing food, and weather that would... build character.

Kate is first and foremost an avid reader and unapologetic booknerd. Although, she mostly reads YA and romance, she often samples different genres in her constant search for the next great read.

Find Kate:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

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Labels: dark humor, down with the shine, funny, harper-collins, kate karyus quinn, magical realism, reviews, speculative fiction