Reviews Week 18

 Reviews Week 18

May 1st-7th

Book 67: Painted Devils 

By Margaret Owen

Read May 1st-3rd

Pages Read: 512

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This was an excellent sequel to one of my two favorite books from last year. I fell in love with Vanja and Emeric’s story from the first page last year and was excited to continue that in this beauty. Painted Devils starts with Vanja accidentally starting a cult, and the rest deals with the repercussions of this on her life, the lives of the people in the town she’s in, and of Emeric. 

Vanja is a character that you can’t help but love. She has done terrible things but is trying to improve her life. Over this book and the previous one, she has become one of my favorite female protagonists. I cannot get enough of her voice and character. 

I loved the little stories that Vanja told again throughout this book and what they added to her overall story. We also got a lot of Vanja’s past that I will not spoil here. The humor in this book had me laughing out loud at times, and the heartfelt moments made me happy and worried for characters I have come to love with all of my heart. 

The world that Margaret has created here is one that I hope she continues after the third book (which I hope will come out next year!!!). I don’t know how, but I would love to see glimpses into it again, especially with the lore of the goddesses and gods. There was a lot of that here, and it was so intriguing. I loved what she did in Little Thieves and how she continued with that in the plot of this book. One of my favorite things is when a fantasy writer creates mythology and focuses on that throughout a book. I could not get enough of it in this book, especially with the Scarlet Maiden. 

Along with Vanja, I adore Emeric and the relationship that they are building with each other. They had a great hate-to-love romance in the first novel, and I loved seeing how that grew throughout this one. Emeric is one of the sweetest characters, and I love their dynamic. It’s a lot of fun to read their banter. 

Margaret has created a world you fall into in this series, and I know I didn’t want to leave. Along with Vanja and Emeric, we get a lot of familiar faces, along with some great new ones. I cannot wait to see what will happen in the final book, whenever that will come out. My copy of this beauty cannot come soon enough. 

*Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*

Book 68: Big Tree

By Brian Selznick

Read May 4th

Pages Read: 528

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Brian Selznick’s books are always an absolute delight and this one was just as great as usual. I love how he uses the illustrations along with the words to tell his story. This story was beautiful, touching, emotional, and it hit me hard. Definitely, one of his best (though The Marvels will probably always be my favorite of his). I highly recommend this beauty.

Book 69: The Essential Peter S. Beagle Volume 1: 

Lila the Werewolf and other Stories

By Peter S. Beagle 

Read May 5th-6th

Pages Read: 352

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I fell in love with Peter S. Beagle’s writing last year when I read The Last Unicorn for the first time. It was exciting to see this and the second volume of stories on Netgalley, and I had to request them both. This collection was a delight to read, and I loved seeing the very different stories throughout. My favorites from the volume were “Come Lady Death,” “Gordon, the Self-Made Cat,” and “Four Fables” (The Fable of the Moth, The Fable the Tyrannosaurus Rex, The Fable of the Ostrich, and The Fable of the Octopus). 

My favorite aspect of this collection is that each of the stories feels so different from each other. There are children’s, young adult, and adult stories. You get a collection of stories like “Four Fables,” which were simple tales with humorous morals at the end, and then a story like “Come Lady Death.” I loved this gothic and suspenseful tale that kept me wondering what would happen next. Also, I enjoyed the introductions before each of the stories that give the reader context. 

This was a wonderful collection of fantasy stories that would have something to appeal to many readers.

*Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC of the book. All opinions are my own.*