I got an ARC from Goodreads! I got an ARC from Goodreads! I GOT AN ARC FROM GOODREADS!! God bless Goodreads for giving me this book. So earlier in my review of Legendary I had mentioned my fear of this book falling short from the previous one because it was so good. I was wrong and I couldn’t be happier. This book is the light in my life. It was so good, I think I’ve died and gone to book heaven. I just want everyone to know I bought six different editions of this book because I couldn’t decide which gorgeous cover I loved most. This review will contain spoilers for the other two books in the series so if you don’t want to know about them then it’s probably a good idea not to read this review.

Finale picks up a while after Legendary, Dante, or should I call him Legend, is now the heir to the throne having ousted Jacks and Tella is dreaming about the game master she has fallen desperately in love with, and Jacks seem to be lurking around the corners waiting for Tella. Finale focuses on both sister making this a two protagonist book unlike its predecessors where each sister was given a book to shine in. I enjoyed having both sisters on the playing field at the same time, it made the book more action packed and riveting. And for the record I am Team Julian and Team Legend all the way. Scarlett is struggling with Julian’s tendency to lie and we are introduced to a new love triangle between her original fiancé from Caraval who she had been engaged to prior to becoming involved with Julian. We hadn’t met the Count before this instalment in the series so I was intrigued but quickly lost interest when I realised he was a bit of a Mary Sue – dull and boring. Aside from the romantic angle we have a plethora of new characters ranging from the witch who gave Legend his powers to the Fates who have been released from the Deck of Destiny. I know, there’s barely time to take a breath and I haven’t even delved into the surface of the book.

The plot thickens with every page as Legend and Tella struggle with what it means to be mortal and love or immortal and lose it. Scarlett is struggling with her ability to see colors and is torn between Julian and the Count and the Fates are everywhere as the previously repressed part of the Caraval universe unleashes itself upon us and we are invaded by the descriptive writing and dense world-building of the history of the Fates and the key to their mortality.

Because this is an ARC I have to try and do this without any spoilers which is so hard because there’s so much to say.

I think one of the marks of good writing is being able to change the readers viewpoint from what they previously believed. Take Sarah J Mass for example with switching Feyre’s love interest from Tamlin to Rhysand. Stephanie Garber is one of those few skilled authors who manages to do so too. I loved Scarlett in this book, she was still soft-spoken and gentler than Tella’s fierce demeanour but she kicked ass. She was such a strong character and I totally loved her character arc and where she ended up at the end of this book. And even for characters like Paradise, I thought she was such a cool character to have introduced in Legendary but I hated her in this book, she was just selfish as a mother. I know that mothers are women as well, but I found her total lack of interest in how she left her daughters not once but twice selfish and heartless. If you can’t be a parent then don’t have kids. She made it very black and white for me.

I was a bit disappointed because with Jacks I thought we had reached our big villain. In book one it was Scarlett and Tella’s father Governor Dragna who was the villain, then in book two with Tella trying to wade through the after effects of Jacks perceived deadly kiss I thought Jacks would be the ultimate villain committing crimes of passion and fighting Legend. But we were introduced to a new villain who while not as attractive as Jacks was quite interesting, with a motive and evil henchmen (villainous Fates) and Fates who are working against him. I mean who knew this world could gain more depth, it’s unbelievable. I especially liked the mythical aspects of every Fate a lot.

This book is a ride from beginning to end. I wanted every gown that Tella wore in this book. Descriptive as usual, artfully written, riveting and gripping plot, romance, romance, romance and more magical romance. I want more of this world now!! There was one point of disappointment for me was that things with Jacks were given no closure. So while all the other ends tied up beautifully with happily ever afters well distributed, that loose strand of Jacks storyline won’t stop niggling at the back of my mind. But otherwise I have absolutely loved growing with these girls and reading this story and being a part of this universe. I know I say my favourite character is Nigel (he is like my FAVOURITE) but I love everyone in this universe and I am so grateful to have gotten this ARC and read this amazing story.

I can’t wait to see what Stephanie has in store for us next! Five stars for Finale and I wish I could give more!!!

This has been my favourite of the Ravenspire series. I am an absolute sucker for a hate to love romance and recently the only books in that trope have been weird dark erotica which is so unrelatable because as a woman I’d never be with someone who constantly degrades me. This was a much more believable version of the trope with crackling chemistry and of course C.J. Redwine’s incredible fantasy world-building. This one was a retelling of Cinderella.

Set in the Kingdom of Balavata (see below) the story follows budding alchemist Blue de la Cour and Prince Kellan who had a delightful cameo in the Traitor Prince. I felt like this instalment was a darker one given the disappearing children and the concept of the blood wraith, but it was fleshed out and all the elements of the story tied together beautifully albeit in a slightly more sinister fashion than the other novels in the Ravenspire series.

Balavata is described in a more fairytale-like fashion than the other books. With the rebellion in the first book, the prison in the third and the political focus of Sundraille in the second book, we don’t really get to see a fairytale-esque city. But with Blue traversing the markets and with her many encounters with Kellan we get a more of a fairytale city vibe filled with balls. I loved this coastal kingdom. I also really liked the alchemy aspect of the book. I haven’t read much of alchemy concepts in a fantasy novel so I enjoyed seeing it explored.

Character-wise I really liked both Kellan and Blue. They both complimented each other well and I liked their romance. Kellan returns and seems to see Blue in a new light and Blue’s opinion of him begins to change but it’s gradual so there’s enough fun banter which turns into a begrudging friendship which then turns into romance. It’s a very slow burn and it’s also forbidden because of Kellan being a prince and Blue a commoner. It was angsty, tension-filled, chemistry which was just fantastic. Basically, I’ll be reading the romance scenes whenever I’m blue (pun intended).

The story itself is quite heart wrenching and chilling. I couldn’t sleep with the lights off for a week. Dana is a chilling psychotic sort of character and while I suspected some sort of twist with her and the wraith I couldn’t actually tell what the plot twist was, so it came as a shock.

The actual Cinderella elements were subtle and I loved that they didn’t go for the classic lost item at the ball plotline. It was an ingenious retelling, the story was the same and yet different enough that I wasn’t bored.

This was a five star read for me and I can’t wait for the next Ravenspire book because C.J seems to get better with each one.

Often I feel, mythology teaches us so much about life that we seldom take the time to learn. It shows us the immensities of the world that we are incapable of understanding through characters who live through great wars and tragic romances and shoulder burdens that seem to be so heavy they can break the brittle bones of humans.

This hasn’t been my first foray to Greek mythology, in fact, I consider myself a self-claimed expert of sorts because I’ve been reading it since I was eight. I wouldn’t write a thesis on it but I know the stories of the Gods and the Titans and all the hybrid monsters they seem to spawn through the ages when Olympus stood tall. But like all modern mythology about women, Madeline Miller’s Circe reads as an epiphany. It is truly magical storytelling, from the development of Circe’s character to the lessons of Gods and mortality and the truly wonderful writing.

Madeline’s writing is so lovely. It’s the carrier of the story more than anything else. It flows like poetry, the metaphors stunningly beautiful, so lyrical they feel melodious on my tongue as I read and yet it isn’t verbose prose. It feels simple and the story shines amidst the incandescent language. Even if one isn’t a fan of mythology or retellings, anyone who is a fan of the English language should read this novel.

The story itself is wonderfully written. It follows the sorceress Circe from the time of her birth and tracks her immortality. For any Percy Jackson fans out there you might remember Circe as the evil enchantress from The Sea of Monsters novel who turns Percy into a guinea pig. I never understood her when I read Riordan’s books, books that I adore even now. So when I picked this up I had the faintest idea of who Circe was. But even for readers unfamiliar with her from mythology, everything of importance is covered. Siblings, Gods, Nymphs and lovers of interest are all fleshed out through the course of Greek histories, culminating in stories around Circe’s own world and in turn leaving food for thought for the readers.

It’s actually interesting to wonder how much of history we actually know. History is written by the winners, yet in the course of man, everyone has lost. So when we read history or myth how do we know what we’re reading is true and if true what are the depths behind that truth, what brought it about? I think it’s so interesting because as the enchantress who turned men into pigs every time they came ashore her island, Circe is vilified in classical mythology. And history will forget that she was brutally raped by a man which led her down the path of turning them to pigs. And reading it the way Madeline has written it brought tears to my eyes. Mythology was after all written by a man, so why shouldn’t the raped woman be made the villain for what she reaps as her revenge. If it had been written by a woman perhaps Circe would have been seen as a queen. Why when Zeus the King of Gods can rape and spread it around with no consequence, plundering women’s wishes and agency, what will stop the other Gods. What will stop the men who worship the Gods? For if the King of Gods can rape then so can all men. It’s an interesting perspective and one that isn’t considered when we study history and myth. Especially that which surrounds women. It’s a perspective that’s brought about with such subtlety, handled with grace because for so many women today agency of any kind is still hard to come by and with rape laws being what they are it’s so important to see the stories of women from women.

I really loved that Circe was given many lovers rather than portraying her as a sort of virginal witch who had been wronged. In my personal opinion, humans or souls are not supposed to grow together. The soul evolves and has different needs as it does and so no on human might fulfil it. Marriage is but a mortal construct and it often falls short of expectations and through myth and history, we see women being measured through men, their fathers or brothers before they are married and then-husband when they are. Circe refuses to be measured by a man and I really liked that Madeline introduced the concept of her taking lovers. It feels so much more realistic that she chooses to grow differently alongside each of the men, taking charge of the role they play in her life rather than seeing herself playing a role in theirs.

The idea of mortality is poignant in this book. The way it’s paced is phenomenal, it moves slowly and yet years pass in Circe’s life as she collects stories from mortals and makes her way through immortality. Perhaps that is the beauty, as an immortal time feels endless and like it passes far too quickly all at once. You are surrounded by an infinite presence of immortality in your life while faced by the shorter life spans of your lovers and demigod children. There’s no other way to describe the pacing other than phenomenal.

I loved seeing the way different stories from the Odysseus and Illiad were interwoven into Circe’s tale. They never overshadowed her own story, drawing her in and making her the focus and yet they brought the age-old tales across effortlessly. My personal favourite was witnessing Pasiphae birth the Minotaur. But there are a myriad to choose from, Medea and her madness, Scylla and Charybdis, Trygon. There are stories within stories within stories. Effortless.

So much more can be said about how truly poignant this book is. But it will be like trying to find a lone pearl floating amidst the ocean. The immensities of the world are best read through Circe as she explores being an outsider, standing between mortals and immortals, learns her craft, finds herself, survives and simply be’s. Madeline Miller has crafted a masterpiece and saying anything more will simply take away from it. Five golden stars and a recommendation to anyone who loves to read.

So it is for me, a travesty that I hadn’t read this before now. This book is a work of art. If I didn’t believe that harming books in any manner is a human sin I would love to wallpaper my room with my favorite pages and scenes from The Night Circus. It is a masterpiece from the very first page to the last page. Every word is a gift bestowed upon the reader.

The Night Circus was written by Erin Morgernstern in 2011. I’m only picking it up now and I’ve been blown away by how beautiful this book is. Every single page is filled with luscious writing and intriguing characters, magic, whimsy and enchanting, romance soft and subtle and so very lovely. The entire volume is just a work of art.

The book follows two enchanters, Celia and Marco since the late 1800’s when they are both just children. They are bound by two enchanters who train them to partake in a magical competition of sorts to test which school of magic is the best. The competition is woven into the enigmatic Circus which travels the world in shades of ebony and ivory, only opening its doors once the sun has set and the stars twinkle in the sky. It’s unlike anything anyone has ever seen, which is apt perhaps because I have never read a book like this.

Erin write so beautifully, every detail is thought out in the circus. The story might take place in the cold, dreary avenues of London or theatres in New York City and Paris, but she has created a world within our own. She has built her own world within ours and that in itself is a monumental task. I want to live in the Circus discovering a new tent every night, from the Cloud Maze to the Pool of Tears to the Wishing Tree. Every tent was given such a dreamlike quality, that while it still felt human the experience felt ethereal. My favorite part of the entire Circus that Moregernstern has constructed is the Wunschtraum Clock. I would pay any amount of money for a clock that could do what Erin describes the Wunschtraum Clock can do. Any words I use to describe the Circus fall short because the only place to read it is in the book itself.

The language is luscious and divine. It’s so simple yet the way every sentence is constructed is so decadent. It flows despite not being written in exactly a linear style. The story jumps from place to place rushing years forward and back again around every character.

Each and every character has a role to play, from the slimy Hector Bowen, to wispy lovestruck Isobel to the enigmatic Tsukiko and eccentric Chandresh. They all had a purpose. It may not have come across when one initially starts reading but it’s so subtle one barely realises how important and integral every character is to how the circus runs. All of them fleshed out into different sorts of people, weird, whimsical, wondrous characters. Some bursting with life and some passing through the story with cold, cynical detachment. I adored Tuskiko, I want her in my life as my best friend. She seems like a riot and she appears in only a few scenes. It’s a toss up between her and Chandresh as my favorite characters.

The romance was barely there until it appears. Celia and Marco make one swoon at how perfect they are together, how they compliment each other with soft, gentle words. And then you realise the romance is always there, they write love letters to each other through the circus, scattered for the other to find, until they finally meet and the connection is almost electric. It was done to perfection. It’s so subtle it’s barely there and yet it is woven into the plot from the time the ring touches Celia’s finger at 6 years of age up till the book comes to a close. And despite both of them having other love interests at times in the book, there seems to be no conflict that Celia and Marco are the ones meant to be together. It’s just… perfect.

I want parts of this book ingrained in my memory, and until it lies woven through my brain so I might turn to it for inspiration and comfort. It is by far the perfect book. It require no change, no editing. no adjustment. Five stars always and forever. I am officially a rêveur, every time I pick up this novel I shall wear black with a splash of red, a rose or a scarf and I shall lose myself in a fantastic story.

 

What does it mean to be a woman? We have been pressed and moulded into what society expects of us so many times that it seems almost inexplicable to know what it means to be a woman. A woman worthy of love. One worthy of respect. What does it take to be the woman who is both ?

Aangan was written by Khadija Mastur in 1962, once the subcontinent had been torn asunder into India and the two Pakistans. I felt such a keen sense of loss when I read this book, having a grandfather who is an Urdu writer, has allowed me to be fluent while speaking the language and so with every word of this English translation I found myself pondering what Urdu words might have been used. I would urge those who are able, to read the original over the English version. The translation while adequate is not as enriching as what I imagine the original Urdu version would be.

Set in the early 1900s and spanning through time up until a few years following Partition, Aangan follows the narrator Aaliyah as she navigates through the journey of life. And as it follows her, it narrates the lives of the women around her in their sacred space – the aangan of their households. Aaliyah’s mother, steeped in the traditional mindset that stiffles her daughters. Her sister, Tehmina who falls desperately in love and is faced with inexplicable pain as she desperately tries to be with the man she loves while trying to stay within the bounds of what is considered proper. Kusum, who’s lot in life is one of sadness, built for love and unable to attain it. With the stories of her aunt who died due to love, following her around all her life, and the deaths of the women around her Aaliyah hardens her heart to affection. And as the story progresses and she finds herself in a love triangle with the over-exuberant Chammi, and the charming yet slightly slimy Jameel, with no end in sight, her infatuations and love threatening to overwhelm her, when she wishes for nothing more than to be in control.

This is the premise of Aangan. The writing flows smoothly. While the passing of time seems abrupt and disconnected, this could be blamed on the fact that it was a translation. Another thought that crossed my mind was that perhaps Mastur herself had aimed for a disjointed effect, to place only the events that shaped Aaliyah’s disdain for the emotion of love (mohabbat) in the forefront. To show the primary events of her life that ruined her outlook on life.

What struck me more than the writing was the emotions that Aangan evoked within me. I adored Chammi, her character was so complex. She was constantly berated for not being educated by the same family who refused to educate her. She loved openly and was shunned for it. Her family, her society tried to break her spirit and were almost successful, and once she gets her happy ending, she is looked at with disdain by readers. Perhaps that is due to the narration being done by Aaliyah, after all it is she who loses the battle to Chammi. She feels victimized by the end of the novel, as if Chammi has one-upped her, and perhaps she has, but to me personally it was well-deserved.

It was a world of men. And perhaps in this way it still might be. The men decided who they loved, and the women were dragged along. Jameel is described as the quiet poet who fell in love with Aaliyah and was constantly rejected. But I saw something else entirely. He was relentless, and I wondered the shame of it all. As a woman, if a man pursued me the way Aaliyah was pursued by Jameel, I would consider it harassment. There was no respect for her consent to his affections within her own sacred space. Within the aangan, where women were not required to keep pardah, because it was a space sacred to them. Whether Aaliyah reciprocated or not was inconsequential, it was the violation of her wishes that struck me. The violation of Chammi’s desires when she was married off. The violation of their Aunt’s reputation in years past which shaped the events for an entire family for years to come, stayed with me.

And perhaps that is the masterpiece of Aangan. It plays on the emotions of women, who feel so greatly, who are confined to the aangan of their homes. It is in this confinement that they earn respect for being proper, for saving virtue and holding the head of their fathers high. And it is in this confinement that they lose it, for lack of exposure and lack of education as displayed by Chammi. It is within this aangan that they find love when they don’t want it and lose it when they do desire it. Who is a woman who is worthy of love and respect? Should the respected, educated woman who scorns love, deserve it simply because she is respected by the men around her. Or does the woman who loves with her heart on her sleeve not deserve it because she is loud and not educated at the same level. Aangan evokes in me that question that all Indian (and Pakistani) women should ask themselves when torn out of schools, or forcefully sat on the mandap/at their nikah. Do love and respect for women not exist on the same plain?

Aangan is a masterpiece. It is a social commentary, a romance, a drama and so heart-wrenching. It’s well worth a read and the time to mull over the strength of all the women it possesses within its pages.

2020 UPDATE : I just found out there’s a Pakistani Drama based on this book, starring Sajal Aly and Ahad Raza Mir… Contemplating a watch…

So I’ve been putting this off because of how this book ended. The cliffhanger eviscerated me and I need the last book of the trilogy now. NOW! NOW! NOW! For anyone who is reading this and is unfamiliar with the first book you can revisit my review of book one in the series here!

So Stephanie Garber I want your next book today if you’d be kind enough to oblige me. Legendary picks off right where Caraval ends. And as I had pretty much guessed it tells Tella’s story this time around. Tella was my favorite sister despite the fact that she played only a tiny role in the first novel. So reading about Tella basically made me finish this book in a few hours. And I loved it, even more than the first one in the series, which basically means it’s magic. I am actually a bit terrified that the last book might not measure up to this one and be a colossal disappointment.

While the first book mainly introduced us to Master Legend’s performance/game Stephanie branches out in this one. She moves off of Isla de los Sueños and deeper into this new world she has created, taking us with her to the seat of the crown, where the Empress lives, and Master Legend is to have another game of Caraval for her majesty’s birthday celebration. But this book doesn’t focus on only the game. There’s a deeper underlying plot of the mythical fates who once conquered the sun and skies and everything beyond it and how they were removed and imprisoned. But some of the Fates have been let loose including the enigmatic Jacks, the Prince of Hearts who is playing a dangerous game with Tella. Not to mention the mysterious identity of Legend and the handsome Dante who seems to appear at every corner and every move Tella plays.

So first of all – wow to all these men. You have the rakish Dante who’s just basically beautiful to think about, then there’s the mystery of Legend, you know he’s going to be a beacon of beauty and then there’s cruel, cruel Jacks who has a vicious sort of appeal to him. Who do we root for? Like I loved the uncertainty, which is strange because I’m not really big on more than a single love interest. But at any rate, I loved how all of them were written and tied together and the choices Tella has to make regarding them are deliciously difficult and I adored it.

Aside from the romance (which was my favorite part) the world building has become even more dense and immersive. I could reconstruct the temple district dedicated to the Fates in my mind with all it’s starry beauty. The description is just fantastic. If I could write like Stephanie, I’d basically just write all the time and do nothing else because this power of creating new worlds is unbelievable. The Game was played in the same style as the first book with clues and amazing clothes and bargaining and of course a cameo from my favourite guy, Nigel, but nothing about it felt familiar. Legend’s magic felt just as sultry and devious in the first book and you could tell the stakes were higher this time, with Jacks in the mix and Tella trying to save her mother. There were also new characters, who I enjoyed even though we met them all in passing. Every one of them added something small to the story.

There are so many storylines this book covered, and it still doesn’t overwhelm the reader because everything ties in together. It all comes together with a bang in the end. I also enjoyed that Scarlett took more of a backseat in this book and that we saw a lot of Dante and Tella. The big reveal was done beautifully as we discover who Legend is. There are subtle hints that come together until we the audience know who Legend is a few chapters before Tella does and in doing so I got a lovely Hitchcockesque vibe from the book. Is there any angle Stephanie can’t hit?

The ending destroyed me and I’m counting down days till the last book in the series. I mean 2018 seems to be cliffhanger year, after A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir and now this, I can’t wait for 2019! Five stars for this one! Waiting ardently…