Tag: strong female lead

A Coup of Tea, Casey Blair

12+B

I love this book sooo much! I’ve just reread it for the second time and it is so much better than I remembered! (I mean I had it already as a five star read but it just got better!)

It looks and feels mostly like a cosy fantasy that follows a previously sheltered princess finding love and herself as well as a found family BUT it is so much more than that. We begin in the palace of Istralam during Miyara’s political crossroads in her life. As the fourth daughter she is expected to follow the third into a previously travelled controlled route. Miyara makes the random decision to leave fleeing the city and her family’s control. I honestly like the idea of the princess in exile because she wanted to.

This first part is the least connected to Miyara as a character and that is because she doesn’t really have a character yet. She is used to fitting into the spare corners of her cold royal family and she is used to being passive, not active. Miyara is an interesting character because she is so set in her decision – she doubts herself but not her decisions.

I love her growth and her interaction with the other characters. Ms Blair excels at hanging a lantern on how Miyara’s privilege gives her more security to change things. Because of her princess training, she can perform the tea ceremony well enough to instantly have a status in the world (more on the tea and the world later). The book explores systematic oppression (I would say deftly but it is through the experience of Miyara who has never been oppressed and is shocked by it so it isn’t subtle because Miyara isn’t subtle about it. She hasn’t been taught or learnt to ignore it or fear it or hide it or manipulate it unlike the other characters).

I also love the witch/mage idea and the idea of the witch hunts not only being sexist but also racist – the women thought to be witches are of the foreign oppressed race. It is a little bit more complex than that but I cant say anymore for spoilers!

Last thing – tea. Like the title suggests tea is very important. Tea is diplomacy, it is expression, it is universal and in this kingdom which is quite low fantasy it forms the almost magic that I hope will be explored later on.

Characters: 4/5 stars. I really like them, Miyara reflects the characters around her so well. I think the best mc’s are the ones that truly allow other people to display facets of their perspective on the world while still having their own.

Romance: 5/5 stars – Soft Romance – Its so sweet! Its also a subplot but I do love it.

Plot: 4/5 – I do like the plot but it almost comes secondary to me. For most of the book, the reasons for the plot are being developed, the oppression which makes the ultimate confrontation and take down (with legalities included and awkward councils open to bribery).

World: 4/5 – I love this world and I cant wait to explore more of it.

Things to be aware of: racism. It was tricky to give it an age rating, I would personally say that twelve and up  could read it but they might enjoy it more if they were a bit older – it has a lot of moving parts in the story. The romance is very minimal so if you are looking for a read that doesn’t focus as much on the will they wont they then this is such a relax to read. Also if you are looking for an LGBTQ+ read then this is enjoyably subtle and woven in without the clumsiness of some books!

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Tuesdays at the Castle, Jessica Day George

10+

This first book introduces us to the eleven-year-old Celie and her siblings Rolf and Delilah. As the youngest child of King Glower the seventy-ninth (I have an entire blog post dedicated to this delightful legacy of the name and how it affects the succession but back to the point). Celie as the youngest of King Glower is given a lot more freedom than her siblings, and spends her days roaming around the ever changing sentient castle. She keeps a sheaf of papers with the Castle maps with her that she regularly changes and alters to keep up with the ever changing castle.

The Castle itself is an immensely powerful sentient building – but we know nothing about it. The inhabitants know nothing either, and Celie mentions a few of the varying theories about how the Castle brought rooms back and forth depending on the need. For the extra house guests the castle grows several more rooms, tailored to its feelings about the guests. If it doesn’t like you, it kicks you out and the Castle’s actions are uncontrollable by the Royals who live there.

As we see, the house guests and villagers are suitably leery of the idea of a sentient castle. Pogue Parry, Princess Delilah’s flirter (I wont say suitor because their relationship feels to me like they both know it wont last) acknowledges this, saying it is only because he has seen it with his own eyes multiple times he can believe it. I like this dose of realism, of course people wouldn’t honestly believe in an unexplainable sentience of a building they hadn’t seen.

I just love this book. It was one of the first series I read that really managed to dip into so many different aspects of fantasy and serious odds while retaining that feeling of being wrapped in a warm blanket. It may just be because I have read it so many times but this book has only been reread so many times because of its warm feel. I don’t know how else to describe it, just read it!

Plot  – 4/5 – Love it, every time I am still just as excited and delighted at each turn even though I really should know what happens by now)

World – 5/5 – gushed about it in my review, the Castle location is simply divine. I love it. It is rare that a book with just one location can get a 5 stars from me, but despite the fact they never leave the castle, I love it! (and the world gets better and better and more complex as you delve deeper into the series!)

Romance – NA – no real romance, Lilah and Pogue flirt a tiny bit.

Characters – 4/5 – I do like the characters a lot, they are enjoyable and interesting. Celie actually feels like an eleven year old! Its so rare that characters under twelve actually match their literary age and so this fits perfectly.

Things to be aware of: Honestly not much, there are mentions of death or planned death but nothing on the page.

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The Beginning by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson

11+B

This book is the second in the Oescienne series and it just builds on the world and characters that were established in book 1! This one follows Jahrra from about twelve to seventeen and see as she grows and develops in her character with the trials that are put against her.

We get to see the world developed more as Jahrra travels to different places within it and we get to see even more of Denaeh, the Mystic. I love Denaeh, she is a complex character who often goes against what other characters think is right for Jahrra and tries to slowly prepare Jahrra for the reveal of the Prophecy which is looming. She disagrees with Hroombra and Jaxx about keeping Jahrra’s race a secret from her, but it is also interesting that she doesnt outright tell her. I cant say any more because of spoilers but she is such an interesting character!

Jahrra still doesnt know that she’s human, and the Crismon King’s influence is slowly spreading into the sheltered world Jahrra lives in. It is a really interesting portrayal of a fantasy character being raised. It is quite common for them to either have been raised in the capital, fully aware of their power or to have been raised on a farm somewhere in the middle of nowhere. However Jahrra is raised being already trained and turned into the hero that Oescienne needs. Sometimes I am literally begging her to take a step back and think about why she is being prepared for such random things.

One of the facets of Jahrra’s character is her stubbornness and I think this plays into a lot of her interactions with the characters, she stubbornly hates Jaxx (but lets be honest he doesnt help at all there and is very antagonistic), she stubbornly tries to prove over and over that she is as good as Eydeth and Ellysian (the Resnai bullies) by completing challenges that should be impossible. She also is stubbornly trusting despite other people’s warnings. Her friends are wary of Denaeh, but Jahrra trusts her almost blindly despite proof to the contrary. However I do enjoy her stubbornness because it comes from a place of love, not arrogance like a lot of fantasy leads.

World – 4/5 – In the next book we get to see so much more of it and it is sooooo good!

Plot – 4.5 /5 – It starts coming together in this book as we start to go on a more classic heroine’s journey towards her realisation.

Characters – 5/5 – and on a separate note Denaeh may have won a whole extra point for her mysterious and yet in a way oddly trustworthy actions.

Romance – NA

Things to be aware of: The bullying from the last books continues into this book and earns it a B because it steps up a bit. There is death and grief like the last book.

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Page by Tamora Pierce (Book 2 of the Protecter Quartet)

13+

I love this book so much, Tamora honestly never disapoints and i have read this book over and over and yet it is always so fresh and distinct. While the first book covers her one year of probation, this book covers her next three years as a page and shows some more of the challenges of being the first known female knight for centuries. While Alanna avoided all of this sexism and glass ceilings and tradition until she was much older, Keladry is dealing with it much younger but with a refreshingly mature outlook. While the sassy – and usually immature – girl is a very common trope, Keladry has a very different attitude which suits her particular challenges and tests as she is becoming more concious of the political situation around her becoming a page.

I adore Owen of Jesslaw, he is such a vibrant character and his ethusiasm is truely catching. The rest of Keladry’s friends play a slightly smaller role in this book, but I still enjoyed all the scenes with them. With the introduction of Gower (Keladry’s servant)’s niece, Lalassa, we get a glimpse into the cruelty of society in a different way to a girl who doesnt have the protection of a noble house.

Characters – 5/5 stars – They honestly feel like real people that I can hate and love and laugh at and with.

World – 4.5/5 stars – Tortall is a 1000000/5 but this book deals with just the palace and two outside locations so we dont get to really see the varied world that Pierce has created. (tiny little spoiler – we do get to see A LOT more in Squire, the next book in the series)

Romance – NA

Plot  – 5/5 stars – LOVE love love – i know the ending but it still shocks me everytime i read it.

Things to be aware of: there are a few off the page mentions that Lalassa was abused when she was a child by her family, and a couple of mentions of how she is vunerable to the men around her, especially the noble ones before she is given the protection of Keladry’s house. There is one on the page scene where she gets attacked by a squire but Keladry hears them and scares him off with the threat of a dual.

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Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

12+

I have read this book several times over the last few years and every time the vivid world and courage of Zahrah has returned it instantly to my reread pile.

In general, I dont read a lot of sci-fi, but this one stands out from everything I have read both in that genre and in general because of the world of Ginen and the kingdom of Ooni. It is vivid and detailed and in places very similar to earth (and they mention earth as a ‘legend’ which might be one of the best and memorable worldbuilding details I have read yet) but with a sense of otherness that really defines the sci-fi genre. All the technology in Ooni is made using plants which I love! Even the library is made up of a giant plant. Even the computers grow with the child, as they are plants, and their leafboards grow to perfectly fit the child they are growing for. I love all these tiny little details that make the world so vivid.

Zahrah has dada – vines growing in her hair – which sets her apart from her peers at school and causes her to be bullied in the beginning. As the story progresses, we learn there are more to the dada than just vines as Zahrah grows up and matures. It is a classic character arc, but one that is portrayed beautifully and believably and freshly. One of the things that can be difficult with a story that is focused on a physical Quest is that the characters become stagnant or do not have any character development past their acceptance of the quest. However, this book neatly avoids all the pitfalls and allows Zahrah to grow alongside and separately from her quest in the greeny jungle to find an egg to save her friend who is in a coma despite the fact that no nobody goes deep into the forest and there are horrific stories of people who even go on the outskirts.

Characters – 5/5 stars – They are all rounded and realistic and everyone around Zahrah has their own stories that dont rely on hers (especially the frog! I love a good talking animal and the pink frog is the best)

World – 1000/5 stars – I have gushed about it enough, but honestly this world is so refreshing to read as it isnt based on a pseudo-european medieval land but instead Nigerian myths.

Romance – NA

Plot  – 5/5 stars – its perfect. just perfect.

This is honestly one of the books I think everyone should read between the ages of 10 – 13. Go read it!

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Blood Heir by Amelie Wen Zhao

14+

Set against a breathtaking landscape of snow and ice, this fully fledged and developed world that is reminiscent of pre-revolutionary Russia pulls me in and the added variable of magic? I have no words.
The premise of the novel is a princess chased from her palace and furs because she has been wrongfully accused of killing her father and she is searching for the man she witnessed poison him. However, she has her own reasons for revenge against the alchemist. She is an Affinity – basically a person with a specific power, like wind or fire or mind. However, she is the only recorded Blood Affinity, which means she can control blood. Because the Affinities are considered lesser and ‘deimhov’ in the eyes of the empire, her father allowed the alchemist to try and torture her affinity out of her when it violently appeared when she was a child and killed several people. Years later, the legend of the Blood Witch has never been connected with the sickly princess and Ana is able to pretend to be a flesh Affinity, something much less rare but with a similar effect.
I also adore the way that Ana slowly starts to realise that the empire she saw as a child princess was an extremely angelised one covering up the mistreatment of the Affinities as she is exposed to more and more of the harsh realities of her empire. The Affinities are lured into the empire with promises of work, but enslaved when they arrive and forced as children to sign contracts they cannot read. I cant say any more without spoilers, but the world is an stunningly harsh and yet beautiful in places mix of historical and fantasy elements in a Russianestc monarchy.
The side characters are all fully fledged, but even the villians have their reasons for what they do – reasons created by the empire and the system they live in. Ramson Quicktongue is the possible love interest/crime lord she rescues from a prison to help her hunt down the alchemist, and his backstory is shockingly bittersweet and offers a small glimpse into a life that in some ways is close to Anas, and in other ways the complete opposite.

Characters – 4.5/5 stars
World – 10000/5 stars – I’ve gushed about it enough in my review but – I LOVE this world.
Romance – 3/5 stars –Soft Romance– I honestly dont particularly like Ramson as her love interest, but that might change as I read the rest of the trilogy and that’s just a personal dislike even though as a character he is magnificently well rounded.
Plot  – 4/5 stars – we are just really warming up to the overarching plot, but so far I have enjoyed it thoroughly.

Things to be aware of: The Affinities are basically taking the places of the serfs and slaves which is one of the things that has bumped the rating up to a 14+. Child abuse (non sexual) and Torture.

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The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J Maas

14+

This collection of novellas is where Celaena’s story starts and it is definitely my favourite book in the series.

There are several different novellas within, and they all outline the day to day things Celaena experienced during the last year or so of her life as Ardalans Assassin. We get to really experience the varied and detailed world that Celaena has travelled so widely, and her relationship with Sam as it grows and develops.

Each Novella builds on the one before and sets up the devastating stage for Throne of Glass – the first full length novel in the series. I cant say much more without spoilers, but this is honestly a great read that creates every emotion as we are swept into a fantasy land where even if Celaena is one of the most feared things in it, danger and intrigue is everywhere in a land where the players are constantly changing, and the rules are changed before you know they exist.

Characters – 5/5 stars – I LOVE THEM – also if you like morally grey main characters then well, the two main characters for most of the novellas are assassins so…

World – 5/5 stars – Its perfect, this entire world has been so well thought out and in this novella collection we really get to see just how diverse and complex her world is.

Romance – 1000/5 stars- Suggestive Romance – Sam and Celaena are the ultimate couple I love them so much

Plot  – 5/5 stars – Its complex, and each novella has its own plot as well as an over arching plot of the book and then the huge plot of the entire series. I love series that are multi-faceted and where while everything means something, so much you dont understand or notice until later on.

Things to be aware of: It is quite dark in places, especially at the end, but that is to be expected in a 14+. Personally I read this when I was 13, and adored it so it all depends on what your comfort levels are on violence.

Also on a side note, this book and the rest of the series are all on Borrowbox, so if you are willing to wait a few months then you can read it on there.

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Terrier (Beka Cooper Book 1) by Tamora Pierce

14+B
This book is another hit from Tamora, and I love how different Beka is from Alanna, Kennedy, Daine, and Aly. Unlike those series which are all set within a thirty-year time frame, this series is set hundreds of years before and stars Beka Cooper (yes she is George Cooper’s great great many greats relative) who is working as a Puppy. This is a trainee ‘Dog’ which is essentially Tortalls version of a police. Beka is a tough lead – I might even go as far as to say that she is one of the toughest heroines that i have ever read in the first book.
While this returns to the Tortall I love, Beka’s world is very very different from Alanna’s and Kennedy’s especially. It focuses on the Lower City and the crime within and the morally grey lines between being a ‘Dog’ and a criminal. Beka is older (16) than the other heroines have been in their first books, so she suits this darker representation of Tortall.
Characters – 5/5 stars – They are incredibly lifelike even though I would say that Beka isnt the most morally complex – i LOVE morally complex characters – which leaves room for the supporting cast to show the lack of set morals in the Lower City.
World – 4.5/5 stars – Tortall is amazing, but in this book, we only focus on a very small corner of it unlike some of the other books where we get to see different countries and customs.
Romance – NA – not present but there are sexual undertones to some of it.
Plot  – 1000/5 stars – It is complex it is twisty and it took a second read to see the clues to the criminal.
Things to be aware of: This was a tricky one to put an age rating on – but I had to add the B because it is pretty dark and there are a few sexual innuendos. As always the age ratings are just a guide so you can read it whenever you want as long as you are comfortable with a bit more violence than some of my recommendations.

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A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

15+

When I opened this book I was expecting the normal staples of a boarding school/magic school fantasy, but this book utterly flipped them on there head. Instead of a relatively safe on the surface this was blatantly dangerous, and all throughout there was a layer of threat made even more serious by the fact that everyone in the book was so accepting of it.

The Scholmance is a secondary school at least in its basics. The school is located in a void – which may be one of the most terrifying locations I have read yet – and is isolated from the outside world completely. Inside the school it isn’t safe, with monsters creeping out of pipes and the constant threat of death. However, outside is even worse, and the only way to survive when you graduate is to learn enough from the school – and I mean the school its self as there are no adults or teachers inside the school –.

The world is so complex of its self, and all the characters are opposites. The exploration of the difference in privileges between the enclave kids and the indie kids is intriguing and touches on an aspect that I always love finding in books. The enclave kids have so much more power and community than the indie kids who are basically sitting ducks for the creatures who roam the halls.

Characters – 4/5 stars – the focus isn’t on the characters for the first half of the book, it is on the world and how to survive in an environment that is ever-changing.

World – 100000000/5 stars  – I have gushed about this in my review but I have to say it again the world is amazing.

Romance – 4/5 stars – Soft Romance – the romance isn’t really prevalent in this story, but the little bit there is sets up delightfully for the next book in the series which I cant wait to read!

Plot  – 5/5 stars – it is beautiful in its simplicity, and then the shocking twist at the end. El the main character knows what her goal is and that is survival, even if her plans to survive may be counterintuitive.

Things to be aware of: It deals with constant threat, and is therefore a darker read than my usual picks, but it is worth it for the intriguing world. Its not the biggest book but it is quite description heavy in the beginning, which reflects how El is on her own and only talking to herself.

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Powerless by Lauren Roberts

14+B

First – the dedication – “for every girl who has ever felt powerless”. That dedication is the first thing you read, and it tells you the one of the most important and nuanced parts of the book, the push and pull between being given power by your birth and gaining power by hard work.

Paedyn has earnt her power, as she is an ‘Ordinary’ without any of the superpowers of the Elites. It means that she will be killed instantly and painfully if she is caught. However, she pretends to be a Psychic and is able to fake it by constant practice and hyperfocus on the tiniest details. Kai on the other hand is almost ridiculously overpowered, but by his own work (and the cruelty of his father) he is deadlier than his birth power would have normally made him.

The juxtaposition of the two fathers in the story shows the power of parents. Pae’s father Adam who taught her how to become powerful even through she was born without the superhuman abilities of her peers and the King, who took his two sons and made them into the perfect molds of what he wished them to become; Kai into a weapon by torture and constant forcing past limits until he kills for the crown, Kitt into the next king.

The romance is out of this world. Kai and Pae have the perfect banter and the iconic lines of the best couples. Usually enemies to lovers isnt my favourite trope, but here it works perfectly. The most delicate thing between them is the power balance, which I am very invested in. Kai Azer is a prince and he can take the ability of any Elite in the vincity, he is essentially a powerhouse assassin, and yet Paedyn holds her own despite being in some of the most deadly trials I have ever read about.

Characters – 5/5 stars

World – 4.5/5 stars  – it isnt an uncommon premise, a split society between people with powers and those without, but it is executed beautifully.

Romance – 100000/5 stars –Suggestive Romance – I love love love Paedyn and Kai

Plot – 4.5/5 stars – it is well done and it supports the characters perfectly. The plot develops in the later half of the book much more than the first, and that means that the characters are already so established that you are really rooting for them.

Things to be aware of: It is quite violent, and there is a lot of on page brutality and medium graphic description, probably a 4/5 which gives it the B. The romance is a 14+ because of the enemies to lovers trope throughout the book. They regularly kiss, and sleep next to each other a few times, but it is non romantic and mostly to offer emotional support around the deaths of other characters.

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