Browsed by
Category: Celeste’s Reviews

Book Review: Again Behold the Stars by Jessie Latimer

Book Review: Again Behold the Stars by Jessie Latimer

Comments 0 Comment


Again Behold the Stars by Jessie Latimer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received an advance digital copy of this novel from the author. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

While YA and its many subgenres has been hit-or-miss for me in the past, I’ve read a lot of truly excellent young adult sci-fi and fantasy over the last few years. Again Behold the Stars is among the very best. The story is cleverly written, compelling, and loaded with humor and heart and heartbreak, with characters who grow and change and win you over. I was excited from the very first page, when we were introduced to our snarky, unusual narrator: the book itself. And that excitement never wavered, as Latimer never lost the plot or the structure or a solitary character. She was juggling so much, and yet she never dropped a single ball. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: Galahad and the Grail (Merlin’s Isle, #1) by Malcolm Guite

Book Review: Galahad and the Grail (Merlin’s Isle, #1) by Malcolm Guite

Comments 0 Comment


Galahad and the Grail by Malcolm Guite
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Exquisite. Timeless. Exceptional. This is a masterpiece of the highest caliber. And it’s to be treasured in all of its formats. Reading Galahad and the Grail, Guite’s introductory volume in his four-part Merlin’s Isle, feels like uncovering a treasure lost to antiquity, one that is somehow fresh and vibrant in the light of the 21st century sun. His presentation of the search for the Holy Grail is captivating, and it left me so excited to experience the rest of his Arthuriad as he plans to release them over the next few years. Every line, every word, every syllable was chosen with such care and intention. Though this is epic poetry, a form little read in modern society, the story being told through the verse is easy to follow. This could easily be experienced as a family read aloud. It truly feels not only timeless, but ageless in its appeal. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: A Lady’s Handbook to Gadgets and Guile by Angela Bell

Book Review: A Lady’s Handbook to Gadgets and Guile by Angela Bell

Comments 0 Comment


A Lady’s Handbook to Gadgets and Guile by Angela Bell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Lady’s Handbook to Gadgets and Guile is an absolutely delightful story. Drawing inspiration from Little Women, Inspector Gadget, and Victorian England, it is also something uniquely and wonderfully its own. Bell’s sophomore novel is funny, heartfelt, faith-filled, and a joy from start to finish. It also delivers some wonderful disability representation that is going to provide solace and soothing affirmation to those struggling with chronic pain and severe anxiety. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: Perplexity (The Sceptre and the Stylus, #2) by Chawna Schroeder

Book Review: Perplexity (The Sceptre and the Stylus, #2) by Chawna Schroeder

Comments 0 Comment


Perplexity by Chawna Schroeder
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I was charmed by Illuminary, the first installment in Chawna’s A Little Princess-inspired fantasy trilogy. The world she has created is rich in color and culture and variety. The characters populating the story might faintly echo their Hodgson Burnett counterparts, but they are even more wonderfully themselves, full of charm and personality and nuance. The inclusion of faith is vital, prevalent, and beautifully portrayed. But, as much as I loved that first installment, the aforementioned inspiration from one of my favorite children’s classics felt minimal. That was no longer the case in this followup. Perplexity delivers on the promises of Illuminary, reimagining A Little Princess in a brilliant fantastical setting while also being very much its own powerful story. …

Read More Read More

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer

Comments 2 comments


The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“All stories are love stories if you love stories.”

The Book Witch is one of my very favorite things: a book about books that actually remains a book about books all the way through. There’s also great banter, housed in a wonderful but star-crossed romance where the romantic interest is also a charming friend, one who makes an excellent partner in crime. And there’s a multilayered mystery to be solved. But at its very heart, The Book Witch is a love letter to all stories, but especially to the ones that make us brave. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: Dandelion Wine (Green Town, #1) by Ray Bradbury

Book Review: Dandelion Wine (Green Town, #1) by Ray Bradbury

Comments 0 Comment


Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dandelion Wine is an absolutely beautiful coming-of-age story. It’s a book I’ve owned for years, one I purchased second-hand when I realized that it was part of a series that included one of my favorite books, Something Wicked This Way Comes. But for some reason, I kept putting it off, fearing that it would somehow weaken the magical grip Something Wicked has on my heart. Instead, it strengthened it. This slim book is every bit as weirdly wonderful and inexpressibly nostalgic as its counterpart, weaving that same magical grip around my heart regarding the summer as Something Wicked did with autumn. It’s exactly what I’m always craving—but rarely find—when I venture into the realm of natural realism. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Lesser Devil (The Sun Eater, 1.5) by Christopher Ruocchio

Book Review: The Lesser Devil (The Sun Eater, 1.5) by Christopher Ruocchio

Comments 0 Comment


The Lesser Devil by Christopher Ruocchio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“He had always been the lesser devil. Always in Hadrian’s shadow, or his father’s. It had taken years, decades, to realize that it was this that had made him angry as a boy. This that had made him … whatever he’d been.”

“…shadows shrink in time.”

Crispin, the “lesser devil” of House Marlowe, has always lived in Hadrian’s shadow, even close to 40 years after his older brother’s disappearance. Hadrian is constantly on Crispin’s mind. His longing for his older brother, in spite of how terribly they parted, was poignant. “I wish Hadrian was here” and “Hadrian would know what to do” were frequent refrains in his thoughts. And yet, he has within himself the potential to be a better man. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: Empire of Silence (the Sun Eater, #1) by Chistopher Ruocchio

Book Review: Empire of Silence (the Sun Eater, #1) by Chistopher Ruocchio

Comments 0 Comment


Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

“We live in stories, and in stories, we are subject to phenomena beyond the mechanisms of space and time. Fear and love, death and wrath and wisdom—these are as much parts of our universe as light and gravity.”

The Sun Eater is one of those series that I’ve heard so many good things about that I found myself really hesitant to pick it up. But I’m glad that I finally decided to take the plunge, because I was immediately enamored by Hadrian Marlowe and held rapt by his story. Ruocchio has an immaculate way with words, and he’s drawn a dark but impeccably nuanced system of worlds that feels true, even if fictitious. This is a gigantic story, the surface of which is barely scratched in this first installment. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Charmed Library by Jennifer Moorman

Book Review: The Charmed Library by Jennifer Moorman

Comments 0 Comment


The Charmed Library by Jennifer Moorman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Stella Parker had never burned a book in her life. Had never once thrown pages of text—much less handwritten love letters and poetry—into a fire. Yet there she was, purposefully setting fire to one of the most precious things in her life: words.”

That is the first paragraph of the prologue for The Charmed Library. I was immediately sold. Moorman’s writing style is simply gorgeous. And it’s beautifully suited to magical realism. The early pages of this story led me to ask myself: why don’t I read more magical realism? I really should, because it’s charming. This melding of the reality I know with the magical and fantastical I long for just such a lovely, hopeful juxtaposition when handled properly. And Moorman strikes that balance well.

“As the ashes faded into the dusk, the library listened, waiting, knowing that every story—especially the ones set free—would find its way home.”

…

Read More Read More

Book Review: Through Gates of Garnet and Gold (Wayward Children, #11) by Seanan McGuire

Book Review: Through Gates of Garnet and Gold (Wayward Children, #11) by Seanan McGuire

Comments 0 Comment


Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I received an advance review copy of this novel from the publisher, Tordotcom. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

One of the highlights of my reading year always comes right on the heels of Christmas, when I snuggle in and read the newest Wayward Children novella right ahead of its release. Through Gates of Garnet and Gold is the eleventh installment in the series, and marks the eighth year of this tradition I always anticipate.

“We can mourn the winter when the thaw comes, but without it, the spring will not return. It’s all right to grieve. It’s all right to mourn what’s missing. Spill your sorrows on the ground, and let the joy flow home.”

…

Read More Read More