#macmillan children's

[whimsicaldragonette]

ARC Review: Painted Devils by Margaret Owen

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Publication Date: May 16, 2023

Synopsis:

Let’s get one thing straight—Vanja Schmidt wasn’t trying to start a cult. After taking down a corrupt margrave, breaking a deadly curse, and finding romance with the vexingly scrupulous Junior Prefect Emeric Conrad, Vanja had one great mystery left: her long-lost birth family… and if they would welcome a thief. But in her search for an honest trade, she hit trouble and invented a god, the Scarlet Maiden, to scam her way out. Now, that lie is growing out of control—especially when Emeric arrives to investigate, and the Scarlet Maiden manifests to claim him as a virgin sacrifice. For his final test to become a prefect, Emeric must determine if Vanja is guilty of serious fraud, or if the Scarlet Maiden—and her claim to him—are genuine. Meanwhile, Vanja is chasing an alternative sacrifice that may be their way out. The hunt leads her not only into the lairs of monsters and the paths of gods, but the ties of her past. And with what should be the simplest way to save Emeric hanging over their heads, he and Vanja must face a more dangerous question: Is there a future for a thief and a prefect, and at what price?

My Rating: ★★★★★

*My Review and Favorite Quotes below the cut.

My Review:

Here we have Vanja being Vanja (ie self-destructive and also accidentally starting a cult because of course she does) and then in comes Emeric being Emeric (annoyed and exasperated at Vanja and said accidental cult) and then things really start to happen.

The writing is just as gorgeous and funny and dark as in the first book. I love it so much!

The story is so compelling, as are the characters. As the threads of story slowly wove together, I remained in awe of Margaret Owen's plotting skills and ability to misdirect. The story is SO beautiful and SO sad. I actually had to stop reading, near the end, because my eyes were so full of tears I couldn't see the words and I had to take a moment and wipe them until I could see again. That doesn't happen often.

I love Vanja and Emeric even more now, and I absolutely cannot wait for the next one.

The twist of who, exactly, the Scarlet Maiden is was brilliantly foreshadowed in a way that made it seem like it came out of nowhere with a gut punch. The identity of the various people Vanja encounters was hidden in plain sight. Everything was constructed so perfectly.

And poor Vanja and Emeric. That ending broke my heart and I did cry. I can't wait for the next book to find out how they fix things. Because they have to fix things. Right?

Margaret Owen has cemented her place as a forever auto-buy author for me and one whose arcs I will absolutely fight for.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's - Henry Holt & Co. for providing an early copy for review.

Favorite Quotes:

She cried like a routed general. She cried like a jilted bride. She cried like a two-year-old who has been told they cannot eat rocks.

---

But you know that feeling? The one where your entire brain melts out through your earholes because your head is on fire, and the rest of your body overcompensates by freezing on the spot, and the only thing left in your skull is a ghost marching in a circle and banging two pots together? That’s about where I’m at.

---

Kirkling’s charcoal stick dangles like a dagger over the throat of her page.

---

I wonder if Kirkling knows exactly what manner of pedantic, punctilious annotated-within-an-inch-if-its-life beast she’s just unleashed. I know without a doubt that she is about to learn.

---

You deserve so much more than the least terrible of your choices.

---

“What did you want to speak to the boy about?” Udo asks in the tonal equivalent of a TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT sign

---

“Yes, Proctor Kirkling,” Emeric says with a forced sort of tranquility, as if the prospect of a daily quiz isn’t the greatest thing that’s happened to him since the invention of the T-square.

---

Four days later, our carriage rolls into Danwik, a town beautiful in a way reserved explicitly for things built on spite.

---

Our eyes meet. In that moment, an unspoken ironclad alliance is forged, and I know we are a united front with the sole objective of haranguing Emeric.

---

“Hence why I was also the first person to teach this lout how to throw a proper punch.” “Which was great,” Emeric says darkly, “until I got stabbed.” Vikram rolls his eyes. “What eleven-year-old hasn’t been stabbed, honestly.”

---

Little thieves tell themselves they take what they need to survive, and sometimes that’s true, and sometimes it’s a lie. Great thieves don’t fool themselves about their motives; they take things because they want them, end of story. The only lie they tell themselves is that there’s no difference between wanting something and deserving it.

---

For most of my life, I’ve held to a theory I call the trinity of want. It states that people are desired for three reasons: power, pleasure, or profit. If you provide three of those, others serve you. Provide two, they see you. One, they use you.

---

Years of pain had smelted her down to a knife, and only now was she relearning to touch others without drawing blood.

---

There’s a thoracic little death-rattle behind me. I’m pretty sure it’s the sound of Emeric’s world crumbling at the fact that he’s pissed off the saint of libraries.

---

“I mean, ‘I summon the powers of the gods through the stars’ is pretty impressive on its own.”

---

I’m starting to suspect Kirkling is one of those people who strongly commits to being a pain in the ass on a day-to-day basis, only to metamorphose into a decent and competent person in a crisis.

[its2am-andimsad]

Book Enoch as movie Enoch redraw :)

Yes, he's my favorite

Request open :D

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Habit ~ E.O.

A/n: This felt the way eating something for the first time in a longen time when you are it a lot as a kid? Does that make sense? Idk I just love it

Request: “...Enoch O’Connor x Male I beg of thee” by anon

Word count: 2200+

MASTERLIST

Jake was the most annoying person Y/n had ever met.

The problem with a boy shaking the very core of the way Miss Peregrine's Home worked, is that there was a set routine. Not just the same day, every day. Not just the same clothes. Not just the same activities and expectations, but also the same people. The same dynamics. Everything was clear and simple and predictable - as it was supposed to be. It was Enoch and Horace and Olive and Fiona and Claire and Emma and Millard and Bronwyn and Hugh and the twins and Y/n. They all had their chores, their meals, and their rooms. Wake up, do the exact same thing, reset the day, go to bed.

In some ways, Jake changing everything was nice. Emma was happier with him, and they were safer now. They'd always be safe now. Miss Peregrine didn't have to deal with her imperfect day, and they had lots of new friends.

Change was hard though, and unpredictable. Emma and Jake, and then Fiona and Hugh. And then suddenly everyone was a lot less okay with Enoch and Y/n pining for each other but never doing anything about it.

Enoch and Y/n had always been like this. They avoided each other despite everything, somehow having pulled it off for decades straight now. Anytime they did talk, the room seemed to go still. They were insatiable, starving for each other. Every look was too long, and yet too short. Every conversation saturated with so much emotion neither boy could handle it.

Being a teenager was hard.

But for decades, everyone had left it alone. At some point the distance and awkwardness and desperate yearning had become a part of the routine. Wake up, do what you did everyday, glance over the way Y/n's breath caught, a smile tugging to his face when Enoch brought something to life, ignore the way Enoch's eyes lingered when Y/n began to chat with a bird or squirrel or worm.

Even Fiona was good at it, and she was Y/n's sister. They had always been far more concerned with their own relationship as siblings. Two halves of one whole - a plant gift and an animal gift. Flora and fauna.

But now she was busy with her own crush, and without her there to fill Y/n's time, it was more and more obvious how ridiculously in love he was. Olive had met a girl in the other loop they'd joined who had wings, and the two had been having a ball flying around together - which meant Enoch was more available than normal as well.

Of course they ended up in the same space more often than they usually did.

The new kids weren't used to the pining. It wasn't routine, they hadn't learned to ignore it. And the more they pointed out that the way Enoch and Y/n acted wasn't a just-friends-and-family feelings kind of situation, the more the other kids acknowledged it too. Suddenly everyone was looking at the boys expectantly, and with all those eyes on them... it was hard to ignore their own situation even more.

This was especially hard on Y/n. He had always known he wasn't going to end up with some epic love like in the books. Even before the loop, everyone had marked him as insane and weird. His little sister could make flowers grow in the palm of her hand, and her older brother knew all the town secrets because the pets could talk to him. But after the loop? The options were so limited and he was gay - it wasn't going to happen. No way in hell that with one person he could even possibly end up with, who he liked, liked him back. That sort of thing was difficult to find even with several options. But one?

Not to mentioned he hadn't really come to terms with the fact that he wasn't straight. Everyone knew he was into Enoch, but outside of that they had no idea what was going on with his sexuality. He'd never opened up about it, and flat out denied anytime someone had asked. Even Fiona had nothing to offer in terms of information - he hadn't told her anything either. Which was weird, because they knew a lot about each other. She was his confidante.

He'd never even admitted it to himself.

That wasn't good enough for Leroy and Sofie though. They were two of the kids from the other loop, and they were determined to play match maker between the two boys. It was how a harmless game night had gone so terribly wrong. They had convinced Jake to talk about all the silly, immature party games he had heard of and to "experience the culture they were missing out on" all the kids from both loops had been dragged into several different rounds of truth and dare and spin the bottle and seven minutes in heaven. Nothing happened for most of the people, who only fist bumped or took the opportunity to info dump in a space where the other person had no option to listen.

And then Enoch and Y/n got picked.

For the first ten minutes, both boys were completely composed. But Enoch had a very good understanding of time and as more than seven minutes passed, he grew agitated. "It's been long enough, let us out," he called.

When all that came back from the other side was giggling, Y/n got irritated too. Being this close to Enoch was bad enough without there being a foreseeable end in sight. "Guys. Guys!"

"Talk about your feelings!" Sofie called back, and a dozen pairs of feet could be heard on the stairs, leaving Enoch and Y/n. In a closet. Locked for who knows how long. Alone in an entire room, in the basement.

Miss Peregrine would put it together and come and get them before dinner, but... even that was a long way away.

It was quiet a long time, but eventually even Enoch couldn't handle it. He broke first.

"Are we just going to wait for Miss Peregrine?"

Y/n shrugged. "They all left, so... It's not like even if I did anything here they'd let us out."

"Did anything?" Enoch scoffed. "Did what exactly."

"I don't know," Y/n snapped. Both boys were rather hot headed and tended to interact with each other through biting remarks and snarky banter. These snippy words were familiar to them.

Enoch rolled his eyes. "I'm not just going to sit here that whole time. At least tell me what they think we need to share feelings about?"

Y/n shrugged. "Beats me."

Another king quiet and then Enoch seemed to soften. He had changed a lot since Jake too. He had been so defensive of Emma before, but now he saw the flaw in that. Emma and Jake were happy, and more than anything he... envied them. He wanted that. And he had wasted enough time keeping himself from it. If Emma could open her heart to getting broke to risk love and succeed... maybe he could too. "Y/n."

"What?" He was gorgeous. That withering look and unwavering attitude. Enoch loved that he could always keep up, matching any sass off or sarcastic comment. Often beating Enoch at what he had always considered as his own private game. A game he never lost at... until Y/n. Y/n who found his homunculus fascinating instead of disturbing and never scared at even the worst of Enoch's attempts. Y/n who was so awkward and brash with people, but so gentle and calm and caring toward animals. Y/n, who was his best self out in the woods with no shoes on and a smile on his face as he closed his eyes and listened to the wind through the trees, the birds singing, the bugs buzzing...

"Do you want to play Twenty Questions?" It was another of Jake's silly games. They had planned to play it after Seven Minutes in Heaven but, well, now they were locked in a closet.

Y/n shot him a withering look, cocking an eyebrow. "No."

Enoch's lips almost twitched into a smile. "Come on. Since when are you more of a buzz kill than I am?"

Y/n sighed. "Fine. Whatever." He looked at Enoch again and couldn't help but soften. They were both like this. Hard to touch, impossible to get close to. Rough and snappy. Except for those select few. For Enoch, it was the girls. Fiona and Claire had it the easiest; Olive had to work for it; Emma had gotten under his skin after Abe. For Y/n, there was no one who had worked their way into his good graces as well as Enoch had. He of course had softness for the kids, always taking to children who needed someone to have their back - even if they wouldn't admit it - but Enoch was still special. He always was.

Enoch swallowed a smile, matching Y/n's casual energy. They both leaned against the wall, Y/n crossing his arms over his chest and Enoch slipping his hands in his pocket. "You go first," Enoch encouraged. There was something playing in his eyes, so bright it shone even in the low lighting.

Y/n raised an eyebrow, unsure. "Okay... what's your favorite color?" It was a dumb question - he already knew - which meant that if Y/n wasn't going to try neither was Enoch.

"Triangle." He smirked, then leaned forward. "Do you like men?"

There was a long silence in the closet. It felt... horribly fitting. Suffocatingly on point. "Why do you ask?"

"That's not an answer," he shot back.

Y/n's face burned. "That's a dumb question! You've never cared once in our decades of friendship and now you do? Why?"

"Because of Jake." Y/n almost began going off about how annoying Jake was, but Enoch cut him off. "I thought everything was set in stone. He were the group we'd always been. Abe proved it to me. We can get smaller, but never bigger. But then Jake came along and left behind everything for Emma. And I realized, maybe that's what love is. Maybe it's giving up what was for what could be. Because it's worth it. And if I made a leap like that, I won't even have to give anything up. All I have to do is take the first step."

His voice was so soothing, but his words were like shots of ice through Y/n's veins. It was a startling contrast. "Enoch..." He frowned, pursing his lips. He couldn't look at the other boy. "What would you do if I asked you that? You can't expect me to-"

"I do. I like men."

Y/n's jaw dropped. He snapped it closed after a beat, eyes trained on Enoch. The other boy seemed... excited. Genuinely. "And you're telling me this... for a reason. I assume?" Enoch just nodded. He wasn't just excited; he was nervous too. To be fair, so was Y/n. "Because you like me?" He asked, even more softly.

Enoch hesitated. Then nodded. "I... have. For a long time."

Y/n sighed, head falling back against the wall. A part of him wanted to argue, wanted to fight it. Wanted to stick his head in the sand.

But a much larger part of him knew that this had been coming for a long time.

“I thought when I told you I was into men it would be scarier.” Enoch laughed at Y/n’s confession, and it was only a split second before Y/n joined him. It was completely bizarre and borderline ridiculous. They’d been denying their feelings so long it had become habit. First out of hesitation. You never know exactly how someone would react to something. And then it was friendship. They were so close, and they’d gotten into a pattern of thought. They were only friends - nothing else was possible. But as everything around them changed, pattern had no room in their life anymore. So habit had taken over.

And now…

Y/n rested his head on Enoch’s shoulder, hesitantly taking his hand. Enoch sighed, squeezing back. Reassuring him.

“I like you specifically,” Y/n piped up.

Enoch’s smile was small as he tried to fight it, but the blush across his cheeks gave him away. “I like you too.” Y/n chuckled again, and Enoch echoed him. Like their energy was bouncing off of each other, growing. Becoming simply by the existence of the other.

“I don’t want our first kiss to be in here,” Enoch sighed. The closet was too much a metaphor, but even more-

“I don’t like that everyone’s forced so much onto us,” Y/n agreed. “Thank god they did, but-“

Enoch huffed with amusement. “But I don’t want them to have everything. Some things are just for you and me?” Y/n nodded and Enoch smiled, leaning close and pressing his lips to Y/n’s forehead. Y/n sighed, content. They stayed like that until the close door was opened, several pairs of curious eyes staring in at them.

“Are you together now?”

Y/n and Enoch exchanged looks and then scrambled to their feet, both shouldering the door open and slipping out. Everyone was laughing - even the ones who tried desperately to lock the pair back in the room.

And so the boys were out of the closet.

They took each others’ hand again when they settled onto the couch together, an everyone had to agree: that could be enough.

[just-mariii]

Enoch O' Connor is my fictional love. I love this character, both in the movie and in the books. I think he's been very underrated for a long time. Here is my video appreciation of the Hollow Heart.

[uwmspeccoll]

Publishers' Binding Thursday

I found this week's Publishers' Binding Thursday selection while simply browsing the stacks. I noticed the spine first, and when I pulled the book out saw the three, bright, galloping horses on the cover. The book is The Boy Apprenticed to an Enchanter by Irish poet, author and folklore collector Padraic Colum (1881-1972). It was published by the Macmillan Company in 1920 with illustrations by American illustrator Dugald Stewart Walker (1883-1937). This book is part of our Historical Curriculum Collection of children's books.

The cover is a cream bookcloth with blue, yellow, and black color stamping. A white horse, a yellow horse, and a black horse rear up as a cloud of dust rises behind them on a blue background. The title is in a cream banner at the top and is stamped in yellow with a black outline. The title, author's name, and illustrator's name are stamped on the spine, with the publisher stamped at the bottom.

View more Publishers' Binding Thursday posts.

-- Alice, Special Collections Department Manager

[algea]

please I’m begging you guys Finlay MacMillan is so unbelievably attractive

[ifuckinglovefingerlingpotatoes]

[hospitalgotham]

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children edit

[braveclementine]

Part 2

Warnings: None. However, future chapters will contain sexual content so readers that are under the age of 18 may have to skip those chapters (However they are very few so those under the age of 18 can still read a majority of this book. However please keep note of the warnings).

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. Also, all of Severus and Elizabeths' childrens names are mine and mine alone.I also do not condone any copying of this.

KING'S CROSS- PLATFORM 9 3/4

🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶

Severus hurries along, keeping a firm hold on Davina's hand, who out of nervousness, was burrowing into his side. Carlisle on the other hand, runs ahead a little, trying to keep up with his older brothers. 

He's lost Elizabeth at some point and he's thankful he has Remus, Minerva, and Elijah Kingsley to help him out with the rest of the kids. Damon and Seraphina were being a handful, teasing Carlisle, Mari, and Haru. 

"Alright sit up here." Severus said, lifting Davina up so that she could sit on the hand rail of the trolley while he loaded up the trunks. Minerva and Elijah Kingsley both hurried into the train to put their things in the Prefect carriage. 

"You feeling okay pumpkin?" Severus asked her, her eyes darting around the train station. 

"I'm nervous." She said softly, looking at him now. 

"Nothing to be nervous about." He reassured her, smoothing her wild hair back from her face, kissing her cheek. "I know it's a new experience, but you'll have loads of fun, I promise. Plus, Albus, Rose, and Carlisle are all starting this year, so you won't be alone." 

"I know." She said. "I'm just going to miss you and mommy." 

He smiled a little, tugging a lock of her long black hair that was the same shade as his. "Oh? Really?" 

She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. 

"Hey." He said softly, cupping her face so he could wipe them away. "It's okay. You're going to come back for Christmas break and summer break and you'll see. Time flies at Hogwarts. You'll see us again before you know it. And you can always write to us you know. I know your mother will be writing to you plenty." 

"And you?" She asked. 

"Of course." He said, lifting her up once more to put her down on the ground so the trolley could be sent back to the Muggle train station. 

"Hey!" He heard Potters' voice calling out and he delicately rolled his eyes. Despite being on much better terms (out of necessity rather than choice) with Potter, Granger, and the entire Weasley family, the only people whose company he truly enjoyed was Elizabeths', the kids, Lucius', Remus, and Tonks. 

"Potter." Severus greeted his brother-in-law. Ginny Weasley was behind with their little daughter- and Severus' favorite niece- Lily. 

"Uncle Sev!" Lily shouted, running up to him. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up. 

"How's my favorite Potter?" Severus asked. She giggled at that. 

"Rude!" James shouted as he ran by. Severus rolled his eyes. Ah, his least favorite Potter. History truly repeated itself there, though not quite to the same extent. 

"I see Percy." Remus informed his father before hurrying away. 

"I'm going to go find your mother." Severus said to Davina and Carlisle while the other kids mingled on the platform. "Mari, can you watch them for a moment?" 

Marinette nodded silently, her arms wrapped around the cat he'd given her a few years back. 

He found Elizabeth talking to Susan and Ernie, along with their children Irene and Justin. Severus wondered for a moment if Elizabeth ever picked up that they named their son Justin because their friend Justin was dead. 

"Elizabeth!" Severus called out. "Found them!" 

His wife came over to him, the two of them going back to their kids. He found that Remus, Tonks, Hermione, Weasley, Wood, and Trang had joined the families at some point. He immediately took his position rather comfortably next to Remus. 

"Severus." Remus greeted him amicably. He looked the best Severus had ever seen him, which meant Elizabeth's potion was going successfully. She still refused to sell it yet however, something about a side effect. He had offered to help, but she said she was close to finishing it so he let her be. 

"Remus." he said softly, watching Elizabeth and Trang talk while the kids talked to each other. Carlisle was showing Rose his Marvel comic encyclopedia, which she was rolling her eyes at, not really interested, but appeasing him all the same. 

"How is she doing?" Remus asked, his eyes on his eldest daughter. 

Severus sighed, "She had another one of those nightmares that she denies having." 

"Maybe she doesn't remember them when she wakes." Remus offered lightly. 

"Yeah," Severus replied sarcastically. "That's why she avoids my eyes when she says that and changes the subject." 

Remus nodded. "That fits." 

"Oh, and you need to talk to her." Severus said desperately. 

"I do? Why?" He asked. 

"She wants another child." Severus hissed. "Another! We just got all of the kids out of the house Remus! She cannot possibly want another kid! Tell her she's insane! At this rate she'll kill me!" 

Tonks laughed at him and Remus chuckled. 

"Talk to her Remus." Severus pleaded. 

"What do you want me to say?" Remus asked. 

"Tell her something, anything. She'll kill me if we have anymore kids. We just got the last two out of the house! And she wants another?"

"You're only at nine Severus. You better hang on because when she was younger, she was talking about having twenty-one." Remus laughed. 

Severus groaned, watching her continue to talk to Trang. It had nothing to do with his current kids, he loved them dearly, but the fact of the matter remained that they had a lot of kids. And he wanted to spend some time with just Elizabeth. 

But she loved kids and she constantly wanted more. She had been hinting for years ever since Davina and Carlisle were eight that she wanted more kids. 

She'd had Remus, then two sets of twins (Minerva and Elijah Kingsley, then Damon and Seraphina). Then she had Marinette and Haru separately, then another set of twins- Davina and Carlisle. Severus worried about her every single pregnancy, especially the last one where she had struggled a little. 

"Seriously." Remus said softly, suddenly as the train whistle blew. "If she wants more kids, she's going to get them. So you should probably just hold on." 

Severus smiled a little, moving forwards so he could say good-bye to the kids. 

"Have fun at school Mari." He murmured, hugging his only Slytherin child. 

"Sure." She whispered softly, before letting her mom hug her before slowly getting on the train. 

Once all of the kids were on the train, Elizabeth stepped back and Severus wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into him. His skin prickled a little, knowing he was getting looks from people around them. Despite being together for many years and despite the world knowing what he'd done, people still judged. 

"They're going to be okay, right?" Ginny asked. 

"Hogwarts is a big place." Granger said. 

"Big. Wonderful. Full of food. I'd give anything to be going back." Weasley said and Severus rolled his eyes. 

"Me too." Trang sighed softly, holding onto Olivers' arm. 

"Strange, Al being worried he'll be sorted into Slytherin." Potter said. 

"That's nothing. Rose is worried whether she'll break the Quidditch scoring record in her first or second year. And how early she can take her O.W.L.s." Granger said. 

"I have no idea where she gets her ambition from." Trang and Weasley said together. 

"I'd like to see her break Minerva's scoring record." Elizabeth laughed. 

"And how would you feel, Harry, if Al- if he is?" Ginny asked. 

"You know, Gin, we always thought there was a chance you could be sorted into Slytherin." Weasley said. 

Severus rolled his eyes again. He couldn't wait to get home and away from the company of stupid people. 

"What?" Ginny asked. 

"Honestly, Fred and George ran a book." 

He felt Elizabeth tense up under her arm and saw the flash of pain cross her face. Severus said nothing, but privately felt that Elizabeth needed to let it go. Fred's own family could joke and talk about him, but Elizabeth still couldn't let his death go. Still couldn't admit that his death wasn't her fault, that she didn't need to feel guilt. 

"Can we go?" Granger asked. "People are looking, you know." 

"People always look when you four are together." Ginny explained, "And apart. People always look at you." 

They went their separate ways after that. Trang off to Hogwarts to teach Muggle studies and Oliver to the Quidditch League Center.  Severus and Elizabeth stepped through the barrier to the Muggle side of the station. He looked over at her, to ask what she wanted to do, now that they were free of any obligations to anyone but each other, when he saw the glazed look in her eyes. 

His heart seized up, when he recognized that look. Fear, something he hadn't felt in this concentration in years, filled him. She'd had a vision. 

She hadn't had a vision in nineteen years. 

[krakenandcracker]

Old edit by me-

again its for a forum rpg madness

[whimsicaldragonette]

ARC Review: Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu

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Publication Date: March 28, 2023

Synopsis:

This smoldering enemies-to-lovers novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu puts a superstar global phenomenon and a hotshot young spy on a collision course with danger – and Cupid’s arrow – in an electric new series perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Ally Carter. Meet Winter Young – International pop sensation, with a voice like velvet and looks that could kill. His star power has smashed records, selling out stadiums from LA to London. His rabid fans would move heaven and earth for even a glimpse of him – just imagine what they’d do to become his latest fling. Meet Sydney Cossette �� Part of an elite covert ops group, Sydney joined their ranks as their youngest spy with plans to become the best agent they’ve ever had. An ice queen with moves as dangerous as her comebacks, Sydney picks up languages just as quickly as she breaks hearts. She's fiery, no-nonsense, and has zero time for romance – especially with a shameless flirt more used to serving sass than taking orders. When a major crime boss gifts his daughter a private concert with Winter for her birthday, Sydney and Winter's lives suddenly collide. Tasked with infiltrating the crime organization’s inner circle, Sydney is assigned as Winter's bodyguard with Winter tapped to join her on the mission of a lifetime as a new spy recruit. Sydney may be the only person alive impervious to Winter's charms, but as their mission brings them closer, she’s forced to admit that there's more to Winter Young than just a handsome face . . . Romance and danger abound in this “brilliant, breathtaking ride that will leave you clamoring for the sequel.” —Tahereh Mafi, #1 internationally bestselling author of Shatter Me .

My Rating: ★★★★★

*My Review and Favorite Quotes below the cut.

My Review:

Have you ever wanted to know what it would be like if your favorite BTS member (as if there is such a thing as a 'favorite' BTS member) were recruited to a secret spy organization? Now's your chance to find out...

This was so much fun! It was fast-paced and full of excitement and danger and thrilling spy action. It was also full of popstar concert vibes. I found myself thinking 'BTS' over and over again and having to convince myself that, no, Winter Young is not modeled on BTS. And then lo and behold I find in the author's note that Marie Lu is ARMY too and was thinking of BTS after all. Ha! I knew Winter's extreme charisma and humbleness and ability to connect with people and pick up choreography and training immediately were familiar. I loved Winter Young as a character. Yes, his resemblance to the various BTS members made me love him more, but he was charismatic and a sympathetic character in his own right and easy to root for. Sydney was cold and hard and buried her vulnerabilities deep behind her walls, but Winter was able to bring them out and make her a more relatable and sympathetic character. They made a fabulous team and I can't wait to see them team up again. I did guess the big bad pretty early on, but it was fun seeing how it all played out. That sort of thing doesn't bother me as I'm there for the overall experience of the story, but for people who want to be surprised by the twists it might be frustrating. Then again, Marie Lu did hide it pretty well. I was glued to the pages the whole time I was reading and there was never a moment where I was bored or frustrated with the story. It all flowed really well and was so fast-paced I never got a chance to breathe and get drawn away from it. I'll definitely be picking up the next one. *Thanks to NetGalley, Bookishfirst, and Macmillan Children's for providing an early copy for review.

Favorite Quotes:

Winter reminded her too much of everything. Of her awful, short-lived second marriage. Of the second husband she loathed. But worst of all, of the fact that her beloved firstborn son was forever gone, and that only Winter, her afterthought, remained.

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He could command the attention of ninety thousand people in an arena, could attract screaming throngs whenever he stepped out any door, could be on the covers of every magazine in the world. And yet he could never convince his mother to stay.

[lilibetbombshell]

[thegirlwiththelantern]

More 2024 YA Fantasy Books

Our last foray into 2024 YA. Unfortunately not all of the books I’d planned to include feature here have been as some are published under the SMP umbrella. I am aware that the Readers for Accountability page has all but been deleted. However with no better source for how that’s going I’ve chosen to abide by it for the remainder of this year. Most of this selection were made with that in mind…

[whenibecameaparentireadbooks]

Horse Desire

Sugarlump and the Unicorn By Julia Donaldson Illustrated by Lydia Monks Macmillan Children’s Books, 2013 In his book The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera wrote that ‘we can never know what to want, because, living only one life, we can neither compare it with our previous lives nor perfect it in our lives to come.’ In lieu of not knowing, we make it up. We tell ourselves stories,…

[bookloversofbath]

English Fairy Tales :: Flora Annie Steel

[libertyreads]

Book Review #20 of 2023--

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu. Rating: 3.75 stars.

Read from February 11th to 14th.

Before I get into the review, a quick thank you to NetGalley and the publishers over at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Stars and Smoke is what I would call a spy novel.We follow International pop sensation Winter Young as he’s recruited by a secret agency to help bring down this world’s version of Jeff Bezos (but add some drug smuggling and human trafficking). We also follow Sydney Cossette who is a junior agent with this organization. We spend time in the limelight and in the shadows as they team up to save millions. Stars and Smoke comes out on March 28th and is available for preorder now.

I think I need to preface my review by saying that I really enjoyed this one. I think the 3.75 star rating might put some people off but it shouldn’t. I had a great time the whole time and it was so good. I think the reason for my rating is just that I felt like the story needed a little breathing room. We weren’t given enough time between major plot points for everything to really sink in. But I think this might just be a me thing. If I’m reading a good book, it’s almost never long enough for me. I loved that we really got to spend time in both Winter’s world of pop star fame and Sydney’s world of living in the shadows. We got a chance to peek through both of those windows and learn so much about who they are as people but also what their life is like. There’s also a great moment when Winter is meeting up with the agency to discuss the mission parameters and the secret levels of the building subvert the reader’s expectations. The HQ is in a hotel so it’s really fun to see secret rooms and secret floors. I also loved the spy tech they’re given for the mission and how they got it since they were traveling to the U.K. from the U.S. and had to deal with customs.

Like I said before, I think my only real problem here is not getting enough time between plot points. We didn’t get a chance for the consequences of the plot points to sink in. Also, some of the side characters felt a little flat without room to explore. In my opinion, I could have done with another 100 pages? Maybe more. Am I a spy novel girlie now? Is that what’s happening? Because I’m craving more of that from this author. Thankfully, this is the first in a series because I just want to follow Winter and Sydney on spy missions from now on. Overall, I think this is prime Marie Lu. She has fantastic world building and great execution. This novel is perfect for fans of her Warcross series, anyone who enjoys a good spy novel, or any YA/New Adult fan who wants to see a smattering of female body guard/male pop star romance.