#ryan graudin

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[biblionerdreflections]

The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois - ARC Review

Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois by Ryan Graudin. Redhook/Orbit Books published this magical adventure through the streets of early 1900’s Paris on August 27, 2024. Read on to find out all my thoughts! Continue reading The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois – ARC Review

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The Walled City | Author: Ryan Graudin | Publisher: Little, Brown Books (2015)

[livingfictionsystem]

BOOK REVIEW: 3/5

The story pivots between the three main characters--- Jin, who tries to rescue her sister who was sold off to the Walled City. Mei Yee, who is the sister who dreams of escaping the brothel. And Dai, who has his own agenda, playing with fire on a deadline.

I see a lot of people in the reviews call this 'adrenaline-packed', but I found nothing that happened really all that shocking. Granted, I do read a lot of, 'Homeless kids have to turn to a life of crime to survive and protect each other' fiction, so that may be on me. The Walled City was actually a real place in Hong Kong (Kowloon City), something I found out in the Acknowledgements in the back of the book. This lawless and densely populated area was torn down in 1987, which, given the book's chronological ambiguity, helped me gain context that the narration didn't. The inspiration had a lot of promise that the author fell short of. The characters were fine, but forgettable. Their POV and struggle for survival was interesting, but none of them really stood out as far as personality went. They seemed to simply Be their circumstances, a vessel for the story to continue. We have Good At Running, Has a Secret, and Traumatised. If you can't tell by the names, the book has a vaguely Chinese feel. And I do mean vaguely. It's primarily the names and the fact that pork buns and noodles are referenced so often. (One character even describes emotions as overcooked noodles?) It doesn't really have a lot of specific culture that I could catch. It could easily take place in just about any other country that also has drug problems, human trafficking, crime lords, homeless children, etc. It's also confusing because the characters were not speaking English, the dialogue is just translated for the reader's benefit. But they even had one character with an accent, saying, 'Let's get 'im!' Are we translating a version of English dialect to Cantonese? Is this a cockney version? Is he really skipping over the H's or is this an equivalent? This happens again when it's mentioned that 'Dai' rhymes with 'death', something one of the characters notes from their POV. How do you know that??? These characters do not understand English; there's even a scene where foreigners are in the same room and the character notes that she cannot understand it. So, it definitely has some identity issues. (The hilarious irony is that I, through hilarious coincidence, started reading this about the same time I read Kuang's 'Yellowface', about a white woman writing about Chinese culture so I tried not to linger too much on this. The author did actually live near the inspiration of this for at least a few months, so fair enough.) It's definitely gritty, and I do like that the author took it upon herself to tackle an issue like human trafficking, with even some nuanced nods towards PTSD. But in my opinion, there's more intensity in the setting than in the plot, and especially in the characters, but it wasn't a bad read. The prose and atmosphere make for good reading and the bond between the three does end up wholesome and rather sweet, but that also made for some odd tonal switches. So, yeah, it was a fine book. Not a good one, not a bad one, just fine.

TW for: Intense animal abuse, human trafficking, drug addiction, homelessness.

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT:

. . . . . . . . .

Okay, so at the end, when everyone's scrambling for the ledger, it felt like a damn cartoon. You know how in Scooby Doo, you see the endless opening and closing of doors where the characters are both chasing and being chased by something? And the combination is changed up every time? That was this ending. I thought the Benny Hill theme was about to start playing. It also bothered me that apparently Dai and Jin both waited about two years to really put their plans to fruition. The book tried to draw out the suspense for making everything down to the wire, but it almost makes it funny when you sit there and think of Dai twiddling his thumbs or Jin being on the streets and having nothing to show for it. 

-Xanthe

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Invictus

Author: Ryan Graudin

Series or standalone: standalone

Publication year: 2017

Genres: fiction, science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, romance, adventure

Blurb: Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-travelling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far’s birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he’s ever wanted, and after failing his final time-travelling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past...but during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed with knowledge that will bring Far’s very existence into question, she will lead Far and his team on a race through time to discover a frightening truth: history is not as steady as it seems.

[kazz-brekker]

went to the library to get my copy of the nightmare before kissmas by sara raasch that i had on hold and manage to thoroughly confuse both of the libraries on duty because they thought they were looking for a dvd of the movie the nightmare before christmas…that's the price you pay for a good pun these days…

[deepwaterwritingprompts]

Do you have a favorite book? Or one you like to recommend?

favorites, usual broad recs in bold:

Adult Lit:

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

If We Were Villians by M.L. Rio

Classic Lit:

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

YA:

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusack

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Manga:

Noragami

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun

Tengoku Daimakyou

Misc.:

Down and Out in Paris and London/all of George Orwell's Essays

(It's Ask Day! Ask me anything about anything. Tag to block/follow is L Answers)

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb: Nevermoor meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this engaging fantasy—the first in a duology—from acclaimed author Ryan Graudin. Perfect for fans of wizards, dragons, magical castles, spectacular spells, and a spunky cat who may not be what he seems.

Wizard West was dead for nearly an entire day before he noticed. And it is up to Faye, the daughter of West’s groundskeeper, to inform the wizard that he is a ghost who has lost all of his magical powers. (But not before the wizard tries transforming her into a cat!) To make matters worse, the enchanted castle of Celurdur—the only home that Faye has ever known—will fall apart at the next full moon if its foundation spells can’t be renewed.

After (sort of) accepting his demise, West decides to host a competition to choose his successor. Faye finds herself fighting to keep the tournament running smoothly behind the scenes: putting out kitchen fires, feeding the compost dragon, and making sure competitors stay away from the cockatrice pen. 

But killer roosters soon become the least of her worries. A servant of the evil Shadow Queen has sabotaged the contest—set on destroying not just Celurdur but the entire kingdom of Solum. It is up to Faye to stop him, but she’ll need more than a mop. Will a maid’s magic be enough to save everything she loves from utter destruction?

Review:

The daughter of a famous wizard's groundskeeper has to help said recently deceased wizard's ghost find a new apprentice while also deal with her home crumbling under the foundation spells. Faye is the daughter of the famous Wizard West's Groundskeeper. She's been looking after the castle with her father for as long as she's known. When her father goes out to work on something Faye is left to deal with a new situation, the fact that Wizard West has passed away and now is a ghost... and he has to name his own apprentice... which means it's time for a competition to be arranged with famous princes and princesses coming to the castle. Faye has to help West arrange the competition and keep it running smoothly... but that means dealing with a whole host of newcomers and guests she was never expecting. It doesn't help that a servant of the evil Shadow Queen is bent on sabotaging the contest and Faye has to stop it before it's too late. Along the way Faye will discover that she's got more magic and courage than she ever expected... and that the perfect successor might just be here. This was a really cute and fun read with a dash of Howl's Moving Castle and a bit of Nevermoor. Faye is such a fun protagonist and the whole competition storyline was fun. I had fun with this and definitely think that this would make a great read for middle grade readers and anyone who enjoys a fun fantasy read.

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[catboyjamesbond]

I have GOBBLED UP duskofdreams’ omegaverse fic like none other. I am patiently waiting for the day I can read it in its entirety as well! She’s such a good writer 🤩🤩 (and tbh, one of my inspirations as well! I love all the azris they write.)

Ooo! Learning to fly! We have so much in common?? Queer… and apparently wanting to fly! My dad has his pilot’s license and I wanted to learn to fly planes as well! I even for a little bit there, considered piloting as a career. 

Oh my GOODNESS. HOW DARE THE KITTY BE SO CUTE. Not allowed. Too cute. Banned. 🥺🥺🥺 I love The Cleo it’s official. Also, do you play an instrument? I see the music… in alto clef? So perhaps viola?

Also, I have a random question… if you had to choose something physical (ex. alcohol, cigarettes, opioids which we can pretend exists in acotar) for Azriel/Eris to go to when they’re feeling anxious or just any bad emotion… what would you choose for them each? (<- write down your answer before you read below! I don’t want to influence the answer)

I personally have Az down for alcohol and Eris down for cigars (because they seem more Autumn-coded), but I’m curious! I haven’t written much of the fic yet so it can be changed.

Get-To-Know-You Question: What is your ultimate favorite book or book series? Why?

Its so fucking good, right!

Somehow flying is less stressful to me than driving, but I’ve never had to land/take off

The Cleo is baby and I miss her when I’m not visiting my mother. I was a viola player but i haven’t played in 2 years now and I was never any good

Regarding your question, sorry this is gonna be long so I put it under the cut:

I think that they’re both men who want control and feel at their worst when they don’t have it and most substances go against that.

In my mind, Azriel is someone who sees drinking as a social activity to do with friends. As in, only gets drunk in positive situations. Same with weed. I know the IC all smoke it, I know it!

Maybe he had a psychedelics or cocaine phase when he was younger (& Prythian wasn’t in danger for once)? Azriel as a smoker would be hot af though and there’d be an Azris connection. So I’ll go with that.

Eris would be a wine snob and maybe might take an opioid or something to sleep after a torture session but he’d see an addiction as a weakness and getting drunk as uncouth. After becoming high lord (and azris can happen openly) he might relax a little and start a bad habit of drinking shitty alcohol when sad.

Actually I’ve know decided that the Autumn court only uses vapes bc that’s hilarious to me

the Wolf by Wolf series by Ryan Graudin is my favourite of all time. I used to run an incorrect quotes blog for it (which means I can tell exactly when some one reads it bc I get a bunch of notes from one person outta nowhere)

What’s yours?

Cya Santa

[displayheartcode]

do you have any dystopian jewish novel recs?

Technically, isn't every historical Jewish novel dystopian?

(Too dark?)

I haven't read these books but have heard good things about them. If anyone knows of others, please feel free to add!

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

And the short story Shtetl Days by Harry Turtledove, which I have read and enjoyed

[voidtraveller]

It was trust. Thicker than blood, made of years and tears of toil. The feeling - though was it a feeling? It seemed to her more of a mandate - had to be built. But no matter how firm your bricks, no matter how high your wall, there was always a part of the act that became a plunge, because though your trust might be steady the world never was. Trust is built. Trust is falling.

Ryan Graudin

[foxfren]

Books I’ve Read in November

Ignore the drastic differences in genres, I’m simply ✨ exploring ✨

The Secret History by Donna Tartt || 5/5

Forgive me, for all the things I did but mostly for the ones I did not.

Genuinely this book has become one of my favourites. I love rereading this and picking up on new details, especially with how the narrator is unreliable.

The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black by E. B. Hudspeth || 3.5/5

The entire body is the soul, and my knife cuts deep into the flesh; I vow to be always reverent with the edge of my scalpel.

Awesome fictional biography of a doctor spiralling into madness, but it could’ve been executed better. The first portion (the biography) felt too short, and the latter portion (a part of the doctor’s book) felt too long and repetitive. Thoroughly enjoyed the anatomical drawings and prints of newspaper clippings.

What We All Long For by Dionne Brand || 2.5/5

They were born in the city from people born elsewhere.

I liked the concept of the book, and some of the chapters were done well, but the book seemed very disjointed and I had a difficult time figuring out a chronological timeline.

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh || 0.5/5

You’ll see, you’ll see. You will be so happy and free, you’ll sing.

Emotionally scarring and mentally draining, and not in a fun way. I usually don’t mind disturbing themes in books, because there’s always some sort of point about it. Lapvona felt directionless; there was no significance to any of the horrors shown. It felt as if it was grotesque simply to because it could be, to be shocking.

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin || 2/5

There are three rules of survival in the Walled City: Run fast. Trust no one. Always carry your knife

It was difficult to finish, the plot progressed very slowly, and a lot of things just fell flat for me. The premise itself is interesting, but I feel it could’ve been executed a lot better.

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Invictus | Author: Ryan Graudin | Publisher: Little, Brown Books (2017)

[cyclone-rachel]

favorite books I’ve read this year:

When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Fan Club by Erin Mayer

How Star Wars Conquered the Universe by Chris Taylor

Venomous by Christie Wilcox

Live, Laugh, Kidnap by Gabby Noone

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

Hide by Kiersten White

Hopepunk by Preston Norton

Severance by Ling Ma

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Sheets by Brenna Thummler

So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

Babel by R.F. Kuang

[geektasticjustine]

Ohhh Read Invictus by Ryan Graudin. Time Travel story with a costumer on the ship. :)

tv shows with time travel organizations/bureaus/police/agencies/whatever should have a department with instead of a tech genius eating candy, it’s a harried seamstress or fashion designer who is like

“1450 italy? does it look like I have the time to dye you wool? nO. YOU’RE GOING TO THE 1980s”

and throws shoulder pads at the hapless time agent

[babydollscharm]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: 𝅺Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin.