Tag: ya romance

‘A Forgery of Fate’ by Elizabeth Lim

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

I absolutely loved ‘Six Crimson Cranes’ and the ‘Spin the Dawn’ duology so I was looking forward to another one of Elizabeth Lim’s Far Eastern-inspired fairytale retellings.

‘A Forgery of Fate’ is based on Beauty and the Beast but it has a lot of other elements inspired by various stories and mythologies (eg. The Magic Paintbrush). After Truyan’s father dies in a shipwreck, her family is thrown into poverty, which is exacerbated by her mother’s gambling problem. Truyan is a gifted artist and makes money by forging paintings to sell but she also has a secret that she’s never told anyone – she has visions and can paint the future.

When a desperate financial situation forces Truyan to seek the help of the mysterious masked ‘Demon Prince’, he offers her a deal. He will pay off her debts and protect her family in exchange for her posing as his true love, joining him in the dragon realm and helping him to overthrown the cruel and tyrannical Dragon King. The Demon Prince is in fact a Dragon Prince called Elang – a half dragon, cursed by the Dragon King. But once she joins him in the dragon realm, she discovers there’s more to Elang, and more to the story than she’s been told.

This is a charming, lyrical and romantic story, filled with strange creatures, vibrant landscapes and captivating characters. Unlike, her recent duologies, this is a standalone story so everything is wrapped up nicely by the end of the book (although there are some tears along the way). Highly recommended!

Thanks to Hodderscape and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

‘The Notorious Virtues’ by Alwyn Hamilton

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I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one but the book cover design was particularly enticing and I loved the ‘Rebel of the Sands’ trilogy. Once again, Alwyn Hamilton has created a unique fantasy genre mash-up. This time the world building is based on European fairytale mythology, the story of a woodcutter and a magic axe, but the vibes are very Gotham City noir, with an ‘Inheritance Games’ plot – an intriguing combination.

The Holtzfall family – descendants of the original woodcutter – are the de facto royal family of Walstad and control all the money and magic. Nora is daughter of the Heiress, which means she is next in line after her mother inherits from her grandmother, but when her mother is murdered the succession is thrown into uncertainty and Nora must compete against her cousins in a magic competition called the Veritaz to prove her worth and earn the right to be the new Heiress. Throw in a newly revealed illegitimate cousin as a surprise contestant, a journalist investigating the truth behind Nora’s mother’s murder, and a V for Vendetta-style resistance movement, to create a dazzlingly original fantasy thriller. I adored this and I can’t wait for the next one!

Thanks to Faber and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

And I couldn’t resist the Waterstones special edition paperback – look at those gorgeous sprayed edges!

‘The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy’ by Brigitte Knightley (Dearly Beloathed #1)

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Osric is an assassin and member of the Fyren order, but when he discovers that his magic is failing, the only person who might possibly be able to help him is Aurienne, member of an enemy order – the Haelen. But how can Osric convince her to save him when he is her mortal enemy and the healing that he seeks is based on fairytales and nothing more? He tries to charm her, considers kidnapping when this fails, but ultimately only a large donation towards pox vaccine research to help impoverished children can sway her. Thus begin the adventures of Aurienne and Osric – full of acerbic banter, gratuitous murder and pining. 

Osric (despite his awful name – Osric is the name of a troll or an orc surely?) is a lethal and wickedly charming character with a weakness for rescuing stray dogs. Aurienne is ruthlessly competent and fiercely upright but her moral fibre becomes increasingly frayed with exposure to Osric. 

I loved DMATMOOBIL by the same author, and so I requested this book on Netgalley as soon as it was available. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this is an utterly different story, complete with a brand new world (possibly an excessive amount of terminology) and all new witty reparte – only the immaculate vibes remain. A delightful romp with an irresistible pair of enemies-to-lovers – I absolutely adored this and can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Thanks to Little, Brown and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

‘Our Infinite Fates’ by Laura Steven

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Evelyn and Arden have both been reincarnated, century after century, in different times, places and genders, but they are always drawn together somehow and they always kill each other before they turn 18. 

In their latest incarnation Evelyn is a Welsh girl called Branwyn, her sister Clara is dying of cancer and a bone marrow transplant from Branwyn is her only hope of survival. But Bran is about to turn 18, she hasn’t met Arden yet in this life but she knows she won’t make it to her birthday unless she can finally get him to tell her the truth about their history and give her a little more time to save her sister. She just has to find him first.

The main narrative is interspersed with stories of their past lives and how they ended and it is testament to the skill of the author that even though we only see a glimpse of each lifetime, the settings feel vivid and authentic and our understanding of these two characters grows.

The gorgeous book cover was the first thing that attracted me to this story as well as the brilliant and intriguing line: ‘They’ve loved each other in a thousand lifetimes. They’ve killed each other in every one.’ The concept is reminiscent of ‘The Invisible Life of Addie Larue’ but although I am a huge fan of Victoria Schwab, I actually enjoyed this book more. 

Despite the inevitable murder, this is an achingly romantic story with a compelling mystery at its heart that, when it is revealed, is both devastating and satisfying. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

‘Silver’ by Olivia Levez

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There are not enough teen/YA sci-fi books, and yet I often get requests in the school library for sci-fi, so I am sure that books about space, in particular, are due a resurgence of popularity.

Silver was born in a lab on a spaceship called Charybdis, and raised with all of the other infants to follow the rules of the founders. To be strong and obedient, and if they failed they would be cast into the ‘vortex’ to power the ship. Silver has been selected for a very special mission – to be the ‘First pioneer’ to infiltrate earth, possess a human, and relay her observations back to Charybdis in preparation for inhabitation and colonisation.

But Silver has always been a little different to the other cadets. She has a little more empathy and curiosity than the others, and an impulse not to follow the rules of the founders blindly. 

When Silver arrives and takes over the body of a Polish dog walker, she finds herself part of a family for the first time including a boy called Finch, his mother Stella, and his little sister, Doodles. At first she follows orders and observes the family, but when she touches Finch, and it doesn’t cause pain, as the founders warned, she begins to question everything she’s been told. What else have the founders lied about?

Coincidentally, I recently read Ursula’s Le Guin’s ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’ which has a similar theme, though obviously completely different in style. The only other book I could think of to compare ‘Silver’ to is ‘Hold Back the Stars’ by Katie Khan which is similarly romantic and devastating.

Though there is romance in this story, I wouldn’t describe it primarily as a romance as it also covers broader themes like colonisation, found family, and what it means to be human. ‘Silver’ is an epic and heartbreaking read – I loved it.

Thanks to Hot Key Books for the beautiful ARC.

‘The Love Interest’ by Helen Comerford

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Jenna’s home town of Nine Trees has been under a prophesied threat of doom as long as she can remember, but when disaster is averted by the world’s newest superhero, Blaze, Jenna is the first person he saves, and thus becomes his official Love Interest. But Jenna has no interest in becoming a love interest and pawn of the patriarchal Heroics and Power Authority. Apart from the HPA’s problematic attitude towards women, there’s also the fact that Jenna loathes attention and tends to have panic attacks in large crowds. At the same time she can’t seem to stop running headfirst into trouble and finds Blaze annoyingly attractive, despite her determination never to fall for him. 

But when Jenna is approached by the Villains, with an offer to help find her mother who went missing ten years ago, she finds herself playing both slides and wondering who is actually telling the truth.

I couldn’t put this book down. It’s a sharp, fast-paced and satirical take on the superhero genre but the story is also full of heart and humour. There is also some romance but this is not just a rom-com, and Jenna Ray is an excellent snarky, feminist protagonist. ‘The Love Interest’ is a playful, energetic and genre-blurring read, perfect for fans of TV series like ‘Ms Marvel’ and ‘Extraordinary’. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Thanks to Bloomsbury for the ARC.

‘The Boy You Always Wanted’ by Michelle Quach

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Francine’s grandfather is dying but his final regret is that he has no male heir to continue the tradition of honouring the ancestors when he is dead. Francine doesn’t agree with his outdated ideas but she will do everything to make him happy, including asking Ollie, a family friend, for help – her first crush and the boy who broke her heart. 

Francine is a great character – she doesn’t really mind what people think about her, or say about her but she will do anything to help the people she cares about and her lack of social skills definitely seems coded as neurodivergent. Ollie’s perspective of Francine shows how he goes from being embarrassed to be seen with her, and incredulous at her ridiculous plan to offer him as substitute male heir, to admiring her self-confidence, her focus and her drive and being inspired to be a better person because of her. 

The romance aspect is charming but this book is also much more than this. It is also about families and in particular the clash between the older and younger generations of immigrant families (Chinese Vietnamese in this case) – about honouring different cultural beliefs while also having the courage to stand up for yourself in the face of outdated ideals. 

‘The Boy You Always Wanted’ is beautifully written with a cast of finely-drawn characters and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ll definitely be recommending this one in the library.

Thanks to Usborne for the ARC.

‘Glow Up, Lara Bloom’ by Dee Benson

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Fourteen-year-old Lara Bloom is going into Year 10 but she’s still as clumsy, flat-chested and frizzy-haired as ever. On the positive side she’s also the captain and top goal-scorer of the girls’ football team, and she has three fantastic supportive friends. But when she meets gorgeous new boy, Caiden, she starts to worry that boys don’t like sporty girls and becomes convinced that she desperately needs a makeover to catch his attention. Lara’s friends insist that she doesn’t need a makeover she needs a ‘glow-up’ instead – she needs to work on her confidence and self-worth rather than her appearance. But Lara’s nemesis, the flawless Sienna, has her sights set on Caiden, and Lara knows she won’t stand a chance if her Mum doesn’t at least let her relax her hair…

Lara documents all of her thoughts in a diary app (after her brother reads her paper diary and blackmails her) and her laugh-out-loud funny inner monologue, as well as some of the ridiculous situations she finds herself in, prove Dee Benson a worthy successor to Louise Rennison. (I thought I might die of second-hand embarrassment during several points in the story.)

‘Glow Up, Lara Bloom’ is a heartfelt, hilarious and deeply relatable story with a wonderful message about learning to love and embrace everything about yourself. There aren’t enough funny books for teens, and I’ll definitely be recommending this one in the school library.

‘Bitterthorn’ by Kat Dunn

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There is a curse that hangs over the town of Blumwald. Every fifty years, the Witch comes down from her castle in the forest and takes a young man as her companion, never to return. No one knows why or for what purpose the young men are taken, but it has been fifty years since the Witch’s last visit…

Mina’s mother died when she was twelve, her father quickly remarried and she’s been lonely since then. As her father prepares for an important visitor, Mina finds herself overlooked and unwanted once again. In desperation she offers herself to the Witch and is accepted as her new companion. Mina’s new life, however, is just as lonely and frustrating as her old life so she sets out to befriend the Witch and unravel the mystery of the Witch’s curse.

‘Bitterthorn’ is an intoxicating blend of historical fiction, queer gothic romance and fairytale. The backdrop of Chancellor Bismarck’s visit and the Unification of Germany places the story in a very specific historical moment in the late 1860s and yet it incorporates plenty of Grimm’s fairy tale elements including witches, wicked stepmothers, hedges of thorns, spindles and curses. 

It is also an exquisitely written book, replete with lush botanical imagery and steeped in atmosphere. A thoroughly beguiling read, perfect for fans of Adalyn Grace and Holly Black.

Many thanks to Andersen for this gorgeous limited edition proof.

‘Gwen & Art Are Not in Love’ by Lex Croucher

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Gwen and Art have been betrothed to be married since they were children and they have hated each other just as long. This mismatched couple is not the original Guinevere and Arthur, but Princess Gwendolyn and Arthur Delacey, son of Lord Delacey, some generations later, but still living in a Camelot-centred kingdom. But now, at a time of upheaval, their parents decide it might be time for them to bury their resentment and get married, for the sake of political stability. 

There are other obstacles to their union though, apart from their mutual loathing: Gwen is besotted with Lady Bridget Leclair – the first, and only female knight in Camelot, although she can’t imagine any circumstances under which she’d ever be able to confess her crush. Arthur will kiss any stableboy who smiles at him, but since returning to Camelot he can’t stop thinking about one person in particular. But when Gwen and Art discover each other’s secret, they must strike a pact to get their parents off their backs and perhaps save Camelot as well in the process. 

I really enjoyed ‘Reputation’, but I think this book is even better – a delightful cosy fantasy full of found family, queer romance and swashbuckling. It is also very funny, full of snarky dialogue and slapstick situations, but the characters are thoroughly warm and engaging – an absolute joy to read. 

‘Gwen & Art are Not in Love’ is particularly perfect for those who loved the BBC series, ‘Merlin’, and mourned the happy ending that Merthur were denied.