17/09/2019, CelineNyx, Feature, Updates , 0

Hi guys! It has honestly been ages since I blogged regularly on Nyx Book Reviews, but I thought Id share a bit of a project Ive been working on lately.

Not the final cover art well be getting an actual cover designer

Im editing an anthology called Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology which is pretty much what it says on the tin! Its a collection of queer gothic short stories which will be published in January next year. Were still looking for more submissions (deadline is September 30th!), so if youre a writer, do check out the guidelines. The goal is to collect a wide range of gothic stories that rework, challenge, or queer tropes. Its been a super fun project to work on, and some of the submissions weve received so far have been wonderful!

Although I got a small amount of funding from my university, the anthology needs some additional funding, which is why we are running a Kickstarter campaign where you can preorder a copy. If youd like to know more about the anthology, do check out the campaign or the anthology website for more information.

Also, isnt the ghostie just super adorable?

anthology, book feature, nyx publishing, unspeakable

30/04/2018, CelineNyx, Review , 0

Title: The Luminaries
Author: Eleanor Catton
Series: Standalone
Rating: 3 Stars

848 pages
Published October 15th 2013 by Little, Brown and Company
Received as present

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Luminaries is a technical achievement. The chapters wax and wane, the characters revolve around each other like the stars, their paths intersecting in complex patterns. Written in a style heavily inspired by Victorian novelists, The Luminaries presents the tale of twelve men brought together by circumstance.

Although I love the idea, and the execution is handled well, I never truly latched onto The Luminaries. I started reading it in December 2016, and read it on and off, only to finish it in March 2018. On one hand it is a testament to the novel that I kept coming back, but on the other it is very telling that I kept prioritizing other books as well. It is more a book that I admire from a distance, than one I devour.

Set during the gold rush in New-Zealand, The Luminaries starts with Walter Moody arriving in Hokitika, a small mining outpost in the New-Zealand wilderniss, having seen a ghost. The story involves several fortunes gained and lost, secrets that cant be contained, and a missing person considered dead. The cast of main characters is large, though Ms Catton draws them with Dickensian eccentricity which helps keeping them apart.

I feel like a broken record here, but I was disappointed by the centrality of men in The Luminaries. The three named women in the book barely figure and in a 800-page novel I feel there is no excuse for this. Both Anna Wetherell and Mrs Sheppard are wet mops of women, simply being buffered around by the men in their lives, showing nothing but the slightest moments of agency. Nor are they given much interiority, with makes matters worse. Lydia Wells is an unsympathetic figure yet interesting, but is equally kept from the narrative. Though the women, in particular Anna and Lydia, are essential for the plot, it is the men that tell and move this story. The women take the traditional passive role and this frustrates me. Even true 19th-century literature gives women more agency and voice than this, no matter how unequally treated they were. Its the 21st century. We can do better than this.

Trigger warnings (highlight to show): drug addition, emotional and physical abuse, racism, questionable consent, miscarriage.

It is 1866, and young Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On the stormy night of his arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men who have met in secret to discuss a series of unexplained events: A wealthy man has vanished, a prostitute has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely ornate as the night sky. Richly evoking a mid-nineteenth-century world of shipping, banking, and gold rush boom and bust, The Luminaries is a brilliantly constructed, fiendishly clever ghost story and a gripping page-turner.

3 stars, australia, book review, complex, eleanor catton, gold rush, historical, literary fiction, man booker prize, mystery, standalone

25/04/2018, CelineNyx, Review , 0

Title: The Mark of the Witch
Author: Maggie Shayne
Series: The Portal #1
Rating: 4 Stars

394 pages
Published September 2012 by Harlequin
Received review copy from the publisher

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Mark of the Witch is a delightful soft paranormal romance. Unlike many books in the genre, Mark features two human protagonists in a recognisable contemporary world with just the perfect amount of magic sprinkled in.

Indira is having strange dreams of a former life. Though she is a lapsed Wiccan, she turns to a witch friend to make sense of what is happening to her. Father Tomas, on the other hand, has been trained his entire life to stop a witch from summoning a demon – but whatever he was expecting that witch to be, it wasn’t someone like Indira.

The central conflict in The Mark of the Witch is that Indira has no idea what is happening to her, while Tomas has more information about the situation and is charged to stop her. Perhaps even to kill her, if all else fails. While this premise could have been pretty horrifying (I’m honestly kind of tired of people falling in love with their murderer-to-be), both Indira and Tomas are down-to-earth, grounded people. The threat of violence never materialises, and though there is plenty of conflict to be navigated, they’re pretty great together from the get-go.

Since this is a (paranormal) romance, the plot is a vehicle to develop the relationship of the hero and heroine. There was a good balance between plot and character development, keeping up the suspense through blurred loyalties and slow reveals of Indira’s past life. Though mythology doesn’t feature heavily in the book, it does provide a sensitive and positive portrayal of pagan religion. I especially liked that faith is never an issue in the book – even though Indy is a (former) witch and Tomas is Christian, they fully respect and appreciate each other’s views. Even reading this as an atheist with a low tolerance for strong religious overtones in fiction, The Mark of the Witch never gets preachy.

I don’t often read romance, and while reading The Mark of the Witch I realised why. Especially within the paranormal subgenre, the alpha male is the stereotype. Stern, overbearing, macho – the muscular alpha male will grunt and brawl his way into the heart of the heroine, usually by physically threatening anything in her vicinity. The Mark of the Witch features the complete opposite: Father Tomas is a gentle, steadfast man. He wants to help Indira, not intimidate her. He is supportive, sweet, and though he is conflicted about the whole she-might-summon-a-demon thing, he never lashes out in anger or fear. There is an element of forbidden romance which was resolved neatly, and though the ending of the book was rather abrupt, the characters development was satisfactory. The book deserves some final extra brownie points for featuring a female friendship that passes the Bechdel test.

Trigger warnings (highlight to show): the heroine is mutilated by a spirit in her dreams the bloody markings on her body can be a trigger for self-harm. Mild violence. Heroine in a past life has committed suicide so her partner didnt have to kill her.

She was born to save what he is sworn to destroy. A lapsed Wiccan, Indira Simon doesnt believe in magic anymore. But when strange dreams of being sacrificed to an ancient Babylonian god have her waking up with real rope burns on her wrists, shes forced to acknowledge that she may have been too hasty in her rejection of the unknown. Then she meets mysterious and handsome Father Thomas. Emerging from the secrecy of an obscure Gnostic sect, he arrives with stories of a demon, a trio of warrior witches and Indiras sacred calling. Yet theres something even Tomas doesnt know, an inescapable truth that will force him to choose between saving the life of the woman hes come to love and saving the world

4 stars, adult fiction, arc, book review, magic, netgalley, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance, witch

17/04/2018, CelineNyx, Review , 0

Title: Cleopatra Ascending
Author: Maureen Lipinski
Series: Shadows Edge #2
Rating: 3 Stars

223 pages
Published January 8th 2013 by Flux
Received a review copy from the publisher on Netgalley

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Cleopatra Ascending is fast, almost too much so. Covering 223 pages, this young-adult paranormal thriller is straight-up non-complex fiction, easy to read and get lost in.
Rhea has always known she was a reincarnation of Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen, but it had never seemed interesting. Her family consists of witches and shamans, and Rhea is boringly human – until her sixteenth birthday. On an otherwise dull day, she discovers she is part of an ancient curse, which only she can break.

Although Cleopatra Ascending is the second book in the Shadow’s Edge series, it is perfectly understandable without having read the first book. The earlier book focusses on one of Rhea’s sisters, making Cleopatra a fresh story only loosely connected to it. Unlike many young-adult books, Rhea already has an established relationship at the beginning of the book. Despite the fact that a second teenage guy is introduced in the course of the book, a love-triangle never forms, leaving the original relationship as the focus of romantic interest. I liked how the issues Rhea and Slade faced were related to their circumstances, and not the addition of another hot guy.

Rhea is very much a teenager, which is an advantage or a drawback, based on your perspective. She is concerned with mundane things like being grounded, seeing friends, and smooching her boyfriend, and the world-ending stuff doesn’t make her forget these things. Perhaps she reads as “stupid” for not taking the treats on her life seriously, but I actually found her resistance realistic. No matter how surrounded you are with the paranormal, saving the world must not come easily to everyone.

The weakest aspect of the book is the mythology. Rhea receives visions from her previous life, but these do not extend beyond the aesthetic and plot-related elements. There was very little to learn about history or Egyptian culture or even Cleopatra herself. It feels like a missed opportunity, as there is so much material to work with, and I feel that the book would have had a better grounding if it had drawn more from mythology and history. As it is, the plot seems flimsy and filled with an almost cartoonlike distinction between good and evil. It is serviceable, and propels the story toward a satisfying conclusion, but it doesn’t leave much of an impression.

On the other hand, this does mean that Cleopatra Ascending is accessible even for readers who find history incredibly dull and are looking for a high-stakes adventure featuring a girl-next-door teen protagonist.

Trigger warnings (highlight to show): violence. Some characters are killed by a bomb. Characters use veils to disguise themselves, and I am unsure whether the portrayal of this was handled sensitively enough.

Sweet Sixteen = Youre a Queen

Despite living with a shaman, a witch, and a muse for sisters, Rhea Spencer feels like a normal teenager-even if she is the reincarnation of Cleopatra. But all that changes on Rheas sixteenth birthday, when her visions of the Egyptian queen start unraveling a very different version of history, and Declan, a hot representative of the secret Order of Antony, shows up on the doorstep to keep her from being kidnapped. Together, Rhea and Declan travel to Egypt to stop the Octavians, a dark cabal trying to tap into Rheas growing powers. The cabal seeks to access the magic deep below the desert sands, a potentially devastating force that only Rhea can protect.

3 stars, book review, cleopatra, egypt, magic, maureen lipinski, mythology, netgalley, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance, witch, ya, young-adult

06/04/2018, CelineNyx, Review , 0

Title: Magic Shifts
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #8
Rating: 4 Stars

342 pages
Published August 4th 2015 by Ace
Bought

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

As Magic Shifts is the eight book in the Kate Daniels series, this review might contain spoilers for the earlier books. Some really big stuff went down in the seventh book in particular, so beware!

Times are changing for our favourite power-couple Kate and Curran. Having left pack life behind, they moved to a nice suburban neighbourhood. Though perhaps a were-lion is not the kind of neighbour the humans signed up for When a pack member goes missing, Kate and Curran are faced with an enemy they havent encountered before and its getting stronger every day.

After a book that made some huge steps in the overall story arc of the series, Magic Shifts is a slight return to the monster-of-the-week format. Although the various treads get attention especially Kates relationship with her father continues to fascinate Magic Shifts introduces a rather typical mystery-action-adventure of the kind series readers will recognize from the earlier books. I was glad for this break, allowing some more character growth as roles and relationships change. Events in Magic Shifts illustrate how far Kate has come. Gone is the solitary mercenary, as she has gained responsibility not only for people she loves, but also Atlanta as a whole as she claimed the city.

The loving and stable relationship between Kate and Curran is continued in this book, which makes me terribly happy. Its great to have an established couple as heroes, rather than being in perpetual will-they-wont-they limbo. They will, and they do, and theyre awesome together.

Without saying too much about the mystery in Magic Shifts, it draws from Egyptian, Middle-Eastern and Islamic mythology and tradition. These books have been great in highlighting mythologies beyond the Anglo-Saxon, and this was no exception. I will leave the judging the accuracy of representation to actual Muslim readers it is not my place. The portrayal of the Muslim characters however was sympathetic and complex.

Another great book in the Kate Daniels series. Its great to see Kate and her family come together through adversary. As always, I am looking forward to another volume of witty and snappy prose and sword-wielding adventure.

After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Curran misses the constant challenges of leading the shapeshifters.

So when the Pack offers him its stake in the Mercenary Guild, Curran seizes the opportunity—too bad the Guild wants nothing to do with him and Kate. Luckily, as a veteran merc, Kate can take over any of the Guild’s unfinished jobs in order to bring in money and build their reputation. But what Kate and Curran don’t realize is that the odd jobs they’ve been working are all connected.

An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece…

4 stars, adult fiction, apocalyptic, book review, fantasy, ilona andrews, magic, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance, series, shapeshifters, urban fantasy, vampires, werewolves

31/03/2018, CelineNyx, Review , 0

Title: The Fifth Season
Author: N.K. Jemisin
Series: The Broken Earth #1
Rating: 4 Stars

468 pages
Published August 4th by Orbit
Borred from the library

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Tired of the endless slew of Tolkienesque fantasy, I asked for recommendations of fantasy-loving friends. N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy came up again and again. It’s actually a surprise it stayed off my radar for so long, as it is well-loved in the bookish community as well as by the broader public.

The world knows five seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall, and death. Comms are always prepared for the inevitable fifth season, where the sky darkens and life is uncertain. Told from three perspectives, this novel reveals a world where the earth itself has become angry. It shudders and heaves, and it is only orogenes that can still it. Yet they are feared and ostracized, often killed before they reach puberty. Their awful power can kill thousands of people with one thought, but is at the same time essential for humanity’s survival.

The Fifth Season contains many elements which are brought together skilfully by Ms Jemisin. Points of view span different times and places but never become confusing; little seeds promising future events fully come to bloom later on; the world feels fresh and interesting and there is always more to discover beyond the next turn. The earth as envisioned in The Fifth Season feels familiar quickly, but our understanding of its workings deepens as our protagonists discover more about it. What I especially liked is that it stays clear of the magic-apprentice trope: a typical fantasy plot where we are introduced to the magic system and the character’s surroundings through an exceedingly naïve and sheltered child. Ms Jemisin’s characters are generally already familiar with orogeny (a form of earth-moving magic), leaving space for more interesting developments.

Perhaps my favourite element of The Fifth Season is its acknowledgement that human nature is not simple. We do not all want the same thing, no matter in what groups or communities we collect ourselves. This same courtesy is extended to the other races in this universe, such as the mysterious stone-eaters. Everyone has their own agenda, and it is not always clear what it is. Additionally, the book lightly touches on non-monogamous and non-heterosexual relationships in a way that is accepting and loving. Even though romance is of little consequence as a whole within the book, it was great to see it being handled respectfully. All too often the sexually unconventional are demonized in fantasy.

A common thread throughout the novel is a commentary on race and Othering. To give a quick summary, theories around Othering try to explain how groups of people can be made to seem inhuman, not one of us, the Other. Throughout history, racial difference has often been used to treat groups of people horribly, a rhetoric employed to justify acts up to and including genocides. In The Fifth Season the racial Other is displaced unto the magical/powerful Other. It is not skin colour that sets people in this world apart (what we now would see as blackness or a mid-African phenotype is a point of beauty) but what they can do. While the characters face terrible injustices because of their capabilities, the reader feels that their powers are actually amazing and should be cherished. This emotion reaction of pushing back against discrimination of orogenes subtly points back to racial Othering. However, because that anxiety and tension is displaced onto a category of people which does not exist in our reality, it allows all people who feel like they have ever been excluded from society to identify with the plights of these characters. This is truly very well done – I can’t imagine it being handled more skilfully by any other writer.

Perhaps the only element that was missing for me was an emotional connection with the characters. A tighter connection would have catapulted this book from “wow, this is great!” to an all-time favourite. As it stands, The Fifth Season was everything I was looking for when I asked for diverse fantasy recommendations, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

Trigger warnings (highlight to show): physical abuse of children, discrimination, implied genocide, forced sexual relations*, off-page execution of children, forced captivity, inter-species cannibalism.
* Regarding the forced sexual relation, it was surprisingly low in rape triggers. The female character is an active participant, seeing it more like a chore that needs to be done with low emotional repercussions.

THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS. AGAIN.

Three terrible things happen in a single day.

Essun, masquerading as an ordinary schoolteacher in a quiet small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Mighty Sanze, the empire whose innovations have been civilizations bedrock for a thousand years, collapses as its greatest city is destroyed by a madmans vengeance. And worst of all, across the heartland of the worlds sole continent, a great red rift has been been torn which spews ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.

But this is the Stillness, a land long familiar with struggle, and where orogenes those who wield the power of the earth as a weapon are feared far more than the long cold night. Essun has remembered herself, and she will have her daughter back.

She does not care if the world falls apart around her. Essun will break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.

4 stars, adult fiction, apocalyptic, book review, dystopia, fantasy, geology, high fantasy, magic, n.k. jemisin, science-fiction

07/05/2017, CelineNyx, Updates , 0

Hi guys! So my bookcases have been absolutely overflowing lately, and I have decided to get rid of some books. Most of these have been read (though not all), and many are still in new condition.

Ive added a description of the condition of the book, and the price (if applicable). Shipping is €3.20 per book for European addresses. If you live somewhere else, I can check what it would cost, but youre probably better off just buying a new copy

TAGS:Reviews fantasy Nyx Book science fiction paranormal horror 

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