Melody's Reading Corner: April 2023

Melody

Feiwel & Friends | 23 August 2022 | 352 pgs

Source: Purchased

[May contain spoilers of the first book, A Magic Steeped in Poison]

There are times that you loved the first book of a series so much so that you harbour lots of hope, anticipation and expectations for the next installment. That's how I felt with this duology - I loved the first book but this, not so much.

This book picks up where the first book left off with the return of the Banished Prince to take over the throne of Dàxi through the help of Chancellor Zhou's dark plots and conspiracies, leading to the people living in fear as many are poisoned and the court officials and disciples from the Wulin are being controlled by dark magic.

Although Ning is glad to be able to revive her sister, Shu, out of her deathbed after the tea poisoning, circumstances didn't get any better as they find themselves on the run together with the princess and her bodyguard. A boy Ning once fancied and trust leads to more complexity in their ambiguous relationship, for Kang is the son of the Banished Prince and while there's a sense of righteousness in his blood, the fact that their kinship remains.

While the first book is filled with the intrigue of the tea magic and the intensity of the competition among the Shénnóng-shi, this book lacks the two i's (intrigue and intensity) and on top of it the first half of the story moved slowly with nothing much happened except more court politics. The interactions among the characters were minimal too and while the alternative narratives between Ning and Kang gave the reader a glimpse of their inner mind, they weren't enough to make the story more engaging. The pace only picked up towards the last third of the story but then it came a bit too late and a bit too fast for wrapping up the whole story. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed this duology. I was entranced by the fantastical world of the tea magic as well as the role and the skills of the shénnóng-shi. I'd definitely want to read more of Judy I. Lin's books in future. Last but not least, I want to thank Lark for reading this book with me. Go visit her blog here and see what she thought about this book.

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Labels: 3 stars, Book Review, Fantasy 6 comments |

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

Melody

Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 21 February 2023 | 320 pgs

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss

What'd you do if you're an aspiring writer who receives an opportunity to attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of your favourite author; never mind that someone has pulled the string for you and that your frenemy is attending the retreat, too?

Alex, our protagonist, is elated when she heard that she'd be attending a writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo, even with the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend turns rival is also attending. There's some history between them and the reader would find out the reason as the story progresses. But, there's more dynamics behind their relationship once they've stepped into Roza’s isolated mansion. There are other three attendees as well and Roza announces that they'd have to complete an entire novel from scratch after their stay and the winner of the best novel will receive a seven-figure publishing deal.

The task seems simple enough, but as Alex gets to know more about the other three attendees (and not to mention facing Wren) including Roza’s erratic behaviour, she begins to wonder why they're selected in the first place. But Alex is adamant to finish the novel despite having writer's block for a while; and through the one-to-one writing séances with Roza she begins to share about her past with Wren and in return, Roza offers some advice about writing and in particularly the history of the Blackbriar estate where they're currently staying.

Alex thinks that as long as she could finish her novel and make it to the top, her life will get better once she leaves the Blackbriar estate. But the writing itself is not the only challenge, Alex soon finds out that the other attendees harbour some secrets of their own and aside from Wren's cruel mind games, Roza’s demands have become more unconventional and worse, unethical. As bad things start to happen within the isolated haunted estate, Alex has to find a way to escape from the place alive.

There're several things I liked and disliked about this debut book. To begin with, I loved the author's writing style and the claustrophobic feel of the setting. The premise was refreshing and the characters were flesh-out and intriguing in their own ways, especially the erratic author Roza Vallo. The first half of the book was good and engaging, but the story started to go downhill when Roza started to show her erratic side and the unexpected genre/occurrences that were mixed in this thriller which had me thinking that the connection was getting further away and lost from the plot, thus the outcome didn't work for me. That said, it was still a good read for a debut novel and I look forward to the author's future releases as I enjoyed her writing style.