December 1

Other Books in the Grishaverse (as possible Christmas presents?)

I had some trouble recently, which is why I was not able to upload any posts for some weeks. I do not only want to apologize for that, but also inform you that this post was meant to be uploaded at the beginning of the month xD But I guess if you still need to find a last-minute Christmas present, it could be a cool idea or just to plan any presents for the future, an upcoming birthday perhaps 😉 Enjoy!

It’s December and 2021 is ALMOST OVER! That does not only mean we have soon successfully lived through another year with Covid but also that Christmas is coming. And even though I am not the biggest fan of Christmas tradition and celebration, of course, I love the gift-giving part 😉 In this post, I not only want to talk about some books I bought but also why they might be the perfect Christmas presents for some of your loved ones! The books I will be focusing on are all written by Leigh Bardugo the famous author of the books on which the Netflix Series “Shadow and Bone” is based on. If you are following my blog for at least some months, you know that I have recently reviewed the series on Netflix and the books and then compared them. That’s why I won’t be talking about them in detail, but of course, if someone has neither seen the Web series nor read the books, those are the ones you should start with, to introduce someone into the story. So they alone make a great present. But if you know someone loved the show or read the first books already, here are some more they will love <3 (Spoiler-free!)

The Demon in the Wood
This is a rather small book, thus not even published as a paperback but available as an eBook everywhere online! With around 50cts this is one of the most affordable out of all the gifts and it’s about the biggest Villan of the Series! Basically, it is a short story about how he became the man we got to know in the books and the Netflix series. I really look forward to reading it myself and actually, when I heard there was a book about him, I had hoped for a 400-page long one, but I will take the 60 pages with little remorse. I am sure they are interesting still, just finished very quickly :/ But beware, this story will hold big spoilers for people who have never seen the series or read the books(especially book 1), everyone else should be able to enjoy this story spoilerfree^^

The Tailor
Same as “The Demon in the Wood” this one is a short story as well, roughly around the same price point and with the same amount of Spoiler alert! But instead of being about the main villain of the series, this story is about a character who is highly debated upon by fans, whether she was a good or bad character. Some say that this eBook helped them understand her and her actions better. Also for completion, every fan of the series will LOVE to have this in their hands 😉

The Six of Crows
The Duology of the Crows chronologically takes place before the Grishaverses original trilogy, but it’s technically not a prequel because it’s not about Alina and Mal from the books, but rather about the band of thieves you get to meet and love in the Netflix Series. Netflix actually took the characters from these books and wove them into the Sun Summoners Story, which for me personally was a great choice. I was actually a bit disappointed to not read about them when I picked up the first books. So if your friend or partner was as excited to see the group on screen as I was, they will love to read these books about their origin story. Some even say they prefer these over the main story books because of their amazing writing and narrative, but I let you or the person receiving it as a gift decide on that 😉

The Lives of the Saints
This one is actually not a storybook, in the sense that it does not bring something new to the table if you have already read the OG trilogy. But rather it’s a book that is mentioned in that story and has a big significance for the characters and their goals. I am sure everybody who loves the series, would love to keep something like this as a collector’s item maybe or to feel even more immersed into the story than before, by holding the book in their hands, which Alina holds in her own. It’s beautifully illustrated on the cover, but also on the inside. Every new chapter begins with a piece of artwork and I can see how this resembles some form of holy text for some in the Grishverse, it certainly looks like it 😉

The Language of the Thornes
Similar to “The Lives of the Saints” this book could be found in Ravka, but as far as I can remember it was not really mentioned in the Trilogy. It’s less significant than the other book is, but you could kinda compare it to the fairytale books published by J.K. Rowling as a kind of add-on to the Harry Potter series. It’s said to be a collection of folklore told in the world of the series, some more insights into peoples lives, and some further information for fans to better understand the world, one of their favourite stories takes place in 🙂 Like “The Lives of the Saints” stories are fully illustrated too and the way they did it is really cool and kinda magical!

The Severed Moon
This one is especially gift-worthy because it’s actually a diary! You might have heard about the new diaries which have writing prompts in them, said to motivate people more to actually write something down daily. “The Served Moon” is such a book, created by the author of the Grishaverse books for fans of the series. It holds some magical writing prompts and quotes from the books, with beautiful illustrations on the out and on the inside. And it’s said to last for a year, what great gift to give on Christmas for a friend or a loved one to start the new year with 🙂 We all need some magic in 2022 I believe xD

Kings of Scars & Rule of Wolves
This Duology I have saved for last, because technically to avoid all kinds of spoilers you should read these books last. They take place after the story of Alina and Mal ends one way or the other with the third book of the original trilogy. And they may or may not(really trying not to say anything wrong here xD) lead on some stories of characters we have already gotten to know, but they most likely will point to events that have already happened. So to be safe, I would only gift this to someone who I know has already finished or at least bought all the other books, so that they can read them in the correct, spoiler-free order. But if you are very generous this Christmas and want to gift all of the Grishaverse books to someone(who will be very thankful, I am sure) then these books should not be missing, because as far as I know, they will conclude all of the stories Leigh Bardugo told in her magical series.

I hope you have gotten some gift ideas now and I guess I wish you all a Merry Christmas already! Celebrate if that’s your thing or try to get through the time like I do and look forward to next years Halloween again xD

Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress

February 24

Review of “In An Absent Dream” by Seanan McGuire

Image of the book that is on review laying flat on a table, the cover says: "In an absent dream by Seanan McGuire".

Blurb:
A stand-alone fantasy tale from Seanan McGuire’s Alex award-winning Wayward Children series, which began in the Alex, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning, World Fantasy Award finalist, Tiptree Honor List Every Heart a Doorway
This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.
When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she’s found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.

Publisher: Tor.Com
Published: 1st February 2019
Length: 204 Pages
Genre: Magical Realism
Main Place of Action: A small town in America (1960-75)
Price: 14,95€ on Amazon

Summary:
Katherine is a young girl who has her life already planned out on her 6th birthday. She likes to keep her head in a book whenever she can, gathering wisdom, going on adventures with Alice, Peter, and Dorothy. When one day her own adventure awaits, she does not hesitate for long. Behind the door in the big tree is a world that would have made her heroes want to tag along. But it comes with consequences and life lessons, Katherine maybe did not want to learn that early…

Review:
As the blurb suggests this book is part of a series, but I got it as part of a mystery box and I can assure you that you need no knowledge pre-reading to enjoy the story 😉 It reminded me very heavily of Alice in Wonderland(with a splash of Pinnochio!), the story is even referenced in the book, but for me, it’s not a bad thing at all. I am a big fan of the old story and I really liked this one^^ It might be similar, but it does not take place in wonderland and tells its own tale.

All in all the story is about a young girl who does not seem to fit in the world she was born into, so a magical different one appears before her and she takes the chance to visit it. Unlike Alice in Wonderland, it’s not a one-way trip, she actually changes between both worlds multiple times, but you have to read the book to know in which world she ends up 😉
As a rather strange girl myself, I know the feeling of not fitting in and I have always dreamed about getting an opportunity like that, which made it even more fun reading about what world another person has made up^^

Reading the book and getting to know the world, understanding its rules was very intriguing, but only at the end is where the reader really begins to understand, what price has to be paid. The end actually has confused me a little bit and make me wonder if maybe the other books in the series do have some kind of meaning in this story too. But only a small one, so you would still be good, not having read the other books in the series. But I think about getting them now 😛

In between the story, there are some illustrations sprinkled in, to make help the reader imagine the world. But there are only about 3 illustrated pages, so there is still enough room for your own interpretations^^ Still I really appreciate the ones being there and their art style. They are somewhat sketchy and have this kind of magical flow to them, which really made them fit into what I have imagined while reading the story.

The only thing that really bothered me with this book is how fast the story is told. We have the adventure of a girl, growing up from an 8-year-old to an 18-year-old woman, having to make harsh decisions, told on about 200 pages, even though it could have been maybe even double the amount. There are many time skips and things that happened “off-screen” or in this case “off-page” which we are only told about very briefly, never really grasping what has happened. It also makes it quite hard to understand the protagonist sometimes. As I said, she has to make some very hard decisions, but I personally can’t really tell how she decided on them. In some ways, I even feel like I never really got to know her.

Picture of an illustrated page from the book, where a girl is looking ar a skteched out market with many diffrent stans, smoking coming from them and animals running around, it's very busy.

Final Verdict:
I was so looking forward to experiencing a story that could be compared with my all-time favorite and in some ways, this one has met my expectations. But I am still very sad about it being told in such a fast way, making it seem more like a short bedtime story, not giving me enough room to bond with the protagonist and really accompany her on her adventure. And there was some story happening behind the scenes, it’s not like the author did not have enough material, she just chooses to not include it and I can’t understand that at all. I would have loved to read a more detailed story, but I still would recommend reading it. If you are into short stories or want to experience something Alice in Wonderland-like and you see that book somewhere, definitely pick it up! But just know, that you won’t get to dive too deep into an otherwise fantastic story and a cool new world. That’s why I give the story a 3 out of 5 rating.

Rating shown with the book: 3 out of 4 books are colored.

Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress