...(book review) mistress of my fate by hallie rubenhold

 

England, 1789. Under a cloud of scandal, Henrietta Lightfoot flees her home at Melmouth Park. She has little money and no worthwhile talents, for what use is a neat stitch and a pretty voice outside the drawing room? Without family support, her only hope lies with the dashing but elusive Lord Allenham...

In a desperate quest to find him, Henrietta embarks on a journey through London's debauched and glittering underworld. With the aid of new-found skills at the card table and on the stage, will Henriette be able to turn her life around to become mistress of her fate?

MISTRESS OF MY FATE by Hallie Rubenhold

Published: 2011

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Coming-of-age Novel

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mistress of My Fate: The Confessions of Henrietta Lightfoot. Ahhh, what a revealing confession it was. This book was ruthlessly honest in revealing of the horrors women encountered in the 1700s when cast out in the world to fend for themselves. No dark corner was left unillumined, no woman un-debauched. Had anyone in the 1700s actually got hold of this book to read, I swear they would have been shocked into a swoon, before burning it upon the fire where their daughters would never discover it. This was not your typical regency romance, and I was glad of the refreshing approach. Rather than a romance, I read a sequence of tragic events, grippingly told and unputdownable.

'If I may say, madam, it is for men to do what they ought and women to do what they must. We have not the choices they have. If we desire something, we do what we must to have it, or else...we have nothing, madam."

Henrietta Lightfoot is, by her own admission, a naïve young woman when we discover her at the beginning of her tale. Under the care of her uncle, with no parents to speak of, even Henrietta acknowledges that she has very few prospects. She's resigned to a life in her cousin's shadow, expecting fate to take her where her cousin goes, to be her companion when she marries. The hand she hadn't expected fate to deal, was that the man her cousin Catherine would fall for, would capture Henrietta's heart and return her affections. It's a match that appears destined for disaster, until fate takes another turn and Henrietta is forced to choose an entirely different path for herself and her love. Romance is found and quickly replaced with the grime of the periods realities, when she flees her home to his arms.

This was a remarkable Historical Fiction, that leads from the respectable drawing rooms of London, to the bedrooms of men who 'protect' women who find themselves with no other options. It's coloured with fictional characters, but also features many very real people who would genuinely have been encountered amongst London's seedy ranks. The historical references to people, shops and products from the period give more clout to this novel, for example, descriptions of the effects of elixirs purchased by women to 'remove obstructions from the womb'. 

As historical fictions go, this is one I'm glad to have discovered. I believe it was the author's debut novel of this genre, and I'm eager to read more of her work, particularly The Scandalous Lady W.

If you've had the delight of reading this book or any of Hallie Rubenhold's others, please let me know which you would most recommend in the comments below. 

Happy reading,

Zuzu 

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...(book review) the betrayals by bridget collins

 If everything in your life was based on a lie, would you risk it all to tell the truth?

At Montverre, an exclusive academy tucked away in the mountains, the best and brightest are trained for excellence in the grand jeu: an arcane and mysterious contest. Léo Martin was once a student there, but lost his passion for the grand jeu following a violent tragedy. Now, he returns in disgrace, exiled to his old place of learning with his political career in tatters.

Montverre has chanced since he studied there, even allowing a woman, Claire Dryden, to serve in the grand jeu's highest office of Magister Ludi. When Léo first sees Claire he senses an odd connection with her, though he's sure they've never met before. 

The bond between them is strengthened; but both Léo and Claire have built their lives on lies. And as the legendary Midsummer Game draws closer, secrets are whispering in the walls...

THE BETRAYALS by Bridget Collins

Published: 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Ficional, Magical Realism

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Where to begin? This is the second of Bridget Collins' books I've read, and like the first, its reputation proceeded it; Bridget Collins did not disappoint.

I began this book fearing I'd missed something important about the game of the grand jeu that's such an important component, since it seemed so specific and yet at the same time so elusive in its descriptions. Having reached the end of the book however, I now understand the story to have been partly inspired by Hermann Hesse's The Glass Bead Game - (a book I've not read, but now very much wish to). What Bridget Collins calls the grand jeu has much in common with the glass bead game's components of math, music and ideas in an atmosphere of meditation. I must say that it sounds so intriguing and the only thing missing to complete the reading experience was a demonstration of the game in full. I'm longing to understand it. Though, of course, if demonstrated the grand jeu would lose its mystique, and so we are left to our imaginings. You're given the sense that something magical happens when the game is played, and I can only imagine the immersive experience.

The narrator rotates for each chapter and we're taken through two time lines, seeing Léo's perspective of Montverre then and now, as well as Claire's as she struggles to settle into her role as Magister Ludi at the academy - a position previously occupied by a man. It is uncommon for a woman to play the grand jeu, let alone to understand it and earn a place amongst its academy's ranking faculty. There is an outdated sexist feel to the academy and the game; a superiority of men assuming without cause that women cannot measure up. It's an opinion that I believe Léo shares at times, which was what made it interesting when his story and Claire's began to align. 

Léo's character is poked full of human flaws, making you groan and despair of his errors and ill-conceived interventions. Claire's character is full of anger and secrets, and the tense interactions between her and Léo kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering just what was being kept hidden and what would be revealed. 

*hint hint* It wasn't what I expected, and my jaw dropped!

Though Claire and Léo are well conceived, it must be said, that the story-stealing character that kept me turning pages was in fact The Rat. I just loved reading her chapters, the slow reveal of her part in the story and how she came to be hiding at such a sexist institution that did not allow girls to attend. Her sections appeared less frequently in the book and each time I reached one of her chapters my heart gave a little "yes" of delight. She felt so well formed; her inhuman behaviour and qualities somehow making her the most human or them all, for what could be more human than following our base and primal needs, food, sleep and safety...and later curiosity. She and one other hide in the many deserted rooms and corridors of Montverre, evading discovery. Over the years her presence has amounted to no more than whispers of a crying girl in the walls, or ghostly half-sightings that suggests the building is haunted.

I applaud Bridget Collins writing style and the easy tone of her books. They are purely character and story driven, and though it vexes me a little, I think it's clever that the storylines are often left open ended. As the reader I felt encouraged to imagine more, or forced to accept that I'll never know. That is her brilliance. 

The Betrayals (aptly titled by the way) is another book I'd thoroughly recommend. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Happy reading!

Zuzu

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...(book review) the sisters grimm by menna van praag

 

They found each other at eight, were separated at thirteen. Now they are nearly eighteen and must find each other again...

This is the story of four sisters Grimm - daughters born to different mothers on the same day. Each born out of bright-white wishing and black-edged desire.

In thirty-three days, the sisters will meet their father in a place they go to when they dream. Only then will they discover who they truly are. And what they can do. Then they will fight to save their lives and the lives of the ones they love.

THE SISTERS GRIMM by Menna Van Praag

Published: 2020

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The Sisters Grimm wasn't at all what I was expecting, and alas, I must confess I didn't love this fantasy novel it as I was expecting to.

Goldie, Scarlet, Liyana and Bea are half sisters, sharing one demonic father, Wilhelm Grimm, who watches over them as they grow from the illusive land of Everwhere. 

When they were children, the sisters could meet in Everwhere in their dreams, exploring the powers born unto them and bonding as sisters will. But the curse of being born a Grimm Sister is the surety that upon your 13th birthday you will forget. Everwhere, magic and sisterhood will be a strangled repressed memory, not retrievable until you come of age on your 18th birthday. 

It's a tale of sisterhood; of  young women discovering their own power, not needing a man to save them. 

While I appreciated this female empowerment, and the fairy tale-like theme of discovering the truth when you come of age, unfortunately I found the story that led us there slow at times and even a little repetitive as the four sisters' lives begin to overlap the closer we get to their 18th birthdays.

The reveal of information was careful, but not always well paced. For a 482 page book, I was surprised that most of the "action" didn't come until the last 100 or so pages, and even then I felt a bit disappointed by the outcome (no spoilers if I can help it).

Upon returning to Everwhere on their 18th birthday and being reunited with their demon father, the Sisters Grimm must chose a side: good or evil. Why? I'm a little hazy on that if I'm honest. I did comprehend that if they choose evil, their father allows them to live; if they choose good then sadly he must kill them. And here is where my unanswered questions begin: Why is Wilhelm Grimm so intent on creating an evil army of his children? What is his motivation? What happens if they choose evil and are allowed to live? These are all questions I'm still craving an answer to, though I'm not sure I'd be motivated to read a second book to find out. 

I found the conflict between good and evil a little predictable, even if it is suggested that the choice isn't black and white. You aren't simply a good person or a bad person. There are many shades of grey that colour our lives and our choices.

As characters the sisters' personalities were interestingly contrasting, having different mothers and different backgrounds. We follow their lives across a decade of time, giving us as readers plenty of opportunity to connect with them, however I never developed a strong attachment that urged me to read on and see how their stories developed. I was interested more so in Scarlet and Bea than Goldie and Liyana, on the basis of suspecting they might have a greater capacity for evil than the other two. I was intrigued by what that would mean when they were eventually reunited with their father in Everwhere. 

Everwhere itself was my main captivation throughout the book. Its descriptions seeped through the pages, leaving such a strong essence that I wondered myself at times if I might have been there in a dream. I understood more than anything why the girls were so enticed to return here as children, and how their dreams and memories were determined to lure them back on the eve that they became adults. It had the mystical haziness of a dreamscape, and the impression that anything might be possible within its boundaries, offering an escape from the hardship, sorrow and mundanity of their lives in the "real-world".

I'm a fantasy lover, and I thought this storyline had a great potential, sadly it wasn't one of my favourites. I'd be interested to know your thoughts in the comments below. Did this book leave you with questions? Which characters did you connect with?

Zuzu

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...(book review) the bone season by samantha shannon

For the past two hundred years the Scion government has led an oppressive campaign against unnaturalness in London.

Clairvoyance in all its forms has been decreed a criminal offense, and those who practise it viciously punished. Forced underground, a clairvoyant underworld has developed, combating persecution and evading capture.

Paige Mahoney, a powerful dreamwalker operating in the Seven Dials district of London, leads a double life, using her unnaturalness illegally while hiding her gift from her father, who works for the Scion regime...

THE BONE SEASON by Samantha Shannon

Published: 2013

Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Science Fiction

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a brilliant introduction to a trilogy! The Bone Season is a paranormal, dystopian YA fiction, set in a uniquely futuristic London under the control of a security force, Scion, who keep their citizens safe from those they deem "unnatural". In a well regulated world, there is no place for those with abilities beyond their control - Voyants with unnatural gifts of sight, communing with spirits or catching glimpses of the future, are illegal and will be captured and taken to the Tower, from which they do not return.

Paige is one such unnatural, a unique brand of  Dreamwalker whose abilities have made her desirable as an illegal Voyant in the criminal underworld. But when she is captured by Scion and removed from the world she knows, she soon learns that Scion is responsible for concealing more than just captured Voyants.

Much of this book's gripping nature is due to Paige's strong character. She narrates and drives the book in a way that's opinionated and wilful, reminding me very much of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. She's rightfully fearful of the power born unto her, though she struggles to harness it knowing it is her greatest chance of survival in a world full of dangers.

Paige's character, as well as those supporting her, are well formed and multi-layered; believably human and complex in their emotions and actions. I applaud this, as it's not always a given, especially when reading a YA novel, which tend to be very driven by story and world creation. Regrettably I've read a few where the character development almost takes a back seat to atmospheric cleverness, but I don't believe this is the case here.

This is a very hyped series of books, and I'm glad to say that the first at least has lived up to its reputation, in my opinion. I've read a lot of controversial reviews suggesting that it's overly ambitious, or that the world creation is flawed, but I closed the book impressed and comprehending everything. Especially given this is just the first novel and more is sure to be explained along the way.

I'm intrigued by the Rephriam, and look forward to learning about how these creatures came to this earth. Their relationships with the Voyants is an interesting power struggle and I could sense the rebellion building from page one.

The element of rebellion again leads me to a Hunger Games comparison. I can't help but compare this sort of fiction with others of it's genre, but in a positive way. It shows a lot of potential and I can't wait to see what books 2 and 3 have in store.

If you, like me, are a Harry Potter, Hunger Games, The 100 fan, then this is very likely a series you'll enjoy. It lives up to the standards set by Fantasy and Sci-fi books that came before it.

If you've read this trilogy please let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Let's get the book discussion flowing!

Happy reading,

Zuzu 🖋

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