littlepiscesreading's reviews
77 reviews

 With the synopsis focused on Blair’s arrival to Trudeau High I had expected The Bad Luck Nickel to be a more conventional story. Instead we’re thrown into the middle of conflict, Blair not only already in the band but the other members blowing off a show to get back at him. It’s an interesting place to start. The beginning took me a moment to orient myself but I do appreciate the choice. The book’s greatest strength lies with its characters’ relationships – a tangled and delicate web wrought with all the turmoil and overwhelm of teenagerdom. 

Even so, I do find myself disappointed that Marco’s complexity isn’t reflected in his sister. Not long after her introduction she says another girl ‘has nothing of substance’ which only served to highlight her own lack. And that isn’t confined to her. Vicky’s characterisation is also boy and addiction focused. Done well, in my opinon, but overall more simplistic than the boys. I would unfortunately say the same for Bianca, and especially Rainbow. But it was also disappointing when this was the case for its antagonists who were very flat and one dimensional and that difference was stark and ill-fitting in the face of its complicated and complex cast. 

There’s a willingness to deal with complicated subjects to varying degrees of success. Parental abandonment is handled well. Grief. Girls who date grown men not so much. And even less Blair’s relationship with Rainbow. At least there’s some aspersion cast on the grown men. The fire storm that falls on Blair was conspicuously missing mention of that. While not always tense, however, I really liked its portrayal of addiction. The weakening of the effectiveness and subsequent need to increase the dose to maintain its effectiveness. Both the reckoning with the effects and the support extended to the girls. I do feel it wrapped up too neatly though. 

In the narrative there were moments which were skipped over and then related back. These were some of the tenser moments and this undercut them. But mostly I enjoyed the shape of the story. Sprinkling interviews through it kept focus without pulling too far from its main cast and provided intrigue. It also contributed to the fantastic and fascinating representation of Blair as both focus and outsider. 

Thanks to iRead Book Tours and Matthew Leslie. I leave this review voluntarily. 

An enthralling read from start to finish. The Andelin Valley is a harsh land, but beautiful, and a shining beacon of hope for Remin who has won it in a brutal war. The exact brutality of which we glimpse. It’s hard not to be swept up in his dream of building something even as he crashes into his relationship with Ophele like a bull in a China shop. A princess in blood only, she makes for a poor bargain, but even in our first meeting she’s so brave and daring even as she hides. Together they’re as complimentary as they are repellant. Even in the throes of strife there’s something nice in the domesticity that peeks through. 

Years of attempts on his life have made Remin mistrustful. His suspicions of Ophele are warranted even when you wince at his fumbles. And her timidity is foreign to him. Her silences and quick wit make her suspect. Her guilt at the destruction of his House subserviates her. That neither has had much experience with people beyond their own sex only leads to more misunderstandings. I dearly love the conflicts and tensions in their relationship, even when I wondered if there could be a way forward for them. Between his accidental and intentional cruelties and his absences it stops the relationship from solidying for a breadth of the book but Cave expertly weaves them back together with care. Remin’s struggles with vulnerability and agony in not allowing himself believe that he could be happy, be safe, with her, comes to the most beautiful conclusion. 

But it would be a disservice not to touch on the excellence of Cave’s world. There’s a line that I love – ‘even the drains were fascinating’. It’s so true. The construction, the strategising, even discussions on theology -all of it is fascinating. Tresingale barely exists when they arrive and its construction is so interesting. Seeing Ophele find herself among its people is a joy. As is the introduction of one Master Eugene. But especially in its hope. After years of destruction the Knights of the Brede finally get to build, to create, and it lends a buoyancy to the narrative. There’s love between the soldiers, and for those who have been lost – from Ophele’s letter to Azelma to Victorin’s apples. Connection is the greatest strength in this book and one I can’t wait to see developed as the series goes on. 

Much appreciated, given Cave’s skill in crafting horror. I just had to go and reread chapter nine this Halloween. Even over actual horror books I have. Whether the incursions of devils or the shattering of peace after an assassination attempt, tension and threat come across viscerally. Remin’s people are backed into some terrifying corners and the tension of not knowing what’s to come, but that there is something coming, is wielded excellently. Cave writes so well across so many subjects and moods. 

That said, I understand why he could be cruel but it did edge too far for me once or twice. Likewise I know that Ophele’s age is going to be uncomfortable for some readers especially given the sex scenes and I would caution to be aware of that.
Thanks to Melissa J. Cave for the arc. I leave this review voluntarily.

 All of Parliament of Rooks beguiling mysteries have come to a head as Darius’ world burns down around him. Hell beckons. And it is a feast for the eyes. A world saturated in red and horror. It’s ambitions, however, don’t quite suit the medium. “Malphas’s domain pulled at my lifeforce like gravity pulls at men to hold them to the earth” is a great line but not something it manages to portray. And that is unfortunately fitting for the series. This is a thrilling conclusion, but even on my first reading its indulgences were a glut.

Malphas’ scheming is a delight but his proclamations and instistences remind me more of an old man who won’t shut up. And while I think that characterisation could work, I don’t know that it succeeds. This is the most dialogue heavy the series has been and the grandiosity of their exchange was at odds with the seriousness of the tone. That said, Darius’ mother is given voice at last and her conversation with him is a highlight of the series – sombre and sweet. His relationships and his losses are used excellently. A true strength of the issue and a joy to read.

Unfortunately after their confrontation the tone shifts again. Seasons is an apt name. It writes the years of Seraphina’s life more in implications, but so well that you understand the arc of the intervening years. I understand what this relationship means in the context of the story but an ending so saccharine neither fits nor is it believeable. Implication works, in the same way that a folk or fairy tale doesn’t need to describe the minutiae of itself, but you cannot redeem hell off-page.

I have enjoyed this series. I would recommend it. Even so, I wish it had lived up to its best moments. 

In grief we return to Darius’ telling and memories of Rowanna. His promise to be a good brother, now broken. And the machinations of his mother are revealed as Calisandra’s ghost leads him to their graves. It’s a fascinating lead-in to the nature of Darius’ transformations and proper introduction to Magnus Dux Malphas. With that Winter is another issue that bursts into spectacular colour as Darius leaps to protect his beloved Seraphina.

I feel I should like this issue more than I do. It’s found its balance between emotion and reveals. The battle is epic and full of such loss. It’s a feast for the eye without compromising on the brutality inflicted by a demon such as Malphas. However I did find it disappointing that the [] woman was tortured and murdered and we have a character of colour introduced just to exposit the exact same information and then be punted from the narrative. Personally I prefer not to have tokenised characters.

At this point I would also have liked to have seen more of Darius and Seraphina’s relationship. It’s the central force of the comic and Darius spends so much time pushing her away. While I enjoyed last issue it still doesn’t quite make me understand who they are to each other besides a prophesied doom and the moon maiden. They love each other, certainly. We’ve seen them be punished by her father who disapproves of their relationship. We’ve seen them tested by the horrors. We haven’t really seen them except in the very beginning when Darius arrives and is asked to retell their story to Seraphina and in a handful of panels here. But that’s reminiscing.

 Cohn’s voice is very personable, welcoming you into her and her wonderful dogs’ lives though the writing is as charming as it can be scattershot. It reads like coming back to find a group chat gone wild. Replete with a plethora of wonderful dogs pics. It was wonderful, if bittersweet, to get to know Cohn’s dogs, who even in this limited capacity are so lovable. Who Saved Who absolutely brims with love even – perhaps especially – in the most difficult of times and is a lovely tribute to both her pets and parents.

A frequent refrain comes from Cohn’s mother – “We save dogs, Roz; that’s what we do.” The ill health and decline of Fluke and Diva is heartbreakingly detailed. But her determination to do what’s best for them is both admirable and inspiring. The love she showers on her next dogs, Maui and Kona, both rescues, remains so, and the joy they bring to her is palpable. And is a wonderful source of hope. 

For the most part Cohn’s honesty serves the book well. However it proves a problem when we come to what she terms woo. The unthought through implications of ‘had I followed the Western guidelines totally, he would have been gone sooner’ that positions the non-western as unscientific. Her defensiveness over her belief in her animal communicator. The repeated and intense anthropomorphising of her pets which prioritises her interpretation of their state over their actual wellbeing. Dogs are very loving creatures but they’re not human and their emotions are not the same as ours. Projecting onto them risks losing sight of their needs to soothe your own. 

What is an animal communicator? A spiritual medium for animals which makes use of ghost vets to help heal them. Cohn often says something along the lines of “You may think I’m nuts and I don’t care’. Every time it’s frustrating. It’s more woo than I believe. But I’m here. I’m reading your book. I’m on your terms. The people who are going to judge you for it are already doing so. When you gets defensive at me my hackles get up. It’s the worst of both worlds. If you don’t care then don’t care and get off my case about it. Have the conviction you claim you do.

Thanks to iRead Book Tours and Roslyn Cohn for the review copy. I leave this review voluntarily.