rosemarieshort's reviews
436 reviews

Wow. I enjoyed One Dark Window, but had some reservations. Two Twisted Crowns blew those reservations out of the water. 

Firstly, having 3 POVs (Elspeth, Ravyn and Elm) really elevated this read for me. The variety between the two storylines the characters were on added a lot of richness and made the pacing much better. I also really enjoyed Rachel Gillig’s voice as both Ravyn and Elm. 

The plot also felt significantly richer in this instalment. Even Elm, with the perhaps less significant plot line for much of Two Twisted Crowns had really enjoyable and interesting chapters. I was never regretful to be pulled away from the “main” storyline to spend some time with him and Ione. 

The romance was also top tier - Elm and Ione taking the mantle for this book was a great choice. I enjoyed seeing their relationship grow and it unlock things in Elm, as well as seeing Ione struggle with the impact of the Maiden card. 

On the other side, the Elspeth / Nightmare / Ravyn interactions were great. I loved the new depth we got, by seeing the Nightmare and Elspeth’s relationship from another angle. We didn’t learn huge amounts more about the Nightmare from what was hinted at in One Dark Window. However the time we spent with him, through his eyes and Elspeth’s, enriched the character. I have to admit, I did shed a few tears at the end (no spoilers). 

Hauth also turned out to be a decent enough villain. I’d feared in book one he was too cardboard cutout - but there was so much going on to drive the plot and character decisions that Hauth’s limitless cruelty and violence worked well. 

This is a study in how to build on a debut - the writing, plot, confidence, characterisation has all grown to make Two Twisted Crowns a riveting and moving ending to the duology. 

One Dark Window was, for me, a bit of a rollercoaster. I liked Elspeth - not your typical “I live in society but don’t know anything about that and only hunt and sword fight” kind of main character. She is a product of her upbringing, she fits in with nobility and whilst she’s been a little removed from ritual, she understands it. The twist is actually that she’s trying so hard to be normal and fit in. Hiding the secret of a Nightmare card, made life, living inside her head. It makes her days necessarily quiet, ordinary, simple. I also enjoyed the magic system in principle. A tarot card like system, with finite cards and only authorised users of those cards able to wield magic freely. It levels the magical playing field - and is a neat allegory for magical power and position being intertwined, rather than down to any innate skills. 

However, if you look too closely you’re bound to start spotting holes, and as we went on I found myself doing just that. This did start to catch me out whenever the plot slowed down, wondering on how cards seemed to effortlessly change hands despite their value, how cards had been “missing” for so long in such a closed society. Every question was pulling me away from the story and the world. Similarly, Elspeth’s dependence on her Nightmare for every moment with the remotest chance of danger, despite the risk she comes to understand as the book progresses, only really worked for me at the very end of book one. 

Yet a swift bit of action and I was back in the midst of things - and ultimately that’s where One Dark Window shines. With a cast of really great supporting characters, a solid (and pretty sexy) main character romance and a good central story it’s when we clip along at a pace that I’m having the best time. 

I rarely venture into short stories, but for Alix E. Harrow I will follow anywhere. In a stunningly brief 30 pages Harrow paints both a character study on the price of blind loyalty and a love story so painfully pure that I was thinking about it the whole evening after the final page.

3.5 / 5 

There was a lot in The Wolf and the Woodsman that worked for me. I enjoyed the world building, and the layered, oft times almost overlapping belief systems which mirrored so many real world religions. This more than anything made the story feel grounded. I also really loved the pairing of Évike and Gáspár who fully fulfilled my enemies to lovers quota for this book (my favourite kind of pairing). The slow burn of the romance, along with the hatred to understanding to alliance to lust to more was really well done. This, however, was in contrast to the pacing of the rest of the book, which at times felt rocket fast. I most enjoyed TWatW when we were getting to know characters or the religions or cultures that made them tick. I didn’t mind forays into stories of Gods and mortals as it built on the world Ava Reid was creating. However moments after hearing a God-tale, we were rattling off 2-3 key plot points in the space of a few pages. Why would the King make an agreement with Évike after she turned one sword to rust? Why would she be allowed to his secret meetings with councillors? Where wolf-girls and pagans hated by the capitol, or tolerated? Things seemed to move so quickly and choppily once we reached the capitol that I lost track of what I had so enjoyed in the first 150 or so pages. Things felt they came back together and I enjoyed the ending, but I think a world as rich and interesting as this needed a series to make room for world building and plot to fit together comfortably. 

Queenie is a character who from page one jumps out and captures me as a reader. She is a black, British woman who is navigating a break up, a slump at work, mental health issues and family drama. Carty-Williams does a great job of writing a young woman who is self-destructive (and yes, maybe a tiny bit narcissistic) but is also really likeable. This is a character study and we go with Queenie on a journey - but this book is also packed with laughs, warm moment, cringey escapades…Carty-Williams has cracked the formula for an easy and swift read that is also meaningful.

 It’s interesting when you enjoy reading a book but find the leading characters insufferable. Dick Diver begins the story seen through the eyes of young and impressionable Rosemary Hoyt. She idolises him, seeing his as someone who can make any conversation sparkle or bring life and pleasantness to every gathering. Perhaps, in the beginning, this viewpoint (whilst tinted) is true. However as we phase through and see into Dick’s past, including his meeting his wife Nicole, and then into the years after he meets Rosemary, we see this veneer become thinner and thinner. I enjoyed reading Nicole’s view the most - with Rosemary a little too adoring and Dick being…well, Dick. Nicole’s narration felt the most grounded. Fitzgerald moves between viewpoints seamlessly and writes the South of the France in the 1930s with heaps of glamour. When I looked up the inspiration for the setting (such as Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc) I found the picture painted in my imagination from the text was a perfect match. There are a couple of narrative twists and whilst not a lot happens, I was entertained throughout. Short chapters give brilliant pacing to create a sense of a “page-turner) even during slower moments. Ultimately, a lot of Tender is the Night is based on Fitzgerald’s experience with his own wife’s mental health. If he saw himself in Dick, he has written a classic whilst exposing himself as anything but. 

What a way to begin 2024. It is no coincidence that I wanted to finish “The Once and Future Witches” on the first day of January. Alix E Harrow weaves a tale of three women, sisters in blood and in the witch ways taught to them through rhymes and bedtime stories in their youth, who come together and embrace their power as women. The three main characters are brilliant creations - real, lovable, defiant, dazzling.  What is perhaps an even more impressive feat is Harrow creates a compelling cast of supporting characters too. I loved glimpses into stories of Jenny, Mr Blackwell, August Lee and Cleo and how they intertwine with the Eastwoods. The plot is also expertly crafted - just enough modern thinking mixed with fairytale interwoven. There were endless quotes I found moving, inspiring, powerful. To pick a particular favourite “behind every witch is a woman wronged”. I can’t recommend this enough and will definitely be reading more from this author in future.