Review – ‘Once & Future’ by Amy Rose Capetta & Cori McCarthy

Title: Once & Future
Authors: Amy Rose Capetta & Cori McCarthy
Genre: YA, Sci-fi, LGBT
Publication Date: 26th March, 2019
Word/Page Count: 336  pages (hardcover)

Synopsis from Goodreads:

I’ve been chased my whole life. As a fugitive refugee in the territory controlled by the tyrannical Mercer corporation, I’ve always had to hide who I am. Until I found Excalibur.

Now I’m done hiding.

My name is Ari Helix. I have a magic sword, a cranky wizard, and a revolution to start.

When Ari crash-lands on Old Earth and pulls a magic sword from its ancient resting place, she is revealed to be the newest reincarnation of King Arthur. Then she meets Merlin, who has aged backward over the centuries into a teenager, and together they must break the curse that keeps Arthur coming back. Their quest? Defeat the cruel, oppressive government and bring peace and equality to all humankind.

No pressure.

This review was so hard to write because I felt really disappointed – Once & Future has been on my desperately anticipated list since November last year and all I could think about was needing to get my hands on this queer feminist retelling of a classic myth because of COURSE it would rock my world! As you can guess, that didn’t work out, and I think part of the problem lay with my sky-high expectations, but I also feel that the confused tone of the book and breakneck pace didn’t help.

Review – ‘All The Lonely People’ by David Owen

Title: All The Lonely People
Author: David Owen
Genre: YA, Contemporary, LGBT
Publication Details: by Hachette Australia on 8th January, 2019
Word/Page Count: 320 pages (paperback)

Everyone tells Kat that her online personality – confident, funny, opinionated – isn’t her true self. Kat knows otherwise. The internet is her only way to cope with a bad day, chat with friends who get all her references, make someone laugh. But when she becomes the target of an alt-right trolling campaign, she feels she has no option but to Escape, Delete, Disappear.

With her social media shut down, her website erased, her entire online identity void, Kat feels she has cut away her very core: without her virtual self, who is she?

She brought it on herself. Or so Wesley keeps telling himself as he dismantles Kat’s world. It’s different, seeing one of his victims in real life and not inside a computer screen – but he’s in too far to back out now.

As soon as Kat disappears from the online world, her physical body begins to fade and while everybody else forgets that she exists, Wesley realises he is the only one left who remembers her. Overcome by remorse for what he has done, Wesley resolves to stop her disappearing completely. It might just be the only way to save himself.

I really wanted to love this and it had all the ingredients to be the perfect dish for me, but it didn’t quite come together in the way I hoped. I still encourage anyone interested in reading it as there are a lot of timely issues explored in this book and the premise is absolutely killer – what if cyber bullying caused one victim to LITERALLY fade away?

Cre8ive Inspir8ions – March 2019 YA Box: ‘Transformations’

Cre8ive Inspir8ions is an Australian book subscription box service that offers a monthly YA Box and a monthly Indulgence Box, both of which have a ‘Lite’ option available for those on a budget which includes the book plus a bookmark and gift. This is a review for the full March YA box, which includes a new release young adult book, artwork, a collectible bookmark and 3-5 themed goodies.

Note: I’m a current rep for the YA box and you can use my rep code BORGPRIN10 to save on your subscription if you’re in Australia or New Zealand. 🙂

Cre8ive Inspir8ions
Cost: $55 AUD plus postage
Mailed out: after the first week of each month
Payment Method: Paypal and Credit Cards
Availability: at the time of posting, there is still limited stock available here

Review – ‘The Queen’s Resistance’ by Rebeca Ross

Title: The Queen’s Resistance
Author: Rebecca Ross
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Word/Page Count: 480 pages (paperback)
Publication Details: by HarperCollins Publishers Australia on 6th March, 2019
RRP: $16.99 AUD

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

The highly anticipated sequel to The Queen’s Rising!

Finally, Brienna is a mistress of knowledge and is settling into her role as the daughter of Davin MacQuinn, a disgraced lord who returned to Maevana to reclaim his house. Though she’d just survived a revolution, one that will finally return a queen to the throne, she faces another difficult challenge. She must prove herself trustworthy to the MacQuinns. But as Queen Isolde Kavanagh’s closest confidant, she’ll have to balance serving her father’s house as well as her country. And then there’s Cartier, a wholly separate but desirable factor in her new life.

Aodhan Morgane, formerly known as Cartier Évariste, is adjusting to the stark contrast between his pre-rebellion life in Valenia as a master of knowledge and his current one as the lord of a fallen house. During his castle’s restoration, he discovers a ten-year-old boy named Tomas, whose past and parentage are a complete mystery. So when Cartier’s former pupil Brienna is as taken with Tomas as he is, he lets his mind wander—what if he doesn’t have to raise him or his house alone?

As the Lannon trial rapidly approaches, Brienna and Cartier must put their feelings aside to concentrate on forging alliances, executing justice, and ensuring that no one interferes with the queen’s coronation. But resistance is rumbling among the old regime’s supporters, who are desperate to find a weakness in the rebels’ forces. And nothing makes a person more vulnerable than deep-seated love.

Back when I reviewed the first book The Queen’s Rising in February 2018, I was head over heels in love and declared it my favorite book of 2018 – that still held true at the end of the year. ❤ So even though I felt the story was self-contained and believed it to be the rare example of a standalone fantasy novel, when I found out that there WAS going to be a sequel after all, I was certainly not going to complain!

Spark and Sparrow – ‘I Did Something Bad…’ Special Edition Bookish Candle Box Review

Spark and Sparrow is an Australian small business that started out specializing in candles and has branched out into a range of other products including bookmarks & prints, lip balms & perfumes and a range of bath products.

Spark and Sparrow
Cost: $55 AUD
Shipping: $11 AUD
Payment Method: Paypal and Credit Cards.
Availability: the box is sold out with only a limited stock of extras up for purchase

Full disclosure, I’m currently repping for Spark + Sparrow (use my rep code BORG10 if you purchase anything!), but I personally paid for this box as the theme was too good to miss! ❤

A villains-themed box, 100% relevant to my interests!