Every Heart A Doorway - by Seanan McGuire

Title: Every Heart A Doorway
Author: Seanan McGuire
Published: 5 April 2016
Series: Wayward Children #1
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis: 
Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests
Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.
But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.
Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.
But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.
No matter the cost. 

This world is unforgiving and cruel tho those it judges as even the slightest bit outside the norm.

I listened to this as an audiobook.

My favourite character in Every Heart A Doorway is definitely Sumi. I love how bubbly her personality and the alliteration is an interesting quality for her to have. Kade would probably be my second favourite character.

I absolutely love that asexuality and being transgender are present in the book - both with main characters. Another good thing is that the main character explains that being asexual and aromantic are two different things - which I think that some people in the real world should be told about.

I was a little confused at the start of the book as we don't see Nancy come back to her original world from her door, only that she turns up at Eleanor's home and the story is told from there.

Hope means you keep holding on to things that won't ever be so again, and so you bleed an inch at a time until there's nothing left.

No spoilers, but the characters that were killed did surprise me. One of the three did sort of  deserve it though - until it was explained where their door was. Then I felt bad for thinking that way.

Plus I loved that Jack and Jill were twin girls - their full names being Jacqueline and Jillian. Normally when we hear or think about the nursery rhyme, we think that it's one boy and one girl so it was nice to see that twist put in there.

I figured out who the killer was before it was revealed and I'm a little proud of that.

I'm a genius of infinite potential and highly limited patience. People shouldn't try me so.

Christopher's talent was quite cool, kind of like the pied piper from fairy tales. I also thought that Nancy and Christopher would be a cute couple together.

In the end, Nancy eventually goes back through her door, so we get to see pretty much her entire story.

Magic doorways to other worlds, murder, a little mystery, and belonging. I would definitely recommend this fun but dark little novella to everyone.

You're nobody's rainbow. You're nobody's princess. You're nobody's doorway but your own and the only one who gets to tell you how your story ends is you.

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All books in this series:

    1 | Every Heart a Doorway
    2 | Down Among the Sticks and Bones
    3 | Beneath the Sugar Sky
    4 | In an Absent Dream

4.5 | Juice Like Wounds
    5 | Come Tumbling Down

    6 | Across the Green Grass Fields

    7 | Where the Drowned Girls Go

Twice Dead - by Caitlin Seal

Title: Twice Dead

Author: Caitlin Seal

Published: 18 Sep 2018

Series: The Necromancer's Song #1

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:

Naya, the daughter of a sea merchant captain, nervously undertakes her first solo trading mission in the necromancer-friendly country bordering her homeland of Talmir. Unfortunately, she never even makes it to the meeting. She's struck down in the streets of Ceramor. Murdered.

But death is not the end for Naya. She awakens to realize she's become an abomination--a wraith, a ghostly creature bound by runes to the bones of her former corpse. She's been resurrected in order to become a spy for her country. Reluctantly, she assumes the face and persona of a servant girl named Blue. 
She never intended to become embroiled in political plots, kidnapping, and murder. Or to fall in love with the young man and former necromancer she is destined to betray.

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I'll be the first to admit that yes, I did want to read this mainly because of the awesome name of the author (I may be biased on that point though) and the lovely cover. Then when I read the synopsis, I was definitely ready to read this one.

There were many sailing references to be found in this book, and you didn't have to be a sailor to understand them which was good.

I also liked that there were runes to bind a person's spirit to their body once they were dead. It's probably the first time that I've read where that needs to happen for a spirit to stay bound. Plus the carvings in wraith's bones was an interesting thing to read about.

One thing I didn't like was only a small thing, but for some reason in the things I see or read recently there seems to be a mad king for one reason or another so I felt kind of meh about that when I saw that come up.

Corten seemed pretty nice though and I think I probably liked him more than I liked Naya. Plus I loved that Lucia and Alejandra were together and made me like Lucia a little more than I already did - I don't know why that's the reasoning, but I know it helped.

The reason behind Naya being able to do things that other wraiths can't was an interesting twist and I liked that point quite a bit.

By the time the glass bird that Corten had made was brought up towards the end, I had pretty much forgotten about it - whoops!

Overall, I definitely loved the story though and I was very into it. There were time that I didn't want to put it down because I wanted to find out what happened next. That cliffhanger has me stuck though and now I seriously want to find out what happens next!

Spoilers! 

My first thought when we find out that Lucia literally sings Naya back to not-quite-life, was that Naya was probably one of the undead - turns out she's actually a wraith.

The almost insta-love between Corten and Naya did annoy me a little though.

It would have been nice if I was interested in Corten just a little more as it probably would have made his death sad for me to read if it was.

End Spoilers!

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All books in this series:

    1 | Twice Dead
    2 | Trinity of Bones

The Siren - by Kiera Cass

Title: The Siren
Author: Kiera Cass
Published: 28 Jan 2016
Series: -
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis: 
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Selection series comes this sweeping standalone fantasy romance. A girl with a secret. The boy of her dreams. An ocean between them.
Throughout the ages, the Ocean has occasionally rescued young women from drowning. To repay their debt, these young women must serve for 100 years as Sirens, remaining young and beautiful and using their deadly voices to lure strangers into watery graves. To keep their true nature secret, Sirens must never speak to humans, and must be careful never to stay in the same place for too long. But once her century of service is over, each Siren gets a chance to start over – a chance to live the mortal life that was almost stolen from her.
Kahlen became a Siren after her family died in a terrible shipwreck, decades ago. And though a single word from her can kill, she can’t resist spending her days on land, watching ordinary people and longing for the day when she will be able to speak and laugh and live freely among them again.
Kahlen is resigned to finishing her sentence in solitude…until she meets Akinli. Handsome, caring, and kind, Akinli is everything Kahlen ever dreamed of. And though she can’t talk to him, they soon forge a connection neither of them can deny… and Kahlen doesn’t want to.
Falling in love with a human breaks all of the Ocean’s rules, and if the Ocean discovers Kahlen’s feelings, she’ll be forced to leave Akinli for good. But for the first time in a lifetime of following the rules, Kahlen is determined to follow her heart.

Kahlen: You provide the oven and utensils, and I'll bring all the ingredients?
Akinli: I will also bring my stomach, because cake > actual food

I liked the beginning section as we got to see her back story and how she meets the other girls in what is now going to be her new family.

Akinli was probably my favourite character as he was so sweet and caring. My second favourite was Aisling because she was somehow able to keep a secret from The Ocean for all her 100 years of service, plus she sounded like she would be a good friend.

The date that Kahlen and Akinli have together where they bake a cake in his dorm was quite cute and it sort of makes me want to have one too. But it's probably cuter in theory than in practice.

The dresses described in the book that The Ocean makes the girls sound beautiful. I definitely want one of those.

I liked the twist where both Akinli and Kahlen get sick and the reasons behind it though as I hadn't thought about that before.

It would have been nice to hear more about the siren world, but I did still like the book.

There's always room for love, even if it's as small as a crack in a door