The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki: Book Review

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

With a name like that, I'd been expecting something quaint and old-fashioned, but this looked more like a trendy pop-up café. Its soft lights glowed against the dark backdrop of the riverbank.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki is a mystical novel about a pop-up café appearing to people in need of some time off, a custom order made specially for them, and some external perspective on their lives.

While the premise is interesting, the external perspective received by each customer is entirely too dependent on astrological charts. I expected a little astrology from the description, but tying up everything from the choice of their profession to their romantic interests and general luck with random events to just a series of Zodiac houses based on the time and place of birth was too trite for me. I would have liked at least a little conversation about their lives and opinions first that weren't immediately attributed to astrology or their 'phase of life'. Or a food/ drink order customized more to the people's personality or mood than just their age.

I did enjoy the mystical vibes surrounding this café and whom it appears to, but it seems like the advice was given only to this group of people due to a special connection in their earlier years. Overall, I'd recommend the book to anyone interested in or familiar with astrology.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Random House publishing group - Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The rating is 1 1/2 stars, rounded up to 2 stars for NetGalley and Goodreads as there might be some concepts lost in translation.

[Half a star for the premise and the whole book; 1/4 for the characters; Half a star for the writing; 1/4 star for the world-building; Zero stars for the story arc - 1 1/2 stars on the whole].

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Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett: Book Review

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett follows Emily in the last stages of collecting material for her Encyclopedia, but soon gets drawn into the local people's and Faeries' lives more than her academic dispassionate self would like.

I liked the premise - the academic study of Faerie species, habits and worlds, supported by the world-building. The writing, last century Cambridge English also helped set vibes.

The characters however seemed two-dimensional and detracted from the book for me. Emily and Wendell were colleagues and friends before the story began. There were two or three revelations about Wendell, both personal and academic, that were nearly plot twists, if Emily hadn't already known or guessed them. So her reactions, her thoughts, the whole book even felt a bit flat to me.

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The rating is 2 1/2 stars, rounded up to 3 as I'm interested in the series.

[Half a star for the premise and the whole book; Half a star for the characters; Half a star for the story arc; Half a star for the writing; Half a star for the world-building - 2 1/2 stars in total].

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The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik: Book Review

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The last thing Orion said to me, the absolute bastard, was El, I love you so much.

The Golden Enclaves takes off with this and is a superb conclusion to the Scholomance trilogy. The most satisfying aspect, to me, is to see El and Orion's character arcs complete and stable, making space for each other. Naomi Novik has done a few fantastic fairy tale retellings before (Spinning Silver and Uprooted), but in my head I think of this story as The Beast and the Beast retelling - where, spoilers, neither is a Beast, not really. A perfect short quote that made me think of this again - But they'd loved Orion only in exactly the same way they'd hated me. Neither one of us were ever people to them. He just made himself useful, and I refused to. I loved that their character arcs started in very different places and have been complementary to each other, evolving beautifully since the first book.

El's snarky sarcastic sassy voice brings it's own unique flavour to this book, and series; her thoughts and analysis just makes her more relatable to me though the exposition might be too hyperactive for some people. Novik writes masterfully - of complex young adults in one layer, of a brilliant fantasy tale in another and of moral philosophy as the foundational layer. The premise of the series, as El finally recognizes in this book, is paraphrasing the trolley problem - is it okay to save many people by sacrificing one person? And what are the consequences of this decision?

Everyone has to decide for themselves, and El more than anyone as she's a budding dark sorceress (a tertiary order entity really). Intent and belief are more important than the words of any spell, and El finds that she has to keep deciding to not be a dark sorceress every step of the way as she races from one place to another. Because once she takes a step down that path, it'll be so much more difficult to stop. The story is paced well, weaving together action, magic and all the good intentions behind the worst politics.

The intricate magic system and the world-building also support the central question of this series; it dwells not just on the mechanics of the magic, but more on ephemeral concepts like overarching balance in the universe, hard earned mana and easily stolen malia.

Overall, a definite recommendation to pick up this series!

Scholomance #1: A Deadly Education Review
Scholomance #2: The Last Graduate Review

Thanks to NetGalley, Naomi Novik and the Random House publishing group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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[One star for the premise and the whole book; One star for the characters; One star for the writing; One star for the story; One star for the world-building - Five stars in total.]

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The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik: Book Review

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Keep far away from Orion Lake.

The Last Graduate, the second book of the Scholomance series, picks up from this cliffhanger with all the brilliance of the first book - and more! The book follows El through her last year at the Scholomance as her friends (yes, she realizes she has friends!), and she try to rescue every student from the world's maleficaria until the very last graduate.

El's character growth is considerable in this book, always listening to her conscience and driving the story forward - her bubble of 'us' grows from one to three to dozens to hundreds, her sarcasm and impertinence notwithstanding. Orion's character arc provides a great complement to El's as he finally finds himself looking beyond just fighting mals and cares about something for himself.

The world-building is well done, especially as we hear it from El's snarky point of view. We find out more about how this world works along with the magic system. The Scholomance itself is finally seen as an individual entity with (artificial or natural) intelligence as it 'protects all the wise-gifted children of the world'. It actively prods El and the other students towards definite plans and conclusions, even driving the story at certain points.

Novik's masterful writing interspaces the story with world-building as well as character growth. Many secondary characters are given time and space to grow and overcome the politics of the outside world, some even proving we can't truly know what people would rise to do in a crisis. It was wonderful to see many people take the reins on different projects and working together in the end. The book, on the whole, makes for a great second part of the series and ends with a cliffhanger (of course) for the third and final book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the Random House Publishing group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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[One star for the premise and the whole book; One star for the characters; One star for the writing; One star for the story; One star for the world-building - Five stars in total.]

Overall, a definite recommendation to pick up this series!

Scholomance #1: A Deadly Education Review
Scholomance #3: The Golden Enclaves Review

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A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik: Book Review

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

'I decided that Orion needed to die after the second time he saved my life.' - A Deadly Education takes off with one of the most riveting opening sentences in fantasy!

Naomi Novik weaves a refreshing take on the magic boarding school trope with masterful narrative pacing, unforgettable characters and intricate world-building. What I enjoyed most is the tone of the book, set by the smart and impertinent lead El and her many sarcastic inner musings. The complementary character arcs of El and Orion, of whom you find out a lot in just the first few opening words, drive the story forward and are made a lot more distinctive by their personalities. The characters, including many secondary ones, are quite well-formed and are made relatable teenagers even though they face extraordinary unrelatable circumstances. El manages to retain her wit and sass even while fighting her destiny of becoming a dark goddess of death and destruction!

The novel is set in the Scholomance, a magic boarding school with a sort of AI giving personalized course structures for each student; and they learn by surviving not only exams but also the aforementioned extraordinary circumstances such as frequent attacks by mals /monsters. The layered world-building does require some exposition but it's packed in well along with the action, keeping the story moving forward at a good pace. More importantly, this book is enjoyable and provides a good foundation for the next books in the series.

Overall, the book has great diversity and quite distinct characters. It was heartening to see Naomi Novik acknowledge and apologize for racially insensitive comments on dreadlocks. And the series deserves some extra points for trying to create a matter-of-fact cosmopolitan environment, including all the politics.

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Thanks to NetGalley and the Random House Publishing group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[One star for the premise and the whole book; One star for the characters; One star for the writing; One star for the story; One star for the world-building - Five stars in total.]

Overall, a definite recommendation to pick up this series!

Scholomance #2: The Last Graduate Review
Scholomance #3: The Golden Enclaves Review

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Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik: Book Review

Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

''What if we went the long way round instead, next time?'' Aston said.
Why not?

Buried Deep and Other Stories is a fantastic collection of stories from worlds old and new, told and retold by Naomi Novik. Most were published previously in other anthologies, but I haven't read these and was happy to see this book come out! There must be something for everyone in this collection of thirteen stories, whether one likes the Scholomance or Temeraire worlds, retellings of fairy tales, mystical stories, Regency romances, or even a glimpse into a new world!

Finding magic, finding a thing of magic, while you were still young enough to truly believe, could open the door, and then if you had some little gift as well, a powerful magic could awaken it to bloom.

The foundation for all these stories is the strong world-building, fascinating magic systems and intricate societies. Whether the length is a short few pages or more like a novella, the glimpses we see are of full-fledged worlds.

Lady Araminta - the possessor of several other, more notable names besides, here omitted for discretion - had been caught twice trying to climb out her window, and once in her father's library, reading a spellbook.

The characters, some bright and sharp, some delicate sparks, some rough and sturdy, and some even matte and resilient are all relatable or at least empathizable (is that a word?)

The real story isn't half as pretty as the one you've heard.

Novik can masterfully spin (yes, I said that) both mystical and practical stories with action as well as intospection. I enjoy reading character driven stories, and there are plenty here. Some are just vignettes with only a small story arc, but satisfying nonetheless.

She was armored against incivility, however, by the knowledge that a dragon waited eagerly for her to return and give a full accounting of the gowns and jewels worn by every lady present.

Lastly, the writing is adapted well to the different settings and stories. It drew me into the story, set appropriate vibes and even interspersed humour, all while flowing smoothly!

As with every anthology, there are one or two stories and settings I couldn't get invested in, but that's more to do with personal taste than the story itself I believe.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Del Rey for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The rating for this collection is 4 1/2 stars, rounded up to 5 for Goodreads, as most of the stories are simply great!

[One star the premise and the whole book; One star for the characters; One star for the writing; Half a star for the story arcs; One star for the world-building and description - 4 1/2 stars in total.]


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April 23, 2024

Very excited to receive an ARC through NetGalley! Can't wait to dig into ( 😉) more of Naomi Novik's work 😀.

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