READING: Anhaga by Lisa Henry

Publication date: July 23 2019
Published by: DreamSpinner Press
Genre: Adult, MM, Romance, Fantasy
Rating: 

Aramin Decourcey—Min to his few friends—might be the best thief in Amberwich, and he might have a secret that helps him survive the cutthroat world of aristocratic families and their powerful magic users, but he does have one weakness: his affection for his adopted nephew, Harry.

When the formidable Sabadine family curses Harry, Min must accept a suicide mission to save his life: retrieve Kazimir Stone, a low-level Sabadine hedgewitch who refuses to come home after completing his apprenticeship… and who is in Anhaga, a seaside village under the control of the terrifying Hidden Lord of the fae. If that wasn’t enough, Kaz is far from the simple hedgewitch he seems.

With the Sabadines on one side and the fae on the other, Min doesn’t have time to deal with a crisis of conscience—or the growing attraction between him and Kaz. He needs to get Kaz back to Amberwich and get Harry’s curse lifted before it kills him. Saving Harry means handing Kaz over to his ruthless family. Saving Kaz means letting Harry die. Min might pride himself on his cleverness, but he can’t see his way out of this one.

The Hidden Lord might see that he never gets the choice. 

Anhaga was a really nice, sweet, MM fantasy novel (I believe the first) by what I consider THE queen of MM, Lisa Henry.

Was it one of my favourites of hers? No. 

If there was one thing that I wish Anhaga had, is a second POV. If Kaz had his own chapters, the book would have been elevated to another level. As it was now, I felt like I didn't know Kaz at all and I didn't really feel the connection between him and Min, eliminating the romance aspect completely for me.

Henry is a master in character development and it was so disappointing that she didn't do what she does best. So instead of giving me two solid characters and great story telling, she gave me only one semi solid (!) character, and a numerous of other secondary ones, plus Kaz, who was supposed to be a main character, but wasn't really. By not getting to know Kaz, he came across as quite unremarkable to me and not someone that streets smarts Min would risk his life saving and falling in love with. I wholeheartedly believed that Min did love him, but I just couldn't see it. And because the romance totally eluded me, I didn't particularly enjoy their love making scene-it was pretty awkward, considering that Kaz was a demure 19 year old virgin and the fact that there was almost no chemistry between them. Min has tons of chemistry with Harry though. That would have been fun, Min and Harry. But yeah, obviously it didn't happen.

The story was a very light fantasy tale without any intricate or complex world building, lacking the charged atmosphere that is a Lisa Henry trademark. Also, I found the ending to be inexcusably unfair to Min, him having to always wait for Kaz while he lived an entirely different life elsewhere, it seemed way out of character for sly, cunning Min.

I so wanted to fall in love with Anhaga but I didn't. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very well written, enjoyable book. However, after being super spoiled by Henry's past masterpieces, I had very high expectations which unfortunately weren't met. 😞

READING: The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

Publication date: January 11 2012
Published by: Little, Brown 
Genre: Adult, Dystopian, Mystery, Suspense, Horror, Sci Fi, Paranormal
Rating: 

"The body you are wearing used to be mine." So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.

She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own. 

In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.

I haven't given birth, but I'm sure it can't be more agonizing than reading this book 😫

Don't get me wrong-this book was not all bad. Overrated maybe? Sure, but not bad.
First of all, I guarantee it is unlike anything you've read before, especially if you're a noob in sci fi like myself. The story in the Rook is very intricate, definitely not a breezy beach read, and I truly appreciate the amount of thought and detail that went into it.
So much detail.
Oh my God, so much detail.

I don't think I've ever complained about a book having too much plot, usually it's the other way around. I'm all for making interesting and unique stories, but this one went overboard. Like, it's surpassed the "over the top" limit by a lot. It is so densely written that its 496 pages felt like 1,000 to me. I kept reading and reading and I was not even half way through! Every sentence is packed with so much information, 90% of which was not even necessary for the progression of the story, I forgot it 10 minutes later and it didn't make any difference.
O'Malley's writing was very clever and sarcastic yes, but it also felt arrogant to me, like he wanted to prove how smart he was and how well he has planned this whole thing out, when we was mostly spewing unnecessary, boring prose.
Also, I hate to say it, but there was a lot of body shaming in this book. Didn't really see that coming, right? Body shaming in a sci fi mystery, what? I know! It's true though:

[this is just a sample, there was actually way more in the book]

"massively fat"

"The fattest man she’d ever seen"

"an extremely fat woman"

"His kilt could have been used as a tartan slipcover for a settee" wtf?

Myfanwe was a pretty bland heroine; not bad, but not necessarily great either. It was a bit strange to me how a person with no memories whatsoever suddenly finds herself in a weird, secret paranormal world and she just slides right into it like no one's business. I mean, couldn't you have spent a bigger part of the book explaining that, and cut from literally anywhere else?

By the time of the final reveal, I was so exhausted and so ready for it to be over that I just didn't care anymore. There is not a huge list of characters anyway, so I pretty much suspected everyone.
Also, it turned out that it didn't really much mattered in the end because the whole situation was wrapped up in a pretty little bow in the last 15 pages or so...
I know! So frustrating. After 10 days of weaving though massive amounts of information thinking that it is all going to come together in the end and I will be rewarded for my patience, the ending was not at all satisfying. It was so rushed and it totally negated the importance of what happened before it, leaving me feeling like: "All that ⬅️ for this ➡️ ??"

For all the brave souls out there that want to spend an insane amount of time on a book which is only half good, I applaud you and respect you.
The rest of you, just watch the TV show. Way easier. 

READING: Heartstopper Vol 1 & 2 by Alice Oseman

Publication date: October 2018 and July 2019
Published by: Hodder Children's Books
Genre: Young Adult, MM, Romance, School, Contemporary, Graphic Novel
Rating: 

 

Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. The past year hasn't been too great, but at least he's not being bullied anymore, and he's sort of got a boyfriend, even if he's kind of mean and only wants to meet up in secret.

Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He's heard a little about Charlie - the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months - but he's never had the opportunity to talk to him. That is, until the start of January, in which Nick and Charlie are placed in the same form group and made to sit together.

They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn't think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and sometimes good things are waiting just around the corner...

This was, without a doubt, super cute, super romantic and incredibly sweet.

Charlie and Nick were adorable (I totally had a crush on Nick) and I liked how both their families were supportive and kind and how they were all around great guys.

But.

I felt that both books were targeted at a much younger audience. So apart from them both being very vanilla, which I actually didn't mind, they read more as juvenile fiction than YA, meaning that there were stuff in there that Young Adults should already know, if that makes any sense. If I was a librarian or in charge of curriculum in secondary school, I would definitely be all for having Heartstopper as a compulsory read for sex ed, because that would be the coolest. As it stands now, it was only just a cute story for me and that's all.

For Heartstopper to take it to the next level, it should have way more character depth. There were only the obvious good and bad guys. Good guys are always kind, considerate, polite and self sacrificing, whereas bad guys are always cruel, spiteful, hostile and violent. That's why it reminded me so much of middle grade books, in which heroes and villains are so easily distinguishable and the former always, always prevail because they are just the best. I am not knocking these types of books they're great, but I expected a little bit more complexity out of Heartstopper.

I also thought the drawings were too generic, I would have liked them to be sharper.

Definitely give these books a try, they are really lovely. They were just a tad too plain for me. 

WOOT or BOO: Mid-year edition

Welcome to the first edition of WOOT or BOO :)

RULES

I decided to start this meme on my blog to highlight the best and worst, in my opinion, books I read over a period of time.

You can choose to w00t or b00 first time reads, as well as rereads. 

I think one or two books for either woot or book will suffice, otherwise you will just end up recommending (or not) your whole reading list. You can also divide your woots and boos into categories, e.g. YA, Adult etc.

Additionally, you can add other things you really enjoyed or really hated, like music, TV, movies, anything really.

Keep in mind that this is a new meme. I may have to tweak it a bit=a lot before it's a 100%. I am open to suggestions, so feel free to leave a comment.

Please give a shout out to my blog if you use this meme, thank you 😊

Now, I'm well aware we're well into July and this post is a little late, but since I have done a lot of rereads this year I thought I'd give me more time to read new books to even the playing field a little bit. 

Unfortunately so far I haven't read as many books as I would have liked. Life is getting in the way of everything right now and it sucks. So since the beginning of the year I have read 40 books,  13 of them rereads.

WOOT 

The first w00t of 2019 will have to go to Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen, a great YA fantasy that came out this year.

Dark Shores ticked all the boxes for me, and I have to say I am very particular about YA books and more critical of them as I grow older. However, Dark Shores had everything:  

-a great and intricate plot which did not bore me to death and was not just another version of what’s out there already.
-strong and solid characters, whose physical appearance did not get pointed out all the time, characters with actual personalities who I found interesting and wanted to read about.
-a sweet and slow burning romance, with the guy pining after the girl for a change, which I much prefer to the opposite.

Dark Shores was an amazing read overall and I’m surprised that it was not hyped more. If you love YA fantasy, I’d highly recommend you give it a shot  ⚔

Another w00t goes to Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly. 
I am a huge fan of historical fiction, especially when it’s paired with an epic romance. Tea Rose delivered in both aspects and it did it so well. Donnelly’s writing is beautiful and manages to immerse you in that era, making you experience the pain and devastation of poverty, loss and heart break, along with the joy of family and new found love. 700+ pages of a whirlwind romance that will bring to tears even the coldest of hearts. Adult romance lovers get right on it if you haven’t already.   😢

Speaking of adult romance, I would be remiss not to mention my new adult historical romance discovery: Tessa Dare. I have read two books by this wonderful author and I absolutely fell in love with both of them. Her writing is so light and fun but at the same she takes such care with her characters which immediately sets her apart from all the other HR authors. Short and sweet, beautifully written HRs, will definitely put a smile on your face on a dreary day.

Finally, where would I be this year without these guys? 

An huuuuge w00t to Schitt's Creek, a sweet, heartfelt and funny as hell (without being obscene) little gem of a show, created by Eugene and Dan Levy who also star in it. I'm currently on my second re run and if it's possible I love it even more than the first time around. Everyone who enjoys good, genuine comedy and guys in leather sweaters all year round, should definitely watch it! 

🤓📺

BOO 

The b00 is strong with this one 🙅

This is clearly an unpopular opinion seeing that this book has a 4,26 rating out of 13,892 ratings 😲

To me, it was just another overhyped YA book that appeals mostly to readers who enjoy very simple, polished books, with a clean-cut, extremely handsome guy, and a geeky, but secretly very pretty, young girl. I thought this kind of set up was the latest fad 10 years ago, but I can now see that not only it still exists, but that young kids go gaga over it. Hm.

Well, with poorly constructed world building and non existent characters stretched out in almost 500 pages, this book was definitely not for me. 

I regret to give this one a b00 but I feel I must.

The Gentlemen's Guide not only failed to deliver as an LGBTQ+ book, but as a YA historical as well. It was very convoluted and the plot not very well thought out, putting more emphasis on a mediocre telling of an "adventure" rather than focusing more on the romance and the characters' relationships. Again, too long  (😏) for such a poorly written story. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying it was all bad or to not read it. I just expected way more out of a hugely successful, diverse book.🤷

READING: Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten

Publication date: October 31 2017
Published by: Simon Pulse
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Dark, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Crime, High School
Rating: 

When Sasha’s best friend Xavier gets back together with his cheating ex, Ivy, Sasha knows she needs to protect him. So she poses as a guy online to lure Ivy away.

But Sasha’s plan goes sickeningly wrong. And she soon learns to be careful of who you pretend to be because you might be surprised by who you become… 

This is one of my all over the place reviews, I apologise in advance 😬

I want to preface this by saying that I have been obsessed with teen true crime docus lately. After watching I love you, now die I was in shock, and in all honesty, terrified of the workings of the teenage mind. Also, binging Euphoria episodes didn't help 🙁

After watching these, I mentally went back to the 90s when I was a teenager and tried to remember if I was remotely the same, if I had similar thoughts and emotions and I just didn't express them so loudly.
While at first I emphatically denied being anything like "them", after mulling it over I actually remembered times when I too had dark thoughts, when I too was extremely lonely, when I too felt like shit. Unfortunately, this is what adolescence is: it universally sucks. And it mostly sucks because of other people, and the way they choose to treat you and see you as.

That was me in the 90s when I could count these people on one hand. 
Now, you can take this handful of people and multiply them by a billion, because that is how many people have the right to have an opinion about you now and talk in any way they want about you. 
The internet: what a marvel.

So when a 18 year old boy kills himself because his girlfriend texted him to do it, I can't help but wonder: what's next?

---

What does that have to do with Bad Girls with Perfect Faces you ask. Something similar happens in this book when Ivy starts chatting with a guy named Jake who DMed her on Instagram, and who she's never met in person. Ivy starts to get very close to Jake, believing that he is the only one that gets her and really sees her. It is only after they agree to meet in person that things go horribly wrong. 
Something I am 100% sure I would never do in my teens, or rather knew better than to do: meet a stranger in the woods.
I mean, it's common sense right? I don't want to victim blame or anything like that, but 
1. how can you be sure this person you, a teenage girl, is talking to, is not a sexual predator??
2. how do you agree to meet him in person?? 
Where is this behaviour, this mentality stemming from? Kids are definitely way more educated in these matters now than I was back then, but they also seem to have this cavalier and daredevil attitude which we definitely didn't have. Can someone please explain it to me because I don't get it at all.

I am obviously not going to reveal any spoilers here, but I have to admit that I did not see any of the twists coming, so the mystery/suspense part was very compelling.
But what made this book so riveting, was its characters: Sasha, Xavier and Ivy.
Sasha and Xavier are best friends. Sasha is this no nonsense, sure of herself, but for some reason quite detached, girl and Xavier is this sweet, goofy guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. After Xavier gets back together with Ivy, who completely ruined him when she first dumbed him, Sasha is determined to do aaaanything to save her best friend from being hurt again, and finally tell him she's in love with him.

Ivy was a hateful girl, who enjoyed stringing people along and emotionally abusing them. She had no redeeming qualities whatsoever (none that I could see) and I was finding it very hard to understand why Xavier, this kind hearted guy, would ever be so in love with this girl. He said Ivy was so fearless and I guess that's what he loved about her. But Ivy was fearless because she had never faced any consequences for her actions. Xavier, and I guess all the other people in her life, always made excuses for her, justifying her actions as "Ivy being Ivy". They were all essentially enabling this deeply troubled teenage girl to be even more mean, more evil, to test people's limits and bring them to their breaking point. 

So you'd think that Sasha trying everything to save her best friend from Ivy's clutches would make her the hero.
Not quite so.
Sasha is immensely jealous of Ivy. She often wonders why all the guys were into Ivy when she was so clearly vile and "not that attractive". She decides to create this fake Insta profile and DM Ivy to catch her in the act and then prove to Xavier that "See? She has been cheating with you all this time." 
After the incident though, all that changes. Weingarten does an amazing job here, shifting 1st person narration to 2nd, showing how Sasha had to leave her body and become someone else in order to do what needs to be done and how, once it's done, she comes back to life in a sense with narration changing back to 1st. She is driven by such a deep love for Xavier, that is willing to do the unthinkable to save him. I loved Sasha and I think her and Ivy were the most interesting characters. 

That being said, I found Xavier weak, especially for a guy who has two girls "fighting" over him. He never really showed any backbone in his relationship with both Ivy and Sasha, and he very willingly let himself be led throughout the whole book. 
I would have also liked for Gwen to have a bigger presence in the book so the final twist could make more sense and have an even bigger impact.
Also, I think the CAPS in her narrative were pointless.
I loved the bleak, non HEA ending. After everything these kids did, it would completely ruin the book if everything ended up fine and dandy. They deserved an even worse ending if you ask me.

This is a dark, twisted story about an angry, confused girl who did a very bad thing. I am not sure if it's an appropriate read for pre teens, but what do I know? I read Carrie when I was 10.
These kinds of books are my jam, and I really really enjoyed this one. I have to say though, I am very surprised at the low ratings of Weingarten's other books. I wonder if it's because they are really that bad, or because YA readers had different expectations going in? I mean, I heard Bad Girls described as a love triangle and pff that can't be further from the truth. It's sad how many great books go unnoticed or negatively critiqued because of bad marketing.

READING: When a Scot Ties The Knot by Tessa Dare

Publication date: August 25 2015
Published by: Avon
Genre: Adult, Romance, Historical, Chick Lit, Fairytale, Favorites
Rating: 

On the cusp of her first London season, Miss Madeline Gracechurch was shyly pretty and talented with a drawing pencil, but hopelessly awkward with gentlemen. She was certain to be a dismal failure on the London marriage mart. So Maddie did what generations of shy, awkward young ladies have done: she invented a sweetheart.

A Scottish sweetheart. One who was handsome and honorable and devoted to her, but conveniently never around. Maddie poured her heart into writing the imaginary Captain MacKenzie letter after letter … and by pretending to be devastated when he was (not really) killed in battle, she managed to avoid the pressures of London society entirely.

Until years later, when this kilted Highland lover of her imaginings shows up in the flesh. The real Captain Logan MacKenzie arrives on her doorstep—handsome as anything, but not entirely honorable. He’s wounded, jaded, in possession of her letters… and ready to make good on every promise Maddie never expected to keep. 

“I think you underestimate my capacity for taking normal human interaction and making it awkward.” 

Guys. I'm in love 💓💓💓
This book is just one of the loveliest, sweetest, funniest HRs I've ever read.
And there is a hot Highlander in it. How can I not love it?!

Tessa Dare yet again spun a wonderful story, this time about a shy and introverted illustrator (Maddie) and this magnificent all-man Highlander (Logan), who start off as enemies but of course end up falling madly in love through comical, but also deeply romantic, situations. Dare's melodic writing was so engaging, I could not put this book down. I read it all in a day, and I have to regretfully admit that I miss it already.
There is something that I have only seen in Dare's writing so far which I really like: modern phrases, jokes or general way of speaking customised to fit the period for which she writes. It's hard to explain, and you're probably going "What is she on about"?, and I daftly forgot to write down said phrases as to give you an example. It's so beautifully done by Dare and even though it doesn't throw you off, you are still able to detect it. I think it makes the characters timeless and consequently more relatable.

Maddie, Logan and all secondary characters were very well written, something that really surprised me. Not that I didn't think Dare is a great writer, but truth be told, in HRs character development is usually not the predominant element nor is it expected to be. That's why it's so amazing when it is done right. I came to know Logan and Maddie so well throughout this small book of 300 pages. Their background, how they grew up, how they viewed the world, their thoughts, their feelings. I mean, I haven't seen this thorough character development in HR (and other genres) books double the size of WASTTN. There was no out of character silly shenanigans, no unnecessary over the top drama. Just the perfect love story, romantic, serious, sexy and funny just when it needed to be. There are very few authors that have that gift, and Dare is definitely one of them.

Logan and Maddie's witty banter is the best part of the book, considering how petite she was and how huge he was, that mental image alone is hilarious!
What I liked most however is that Maddie might be described as a small, anxious and lonesome girl, but she was not a pushover. She showed some serious backbone when needed and stood up to Logan when he was being a stupid brute.

If you are down and you are in desperate need of a pick me up, When a Scot Ties the Knot will definitely put a smile on your face.
Great romance written by a great writer - I can't recommend it enough! 

READING: Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake #1) by Rachel Caine

Publication date: July 1 2017
Published by: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Violence, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Crime
Rating: 

Gina Royal is the definition of average—a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor—the ultimate warrior mom.

With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake. Though still the target of stalkers and Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband’s crimes, Gwen dares to think her kids can finally grow up in peace.

But just when she’s starting to feel at ease in her new identity, a body turns up in the lake—and threatening letters start arriving from an all-too-familiar address. Gwen Proctor must keep friends close and enemies at bay to avoid being exposed—or watch her kids fall victim to a killer who takes pleasure in tormenting her. One thing is certain: she’s learned how to fight evil. And she’ll never stop.

This is the first Rachel Caine book I've read after finishing the Morganville Vampire series. 
So, a looong time.

Stillhouse Lake is very different than MV. Not only story wise, or that it's not paranormal, but most importantly the writing. I could not find Rachel Caine anywhere in the book, nothing reminded me of her writing style. That wasn't necessarily bad, it just took me aback a bit. 

Stillhouse started off great-horrifying story of a woman who finds out her husband is a monster, and her struggle to reinvent herself while simultaneously trying to protect her two kids from people who want to hurt her.
The story kept my attention for the first half, but after that the pace slowed down significantly and I was quite honestly, bored. 

It didn't help that I didn't really connect with the MC, Gina/Gwen. She was so obsessed over protecting her kids from invisible internet people that wanted to do them harm, that she couldn't see what living in that constant state of paranoia was really doing to her kids. I mean sure, the lady was scarred for life after what she went through, but why do her kids need to be reminded of it everyday? A bit of normalcy is what they needed and she just couldn't see it. When she realised it and tried to give it to her kids, she went so off character, that it just didn't work.
Also, I didn't like that her acquittal was just brushed off with no further details. Other things of little importance were explained to death, but this? How did a woman who lived under the same roof as a serial killer, who had all these dead bodies in her garage, got acquitted so easily and quickly? Doesn't make much legal sense.

The ending was very convenient (she knew how to extensively search for people who thought she was guilty and wanted to punish her, but not for copycats....?), with an anticipated cliff-hanger.
There were also a lot of red herrings throughout the book - Gina/Gwen was so convinced that so and so was the creep stalking them, that she made me change my mind completely about that person, only for her to be completely wrong, and I was forced to go back liking them. That happened with ALL the characters in the book, so in the end I knew who the bad guy was by method of elimination.

I am a bit disappointed at this book, considering its very strong start. But as thriller books go, I've definitely read better ones.

READING: The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Publication date: October 8 2019
Published by: Wednesday Books
Genre: New Adult, Dystopian, Violence, Mystery, Suspense, Dark, Romance
Rating: 

No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.

Girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.

Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for their chance to grab one of the girls in order to make their fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.

To be at odds with your nature, what everyone expects from you, is a life of constant struggle. 

The Grace Year is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated YA dystopian books of the year. With its Handmaid Tale-ish feel, both of them being, more or less, feminist manifestos, it has definitely managed to create a buzz around it, and for good reason.

Make no mistake: The Grace Year is advertised and marketed as a YA book, but it is brutal, raw and chock full of violence.

The story is about Tierney and her Grace Year-an annual ceremony all the 16 year old girls of the county must go through in order to cleanse themselves of their magic that has been known to affect men, and come back a year later purified and ready to wed. They are sent off to a remote campground, forced to live under disgusting conditions, very few resources, and the fear that if they step out, they will get grabbed by poachers, who would kill them, skin them alive and sell their magic-soaked parts for a small fortune.
Doesn't that sound horrifying?

The whole concept of the Grace Year is a symbolism of the absolute disregard and pure hatred the men of the county, the pious and upstanding citizens, have for the women's existence, their daughters', their nieces', their friends'. They want them out of their sight so they are not tempted to have them near during puberty, only to return (if they return), already someone else's property. It is obvious that the men fear the women's strength and power and they are doing everything they can to constantly put them down and make them turn against each other.
In other words, welcome to planet Earth 2019.

Plot wise, The Grace Year was simply amazing. Even though it was a difficult story to get through and it made me feel dirty and disgusting throughout, I loved its originality and I wholeheartedly felt all the rage and heart break Liggett poured into it. Her writing and use of symbolisms and allegories were spot on (the use of flowers to express emotions even in a dreary and awful place such as the county was brilliant).
If I had one tiny complaint it would be about how fast paced the book was, especially in the beginning. Parts that were important and they should have been focused on more, got kinda swept under the rug, and I found myself getting whiplash from how quickly the scenes changed.
Also, apart from four big chapters and an epilogue, the book doesn't have any other breaks in between which made it hard to read at times. I got confused when the story went from here to there, day to night, with no indication of a change. 
More paragraphs would have been great and less ellipses even greater!
That being said, this is an ARC, so I hope the final book will be more carefully edited before it gets published. 

Tierney I liked enough but definitely not a huge fan. I was all for what she was representing and her loyalty and self sacrificing nature, but not being privy to much information about her before the Grace Year, it was hard for me to understand where her martyr syndrome came from. Yes, I got that she always had a rebellious side but how come, all of a sudden from day one, did she decide to save all the girls and change the status quo in the county, when she hadn't spared the girls one thought before the Grace Year? Also, for all her talk of a revolution, she was too quick to ride off to the sunset with Ryker when it suited her, and not only leave the Grace Year girls behind, but leave all her family behind and risk them getting severely punished for her desertion. I thought it was very selfish of her and very out of character, when she was presented as nothing but incredibly altruistic up until then.

I didn't really have any problem with the rest of the characters, I liked them all. All the Grace Year girls were fantastic, Tierney's mom, Ryker, but mostly Michael, representing the 1% of the male population supportive of the change, which I think is pretty accurate, if not optimistic. A meager percentage, but we'll take what we can get.

The Grace Year speaks to the heart of all the women who just have had enough. Women who have been wronged, put down, repressed and silenced for way too long. 
Even though its start is bleak, there is a clear and very optimistic message in its heartbreaking ending: if we stand together, there is nothing we can't accomplish. Things can and will change.
It's as simple as that.

Snatched it from NetGalley when it was up for grabs for like a day or two. I DID NOT request it.