Hall of Smoke by H.M. Long
Length: 432 Pages
Genres: High Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

"'Eang, Eang,' I murmured, willing my words to be heard across distance, time and division between worlds. 'The Brave, the Vengeful, the Swift and the Watchful...'"

Trigger Warnings in this book for Gore and Violence

I have only one question: WHY AREN'T MORE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT HALL OF SMOKE!

H.M. Long's Hall of Smoke was on my list of Most Anticipated Books of 2021 and I can report with happiness that it greatly exceeded my expectations. It was tense, moving, exciting, evocative and most importantly, so much fun. 

Hessa is an Eangi, a group of specially chosen Priests and Priestesses of the Goddess of War, Eang. She burns with magical fire, a power that makes her stronger and faster, heals minor wounds, and on occasion, boils your enemy's eyes in their head. The titular Hall of Smoke, which is not only a temple to their Goddess but the place where they eat and sleep together, is all she's known since she was a child. When the book opens, she's been banished from her people and has taken the "Climb of Atonement" for failing to carry out an order given to her from Eang herself. She hopes that she will be forgiven, but if she's not, it could mean ostracization...or death. Her fears are put to the side when she hears the tell-tale sound of the war horn from her village, and her life is turned dramatically upside down. She is thrust into a war between her people, the Algatt, the eclipsing empire of Arpa, and the Divine.
Soon, she realizes that everyone has secrets, including the Gods, only theirs are much more dangerous.

I devoured this book. Hessa is one of my new favorite heroines and I adored her strength, her wits, and that fiery personality. The worldbuilding was absolutely incredible, and for someone who has been obsessed with mythology since I was very young, it was as addictive as candy. Even though Hall of Smoke clocks in at 432 pages, I wished it was even longer just so I could spend more time in the world of Eang and Hessa and Omaskat and Nisien.

Now I'm obsessed and the only thing I can think about is that a sequel is coming 2022!

Book Review: The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten
Length: 352 Pages
Genres: Horror and Mystery
Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5

A special thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an ARC of this book

"The church looms large over the small buildings on the eastern side of the village, its tall, proud spire topped by a slender cross that glistens, impossibly bright, in the light of the setting sun. The houses look almost as if they've sprouted from the church like little mushrooms, falling and moldering to form walls and silhouettes along the coppery-red river running down to the small woodland lake that village its name: silvertjärn, silver tarn."

Trigger Warnings in this book for a Suicide Attempt, Gore and Violence, Abuse of a Disabled Person, Discussions of Mental Illness, and Implied Rape

Alice Lindstedt has one goal in life - to make a successful documentary about the lost village of Silvertjärn, Sweden. Her grandmother grew up in the village, and her parents and younger sister were among the 900 people who vanished without a trace in 1959. All that was left behind was a newborn baby, and the body of Birgitta Lidman, stoned and strapped to a pole in the middle of Silvertjärn.

Alice brings Tone, a troubled friend who has her own links to Silvertjärn; Max, the backer of the project, and Emmy and Robert, who have filming experience. Emmy just so happens to also be a friend of Alice's from college that she hasn't spoken to in years and their troubled past crackles through the rest of the group like electricity. Soon, they start to experience strange things - a sighting of a figure out in the rain, strange laughter over the walkie-talkies, and a explosion that leaves them trapped and without resources as they come to the horrifying conclusion that they are most definitely not alone.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and I have to admit I was a little let down. I absolutely loved the setting of the spooky and remote Swedish village, with all the identically colorful little houses, looming church and creepy mines. It even contained one of my favorite tropes - the evil and seductive priest. However, I feel that The Lost Village was really let down by its writing, which came across amateurish and telling, especially in the "Then" chapters, which followed Alice's great-grandmother, Elsa. It did improve over the course of the book and I wonder how much of the problem has to do with translation, as the author is Swedish herself.

 Another main issue I had was with the character of Birgitta. She is guessed at by Alice and the others as being Autistic, or having a "chromosomal problem", and is shunned by the majority of the villagers. Her storyline greatly disturbed me, and I could hardly read the chapter that details her death.

I think as a society, we need to move past using mental illnesses as a crutch in horror. It's not a "Gotcha!" moment, and for me, comes across as a cheap tactic to inspire shock. Alice, Tone, and Birgitta all have mental illnesses and the handling of them all seemed ham-fisted at best. While Alice and Emmy's relationship is one of the most interesting of the book, I couldn't quite bring myself to understand or forgive Emmy's actions, and I didn't especially like the way they were framed in the book, as if Alice was the one truly at fault.

Overall, I think of The Lost Village as a scary B movie - entertaining and light, nothing more, nothing less.

Book Review: A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
Length: 248 Pages
Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Spoilers Ahead!

"You did not let me keep my name, so I will strip you of yours. In this world, you are what I say you are, and I say you are a ghost, a long night's fever dream that I have finally woken up from. I say you are the smoke-wisp memory of a flame, thawing ice suffering under an early spring sun, a chalk ledger of debts being wiped clean. I say you do not have a name."

A special thanks to NetGalley and Nyx Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Blood, Gore, and Mental and Physical Abuse

The very first time I saw Bram Stoker's Dracula (at much too young an age, might I add) I've been fascinated with his brides. Played in the film by the beautiful Monica Bellucci, Florina Kendrick and Michaela Bercu, they cut seductive, yet somber figures. Powerful, yet squashed beneath Dracula's thumb, reduced to living off the meager scraps he brings home (Live babies anyone?). 

In S.T. Gibson's A Dowry of Blood, we get answers to all the burning questions we've always had. What were their lives like before? Did they consent to become creatures of the night, or were they forced? And most importantly, what happens after his story ends?

Following his first bride Constanta, from her rebirth to his inevitable end, we learn just how sweet - and how cruel - he can be. He gives her the run of the house, excepting his laboratory where he researches their kind, but won't let her leave. Then he takes another bride, the willful and intelligent Magdalena. He lets her have just enough freedom to placate her - then snatches it all away. Constanta can't help herself and falls head over heels for Magdalena - her sister, her lover, her confidante. Eventually another bride is made, a beautiful and poor boy living through the October Revolution called Alexi, and he turns their world upside down. Constanta loves him, first as a son, later as much more. He challenges their master when the others are too scared, even brings human friends back to one of their many houses. As Dracula's anger and violence grows, Constanta decides something must be done. It's him, or them.

S.T. Gibson perfectly captured the eras, from old war-torn Romania to 1920s Paris, in her seductive and lyrical prose. I felt this was one of the most accurate depictions of Dracula outside of the original novel, and loved him and hated him as much as his brides did. Constanta was a breath of fresh air for female protagonists. Gibson let her be strong, but didn't demonize her for showing her naivete and weakness. She waited, even if it meant biting her tongue, for the perfect moment to save all their lives.

I couldn't recommend this more. It is one of the best vampire novels I've read in a very long time.