R.M. Archer's Blog, page 13

Book Review: Once I Knew by Victoria Lynn

I’ve been following Victoria Lynn on Instagram for ages, but Once I Knew was the first of her books to really catch my attention. Because I appreciate her and her passion for truth so much, I was really excited to see a book of hers coming out that’s in a genre I enjoy and I was thrilled to be able to pre-order it! It took me two months to finish it, but now I can finally present my review. But first…

What is Once I Knew about?

Violet lives her quiet little life in her sleepy village. Trying to remain as dead to the politics that are threatening their world as possible. She follows the rules, stays out of trouble and does her best to remain out of sight of the dreaded and overbearing Kingsmen.

With the new regent on the throne, the country has been thrown into a turmoil. Unlike the kindly king before him, the new ruler is overbearing, frightening and tyrannical in his rule. Taxes are bleeding the people dry and without the money or goods to pay, they have been forced into penal servitude and imprisonment by the Kingsmen, who know no mercy. The despair and fear that has taken over their lives has ruled out any level of hope.

When Violet stumbles upon an unconscious and injured Kingsman in the woods, despite the consequences, she cannot help but take care of the injured man. When he wakes and has no memory of who he is, she takes the only precaution that will keep her and her grandmother safe; she destroys the evidence of his past life.

If Violet’s lowly Kingsman regains his memory, will she be able to live with the consequences? And will the Kingsman be able to live with his past life?

Review

In the end… I didn’t enjoy Once I Knew as much as I’d hoped. In part I think it was a matter of taste and in part it was a matter of the prose needing another once-over from a line editor. The prose had a very clear voice, but it also consistently felt awkward in ways that would have been fixed by subtle tweaks in sentence structure or even just punctuation, so the voice didn’t really get to shine because the awkwardness of the sentence structure got in the way.

I also just didn’t really click with the characters? Violet was especially hard for me because she’s very emotion-driven, even to the point of it influencing her physical health (she was constantly passing out), and I am… not. There’s nothing wrong with being emotion-driven—emotions are a good thing—I just personally have trouble connecting with and enjoying characters who are so thoroughly immersed in their emotions because I’m so often in my head, distanced from my emotions, and can’t relate. I won’t call Violet a weak female character—she wasn’t, and I very much appreciate her feminine qualities, especially when it comes to her duty to her family and household—but the fainting spells and crying did start to bug me a little bit.

Obed was all right. Protective male characters are my jam, so as far as that goes he was great. He just felt… a little too perfect? I didn’t quite believe his arc. It didn’t feel like there was enough conflict involved. And his spiritual growth felt way too fast. Conversion I get, and the turnaround that comes with that, but you don’t go from living in the world to being a fully mature Christian that quickly, and while Violet and Obed did seem to be in the same place spiritually at the end (as they should have been for… the ending) it didn’t seem like they should have been given their very different history and spiritual timelines. So. That was a little frustrating. Especially because their whole relationship just felt… I felt like there wasn’t enough basis for it realistically, and yet on the page there was nothing I could pinpoint to make it a mismatch, so it ended up feeling like their similarities and complementary traits were pushed in too fast for the sake of their relationship instead of their relationship developing quite as organically as it should have.

Marcus, on the other hand… I know, I know. He’s the best friend character so I’m automatically biased. But I really feel like Victoria did him dirty. Marcus really did feel equally yoked with Violet, they had an established relationship to build off of, he was just as loyal and protective as Obed was… It kind of seemed like he was written off because of his disability in one scene, which… is not cool. (Also not the intention, I’m sure, but that’s how it came across to me.) He was probably my favorite character in the book. He felt the most realistic to me, overall. He was sweet, grounded in his faith, really and truly loved Violet, took care of Violet and Granny, was a hard worker… Marcus deserved better and that’s all I have to say about that.

The faith elements. I have such mixed thoughts here. The first thing that really stood out to me in a negative sense was that it’s weird to have exactly the same names for God in a fantasy world as in the real world. I can appreciate the desire to make that connection really clear and to emphasize the name of Jesus and all of that, but it doesn’t feel natural to the setting and it’s kind of jarring to have characters in a fantasy world talking about Jesus by the name He’s known by in the real world. On the flip side, it was neat when I noticed near the end that Violet and Obed commonly referred to God by two different titles that meant something to them: Obed referring to Him as his Heavenly Father and Violet referring to Him as the King. That was a well-done thematic tool that I thought strengthened the portrayal of faith quite a bit.

God talking… I always have so much trouble deciding thoughts on this. Because on the one hand, I know that God speaks. I don’t doubt that He can and does speak audibly in some situations to some people. So I hesitate to call direct dialogue with God or an allegory of God “unrealistic.” On the other hand, it’s so rarely that easy. Especially in cases where the truth being communicated is so directly found in Scripture and the characters have access to Scripture. (There was one scene with Obed, in particular, that felt like a recitation of various Scripture passages for three paragraphs and felt like a fast and easy way to give Obed a lot of reassurance and wisdom all at once instead of giving him time to struggle and learn and study for himself. “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” – Proverbs 25:2) Basing that dialogue heavily on Scripture does, on the other hand, make it a lot harder to fall into my other concern with God dialogue which is that of putting words into God’s mouth. So I can appreciate it from that angle. But basically, having God talk directly to characters is messy and I personally struggle with it in pretty much every case (even when I don’t expressly mention such).

I did like the narrative voice, underneath the line editing issue. I loved Marcus, and there were other side characters I enjoyed also and would have liked to see fleshed out more (Everard, Fendrel, Malcolm). The overall themes were solid. The small-scale settings were lovely (the forest, the fields, etc.). Overall, I’d give the book three stars. It wasn’t my favorite. It wasn’t terrible. It just sort of was.

Add on Goodreads | Buy on Bookshop* | Buy on Amazon | Buy from Victoria

*This is an affiliate link, which means if you purchase through this link I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you

Want to get book reviews and other bookish content delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up to my reading newsletter!

The post Book Review: Once I Knew by Victoria Lynn appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

5 Books that Give Me “Calligraphy Guild” Vibes

One of the things I wanted to do with Calligraphy Guild was find similar books to promote alongside it. Asian-inspired fantasy isn’t a sub-genre I’ve read or seen a whole lot–nor are slow-paced or story-themed fantasy–so I wanted to dive into it and see what I found. I came out with a pretty mixed bag, but there were a few highlights. (Though the first item on the list is not one I read as a comp title, but rather one that was an encouragement to me as I was writing Calligraphy Guild.)

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

This probably sounds like a really arrogant comparison to start with, so let me begin by saying there is no comparison, really. In terms of comparison, LOTR is clearly superior to Calligraphy Guild and I doubt anyone can match what Tolkien did.

That said, I do see Tolkien’s influence on my writing and I think Calligraphy Guild will appeal to readers who enjoyed Lord of the Rings. Both stories are slow-paced for the sake of establishing the world and characters, for the sake of appreciating the little things, and for the sake of revealing moments of humanity and simplicity amidst chaos and hopelessness. Reading Lord of the Rings a couple autumns ago and seeing those parallel reasons for slowing down was a huge encouragement for me in embracing the slow pacing of Calligraphy Guild and maintaining the style that the story needed, so Lord of the Rings deserves a mention on this list even as Calligraphy Guild is nowhere near the same class, lol.

Calligraphy Guild also resembles LOTR near the end, as both have about six different ending scenes to wrap up various plot threads and character arcs, lol.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin was a book I read only for the sake of my comp titles list–the blurb didn’t hook me right away–but I’m really glad I picked it up. It’s written in a folklore-esque tone, so the prose was a little sparser than I usually prefer, but the style was well-suited to the story. I loved the themes of gratitude and contentment threaded throughout and the emphasis on stories and their power.

Read my full review and find purchase links here.

Sing to Me of Rain by E.B. Dawson

Sing to Me of Rain by E.B. Dawson was definitely my favorite of the “comp titles” I read (LOTR doesn’t count). Dawson did such a great job of writing a story that explored characters with deep insights and an appreciation for the world (which was beautifully developed!) while never letting the story drag. There were so many thought-provoking lines that I had to underline. Sing to Me of Rain was such a deep, whimsical story and the character relationships were lovely. I absolutely loved the book and I think it’s a good option if you enjoy Calligraphy Guild (and vice versa), given they have similar themes, character dynamics, and pacing. Sing to Me of Rain is a bit faster and it has a much smaller cast, so it’s probably the easier read of the two. Either way, it’s an excellent book and I definitely recommend checking it out.

Read my full review and find purchase links here.

The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill

This one is super short and I do have some worldview issues with it but it’s also super cute and whimsical and somehow pulls off feeling slow-paced even though it’s so short? Anyway, it’s really neat, the art style is lovely, and it has emphases on community, crafts like tea-making and blacksmithing, building from tradition, and friendship, so there are some neat thematic parallels with Calligraphy Guild. Plus, tea and dragons are big elements of both stories.

Read my full review (including worldview issues) here.

The Story Peddler by Lindsay A. Franklin

While The Story Peddler is not Asian fantasy, I decided to pick this one up due to its emphasis on storytelling (and because it had been on my TBR for entirely too long). I really enjoyed the portrayal of the female characters in this one; they were well-balanced to be both strong and feminine (and strong in their femininity); and the two female POV characters balanced each other well, with one being more brash and outspoken while the other was more diplomatic and gentle. I also loved the emphasis on family and how many of the characters valued the family around them and/or the idea of building their own families. Overall, the whole worldview was really refreshing (especially after a couple of stories that fell very flat in that department).

Read my full review and find purchase links here.

What didn’t make the list

There were a number of other books I read while searching for comp titles that didn’t make this list because I wouldn’t recommend them, they didn’t resemble Calligraphy Guild, or both. You can find reviews for those below.

Air Awakens by Elise Kova (4 stars)

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim (3 stars)

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan (2 stars)

Timely by The Phoenix Fiction Writers (5 stars)

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin (3.5 stars, no comprehensive review)

Have you read any of the books on this list? What did you think of them?

Don’t forget to grab your copy of Calligraphy Guild!

The post 5 Books that Give Me “Calligraphy Guild” Vibes appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

Calligraphy Guild Credits

Movies have credits and books have acknowledgments, but today I want to take an extra opportunity to mention all of the people who made Calligraphy Guild possible. So many people played a part in making Calligraphy Guild what it is, so let’s give them a hand (and a follow and some support, if you’re feeling generous).

As far as groups go, I have to mention The Fortress first. The Fortress is the nickname for the Christian Teens Together! forum that started on the NaNoWriMo website. This group has been a part of my life for almost seven years now and those in it have been instrumental in my writing growth throughout those years. I’ve made so many great friends in that group, including my two critique partners for Calligraphy Guild, who have been so encouraging and supportive throughout the process. There’s no way Calligraphy Guild would be where it is without Edna Pellen and JHD Paul, not to mention everyone else in The Fortress.

One of the authors I met in The Fortress is Miranda Marie, who has been such an excellent mentor to me over the years and was graciously willing to format Calligraphy Guild so that I could focus on other elements of release prep. I cannot express how grateful I am for Mandy and her friendship!

The Kingdom Pen forums are another great community of Christian authors! It’s here that I “met” some of my most faithful readers, including the author who helped me finalize the language and culture of Virilia, Libby Powell!

The Phoenix Fiction Writers had a huge impact on Calligraphy Guild’s existence, with their “HQ” combining with The Fortress to prompt the idea of the calligraphy guild itself and their members initially inspiring a number of the characters. Not only this, but J.E. Purrazzi’s Discord server is such an encouragement! Jill’s weekly sprints helped push me through a lot of the writing and editing of Calligraphy Guild, and both she and the other authors in the server provided so much encouragement along the way!

My sensitivity readers and beta-readers played such an important role in the process of editing Calligraphy Guild. I’m so thankful for their input and encouragement. Thank you Kristianne, Libby, Andrew, Issabelle, Grace, Edna, Bethani, JHD/Maple, Miranda, and Mom.

My mom has been behind me through this whole process, and her feedback after reading CG’s sensitivity draft may or may not have made me cry.

Feedback from my editor, Jane Maree, helped me to flesh out some areas of the story and characters that had been lacking, and some of my favorite scenes in the book came about because of her input.

My cover designer, Alli May, did a STUNNING job with the cover, and I’m so thankful for her work! She tied together all of the most important elements of the story and Virilen culture in her design; I couldn’t have imagined a better cover.

And then there are all the artists involved in the pre-order campaign: Victoria of Little Mouse Bookshelf, Johannes Engøy, Literary Treasures, my little sister, and RavenFire (the designer who made the art I use in my promo graphics!)

Thank you, also, to everyone who has participated or is participating in the blog tour! Thank you Lavender, Tasha, Kristina, Laura, Issabelle, Kayla, Dawn, Erin, Kristianne, Naomi, RaeMarie, Eden, Miranda, Libby, Bethani, Grace, and Edna.

So many people have contributed to making Calligraphy Guild what it is, and I probably haven’t even mentioned them all. (I know I haven’t mentioned all of the people who have influenced the book more indirectly, like my dad, all of the people whose traits found their way into characters, the authors whose works led to my particular flavor of worldbuilding, the authors who shaped the tone of my work…) This book owes its life to so many people.

But mostly, Calligraphy Guild owes its existence to the God who provided and orchestrated all of the relationships and experiences that went into it, the God who provided for every step of the process, and the Master Author who blessed me with His creativity in the first place and gave me grace to use it. This book would not have happened without Him.

Soli deo gloria.

The post Calligraphy Guild Credits appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

Underrated Character Relationships

One of the things I love most about Calligraphy Guild is the variety of character relationships, so today I thought I’d highlight some of the relationships I enjoyed most and relationships I would love to see more of in fiction–including a couple that don’t appear in Calligraphy Guild (though I have plans to use all of these at some point. ;) )

Realistic Siblings

I’m the oldest of five siblings, so I love reading about sibling characters who nag at each other a bit, tease one another, but ultimately love and appreciate one another and make up after disagreements. Duyên is also an oldest sister, though she only has two siblings: Sakura and Sinh. Her relationship with Sakura was actually inspired by my relationship with my oldest sister, and her relationship with Sinh was somewhat informed by my relationship with my own brother. It was really neat to be able to weave in pieces of my own family and highlight them that way.

The other set of siblings is Tora and her older brother Makio. (They have another older brother, Tuan, but he doesn’t play as significant a role in this book.) Tora and Makio are a little bit idealized (a consequence of Makio being a lot of what I’d want in an older brother, lol), but their relationship is so sweet and I loved writing their scenes together.

Healthy Parent-Child Relationships

Y’all, this is especially a problem in YA fiction. Where are all the healthy parent-child relationships?? I’m so tired of all the dead or abusive parents in fiction. Who’s with me in writing more of what parents should be? While a good number of the characters in Calligraphy Guild are adults no longer near their parents (and a couple of characters do have dead or negligent parents), Duyên and her siblings have healthy relationships with their parents based on the relationships I’ve experienced and seen around me. Ryuu, too, is close with his parents, though there’s not much opportunity to see it in Calligraphy Guild. And a few of the characters–Chaska, Mika, and Diem in particular–are parents who have good relationships with their children.

Arranged Marriages/Marriages of Convenience That Work

I cannot tell you how tired I am of the “forbidden love” trope when one of the characters is already betrothed. That’s just plain ol’ cheating and I cannot stand it. I think that trope is a consequence of the hate on arranged marriages in general and the idea of working at a relationship instead of just “falling in love” and everything being happy-go-lucky. Arranged marriages have so much potential for revealing commitment, putting effort into a relationship, and taking one’s responsibilities seriously, but instead we so often see them as only an obstacle in the MC’s way. If you’re going to write a betrothal that doesn’t work out, at least have it end diplomatically and with adult conversation involved. (Livia Blackburne did the dissolved betrothal well in Daughter of Dusk.)

There are no arranged marriages or marriages of convenience in Calligraphy Guild, but this is a character relationship that I would love to see done well more often and I look forward to writing arranged marriages along these lines in future works.

Happy Marriages

Sort of related to the previous point, I’d love to see more generally strong marriages in fiction. Marriages where the couple likes each other, works well together, works out their differences, is appropriately affectionate, etc. This is another of those character relationships I think gets the short end of the stick in YA due to the need for the young characters to have autonomy and therefore the obvious need to eliminate parents (read with sarcasm), but I think there’s also a trend of bickering, unhappy couples that I’d just like to see go. (As a note… bickering old couples can be fun so long as it’s obvious that they still like and love each other and they’re not just grumpy all the time.)

Duyên’s parents and Ryuu’s parents are both examples of happy marriages in Calligraphy Guild. Raiden’s parents, as well as Chaska and her husband, are more off-screen examples.

Close Same-Gender Character Relationships

This one is probably better-represented than some of the others on the list. Lots of MCs have their tag-along best friend that they’ve known for years and are really close to. Now, those character relationships can have the pitfall of the best friend’s presence doing nothing but supporting the MC, in which case it’s not really a close and realistic friendship but rather a lopsided one. But in general, close friendships between guys or between girls are probably the easiest character relationships to find off this list.

Still, I really enjoyed writing these relationships in Calligraphy Guild. Duyên and Tora, Duyên and Jie, Tora and Sairsha, and Zen and Raiden are all examples of this character relationship in action in Calligraphy Guild.

Close (purely platonic) Opposite-Gender Character Relationships

This is perhaps one of the rarest character relationships on this list, since so many people want to see these relationships turn romantic or at least have romantic potential. Unfortunately, this is a trap I can sometimes fall into as well. But I love seeing fully platonic relationships between guys and girls, where there’s just genuine support and camaraderie there and no need or desire for anything more.

Duyên and Makio are my favorite example in Calligraphy Guild because they take this a step further and their friendship is almost like a sibling relationship, but Zen’s friendships with Tora and Sairsha also fall into this category.

Romantic Relationships Acknowledged to Not Work

This is another casualty of a hyper-romanticized culture, I think. It’s rare to find a fictional relationship in which the characters want to be together but decide they’re better off refraining from pursuing a romantic relationship. The one example I can think of off the top of my head would be Jo and Laurie in Little Women. I would love to see a greater variety of romantic plot line outcomes that explore the discernment and wisdom that must be applied to relationships and the complexities of real love.

I can’t share the Calligraphy Guild example of this relationship because it spoils the book, but this is a featured character relationship and it’s one I have every intention of exploring in future books as well.

Adopted Families/Foster Families

I don’t have a whole lot of personal experience with adoption or fostering, but my grandparents were foster parents and I would like to adopt one day. I would love to see quality representations of these types of relationships that don’t downplay the difficulties or the love involved. In a lot of cases I’ve seen, adoption is more of a plot point than a real piece of the character and their story, and while that can also be done well, I’d love to see more holistic representations of adopted families and foster families.

This is another relationship that didn’t fit into Calligraphy Guild, but it is a piece of my current work-in-progress as well as a few of my other pending stories.

Respectful Mentor/Student Character Relationships

This is another one that’s easier to find, at least depending on how respectful you want your mentor/student relationship to be. Mentors are a common archetype, so it’s fairly easy to find mentors and main characters who appreciate them; but a lot of student characters disregard their mentors a significant percentage of the time, or respect their knowledge of a skill but not their wisdom as a person, or else the mentor looks down on the student’s youth and inexperience, or the mentor dies and leaves the student on their own without a new mentor.

The mentor/student relationships in Calligraphy Guild aren’t perfect (in none of these categories do I think these character relationships should be perfect, but rather examples of characters aiming for the ideal), but there’s always a great deal of respect present. The students respect the wisdom and experience of their elders, and the mentors don’t talk down to the students but bear with their struggles and inexperience. Dai is my favorite of the mentors in Calligraphy Guild, with both Duyên and Tora, but Zen and Raiden are both great mentors to Ryuu as well.

Want to read more?

If these are character relationships you’re excited about, too, check out Calligraphy Guild when it releases on June 17th! If you sign up to my mailing list, you can read the first chapter for free here on my website.

Your turn! Are these relationships you’d like to see more in fiction, as well? What are some relationships you’d like to see that didn’t make my list? Comment down below!

And don’t forget to check out the Calligraphy Guild blog tour! There have been some awesome posts so far and there are even more yet to come!

The post Underrated Character Relationships appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

Calligraphy Guild Blog Tour Schedule

I can’t believe we’ve already reached blog tour season for Calligraphy Guild, and yet at the same time it feels like it’s been a long time coming. Regardless, I’m super excited to announce the stops for the Calligraphy Guild blog tour! I’m so grateful to all of these authors/bloggers for participating, and I hope you’ll enjoy their posts and consider following their blogs! (I’ll add direct posts to specific posts as they go live.)

June 1st

Lavender Bleu – Author interview

Tasha Van Kesteren – Lai Duyên character interview

Kristina Hall – Book review

June 2nd

Laura Morgan – Book review

June 3rd

Issabelle Perry – Tanh Ryuu character interview

June 4th

Kayla Green – Book review

June 5th

Dawn Dagger – Book review

June 6th

Erin Phillips – Author interview

June 7th

R.M. Archer – Relationships I’d love to see more in fiction

June 8th

Kristianne Hassman – Sairsha Kincaid character interview

June 9th

Naomi Sowell – Book review

June 10th

RaeMarie – Book review

June 11th

Eden Anderson – Book spotlight

June 12th

Miranda – Lôi Tora character interview

June 13th

Libby Powell – Author interview

June 14th

R.M. Archer – Calligraphy Guild shout-outs

June 15th

Bethani Theresa – Book review

June 16th

Grace Johnson – Book review

June 17th – RELEASE DAY!!

Edna Pellen – Author interview

 

Pre-order Calligraphy Guild!

Check out this page to get your pre-order goodies before they’re gone!

The post Calligraphy Guild Blog Tour Schedule appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

Book Review: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Next up on the Calligraphy Guild comp titles list is one I almost didn’t read, lol. I saw this one in the bookstore a couple months ago and didn’t feel like I got a lot of information from the blurb so I just kind of moved on, but after being disappointed by Spin the Dawn and Daughter of the Moon Goddess (reviews linked) I asked for other Asian fantasy recommendations and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon came up again. My library had it, and I’m really glad I checked this one out!

Synopsis

In the valley of Fruitless Mountain, a young girl named Minli spends her days working hard in the fields and her nights listening to her father spin fantastic tales about the Jade Dragon and the Old Man of the Moon. Minli’s mother, tired of their poor life, chides him for filling her head with nonsense. But Minli believes these enchanting stories and embarks on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man of the Moon and ask him how her family can change their fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest.

Review

The writing style of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was more distant than I usually prefer, but it was well-suited to the folklore tone of the story. Minli’s journey was fun to follow, and I enjoyed the thoughtful encounters she had along the way. The pace was a great balance for delving into the theme without ever feeling like the story dragged, and I loved the thematic parallels between Minli’s arc and her mother’s.

Probably my favorite thing about Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was the way it not only talked about the impact of stories but showed that impact throughout, from the stories told formally to the ways characters used storytelling more casually to sell goldfish or trick evil tigers. The way all of the formal stories tied together was also really neat and helped round out the world, which was also a really strong element.

This review is briefer than some of my others primarily for two reasons: First, because it’s not a very long book. It’s MG, so it moves pretty quickly. Second… I read it two weeks ago and have a royally patchy memory. But I really enjoyed Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and it’s among my favorite Calligraphy Guild comp titles!

General rating: 4 stars

Similarity to Calligraphy Guild: 4.5 stars (thoughtful pacing, deep themes throughout, the emphasis on storytelling and its power, the family dynamics, the Asian setting)

Add on Goodreads | Buy on Bookshop* | Buy on Amazon

*This is an affiliate link, which means if you purchase through this link I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you

Want to get book reviews and other bookish content delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up to my reading newsletter!

The post Book Review: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

Book Review: Timely by The Phoenix Fiction Writers

Honestly, this was probably my least favorite PFW anthology thus far. Still a 5-star read, just not quite beyond 5 stars as previous anthologies have been. Timely is, as the title suggests, themed around the concept of time (which is how I finagled it onto my CG comp titles list, lol) and it features two guest authors in addition to the PFW contributors (three guests, if you count the fact that Kyle Robert Shultz is no longer part of the Phoenix Fiction Writers).

The first few stories were great. The Clockwork Toymaker was super sweet; I loved the character dynamics and the steampunk setting. In Bermuda’s Belly, again, the characters and their relationships were a highlight, and the setting was also quite dynamic; I almost felt claustrophobic reading about the tight spaces on the submarine.

The Timekeeper’s Daughter was one of my favorites! The steampunk setting with its fixation on clocks and the way gifts work is fascinating, I loved the sibling relationship between Annora and Althea, and Annora’s struggle with her gift and the whole plot overall was one of the most compelling in the anthology.

The Weight of Dust was probably my second favorite. The Butler was written so well as an automaton, the setting was vividly dynamic, the Butler’s sense of purpose was so well-done and effectively contrasted with the time element of the story… The little bits of memory were really sweet, as well.

Adamant was the first story I didn’t connect with as well. It’s uncommon that I don’t like Beth Wangler’s writing—and I didn’t dislike this story—but I think I struggled with the genre of Adamant. Space sci-fi is rarely my thing in books, and I tend to struggle with war stories as well, so I think the combination in Adamant just didn’t click well for me. Despite that, the core relationship was sweet and the musgroves were interesting. The musgroves’ dialect was pulled off wonderfully. And LouEesa was a fun character.

I think Daughter suffered from the same issue as Adamant—it was a sci-fi war story. I was also struck by how many adverbs were used right out of the gate, which kept me from stepping into the story right away. Still, the concept of the Chasm was interesting and I would be curious to learn more about Anneke as a character. And I think Daughter was done well for what it was, so readers who enjoy the genre better would likely find it quite enjoyable.

The Hundred Acre War was interesting. The particular mix of genres struck me as a bit odd, combining Winnie the Pooh with a sci-fi war, but I don’t think it was poorly done—and it’s a very on-brand sort of combination for Shultz. Again, sci-fi wars aren’t my thing, and I’ve never been a huge Winnie the Pooh fan either, so this one continued the trend of “eh” for me. But, like I said, it was well-done for what it was and I’m sure other readers would enjoy it fine.

With Into the Crimson Deep, things turned back around. This story is a sequel to Matthews’ The Staff of Callewhyr in the Of Myth and Monsters anthology, which I quite enjoyed. It was really cool to return to those characters, and in Into the Crimson Deep we get to see a new corner of the world that Matthews has built and meet additional interesting side characters. Into the Crimson Deep was a great second installment, expanding the reader’s understanding of rukthar lore, and I hope we’ll get to see more of Renlyn and Arnak in future anthologies!

Little Lost Heart, Sing was an excellent conclusion to Timely. It was sweet, with a bit of a dark tint, and the lore of the forest was faintly reminiscent of George MacDonald or Tolkien. Philbrick really plays to his strengths with stories about children, and Henry’s dry humor was equally well-done.

I did enjoy the majority of the stories within Timely; as you can tell, those that I had more difficulty with all had genre in common. If you like sci-fi war stories, you’ll probably enjoy this anthology; and if not, there are still plenty of other stories in the anthology to love! If you like spec fic of any flavor, I do recommend Timely (and PFW’s previous anthologies, as well).

Rating: 5 stars

Similarity to CG: 1 star (for the family and found family dynamics in the first few stories and the importance of time as a theme)

Add on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon

Want to get book reviews and other bookish content delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up to my reading newsletter!

The post Book Review: Timely by The Phoenix Fiction Writers appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

Book Review: Sing to Me of Rain by E.B. Dawson

This book has been high on my TBR since I first heard about it, and my Calligraphy Guild comp list was the nudge I needed to finally buy it. I’m not always a huge fan of E.B. Dawson’s short stories, but I don’t think any of her novels have let me down yet and Sing to Me of Rain is definitely my new favorite of her works!

What is Sing to Me of Rain about?

An innocent naiad. A wounded boy. An adventure that will change their lives forever.

Plip is a naiad of the Great Waterfall, destined to one day sing the songs that send rain out into the world.

Akino isn’t destined for anything but trouble. His father long gone, his mother working on a plantation far away, he doesn’t really belong in the village below the Waterfall. And the villagers don’t let him forget it.

When Akino convinces Plip to travel down the mountain with him, for his own selfish purposes, he launches them into a world more dangerous than either of them could imagine. A world where people are not always what they seem and the rain does not fall evenly across the land.

Review

I rarely underline in fiction books. It took me long enough to be comfortable underlining non-fiction, and something still feels taboo about underlining fiction, but I barely got five pages into Sing to Me of Rain before deciding I needed to read it with a pencil in hand. The character conversations have so much depth! There are so many wise insights, and I underlined so many paragraphs. The depth never feels forced, either; it all comes about naturally through the characters’ musings about the world and the ways they see life. You don’t see that sort of worldview or reflective dialogue in a lot of fiction these days, and it was so refreshing to read!

Even beyond the deep conversations, the characters are charming in and of themselves. Plip has such a lovely sense of wonder and optimism. Akino is more cynical, and yet the fact that he’s a child is still evident in the black-and-white way he sees things. Tsomo and Ujio are two very different types of mentor characters, but both suit their roles perfectly; I loved the dynamic that Ujio had as a protective figure for the younger characters. And Burung was fun, with his quirks. Not to mention that the emotional attachments Dawson created between the reader and characters were incredible. I have never read a book that was able to make me so sad so quickly.

The setting was so rich and vibrant! I loved seeing the beautiful world that Dawson created, and the interesting creatures that inhabit it. It’s such a beautiful blend of bright and soft, as if the world were painted in jewel tones and then the edges were softened by hazy light. It’s vibrant and rich and deep, but it feels soft and approachable and hopeful.

A few passages I underlined:

Music had surrounded them their entire lives, and yet this was different somehow. The naiads’ songs were powerful, but each naiad sang alone. Plip had never heard anything as beautiful as all those voices rising and falling together, singing the same words with the same heart.

***

“Nobody wants children who aren’t their own.”

“Nobody is a dangerous word. It tends to spread lies.”

***

“Masters take many forms, my little friend, but we are none of us as free as we would like to be.”

Overall, this was a beautiful book, from the setting to the characters to the relationships to the writing… Absolutely a 5-star read.

Rating: 5 stars

Similarity to Calligraphy Guild: 4.5 stars (for the setting, deep character conversations, strong friendships, multiple mentors, emphasis on the journey over the destination, music as a prominent feature, etc.)

Add on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop and support a local U.S. bookstore*

*This is an affiliate link, which means that I earn a small commission on purchases made through the link at no extra cost to you

Want to get book reviews and other bookish content delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up to my reading newsletter!

The post Book Review: Sing to Me of Rain by E.B. Dawson appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

Book Review: The Story Peddler by Lindsay A. Franklin

This week, I am pleased to announce that I have found another book off the Calligraphy Guild comp titles list which I actually enjoyed. The Story Peddler was a great read, and I’m quite excited to get my hands on the remainder of the series. But before we get into it, what is The Story Peddler?

Blurb

Selling stories is a deadly business

Tanwen doesn’t just tell stories—she weaves them into crystallized sculptures that sell for more than a few bits. But the only way to escape the control of her cruel mentor and claw her way from poverty is to set her sights on something grander: becoming Royal Storyteller to the king.

During her final story peddling tour, a tale of treason spills from her hands, threatening the king himself. Tanwen goes from peddler to prey as the king’s guard hunts her down . . . and they’re not known for their mercy. As Tanwen flees for her life, she unearths long-buried secrets and discovers she’s not the only outlaw in the empire. There’s a rebel group of weavers . . . and they’re after her too.

Review

The Story Peddler suffered from a little bit of Large Cast Syndrome (i.e. there were characters I got confused because I didn’t have enough brain space to keep quite everyone straight), but not as badly as some other books I’ve read (and, being a writer of large casts myself, I have a fair amount of grace for LCS). That said, I really enjoyed the characters, both those I kept straight in my head long-term and the couple that got scrambled from time to time.

Tannie was a good balance of outspoken and independent on the one hand with reasonable and humble on the other hand. Last week I talked about my dislike for Xingyin in Daughter of the Moon Goddess for her independence and brazenness, and I think this balance is what made the difference between my dislike for Xingyin and my appreciation for Tannie. Tannie speaks her mind… but she knows when speaking her mind is a bad idea–even if that realization sometimes comes a moment too late. And she’s independent, but not to the point of arrogance; she appreciates those around her, and she values their help when it’s needed.

Braith was also a well-balanced female lead. She was somewhat more traditionally feminine than Tannie, which made for a good balance between the two perspectives, and her gracious resistance to the king’s cruelty was a great example of the strengths within classic femininity.

Then there were all the side characters, and each had their own strengths and qualities. Brac was a great support for Tannie, and I appreciate his seriousness about settling down and providing for a family. I feel like that’s something lacking in a lot of male characters, and I like seeing characters–of both genders–seek out and find fulfillment in family and dominion. Mor was, of course, sweet and charming, and his dedication to Gryfelle was also admirable. Zel immediately caught my attention for very similar reasons as Brac did, but without the drama that came with Brac being interested in Tanwen since Zel is already married and has a family to care for. Warmil is a fantastic gruff mentor character and I love him to death. Basically, all of the side characters are great and I’m really interested to learn more about them in consequent books.

The worldbuilding isn’t the most ground-breaking as far as setting is concerned, but it was described wonderfully in voice, so I’ll give it a pass. Especially because the magic system is so cool. Music and colors and stories that become tangible? That create physical effects? It’s so much fun. I’m super interested to see more of how it works and what it can do.

Now, the love triangle. Y’all know I hated the love triangle in Daughter of the Moon Goddess, where one of the guys was committed to someone else and the other wanted the independent main character to settle down with him… Well… this love triangle has very similar dynamics. And yet, I didn’t hate this one. Why? Because of the main character and the underlying worldview of the book. You can see my complaints with the DotMG love triangle in that review, so I won’t repeat myself here. But in The Story Peddler, Tannie understands and appreciates the second love interest’s commitment to someone else and does her best to quench her feelings because she knows to put the other characters involved ahead of herself. And with the first love interest, she appreciates his desire to settle down, appreciates the potential of finding happiness with him, and appreciates his dedication to her and true love for her. Her internal struggles with both feel realistic, and the love triangle didn’t feel like it overtook the plot (another issue I had with Daughter of the Moon Goddess). And, honestly, I was right with her in being conflicted over the idea of her with Suitor One. ;P

Also, I have to mention the quote that “art has a queer way of revealing truth.” (Karlith’s faith elements were another subtle highlight of the book.)

Overall, I really liked this one and I’m excited to see how this story unfolds (or crystalizes, perhaps?)

Rating: 5 stars

Similarity to CG: 3 stars (for themes of community, family, and the importance of the arts)

Add on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon

Want to get book reviews and other bookish content delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up to my reading newsletter!

The post Book Review: The Story Peddler by Lindsay A. Franklin appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

Book Review: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

This Calligraphy Guild comp title candidate also made my anticipated releases list for this year. I don’t often read books within only a couple months of their release (unless they’re ARCs for review), but my library had this one so I snatched it up and… I’m really glad I only checked it out from the library. ;P You’ve already seen the cover that helped to snare me; here’s the blurb that played a part.

Blurb

A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm.

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.

Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.

Review

I hated this book. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth. I pushed myself through 500 pages, hoping it would get better and then simply hoping it would end so I could write up my review, and when I finished I seriously wondered why I’d spent so many hours on Daughter of the Moon Goddess for the sake of a review that would take me about twenty minutes to write. (The count starts now.)

The first offense was the pacing. I almost dropped this book after the first two chapters. Not even kidding. Why? Because the pacing was so dang fast. And we’re not just talking “Let’s get the ball rolling right off the bat.” No. We’re talking “Wait, what’s happening? You just raced past the information I needed to make sense of this.” The character development (if you can call it that) and the worldbuilding were so under-explained in the beginning. How does this magic system work? What are the different realms and how are they related or separated? Why in the world does a girl who’s been living nearly alone on the moon know how to serve in a noble household and understand the motivations of bullies?

Once things finally slowed down around the fifth or sixth chapter, I thought I might be able to settle in. The setting was beautiful (if dull in the way it was described), I loved the Asian cultural elements, Liwei was sweet (if under-developed in his motivations). I was a little bored, and I didn’t understand why Xingyin seemed to hardly think of her mother when that had been the foremost issue in her mind in the beginning and there was no real reason it shouldn’t have been anymore… but I didn’t hate it.

But after a few more chapters, Xingyin and Liwei’s relationship took a turn. Liwei disregarded an impending betrothal that he knew about, Xingyin was hurt, the two broke it off, yada yada, and this is why I hate “forbidden romance” stories involving royalty because no one ever cares that the state of the kingdom is actually important and commitments are important and no you can’t just have some fling with someone else just because you want to. (…Can you tell I’m very sick of this trope.)

Anyway. After that, things just continue to go downhill. Character developments and events are frequently skipped past, it becomes apparent that Xingyin is very arrogant in her independence, she insists on doing things her own way regardless of anyone else and she’s outspoken to her own detriment… I really did not enjoy her character for the bulk of the book, and it didn’t even make sense. Why was she so focused on her own achievements and her own skill and bla bla bla when she was supposed to be focused on saving her mother? Her pride overshadowed the actual plot.

And that’s not to mention the love triangle, which took up 80-90% of the book. Liwei is betrothed. Wenzhi is… fine, I guess. I did actually kind of like him for a chunk of Part Two because I thought he might actually be a good influence on Xingyin, but then… that fell apart. Because none of the men in this book are allowed to actually be decent characters, apparently. (Maaaybe the General, but I don’t even remember his name and he didn’t have a big enough part to count.) Anyway. Liwei pursues Xingyin even though he’s already betrothed, and Xingyin puts up a pitiful fight against his attention. She finally decides to go with Wenzhi to start a home and a life together right before it turns out he’s evil. And then she gets her happily ever after with Liwei because he’s ditched his perfectly nice, kind, loving fiancée for someone he knew ahead of time he didn’t have a future with.

There is so. much. drama. And angst. And not nearly enough depth to the worldbuilding or the prose or the characters or… anything, really, because all of the page time was devoted to angst that wasn’t even romantic.

But. Rant aside. I did like Xingyin’s best friend, Shuxiao. She was the only reasonable character in the book to show up at any significant junctions. She was a warrior, but she seemed to have a good dose of femininity all the same. She was loyal. She was respectable. She understood when to keep her mouth shut and when to open it. Honestly, I’d much rather read a book about her. I might have actually been able to stomach it.

Oh look. We’re right at the twenty minute mark. What did I tell you?

If you’ve read this book and liked it, good for you. Personally, the worldview and the writing were pretty much opposite of what I enjoy in a book. But it did have its good parts–few and far between as they might have been, for me.

Rating: 2 stars (generously, for the sake of the Asian cultural elements and Shuxiao)

Similarity to CG: 1 star (for the Asian culture and the fact that the main character plays a wind instrument)

Add on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop and support a local U.S. bookstore*

*This is an affiliate link, which means I make a commission at no extra cost to you when you buy through it

Want to get book reviews and other bookish content delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up to my reading newsletter!

The post Book Review: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan appeared first on Scribes & Archers.