Review – Page 2 – TandeWrites

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh [ARC REVIEW]

Posted on March 3, 2022March 3, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, however I do acknowledge that I am behind schedule and the book has already been released.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a feminist retelling of the Korean myth of Shim Cheong, a tale that I knew nothing about before picking up this book but now I am in awe of. The book opens with Mina – our protagonist – volunteering (or maybe sacrificing) herself as the Sea God’s bride to spare her brother and the girl he loves. She is swept away to the Spirit Realm, setting out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the storms that leave entire villages in despair once and for all. However, she doesn’t have much time: a human cannot survive for long in the Spirit Realm, and there are many people who will do anything to stop the Sea God from waking.

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Reading, Review

Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore [ARC REVIEW]

Posted on January 30, 2022January 30, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

I was given an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, but I preordered it months ago because I’m in love with the concept.

Lakelore is a young adult contemporary fantasy that tells the story of two neurodiverse and nonbinary teenagers. They’re connected through Lakelore, an ethereal world beneath a lake that they both visited when they met for the first time seven years ago. Lore’s only seen the world once, but that one encounter changed their fate. Many years later, Lore moves to the same town as Bastián as they’re once again connected as the lines between air and water begin to blur.

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Review

Gilded [ARC REVIEW]

Posted on October 31, 2021November 2, 2021 by Tegan Anderson

An eARC of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had the chance to fall in love with The Lunar Chronicles earlier on in the year so you can imagine my excitement when a new Marissa Meyer book appeared on NetGalley. A Rumplestiltskin retelling, too (I fell in love with Small Favors recently, another Rumplestiltskin retelling), and I have a huge soft spot for any kind of fairytale or folklore influence. This one is set in Germany with a lot of nightmare horror and gothic elements, and it truly feels like Meyer did her research when weaving in these elements.

Everything about this book felt like it was made just for me. But I was still disappointed.

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Review, Stephanie Garber

Once Upon a Broken Heart [ARC REVIEW]

Posted on September 29, 2021September 29, 2021 by Tegan Anderson

I was given an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is pure magic and I was so frustrated when it ended. It might be about to become my new favourite Stephanie Garner books. No one does magical details like her, and the world building and magic system is this book is a prime example of that. It’s set in the same world as the Caraval series and features a few cameos from the cast, but it’s mostly brand new characters and exploring a new part of the world. I think I should break this review into the two main characters.

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Review

The Hollow Heart [ARC REVIEW]

Posted on August 31, 2021August 30, 2021 by Tegan Anderson

An eARC of this book was received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Hollow Heart was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, even though I only found out about and read the first book a week before requesting the ARC. This book is narrated by Nirrim, Sid, and a third narrator, so I’m going to split this review into each of their perspectives. This review will also contain spoilers for The Midnight Lie, but all The Hollow Heart spoilers will be removed.

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Review

Take Me With You When You Go [ARC REVIEW]

Posted on August 9, 2021August 9, 2021 by Tegan Anderson

I wanted to take some time to sit with this book before writing this review, but I received an eARC in exchange for a review and the book is released at the end of the month so I am pressed for time. So, as a disclaimer, I will say that these are my fresh undeveloped thoughts, written an hour or so after finishing reading.

Take Me With You When You Go is described as a story of hope, siblinghood, and finding your home in the people who matter most, so I think I will break this review down into those categories.

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Review

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World [ARC REVIEW]

Posted on June 29, 2021July 5, 2021 by Tegan Anderson

I was gifted an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Just wow. A sequel has no right being this incredible.

I think it’s going to be difficult to write this review without comparing it to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, but I think I need to you so can understand what I’m trying to say without spoilers or anything that isn’t already in the book description.

Similar to the first novel, the chapters are short and full of crisp lyrical prose and perfect dialogue. It’s another quiet story, but noticeably less gentle. It’s still emotional and painful and beautiful. While the first book was about two boys meeting at a swimming pool and slowly falling in love, this one is about those same two boys discovering what it means to stay in love and forge a path for themselves in a world that doesn’t understand them or accept their existence. It also focuses on Ari falling in love with his life and creating something that is truthfully and joyfully his own, as well as building relationships outside of Dante. Ari is still beautiful and angry and sweet, but there’s something extra about him this time around. There’s a few references from other characters about him becoming a man and I think that’s right.

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Krystal Sutherland, Review

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland [REVIEW]

Posted on May 25, 2021July 5, 2021 by Tegan Anderson

It’s been a month since I read this book and I still don’t have a clue what I read but it was wonderful.

On New Year’s Day ten years ago on a quiet street in Edinburgh, the three young Hollow sisters disappear without a trace as their parents turn away for a kiss. One month later, they suddenly reappear on the same street they were taken with no proof they’ve been gone besides an antique hunting knife and matching half moon scars at the base of their throats. The sisters have no memory of their abduction, but their hair turns white and their eyes change to black and they now have the ability to make anyone fall under their spell (literally). Their father is convinced that these suddenly strange girls are not his daughters, but their overprotective mother refuses to acknowledge that anything is wrong. I think that’s as much as I can say before I start getting into the main plot and spoilers.

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Emily Lloyd-Jones, Review

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones [REVIEW]

Posted on May 18, 2021July 5, 2021 by Tegan Anderson

This is another book that I’ve fallen completely in love with due to it hitting so many of my niche interests. A tough gravedigger girl, a soft mapmaker boy who can never find his way, and their undead goat adventure through mountains and folklore to face the curse of risen corpses and long-hidden truths about themselves. It’s a story about folktales and magic and family and undead corpses.

First love: the setting. This book is set in a village within a forest where the people have let history die because they no longer believe in magic. The Welsh influences and folklore was the perfect choice for a horror/influenced novel as I’ve grown up near Wales and hearing about all the ghost hauntings and supernatural sightings and other assorted spooky stuff. It was wonderfully atmospheric: the remains of a once glorious kingdom, a small village haunted by the past, and decades-old curses lingering within the woods.

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Alexandra Bracken, Review

Lore by Alexandra Bracken [REVIEW]

Posted on April 20, 2021April 18, 2021 by Tegan Anderson

I’ve finally decided to start rating and reviewing books based off of subjective enjoyment rather than objective goodness as I’ve read so many books this year that I loved purely because they hit so many of my niche interests, and this is definitely one of them. Therefore, this review is very biased, and I will almost definitely overlook some of the negatives of this book.

This book has often been described as Greek mythology meets The Hunger Games, and that is honestly the best summary of the story. Many years ago, nine Greek gods rebelled and were forced to walk the earth as mortals every seven years as a punishment. They are hunted down by the descendants of ancient bloodlines who want to obtain their power and immortality. Melora ‘Lore’ Perseous turned her back on gods and eternal glory as a child after her family were murdered by one of the rival bloodlines until a childhood friend and a gravely wounded goddess convince her to return the hunt for revenge.

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