2022 – TandeWrites

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake | ARC REVIEW

Posted on October 25, 2022October 25, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

I will begin this review by saying that I probably shouldn’t have requested the ARC based on how little I enjoyed The Atlas Six, but I was intrigued by the ending and wanted to know more. This was a mistake. I’m breaking this review down into categories based on thoughts I had while reading this book.

0.48% “my arc is missing every third “th” this is infuriating”
My camera roll is full of screenshots of sentences that are fully unreadable because the letters are missing which killed the mood of some of the more serious discussions in the book. I wanted to put down the book the second that I noticed the mistake wasn’t a one-off, but I stuck with it and suffered through every page. However, this wasn’t even the biggest reason why the book was such a struggle to read.

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Alexandra Christo, Review

Princess of Souls by Alexandra Christo | ARC REVIEW

Posted on September 27, 2022September 14, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year because I completely adored To Kill a Kingdom back when I read the ARC in 2018, and I think that was one of the books that sparked my love for fairytale retellings. However, four years later, I no longer agree with a majority of the points in that review and the things that made me fall in love with the book have faded, and reading Princess of Souls really reminded me of the flaws. I think it’s going to be difficult for me to write a detailed review of the book without comparing it to To Kill a Kingdom, so I am just going to commit to the comparisons.

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Review

Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong | ARC REVIEW

Posted on September 13, 2022September 8, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

Content warnings: blood, violence, murder, weapon use, needles, description of human experimentation, descriptions of war, descriptions of head injury.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, but I was already intending on buying this book. Specifically the pretty Waterstones edition with the pink foil cover.

Foul Lady Fortune is the first book in Chloe Gong’s new duology following an ill-matched pair of spies posing as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders in 1930s Shanghai. It is a speculative historical thriller inspired by Shakespeare’s As You Like It and can also be pitched as a Chinese period drama meets a Marvel movie. The author says you can read this book without reading the original These Violent Delights duology as all the events that have already happened are explained in the text, but I think not reading those books first will negatively affect your reading experience.

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C.G. Drews, Emily Lloyd-Jones, Reading, Review

Best Reads of the Year (So Far)

Posted on August 23, 2022August 15, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve read so far this year, and I’ve been making reviews for the advanced copies and did the Mid-Year Book Tag for YouTube, but I wanted to spend a little more time talking about my favourite reads of the year so far and collect those thoughts in one place. I did a video version of this last year for what I believed to be the best books of the year (so far), but since then I’ve accepted that some of the books I love to read may not necessarily be the best of books. This list will be in no particular order, just vaguely chronological, so let’s begin!

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Review

Unraveller by Frances Hardinge | ARC REVIEW

Posted on August 16, 2022August 15, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

This is the first book this year that I’ve rated five stars and not had a single doubt about that rating. I finally dipped into reading Frances Hardinge this year after years of having her on my shelves and I regret that I didn’t start sooner. I received an advanced ebook copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, but I already preordered a copy of this and I will be rereading it the second it arrives.

In a world where anyone can create a life-destroying curse, Kellen has the power to unravel them. He doesn’t fully understand his talent but helps those transformed maliciously – including Nettle, who recovered from entrapment in bird form and is now his constant companion and closest ally. But Kellen has also been cursed, and unless he and Nettle can remove his curse, Kellen is in danger of unravelling everything – and everyone – around him.

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Emily Lloyd-Jones, Review

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones [ARC REVIEW]

Posted on August 2, 2022July 28, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

She could not slay her own fears. But as for the men who’d made her afraid – they could bleed.

The Drowned Woods is another book that I’ve fallen completely in love with due to it hitting so many of my niche interests. A water diviner girl (the last of her kind), a fae-cursed boy, a chaotic-good heir to a thieves guild, and a corgi who may or may not be a spy. Along with three other characters, they’re on a quest to destroy a magical well that keeps the prince’s lands safe. It’s a story about folklores and magic and heists. It’s wonderful.

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Review

The Worlds We Leave Behind by A.F. Harrold [ARC REVIEW]

Posted on July 28, 2022July 29, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

The Worlds We Leave Behind is a story about friendship, retribution, and finding the strength to face down monsters, aimed at younger readers who enjoyed Stranger Things.

Enraged at how unfair life is, Hex runs into the woods and finds himself in a strange clearing that can’t possibly exist where a strange old woman offers him a deal: she’ll rid the world of those who wronged him. All he has to do is accept and they’ll be forgotten, forever. But what Hex doesn’t know is that someone else has been offered the same deal. When Hex’s best friend Tommo wakes up the next day, half-whispered memories make him think that something-or someone-is missing from his life. He sets out to find a way to put the world back the way it was, or find a way to make a new world that could be better for them all.

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Paper Forests, Writing

The Soundtrack to My Book

Posted on July 5, 2022June 24, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

This is an idea I’ve been considering for a while, but I’ve seen that Rainbow Rowell has done annotated playlists for Eleanor & Park and Wayward Son, so I’ve been convinced to do one for myself.

I’m not usually someone who listens to music while writing – I’m so easily distracted that I need full silence – but I make these book playlists as a soundtrack to the finished story, like a soundtrack to a film. Most songs are picked because they sound a way that fits a scene in my head. Some are picked because they have specific lyrics that fit perfectly to the characters. In this post, I’m going to try and explain some of my choices. It’s a shortened version of the playlist, but still a long post.

Let’s begin!

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Reading, Review

Gallant by V.E. Schwab [REVIEW]

Posted on June 28, 2022June 24, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

“Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source.”

Do you ever finish reading a book and think “oh that was a Me type of story”? Gallant was one of those for me. I finished reading and wanted to fold myself into the pages and stay there, and I really appreciate stumbling across those kinds of books rather than genuine perfect five star reads. I will say now that I did give this book five stars, but it was for those reasons and the fact that the book hit so many of my niche interests rather than the quality of the story and writing. An honest rating would be closer to 3.5 stars so I am going to take that into consideration for this review.

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Review

The Songs You’ve Never Heard [ARC REVIEW]

Posted on June 7, 2022June 9, 2022 by Tegan Anderson

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a love letter to music and, in some ways, to friendship. The story delves into a surface-level representation of the music industry and Meg’s pop star brother, but the focus is on her passion for songwriting and making a name for herself outside of her brother’s shadow.

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