Mindy Klasky

I thought this book was a formulaic sports romance. Then I found out partway through that it was about covid, something I've been avoiding in my media because I wanted escape. But neither of those things define this book. Yes it's got the sports romance and yes it does take place during a pandemic. But it also is funny, steamy, has a great plot, and brought me to tears many times. I read it in one go for hours straight. It really captures how the pandemic, social unrest after the tragic show more murder of George Floyd, unfolded through the lens of the closure of sports and the kindling of a romance 6 ft apart. show less

I got this book via the Early Reviewers in exchange for a review.

In all honesty, I'm not sure if this book was my cup of tea. It's the second in a series where I've not read the first, it's a YA title, and generally I don't much like YA titles, and the young heroine comes across as rather whiny and self-centred (although probably it's just because she's a teenager). However, it's well written, the story seems to hang together, and although it's book 2, there were enough references to get show more some idea of the plot of book 1 so the storyline didn't seem too much in media res. If this was a physical book, I would pass it onto my niece to see what she made of it, but she doesn't like ebooks.

I own The Glasswrights series, and I get the feeling that this new series may be following the same theme - something happens to young teen which is overcome and we then follow the teen as they grow up. From memory, The Glasswrights series starts when the teen is around 12 or 13, and finishes when the teen is in their 20s. It looks like book 1 of Darkbeasts starts when the teen has reached their 12th birthday, and this one is set 6 months to a year later, so still a lot of growing up to do!

The premise of the series is that everyone is bonded to a Darkbeast at a very young age, which acts as a moral and emotional guide, taking negative emotions away. However, on their 12th birthday, the Darkbeast is meant to be sacrificed to the gods. I can see this working as a life stage ritual; the darkbeast having fulfilled it's purpose.

The story is about a young teen who does not carry out the required sacrifice and leaves home. After various vissicitudes, she falls in with a troupe of travelling players. Book 2 starts with the heroine and 2 of the players having escaped the religious authorities travelling to find the darkers - a community of people who do not carry out the sacrifice and keep their darkbeast. Eventually, they find and join this community.

If this was a physical book, I would rate this as a keeper if the heroine started out older and developed more. As it is, I'm unlikely to want to bother with looking for book 1. show less

Nothing is quite going right for reference librarian Jane Madison. Her mother has made a surprise reappearance after decades of Jane believing she had died in a car accident. Jane's boss has decided that the library staff will now have to appear in period costume - and how is a girl supposed to catch the attention of handsome professor Jason Templeton dressed in hoop skirts? And to top it all off, instead of a raise, Jane has to move in to the caretaker's cottage on library grounds, where show more she finds a cache of magical books and a disturbingly feline familiar that land her in even deeper trouble.

Jane Madison is a chicklit heroine I can get behind - self-deprecating rather than bratty. Smart rather than insipid and shallow. Although she is prone to building up relationships based on wishful thinking and overanalyzing - who can't relate to that? And she's aware of it, which makes it endearing rather than irritating. And I actually liked how she tried so hard to make grand romantic gestures (the dinner based on Jason's research? So SO sweet). I also loved Jane's strong relationship with her Gran - who is always making her promise the most random things (don't lick toads, dear, promise!) as well as her friendship with Melissa, which seemed blessedly normal. Also can I be best friends with Melissa, too? Mojito therapy and her penchant for delectable baked goods make her part of my fictional friend posse any day!

For paranormal chicklit, there was actually relatively little in the way of magic. But I very much enjoyed what there was - particularly Jane working with crystals was really interesting, and I'm hoping to see more of Jane's magic in future books.

Also posted at A Hoyden's Look at Literature. show less

If for the entire twelve years of your life you’d believed that certain things were true and immutable, but when crunch time came, you acted in complete defiance of them, how would life unfold from that point? This is the reality Keara has entered. Before the defining moment when she realized her attachment to Caw, her Darkbeast, was too strong and important to break, she obeyed her strict mother’s rules. In addition, she barely questioned the religious structure that included slaying show more your Darkbeast on your twelth birthday, paying tithes, wearing a tax tattoo that had to be renewed every year, as well as accepting the brutality inflicted by white robed inquisitors when someone strayed from the boundaries imposed by religion.
However, her bond with Caw, the raven-like Darkbeast who has become as much a part of her life as anything, is too strong and when it comes time to kill him, she rebels. After letting him fly free, she flees he village of Silver Hollow, traveling at night until she catches up with the theater troup that had performed in her village just before her flight. Something in their freedom and skills lit a fire in her and she’s sure that joining them and traveling ever further from her village will be her salvation.
What she finds after the Travelers accept her, is a mix of friendship, scary moments, betrayal and a big surprise at the end of the story. Readers will fall easily into this well-crafted world and find themselves attached to various characters. Caw, Keara’s Darkbeast, comes across as both wise and wry, while Keara is both courageous and at times foolish, not unusual for a girl her age. It’s a fascinating read and leaves one eager to learn what comes next for them. show less