Reading

World Building Expansion in Onyx Storm

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

I have had to percolate my thoughts on Onyx Storm for several weeks. I read the last chapter on July 31st. The next day I posted a thread that said, “I just finished Onyx Storm and I am not okay”. Then I finally posted my review on Goodreads on August 3rd. And after that, I still didn’t know how I wanted to write a positive analysis for my blog because the end absolutely destroyed me. 

And I finally figured out why I’ve been struggling: 1. I thought Onyx Storm was the final book in the series for the first half of reading it, and then my hair stylist told me there’s going to be more. 2. The cliffhanger ending is too hard (for me) when the next book isn’t out yet.

Both of those issues can be pushed aside for an analysis of the actual story. So let’s dive in.

Representation

This has been going on since the first book. I really like Rebecca Yarros’s way of introducing a character’s sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability. My favorite example is with a side character whose preferred pronouns are they/them. I apologize to the super fans, but I can’t remember this character’s name. They aren’t one of the primary side characters because they aren’t on Violet’s squad, and I don’t think they’re in Violet’s wing. Whenever they are in a scene, Violet’s inner dialogue and actual dialogue call the character they/them without a big info dump on why, nor is there a side plot where other characters have to learn to accept that character as they identify themselves. They just simply exist and the acceptance was already part of the culture before page 1 of book 1. 

We see something similar with Jessinia. She is deaf. And from the moment we meet her, Violet already knows sign language. In fact, the majority of the characters know sign language, implying that it is a cultural expectation in most provinces.

Gay and lesbian characters also don’t have a coming out plot. They just simply are there and we learn their identity when they get a love interest. Which is something I’m attempting in my own writing as well. 

Several characters are supposedly persons of color, but I have to admit I didn’t catch on to Rebecca Yarros’s hints and descriptions of said characters. The only two that were obvious to me were Xaden and Bodhi. But I’m going to give her grace because I’m also still learning how to let my readers know my characters’ race in an obvious but still respectful way. The racial issues that are written into the story are more about regional differences, not skin colors. We see this a lot in modern fantasy world building, and I personally like it. It’s something I’m trying to do in my own writing as well: put in diverse characters, but the issues they face don’t surround their skin color.

Disabled characters seem to be the one exception to the culture of Navarre. Violet was born disabled, and she’s raised to believe her disability will never allow her to be a dragon rider. Which, if you’ve read the first book, you know how she overcomes that. Now, one could argue that society itself has no problems with disabled people in Navarre, they just can’t be dragon riders. But I would argue back that dragon riders are considered the elite of the kingdom, so yes, society as whole probably does look down on the disabled. We see another character, Sawyer, become disabled during a major battle at the end of the second book, and he spends the third book learning to accept his new limitations and readjusting his riding style so he can still ride his dragon and fight – just like Xaden and Tairn did for Violet. 

Overall, I think what Rebecca Yarros is doing with representation in this series is a good step toward representation in fantasy stories. I can’t speak for any of those communities because I don’t belong to any of them. I have seen some criticisms from readers who belong to those communities, so she’s not doing it perfectly. But I do think she deserves props for trying, and will hopefully inspire other authors who can learn from her example and the criticisms in their own writing. 

Government Corruption

It’s hinted very early in Fourth Wing that the Kingdom of Navarre is corrupt, and has been for centuries. What I wasn’t prepared for was the revelation that all the kingdoms Violet and Quest Squad visit are just as corrupt. It definitely made the quest for the Irids frustrating. However, we do get to learn about several other kingdoms with their people, customs, and history. I hope we get to return to some of them in the remaining books. I also think it was really intriguing to make every government have some form of corruption. It definitely made the governments more realistic and applicable to our human world.  

Travel Plot

As mentioned above, the entirety of Onyx Storm is them traveling around trying to find where the Irid dragons ended up moving to and asking other kingdoms for help fighting the Venin. And like stated above, the results are very disappointing for Violet. This is not a new storytelling technique, but it’s usually done in a smaller chunk of the book, not the entire book. At first, I was really frustrated and didn’t feel like I read a complete story. But here’s the thing: Rebecca Yarros already showed us in the previous two books that this is the plotting style for this series. A lot of craziness happens and then we end the book on a huge cliffhanger. And as mentioned above, all of that craziness introduced us to several new communities, and poses the question: Is Navarre truly the villain? Or are all the governments villainous and selfish in their own ways?

Only one resolution

There are a lot of tensions going on throughout Onyx Storm: Violet and Xaden vs. General Aetos, Violet and Xaden vs. Theophanie, characters popping up all over the place with second signets, etc. And at the end of Onyx Storm, only one resolution happens. Which was quite strategic. Because of course I want to know what’s going to happen to everyone who showed off their second signet. Of course I want to know if General Aetos will either “come to Jesus” or if he’s going to die still being an asshole. I want to know more about Violet’s hair, because after teasing us for three books about how it’s so unique, the tidbit we got in this book was not enough to cleanse my palatte.

So, yeah. I’ll be purchasing the fourth book because I simply need to know what happens. Also I love Xaden and Violet.

In the meantime, I have a YA fantasy tangent to go on. 

Romance Tropes in Iron Flame

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Iron Flame is the second installment of The Empyreon series, and it starts right where Fourth Wing left off. This sequel also ends on a major cliffhanger, and Onyx Storm picks off right where Iron Flame left off. Because of that, Iron Flame doesn’t feel like a complete singular story. Now that I’m almost done with Onyx Storm, it’s clear this series is one larger story instead of multiple parts that are connected. So, because of that, I did thoroughly enjoy reading Iron Flame and rate it 5 stars. And I have three main takeaways to discuss. 

What flaws are okay in a love interest?

Something I’ve noticed among online forums where favorite romance couples are discussed: each individual reader has their own lines in the sand on what is and isn’t forgivable among the flaws and mistakes that characters make. I had an experience with my own writing where in a set of beta readers one vehemently did not like the male love interest and was disappointed my female main character ended up with him. I did take his comments seriously, and made one tiny adjustment in one scene based on what he didn’t like. But it made me realize that not every reader is going to be okay with the choices the love interest makes, which will affect whether they root for that love interest to get their HEA or not. And that’s okay. 

For me, I had a similar issue with Xaden for a good chunk of Iron Flame. At the end of Fourth Wing he accidentally shares with Violet a pretty big secret. Violet is understandably furious that he kept something like that from her, and is even more angry that the only reason she now knows is because Xaden’s original plan went awry. At the beginning of Iron Flame, Xaden agrees to no more secrets under the caveat that Violet has to ask questions, and he’ll answer them honestly. But Violet can’t ask questions if she doesn’t know what information she’s missing. Xaden also won’t be intimate with Violet again until she says she loves him, which she won’t do until she can trust him. The two are at an impasse of Xaden’s own making. 

I have read so many romances with similar tensions where the female character gives in and the male gets his way. It creates an unequal dynamic that doesn’t sit well with me. And I was so fearful Violet was going to do the same thing. And if she did, would I still love this story? Would I enjoy reading their relationship scenes? Luckily, I was not forced to answer those questions. Both Violet and Xaden were able to compromise in a way that I found valid, and I’m back on Team Xaden. 

A new take on the jealous ex

The jealous ex causing tension and problems is my least favorite trope in a romance. So when Cat was introduced as Xaden’s ex who is still hung up on him, I was none too pleased. I was ready to throw the book across the room if Violet walked in on them and “it’s not what it looks like!” 

Lucky for me, and my copy of the book, that did not happen. Rebecca Yarros takes the jealous ex trope in a different direction that I ended up enjoying. Cat admits to Violet that she doesn’t love Xaden, she just wants what a marriage to him would provide: a crown. Xaden is the heir of Tyrrendor. Depending on how far back historians go, that makes him a duke at the lowest and a king at the highest. Cat is of royal blood from another kingdom, and Violet has no nobility in her lineage (that we know of so far in the series). The fact that Cat has no qualms with admitting her ambitions in front of an audience shines light on the culture these characters live in. Status and titles are more important than love. But like all characters like Xaden, he doesn’t care, and openly keeps Violet as his girlfriend.  

Correct representation of twenty-year-olds

Oftentimes, younger characters are depicted as much more mature than is realistic. While there are people in this world who are more intelligent and mature than is typical for their age group, the staggering number of such people as fictional characters probably doesn’t match reality. Rebecca Yarros does an amazing job of depicting people in their early twenties correctly. 

Violet is your typical brainiac main character who “isn’t like other girls.” But she also is like other girls in the fact that she falls in love quickly, overthinks Xaden’s words and actions in their relationship, and gets insanely jealous.

Xaden is the begrudging aristocrat who is thrust into leadership much too young. But he also has a temper that would get weaker characters into trouble and is willing to sacrifice the world for Violet.  

Rhiannon is a natural leader who still enjoys hookups, drinking, and partying.

Ridoc is the comedic relief who still has talent and grit that come in handy during battle. 

Garrick is the best friend who isn’t afraid to put Xaden in his place, but enjoys hook ups and flings. (Though I’m really hoping he and Imogen will end up together in the end.)

Imogen holds nasty grudges and talks back, but is fiercely loyal to her people. 

Sloan allows trauma and heartbreak to guide her emotions and choices, but shows incredible growth by the end.

Brhodi also provides comic relief and wisdom as he gives advice to Violet and Xaden.

There are many more characters to discuss, but the above are the ones I wanted to highlight for this post.

Overall, Iron Flame took me on an emotional journey that I’m still not quite recovered from. I love the world Rebecca Yarros has created, and her characters are the perfect cherry on top.

Have you read Iron Flame? What are your thoughts on it?

When expectations are challenged: Fourth Wing

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

A year ago, I wrote about my journey as a reader to loving flawed characters and appreciating how their flaws shape the story. And since then, I’ve been more aware of how a story can challenge the reader regarding their belief about the real world or literary expectations for specific genres and character types. I recently had a wonderful experience being challenged by Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. 

How corrupt governments are viewed by the protagonist

The first chapter already had me raising my eyebrows. It didn’t make any sense to me why the government would set up tests and challenges that could kill a citizen who is willingly trying to be part of the military. Right away my question was, “Why don’t they have some sort of magical something to catch the people who fall from the parapet so that they can pick a different career since they aren’t cut out to be a dragon rider?” And it made even less sense that those who made it into the rider’s quadrant were not only allowed but encouraged to kill their classmates. Once again, why isn’t something set up to protect their lives, but they can still fail and be sent back to civilian life? This violent and deadly setup was my first major clue that the government was corrupt.

The next early clue is the fact that children of separatists (a rebellion/secession that happened before the story started) are forced to walk the parapet and to [hopefully] die in the rider’s quadrant, though many make it through, like Xaden, Imogen, Garrick, and Liam. 

But where I got stuck was Violet’s (the main character) acceptance that this is how it is. She doesn’t question it. She doesn’t want to be part of it herself, but she doesn’t view it as bad or evil, just not for her. And it took her a long time to start to question what was going on. It was very frustrating for me because there was a very clear Hunger Games vibe with many of the training, tests, and games that the riders do to strengthen themselves for war. And because of that, I erroneously expected Violet to be more like Katniss in knowing right off the bat that her government is awful.

But Violet doesn’t come from an oppressed part of the kingdom. She’s moved around as a “military brat” with her mom rising in fame and power as a war general. So, of course she’ll have a different view of things. It’s not how she starts, it’s how she ends. And in the end, Violet accepts the truth.  

Whose job is it to flirt in fiction?

Violet and Xaden are both dealing with enemies-to-lovers and forbidden love tensions that make them fight their attraction toward one another for the first three-quarters of the book. Before they give in to their feelings, the reader gets 300 pages of Violet’s inner thoughts about how beautiful, muscley, and hot Xaden is. And at first, it was a little cringe for me. 

Tangent time: I was in high school when Twilight came out, and I fell hard for that series. My dance coach decided to read the first book because all of us teenage girls were constantly talking about it. Her response: “I got really bored of Bella constantly moaning about how ‘he’s so hot, I can’t stop thinking about him.’” It made me laugh then, and it still makes me laugh now. 

Anyway, that’s how I felt being in Violet’s thoughts about Xaden when it appeared he didn’t feel it back, yet. (Keyword: appeared) 

So, Violet and Xaden eventually give in to their attraction and they have two kisses before they finally do the deed. After that, Xaden doesn’t quite say “this was a mistake” (thank Gods), but he does say they’re not going to be in an official relationship. Violet decides she has more self-respect than to be his dirty little secret, so she decides they won’t have anymore physical relations if they aren’t going to also have an emotional relationship. Xaden respects her boundaries, though he’s confident he can break through them again. During their “dry spell”, Violet continuously reminds Xaden how great they could be together and how she’s certain he does feel something for her. 

During these moments I felt second-hand embarrassment for Violet. She was coming off as clingy and crazy.

But then I had a realization and metaphorically slapped myself in the face. If Violet was a male character, all of her thoughts about Xaden being beautiful and her attempts to convince Xaden to give them a try would be viewed as cute and expected for a romance. I realized I was still stuck in the society I had grown up in: the boy chases the girl, the girl does not chase the boy. 

And I got to thinking about my own relationship. I offered my number to my husband first. I asked him on a date first. 

So in our 21st Century of trying to retain equal rights: girls can chase the relationship if they’re comfortable doing that. And Xaden loves Violet’s confidence. 😉    

Cliff Hangers 

Rebecca Yarros ends almost every single chapter on various levels of a cliffhanger. Which writers have been strongly encouraged to do. You want the reader to NOT pause at the end of the chapter. But I’m not the kind of reader that needs every chapter to end that way. When the story is amazing, I don’t need a cliff hanger to convince me to keep reading. And Fourth Wing is more than good enough on its own. I’m happy when a chapter ends with temporary breaths of relief, resignation, or something more calming. In addition to that, several cliff hangers didn’t lead into the next chapter. The scene would skip several hours, days, and sometimes weeks. So It was a little frustrating when that happened. In my opinion, a cliffhanger should only happen if the next chapter starts where the previous chapter left off.

At the same time, I think I understand why Rebecca Yarros wrote Fourth Wing this way. This book takes place over the course of an entire calendar year, and we have to go through action packed military college scenes mixed with spicy romance. There was a lot to cover, and the book is already incredibly long, so some things did need to be skipped over and left up to the reader’s imagination or summarized through telling. 

Overall, Fourth Wing was a wild ride that I enjoyed immensely. In fact, I’m so hooked on Violet’s journey, that I moved the sequel, Iron Flame, to the top of my tbr list. I’m 300 pages in and can’t wait to write my analysis for that one.

In the meantime, subscribe to this blog to get access to my monthly newsletter, which provides updates on my own writing.

Here’s a Parenting Book if You Hate Parenting Books

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

I’m going off topic with this book review. I normally read and review fantasy, romance, and historical fiction. But a few months ago, I bought a book to help me be a better mom to my children, and it was so revolutionary for me, that I need to share it with you.

First off, I have avoided parenting books like the plague for years. The first few that I tried were not helpful at all, so I decided I was one of those parents who is going to have to figure it out on my own. Then I became desperate. 

One of my children exhibits some ODD behavior, but they don’t check enough boxes to actually be diagnosed. So, I needed something that wasn’t medical help. I googled “books for parenting children with ODD”. I ended up on reddit and comment after comment (on someone else’s question) recommended Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Krucinka. 

This book has been life changing. 

First, it helped me understand where my children fall on the “spirited spectrum” or their temperament. There are 9 categories to being spirited: Intensity, Persistence, Sensitivity, Perceptiveness, Adaptability, Regularity, Energy, First Reaction, and Mood. Spirited children do not have to be “extreme” in all 9 categories, but there was a point system that helped me use my children’s behavior to determine where they land. One is “spunky” and one is “spirited.”

Then I tested my own temperament as a parent, and I am a “spunky” parent.

The next part of the book talked about introverts and extroverts. What that looks like in spirited children, how each one regulates differently, and how to recognize cues that they need to refill their buckets. There was another quiz in which I learned that all of my children are extroverts, and I am right smack in the middle. This was very eye opening for me because some of our biggest dramas are when we get home from me being at work and them being at school/daycare. They want my attention right away, and I need 20-30 minutes to decompress. I am a school teacher. So after a full day of working with other kids, I need a short break before I spend the rest of the evening with my own.  

So after this revelation, we created a schedule, everyone gets to talk my ear off on the drive home, telling me as much as they want, and I interact accordingly. Then when we get home, they eat a snack while I get alone time in my room. When their snack is over, I’ve gotten my break and we move on to homework.

A big part of the book is getting to the root of your child’s behavior and learning to recognize their cues that they are getting overwhelmed. Then, as your child grows, you teach them how to recognize their own triggers before things escalate. This is where other parenting books have been unhelpful for me, and why I gave up on parenting books so early on in my motherhood years.

One particular chapter was a huge lightbulb for me: Ch. 16 Bedtime and Night Waking. As I read that chapter, it became clear to me that this was the big one for one of my children. Everyone handles not enough sleep differently, but one of my children cannot regulate their emotions when they don’t get enough sleep. Their tantrums are worse. The fighting, the talking back, the arguing. Everything is exacerbated tenfold when they don’t get enough sleep. And they are also a child who absolutely needs 10 hours a night. So, we’ve adjusted the bedtime routine to make sure they get enough sleep. 

There’s a lot more in this book than what I covered. And that’s the beauty of this book. There is a chapter that will be the chapter for different kids in different families. The introvert/extrovert and sleep chapters were what I needed. 


If you’re struggling with parenthood in any capacity and other parenting literature have not been helpful, I recommend Raising Your Spirited Child.

Learning How to Read Novellas

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Before I knew that there were more differences between a novel and a novella than just word count, a lot of my reviews of novellas read like this:

“The story ended too quickly for me.”

“I would have loved the resolution to have more details.”

“I wish the ___ plot was more drawn out.”

I read dozens like that. And then, one day, it hit me: these are meant to be short, which means the plotting is going to be structured differently than a full length novel. So, I googled “What is the difference between a novel and a novella.” Endless articles have already been written, so I’m just going to summarize three* of them:

  • Word count: A novel is 40,000+ words, a novella is 17,500-40,000 words (I don’t know where the 17,500 comes from or why it’s that specific. If you know, feel free to share in the comments!)
  • Characters, events, themes, and subplots: There are more of all of those in a novel than a novella. If there are any subplots, very little time is spent on them. In fact, it’s easier to not have a subplot. Character development happens for the protagonist only.
  • Plot and Pacing: A novella has a singular event that is the central crisis and focus of the plot, allowing it to be faster paced. A novel has several points of rising and falling action and interconnects subplots with the main plot.

*Sources: https://www.uobabylon.edu.iq/eprints/publication_10_21876_1383.pdf , https://kindlepreneur.com/novel-vs-novella/ , https://www.firstediting.com/blogs/difference-between-a-novel-and-a-novella/  

Now that I better understand the organization of a novella, I’ve had a much better experience reading them. And those authors are also getting better reviews from me! 😉 I also really enjoy reading a couple light hearted and spicy novellas in between the longer and darker fantasies I’ve been reading (ACOWAR I’m talking about you). And I’d like to share with you my favorite Novella series and authors:

  • Warriors of Sangrin (a.k.a. Madfhel Brides) by Nancey Cummings – First book: Paax
  • Tail and Claw by Nancey Cummings – First book: Have Tail Will Travel
  • Any of Carly Phillips’ series. So far I’ve read: Billionaire Bad Boys, Dare to Love, and The Knight Brothers series.
  • Any of Aurelia Skye’s series. 

I’ve read plenty of others, but those are my top three novella authors.

And in learning more about Novellas, I decided I want to be able to write some as well. So, I tried to write one, and *sigh* it turned into a 99,000 word novel. (It was The Wolf Whisperer) But I haven’t given up. I’m going to keep working on concise writing and shorter plots. And hopefully, one day, I’ll have some Novellas under my belt. 

Are you a fan of Novellas? What authors/series would you recommend? Let me know in the comments!

My Top 5 Reads of 2024

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

On Goodreads I read 38 books in 2024. But when I count the 16 books not registered on Goodreads and the 4 unpublished books I beta read, I read 58 books in 2024. Regardless, I didn’t meet my Goodreads goal of 76 books. But that’s okay. My Goodreads goal is always one more than I read the previous year. So, that means my 2025 goal will be 39 books. 

Of those 58 books, here are my favorites: 

The Dragon Prince’s Obsession by Ninally is the sequel to The Dragon King’s Obsession. Both books are about dragon shifters falling in love with the enemy: humans. In this series world building, dragon shifters live high up in the mountains. Human hunters down the mountain hunt them, and have hunted female dragons almost to extinction. In the first book, dragons capture the daughter of the leader of the hunters, and the king of the dragons falls in love with her while she is their captive. Of course there’s lots of drama, witches get involved, and the final battle is epic. And then the sequel begins. 

New couple. New story. One of the best enemies-to-lovers I’ve ever read. Adela is a human servant in the king’s palace. She serves the king’s sister, Princess Lucille, and the queen, Mystique. Prince Mikhail is the king’s brother. Mikhail was one of the villains of the first book. He kidnapped Mystique and tried to kill her.

Adela stumbles across Mikhail being imprisoned by witches while she is on an unwilling adventure with the spoiled Lucille. In Lucille’s inability to see anyone other than herself, she returns to the palace safe and sound without Adela. Mikhail and Adela fight their way out, and Mikhail takes Adela to his palace. Because she saved his life, his dragon now owes her. Mikhail begrudgingly takes care of her as he fights his dragon’s attraction to her. He hates humans, but he also opens Adela’s eyes to how she is treated back at the main palace. Adela is “friends” with the royal women, but yet still has to serve them and sleep in cramped quarters with the other human servants. Adela also thinks she’s in love with the king’s right hand man, Blaze. Lucille and Blaze are secretly in love and having a secret affair. The problem, is that in order to keep her secret, Lucille encourages Adela’s crush on Blaze to hide her own feelings, knowing Blaze will never look at Adela like that. So, she’s setting Adela up for romantic failure for her own selfish agenda.

When Mikhail cracks everything open for Adela, she refuses to return to the king’s palace. Mikhail keeps her in his, where she is not a servant, but an equal resident. They grow closer and have one of the most delicious slow burns I’ve ever read. During her time there, Adela also discovers she is not truly human. Her mother was human, but her father was something else (which I’m not going to give away – read the book!). Her newfound abilities call evil witches to them, and she and Mikhail will have to literally fight for their survival and love.

It’s beautiful. It’s spicy. I LOVE this story.     

The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore is a biography of Elizabeth Packard, whose story takes place in the 1860s in Illinois. Elizabeth held different religious and political beliefs from her husband, who was a preacher. She vocalized them in public, and her husband responded by getting corrupted doctors to certify Elizabeth as insane, and locked her in an asylum. Kate’s research of Elizabeth’s experience teaches four main historical facts:

1. What was considered “insane” in the 1800s – Women could be diagnosed with insanity if they disagreed with their husbands, disobeyed their husbands, or stopped loving their husbands. Elizabeth was guilty of all three.

2. How deep male ownership of women was –  Several doctors who “diagnosed” Elizabeth with insanity never saw her in person. They listened to her husband’s description of her, and wrote a certificate of insanity! Also, Elizabeth couldn’t divorce her husband because he would automatically get their six children if she did.

3. Treatment of patients in asylums – Elizabeth women with less money and social status than her slapped, starved, choked, and drowned. When Elizabeth disobeyed her doctor, he took her possessions and moved her from her private room into a shared room. While the employees didn’t physically abuse Elizabeth, they allowed the more violent patients to do so instead.

4. The amount of research and lobbying needed to change the law – When Elizabeth was released from the asylum, she went to work to change the law so that some of the friends she’d made could also be released, and future women didn’t go through the same thing. It took her a decade, which included a nationally followed legal battle against her husband and doctor. She was successful in getting the laws changed across the state, which would end up saving her daughter in the future when she also suffered mental health problems in her adult years. 

Elizabeth Packard’s story is one that needs remembering for both mental health laws and feminist ideology. I have always enjoyed biographies about strong and powerful women, and Elizabeth makes it on that list. 

Bound Across Time by Annie R. McEwan was my first experience where an author reached out to me and offered me a free copy of their book to read and review. And it was amazing. Of course, Ms. McEwan got the royal treatment: an unboxing video, a blog post, and a YouTube review. 

Bound Across Time is the first of a paranormal time-travel romance series. Patrick O’Loinsigh died in the 1700s in Wales. His ghost as been stuck in the castle he perished in. In modern days, the first living person, Cece Gowdy can see him. She’s a witch and they embark on a passionate love affair. But loving a ghost comes with risk and danger. Cece is not made for Patrick’s limbo world, and Patrick isn’t made for Cece’s living world. They are going to have to rely on the help of other witches to fight against the magic of time that is separating them.

I always find magic system world building interesting, and the rules of magic for this world were really cool. This was also the first ghost-human relationship that followed the rules of the romance genre. The sequel, Bound to Happen will be released early this year!

The Haunted Purse by Kimberly Baer is my tried and true “don’t judge a book by its cover.” I thought the title sounded juvenile and the cover didn’t pull me in. Then it ended up being the book of the month for the book club I was in. I inhaled it.

Libby is a 15-year-old high school student who lives on her own while her mom dates around, pretending she doesn’t have a daughter. Libby purchases an old purse from the secondhand store. The purse makes things disappear, and provides extra things to the purse. As Libby gets used to her purse’s abilities, she notices a connection with some of the objects that appear. They are all connected to a 20-year-old cold case. Convinced that the purse holds the ghost of the missing girl, Libby puts on her detective hat and works to solve the case.

In addition to the murder mystery plot, there are three other themes that provide great lessons for young adult readers:

  1. How educational professionals treat each student is important – Libby’s math teacher bullies her, and her counselor looks down on her for being poor.
  2. See something, say something – A big part of what keeps the plot moving is teenagers keeping secrets. Obviously, the secrets need to exist for a great story, but in real life, keeping secrets like these are dangerous.
  3. Honesty really is the best policy – This connects with number 2. Teenage characters lying to adults helps the plot, but in real life, telling a trusted adult the truth can always help. 

The Haunted Purse is the best YA story I’ve read in a while.

Dark Love by Aura Rose is the second in a fated mates romance trilogy. Each book features a different couple. The first book is called The Last Alpha. To be honest, I didn’t much care for the first one. Some authors who write fated mates stories use the mate bond in their plot to have a – what I call – justified cheating subplot. That is in The Last Alpha, and left a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the book. Luckily, the end of the first book lets the reader know who the couple will be for Dark Love, and I was fully on board for their love story.

Madeline is a werewolf, Arius is a witch-vampire hybrid. Arius is not supposed to exist per the council’s rules, and they’ve been trying to kill him since he was born. Arius is also the son of the vampire king who tried to kill Madeline’s pack in the first book. So, she and Arius get a very steamy enemies-to-lovers and forbidden love arc – which, in my opinion, is the best combination of romance tropes. Trigger warning: Arius does kidnap Madeline at the beginning of the book, but he doesn’t torture or SA her.

Once Madeline and Arius accept the mate bond, they combine forces to take down the bigoted council so they can live in peace. Arius is my favorite book boyfriend. 

It ends on a pretty dramatic cliff-hanger. I’m about a third of the way through the third book, His Lost Tribrid. It’s also really good. Unfortunately, the platform it’s on (Dreame) has tripled their prices over the past year. So, I won’t be able to finish it there. So, I’ve subscribed to Aura Rose’s Amazon page, and as soon as it’s available on Amazon, I’ll buy it there and finish it. 

What notable books did you read in 2024? Share them in the comments!

Meet Elizabeth Packard: Women’s Rights Activist

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Elizabeth Wells Packard is not on the list of “25 of the Most Influential Women in American History” She’s not on the list of 41 women, 50, or even 125 women. But her name needs to be known. And you need to know what she did for you, your mothers, your wives, your sisters, and your daughters.

On a recent trip to Barnes & Noble, this title caught my eye:

After reading the blurb, I didn’t hesitate to purchase this gem of a biography. Kate Moore weaves an emotional and beautiful narrative of Elizabeth Packard’s strenuous life during the 1860s. A woman whose only crime was to have a different religious and political opinion from her husband. Such absurdity at the time was medically considered insane, imprisoning Elizabeth behind the walls of the Jacksonville Asylum. Elizabeth spent several years trying to get out, and once she was out, she was not done fighting. Her next goal was to get the laws changed that put her there. Ms. Moore writes in the style of narrative nonfiction, giving us the facts in the form of a story. My blood boiled for the majority of the book, but Elizabeth’s triumph made the emotional rollercoaster worth it.

So, let’s meet Elizabeth Wells Packard. (Note: Everything written below comes from what I learned in Kate Moore’s book. All credit for deeper research goes to her.)

Elizabeth married a man fourteen years her senior – which wasn’t a cause for raised eyebrows at the time, but certainly led to her husband’s erroneous belief that he could spend his marriage days controlling her. 

Theophilus Packard was a preacher, which allowed Elizabeth a religious education. Shouldn’t the preacher’s wife know the Bible? In her studies, Elizabeth went beyond her husband’s teachings and explored other philosophies (this is at the tail end of the Second Great Awakening, afterall). Elizabeth thought it would be okay to share her new thoughts in her Bible Studies class. What Elizabeth didn’t know was Theophilus was receiving pressure from his financial backers to preach certain agendas in the wake of the looming Civil War. (Isn’t communication in marriage a beautiful thing?) Those agendas were the exact opposite of Elizabet’s new beliefs.

As tensions in their home rose, Elizabeth left her husband’s church, and began attending a church across town. This was the final straw for Theophilus. He locked Elizabeth in the nursery, and got two doctors to sign a certificate stating that Elizabeth was insane. On the day he planned to move her, he sent their 6 children on different errands and to different babysitters so they would not see their mother cartered off, and so the older ones could not come to her defense. He then brought in several trusted minions to manhandle Elizabeth out of her home, to the train station, and onto the train. Elizabeth was smart. She knew if she fought, then the unintelligent society she lived in would believe her insane. So she remained calm, stoic, and gave her kidnappers her dead weight as they carried her through the town. 

Theophilus accompanied Elizabeth to the Jacksonville Asylum in Illinois, and after dropping her off, would not see her again for quite some time. Theophilius placed her in the hands of the resident doctor, Andrew McFarland.

Dr. McFarland was smarter than Theophilus. After meeting with Elizabeth, he led her to believe that he did not think her insane, and that she would be out in a few months. During those few months, Dr. McFarland met with Elizabeth every day, letting her talk herself into a deeper hole (unbeknownst to her). 

According to Dr. McFarland, Elizabeth was not insane due to her religious beliefs. She was insane because she hated her husband. A sane woman would obey her husband. A sane woman would love her husband. A sane woman would forgive her husband for putting her in an asylum and agree to obey him in order to be released from the asylum. Elizabeth would do no such thing, so she remained there for about three years. 

During her time there, Dr. McFarland tried to break her by preventing her letters being delivered (both written to and by her), taking away her nice clothes, books, and writing supplies, and eventually moving her to the worst part of the hospital for women: 8th Ward. While in 8th Ward, Elizabeth experienced emotional abuse from the staff, and physical abuse from specific patients (these were the only patients that Elizabeth truly believed were insane). She also witnessed horrible physical abuse given to the other patients. 

Elizabeth was really good at making friends. And so, over time she was able to convince staff members to sneak her reading and writing materials into her new room. And during this time she wrote two full length books. One was all about the sins of Dr. McFarland, the other about the problems of her modern-day mental health system, religion, and women’s rights.

Elizabeth requested a meeting with the Board of Trustees, and was surprisingly granted a presentation with them. Dr. McFarland came, and so did Theophilus. But just like with the other patients and staff, Elizabeth won the Board over, and they commanded Dr. McFarland to release her within the next few months. Her release date came and went, but Elizabeth continued to write and pester Dr. McFarland. 

Eventually, Dr. McFarland admitted she was more bothersome inside the Jacksonville Asylum than he could handle, and he released her. Theophilus dropped her off with her cousin and forbade her from visiting him and their children. Elizabeth planned to do no such thing, and took out a loan from her friends to take a train to her hometown. She walked right into her old house, and it was a giant mess. Her only daughter was forced to become a homemaker at 11 years old, and is now a traumatized 14 year old. Theophilus had brainwashed their children against her, and they would only obey their father. Elizabeth became an invisible nuisance in her own home. 

Theophilus locked her in the nursery again, and she discovered he’s preparing her a place in another asylum, this time, for life. If she enters those doors, she isn’t coming out until she is dead. Her friends got the legal help that was denied her three years prior, and her sanity was officially on trial in the county court. 

This is one of the most amazing court cases I’ve ever read. And I can’t do it justice. Just read the book. In the end, Elizabeth won. She won against all those men who wanted to lock her away for life. BUT she is only free in the state of Illinois, and Theophilus still has legal control over their children. Ever the sore loser, Theophilus took off with their children and moved to Massachusetts. 

Elizabeth would then spend the next several years lobbying state government after state government to get the laws changed across the country. After another showdown with Dr. McFarland, she was successful. And because of Elizabeth Packard, women cannot be placed in asylums just because their husbands wish it. Because of Elizabeth Packard, women received a huge step in progress to their legal rights over their mental health and personal property. Because of Elizabeth Packard, the treatment of mental health patients started the process of improving. 

Elizabeth would get reunited with her children, and begrudgingly, her husband. They never divorced, but they also remained in separate dwellings for the rest of their lives. They stayed cordial in order to both have access to their children. The two books Elizabeth wrote while imprisoned got published and she lived off the sales of those popular volumes and the charity of her adult children. She is an amazing example of determination, passion, and perseverance.

Have you read about Elizabeth Packard before? What are your thoughts on her accomplishments? What other biographies would you recommend? Let me know in the comments!   

What YA Stories Can Teach Us: The Haunted Purse

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

I’m currently reading the Junie B. Jones series to my 6 year old (I know the title says YA, I have a point, I promise), and my adult eyes view Junie B. in a whole new light. It makes me sad that almost every adult in her life is so impatient with her and jumps to punishment right away instead of finding the root cause of Junie B’s behavior. There are two adults who treat her well and actually listen to her: Principal, and Grampa Frank Miller, but talking about those two is for a different post. 

Like with fiction’s funniest kindergartener, I’ve had a different reading experience with YA stories now that I’m a parent and I teach high school. And I’ve started to see three common messages in the recent YAs I’ve read: how adults treat teenagers is important, see something-say something, and honesty really is the best policy. 

As I dive into these lessons, I would like to use The Haunted Purse by Kimberly Baer to dive deeper into these themes. 

First, let’s get you on board with the plot and characters of The Haunted Purse.

Libby Dawson is our main character. She is a 15-year-old Sophomore, and her story begins during the second half of the school year. She just purchased a new (to her) purse from her local thrift store, and her purse keeps making things disappear. After she sweats for an hour or so, her purse will magically return it. This Mary Poppins purse causes problems between Libby and her Physics teacher, and Libby and her mom. On the flip side, the purse also helps her overcome her bullies and protects her from an assault the school’s heartthrob has planned for her. 

Libby eventually figures out that the purse is not magic, it’s haunted. The ghost of the previous owner has possessed the purse, and she wants Libby to solve her disappearance and murder. One big problem: this is a cold case from over twenty years ago.

Libby’s best friend, Toni, gets to witness the purse in action and happily becomes Libby’s sidekick in solving the case. The two girls put themselves in dangerous situations, leading to Toni getting grounded for the rest of the summer, and now Libby has to finish the case by herself – which ends up being more dangerous than Toni’s ridiculous idea that got her grounded. 

Now that you’ve got a feel for the story, let’s dive deeper into our three messages.   

How educational professionals treat each student is important. 

The opening scene is Libby losing her position as her Physics teacher’s “favorite student”. An essay is due, and Libby has to tell her teacher, “My purse ate my homework.” Her teacher doesn’t believe her, and embarasses her in front of the whole class. At the end of the class period, the purse returns the essay to Libby, and she tells her teacher she found it and asks if she can turn it in. Her teacher says yes, but the damage is done. She stops treating Libby with respect and compassion. Libby is the narrator for her story and informs the reader that this teacher is obsessed with being the fun teacher for the popular kids, plus has a few prized academic students. Libby used to be one of those prized academic students, but after this one mistake, she’s now a peasant, especially since the popular kids already bully Libby. 

I had a teacher like that in high school. Not to the extent of bullying students, but he was focused on keeping the popular kids entertained, and it caused him to let the rest of us fall through the cracks. 

In another scene, Libby is planning the rest of her high school career with her school counselor, and he is very condescending about Libby’s socioeconomic status. He basically tells her that her only chance of going to college is to be a straight A student so she can get scholarships. While what he said was factually true, Libby already knew that about herself, his delivery was so gross and judgmental. 

So, the takeaway from these two scenes is that teenagers – and young people in general – are very aware of their surroundings. They can absolutely tell how adults feel about them. And adults who have a stewardship role over minors need to be a safe person.  

See something, Say something.  

A big part of Libby’s character arc is that she is “the girl who raised herself.” Libby’s mom, Misty, had her when she was a teenager, and Libby has never known her biological father. Misty did not want to be a mom that young, and resented Libby for taking away her young adult years. So when she meets a man who claims he doesn’t like kids (at least, that’s what Misty tells Libby – I have my own theory), Misty moves in with him and leaves Libby in their apartment. Misty stops by occasionally to give Libby money for groceries, rent, and other bills; but other than that, Libby is literally living by herself. The entire apartment complex knows this, and no one does anything about it. Libby doesn’t want to end up in foster care, so she is fine with everyone else’s silence. But no one caring about her whereabouts is going to be a problem when she finds herself at the mercy of the villain.

Obviously, the plot would not have gone the way it did if one of Libby’s neighbors called social services the minute Misty abandoned her daughter. But in real life, these kinds of situations are not okay.  

Honesty really is the best policy.  

Almost all of the characters lie at some point. Most of them are lies by omission. The one I want to highlight, I’ll have to be vague on because it’s part of the resolution. So one of the characters who was close to the ghost when they were alive blames themself for the victim’s disappearance. They knew the ghost (when she was alive) was doing something they weren’t supposed to, and kept their secret for them. Twenty years later, they’ve still kept that information a secret because they feel so awful. Like most blame plotlines, if they’d confided in at least one other person, they would have learned everything was all right, and they weren’t responsible. 

We all need at least one person whom we can be completely honest with. 

So with these common lessons in YA stories (and let’s be honest, most stories), the plots would not be as developed and the stories would be over too quickly if these types of mistakes weren’t made. But the lessons learned from them are great for real life.

And this is one of the many reasons that The Haunted Purse is a worthy 5 star read. The story is intriguing, the characters are realistic and relatable, and the lessons learned are applicable. 
Have you read The Haunted Purse? What were your thoughts on it? What other stories like it would you recommend? Let me know in the comments!

How to Put a Ghost in a Romance: Bound Across Time

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Four years ago, I learned the rules of romance writing. There are two very important requirements for a story to be considered a romance:

  1. The main plot must center around the relationship between the love interests.
  2. It must end with a Happily Ever After or Happy For Now. 

I struggled with rule #2 for about a year (check out how I overcame that in a previous blog post), but once accepted, I had a big question: How do you make this work with ghosts? If one half of the couple is a living person, and the other half is a ghost, how are they going to have an HEA?

Part of my confusion came from reading an incorrectly labeled paranormal romance. First off, the main plot was not the relationship with the (ghost) love interest; that ended up being the side plot. Second, the main character is not reunited with their ghost love interest until decades after the main story ends when they die of old age (think the reunited scene of Jack and Rose in Titanic). That didn’t really feel like an HEA to me. 

So, like the emotional teenager I sometimes act like, I stayed away from ghost stories until Bound Across Time by Annie R. McEwen fell into my lap. This is a paranormal romance worth reading.

Let’s start with our living character, our female main character: Celeste Gowdie (a.k.a. CeCe). CeCe’s mother died when she was young, and she was raised by her aunts in the U.S. state of Georgia. CeCe doesn’t know who her father is (this is important for one of the reveals toward the end). She studied history in college, and is working in St. Rhydian’s castle in Wales when the story begins. CeCe wants to be taken seriously as a real historian, but she ends up being the American tour guide who gets to research and share ghost stories to the patrons. 

Patrick O’Loinsigh is the bastard son of one of the historic Lords of the castle. He was born in Ireland in the 18th Century, educated in Paris, and forced to move to his father’s castle during his early adult years. His father used him to do his dirty work since Patrick wouldn’t be inheriting the title. Patrick is murdered by his half brother, and his spirit spends the next few centuries hanging out in the in-between waiting for the living soul who matches a prophecy meant to free him.

Patrick and CeCe have a meet-cute of epic proportions. Patrick lures CeCe to the top of the tallest tower by turning on a battery operated candle. CeCe can’t lock up the castle and go home until all lights are turned off. So after a literal hike, CeCe comes across a handsome man in 1700s clothing. Patrick scares CeCe so bad that she faints. 

It takes CeCe several days to believe Patrick that he is the ghost of the handsome man in the gallery of the castle’s historic inhabitants. At first she thinks he’s a loiter pretending to be Patrick O’Loinsigh. But when she finally believes him, she falls, and she falls hard. 

The local witch coven gets involved, CeCe’s aunts get involved because… family secrets! (That I’m not going to spoil.) Everyone wants CeCe to stay away from Patrick for her own good. Of course she doesn’t listen, and she embarks on a passionate and steamy love affair with Patrick. 

Well, it turns out that when a living person spends that kind of time with a ghost, their literal being starts to disappear. So now, CeCe and Patrick have a difficult decision to make: go their separate ways to save CeCe’s life, or research if magic can help them. 

And that’s where I’m going to leave you with this story, because you’re just going to have to read it yourself if you want to know how it ends. But the ending is soooooo worth the emotional turmoil that Ms. McEwen is going to put you through. 

These kinds of stories always have to have “rules of magic” and the rules of magic that Annie created were very cool. When Patrick and CeCe meet up, the room they are in reverts back to the way it was when Patrick was alive. When Patrick leaves, the room returns to its modern-day look and feel. When they are together, they are neither in the past nor present – though they are closer to the present, because humans could hear CeCe if they came by the room. 

There also appears to be two different “types” of magic. There’s a traditional witch who can cast spells and make potions and such. Then there are people born with “gifts”. CeCe is born with a gift that allows her to see and hear Patrick in the first place. (For more details on that, read the book!)

And to finish off this review, here is a Q&A with the author herself:

In your planning, what came first: a story about witches? Or a story about ghosts?

Door Number Three: a story about a castle! Because, when I conceived the book, I was living in a small Welsh town that is graced by a very old and beautiful castle. I spent a lot of time thinking about the people who passed through those halls and gardens. Were any of them still there? So, yes, I suppose the ghosts came first and everything else followed. 

What historical people, places and facts are true? What did you embellish or fill in the holes?

The town, the witches, the historian who’s forced to resort to ghost walks since history doesn’t sell, the castle, the stone circle a few miles out of town, the Welsh coast almost within sight of Ireland, the family who kept secrets, the work of people – archivists, admins, docents, conservationists – at an historic site: all those are fact-based, along with the many casually dropped references to and stories about the past as viewed by both a modern historian and a ghost who died in the mid-1700s. Beyond and embracing those is the truth of protagonist CeCe’s life and work; just like her, I’m a career historian who lived in a small Welsh town and met the astoundingly warm and quirky inhabitants, worked in the local castle, visited the stone circle. The things I changed were the ghost (whom I never met, more’s the pity) and the names and actions of both CeCe and the locals. Oh, and the color-changing cat! Always wanted one of those but, alas, mine have all been the single-color variety. 

I’m guessing Aiofe’s story is next? Do you also plan on going back in time and also telling Gabrielle’s story?

Bound to Happen (Book Two of the Bound Series) does indeed follow Aoife/Fee’s story. It involves a radical change in setting, from a tiny Welsh town to London and, specifically, Covent Garden, where Aoife has a grant to research playwrights and poets of the 1600s. She’s lured to an abandoned theater by some urban exploring chums and…Well, you’ll have to read the novel to see what happens then! But in addition to new and very different secondary characters – Aoife’s Ghana-born flatmate and her ancestor priestess Mom, along with some skeptical folks in the National Trust and Museum of London Archeology – characters from Book One re-appear, like Jana Smithbury-Tewkes (and her new color-changing feline, Rumpelstiltskin.) Through them, readers learn more about Fee’s Savannah family (still keeping secrets, as families do) and her life growing up with leathling-souler parents in 18th century Paris. As to Gabrielle Gowdie: while bits of her tale are woven into Bound to Happen, it’s in Boundless (Book Three of the series), that we hear from an aging Helene Gowdie (oldest of the original five sisters who included Gabrielle) about why and how the secret-keeping of Gowdie family began.

What’s next for your writing career?

More writing, more publishing! I’m contracted with four publishers (one in the UK, the rest US-based) for nine books, five of which are written, the rest in progress. I’m eager to push ahead with my series for the UK publisher, Bloodhound Books; it’s Victorian working class romance centered on the lives and loves of four women who work in a London corset workshop. If you liked Peaky Blinders, you’ll love The Corset Girls! I haven’t left paranormal romance behind, though; I’ve got a spine-chilling vampire romance story in Rowan Prose Publishing’s horror anthology coming out later this year. And I’m finishing a time travel historical romance set in 1910 Boston, New Orleans, and Wales. Several other WIPs are nudging me for attention, including a Regency romance comedy about the lengths to which an impoverished heiress will go to avoid an inconvenient marriage, an 1880s romance set in New Orleans’ back streets, and a novel of smuggling and love on the Kent coast in the 1740s. 

Annie R. McEwen has written a beautiful romance that brings past and present together in the most captivating of ways. She kept me guessing until the very end how the problems would get resolved. Very captivating and well-earned five stars. 

Learning to Love Flawed Characters

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

When I was going through my early-teens horror movie phase, I would constantly ask, “Why don’t the characters do xyz?”  My dad would always respond, “Because if they did, there wouldn’t be a movie.”

That’s how I’m starting to view flawed characters. Their flaws create drama, tension, and even plot points in the stories they star in. Even so, up until recently, I still expected some type of redemption or growth from a flawed character. That kind of expectation from a main character? Absolutely! But I also placed that same expectation on side characters, and it was affecting my ability to enjoy some great stories. 

My biggest struggle with this was the Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. There are several characters whose flaws cause problems, and there’s no redemption or growth. The characters double down on their reasons for how they act, and Ethan and Lena are forced to accept it because they are young and have to obey the adults in their life. 

Years later, I read Spirit in Tow by Terry Segan, and her character named Gus drove me absolutely crazy. He caused a lot of problems, he was incredibly selfish, and he rarely apologized. Ms. Segan agreed to an interview when I was reviewing that book, and one of my questions was specifically about how she created Gus with all of his flaws and issues. One thing she said that stuck out to me was, “I… wanted Marni to see his occasional soft side, that we know almost every tough guy has, despite trying to hide it. It’s those cracks in his armor that kept Marni wanting to solve his murder and free his soul.” 

Occasional soft side. Cracks in his armor.

Characters need to have enough likable aspects, that their flaws can be, at the very least, tolerated.

And with this budding new view on flaws in fictional characters (and I do think it’s important to emphasize fictional – there are things that are okay in fiction that are not in real life, and that’s okay), I picked up Terry’s newest book: Five Steps to Celestia.

Joy lost her memory in a motorcycle accident 22 years ago. After her doctor is unable to find anything to identify her, he courts her, and they get married. Now she’s a widow, and comes across some mysterious seeds on a road trip with her bestie. Planting the seeds coincides with the arrival of some suspicious characters, and Joy’s memories start to crack open. As Joy learns about her past, she realizes that she was a different person than she is now, and she has a lot to answer for. And the big question: Which version of herself will Joy keep, or is it possible to blend her two lives?

Terry Segan does an excellent job of weaving an engaging story with enough mystery to keep the reader wanting more. And like her previous book, these characters are full of flaws.

Suzi is Joy’s best friend, and she starts out as your typical comedic elderly character. Suzi is on her 5th divorce when the story starts. She’s a terrible driver, a shopaholic, and a giant flirt with men young enough to be her grandsons (and they rarely want to flirt back). She’s loud, speaks her mind at inappropriate times, and won’t take no for an answer. Her flaws are going to cause a life-threatening climax that my younger self would have not been able to forgive had this book existed five years ago. But Suzi is also fiercely loyal. She will protect her loved ones with every fiber of her being. She has good internal radar when it comes to discerning who is and isn’t trustworthy. I honestly did not like her the majority of the book, but everything ended up coming together nicely in the end. 

Grace is Joy’s adopted daughter. Joy became Grace’s mother by marrying her father, the doctor who saved Grace’s life. Grace is married to a man who doesn’t deserve her, and her inability to kick him to the curb frustrates both the reader and Joy. But Joy has more patience than I do, and she allows her daughter to make her own choices – even if she disagrees with them. Grace’s decisions don’t put anyone else in danger the way that Suzi’s do, but it definitely caused some extra drama, that added to the tensions in the plot. 

Owen is Grace’s husband. He hurts Grace terribly and has a greedy and malicious plan that Suzi learns about from spying on him. He receives a couple of natural consequences from his actions, but none of those consequences come from Grace or Joy; and I really wanted those two women to deal out justice. *Sigh* But whether he gets the comeuppance I thought he deserved or not, doesn’t change the main plot. And because of that, I had to (begrudgingly) accept Joy’s realization: Grace is a grown woman who needs to make her own choices, and also needs her family for love and support. 

Silas is going to remain a bit more mysterious for this post. But what I will say is he likes to be in control, even if that means taking away others’ agency. Like with Owen, Silas has one consequence, but that consequence doesn’t make things better for Joy, our main character. And he doesn’t seem truly penitent. But his choices are important for the overall plot. His growth can’t happen until the end, if he was going to have growth. Joy chose to focus on other things, and doesn’t force him to change. Once again, I had to accept that this was Joy’s choice. 


When I finished reading Five Steps to Celestia, and I sat down to review it, I had to pause. I really was not happy with any of the four characters I just introduced you to. But did they make my reading experience unenjoyable? No. Did they cause an unsatisfactory ending? Again, no. So did the story deserve to lose a star or two because the characters are human? For the third time, no. And it’s with this realization that moving forward, I’ll be looking at books with imperfect characters differently and with more grace (pun intended).

Five Steps to Celestia released yesterday. Were you a lucky ARC reader like myself? What were your thoughts on the book?

Have you read any of Terry’s other books? What are your thoughts on those?

What books have you read that have helped you grow as a reader?

Let me know in the comments!