Book Report #39
What I read from July 27 to Aug. 9: Shield of Sparrows, The Message, Where the Dark Stands Still, The Captive Prince series
Summer has not been as fun as I wanted it to be. I love summer in the city - there’s so many free events, great outdoor parties, park hangs, rooftop bashes and Mister Softee trucks - but this one has been grim. I’ve barely done any of my favorite activities. I’ve only been out dancing twice!
There are, of course, many external forces that have made summer not fun - New York is a subtropical climate now, the state of the nation is scarier and scarier, there’s war (and war, and war, and more war), and more personal things like friend break ups and illness. But, I am scared that it’s because I’m old now.
I turned 37 recently. I typically throw myself a party (or two) every year, but I suddenly felt embarrassed by my usual birthday enthusiasm, and intimidated by the usual cycle of planning and inviting and fretting and worrying that no one will come. I already beg people to come to my karaoke night every month; I didn’t have the will to do it for my birthday. And plus, while 37 sounds…deflated, it also sounds kind of glamorous, maybe, mysterious, perhaps (37 is an indivisible number! That’s cool!) So, I went to the beach with some loved ones and it was exactly what I needed: three days of fun books and beach and pool and laughter and food and wine and board games. And then I came back and I was smacked in the face with the oppressive forces of work and personal obligation and the newsletter was just One More Thing.
I’m always making excuses for my writing cadence.
Anyways, I read…
Shield of Sparrows, by Devney Perry 🎧
Genre: Fantasy, romance
What’s it about: Even though Odessa is the oldest princess of Quentis, her younger half-sister Mae is favored for her strength and cunning. Mae is to be the “Sparrow,” the bride in a political marriage to uphold a treaty with the Kingdom of Turah. This treaty is important for reasons that include fending off hoards of monsters that threaten both kingdoms (I think? I kind of don’t know). Her father hopes to install Mae as a spy to undermine the treaty, but Prince Zavier chooses Odessa instead. Because of the ancient magic that binds the treaty, Odessa has no choice but to serve in her sisters stead. Her father charges her with infiltrating Turah’s secret capital and assassinating The Guardian, a mysterious warrior with magical powers. Odessa must survive a loveless marriage, cunning politicians, vicious monsters, and the growing attraction to The Guardian, her enemy.
Was it good? Not really, I was bored. It popped up as available on Libby (who should sponsor me!) and it’s been very buzzy on BookTok, so I thought I’d give it a try. I found the world building and magic system to be somewhat convoluted and very basic; the plot even more so. Worse, the characters were pretty one dimensional. After the exposition dump that explains the world and the players, Odessa and the Guardian embark on monster fight after monster fight, but the monsters weren’t that cool. I don’t mind a soft heroine - for example, I loved Princess Marra from Nettle & Bone - but Odessa is whiny about it, and quite literally tripping over her own feet. I won’t read book two.
Highlights: None, I forgot this book almost immediately after reading it.
And then, the first DNF of 2025 goes to…
The Starless Crown, by James Rollins 🎧
After I finished Shield of Sparrows, I felt a little dead inside. I wondered why I had wasted so much time listening to a book I didn’t like. There are SO many books to read - and things to watch and games to play and people to see and yaps to yap - so wasting time on a bad book feels shameful. So, when I found myself slogging through The Starless Crown, I took a break. Per usual, I thought it was I wondered if it was that maybe I wasn’t in the mood for reading. I got a bad cold at the end of July and decided to catch up on tv - I caught up on Apothecary Diaries and Kaiju No. 8, both of which I love, and then I decided to read The Message. I don’t typically read nonfiction books, but I was so immediately sucked into the narrative that I realized that the problem wasn’t me, it was with Shield of Sparrows and The Starless Crown. So…I gave myself permission to quit. I Did Not Finish. It felt great.
The Message, by Ta-Nehisi Coates 🎧
Genre: Memoir, current affairs
What’s it about: The Message starts with Coates questioning his own work and perspective. He’s grappling with the success he’s had, enabled by traditional media, and as he engages with what’s happening in the world around him, he seeks to revisit some of his own assumptions. He starts in Dakar to explore the narratives he and many African-Americans have about where we come from and the possibility of a Black Kingdom. Then, he visits South Carolina to report on his own book banning, while also exploring how Americans reckon with their own history. The longest section is where he really shows his guts. In The Case For Reparations, the work that arguably catapulted him into public consciousness, he used Israel as a case study to model what reparations for the descendants of slaves could look like. When he finally visited Israel, he was shocked by what he saw. His book, which started out as an examination of language and politics, turned into an impassioned plea to look at the truth, even when its ugly, because we are easily led astray.
Was it good? Hell yes. I mean, I’ve long been a member of the Ta-Nehisi hive. I think he’s so intelligent and I love the way he explains his thoughts and the amount of research and reporting he does to back up his argument. In The Message, I found myself impressed by his willingness to challenge himself. He learns without defense; he catalogues and critiques his own shock. Each site visit reveals something about Coates, as well as the mutability of identity, power and victimhood. He is surprised by his feelings in Dakar. He is surprised that the board meeting in a racist school district is full of his supporters. He is surprised and conflicted in Israel. I was heartbroken by the end.
Highlights:
Sometimes, Coates comes off as naive. But I guess it’s naiveté, and some arrogance, that leads you to be a public intellectual in the first place.
I understand that victims of violence and abuse often perpetrate violence and abuse on others. So why is it so shocking to see that happen on a global scale?
Where the Dark Stands Still, by A.B. Poranek 🎧
Genre: Fantasy
What’s it about: Everyone in Liska’s small village knows to be afraid of magic and the monsters that can wield it. Unfortunately, Liska has the gift, and it calls to her. She has tried to suppress her magic her whole life, but when she’s pushed to the limit, her control breaks to disastrous effect. Liska flees into the dark wood surrounding her village, which is full of dangerous creatures and spirits, in search of a legendary flower that is said to grant one wish if plucked. Liska wants to get rid of her magic so she can be live a normal life. While Liska does finds the flower, she is caught by the demon warden of the wood. The demon, Leszy, offers Liska a deal: If she agrees to work as his servant for one year, he will grant her wish. Liska says yes.
Liska soon learns that she’s not the only person to have struck a deal with the Leszy, but all her predecessors have disappeared. To survive, Liska must uncover the secrets of the Leszy and the woods that he guards.
Was it good? Yes! If, like me, you love Uprooted or Howl’s Moving Castle, you’ll really enjoy this book. I’m an absolute sucker for a dark fairytale, and this one is deceptively sharp. It reads a little kiddie at first, but then the plot, and all its characters, thicken. The book itself is gorgeously written, and I felt so deeply for the characters. At first, Liska seemed shallow for wanting so badly to fit in with the small-minded people of her village, but the author showed me that she was just scared of hurting the people she loves. Most of the characters show similar depth, even the side characters. The Leszy is similarly multifaceted - at times arrogant, cruel, warm and so full of love he’s in pain. The book is best when it’s exploring their pasts and their relationship, and I fell in love with them as they fell in love with each other.
Highlights:
Watch out, the book is kind of scary sometimes.
There are many cute and creepy creatures in this book. My favorite is a grumpy spirit in the body of a cat.
The Captive Prince Trilogy, by C.S. Pacat 📖
Includes: The Captive Prince, The Prince’s Gambit and King’s Rising
Genre: Fantasy
What’s it about: Damen, the Warrior Prince of Akielos, is well-loved by his people and primed to be the next king of Akielos. When his half-brother seizes the throne instead, he captures Damen, strips him of his identity, and sends him to Vere, an enemy nation, to serve their prince as a slave.
Both Akielos and Vere have a culture of using sex slaves, but Damen is shocked by what he sees at the court of Vere. His new master, Prince Laurent, is beautiful, cunning, and possibly, another victim caught in the dangerous political machinations of the court. Even worse, it becomes clear to Damen that in order to protect his country, he may have to help Laurent win his own throne. He has to team up with his enemy while keeping his identity secret. After all, Damen is the one who effectively ended the war between their countries…by killing Laurent’s brother.
Was it good? Ok I cannot answer this simply. I first started this at the beach while on my birthday beach vacation, and I was kind of grumpy. The writing is rough, especially in the first book, and I struggled with the exposition dumping to explain the world. (Basically Akielos is like ancient Greece, but Vere is like pre-revolution French court?) The book suffers from some of the same issues Pacat’s YA series has, but also its strengths. The world-building, plot and character decisions are flimsy, but the relationship between the leads is so delicious. I ripped through the entire series in a matter of days, and my friends had to deal with my talking about my beautiful toxic princes for our entire vacation.
Highlights:
Getting through the beginning, especially the premise of sex slavery, is difficult in a way I struggle to articulate. I’m not unfamiliar with this narrative concept; and I am a fan of books like Power of Lies or The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty. I think I struggled with the differences in the sex slave cultures and why Damen, who used sex slaves as a prince, could justify some use cases over others. It’s also just icky.
Part of what made the series compelling is knowing what Laurent does not as he and Damen’s relationship develops: that Damen killed his brother and left Laurent vulnerable to his evil uncle. I don’t want to spoil it, but I think that wait didn’t pay off. In fact, the entire last book is rushed relative to the slowness of the other two. There could’ve been a whole other book, but this one was wrapped up with a series of monologues and last minute hail Marys.
Almost every scene between Laurent and Damen is magnetizing. The descriptions of how they interact and think and move around each other is so delicious that it kind of makes the rest of the book worse in comparison.
I’m still gonna finish the Dark Rise series though. Being a fujoshi is a curse, I tell you, a curse!
my princes <3 <3 <3
Damn girl you read fast