Monthly Archives: March 2023
Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Lay Mejia – Blog Tour
About the Book
An edge-of-your-seat fantasy about a girl who will do anything to protect her sister—even if it means striking a dangerous bargain. Dark forces, forgotten magic, and a heart-stopping queer romance make this young adult novel a must-read.
A scorned god.
A mysterious acolyte.
A forgetting drug.
A dangerous forest.
One girl caught between the freedom she always wanted and a sister she can’t bear to leave behind.
Under the cover of the Night Forest, will Lucha be able to step into her own power…or will she be consumed by it?
This gorgeous and fast-paced fantasy novel from acclaimed author Tehlor Kay Mejia is brimming with adventure, peril, romance, and family bonds—and asks what it means for a teen girl to become fully herself.
About the Author
TEHLOR KAY MEJIA is the author of the critically acclaimed young adult fantasy duology We Set the Dark on Fire and We Unleash the Merciless Storm. Her debut middle-grade series, Paola Santiago and the River of Tears, is in development at Disney as a television series to be produced by Eva Longoria. Tehlor lives with her daughter, partner, and two small dogs in Oregon, where she grows heirloom corn and continues her quest to perfect the vegan tamale.
Website: https://www.tehlorkaymejia.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tehlorkay
Instagram: http://instagram.com/tehlorkay
Extract
Excerpted from Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia. Copyright © 2023 by Tehlor Kay Mejia. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
The forest was said to be uninhabitable. The governors of the Elegidan continent—skittish as squirrels and twice as greedy—refused to recognize any territory north of the river. They took their shares of Robado’s ill-gotten profits readily enough, but they claimed no authority in the city. Or any of the responsibility that would go with it.
The mapmakers, for their part, blotted the wood into their landscapes without sparing a stroke for this wound of a place clinging to its edge.
Like we don’t even exist, Lucha thought, still loitering in the middle of the road.
“Watch it!” snarled a man heading south. Lucha staggered backward, reminded of the dangers of standing idle. The little cart the man pulled turned sharply and splattered her shoes with mud. She was about to shout something rude when she saw the cart’s tiny passenger. A girl of no more than four. She dangled her bare feet over the edge as her father rolled her along.
Lucha smiled, remembering her younger sister, Lis, at that age. Her huge brown eyes and shining curls …
“Better watch out!” the girl called in her lisping baby voice. “El Sediento will get you if you look too long!” Sticking her fingers into the corners of her mouth, the girl stretched her smile too wide and rolled her eyes back so only the whites showed.
My review will follow …
I’m really looking forward to being able to devote time to this. I’ve read the first couple of chapters and as you can see in the extract above the writing is lush and atmospheric, and I was definitely sucked into figuring out the world straight away. Lucha is giving me Katniss from Hunger Games vibes. The eerieness continues from the little girl’s mention of El Sediento and we learn that they are not the only monster in the forest.
Thanks to Bee at Kaleidoscopic Tours and the publisher for the gifted copy. I will come back and update with my full thoughts when I get my brain back.
Do check out what everyone else had to say.
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The Spectaculars : The Four Curses by Jodie Garnish – Blog Tour Book Review
About the Book
Beyond the gateway, in the Hidden Peaks, live the Spectaculars – magical performers, with special powers gifted from the stars. They can levitate you out of your seat with a song, make a costume that will turn you invisible and create a snowstorm with a dance.
When Harper joins The Spectaculars at their travelling boarding school, she can’t wait to learn all kinds of magic. But when the song of the Four Curses comes to life, and a terrifying creature threatens everything, she must use her new powers to save her school…
While dreams come true at the Wondria, nightmares might just be lurking in the wings.
About the Author
Jodie Garnish is a playwright and performer, usually based in London. She studied Drama at the University of East Anglia before going on to train at Drama Studio London. She has had plays produced at various London theatres and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which were critically acclaimed. Her career as a performer, including in shows designed for young people, has allowed her to shape the world of The Spectaculars, as well as giving her good insight into what young people love.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jodiegarnish
Instagram: http://instagram.com/jodiegarnish
What I Thought
Roll up, roll up – fans of Nevermoor and the theatrical life – The Spectaculars is here to dazzle and entertain.
This sumptuous middle grade adventure brings us the fun of magic school with a travelling troupe. A population and magic in exile and anti-magic rhetoric that very much echoes what we hear from our politicians daily at present.
Harper got locked out of her birthright after a terrible accident but despite only vague recollections of a blue haired boy – she doesn’t hesitate to join The Spectaculars despite it meaning needing to leave her mum. She’s just known that she doesn’t fit in in the Smoke, but maybe that will now change?
But the course of magic school never does run smooth and soon the Four Curses strike. Very real manifestations of Death, Discord, Malady and Misfortune.
What follows is a series of twists and turns, learning who to trust and how to believe in yourself. The humour and whimsy comes along for the ride and keeps you mesmerised – I swear I even levitated at one point.
A great addition to the magic school genre with a plucky heroine, and we even get a sneak peek at book two.
Thanks to the Publisher Usborne and Bee at Kaleidoscopic Tours for the gifted copy for the purposes of an honest review and do check out what everyone else has been saying too.
kirstyes 