as told by zaheerah

Books

Review: A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch

June 10, 2024June 7, 2024by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

*I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.*

Note: This review was written back in November 2023. I am currently working through my backlog of reviews that need to be written.

Not even twelve hours after defeating Astaroth the demon in battle, Calladia Cunnington finds herself helping the monster that went after her best friend as she discovers he no longer remembers who he is. And now the two of them are being chased by one of the worst demons in hell. Astaroth, desperate to recall his memories, doesn’t understand why Calladia hates him, and he can barely understand why she is even helping, but he knows something that could turn the tide in hell to protect its residents; he just needs to remember. The two set off on an unlikely road trip that will surprise them both.

I don’t know if I’m still on the high of playing Baldur’s Gate 3, but this book is definitely for the girlies who spent £50 on a game because they thought the immortal white-haired man was good-looking. (….)

A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch is a silly, light-hearted read. (And I mean that in a loving way.) For the most part, this is a ridiculously entertaining book to read. We know from the previous book that Calladia and Astaroth both have apparent family issues, and it was hilarious to see them butt heads in this as they work together to regain Astaroth’s memories. I was hesitant about the romance simply because they moved quickly, but their chemistry was a lot of fun. However, Astaroth’s whole schtick of being a British demon with an apparent ‘posh accent’ got boring quickly – I don’t think the reader needed to be reminded so much that he’s speaking with received pronunciation. We are already told through his character building in the story. Again, this series is meant to be light-hearted and easy to read, which it was. There were bits I found a little awkward, but that is just my preference when it comes to romance, and readers who lean more into paranormal romance will definitely enjoy this sequel.

Overall, A Demon’s Guide was a good laugh, and sometimes you need just a simple book about a witch and demon overthrowing hell together. (Now, about that next one in the series about a succubus and a flower shop owner….)

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: May 2024 (long time no see…)

June 3, 2024June 9, 2024by Zaheerah1 Comment

Uh, hi? Long time no see. It has been almost 7 months since my last blog post, and it feels so weird to be writing again. But I’m SO excited to return to blogging now that I feel like I’m in a better headspace to do so. So where have I been? If you remember from my previous posts, I was unemployed from September 2022 onwards. Since then, I have been actively job searching for roles both in publishing and in my hometown, where the roles I was applying for were mainly admin-based. To have such a long span of unemployment and face constant rejection from SO many jobs was extremely demotivating. Blogging has always been a hobby, and while job-searching, I found it extremely difficult to even finish a book because that looming fear of the job-searching process was always in the back of my mind, which led to me abandoning this site.

But that didn’t mean I disappeared off the internet. Musk might have basically made Twitter close to unusable for me, but most days you’ll find me on Twitch. I started streaming when I left my previous job as a way to improve my public speaking and it has become such a great creative output for me. I’ve improved a lot in terms of art because of Twitch and I even designed two V-tube models as a result of it. If you’re a fan of games like Genshin Impact, Phasmophobia and Elden Ring. Come hang out on Twitch while I play games badly and talk about my current reads.

May was the first MCM Comic Con for the year here in the UK and I had an absolute BLAST. Sadly, no cosplay this time but I do want to cosplay Stelle from Honkai: Star Rail for October. I had the chance to meet Sean Chiplock who voices some of my favourite characters including Revali from BOTW and Diluc from Genshin Impact. And there was a great talk with some of the voice actors from Baldur’s Gate 3, mainly the Tavs and other characters. (Sorry not sorry to everyone who watched me on Twitch go through the bear scene live – you all enjoyed it really.)

Before I go on a tangent about Baldur’s Gate3, I can now announce after a long, long job searching period, I now have a job! (in publishing!) I am currently working in an assistant role for bibliographic metadata! Metadata has always been one of those things that I thought I knew what it was but it wasn’t until I came across this job listing that there was a whole lot more than I ever imagined. I’m really enjoying my time so far in the role. I knew this was an industry I wanted to work in since I was 16 years old, so it’s safe to say it’s been a long time coming. You would think with a full-time job, it would be difficult to get back into reading but I found it so easy to return to my TBR. (I am utilising those 2-hour commute times to the fullest.) And with that, we can finally get to the monthly wrap-up, as I managed to read nine books this month. Reviews are to come for most of these titles.

B O O K S

Continue reading →

Books

Review: The Sword of Kaigen

November 16, 2023November 7, 2023by Zaheerah2 Comments

Upon the highest mountains live the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula, whose bloodline has kept the Kaigenese Empire safe for centuries, earning them the title ‘The Sword of Kaigen.’ The Matsuda family are a true testament to the title, with their eldest born, Mamoru, growing stronger each day. But when the enemies return to their shores, are they truly prepared to fight when they discover their Empire may have been built on lies?

I cannot tell you how many times I have tried to write this review without it turning into an incoherent paragraph of emotions. This is the book I should’ve read on my deathbed because how on earth am I supposed to move on from this?

The Sword of Kaigen follows the Matsuda family, primarily its eldest, Mamoru, and his mother, Misaki. Like the other families around them, they can manipulate water, and the Matsuda’s are famous for their bloodline technique, Whispering Blade, a move so sharp that ice can cut steel. The pressure is on for Mamoru, who begins to feel the heaviness of the Matsuda name and finds his world turned upside down when his new school friend teaches him that the Empire, he was raised to serve has been lying to him all this time. His mother, Misaki, holds her own secrets; a past from before her marriage to Takeru Matsuda haunts her when war returns to their shores.

When defining a ‘character-driven book’, I believe we should also include The Sword of Kaigen in the explanation. M.L. Wang has done remarkably well, almost perfectly, regarding the cast of The Sword of Kaigen. Mamoru, the sweetest boy, only wants to protect his home. Misaki is a skilled woman who fights to rise above traditions when she can no longer abide by its rules. Even Takeru, her stone-cold husband, flipped my perception drastically from the first time we met. While I loved Mamoru as my own, Misaki is the novel’s showstopper. Having been a fighter in her youth, she has closed off her past to her children and witnessing her son see the truth for the first time, she finds herself reminiscing on her past, and the fighting soul within her returns to the surface. She grows tired of listening to people who wish for her silence and watching her come back to life could be a novel in its own right.

I have learnt from other reviews that the story’s pacing is often a common critique that is most brought up. Still, I found the unconventional pacing added to the emotional impact and reading experience. The story starts slow, quite literally the calm before the storm. Change slowly occurs, mainly through Mamoru’s POV, a young boy discovering that his Empire was suppressing the truth from his family. Not everyone is happy to hear him speak indifferently of their Empire, especially his father, Takeru. Misaki does her best to allow her son to understand the truth without overstepping. The development of their mother-son relationship was tender and heart-breaking,

When the action hits the page, it hits hard. It is messy; no one is truly prepared for what is to come, and the invasion confuses even the strongest warriors. The fighting barely takes up much of the story, but its effect ripples all the way to the final page. While some of the best moments happen outside of the fight, Wang’s ability to write action sequences is brilliant – so much vivid and insightful descriptions that I felt like I was watching a visual novel unfold. I was speechless throughout it all.

Overall, I finished this book with sheer admiration for M.L Wang as there are not many authors whose stories give me such whiplash that I can’t stop thinking about it even months after. I learnt not long after that Wang has chosen not to continue in this universe, and while I was shocked to hear this, I am grateful for what we’ve been given already. An all-favourite that I will cherish dearly.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

Books

Review: Mammoths at the Gates (The Singing Hills Cycle, #4)

November 14, 2023November 7, 2023by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

*I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.*

Cleric Chih returns home for the first time in years only to discover their mentor has passed away and his granddaughters are threatening the safety of the Singing Hills Abbey to retrieve his body. Chih must work quickly to honour their mentor’s life while stopping the mammoths at the gates from destroying everything the clerics have worked for all these years.

While the author notes that the series may be read in any given order, each release can be considered its entry point; Mammoths at the Gate feels like such a brilliant story that fits easily as the middle story of Chih’s journey. (We are, thankfully, getting more from Cleric Chih. I don’t think I’m ready to let them go yet.)

Chih has turned home for the first time in almost three years. However, the Abbey is silent as ever, as most of the clerics are elsewhere, and the few left are undoubtedly incapable of handling the giant mammoths that could trample them in seconds. Chih barely has time to truly mourn their mentor as they are spurned to stop the war at their doorstep. But Chih isn’t the only one mourning. The mammoths are controlled by the granddaughters of their mentor, Cleric Thein, the family that he left behind once he joined the singing hills, the other clerics, some old friends of Chih, some new, and not to mention Cleric Thein’s hoopoe companion, Myriad Virtues.

Life and death and how it is passed through stories is the core element of this series, and Chih is now a character instead of a bystander this time around. This novella deals tightly with grief and change, and Mammoths at the Gate is emotional and heartfelt. Sure, Chih has shown emotions, but seeing them return to their home, to their familiar surroundings and realising how much has changed in the time they were gone felt so much more affecting.

As clerics, they understand how memory is a fickle thing, and how it used to remember the life of Cleric Thein before and after his time as a cleric was an excellent way to touch upon the topic of grief and the grieving process. His granddaughters recall a much different person than Chih, but it doesn’t mean their perspective is wrong; it reminds them that the world is constantly changing. The stories about you, too, can affect people differently. All in all, this is my favourite entry in the series so far. Simply well done and beautiful.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

Books

Review: Into the Riverlands (The Singing Hills Cycle, #3)

November 9, 2023November 7, 2023by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Our wandering cleric Chih finds themselves headfirst into an ancient feud when they decide to travel through the riverlands with the intention of recording the story of a legendary martial artist. They join up with a pair of two young women and an older couple to risk the journey through the riverlands as there are safety in numbers. But Chih learns that their new friends are not what they seem, and the story that they wish to tell soon becomes their reality.

Nghi Vo’s third instalment of the Singing Hills Cycle is exactly like the others: multifaceted pockets of life seeming from the bursts of the short number of pages. Chih once again gains new temporary travelling companions, and this time, they may be the ones protecting them this time. Like the other releases, Chih is once again faced with a dichotomy between the stories they collect and the living person it reflect upon. They are faced with reality and, for the first time, question their position as a cleric, one that is unable to face headfirst into battle. They soon feel naïve and helpless but quickly learn they may not be the names history will remember, but there is power in their role, and that can be just as important as they can ensure the stories of the people, they admire will be remembered the way they truly occurred.

I learnt during my read of this book that the series can be read in any order, and I quickly realised that I really loved that aspect as we, as readers, are able to essentially create our own path for Chih. The way Nghi Vo creates complexity in her stories and characters within such a short number of pages is remarkable. These characters are not with us or Chih for long, but their impact means so much to me. You almost feel like Chih themselves as you finish off one story and move on to their next journey. I don’t think I mentioned it in the other reviews, but this series will be a hit for the low-stakes crowds.

Overall, a huge recommendation from me once again. I will always want to keep reading about Chih, and I hope Nghi Vo has the opportunity to keep going for as long as she can.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

Books

Review: When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (The Singing Hills Cycle, #2)

November 7, 2023November 7, 2023by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Cleric Chih and their new companions find themselves in an unsafe situation, and to stay alive, Chih must recount the story of the tiger and her scholar lover to survive the night. But they must watch their words as one mishap may unleash the anger of the ferocious tigers who listen closely on.

In my previous review of The Empress of Salt and Fortune, I referred to the story as a “near-epic tale, all condensed into a hundred pages.” While the stakes are not as high this time, I found When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain an exceptional sequel that captivated me way more than the first in such a drastic way. My third foray into Nghi Vo’s work, and I am mesmerised by her storytelling skills.

Chih takes the stage this time and tells the story of tiger Ho Thi Thao and the scholar Dieu and finds themselves at the mercy of the tigers, who interject to explain how their version of the same story happened. The Singing Hills Cycle series, at its core, is about the power of storytelling, and this novella particularly emphasises how history is remembered by the winners. The mediation between Chih and the tiger sisters is thrilling and frightening. Chih is cut off at many points in their recollection of the story by the tigers to correct or disagree with their rendition of the story, new information that shifts Chih’s entire perspective of the tale and makes them even more on edge as they wait out the night.

Nghi Vo’s ability to command words is enthralling. Stuck on a cold mountain, the clock ticking until sunrise, readers can expect to feel like they’re sitting along Chih, anxiously watching their every word, hoping it’s not their last, listening to the love story of Ho Thi Thao and Dao, a sapphic tale between two complicated women. Nghi Vo knows how to keep readers captured, creating fully realised stories in such a tight number of pages. Something about this series so far makes me feel at peace. Much like its predecessor, When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain was glorious, and Nghi Vo’s storytelling has won my heart and soul. I highly recommend and eagerly await more about our beloved cleric, Chih.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

Archives