ARC Review: Wink Poppy Midnight

Title: Wink Poppy Midnight
Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Publisher: Dial Books/Penguin
Publication Date: March 22, 2016
Format: eARC
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

“The intrigue of The Raven Boys and the "supernatural or not" question of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer coalesce in this young adult mystery, where nothing is quite as it seems, no one is quite who you think, and everything can change on a dime.

Every story needs a hero.
Every story needs a villain.
Every story needs a secret.

Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair and freckles. Poppy is the blond bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee. Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Two girls. One boy. Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.

What really happened?
Someone knows.
Someone is lying.

For fans of Holly Black, We Were Liars, and The Virgin Suicides, this mysterious tale full of intrigue, dread, beauty, and a whiff of something strange will leave you utterly entranced.”




Where to even start with this review, with this book? When a book is compared to The Raven Boys, I am equal parts intrigued and skeptical, so I went into Wink Poppy Midnight cautiously optimistic. This book turned out to be a magical, atmospheric, weird experience that kept me enthralled from the very first page.

Split into rapid fire changing POVs from Wink, Poppy, and Midnight, this book feels very fast paced even though relatively little action actually happens. I didn’t find any of the main characters particularly likable, but they were each captivating in their own way. Wink, obsessed with fairytales and committed to living one out, was the character I thought I’d love most going into the story, but I ended up feeling distanced from her to the point of mistrusting her most of all. Poppy is at least up front about the fact that she’s manipulative and mean, and I came to appreciate her cruel honesty. I think I struggled the most with Midnight: I alternated between thinking he was unassuming and sweet on one page, to gullible and weak the next. He is far overshadowed by his female counterparts.

That being said, the writing enthralled me. Tucholke’s writing is gorgeous, and she has crafted a novel so atmospheric that I fully expected to be in the woods, surrounded by mist when I looked up from the page. I’ve seen some people complain about the repeating of words and phrases throughout the novel, but I honestly wasn’t bothered by it. If anything, it added to the otherworldly sense of the book. As the reader, you spend the entire book wondering if there really is magic at play here. Wink Poppy Midnight feels so much like a magical realism story, and I felt like it was really building up to that. Ultimately, there is something far more sinister at play.

I pride myself on seeing plot twists a mile off – there have been very few times where a book genuinely caught me off guard. Wink Poppy Midnight messed with my head and kept me completely unsure of what was happening the entire time. I thought it would go one way, and then the story weaved and dived away from me into something far weirder. It must be said, by the way, that this is a genuinely, wonderfully weird book. But it’s also just as manipulative as its characters.

Where things fell apart for me, however, was the ending. I found the ending to be confusing (and not in the enjoyable way of the first 75% of this book) and ultimately unsatisfying. Maybe Tucholke wanted to keep things a bit mysterious and open ended, but I felt that it was a lot of build up to a weak ending. It was like eating a delicious slice of chocolate cake, only for the last bite to turn to dirt in your mouth. That was a bit dramatic, but the point stands. I will always prefer a strong ending over a muted one.

Don’t mistake my critique for displeasure. I absolutely adored Wink Poppy Midnight. It is its own fairytale, while simultaneously preying upon and playing against fairytale tropes. Every story needs a hero. Every story needs a villain. Every story needs a secret. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Which one are you?

*I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Top 5 Classics I Want to Read

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I don’t read many classics. Of course I spent years reading them for school, but the amount of classics I’ve read for pleasure are few and far between. Lately, however, I’ve found myself acquiring beautiful editions of classics, stories I’m drawn to now that I would have passed by before. This is probably in part because I’m following more and more classics readers in the book community that are inspiring me to read outside of my usual YA box.

Today I have five books to share with you, either recently acquired or long possessed, that I want to read soon.

1. Persuasion by Jane Austen. The only Jane Austen novel that I’ve read is Pride and Prejudice (I know, shame on me), but Persuasion has really appealed to me lately. A book about second chances, Anne Elliott’s story really appeals to me as someone else who wants another shot. This is my friend Amanda’s second-favorite Austen (after P&P, duh), and she promises me this is wonderful and romantic.

2. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I watched the BBC miniseries of North and South last year, and I immediately knew I’d have to read the original. North and South is probably best described as the northern, industrial version of Pride and Prejudice, with more socio-economic themes and conflict. Southern and genteel Margaret Hale is forced to move north with her family, where she meets John Thornton, the cotton mill owner who seems to embody all of her prejudices against the north. They obvs have some quips and misunderstandings and ultimately fall in love, but lord knows there’s nothing I enjoy more than a “from hate to love” story. Plus, if you haven’t seen the BBC miniseries, you need to. Richard Armitage as John Thornton is SO DREAMY Y’ALL.

3. Villette by Charlotte Brontë. This is 100% because of Alycia at exlibris. She reviewed this book on her channel and I immediately knew I needed to read it. Villette is lesser known in comparison to Charlotte’s beloved Jane Eyre, but it’s a story that I can relate to more personally. Lucy Snowe moves to a small village in France to teach at an all girls’ boarding school. While there, she struggles with isolation and loneliness, as well as a romantic subplot. Lucy is apparently an unreliable narrator, which always makes for an interesting reading experience. We’ll see if I end up enjoying this more than Jane Eyre.

4. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I mentioned this in my 2016 TBR Challenge post, and I still haven’t read it, whoops. I’ve had it for ages and at this point, it just needs to be read. I don’t have anything particularly inspired to say, other than I keep seeing this on my shelf and think, “yes, I know I’m neglecting you. Some day soon I’ll get around to it.” Plus, this is such an iconic book with intriguing themes, so I do genuinely want to read it. It’ll happen.

5. A Room of One’s Own and Three Guineas by Virginia Woolf. Way back in the day, younger Jane did not get along well with Virginia and Mrs. Dalloway, to my professor’s eternal frustration. Years later, I never thought I’d be this excited to read anything by Woolf, but I am so looking forward to reading A Room of One’s Own and its sequel of sorts, Three Guineas. Adapted from lectures, A Room of One’s Own is arguably Virginia Woolf’s most famous, and most feminist, essay. In the extended essay, Woolf argues for women to have their own (literal and figurative) space in the male-dominated world of literature.

Those are the five classics at the top of my TBR! What are some of your favorite classics? Do you have any recommendations of classics you think I’ll enjoy? Let me know in the comments!

Month-Long Weirdathon TBR

When I heard about the Month-Long Weirdathon being hosted by Outlandish Lit (thanks to the lovely Brittany at Under The Radar Books), my first thought was YES, SIGN ME UP. While I read a lot of standard YA/Fantasy fair, I do love to read really weird shit every now and then. Weird books make a big impact, whether you love them or hate them…you’re definitely going to feel some kind of way about it. I decided to make a shorter TBR list as a starting point, and any updates or changes will be made here or on Twitter.

Some of these may not be weird by your standards, but each of these books has something that is different, at least for me, and has some element that will take me out of my comfort zone.

1. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. My friend Lizz read this recently, and recommended that I pick it up. This science fiction story follows an all-female crew as they travel to the supposed Eden called Area X, where all previous exploration crews have gone missing. This is the first in a trilogy, and I’m excited to see what creepy, weird things happen when the crew arrives at Area X. Plus, bonus points for all-female cast of characters.

2. Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke. I received an ARC of this that I need to read and review this month, but luckily this seems like it’ll be a bit weird. Two books, one stone. This has been compared to The Raven Boys, which…tall order, but I’m intrigued. There’s a question of whether or not something supernatural is happening in this mysterious and strange story.

“Every story needs a hero.
Every story needs a villain.
Every story needs a secret.

What really happened?
Someone knows.
Someone is lying.”

THROUGHOULY INTRIGUED. This is one of my most anticipated March releases, so I hope it’s weird and enthralling and perfect.

3. Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend by Alan Cumyn. Yeah, you know this book is going to be fucking weird by the title alone. Our MC is a straight-laced stickler for the rules who never does anything unexpected – until a hot pterodactyl boy transfers to her school and joins a band. I swear this is the weirdest sounding book I’ve ever encountered, but I’m pretty excited.

4. The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson. I’ve never read anything by Jeanette Winterson before, but I figured this was a pretty good opportunity. Our main characters, a pilot named Billie and a robo-sapien named Spike, are sent to colonize a new planet for humans to inhabit, and are also falling in love. From what I understand, there’s also a reincarnation story line or sorts, so this is just checking off all the weird boxes.

5. Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie. I’ve heard about this series for a while now, mostly thanks to Liz Loves Lit on YouTube. Ancillary Justice, from what I can gather, is about a soldier named Breq who used to be a starship with artificial intelligence, but is betrayed and forced to inhabit a human body. Now she’s out for revenge. I put off reading this for so long because the premise sounds crazy weird, so now is obviously the perfect time to finally read it.

Those are the five books I have for my Weirdathon TBR, but if you have any suggestions of weird books, please share! Also, let me know what some of your favorite weird reads are.

ARC Review: Marked in Flesh

Title: Marked in Flesh (Book 4 in The Others series)
Author: Anne Bishop
Publication Date: March 8, 2016
Publisher: Roc / Penguin
Format: eARC*

“For centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they’re willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community...

Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial—both personally and practically.

But not everyone is convinced. A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. What they don’t realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others—and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs...”



I read the first three books in Anne Bishop’s The Others series last year and absolutely adored them. Urban fantasy is far from my usual cup of tea, but something about these books drew me in. Needless to say, getting an ARC of the fourth book, Marked in Flesh, was beyond exciting. The fact that this is the fourth books means that there will be some spoilers if you haven’t started the series or are caught up yet, so read at your discretion!

In this fourth installment, we pick up immediately after the events of Vision in Silver. The members of the Humans First and Last movement are planning attacks against the Others and the Intuits in an effort to claim the land for humans. As these attacks increase in severity, something far more powerful than the Others – the Elders, who live deep in the wild country – have had enough of these human threats. Meanwhile, the Lakeside Courtyard finds itself trying to protect more Others and humans than ever before.

There is something that must be said about this series: these books grow on you, but they’re not action-packed thrillers. So much of the story is devoted to the daily goings-on of the characters, their relationships, and how they navigate their world. I admit there are times when this seems almost boring, and so much time is spent in the build-up to major events. Marked in Flesh definitely suffers from this, even more than its predecessors.

The first 40% of Marked in Flesh is spent alternating between many points of view (too many, to be honest), and it’s a bit difficult to keep everything straight. Our time as the reader is split between three different locations, and countless characters. Personally, I could have gone without a lot of these little subplot moments in favor of focusing on the actual, main plot or on character relationships (if you know my thoughts about this series, you know who I’m talking about). But around the 45% mark, things really pick up, and the events of Marked in Flesh will irrevocably change the dynamics of this world forever. I don’t even know what’s going to happen in book five, because the way things end in Marked in Flesh was just…a lot bigger than I was expecting. So now I’m very excited to see where Anne Bishop takes things in the next book.

On a side note, I will say that I was a bit disappointed in the lack of a certain development that I’ve been looking forward to for four books now. Yes, I’m talking about Simon and Meg’s relationship. I understand why this ship has progressed at a glacial pace, and all the reasons why it’s necessary. But while we finally get something like progress for these two, my shipper heart wanted a bit more (I’m greedy, what can I say). That being said, their dynamic is only getting better, and I still have a lot of love for these two.

Perhaps the best part of this book is that the reader finally becomes aware of just how epic the nature of this world is, and how Anne Bishop gets us to this point after three books of careful world building and creating an entire mythology. I found the Elders to be terrifying yet fascinating, and I think that Marked in Flesh has a lot to say about humanity within those 400 pages. The greed and prejudice of man make them capable of horrible things, and that idea is a central theme of this book.

I won’t get into specific events because I don’t want to completely spoil things, but suffice it to say that Marked in Flesh was a great fourth installment in what has become my favorite urban fantasy series. Despite a slow start, Marked in Flesh will definitely leave readers anxiously awaiting book five!

Rating: 3.5 stars

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

DNF Diaries: Into the Dim

It’s time for another installment of DNF Diaries, in which I share the books that I abandoned, and explain why I didn’t finish reading them. I know DNFing books is still a somewhat touchy subject in the book community, but one of my Bookish Resolutions for 2016 was to not be afraid to DNF books. Life’s too short to read bad books.

Today’s DNF Diaries post is about Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor. I received an eARC of this via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, so…I’ll be honest here. Into the Dim is published on March 1, 2016, and it joins the ranks of the recent influx of time travel YA novels. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite stack up. I DNF’ed this book at 51% and haven’t regretted that life choice.

“When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. And she's alive, though currently trapped in the twelfth century, during the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Passing through the Dim, Hope enters a brutal medieval world of political intrigue, danger, and violence. A place where any serious interference could alter the very course of history. And when she meets a boy whose face is impossibly familiar, she must decide between her mission and her heart—both of which could leave Hope trapped in the past forever. Addictive, romantic, and rich with historical detail, Into the Dim is an Outlander for teens.”




The Good: Thanks to many years spent in the Doctor Who fandom, I am predisposed to want to like time travel stories. And Into the Dim has the most interesting time travel period of its contemporaries (no Antebellum period corsets and such here) because Hope and her fellow travelers go back in time to the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England. I was so excited to read a story set in this time, because Eleanor of Aquitaine was such an amazing figure in history. So really, the good parts of this book were how excited I was about Eleanor, and that time travel is inherently a cool concept.

The Bad: Into the Dim follows the same basic premise as every other time travel story that’s come out this year, or is slated to come out this year: young girl is separated from her mother, only to find out that – surprise! – time travel is real and she has to go on a quest to the past in order to save her mother. Paternity, if unknown, will be a latent plot point for twisty plot effect.  Rinse and repeat. Passenger did this, Into the Dim did this, and The Girl From Everywhere did this slightly differently. It’s a tired premise at this point, and I’m done with reading it over and over again.

Further, the actual apparatus behind time travel was like every possible time travel explanation rolled into one…ley lines! Tesla coils! Super computer tech things! Way too convoluted.

The Ugly: Hope Walton does not have a personality. If she does, it is so nondescript that the only word the publisher could come up with to describe her in the blurb above is fragile. I never felt connected to her, or cared about her, and her characterization felt inconsistent while still not managing to construct a personality for our dear protagonist. I don’t mind an unlikable main character, but I cannot stand an annoying or boring main character. Hope is both.

Many characters in this story are Scottish, and it’s clear from the blurb that this is Outlander for teens or something, but good lord. The way Taylor writes the Scottish characters was unbearable. If I had a dollar for every time she wrote “och,” I could cut my student loans in half. Every Scottish character felt beyond cliché, and the Outlander angle was pushed awkwardly and too hard. At the half way point, we’re very obviously being set up for a love triangle between Hope, a fellow traveler, and another guy who is even more obviously part of the rival/evil group of time travelers. I just can’t.

The worst part, and the most damning, is that I didn’t think about this book when I wasn’t reading it. In fact, I never thought about how much I want to continue reading, or see what happened next. I still don’t. And ultimately, I knew I had to DNF this book or I would end up with an underwhelming to the point of infuriating two star read.


Into the Dim doesn’t come out until March 1, but if you’re interested in reading this book, I’d recommend saving your money and checking it out from the library instead.


What’s the last book you DNF’ed?

Review: Salt to the Sea

The Hamilton Book Tag

Earlier this week, one of my favorite internet people Meg over at Cuddlebuggery posted The Hamilton Book Tag, originally created by Maureen Keavy. I'm very new to the Hamilton bandwagon, but these questions were just too good to pass up.

If you haven't listened to the Hamilton soundtrack yet, here's a link to the entire playlist on YouTube. Go on, I'll wait.

ALRIGHT LET'S DO THIS.

1. The Room Where it Happens | A book world you would put yourself in

I'm going to cheat a bit, and choose any of the countless Doctor Who novels, because I just want to travel with the Doctor. All of time and space, who could pass that up?

~

2. The Schuyler Sisters | An underrated female character

One day I'll write an essay about how under appreciated Fleur Delacour is, and how she's actually kick ass and constantly belittled by the other female characters for finding power in her traditional femininity and...yeah. I obviously have strong feelings about this. 

~

3. My Shot | A character that goes after what they want & doesn't let anything stop them

Puck Connolly from The Scorpio Races. I mean, come on. She's the first girl to ever participate in the race, and she's damn spunky. I adore her. “My mother always said that I was born out of a bottle of vinegar instead of born from a womb and that she and my father bathed me in sugar for three days to wash it off. I try to behave, but I always go back to the vinegar.”

~

4. Stay Alive | A character you wish was still alive

I had an entire list of really important, emotional character deaths and then I decided to throw it all out of the window and pick Hedwig, because that was so fucking unnecessary. HIS OWL, JKR?!

~

5. Burn | The most heartbreaking end to a relationship

Alina and The Darkling from the Grisha Trilogy...but my heart was the one broken. Also, honorable mention to Blue and Gansey because talk about a relationship destined for heartbreak (and death).

~

6. You'll Be Back | Sassiest Villain

Kidding, it's totally Victor Vale from Vicious. If you consider him to be the villain, so I suppose he could also be sassiest hero. 

~

7. The Reynolds Pamphlet | A book with a twist you didn't see coming

Every book in The Raven Cycle. "I took Chainsaw out of my dreams." WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK MAGGIE.

~

8. Non-stop | Series you marathoned

The Others series by Anne Bishop. I tore through the first three books in a week, and now I have an ARC of book four that I will be reading very soon. I don't even like urban fantasy, but I love this series.

~

9. Satisfied | A book with multiple POVs

Although my love for Six of Crows knows no bounds, recently I read Salt to the Sea and having four different POVs made for such an excellent reading experience. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

~

10. Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story | A book or series you feel like will be remembered throughout history

Obviously.

~

11. Helpless | A relationship you were pulling from the start

Again, obviously. While I shipped Bellarke in the (honestly god awful) The 100 trilogy, the TV show has made this officially one of my all-time OTPs and I will literally go down with this ship.

~

12. 10 Duel Commandments | Favorite fight scene

I cannot remember a single fight scene as I'm writing this, so I'm just gonna pick the Throne of Glass series because I know Celeana/Aelin kicks some ass and I'm 100% here for lady assassins. 

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13. Say No To This | A guilty pleasure read

Currently making my way through the Captive Prince trilogy, and part of why I love it so much is that it reads similarly to fic, which is absolutely intended to be a compliment.

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14. What Comes Next | A series you wish had more books

Six of Crows. Two books is not enough Kaz Brekker, Leigh Bardugo!

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15. Right Hand Man | Favorite BroTP

Bro.
~

16. What I'd Miss | A book or series you were late to reading

I actually bought The Raven Boys AND RETURNED IT back in early 2014 because I thought "omg no this is going to be awful what was I thinking??" INDEED JANE WHAT WERE YOU THINKING. Fast forward to me finally reading the first book and then inhaling the next two in early 2015 and feeling like a fool.

~

17. Wait For It | A book worth waiting for

I'm not ready. Not even a little bit.

Alright, those are all of my answers to the Hamilton Book Tag! I'm going to tag Maggie over at A Memo to You on YouTube because I know she loves Hamilton and was excited that I finally got my shit together and listened to the soundtrack. If you're interested in doing this tag as well, I hereby tag you!