Tag: magic

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

~ Nuraine Sadaf ~ Leave a comment

#BookReview
Fantasy | Fiction | Magic | Children
Rating: ***

Hello Dear Readers, Happy New Year!
The House in the Cerulean Sea, my first book of 2023, yay I guess! This one’s a fantasy fictional novel in which the protagonist, Linus Baker, is a caseworker working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY). His job requires him to visit government-sanctioned orphanages to check on the well-being of the magical youth. Also, to recommend whether the orphanages should continue to remain operational or be shut.

DICOMY’s main purpose is to keep these magical children safe by making sure they aren’t harmed, mistreated, or abused. However, the children are not allowed to leave the orphanage, mingle with the rest of the world, or live alongside the so-called normal humans. DICOMY is more of a dichotomy! It’s a stern organization that expects its caseworkers to abide by the RULES AND REGULATIONS document when they’re on their rounds to investigate the orphanages. The caseworkers aren’t allowed to show any form of empathy, love, and care to these children. Mr. Baker, having worked for the DICOMY for seventeen years, tries to do his job by following all the rules to the T, but sometimes empathy takes over his better judgement.

Linus Baker has the personality of a simple man with low expectations in life. He lives a solitary life at the age of forty and allows people to antagonize him – his coworkers, superiors at work, his neighbor, and the rest of the world. His life is all about going to work, returning home to his cat, and listening to records all by himself while having dinner.

One day, Mr. Baker gets unexpectedly summoned by the EXTREMELY UPPER MANAGEMENT to work on a special case. This requires him to go to a magical island that holds children tagged as classified level four. As Mr. Baker approaches the Marsyas Island Orphanage, a site housing young individuals with extraordinary and potentially perilous abilities, he finds himself consumed by anxiety and apprehension over the classified mission at hand. Will he be able to push aside his fears and do what’s expected of him? To find out what happens next, you’ll have to read the book!

What can you expect from this book? Well, there is an entertaining story with layers of magic, discrimination, bureaucracy, mysterious secrets, love, and of course children. The dangerously adorable children – Talia, Theodore, Sal, Phee, Chauncey, and my dear lil Lucy. There is also the enigmatic Arthur Parnassus and sassy Zoe Chapelwhite who are the caretakers of these children. And of course, let’s not forget our good old man Mr. Baker.

What did I think about the book?

Mmm, mixed feelings! I like the fact that it was a fantasy book and the world-building was good! But it was overhyped, it got a bit too emotional and preachy, making me feel like I was watching a family drama movie. This book needs to be categorized in young adult fiction. Most people found the book to be a tear-jerker, but I’m sorry it didn’t do anything to me. See, I can be super emotional and I love emotional books but I don’t know, this one felt forced..? Well, the dramatic part just didn’t work for me. While reading this book, I also got reminded of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, which I like better than this one.

Anyway, moving past the lows! Let’s see what was good about the book: the story flowed well and it was pretty descriptive which made all the characters seem almost real. Some of the issues discussed in the book can also address real-life problems. Like, do we have to hate or judge things that we fear or don’t understand? Life is all about being more accepting of everyone and everything despite the differences. To make the world more colorful, peaceful, and beautiful we all need to be kind, accepting, and loving, right?

Lastly, cannot end the review without calling attention to Lucy’s dialogues, those were my favorite, I looked forward to them!! ❤

PS: The House in the Cerulean Sea is a good-read if you are looking for a sweet and comforting story. I would give it a 6.8/10 only because of the extra drama and also Brandon Sanderson has ruined me with his fantasy books!

The Witcher: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

~ Nuraine Sadaf ~ 4 Comments

#Book Review
High Fantasy| Fiction| Action| Magic

After watching the TV series, The Witcher on Netflix, I was enthralled by the story and decided to read the books. And boy, I’m glad I did! It has to be one of the most interesting fantasy books that I’ve read after Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive.

The Witcher – Geralt of Rivia, is the main protagonist who is a fearless monster hunter with impressive magical powers. Along with having incredible physical prowess, agility, and extraordinary fighting skills, Geralt also looks fantastic, at least in my mind this grumpy White Wolf looks gorgeous. Henry Cavil in the TV series does complete justice to this character and looks terrific. Anyway, coming back to the book review, the Witcher earns his living by getting hired to battle evil demons in exchange for money. Many find him dangerous, many hate him or are afraid of him, many are impressed by his mastery of destroying the evil, and many like me are just head over heels over this fictional character. In the Last Wish, there are multiple stories of Geralt hunting down different types of beasts. Then some chapters bring to light Geralt’s past and how he became a Witcher. What I absolutely enjoyed while reading the book is the unique style of writing, Geralt’s short and witty dialogues and how he likes to engage in cold conversations with the antagonists, the funny banter with his bard friend Dandelion, and the gripping conflicts of the Witcher with the monsters.

It is a super entertaining fantasy series that might take a while to get immersed into if you come expecting the same plot as the TV show since it is not narrated in the same order or fashion. I definitely recommend reading the books as it is an excellent treat for all fantasy book readers.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

~ Nuraine Sadaf ~ 1 Comment

#Book Review
Fantasy Fiction|Thrilling|War|Magic

This book was on my Want to Read list for really long, I finally decided to read it and I am glad I did. Uprooted by Naomi Novik is a fantasy novel that will take you on a magical journey through a homely village, a Dragon’s cold tower, warring kingdoms, and the corrupted Wood.

The protagonist of this story is Agnieszka, a 17-year old girl, who loves her village – Dvernik, her family, and her beautiful friend Kasia. The villagers of Dvernik always live in a certain kind of fear, the Wood surrounds the village and many of them have lost a loved one to the Wood. It is not that the people get lost in the forest, the Wood is pure evil and whoever enters the Wood encounters horror and death.

“There was a song in this forest, too, but it was a savage song, whispering of madness and tearing and rage.”

Naomi Novik

The Dragon, a powerful wizard, protects the villagers and keeps the corruption of the Wood under control. However, the people pay a terrible price for the Dragon’s help. Every ten years, the Dragon takes a young girl from the village to serve him. This year everyone was sure that Kasia would be chosen as she was an ideal choice – young, beautiful, well-mannered, and she could manage all the household tasks. Agnieszka on the other hand was a messy tomboy. Agnieszka knew the Dragon would never choose her but she feared for her dearest childhood friend, Kasia. When the day of choosing arrived, everyone was surprised with the Dragon’s choice.

Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true..

Naomi Novik

Now, this is not a story about a Dragon and a girl, it is a lot more! That was just the beginning, honestly I couldn’t believe that a book with around 450-pages could have such a dense plot line. Just when you start thinking, “Alright, now this is where the story is going to build up, bam, mystery solved!” I guess, this is something that makes the book all the more interesting to read. The story keeps you going, it isn’t boring, and it doesn’t feel rushed. In fact, the story is super descriptive. You can vividly imagine how it must feel like to be in the Dragon’s tower, Agnieszka’s room, Prince Marek’s mythical kingdom of Polnya, and the dark, creepy forest.

Every day I could watch the Spindle running riotous white with melted ice, and a band of open grass widening from the lowlands, chasing the snow up into the mountains on either side. Rain swept over the valley in silver curtains.

Naomi Novik

Uprooted is a story that has magic, magic spells – Vanastalem being one of my favorites. It is about a strong bond of friendship, romance, war between kingdoms, and the ultimate war with the evil Wood. The only part where I felt slightly let down was how the book ended, I found it way too convenient and more like a happy ending of a movie, but I still enjoyed reading it.

I recommend that you definitely read, Uprooted, if you want to escape reality and enter into a realm of fantasy. Somehow, it even feels real and believable. It’s easy to get absorbed into the story, I loved the character growth of Agnieszka, and the fantastic world-building. The underlying theme of being uprooted affects not only the protagonist but also the other important characters involved in the story.

I was a glaring blot on the perfection. But I didn’t care: I didn’t feel I owed him beauty.

Naomi Novik

They come and go like seasons, the winter that gives no thought to the spring.

Noami Novik