Lena Smith

White Knight to the Rescue

Revisado: 01-01-24

The first book in this series outlined how MC Finn gets stressed as a witch because his magic can't solve everything, and how hard that can be for people to hear. Well, no worries, because even as a regular guy Finn can solve any problem in an afternoon. Some of this feels earned through his previous record of being kind and attentive, but some of it is reaching to make him suddenly the hero everyone needed. (He has a couple of adventures in town where he singlehandedly overturns instances of social injustice almost instantaneously which felt sort of insulting simplified?)
I dunno, this story just continues to feel like a relatively decent straight cis white man patting himself on the back for not being a villain and once again the stakes are vague and the shifts in perspective mean there are no real secrets- except when the omniscient narrator conveniently skips over Anima's thoughts and plans. I don't need to read the third book to know Finn will magically get everything he ever wanted, and more!

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Slow rather than cozy

Revisado: 01-01-24

This story isn't aggravating, but it borders on boring. It's hard to understand what the stakes are- is it Finn being caught? Or the coming war? Or finding a girlfriend? No problem Finn has seems to last long, which I guess makes for a stressless read, but there's also nothing exciting.
The narration was mostly fine but the cat's voice made the whole character feel racist. Everyone else in the story seems European but the talking animal has an American street accent...

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Feels like a prequel

Revisado: 03-28-23

This book built up a pretty interesting world- I love the spooky atmosphere, and the little tidbits we're learning about the magic system, and the Big Evil is well illustrated over a few scenes. My main issue is that the whole book just establishes those stakes. It doesn't really feel like anything happens in this book, besides getting the protagonist to where the action is going to happen. She sort of has a goal at the beginning of the book, but because of the information we learn immediately about her target, it's pretty easy to tell she's not going to get around to doing anything about it.
I'm still interested in hearing the rest of the series, mostly because this book didn't have any payoff of it's own, and I feel a little resentful of that.
The only other thing holding me back from jumping on the next one of these is how disappointed I was by the narrator. It's easy to hear that the main character is written to have an accent- probably something like a cockney accent or even Irish- which helps set her class apart from her well-educated love interest. It's really weird that the narration doesn't keep up with that, considering that the main character uses slang that sounds really weird in a flat American accent. It made much of the book's content sound awkward, when it should have been flavorful and fun.

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Highly suspect

Revisado: 03-28-23

This book made me uncomfortable.
I was all set for this coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old fighting for her family in an refreshing take on a fantasy setting. I do like the premise with these floating islands in a sky dominated by dragons. And I sort of like the protagonist... except the way she's treated doesn't always feel age appropriate.

Stories about people bonding with magical creatures are generally pretty cool. But there's something off about Lia's relationship with these beasts. There's a lot of unusual conversations between her and a dragon that are presumably developing a "soulmate" sort of connection, and it's obvious by the end of the book that they're romantically in love. That wouldn't be entirely uncomfortable, except that there're also plenty of scenes where the dragon and another dragonette friend tease Lia about her body, or describe dragonish likings for strong hindquarters. There's even a scene where the dragon sees Lia naked and seems to enter a fugue state of some sort. On top of that weird tension, Lia's relationship with the dragon is often patronizing, controlling, and there are weird moments where she is "playfully" threatened with physical punishment after she's acted independently without consulting the dragon. And if that isn't making you raise your eyebrows, she is 15 years old, and the dragon is 20. Dragon years might be different, but it's important to note that the girl sees him as a grown, adult creature.
I don't know what else to say. If the dragon was human and you read the conversations in this book, it'd be so easy to identify how predatory he sounds. You might argue that he IS a dragon, and will act less in accordance with how humans are expected to behave, but this is a book about a young girl, for young girls. I don't like the seed that sews.

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A Childish Triumph

Revisado: 09-21-20

Perfect, with the comedic spirit of a 14-year-old and clever maturity of a well-worded author.

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Simple yet Strategic

Revisado: 05-25-20

A sequel even more clever and engaging than it's predecessor! Can't wait to start #3.

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Yuck!

Revisado: 04-26-20

Teens so horny and self-important, they bury the plot under what suspiciously resembles sexual harassment!

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Interesting but Uninspiring

Revisado: 02-03-20

This book has the bones of a great story, but the actual writing is clumsy.

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A work of charming finess

Revisado: 10-15-19

A sweetly corny title sets up a beautifully bewitching story. This dreamy but real tale of a very average young girl finding what makes her special is- like music- even more than the sum of its parts.

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I clap

Revisado: 02-17-19

wowee wow wow she's done it again another thrilling and immersive adventure. I'm in love.

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