ARC Review: Heaven's Graveyard, by Grace Curtis

Cod became an archaeologist to chase the ghost of her hero, Aleya Ana-Ulai. History may have written Aleya off as a myth, but Cod is determined to prove she existed, even if it means sifting through relics for the rest of her life. Then a message arrives summoning her home. Cod's former teacher has found something monumental: the ruins of an enchanted city, slumbering beneath the soil.
This could be the breakthrough they've always dreamed of. But with war brewing, rival powers circling, and ancient magics stirring underfoot, their discovery soon becomes far more trouble than it's worth. Even Cod starts to wonder if some things are better left buried.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Grace Curtis's Heaven's Graveyard is a fantastical murder mystery set some two thousand years after Idolfire, the author's first foray into fantasy. This one's more of a science fantasy mix as we see a world that completely forgot its magical roots and developed similarly enough to ours. Idolfire is referenced heavily, but the novel works well enough on its own, giving tantalizing hints that prompt the reader to go back to it, wondering how much of what is referenced is true and how much is fiction.

The book offers fascinating insights into archeology and the pull of ancient history as we follow Coda, a young academic on a mission to prove that her favorite piece of folklore is a real story. The novel kicks off when she gets called back to her hometown and she's forced to start an investigation, confront her own tumultuous past, and see her troublesome ex-girlfriend again. In the background, whispers of a war between countries don't really reach us, as the worldbuilding relies somewhat on knowledge of the previous novel. The story careens towards a high-stakes final confrontation and wraps up everything nicely.

But at its core, the book is about Coda's inner journey from a person who flees from conflict and has trouble with making connections in her everyday life. She reads as neurodivergent in some ways, and the book doesn't magically fix her, but it gives her the tools to better live.

Heaven's Graveyard is a lovely read.

✨ 4 stars

 

 

Review: Silver in the Wood, by Emily Tesh

There is a Wild Man who lives in the deep quiet of Greenhollow, and he listens to the wood. Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable existence with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads.
When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past—both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.

"He had thought himself a thing uprooted." 

Emily Tesh's Silver in the Wood is a soft achillean novella about the cycle of death and rebirth, loosely taking inspiration from the Green Man myths. It takes its time, slowly taking us into the forest, detailling each tree with lush and atmospheric writing. Told entirely from the point of view of Tobias, it's a reflection on time and on overcoming an abusive relationship, but also on curiosity and love.

The format works perfectly; novellas so rarely get the pacing right, but this one does. Even if the narration is slow, it's packed with warm emotion and so much care and a small mystery that hooks the reader, pulling us into a small enclosed space that brims with magic and dryads and the quiet strength of old trees. The romance between Tobias and Henry follows the same slow rhythm, steady and dreamlike, towards a fitting conclusion.

Silver in the Wood is a small treasure.

✨ 4 stars

 

 

Review: When They Burned the Butterfly, by Wen-yi Lee

 

Singapore, 1972: Newly independent, a city of immigrants grappling for power in a fast-modernizing world. Here, gangsters are the last conduits of the gods their ancestors brought with them, and the back alleys where they fight are the last place where magic has not been assimilated and legislated away. Loner schoolgirl Adeline Siow has never needed more company than the flame she can summon at her fingertips. But when her mother dies in a house fire with a butterfly seared onto her skin and Adeline hunts down a girl she saw in a back-alley barfight—a girl with a butterfly tattoo–she discovers she’s far from alone.
Ang Tian is a Red Butterfly: one of a gang of girls who came from nothing, sworn to a fire goddess and empowered to wreak vengeance on the men that abuse and underestimate them. Adeline’s mother led a double life as their elusive patron, Madam Butterfly. Now that she’s dead, Adeline’s bloodline is the sole thing sustaining the goddess. Between her search for her mother’s killer and the gang’s succession crisis, Adeline becomes quickly entangled with the girls’ dangerous world, and even more so with the charismatic Tian. But no home lasts long around here. 

"Transformation was artistry until it was put upon you." 

Wen-yi Lee's When They Burned the Butterfly is a surprisingly mature YA historical fantasy that details a gang war, doubling down as a blood-filled sapphic coming of age story and a love letter to the city of Singapore. The main character is a grief-stricken girl burning with rage and with the willpower to settle into a role and take on the reins, and it's refreshing to read about such an unlikable, sympathetic, competent character.

Taking inspiration from a real Singaporean women's gang in the Sixties, the author weaves a tale of sisterhood and the divine, grief and revenge, a tale about finding love and acceptance and letting it go, brimming with violence and tenderness and the jealousy of gods. It's a brutal novel, especially towards the end, and I hesitate to truly call it YA.

The worldbuilding is rich and complex, showing the many faces of Singapore and its postcolonial struggle as people scramble for power and meaning, drawing from old gods of the mainland. The gods, especially the titular Butterfly, are front and center, despite the more subdued beginning.

The characters are perhaps where the book falls a bit short, with so many and so different and so little focus on them, save for the love interest. 

When They Burned the Butterfly is a rage-filled epic.

✨ 4 stars