Sticks and Stones by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins

It’s the second book in the Upside-Down Magic series. It was in the house for Miss Adventure to read. Since the books only take an hour or so to read, I decided to read it.

Published: 2016

Genre: middle grade fantasy

Length: 193 pages

Setting: mostly around Dunwiddle Magic School, soon after the events of Upside-Down Magic

Summary: Short version: Lacey starts a petition to get the Upside-Down Magic kids kicked out

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The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano

This was a random book from the library I picked off the shelf because it mentioned prime numbers. I brought it home because it was an Italian book and I’m actively looking for books set somewhere other than the U.S.

Published: 2008 in Italy, 2009 in the U.S.

Genre: fiction

Length: 271 pages

Font: Adobe Garamond Three

Setting: Italy (although you could never tell from the story), present day

Summary: Short version: Two traumatized kids grow up broken

Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine

This is the fourth book in the Great Library series. We borrowed it from a friend because the library only has the first three books.

Published: 2018

Genre: YA alternate history/fantasy

Length: 448 pages

Setting: Alexandria, immediately after the events of Ash and Quill

Summary: Short version: Jess and his friends make their move to remove the Archivist

Long version: Jess and Dario have put into play a scheme to get them back to Alexandria. They put it into lace without telling anyone else but Morgan, since she’s critical to its success. Morgan is sent back to the Black Tower where she makes contact with Eskander, a powerful Obscurist. Wolfe is sent back to prison and he works hard to not allow the setting to break him. Jess is impersonating Brendan, his twin, in order to have some freedoms in Alexandria. The others are prisoners on a ship, being taken back to Alexandria by Anit. They hijack the ship and get support from the King of Spain. In Alexandria, the goal is to minimize bloodshed and encourage Scholars to support a regime change. The Archivist has planned a Feast of Greater Burning and developed a dragon automaton to hold onto power. Jess and his allies disrupt those plans, although the Archivist escapes.

Final thoughts: Delightful, if not quite as compelling as the first few. I certainly devoured the book since I needed to know what happened next. The book is chock full of peril. It’s a constant driving to a final confrontation. Perhaps that’s why I felt a little let down at the end. There was so much build up that the conclusion felt anticlimactic. It didn’t help that the Archivist escaped. That felt like a cheat to require one more book. Also, I didn’t appreciate Brendan’s death at the end. I felt like the author knew someone important had to die, but it couldn’t be than main characters. Therefore, Brendan is elected to be the sacrificial lamb.

This book was told from everyone’s point of view. That differed from the previous books but was necessary because the characters were split up. I enjoyed Morgan and Khalila’s chapters best. Morgan continued to rail against the restrictions placed on Obscurists. She does learn there are limits to even her great powers. I was happy Eskander was able to fix her so she was no longer an energy vampire. Khalila’s arc went the other way. She kept moving into leadership roles without actively seeking them out. I fully expect her to become the next Archivist. I still wonder what Jess’s role in the Library hierarchy will be. Everyone else is wonderful at their field (perhaps excessively so – I get annoyed when all the wonderful people come together. Where are the average people?), but Jess doesn’t really have a specialty.

Title comes from: It follows the naming convention of the series. Otherwise, I’m not really sure.

Reading challenges fulfilled: book #29 for 2019

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Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop

This is the second book in the Dark Jewels trilogy. I’m trying to finish series within a reasonably short time of starting them, so here’s the second book already.

Published: 1999

Genre: fantasy

Length: 482 pages

Setting: soon after the events of Daughter of the Blood, various locations within the Realms

Summary: Short version: Jaenelle heals and draws friends into her official Court

Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher

A saw a brief review raving about this book recently. Kingfisher is the pen name for Ursula Vernon’s adult books. I enjoy her writing style (I’ve reviewed Harriet the Invincible) and was able to get a copy for my Kindle before I left for the Bahamas.

Published: 2017

Genre: fantasy

Length: 230 pages

Setting: mostly on the way to Anuket City in a medieval technology fantasy world

Summary: Short version: Slate puts together a team to go to Anuket City through enemy lines

Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop

It’s been on my TBR list so long I have no record of how it got there. I read it now because I could get it on my Kindle.

Published: 1998

Genre: dark fantasy

Length: 373 pages

Setting: various locations within a medieval society

Summary: Short version: Witch is born and begins to unconsciously create her Court

Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie

This won the Pulitzer Prize in 1985 and was available as an ebook while I was waiting for some holds to come in.

Published: 1984

Genre: fiction

Length: 291 pages

Setting: London, England, 1980s

Summary: Short version: Two professors have affairs when traveling