Welcome to Litsy!

Unfortunately not even Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's narration could make this book interesting to me.

Too many characters. Too little in depth world-building. Definitely a YA Fantasy, but the teenaged MC either reads like a middle-grade student or an adult, never like a true teenager.

In the slums of Mordew, a boy uses forbidden power drawing the attention of the Master of Mordew as well as others who want to harness his power for themselves. Who is he? And why is he so important? Good questions, the answers to which slowly unfurl in this interesting, albeit very deliberately paced, fantasy with plenty say about poverty, authority, & power. If Dickens had ever decided to write fantasy, this is what he would have come up with.

Fifty pages in and enjoying this story which is very much what I imagine a fantasy written by Charles Dickens would be like…

I don't like bailing but I couldn't hack this. I questioned ever picking it up at page 85 and by page 100 I couldn't take any more references to itching and scratching. I briefly rallied when Gam arrived in the scene but then NOTHING HAPPENED. The book felt a bit self indulgent. The kind of book where the writer has loads of ideas and has put them all in even if the story would have benefited without them.

… I mean, of course I was going to go to Barnes‘ 50% off all hardcovers sale… right? 🥸🥸🥸

Time for more of my groundbreaking "books on top of a microwave" series of photos.?

I am shocked - shocked! - that I enjoyed this as much as I did. Something in the audio description made me curious and I'm so glad I gave it a chance. It's as if Dickens wrote fantasy with input from Mervyn Peake and Philip Pullman.

#scarathlon2021 #teamhendrix @StayCurious #booked2021 #newin2021 @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft

I thought this was very much a book of two halves. The first part was excellent, as we are introduced to slum kid Nathan, his prostitute mother and sick and dying father. I enjoyed the quasi-Dickensian account of how Nathan joins the criminal gang of fellow urchins Gam and Prissy, and their exploits, but the last 200 pages or so got a bit mad, and also seemed a bit rushed. Given that this is only the first of three, it's hard to judge.

I am posting one book per day from my to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new - don‘t judge me I have a lot of books.
Join the fun if you want. This is day 180.
#bookstoread
#tbrpile
#bookstagram

I‘ve just started reading this, and I‘m very excited. 60 pages in, and I can feel that this is going to be a good one! Is it just me who takes the covers off to read? I use a book cover as well to stop the pages getting damaged when I carry the book around with me. It has been said that it‘s just another excuse to buy more book stuff. I couldn‘t possibly comment 🤷🏼‍♀️😉

How beautiful is this! I am a monthly supporter of Galley Beggar Press an independent press in the UK who I discovered when they published Ducks, Newburyport. Look at this fab signed bookplate and how beautiful is this cover artwork?💖