5 Stars | Lost in a Good Book

Long Lost Review: Winter (#4) by Marissa Meyer

10 Apr 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, Audiobook, Long Lost Reviews, Young Adult Tags: #llr, five stars, long lost review, Long Lost Reviews, marissa meyer, the lunar chronicles, young adult, young adult fantasy

Long Lost Reviews is a monthly meme created by Ally over at Ally’s Appraisals which is posted on the second Thursday of every month. The aim is to start tackling your review backlog. Whether it’s an in-depth analysis of how it affected your life, one sentence stating that you only remember the ending, or that you have no recollection of reading the book at all.

Published: 10 November 2015
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 827
Format: Paperback
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Princess Winter is admired for her grace, kindness and beauty, despite the scars on her face. She’s said to be even more breath-taking than her stepmother, Queen Levana…

When Winter develops feelings for the handsome palace guard, Jacin, she fears the evil Queen will crush their romance before it has a chance to begin.

But there are stirrings against the Queen across the land. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even find the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter claim their happily ever afters by defeating Levana once and for all?

Depressingly I was so sure I had review notes for this so now I’m wondering if I imagined it. It was a five star read, I remember reading it, and yet I can’t remember what happens in it. I think 2020 wasn’t the year to read books you want to remember the plots of. Either that or I read too many books, it pushes the old ones out. The other option is of course I shouldn’t wait years to write the review and maybe take some notes.

This is a monster book, exceptionally long but thankfully I read it during a time I had plenty of time and nothing else to do so I got to really appreciate it. It is also a stunning conclusion to the epic build up we’ve had since Cinder and everything comes to a head in a thrilling conclusion. I remember loving the drama and the tension, everything is about to happen: revolution, all the planning and the plotting, the unification of our four heroines and their love interests.

Amazingly I remember less about this book than Cress and it’s probably twice as thick. I don’t remember feeling bored, or that the book dragged on due to its length. I think Meyer uses the pages well and with so much planning around the revolution I understand the effort to include it all. She’s paced it beautifully. If it was less detailed you just know someone would then complain they managed to overthrow a kingdom too easily if there wasn’t any war talk or detailed plans. Besides, this is the story. It’s about rebellion and about secrets and taking people out of power who aren’t easy to overthrow. It takes planning. We’ve had three books of love with a side of rebellion, now we get to rebel.

I am a bit sad three out of four of these reviews have been Long Lost Reviews. I feel like I’ve done them a disservice not reviewing them properly since I loved them so much. Which is ludicrous, the amount of reviews I’ve seen over the years which were some variation on “I loved this book!! 5 stars!!” and nothing else which have been perfectly acceptable. But it’s like that rule: it’s fine for others, but not fine for me.

I’m not sure if I could get a reread in of Winter to review better, it was a massive undertaking, even in audio form, which I think is how I got around to finally finishing the series in the first place. But I did love it, I remember thinking it was a fantastic conclusion to the series and an amazing way to bring together Winter’s original fairy tale (Snow White), as well as the overarching plot we’ve seen teased since Cinder.

In conclusion, I loved this book!! 5 stars!!

You can purchase Winter via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Booktopia

Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

27 Feb 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, Audiobook, Fantasy, LGBTQIA, Wayward Children Tags: Audiobook, fantasy, five stars, lgbt, LGBTQIA, seanan mcguire, Wayward Children

Published: 24 March 2015 (print)/ 13 June 2017 (audio)
Publisher: Macmillan Australia/Macmillan Audio
Pages: 187/4 hrs and 4 mins
Narrator: Seanan McGuire
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Fantasy
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

This is the story of what happened first…

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you’ve got.

They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.

They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.

I adored Jack and Jill in book one so seeing them have their own origin book was delightful. This dark story is probably a smidge horror, a bit gothic. Elements of stories like Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein, and those from Poe are evident, the dark science and magic combination and testing the realm of possibility. I was surprised I loved it so much given the slight gross moments and how much I hate horror, but the writing is captivating and you’re drawn in by the moors and the politics of those who live there.

From the discovery of their door and their journey into the strange land I loved every second of this book. I adored the eerie feel this story envelops you in right away. The moors are dangerous and fascinating places and seeing the twins find their place among the monsters was wonderful. I loved the darkness and the way McGuire doesn’t make it a bad thing, it’s good to have morbidity in a story, especially with how she’s established the types of people and where their true selves lie in the first book.

The best part is we know where Jack and Jill end up, we know they leave their land. So between devouring their story and seeing them blossom on the moors, you’re also keen to see how they could possibly ever leave a land so perfectly suited to them. Seeing Jack become her true self was divine and I loved their escape from their parents and how they were being moulded into what each parent wanted.

Having the knowledge of book one behind you, it is a bittersweet read too knowing what happens and seeing signs and the strain it places on the sisters, especially given how long they got to be in their world. If it’s a bit too dark you probably could skip it, but it’s a beautiful exploration of the way the doors work and an example of the various worlds that I can’t imagine ever not experiencing it, even with the tiny horror factor. It’s also a gorgeous story of falling in love and what it means to be alive and discovering the beauty of the world.

You can purchase Down Among the Sticks and Bones via the following

Dymocks | Booktopia

Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao

18 Feb 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, Audiobook, LGBTQIA, Young Adult Tags: angel pean, ann zhao, aroace, aromantic, asexual, Audiobook, daisy guevara, elaine wang, four stars, lgbt, LGBTQIA, natalie naudus, nicky enders, rebecca wang, tara sands, young adult

Published: 16 April 2024 (print)/16 April 2024 (audio)
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends/Books on Tape
Pages: 368/9 hrs and 28 mins
Narrator: Nicky Enders, Angel Pean, Natalie Naudus, Tara Sands, Ann Zhao, Daisy Guevara, Elaine Wang, Rebecca Wang
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Sophie Chi is in her first year of college (though her parents wish she’d attend a “real” university rather than a liberal arts school) and has long accepted her aroace (aromantic and asexual) identity. She knows she’ll never fall in love, but she enjoys running an Instagram account that offers relationship advice to students at her school. No one except her roommate can know that she’s behind the incredibly popular “Dear Wendy” account.

When Joanna “Jo” Ephron (also a first-year aroace college student) created their “Sincerely Wanda” account, it wasn’t at all meant to take off or be taken seriously—not like Wendy’s. But now they might have a rivalry of sorts with Wendy’s account? Oops. As if Jo’s not busy enough having existential crises over gender identity, whether she’ll ever truly be loved, and the possibility of her few friends finding The One then forgetting her!

While tensions are rising online, Sophie and Jo grow closer in real life, especially once they realise their shared aroace identity and start a campus organization for other a-spec students. Will their friendship survive if they learn just who’s behind the Wendy and Wanda accounts?

I am so glad I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I have been trying to diversify my diverse reads and this is such a rare identity in books I needed to read it and it turned into an amazing story! There are many asexual book lists (aromantic even rarer) and so often it’s vague, implied, a throwaway comment that people can hang their hopes on, but Zhao holds nothing back and makes it clear these girls are aroace and are proud of it.

Jo/Wanda is definitely the antagonist in starting the feud between the pair. She takes it as a joke then intentionally antagonises Sophie/Wendy. Publicly too which is poor form. But Zhao balances on the line because I was waiting for it to go too far and become the main conflict but Jo stops right before it becomes too hurtful. This self-awareness of intent with Jo is great too because she always tries to maintain the jest in her actions so having her change would be a bigger shift than a light hearted taunt. It is always light hearted to their credit, though I was waiting for someone to log into the wrong account and out themselves and mess it up. For all the different ways this could have played out I really enjoyed how Zhao works this storyline. There’s tension and suspense, while remaining heartfelt, honest, and wholesome.

I love having a book where there are set feelings/identity. The focus is then on a different story and not only on exploring character feelings. Not that having books only about that are bad, I have loved more than my fair share, but sometimes it is nice to have a plot with a diverse character and not have the diverse character be the plot. The aroace representation in books is so low (finding any openly or definitive asexual or aromantic rep in books is hard) and I am glad this one shines brightly with an amazing story and amazing set of characters.

I did enjoy the note from Zhao at the beginning about hoping this story helps people realise their identity or at least start to understand what it means, it is so often misunderstood and dismissed. It helps not having a non-fiction book or essays to gain understanding when you can see it play out in a storyline.

If anybody thinks there’s too much discussion about identity in this book and think people wouldn’t have these conversations obviously haven’t met the right people. Besides there are thousands of books discussing feelings and flutterings in stomachs and crushes that go on for entire books. Why can’t there be a few that talk about how it can be exhausting having none? Especially against a society that expects it. I loved how Zhao puts forward their own version of the Feelings Book by giving us one where the point is not having any.

I liked that the advice columns keep going, I like that there is no major incidents, I like that despite being in their heads and falling prey to overthinking there are real reactions and solutions. It’s a pain to keep saying it, but it is refreshing when people are sensible about things and storylines don’t go over the top for the drama in unrealistic ways. Why can’t we have two friends fighting who need to work it out? There is still a will/they won’t they element, especially since there is precedent for no they won’t already with a character. I’d rather have two friends look at whether they can forgive one another than have something be a drama that has no weight, sexuality expression aside.

400 pages/10 hours and 70+ chapters makes it feel like the book is slow and dragged out, and sometimes it does, but it is a medium paced story, a lot of little things happen and it fills a range of side elements like exploring characters, plus the culture and community at the school. The complexity of the book world and having each character have their own friends and family around them meant there was a lot to explore and Zhao gives everything the right pace and attention.

This is a great book that gives attention to a little know part of the diversity alphabet and hopefully it’s one people can fall in love with. If not for the refreshing identity exploration, than an amazing rivals plot and finding new intense friendships.

You can purchase Dear Wendy via the following

Booktopia

Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

The Pause by John Larkin

04 Feb 2025 1 Comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, Aussie YA Challenge, Top Five List, Young Adult Tags: #AussieYAChallenge, Aussie YA Challenge, contemporary young adult, five stars, john larkin, loveozya, young adult

Published: 1 April 2015
Publisher: Random House Australia
Pages: 319
Format: Paperback
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Declan seems to have it all: a family that loves him, friends he’s known for years, a beautiful girlfriend he would go to the ends of the earth for.

But there’s something in Declan’s past that just won’t go away, that pokes and scratches at his thoughts when he’s at his most vulnerable. Declan feels as if nothing will take away that pain that he has buried deep inside for so long. So he makes the only decision he thinks he has left: the decision to end it all.

Or does he? As the train approaches and Declan teeters at the edge of the platform, two versions of his life are revealed. In one, Declan watches as his body is destroyed and the lives of those who loved him unravel. In the other, Declan pauses before he jumps. And this makes all the difference.

One moment. One pause. One whole new life.

“Don’t abandon the miracle of your own existence because you don’t know how to ask for help.”

I keep being punished for not reading books when they first come out when I want to, only to realise how fantastic they are later when I eventually do. It’s happened four times now and I don’t seem to be learning my lesson.

First things first, this is a book that deals with suicide and a split timeline between following through and not. In a Sliding Doors meets The Lovely Bones style we see both lives of Declan: what happens if he jumps, what happens if he doesn’t. Not to be morbid, but there is an amazing first person perspective scene about jumping in front of a train. In the brief mention it manages to have a great balance between not being overly graphic and also being real about it. It shows the brain mechanics and impulses a person goes through, it shows the detail of what actually happens to your body, it includes the immediate regrets, not to mention the trauma of those who see it. It’s important to note that that part is brief. It’s a fleeting mention but it is well written and one I think is important to include.

There’s also great descriptions of teenage life and their thoughts and decisions. Larkin’s written a great teenage voice and the tunnel vision teenagers have about what is important and earth shattering in their life comes across. It’s great insight which helps you understand their actions and motivations; how they are hormone driven, and how they’re experiencing everything the first time: from friend issues, to family issues, to first love. Larkin comes in strong early on with the big emotions and it hooks you right in without glorifying or making it grotesque.

The best part is Declan isn’t special. He has mates who are typical teenage boys. Annoying sister, parent issues, and family dynamics. It appears to come from nowhere which is why it’s so great. It was a shock. It is unexpected. It’s great to show how something like this can happen to the most normal looking kid ever. The voice is believable and the relationships Declan has with his family is believable, even the different dynamics he has with each member of his family. You do behave differently around different people and his favourite parent is clear while unintentional.

The sliding doors moment and duel existence is perfect and you become captivated by this life now lived and the reminders it couldn’t have happened at all. There is Larkin’s voice on high with reminders that things will get better and setbacks aren’t the end of the world even if that thing was what was getting you through.

You’re also drawn along by What Happened to Aunt Mary? The mystery is woven throughout and as Larkin drip feeds us information before dumping the entire bucket on us all I can say it was amazing, especially given the emotional ride we’ve gone through with Declan so far.

There are so many things I would love to talk about and how wonderful and mind blowing they are but alas, spoilers. Even the smallest possibly vaguest things I don’t want to risk and ruin the revelations and joys I had reading this book.

When I finished this I basically went and gushed about it for ten minutes. It was amazing. I loved every part of it. It is sad and profound, it has so many lessons about life and humanity and hope. It is incredible how Larkin managed to weave in these important things that need to be hammered into every single person who ever thinks they are the alone or are the only one who feels a certain way. It’s natural but you can tell where The Lesson is but I don’t care. It also comes across through the voice of a boy who has been told this in a professional setting and is remembering it. He is using these lessons to live his life. The life he almost didn’t have.

Again, I kick myself for not picking this book up when I wanted to in 2016. I saw it for months on the shelf and I was drawn to it. But I never dove in. I’m glad I finally did because I loved it. It is only fictional but it’s also the story of so many people, not just teenagers. It’s obviously not perfect, it still has a few slightly non PC approaches to things but that’s really not important. The content is important. It’s about life getting better. About not giving into the impulses. How mental illness sneaks up on you and it’s ok to get help. Which for a 2015 book feels amazing.

Honestly it is a brutal book. It deals with big issues, it describes big issues with quite a lot of detail, and the consequences of both sides smack you in the face with the truth and reality. And that is why it is phenomenal. It never strays from being a YA voice, which is more important because it knows its audience. Larkin knows who is reading this, knows the message needs to get out that your teenage years are not forever. But also lets kids know that people of all ages go through things. You are not alone. I am trying hard not to write an entire essay about this book (and failing I know), but I cannot stress enough how amazing it is. If you can handle the brutality of it all – not only the few descriptions, but the emotional brutality, and the reality of life – please read it.

You can purchase The Pause via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Booktopia

Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Peep! by Meg McLaren

10 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: children's picture book, five stars, meg mclaren, picture book

Published: 23nd June 2022
Publisher: Anderson Press
Illustrator: Meg McLaren
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Dot isn’t like the other dogs: she doesn’t like going out for walks, and she doesn’t like going to the park. Her favorite thing is staying at home with her favorite toy and best friend, Peep. But when Peep goes missing under the garden fence, Dot might have to venture out into the world…

First things first, the illustrations are beyond adorable. I was caught immediately by the front cover, not only for the title but the image which is such an apt depiction of my own puppy with her “peep” (known as Little Friend) I couldn’t resist.

For most of the book it explores the lovely life Peep and Dot have together: strolls in the garden, enjoying snuggles inside and braving bath time. But when Peep goes on an unexpected adventure Dot braves beyond the garden to rescue him.

I liked that Dot discovers the world isn’t so bad after all, and that other dogs can be fun once they are no longer scary and new. But I also liked that despite that knowledge, despite that adventure, Dot and peep still enjoy being together inside their safe place. Dot didn’t need to change once she’s had this experience, but with new knowledge she can choose to have a new interaction if she wants to, but is also content to resume life as it was.

I cannot stress how adorable these illustrations are. Dot’s little pom pom hat is divine, Peep is so cute, and the depictions of their daily routine is incredibly sweet. It reminds me so much of my own dog and her adventures with her little friend it really made this book something extra, and it was already pretty amazing.

You can purchase Peep! via the following

QBD | Blackwell’s

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust