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ferniesanders's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
4.0
Whoa, I don't even know what to say. It's good but so hard to describe. A fantasy world where 3 races fight for an ancient city. Crazy inventive narrative choices. A tight-knit group of friends trying to learn how to go on after the loss of one of their group. Learning how to move beyond war. Intense only scratches the surface.
pantsreads's review
3.0
3.5/5
Took me a while to get into the story and the unusual writing, but overall I enjoyed it?
Read my full review here.
Took me a while to get into the story and the unusual writing, but overall I enjoyed it?
Read my full review here.
snapplespice's review
4.0
I'm not a big fan of the fantasy genre, but the idea of gnome-eating fairies was new and interesting to me, so I gave this one a chance. By the time I got to the end of chapter two and discovered our fairy Beckan has a more taboo career choice, I was committed to finishing the book. I wasn't totally invested in the characters, but the plot was fairly fast-paced and held my interest (despite being confusing at times). I also love the queer aspect of this book, how the characters seem more fluid in their sexuality and LGB relationships are accepted as normal parts of these characters' lives.
thepaperreels's review
I don't know. I... don't know.
DNF.
I'm a fan of the writing style, actually. But this is too messy, too cluttered for me to handle. I'm in the middle already and I was still lost. I was really excited about this that's why I'm feeling sucky right now.
golden_lily's review
2.0
I don't like A History of Glitter and Blood. It's depressing, disjointed, and poorly built. But I do respect it.
Everyone knows fairies are immortal. Unfortunately, they're not indestructible. They can live without limbs, organs, even broken down to the littlest pieces of glitter. A slow breeding race, when war breaks out in Ferrum, the biggest fairy city, there are only four whole fairies left. These young friends refuse to flee, like the older "flighty" fairies. Instead they all move to a cottage near the edge of the city and do what it takes to survive the gnome/Tightroper war.
It becomes clear as the book goes on that the story is actually a book within the book, written by Scrap, the "alpha" of their little wolf pack. He leaves asides and ANs to himself to change sections and has mental breakdowns in the margins. It's hard to read.
The story also jumps back and forth between right after the war broke out, leading to the "death" of Scrap's cousin, Cricket, (he may have been eaten, but fairies can't die; they just need to find a piece, some glitter,) and the "present", (which we find is actually a few days behind the real present as Scrap writes. This comes up.)
Notice how in this review, I've yet to say Becks' name? The story may ostensibly be about her, but it's really about grief and family and immortality.
Unfortunately, it's also about forced prostitution.
Cricket was hooking for the gnomes, an underground race that's favorite food is fairy, before the war. After the first bomb and the food ran out, Scrap joined him. They risk death every time they descend. They're passed around, drugged and gnawed on. When even the two of them can't bring in enough, Beckan joins them. Josha, the last of their pack and Cricket's lover, thinks it's all a terrible idea but he can't bring in food and no one thinks leaving the city is a better plan than prostitution.
Cricket is destroyed while on a job and Scrap loses his arm and part of his soul when he kills Cricket's murderer. He and Becks go back to hooking a few days later. They admit they like it and hate it and get a sexual thrill from it. I found the whole plot really problematic.
I do kind of appreciate that sexuality is no big thing. Becks is with Josha before the events of the novel and with Scrap during them. She falls in love with her John, Tier, and has a passionate, but brief, fling with his fiancée, Rig. Josha loved Cricket and finds something new with a Tightroper, Piccolo. (Who Becks may also have slept with. Unreliable narrator.) Multiple partners and casual bisexuality are still taboo in a lot of books, so the dynamics are definitely interesting. (Though I have a problem with Becks/Tier/Rig and the prostitution angle.)
I'm sad that the meandering plot and unusual narrative kept me from enjoying the book, because Moskowitz can write. There's an ethereal quality that lends itself to a fairy tale. But with a laughably bad trial and forced happy ending, on top of all my other issues, I can't say I'm sorry the book is over.
Everyone knows fairies are immortal. Unfortunately, they're not indestructible. They can live without limbs, organs, even broken down to the littlest pieces of glitter. A slow breeding race, when war breaks out in Ferrum, the biggest fairy city, there are only four whole fairies left. These young friends refuse to flee, like the older "flighty" fairies. Instead they all move to a cottage near the edge of the city and do what it takes to survive the gnome/Tightroper war.
It becomes clear as the book goes on that the story is actually a book within the book, written by Scrap, the "alpha" of their little wolf pack. He leaves asides and ANs to himself to change sections and has mental breakdowns in the margins. It's hard to read.
The story also jumps back and forth between right after the war broke out, leading to the "death" of Scrap's cousin, Cricket, (he may have been eaten, but fairies can't die; they just need to find a piece, some glitter,) and the "present", (which we find is actually a few days behind the real present as Scrap writes. This comes up.)
Notice how in this review, I've yet to say Becks' name? The story may ostensibly be about her, but it's really about grief and family and immortality.
Unfortunately, it's also about forced prostitution.
Cricket was hooking for the gnomes, an underground race that's favorite food is fairy, before the war. After the first bomb and the food ran out, Scrap joined him. They risk death every time they descend. They're passed around, drugged and gnawed on. When even the two of them can't bring in enough, Beckan joins them. Josha, the last of their pack and Cricket's lover, thinks it's all a terrible idea but he can't bring in food and no one thinks leaving the city is a better plan than prostitution.
Cricket is destroyed while on a job and Scrap loses his arm and part of his soul when he kills Cricket's murderer. He and Becks go back to hooking a few days later. They admit they like it and hate it and get a sexual thrill from it. I found the whole plot really problematic.
I do kind of appreciate that sexuality is no big thing. Becks is with Josha before the events of the novel and with Scrap during them. She falls in love with her John, Tier, and has a passionate, but brief, fling with his fiancée, Rig. Josha loved Cricket and finds something new with a Tightroper, Piccolo. (Who Becks may also have slept with. Unreliable narrator.) Multiple partners and casual bisexuality are still taboo in a lot of books, so the dynamics are definitely interesting. (Though I have a problem with Becks/Tier/Rig and the prostitution angle.)
I'm sad that the meandering plot and unusual narrative kept me from enjoying the book, because Moskowitz can write. There's an ethereal quality that lends itself to a fairy tale. But with a laughably bad trial and forced happy ending, on top of all my other issues, I can't say I'm sorry the book is over.
merethebookgal's review
2.0
To be honest, I wouldn't have finished this book of it hadn't been for one of my book clubs. This book was....weird. I'm not really sure how else to describe it. The world was weird, the characters were weird, the story was weird, the continual shift in point of view and timeline was weird. The plot was not very interesting, though the last 40% or so was better. For that reason I'm giving a 2 Star rating instead of 1 Star rating.
booksandladders's review
4.0
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This review was originally posted on Books and Ladders
This was a really good book, but it is definitely a love it or hate it. I most definitely (and I guess luckily) loved it. The writing style was unique and interesting and unreliable narrators make everything so much more interesting. Especially with the "edits" and "add ins" and the dialogue at the end about things that did or didn't happen throughout the book. It makes you wonder just how much of the story happened the way it was written or what other twists there were along the way that the reader wasn't privy too.
Beckan was super fun -- probably because she was written as Scrap sees her, but was still written so raw and real. He is obviously in love with her, but that doesn't change the reader's perspective on her because he writes her as he knows her and to him she is still raw and real. He sees Beckan as a hero but also as a broken girl who has suffered traumatic loss in her time. He understands that Beckan is so much more than just one thing and can capture her voice. And she makes such interesting choices and they are all hers. Scrap may be writing it all down, but Beckan is still free to choose. These choices may have been embellished after (and some of them may not have happened) but they would still have been Beckan's choice.
Josha was a good character, but I would have liked to learn more about him and his relationship with Cricket. I feel as though we learned a lot about Cricket but not a lot about Josha and Cricket was "dead" for the entirety of the novel whereas Josha was alive and breathing. I do think that part of this was a bias on Scrap's part (since he was the narrator) but I did like the glimpses of his life and his relationships.
I did like the race politics and the mythology. The world building was there but it was a bit all over the place. There was still some expansion of the typical mythology and I was interested in learning more about the creatures that aren't typically discussed. Especially the tightropers. I imagined them as like spider people but I'm not sure if that is a good description. I also imagined everyone to be like very tiny, just fyi. The descriptions made them feel very tiny so that is how I pictured them. The fairies were SO GOOD. I liked every decision that the author made about how to portray them ALTHOUGH DO BE WARNED ABOUT BAD BAD LANGUAGE.
The plot was imaginative and kept me on the edge of my seat. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough book left for the plot, but there was and even some little extras. I do hope this remains a standalone and not a series. Or maybe have a companion that is written from Rig's perspective. I mean it was hinted at, and would give us a look at the gnome's perspectives during the entire book. (Plus then I would know what happens at the end and not be worried during the last 20% of the book)
Overall: 4/5 because I loved how creative and imaginative it was!
This review was originally posted on Books and Ladders
This was a really good book, but it is definitely a love it or hate it. I most definitely (and I guess luckily) loved it. The writing style was unique and interesting and unreliable narrators make everything so much more interesting. Especially with the "edits" and "add ins" and the dialogue at the end about things that did or didn't happen throughout the book. It makes you wonder just how much of the story happened the way it was written or what other twists there were along the way that the reader wasn't privy too.
Beckan was super fun -- probably because she was written as Scrap sees her, but was still written so raw and real. He is obviously in love with her, but that doesn't change the reader's perspective on her because he writes her as he knows her and to him she is still raw and real. He sees Beckan as a hero but also as a broken girl who has suffered traumatic loss in her time. He understands that Beckan is so much more than just one thing and can capture her voice. And she makes such interesting choices and they are all hers. Scrap may be writing it all down, but Beckan is still free to choose. These choices may have been embellished after (and some of them may not have happened) but they would still have been Beckan's choice.
Josha was a good character, but I would have liked to learn more about him and his relationship with Cricket. I feel as though we learned a lot about Cricket but not a lot about Josha and Cricket was "dead" for the entirety of the novel whereas Josha was alive and breathing. I do think that part of this was a bias on Scrap's part (since he was the narrator) but I did like the glimpses of his life and his relationships.
I did like the race politics and the mythology. The world building was there but it was a bit all over the place. There was still some expansion of the typical mythology and I was interested in learning more about the creatures that aren't typically discussed. Especially the tightropers. I imagined them as like spider people but I'm not sure if that is a good description. I also imagined everyone to be like very tiny, just fyi. The descriptions made them feel very tiny so that is how I pictured them. The fairies were SO GOOD. I liked every decision that the author made about how to portray them ALTHOUGH DO BE WARNED ABOUT BAD BAD LANGUAGE.
The plot was imaginative and kept me on the edge of my seat. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough book left for the plot, but there was and even some little extras. I do hope this remains a standalone and not a series. Or maybe have a companion that is written from Rig's perspective. I mean it was hinted at, and would give us a look at the gnome's perspectives during the entire book. (Plus then I would know what happens at the end and not be worried during the last 20% of the book)
Overall: 4/5 because I loved how creative and imaginative it was!
troglodata's review
2.0
So, this was weird. There's a lot of animosity, it seems, reading other folks' comments, and I get it. This is one odd book, and if one were to go into it with certain expectations, it would be a pretty frustrating read. The structure of the book is intriguing, but confusing. I wish the narrative jumps were demarcated more clearly because it took me an embarrassingly long time to sort out how it worked. But maybe that was intentional. In a way, it would make sense for that to be intentional, because of the chaos of war and unreliable narrators and histories and yadda yadda yadda. But this was a fascinatingly constructed world that we only got to see frustratingly brief glimpses of due to the scattered structure, and also because these kids were weirdly wrapped up in their own intimate, closed-off world which only periodically opened at the oddest times to allow others inside. Which leads me to acknowledge how very much I did not understand these characters or what they were being motivated by or what was dictating their moods for most of the novel. Don't get me wrong--I appreciate a good aloof character. But an aloofness like Beckan's didn't serve this story in the right way, maybe because I couldn't help but feel that she was so inconsistent in it. Add to that the heavy handed "Kids, this is our world, and it's up to us to make it better!" revolutionary rebellion and it just kind of makes me groan. Because seriously, the first step to your rebellion is to design a flag? Don't get me started on their little roundtable discussions inevitably dissolving into multi-part temper tantrums. Start-and-stop speech patterns are also something I normally appreciate in a good book. But here, it felt entirely too forced. And, yeah, characters who spend so much time in one another's company are going to pick up some of the others' speech patterns and quirks, but that doesn't mean their lines of conversation should be indistinguishable from each others'. To wrap up, because I am dangerously close to writing an essay, I am side-eyeing the hell out of this book because I can't help but feel a gnawing sense of frustration at some unrealized potential here.
chirson's review
4.0
Once more I want to write a review and end up with various random scattered impressions. There goes I.
3.5 stars would be more accurate, but since there are no half-stars and there are quite a few 1- and 2- star DNF reviews out there, let's balance it out.
This was the strangest book I've read this year. I tried to tell my SO what was happening and the reactions I got were hilarious.
I deeply enjoyed the narration - both the lack or reliability and the strength of the voice, and how it constructed the story and the character. I really liked the worldbuilding - and would love to spend more time with non-fairies. Unfortunately, the central characters didn't quite make the impression they were supposed to (at least not until the last 1/3 - and Cricket, Piccolo and Josha are still sort of *shrug*; perhaps I'm heartless), some of the plot, while always interesting, felt completely out of the blue (but on that, YMMV, and I don't really mean the biggest plot twists - those I sort of expected), and I wouldn't mind just a touch more clarity at times (but mostly at the beginning - later on things make sense and the plot becomes quite easy to follow; and arguably, this lack of clarity was what kept my eyes so very peeled).
In short, when I was in the middle of the book I wasn't sure how much of my bewilderment was intended - by the end of the book, I was almost certain that all of it. The author seems to accomplish just what she wanted, and the book is fascinatingly weird (think Margo Lanagan short stories [not novels] but multiplied times 5 length-wise, with more straightforward language and more sex). And a comparison to Lanagan is always praise in my book, but I must confess it didn't touch me the way Lanagan does 80% of the time. It had Lanagan's weirdness and cleverness, and it was a very intelligently done book about various important themes, but I wasn't convinced it did all of them justice til the end (case in point - when the character suddenly has this realisation that she doesn't like being a prostitute it feels kind of obvious/too simple) (but then again, that might not be the character but what the narrator thinks the character... you see, this book is very clever).
3.5 stars would be more accurate, but since there are no half-stars and there are quite a few 1- and 2- star DNF reviews out there, let's balance it out.
This was the strangest book I've read this year. I tried to tell my SO what was happening and the reactions I got were hilarious.
I deeply enjoyed the narration - both the lack or reliability and the strength of the voice, and how it constructed the story and the character. I really liked the worldbuilding - and would love to spend more time with non-fairies. Unfortunately, the central characters didn't quite make the impression they were supposed to (at least not until the last 1/3 - and Cricket, Piccolo and Josha are still sort of *shrug*; perhaps I'm heartless), some of the plot, while always interesting, felt completely out of the blue (but on that, YMMV, and I don't really mean the biggest plot twists - those I sort of expected), and I wouldn't mind just a touch more clarity at times (but mostly at the beginning - later on things make sense and the plot becomes quite easy to follow; and arguably, this lack of clarity was what kept my eyes so very peeled).
In short, when I was in the middle of the book I wasn't sure how much of my bewilderment was intended - by the end of the book, I was almost certain that all of it. The author seems to accomplish just what she wanted, and the book is fascinatingly weird (think Margo Lanagan short stories [not novels] but multiplied times 5 length-wise, with more straightforward language and more sex). And a comparison to Lanagan is always praise in my book, but I must confess it didn't touch me the way Lanagan does 80% of the time. It had Lanagan's weirdness and cleverness, and it was a very intelligently done book about various important themes, but I wasn't convinced it did all of them justice til the end (case in point - when the character suddenly has this realisation that she doesn't like being a prostitute it feels kind of obvious/too simple) (but then again, that might not be the character but what the narrator thinks the character... you see, this book is very clever).