craftshley's reviews
291 reviews

Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I’ve been reading Libba Bray books for over twenty years. It astounds me to say that but it’s true. I started with A Great and Terrible Beauty, shortly after it was published in paperback. There’s only one book of hers I haven’t read (Beauty Queens), though I do own it and have it on my TBR. I was ecstatic to read Under the Same Stars as an ARC. 

Bray has a way with characters and historical settings, especially. Each point of view had a unique voice and a unique setting that I had no trouble picturing as I read. Hanna and Sophie in 1940s Germany. Lena in 1980s Germany. Miles in New York in 2020. The last one hit the hardest in a lot of ways, as fresh as that time is in my mind. With the world as we know it falling apart around us, I think back to those early days of the pandemic and wonder how those times were more hopeful than those we’re living through now. Even when circumstances tell you otherwise, get out there and do something. Stand up, speak out. Protest. March. Call. Email. Do something. Even if it’s small. Do something. It’s better than doing nothing. 

I love the progression of the story. I felt like the pacing was near perfect, especially the back third of the book. As secrets were revealed and threads of story were tied off, I looked back and wondered how I missed the signs. I had an inkling about a couple of the big reveals but was more than content to let the story lead the way. There’s always something comfortable about Bray’s writing, something I will always come back to and find a home in. Everything is so seamless, switching between settings and decades and characters. The interjections of the fairytales and the bits from other people’s point of view aside from our main three. 

There is no obvious magic in this book, as there is in so many of Bray’s other books. There is a certain magic in the power of the very few accomplishing a lot. How one person can stand up and cause a tidal wave with their actions. 

Lena is my favorite transformation, I think. Her personal progression and bravery through her summer in Germany was inspirational and really fun to read. I’m a 90s baby so it wasn’t a time I lived in but I found familiarity in the references to brands, magazines, celebrities, etc. I loved that her downstairs neighbor wanted her subscription to an American teen magazine, that she wanted American makeup and things like that. The fascination with America that other people have is so fun. The obsession with snacks and visits to malls and Target, when that’s just our normal everyday will never not amuse me. While Lena realizes that she’s a lesbian before she goes to Germany, she really embraces that aspect of herself and loses a lot of the shame she held inside. Against the backdrop of the Berlin wall, such things seem less important, especially when you have people who will support you, no matter what. Sophie is me, in a lot of ways, though I’m not sure how brave I would be in her circumstances. Miss Lonelyhearts, writing letters to be placed in a magical tree so she can find her true love. Keeping the fairytale alive and being hopeful for the future. She was a ray of sunshine for Hanna, and for me. 

I highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction. I think Libba Bray fans will enjoy this slightly different book from her, as well. While it doesn’t hold the magic of her two most popular series, it does have everything else I loved about those books. The characters and friendships have the same feel of those in The Diviners and in A Great and Terrible Beauty. There is depth there that I can’t find anywhere else. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an eARC of this book! 

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

The Will of the Many by James Islington

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This Day Changes Everything by Edward Underhill

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low

4.0

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker

4.5

Okay, Cupid by Mason Deaver

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Okay, Cupid is my first Mason Deaver book, though I own a couple and have even more on my TBR! It was a great one to start with, and appropriate for Valentine’s month. I love the magical addition of actual cupids, beings who orchestrate that perfect moment or moments that lead to a couple falling in love. Jude is a hopeless romantic, though they’re a cupid and are in charge of making love matches, rather than getting their own. After falling in love, and it being a spectacular failure because they’re a cupid, Jude is ready to prove themself to be the perfect cupid. If only they could resist falling in love again. How could they not, after all? It’s their first really long term assignment, all on their own, and of course they get paired up with the perfect guy. 

With how bubbly and fun the characters are, each with their own personalities, Okay, Cupid was easy to fall into and enjoy; I finished it in only a handful of reading sessions. Huy is an amazing character. A good son, active in sports at school, with good friends and solid relationships outside of his budding friendship with Jude. He’s super athletic but also enjoys making mix tapes, on actual cassettes. I know modern teenagers might not realize what cassettes are, or how they work, and I love Huy for the nostalgia he gave me. 

I would have liked more about the cupids in general. Perhaps a look at the older cupids and what they do on the daily. How they get their assignments, how they know who is on the verge of falling in love. Do they get an email with an assignment? Like a bizarre government agency? All clandestine and secretive except instead of nuclear codes and state secrets, it’s love. Which, honestly, is much more difficult to understand and manage, especially as a teenager navigating their first relationships. 

I love how much respect is placed in the feelings of teenagers. People always discount the feelings of teenagers, dismissing them and telling them they can’t experience love or deep feelings because they aren’t old enough. Because of that, I would recommend this book for teens who enjoy romance with a little bit of supernatural thrown in. Also for people hoping to expand their repertoire of queer books. With a non-binary narrator and a transmasc love interest, this book is sure to please! I will certainly be reading more of Mason Deaver in the future and will definitely be digging into my bookshelf to finally read those books that have been on my shelf for months. 

Boy of Chaotic Making by Charlie N. Holmberg

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was under the impression that the Whimbrel House series was just going to be a trilogy so I dove into this book, eagerly awaiting the conclusion to this amazing series. I found out shortly after starting Boy of Chaotic Making that there were to be even more books in the series! I was so excited to discover this and read even more voraciously because of it. I love reading more from Owein’s point of view, even as Hulda and Merritt’s wedding approaches. I feel like he really gains a solid personality and experiences real growth for the first time. While there is real danger in this novel, there is more character growth than in previous books. The first two books in the series were more Merritt and Hulda centric; it’s Owein’s turn now! 

The plot takes a little break for Boy of Chaotic Making, in comparison to the first two books in the series. We get introduced to many new characters and delve a little deeper into Merritt’s magic. Hulda also gets the chance to deepen her understanding of her augury powers. I love how, as Hulda learns to use her augury, she becomes more confident in herself and her relationship with Merritt. She finally feels desirable and deserving of love, for the first time in her life. But mostly it’s about Owein and his trauma, as well as what it means to be a human trapped in a dog’s body, as well as what it means to be over two hundred years old but still feel like a child in so many ways. Owein never got a chance to grow up, alone as he was in a house. He never had constant companionship and it wasn’t until Merritt and Hulda came along that he finally got to communicate with people once more. 

The lack of a villain limited the plot potential. I looked at every character with suspicion, thinking, ah yes, this is the new villain. Nope. Oh wait, it’s this guy. No…In the end, the villain was an obvious one, one that I had discounted because it was so obvious. I’m wondering if this book is just setting up an epic next book in the series, a filler book to help move the plot along, perhaps. I’m not unhappy with it being a filler book and in fact found the book to be an easy read, comfortable and quick to read while I was traveling this past week. 

I very much look forward to the next book and highly recommend this book and series to anyone wanting a cozy, sometimes dark, magical mystery series. The cover art is what drew me into the series and I’m sure other people are wondering if you should judge these books by their covers. The answer is, yes, you should! The story is even more beautiful than the covers. 

 

Stars, Hide Your Fires by Jessica Mary Best

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0