Tag: seanan mcguire

Book Review: Across the Green Grass Fields – Seanan McGuire

Book Review: Across the Green Grass Fields – Seanan McGuire

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


Series: Wayward Children #6
Release Date: January 12th 2021
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 174
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: I listened to the Audiobook on Scribd
Rating: 3.25/5 stars

Synopsis

A young girl discovers a portal to a land filled with centaurs and unicorns in Seanan McGuire’s Across the Green Grass Fields, a standalone tale in the Hugo and Nebula Award-wining Wayward Children series.

“Welcome to the Hooflands. We’re happy to have you, even if you being here means something’s coming.”

Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late.

When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to “Be Sure” before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines―a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes.

But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem…

Review

Across the Green Grass Fields is the sixth instalment in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. Each instalment follows a child who has gone to a magical land (think Narnia). When the children return to the real world they end up at Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children, a place for them to live while they try to find their doors. In this instalment we follow Regan as she enters the hooflands and must venture on a quest to save the herd that takes her in.

I absolutely love this series and each of the books has been really engrossing with fascinating worlds. I’m always really impressed with the amount of world building and character develop McGuire manages to pack into such a small page count and Across the Green Grass Fields is not different. The world Regan enters is full of horse type creatures and on her journey Regan meets centaurs, kelpies and other mythological creatures.

Like the previous books I really enjoyed the story and learning about the world Regan has entered, but for some reason I didn’t love this one as much as the others. I was excited to see all the different creatures but the kelpies don’t really enter the story until near the ending. I think because I wasn’t as interested in the world I wasn’t as invested in Regan’s story. I think perhaps because none of the characters from previous books featured in this story I also wasn’t as desperate to read on.

Despite not being completely hooked, I still really enjoyed this story. It was a solid three star read and I really love the overarching plot and themes of this series. McGuire has created a really spectacular series in Wayward Children and I can’t wait to see where she takes things next. I know they’ve already had two books already but I’d love to return to Jack and Jill sometime soon!

Book Review: Come Tumbling Down – Seanan McGuire

Book Review: Come Tumbling Down – Seanan McGuire

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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Series: Wayward Children #5 (Read my review of book one here!)
Release Date: January 7th 2020
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 208
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: I listened to this via Scribd.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Synopsis

When Jack left Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister—whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice—back to their home on the Moors.

But death in their adopted world isn’t always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her. Something terrible. Something of which only the maddest of scientists could conceive. Something only her friends are equipped to help her overcome.

Eleanor West’s “No Quests” rule is about to be broken.

Again.

Review

Copy of book coverCome Tumbling Down is the fifth instalment in Seanan McGuire’s incredible Wayward Children series. I was so excited to learn that this next instalment would be following Jack and Jill again, the characters we followed in my favourite book of the series – Down Among the Sticks and Bones. Come Tumbling Down follows Jack as she returns to Eleanor West’s Home after the events of book one, and has to enlist the help of her fellow wayward children in a quest to save the moors.

I must admit I had pretty high expectations for this book. I hadn’t been so keen on Beneath the Sugar Sky, but this instalment was following my favourite characters from the series. After just a single chapter I was completely hooked on this story and I think Come Tumbling Down is probably my favourite book of the series so far. This instalment is fast paced, full of action and features a whole host of characters travelling to the moors in an attempt to help Jack. It’s a clever, twisty story and I definitely didn’t want it to end. Like the other instalments McGuire manages to pack so much into just a short novella. The story concludes well, but I would absolutely love a full length novel about these magnificent characters.

Come Tumbling Down gives the reader an opportunity to get to know some of the other characters a bit more and it has definitely made me want a book based on Christopher and his world. Come Tumbling Down is a fantastic addition to the series and I can’t wait to see what Seanan McGuire comes up with for the next book. If you haven’t yet picked up this newest instalment, it’s definitely worth giving a go.
5 Stars

Book Review: Beneath the Sugar Sky – Seanan McGuire

Book Review: Beneath the Sugar Sky – Seanan McGuire

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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Series: Wayward Children #3 (Reviews of book one and book two)
Release Date: January 9th 2018
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 174
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: I listened to this on Scribd.
Rating: 3.75/5 stars

Synopsis

When Rini lands with a literal splash in the pond behind Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, the last thing she expects to find is that her mother, Sumi, died years before Rini was even conceived. But Rini can’t let Reality get in the way of her quest – not when she has an entire world to save! (Much more common than one would suppose.)

If she can’t find a way to restore her mother, Rini will have more than a world to save: she will never have been born in the first place. And in a world without magic, she doesn’t have long before Reality notices her existence and washes her away. Good thing the student body is well-acquainted with quests…

A tale of friendship, baking, and derring-do.

Warning: May contain nuts.

Review

Copy of book cover (10)Beneath the Sugar Sky is the third instalment of Seanan McGuire’s Eleanor West series and this time we’re following Rini who visits the Home for Wayward Children in search of her mother Sumi. When she arrives she discovers her mother died before she was even conceived, sending Rini and the other residents on an adventure to restore Sumi before Rini is wiped completely from existence.

I have pretty much fallen completely in love with this series. Each instalment has been a magical tale, full of whimsy and adventure and Beneath the Sugar Sky is no different. This time around we get to visit a few different worlds, and I loved getting to see the Confection in all its nonsense glory.

We revisit some characters we met in the previous books as well as being introduced to a few new residents of the home. I thought Cora was quite an interesting new character and I loved the idea of her being from a world with mermaids. McGuire does a brilliant job of the world building with all these different worlds and each one feels well fleshed out.

Although I really enjoyed Beneath the Sugar Sky, it’s probably my least favourite out of the three so far. In the audio book version I found Rini quite irritating and I think this lessened my enjoyment of the story. Despite that it’s still a fascinating tale with plenty of action packed into just a small number of pages. This series is shaping up to be one of my favourites, and I’m so excited to explore the Goblin Market in In An Absent Dream.
4 Stars

Book Review: Down Among the Sticks and Bones – Seanan McGuire

Book Review: Down Among the Sticks and Bones – Seanan McGuire

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

July 23, 2019 (9)
Series: Wayward Children #2 (Read my review of book one here)
Release Date: June 13th 2017
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 190
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: I listened to this on Scribd.
Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis

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.

Review

Copy of book cover (11)Down Among the Sticks and Bones is the second instalment in the incredibly popular Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire. This instalment follows two characters we met in book one – Jack and Jill – and gives the reader a chance to find out the story of the twin sisters and how they ended up at Eleanor West’s school. Travelling to the moors we see the sisters take extremely different paths, but the moors is a dangerous place and will they both survive?

Jack and Jill were the characters I was most intrigued by in Every Heart A Doorway so when I heard that book two was a prequel featuring them I immediately picked up book two. If possible I loved this book even more than the previous one, the moors is such a fascinating world and I didn’t want this stunning tale to end. Like the previous book the world building is excellent, giving the reader a chance to learn about the world as we delve further into the story.

I am in awe of how much McGuire manages to pack into such a small number of pages, and I found it difficult to put this one down. Jack and Jill are fascinating characters – twin sisters but different in so many ways. I also loved Doctor Bleak and the Master. McGuire is brilliant at creating complex characters you can’t help but adore.

Fast-paced and exciting, Down Among the Sticks and Bones was everything I wanted and more. It gives the reader a chance to get to see Jack and Jill before they go through their door, which I also really loved. I’m hopeful the sisters will return in later books. The Wayward Children series if fast becoming one of my favourites and I cannot wait to visit a nonsense world in Beneath the Sugar Sky!
5 Stars

Book Review: Every Heart A Doorway – Seanan McGuire

Book Review: Every Heart A Doorway – Seanan McGuire

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 3 Comments

July 23, 2019 (1)
Series: Wayward Children #1
Release Date: April 5th 2016
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 176
Find it on: Goodreads. Amazon.
Source: I listened to this book on Scribd.

Synopsis

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced… they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

Review

Copy of book cover (1)The Wayward Children series is one that’s been on my radar for a while, and when I saw the audio books on Scribd I thought I would give them a go. I completely fell in love with this magical, fairy tale like story and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the series has in store.

The story is set at Eleanor West’s home for Wayward Children – a place where children who have come back from other worlds can stay as they attempt to find the door back to the magical land they went to. Nancy is one such child, determined to find her way back as soon as possible. But not everything is as it seems at the school, and Nancy and her friends must uncover the darkness lurking in the heart of the school.

This unique and engaging tale completely captured my attention and I ended up listening to it all in one go. It’s a beautifully written tale, full of magic and whimsy. It also has plenty of darkness and gory moments too and the detail and complexity of the world building really shines through in McGuire’s writing. I’m not normally a big fan of novellas because I always feel like I want more, but this 200 page story is the perfect length, giving you a glimpse of other worlds that we will hopefully get to see more of in the subsequent books.

The characters in this book were so fascinating. Jack and Jill were definitely my favourites but for such a short book there’s an immense amount of depth in the characters we meet. There is a wonderful amount of diversity in the characters and I can’t wait to see the characters grow as the series continues.

This is an incredible start to the series and I can only hope that the rest of the books are as gripping and addictive as this one. If you haven’t started this series yet, now is definitely the time to do it.
5 Stars