friendship – Down the Rabbit Hole

This sweeping YA fantasy romance full of star-crossed love, complex female friendship, and astrological magic is perfect for fans of Laini Taylor, Alexandra Bracken, and V.E. Schwab. From the acclaimed author of The Beholder.

Best friends Rora and Claudia have never felt more like their lives are spiraling out of control. And when they meet Major and Amir–two boys from one of the secret cities of the spheres, ruled by the magic of the astrological signs–they discover they’re not alone. There is a disruption in the harmony between the spheres, and its chaos is spreading.

To find the source of the disharmony, Rora and Claudia will embark on a whirlwind journey of secrets, romance, and powerful truths–about themselves, each other, and two long-ago explorers named Dante and Beatrice, who were among the first to chart this course toward the stars.

Inspired partly by the classic works of Dante Alighieri, this gorgeous stand-alone contemporary fantasy will captivate readers of Lore and Star Daughter.

**The Song That Moves the Sun comes out June 28, 2022*

Thank you Edelweiss and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever had a thought just needle its way into your mind like nothing else can? Like the more you try to not think about it, the more it sticks stubbornly inside until there’s nothing else you can think about?

The Song That Moves the Sun did exactly that to me. Since I read its synopsis for the first time, I initially thought to myself this probably wouldn’t be up my alley. I’m not much of a believer in astrology in any way. I mean, all I know is I’m a Capricorn based on when I was born, but I don’t even know what that really means.

Also, Dante? Sure, he’s super famous and many works have been inspired by his work (hello, Dan Brown anyone?). Am I particularly interested in his journey, or what inspired him to write about Heaven, hell and purgatory? Not in particular.

So what is it about this book that drove me towards it? And more importantly, why did I end up absolutely LOVING it?

Surprises, surprises

Let me be up front and mention that I thought this world would be completely separate from the contemporary world we live in. To my surprise, the opening pages plopped us into Washington D.C. in the most ordinary of ways, with Rora nannying some kids. Did this absolutely blow my mind? Yes. How were Rora and Claudia going to connect with these elusive boys of the “spheres”?

The story also takes deep look into mental health and the spiralling that comes with it when we feel a lack of control in our lives. Having anxiety myself, I could relate and wrestle alongside Rora who was immediately upfront about the 31 fears she had, 1 for each day of the month. Some were fears that most people have (I mean, who wants to be mugged?) while others may have been very specific things she did not want to face. I loved that this story was able to take a look at dark thoughts, anxiety and spirals through the lens of a fantasy world where some of the darkness came from magical disharmony in the spheres.

The uniqueness of the world

I’m all about really interesting world building that is also explored thoroughly. Don’t you hate it when a book has this beautifully drawn out map at the front that you realize is barely touched upon by the end of the book? Did I really have to know where Country X was located if it is only mentioned in passing once or twice in a 400+ page book?

There’s definitely NOTHING ordinary about this world. The science geek in me who loved astronomy was fascinated by the geocentric model of the solar system at the forefront of the spheres. This was back in the olden days when people thought the Earth was the centre of the universe instead of the sun, with the planets, moon and Sun circling our little planet in a very specific order. I liked how Rora and Claudia were drawn into these secret planet cities, guided by sweet Major and stoic Amir, and the characteristics of each planet based on the astrological sign associated with the place.

It’s super hard to explain what each place was like, but Anna did an amazing job giving that information to orient us every time they travelled to a new planet (including the Sun!), all the while being very relevant to the story and not just being waylaid with useless information.

Give me ALL the romance

Of course, being me, the romance is always the icing on top of the cake for a good fantasy. I wasn’t sure at first how I would feel about the pairing of both girls and guys with one another, but it just worked, you know?

Both couples had a spark and chemistry from the get-go. Rora was a complete mess inside, beyond just her 31 fears, and Major was the kind of calming presence who could steadfastly offer some of his stability to a racing heart and mind. Amir, on the other hand, challenged Claudia’s way of thinking, both people yearning to belong to those they loved but with each having something holding them back from feeling fulfilled by it.

It didn’t feel forced, like they HAD to get together. It felt like these were the kind of people they needed in their lives and the situation that brought them together was like fate. These are the best kinds of romances, the ones that feel organic and stem from more than physical attraction alone. I felt it because I believed the feelings that they said were brewing under the surface.

Music of the spheres?

There’s a lot about music in this book. I think it’s very clear based on the title. While a lot of it was a little confusing and went over my head, it was a unique theme that connected everything together. Each planet had its own song, and the people who belong to that planet based on their sign belonged to that song also. There was disharmony in the music of the spheres that was causing major issues in all the spheres, including Earth at the centre.

I liked the journey they took to solve the issue. Was it a little anti-climactic in its resolution at the end? I felt a little of that after all the build up, but the world building from all of this really drove me forward. I couldn’t put it down because I wanted to understand more of how the spheres worked, how it linked to people, what was wrong with Rora. It was like a mini mystery I wanted to solve and I could only figure it out if I just turned the next page. This made for excellent pacing.

Besides the resolution, the only other thing I may not have loved was the many flashbacks to Dante’s life with Beatrice in the 13th century. They were almost as much a main character as Rora and Claudia, although their chapters were shorter. I understand those chapters brought relevance to what was happening in the present day as Dante and Beatrice’s explorations of the spheres may be the key to what was going wrong now, but sometimes I wished it was a little less focused on them.

Bottom line

I know, this is a long review, but I just had to put it all out there. I was picky about the ending but otherwise there was so much potential explored in this world of magical, musical spheres I almost didn’t want to leave. This is probably one of the only standalone fantasies I’ve read, but it’s making me wish it was a series or duology because I enjoyed my time here so much.

If you want romance, magic, and the strangest and wholly unique world building based on astrology you’ve ever seen? This book checks them all. I can’t recommend it enough for the experience alone.

Overall Recommendation:

The Song that Moves the Sun surprised me with its interesting solar system worlds that were connected to our contemporary/modern universe. I loved how it could potentially grow into more if the author ever chose to revisit, but that’s a good sign the story was memorable and enjoyable. The romance was everything! Both couples brought the angst and the feels. This stand-alone was truly “out of this world”.

5 star, YA

Review: If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

August 9, 2021 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

High school senior Cameron Bright’s reputation can be summed up in one word: bitch. It’s no surprise she’s queen bee at her private L.A. high school—she’s beautiful, talented, and notorious for her cutting and brutal honesty. So when she puts her foot in her mouth in front of her crush, Andrew, she fears she may have lost him for good.

In an attempt to win him over, Cameron resolves to “tame” herself, much like Katherine in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. First, she’ll have to make amends with those she’s wronged, which leads her to Brendan, the guy she labelled with an unfortunate nickname back in the sixth grade. At first, Brendan isn’t all that receptive to Cameron’s ploy. But slowly, he warms up to her when they connect over the computer game he’s developing. Now if only Andrew would notice…

But the closer Cameron gets to Brendan, the more she sees he appreciates her personality—honesty and all—and wonders if she’s compromising who she is for the guy she doesn’t even want.

Normally I am very picky when it comes to contemporaries. I enjoy them, they’re my guilty pleasures when I just want a solid read to fall in love with characters and the issues they have to overcome in their own lives, but very rarely do I do so in such a way that it makes me laugh and cry and feel for them the way I have with this book.

If I’m Being Honest features a protagonist I didn’t think I would love that much. Not only is she brutally honest to a fault – like, the word blunt has no meaning in her vocabulary – but she definitely falls under the category of mean girl more than your typical shy girl/people pleasers I find in YA contemporaries as our heroine. Yet, there is something refreshing about her because of this. The authors do not just write her as someone who is “bad” so simply, but is nuanced, especially in the way she becomes “better”.

Continue reading →

Review: You Have a Match by Emma Lord

February 11, 2021February 10, 2021 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

A REESE’S BOOK CLUB WINTER YA PICK

A new love, a secret sister, and a summer she’ll never forget.

From the beloved author of Tweet Cute comes Emma Lord’s You Have a Match, a hilarious and heartfelt novel of romance, sisterhood, and friendship…

When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie…although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front.

But she didn’t know she’s a younger sister.

When the DNA service reveals Abby has a secret sister, shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents — especially considering Savannah, queen of green smoothies, is only a year and a half older than Abby herself.

The logical course of action? Meet up at summer camp (obviously) and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption. But there are complications: Savvy is a rigid rule-follower and total narc. Leo is the camp’s co-chef, putting Abby’s growing feelings for him on blast. And her parents have a secret that threatens to unravel everything.

But part of life is showing up, leaning in, and learning to fit all your awkward pieces together. Because sometimes, the hardest things can also be the best ones.

“If you learn to capture a feeling, it’ll always be louder than words.”

A good dive into sisterly bonds and family secrets, it definitely leaned into those elements but took its sweet time building up to a point where we might fully care about the secrets it can unearth.

Abby is the kind of protagonist where I don’t fully understand so it can be hard to find sympathy for her in certain occasions. She has no plans for the future, demeans those who find work through sources she thinks isn’t the most fun (like, she asks, do influencers even love what they do?), and plays jokes that take it a step too far because someone told on her for breaking multiple camp rules.

That someone being her sister, the one she didn’t know she had. I fully love and understand Savvy a lot more, and this book may have been different if I got to see it through her lens instead. She was a rule follower but she also balanced compassion too, not just a cold, robotic figure who doesn’t care about anything else.

But let me backtrack a little and explain my thoughts on this book. I came in with super high expectations (yet again, this is a Reese’s book club choice so it must be halfway decent right? AND it’s Emma Lord). I don’t know why I thought this would be more focused on the romance, or at least half of the book would be about Savvy and half about Leo. It didn’t turn out that way.

I loved the bits of Leo’s characterization we got to see. He unfortunately was more off-page than I had hoped while Savvy took centre stage during most of the book. He kept the peace but still spoke his mind when he wanted to steer Abby away from another harebrained scheme that bordered on reckless. He was a brilliant budding chef (I’ve been watching MasterChef lately and I could just picture Leo in such a competition) and teased his friends good-naturedly.

So the romance is limited, and pretty cliched if you think about it. I like you but am too afraid to tell you. He likes me but just didn’t find the right time to tell me. Timing is always off, but will it ever be right? It almost felt pointless to have the romance aspect of it except to be the excuse for Abby’s perpetual anxiety. I don’t feel it had to be this way. There are plenty of other things she could and was worried about.

While the pacing was slow for a lot of it, I did eventually grow curious about Abby and Savvy’s history and how their separation came to be. It had good resolution, even if a little predictable, but it was nice to see how family can work things out together with better communication.

However, if its purpose was to give me the feels, it also fell short on that. The only aspect of this book that gave me any sort of tingle was Abby’s grandfather who had passed away prior to this story.

Usually I’m not sad when people bring up Poppy, because I’m already thinking about him most of the time. He’s in the weight of his old camera strapped to my shoulder, in the periphery of every photo I take, squinting at the same views and humming his approval.

Maybe I’m just sentimental, especially about grandparents due to my own upbringing, but having Poppy there was a good touch to a book that just fell short emotionally for me on every other level. I just couldn’t bring myself to care tremendously unless I put in a lot of effort to.

If you’re looking for a sweet romantic read, there are many out there (including Emma’s debut) that are by far more well-suited to that. This book is about family, and the secrets we keep and the issues we bury until they come exploding out. If you come into knowing that’s what you’ll get, it may be better for you.

But even then, don’t expect the waterworks to come exploding.

Overall Recommendation:

You Have a Match sounds like it has the makings of a good romance and heartfelt sister reunion, but the product just fell short from its description. The focus definitely was on Abby and Savvy’s family secrets (how did she become adopted?!), while the crush on Leo was just relegated to the anxious headspace Abby constantly carries around with her. A lot more thinking about him than actually talking to him here. While the family aspect could be entertaining, you have to invest pretty deep into the book to get the answers you’ve come for. This wasn’t the worst book by far, but it definitely didn’t meet my high expectations for being a Reese’s book club pick.