Bookish Mumma

Just in case it wasn’t glaringly obvious yesterday, I was having a REALLY low motivation day. I still want to do the bingo though, so let me know if you have any tile ideas. After the next book is finished, I am going to ease back a day or two of posting. Posting every day is gruelling and it takes the fun out of doing this. I also need time to rest, just like everyone does, so it’s a measure to keep myself healthy and happy. or now, here’s the next post for House of Night!

If you would like to read this book to fill in the gaps, you can find it here.

If you’d like to read any of the previous posts, you can read those here.

Gorsky is acting like a jealous lover more than ever. But he raises a good point – why doesn’t Valen drink from him directly? And why did he drink from me? I’d much prefer a clinical setting where Melody takes my blood. Hell, I’m a decent stick. I’ll do it myself. This is so messed up. I’m literally debating the best way to let Valen victimize me.

Trying to make the best of a bad situation, no one can argue with that! At least Valen’s bite feels good. Gorsky is just an asshole.

My eyes go wide. “An elevator?”
“Always so observant, little rabbit. It’s truly your greatest gift. How did you ever manage to get captured with such sharp, incisive intellect?” His acid tone is underlain with amusement. He slides the grate back and pulls me into the carriage.

See, if the supposedly cruel captor was to treat me with sarcasm, I’d be melting right there, I’m a sucker for a strong dose of sarcasm and wit.

“We worked together before all this. You know that.” He says it with a bored exasperation. “Whitbine seems to have scrambled what brains you had left. Now you don’t remember a damn thing, which leads to endless inane questions from you. Quite the vicious cycle.”

I don’t think that the hate is mutual between them. I think that there was something between them that she can’t remember and he’s trying to hold up a performance or act.

“You wound me, little rabbit.” he matches my pace with ease. I glance at the injury across his cheek. “Not me, sadly.”
He only gives me a smirk in response.
“You should have that looked at.”
“Worried for me?” he taunts.
“You know what? Never mind. I hope it rots your entire head off your body.”

This made me laugh more than it should have. I REALLY want more of this.

I sit back on my heels and inspect the door again. The dragon looks back at me, seemingly above it all. I give it the finger. Immature, but also somewhat satisfying.

Even though the dragon is an inanimate object, flipping it off is entirely justified. I have also absolutely flipped off my monitor during the process of writing this post. SEO and passive voice deserve it.

“You really shouldn’t be on this level. It’s not safe.” His taunting voice comes from all around me. “Do you even know where you are?”
“In a dark hall with a fucking nutcase, apparently,” I keep my knife in front of me, ready to swing at him if he appears. “Didn’t Valen tell you to leave me alone?”

I think Gorsky exists purely as a way of increasing conversation and conflict through the book while Valen is away, but I don’t think it’s particularly productive.

“Valen will have a good laugh when I tell him.”
“Valen laughs? Is that just when he’s kicking puppies or-“
She giggles. “He told me you were funny.”
“He did?” Now I’m curious.

Every being on this earth (in House of Night or otherwise) has a side that one person doesn’t see. Also with the show of sarcasm, I absolutely can believe that he experiences things like this.

“Perhaps if you’d wasted less time spying on me through your questioning of her, you could’ve done your job and gotten the information our high lord seeks. However, you chose a different path. A such, we’re done here.” Valen is behind me, his presence like a looming wave set to drown me.
“Yes, my lord.” Whitbine dips his chin even lower as Valen pulls me to my feet.

C’mon Celia! Give me the ‘touch her and die’ trope! I can see it just under the surface and I’m itching for it!

“Sit.” Valen gestures to an armchair nearby, one of the arms frayed.
I edge to it, keeping both of them in front of me as I sit. “What is this?”
“A library,” Valen answers dryly. “Perhaps I overestimated your perceptive powers after all.”

Yes, more sarcasm! I will never be upset when I see more of it. I want to see them hit back at each other with words

“There’s only one of him. Be grateful,” Coal says.
Valen gives him a withering look. It’s almost like… banter. Are they bantering?
That’s when it dawns on me. “Wait, are the two of you friends?”

Coal may be my new favourite! He seems like the fun friend that everyone needs and who keeps you on your toes. I want to see more of him! Wouldn’t be mad if there was a little MMF spice…

Leaders emerged – some warlords, some actually concerned for the greater good. A mixed bag of ideals and monarchies, democracies and dictatorships.

Due to a plague or not, when leadership disappears, there is always going to be a power vacuum and trying to fill that after such a wide spread loss, it would be hard to fill that vacuum in a way that worked. Not saying that the warlords are preferable in any way, just that they happened to step in more effectively than anyone else who would have tried in that particular circumstance and area.

Footsteps behind me, particularly loud when I know Melody is capable of moving without a sound. “We should return now.” She’s being polite, making her presence known so she doesn’t startle me. Would a monster do something as thoughtful as that?

Something I learned and accepted recently was that, while you may not make the same choices as someone else, they made them thinking that that was the best choice for them at that point in time. There is someone in my personal life that I am not particularly fond of, but who I can recognise made the best choice for herself and her child, even if it has disastrous outcomes for me and someone I love. A monster isn’t always a monster in the light of day.

“I-I’m going to the ball?” My mouth is dry. “I didn’t think I’d have to do that.”
Her perfect eyebrows draw together. “Of course. You’re Valen’s-” She stops herself, then begins again. “You’re his guest.” She turns and hurries down the stairs.
Prisoner. I’d bet money she was going to say I’m his prisoner, and now I’m about to be paraded around at a vampire ball like a show pony.

I really love the way that Celia has written the internal dialogue/point of view, it’s engaging.

Conclusion

In this section of chapters in House of Night, we start to see a different side of Valen which I’m really excited to see more of. We see that he’s capable of and practically dripping with sarcasm as well as fully able to give witty banter. For anyone that knows me personally, they know I’m a sucker for sarcasm and banter! I want to see how this will develop as Georgia finally gains more confidence and bites back because I’m sure she’s well and truly capable of it.

If you would like to read this book to fill in the gaps, you can find it here.

If you’d like to read any of the previous posts, you can read those here.

I have to say, House of Night is definitely a different kind of vibe than what I have read before. Not entirely, there are some familiar themes starting to come in, but the overarching themes of horror and violence are different. It gives the text a little extra bite, but also means there is less for me to write that is safe to read in these snippets. I found enough in this block, but just a heads up for future posts. In those cases, I will add an extra chapter or two to make something worth reading.

If you would like to read this book to fill in the gaps, you can find it here.

If you’d like to read any of the previous posts, you can read those here.

I can’t work like this… That’s not true. I can, but it’s hard, and I HATE it.

Oh we have ALL been there. I’ve felt it in my last role, I’ve felt it in my first… Hell, I’ve felt it about THIS.

Finding a way out is imperative, but I stick to my room. The thought of running into Valen again is enough to keep me inside – at least for now. But being alone in here is slowly driving me mad. All I do is think. And thinking about the past – the parts of it I can remember – causes nothing but a special sort of anguish. I don’t want to relive the horror of it, but I have to.
It’s all I have left.

When all you have left is horror, it still holds weight in the mind. I’m not really all that surprised that she feels this way. She doesn’t want to, but she has to because what’s left after?

Sitting and wallowing are no longer options.

This wouldn’t be a story if it was, though I’m glad that this came in a way that suits Gerogia, not just in a way that is like “Okay, this is a story and now lets get her up and running now that she has had a bite to eat. Time to get her to pick up a sword and fight”. Instead, it’s a way that is more likely. She doesn’t pick up a sword, she starts to explore a little at a time.

When I reach the end of the hallway, I turn back and examine the rooms along the other side. It reminds me of a fancy hotel, room after room after exquisitely furnished quarters. Who needs this much space?

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (any time of year)
You can find it here

Side note, no one needs that much space, it’s an egregious show of status.

“Venturing out, little rabbit?” Valen’s voice slithers through the darkness.

The default nickname for a FMC is a random animal and ‘little’ in front of it, I swear. I’m not saying it’s bad, I just think it’s amusing in contexts like House of Night. Little rabbit, little squirrel, little sloth?

“Why so skittish?” Whitbane clucks his tongue. “Don’t you remember me?” He smiles, his fangs descending into sharp points.
“Do what you came here to do, and get out,” Valen snaps. “I don’t have time for your games.”

Is this a hint of the ‘touch her and die’ trope? Please? With cherries on top?

The hallway begins to narrow and makes several turns, a labyrinth that has me worried about losing my way. But there aren’t options, only a steady advance toward whatever lies at the end, to the minotaur waiting in the depths.

Ahh so we’re looking at Georgia as a retelling of Ariadne. I’m glad too, not a story that gets told often.

“I was just-“
“Snooping. I’m aware.” He stares down at me, the shine in his eyes particularly predatory. “You’ve scoured a few floors so far. Find an escape yet, little rabbit?” He smirks.

Anytime you want to drop the romance tropes I can see simmering below, Celia, I am right here to read them!

The first conversation shouldn’t have been difficult. A woman’s cycle is a common knowledge, a biological fact. Even so, her mentioning the scent thing – I cover my face with my hands. Its like I’m thirteen again, hiding in a bathroom stall as I feverishly phone Juno. She saved me that day.

I think if anyone told me that they could smell my period, I would be equally embarrassed. It’s a fact that they happen, they’re inconvenient, but I don’t need to know that the vampires can smell it!

I’ve filled half the journal by the time I can’t feel my fingers. My words turn into jumbles of botched letters. Finally, I stop. The pain in my head has grown so bad that my vision is blurry. I know I’m missing chunks of time, of information. But what I remember now lives in this book. It’s all I have. Cradling it close, I hold onto it like a mother with a small child. It’s everything to me, my only possession. A splinter of myself embedded inside it, keeping my fractured thoughts alive for a little longer. Just a little longer.

It’s all she has that is hers at the moment, the feeling is understandable, but at the same time, it’s a dangerous possession. If she is writing down everything that she remembers, if Valen finds it, he could use something – anything – from it against her.

Conclusion

This is a horror romance, but the start of the book is the most horror I’ve seen so far. In this block, it’s strayed away from horror and that may well be temporary, so we will see how that comes back in. I’m seeing hints of romance tropes which I’m looking forward to. I find it strange and interesting that the offspring of a vampire and a human in House of Night was a minotaur. That’s unique and somehow natural to the story, but still out of place.

If you would like to read this book to fill in the gaps, you can find it here.

If you’d like to read any of the previous posts, you can read those here.

Okay so now that I’ve done a little check in, how are we all feeling? I’ve had some really great responses to the questions asked over on Instagram (@the_bookish_mumma). This has given me some insight into what some people want to see from me going forward and how to best interact with you. If there is anything more that you want to add, you are always more than welcome! The replies section at the bottom of every post is there for that purpose and my comments on Instagram are always wanting to hear from you. If you’re not wanting something public, you can also send me a DM on Instagram too.

Now, without further ado, we have a new ARC – House of Night by Celia Aaron! I did miss the release day on this one, but that was due to the health issues that I have had as of late. Thankfully, I am now a few days ahead in posts because of the check in. Daily posting shouldn’t be a problem for a while.

If you would like to support a small author or follow along, you can get the book here.

To read any of my previous posts for any previous books, you can find those here.

I also want to add that this ARC is a fair bit darker than anything else that I have read and put here before. As it is described as a horror romance, so keep that in mind and there are the following trigger warnings – Blood, torture, suicide, dub con (dubious content, generally in regards to power imbalance or unclear consent), murder and threatened SA.

If this isn’t content that you feel comfortable or able to engage with, it is okay and valid to not read this particular book’s commentary. I won’t include anything particularly graphic in my posts, so it is somewhat scrubbed, BUT there are still horror themes. I can’t make you do anything that you don’t want to do, nor would I want to either.

“Me.” A weak voice carries from the back of the cage. “Take me.”
Her head snaps toward the sound, and she moves quickly to it. A spider picking it’s way across it’s web.

This imagery is brilliant, I can see this woman’s affect clearly, moving elegantly, but somewhat eerily. I am arachnophobic, so this would scare the hell out of me if she actually was part spider. As a metaphor and a way to draw character, this is very effective.

There wasn’t much here besides imagery of a gruesome cage.

That’s one of our many mistakes. Humanity’s, I mean. We had no grasp on the eternal, didn’t know that endless life was the catalyst for unimaginable cruelty. The sort of malice that, to the vampires, is commonplace.

Once you live forever, mortality loses it’s value and so does pain, I would imagine. Being surprised at the cruelty of those who have millennia to imagine different ways to hurt people, is ignorance in the extreme.

Gregor drums his long fingernails on the arm of his throne. “They’ll run now. Little pigs running and squealing. Filthy beasts. Hunt them down. Drag them from whatever stinking hole they crawl into. Kill them as they killed my son. Kill them all. Spare no one.”

The blind anger at the loss of his son makes sense. The desire to hunt down every human and destroy them, does not. He’s a vampire, he survives off of blood. Although animal blood is an option, something tells me that this high lord wouldn’t stoop to doing that. So hunting down every human to destroy them means that he loses the only food source that he will entertain. I’m not sure of the implications of that yet, but this stands out.

Valen, the monster, turns to me, his form blotting out everything else.
Blue eyes. A glassy, stormy lake, gray clouds overhead. I remember him. We were supposed to work together to find a cure. A sharp stabbing pain lances through my head when I think about it. About my work. I see faces – blue eyes, shaggy hair, a friendly smile, more – but they’re blurry. I know them.

This brings an interesting twist to House of Night that I’m keen to explore. There is mention of a disease of some description. Is that a vampirism disease or something other? Valen is a minotaur, so does the disease turn people into monsters? Or was he a minotaur before, posing the possibility of monsters living alongside humans prior to the vampire take over?

This chapter is a flashback which I strike as being strange; having a chapter to itself when it is a page and a half long. This could have been the beginning of a chapter rather than a whole one. I understand needing to highlight the flashback, but this feels out of place.

“The plague can’t kill every single person on the planet. Nothing can. It would take-“
“The vampires can.” The skin beside his eyes crinkles. He’s smiling. “They can ensure humanity dies.”

Again, if they do that, they lose their best food source. Evolution does happen, sure, but it often takes a very long time to accomplish, even selectively. They may live forever, but what kind of a power vacuum would they create if their strongest members are starving? What kind of power would they have at all?

I have no idea if it’s day or night. It’s discomforting

The best way to make people lose track of time is to take away any method to track it. That’s what casinos do apparently. I’ve been to a casino, but not in about a decade, so I can’t recall. That would definitely be discomforting if you’re in a foreign place where your life is under threat and you have no perception of time.

“You shouldn’t be here.” Valen’s voice, cold and curt.
I look up at him. “No shit.” The words pop out. No filter. No thought. I don’t even have the energy to be startled. If he’s come to kill me, maybe it’s a relief. Maybe… maybe I’m done.

This, as morbid and dire as it may be, is a change from the usual FMC in a dark setting. Usually they are either terrified and try to flee or they fight back. Which seems unrealistic and uncharacteristic of the circumstances in which they are in. Georgia is tired, she’s hurt and she know that there’s nothing she could do if she wanted to. The little resistance she has is in her words and even that isn’t particularly standing out as resistance or biting back.

conclusion

As I said before, House of Night is much darker than I would usually read. There is a lot of gore that I did not and will not include. If those parts are what you would like to read to make the rest of the story make a bit more sense, you are more than welcome to get the book for yourself. As for the content, Celia is very gifted at her imagery. Similar to that of Victoria Aveyard and it was engaging, though confronting. For someone who hasn’t read much horror, this is a big change of page for me and reconciling what I am reading with a real person who imagined and wrote it, is difficult.

I’d also like to know if the horror genre is something that would would like to see more of or if you would just like a review of them instead of the full commentary due to the content. I’m unsure of how much I will be able to include from House of Night to follow previous pattern just due to story content.

As always, if you would like to support a small author or follow along, you can get the book here.

To read any of my previous posts for any previous books, you can find those here.