Bite Sized Reviews (feat. YA fantasy, 2024 releases, graphic novels)

Featuring "The Last Dragon King" by Leia Stone, "Age 16" by Rosena Fung, "The Wife You Know" by Chad Zunker, and "Every Silent Thing" by Alan Brenham 

Introduction

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Pages of Perfiction! Today, I'm doing a quick post: bite-sized book reviews for four books I've recently read. 

Let me know in the comments which one of these books are the most appealing to you!

"The Last Dragon King" by Leia Stone (Kings of Avalier book one)

No. Just no. This YA fantasy left me pacing angrily in my room and venting to my friends. Here's why:

• Characters: In the beginning, the characters seemed lovable, but as the story continued, the protagonist acted more and more like a pick-me. "I don't like dresses, I'm so unique, I should marry the king because I'm so different"

• Weird references to wombs every few pages: I have no idea what was up with this, but literally every 3 pages the word "womb" came up. Don't ask why.

• Wrong Ideologies: I'm not going to spoil, but roughly 20% of the book was spent on a plot twist that was added near the end. Due to the twist, the characters came to an "agreement" that was just so messed up.

• Random curveballs: There were a bunch of new information that was just so convenient, added in with no foreshadowing whatsoever.

No hate to the author! This book just didn't hit the mark for me, but there are lots of readers who loved it, too. Keep in mind, this book is part of a series, and I received an ARC from Netgalley. I rated this three stars. 

"Age 16" by Rosena Fung

This one is actually a graphic novel! I'm rating it four out of five stars. Here are my thoughts on the comic:

• Themes: "Age 16" starrs Roz, a teenager busy dealing with high school life, when her Por Por (grandmother) abruptly shows up and brings chaos with her. Having three generations of women under one roof brings both laughter and tears as the girls open up to each other and basically bond over shared trauma. 

• Writing: The book primarily follows Roz, but we also see chapters in her mother's and grandmother's POV, which tells us what childhood events shaped her ancestors. This was fun to read.

• Cover/Artwork: The cover was so good. It had a symbolic theme that showed how intergenerational ideas can pass along, and the lives of your parents are reflected in your own. As for the illustrations, they not only were beautiful, they also supported the words well. 

 I docked a star because of some confusing aspects, but it was a good book. I got a review copy from Netgalley, and this book is getting released on May 28, 2024.

"The Wife You Know" by Chad Zunker

This is the book you're looking for if you want an intriguing thriller mystery.

• When Luke's wife Ashley and his step-daughter Joy go missing, Luke is determined to find them. However, throughout his journey, he realizes that he has no idea who his wife really is.

• This book features false identities, the FBI, and a corrupt government. It's a really frantic read that takes no more than two to three hours.

• The well-developed characters in this book are amazing. Ashley, the love of his life, and Luke Driskell, our protagonist are both shown with nuance and realism.

This book is a five star read, hands down. It's filled with all the tropes that I love in psychological thrillers. It's coming out on February 27, 2024

"Every Silent Thing" by Alan Brenham

I read about 1/3 of this book before deciding not to finish it. There were several reasons for this:

• The characters seemed flat and 2D. In the beginning, I thought that they were interesting, especially with Claire Devereux, but as I read on, the quality degraded.

• The swear words were so frequent that I didn't enjoy the novel. This is just a personal reading preference, but for me, there is a such thing as too much cursing.

• The plot wasn't compelling. There were 3 storylines going on at the same time, which I found confusing. Usually, I love dual points of view, but it was not well executed in this novel

"Every Silent Thing" has potential, but it's not quite there. This is a two-star read.

Conclusion

I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading these four reviews and they provided you with valuable info. Stay tuned for my next post, coming your way in approximately a week! I would be thrilled to have you join me again. Until then, happy reading!

Paige, signing off.