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Into The Crooked Place (Into The Crooked Place #1)
Into The Crooked Place (Into The Crooked Place #1)
Alexandra Christo | 2019 | Crime, Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
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#1 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2999418076">Into the Crooked Place</a> - ★★★★
#2 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3504840515">City of Spells</a> - TBR

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Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo was a book I was very excited to read in the first place.

There is magic and potions, there is romance and adventure. The hype around it was huge, and it is still talked about in the bookish community.

What’s not to like?

Tavia sells magic potions on the market. One day, she is ordered to sell a new magic potion. When her friend Saxoni drinks the new potion, something bad happens. The potion makes people do terrible things - and Tavia and Saxoni need to stop it, before it destroys everyone!

The storytelling in this book was amazing. I was immediately teleported to a world where going to a market to buy a love potion is normal. I could connect with all characters immediately, and wanted to know more about them. The story is told from multiple character’s points of view, which I found appropriate for this story. 

Apart from Tavia and Saxony, we also meet Wesley - who is Tavia’s underboss. He is the one that she follows orders from, and he is the one to grant her her freedom, once she earns it by working for him. 

<b><i>“There are no good people, he said. Just ones who haven’t made bad choices yet.”</i></b>

We also meet Karam - a feisty warrior woman, who is fighting in pits for money. Karam is a character that I instantly liked, for her bravery and her free spirit. She knows who she is, she knows how she got there, and she knows exactly what she wants. 

<b><i>“She had fought her way to her position and hadn’t needed prayer or magic to do it. Just her fists and her smarts and the knowledge that she could.”</i></b>

I liked Karam and she was probably my favorite character.

I think that her journey was the most adventurous compared to all the other characters, and I feel like she’s grown the most. 

<b><i>“She felt at home. And she knew why. She knew then that home could be anywhere, because it wasn’t a place, but a feeling. It was made up of people, not bricks, and it was something you could create for yourself, just like family.”</i></b>

The legacy that Karam and Saxony carry is very conveniently revealed. The author only revealed this when it was needed in the book, to fit a certain situation and prompt plot twists. This wasn’t something I enjoyed, and together with how the book ended, it did leave a bitter aftertaste. I think I would have liked the book more if certain reveals were handled better, and the ending was more interesting.

<b><i>“Sometimes, words spoken in anger are not words spoken in truth, dila.”</i></b>

To sum everything up, I still think Into the Crooked Place was amazing and enjoyable.

I enjoyed being in this magical world and I enjoyed the adventures the characters went through. If you’ve been reading my reviews, you will know I love a good versus evil battle, and this book did indeed have that. Would I change the ending? Yes. Would I change the way the reveals were handled? Yes. But was this still an amazing book? Most definitely. If you love young-adult magic and adventure books - you will enjoy this one! 

Thank you to the teams at Hot Key Books and ReadersFirst, for sending me a copy of this book. Into the Crooked Place is the first book in the series. The second book is called City of Spells, and is expected to come out in 2021. 
  
All the Crooked Saints
All the Crooked Saints
Maggie Stiefvater | 2017 | Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
7.9 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
Life changing reflection (0 more)
Slow to gain momentum (0 more)
Slow to suck you in, but then seriously moving
This book was so hard for me to get into. I restarted it four times - I'm confident that was a result of my self inflicted expectations.

The Crooked Saints are not the traditional fictional characters we have grown to expect from Maggie - they are instead a reflection, a little bit from each of us. They are the struggles that we each experience, and for some of us the self-actualization that helps us move successfully through life.

I thought that once I brought it home, I'd read this book in just a few hours. I was so excited by this prospect, that the fiction of my assumption actually shocked me. I was somewhat disappointed in myself for my delay, but as I went on to learn - some miracles take longer than others.

I love this book. I will place it with my favorites and go back whenever I need a reminder about the type of person I'd like to be.