mythology – Page 4 – BookBunnies

Marshmallow reviews Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Today Marshmallow reviews Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, published in 2023.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about faeries and magic, or if you enjoy stories set in a different time period, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Despite being the youngest tenured professor at Cambridge, Emily Wilde is a rather curmudgeonly scholar. Her world is much like ours was during the 1800s, with one small difference: faeries are real. Emily Wilde studies these faeries and has spent many years of her life working on an encyclopedia about faeries from all over the world. The last area to finish is a small town, far up north, named Hrafnsvik. There, Emily is going to gather the evidence she needs to wrap up writing the world’s first encyclopedia about faeries.

Emily doesn’t particularly care for the townsfolk; she’s not a people person. She would rather sit alone, surrounded by books, than suffer through awkward social interactions. All she needs and wants is to complete her study of the natural fae of Hrafnsvik. Unfortunately, the arrival of Wendell Bambleby throws a wrench in her plan.

Emily’s relationship with Wendell is complicated. He annoys her for reasons she can’t explain, despite him never doing anything to upset her. Rather, Wendell is constantly trying to befriend Emily, who has no intention or use for friends. Additionally, Emily doesn’t trust Wendell. And she’s not going to let him impede her investigation of the faeries in the forest and the faery in a seemingly haunted house.

If there is one thing that is clear in this story world, it is that these faeries are not benevolent or friendly. Instead, they view humans as pets at best, and at worst, as worthless creatures to torture and torment. But Emily isn’t scared. With her knowledge and skills in the field of fae, her trusty dog Shadow, the occasional help of the villagers, and her annoying companion Wendell, Emily is ready to venture into the unknown.

Marshmallow is reading Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. — Marshmallow is reading *Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries* by Heather Fawcett.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries was a very intriguing book. I really liked the world-building. In particular I liked how the author built a world much like the 1800s, but added a sprinkle of fae magic. The surroundings felt very authentic and real, and the similarities with our world made the story more credible.

I think the characters were also interesting. The main character is a little bizarre, but seeing this world through her eyes added a lot to the story. The book is written as if it is the personal diary of Emily Wilde. The author includes many references to other scholars’ academic papers and past research on faeries (which, I think, are all fictional). That was cool and helped build on and add to the world the story is written in.

The author speaks through a very analytical and academic voice and uses a lot of big words. I would say that I have a fairly wide vocabulary, but some of these words stumped me, so I would suggest having a dictionary handy. However, these words are not frequent enough to impede the reader’s comprehension of the text.

I was a little confused on some parts of the plot and some of the narrative threads. However, I think everything all came together at the end in a cohesive and satisfying way. The story is overall quite fantastical and yet fulfilling.

Even though Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries does not end in a cliffhanger, there is apparently a second book with Emily and Wendell in it, and I am looking forward to reading it. If it is anywhere close to this one, I am sure I will enjoy it too.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries* by Heather Fawcett 95%.

Marshmallow reviews The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan

Marshmallow already reviewed the first three books of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series for the book bunnies blog. Then Caramel took over and reviewed the graphic novel versions of the full series. The two little bunnies through the years reviewed many many more books by Riordan. This week, The Chalice of the Gods, the much awaited new Percy Jackson book, hit the bookstores around the country, and Marshmallow managed to get her paws on a copy. Today she writes about her thoughts on this book and on revisiting the world of Percy Jackson.

[Through the years, the book bunnies have reviewed several of Rick Riordan’s series, such as Heroes of Olympus, Trials of Apollo, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and Kane Chronicles. Here are Marshmallow’s three reviews from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series: The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan’s Curse. And here are Caramel’s five The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian.]

Marshmallow reviews The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow reviews *The Chalice of the Gods* by Rick Riordan.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about Greek mythology or have enjoyed reading other books by Rick Riordan, then this might be the book for you. Just make sure you have read at least some of the Percy Jackson books before.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Percy Jackson is now a senior in high school. We meet him in this book just when he is trying to survive his first day of school. (So in terms of chronology, this book is happening after all the books of Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus but I believe it is before the events of Trials of Apollo.) But as any Rick Riordan fan would know, things never go according to plan for Percy Jackson. Being called to the office, Percy finds out that his guidance counselor happens to be a Nereid, or (sort of) a spirit of the sea.

Percy wants to go to New Rome University (in Camp Jupiter) with his girlfriend Annabeth. Unfortunately, he learns that, since he was not supposed to be born (his father was not supposed to sire any more demigod children), he is ineligible for it. It turns out, however, that if he goes on three quests for the gods and acquires three letters of recommendation in return from those gods, he may apply to New Rome University.

Luckily the Greek gods never tire of finding new things to have the heroes take care of. And in no time, Ganymede, cup bearer to the gods, seeks Percy’s help in finding the stolen Chalice of the Gods. This chalice is extremely valuable, because if a mortal drinks from it, they become immortal.

Percy and Annabeth want to fulfill their college plans, so together with their friend Grover, they set out to complete this first quest. Ganymede needs Percy, Annabeth, and Grover to find the chalice quickly, before Zeus calls for “a toast!” or hosts a feast in which case Ganymede’s cup bearing skills, as well as the special chalice, will be needed. In order to find the thief, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover must question several suspects and investigate to find out where the chalice is.

Marshmallow is reading The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow is reading *The Chalice of the Gods* by Rick Riordan.

Marshmallow’s Review: I really liked reading this book and found it to be a very nice visit back to the world of Percy Jackson, from Percy Jackson’s perspective. I enjoyed reading about these familiar characters again. Riordan’s writing style was again hilarious and touching.

That said, I don’t recommend reading this book before reading the previous Percy Jackson books or some other book written by Rick Riordan. If you’ve never read about the world of Percy Jackson before, many references and the overall experience will be lost and possibly confusing.

I felt like The Chalice of the Gods is aimed for older readers. Maybe Riordan wants his readers to grow up along with Percy and his friends. That said, there is nothing inappropriate or violent (there is just one bad word: c@$p). But the book grappled with coming to terms with change (e.g. going to college, big life changes, etc.) and had a lot of deep topics.

I really enjoyed The Chalice of the Gods and found it to be a worthy addition to my Rick Riordan book series collection! Fans of Percy Jackson will be very much satisfied.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Chalice of the Gods* by Rick Riordan 100%.

Marshmallow reviews The Serpent’s Shadow (Book Three of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan

Marshmallow has already reviewed The Red Pyramid and The Throne of Fire, the first two books of Rick Riordan‘s Kane Chronicles series. Today she reviews the third and last book, The Serpent’s Shadow, first published in 2012. Having read the first two books herself, Sprinkles was curious about this third one, and so she is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, tell us a bit about this book.

Marshmallow: Well, things end conveniently for Sadie! Though it is a bit unrealistic…

S: I’m guessing you are talking about her romantic pursuits.

M: Yes. Oh and the world does not get destroyed.

S: Well, I could guess that because the author wrote several more books after this one, and in some, the Kane siblings themselves show up.

M: Yes. And some of those stories are published along with these books. In the first book, The Red Pyramid, there was a story titled “The Son of Sobek”, which featured Carter Kane and Percy Jackson. In the second book, The Throne of Fire, there was a story titled “The Staff of Serapis”with Annabeth and Sadie. In this third book, there is a story titled “The Crown of Ptolemy” and all four of these characters work together. These three stories all apparently happen after the three books of the Kane Chronicles. So yes, there were some clues about the world not ending.

S: And I thought the stories were really neat, but the first one told me a bit more than I knew about, for example, about the kids training with Carter and Sadie, and the second one kind of gave away the resolution of Sadie’s love triangle dilemma. So maybe people should not read the stories if they do not want any spoilers.

M: You are right. The spoilers are not terribly explicit, and they just give you some hints. But they are there, and if you want no spoilers, then you should hold off on them. But maybe we should talk about the actual book itself.

S: Yes, I am quite eager to learn more about what is going to happen, but you need to promise me: no spoilers!

M: I’ll try.

Marshmallow is reading The Serpent's Shadow (Book Three of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow is reading *The Serpent’s Shadow* (Book Three of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan.

S: So, how would you describe the plot without giving away too much?

M: Hmm, well, the serpent in the title is Apophis, as you could imagine, the snake of Chaos, who has been trying to take over the world.

S: Okay.

M: Carter and Sadie need to find a way to stop him, and remember in the previous book, they had already woken up Ra, but he was old and more or less senile. So in this book, they have to figure out how to handle that situation, too. And the solution involves souls and magic and deep Egyptian mythology stuff like that.

S: Okay, maybe this is enough, because I can see you struggling not to give away anything.

M: Yes. I want to tell you everything and talk about them. But I know you don’t want to just yet. You just have to read the book Sprinkles.

S: Okay, I will read the book, I want to, but I am curious, did you like how Riordan tied things up in the end?

M: Yes. I think he is very good at this. I’m not a huge fan of the very last sentence but the resolution is very good.

S: And of course, there is an open door for more adventures, I am assuming?

M: Yes, some minor plots are unresolved, but the ending still feels pretty complete. And yet you want to know more about these characters and their worlds. All in all a very satisfying reading experience.

S: So let us wrap this up so I can get the book and start reading.

M: Sure.

S: So how would you rate this book then?

M: I’d rate it 100%. It is a satisfying finish to a really neat trilogy.

S: Sounds good. So what do you want to tell our readers?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing reviews from the book bunnies! We will be back in August!

Marshmallow rates The Serpent's Shadow (Book Three of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Serpent’s Shadow* (Book Three of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan 100%.

Marshmallow reviews The Throne of Fire (Book Two of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan

Last week Marshmallow reviewed The Red Pyramid, the first book of Rick Riordan‘s Kane Chronicles series. Today she writes about the second book, The Throne of Fire, first published in 2011.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like reading about Egyptian mythology or you have enjoyed some of Rick Riordan’s other books, then this might be the book for you (though you should probably read The Red Pyramid first).

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): After learning that Egyptian mythology is real and active in the modern world, Sadie and Carter Kane’s lives have been transformed. Now, danger lurks around every corner. The snake / god of Chaos, Apophis, is trying to break out of his eternal prison, and if he escapes, the Ma’at (basically the order in the universe) will fall, chaos will reign, and the world will be in big trouble. In order to prevent this from occurring, Sadie and Carter must release the sun god Ra who will hopefully be able to defeat Apophis and put him back in his prison. Unfortunately, finding and reawakening Ra will be difficult. Stronger magicians failed and were permanently scarred.

Sadie and Carter must find Ra, but Apophis is not their only enemy. Many of the other Egyptian gods also do not want Ra back and will try to prevent the Kane children from reaching him. Even with help from their trainees, uncle, and some of the nice gods, can Carter and Sadie find Ra and save the world before chaos rules over everything?

Marshmallow is reading The Throne of Fire (Book Two of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow is reading *The Throne of Fire* (Book Two of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan.

Marshmallow’s Review: I liked reading about the many characters in this book, and they are all relatable. Though their situation is not something I can relate to, their emotions are very human / bunny-like, a testament to Rick Riordan’s writing skill. The characters’ voices are all unique but very entertaining.

I also really liked the plot of The Throne of Fire. It is fun to read but still keeps you on the edge of your seat. I especially like how you get to learn new things about Egyptian mythology throughout the book and how the plot is based around actual Egyptian mythology. Everything in the book is based on real Egyptian myths, which I think is really cool.

I must admit that I was a bit taken back by how stereotypically Sadie behaved sometimes, and I also felt that the characters were not terribly kind to one of the characters who was losing his mind. Still, I really enjoyed reading The Throne of Fire and would recommend it to anyone. Readers of all ages would like the book because it is not very scary or inappropriate.

The Throne of Fire is the second book of a trilogy, so the ending does require / make you want to read the next and last book in the Kane Chronicles series. I look forward to reading and reviewing that next.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates The Throne of Fire (Book Two of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan 95%. — Marshmallow rates *The Throne of Fire* (Book Two of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan 95%.