The Afterlife of Holly ChaseAuthor: Cynthia Hand
Published: HarperTeen
Publication Date: October 24, 2017
Genres: Contemporary Fiction
Format: Audiobook
Length: 10 hours
Source: Library, Libby
Goodreads
On Christmas Eve five years ago, Holly was visited by three ghosts who showed her how selfish and spoiled she'd become. They tried to convince her to mend her ways.
She didn't.
And then she died.
Now she's stuck working for the top-secret company Project Scrooge--as the latest Ghost of Christmas Past.
Every year, they save another miserly grouch. Every year, Holly stays frozen at seventeen while her family and friends go on living without her. So far, Holly's afterlife has been miserable.
But this year, everything is about to change. . . .
The Afterlife of Holly Chase was once a booktube darling that made noise because it’s inspired by Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. And because I am a fan of A Christmas Carol, the only hesitation I had to adding it to my TBR List was that it was a young adult novel.
I am happy to say the fact that The Afterlife of Holly Chase was written for a young adult audience did not hinder my enjoyment.
I appreciated that while it’s a story Christmas story; it took place over the course of a year. It gave me time to get to know Holly and the other members of Project Scourge. I really enjoyed reading a Christmas story that didn’t go heavy handed on the Christmas themes. Maybe because it’s inspired by and based on the Charles Dickens classic.
Holly’s character arc was one that I enjoyed watching, because even though technically dead, she’s still a stubborn teenager that had to learn things the hard way.
I didn’t guess the twist of the story, but the most exciting part of Christmas stories is figuring out what the Christmas miracle is going to be.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle, #1)Author: Nghi Vo
Series: The Sing Hills Cycle #1
Published: Tordotcom
Publication Date: March 24, 2020
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Paperback
Pages: 121
Source: Library
Goodreads
A young royal from the far north is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully.
Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.
At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece.
I walked into The Empress of Salt and Fortune with no expectations. This was just a little novella that I heard positive things about. I was using it as a dopamine hit. I needed to get through my reading slump.
And it worked.
In less than 150 pages, VO crafted a complete fantasy tale. There was the history of an empire, backstories of multiple characters, political intrigue, revenge. All of it, delivered in a well written and told novella.
I am excited to see where the journey of the young cleric will take me next.
