Week 38 Reviews: Juice Like Wounds, Across the Green Grass Fields

From Goodreads:
In the course of every great adventure there are multiple side-quests. All too often these go unreported—perhaps because the adventurers in question fail to return to the main narrative due to death or other distractions, and sometimes because the chronicler of the events decide to edit out that part of that particular history for reasons of their own (historians are never infallible)—but occasionally we get another window into our heroes' world.

In Juice Like Wounds we once again get to meet Lundy, and some of her companions. Lundy's main adventure is detailed in In an Absent Dream (which is nominated for a Hugo Award, this year!) and you should definitely read that. Before or after this tale is up to you. Remember: side quests are fun. For the reader, at least... 

From Goodreads: 
A young girl discovers a portal to a land filled with centaurs and unicorns in Seanan McGuire's Across the Green Grass Fields, a standalone tale in the Hugo and Nebula Award-wining Wayward Children series.

"Welcome to the Hooflands. We're happy to have you, even if you being here means something's coming."

Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late.

When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to "Be Sure" before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines―a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes.

But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem… 

My Review:
Reading stories in this world is always great, though always a little sad, given the whole concept of a child getting to magical worlds, and then coming home. After all, these are the Wayward Children who want to go back to those worlds. If they do make it back is the question.

So Juice Like Wounds goes back to Lundy, and of the story of how three friends went to defeat a monster, and only two came back. We know from reading that book, who doesn't make it back. But how, well, this story told us that.

I really enjoyed going to the land of Hooflands, it was a pleasant world. Of course, this book turns the stereotypes of heroes and quests on its head. I really enjoyed how Regan completed her quest. But that ending, oh, man, it was pretty heartbreaking!

I said in my review of previous book of this series that the pattern is present, backstory, repeat. Which would make Green Grass Fields a backstory. And maybe it is, because none of the existing characters were in this one like they have in the present stories. It's just that we haven't met, or I've forgotten meeting, Regan. So it technically fits the pattern. I won't know for sure that it fully does, until we meet Regan in the present. Hopefully that'll happen in book 7!

Loved reading these stories, they were really fantastic, and I can't wait to have more!

Author: Seanan McGuire
Series: Wayward Children #4.5, 6
Read: September 15th, 15th, 2020
Source: Online, NetGalley
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2020 Books and Across the Green Grass Fields is a WoW Book!
Publisher: Tor.com
Published: July 14th 2020
Expected Publication: January 12th 2012

Juice Like Wounds:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Across the Green Grass Fields:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars