A World of Make Believe

The Golden Compass

2012-01-28T16:07:00.000-08:00

Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford’s Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Ariel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is a part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however, nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth telling instrument, the compass of the title. All around her children are disappearing- victims of so-called “Gobblers”- and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person’s inner being. And somehow, both Lord Ariel and Mrs. Coulter are involved.

~~**~~**~~

This book just makes me all kinds of happy. I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to read these, really... Granted, I do go to a Christian university and it is such a great time to see people's reactions when I say that I'm reading these. Honestly. My advice to those people would be to read them for yourself and stop letting other people make decisions for you. Because this book was lovely as well as relatively complex. The plot has a lot going on in it that you don't necessarily catch on to right away.

With that said, usually I'm not a huge fan of talking animals (there are reasons as to why I never made it past the first Narnia book. I just couldn't handle the talking animals.) So I was a tad bit nervous as these books get compared to Narnia a lot (or should I say contrasted? The atheists alternative? whatever.) partly because of the animals aspect and I'm not a huge fan of Narnia...

Anyway, comparisons aside, I loved the world that was built up. One in which each human had a daemon companion. I loved all the little rules that went with these daemons. They are always animals, they are always the opposite gender of their companions, they can shift fluidly through any animal shape until the human reaches adulthood in which they remain in a set form, and that touching another person's daemon is considered to be the 'great taboo.' Even though the daemons did talk, they only talked to their humans. So Pantalaimon is really one of the only animals that talks (thank goodness). Also, as a side note, I'm pretty sure that he doesn't stay in this form, but Pan's ermine form was always my favourite. I want an ermine daemon...

The setting was amazing. It started out in Oxford and moved into the arctic north. I loved how the fantasy elements could be injected into the real world almost seamlessly. With daemons, witches, and giant talking bears, everything seemed to fit so perfectly in the setting it was given. And yes, there are talking bears... and, ok, they were badass so I let that slide. I mean, there's a battle between two armoured bears at the end. If that's not awesome, I don't know what is.

I also am genuinely a fan of Lord Asrial but darned if i have any idea what his place in the story is going to be. Everything is really focused in on Lyra. So much so that it's hard to get a real grip on the other characters. Most of the time I'm ok with that, but occasionally it just became really boring for me. There's a dry patch around the middle of the book that i had a really difficult time getting around. Lyra is a girl who is bold, strong, and analytical. She's described as someone who really doesn't have much of an imagination, and while that seems kind of weird and something of an off putting trait, it fits with her. She's not like the typical girl protagonist and that was what I really really liked about her and the story as a whole.

As a whole, I loved this book. It has controversy along with it, and personally I think that makes it even better. There's nothing wrong with a little controversy. I mean, yeah The Church was the painted baddy of the book, but it's not like it wasn't done in a way that was legitimate. The Dust (the thing that sets the whole plot into motion) was something that the Church thought was linked to original sin, and that it was connected with when a child's daemon set its form, thus if a child and their daemon were severed from each other, it would keep this 'original sin' away from the person. Thus, some pretty horrible experiments went on in the North.

It all just added up to a genuinely interesting book. It was just good. The writing is fantastic and the story is interesting and just dark enough as a whole.

9/10 stars. It was close to perfect except for a dry spell there in the middle that I struggled to get through.

The Gathering

2012-01-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

Sixteen-year-old Maya is just an ordinary teen in an ordinary town. Sure, she doesn't know much about her background - the only thing she really has to cling to is an odd paw-print birthmark on her hip - but she never really put much thought into who her parents were or how she ended up with her adopted parents in this tiny medical-research community on Vancouver Island.

Until now.

Strange things have been happening in this claustrophobic town - from the mountain lions that have been approaching Maya to her best friend's hidden talent for "feeling" out people and situations, to the sexy new bad boy who makes Maya feel . . . . different. Combine that with a few unexplained deaths and a mystery involving Maya's biological parents and it's easy to suspect that this town might have more than its share of skeletons in its closet.

I didn't think I was going to like this book. In fact, I didn't think I was even going to finish it. Now, I'm a fan of Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Powers trilogy, i really liked those. So, I was a bit bewildered when I started this book and the intro and set up were just bad.
Never fear, though, it does get better and it would that it's worth slogging through the first few bad chapters. What makes the first few chapters sketchy is just the set up is some bad writing. I mean, it may be my natural dislike for first person, but in the first few chapters, Maya came off as one of those typical perfect YA characters. Oh, you're a track star? how surprising. You love animals. Wow, you should get an award. It was like that for a few chapters, but all with the weird overtones of her best friend's death as well. So, I was confused...
However, it does get better. Around when Maya goes to town to get a tattoo and the tattooists grandmother basically calls her a witch. That's when the fun begins.
Maya actually isn't a bad YA heroine. She just kind of comes across as one in the first few chapters... No, but when she's faced with the issue of the 'player' at school, Rafe, chasing after her, I like how she handles herself. I actually ended up just really liking her in general, she handles every situation that's thrown at her with some measure of grace and when the 'big plot point' gets thrown at her she takes it and runs with it.
I wasn't as impressed with Rafe... Is he really the romantic interest of the book? Because I wasn't feeling him... He annoyed me from the first half and just bothered me from the second. He had some great moments, especially when he was taking care of his sister, but then he had moments where he just didn't do it for me. Sometimes I think YA authors are trying to push the 'sexy bad boy' thing way too hard. This came across as trying a little bit too hard in Rafe's case...
Daniel though, Daniel was great. Daniel and Maya's relationship was perfect (which means if he somehow turns into potential love triangle OTHER love interest, I will be seriously upset). I loved how he and Maya had a friendship that was just that, it was just friendship. I really hope it stays like that because it was great.
I think it was the premise of the story that did it for me. I really liked the fact that Maya was a Native (or part Native?) and her attachment to animals and nature. I really liked that it's about Shifters into animals that aren't werewolves. That's great. Also the whole suspicious drug testing/genetic engineering plot was great when it was introduced even though it was left totally hanging.
7/10 Overall a rocky start in the beginning but turned out to be a really enjoyable read all together.

The Way of Kings

2012-01-07T15:25:00.000-08:00

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

Speak again the ancient oaths,

Life before death.Strength before weakness.Journey before Destination.
and return to men the Shards they once bore.

The Knights Radiant must stand again.

Quite simply, this book is a monster. There is no other way to describe this book. It's simply a beast. My copy is the paperback version, I mean, have you SEEN those? It looks like the pages won't even stay in the binding, it's so thick. It's 1,252 pages.
I'll start with this, if you are new to fantasy, or just don't read it as much, don't start here to get a taste for Sanderson. This is the series that he's apparently been planning for years and it shows. If you want a taste of Sanderson without being completely overwhelmed in the world building, then start with Elantris or Mistborn, those are the best for beginners. Besides, everyone should read Sanderson in their life.
As I said, though, this book shows the years of planning that was put into it. I usually catch on rather quickly with world building, but I admit I spent the first 50 pages of this book just trying to keep up with the world. It's so vast and there's so much. So, things to look out for so you won't be struggling like I was: the main kingdoms that the book is set in, the terrain is mostly rock. The plants all have the capabilities of retracting in on themselves, the grass 'hides' before it can be stepped on, the crops close up anytime after a high storm. The hierarchy is set through eye colour, those with lighter eyes (known as lighteyes, or Brightlords) are of higher rank. Darkeyes are of lower rank. The Alethi people almost always have black hair - lighter coloured hair means a mixed race. Once again, Sanderson makes an intriguing class system within the worlds of his books. There are quite a few other races in the books that are introduced, but the Alethi are the primary race and all of the main characters are of this race (I think a few of the interlude characters are of different races, though). The world is huge. Seasons pass within a few weeks at a time and at random, the highstorms come regularly and are fairly devastating. It's just brilliant and beautiful this world that he's created.
Then there's the magic system. Oh man. If you've ever read a review I've written for any other Sanderson book, you might know that I fangirl hardcore over the magic systems that he comes up with. From Allomancy and Biochromatic Breath, to the latest addition to brilliant systems: Stormlight. In this book, the magic system is kind of connected to the money system as well? That sounds kind of weird but it's actually how it works. The money that they use are these spheres with gemstones in the centre (the rarer the gemstone... ect. that's easy enough to figure out.) and the gemstones hold Stormlight. (If a sphere has no Stormlight it in, then it's considered dun and bad money, though leaving your money out during a highstorm recharges the spheres. craaaazy stuff.) So, with those, comes this method of drawing the Stormlight into ones body and Lashing. Basically, releasing the Stormlight into an object and shifting reality to make it, like, stick? It's complicated, but when it's used in battle it is so cool. That's one aspect of the system, another is the method of Soulcasting. Which is basically taking something and turning it into something else. So, soulcasters are essential for the armies because they can take mundane things like rock and turn them into food (though the food is notoriously bland). Then, the third point to the system were the Shardblades and Shardplates. Swords that were formed of mist and could cut through anything like they were cutting through air, and plates of armour that were seamlessly perfect and charged with Stormlight - giving the wearer superhuman strength. A lot of the culture of Alethkar centred around war, which was a huge point of conflict for a few of the characters in the book.
Then the characters, oh man. So, the story followed a handful of characters: Kaladin the surgeon turned soldier turned slave turned bridgeman. Shallan, the artist and aspiring scholar. Dalinar the highprince and warrior questioning his sanity and Alodin, his son. There are other characters who get their own chapters, Szeth the assassin for one (I suppose he's technically a main character as well), and a few other characters. I can just say right off that Kaladin was easily my favourite character and I was always looking forward to his chapters. Kaladin probably had the most difficult life of all of the characters shown. He grew up training to be a surgeon underneath his father, but always held dreams of being a soldier (ahh, what boy doesn't?) in the end, through a series of flashback chapters, you come to learn how he wound up not only a slave, but a bridgeman - men who were forced to carry huge bridged across the plateau's on the Shattered Plains. Frequently the men were forced to charge right at the enemies oncoming arrows, most bridgemen died after only a few bridge runs. The great thing about Kaladin (besides being the typical emotional hero that I do adore. Protect all of the things, Kaladin, all of the things.) was that he had such great progression. We saw every moment of his giving up, to his caring, to his hard work in making the pathetic group of bridgemen into real warriors that could possibly escape the death sentence they had all been given. He was my favourite, by far.
Dalinar and Alodin's chapters usually came together. Both lighteyes part of the king's army in the Shattered Plains, fighting against the Parshendi that had Dalinar's brother, the king, killed six years prior. I liked both of them, but at times their chapters were a tad bit dull (ironic because they were in the midst of a war...) Dalinar is busy questioning his sanity as strange visions come to him during highstorms, visions that would tell him to go against everything that the Alethi people stand for.
Shallan was my other favourite character. The youngest daughter of a lesser known lighteyed nobleman, she journeys to attempt to become the ward to the dead king's daughter, the famous scholar and heretic Jasnah (who is BRILLIANT by the way), however, Shallan has a few ulterior motives for her reasonings to train underneath Jasnah. Shallan is an artist and just a fantastic character. Once again, Sanderson's female characters are just great.
The plot as a whole follows these characters as Alethkar is caught up in a war against the Parshendi - tribesman who bear a resemblance to the docile slave race, the parshmen. A war that has lasted six years. Through all of this, there are hints at another Desolation - scourges that the world had not seen in centuries, not since the fall of the Radiants, a group of people who wielded Stormlight and Shardblades and protected the land from the Voidwalkers.
So, as you can see, it's a lot of information to process, but it makes for a truly spectacular book. Every moment of it was brilliant.
The only thing that confused me was the gender segregation in the Alethi culture. (It just struck me as... strange, especially coming from Sanderson who is really good about including women in his books in fantastic ways). Only women could read and write, men didn't do that. Men were warriors and farmers, women were scribes and scholars. Men ate a certain kind of food, women ate another. Women also wore their sleeves over their lefthand, their 'safe hand,' as they were called. At first I was bothered by this cultural trait, but as the story went on, I have a feeling that something is going to happen to shatter those social restraints. This is going to be a ten novel series and there is something about the way the culture is set up that just screams that things are going to be changed in a drastic way at some future book. Actually, after I got over my initial bewilderment ("What do you mean, men don't read?") I kind of enjoyed the way the culture was set up, though I do hope that it is changed... come onnnnn.
Religion was just another great thing about this book. I mean, I've come to look forward to what great new religion Sanderson would come up with this time. This one holds a fairly monotheistic view for the Alethi people, held by the ardents who once tried to essentially take over the world - but there are undertones of Ancient religions that we have had yet to see.
The politics of the book was lovely. The way the highprinces were all underneath the one king, and yet basically acted as kinds in their own right. They were all technically fighting the same war against the Parshendi, but that war had become something of a game, a race to see which highprince could reach the chasmfiends that lived in the Shattered Plains first and claim their gemhearts. A lot of the politics had to do with Dalinar's attempt at uniting the divided princedoms. It was pretty great.
This book was so vast and yet it's so obvious that it's only a glimpse of what Sanderson has planned for this series. It was spectacular, brilliant even, I adored every moment of it. Fans of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire would likely enjoy reading this book as they wait for GRRM's next instalment.
10/10 stars. It was perfect and I so look forward to the next book.

The Alloy of Law

2011-12-31T10:49:00.000-08:00

Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice.

One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn, who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.

To say that I didn't put this down once after I started reading it would not be an exaggeration. Oh man, I don't even know where to begin.

Brandon Sanderson is easily my favourite author, easily. The Mistborn trilogy is my favourite trilogy of books. So, I was ecstatic when I heard that he was releasing another Mistborn book, even though it was set far into the future of Scadrial.

What made it even better? Steampunk. Brandon Sanderson wrote a steampunk Mistborn novel. If that's not the greatest thing ever, I don't know what is.

It's not necessary to have read Mistborn before reading this, but it would help. There are a lot of references to the past characters, especially as they've worked their ways into the religions of the world. I have a lot of feelings about that. Every time they referenced the Survivor or the Ascendant Warrior... I just... have a lot of feelings about those characters. So, I mean, it would help to know who they're talking about, but it's not necessary. There's enough description about how Allomancy and Feruchemy works to be able to follow this book. Though, it doesn't go as in depth, because it's really assuming that you kind of have at least a basic understanding of the magic system.

The characters in this book are the best. I adore Wax. He's a little bit like Kelsier (and I have a lot of Kelsier feelings...). He's a bit solemn, but put him next to his friend Wayne and he's pretty hilarious. He's a Twinborn, someone who can do both Allomancy and Feruchemy. In this case he can Push with steel and control weight with iron. It was really cool seeing how Sanderson used just a few of the elements, or combined them in certain ways to get different combinations. In Mistborn, we really only saw Mistborn, the few that could use all of the elements. In this book, there are no Mistborn, but we do see different Allomancers and people with unique combinations of Allomancy and Feruchemy.

The plot follows Wax as he leaves his rough life as a lawkeeper in the Roughs and begrudgingly goes to the city to take up his duties as the lord of his house. As you can guess, he only can keep his guns down for so long before a string of robberies and kidnappings catches his involvement.

Usually, i'm not one for guns blazing almost Western-type stories. This was amazing, though. I loved how Sanderson combined Allomancy with the guns. The different kinds of bullets, the different guns that they used, it was all ridiculously ingenious.

Wax and his best friend, Wayne make the most perfect pair ever. Wayne is definitely the comic relief in the book and he is hilarious. I've always been able to really appreciate Sanderson's methods of injecting humour into his books. A lot of times fantasy can get so dry and Sanderson's ability to have truly hilarious moments in his books is just fantastic. This particular book employs Wayne and Wax's relationship and they are truly hilarious together. I love them. Wayne's constant search for his lucky hat and the man who stole it was one of my favourite parts.

The book has a lot of similarities to the past Mistborn books, and one of those similarities are Wax and Marasi's relationship. It was not unlike Vin and Kelsier's relationship, and rather ran it's course in a similar way. I adored them together. I also adored Marasi. I've loved all of Sanderson's female characters thus far and Marasi is no exception. A younger character in the story, Marasi is technically a law student who has idolised Wax and Wayne ever since first hearing about their adventures in the Roughs.

Everything about this book was just spot on. The beautiful thing about it was that it just felt so real. Even though it was in a setting that was more Steampunk and realistic, it was still a fantasy. Even so, everything was so real and genuine and the story was just brilliant. The pacing was fantastic. Of course, everything built up to the famous 'Sanderson Avalanche' in which he just enjoys making everything look as hopeless as he possibly can. It was all so brilliant though.

It was also refreshing from some of the overdone steampunk books that are out right now. It had just enough elements to make it distinctly what it was, but it wasn't over the top.

It was just amazing and reminded me, once again, why Sanderson is my favourite author. It stands on it's own, true, but the ending hinted that there is plenty of room for Sanderson to add on to Wax and Wayne and Marasi's story. I really hope that he does, because I would love to have more stories about the Twinborn, gunslinging lawkeeper.

10/10 stars.

Prince of Thorns

2011-12-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

"Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. But those days are gone and what is left of them lies in my mother's tomb. Now I have many brothers, quick with knife and sword, and as evil as you please. We ride this broken empire and loot its corpse. They say these are violent times, the end of days when the dead roam and monsters haunt the night. All that's true enough, but there's something worse out there, in the dark. Much worse."

Once a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg's bleak past has set him beyond fear of any man, living or dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father's castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.

Prince of Thorns is the first volume in a powerful new epic fantasy trilogy, original, absorbing and challenging. Mark Lawrence’s debut novel tells a tale of blood and treachery, magic and brotherhood and paints a compelling and brutal, sometimes beautiful, picture of an exceptional boy on his journey toward manhood and the throne.

This book is great. It's also incredibly violent and graphic and has a whole host of completely unlikeable characters! I mean, if that doesn't get you interested right there, I don't know what would!
Starting points, you'll either get sucked into this book right off (guilty as charged) or you will be so nauseated that you'll put it down right away and probably not continue. It's graphic, and the gore starts at the very first page.
Now, if you're someone who has to really like the narrating character, then this book isn't for you. I mean, Jorg really isn't that likeable. He doesn't even really have any redeeming qualities. However, if you're someone more like me and you adore flawed characters, then you're probably going to like Jorg because MAN he is flawed.
The book literally begins with a slaughter. Jorg and his 'brothers' - the band of roguish men that he travels with - have just finished decimating a village and are just finishing up when the book begins. As I said, the gore begins right off. Now, the gory stuff really isn't written to be nasty or vomit inducing or anything. It's just violent, and gory.... and really violent.
The narration is from Jorg's point of view, and switches back and forth from being the present and four years earlier when Jorg was ten. (We are dealing with a fourteen year old main character here. Brace yourself.)
Jorg is a great character, if you're okay with really not liking much about him. He's violent, angry, angsty, vengeful, proud. You name that deadly sin and Jorg has it! It was a little awkward at first when you first realise that the narrator is a rather young boy, and yet is more violent and colder than the grown men that he travels with, but as the story progresses it makes more sense. The chapters that deal with Jorg's past show why it is he's like how he is, and what happened to make him that way.

One problem is, because there is a whole band of men that Jorg travels with, it is hard to keep them straight at the beginning. But, i mean, a lot of them die throughout the book so there's less to keep track of by the end! Don't really bother getting attached to many of the characters, they're probably going to die (hey it's like reading a GrrM book!) And, speaking of George R.R. Martin, his influence over this book is really really obvious. At times it was a bit too obvious.

The book deals a lot with the idea of life and war just being a game. Jorg compares this war that he's in and his life to being just a game and everything and everyone are just pieces in the game. Before he makes an important action, there will be moments where it is laid out like a move on a chess board. However, the number of times he says something about the 'game of thrones' was a little ridiculous. Like, I know that that is a pretty generic statement, but really, it's kind of obvious where that was inspired from. Regardless, the phrase worked with the story and the whole idea of everything being a game did lend itself well to the plot and Jorg's narration. It gave him a tiny bit of endearing character, because he is rather detached from the situation, viewing everything as if it were a game.

The only real problem i had with the book is that I had absolutely zero sense of setting. It tells you about the broken empire and few hundred kings that are all dreaming of one day reuniting the empire as a whole. But Jorg was constantly referencing ancient to modern philosophers ( from Socrates to Nietzsche ) and there were actual geographic places that were mentioned. However, it was obviously a fantasy setting. So, i was confused whether or not we were supposed to be viewing these places in a European setting that is apparently set apart from time? Or if it is a world in and of itself with this realistic elements in them? It was all rather confusing.

Aside from that, though, the book was very well written. The pacing was great, i really didn't put it down after I started it. Even though the characters aren't that loveable, i did like them. But really, you have to really like this kind of book to get into this. You have to be someone who likes flawed characters and gritty plots. Because that was basically all this book was. Flawed characters and gritty plot.

9/10. Obviously, these are a few of my favourite things.

Steel

2011-12-27T20:31:00.000-08:00

It was a slender length of rusted steel, tapered to a point at one end and jagged at the other, as if it had broken. A thousand people would step over it and think it trash, but not her.

This was the tip of a rapier.

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure.

The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate’s life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home—one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.

I’m a bit sorry to say that I’ve become quite the bit of the pirate book snob. The amusing thing about that statement is that I can’t say I’ve read a huge quantity of pirate books. What I have read, though, are all of the Jackey Faber books which are pretty much supreme in their historic accuracy as well as accuracy in describing all things nautical.

So, I’m trying to approach this book without my pirate bias. Because this was quite a good book. I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story focused and revolved around the fact that Jill, the main character, is an incredibly good fencer. The story begins with Jill at a fencing tournament, and the outcome of the tournament is basically her drive throughout the entire book. Especially when a magicked bit of sword sends her a few hundred years into the past to the golden age of piracy.

The ship that Jill is dragged about is the Diana and her captain is one Marjory Cooper. I felt like the book was hastily narrated. I never really got to know any of the crew aside from the captain and the one crewman, Henry. Everyone else was just another man (or woman, as there were two on the ship) on the crew. Everything was kind of set aside for the sake of the plot moving quickly. With that said, the crewmen that we did see I did like. Cooper seemed a blank at times, a stereotypical pirate queen rather than someone who could potentially be quite fierce. Henry was great, though. He was a great romantic interest character. I did like him a lot.

The story revolves around a magicked broken sword, the pirate captain who owns the sword, and Cooper’s need for revenge. Overall, I liked the plot. I liked the revenge twist, the blood magic (blood magic! Oh, happy day! The magic in this was actually really cool, even though it was never really explained. It was a plot device, but I liked it, nonetheless. Usually piracy and magic aren’t mixed…) the viewpoint of a normal girl trying to get along with a pirate crew. What was greatest about the book, though, was the fencing, the swordplay. Jill was a fencer, so all of the terms were correct and the swordplay scenes were really well done. That was what made the book enjoyable for me, especially. I liked that Jill’s ‘claim as main character’ was her fencing skill and it was used throughout the entire book.

My complaints, though, were with the accuracy. Let’s face it, the author even says that though she attempted to be as accurate as possible, there are scenes that are just not. (Let’s put ALL of the famous pirates in the same tavern at once! Yes!) That kind of bothers me. The portrayal of the pirates wasn’t the most accurate either… It just felt like it was toned down for the sake of the YA genre (which, ok, really, the Bloody Jack series proves that you don’t need to tone down anything when dealing with these subjects). Another thing that I had issue with was how every time the ship was described, it just sounded amateurish. Now, I am not a firm believer of writing what you know, but I do believe that when you are writing a novel with pirates, for it to be successful, it has to come off like you know everything about the ships. There was one point when Jill is describing pieces of the ship (after she’s been there for some time) and in the narration she says something like ‘oh and that piece, I don’t remember what that piece is called.’ I mean, that’s an amateur move. If you don’t know what that piece of sail is actually called, either look it up, or leave it out. I understand that the narration was from Jill’s POV and she was a normal, modern, teenage girl and not a well learned sailor. However, there has to be more confidence in the descriptions of the ship and the use of terms.

Aside from those details, the book was enjoyable. I really liked it, it was better than a lot of the pirate books I’ve come across. Though, in my eyes, the Bloody Jack series still reigns supreme. Jacky Faber is still the pirate queen.

7/10 stars.

A Dance with Dragons

2011-12-25T19:57:00.000-08:00

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance once again--beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has three times three thousand enemies, and many have set out to find her. Yet, as they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

To the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone--a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge yet. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.

And from all corners, bitter conflicts soon reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all. . . .

Seven. Bloody. Hells.

Thus far, I have been completely spoiler free when writing my reviews for these spoiler ridden books. It's been really really difficult, but I've found that concentrating on the character ARCs has made it a bit more reasonable....

... there are... like... 20 characters followed in this book. I swear, if you've heard this person name mentioned once in the series, then they have a chapter in this book. Or so it seems that way. Not that I'm complaining... It did seem a tad bit overwhelming at points, though. By this point in the series, though, it's assumed that you're able to keep up with all of the characters. Because, let's face it, if you couldn't, then you wouldn't have made it past the second book.
I don't even know where to begin with this book. There was so much. It was so big and so much happened and I just don't even know where to begin.
I can say that I started reading these during the summer, so I didn't have to wait during the time it took between A Feast for Crows and this book. I hear it was a long long time though, and I'm quite glad I didn't have to suffer through that (though who knows how long it will be until the sixth book.) With that said, hopes were high for this book and when expectations are raised, most people are disappointed.
Frankly, I think those most people were totally crazy. Yes, this book was long. Yes, there were points where I wanted certain chapters to just end already. Yes, there are a few things that I take issue with. Overall, though, this book was just... stunning. I feel like any complaints about it would come from the fact that there is a lot to follow in this book.
Another thing about it that was a tad bit confusing, is that for the first half of the book, it takes place at the same time as A Feast for Crows. About halfway through, you start noticing names reappearing from characters featured in AFfC so, you know that the timeline has moved past. It's still a little confusing at the beginning, though.
Of the story itself, at the beginning we're given characters that we didn't see in AFfC. So, Jon Snow, Daenarys Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister, Asha Greyjoy, and then a host of other characters (also... really difficult to not be including spoilers what with the timeline and whatnot).
Every character ARC in this book was spectacular, except, I do have some minor complaints. Tyrion Lannister, a character that I thought was pretty great up until a certain point with a certain whore named Shae... Basically, I still do like Tyrion in... his own way. However, I was sick to death of his chapters by the end of this book. His character ARC didn't go anywhere at all in this book. It was all very irritating and I was tired of his drunken misogynistic adventures. (Because, although I do not think ASoIaF is misogynistic, I do think Tyrion Lannister is quite a bit and it was especially bothering me in this book). Also, every Tyrion chapter seemed to be purposefully placed right before the chapters of another character I really wanted to read about, so it made them even worse for me. Then again, in the same light, Tyrion's ARCs are definitely showing his degeneration as a character which is an intriguing matter altogether.
The other character ARC that just left me feeling flat was Dany's. I mean, this had nothing to do with her character at all. It was just that there was way too much focus on Dany's age and bad political choices. I feel like, although these things are important, there was too much and it was outweighing everything else that was going on in the book. That said, I still love Dany as a character, I just thought her ARC was dry as the setting she's been placed in.
The characters that really shown through in this book were Theon Greyjoy's, Jon Snow's, and Asha Greyjoy's.
I can't even talk about Theon's ARC. I can't do it. Partly because of spoilers and partly because I have so many emotions about it. Basically, if you weren't emotionally invested in Theon by this point (which... baffles me because I've loved him since the beginning.. but... oh well) then you will become emotionally invested in him during this book. I feel like support groups need to be started just for Theon's ARC. Love him or hate him, he will break your heart. Well, if you hate him, your heart may not be shattered like mine was, but you still have to appreciate his growth as a character during the course of the series. Because he's grown a lot and his chapters were easily my favourites in the book, though they were difficult for my heart to handle...
Jon Snow's progression as a character has been one of my favourites to read. Although he's a serious character in himself and remains so throughout the series, I love how strong he's grown from the beginning of the series to this point. His struggles at the Wall were the ones that troubled me the most, because with everyone else, there always seems to be some way out, but with Jon, every decision he is forced to make seems to lead to disaster...
Asha's ARC shined... but maybe that's because she's one of my favourite characters. She didn't have many chapters in comparison to her brother or the "main" characters like Jon and Dany, but the ones that she did just proved the fact that the women of this series are the strong ones.
No, honestly. Are there men in these books at all?
Then we had returning characters who were infuriatingly enough only given one chapter. We were only given one Jaime Lannister chapter (this is a travesty and a crime against humanity. and fangirls.) and his chapter ended on an incredibly frustrating note. We were only given one chapter with Arianne Martell and the Sand Snakes (also a travesty in my opinion. The Martell women are fantastic and deserve their own book). There were only a few Cersei chapters (honestly, the next book will be the Cersei show. I can't wait). There was only one Melisandre chapter (I mean, i've been waiting for her chapters since she was introduced, and we were only given ONE?) Arya got only a handful of chapters. Sansa got NONE. So, that was a bit frustrating.
This also seemed to be the book of hideous cliffhangers. I'm pretty sure only one ARC was closed enough to be considered a reasonable ending. Every character's ARC ended with some big gaping infuriatingly frustrating question. I mean, it's brilliant because there are going to be theories going until the next book comes out. But it's also awful because now we have to wait until the next book comes out.
Honeslty, I feel like this book rivals A Storm of Swords in its emotional depth. It has its dry patches. I mean, it's, like, a thousand pages, obviously it's going to have dry spots. But man, it is good. This story is just good. It's brilliant, actually, and I'm so happy that it's blown up in its popularity. GrrM deserves it because he's brilliant. However, one day he will have to atone for crushing my heart and soul so many times.
I mean, it gets a full rating from me. 10/10. I just adored it, even with the irritations I had with a few of the characters, it was still amazing.
And, you get a picture of darling Theon because I love him.

Sabriel

2011-11-26T07:46:00.001-08:00

Since childhood, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the power of Free Magic and the Dead who refuse to stay dead. With her father missing, Sabriel must cross into that world to find him. There she confronts an evil that threatens much more than her life--and comes face-to-face with her own hidden destiny.

So, I remember when I was younger and when I was at the library I would almost always pick up these books... and then promptly put them back, frustrated because i could not figure out which one was first. I remember even expressing my frustration to my mom and her telling me to just read them out of order. I simply cannot do that. I refuse to read books out of order in a series.However, I could not for the life of me figure out which one was first... So... eventually i just forgot about them, until one day my friend here at school was talking about them and asking if i had read them... which i hadn't... because they were the-books-that-were-forever-alluding-me.

So, I finally got my hands on the first one (and it IS the first one. trust me. i checked.) and was actually a bit surprised to learn what it was about. Essentially, this is a story about necromancers. Why I never read it when I was younger continues to baffle me. This is, literally, the perfect book for me. Maybe it's good that it's taken me this long to read it, I probably would have been marginally uncomfortable if I had read it when i was younger (uncomfortable because i would be LOVING IT and then thinking WAIT I SHOULDN'T ENJOYING THIS, SHOULD I? That was actually the majority of my childhood. haha.)
The story basically throws the concept at you right off, if the idea of necromancy makes you uncomfortable, well these aren't for you right off, unless you want to see it done in a way that is genius.
The story focuses on Sabriel, the daughter of Abhorsen. The Abhorsen, in fact, but that gets a bit confusing in there what with names and titles and such. She's brought up in Ancelstierre, the kingdom that borders the Old Kingdom. Ancelstierre is more advanced, with its cars and lightbulbs and guns. The Old Kingdom is the more fantasy like setting of the story, and most of the novel takes place in the Old Kingdom when Sabriel crosses over to search for her missing father.
The plot is all very deep and complicated and I don't really want to give it all away, so i'm just going to fangirl over the magic system. Magic in the Old Kingdom is run through Charter Marks and Charter mages use the marks to use their magic. Free magic is magic that is used outside the charter, it's typically associated with rogue mages. The Abhorsen uses five bells to perform their magic. Each bell has a specific task that associates with the dead. In this, necromancy isn't so much raising the dead, but making sure the dead stay dead. Keeping the dead where they belong. It's brilliant, really. It's actually the perfect book. I've been looking for a book that does necromancy right for forever now and I can't believe that I've found it with these books that have been alluding me for years.
The story is just brilliant. There are only a handful of characters and yet it all is so rich. There's so much too it even though it's not huge or very long. The world is just so expansive and feel like you only get a taste of how big it truly is.
I love all the characters that we do see. Sabriel is perfect. She's strong and takes up her task even though its hard and she frequently wants to give up because she feels that she isn't ready. Mogget confused me, a bit, i couldn't quite grasp the point of his character, but i enjoyed his inclusion nonetheless. Touchstone drove me crazy for the first half of the book, but i do admit i liked him. Even though he was technically a Charter mage, I like the warrior/mage dynamic that he had with Sabriel.
Basically, if i hadn't had school slowing me down, it probably would have taken me a day to read this. I really want nothing more than to dive into the second one (the book i bought has the entire trilogy in one. it's gorgeous), but i know that with school it will be slow reading. I can't wait to read further though, i'm so glad i finally picked these books up and read them because i can easily say that Sabriel is one of my new favourite books. I adored it.

10/10 stars. (it also has amazing fanart).

Good Omens

2011-09-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

Pratchett (of Discworld fame) and Gaiman (of Sandman fame) may seem an unlikely combination, but the topic (Armageddon) of this fast-paced novel is old hat to both. Pratchett's wackiness collaborates with Gaiman's morbid humor; the result is a humanist delight to be savored and reread again and again. You see, there was a bit of a mixup when the Antichrist was born, due in part to the machinations of Crowley, who did not so much fall as saunter downwards, and in part to the mysterious ways as manifested in the form of a part-time rare book dealer, an angel named Aziraphale. Like top agents everywhere, they've long had more in common with each other than the sides they represent, or the conflict they are nominally engaged in. The only person who knows how it will all end is Agnes Nutter, a witch whose prophecies all come true, if one can only manage to decipher them. The minor characters along the way (Famine makes an appearance as diet crazes, no-calorie food and anorexia epidemics) are as much fun as the story as a whole, which adds up to one of those rare books which is enormous fun to read the first time, and the second time, and the third time...

I'm a bit behind on the Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett bandwagon. I only this summer purchased a handful of novels from both authors, starting with this one. I'd read some of Neil Gaiman's work before and stalk (oh wait, I mean follow) some of his going ons through twitter and other such nonsense, but I had never actually read a Neil Gaiman novel aside from Stardust & Coraline. (Though, those two are brilliant. Go read them.)

Now, when you think of the apocalypse, I can't imagine that you think of anything nearly as hilarious as this book. This book essentially follows the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale as they attempt to stop the apocalypse. Well, not stop exactly, because it actually is their job to get it going, ineffable plan and all that.

Unfortunately, there's a bad switch up at the hospital and the Antichrist seems to have gone missing. Which really throws a ratchet into the plans. He's kind of essential to the whole business working, you know. It kind of hinges on him.

On top of following the angel and the demon, the book also tags along with Anathema Device, a witch and the descendant of the great Agnes Nutter, the one and only true prophet. Of course, she was a very bad prophet because unfortunately all her predictions were true.

The book actually follows a handful of characters, all the characters, in fact, and it does so beautifully. Usually, I prefer it if the point of view rests on one, maybe two characters, possibly a few more. Usually, when authors try to give you the points of view of ALL of the characters, it becomes too much. Not so in this book. Probably because it's Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman writing it, mostly because the entire cast of characters is brilliant and I love them all.

I especially love Aziraphale and Crowley. They were, by far, the best parts of the book. I was actually a teeny bit disappointed when the book started to focus more on Anathema and Adam Young and a little less on the angel and the demon. Regardless, this book is fantastic.

Really, I think that this is the kind of book you read out loud to whoever is listening, and if they don't want to listen, you tie them to their chair and duct tape their mouth closed and keep reading anyway. That's what I did, whenever someone walked into my dorm room while I was reading this, I would stop them and force them to listen to choice passages from the book. Whether they wanted to, or not.

I haven't found a book that makes me genuinely laugh out loud in so long, and I spent most of this book near crying with laughter because it's just so funny. It's witty and brilliant and I love it so much.

The perfect thing about this books is that, I can already tell, no matter how many times I read it, it will still be wildly hilarious and brilliant.

10/10 stars. Personally, I think everyone should read this... that's just my opinion.

A Feast for Crows

2011-09-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

It seems too good to be true. After centuries of bitter strife and fatal treachery, the seven powers dividing the land have decimated one another into an uneasy truce. Or so it appears....With the death of the monstrous King Joffrey, Cersei is ruling as regent in King’s Landing. Robb Stark’s demise has broken the back of the Northern rebels, and his siblings are scattered throughout the kingdom like seeds on barren soil. Few legitimate claims to the once desperately sought Iron Throne still exist—or they are held in hands too weak or too distant to wield them effectively. The war, which raged out of control for so long, has burned itself out.

But as in the aftermath of any climactic struggle, it is not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters start to gather, picking over the bones of the dead and fighting for the spoils of the soon-to-be dead. Now in the Seven Kingdoms, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed, while surprising faces—some familiar, others only just appearing—are seen emerging from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges ahead.

It is a time when the wise and the ambitious, the deceitful and the strong will acquire the skills, the power, and the magic to survive the stark and terrible times that lie before them. It is a time for nobles and commoners, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and sages to come together and stake their fortunes...and their lives. For at a feast for crows, many are the guests—but only a few are the survivors.

After the whirlwind of emotions and tragedy that was A Storm of Swords, I wasn't entirely sure how GrrM was going to be able to top it all. I was also a bit worried because I had been hearing complaints about how this was the worst book in the series. In my opinion that is far from the truth, in fact, I really loved this one.
Now, something that you'll find right off when reading this book is that a lot of familiar faces are missing. The book even starts introducing a handful of completely new characters. Quite a few of these characters don't make a reappearance as narrators for the remainder of the book. A lot of the characters in the very beginning make appearances as narrators but then don't have their own chapters again after that. Some faces that we all love that are missing are Jon Snow, Danaerys, Tyrion, Stannis, Melisandre, and Davos Seaworth. So, yes, if you're a Jon Snow and Dany fan like me, you'll be a little wroth at their absent. However, the characters that we do see in this book are equally as exciting.
Although, I must admit, I felt like this was the Cersei and Jaime Lannister show. I mean, I love Jaime Lannister's chapters and I think his character ARC is one of the best in the series. However, there was a bit too much of Cersei for my taste. I enjoy her character, she's the one we all love to hate, but I just found that I really wasn't wholly interested in everything that was going on in her character ARC. Of course, by the end I was changing my song, but then everything is so much more dramatic in the end in GrrM style.
Of the characters that we do get aside from the Lannister twins, one is Alayne Stone. You all know her as Sansa Stark, but her story gets taken to the Aerie where she has to hide her identity as Petyr Baelish's natural daughter. I have to say, Sansa's character progression has been some of the best in the series. She goes from being the simpering Stark girl, in love with the idea of chivalry and shining knights, to someone far more sly and far more clever after learning some of Littlefinger's politicking ways.
Arya Stark is also progressing leaps and bounds in this book. After being passed from outlaw to outlaw all across Westeros, Arya takes the coin she receives from Jaqen H'ghar and says the words that she whispers every night before she goes to sleep 'valar morghulis.' She's then taken to Braavos, across the narrow sea, where she becomes Cat and begins her training in The House of Black and White. Ayra doesn't get nearly enough chapters for me, but alas, I can understand why as there are far more dramatic things happening in Westeros.
Samwell Tarly is again a chapter character as he, the wilding Gilly, and Maester Aemon are sent across the sea to Hightown so that Sam may learn from the maesters and become master of the chain himself. Sam's chapters were good, but I admit that I would much rather have had Jon Snow chapters.
Cersei had more chapters than I think any other character in the book, except for possibly Jaime and maybe Brienne. Cersei is faced with keeping Tommen safe and on the throne even as his new wife Margaery seems to be competing with her for the rule. Things are quickly falling apart for the Lannister queen as she sees enemies in every shadow and friends nowhere.
Jaime's chapters are a bit uneventful, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. I've come to really appreciate Jaime's character, especially as this book went on. He's definitely not the incestuous kingslayer that he's painted up to be in the first two books. If anything he's become something of a romantic hero (yes... i saw that on a meme on tumblr, but it really is true) he spends a vast majority of this book trying to build some semblance of honour for himself even as people continue to remind him of his kingslaying past.
A new character that I've fallen in love with is Arianne Martell. The Martell's are a house that is built on sand and blood and through Arianne's chapters we are introduced to the Sand Snakes. A group of Arianne's female cousins who are all warriors in their own rights. Dorne is the only kingdom in Westeros in which a woman can be named heir instead of a man and Arianne is the firstborn of the Dornish prince, Doran Martell. Even though it looks like we won't be getting any more of the Martell's in A Dance with Dragons, I'm really looking forward to more from them, especially with how Arianne's chapters ended at the end of this book.
Of the Ironborn, we get chapters from Asha, as well as Aeron and Victarion, her uncles. With the Ironborn chapters we see the formation of the kingsmoot, in which the ironborn choose who their next king will be. Personally, I'm a huge fan of the Ironborn's, especially Asha. I really want more Asha chapters. She quickly sets herself up to make an attempt to gain control, even though the ironborn have never named a woman ruler before. I really wish we had seen more from her, but the Ironborn chapters disappeared halfway through the book as the book turned to other characters and what was happening with them.
Brienne of Tarth had a large number of chapters as well, and I admit that she is definitely one of my favourite characters. The strong warrior woman continues to take no shit from anyone, regardless. Even though at times she has second thoughts about her deviant lifestyle, she always, in the end, continues on her path because the knows that it's what she wants. Brienne's story takes her on a journey at Jaime's request to find Sansa Stark.
There was one thing in the book that I did take issue with, and that was the awkward repetition that GrrM used in this particular book that he's never used in any of the books prior. The chapters that saw the most of this were Jaime Lannister, Brienne, and Arya. Though, Jaime and Brienne's were by far the worst. I'm pretty sure the phrase: "I'm looking for my sister, she's a highborn maid of three and ten with a fair face and auburn hair." was used in every single Brienne chapter. All of them. And there were a lot of them. Jaime Lannister's chapters had a phrase that was repeated every single chapter as well. The repetition of particular phrases was bizarre and I didn't totally understand the reasonings for it, but it quickly became a point of amusement for me.
To be honest, the argument I have seen against this book the most is that it's "Introducing secondary characters and ignoring main ones." However, I feel like the people that say that are missing the point of these books. There are no main characters in these books. Each character that is given a narrative voice is in their own rights a main character. I mean, if you haven't figured it out by now, main characters in this book aren't very static. They're constantly having terrible things happen to them or being killed in various, terrible ways. The law of this series is never get too attached. So, to complain that GrrM is bringing in 'irrelevant characters' is actually pretty stupid. Because we've been shown so far that no character in this series is irrelevant. They all have pretty substantial roles in the history of Westeros.
All in all, apparently A Dance with Dragons is happening at the same time as this book, which might get a bit confusing for me (also, if you read this book there are some... spoilers about the outcomes of some characters. So, that's kind of weird...) I just find how GrrM went about this a bit weird. I understand that he now has too many characters to handle in one book, but i think i would have preferred it if he had kept the timeline moving instead of backtracking.... alas, I digress, I haven't even read the book yet, you all will hear what I think about that when it comes ;).
10/10 stars. For me, these books are just consistently brilliant. I have yet to be disappointed in one. Although this one didn't have as many dramatic battles as the previous books had, it still had that GrrM landslide ending that had me making a high pitched whining noise throughout the last seven chapters or so. I am so in love with these books and I am so in love with every stupid character, no matter what their fate. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I finish A Dance with Dragons and have to actually wait for the next book.
And here, today you can have a picture of the actress (Gemma Whelan) who is playing Asha Greyjoy. She is actually exactly as I envision her in my head.

A Storm of Swords

2011-08-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King’s Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world....

But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . .

Seven hells. All right, I admit, this one took me longer to get through than the previous two, and you know why? I was so damn scared to read it. I had heard ominous whispers of the third book. People shushing each other in chat rooms and on blogs lest they spoil this great book. I’m not going to spoil anything. So, as for the past two, I’ll focus on characters over plot because it’s so difficult to relay this plot to you without inevitably spoiling something, and because I remained so beautifully unspoilt, I would wish the same fate on you as well. But be forewarned, it is just as bad as you’ve heard. People I know that have read this basically told me straight up ‘if you can keep yourself from becoming attached to the characters, then do’ but, you know me. I love every single black hearted soul, both bastard and true born. If the character is one of the narrators, I probably love them, and even if they aren’t I’ll probably love them… (yes, even characters like Viserys and Theon. That is an argument for another day. If you’d like me to write an essay on why I like Theon Grayjoy and Viserys Targaryen, then by all means I will, but not today).

In this third book in what has become in my heart one of the greatest series’ I have ever read, things are just falling to pieces, plain and simple. Things are falling apart for Robb Stark - King in the North, and for Stannis, and for Tyrion and for Jaime Lannister (who gets his own chapters in this book. If you were a sworn Lannister opposer before, this may sway your opinion of the Kingslayer). GrrM takes you on an absolute roller coaster ride of emotions, however cliche that statement is, it is totally true with this. There are chapters where you think to yourself, ‘hey, things are going pretty well’ and then something will happen that will literally send all your dreams crashing to the floor.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, why would anyone want to put themselves through that? Why read a book where at every page turn you wonder if a character you’ve become emotionally invested in is going to die? Well, the answer is simple. These books are bloody freaking brilliant. Pardon my saying so. I am honestly in awe of these books, as a fantasy writer myself I really haven’t stumbled upon books of these calibre in years. GrrM is hailed as The American Tolkein and even though I’m a bit of a Tolkein-est, I have to say I agree. Not only is the world building mind blowingly in depth (and it becomes deeper with every book) the depth of the characters themselves is stunning. Yes, he kills more characters than J.K. Rowling. However, this isn’t children’s fiction and the realism that these books hold is spectacular, especially for a fantasy. I’ve called these political fantasies from the beginning, and that’s essentially what they are, but the fantasy element is coming through more and more as the series progresses. Wether it be Danaerys’ dragons, or the wights and Others from across the wall, or even Melisandre and her Lord of Light. We’re starting to see the mystic and the magic of Westeros, not just the political factions and court games. At times, though, these books hold the realism that you would expect from a historical fantasy (which, I guess it can be argued that they have a lot of those elements as well) it’s just all so vivid. You believe in Westeros, you believe in these characters. You’re rightly traumatised when dreadful and unspeakable things happen to them. Yet, even as your favourites fall (as mine does in this book. Alas, I will not speak of who, but my favourite character did get the fatal blow. Although I sensed it would happen - even saw it coming - I was totally blindsided. There are reasons this book is spoken of in hushed whispers by only those who have already survived it.) you are pressed to move on and continue because you just have to know how it ends.

Now, some say enough is enough and drop the series’ spouting that it’s misogynistic and, well, a bit masochistic. What it is not is misogynistic. Catelyn Stark, Arya and Sansa Stark, Brienne of Tarth, Danaerys Targaryen - Mother of Dragons, Cersei Lannister, Asha (though she does not make an appearance in this book), and Ygritte the Wilding. None of these women are weak. Catelyn has watched her beloved family fall and can do nothing except support her son, but damned if she’s not going to make her own decisions. Arya spends the entire book running around with a band of outlaws not unlike Robin Hood’s band (except with darker intentions, obviously). I must admit that Arya’s character ARC was one of my absolute favourites in this book. The spunky girl will always be a fighter as she fought her way out of one sticky situation after another. Sansa is trapped in the game of court and even though she is the most allowing, shall I say, of the list - as she hides behind her courtesies - she still holds strength when faced against Joffrey (who is actually one of the most vile characters ever created) Brienne is one of my favourites. She’s anything but pretty, but she’s strong, she’s stubborn, she’s loyal, and she wields a sword better than most men. Cersei is the Queen Bitch who we all love to hate but if she doesn’t have an iron will I don’t know who does. And then of course dear Dany who spends the entire book leading an ARMY. Badass does not begin to describe her.

These women live in a world that is ruled by men. Because these books hold their beautiful realism. Did women get much respect in the medieval times? Why, no, no they didn’t. Which is exactly why they have to fight for it in Westeros. And fight for it they do. They don’t always get much when the chapters are from male points of view, but that’s the thing of it, we the readers know just how strong these woman truly are. That’s the beauty of it all. That’s also why GrrM himself said that if his books were misogynistic, then why was it that most of those in line at book signings were female? Seriously, I could break that claim on Danaerys Targaryen alone. Who becomes just more spectacular as the series goes on. Mother of dragons and all that.

Anyway, in this book the character narrators remain nearly the same as the previous book. Except this time we get Jaime Lannister. I admit, I groaned a bit when I saw that. How could these chapters be any good at all? But, if your opinion of Jaime isn’t swayed by the end of this book, then you are set in stone because he is… not as he is pictured in the last few books. I actually came to really love his characters. In the last book we saw Tyrion’s brilliance (ok, we do in this one too, but the last one even more so) this time we get to see Jaime.

I think that’s what I adore about these books so much. We see all sides. There is a character narrator for every side of the battle. Davos on Stannis’ side. Jaime and Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark in King’s Landing. Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly at the wall. Arya Stark being passed around all across the country. Catelyn Stark with Robb and the North. And Dany with her people across the sea. Everyone has their side shown. There is no right side in this war. You get to see all the sides of the story. Because of that, I think, is why you end up enjoying so many of the characters that you would never grow to love if you never heard the story from their voices or their points of view.

This is only the third book in the series. Supposedly there will be seven, but somewhere along the line I heard GrrM say it may be eight and that he’s not even sure. With that said, stick this out to the end with me. I can’t imagine it getting any better from here, but it sure as the seven hells will be a ride. That’s what I ask for in a fantasy, I don’t need any happy endings or fairy tale romances. While those are fun and have their place, I do love a good gritty war fantasy.

The battles in this book make me just drool (ok. That’s gross. I admit. But as someone who realised the other day that her books were centered around battles… I like to read what I write) I mean, battle scenes are hard to pull off. There’s so much that is going on at one time and the field of vision for one person narrows as they concentrate on survival. But GrrM is so brilliant at capturing the essence of the battle and portraying it so vividly in your head. It’s a beautiful, this man’s writing. At times, it’s course, at other times it’s poetic. All in all it’s captivating, breathtaking.

I have never found myself gasping at or talking to a book so much before. I mean, I was literally blindsides by the plot twists in this book. There were some that I called beforehand and I was totally dumbfounded when I got to them. There are scenes in this book so harrowing that I do not look forward to them being translated onto the screen for the tv show. I mean, this book is brilliant. I don’t think I would be able to rank them in order of preference yet (that would have to wait until I’ve gotten through all the books currently out) but this one might have been better than the second. Although the second was definitely less harrowing than this one. This was wrench your heart and soul and stomp them into tiny little bits kind of bad. And, oh, how I enjoyed every minute of it. But then, I’m a fan of things never being ok. What’s the fun if everyone lives? Now, granted, I could never kill characters the way that GrrM does, but man, I appreciate the fact that he does it. It’s got to be unimaginably painful for the author to kill characters in the ways that he does, but man, it makes for a brilliant story.

10/10 stars. But you probably saw that coming. I am just knocked senseless with how good these books truly are. They have eternal spots on my favourites shelf and I look forward to reading them over and over. Now onto A Feast for Crows! :)

And here, have a complementary Jaime Lannister picture!

Radiant Shadows

2011-08-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

Hunger for nourishment.
Hunger for touch.
Hunger to belong.

Half-human and half-faery, Ani is driven by her hungers.

Those same appetites also attract powerful enemies and uncertain allies, including Devlin. He was created as an assassin and is brother to the faeries' coolly logical High Queen and to her chaotic twin, the embodiment of War. Devlin wants to keep Ani safe from his sisters, knowing that if he fails, he will be the instrument of Ani's death.

Ani isn't one to be guarded while others fight battles for her, though. She has the courage to protect herself and the ability to alter Devlin's plans—and his life. The two are drawn together, each with reason to fear the other and to fear for one another. But as they grow closer, a larger threat imperils the whole of Faerie. Will saving the faery realm mean losing each other?

I have this rather annoying habit of completely forgetting the plotlines of all of Melissa Marr’s books. I always remember that I simply adore them, however. So, I admit when I started this one there were a few characters that I knew were significant in the past few books, but for the life of me I couldn’t recall them. It got better as I went further along and by the end I basically recalled everything that happened in the last books. I also remembered Fragile Eternity to basically be a lot of whinging and nothing ever being resolved even at the end… I do remember that.

That said, this is easily my favourite of the series thus far. Then again, the ones that deal with the Dark Court tend to be more my style anyway. As much as I love Keenan and Aislenn and the Summer Court, the Dark Court is my favourite. This story follows two characters, Devlen and Ani. Devlen is the brother to Sorcha and Bananach - the deity like faeries. Sorcha is the Unchanging Queen, the ruler of Faerie, and all that is logic and reason. Bananach is War and chaos. She has no court but is aligned more so with the Dark Court than anything else. Devlen is Sorcha’s Bloodied Hands. Her personal assassin and the one that is sent out to take care of anything that is not of order. Something like a half-fey girl. Ani is half mortal and half fey. Her father is Gabriel to the Hounds, the group of fey of the Dark Court that ride steeds that can camouflage themselves as any kind of ride. Devlen is sent out by Sorcha to kill Ani when she is just a little girl but something stops him, and thus begins the secrets that he keeps from his sister, the one who he is pledged to serve.

Something that I have always loved about these books was how willing they were to be very dark. Now, the vampire thing is very easy to do and do dark, but Marr takes the faeries and their courts and turns them into a world that is deadly, bloody, and dangerous. The characters in this one were more solid than in previous books. Two of the previous books have been about Summer Court fey, flighty and emotional. Perhaps that is why I tend to prefer this books and Ink Exchange (Though, Wicked Lovely remains as one of my favourites…) The faeries of the Dark Court feed off of faeries’ emotions. Because of that the Dark Court faeries are very controlled and keep their emotions in check. It gives me a cast of characters that I simply adore. Even Devlen, who is High Court, must keep emotions in check because he serves the Queen of reason. Emotions have no place in reason.

Another things I adore about these books are the strong cast of characters. There’s always a level of difficulty when dealing with characters that are not human, and I think this is the first of the books that deals with an all fey group of characters. This pulls it all off perfectly though. Ani is a strong willed female lead who would do anything to be included in the Hunt with her father. She knows that she is strong and can fight and would do anything to prove it. She is fiercely loyal to her family as well, especially her halfling siblings. Even when she is approached by Devlen she keeps a level head. I do love level headed characters, even when they are overcome with unfamiliar emotions.

This book was fast paced and exciting. It was dark and gritty and I loved every moment of it. Devlen and Ani are probably two of my favourite characters in this world. I was pleased to see the return of Iriall and Niall, the former and current Dark Court kings, respectively. As well as mentions to the tattooing Ink Exchange that was a main plot point for one of the previous books. I love how all these books connect even thought they usually have different main characters each time.

I just truly adore that this dealt with the dark, gritty world of Dark Court fey. In which death is a usual occurrence and darkness is preferable. Even the title of this book is lovely. I’m really hoping for more Dark Court books as they seem to me to be the most exciting, and this one was definitely exciting. Although the climax was not as dramatic as previous books, it got the point across and was resolved beautifully.

9/10 stars. Easily my favourite yet. It was perfectly beautiful and I sincerely hope that these characters return for more books, especially with the turn out in the end. The end was definitely a brilliant twist that I truly adored. It was a fitting end to the seemingly unfixable problem that Ani and Devlen were faced with. I can’t wait for the next book, hopefully it will come soon enough that I don’t totally forget what happens in this one!

The Hour of Tiamat

2011-08-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

"We've all heard of the Mayan predictions of a vast change coming in the year 2012; but it turns out the ancient Sumerian people had a very similar prophecy…

The dreaded Necronomicon, a book of fable said to contain all the ancient knowledge of the Sumerian civilization has surfaced and fallen into the hands of four teenagers in a small Texas town. Tonight, after years of studying its dark teachings in secret, they gather to call back to Earth those Gods that tried to enslave humanity over ten thousand years ago, and in turn become rulers themselves.

Under threat of his life, Tristan helps them complete the ritual; but does that mean it is too late to stop this apocalypse? With Evelyn, whose past and future seem inextricably linked to Tristan, their friend Hunter and a host of surprising paranormal helpers, Tristan will race against murderers, monsters, and time itself to shut the ancient gate before our evil creators are upon us again."

I received this from the author to review and, let me be honest, my attention was caught by the synopsis. Now, I’m not a huge fan on end of the world/apocalyptic type stories (I’m not a huge angels/demons epic clash kind of person. I like the demons side though…) but this seemed pretty darn interesting. In the end it really was.

Now, I’ll lay it out straight, I’m a bit conflicted about this. I truly enjoyed the story. Like, I really liked it. I had some issue with the point of view whiplash that I was receiving, however, that dampens my excitement just a tad. I felt like I never knew whose point of view I was reading because it changed so much. Now, I understand that there was quite a few main characters, but I’m not too big on the idea of getting inside the head of every single character. There were a few I enjoyed- most writers are against using the point of views of their antagonists (I’m… one of them, but that’s only because my antagonist knows everything, so getting in his head would be unwise…) but having the bits that were in Malaki’s point of view were my favourite. (But.. then… I am so fond of the crazies.) Then there were a few that I thought to be rather unnecessary. Out of the three antagonists, really I only needed Malaki’s point of view. Sometimes it felt like I was being handed way too much information all at once. Granted, this is a short book and there were moments where I could not comprehend that the author was able to wrap it up in so few pages, but still. Getting in the heads of three different characters all in the course of one chapter kind of makes my head want to explode. It made it so I knew the characters really fast, but almost too fast.

In fact, I really wish that this was longer. It was just under 200 pages and I really wanted it to be longer. I feel like there could have been so much more. Honestly, I adored the concept. Four teens who get wrapped up in occult practices and go out to summon the Ancients, the old gods of destruction. They, of course, will be made rulers as the rest of the world burns. But then, one of them realises what they are doing and has a change of heart. He - along with a girl who stumbles upon the ritual and quickly becomes dragged in - go off to attempt to stop the release of the Ancients and save the world. Really, just the concept is ridiculously good. Then when it hit the end it was pretty fantastic. I found myself saying ‘oh that is clever!’ out loud at various times during the book. The end was basically the best part, it was really clever how everything wrapped up, especially as it wasn’t in as nearly as many pages as I figured it would have to be. (But… then …. I’m pretty long winded… the very idea of writing a book under 200 pages is a bizarre concept to me… look even now I’m rambling!)

I loved the cast of characters: Celicia, Tara, Malaki, and Tristan - the four who started everything with the ancient ritual. Evelyn, the girl who was dragged into the mess by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hunter, the guy who works at the occult shop and ends up trying to help Tristan and Evelyn save the world, and a few other characters who I won’t really talk about because it would be spoilery ;). All of the characters were distinct in their personalities. Malaki was my favourite *cough* I just… really like crazy characters…

6/10 stars. The concept was really cool. I feel like it needed one more edit through because there were a few different easily fixable grammar errors that I caught. Aside from the whiplash, I really enjoyed this book. A nice read, a fast read. It was good!

The Curse of the Wendigo

2011-08-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

While attempting to disprove that Homo vampiris, the vampire, could exist, Dr. Warthrop is asked by his former fiancee to rescue her husband from the Wendigo, a creature that starves even as it gorges itself on human flesh, which has snatched him in the Canadian wilderness. Although Warthrop also considers the Wendigo to be fictitious, he relents and rescues her husband from death and starvation, and then sees the man transform into a Wendigo. Can the doctor and Will Henry hunt down the ultimate predator, who, like the legendary vampire, is neither living nor dead, whose hunger for human flesh is never satisfied? This second book in The Monstrumologist series explores the line between myth and reality, love and hate, genius and madness.

I remember when I read The Monstromologist. It was about midnight and I read it in a few hours and was absolutely petrified. I don’t usually read horror books simply because… well they’re not very scary. I don’t get scared easily and I usually find the settings to horror books rather contrived.

But these, oh boy, these are something else. First off, if you’ve not read The Monstromologist it would really be no issue in picking up this book. While it is the sequel, everything is basically explained well enough that you can grasp the characters right off. There is also little to no mention of the exploits that went on in the first book, so really it stands on it’s own perfectly well. With that said, if you’ve not read The Monstromologist go and do it this instant because it’s bloody freaking brilliant, and then read this one because it’s bloody freaking brilliant as well.

The date is 1888 which right off is just brilliant because it’s such a brilliant time period for monster stories to take place. Basically, this would make a brilliant steampunk vamped movie (I’m just saying. The stories themselves aren’t steampunk, but oh. Oh. You can imagine them being so and it’s pretty brilliant) Will Henry is the assistant to the enigmatic doctor Pellinor Winthrop, monstromologist and all around stereotypical mad scientist (to an extent). In this book the doctor receives a visitor from a lady caller (which in itself is a bit of a miracle, as Will Henry states that that has never happened before) imploring the doctor to help her missing husband. Doctor John Chanler, went off into the Canadian wilderness to search for the Outiko, the Wendigo, the Hunger. A creature that perpetually starves as it feeds. As it eats the more it starves forcing it to constantly be hunting, constantly be feeding, constantly be killing. However, this Wendigo, to Doctor Winthrop, is a myth no more real than vampires and zombies. It’s not a scientifically proven monster like the ones that the Doctor studies. So, he refuses to go on a search for Muriel's husband because he is obviously dead, however not by the hands of this fictional beast. This plea for help comes in the wake of the doctor receiving news that his former master and tutor is attempting to have mythological creatures like the Wendigo and the vampire put into the monstromoligist’s lexicon, thus putting the science of monstromolgy to nothing more than fairy tales and horror stories. However, because of some past ties to Muriel and her husband, Winthrop packs up himself and Will Henry and off into the Canadian wilderness they go.

Basically, what ensues is a terrifying account of things much darker and much more deadly than the doctor can scientifically reason (although scientifically reason he does the entire time).

The story is just brilliant, plain and simple. The writing is just stunning. For me, I find that this time period is really difficult to achieve properly without it sounding a bit fake. Every inch of this book just reads like it’s coming straight from the hands of someone who lived through every moment of these terrifying encounters. It’s narrated perfectly. Every bit of it, the detail which at times becomes nauseatingly gory but in the same instant can be incredibly poetic. I just love it every bit of it.

The characters to are simply fantastic. Pellinor Winthrop is a tortured, self consumed doctor who goes from very cold and very uncaring at the beginning of the book to someone who is altogether very very human. Honestly, he’s easily my favourite character in the book. He’s so very well described, he’s very real. Will Henry, the dear narrator and protagonist, is such an interesting character. He says very little during the course of the book but sees everything. He doesn’t need to be actively involved in every conversation because he’s recounting it perfectly. This is easily some of the best first person narration I have ever encountered. It’s brilliant.

This book is kind of like what you would find when reading Frankenstein or Dracula. That perfect mixture of terror, horror, and setting. The setting just gets me. I love the time period, I love New York in that time. I love that we got to see not only the wilderness, but New York and the higher ways of life. It was just fantastic. It was dark, and horrifying, and beautiful.

10/10 stars. So easily. This story is simply brilliant. It’s just bloody brilliant. Easily one of my favourite books ever along with The Monstromologist. I desperately need the next book. Right this instant.

Ruined

2011-07-27T19:24:00.000-07:00

Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She's staying in a creepy old house with her aunt. And at the snooty prep school, the filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city. There's just one catch: Lisette is a ghost. A ghost with a deep, dark secret, and a serious score to settle. As Rebecca learns more from her ghost friend -- and as she slowly learns to trust Anton Grey -- she also uncovers startling truths about her own history. Will Rebecca be able to right the wrongs of the past, or has everything been ruined beyond repair?

I'd had my eye on this book for quite some time after seeing it at the bookstore. The cover is both appealing and intriguing at the same time and i hoped that the story inside would be the same. Safe to say i wasn't disappointed.
Now, i'm not a girl whose favourite place in the world is the South. The last ghost story i read that was set in New Orleans was not one that i enjoyed a great deal. Of course, that one was written for a different audience and was based in a very different part of New Orleans.
This story was about an outsider to New Orleans. Rebecca is from New York and enjoys living there quite a bit and is hardly pleased when she's shipped off to New Orleans to live with her aunt (who's not really her aunt) while her father is away on business. When Rebecca goes to school she is confronted with a society that is quite unlike what she is used to back home. The families here are old and close, they don't allow outsiders and they have their own dark secrets. Secrets that Rebecca becomes a part of when she goes into the cemetery one night and runs into a ghost.
Through Aurelia, her younger cousin, Rebecca learns about the old families of New Orleans and the whispers or a curse. Things become stranger when Lisette tells her of her gruesome death and how it is connected to these families, and in the end Rebecca is involved in ways that she never would have realised. Making things even more complicated is the attention that Anton, one of the boys from these old houses, is giving her.
The book was an excellent tale of murder and curses and voodoo and hauntings. I really enjoyed it. There were a few moments where i cringed a bit at the dialogue (alas, sometimes i cringe at high school banter. it is true) but i found it to be an engaging story and really ended up liking this book a whole lot. I also liked Rebecca a great deal more than i thought i was going to at the beginning. She remains very detached from everything at the beginning of the story (due to her sudden uprootment from her home) and i was unsure about how much i would be able to connect with her. However, when Anton comes along and Rebecca remains quite sure in the head i decided that i quite liked her (basically, after one good paragraph about Anton's appearance, that was all. We didn't have to appear how attractive he looked every other page. i really appreciated that as i do get sick of having the protagonists swoon over their romantic interests.) She was a good solid character and spent the entire book working to figure out the puzzle that was this New Orleans ghost story.
8/10 stars. An all around enjoyable read that was engaging and interesting.

Prospero Lost

2011-07-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

More than four hundred years after the events of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the sorcerer Prospero, his daughter Miranda, and his other children have attained everlasting life. Miranda is the head of her family’s business, Prospero Inc., which secretly has used its magic for good around the world. One day, Miranda receives a warning from her father: "Beware of the Three Shadowed Ones.

When Miranda goes to her father for an explanation, he is nowhere to be found.

Miranda sets out to find her father and reunite with her estranged siblings, each of which holds a staff of power and secrets about Miranda’s sometimes-foggy past. Her journey through the past, present and future will take her to Venice, Chicago, the Caribbean, Washington, D.C., and the North Pole. To aid her, Miranda brings along Mab, an aerie being who acts like a hard-boiled detective, and Mephistopheles, her mentally-unbalanced brother. Together, they must ward off the Shadowed Ones and other ancient demons who want Prospero’s power for their own.

I'm legitimately bothered by the amount of negative reviews I'm seeing for this book on goodreads. Personally, i as drawn to this book by the absolute gorgeous cover and the promise of Shakespearian characters. Fashioned 500 years after the events in The Tempest, Miranda is the head of her families business and the only one of her father's children to remain loyal to the family. As a handmaiden of Eurynome (I am going to blatantly guess on most of the spellings because it would take me forever to search the book for the proper spellings of the names.), Miranda has been gifted with immortal life for herself and for her family.
Personally, I'm kind of in love with this book. It was this intriguing mix of urban fantasy and ancient lore. I loved how the story was woven so that Miranda's memories of times long past were woven into the modern setting. A lot of characters from Shakespeare made appearances and most of the names of Miranda's siblings were from other stories.
A fault i did have with the book was it's pace. It had a tendency to meander, taking too long to describe detail and not push the plot forward enough. With that said, the detail was very vivid, just at times it was too much. I really don't need two pages worth of describing what the elves were wearing at the feast, just a paragraph or so will suffice. Another fault is that Miranda's narration did get on my nerves every so often. She was a bit flighty with her emotions which didn't quite make sense when she was supposed to be centuries old. Of course, it's difficult to capture that kind of immortal aura, especially when you're using the character as the main voice.
The story was beautiful though. The lore was fantastic. Granted, at times it was a bit difficult to follow because there was this notion that the reader would be able to keep up, so sometimes things aren't explained fully. Because i read these kinds of books regularly, i kept up just fine, but i could see someone in unfamiliar territory have a problem with the book.
All of these pale in my enjoyment of the book. I loved the entire Prospero family, even though all of them seemed to have a hidden agenda (at least, the ones that we met in this book) Mephisto was, admittedly, my favourite. Constantly we were reminded of the fact that he was mad, but every so often he seemed to have moments of sheer clarity. A split personality, so to speak. He was also adorable. I did love him.
I loved just the idea of it all, the dread sorcerer Prospero making staves for his children, each with a different power. Miranda's flute can control the Aerie spirits. Mephisto's staff can summon magic creatures. Logistilla's staff can change the form of creatures.... and so on and so forth. Problem being is that Prospero is missing and demons from hell are after the children's staves. It's all very dramatic. All very lovely.
9/10 stars. I kind of adore this book. I think it was executed brilliantly and i'm so looking forward to reading the next one. It read like a careful work of art, very beautifully but not without it's faults and flaws. I loved it.

The Replacement

2011-07-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Well, this was a pleasant surprise for a book that i knew literally nothing about when i picked it up. I do love when that happens. This was also a very nice and intriguing take on faerie changelings. It was definitely not the kind that i have ever encountered before and i quite enjoyed it.
What i really enjoyed was Mackie, the main character. For one thing, can we please have more guys in the YA paranormal genre? I mean, i know it's a thing for the main characters to be girls, but really having it from a different side was like a breath of fresh air (or a breath of really dank, decaying air as would be from the story... anyway...) and Mackie was absolutely sublime. Like, this was a first person book (yes i'm reading a lot of those lately...) and i felt like i actually got into his character and ended up really liking him.
The story is based around the town of Gentry, a small town with a rather dark story. Every seven years a child is taken and in it's place is put a 'replacement.' Mackie is one of those replacements, one of them that survived anyway. Most of them die not long after they are put in the human's house, their intolerance to metal poisoning them. Mackie knows what he is, he knows that he's not really human and that the real Malcolm Doyle is long gone, but Mackie has learned to live a normal life. Well, normal enough for someone who literally cannot stand the sight of blood and can't touch anything iron. However, Mackie's intolerance is getting worse and worse and the strange bassist of the local band tells him that he's actually dying.
On top of that it's the seventh year and Tate, one of Mackie's friend's little sister was the child that was taken.
Mackie is taken to the House of Mayhem, the underground society of... well... dead things. Half of the fey of Gentry, the good half in a sense as they are not the ones demanding this blood sacrifice. The House of Mayhem is ruled by the Morrigan, a little girl who spends her time with her dead girls. The other House is ruled by the Lady, the Morrigan's sister and a cruel fey who demands the seven year blood sacrifice in order to give the town prosperity.... of a sort....
What i simply adored about this book (besides the dark tone and the dead girls. Seriously, i loved the revenants. They were one of my favourite parts.) was that both Mackie AND Tate (girl love interest) were good characters. Tate in her own right would have made a fantastic main character. This book could be rewritten from her point of view and still be pretty much fantastic. She didn't sit idly by while her sister was stolen, no, she went to the first person she thought would help her, the first person that probably wasn't human.
Actually, there wasn't a particular character that i wasn't fond of. I'm actually really hoping that there will be more books set in Gentry because even though the end resolution basically closed the story, i feel like there's still room for more. I want more about the dark and creepy fey that reside in Gentry.
I kind of adore this book. It was basically one of the most perfect YA faerie related books i've read yet. It was dark, it was creepy, it had a male protagonist who was interesting and intriguing, it had basically everything i want from a YA book. It even had zombies. more or less ;)
10/10 definitely a must read.

Hourglass

2011-07-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

Time travel, not really a subject that is being touched as much in paranormal YA these days, and i admit, i was unsure about this book when i started it. The story intrigued me but i admit that right off the bat i couldn't tell if i liked Emerson or not.

This yet another first person book, and i was met with the problem that i frequently have with first person books. For the longest time i could not like Em because i felt like i wasn't getting to see any of her real personality. Every time the author tried to give us things that she was into they seemed offhand and kind of there only so we might attempt to better understand the character. Now, granted, about a quarter of the way through i actually get to see enough of Em's character and i grow to like her.

To be honest though, this book gave me mixed feelings the entire time. I enjoyed it, and the second half was significantly better than the first half. However, i felt that too much time was spent on talking about how attractive Michael was... I mean, i can grasp that in about the first paragraph, i don't need to be reminded every few chapters that he's good looking. By then i've got a good enough picture in my head and don't need constant reminders.

However the premise of the book was enjoyable, it just had that YA tint that i've grown to be irritated by. That little bit that focuses just a bit too much on romance and just not quite enough on plot. Now, granted, again, by the second half this had been dropped and i was thoroughly enjoying the book, but during the entire first half i thought about just giving up and not finishing.

The idea of time travel in this book is really cool, and they even had an X-men kind of deal going on with Hourglass. I appreciated that it actually did make sense in a roundabout way. There were times when it was obvious things were being glossed over for fear of opening a wide plot hole, but more or less the time travel basically didn't leave me utterly confused (they also referenced Doctor Who, earning instant cool points from me) I liked that Emerson could travel backwards and Michael could travel forwards (aww, so cute, so cute) I also liked all the other different skills that were shown with the other characters ( though i wished more had been done with them. i suppose that will be for future books)

There were moments though, where it was AWESOME. Like, i was really into the story and the characters, and then there were moments where i was literally cringing and the dialogue and the things that were being said. Because every so often something would be said that was entirely not believable and i would wince.

All in all, though, this was a fairly decent read. Not spectacular, not terrible. I enjoyed and read it in a few hours on my phone. I'll definitely read the next instalments because like i said, the second half caught my interest far better than the first half did.

7/10 stars.

Wither

2011-07-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

What if you knew exactly when you would die?
Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb — males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape — to find her twin brother and go home.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

The first thing i noticed about this book is the cover (lol, oh gosh that's such a stupidly obvious statement). It's so pretty. Like, I kept closing the book and looking at the cover because it's so captivating and perfect. Now, in my experience, when a book has a cover like this that means that it has a lot of expectation to live up to, and, well, a lot of times the books don't live up to their fantastic covers. I was so pleasantly surprised when from the very first pages i was greeted with a story that was captivating.
Another thing that made me suspect whether i would enjoy this right off was the content. I'm not a huge fan on plotlines that deal with fertility and marriage and things like that. So, i was a little unsure when i saw the words 'sister wives.'
Thankfully though, this book blew away any doubts i may have had about it on sole basis of the synopsis. Even from the very beginning my first thought was how pretty this book was. The setting was pretty and the characters were pretty and the writing was just pretty. It was flowery without being wordy and too much (if that makes any sense AT ALL).
The story is set in a future where every generation dies when the women hit age twenty and the men hit twenty five. There is one generation, the first generation they're called, who were not born with this defect and thus are scrambling for a way to fix this deadly defect in the younger generations. To do that, girls are kidnapped off the streets to be wives for rich men. Their aim to find a cure for the 'ailment' through their children. I admit it, i was a little put off when the idea of sister wives came in and Rhine was married by the third chapter.
The story won me over with it's progression, however. Rhine is determined to escape and return to her twin brother, no matter what. Even when the mansion is at it's most alluring and Rhine even suspects that she has fallen in love with her husband Linden, she still wants freedom. Over all she will do anything for freedom. I appreciated how that was always at the forefront of her mind, that she didn't let herself forget. Because it would have been quite easy for half the book to have Rhine 'planning' her escape but because she wasn't thinking about it, it would seem like she was merely resigning to her fate. (This book is in first person, so i must say i did end up liking Rhine and thinking that she had a distinct personality.)
Another thing i appreciated was that each of the three wives were so very distinctly different. Rhine was the one who aspired to be the 'favourite wife' simply so that she could better plan her escape. Jenna was the eldest and closest to her final years. She hated Linden and his father so much that she became the resigned wife, the one that never grew attached or close to their husband. Cecily was the youngest wife, a fiery, short tempered orphan who's dreams came true with this marriage. I ended up liking all three of the girls by the end, because they were all so very distinctly characterised.
What struck me the most, though, was Rhine's progression as a character throughout the book. At the beginning, her narration sounded like the narration from a scared sixteen year old girl who was just kidnapped and about to be married to a stranger. By the end her narration sounded like a mature young woman who had been held captive and learned to deal with it and find her escape and freedom. She matured as a character so beautifully, and well, especially for a short YA novel that i devoured in one day.
The world and setting left me fascinated and wanting more, especially as we only saw a very small glimpse of it through Linden's mansion. The writing was lovely and enjoyed every minute of it.
9/10 stars.

Sunshine

2011-07-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

There hadn't been any trouble out at the lake for years, and Sunshine just needed a spot where she could be alone with her thoughts. Vampires never entered her mind. Until they found her.

Ah, Robin McKinley. You know, I've always heard about her books, but I realised while reading this one that this was technically what I would consider my first (I can't count The Blue Sword as I started reading it a few different times and never got farther than halfway through each time...) What I noticed right off is that if you're looking for a straightforward writing style, please carry on your way because this story wanders in the most beautiful way imaginable.
Now, I've always had mixed feelings about first person novels (not to mention first person vampire novels). A lot of times I feel like the personality of the narrator seems forced when it's written in first person. Maybe because a lot of YA books are being written in first person nowadays and all the characters are coming out sounding faintly similar, but nevertheless, i'm usually not drawn to first person novels in the way I'm drawn to third person.
This book, however, was brilliant. Sunshine didn't just kind of tell you about the world she lived in, she rambled and went off on random tangents and talked about things that were kind of not relevant to the situation. Yet, it never seemed forced and it never seemed like it was too much or too wandering. What it did do was give the reader the absolute perfect vision of the world building. Because, admittedly, right off it's kind of really confusing to get your bearings into the world that this book is set in. I spent quite some time trying to figure out the setting and what kind of time period this is (think alternate reality, post-huge magic/Other war, vampires = the ultimate bad guys) set in. Because Sunshine told you absolutely everything, the reader gets the most vivid pictures of the setting ever. It was lovely, I honestly wish this book had a sequel (not necessarily about Sunshine... just set in the same world) because the world was so fascinating.
Now, this is a vampire book (the word has become a bit taboo around these blogging parts. You know me, i adore vampires but don't appreciate their portrayals nowadays) and goodness gracious it was perfect. The vampires were scary. Even Constantine, the vampire that Sunshine eventually ends up helping is scary all the way. Never does anything let you forget that the vampires are vampires and their deadly. No sparkles. No warm fuzzy human feelings. These are the cold, deadly, elegant predators that we all know and love best.
All in all, though, I just loved Sunshine herself. Silly, overthinking Sunshine - who laid in the sun like her nickname, woke up at four in the morning to bake cinnamon rolls, had an intriguing family history, and a knack for feeding people. She was spectacular. She acted how a person would, and should if they were suddenly thrust from their normal lives of baking at a coffee shop to shoved into an ancient vampire gang war. She was strong, but she panicked, she had moments of undeniable weakness, she had moments where she wanted to give up, but she never did. Even when her situation became more and more bizarre and more hopeless. She just kept baking and feeding people and being Sunshine. She was perfect.
Reading this has definitely convinced me to give more books by Robin McKinley a try. Because this was a spectacularly woven book full of vampires, magic, and cinnamon rolls.
10/10 stars.

Spy Glass

2011-07-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

After siphoning her own blood magic in the showdown at Hubal, Opal Cowan has lost her powers. She can no longer create glass magic. More, she's immune to the effects of magic. Opal is now an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had, powers that make a difference in the world.

Until spying through the glass becomes her new power. Suddenly, the beautiful pieces she makes flash in the presence of magic. And then she discovers that someone has st olen some of her blood—and that finding it might let her regain her powers. Or learn if they're lost forever…

First off, if any of you were not aware, Maria V. Snyder is one of my favourite authors ever. The Study series is literally one of the best series' I have ever read, i love them a lot. This week seems to be the week for me reading the final books in trilogies, as this is the final book in the Glass trilogy.

Now, I'll admit, I didn't like the Glass trilogy as much as the Study series (I connected better with Yelena than Opal... and I much preferred Valek over Kade) however, the writing won me over. I just adore this world. I'm so pleased that she used one of my favourite strategies in writing, which would be: write a series about one character and during that introduce another character that you'll use as your main character in the second series. That way you can still use your old main characters and they're not gone forever. Tamora Pierce would do this as well and I've always adored it because that way the reader got to see some of their old familiar favourites (aaand... i got a lot more Valek... *cough* wait, I mean what?)

In the beginning of this book, i wanted to strangle Opal for the amount of moping she was doing over losing her glass magic. Granted, when Valek came into the picture on the third page, i was less worried about Opal (he's one of my favourite characters ever. don't judge) but still, it felt like for the first half of the book she never accomplished anything.

I loved the return of the characters. Janco and Nic and Eve (YES AND VALEK....) Basically, let me be honest, I liked Ixia way more than Sitia (SHUT UP.) which is actually kind of funny because i'm a person that likes magic users more. Ixia just always intrigued me a bit more than Sitia did in previous books. I warmed up to Sitia by the end of this book, as i felt like we got to see a whole lot of it as Opal does her running about.

In the end, this was my favourite of the three Glass books. The plot was ridiculous. It took so many turns and so many people weren't actually who they said they were and by the end i think i flew threw the last two hundred pages in an hour. Good Lord, the last two hundred pages are fantastic. The climax was absolutely brilliant and blood magic is effectively one of the most terrifying forms of magic i have encountered in a book yet. It is legitimately a terrifying concept all together.

The romance progression was slightly weird to me, i felt like it didn't always make sense with the characters. However the ending result was perfect, so i can't say that I mind too much.

Another thing I loved was that even for all her moping and self pity, I really liked Opal because she was actually a really strong character. She was proof that you can have a female protagonist who has feelings and still is a strong character. I mean, let's face it, she moped a lot. But in the end she did something about it and she did something about the problems that her moping inevitably caused. I actually really liked Opal by the end of all of this, I was always a little unsure about how I felt about her at first, but in the end I really liked her.

And I have to note, Maria V. Snyder is proof that first person writing can be good and that the characters can still have personality through the writing style. Because a lot of first person books these days the characters seem lost within that first person style, but these books are the way to do it effectively.

9/10 stars. can i just say that the fact that Valek had such a prominent role in this book made me really really happy? yes? ok :)

Unsavory Delicacies

2011-07-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

Crème Brûlée - Rogue operative, Monique Beauvais, cons a software genius into selling her a coveted technology that would allow its user to control CIA drones while they're in flight. And she will go as far as killing him in public in order to have it.

To the Last Bite - A renowned food critic whose scathing reviews have closed down restaurants gets a savoury surprise.

Shashlyk and Morezhenoe - CIA operative, Ridley Fox, leads a team against one of Russia's most powerful crime families. He discovers secrets, but not one that he was expecting to find.

Three stories with three consequences. All containing three Unsavory Delicacies.

Concise, straight to the point, and yet gripping and interesting. That would be how i would describe the three short stories as a whole in a collection. The collection itself is very short, it only took me a short amount of time to read because, let's be honest, i couldn't put it down after just one story, now could I? No. I admit though that it's a bit difficult to write about the stories without giving away anything. So I'll give you what you need to know ;)
The first story, Crème Brûlée, was admittedly my favourite of the three. A sneaky female protagonist who gets things turned upside down for her by the end of the story? Does love.
The second story... haha, there's a tagline that says not to read the second story while eating. Yeah, don't. Just don't. The twist at the end was shocking to say the least. I for one wasn't expecting it at all. Whatsoever... I was reading it during work and gasped pretty audibly, but my boss didn't notice, thank goodness.
The third story sees the return of a character that we saw in the first story and i have to admit, i was impressed with the authors ability to make me care about a character in so few pages. I only got to see the tiniest bit of this character's, well, character, and yet i found myself liking him anyway.
All three stories are either set in, or deal with restaurants and food. A clever way to tie the three together. I enjoyed all three stories and was impressed by how much i did even though they were so short.
8/10 A nice little escape. Quite enjoyable.

You can visit the author's website here.
And Unsavory Delicacies is available through websites such as Amazon & Itunes

I received a free ebook in exchange for my fair and honest review.

The Demon's Surrender

2011-07-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

The Goblin Market has always been the center of Sin’s world. But now the Market is at war with the magicians, and Sin’s place is in danger. Thrown out of the Market she loves, Sin is thrown together with brothers Nick and Alan—whom she’s always despised.

Alan has been marked by a magician and is being tortured so that the magicians can get to Nick. As Sin watches Alan struggle to protect the demon brother he loves, she begins to see him in a new light—but she and Mae are locked in a fierce rivalry over who will inherit the leadership of the Goblin Market, and a decisive battle with the Aventurine Circle is looming. Mae’s brother, Jamie, is holed up with the magicians, his loyalties in question. And Nick—well, who knows what a demon might do to save his brother? How far will Nick go to save Alan—and what will it cost them all? Find out in this gripping conclusion to the trilogy Scott Westerfeld says is “full of shimmery marvels and bountiful thunder.”

All right. I just need to put out a warning that this will probably be a fangirling mess. Most likely. I probably will attain none of my usual semi coherence while attempting to write this review. Guys. Guys. This book. My Feelings. All of the feelings. Guys. All of the feelings.
I have never had a book that has had me screaming at it on one page, giggling on the next, kicking my legs like a little girl on the page after, and then near tears on the page after that. ALL. OF. THE. FEELINGS.
I keep making myself stop and take deep breaths. I got the book in the mail yesterday and finished it this morning. I couldn't stop. I paid the floor a few visits while reading this book because in all seriousness, sometimes i just become so emotional that sitting is no longer an option.
With that said. I guess you all know where this review is going. Haha. I'll try to be coherent.
I'll start by saying that i was surprised by the choice of main character in this final instalment. I was actually expecting it to be Alan or Jamie. Sin never struck me as a character that would have such an important role, so i was a bit surprised when i found out that the final book would be in her point of view. Needless to say, i'm am so happy with that decision because Sin is as equally badass as Mae so what we've been given is yet another fantastic book with a badass female protagonist. I do love badass female protagonists, you know.
In my usual manner of attempting to be as spoiler free as possible, I'm just going to have to assume that my readers are at least aware of the plot points dealing with Nick. It's the only spoiler-ish thing I'm going to mention because, let's be honest, i can't really talk about this book without talking about how much i love the characters and what a certain character is.
I just don't know where to start. I really don't. Alan Ryves it the man after my own heart, and Nick is everything the writer in me is obsessed with. No, but seriously, if someone could find me a guy who loves books as much as Alan does and is pretty beast with a gun and knives and stuff that would be perfect. And Nick... well, I have never had a character remind me so much of my own (it makes me happy. Because if people love Nick, then maybe they'll love Torin too. We'll see. But i digress.) Nick is perfect... for a demon... really everything about him: the sarcasm, the total lack of any real emotion, it's so perfectly written.
I mean, and if those two aren't fantastic enough, Mae and Sin and Jamie. Good lord. See, i was worried that because this book was in a different person's point of view, it wouldn't be as badass. Because let's face it, The Demon's Covenant was one of the most badass books i have ever read. (let's see how many times i can use the word badass to describe this trilogy. let's just see.) I was a bit worried that because Sin is so different from Mae, that i wouldn't like it as much or that it would all fall flat. Utterly my true worry was that because this was the last book and because i love these books so much, i was worried that i would end up not liking this one. (like my poor dear unfortunate Hunger Games... :() Basically, i was terrified of this series ending in a way that disappointed me. Because in my opinion, it's the best urban fantasy i've come across (and... i'm picky when it comes to urban fantasy.) i mean, come on guys, it's about demons. Do you know how much i love books about demons? too much. that's how much. and everyone is doing fallen angels nowadays and they're cool and all but seriously... demons <3
Let's just say i wasn't disappointed and everything is basically perfect. The plot never stopped. Every time i would think 'ok it's probably time for a breather' no. something else would happen. haha. and every time there was a happy chapter i would turn the page and think 'ok. something is about to go terribly wrong' I wasn't disappointed in the least. Sin was perfect as a narrator. What I loved about her was that she wasn't totally selfless. Like, she always put her little siblings before her, but that wasn't always her main concern. She took care of herself and her siblings. And the one part that really struck me (I'll word this carefully without spoiling anything) was when Anzu was trying to get her to go with him and she told him no, that she would never do something that would change who she was. She wouldn't do something that would change her character. I loved that. Because so many female protagonists these days will change their characters, who they are, to go off with a guy. (I won't name the books i'm thinking of, but there are a few) and i loved how sure of herself Sin was. Even when her world was literally crashing down around her ears, she still remained true to herself and took care of her little brother and sister.
The plot took turns that i was never expecting. I swear, i have never yelled at a book as much as i have yelled at these three books... and i have never yelled at a character as much as i've yelled at Alan. Haha. There was one point where i had to put the book down, get off the floor and hit a pillow a few times, and then resume my reading. I'm not usually an emotional reader, however these books make me feel ALL OF THE FEELINGS.
Even though it's over, and the trilogy is finished i feel so happy. It ends on such a perfect note and the story wraps up in such a way that is satisfying. Of course i also feel the need to take the first two books back from my best friend whose borrowing them and read them all over again... :)
But this trilogy has gone from me going 'I'm not too sure that I like this' (remember that's how i felt about the first one? ahh. those were the days.) too quite certain of the fact that these are three of my favourite books ever. This was the perfect ending to a fantastic trilogy... and i swear, every time i read these books i am itching to write. So, that's what I'm off to do now.
10/10 stars. By far. Without question. I'm so happy to have all three books in a set and i'm so ecstatic about this one. And i cannot WAIT to read what Sarah Rees Brennan does next.

Incarceron

2011-07-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Incarceron -- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology -- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber -- chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form of prison -- a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage she dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron, except that it exists. But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron, and Claudia, outside, simultaneously find a device -- a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so the plan for Finn's escape is born

All right, I'll be honest, I'm kind of obsessed with this book. Now, granted, it took me way longer to read than it should have (I started it during school and then got distracted by other things when school let out...) but now that I've finished it I can easily say that this is the YA book that's replacing The Hunger Games for me (sorry... but... you know how I felt about Mockingjay)
This book is both sci-fi and steampunk at the same time. Hold on and let that settle. Yeah, it's basically fantastic.
The story follows two worlds, the Outside, and inside Incarceron. Incarceron is a giant prison created by a group known as the Sapienti (oh, I am quite certain that that is probably spelled wrong...) a group that are a little like wizards except with technology. Kind of like that. The prison was meant to be a utopia, a perfect world for these people to start over, but somewhere the technology went wrong. Of course, one of the catches was the the prison itself was alive. Which is supremely creepy I'll have you know.
Inside Incarceron the story follows Finn, a young boy born inside the prison. Finn is a starseer, he dreams of the stars of the Outside. The only other starseer was a man named Sapphique, the one man who has ever escaped Incarceron.
Outside, the story follows Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron. She is engaged to be married to the prince of the realm who is basically a terrible person who is absolutely dull and boring. The Outside realm is held underneath Protocol, which requires everyone to dress and act like that of people in Victorian England. So, the realm is set back in time when in reality it's technologies are quite advanced. Along with Jared, her Sapient tutor, Claudia steals a key that allows her to speak with the coinciding key that is inside Incarceron. The key that Finn holds.
The plot takes twists and turns that I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting. Actually by the end no character was acting like i was expecting to do and i was quite shocked by the turns the story took. At times the writing left some to be desired. There were times while inside Incarceron that I could never accurately picture the setting. It always seemed like they were just talking in the dark. Aside from that, though, I loved how this was written. I loved the steampunk elements that were weaved throughout the entire book- through 'Protocol' and an airship that the team in Incarceron steals. This was actually one of the most interesting steampunk YA books i've read yet. The story drops off in a rather abrupt cliff hanger, however, so i must quickly get my hands on the sequel.
Basically, this book incorporated all my favourite elements in one with a great cast of characters. There were a few characters I was not fond of, but i was a huge fan of Jared and Keiro, they were by far the best.
8.5/10 I quite enjoyed this fresh YA story.

The Child Thief

2011-07-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

Peter is quick, daring, and full of mischief—and like all boys, he loves to play, though his games often end in blood. His eyes are sparkling gold, and when he graces you with his smile you are his friend for life. He appears to lonely, lost children—the broken, hopeless, and sexually abused—promising to take them to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive, and you never grow old. But his promised land is not Neverland. . . .

With this haunting, provocative, relentlessly thrilling reconsideration of a timeless children's classic, the acclaimed artist Brom dramatically displays another side of his extraordinary talent. Exploring the stygian blackness that gathers at the root of the beloved Peter Pan legend, he carries readers into a faerieland at once magically wondrous and deeply disturbing.

Fourteen-year-old Nick would be lying dead in a Brooklyn park—murdered by drug dealers—had Peter not sprung out of the trees to save him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him into a strange and unsettling mist swirling around the bay. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, nowhere in New York City is safe for him now. And what more can he possibly lose?

There is always more to lose.

Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries. He must learn to fight or die as he struggles to fit in with the "Devils"—Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children.

Here, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised, tormented, and hunted, Peter moves between the worlds of faerie and man, struggling to understand what he is and where he belongs. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to kill the dreaded Captain and stop his murderous crew of "Flesh-eaters" before they blight every trace of magic left in this dying land.

Beautifully illustrated by the author with haunting portraits and indelible images, Brom's The Child Thief is a daring novel of darkest contemporary fantasy that will, at once, haunt and exhilarate any reader who agrees to follow Peter on his desperate crusade.

Oh, hey, another dark retelling... you know how obsessed with those I am. :)

So, I had actually never heard of Brom or his artwork until i was at the bookstore with two of my friends and the one pointed out a book of his artwork and commented that he had a Peter Pan retelling as well. As I was the one at the store attempting to find a book to buy (just one. it's torture. pure torture.) I was instantly intrigued and fell in love with it on sight.

What I didn't know was that it would give me an inferiority complex. Haha. As an aspiring dark fantasy writer/artist, this is kind of my dream (to illustrate the books I write... I dream big and stuff) So, to see it done so masterfully and wonderfully kind of set me off on my 'oh i suck at all arts' tirade. (I got over it by finishing a piece inspired by the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice... anyway... I digress).

Basically, this book was dark, poetic, bloody, violent, full of angry things, and magic. It's basically most everything I love bound into a nice 400 page package. (Have I mentioned the illustrations are some of the most gorgeous pieces in existence?)

It's gritty and grungy, following Nick, a boy running from drug dealers who are living in his house. Nick runs into Peter and you can imagine what happens from there when Peter offers Nick a way out of his situation. This is no children's fairy tale. The Peter in this story is dark, unstable, wildly violent, and just a bit cruel. (Yeah. Okej. It hit my 'unstable characters' kink. What can I do?)

The 'Neverland' in this story is actually Avalon, albeit a dying Avalon that is slowly being sucked of its magic and hacked and burned by the 'Flesh-eaters.' It's all Peter and his band of children, aptly named the 'Devils' can do to keep Avalon alive. (And by that I mean a lot of violence. I have no complaints.)

When Nick is taken into the Devil's hideout, he meets Sekeu - an Indian girl who had been in Avalon since the Settlers time, Abraham - an escaped slave from the Civil War era, Leroy, Cricket, and Danny - three New Bloods like him. It doesn't take long for Nick to realise that this place isn't quite as Peter described to him, and things really aren't as good as he made them out to be.

Along with the flesh eaters, the Devils have to contend with the Witch Ginny Greenteeth and her three demonic daughters, a variety of dangerous and bloodthirsty creatures, and the fey of the forest who aren't very friendly towards the Devils due to the bad blood between their Lord Ulfger and Peter.

As their situation becomes more and more dire, Nick comes to realise that maybe the magic of Avalon isn't as accepting to him as it is to the other children. Things begin to spiral into chaos into what is a bloody and graphic climax as Peter and his Devils try to save the Lady Modron (the lady of the lake) and all of Avalon from the Flesh Eaters scourge.

I loved everything about this book. It was horrific and unsettling and absolutely beautiful. The artwork is as gorgeous as the writing, which makes it even better. I am very glad to have it added to my collection and look foreword to reading it over and over as it has become one of my favourite retellings ever.

10/10 stars.