Twisted Kingdom

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull: 4.5/5
first published in 2001

War for the Oaks is a classic of the urban fantasy genre and for good reason: it's one of the best ever written. From Amazon:

Emma Bull's debut novel, War for the Oaks, placed her in the top tier of urban fantasists and established a new subgenre. Unlike most of the rock & rollin' fantasies that have ripped off Ms. Bull's concept, War for the Oaks is well worth reading. Intelligent and skillfully written, with sharply drawn, sympathetic characters, War for the Oaks is about love and loyalty, life and death, and creativity and sacrifice.

Eddi McCandry has just left her boyfriend and their band when she finds herself running through the Minneapolis night, pursued by a sinister man and a huge, terrifying dog. The two creatures are one and the same: a phouka, a faerie being who has chosen Eddi to be a mortal pawn in the age-old war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Eddi isn't interested--but she doesn't have a choice. Now she struggles to build a new life and new band when she might not even survive till the first rehearsal.

Valiant by Holly Black: 4.5/5
published by Simon & Schuster Childrens in May 2006

First of all let me start by saying that I loved this book! Holly Black doesn't disappoint with her follow up to Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale. Straight from Amazon:

Val Russell runs away from home after discovering her mom and her boyfriend making out. In New York, she meets two eccentric, homeless teens who take her to their hideout in the subway tunnels where Dave's older brother runs an underground operation dealing potions to faeries. Lolli introduces her to the land of Faerie by shooting up an otherworldly substance called Never (named after Edgar Allan Poe's "Nevermore" from The Raven). Val and Lolli are caught by Ravus, the powerful troll they work for. After enduring his rage and bargaining for Lolli's life in true Beauty and the Beast fashion, Val is bound to Ravus for indefinite servitude and falls in love with him.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman
published in 1999

Ames' rating: 4/5
Nath's rating: 4/5

In the tiny village called Wall, things are not quite what they seem...

In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, there is a town that has stood on a jut of granite for six hundred years. And immediately to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named.
Here in the town of Wall, Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. One crisp October night, he makes a rash promise that sends Tristan through the only gap in the wall, across the meadow, and into the most unforgettable adventure of his life.

This is such a great week! Two guest reviews in one week! LOL :D All right, let's be serious. The following guest review is by Katie from Rhinoa's Ramblings. The book reviewed is Moon Called by Patricia Briggs! I hope everyone enjoys!

(psst- the week is not over, contest is ending on Sunday!)


Moon Called - Patricia Briggs
Published by Ace Books, New York 2006

Rating: 4/5
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
Series: Book One in the Mercy Thompson series

Mercy Thompson's sexy next-door neightbour is a werewolf. She's tinkering with a VW bus at her machanic shop that happens to belong to a vampire.But then, Mercy Thompson is not exactly normal herself... and her connection to the world of things that go bump in the night is about to get her into a whole lot of trouble.

All right, today was supposed to be buddy-review-day; however, we've been quite busy and well, we haven't receive any new guest reviews... So here is one of my reviews instead :P

Atlantis Rising by Alyssa Day: 3.5/5
published by Berkley Sensation in February 2007

Atlantis is an archipel of 7 groups of islands and was swallowed by the seas eleven thousands years ago. Each group of island has a leader and a group of warriors, named the Warriors of Poseidon. Leading all these warriors is the high prince of Atlantis and his own personal guards. The Warriors of Poseidon are not humans, but close. All can control the water elements (rain, mist, oceans, etc.) in addition to their own specific power. Their responsibily is to protect humans against vampires, creatures resulting from the union of Chaos and his daughter, Anubisa, as well as werewolves - who have all come out in the open not too long ago.

The present high prince is Conlan and has been abducted and tortured for more than seven years by Anubisa. He finally escapes and returns to Atlantis, but is too late as Poseidon's Trident - symbol of Atlantis King - is stolen by one of Conlan's subordinate. Conlan decides to go back on Earth to retrieve the Trident and inadvertantly saves a human, Riley Dawson who turns out to be an aknasha - an empath who can feel others' emotions as well as project her own in others' mind and also a power that once upon a time was bestowed to only Atlanteans.

From Chapters/Indigo:

Meet the D'Artigo sisters: half-human, half-faerie, they're savvy-and sexy-operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. But their mixed-blood heritage short-circuits their talents at all the wrong times. Delilah shapeshifts into a tabby cat whenever she's stressed. Menolly's a vampire who's still trying to get the hang of being undead. And Camille is a wicked-good witch, except her magic's as unpredictable as the weather, as her enemies are about to find out-the hard way.

Blurb at the back of the book:

At the Wayfarer Inn, a portal to Otherworld and the local hangout for humans and beasties alike, a fellow operative, Jocko, has been murdered. Every clue points to Shadow Wing, the soul-munching badass leader of the 'Subterranean Realms'. He's made it clear that he aims to raze humankind to the ground, turning both Earth and Otherworld into his private playground. Our assignment: Keep Shadow Wing and his minions from creeping into Earth via the Wayfarer. The demons figure they're in like Flynn. After all, with only my bumbling sisters and me standing in the way, how can they miss? But we've got a secret for them: Faulty wiring or not, nobody kicks ass like the D'Artigo girls...

First book in the trilogy, Witchling has been an utter disappointment for me T_T I've been anticipating this book every since I've read the synopsis and seen the cover, which was probably at the beginning of the summer 2006. The blurb sounds good, the cover is awesome, unfortunately, the storyline is another story. This trilogy is told in the first-person and the first book features Camille. I won't give a synopsis, because the book blurb basically sums up the story well and because this book was for me a Did Not Finish. Yes, a DNF... I can't even remember when was my last DNF...

So what was wrong? Let starts with the world building. So you have three Realms: the Otherworld which I guess is the Feary world in which you find all kind of paranormal creatures: shiftshapers, witches, sorcerers, fearies, elves, unicorns, gargoyles, vampires and etc. This realm is governed by the Queen; however, the aristo/government is pretty useless as it is corrupted and addicted to opium. There are portals which allow these creatures to go to the Earthside where humans live. The last Realm is the Subterranean Realm where demons and "not very good" creatures live. I thought the fantasy world in this book sucked. First, the Otherworld is so corrupted, it doesn't seem to have order at all... frankly, why would the Sisters miss home when it is soooo mess up? In addition, I don't even know if there's some hierarchy or does every type of paranormal creatures are equal... I mean, the Queen is a Faery, so are Faeries superior to say witch? Are vampires welcomed? How can three sisters who are born from the same parents can be witch, werecat and 'psychic'? By the way, Menolly wasn't born a vampire... she had some acrobatic and climbing powers (?!?), that's why I call her a 'psychic'... although it seems her powers have completey vanished since she became a vampire. Anyway, back to the topic, are the powers inherited genetically or what? But then, maybe it's my limited knowledge of Faeries... Anyhow, I didn't like the Earthside either. Humans are aware of the Faeries (and other paranormal creatures?), some wants to get rid of them and some creates fanclub to worship them. It was totally ridiculous the Faeries Watchers Club! Basically, Faeries are considered as special attraction, ^^;, almost a bit like some celebrities. You get news of them in gossip papers, you have fanclubs which are very possessive and you even get tourists who want their picture. Urgh. So the D'Artigo sisters don't hide the fact that they are Faeries, but they hide the fact that they are Otherworld Intelligence Agency (OIA) agents. To sum it up, I didn't like the world: too many creatures scattered everywhere with no order and not enough explanation of how the worlds were functioning.

Then, the characters... I guess the sisters are supposed to be gutsy and strong, but it came out all wrong. Instead, I felt that the D'Artigo sisters were weak, scared and stupid. I didn't even read a witty reply from any of the characters. It was sad... I mean, as they investigate the murder and learn that it's the work of demons, they get scared at every turn. In fact, think a bit of the Halliwell sisters from 'Charmed,' you know, always scared and nervous. But the worst came when Camille was like: I wish Father was here. What? You're this supernatural creature, surrounded with your two sisters... you three have considerable amount of power, even if you don't have much control over it and you want your Father?!? It said that the D'Artigo sisters kicked ass... I didn't see that at all. At all. As for the male characters, you have basically three: Chase which is a human working also for OIA. He is freaking annoying. You've been working with the OIA for a considerable amount of time already... so much that you've even create a unit that sounds like CSI... but at every turn of the story, you're surprised to learn that X being exists and how the Otherworld functions. Basically, the way he was introduced in the story, he was to be an ass. As an ass, I had every right to dislike him and think he wouldn't really be important... but then, he became Delilah's lover... and that's supposed to make me suddenly like him better? I don't think so, sorreh. Then, you have Trillian which is a Svartan (some sort of Dark Faery) and Camille's lover. It seems that Svartan are known to get bored of their lovers and throw them away... that's why Camille put an end to their relationship. Anyway, Trillian is perhaps the only character that I enjoyed. Only he wasn't really important, except to have sex with Camille... and finally, Morio who is Japanese and a fox-demon... He wasn't bad either, but I also think he doesn't have much purpose in the story than play third-party in Camille's relationship with Trillian.

The romance... urgh. I actually don't think that this book has an ounce of romance... oh actually, yes, a tiny bit that involves Menolly, but that's it. Camille and Trillian's relationship is a heavy dose of lust. LUST, not romance. I don't get Camille: she loves Trillian, but she doesn't like him. Hello? You can't love someone if you don't like him. You love having sex with Trillian, okay. You lusts after Trillian, true, but in any case, you DON'T LOVE HIM. Ever since her break-up with Trillian, she hasn't find a man to be with, well that's not because you LOVE Trillian... it's just that you find the others unsatisfying. There's a HUGE difference between love and lust and I'm astounded that the author is not making it. There's a saying in their world that say: Once you've bedded a Svartan, you'll never go back. But that still only explain the lusting part, not the loving part. Basically, Camille keeps saying that sleeping with Trillian is a mistake, but she keeps going back for more. Anyway, I don't see the love between the two... I don't even see chemistry. Usually, in a romance... making love can be a mistake at first, but then, feelings develop, story develop and at the end, it is no longer a mistake, it's right... well, this is not happening in this book. Worse. Worse. Camille sleeps with Morio. Okay, it was under a spell, but STILL... she goes back for more with Morio. This is just so screwed up! Morio might bethe first guy Camille's been attracted since Trillian... but this doesn't bode well with me at all. You might want to break thing off with Trillian in that case, Camille... oh but no, the author comes up with the terrific idea that: Faeries are not monogamous, so basically, all Trillian has to say is: You can sleep with him as long as it doesn't affect us. Well, it affects me, the reader because I don't like it. I'm old-fashioned... I don't like the H/H to be unfaithful to each other, is that too much asking? This is why I've almost give up on the Stephanie Plum series... this is why I'll never touch LKH books... did the author think that readers actually enjoy this? Not knowing who the heroine would choose? Oh, but there's worse... Delilah and Chase. Delilah's never had sex... at least not in human form. Sorry, but does this mean what I think it means? Because yuck, in that case, I don't want to know more. But what flaggerblast me the most is that Delilah and Camille are in a dangerous situation, with three demons to catch, an artifact to find before Shadow Wing, and saving the world... Camille is discussing the situation with Trillian and Morio, who are at each other's throat for Camille's attention. Delilah comes back... Camille immediately guesses that she'd had sex with Chase, so she drops everything and wants to have a talk with Delilah to see what she thought of it. My jaws dropped at that moment. I swear. I just thought this was the most inappropriate moment!

Anyway, last thing... the tone of the narration. I thought there wasn't much emotion in it... It didn't catch my attention, didn't grip my feelings, didn't even entice me. I thought it was bland, relating what was happening, giving explanations when the author thought it needed some. Not enough opinion/pov from Camille... or at least, no concrete opinion/pov... Yeah, if I had to describe the book, I'd say bland and frustrating. Didn't even crack a smile and that's telling.

Grade: DNF

Hunting the Hunter by Shiloh Walker:
plotwise 3.5/5
enjoyment: 2.5/5

So this book gets 2 grades... why? because I'm afraid of being unfair ^^;

Genre: paranormal - vampire, psychic, shapeshifter

Kane Winter is a bounty-hunter, turned vampire-hunter after the day he saw his partner, Duke - a shapeshifter, getting killed by vampires. He doesn't have much memories of that night, except for this woman... Turns out that Duke is not dead - don't worry, he's not a bad guy either. He became a "hunter" as in, he hunts everything and everyone that prey on the weak and innocent. His coach of the moment is Kendall, the woman that Kane can't forget. After meeting Kendall, Kane lusts for Kendall; however, he misunderstood the situation and thought Kendall and Duke was a couple. So one year later, after having dreams of Duke being tortured, Kane sets off to find Kendall and Duke. He arrives just in time to have sex with Kendall and to help with Duke's disappearance. Turns out the "evil" in Cincinnati is an old acquaintance of Kendall...

All right, so my thoughts? First, I like the idea that the Hunters, plural, are after everything that prey on the weaks - drug dealers, rapists, serial killers, ect. It makes it a bit different than a vampire hunter among the vampires. Aside from that, I thought that the plot had real good potential and the intrigue was a good one... However, it was not well presented to the readers. I thought the story was all over the place, that it didn't have a pace. Btw the night Duke is believed dead and Kane finds Duke again, that's 2 years... then, 1 year for the dreams to bring Kane back in the story... and then, you have a story that probably spanned on 3-5 days, interrupted by sex. I have nothing against sex, but in this one, it seems to occur at wrong moment. Also, reading "pussy" a few times a page does something to my enjoyment level, as in bring it down. My other problems are not enough of characters development/background - again, you get pieces and bits here and there, but not enough to get a good understanding of them, esp. Kane... and also, not enough world building. The author introduces witches, vampires, psychics, werewolves and shapeshifters and also, the Hunters academy, Excelsior; however, she doesn't put any boundaries. All you know is that humans are different from Others, but what about Others among each other? Agnes, who is a witch is 500 y.o., Vax, another witch must be 150-200 y.o. and Kendall is 300 y.o. So yeah, no idea about this world... or maybe, maybe that the world building explanation was done in a previous book since I read that the author had some books from the same world as e-books from Ellora's Cave. Still, she could have given some more clues.

Kailana says...

This is one of the books that my mother bought for me in Ontario, and I must say, it was about time I got around to reading a Neil Gaiman novel. Well, one where he writes alone, I have read Good Omens which he wrote with Terry Pratchett.

From the back of the book:

Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria - even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient walls that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran learns, likes Fairie - where nothing, not even a falled star, is what he imagined.

I have to say it again: I really like fairy tale-type novels. I shouldn't, because a lot of them are sexist, but I read them as a fairy tale and not a reaction to society as a whole. They started out as oral tales and only by traveling from site to site did they ever manage to be written down. They were written down by men, typically the story tellers were men, and fairy tales are old, so instead of dreaming that they are more respectable of women, I read them with an open-mind. Besides, the fairy tales that are being written nowadays are moving away from the conventions of the classical fairy tale and more into a modern telling that better represents the times.

I look at Stardust as an adult fairy tale. Many adults think that fairy tales are children't stories, but they were originally written for adults, children just adopted them as their own. If you ignore the Disney retellings and concentrate on the original stories, you will find that there are a lot of dark fairy tales that would not be someone's first choice for children. So, if I am not going to market fairy tales for children, then I shouldn't market this novel for adults. Fairy tales should be open to all ages, because really, this book isn't any darker than some of the versions of say Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty that parents read to their children.

Anyways, this book was a very enjoyable read. It starts off as a tale about a boy that sets out to find the prize that will claim his one true love, but it ends up being a novel about a man finding his destiny and place in the world. All the fairy tale creatures are present. We have the evil witch, the helpful little person, the magic, and even the "wish upon a star" moments. Not a conventional star, though, by any means. The star represents different things to different people. It shows the magic of the world outside Wall, but at the same time it shows you that seeing is not always believing. And you shouldn't set yourself on one goal, because things can very easily change along the way.

There are so many wonderful elements to this book. It is a very short read, but the story is wonderful. I say again how glad I am that I finally took the time to read Neil Gaiman, I was not disappointed. Maybe next time I might read the two books I have by him for the R.I.P. challenge... You know what, I think I am going to consider substituting this with another book on my challenge list. It is a dark tale, I didn't know if it would be. If I read this and two other Gaiman novels, that only leaves two other books to read.

4.5/5



Mailyn says...

I have to say this book was a real treat and I honestly wasn't expecting it to be this good. I won't go into the story again as Kailana has already explained what this is about.

I will say that Gaiman is very good at weaving a tale that truly feels like the faerie tales of the olden days. This is like reading the original Grimm faerie tales right down to the violence and gore present in those famous tales.

Anyone that has ever read the Grimm brothers knows that Disney and today's versions don't come anywhere near the originals which where full of violence. You had people being boiled alive, body parts getting cut off and all sorts of other gore. This book pays homage to those tales and Gaiman doesn't shy away from showing you the harsher side of Fantasyland.

Nonetheless this doesn't take the reader out of the book or make you want to stop reading. The tale is extremely well told and all the pieces fit together nicely.

I do have to warn the reader that this is an adult faerie tale as there are sexual situations as well as violence. This is clearly not a bedtime story for the kids.

It is, however, one very entertaining and engaging reading for anyone who has ever loved a very good faerie tale.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5 as well.