Twisted Kingdom

The Genre

Fantasy: Wizards, Magic, Fae, Spies, Journey, Intrigue, Adventure, Series

The Plot

From Amazon: "When young Alec of Kerry is taken prisoner for a crime he didn’t commit, he is certain that his life is at an end. But one thing he never expected was his cellmate. Spy, rogue, thief, and noble, Seregil of Rhiminee is many things–none of them predictable. And when he offers to take on Alec as his apprentice, things may never be the same for either of them. Soon Alec is traveling roads he never knew existed, toward a war he never suspected was brewing. Before long he and Seregil are embroiled in a sinister plot that runs deeper than either can imagine, and that may cost them far more than their lives if they fail. But fortune is as unpredictable as Alec’s new mentor, and this time there just might be…Luck in the Shadows."

Mailyn Says:

The Review

I enjoyed this book immensely. Alec and Seregil are great characters. They aren't alike as far as temperaments go but they are two wonderful heroes and I'd be hard pressed to choose between them. The secondary characters are all well thought out. I never felt like anyone was thrown in without being really needed. One of my favorites of these would be the great wizard Nysander.

The world that Flewelling builds is very interesting. She goes into great detail without boring you and, pretty soon, you feel you are in the book experiencing everything along with the characters. A lot of intrigue and suspense that neatly sets the stage for the rest of the books yet gives you enough to be satisfied when you are done with this one. There's wizards and magic and even a centaur or two but, for all the fantasy aspects, this world feels like an alternate universe with some similarities to England in the Middle Ages or the 1800's. I couldn't decide which since it tended to shift from the time in the cities to the time running around the countryside.

The suspense and the action were both very entertaining. A lot of times I tend to skip these scenes with women writers but I couldn't get enough and was sucked in desperately wanting to know how or if our heroes, both, would make it through to the end.

A word of caution, this book does contain homosexual undertones. This doesn't bother me in the least since I read and watch m/m romances all the time, especially in anime and manga. However, some people may be put off by this. I will say that it is not, at least in this first book, anything major. One of the characters is bisexual and he happens to be attracted to another character. Nothing happens and, as the love is unrequited, the man in love doesn't try anything. They have a wonderful friendship and, it seems to me, this was setting up the stage for an actual romance for the, so far, heterosexual character.

The Verdict

I loved this book and I can't wait to read the rest in the series! Far as I know it's a trilogy but I'm not sure. I will let you all know. I think this is a good read for anyone looking for a little adventure, suspense, and fantasy with some wonderful characters. A solid 4.5 out of 5.

Kailana Says:

After reading Mailyn's review, I decided that I had to give this book a try, so I actually have had it for a while, but it was just not my sort of fantasy. I actually started it a while ago, and this month decided I should finish it up so I could clear it off the nightstand. It's that problem of wanting to love the book, but just not being able to. I found that the book really dragged, even when there was action going on I could not get into the book and found myself bored and skimming.

I will say that the homosexual overtones did not bother me, so that was not why I did not like the book. I am pretty easy-going with that, so it appearing in novels does not bother me. So, after being so disappointed in this book, I was at the store the other day and one of my friends was working. She suggested I read Flewellings other trilogy because she liked it, but I am not sure if I am ready to embark on that yet. I think I might keep this book around and see if I can get into it in the future. Otherwise, it is either a book you love or you hate.

After saving the world from his fiendish father's side of the family, Cal Leandros and his stalwart half-brother Niko have settled down with new digs and a new gig-bodyguard and detective work. And in New York City, where preternatural beings stalk the streets just like normal folk, business is good. Their latest case has them going undercover for the Kin-the werewolf Mafia. A low-level Kin boss thinks a rival is setting him up for a fall, and wants proof. The place to start is the back room of Moonshine-a gambling club for non-humans. Cal thinks it's a simple in-and-out job. But Cal is very, very wrong.

I got to page 24, yes 24, before I decided I couldn't take anymore. The story is told from Cal's point of view and he tries just too damn hard to be cool, witty, and sarcastic. Like a private eye from one of those Maltese Falcon wanna-be B movies. He also tells us more than once that his brother is the very best and most efficient killer. I half expected the guy to be Superman or something. That's the problem with the way the book is written. In merely 24 pages the author managed to bore me because he tells, tells, tells the audience what he wants us to believe rather than trying to show it to us. Perhaps if Cal didn't think his brother was "the bomb diggity" or Bruce Lee reincarnated and perhaps if he didn't try so damn hard to sound cool I could have cared enough to stick with the story. As it is he grated on my hot damn nerves like a wanna-be teenage punk.

A sad 2 out of 5. Just because the book cover is nice.

At first I couldn't for the life of me figure out just how I felt about this book. It's just that kind of a book. Lucky for me I finally figured I don't care much for it and so here we are with this review.

From Amazon we have the plot:

When her parents, the king and queen of Wonderland, are killed by her Aunt Redd, Alyss Heart escapes by jumping into the Pool of Tears. Her jump takes her to Victorian Oxford, where she emerges from a puddle, lives as a street urchin, and is eventually adopted by Reverend and Mrs. Liddell. Unable to make anyone believe her fantastic story, she finally confides in Charles Dodgson, who says he will write a book about her. When she discovers that Alice's Adventures Underground is full of make-believe, and not her story or her real name, she sadly resigns herself to life as a Victorian girl of privilege. Meanwhile, back in Wonderland, the Alyssians form a resistance movement and attempt to overthrow the despotic Redd. For years, Hatter Madigan searches the world for Alyss so she can return to Wonderland as Queen.

Mailyn Says:

I have to admit there are a few things that attracted me to this book. Mainly the reviews mostly promising this was anything but Lewis's Wonderland. That was fine with me since I have never cared for the Alice books one bit. In fact, they are right up there with Pride & Prejudice in the "books I cannot stand" category.

Another thing was the plot which sounded interesting.

Unfortunately that was the only interesting thing about this book: the premise. The actual execution of it left much to be desired. The characters were, as many people have observed, as one-dimensional as they come. The all-powerful Alyss, the trusted bodyguard, and a host other cliche characters, along with some very bad writing, make this one of the most boring books I've read in a long time. I was mildly interested in the first couple of chapters but by the time I started seeing everything coming a mile away I just skipped ahead to see how Beddor would end it all.

All in all, a big waste of time regardless of whether you love or hate the original Alice books.

A 2 out of 5 just to give it a few points for the premise.

Kailana Says:

It's sad that you did not like this book Mailyn because while I did not think it was the best book ever, I also did not think it was a waste of time either. I really do not like Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I consider it one of my least favourite books of all time. I can never even finish it, I find myself skimming. This book I read from cover to cover, so that puts it a bit ahead of the original.

I agree that the book is a bit predictable, but it was an original take on a classic story. The majority of the characters were compelling, but some of them I think he could have been developed a bit more. I did have the story figured out a great deal of the time, but Alyss interested me and she was a great figure to watch develop. I like how you can see aspects from the oringinal reworked. The Cheshire Cat works for her evil aunt, cards play an important aspect, and the catapillars are the philosophers that represent Lewis Carroll. It also shows how the story that we know of Alice in Wonderland progressed into the story that Beddor has written.

I liked this book better than the original. It is going to be a trilogy, so we will see if by the time book two comes out I still have enough interest in the story. Not a book to be bought in hardcover, but not a totally waste of time either.

In this first of what looks to be an excellent series, Victorian England has vampires at every level of society, especially the higher ones, and they engage in incessant intrigue, power games, and casual oppression of the weak--activities, as we know, that are all too human. Numerous characters from literature and from history appear in both major and cameo roles. Spectacular fight scenes, stormy politics, and a serial vampire killer keep the action lively. A scholarly bibliography is included.

This was one of the most disappointing reads I've had in a long time. I had heard nothing but praise for this vampire novel but I don't understand why that is. The writing, IMO, was so bland and uninspiring I barely dragged through page 49 before I decided I could take no more. Mrs Newman seems to be in love with hyphens, so much so that I counted 11 on one page alone. So many words were hyphenated: new-born, un-dead, curly-haired, knee-tremblers, desk-banging, boot-leather, bread-knife, vampire-slayer,after-darks, tea-bowls...and on and on and on. It was distracting, to say the least. Too many sentences dragged on or made no sense and I found my mind wandering more than once. I couldn't care for any of the protagonists and I certainly didn't care to know just who the Silver Knife murderer was.

Maybe I can try and get into this another time but, for now, it's a DNF.

This is my second novel based on the Tam Lin folk ballad and I must say I am extremely disappointed. I like the Tam Lin myth and I found this book extremely and utterly boring. Let's have the plot first from Amazon:

In 1558, while exiled by Queen Mary Tudor to a remote castle known as Perilous Gard, young Kate Sutton becomes involved in a series of mysterious events that lead her to an underground world peopled by Fairy Folkwhose customs are even older than the Druids" and include human sacrifice

The plot and the fact that it's based on one of my favorite tales should have made this a great read. That and the praise that seems to follow this book everywhere. So what went wrong? I can't put my finger on it. All I can say is that there was nothing motivating me to go on reading.

The character of Kate, our heroine, is bland and given to sudden silly outbursts for really stupid reasons. The hero, Christopher, is no better. One of the things that really bugged me was how one minute they couldn't fathom for one second that faeries exited and the next they are all but going after them. They, especially our heroine, are portrayed as religious therefore they cannot accept such pagan thoughts. The next thing you know they are utterly convinced that it was the Fey that took Christopher's niece a while back. Up to this "realization" Christ was adamant that the girl was dead and it was his fault for not watching her and that she fell into the Healing Well and drowned. He has lived with this guilt eating away at him and will accept no respite from wallowing in his misery. Then it takes Kate barely a few sentences to convince him without a shadow of a doubt that it's the Fey that did it.

Huh?

I found this a little too convenient. That along with the bland characters and the writing, which felt stiff and without any emotion, made me not care what happened to any of the characters or how this would end up.

A very disappointing Did Not Finish.

The comfortable world of Martris Drayke, second son of King Bricen of Margolan, is shattered when his older half-brother, Jared, and Jared¿s dark mage, Foor Arontala, kill the king and seize the throne. Tris is the only surviving member of the royal family aside from Jared the traitor. Tris flees with three friends: Soterius, captain of the guard; Carroway, the court¿s master bard; and Harrtuck, a member of the royal guard. Tris harbors a deep secret. In a land where spirits walk openly and influence the affairs of the living, he suspects he may be the mage heir to the power of his grandmother, Bava K¿aa, once the greatest sorceress of her age. Such magic would make Tris a Summoner, the rarest of magic gifts, capable of arbitrating between the living and the dead.

Although my expectations where high when I first heard about this book, as Necromancers are one of my favorite character types, I wasn't as disappointed as I thought I would be. I have to admit that yes, I was hoping this was a rare gem of a book that lives up to my expectations but, although it was not, it wasn't that bad a disappointment.

The book starts off well enough with murder at the palace and the escape of Tris and his friends. His quest to get to his uncle's lands takes up most of the book and are what, IMO, made it interesting as their journey is plagued with great dangers. It was fast paced enough to keep the reader entertained. In fact, it was not until they get to where they are going, almost at the end of the book, that the pace slows down and the novel loses interest. This is where we have some rather cliche moments, such as Tris having to fight with a ghost for an ancient sword or the fact that a character, merely pages old and a little too conveniently, turns out to be related to the one person they were going to see.

The problem is that the writer doesn't know what to do with the characters once they reach their first destination where Tris is supposed to get trained as a mage. We spend over half the book having fun as we follow their adventures and then the action gets bogged down in the last few pages as there is too much still to say and not enough room to say it in. It's almost over and Tris doesn't have any sort of training or control of his powers. All of a sudden and with the help of the Sorceress we find out that he knew a lot of magic all along but his grandmother, the great Summoner of her time, had repressed this knowledge until "the right time" else it cost him his life. He had to come of age and then be in danger before the magic kicked in, so to speak. A little too convenient way to get Tris to learn a lot in what little pages where left. To be sure he has a long way to go and anyone expecting an all out battle between good and evil will be highly disappointed. This book is obviously the first in the series and the ending clearly tells you so. Tris and his friends still have to learn to use their powers, gather an army and then they may be ready to face the villain.

Since most of the book was spent on the journey I rather enjoyed the book and I think it's pretty good for a first effort and as a beginning of a series. It does have a lot of room for improvement and I can't wait which way Gail goes with this. The next book in the series will be out on January 2008.

A 3.5 out of 5.

Highly disappointed in this historical mystery novel by Janet Gleeson. From Amazon:

Nathanial Hopson is an apprentice to the famed cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale. This position, which often involves executing his master's designs in the homes of the wealthy and titled, allows Hopson access to all kinds of goings-on, both upstairs and downstairs. This device also allows Gleeson to give readers insights into both eighteenth-century social tensions and the wonders of antique furniture. The mystery starts with Hopson, assigned to make a Chippendale bookcase at the estate of Lord Montfort, discovering Montfort's dead body in the library, his hand clutching an elaborately carved box fashioned from grenadillo wood, his neck covered with leeches. The murder of the designer of the box, an apprentice friend of Hopson's, follows. The second murder convinces Hopson that his own life may be in danger, prompting him to sail into a full-scale investigation of both crimes.

There were many, many things I found rubbed me the wrong way with this book. So much so that I merely skimmed the last few chapters just to find out how it would all end.

One of the things that bothered me is the fact that the entire book is supposed to be one big letter. Make that huge letter. The very first page is a letter from Nathaniel, our hero, to Alice, the woman he is in love with. Clearly throwout the course of the mystery investigation they've had a fallout and, as Nathaniel explains in this letter, the entire book is his accounts of everything that happened so that she may understand what was going on and perhaps forgive him. Now, my problem with this is that, as a rule, letters don't have entire conversations in them. If this was supposed to be an account of everything that happened and you are writing all of this to someone I don't think you would send anyone 200+ pages written as a book, with entire conversations, descriptions of every place you ever went, and even word for word copies of quite a few letters you've discovered or have been sent by various people. If he was narrating to the reader or writing his memoirs or something I'd go with this but, again, a 200+ page letter that reads more like a book just so that someone forgives you? The fact that Alice was present a lot throwout the book and knew what happened half of the time makes it even more silly. Why the need to retell her every single conversation you ever had? She was there! She knew all this! It just didn't make sense at all.

Next is the fact that Alice ALWAYS just happens upon Nathaniel when he is in a compromising position with some "pretty young thing." Of course there are explanations as he gets help from these women but how is it that Alice catches him 3 times with 3 different women in compromising positions? Furthermore we as the readers know that nothing is going on because it's always some accident that lands him in said positions. Now, Nathaniel has a reputation for getting along famously with the ladies and he does get it on with quite a few of them yet none of these times does Alice happen to find him. It's only when he is really just investigating that she comes along and gets the wrong idea. How convenient. Also, how in the hell does she find him at those times? Is she a stalker? I mean, the man is literally ALL over the place with the investigation, going from town to town. He talks to a lot of people yet Alice only finds him at these moments when he is talking to the ladies. One particular time I found even worse than the others. He has gotten into an accident and the lady he is visiting to get some answers from is an actress. She offers him a bath and new clothes because he literally is covered in dung from head to toe. All is well until he goes into the bedroom to change. As he is standing in the middle of the room naked he happens to look out the window and guess who is looking back at him: Alice. First of all this is set in the late 1700's and I don't think people where that open to stand naked or half naked in front of a window that leads to a backyard much less the street. Second of all, I can't believe Alice was just strolling along in her carriage when she just happens to look inside someone's window and it just happens to be the one where Nathaniel is standing naked. The other two times were just as silly but I felt that was the worse.

Another thing is the way Alice acts towards Nathaniel. It is clear that he fancies her yet he says nothing and simply treats her with respect. He knows that she knows of his reputation so he decides he must take it slow and perhaps do the friendship first. Since he hasn't proposed to her or is even courting her what right does she have to get so angry with him when she catches him in these awkward moments? Sure, she may like him but if you are just friends it's a bit presumptuous on her part that he should be without other women. You don't have the right to judge your friends like that and what they do and who they do it with is their business. She just comes off as immature. Especially since, knowing full well that Nathaniel told her about one of the suspects she decides to ignore the warning on the basis that she feels he is simply jealous. She is still upset with him at this point over the women and she ignores the fact the man she is flirting with is a suspected killer and everything points to him.

Worse still is the way that Nathaniel comes across. His preoccupation with Alice and her misinterpretation of things makes him look like a whimp. He is doing nothing wrong yet he runs after her all the time to ask for forgiveness and to explain what happened. Not once does he stand up and asks what her damn problem is. He is also a coward and hesitates over and over never once standing up for himself. He lets everyone order him around simply because they are his superiors or because he is afraid to lose his job. There comes a time when you have to stand up for yourself, everyone else be damned, especially if you are risking your neck to find out who committed the murders. Also, the fact that he is always fainting when he sees blood and guts is annoying. He is not the only man involved with the murders yet he is the only one that gets physically ill every time they find a dead body. I can understand that no one likes to see dead people, especially gruesome murders, but none of the other men ever show as much weakness as Nathaniel does. In fact one of the men even comments on the fact that they don't feel any more comfortable than he does around dead people yet none of them take it so bad.

All in all the novel was a big disappointment. I would recommend it if only because the mystery was good enough. However, the main characters of Nathaniel and Alice are too damn annoying, especially as the story moves along, and the whole supposed "letter" format with conversations included just didn't do it for me.

A 2 out of 5.

Mailyn says...

The Genre
Fantasy: Necromancers, Magic, Journey, Adventure, Kingdoms, Series

The Plot
From Amazon:

After receiving a cryptic message from her father, Abhorsen, a necromancer trapped in Death, 18-year-old Sabriel sets off into the Old Kingdom. Fraught with peril and deadly trickery, her journey takes her to a world filled with parasitical spirits, Mordicants, and Shadow Hands. Unlike other necromancers, who raise the dead, Abhorsen lays the disturbed dead back to rest. This obliges him--and now Sabriel, who has taken on her father's title and duties--to slip over the border into the icy river of Death, sometimes battling the evil forces that lurk there, waiting for an opportunity to escape into the realm of the living. Desperate to find her father, and grimly determined to help save the Old Kingdom from destruction by the horrible forces of the evil undead, Sabriel endures almost impossible exhaustion, violent confrontations, and terrifying challenges to her supernatural abilities--and her destiny.

The Review
Another book I loved and I can't wait to read the rest of this series, which I do believe, is a trilogy as well.

The only beef I had with this book is that, for the most part at the beginning of her journey, Sabriel is alone. This makes for a lot of descriptive passages and not a lot of dialogue. She may be a necromancer but she's not crazy so she doesn't start talking to herself. It can get just a tad boring even if there was a bit of action but this quickly passed once she reaches her father's house.

I absolutely loved the cynical cat, which of course, isn't a cat at all. I even kept hoping that it would be Sabriel’s love interest in disguise. Perhaps some young wizard being punished for past mischief and whom Sabriel would have to somehow free. I loved his snobbish attitude, which made him damn funny and cool. Sabriel wasn’t very lovable at the beginning as she was a little too naïve for my liking but she did have her reasons. She grew up in a shelter environment and, all of a sudden, she finds herself facing the fact that her beloved father may be dead and that the fate of the world pretty much rests on her shoulders. And she is only a teenager.

The Verdict
As I said, I can't wait to read the rest of this series. It's very addictive and you really want to know what happens to the characters as well as what will become of the Old Kingdom. The last few chapters are even better than the rest of the book and they wet your appetite for what's to come next.

A 4 out of 5.


Kailana says...

I have had this book just sitting here waiting to be read for quite some time. So, I am glad I finally sat down with it. It really is a rather short book, you would be surprised how fast you can get through it, because it keeps you reading the whole time.

Garth Nix delves deep into the mystical underworld of necromancy, magic, and the monstrous undead. This tale is not for the faint of heart; imbedded in the classic good-versus-evil story line are subplots of grisly ghouls hungry for human life to perpetuate their stay in the world of the living, and dark, devastating secrets of betrayal and loss. Just try to put this book down.

For some reason this book has no description on the back or inside about what it is about. I think that is a stupid thing to do, to be honest, because some people are not going to buy it without knowing what it is about.

Anyways, this novel follows 18-year-old Sabriel on her adventures after receiving a very disturbing message from her father. She had lead a sheltered life up until then, and was not really aware of what was going on in the Old Kingdom, the place where she was born. She had lived outside the wall for many years, and her father only occasionally filled her in on what she was missing while being outside. So, when she had to go back there, she found herself on an adventure that she was totally unaware of. Since many Outsiders did not dare to cross the Wall, many people were unaware of what was going on in the Old Kingdom. This meant that Sabriel didn't know her history very well, and had to fill herself in as she went along.

This trilogy received the same sort of attention as Philip Pullman's trilogy, but if I have to be very honest, I liked this one better. I just never was able to get into Pullman's first novel, and as a result have stayed away from the other two books in the trilogy. I will get to them one day, but I would rather read the rest of this trilogy than return to Pullman.

Sabriel is a very human heroine. She gets the job done, but like regular folks she has to deal with fear and indecision. In many hero novels, the main character seems to be super-human, Sabriel is a character that would be easier to relate to. She also has to deal with the fact that if her father was dead, she was now a very powerful person in the Old Kingdom, something that she had never really thought of before and was not prepared to take on. There's even a little romance in the novel, but it is not the most important thing ever. Instead of the damsel in distress, Sabriel saves a young man that has been trapped in Death for about 200 years. I am afraid to say it, but romance just seems to be a given when things like this happen.

You will really enjoy this novel, I can safely say. It is well-written, and Sabriel is not an annoying heroine. She gets the job done, but at the same time has human failings. It makes her the better character to read about, I think. It is also the more interesting fantasy novel I have read with a Necromancer in the fore-front.

4/5



Dance Chica says...

I’m afraid I wasn’t as enamored with this novel as my fellow bloggers were, which is a shame because I was kind of looking forward to this book since I’d heard so many good things about it. Plus, the main character is a necromancer which is so often left unexplored in fiction, but it wasn’t as good as I’d been expecting it to be. I liked the characters well enough, especially Mogget—the talking cat (he was just hilarious with all his sarcasm), and I found Sabriel was a competent heroine; the story itself was interesting, but I think it was the writing that fell short for me. There were parts—especially in the very beginning—where I felt the story lagged, and the romance seemed to come out of nowhere; it just felt very forced to me. I half read this, half listened to it on audio. Tim Curry, the narrator for the audio version, was very good. I really enjoyed his reading because he gave each character distinct voices, putting emotion into the characters. I liked how he acted out Mogget’s voice, which was more like a purr than anything and seemed to capture his character, well. His voice made all of Mogget’s sarcastic remarks even funnier. All in all, it wasn’t a bad story; it was good—very imaginative, in fact—but I probably won’t be reading more in the trilogy or at least, not anytime soon. I just wasn’t intrigued enough. Still, I do plan to read more by Garth Nix.

Kailana's Review


A young adult, soon to be, trilogy that I have wanted to read for a while, this enters the marks as one of the better books I have read this year. Young adult books are much better than they were when I was a young adult, I know that much.

From the back of the book:

Gemma Doyle isn't like other girls. Girls with impeccable manners, who speak when spoken to, who remember their station, and who will lie back and think of England when it's required of them.

No, sixteen-year-old Gemma is an island unto herself, sent to the Spence Academy in London after tragedy strikes her family in India. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma finds a chilly reception. But she's not completely alone... she's followed by a mysterious young man, who warns her to close her mind against her visions.

For it's at Spence that Gemma's power to attract the supernatural unfolds; there she becomes entangled with the school's most powerful girls and discovers her mother's connection to a shadowy group called the Order. It's there that her destiny waits... if only she can believe in it.

A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY is a curl-up-under-the-covers kind of book... a vast canvs of rustling skirts and dancing shadows and things that go bump in the night. It's a vividly drawn portrait of the Victorian age, when girls were groomed for lives as rich men's wives... and the story of a girl who saw another way.

I regret that it took me so long to discover this book. I had heard of it, but it never grabbed my attention enough to buy it until recently. Now, I can't wait to read the next one and I hope it will be equally good. Young adult novels have come a long way, some of them are even better than novels marketed at adults.

This novel was attractive to me because people were saying it had fantasy elements to it. I enjoy fantasy novels, so I decided to see what these fantasy elements were. This book takes place in the later part of the 19th-century. The main character, Gemma Doyle, is dealing with being a sixteen-year-old. Teenage years are never easy, and with the last few months has brought a very difficult daughter for Gemma's mother. They used to get along, but now Gemma has it stuck in her head that she absolutely has to go to London. Her mother doesn't agree, and this causes lots of conflict between mother and daughter.

Then one day, everything changes for good. While in the marketplace, Gemma says a horrible thing to her mother and the next thing she knows, her mother is not around anymore to argue with. Gemma blames herself, and is racked with guilt for quite some time. She is her most annoying at this part of the book, while she deals with the loss of her mother. But then, she discovers she has an amazing gift that results in a whole other world for her. A young man, who you will find an interesting member of the cast of characters, follows Gemma to London where Gemma is attending Spence Academy.

When Gemma first arrives in London, she wonders why she ever really wanted to go there in the first place, but then she starts to make friends and lets her powers work, and a whole new world is open to her, a world of adventure and danger. She is in a school where girls are supposed to be learning how to be good wives, they are more interested in pleasing their men folk than doing anything for themselves. Gemma soon learns this is not the way that she wants to spend her life.

I hope I am not making this novel sound silly, it is anything but. I was glued to my seat while I was reading this, waiting to see what adventures would happen to the quartet next. As Gemma is not alone when she has her adventures, most times she has her three female friends with her. They are an interesting group, but they each have something to bring to the novel as a whole.

I can't wait to read the sequel!

4.5/5



Mailyn's Review

I'm afraid I don't share most everyone else excitement over this book. Sure, I've heard so many things I was expecting something actually, well, exciting. Don't get me wrong, Libba's writing is wonderful. It's the subject matter that I found sorely lacking. The story started off promising enough and I was quickly drawn into it but, as soon as the four main girls started with the "club" I quickly grew bored. And annoyed. Those had to be the four most petulant and annoying girls I've ever read about. They start out nice enough but, by the end of the book, I was all but hoping they'd get spanked, smacked or something. Watching their utter stupidity reveal itself and the way they thought they "knew what's best" reminded me of every smug teenager that has utter those very words, then realize how sadly they were mistaking once they saw they were in over their heads.

It's not a good thing when you are rooting for the bad guys to win simply because the heroines are all some kind of serious idiots.

If ever Mrs Bray writes any other novel I am sure I will be reading it as I did love her writing. I just hope the hero or heroine isn't related to any of the four from this novel.

A solid 4 for her writing and a 3 for the story since it did have a promising beginning.

As a final note, and although I am far from being a prude, I think it's only fair to warn parents of children under the age of 15 of the following encounter [in a dream] between the main character and her love interest. Something similar happens again latter on in the story, although I don't remember it being as detailed as this one. I

Those black eyes flutter open, see me...Every muscle in his arms flexing as he pushes himself up, pulls me under, slides on top...His fingertips are a whisper on my skin. A thumb inches towards my breast, traces circles over and around...Feel my thighs moved apart by a knee...

The warm fingers trail down, hesitate, then brush past a part of me I don't understand yet, a place I haven't let myself explore...

The fingers, strong and sure and not entirely unwanted, are back, the whole of his palm cupped against me...The thumb on my breast rubs my skin into a delicious rawness, as if I've never truly walked in my skin before.

Dance Chica's Review

I agree with Mailyn. I liked the book—really, I did—but Gemma, the main character, annoyed me at times. There were moments when I wanted to slap her and the other girls. However, I do think the book was well-written. Bray is great at suspense. The entire novel is oozing with suspense; the world, the characters, etc., are so mysterious that it makes you want to know more about them, and I feel that Bray did a good job of capturing the Victorian age. There’s also a lot of thought-provoking, social commentary throughout the book. However, I don’t know if I’ll pick up the sequel, Rebel Angels, anytime soon. While I did enjoy the magic and suspense of A Great and Terrible Beauty, in all honesty, I was disappointed. I was expecting it to be much better than it was. So in conclusion, I'd recommend it as something to check out because it was a good story (and most people really loved it), but while I did like it, I just felt it was a little overrated.

3.5 out of 5.

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavith: 5/5
published by Ingram in November 2006

This is a beautifully written book that reads like the fairy tales of old. The story revolves around Keturah, a girl who wanders off into the forest following a beautiful stag. She soon loses her way and eventually meets the handsome Lord Death that has come for her life. As she is her village's greatest story teller she stalls for time with a tale of true love but she refuses to say how it ends. Instead, she asks for one more day to live and promises he can have her life, and the end of the tale, on the next night.

As she goes about what will probably be her last day alive Keturah comes up with a plan, to find and marry her one true love thus defeating Lord Death. She gets help from her two best friends but things are complicated by the arrival of a king's emissary telling all his majesty will soon be there. As the village prepares for the king's arrival Keturah tries to find a way out of her dilemma, all the while seeing things as she never saw them before.

I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it, especially to anyone that enjoys a beautifully portrayed romance, fairy tale style, if you will. The writing is solid, the tale is engaging and entertaining and the love story is one of the best I've read in a long time. Keturah is an excellent character. She is, at first, a dreamer who wishes to only marry her one true love. Lord Death is cold yet there is something about him which makes Keturah see past what he represents and understand who he is. The way he shows his love for her when he does everything she asks for will make your heart ache wondering how long they will both be playing their games.

This book reminded me somewhat of Neil Gaiman's Stardust and I am sure if you liked that one then you will love Keturah and Lord Death.

A solid 5 out of 5. Absolutely amazing!

Having heard nothing but the best about Tasha Alexander's Victorian mystery novels I finally got my hands on one. Let me say that I am both pleased and disappointed. The book starts of extremely well as we meet Emily, a well to do Victorian flower, who's just accepted a marriage proposal from one of England's most eligible bachelors. As Emily herself tells us in the opening paragraphs her decision to wed has little to do with love and a great deal to do with her insufferable mother. Unlike most single girls her age, Emily is content sitting at home reading a good book or stimulating her mind in any way. Unfortunately for her, her mother's every breath is spent trying to get her married soon. It soon gets to be too much and Emily, rather on impulse, accepts the marriage proposal. As fate would have it, no sooner is Emily married than her husband leaves for one of his legendary African hunts. The man, it seems to Emily, is interested in absolutely nothing but hunting and she resigns herself to being married to a man she knows absolutely nothing about.

It turns out she won't get the chance to get to know her husband and he never returns from his latest hunt. She is informed that he died of some sort of fever. Being all but a complete stranger to her late husband she feels little, if anything for his death and actually starts getting used to being a widow. For the first time in her life she is the property of no one and can make decision for herself. She takes to widowhood extremely well. Until she meets with Phillips' best friend Colin a year and a half into her mourning. Emily always figured that she was as much a stranger to her husband as she was to him. According to Colin it turns out that Philip had fallen madly in love with his wife from the moment he met her and until his dying breath simply adored her. This comes as a complete shock to Emily since they hardly had time to speak before he left in his last trip and their letters, mostly on her side, were rather impersonal.

Thus Emily embarks on a journey to get to know the man who was her husband. Along the way she falls in the middle of some shady business that is somehow connected to her husband.

The first part of the novel is spent mostly on Emily's dealing first with the freedom that comes with widowhood, then with her mortification for not being sadder that her husband died and also with her quest to find out everything she can about the man who loved her so. This is the part I enjoyed the most as Tasha's writing flows effortlessly and she sucks you into the story from page one. Emily was a likable enough heroine who slowly stars falling in love with her dead husband.

As the novel moves more towards the mystery we find that Emily has, expectedly, changed but not always for the better. While at first she was motivated by wanting to know about Philip as the story progresses more and more does she start doing things just to go against society. Colin tries to warn her about the dangerous path she has chosen while investigating just what Philip was involved in and, instead of trying to think things through she spurns his advice simply because she doesn't like to be told what to do.

I felt that she started quite practical and mature but became childish as the story moved deeper into the mystery. I understand that she relishes being a widow because she enjoys the freedom of being able to do what she wants and when she wants but there is a line to be drawn at acting stupid. The story is told from her point of view so the reader doesn't get any extra insight of who the good or bad guys are. We are basically along with Emily for the ride yet I felt from the beginning which characters seemed trustworthy and which she needed to stay away from they were so obviously not good. I do believe if she wasn't trying to go against anyone she perceived wanted to tell her what to do she would have shown better judgment. As it was I actually skipped a few pages near the second half of the story since I couldn't stand her righteousness.

Thankfully I liked Tasha's writing and the romance triangle between Colin, Emily and Andrew kept me interested even when Emily was pissing me off. The mystery was fun as well although not exactly a great big mystery it was rather well presented.

In the end I enjoyed the novel regardless of Emily's stupid moments in the later half. I think this book will be enjoyed by anyone who loves a well written book, a nice romance and a nice little mystery.

A 4 out of 5.

I will be reading the next book in the series since I am interested in following Emily in other adventures. Hopefully she learned her lesson the first time around.

Book Description:

Will Lady Jeanette sacrifice her freedom to save her family's honor?

Lady Jeanette Avenel is the free-spirited second daughter of a nobleman in twelfth-century Scotland. When her elder sister, Isabel, isdishonored, Jenny is asked to relinquish her freedom in an attempt to save thegood name of her father's house. But will the affection of a mysterious young man lead to Jenny's ruin as well?

Lady Jeanette battles tradition and magic amid a world alive with medieval pageantry. Hers is the timeless story of a young woman who seeks to control her own destiny to win a better life for herself and her sister.

Kailana says...


This is an example of buying a book and totally not paying attention to what it is about. I read about this book, I assume on a blog, but it was quite some time ago. So, I finally decide that I am going to buy some of the books that have been on my Amazon wish list for a while, and this is one of them, so I added it to the cart. I did not know I was going to be posting about it on this blog, though, I thought it was historical fiction. Then, I thought it had an Arthurian twist to it. I mean, there had to be something historical about it that made me buy it. I get to reading it and I discovered that I had no idea what I was reading. This book is in fact a folk tale retelling, Tam Lin to be exact. Anyways, on with the review.

Even though I had no idea what I was reading, I really liked this book. It could be considered historical fiction, and actually, the mention of anything fantasy is very minor, so it did not have to go in this blog, but I chose to anyways. For the most part, it is a historical fiction novel. The two girls in the book have a slightly unconventional father, which is what happen when he has lost two wives and decided that he is not going to marry again. That being said, though, the girls are still held to the conventions of the day. The story is told through the eyes of Jeanette. Her world has suddenly been turned upside down because her typically conventional older sister had a run in with a knight that caused her to be cast off from society and destined for a life in the nunnery. Very historical fiction because it did not matter what this knightly fellow did, it was automatically the girls fault that it happened.

Jeanette never had to run the household before, her sister always did it, so she is trying to do her best for her family. That also extends to marriage. Suddenly her marriage is important because her sister is out of the running. She always counted on a simple and quiet marriage, even marrying for love, and now she is the forerunner in the marriage game and she might have to risk her freedom for the sake of her family. So, as you can see, it is a very conventional historical fiction novel. It is only when she meets Tam Lin, the young man that has taken up residence in his old family home, that the fantasy aspect presents itself. Re-tellings of the Tam Lin story seem to be quite popular nowadays. If you know the story, you roughly know what happens to Jeannette and Tam, but if you do not, I am not going to ruin it for you.

What I will say is that I really liked this book. Believe it or not, the reason I picked it up off the to be read pile is that my sister was into my books (rare, as she is not a reader) and picked this one out of the pile. When she finished it she told me she read it in one sitting, and I figured if the book to make my sister read, it was a worthwhile read. I am glad I read it, and I strongly recommend it. I look forward to seeing what other books this author has for me to enjoy.

4/5







Mailyn says...

Let me start by saying that I absolutely adored this book. It's by far the best story based on the Tam Lin myth I've read and, as I only borrowed it from our library, it's going to be the very next book I buy! For those not familiar, the Tam Lin folk ballad tells the story of a young man who was under the Faerie Queen's enchantment and a maiden who fell in love with him.

Everything about this book was perfect for me. I loved the heroine, Jenny because she seemed very real. Our story takes place in 1162 and these were bad times to be a woman. Many, many a writer tries to make historical heroines into carbon copy of our standards of today's independent woman and thus seem extremely out of place. Not so for McNaughton. Although our heroine is a bit of a free spirit [I am sure there were exceptions to every rule even back then] she still torn between what she feels and how she must act. One perfect example is how, at one point, she treats some of her servants. This is a time when servants could be beaten and mistreated and no one would see anything wrong with that. Jenny, having grown up without a mother to teach her how to run a household and seeing how some of the other nobles act, thinks that maybe that's how a lady of her station should behave. Nonetheless she still feels bad and sad if this is how she is expected to act. When she sees another noble girl actually being kind to the servants she understands that she was wrong and makes up for it.

Tam Lin is, well, perfect in his role. Really, there is not much I could say since I found him to be just wonderful. I also loved the look into the harsh life people had back then. It was hard to swallow some of the men and how they viewed and treated women but we all know our history and it would have hurt the book a lot if Janet had tried to make it fit with our ideals today.

The love story is beautiful and I must say I enjoyed the secondary story of Jenny's sister Isabel. She was a fallen woman yet she was merely a victim of a time where women where blamed for just about everything. LOL.

My verdict, as if you haven't guessed by now, is to run to your local bookstore and get your hands on this jem. You won't be disappointed!

A solid 5 out of 5!

Kailana's Review

I had seen the four-in-one book that this was in for quite some time, but had never bought it. The other day, though, after a bad day, I decided I was going to buy myself a book. And, I decided, why not slurge and get 4 books for the price of one. So, I did.

From Amazon:

For some, coming to grips with a challenge means passing another milestone along the road to maturity. For others, it's a matter of life and death. For Findabhair (pronounced "finn-ah-veer") and Gwen, the joint heroines of 0. R. Melling's The Hunter's Moon, however, the challenges come from all directions. Fantasy-loving Findabhair dares to sleep on sacred Irish ground and is stolen by the King of the Fairies. Gwen, her more practical Canadian cousin, sets out to rescue her with the help of a leprechaun in a battered Triumph and a businessman with red hair and freckles. What makes this story sing is the ease with which Melling alternates between fantasy and reality, making her readers, like her characters, "Comfortable with both." Add generous helpings of suspense, romance, humour, and atmosphere you could cut with a knife, and the result is a thoroughly enjoyable yam by an author with impressive command of her material, writing within the tradition of Irish folklore and legend

This is a modern fairy tale. The two girls live in what could very easily be this year, but they have always dreamed of something more. One summer they decide that they are going to trek across Ireland, where Findabhair lives, and track down the portal to the faery world. The two girls set out to find something that they are not sure exists, and along the way find adventures of their own. On a night that they decide to sleep in sacred Irish ground, Findabhair is taken from her cousin, Gwen. Now, for Gwen, it is not about finding the doorway to the faery realm, it is about finding her cousin.

Most of the story is told about Gwen. It is she that sees the things that make up the story. Finn appears from time to time, but it is Gwen that has the most to do in this novel. She makes friends along the way, and the story plays with common ideas that have been represented about the magic folk. Both of the cousins are readable, and not the common damsels in distress that stories normally portray. There is a nice blending of females and males in this book that makes it readable. It could be something that attracts both sexes to it.

When you look at it, it is not a very long piece of work, but a lot happens in a very short time. There is never really a dull moment, as the fairy king is often playing tricks on Gwen, and you never know when it is going to happen next. Once again, I must point out to all the fantasy by-standers, that there is even romance in this book, although I don't think it is necessary, it might attract you to reading this!

I enjoyed this book. Hopefully I will read the next one soon, but I am not so great at reading trilogies and things one right after the other.

4/5





Mailyn's Review

I also enjoyed this book a lot but found that, towards the end, the story tended to stall a bit and stray from the constant fast pace it had up to then. From the very begining I liked the main character of Gwen and her cousin. Like Kailana, I enjoyed that these weren't two TSTL heroines that waited around to be rescued. I especially liked Gwen for this and for her courage to go after her cousin, even when it was clear that she did not want to be rescued.

I can't get into it so as not to give away the ending but I found the last banquet turn a bit into a fantasy movie cliche. Nonetheless the figthing after that was handled pretty well and the ending, although again a bit of a cliche, will leave most people happy.

All in all a nice little read, fast paced and a great heroine make this a 4 out of 5 for me as well.

I can't wait to get into the follow up, The Summer King.





Dance Chica's Review

I originally bought this based on Kailana's recommendation and I'm glad I did. Melling is a great storyteller! I was completely caught up in the world of Faerie. Her descriptions were sweeping and flowing; infused with myth and legend. Sometimes they were a bit much, but overall I enjoyed them. She created a great cast of characters. One of the best parts for me was the heroine. Gwen was a great heroine that grows so much as a character. When we first meet her, she’s the sensible one who follows after her energetic cousin, but as the story progresses, she learns to do things on her own. This leads to her discovering her own strengths and independence. She was resourceful too, and while she did make mistakes, she learned from them. I really liked her fiery personality. There’s romance in this too which I found compelling and the overall story was imaginative. If you like faerie tales with a bit of magic, romance and suspense, you’ll probably like this. Also, if you liked Holly Black’s Tithe, I think you’ll find this enjoyable. Melling’s world is a bit more detailed than Black’s and the language a bit more flowery, but it's still compelling, and I found Melling’s characters more likeable than Black's. There’s a sequel to this out titled, The Summer King. I’m really looking forward to more adventures in Faerie. 4.5 out 5.

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.

The way Mrs. Bull portrays Minneapolis seems all too real even if the place is crawling with Fey. Her writing is solid and at her best when the phouka is trying Eddi's nerves. In fact, the interaction between the characters of Eddi and here friends, fey and mortal, are what ultimately sell the book for me. Sure, the Fey here act just as I like them, cruel and self-serving, but I found myself more immersed in the novel when the two main characters were simply talking rather than when the actual war was taking place. Thankfully there is little figthing and most of the novel is spend with Eddi trying to get used to the idea that she is now caught in the middle of the Fae wars, with her trying to put a band together and having to deal with the ever present, always infuriating phouka. Their banter is witty and I found myself laughing out loud more times than I could count.

On the downside the end does seem kind of soap-opera like and, IMO, doesn't go well with the rest of the novel but everything else fits so well it hardly matters. I guess I was expecting a bit more omph from an actual war and the final "duel" felt a tad too cheesy. Nonetheless I highly recommend this book and I daresay it's a good way for romance lovers to break into the fantasy genre.

If you, like myself, are not an 80's fan don't think that will stop you from loving this book. I simply skipped or skimmed pop culture references [mostly songs] and dressed the characters in my head rather than go by what the book described. If you haven't read it yet I suggest you march down to your local library or your closet Barnes & Nobles and get your hands on this classic now. You won't regret it.

A solid 4.5 out of 5!

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.

I found this book is just as good as Tithe in its dark and gritty portrayal of the Fey. This time we have another human, Val, who gets caught up in the underground network of exiled Fey now living in New York. Val is just as great a heroine as Kay and the romance between her and Ravus is, IMO, just as nice. However, people looking for romance must remember that Holly writes urban fantasy and not romance novels. There is always an element of romance thrown in for good measure but it is never the focus of the story. The tales are always about our heroine and how they deal with their everyday, mundane lives and their reaction when they discover this whole and dangerous world of the Fey.

I truly wish Mrs. Black would decide to continue on with this series as I think there are lots more possibilities and tales to explore in this world. Unfortunately I do believe this is the second book in a planned trilogy. The last book, Ironside, recently came out.

Let's just hope Holly changes her mind and keeps this wonderful world alive.

A solid 4.5 out of 5.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare: DNF
published by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing in March 2007 (HC)

Don't be deceived by the following plot [from Amazon]:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Let me just start by telling you that this is the first time EVER I will be getting my money back. I am the type that figures if you bought it then you stick it out. However, I hadn't come across such a horrible read as this one in such a long time I think I deserve my money back.

How bad was it? A Did Not Finish. I barely got past the first 20 pages and I felt I was in a very, very bad episode of Buffy [from back in Season 1 when everything was so campy and horrid you couldn't help but wince].

Mind you and I am a HUGE Buffy fan.

Oddly enough what I find most disappointing was not the book itself but the fact that one of my absolute favorite YA writers recommended it. I don't know what Holly Black was thinking. In fact, I am willing to bet she didn't even have time to read the book and just read the description, saw faeries and figured it had to be good.

I bought the book because she spoke so highly about it. I have never done this. Ever. I don't buy books because of author quotes. EVER. But Holly Black is so amazing with her dark faeries and I figured what the hell.

I am never, ever doing that again.

Let's see, where to begin. Oh yes. We have a seemingly normal teenager walking into a club. Somehow I get the idea she isn't of the "in" crowd and her and her friend probably stick out like a sore thumb but what the hell I'm going with it. Out of the blue [remember she is supposed to be normal] she sees a boy following a girl and figures they are about to get it on but what bothers her is that they are being followed by two more boys. Now, anyone else would have A)figured they were all friends or whatnot and B)minded their own business. But not our heroine. She thinks this is weird and so she proceeds to follow them all into the storage closet.

Now, how big this storage closet is that there are 3 boys, 2 girls AND that the first four fail to notice our heroine hiding in the darkness, well, I don't know. Also, they are all super humans or not human and they can track each other yet they fail to detect a mere mortal hiding a few paces from where they are all standing.

It just gets better and better.

Of course our heroine mistakes the scene for a gang rivalry and figures they are going to kill the one boy they all followed. Instead of going to get help what does our heroine do? You probably saw this coming: she yells at them to stop what they are doing because killing humans is just plain wrong.

I didn't make that up. I paraphrased. No joke.

Oh, I think I forgot to mention that, before she decided to speak up, she was pretty scared thinking that these were not your average weirdos what with their talk of demons and supernatural beings.

Raise your hand if you would have run back the way you came.

Raise your hand if you would have gotten an adult, like one of the bouncers, to help.

Raise your hand if you wouldn't have even follow the lot of them into a storage closet because it was none of your damn business.

Since I couldn't believe my eyes I decided to check out some reviews on Amazon and, apparently, I should have checked them out first. It seems I wasn't mistaking and this book is a cross between every fantasy novel that ever was from Buffy to Harry Potter to Star Wars to god-knows what else.

I could have tried to read some more but not only was the plot horrific, so was the writing. This was somebody's fan fiction gone wrong.

I would have overlooked all of this if indeed it WAS someone's fan fiction but a professional book that cost no less than $18 USD?

Oh you bet I will be getting my money back. And if they ask me why at the bookstore I am not even going to lie. I am going to tell them that it just plain stinks.

Savage Messiah: The Destinies of Blood and Stone by Robert Newcomb: 2.5 /5
published by Delrey in December 2005

This books is the first in the second trilogy of 3 planned trilogies to tell the story of the Blood & Stone. Confused? Simple, first there was a trilogy titled The Chronicles of Blood and Stone. Then we now have this new trilogy which continues where the last book left off. Two more books will round off the Destinies trilogy then finally we will have the Victories of Blood and Stone.

All told there are 9 books telling the story of Prince Tristan and I for once find it silly that it's divided into 3 trilogies.

Anyways, I must say I was extremely disappointed in this book. Seems I'm not the only one. Straight from Amazon we have the plot:

Set in the world of Eutracia, Newcomb's repetitive first volume in a new fantasy trilogy relies on the same gimmick as The Scrolls of the Ancients (2004), the final book in his Chronicles of Blood and Stone series. Once again a villain returns from the dead; Wulfgar, whom the heroic Tristan "killed" in The Scrolls of the Ancients, is now the all-powerful Enseterat, whose mastery of the dark magic of the Vagaries is enhanced by his direct contact with the ancient Heretics of the Guild. A more serious flaw is the book's system of magic. People are drawn toward the evil Vagaries or the good Vigors by the "lean" of their blood signatures. Magic can change this natural lean, but since characters gain their magical abilities not by study or practice or experimentation but by "forestallments" imbued into their blood, they lack free will. Newcomb's prose isn't strong enough to compensate for an uninspired adventure whose protagonists amount to mere automatons.

The characters are all very boring and one-dimensional. In fact, the only characters that intrigued me any where the assassin Satine and the villain Wulfgar. The heroes all seem to act impulsively as if this where the first time they faced an evil villain when in fact they've "been there" thrice before [in the previous trilogy]. From what I've read on those books, well, they seem to be just about a carbon copy of one another. I found myself not caring what happened to the heroes way before we even hit the middle of the book. After that I skimmed the rest simply to find out who got bumped off and how it was all wrapped up. It's a very bad sign when you are rooting for the bad guy simply because he seems the more alive of the bunch.

At first I thought I may want to find out just who the destined queen will be but, after having to skim just about half of the book I realized I don't care one bit just how this entire trilogy or series ends.

A migthy disappointing read.

Book one of a planned seven series on the Gentleman Thieves.

This is a great read. Locke Lamora is the greatest thieve in the city of Camorr [which reminds me of Italy in the Renaissance or around there]. He, along with his gang, come up with elaborate schemes to steal from the nobles and merchants all the while making their boss, Capa Barsavi, think that they are nothing but common thieves. In fact, Locke and his friends are probably richer than most of the nobles in the city. They have fun doing what they do since it's all they've ever known. Locke and his friends are all orphans who grew up under the tutelage of Father Chains, once one of the best and more artistic thieves Camorr's ever had. Their simple lives get complicated by the arrival of the Grey King who declares war on Capa Barsavi by assassinating his best men. Things go from bad to worse when Locke gets caught in the middle as both the Gray King and Capa Barsavi want him to help them defeat the other.

The book was fun and a fast read as you really get caught up in everything that is going on. Scott has a nice way of writing and there are very few instances where I found myself skimming or skipping a paragraph. Coincidentally, while reading this book I couldn't help but think it would make a great movie. Apparently Warner Brothers thinks the same way as there are rumors this will be made into a movie by them.[1]

For all that I loved this book there where two things which bothered me. The first was the fact that this is not our Earth, it's an invented world, yet the people use the same cuss words we do. It's not the fact that they cuss since they are lowlifes but the fact that they use words like "shit" and "fuck" which are modern day words. It kind of brought me out of the story when that happened. Another thing was the fact that Locke and two of his masters kept saying "ah" every other sentence. I understand one character with a habit of doing but three main characters, well, it was somewhat aggravating.

Nonetheless I recommend this book as a great and fun read. Anyone that likes adventures will certainly love this. I can't wait to read the rest in the series!



A solid 4.5 out of 5.

I can hardly contain my excitement when talking about this book so please bear with me if I suddenly run right smack into fangirl territory.

Straight from the official site:

What’s Henry to do when his parent's marriage starts to fall apart? What can he do except get on with his summer job of cleaning out Mr Fogarty’s shed. But there’s something in that shed that will turn Henry’s whole life inside out and take him into a whole different level of reality…

What’s Pyrgus to do when the animals he loves come under threat? What can he do except rescue those he can … and fall foul of those who threaten the entire Faerie Realm? Soon there’s only one thing for it and that’s to leave the realm completely…

When Henry and Pyrgus get together, an entire world hangs in the balance and those they love face nightmare dangers.

Faerie Wars is an extraordinary, page-turning read full of tension, adventure and the kind of detail that ensures you‘ll be holding your breath as the story unfolds.

I have to agree with that last statement 110%. This book was amazing and entertaining from the very first page! I read this a while back but, as usual when I find a very good book, I have no clue just what to say in order for you to know how incredible it was. This book is one rollercoaster ride from page one and you never know just what will happen next. I am very happy to say I didn't find one character that wasn't likable and the villains [and there are many in this story] are some of the best I've read. They are trully evil. Even better is the fact that Mr. Brennan shows you time and again just how cruel and sinister and downright twisted they can be.

To be sure, some of the passages may get a bit too much for those that aren't used to reading anything dark but I found it refreshing. It never felt as if the author was trying to shock the audience. It was done right enought that fit within the context of the book and to make sure you were convinced that the villains were dangerous. I was almost convinced to quote one of my favorite passages but it would give too much of what happens away and it may bother some people.

Nonetheless, don't think this is one gore moment after the other. It is not. Everything is written very well and there is no gratuitous violence. There are only a few passages dealing with the villains that may seem a bit dark for some people but you can skim them if you'd like. I suggest that this doesn't stop you from reading this most wonderful and engaging series.

The next 2 books are already out and, having read the second one, I can only tell you this series just gets better and better!

A solid 5 out of 5!



A NOTE: Although I highly recommend this book I suggest it for anyone over the age of 13 as I don't think some of the subject, and some of the violence although mild for adults, is suitable for younger children. Also, I am an animal lover and am deeply disturbed when animals are harmed in books and/or movies. However, while I was sligthly creeped out by some scenes, I assure other sensitive animal lovers out there that things don't get out of hand despite what you read in the first few pages. I almost put the book down in the first few pages when I found out what was going on but I am glad I sticked with it! If you have any questions regarding this please feel free to ask!

**NOTE: I'm only reviewing the first book in the series as I will get to the other story [the second half of this omnibus], The Lives of Christopher Chant, later. I will update the post then to include that review here.





I have been very interested in trying out this series for a while, as it sounded promising, and I finally decided to start with this omnibus containing the first two books in the Chrestomanci Chronicles: Charmed Life and The Lives of Christopher Chant.

I have four words to describe this book from start to finish: tedious, unexciting and completely irritating.

Let’s start with the plot, straight from Amazon:

Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the enchanter Chrestomanci refuses to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack.

After that rather interesting premise you have to wonder what went wrong. From practically the first chapter there is nothing to grab your attention. After we learn of the unfortunate accident that left the Chant children orphans we are simply treated to an almost play-by-play of the everyday monotony that is the children’s lives. One thing we are told over and over is how talented and promising Gwendolyn is at witchcraft. Over and over and over…

Things only get worse when Chrestomanci takes in the siblings. Gwendolyn is the single most obnoxious child to ever walk the entire seven [or was that nine?] universes.

She, in fact, reminds me a little of Artemis Fowl but I have to say she beat him as far as being insufferable is concerned by a long shot. She is so full of herself she wants to be recognized for her power and is extremely put off, to say the least, that the great Chrestomanci pays her no heed. What’s a gal to do? Everyday she comes up with the worse spells she can think of to make the life at the castle miserable and so he will finally acknowledge her.

Let me assure you that I, at various times, wished I HAD magic so I could hop in the book and bitch slap the self obsessed little brat to the next universe. Then there was her brother Cat. Saying he didn’t have a spine is putting it mildly. He was ashamed by the things Gwen did and he would run and hide as if he did something wrong. She was constantly berating him yet he never once thought to stand up to her or get an adult involved even when Gwendolyn was getting way out of hand and was obvious she was close to harming someone. The way he just followed her around without saying anything for fear of, oh I don’t know…everything, was infuriating, annoying and every other –ting you want to think of.

This book was a definite DNF. I merely skimmed half of the book to see how it all ended and, honestly, not because I cared but more because I simply had to see for myself how in the hell the author was going to try and make sense of it all.

I give it a 1.5 out of 5 because at least the world was interesting even if the plot was excruciatingly dull and the characters exasperated you to no end. Let's hope that the next book, with the children out of the way since it takes place 25 years earlier than this one, will be better.