The Wolf Hour

The Wolf Hour by Sara Lewis Holmes

This book was published on September 26, 2017. I got my hands on an Uncorrected Proof copy (essentially an advance reader copy) and there will undoubtedly be some differences between the version I read, and the published version.

I like fairy tales. I like fairy tales when they're retold, provided they're done well. I really like it when authors take fairy tales and tweak, twist, and turn the familiar elements into an entirely new story.

Also, isn't this cover art gorgeous?!

An amazon summary where I removed the weird spacing because it took up so much page space, "Welcome, my little lambs, to the Puszcza. It's an ancient forest, a keeper of the deepest magic, where even the darkest fairy tales are real.

Here, a Girl is not supposed to be a woodcutter. Or be brave enough to walk alone.

Here, a Wolf is not supposed to love to read. Or be curious enough to meet a human.

And here, a Story is nothing like the ones you read in books, for the Witch can make the most startling tales come alive. All she needs is a Girl from the village, a Wolf from the forest, and a woodcutter with a nice, sharp axe. 

So take care, little lambs, if you step into these woods. For in the Puszcza, it is always as dark as the hour between night and dawn -- the time old folk call the Wolf Hour. If you lose your way here, you will be lost forever, your Story no longer your own.

You can bet your bones." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Magia and her family live in a small hour on the outskirts of the Puszcza, a forest thrumming with magic that will swallow you whole if you don't have a method to find your way home. Magia's Tata (her father) is a woodcutter who braves the Puszcza forest for longer burning wood to sell more wood to the villagers. He wears a red hat that protects him from the magic of the Puszcza, especially because he always wants to find his way home to Mama. The Puszcza has been luring more girls away from their homes, and a music teacher is said to have magical flutes that will keep girls within their homes. Magia doesn't listen to the magic of the Puszcza, but she has not been inside of it either. She desperately wants to be a woodcutter like her father.

A she wolf loses her mate to a story; her mate first blows down a house of straw, then blows down a house of mud, before climbing to the top of a house of brick to get to the three pigs through the chimney. He tumbles down the chimney into a pot of boiling water, and the she wolf loses her mate. In her grief, she retreats to a tower which is covered in spiderwebs on the inside and has her litter. Only one of her four pups survives. She vows to make sure her pup will not fall victim to one of the human's stories the same way her mate did.

That's enough summary.

This is kind of the re-imagining of Little Red Riding Hood, the Three Little Pigs, and a few I don't recognize (which I'm sure is where the author added their own creative flair as well). There was also a lot of Polish terms (I think, pardon me if this is a missed identification error on my part) throughout the story which I thought only enhanced it. I also liked how the narration jumped from Magia, to Martin (the wolf pup), and then also to the witch telling her stories too (oh yeah, there's a witch). I really liked how all the stories threads were really tied together, and the magic of the Puszcza was somehow menacing, but also not. The Puszcza is almost a character of it's own, but it doesn't really seem malevolent, the magic is there, but others can twist it for their own uses.

I also liked how the story didn't shy away from the violence, but it didn't go into graphic detail about it either. I mean, one of the prevalent magical elements is literally bones. I think there was also an interesting theme of greed throughout the story, but I don't want to say more as it'll give away other elements. Oddly enough for a wolf, I found Martin to be a very well rounded character and a good balance to Magia. There was so much of the story that felt so deeply tied into the magic, that it kind of left me to wonder what wasn't magical about their world.

I would love to see more fairy tales like this, as I think it took a lot of the essential elements of the original fairy tales, and then owned them with this story. It was good.

Happy reading!

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

This is the sequel to THE GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE, and if you have not read book 1, I would highly recommend it. It's fabulous. I do think it's necessary to read book 1 before book 2, as there are a lot of characters and back stories from book 1 that play a vital role in book 2.

This book will be published on October 2, 2018. I read an advance reader's copy. There will undoubtedly be some differences between the version I read, and the published copy.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this sequel! The first one was SO good!!!

The amazon summary so I can talk about this book, "A year after an accidentally whirlwind grand tour with her brother Monty, Felicity Montague has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh and enroll in medical school. However, her intellect and passion will never be enough in the eyes of the administrators, who see men as the sole guardians of science.

But then a window of opportunity opens—a doctor she idolizes is marrying an old friend of hers in Germany. Felicity believes if she could meet this man he could change her future, but she has no money of her own to make the trip. Luckily, a mysterious young woman is willing to pay Felicity’s way, so long as she’s allowed to travel with Felicity disguised as her maid.

In spite of her suspicions, Felicity agrees, but once the girl’s true motives are revealed, Felicity becomes part of a perilous quest that leads them from the German countryside to the promenades of Zurich to secrets lurking beneath the Atlantic." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Felicity has been in Edinburgh working at a bakery for the past year as she's applied to different hospitals in the hopes of being trained as a doctor. She's been immediately denied over and over again simply because she is a woman. At the end of the day, the baker (Callum) she's been working for has offered her a proposition of marriage. To give up her silly dreams of becoming a doctor and to settle down with him to become his wife, make a family. Felicity is distraught to find out the man she has been working for, who has been listening to her for a year of all of her desperate struggles to become a doctor, believed it all to be just a passing fancy? A silly dream? So she politely appreciates his offer, but reveals she must make immediate haste to go visit her brother in London for various reasons.

Felicity, true to her word (however impromptu it was), sets off to visit Monty and Percy in London where she shares their falling apart flat while she applies to different hospitals to learn at in London instead. After a whirlwind of an interview with the hospital board, Felicity rushes out of the hospital only to be consoled in the street by Monty, but also to be approached by a doctor from the board. He suggests to seek out Dr. Platt, a famous doctor who has done a lot of research in the field (and Felicity has read many of his books) who happens to be getting married to Johanna Hoffman soon...one of Felicity's childhood friends that she had a rough falling out with. Monty is madly against the idea, but they meet up with some old friends that night, and Felicity has found a way to get to the Hoffmans to meet with Dr. Platt. Now all she has to do is convince her old friend to let her attend her wedding...

That is enough summary.

This book has some VERY strong female characters in it who are constantly seeking new ways to overcome the patriarchy, while also having a bit of a mystery to solve too. I love the character growth of Felicity, I loved reading about Monty & Percy again, I loved the new characters and the richness they infused into the story, and the humor, the humor is freaking hilarious. 

Everything about this book was quite stunning, especially a lovable dog, but it never lost it's way. I feel like some books that have a lot to manage at once lose track of a narration, drops a piece of the puzzle and tries to play it off as a red herring, but everything in this book came back together in such a nice way. There were even some ends we saw from the last book, get picked up again. It was soooooo good. 

I feel as if I have said enough, maybe even a little bit too much. I loved this book and I really hope there are more in this series.

Happy reading!

Poet X

Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

This book was published on March 6, 2018. However, I read an advance reader's edition. Undoubtedly there will be some differences between the version I read and the published version.

This story is told in powerful poetry, which reminded me a lot of Jason Reynold's book, LONG WAY DOWN, which I adored! I also adored Poet X because it was such a powerful invitation to understand what it's like for a young woman to grow up in Harlem.

An amazon summary, "Fans of Jacqueline Woodson, Meg Medina, and Jason Reynolds will fall hard for this astonishing New York Times-bestselling novel-in-verse by an award-winning slam poet, about an Afro-Latina heroine who tells her story with blazing words and powerful truth.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about.

With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

“Crackles with energy and snaps with authenticity and voice.” —Justina Ireland, author of Dread Nation

“An incredibly potent debut.” —Jason Reynolds, author of the National Book Award Finalist Ghost

“Acevedo has amplified the voices of girls en el barrio who are equal parts goddess, saint, warrior, and hero.” —Ibi Zoboi, author of American Street" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Xiomara grows up in Harlem, where her curves, her gender, her age, seem to be the only things that are defining her to the world. She has to keep her silence in a lot of conversations so she can be the good daughter that her mama wants her to be. She fiercely protects her twin brother though, and her fists end up doing a lot of the talking in conversations where twin is bullied or she has been harassed.

Her mother wants her to go through confirmation at church, but Xiomara is asking a lot of big questions and she doesn't seem to have a good place to go to get answers. Her English teacher wants her to join poetry club, and her twin wants her to write/let her voice be heard. Xiomara seems to just want her mama to listen to her as she figures out the chaotic life that's pulsing all around her, but her mama doesn't seem inclined to listen. Her father is in the picture, but he's not really present and accounted for. She starts to have feelings for a boy in her class, Aman, and she wants to explore what that relationship could become, but she has to be very careful about where they go or who can see them for fear her mama might find out.

And that's enough summary.

I loved this story. It felt very unafraid with telling each aspect of Xiomara's life in a very authentic manner and I legit cried at a few of the passages. I would not recommend reading this in a public setting if you don't like people seeing you get emotional at a book...ha...ha.... (learn from my mistakes).

I also thought a lot of Xiomara's feelings and responses felt entirely realistic to her situation, as well as her character growth and how a few pivotal scenes come together. They make sense in a way that life is kind of sloppy and doesn't always fit together well.

It also showed a lot of how Xiomara grew up, how she fell in love with her own words, her own truths, and I just think there's something gravitational and beautiful about that.

Because it's a book of poetry, I think that really helped to control the pacing of the book too, and to all at once give just enough sense of the community, the environment, the situations, without it detracting from Xiomara's perspective, heart, and story.

It was just really, really good.

Happy reading!

Coco Chanel: Pearls, Perfume, and the Little Black Dress

Coco Chanel: Pearls, Perfume, and the Little Black Dress by Susan Goldman Rubin

This book was published on March 13, 2018. I got my hands on an advanced reader's copy; there will undoubtedly be some differences between the version I read, and the published version.

I've been dabbling more into nonfiction since there have been quite a few rewarding nonfiction stories I've read, and some not that great nonfiction stories I've read. Just like fictional books. Haaaa

Anyways, an amazon summary, "Award-winning author Susan Goldman Rubin introduces readers to the most well-known fashion designer in the world, Coco Chanel. Beginning with the difficult years Chanel spent in an orphanage, Goldman Rubin traces Coco’s development as a designer and demonstrates how her determination to be independent helped her gain worldwide recognition. Coco Chanel focuses on the obstacles Chanel faced as a financially independent woman in an era when women were expected to marry; as well as her fierce competition with the Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli; and some of her most memorable firsts for the fashion industry, including the little black dress, the quilted purse with gold chain, and the perfume Chanel No. 5. The book includes a bibliography, a list of where to see her work, and an index." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Coco Chanel is a fashion icon known for the costume pearls, the little black cocktail dress, and her classic perfume. This story charts her life from it's beginning in an orphanage through the end. I'm not going to recount the story of Coco Chanel, but I will discuss what worked about the book for me.

I liked how the book discussed the different social circles and famous people Coco Chanel knew, and I also liked how there were some rather famous men who commented that Coco Chanel's style was simply taking men's clothes and reinventing them so women could wear them. She was one of the ones who made trousers for women a movement of sorts.

However, I really disliked how at one point it came up that Coco Chanel had a worker's strike on her hands. They didn't explain the working conditions of her employees at the time and instead concentrated on their wages.

The little black dress was introduced within the timeline of the book, and kind of discussed the societal impact of it, but I don't think it really hit the whole point. The little black dress was basically THE dress to be seen out on the town in and I just don't think the book expressed enough of how Coco Chanel's work impacted the people.

I think in general, when biographies about famous and influential people are written, there should be a distinguishing factor of kind of WHY they are such a big deal. It should articulate the different set backs they were constantly dealing with, and also, the people's response to them as it is usually the people who make them famous. ...anyways.

I wish there had been more emphasis on any set backs Coco Chanel faced. From how the book portrays her life, there really didn't seem to be many. She seemed to be able to procure any funding she needed, and maybe her biggest set back was just herself. She seemed to work constantly and be very meticulous about her work.

There just seemed to be more that could be said about Chanel, and the book I read was only 107 pages long. For a woman with such a lingering affect on the fashion world today, I just think there's more that could have been written.

Happy reading!

Dragon Bound

Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

This is an adult book, and has graphic sex scenes through out the book. If that kind of content isn't your cup of tea, then I would not recommend reading this book.

This book was recommended to me by a friend as it has a very interesting premise. The mythical creatures of this world are referred to as Wyr and they are able to take on a human form (for the most part). Humans have known of their existence for the past hundred years or so, and Wyr kind has been integrated into human society. The main character, Pia, is half human, half wyr. You don't know what kind of Wyr she is though. Dun dun dunnnn

An amazon summary, "THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING ELDER RACES SERIES!

Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their Dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful—and passionate—of the Elder races. As the most feared and respected of the wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they’ve ignited in each other. Pia knows she must repay Dragos for her trespass, but refuses to become his slave—although she cannot deny wanting him, body and soul..." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Pia has been blackmailed into stealing something from the dragon's hoard by her ex-boyfriend. She manages to find the dragon's hoard due to a charm her ex-boyfriend's superiors gave him to give to her. She sneaks in, steals something small, and then makes sure her ex-boyfriend can't speak about her 'party trick' to anyone else. She then immediately gets the hell out of town, Pia knows she will be hunted down for stealing from Dragos.

The thing is, you don't steal from dragons. Especially not the last known dragon, Dragos. Terrifyling powerful, one of the oldest creatures in existence, and runs a business empire. Once Dragos discovers the theft he's furious, especially after finding the note left behind. ...but then he kind of laughs. He makes his people track them down, but he insists on being the one to bring them in.

That's enough summary.

I liked this book a lot. I liked the characters, I really appreciated Pia's attitude especially towards Dragos, and I loved all the different magical elements introduced. I liked how they showcased the society and started to explain how it all works with each other. There were a few times I felt that went a bit over the top, but it was balanced within the story, so I just shrugged it off.

However, it's my understanding the next books in the series jump around to different characters that were spotlighted in this book, so I won't be picking up the sequels at this time. I really like Pia and Dragos, and would love to read more about them...not anyone else.

Happy reading!

The Place Between Breaths

The Place Between Breaths by an na

This book was published on March 27, 2018. I got my hand's on an advance reader's copy, so undoubtedly there will be some differences between the version I read and the published version.

Alright, so up front, I'm going to just say I WILL discuss the ending of the book in relation to the whole book towards the end of this blog post. There's going to be spoilers like whoa, but later. ...later.

An amazon summary, "From master storyteller and Printz Award–winning author An Na comes a dark, intensely moving story of a girl desperately determined to find a cure for the illness that swept her mother away, and could possibly destroy her own life as well.

Sixteen-year-old Grace is in a race against time—and in a race for her life—even if she doesn’t realize it yet…
She is smart, responsible, and contending with more than what most teens ever should. Her mother struggled with schizophrenia for years until, one day, she simply disappeared—fleeing in fear that she was going to hurt those she cared about most. Ever since, Grace’s father has worked as a recruiter at one of the leading labs dedicated to studying the disease, trying to lure the world’s top scientists to the faculty to find a cure, hoping against hope it can happen in time to help his wife if she is ever found. But this makes him distant. Consumed.
Grace, in turn, does her part, interning at the lab in the gene sequencing department daring to believe that one day they might make a breakthrough…and one day they do. Grace stumbles upon a string of code that could be the key. But something inside of Grace has started to unravel. Could her discovery just be a cruel side effect of the disease that might be taking hold of her? And can she even tell the difference?
Unflinchingly brave, An Na has created a mesmerizing story with twists and turns that reveal jaw-dropping insights into the mind of someone struggling with schizophrenia." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Grace has an internship at a leading gene sequencing research laboratory. She's trying to help unlock the gene sequencing to hopefully save her own grip on life one day. 

She lives with her father on the outskirts of town, and her father is constantly trying to recruit new scientists to help research gene sequencing.

Her mother left when she was a child and she has some memories of her, but her father is obsessed with the hope her mother will come back, and is very diligent in his job to make sure the right people are going to help solve the gene sequencing.

Grace also has a best friend, Hannah, who reveals she's pregnant at the very beginning of the book.

That's enough summary. FULL SPEED INTO SPOILER LAND.

So all the characters in this book seem to be a mega metaphor for Grace's mother. You know Grace's mother has schizophrenia. Grace herself seems to actually BE the mother she's remembering and doesn't want to become. The first convenient clue to that, is that Grace's mother and father are both orphans. So there's no family that can be traced to anywhere.

Secondly, about halfway through the book, you find out that Grace's Dad is actually dead. The laboratory employees know this, and there's even a lab tech by the name of Will who tries to engage with her life. Then, there's everything with Hannah. Hannah being pregnant, Grace being upset at the Dad of the baby for being such a jerk, and later in the book Hannah starts interacting with the Dad. The Dad who we know is dead. I want to say Hannah is the metaphor for Grace struggling on whether or not to keep the baby when she knows it will most likely develop schizophrenia as well.

The ending scenes show the main character in an institute of some variety where she's taking her medications, and she only really responds to the name of 'Mama'. I think the implication is that she had the child, and maybe the beginning of the book is her, or what she fantasizes her child is going through without her, or her husband.

There's just a lot to unpack about this book.

With that being said, I thought the beginning of the book was a little tedious, but because of my personal policy of trying to give every book the first 30% to redeem itself, I stuck with it. I'm glad I did on some level, because now I have a mystery maze to struggle through of trying to figure out what was a metaphor, and what was real. It's always interested me when authors make a book confusing and really play on the unreliable narrator to tell a deeper story. It gives me tons of questions, and with whatever answer I find, I know it's more of a reflection on what I believe in the world rather than what the author may have intended. So the conclusions I spelled out before, may be correct? But they are probably the way I fit all the pieces together to make this book's world make sense. Kind of like every reader is going to have their own perspective on the world. This is one of the books where the reader's perspective can make all the difference (in my oh so humble opinion).

I don't think there are any 'right' answers, and I think every conclusion drawn can be used to find the deeper truth of what the reader thinks of the world.

Or I could be entirely wrong.

Dun dun dunnnn

Either way, it was an interesting read.

Happy reading!

Facing Frederick

Facing Frederick by Tonya Bolden

I dabble in non-fiction from time to time. I reviewed this book years ago, THE FAMILY ROMANOV: MURDER, REBELLION, & THE FALL OF IMPERIAL RUSSIA which is still my go to book to throw at people when they ask for a good non-fiction book. It's also one of my favorite books to give as a gift to the curious person.

Anyways, this book tells some of the life of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was a very prominent black man who did tours to deliver speeches denouncing slavery, and a bunch of other stuff.

Here's the amazon summary, "Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) is best known for the telling of his own emancipation. But there is much more to Douglass’s story than his time spent enslaved and his famous autobiography. Facing Frederick captures the whole complicated, and at times perplexing, person that he was. Statesman, suffragist, writer, and newspaperman, this book focuses on Douglass the man rather than the historical icon." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

I may have heard the name Frederick Douglass at some point in my life before, but honestly I could not recollect anything about him. It was pretty fun to dive into the history of a man that I knew relatively nothing about.

I don't want to spend time painting the life of Frederick Douglass, if you want to know, you can read this book. Let's talk about what I wished I had seen a bit more of.

I liked reading about the different events going on around the world within the context of the struggles within Frederick's life. However, I wish it had gone further. There was a moment when they discussed Frederick's reaction to Lincoln, but I wish there had been more details about how Frederick reacted to other people, how he reacted to the world at large. One of the biggest takeaways I had from this book, was how often he traveled around to deliver his speeches. I felt kind of let down when I never got to read about any reactions to the contents of his speeches. I feel like there was too much, "He did this thing, he struggled with this business partner, next thing" without giving enough context of the world. Did he face opposition even trying to give his speeches? Was he turned away at first, but then experienced success later? I do know he was in demand at different times in his life, but I think as a whole, the only really reactions to Frederick I saw was just his colleagues. He wasn't trying to convince his colleagues though, well for the most part, he was trying to convince civilians.

I also liked reading about this period of time in American history, but I also feel like the book could have done a better job at giving the context of the framework that Frederick was working within. I find it hard to believer that the only prominent people involved within the movement were mentioned in this book. I know that if they gave everyone their time of day, this book would not be about Frederick anymore, and I get that. Just the context of what made his voice stand out so much more than everyone else's because this is what he said in comparison essentially.

I think the oddest fact that really stuck with me about Frederick Douglass is that he's one of the most photographed Americans for the era. Slight spoiler, there's not a lot of photos with him and his iconic 'lion's mane' hair within the book. It was also interesting to find out that Frederick published three autobiographies (published at different times, creating a kind of "the story so far" sense is my understanding). I kind of feel like this was a timeline of events in Frederick Douglass life rather than the story of his person.

On one hand, I kind of wonder if I expected this to be too much like a story. On the other hand, I did get to learn a lot about a famous person in history that I knew relatively nothing about before this experience. Perhaps I'm meant to seek out another book about him for further reading? I don't know, maybe I will.

Happy reading!

Sip

Sip by Brian Allen Carr

I want to warn you that this book is kind of dark, truthfully graphic (like violent/naked/kind of uncomfortable situations presented in very blunt factual manner), and it kinds of reminds me a teeny tiny bit of A Brave New World. Just in the sense they present kind of taboo topics in a way where none of the characters really bat at an eye at it.

So, be warned? An amazon summary to maybe give you a better feel for the book, "A lyrical, apocalyptic debut novel about addiction, friendship, and the struggle for survival at the height of an epidemic.

The sickness with a single child and quickly spread: you could get high by drinking your own shadow. Artificial lights were destroyed so addicts could sip shadow at night in the pure moonlight. Gangs of shadow addicts chased down children on playgrounds, rounded up old ladies from retirement homes. Cities were destroyed and governments fell. And if your shadow was sipped entirely, you became one of them, had to drink the shadows of others or go mad.
One hundred and fifty years later, what’s left of the world is divided between the highly regimented life of those inside dome cities who are protected from natural light (and natural shadows), and those forced to the dangerous, hardscrabble life in the wilds outside. In rural Texas, Mira, her shadow-addicted-friend Murk, and an ex-domer named Bale search for a possible mythological cure to the shadow sickness—but they must find it, it is said, before the return of Halley’s Comet, which is only days away." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

The world kind of crashed and burned when people started drinking their own shadows...and going a little crazy. The shadow drinking essentially gets you super high...but it can also kill you if you have no shadow. You have to 'eat' shadows to live, and someone else can eat your entire shadow, leaving you shadowless, and also makes it so now you have to eat shadows to stay alive.

There are also domes where people can hide from the sun with decrease in shadows and be safe? It's a little odd and kind of unclear. Anyways.

So Mira and Murk live outside the domes, where Murk is addicted to his shadow, but he has a peg leg, so that means he doesn't run out... ....I'm still not entirely sure how that works. Mira can turn her shadow on and off, but she sips shadows without eating them to keep her mother alive, so she's not ill-affected by shadow harvesting. But the first scene we see...is Mira contemplating killing herself by getting close enough to the train to get shot. Where Bale, who guards the train as part of the dome guards, gets himself kicked off the train for not shooting her.

I don't know the book, is kind of a weird slapstick of one happenstance that I bet if I read it again I would pick up on subtle nuances that would paint a more complete picture? ...but I don't feel compelled. I'm kind of stumped by what I was 'supposed' to get out of this book? It kind of seemed like an inane ride through madness with enough landmarks along the way that it was kind of recognizable. I don't really have anything else to say so I guess...

Happy reading?

Dance of Thieves

Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

This is the start of a sequel duology to The Remnant Chronicles. I have not blogged about The Remnant Chronicles at this point, but I am kind of madly in love with the trilogy. Here are some amazon links; BOOK 1 - THE KISS OF DECEPTION, BOOK 2 - THE HEART OF BETRAYAL, and BOOK 3 - THE BEAUTY OF DARKNESS. Seriously, love all three books. I would HIGHLY recommend reading those three books before reading this book.

Brief crap summary if you need a hook. Post apocalyptic world where kingdoms of people have formed and basically live in a medieval style. There are three different narrators in the first trilogy, which, with what they do in book 1, well, that has made me recommend it to everyone I know in real life. It's kind of intense.

Imagine my intense delight when they even announced there was going to be MORE books in the same world. I about lost my damn mind.

Again, I would HIGHLY recommend reading the first three books before reading this book. Not only because they're good, but you will get to see some characters from the previous series in this book. I don't think you inherently have to read the first three books before reading this book....but like why wouldn't you. THEY ARE AMAZING. 

...anyways. An amazon summary, "A stunning new adventure set in the kingdoms of the Remnant.

A formidable outlaw family that claims to be the first among nations.

A son destined to lead, thrust suddenly into power.

Three fierce young women of the Rahtan, the queen's premier guard.

A legendary street thief leading a mission, determined to prove herself.

A dark secret that is a threat to the entire continent.

When outlaw leader meets reformed thief, a cat-and-mouse game of false moves ensues, bringing them intimately together in a battle that may cost them their lives―and their hearts." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

I want to say up front this book is written from Kazi's perspective and Jase's perspective in alternating chapters. Very similar to how the first trilogy was written from three different character's perspectives. Anywho.

Kazi of Brightmist is part of the elite guard (Rahtan) who protect the Queen of Venda. After the events of the previous three books, Kazi and two of her fellow Rahtan are sent on a mission to investigate treaty violations committed in Hell's Mouth/Tor's Watch.

Jase has recently become the leader of Hell's Mouth/Tor's Watch at the untimely death of his father. He's doing everything in his power to protect his family, his city, his people, and his ancestry in the turmoil of his father's untimely demise. Unfortunately, the first time he meets Kazi, is after a night of drunken antics. They have a scuffle and as Jase stalks off away from his guards, Kazi leaves her fellow Rahtan behind to talk to him alone.

Where they run into labor hunters (essentially slavers). The labor hunters begin to transport them out of the city in a wagon, where Kazi and Jase are shackled together at their ankles, and Kazi was knocked out pretty bad to the point where Jase is keeping an eye on her to make sure she's even breathing. When Kazi wakes up, a series of incidences occur which lead to Jase and Kazi escaping into the wild, desperately trying to find their way to a settlement or Hell's Mouth/Tor's Watch.

That is ENOUGH SUMMARY.

So much like the first trilogy, this book has a lot of interesting relationship dynamics, tons of backstory and character growth for our narrators, and I've always admired how Mary E. Pearson can write about a scene from both character's perspectives without rehashing a stupid amount of details. Her stories flow very well, and they're also very intricate. I also loved how the political dynamics carried into this book as I was a little nervous there wouldn't be a lot of political shenanigans based on the first three books story. 

There were definitely times throughout the story where I was rooting for one narrator, then the other, and even got to points where I was like SCREW BOTH OF YOU, YOU'RE BOTH BEING DUMB (but I love you anyways). 

There's definitely going to be a sequel, and I'm very excited to find out what happens next! ...and I'm not going to start looking up sequel release dates in the same month the first book was published.... because usually that information isn't available... ha.... ha..... ....

Happy reading!

Frost

Frost by M.P. Kzolowsky

This did have one of the more interesting takes on the end of human society as we know it...but unfortunately that didn't mean it was well written.

For full clarity, I read up until page 182 out of 336 pages. This book review is only based on what I managed to finish of the book.

An amazon summary, "16-year-old Frost understands why she's spent her entire life in an abandoned apartment building. The ruined streets below are hunting grounds for rogue robots and Eaters.
She understands why she's never met a human besides her father. She even understands why he forbids her to look for medicine for her dying pet. But the thing is, it's not her real father giving the orders . . .
It's his memories.
Before he died, Frost's father uploaded his consciousness into their robot servant. But the technology malfunctioned, and now her father fades in and out. So when Frost learns that there might be medicine on the other side of the ravaged city, she embarks on a dangerous journey to save the only living creature she loves.
With only a robot as a companion, Frost must face terrors of all sorts, from outrunning the vicious Eaters. . .to talking to the first boy she's ever set eyes on. But can a girl who's only seen the world through books and dusty windows survive on her own?" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Frost lives in an apartment with her best friend Romes, a broot (like a gigantic wild dog/wolf thing, but not a dire wolf), and their robot Bunt. Her father uploaded his mind into Bunt before his death, so sometimes he can take over Bunt, but he has a very difficult time controlling the robot body. Romes becomes sick, and Frost is determined to leave their apartment and venture out into the desolated streets. Frost "knows" of the dangers outside but has been inside the apartment for as long as she can remember. Determined, Frost is adamant about leaving the apartment to go find a cure for Romes, since well everyone else she ever knew is dead at this point. Did I mention her mom is dead too?

Anyways, they embark on their adventure out into the world, and well, if it weren't for Bunt, Frost would be dead like ten times over. They basically start going through different areas of the world and Frost is encountering the different reactions/happenstances people went through as society fell.

It all sounds really interesting right? The humans even turned into eaters in some cases. Eaters are basically humans with insatiable hunger. They have some kind of mutation that as they start eating themselves (if they can't find anything else to eat) that their wounds basically cauterize quickly enough that they never bleed out. Also, the robots all went crazy or something? And Frost's Dad seems to be the one who invented the robots?

I'm sure there's more to the mystery, and there's more to the book, but I couldn't read anymore. There was too much of this weird belligerent innocence from Frost; like she was constantly unaware of how the world currently existed and was completely caught unawares by every different situation she came across. She's sixteen. I found so much of her innocence to be implausible. Also, in the beginning of the book, Frost is able to see a lot of the city from the missing wall of their apartment. So many of these things should not be surprising to her.

I also disliked how her motivation to leave the apartment was to save Romes, but it felt like her best friend was forgotten over half the time. I had to stop reading, the writing style really struggled to hold my attention. It was just so sterile, even during an emotional reaction. It seemed almost on the level of, "Frost was sad," and that was all you got to understand the emotions of the situation.

So I gave up.

Happy reading!

To Kill a Kingdom

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Who doesn't like a good sea story? ...probably someone. I don't know.

An amazon summary, "Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most--a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian's heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever. 

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby--it's his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she's more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good--But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind's greatest enemy?" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Princess Lira is a siren. Siren's are supposed to kill and capture the heart of a human each year. Her mother, the sea witch, would kill and capture the heart of a prince every year to keep her alive. So when Lira became old enough, she also hunted down a prince every year to keep herself alive. With 100 kingdoms in this world, there seem to be enough princes to continue the tradition. She became known as the Prince's Bane.

Which brings us to Prince Elian, who has made it his mission to hunt down sirens. He loves the sea, he wants to be out on the oceans, and when he's on land he's just incredibly sleepy. He's hunting the oceans to rid the ocean of sirens, and hopefully the sea queen that controls them all.

Who happens to be Princess Lira's mother. Princess Lira's mother, is kind of an awful variety of being. She's ruthless, she cares nothing for other's lives, and she will murder to make a point. So when Princess Lira harvests a prince's heart too early, she sees it as defiance against the decrees she has set. As punishment, the sea queen turns Lira into a human and charges her with taking Prince Elian's heart while she's a human, then she can return back to the sea kingdom.

Prince Elian comes across a naked woman floating in the ocean by herself who is drowning. He plunges into the ocean to save her and brings her aboard his ship.

So the story begins. That's enough summary.

I really liked this book. There was a stunning contrast between the narrations of Lira and Elian, the contrast of cultures, and there was also such a great world building. How the 100 kingdoms came to be in the state that they are, how the struggle with the sea kingdom was born, and so much more.

I was rooting for Lira, I was rooting for Elian, and they were on two sides of the same struggle coin. That is good storytelling.

I also really loved Lira's entire character; seeing her as a siren, seeing her as a human, and seeing how it all played together in the end.

I also really liked Elian, understanding where he came from, understanding what he was doing to get to a future he could live with, and how his crew came to be the way they are. The supporting characters were just as good as the main characters.

This was a rich tapestry of a story, and I definitely want to see more in this world. Maybe not a sequel with how the story wraps up, but just more within this world. Definitely an author to watch.

Happy reading!

Roar

Roar by Cora Carmack

More fantasy books? Don't mind if I do!

Kind of a disclaimer? I have no idea who Cora Carmack is in the adult publishing world. I've never read anything else by her. I kind of purused her website and I'm pretty sure I haven't. The amazon summary starts out by stating she's a new york times bestseller, and I just had a 'wait, what' moment. So, clarifications! Whee!

An amazon summary, "New York Times bestselling author Cora Carmack's young adult debut: Roar.

In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.

Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora's been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.
She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks―storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage. 

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Aurora is the princess to a Stormling kingdom where her magic has yet to manifest itself. The stormlings are able to tame storms. The storms seem to have a mind of their own and are usually hell bent on destroying cities/people. So, it's kind of big deal that the princess to a stormling kingdom doesn't seem to have any magic....but her mother (the queen) has decided to keep it a secret. Constantly rotating out her maids and doing the work to fend off storms from their kingdom (where normally the heir starts to). Stormlings are also able to capture the heart of the storm after they've defeated it essentially. ...which is how Aurora's brother died (the original heir to the throne). So Aurora is doing her absolute best to try to be worthy of the throne. But she doesn't have magic, so she can't protect her kingdom. 

The solution? Marry a prince from a powerful stormling family of the neighboring kingdom. Enter....well... a very unsavory dude. He's super manipulative but to what end? Aurora ends up following him out of the palace when her suspicions are raised and wanders into...essentially the black market. She meets a group of storm hunters, and she's never heard of them before. The black market excursion opens her world view and she begins to wonder what else she doesn't know.

That is enough summary.

The story telling in this is a little weird for this plot line. It's third person omniscient, but it skips around so much. There's also a weird, immediate lust thing that happens when Aurora meets the prince from another kingdom and also one of the storm hunters in the black market. I guess it could kind of made sense in the strict context of Aurora not really being around people, but like, dudes, you're making it so hard to treat Aurora as a respectable character. It's basically that weird, "what is this weird fire that seems to be igniting in my belly and on my skin?" when they got anywhere close. Apparently, Aurora also did a crap ton of training with the soldiers of her kingdom...so I feel like she should be super used to close contact. You can't really learn how to fight without getting up in someone else's personal space. So I found that entire aspect of the story highly implausible.

There were also elements introduced about other characters personalities that it seemed like within pages, they were dismissed or were shown a completely opposite trait. So in the grand scheme of running around in this chaotic plot and finding magic potentially, you also have conflicting storytelling. There were lots of aspects of Aurora I wanted to root for as like a gung ho, strong female character, but because of how the storytelling was done, it was a little jarring. Especially when you were hopping into the minds of the men who find her attractive also make a lot of comments of like, "She's so hot, but determined, what a rare quality in women". It was just pretty discouraging. I guess it kind of makes sense in the aspect of making sure to portray how the world views her to know exactly what mindsets she's dealing with...but it was still disheartening.

I am intrigued by the overall plot presented by the book, but I don't think I'll pick up the sequel.

Happy reading!