Review: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

For some reason a lot of the classics that my friends had read back in high school were not books that I was ever introduced to, so I have spent a lot of time over the last few years catching up on some classics. Not only because they’re books that everyone should read at least once, but because I honestly enjoy the writing style of these books and the stories are usually entertaining. I’m not sure if it is because I just like to read about worlds that are so different from the one that I currently live in, but they’re enjoyable none the less.

Despite what most would think, I have never seen a movie version of this book before, and I had no idea what it was really about. I mean, obviously it was about a guy who went around the world in 80 days but anyone could guess that from the title. For some reason I thought that the adventure took place in an air balloon – which is not the case at all.

The book is about Phileas Fogg and his French servant Passepartout. Phileas is challenged to travel around the world in 80 days by a group of rich men he hangs out with. It just happens that there is a pretty large size robbery just as he leaves, and police are convinced that his leaving the country and this robbery are linked. While he is busy trying to win the wager of being able to make the trip, the police are chasing him down and interacting with both himself and Passepartout. It makes the whole adventure even more endearing and while the book is incredibly outdated to the point of being almost rude (there are many stereotypes) I still found it a really good read and not at all what I expected.

4/5 stars

Review: Crow Lake, by Mary Lawson

In an attempt to branch out from my typical genres, I decided to join a book club hosted by Random House, and this was their current book selection, along with a chat with the author taking place on December 3rd. When I initially signed up I did not expect to finish the book in time because there was less than a week to go, but I found myself pulled into the story right away and finished it with lots of time to spare.

Crow Lake is beautifully written, and incredibly emotional. You follow the story of a family who lives in a small farming community, from the perspective of a middle child. They undergo incredible tragedy early on and must either learn to cope, or lose the closeness of their family.

I had a bit of an issue with the main character’s perspective but I think it was because I found her hard to relate to. She was incredibly aloof and I found her to be self centered masked behind a “this is what I think is best for the family” persona.

The book also (in my opinion) ends rather abruptly. You’re very slowly and cautiously lead through the happenings of this family, painstakingly falling into their world bit by bit and it all builds up to one moment where everything is unleashed – and ends, within the same last section. It left me wondering and wanting more, which I suppose is the purpose.

Still, I’m very glad I picked up Crow Lake and highly recommend it. A wonderful book by a fantastic Canadian author.

Review: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

I know I’ve put this book into the fantasy category, but it’s not traditional fantasy, with wizards and magic and what have you. It’s more urban fantasy, or mythology.

If there was one book I read this year that I would call the ‘winning’ book for 2013 (no matter when it was published) this would be it. I don’t even have words to describe it properly. When I first started reading I wasn’t really expecting too much. A few friends had read it and given good ratings, but I didn’t know what to expect. You know those books that just pull you into the story and before you know it your eyes are sore from being open so long and as you look at the clock you realize that it’s three in the morning? It was that type of book.

The main characters are Chava, a clay golem, and Ahmad, a jinni. They don’t meet right away, first the reader lives through Chava’s creation, and then onward to New York City, the year 1899. The detail the writer puts into this book is nothing short of amazing. There’s so much culture and feeling behind every single character and action that you can’t help but realize just how human these two beings actually are. There are many other characters that dot the scene too, and their stories are just as interesting. That’s just one of the (many) reasons I found it hard to put the book down.

I really don’t want to give away the story here, and I know it’s shoddy to say “trust me, read it” but honestly, that’s what this book comes down to. I can guarantee that you won’t regret it. A huge congratulations to Helene Wecker on her debut novel, what a way to get started.

5/5 stars

Review: The Last Priestess by Elizabeth Baxter

This book was an ARC given to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book was a pleasant surprise to read and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. The characters were robust and while the story may have had a flaw or hole here and there, it was one of those books I love to curl up and read on a cold weekend. The book is about Maegwin, who is facing trial for killing a handful of men who first killed a bunch of her friends. These friends were priestesses of Sho-La, and now she is the last one. Along the way she meets up with Rovann, who becomes a really important part of her journey.

Without giving too much of the main story away, I will say it follows the typical good vs. evil plot, and it tends to be quite predictable but I had no issue with that. It kept me wanting more the entire time I read it and that is never a bad thing. If you’re looking for an ultra casual page turner that doesn’t have you trying to figure out what the writer is describing, I would highly suggest giving The Last Priestess a read.

3.5/5 stars

Review: A Seaside Christmas by Sherryl Woods

An ARC given to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Jenny Collins returns home to take a break from her busy life as a songwriter, but of course going home comes with all the trials and tribulations of family drama, so of course she’s not really getting a break from anything at all. The (ex) love of her life follows her there, and he gets to deal with her incredibly over protective family (even the extended ones) while she works on mending fences with her mother who recently got married and had a kid (so now only child Jenny is also a reluctant sister).

This book was alright but nothing really special to me because it lacked the oomph of descriptions to pull me into the world that Jenny lived in. The author is fantastic at conversation, and many (many) chapters are nothing but.

I also found it incredibly difficult to relate to any of the characters. Jenny behaves like a spoiled child, Bree is into things for her own gain (or at least that is how she constantly comes across) and Caleb (who is trying to redeem himself) just keeps sinking deeper into a hole. While I am not against books that have no true ‘good guy’ or ‘hero’ it does make things easier if I can at least relate to someone on a very basic level and understand them. I just didn’t have that here.

Still, what I was looking for when I picked this book was a nice simple read with a pleasant story, and on that note, A Seaside Christmas does deliver.

3/5

Review: Dragonwriter: A Tribute to Anne McCaffrey and Pern by Todd J. McCaffrey

This book was an ARC provided to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I’ve read a lot of books by Anne McCaffrey over the years, and although she wasn’t my favorite fantasy author, she did manage to draw me into the world of Pern with ease. After all, who doesn’t love stories of magical dragons and incredibly memorable characters.

The book is a collection of essays about her and remembering her life. They include writings by her friends, family, and other authors. The ones that stood out to me most were by Todd McCaffrey himself, you could really feel the emotion behind his words and I’m guessing that is the point. To remind us all why we fell in love with this fantastic author.

My one small issue is that a lot of the essays provided did not actually seem to be about Anne McCaffrey, but about the specific author who was providing the essay. I know sometimes that is hard to avoid as you’re trying to give backstory, but it distracted from the point of the book in my opinion and was not always necessary.

The essays (while well written) had a tendency to blend into one and it was difficult at times to distinguish one person from another, so I broke the book up into sections to get more of a ‘fresh’ feel while I read it. Still, it was amazing to gain so much more information into her life, and to learn about aspects that I had no idea about. If you were a fan of her books at all I would recommend giving the book a read just for that. It’s a nice reminder that authors are regular people, and that we all have our stories to tell.

3/5 stars

Review: The Republic of Thieves, by Scott Lynch

A thank you first to NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

After reading both The Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies (Gentleman Bastards 1 and 2) I could not wait for the third book to come out. I was so excited. This book certainly did not disappoint, either. If you haven’t read the first two books I highly suggest it.

The third book introduces us to a character that until now we have only heard about in snippets of conversation (usually from Locke) – his lady love, Sabetha. The book focuses on two aspects of her, the past when Locke becomes smitten and how their “relationship” progresses, and the present day where they are thrown together in a contest of sorts by the bondsmagi. If you’re not fond of books that flip between the past and present every other chapter you may find this one no better, but I personally enjoyed the suspense of having to wait between stories to find out what happens next.

In the past you’re sent off to learn about Locke, Sabetha, Jean, and the twins Calo and Galdo who are all training as… actors. That’s right, Chains has sent them off for a little while to learn how to work together in the real world. There the romance between Locke and Sabetha really comes to a head – although of course as we already know it’s been smoldering in some form ever since the two first met. I mean really FIRST met, when Locke was 6 years old. I loved this portion of the book more so than the present day trials and tribulations, but that was really no surprise as I simply adore the whole concept of their little gang of friends.

In the present Locke and Jean are pitted against Sabetha in a political contest and during the contest the old flame rekindles and things start to heat up until the bondsmagi lay down some very drastic news that once again pushes the two apart. I found this incredibly frustrating because I really want the two to be together and happy! Of course what sort of book would that make.. probably a boring one. I enjoyed the tricks and details of the contest, and I really like how the two teams “fought” against one another – but I did find the details behind the whole political contest a bit drab. While the bondmagi story should be one of the ‘main’ storylines I was far more interested in pretty much everything else.

Still, the book was amazing, and I devoured every bit of it. Now I just have to wait for the next one..

4 / 5 stars

The Bookstore – By Deborah Meyler

The bookstore was advertised to me as a ‘quirky’ book about a young woman who finds herself single, pregnant, and working in a bookstore (while also working on her PhD in art history at Columbia) and it certainly delivered. I found it easy and relaxing to read although there were parts that annoyed me.

The main character, Esme, is a smart young woman but in sections of the book she seems way too naive. Overly so. More so that I would have believed of a “real” woman. Especially because in other sections she’s not naive at all. Everyone came across as a bit too perfect – except Esme’s ex-boyfriend of course.

The characters are colourful, and I found myself wanting to hear more about them as the story progressed which is always a good thing except that the book never delivered on my desire.

There’s a lot of details about her schooling, and her ex-boyfriends career. Details about the bookstore which I found really endearing. The writing flip-flopped while I was reading though, from being detailed and quite intricate to being very plain and simple. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but it did make me want to skip some of the boring bits to get to the main story again.

Over all, I do think it was a well written debut novel. No issues with grammar or layout of the ARC I was given in return for an honest review. I would recommend it for anyone looking for a light romance story with a lot of education packed behind it – and of course anyone who loves those little bookstores that are tucked away in all of our cities.

4/5 stars

Reflections of a Wandering Mind – By Meghan Robbins

From time to time I like to wander away from the usual fantasy books that I read, and so my ‘travels’ found me browsing through Netgalley looking for something different.

Reflections of a Wandering MInd is a book of poetry – and it’s all about how we feel when we grow up. Sadly when I received this book it was almost impossible to read it in the format it was presented to me in which was kindle. How poetry is presented on a page is very important, and I found it almost impossible to work with. Still, I read it.

Some of the poems were wonderful. They resonated with me and growing up, thoughts and ideas that I had at one time. A lot of moments spent trying to figure ourselves out, figure out where we fit in the world and how our friends influence everything. It felt like there was quite a bit of repetition in subjects between the poems, and some were more like jumbled thoughts running together than poems, but that is often how ‘art’ works. One meaning to the writer, and another to the reader.

I think the book was a great starter, and wonder if the author has written anything more. It was quite a short read, but it didn’t make the words any less powerful.

2/5 stars

Review: The Companions by R.A. Salvatore

As a disclaimer I was given a review ebook copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I grew up reading about the adventures of Drizzt and all of his friends. They were probably some of my first fantasy genre books, and then over time I fell out of love with the writing style of R.A. Salvatore, and I stopped reading his work. I think The Companions was the perfect book to read to get re-acquainted with all of the characters, their histories, and the world in general.

If you’ve never read any of the Drizzt books before you may think that this book isn’t for you – but not so. I think the explanations are pretty clear even for a new reader and you don’t feel as though you’re dropped into a world without knowing what is going on. It may even entice a few people to read some of the older books so that you can see how the characters used to be portrayed.

*slight spoiler*

Things start out easily enough, Catti-brie, Regis, and Wulfgar are sent back once more to help out Drizzt in a time of need. The story follows them as they are reincarnated as younger versions of themselves (way younger, they actually start out as infants) and then grow up in their “new” lives until they are of the appropriate age to help. You follow each character through their new trials, tribulations and amazing adventures, while they are conscience of the fact that they’ve been reincarnated – I found this a particularly neat aspect of the book. Lots of people get reincarnated but how many times are they aware of it without some branch knocking them on the head and restoring their memories and the like.

Because of this unique perspective there was tons of humor interspersed throughout and it reminded me so much of R.A. Salvatore’s earlier writing style that I couldn’t help but fall in love with the book. I’m not going to give too much more away, but I highly recommend people check it out when the book releases August 6th 2013.