Review: The Adversary by Erin M. Evans

Book three in The Sundering series was a welcome change from the incredible doom and gloom that I felt in the first two books. You’re introduced to two tiefling, Farideh and her sister Havilar. While the book is third in the series you’re more than welcome to read it out of order, the books (like the previous ones) only loosely tie together (they all take place in the same ‘world’). The world is still filled with doom and gloom but there are hints of romance and characters that I didn’t absolutely disdain which always helps.

Farideh makes a pact (or two, or three) with a devil in order to keep those she cares about safe from harm. Of course making pacts with devils never turns out the way you want it to, and she soon finds herself in over her head, serving a wizard who is rounding up the Chosen of the Gods for a purpose that she can’t figure out. Her sister is bent on rescuing her, along with her old patron, a group of harpers who think she is a traitor, and a red wizard. Each person has their own reason for finding Farideh, with their own outcome of the events.

I can honestly say this third book is my favorite so far. The characters were colourful and came alive in a way that I didn’t see in the previous books. It was nice to see characters that were not all good or all evil; they made mistakes, and paid for those mistakes. I found myself ‘rooting’ for each character as they neared their goal and while the ending may have been predictable, I was satisfied with how it carried out.

This book released in December, so it’s a great time to pick it up. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and I thank NetGalley as well as the publishers for the opportunity.

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

Review – children of fire by Drew Karpyshyn

A brutal story of power, betrayal, and guilt, Children of Fire sets the table for what looks to be a decent series. It starts simple enough, introducing the main characters one by one through their births. It can be confusing for somebody with a fleeting mind (like me) as so many characters are introduced, but through attrition, manipulation, and of course magic – the characters start to come together. Things get a little easier to follow once most of the “heroes” are together and they follow a single storyline.

The characters aren’t perfect, both inside and out, and the adventure definitely takes its toll on both.

The story is a little slow paced to start but really picks up by the end of the book.

If the first book is any indication, the remainder of the series will be full of twists, turns, and of course brutal violence.

3/5 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