A Blight of Mages – by Karen Miller

Wow. It had been so long since I had a good fantasy book pull me in the way A Blight of Mages did. I wasn’t even expecting it, which was the best part. I had the book in my to-read pile for quite some time, having read other books by Karen Miller (the Innocent Mage, the Awakened Mage, etc) and had just sort of forgotten about it. I’m incredibly glad that I finally got around to reading this one. Things started out a little slow for my liking. You’re introduced to Barl, who is an opinionated woman working at a job she doesn’t want to be in. She wants more out of life, as do we all. You learn about the relationship with her brother and the problems she has gotten into in the past. She is a low-born mage, and she isn’t allowed to progress the way she’d like, the way she knows she deserves. She wants to attend the mage college in Elvado, the capital city of Dorana, but she is denied. She is frustrated by this, and acts out a bit like a spoiled brat.

Things drag on for a bit until through a series of events, Barl meets Morgan. Morgan is broken, and Barl is his redemption. His first love is dead, his father is dying and begging for an heir. From here things get incredibly intense, and they move fast. Barl and Morgan fall in love. They start working together, creating together. It’s fast paced, and it’s passionate. The outside world becomes a blur as they wrap themselves up within each other and their project.

As a reader it was easy for me to become wrapped up in their affections as well. It was easy to miss the signs that not all was right. Suddenly faced with the realization that things are very wrong, it was like a splash of cold water to the face. I couldn’t believe it, I had been that wrapped up in the story. The book can get quite violent, but I felt that within the story it worked and it wasn’t out of place.

The book does a fantastic job at pulling at your emotions. Starting with indifference towards the characters, becoming wrapped up in their romance and happiness and then sudden horror and shock and sadness when the pieces finally slide together by the end.

Highly recommended.

5 / 5 stars

Review: The Giver, by Lois Lowry

For some reason, unlike many of my friends, I did not read this book growing up. In fact I hadn’t even heard of it until someone mentioned the movie was coming out a while ago, and then I saw it in the book store and decided it was well past time I gave it a read (I have no interest in watching the movie at all, it just happened to come up in discussion).

It an easy read describing the day to day life of one Jonas. He talks about his community. He talks about how everyone is assigned a role. There’s no war. No fear. No choice. Everyone knows what is expected of them, and they’re trained to do exactly that. Jonas gets a very special role in his community, he is to be taught by ‘The Giver’. This is supposed to be high praise for him, that he has been selected and chosen. As he begins his teachings, he realizes that something is not right. That things are not as they seem. He begins learning and experiencing things that no one else has to go through. He begins to see both literally and figuratively.

This book is powerful. I know the opinions on it are varied and that’s part of the charm about it, but to me it spoke on a very personal level. It’s also one of those books where you don’t want to discuss what the ‘big thing’ is that happens in the book for fear of giving away the story. I know reviews like to talk about all the details, but honestly some things are better off left as surprises.

The Giver made me think. It made me consider things about life in a different light than what I had considered them with previously. It made me sad to think that what Jonas was living through could be considered normal. That he was the only one who slowly discovered that it wasn’t normal at all. It made me realize how privileged I am. How lucky. I came away from the book with so many thoughts and ideas that it took me a bit to work through everything and to collect my thoughts.

My only ‘issue’ with the book if it can be called that is the unsatisfying ending that leaves everything hanging. Of course that’s the point, the point is that the reader should imagine at that time what happens next, what path Jonas was headed down. I can hardly fault a book for that. In the end, if you’re looking for a laid back dystopian read and for some reason you haven’t picked up The Giver yet, I would suggest you give it a try.

4/5 stars

Review: The Highest Number in the World

This book was provided to me free of charge from TundraBooks in exchange for an honest review.

I signed up to review children’s books a while ago, but this is the first time I was actually selected. I was very excited. I love books for all ages, and reading out of my ‘usual’ age group lets me learn about what others are reading and also helps me promote books to friends and family with children in that age group. Reading is reading, after all.

This book is beautiful, and resonated with me as a Canadian and of course a lover of hockey. Not just one Canadian team either, there are references throughout the book to many Canadian hockey teams and players. Hockey is something we should be proud of, and something we should learn about. I feel that this book opened up some great discussion topics about the sport in general, while also touching on some more serious topics.

Gabe (Gabriella) Murray is a young 9 year old girl, and she loves hockey. All of her life she has wanted to be just like her hero, Hayley Wickenheiser. That’s where the interest starts. Haley Wickenheiser isn’t just a made up character, she’s a real person, the first woman to play full-time professional hockey in a position other than goalie. She wears the number 22. Gabe ends up getting a different number, and she isn’t too pleased by that. She wants to quit and give up – but her grandmother comes along and shows Gabe all of the wonderful things about being the number 9, and explains the significance of numbers that have been retired.

The entire book is a lovely learning experience wrapped inside of a happy story about a young girl. The illustrations were detailed but not overpowering, I loved spending time on each page to make sure that I saw everything.

Perfect for children ages 6-10 (boy or girl), this book is a must-read for any fan of hockey or potential future fan.

4/5 stars

Review: The Harem Midwife

I enjoyed reading the first book by Roberta Rich, The Midwife of Venice, but I ended up having much of the same issues. Unlike many series, the reader will want to read the first book before reading this one. The story will make much more sense that way. My problem of course is the ending. Again.

We meet up with Hannah and her husband Isaac, this time they’re living in Constantinople, with the baby that Hannah stole and brought with her. She starts up her midwife business again, and do to her amazing skills, she falls into good graces with the Sultan’s Harem. Aside from the story of Hannah and Isaac, there are two new characters brought into the fold. The stories of these two new characters blend with Hannah and Isaac, and much drama ensues. About half way into the book the reader is almost overwhelmed with all of the drama and negativity that is going on. It looks like there is absolutely no way that the families involved can get away unscathed – and yet – in true Roberta Rich fashion, in the last 15% of the book, everything magically comes together and works out.

This. Frustrates. Me.

It frustrated me in the previous book, and it frustrates me again now. The books themselves are incredibly detailed, beautiful, well written works that I enjoy on such an enormous level – but the endings constantly leave me shaking my head sadly and wondering “Wow. Did I really just read the entire thing to have it end like THAT?”.

It is so incredibly disheartening.

3/5 stars

Review: Dreamer’s Pool, by Juliet Marillier

This is one book that I really wanted to give 5/5 stars to, because everyone else who suggested I read it, did. Try as I might, I just couldn’t get into it as much as I wanted to. The characters and the world came across as flat and predictable. It begins with Blackthorn, who is imprisoned. She manages to make a deal with a mysterious man who promises her freedom IF she travels to Dalriada. Once there, she is to set up as the local healer, and help anyone who needs it. Her companion, Grim, who she meets in prison, follows after her. Because she worries about breaking her vow (helping anyone who needs it) she eventually decides to let him work with her, and they form a comfortable friendship (though they each keep their own secrets).

Meanwhile, Oran, who is the prince of Dalriada, is waiting for his future bride, Lady Flidais. He feels like he knows her intimately, though they have never met. When she finally arrives, tragedy strikes, and the lady is shaken from head to toe. From there the story changes. Lady Flidais is nothing like how Oran imagined her to be. She doesn’t act anything like her letters, and as time goes on the mystery only deepens.

Blackthorn raises her standing with the locals as a healer, and eventually Oran hears about her gift for solving problems. He approaches her for help, and together her, Grim, and Oran must all work together, or much more than just a marriage will be in jeopardy.

I think one of the main reasons I didn’t enjoy reading it was because I had already ‘solved’ the mystery before it was even presented. Once I knew what the mystery was, I just wanted them to move along at a faster pace to solve it. The writer, however, had a different idea, and things moved very slowly through the first portion of the book. It was not until the last 25% or so that things then seemed to move at a frantic pace, almost too fast. The book also seemed to imply a lot of sex shaming, which I didn’t enjoy reading. To take a quote from another reviewer who said it better than I could: “I find it regrettable that the only consensual sex featured in this book full of rape and pervasive abuse of female characters (which in Blackthorn’s and the village girl’s cases lead nearly to their deaths), is used as a primary basis for establishing the antagonist’s character as nefarious, manipulative and dangerous.” Now the comments to that do go on to say that for the time period the story took place in that this would have been considered inappropriate behaviour, but my thoughts still stay the same.

Still, the book WAS an enjoyable read, overall. It didn’t quite live up to the hype of what I was expecting, but I have read far worse books over the years.

4/5 stars

Review: Forest of Secrets (Warriors #3) by Erin Hunter

We join up once more with Fireheart as he tries to get to the bottom of some clan drama, in specific the death of Redtail. He has risen in power within the clan, but there is still a lot of uncertainty as the Queen uses up almost all of her 9 lives, and Fireheart has to decide who he can trust.

While romance had never played much of a part in previous books, this time it was almost at the forefront. Not a bad thing, but I wasn’t expecting it. Not only is it romance, but it’s forbidden romance. It brings about some very important lessons but also made the book feel a bit more ‘adult’ in nature. Combine that with the violence between clans, murder, betrayal, and treachery, and I wonder what this book would be rated had it been written about humans instead of cats.

Even though the book is aimed at a younger audience, I enjoyed reading it this far. Some of the story resonated with me, especially the parts where no one believes Fireheart and his assumptions about the dangers that are going to befall the clan. It is difficult to know you are speaking the absolute truth, and yet not have people listen.

I did enjoy this book more than the previous one. It moved along at a steady pace and it was an enjoyable read. I haven’t decided if I’m going to continue on with the series or not, but that has more to do with the fact that I need a break from reading the same series.

3/5 stars

Fool’s Assassin – By Robin Hobb

Wow.

For a little while I had fallen out of love with Robin Hobb’s writing. It was a shame, because I had always been such a huge fan of her work. Her last few books left me shrugging my shoulders with characters that I couldn’t ‘get into’ and a story that felt unnecessarily complicated. This book absolutely restored my faith in her writing.

We return to the story of Fitz and the Fool. A story that I fell in love with way back when (go read Assassin’s Apprentice). Fitz is living happily with Molly, in the comfort of his home in Withywoods. The book does start out slow, but it’s incredibly rich in detail about his every day life. Of course, all hell soon breaks loose. It starts out slow and then the reader is rampaging along and then before you know it – cliffhanger. Of course.

*Frustration*

In the best possible way, of course.

Some people may not be comfortable with the amount of ‘mundane’ activities that the story delves into, especially during the first half of the book, but I personally felt that they were necessary and set the ground for the story. They refreshed my memory of Fitz and his character, and refreshed my opinion of why I had fallen in love with the series to begin with. These were characters I could relate to, characters I have loved. I realize that my review is skipping over any sort of specific detail but the book is really quite full of surprises and I’ve never really been one to give away spoilers. Suffice to say that if you were a fan of the first Fitz books, I am confident that you will also enjoy this book, and if you haven’t read any of them yet, you may want to look into it.

5/5 star review

Review: Fire and Ice (Warriors #2) by Erin Hunter

Book two in the Warriors series, I actually finished reading this back in October and then forgot to write a review, dang it. We find ourselves back with Fireheart and his clan, Fireheart being promoted to warrior status. His first task (along with Graystripe) is to bring back WindClan, who have gone missing. They find them under a highway interchange, and bring them home, finding out the story of what happened along the way.

Fireheart also earns himself his first apprentice, Cinderpaw. An accident happens, and she is hurt – but readers quickly find out that this was no accident at all. Tigerclaw is anxious to become leader, and he’ll stop at nothing to get his way. Throughout the story, Fireheart also meets up with his sister, Princess, a kittypet who lives in a home not too far away from the forest. She has a batch of kits and she gives her oldest to Fireheart, hoping that the kit can become a brave warrior like he is.

The entire book is about being proud of where you come from, and accomplishing your goals no matter who you are or your background. Fireheart isn’t the most liked of cats due to the fact that he was once a kittypet, and he constantly has to prove himself to others, over and over. When he brings in Princess’ kit, the cycle begins again. Even though this is a book aimed at children ages 8-12, I enjoyed the easy read, and the morals contained within are important for everyone, no matter your age. I liked this book better than the first one to the series, and made plans to continue on with book three.

4/5 star review

Review: Dark Witch by Nora Roberts

Every so often, especially on days of high stress, I sit down and read a book that requires very little thought or involvement from me. That’s not a negative comment, either. I think books like these are almost required for my sanity, and of course I personally feel that it doesn’t matter what a person is reading, so long as they are.

Dark Witch was one of those books. The story was a predictable love story that we have come to expect from Nora Roberts. It revolves around Iona, and the discovery that she has some magical talents. She moves from the US to Ireland to seek out her family and learn about these talents from her cousins. Everything seems to fall into place perfectly, and she doesn’t meet up with any resistance at all when it comes to finding a new place to live, new friends, and a great job that happens to be exactly what she wants to do in life. Some days I wish life actually worked that way.

Of course Iona meets a dark and brooding man who doesn’t quite understand her and who she can’t quite understand. There’s a ‘bad guy’ who has set out to harm the cousins and those close to Iona (and her cousins), and they have to come together to defeat him. There’s magic and love and tension – but the characters lack any depth, and I found myself annoyed with Iona. She’s very flat and one dimensional and I couldn’t get interested in her at all. This book also very closely mimics the Three Sisters trilogy, which perhaps the author was trying to emulate. In my opinion it fell short. It mimics many other trilogy that Nora Roberts has written, including the Key Trilogy, the Gallaghers of Ardmore, Three Sisters Island, or the Sign of Seven. They all share the same basic plot. After a while, you just get tired of reading the same thing.

3/5 stars

The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey

This is a book I had never even heard of before, so it wasn’t on my radar whatsoever in 2014. It was first published back in 2012, and I’m surprised that I had never read it. A friend made the suggestion to me that I would probably enjoy it, after they heard about it on a CBC radio show. The announcer wasn’t actually discussing the book per say on the show, but speaking to someone else who happened to mention they were reading it. This book was one I couldn’t put down, I kept wanting to see what would happen next. It is about a married couple, Jack and Mabel. They lose a child early in their marriage, and it sends each of them into their own pits of despair. They decide to move out to Alaska on their own and take up farming. Jack, in his need to provide, won’t let Mabel help with any of the work that needs to be done to prepare the fields (and there is a lot to be done). Mabel starts falling into a heavy stint of depression, and the opening scene of the book is one of heartbreak.

Together during the early winter they create a snowman, and mysteriously after they create this snowman, they start spotting a girl darting through the trees in the forest near their home (meanwhile the snowman they have created has been stripped of its clothing, and lays in a pile of broken snowballs). The young girl has a pet fox that trails after her through the forest, and the real story begins from that point on as the focus shifts.

As always I don’t want to give too much away, except to say that this book was beautifully written, and the story was haunting. It was probably my 2nd favourite book of 2014, and I highly recommend it.

5/5 star review