Review: The Kitchen House, by Kathleen Grisson

I love books that are historical fiction, and was surprised to hear that this was Grisson’s first novel. It’s about a white woman who grows up as a servant girl on a plantation, experiencing life from that perspective. Yes, the book does have stereotypes and they can come across strong at times – but – the writing was really well done, and I loved the story. It was one of those books I couldn’t put down.

The life of the servant girl is one of a lot of pain and heartache. Lavinia loses her parents while on a ship from Ireland, and is taken in by the servants of the plantation. She witnesses all of the horrible things that happen at “the big house” and eventually as she gets older, she moves from the servants quarters to the big house because of the colour of her skin. She’s shown that she is not like the servants, even though she has no desire to treat them ill or begrudge them in any way for her upbringing.

The book isn’t sunshine and roses that’s for sure. There’s a LOT of heartache that goes on, a lot of angst and pain. Life was hard, and Grisson does a wonderful job of conveying that feeling. The characters are colourful and detailed, and you really get a sense of what the plantation would be like – something that almost always pulls me into a book.

Highly recommended, though keep in mind it does follow stereotypes and isn’t a very happy novel. I still feel that the writing style and the story itself is able to overcome these things.

4/5 stars

Review: Red Rising, by Pierce Brown

This book has been going around my feeds as ‘the next big thing’ as far as books-to-read go. A few of my friends read it and loved it which is always a good sign that I may also enjoy reading it.

While I DID enjoy the book, it reminded me far too much of movies like Ender’s Game, and so I didn’t find the story unique at all. Darrow lives on Mars, and works beneath the surface at a very dangerous job. Some things happen that cause him to question what he’s doing, and who he is doing it for. Eventually through a series of events he gets recruited into an organization hoping to overthrow the caste system, but in order to help he has to impersonate one of the ‘higher’ races. He has to move through their ranks, starting with University, which is an us vs. them tactical game of capture the flag. The game turns all too real as the students are pitted against each other, and the teachers get involve taking sides. There are political undertones to the whole thing, which just makes the twists and turns more enticing.

The writing was fantastic and like I already said, I did enjoy the book but it was pretty much (to me) Ender’s Game, with more fantasy than space in certain parts of it (the university capture the flag game happens on a planet). Still, I do recommend picking up the book and giving it a read. The writing more than makes up for a repeat story, and it’s not COMPLETELY like Ender’s Game, it just reminded me a lot of it.

4/5 Stars

Review: I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai

I knew even before I started this book that I was going to love it. The story is about Malala, a girl who was shot in the face by the Taliban because she wanted an education. She stood up for things that most of us take for granted. The whole book was incredibly powerful and served as a constant reminder to me about how life is so very different across this world. It reminded me that not everyone has what I have. It made me feel grateful for my life, for my education, for the things that I have.

When I was reading reviews a lot of people seemed to dislike the political and historical turns that the pages brought, but I actually enjoyed those parts the most. I loved learning about the Swat Valley and how it has changed over the years. I liked reading about the political history of Pakistan, and I found that it was woven into the story of Malala very well.

It was one of those books that made me think the entire time I read it, made me feel anger, happiness, sadness, fear, all of these emotions ran over me as I made my way through the pages. While the book is certainly a far cry from my ‘typical’ choices, I’m glad I branched out. I don’t want to spoil the actual book because I feel that it’s one of those books you really have to read for yourself. Keeping in mind that the novel was written by a young girl (a very well spoken one) may help overcome some barriers readers might face.

5 / 5 stars

Review: The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion

After reading a lot of books from one genre I like to relax with something completely different. The Rosie project was the perfect book.

Don Tillman is a scientist, and he’s every single stereotype in the book. Socially awkward, single, devoting all of his time to work. He attempts to look for a wife by creating the Wife Project, a complex questionnaire with the purpose of finding a lifetime partner. It’s supposed to eliminate candidates that don’t match and thus save him time, but that was before he met Rosie.

Rosie is the complete opposite of everything he is looking for, and she needs his help. She’s looking for her real father, and since he’s a scientist with access to a lab, he can help by running DNA tests. They team up and begin the Father Project, eventually concocting elaborate schemes to obtain DNA samples to test. Don starts diverting from his strict schedule as he and Rosie work together, and he spends a lot of time thinking about how enjoyable the entire process is.

Predictably the pair begin to fall for one another, and this process is filled with all of the social awkwardness that you would expect. I found Don’s interactions amusing, and you can’t take it too seriously. The book is lighthearted and a quick read with some twists and turns but nothing particularly astounding. Some nights, that’s exactly what I’m looking for.

4 / 5 stars

Review: The High Druid’s Blade, by Terry Brooks

The High Druid’s Blade started out with a strong story, but the writing style (in my opinion) did not do it justice. The reader meets Paxon, a young boy doing what he can to help out his family. He has a sister who he is very protective of. She gets herself into some pretty serious trouble, and he goes to rescue her out of it. It felt like the first half of the book was missing a lot of descriptions. I likened it to an overview, it went along the lines of “John got up. John had breakfast. John got on his airship and flew for 5 hours, then John landed.” – I couldn’t relate to the characters or their world because I wasn’t given enough information.

Through an unusual series of events (ie: I couldn’t believe just how things “worked out”) Paxon goes to stay with the Druids who are training him for combat. They need a protector after all. While he is staying with them his sister is kidnapped by the evil Arcannan (or so he assumes) and he once more has to go to her rescue. About mid way through the book the story shifts to the sisters point of view. Things start getting a LOT more detailed but because it’s a torture scene with an underaged girl it felt very awkward. Not because of the scene itself but because this descriptive writing wasn’t in the first half of the book and I found it frustrating that the author had decided to inject it only for the torture scenes.

It felt like throughout the story things just naturally seemed to be ‘too good to be true’ making Paxon, his sister, the druids, and the small handful of other characters unbelieveable. Near the end things get more realistic, more descriptive and that is the portion I enjoyed. I started connecting to the characters just as the novel was ending. I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the series as this was only the first book, but it was enough to pique my interest.

The book releases March 11th, and while I did have issues with the writing style I really enjoyed the plot. I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 stars

First Reads at GoodReads

One of the best features that GoodReads has is the ability for authors and publishers to give away copies of their new books. Some are signed, some are limited editions, and all of them have been released within a 6 month period from the ending date. It’s not only a fantastic way for readers to score some advance copies from their favorite authors and discover new authors, but it’s a great way for writers to interact with fans, and to get their name out.

The contests work as free publicity, thousands of people see your book there and enter the contest. Maybe a handful like it enough that they buy the book even with the contest going on. Either way, it’s win win for everyone involved.

Every so often you can also catch a great giveaway over on The BiblioSanctum which is one of my favorite book review sites. Have your own recommendation? Why not mention it in comments below!

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

Reading Bingo Progress

I’ve been making pretty good progress with my bingo card so far this year. I should have a few more to add before too long, but I wanted to share the progress I’ve made to date. If you’re participating let me know in comments!

In the top row I’ve completed “a book that became a movie” by reading The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I realize it was a short story more than an actual novel, but I think for this purpose it still counts. In the next line the square reads “a book by a female author” and that was In The Company of Thieves by Kage Baker. Of course like all good bingo cards, the center square is a free square, so I marked it off as completed. Finally I managed to fill in the square for “the second book in a series” by reading The Godborn, which is the second book in The Sundering series.

I know you normally win bingo by getting a row, but I would really like to complete the entire card. I think the most difficult square for me to fill will be “a book that scares you”. I’m just not a fan of reading things that scare me. The easiest square will probably be “a book published this year” – there are lots of great books releasing this year that I can’t wait to get to. I’ll post another update next month – in the meantime, keep reading!

Review: The Godborn, by Paul S. Kemp

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley, my thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity.

When I first saw The Godborn on NetGalley I was very interested in reviewing it because it’s the second book in The Sundering series, started by R.A. Salvatore. Like many, I had assumed that the books would have some sort of link between them, but I was wrong. They do both take place in the Forgotten Realms world, but that is where the similarities end. This is both good and bad, it means you can read them as individual stand alone novels, but if you’re looking for some continuation of a story you’ll be out of luck.

You follow the life of Vasen, who was born in an abbey having never known his father. He meets up with some heroes, and together they set forth to prevent the destruction of the world. Pretty straight forward story. The writing style is incredibly dark which makes sense since the end of the world is a pretty bleak time, but it was so dark and morbid and at times just disgusting that I found myself really wishing for some sort of reprieve. For fans of that sort of writing style I have no doubt that the book will resonate very well, but personally it was a bit too much.

3 / 5 stars

StoryBundle and their Sci-Fi Saturday Night Bundle

StoryBundle is promoting a wonderful collection of books picked out by the hosts at Sci-Fi Saturday Night. Now, science fiction is not one of my favorite genres, in fact I tend to stay as far away as possible but that doesn’t mean I can’t still promote great deals on wonderful books that others may be interested in. The bundle runs for another 14 days, and like the humble bundle deals you decide how much you want to pay. If you donate more than $10 you receive 3 bonus books.

Sounds like it’s win-win, to me.

If you’ve never heard of StoryBundle before, I suggest you check out their FAQ. They answer pretty much anything you would want to know – and they also look for authors to feature in their bundles. Could be some great publicity!