romance

May

20

Review: The River of No Return, Bee Ridgway

Reviews Posted by Angelya / 1 comments

The River of No Return (Goodreads)
Author: Bee Ridgway (website)
Follow @beeridgway

Rating:

1812: On a lonely battlefield in Spain, Lord Nicholas Falcott, Marquess of Blackdown, is about to die… But, the next moment, he inexplicably jumps forward in time, nearly two hundred years – very much alive. Taken under the wing of a mysterious organisation, The Guild, he receives everything he could ever need under the following conditions:

He can’t go back.

He can’t go home.

He must tell no one.

Accepting his fate, Nicholas begins a life of luxury as a twenty-first century New York socialite, living happily thus for the next ten years. But, when an exquisite wax sealed envelope brings a summons from the Alderwoman of The Guild, Nicholas is forced to confront his nineteenth century past.

Details

Series: The River of No Return #1
Genre: Historical science fiction (time travel!) and romance
Published: Penguin, April 23, 2013
Pages: 464
My copy: the publisher via Netgalley

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository
E-copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Barnes & Noble • Bookworld (epub)

Review

The River of No Return is a period romantic drama with a modern sci-fi twist – with the glamour of Regency London life combined with time travellers, anything is possible!

Nicholas Falcott, Marquess of Blackdown, is about to be run down and killed in battle in Spain, 1812. Instead of death, he is met with a strange rushing sensation and wakes up in 2003 – almost two hundred years in the future. He is looked after by the mysterious organisation known as the Guild, taught how to live in modern times over one intensive year and released in the United States as Nick Davenant, with the assurance that there is no going back. He settles himself into a comfortable life in modern New York City, and for ten years he enjoys all that the modern era has to offer. That is, until he receives a summons from the Guild and is charged with a special task. As it turns out, it is possible to go back in time as well as forward – one only has to draw on powerful emotions. He learns about the Ofan – a rival organisation that the Guild is concerned may disrupt the flow of Time itself.

Meanwhile, back in 1815, Nick’s young neighbour Julia Percy is dealing with the death of her grandfather. Her cousin Eamon has come to take over the manor and he is convinced that Julia’s grandfather was hiding a secret artefact that allowed him to control time. Julia is sure that it was just her grandfather’s natural ability that allowed him, and now her as well, to freeze and manipulate time. But how can she escape from Eamon without damaging her reputation, and where would she go?

There are quite a few intertwined stories here that span multiple time periods, but they tie together very well. The “science” behind time travel is rather magical – no-one is quite sure how it’s done, just that some people have a natural ability to do it. At one point the Guild members say that you can’t go back to a time you have already been in – that must make it difficult for time travellers to keep track of a list of when they’ve visited where! The concept and the details of the time travel itself feels quite realistic though – the fact that the air in Devon in 1815 would have been much fresher and cleaner, but the buildings of London in 2013 were sparkling clean compared to their 19th century counterparts.

The romance in this story is very swoon-worthy. It feels slightly instant at first, but the two of them have known each other since they were children, they just hadn’t seen each other for many years. Each encounter has that delightful kind of romance, you know, the type that sends shivers up your spine? Just great!

The pacing is a little slow at times – a mixture of learning about Nick’s ability to time travel, and mysterious goings in with the Guild and the Ofan, but there are action scenes to keep it all flowing. The fact that the story involves people who have lived in modern times allows Bee Ridgway to include random modern pop-culture references and mannerisms, often rather out-of-place but quite funny. I’m not sure that Nick would have learned all these things so well as to slip up in his “home time”, since he was only in modern New York for ten years.

I loved reading The River of No Return and I’m glad this isn’t the end of the story – the ending has been left open for plenty more to come. A fantastic debut from Bee Ridgway that both period drama enthusiasts and sci-fi readers should enjoy!

Warnings: Sexual situations, some mild violence

What did others think of The River of No Return?

“In case you haven’t guessed, I highly recommend it! Is there a recommendation higher than highly?” - Popcorn Reads
“The whole time travel concept Bee Ridgway introduces us to is fascinating, but I still have so many unanswered questions. I really hope there’ll be a sequel!” - Between the Pages
“The characters are likeable and the dialogue sparkling and witty in a rom-com- period-drama kind of way.” – Natasha at Tea, Daydreams and Fairytales

Mar

27

Review: Soul of Kandrith, Nicole Luiken

Reviews Posted by Angelya / 0 comments

Title: Soul of Kandrith (Goodreads)
Author: Nicole Luiken (@NicoleLuiken)

Rating:

Lance is a healer and wielder of slave magic, a power that demands sacrifice. He gave up his health to gain the ability to heal others, but he’s powerless to cure his beloved Sara, who sacrificed her soul to save Lance and all of Kandrith. Returning her soul would negate her gift, at the cost of his life and the freedom of his homeland.

Now Sara is but a shell of the noble, spirited woman she once was. All that Lance saw and loved in her is gone, but he refuses to give up on her. Charged by his sister, the ruler of Kandrith, with a mission to encourage a budding rebellion within the aggrandizing Republic of Temboria, he leaves with Sara in tow. But not before Wenda’s soulsight detects a spark within her.

Amidst the escalating dangers in hostile territory, Lance will have to risk both his beloved and his homeland in a final gambit to save them both…

Details

Series: Kandrith #2 of 2
Genre: Adult High Fantasy/Romance
Published: Carina Press, March 18, 2013
My copy: From the publisher via Netgalley, thanks!

E-copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Barnes & Noble

Review

Please note: This review is for book 2 in the Kandrith series and contains spoilers for the first book. You may wish to read my review of Gate to Kandrith instead!

Soul of Kandrith is the conclusion to the duology that began with Gate to Kandrith. I loved the first book – Loma’s sacrifice magic, the slave nation, Sara and Lance’s romance. All that is there in Soul of Kandrith, but takes a back seat to other events that weren’t quite so enjoyable.

It’s been a year since I read Gate to Kandrith so my memory of what had happened was a bit hazy. The action begins right away without any recap, and it was a bit tricky to get back into what had been happening.

Sara is now a soulless automaton after sacrificing her soul to banish an evil blue devil. Lance brings her back to the nation of Kandrith to see if his sister Wenda, the new leader of the nation, can see any spark of a new soul in Sara.

Before long, Lance is sent off on a mission to the province of Gotia to aid rebels there and encourage them to break free of the Republic. Sara goes with him, absent of any feelings – all she knows is that Lance is important and she should stay with him. She begins to find both pain and pleasure interesting sensations, which leads her into numerous situations of abuse and self-harm. Lance must try to keep her safe until her new soul can develop, while trying to convince the Gotian rebels that slave magic can help them.

What I liked

Lance. I love healers (I play them in games as often as I can) and I especially love that Lance has given up his own health to be able to heal others. It would be so annoying to be sick or injured in some way all the time, but Lance puts up with it without a whimper. What a star!
The romantic scenes were few and far between in this book, but when they did happen, wow!
The action was non-stop in this story. Lance, Rhain or Sara are always off getting themselves into trouble and needing to be rescued/healed/slapped. The whole thing is very well written and I enjoyed at least the first half of the story a lot.

What I didn’t like so much

All the men are nasty. With a few notable exceptions, just about every bloke in this book wants to rape Sara. I mean, I know soldiers aren’t always the most noble of gentlemen but really, both the Republicans and rebels are arseholes to a man.
Sara’s reasoning. Surely if she wished to keep herself and her unborn baby safe for several months, she would try to avoid such horrible situations! I just felt the whole slavery portion of the book went way over the top with the levels of abuse. There’s only so many times I want to read about people being raped.
The ending felt rushed. Considering how much pain and suffering all the characters go through, I had hoped for a little more detail about the aftermath.

Despite the horrible situations in this book that I felt went a little too far, I did enjoy reading about Sara and Lance’s story and was on the edge of my seat for most of the book. If you read the first book, you won’t be disappointed with the rest of the story.

Warnings: Plenty of graphic violence and rape.

What did others think of Soul of Kandrith?

“So am I glad I read this? Absolutely. I was dying for it and in that sense, I enjoyed the second half of Sara and Lance’s tale. What I just didn’t like were some of the choices that the characters made.” – The Window Seat
“Luiken’s latest offering is a tough, long slog. Readers familiar with her previous novel will have no problem immersing themselves in the story, despite unlikable characters and a plot that builds extremely slowly.” – RT Book Reviews

Mar

18

Review: The Wild Girl, Kate Forsyth

Reviews Posted by Angelya / 5 comments

Title: The Wild Girl (Goodreads)
Author: Kate Forsyth (website)

Rating:

Dortchen Wild fell in love with Wilhelm Grimm the first time she saw him.

Growing up in the small German kingdom of Hessen-Cassel in early Nineteenth century, Dortchen Wild is irresistibly drawn to the boy next door, the young and handsome fairy tale scholar Wilhelm Grimm.

It is a time of War, tyranny and terror. Napoleon Bonaparte wants to conquer all of Europe, and Hessen-Cassel is one of the first kingdoms to fall. Forced to live under oppressive French rule, the Grimm brothers decide to save old tales that had once been told by the firesides of houses grand and small all over the land.

Dortchen knows many beautiful old stories, such as ‘Hansel and Gretel’, ‘The Frog King’ and ‘Six Swans’. As she tells them to Wilhelm, their love blossoms. Yet the Grimm family is desperately poor, and Dortchen’s father has other plans for his daughter. Marriage is an impossible dream.

Dortchen can only hope that happy endings are not just the stuff of fairy tales.

Details

Series: Stand-alone
Genre: Historical romance, with fairy tales
Published: Vintage Australia (Random House), March 18, 2013
Pages: 530
My copy: From the author as part of a giveaway, thanks!

Paper copies: Book Depository (pre-order) • Booktopia • Bookworld
E-copies: Amazon.com • Bookworld (epub)

Review

The Wild Girl is a story of the Brothers Grimm and how their book of fairy tales came to be written. It is also a story of two families, growing up in Hessen-Cassel (now central Germany) in the early nineteenth century, just as Napoléon is starting his conquest to bring all of Europe into his empire. It is sometimes heartbreaking and even disturbing at times, but over all, it is one of the most beautiful, gentle love stories I’ve read in a long time.

Dortchen Wild lives with her five sisters and her parents above her father’s apothecary shop in Cassel. Dortchen’s best friend, Lotte Grimm, lives next door, but when Lotte’s brothers Wilhelm and Jakob return home from their studies in Marburg and Paris, the twelve year old Dortchen falls in love with Wilhelm. In November 1806, Napoléon’s armies marched through and occupied Cassel, freeing the serfs and bringing other freedoms, but putting terrible pressure on the economy of the city. Unable to find work under the new regime, Wilhelm begins to collect folk stories to preserve them. His brother Jakob supports his whole family on his meagre librarian’s wage.

Many people (myself included) think that the Grimm fairytales were told to the brothers by various people all over the country, or written by the brothers themselves. In fact, many of them were told to Wilhelm Grimm by the young Dortchen Wild, of whom very little is written. Others of the stories were told to Wilhelm and Jakob by other well-to-do young ladies of their acquaintance, and in the well-researched The Wild Girl we are introduced to those ladies and to the original, less child-friendly versions of some of the most popular fairy tales of the present day, including Cinderella (Aschenputtel), Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin, and many more.

The Wild Girl not only tells the story of the creation of the fairytale collection of the Brothers Grimm, it is also a beautiful love story between Dortchen and Wilhelm, heartbreaking at times but very sweet at others. The tale of the people of Cassel and their suffering at the hands of the French armies is not an overwhelming part of the story but there is just enough historical context to frame the other events of the story. Kate’s telling of dark and dramatic events is interspersed with light-hearted moments which made reading this book an absolute delight.

It wasn’t only the research into historical events that interested me about this story, but also the extensive herb lore Dortchen and her father use as part of their apothecary work. The garden of medicinal plants just fascinated me, much like the herbology also discussed in Bitter Greens!

The real highlight of this story is the characters themselves. Kate Forsyth does such a wonderful job of bringing characters to life that I felt I was sharing their joy, terror or anger. Herr Wild, Dortchen’s father, is such a creepy and at times terrifying man in this story, but at the same time we see his despair at his country being trodden down by the French and his kindnesses to those less fortunate families in the town. Dortchen herself starts out as such a carefree and happy girl, but the hardships throughout her adolescence make her into a much more subdued young lady – something that I’m sure has happened to many women throughout history. That doesn’t stop her from being a selfless and kind person, always putting others well-being before her own, sometimes putting herself in harm’s way instead.

The Wild Girl is not just for historical and romantic fiction readers – those who love fairy tales will also find plenty to fascinate them here. It’s certainly one of my favourite reads so far this year!

Warnings: Violence including towards children, sexual situations (some abusive)

What did others think of The Wild Girl?

“An engaging historical novel about fairytales, love, despair and hope that at times reminded me of Little Women- only a little darker.” – The Australian Bookshelf
“The Wild Girl is about yearning and love, poverty and sacrifice, but it’s also a very dark tale. Those expecting the same tone as Bitter Greens should prepare themselves for a darker journey, and a greater struggle that lasts almost a lifetime for Dortchen.” – Carpe Librum
“A stunning achievement, and a book that I would reccomend to anyone interested in romance, historical fiction or fairy story interpretations.” – InkAshlings

Feb

18

Review: The Cypher, Julian Rosado-Machain

Excerpts / Reviews / Tour Posted by Angelya / 2 comments

Welcome to The Oaken Bookcase’s stop on The Guardians Inc. blog tour! Here’s my review and an excerpt from The Cypher, as well as the opportunity to win a $75 Amazon gift card! You can find the giveaway form plus links to the other blogs participating at the bottom of the post.

The Cypher e-book is free throughout the tour! Download links are available below.

Title: The Cypher (Goodreads)
Author: Julian Rosado-Machain (website)

Rating:

GUARDIANS INC.: THE CYPHER is two stories in one. A glimpse into a multinational company that is in reality the oldest of secret societies, one that spans close to seven thousand years of existence, weaving in and out of history, guiding and protecting humanity from creatures and forces that most of us believe are only mythology and fairy tales.

The other is the story of Thomas Byrne, a young man thrust into secrets he shouldn’t be aware of and dangers he shouldn’t face but, that he ultimately will, for he is a Cypher. The only one who can steer humanity’s future.

The ultimate conspiracy theory is that Magic is real. Kept in check by technology but, every five hundred years the balance can shift and, if it does, technology will fail and those creatures we’ve driven into myth will come back with a vengeance.

To protect the present, Guardians Incorporated needs to know the future.

Details

Series: Guardians Inc. #1
Genre: Middle grade/Young adult paranormal/science fiction
Published: Createspace, February 2011
Pages: 238

*The Cypher is available in e-book formats for free throughout the tour!*

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository
E-copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Barnes & Noble

Review

Thomas Byrne is almost sixteen when his parents go missing while on a cruise. His grandfather takes him in, and must try to find work to support them both. When Thomas and his grandfather answer an advertisement for a librarian position with Guardians Inc, they discover themselves involved in a grand adventure. Guardians Inc is a massive company tasked with ensuring that technology remains dominant in the world over magic. Every few hundred years, the balance is tipped and a Cypher – one who can read any language – must find a special text in order to save the world from ancient elemental magic. Thomas and his grandfather are both Cyphers, and the Magical world and the Technological Guardians must race to discover the Book of Accord before it’s too late.

The Cypher is a very detailed first instalment in this series – there is so much to take in here in not many pages! I got the feeling it would be a little overwhelming for younger MG readers. The story is not only packed with the detailed history of the Guardians, but there’s also quests, riddles and confrontations with strange creatures. There’s even a touch of romance!

The one major problem that I found while reading it was that it’s badly in need of more thorough editing. There were a few words out of place and the story just didn’t flow well – I had to go back a few pages from time to time to work out what had happened. Despite this, the Guardians Inc. is a very interesting concept and I was able to suppress my inner editor and enjoy the story.

The Cypher is almost like a cross between Indiana Jones and The Da Vinci Code – ancient magics and mysteries to solve. It’s a shame the editing let it down, but the confrontation between technology and magic is so imaginative I’ll be interested to see where the story goes next.

Warnings: Violent but otherwise clean.

Excerpt

This is a little bit about Thomas first mission as a Cypher, and his first encounter with Tony, who will become part of his team later on.

Hussahassalin under Central Park, NY

Tony pulled the little yellow cocktail sword out of his mouth and hunched his shoulders. “I always imagined that the Cypher would be an old wrinkled man, or a hot, hot girl,” he said with a thick New York accent and extended a hand toward Thomas. He had such a carefree attitude that Thomas immediately liked him.

Thomas took his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Thomas.”

“I’m Tony Della Francesca,” he said nodding toward his group. “Vani, Piero, the pretty lady with the sawed-off shotgun under her forearm is Bella.” Bella clicked her mouth and leveled her arm at them letting them glimpse the two holes of a twin shotgun inside her jacket sleeve.

“And these two guys over here,” Tony said as he walked toward the two remaining men who rolled their eyes as he approached, “are brothers. I’ll bet you five bucks that you can guess the name of one of them if I give you one clue.”

“Andiamo Tony, gia abbastanza!” one of the men said.
“He’s a Cypher! It’s a little field test, and you both shook on the bet, for life,” Tony scolded them.

“We were drunk, Tony,” the other grumbled. “And it got old three years ago.”

“Tatatata,” Tony shushed him. “Ten bucks, kid. What do you say?”

“Sure,” Thomas answered. “What’s the clue?”

The two men pulled out ten-dollar bills from their pockets with a dissatisfied grunt.

“This big guy’s name,” Tony said tightening his grip around the man’s shoulder, “is Luigi.”

Thomas let out a chuckle. “So you must be Mario, right?”

Tony clapped and snatched the bills from their hands and immediately gave one to Thomas. “See boys? He’s really a Cypher!” Tony then led Thomas by the shoulder. “We are the Central Park watchmen. We keep humans and Mashcrits on their own side of the fence.”

“Mashcrits?” Thomas asked.

“Magical Critters, but don’t let them catch you saying that. They hate it. Piero!” He nodded and the lean man threw a couple of yellow T-Shirts at them. On the front of the T-shirts was the stylized Egyptian eye logo of Guardians Inc. “Neighborhood Watch” printed in bold letters on the back.

“The company set up a police permit to let us roam Central Park at night with our flashlights. We’ve caught some real weird Mashcrits and a couple of human thieves too.” He led them through the park.
“This looks like a forest,” Thomas said in awe. The trail they followed through the park entered through very thick vegetation.

“Designed to look like one by Olmsted and Vaux since 1858,” Tony said, “with help from the chief of the fauns, Husseha, himself. This is the Ramble. We have the Great Lawn on the other side of the road and The Lake to the south. Here the Mashcrits can go out at night and have their fun. I prefer the East Meadow myself.”

“And how big is this place?” Thomas pushed away a branch that almost whiplashed him as Tony walked by it.

“The whole thing is almost 850 acres. The Ramble is just 38, but it’s like a forest isn’t it?”

“Sure is.”

“That’s how the Mashcrits want it. It gives them the chance to hide or run away if someone approaches.”

“And how many… Mashcrits do you have here?” Thomas couldn’t resist asking.

“Well, we deal with three basic Mashcrits types in Central Park. There are the Fauns that own the place, the Fae that come and go with the seasons, and the Drifters, some of whom we have to convince the hard way to leave.” He pointed with his thumb at Henri. “Big guy here knows about Drifters. Don’tcha?”

“Werewolves in Brooklyn,” Henri said from behind them.

“They still haven’t fixed that place you brought down.” Tony gave the grotesque thumbs up. “Classic Henri.”

“Lots of fun.” Henri chuckled. “Is Tinamra still mad?”

“Oh yea, that lady wants to clip wings badly. Anyway,” Tony continued, “we have an understanding with Husseha, Chief of the Fauns. So when his sons began to act up, he called us, we checked out what was happening, and then we called you.”

“So what exactly happened?” Thomas asked. They’d left an established path and were now walking toward a formation of rock over a small hill. The forest grew thicker around the hill and they had to use both hands to get through the vegetation. It was as if the plants themselves resisted their passing.

“That’s what you’re here to find out, kid.” Tony tapped the rock using a gnarly twig he pulled from his pocket, and the rock opened up forming a tunnel for them to walk through. “Let’s go. Bella, keep watch,” Tony said as Thomas, Henri, and Bolswaithe entered the tunnel.

Thomas felt like he was on the inside of a mole’s tunnel. The tunnel had been dug out by hand, or claw, and half-chewed roots sprouted from between the scrape marks on the walls. Rope lights ran along the sides and center of the ceiling.

After a short trek, they arrived at a circular door guarded by two creatures in armor. Thomas could see two slender furry legs ending in hooves under their metal armor. Their helmets, however, were completely closed and antlers protruded from the back of them. They had slender arms with four fingers instead of five, and they carried a lance with ribbons tied under the blade.

Tony spoke in a strange language, and the guard on the left responded in a shrilly voice. Tony pointed at Thomas and then at Henri as he spoke and he seemed to be slightly angry.

The Fauns answered with a couple of short words, snorts, and crossed their lances over the door. Tony nodded and turned to Thomas.

“We can go in,” he said looking at Bolswaithe and Thomas, “but Henri has to wait out here. They claim that half-breeds will pollute their flux well.”

Henri cracked his knuckles and took a deep breath. Whatever half-breed meant had really angered him.

“I’ll be here,” Henri said and crouched on the ground, transforming into the smaller immobile statue that he usually adopted when he was at the entrance of the mansion.

The Fauns uncrossed their lances and the inner door opened revealing a cave full of small clay buildings and fluorescent vegetation. Their tunnel entrance was located on a ledge above the main floor of the cave. A couple of hanging bridges led from their ledge to another on the far side of the cave and a waterfall opened directly from a tunnel on the opposite wall forming a river that crossed through the city and ended in a lake surrounded by little clay houses. The city was illuminated from the ceiling by hanging circles of fluorescent lights and reflectors that hung in concentric circles from the roof.

It was the largest cave Thomas had seen, but it was still small compared to the library.

“Welcome to Hussahassalin, underground dwelling of the Hassa clan Fauns.” Tony led them into the city.

Fauns filled the city streets. Without their armor and helmets they resembled white-tailed deer. Most of them jumped to and fro, but the fauns with the largest antlers walked slowly and deliberately, their heads high. They had painted designs on their cheeks and colored rocks adorning their antlers. Some wore elaborate clothing like in movies about the old courts in France and England, but most of them wore simple vests and coats. As they walked through town, fauns would stop and exchange words to one another, and throw curious looks at them, their little white tails wiggling as they spoke in their sibilant tongue.

“They might look cute,” Tony whispered, “but these guys can really mess you up if they want to.”

Just a little adventure under NY City… I hope you’ll be interested to know more about Thomas, Tony and Guardians Inc. The Cypher. You can download it from all ebook stores for a limited time!

Happy reading,
Julian Rosado-Machain

About the Author

Julian Rosado-Machain has enjoyed pizza in three continents, BA in Graphic Design, worked building armored vehicles, handcrafted alebrijes, owned a restaurant and swears that he has seen at least one ghost.

A Mexico City native he now lives in San Diego, California and enjoys the sun with his wife, three children and cat.

Guardians Inc. The Cypher is the first book in a series that describes the creatures and powers that live in the world within our world.

The Tour

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Feb. 4 Alli’s World - 10 Things You Didn’t Know (about the book & author)

Feb. 5 Living, Learning, and Loving Life How to Avoid the Rejection Blues

Feb. 6 Library Girl Reads & Reviews M interviews Thomas

Feb. 7 Bookshelf Review & Tips for Being a Better Writer

Feb. 8 Trendy Mom Reviews Find out what Julian’s office is like

Feb. 9 Mrs Mommy Booknerd’s Book Reviews Excerpt

Feb. 10 Java John Z’s Giveaways and Reviews Review & character guest post

Feb. 11 Girl Who Reads Meet the Author Monday

Feb. 12 It’s About Time Mamaw Character Guest Post

Feb. 13 Ask the Author at http://guardians-inc.tumblr.com/

Feb. 14 Lindsay and Jane’s Views and Reviews Review & Author Interview

Feb. 15 Pulling Down Books Review

Feb. 16 KY Bunnies Author Interview

Feb. 17 Cabin Goddess Review & Excerpt

Feb. 18 The Oaken Bookcase Review & Excerpt

Feb. 19 Classic Children’s Books Review

Feb. 20 Keeping Up With The Rheinlander’s Character Guest Post

Feb. 21 Larkin’s Book Bloggers Review & author guest post

Feb. 22 Recent Reads Review & Excerpt

Feb. 23 Logan’s Loco Reads Review & character guest post

Feb. 24 Tamara’s One Stop Indie Shop Excerpt

Feb

14

Review: Scarlet, Marissa Meyer

Reviews Posted by Angelya / 0 comments

Title: Scarlet (Goodreads)

Author: Marissa Meyer (Website) (Twitter)

Rating:

Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Details

Series: Lunar Chronicles #2 of 4
Genre: YA Science fiction
Published: Penguin Australia (Puffin in the UK, Feiwel and Friends in USA), February 5, 2013
Pages (hardcover): 464

Paper copies: Amazon.com (hardcover) • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository
E-copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Barnes & Noble • Bookworld (epub)

Please note: This review is for the second book in this series, and so will contain spoilers for the first book, Cinder. You may wish to go and read my review of Cinder instead!

The Queen’s Army

Before reading Scarlet you may wish to take a look at a short story that comes in as #1.5 in the series. The Queen’s Army is about a young Lunar boy, chosen to be part of Queen Levana’s army. He is physically modified to give him wolfish characteristics and is trained to be a killing machine. The events of this story pave the way for what happens in Scarlet, and gives a bit of background into some of the newer characters.

You can read The Queen’s Army for free at the Tor website! (Goodreads link)

Review

I loved Cinder when I read it early last year, so I couldn’t wait for Scarlet to be released and hoped it would live up to such a fantastic first part of the story. Thankfully, it did!

Scarlet starts almost immediately after the events at the end of Cinder, so here’s a quick recap of where things lie: Cinder has just crashed the ball, drenched from the rain but determined to tell Kai that the Lunar Queen is planning to kill him after their marriage, if he agrees to it. She confronts Queen Levana and is exposed as a Cyborg. She flees the scene, leaving one of her feet behind her, but is captured and thrown in prison. Doctor Erland, the Lunar who had been working on the cure for the plague, tells her to escape and come meet him in Africa.

As well as continuing Cinder’s story, Scarlet is also based loosely on the story of Red Riding Hood. Scarlet Benoit is a young lady living with her grandmother in rural France. Her grandmother has been kidnapped, and in her search to find her Scarlet meets the curiously vulnerable street-fighter, Wolf. Scarlet’s father turns up desperate and disoriented after having been tortured by the same group that has kidnapped Scarlet’s grandmother, and Wolf agrees to help Scarlet find those responsible. What could her grandmother possibly know that would cause someone to do this to her?

Scarlet’s and Cinder’s stories are very separate throughout most of the book, each following their own path, but it all ties together nicely in the end. Prince (now Emperor) Kai also makes a few appearances so we get to see how he is coping with the growing crises. Kai and Cinder are not actually together so I did miss their delightful romance of the first book, but in Scarlet we get the growing relationship between Wolf and Scarlet instead. Their romance develops over only a couple of days, which feels slightly rushed, but it’s only early days for them so it will be nice to see how they further develop.

Cinder continues to be a kick-arse Cyborg and it was lovely to see the android Iko back in the action. Cinder has an accomplice on her journey through this book – a shallow and a rather comical figure, Captain Carswell Thorne. I loved how he added a lighter side to an otherwise fairly action-packed story.

If you enjoyed Cinder then you should definitely get a hold of Scarlet. Marissa Meyer has continued her story about how just a few people can change the course of worldwide events and I’m not sure how I’m going to wait a whole year for Cress to come out!

Warnings: Violence but otherwise clean.

Expected pub Feb 2014

Expected pub 2015

What did others think of Scarlet?

“If Cinder was about lies and manipulation, then Scarlet‘s focus is on all of the secrets that led up to that. It’s engrossing and fast-paced, the kind of story you never want to end.” – The Starry-Eyed Revue
“For the few of you out there who, like me, were unimpressed by Cinder, I challenge you to give Scarlet a try. It will, undoubtedly, make you eat your former words about this series.” – Ivy Book Bindings
“SCARLET will take you on an adventure where darts coming out of fingers can almost be considered normal and where the little red riding hood isn’t as gullible as we thought she was.” – Stéphanie of Tynga’s Reviews

Feb

11

Review: Bitter Greens, Kate Forsyth

Reviews Posted by Angelya / 9 comments

Title: Bitter Greens (Goodreads)
Author: Kate Forsyth (website)

Rating:

Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from court by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. She is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of Bitter Greens …

After Margherita’s father steals a handful of greens—parsley, wintercress and rapunzel—from the walled garden of the courtesan, Selena Leonelli, they give up their daughter to save him from having both hands cut off.

Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1513 and still inspiring him at the time of his death, sixty-one years later. Called La Strega Bella, Selena is at the centre of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.

Locked away in a tower, growing to womanhood, Margherita sings in the hope someone will hear her. One day, a young man does…

Three women, three lives, three stories, braided together to create a compelling story of desire, obsession, black magic, and the redemptive power of love.

Details

Series: Stand-alone
Genre: Fantasy/historical romantic fairy tale
Published: Vintage Australia, March 2012, tbp Allison & Busby in the UK, 25 February 2013.
Pages: 576

Paper copies: Amazon.co.uk (pre-order) • Book Depository (pre-order) • Booktopia (AU – available!)
E-copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk (pre-order) • Barnes & Noble • Bookworld (epub)

Review

Bitter Greens is partly a heart-breaking retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale, and partly historical drama set in 17th-century France. I enjoyed every moment!

Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force, a writer and great lover of the salon scene in Paris, has been banished to a convent by the Sun King, Louis XIV of France. The past twenty years of her life at court in Versailles has been filled with scandal and rumours of black magic, and during the course of Bitter Greens we hear about these stories through a series of flashbacks.

While working in the garden at the convent, Charlotte-Rose is told a story by one of the nuns. In Venice during the late 16th Century, a young girl, Margherita, is stolen from her parents by Selena (known as La Strega), a beautiful but dangerous witch. Margherita is locked in a high tower on an island and La Strega only comes to visit once a month with supplies, calling for Margherita to let down her long hair so that she may climb up. Each month, La Strega takes nine drops of blood from Margherita’s wrist and bathes in it to keep herself looking young and beautiful. Margherita longs for someone to rescue her.

The lives, loves and losses of Charlotte-Rose, Margherita and Selena are woven together in Bitter Greens. Each character, setting and emotion are described in such gorgeous detail I almost felt like I was watching a drama on TV rather than reading! I found it very compelling and found myself snatching moments to read whenever I could.

The only thing that put me off slightly at times was the way the story jumps back and forth to the different story arcs after many chapters. One moment I was happily absorbed in the story of Margherita and then was jolted back into Charlotte-Rose’s France. By the end of the book I was used to it, but at first it was a little jarring.

There have been some horrible moments in the histories of France and Venice, and some of that horror has been captured in Bitter Greens - the plagues in Venice that decimated the population, the slaughter of the reformée Huguenots in France and other, earlier persecutions.

Reading about how women were treated in times gone by makes me really grateful to those women who fought for equality during the twentieth century. Women like Charlotte-Rose and Selena did their best to survive and then make a difference in a world dominated by men. Nowadays, we modern women should never take our ability to work, vote and speak our minds for granted.

Bitter Greens is a fairy tale wrapped within a historical drama. With the character of Charlotte-Rose based on a real woman and the settings and events taken straight from history, it is obvious that a great deal of research and effort (and fun!) went into the making of this book. Well done, Ms Forsyth, you have created a masterpiece!

Interested in reading more about the creation of this book? All the Books I Can Read hosted a guest post from Kate about Vampire legends of Venice, and the author Elizabeth Storrs posted an interview with Kate on redroom.com, talking about inspiration and the art of Bitter Greens.

Warnings: Violence including towards children, graphic sexual situations (some abusive)

What did others think of Bitter Greens?

“Bitter Greens is a stunning novel. I was spell bound from beginning to end by the lush prose, magnificent characters and intriguing story.” – Book’d Out
“Forsyth demonstrates her skill as a Fantasy writer, with the storytelling every bit as enchanting as fairytales of old.” – Devoted Eclectic
“It’s the sort of novel that has so many elements that it will appeal across the board, to historical fiction fans, fantasy fans, even fans who enjoy a bit of the romance. But ultimately if you like a good story no matter what the particular genre, then this book is definitely for you!” – All The Books I Can Read

Feb

07

Review: Of Poseidon, Anna Banks

Reviews Posted by Angelya / 2 comments

Title: Of Poseidon (Goodreads)
Author: Anna Banks (website) (twitter)

Rating:

Galen is strong, protective and gorgeous, with striking violet eyes and a body to make you shiver – and that’s just when he’s in human form. He’s from the House of Triton, god of the sea, and he’s searching for a girl with the gift of Poseidon to save his brother from marrying a fraud.

Emma is a human. Or so she thinks. When Emma meets Galen on the beach, they both sense a sizzling chemistry.

But can Galen convince her that she holds the key to his kingdom – without letting on that he’s falling for her?

Details

Series: Of Poseidon #1
Genre: Young adult paranormal romance
Published: In AU, Hardie Grant Egmont, June 2012. In US Feiwel & Friends.
Pages: 324

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository
E-copies: Amazon.com • Barnes & Noble • Bookworld (epub)

Review

Of Poseidon is one of those polarising books. On the one hand, it’s a great debut with an interesting story, is quite an enjoyable read, plus it has a cover I’ve been admiring ever since it was released! On the other hand, it contains some rather major wince-worthy moments that caused a lot of bloggers to one-star this book. I’m not going to do that, because on the surface (ha ha) I quite enjoyed reading it. After I read a few reviews though, I have to agree with many points others have made.

So, here’s another liked/didn’t like review.

The Story

Galen is a prince of the Syrena, ocean-dwelling shifters (mermaids, but don’t call them that!) who try not to have anything to do with humans. Galen has appointed himself as a sort of spy to keep an eye on what the humans are up to and make sure they’re not about to discover the Syrena. Then, he meets Emma on a beach in Florida. She’s a human, but he can sense her in the way that he senses other Syrena. He decides to try to solve her mystery, moving to her town in New Jersey and following her around. Galen’s brother Grom is the current King of the Titans. According to the Syrena’s accord the King must mate with a female “of Poseidon” in order to preserve the bloodlines. When Emma starts to show signs of royal gifts, Galen realises that if she is Syrena, he must do his duty and deliver her to his brother. But how can he, when he is steadily falling for her?

Emma is trying to recover from the loss of a friend when she starts getting caught up with the gorgeous Galen and his bitchy sister, Rayna. After her introduction to the world of the Syrena, she makes it her business to find out exactly what she is, without revealing that her feelings towards Galen are growing daily.

Things I liked

Galen. Not in a “Omg, hot hot hot!” way, just in general. I admired his tenacity and his loyalty to the kingdom.
The story was quite light-hearted and had me chuckling regularly. I especially liked Toraf and his playfulness. More Toraf please!
The romantic parts were quite well written, even if it was all rather predictable.
The story is told from both Emma’s and Galen’s points of view. That really helped to fill out the story from each side.

Things I didn’t like so much

I’m not usually a fan of present tense but I can usually live with it. In Of Poseidon, Emma’s chapters are first person and Galen’s are third person. Why the change? I really found the switching difficult to keep up with. Third person is all very well, but combined with present tense as well made it very difficult for me to keep up with what was going on when.
Galen. Creepy stalker-ish move across the country to go to Emma’s school? Following her on a date with another guy? I mean really, the poor bloke was doing the best he could under the circumstances, but to Emma he should have looked a lot more like a stalker. He also kept major secrets from Emma throughout the whole book, which is very unfair. If he’d just told her what was going on a lot of heartache would have been spared!
Emma. She spends a lot of the book feeling sorry for herself (under the circumstances that is mostly fine), then flies off the handle at the slightest provocation. For example, Emma is told about some customs of an ancient culture that is different from hers, and rather than accepting that information respectfully, she flies off the handle. Granted, it is pretty horrible that Syrena girls are married off according to their suitability to produce offspring, but that’s pretty much the way most species of animals do it in the world, and even humans until fairly recently.
“Ohmysweetgoodness” is not a word. Honestly.
Killing off random friends to generate sympathy. Not a fan.

Of Poseidon is an encouraging debut from Anna Banks. Even with its interesting world-building, it did end up being predictable and more than a little shallow (sorry). I did enjoy it as a light-hearted read though, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for the next instalment.

If you enjoyed Stephenie Meyer or Lauren Kate, give this one a crack. If you didn’t, it’s probably best to keep on swimming.

Warnings: Violence, sexual references

Of Poseidon

Prequel novella

#1: Of Poseidon

#2: Of Triton
Expected pub: May 2013

What did others think of Of Poseidon?

“Of Poseidon was my first mermaid book, but the merfolk have found a friend in me. It was funny and clever and highly entertaining.” – The Starry-Eyed Revue
“I knew how the book would end in the second chapter. There’s no anticipation, no mystery. Just incredibly slow characters. That is pathetic.” – Steph at Cuddlebuggery
“Of Poseidon has ingredients like good plot, action and mystery we all want to solve, but the book failed to deliver those properly.” – Pages From My Thoughts

Feb

04

Review: The Water Witch, Carol Goodman

Reviews Posted by Angelya / 0 comments

Title: Water Witch (Goodreads)
Author: Carol Goodman (or her pseudonym, Juliet Dark)

Rating:

“You have only to call my name to bring me back”, he whispered, his breath hot in my ear. “You have only to love me to make me human”.

Callie McFay is the guardian of the last gateway between the world of Faerie and mankind. Seduced by a powerful incubus demon, she has succeeded in banishing Liam to the Borderlands but he still haunts her dreams, tempting her with the knowledge of how to bring him back. But loving an incubus usually ends in death for a human. For her own sake Callie must learn to control her desires and ensure Liam remains trapped for all eternity in his watery prison.

Only there is a more dangerous creature than Liam in the Borderlands. The Water Witch is also looking for a way back…

Details

Series: Fairwick Chronicles #2
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Published: Ebury Press, September 2012 (will be published February 13, 2013 in the USA by Ballantine – Random House)
Pages: 339
My Copy: The publisher via Netgalley

Paper copies: Amazon.com (pre-order) • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository
E-copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Barnes & Noble • Bookworld (epub)

Please note: This review is for the second book in this series, so contains spoilers for the first book, Incubus/The Demon Lover. You may wish to go and read my review of that book instead!

Review

Note: The Water Witch was published in the US under Carol Goodman’s pseudonym, Juliet Dark.

Callie McFay is a doorkeeper – the only one who can open the last remaining door to Faerie in the woods near Fairwick. The society of witches called the Grove have decided that the door is too dangerous to remain open – it has been letting in all manner of creatures including the Incubus who attacked Callie a few months previously. They want it shut, for ever. Callie and the supernatural creatures who call Fairwick home do not agree and decide to do everything within their power to keep the door open.

US cover

Meanwhile, despite her best intentions, Callie is still desperately missing her Incubus lover, Liam. She travels to faerie and meets up with him there, but when she returns she starts having strange dreams again. Could Liam be back?

Water Witch is an enjoyable sequel to Incubus. We get to see the development of Callie’s powers, but the romantic aspects of the story that were in the forefront of Incubus are not so important in Water Witch. In fact, Callie has less actual sex with anyone and has more imaginary dream sex again. Also she falls for no less than three separate men over the course of this book. I’m starting to think Callie is… how can I put this delicately? Impressionable, perhaps?

The story is once again smart and quite funny at times. The secondary characters really develop well and bring out their interesting personalities.

One of the main problems I had with Incubus was that the story consisted of a few exciting events, interspersed with boring college life. Water Witch has none of that – in fact the entire story plays out within the space of a few weeks during the college vacation, so this book is free to contain pretty much all action. And it does!

Callie’s poor Incubus doesn’t get much of a go in this book, although there is some raunchy action early on in the story. Without giving anything away, Callie really frustrated me with her inability to see the obvious right in front of her. The second half of the story was really quite predictable and I found it a shame. Once again, we’re left on a cliffhanger so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next!

Warnings: Graphic sexual content.

What did others think of Water Witch?

“It was an entertaining read, but very high on the cheese factor.” – The Book Stop
“I desperately wanted to know what would happen on each page. I was also hoping a heavy branch would fall on Callie’s grandmother.” – Fangs, Wands & Fairy Dust
“Callie Callie Callie… what are we going to do with you?? She seems to be a lovely girl, but someone you just want to smack upside the head for all the lousy decisions she makes!” – Book Chick City

Feb

02

Review: Besieged, Rowena Cory Daniells

Reviews Posted by Angelya / 2 comments

Title: Besieged (Goodreads)
Author: Rowena Cory Daniells (website) (twitter)

Rating:

Sorne, the estranged son of a King on the verge of madness, is being raised as a weapon to wield against the mystical Wyrds. Half a continent away, his father is planning to lay siege to the Celestial City, the home of the T En, whose wyrd blood the mundane population have come to despise.

Within the City, Imoshen, the only mystic to be raised by men, is desperately trying to hold her people together. A generations long feud between the men of the Brotherhoods and the women of the sacred Sisterhoods is about to come to a head. With war without and war within, can an entire race survive the hatred of a nation?

Details

Series: The Outcast Chronicles #1 of 3
Genre: High fantasy
Published: Solaris, June 2012
Pages: 670
My copy: For review from the Author, thanks!

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository
E-copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Barnes & Noble

Review

It’s been a while since I read any high fantasy, since a lot of it these days tends to be quite dark and depressing. While still containing some violence and oppression, Besieged isn’t nearly as dark as other books in the genre and I found that made it all the more enjoyable a read. That, and the fact that the author lives in the same city as me. Hooray for local awesome talent!

How to describe this world? Chalcedonia and the nearby kingdoms are peopled by two races, who have lived in peace for the last several hundred years. There are the True-men, who are also called Mieren by the T’En. The other race is the T’En, also called Wyrds by the True-men. Tall and silver-haired, the T’En have violet eyes and six fingers on each hand. They also have strange abilities – while the men are physically stronger and are often gifted warriors, the women are very powerful and are able to segue to the spirit world. Some can see the future, while others are able to heal or read others emotions. All of the women can kill by separating a soul from its body, and for that they are feared.

T’En society is split into sisterhoods and brotherhoods, each with their ambitious leaders and hierarchy below. Men and women live separately, only coming together at festival times to select trysting partners. At other times, each group may take lovers from within their own sisterhood or brotherhood, or among the Malaunje – half-bloods who have the T’En characteristics but none of their power. Usually in servitude with the brotherhoods or sisterhoods, the Malaunje are despised and persecuted by the True-men. Malaunje can be born to True-men or T’En parents and no-one is quite sure why. True T’En babies are prized and carefully cared for, but all T’En babies, true blooded or not, are given up to the sisterhoods in their first year and cared for and trained until they are eighteen. The boys are then returned to their brotherhoods, while the true-blooded girls remain with the sisterhoods for further training and development of their gifts.

There are some, however, who are not happy with the control the sisterhoods and brotherhoods hold over society. All-father Rohaayel, the leader of a brotherhood, smuggles away a child to a secluded island, intent on bringing her up ignorant of the way T’En society works. Imoshen’s powerful true-blooded child would be able to challenge the leaders and bring about change.

Meanwhile, the Queen of Chalcedonia has just given birth to a half-blood Malaunje and the King is furious. Rather than destroy the child, high priest Oskane sneaks Sorne away to raise him and study the half-blood ways, to try to find a weapon that can be used against the T’En and their magic.

Those are just two of the storylines threaded together in this story – spanning a period of about thirty years, the story often jumps forward by several years between chapters. Each story arc follows the events from within the brotherhoods, the sisterhoods and from within Chalcedonia, as well as from Imoshen and Sorne’s points of view. The end result is a rich presentation of life from almost every angle – the mothers giving up their children, the wars ravaging the land, the manoeuvres for power within the T’En society and the loves, prejudices, affairs and betrayals of everyday life.

This is the first book by Rowena Cory Daniells that I’ve read, but I understand that her Last T’en series is set in the same world. I managed to catch up with the magic systems and societies without being completely in the dark, but I wonder whether the information overload at the start of the book might have been a little less overwhelming if I had read the previous series first! A glossary at the end may have helped understanding all the new terms as well.

I found the T’en societies fascinating – the way the Brotherhoods and Sisterhoods are kept separate and in fear and contempt of one another. I found it almost as fascinating that Imoshen, who was kept away all her life from the strict societal laws and expectations of the Celestial City, is able to see all of it and realise that it is wrong – that her people suffer and that there should be a better way to live. Despite all the horrors that are going on around this world, this is still a story of hope – of how just a few people can effect great change in society.

Once I got through the rather lengthy set-up early on in the book, I found all of the different story arcs to be very engaging and by the second half I found it very difficult to put down. Of course, this is only the first part in a massive trilogy so I am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of the second book, Exile, very soon!

Warnings: Violence including towards children, sexual situations (some abusive)

The Outcast Chronicles

What did others think of Besieged?

“Besieged is a book that I think will appeal to all those fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.” – Ticket to Anywhere
“Fantasy adorers will consume this book. Besieged was intriguing in all aspects; it has fantastic characters and a fascinating plot.” – Book Probe Reviews
“If you enjoy stories laced with political scheming, you’ll love Besieged… In Besieged Daniells has created a rich and complex world and used it as the stage for an engrossing story.” – A Fantastical Librarian

Jan

29

Review: The Gathering Dark, Leigh Bardugo

Reviews Posted by Angelya / 2 comments

Title: The Gathering Dark (Goodreads) or Shadow and Bone in USA
Author: Leigh Bardugo (website) (twitter)

Rating:

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Details

Series: The Grisha #1
Genre: Young adult fantasy
Published: Indigo, June 2012
Pages: 305

Paper copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Book Depository
E-copies: Amazon.com • Amazon.co.uk • Barnes & Noble • Bookworld (epub)

Review

The Gathering Dark (published as Shadow and Bone in the USA) was one of the most talked-about YA Fantasy releases of 2012. I bought myself a copy soon after it was released since everyone seemed to be loving it, but have only just got around to reading it. If I had got to it closer to its release date, I’m sure it would have been one of my favourite reads of 2012. I read the whole book in one day during the Bout of Books a couple of weeks ago!

The story centres on Alina, a cartographer in the army of Ravka. Her best friend Mal, who she has been friends with since they lived at an orphanage together as children, is also in the army, and they are both involved in a mission to cross the Unsea, the dark Shadow Fold that stretches across the land. As they are crossing, their convoy is attacked by monsters and Alina discovers a latent power – the ability to summon sunlight and drive away the shadow creatures. This ability makes her very attractive to the Grisha – an upper class of magic-wielders, and especially the Darkling himself. Alina is taken to the capital of Ravka for Grisha training. The Darkling insists that Alina will help him change the world, but first Alina must learn how to use her powers.

US cover

The Gathering Dark sweeps us into a Russian-inspired land of dark creatures, the beautiful but vain Grisha and the mysterious Darkling – a sinister but alluring sorcerer.

A few reviews I’ve read criticised this book for the misuse of Russian terms and cultural elements. I have very little knowledge of the Russian language and only a very small exposure to Russian culture, so I can only say that to me, it was an interesting change to use Russian-inspired place names and personal names rather than the usual practice in fantasy of using Great Britain as setting inspiration. I liked it!

I’ve also read a few reviews which say that this book is indistinguishable from a host of other YA fantasies out there. While I agree to a certain extent, it happens to be a formula that I quite enjoy, especially when it’s paired with such a unique world and a fantastic storytelling style as Leigh Bardugo’s.

Alina was quite an ordinary citizen of the kingdom of Ravka at the start. A cartographer in the First Army (as a cartographer myself this tickled me), she has no particular combat ability and admires and fears the Grisha as much as anyone else. Thinking herself beneath notice by her more popular best friend, Mal, she is rather self-deprecating. When her powers as a Sun Summoner are revealed she is in denial for a long time, but gradually grows into her role as a new Grisha and is much stronger by the end of this first part. I loved Mal and his loyalty, but we really didn’t get to see much from him in this first book. The Darkling, however – I won’t go into detail but wow, such a complex character! I did feel that he was a bit forward with Alina too early, but in the end it all played out perfectly.

There were actually parts of The Gathering Dark that I didn’t love, mostly revolving around the sections when Alina was at the Palace in Os Alta doing her Grisha training. It gets rather boarding-school-y with plenty of catty girls obsessed with their appearance. The story also slowed down in the middle while Alina struggled to take control of her powers, and while some struggle is fine, it went on a bit long and with a bit too much mooning about for my taste. Once the ball and the performance came along though – wow.

At 300-odd pages this feels less like an entire book and more like the first part of an epic fantasy, especially with the ending leaving the main characters out on such a limb. I’m not a huge fan of cliff hangers and this one is quite frustrating, but there will be all the more reason to pick up the second book, Siege and Storm, as soon as it’s released in June 2013.

Those who love “light” fantasy with romance and magic, get your hands on this amazing debut from Leigh Bardugo. I was unable to put it down, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Warnings: Violence, sexual references

The Witch of Duva

Can’t get enough of The Gathering Dark? Leigh Bardugo has released a short story based in the same world. The Witch of Duva does not contain any of the same characters as The Gathering Dark, but is rather a folk tale told by the residents of that world. It’s a rather dark but gripping tale of a village where young girls go missing into the woods. It terrified me!

The Witch of Duva is available for free on the Tor website. Go read it now!

What did others think of The Gathering Dark/Shadow and Bone?

“I don’t want to be pushy but you MUST read this book! Even if it doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, IT IS YOUR CUP OF TEA.” – Badass Bookie
“I can’t say this enough: I loved Shadow and Bone! I would recommend it to everybody. Read this now!” – Burnt Pages
“There is the shy but spunky outcast heroine narrator with latent powers that will make everyone suddenly respect her, the male friend without much of a personality who might be something more, and the hot, mysterious newcomer who teaches said heroine about her newfound abilities. Go through a list of YA paranormal or fantasy titles and you will find that nearly every one of them fits the bill.” – Epic Chocolate Fantasy