Hello everyone,
After a great deal of though, I've decided to move everything on this blog over to Wordpress. This blog will stay up, but no new content will be added.
If you would like to follow me over there, the link is https://millennialbookreview.wordpress.com/
I hope to see you there.
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
August Book Haul
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I kinda have a little bit of a problem. No matter how hard I try, I can never buy just one book. Even if I go onto a website thinking "I'm only buying the book I came here for", I can't do it. One book becomes two, which then becomes at least four. With that being said. I went a little crazy last week and bought a bunch of books. Now, much like a dragon, I want to pour over my haul and excitedly try to decide what I should read.
Blurb: The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.
Winter has stopped the war--almost--yet men are dying, calling out for the Dragon. But where is he? In the Heart of the Stone lies the next great test of the Dragon reborn.
Why I Want to Read It: I'm making my way through the Wheel of Time series, so it only makes sense that I bought the third book after I finished the second one. I'm excited to see where this story goes.
Until they battled the Batman.
Gotham's vigilante protector managed to escape the talons of the Court with his mind and body barely intact. The Dark Knight managed to win the battle with his deadly new aggressors, but certainly not the war. Batman was just the first part of their conquest. Now they have their sights set on something much bigger: Gotham City.
Why I Want to Read It: Let's be honest. Who couldn't use more Batman in their life?
Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree--and his victim--were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and senile, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home.
It's not long before things start to go wrong. Reading the news, Paul learns another copycat has struck. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago.
It wasn't just the murder.
It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again...
Why I Want to Read It: I've been trying to get more into thrillers. A friend of mine who loves thrillers really recommended this author and I thought I might as well give his work a try.
In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after -- the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king's interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, she does the unthinkable -- she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.
Why I Want to Read It: First of all, the cover is beautiful. Second, the blurb has me hooked and I want to know more.
Why I Want to Read It: This might be weird, but I like stories about the end of the world. Reading different authors' takes on the end of the world, and what might come after, has always appealed to me.
Drawn from Hugh Murphy’s wildly popular Tumblr feed of the same name, T-Rex Trying depicts the stubby-armed tyrant in a range of hilarious—yet pathos-inducing—activities that we humans take for granted.
Why I Want to Read It: This just looks cute and funny. Sometimes, I need a break from serious, hard-hitting things.
But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.
Why I Want to Read It: The Lightbringer series has been on my list for a while. When I saw that it was on sale, I took that as a sign that I should buy it now and start reading the series.
For Starla, a struggle for power becomes a struggle to survive when she finds herself on the wrong side of the wall. Lost in the wasteland, she faces warring factions, bloodthirsty creatures, and the endless burning sun. And then there’s Ari… who is she really? And can she trust this girl from the wasteland to lead her back to the city gates?
One thing’s for sure, Starla’s once privileged life will never be the same.
Why I Want to Read It: The premise sounds interesting. I've also been trying to read more science fiction recently and this book called to me for some reason.
In the bloody revolution, gods were all but wiped out. Ever since, the children they left behind have been imprisoned in an orphanage, watched day and night by the ruthless Guard. Any who show signs of divine power vanish from their beds in the night, all knowledge of their existence denied.
No one has ever escaped the orphanage.
Until now.
Seventeen-year-old Hero is finally free - but at a terrible price. Her sister has been captured by the Guard and is being held in a prison in the northern sea. Hero desperately wants to get her back, and to escape the murderous Guardsmen hunting her down. But not all the gods are dead, and the ones waiting for Hero in the north have their own plans for her - ones that will change the world forever...
As she advances further and further into the unknown, Hero will need to decide: how far is she willing to go to do what needs to be done?
Why I Want to Read It: It's hard to beat a premise like "humans have deposed the gods". Adding in the other aspects of the plot shown in the blurb, I just couldn't resist.
Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them? Are there any books you recently purchased that you'd recommend?
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Monday, August 3, 2020
Heart of Fire
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Heart of Fire is a 2020 young adult science fiction novel by Jessica Roe. It was self-published by the author and released in March 2020. The novel can be purchased from Amazon here.
The novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and follows a teenager named Talin. A year prior to the start of the novel, aliens, the Jhenn, invaded Earth and killed two thirds of the population. The day of the invasion Talin developed a strange power that makes her a threat to the hostile force. After she and her friend Nat are attacked, Talin is taken by the resistance and offered the chance to fight. While facing new enemies and meeting new allies, Talin begins to learn new things about herself, her heart and her powers which may change the course of the war.
Talin is the main character of the story. While I liked her character overall, because she was feisty, she asked a lot of questions and didn't let people walked all over her, sometimes, she could be a bit too much. There were a few scenes where comments she made were supposed to be funny, but they didn't really work and I found it more annoying than anything else. While she got on my nerves at times, I enjoyed her overall journey as she joined the resistance and learned how to become a warrior. Nat, Talin's best friend, can be described almost in the exact same way as Talin can. She's a little less confrontational and their strong friendship helped bring a sense of realism to the story, but there's not a lot I can really say about Nat. Upon being taken by the resistance, Talin meets both David and Makail. David is a human soldier who becomes a friend of Talin's, while Makail is a member of the Vorstoffen, an alien race from the same planet as the Jhenn who are helping the humans mount a resistance. Makail begins as Talin's trainer as she learns to use and control her powers and is rather cold and no-nonsense when first introduced. This novel doesn't have a "main" antagonist, as the Jhenn collectively are the enemy, but the closest thing to a "bad guy" seen in this book is the Jhenn Uren who attacks Talin early in the story and shows up again at the climax.
One thing that I enjoyed about this book is that it's not mainly about the war against the Jhenn. The war is an underecurrent with all of the events that are taking place, but it's not the main focus of the story. The focus is instead on Talin, her learning to control her powers and life within the resistance. Some of this is done to develop the romance in the story, but it was refreshing to read a book about an alien invasion that focused less on the battles themselves. I also appreciated this because the reader got to see Talin fail. She had to struggle, she had to learn and adapt. I don't like books where a character learns how to sword-fight in three pages or masters a power in a single chapter. The character dynamics that develop between Talin and some less-than-friendly members of the resistance are also great. The fact that there were a number of people who didn't fully trust Talin because of her powers, who didn't like her, while still being on the same side as her was unexpected and I liked it. I also enjoyed the fact that, while the Jhenn are the main antagonists, they weren't working alone. Other humans were helping them. A lot of alien invasion stories don't show humanity itself being divided about the invaders. Last, but not least, Talin's powers were unique. Some Vorstoffen characters had abilities that were a little more standard for science fiction or fantasy, but her powers and the way they were displayed were used creatively in the story.
This novel is very character-driven, and as a result, there isn't a lot of plot taking place. I liked see characters grow closer and improve as people, but as a result, the pacing is a bit weird. Like many character-driven stories, there is a fast-paced beginning, a slow middle and a fast-paced end. While this isn't my favorite type of pacing, it worked for this story. A big part of this story is the romance, and budding love triangle between Talin, David and Makail. I don't really like love triangles, however it doesn't actually become a love triangle because one character realizes the relationship wouldn't work. If this becomes a series, I hope it stays that way. I also felt like the romance itself was kind of predictable. I'm not mad about it, but it felt worth mentioning. My final and my biggest issue with this book has to do with the climax. This novel does discuss and depict torture, but it's not unnecessarily graphic. My problem is that the physical torture turns into threats of sexual assault and I have a problem when sexual assault is made into a plot device. It makes me very uncomfortable and as a result, I lost some of the enjoyment I had while reading.
Heart of Fire is a pretty good book. It's a quick read with a lot of good character moments and a unique story to tell. The journey that the characters go on over the course of the story is both engaging and at time exciting. It's a great character-driven science fiction story. The romance wasn't to my taste, but I'm not a romance person. I struggled with the pacing and a few tropes/plot devices used in the climax. On the whole, however, Id' recommend the book to young sci-fi fans. I hope this author continues the series, as there's clearly a lot more story to tell.
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Heart of Fire is a 2020 young adult science fiction novel by Jessica Roe. It was self-published by the author and released in March 2020. The novel can be purchased from Amazon here.
The novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and follows a teenager named Talin. A year prior to the start of the novel, aliens, the Jhenn, invaded Earth and killed two thirds of the population. The day of the invasion Talin developed a strange power that makes her a threat to the hostile force. After she and her friend Nat are attacked, Talin is taken by the resistance and offered the chance to fight. While facing new enemies and meeting new allies, Talin begins to learn new things about herself, her heart and her powers which may change the course of the war.
Talin is the main character of the story. While I liked her character overall, because she was feisty, she asked a lot of questions and didn't let people walked all over her, sometimes, she could be a bit too much. There were a few scenes where comments she made were supposed to be funny, but they didn't really work and I found it more annoying than anything else. While she got on my nerves at times, I enjoyed her overall journey as she joined the resistance and learned how to become a warrior. Nat, Talin's best friend, can be described almost in the exact same way as Talin can. She's a little less confrontational and their strong friendship helped bring a sense of realism to the story, but there's not a lot I can really say about Nat. Upon being taken by the resistance, Talin meets both David and Makail. David is a human soldier who becomes a friend of Talin's, while Makail is a member of the Vorstoffen, an alien race from the same planet as the Jhenn who are helping the humans mount a resistance. Makail begins as Talin's trainer as she learns to use and control her powers and is rather cold and no-nonsense when first introduced. This novel doesn't have a "main" antagonist, as the Jhenn collectively are the enemy, but the closest thing to a "bad guy" seen in this book is the Jhenn Uren who attacks Talin early in the story and shows up again at the climax.
One thing that I enjoyed about this book is that it's not mainly about the war against the Jhenn. The war is an underecurrent with all of the events that are taking place, but it's not the main focus of the story. The focus is instead on Talin, her learning to control her powers and life within the resistance. Some of this is done to develop the romance in the story, but it was refreshing to read a book about an alien invasion that focused less on the battles themselves. I also appreciated this because the reader got to see Talin fail. She had to struggle, she had to learn and adapt. I don't like books where a character learns how to sword-fight in three pages or masters a power in a single chapter. The character dynamics that develop between Talin and some less-than-friendly members of the resistance are also great. The fact that there were a number of people who didn't fully trust Talin because of her powers, who didn't like her, while still being on the same side as her was unexpected and I liked it. I also enjoyed the fact that, while the Jhenn are the main antagonists, they weren't working alone. Other humans were helping them. A lot of alien invasion stories don't show humanity itself being divided about the invaders. Last, but not least, Talin's powers were unique. Some Vorstoffen characters had abilities that were a little more standard for science fiction or fantasy, but her powers and the way they were displayed were used creatively in the story.
This novel is very character-driven, and as a result, there isn't a lot of plot taking place. I liked see characters grow closer and improve as people, but as a result, the pacing is a bit weird. Like many character-driven stories, there is a fast-paced beginning, a slow middle and a fast-paced end. While this isn't my favorite type of pacing, it worked for this story. A big part of this story is the romance, and budding love triangle between Talin, David and Makail. I don't really like love triangles, however it doesn't actually become a love triangle because one character realizes the relationship wouldn't work. If this becomes a series, I hope it stays that way. I also felt like the romance itself was kind of predictable. I'm not mad about it, but it felt worth mentioning. My final and my biggest issue with this book has to do with the climax. This novel does discuss and depict torture, but it's not unnecessarily graphic. My problem is that the physical torture turns into threats of sexual assault and I have a problem when sexual assault is made into a plot device. It makes me very uncomfortable and as a result, I lost some of the enjoyment I had while reading.
Heart of Fire is a pretty good book. It's a quick read with a lot of good character moments and a unique story to tell. The journey that the characters go on over the course of the story is both engaging and at time exciting. It's a great character-driven science fiction story. The romance wasn't to my taste, but I'm not a romance person. I struggled with the pacing and a few tropes/plot devices used in the climax. On the whole, however, Id' recommend the book to young sci-fi fans. I hope this author continues the series, as there's clearly a lot more story to tell.
Rating: 3.3 Stars
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Wednesday, July 29, 2020
July Wrap-Up
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It's the end of the month, which means it's wrap-up time. I didn't expect to read as much as I did in July, nor was I expecting to have such a wide array of genre. Now, let's get into the books.
Books I Read and Reviewed
God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert- 1.6 Stars
The Unblessed Child by R.J. Kaldanis- 3.2 Stars
Before the Broken Star by Emily R. King- 1.5 Stars
Sea Witch* by Sarah Henning - 3.4 Stars
Books I Read, Only Reviewed on Goodreads
The Eye of the World* by Robert Jordan- 4 Stars (Goodreads review)
When I Was You by Minka Kent*- 2 Stars (Goodreads review)
Android Chronicles: Origins*- 3 Stars (Goodreads review)
Midnight Wings by Arielle Sieling- 4 Stars (Goodreads review)
Dudley and Friends: Nouns by Lori Brown- 4 Stars (Goodreads review)
From Here to Infinity* by John Gribbin & Mary Gribbin- 3.5 Stars (Goodreads review)
A Small Fiction by Mark James Miller- 3 Stars (Goodreads review)
Chronicle of A Death Foretold* by Gabriel Garcia Marquez- 3.5 Stars (Goodreads review)
This is How You Lose the Time War* by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone- 4.5 Stars (Goodreads review)
Polar Bear and UFO by Cynthia C. Huijgens- 5 Stars (Goodreads review)
And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer* by Fredrik Backman- 5 Stars (Goodreads review)
Genres Read
Fantasy: 3
Science Fiction: 5
Thriller: 1
Children's: 2
Classics: 1
Non-Fiction: 1
Anthology: 1
Literary Fiction; 1
Figures
Number of DNFs: 0
Total Books Read: 15
Pages Read: 3,740
Average Rating: 3.4 Stars
What did you read in July? Any recommendations? Did you read any of these books?
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It's the end of the month, which means it's wrap-up time. I didn't expect to read as much as I did in July, nor was I expecting to have such a wide array of genre. Now, let's get into the books.
Books I Read and Reviewed
God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert- 1.6 Stars
The Unblessed Child by R.J. Kaldanis- 3.2 Stars
Before the Broken Star by Emily R. King- 1.5 Stars
Sea Witch* by Sarah Henning - 3.4 Stars
Books I Read, Only Reviewed on Goodreads
The Eye of the World* by Robert Jordan- 4 Stars (Goodreads review)
When I Was You by Minka Kent*- 2 Stars (Goodreads review)
Android Chronicles: Origins*- 3 Stars (Goodreads review)
Midnight Wings by Arielle Sieling- 4 Stars (Goodreads review)
Dudley and Friends: Nouns by Lori Brown- 4 Stars (Goodreads review)
From Here to Infinity* by John Gribbin & Mary Gribbin- 3.5 Stars (Goodreads review)
A Small Fiction by Mark James Miller- 3 Stars (Goodreads review)
Chronicle of A Death Foretold* by Gabriel Garcia Marquez- 3.5 Stars (Goodreads review)
This is How You Lose the Time War* by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone- 4.5 Stars (Goodreads review)
Polar Bear and UFO by Cynthia C. Huijgens- 5 Stars (Goodreads review)
And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer* by Fredrik Backman- 5 Stars (Goodreads review)
Genres Read
Fantasy: 3
Science Fiction: 5
Thriller: 1
Children's: 2
Classics: 1
Non-Fiction: 1
Anthology: 1
Literary Fiction; 1
Figures
Number of DNFs: 0
Total Books Read: 15
Pages Read: 3,740
Average Rating: 3.4 Stars
What did you read in July? Any recommendations? Did you read any of these books?
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Monday, July 27, 2020
Sea Witch
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Sea Witch is a 2018 young adult fantasy novel by
Sarah Henning. It’s the first book in the Sea Witch series. The novel is
a retelling of The Little Mermaid. It can be purchased here from Amazon
or here from Bookshop.org
The novel follows a teenager named Evie, an outcast in her
small fishing town. Since the death of her best friend Anna, she’s been
overcome by guilt. After her other friend, Crown Prince Niklas, nearly drowns,
she spots a girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appear on the shore. The girls
befriend one another, but her new friend harbors secrets of her own. In order
to help her new friend stay, Evie must make a sacrifice and the price is higher
than she ever could’ve imagined.
The novel has four characters worth discussing: Evie, Niklas,
Annamette, the girl Evie meets early on in the story who reminds her of Anna,
and Iker, Niklas’s cousin. Evie is the main character and narrator. She begins
the story as an outcast in her village, both because she’s seen as unworthly of
Nik’s friendship, since she’s a fisherman’s daughter, and because many blame
her for Anna’s death by drowning a few years before the story starts. She also
hides the fact that she’s a witch from the unaccepting town. Her arc is about
finding her place in the village and coming to terms with Anna’s death. Annamette
is the mysterious stranger who comes to the village, looking remarkably like Anna,
with a secret. Her characterization, unfortunately, wasn’t consistent
throughout the novel. The way she’s written for the first half to two-thirds of
the book doesn’t make sense with the way she’s written in the last third. There
was potential for the two very different sides of her to work, but the
character the reader is first introduced to isn’t given enough depth or nuance
to make such a change work well. Niklas and Iker are the love interests for Annamette
and Evie respectively. I can’t really say much about either of them, because
they are pretty much the same character, with Iker being slightly more skeptical
of Annamette and her story. While I did enjoy these characters, I wouldn’t say
that this book has especially strong characters or character work.
I enjoyed the author’s writing style. She did an excellent
job of setting a scene and keeping my attention focused on what was happening. The
story itself feels very atmospheric and during the course of reading, I could
see how deeply infused the sea was within the story. The inclusion of so much
from Danish history was appreciated and gave the story a feeling of being more grounded
in reality. I chose to read this book because I wanted to read a book about
mermaids, and this book delivered. I enjoyed the mermaids, the magic and how it
all fit together in the narrative. The conclusion was by far my favorite part
of the novel. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the overall pacing of this
book, the ending really tied all of the elements together and fulfilled what
the author set out to create with this story. As mentioned above, this novel is
a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but this isn’t Ariel’s story, it’s
Ursula’s. Henning did a spectacular job of creating a compelling and believable
villain origin story. Also, and this one is the least important aspect of this review, the cover art is gorgeous and I want to see more by this artist.
While I enjoyed the writing itself and the ending of the
novel, there are a few criticisms that I have. My biggest issue with this book
is the pacing. The plot moves incredibly slowly for the first two-thirds. There’s
a lot of focus on the culture and traditions of Evie’s village and discussing maritime
practices, which wasn’t very interesting to me and I ended up skimming those parts
to get back to the main plot. There are flashbacks to Anna’s death, spread
throughout the book, focusing on a few different characters and their actions
on that day. While I don’t have an issue with flashbacks, some of them felt
unnecessary. The last criticism I have is in regards to foreshadowing. The novel’s
antagonist isn’t shown to have ulterior motives or even that they can’t be
trusted until very close to the end of the story. If there had been some
suspicious behavior, or moments that stuck with me as odd, then the reveal would’ve
worked better. As it stands, the antagonist’s goal, when compared to their
actions before the “big reveal”, don’t fit together the way that they should. As
a result, the plot overall isn’t as coherent as it could’ve been.
Sea Witch was not quite the book I was expecting it
to be. I enjoyed the magic and the writing itself, but the pacing and some of
the characterization didn’t quite work for me. As a villain origin story, this
is good one, not great, but not terrible. The conclusion is by far the strongest
part of the novel overall, and I wish the author had taken more risks earlier
on to match the excitement of the climax. I haven’t decided if I will read the
second book in the series yet. If anyone is thinking of reading this novel, I
would recommend it, but caution that it’s not quite the story they think it is.
Rating: 3.4 Stars
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Wednesday, July 22, 2020
My Favorite Short Stories
Short stories are a type of literature that often get overlooked in my opinion. A reader may not remember the 15-page horror story they read as easily as a 300-page horror novel, but that doesn't necessarily mean that one medium is better than the other. Some of the best stories I've read have been short stories. With all of that said, I'd like to discuss some of my favorite short stories and ones I think everyone should read.
A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner
Synopsis: Following the death of 74-year-old Emily Grierson, the narrator reflects on the sad and lonely life of Emily and the secrets uncovered after her death.
Bartleby: The Scrivener by Herman Melville
Synopsis: A Wall Street lawyer hires a new clerk who, after initially working very hard, soon becomes a troublesome employee simply because he "would prefer not to" do certain tasks.
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Synopsis: The narrator, a new mother, becomes obsessed with the pattern in the yellow wallpaper that covers the walls in the room where she's forced to spend most of her time.
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
Synopsis: A man takes brutal revenge against a friend who he believes insulted him.
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Synopsis: The citizens of a small town gather for their annual lottery, a rite to ensure the community's survival.
The Last Question by Isaac Asimov
Synopsis: A supercomputer is tasked with answering the one question that will determine the fate of humanity and the universe.
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison
Synopsis: The last five humans on Earth are left at the mercy of a malicious and sadistic supercomputer.
The City Born Great by N.K. Jemisin
Synopsis: Like all great metropolises before it, when a city gets big enough, old enough, it must be born; but there are ancient enemies who cannot tolerate new life. Thus New York will live or die by the efforts of a reluctant midwife...and how well he can learn to sing the city's mighty song.
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A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner
Synopsis: Following the death of 74-year-old Emily Grierson, the narrator reflects on the sad and lonely life of Emily and the secrets uncovered after her death.
Bartleby: The Scrivener by Herman Melville
Synopsis: A Wall Street lawyer hires a new clerk who, after initially working very hard, soon becomes a troublesome employee simply because he "would prefer not to" do certain tasks.
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Synopsis: The narrator, a new mother, becomes obsessed with the pattern in the yellow wallpaper that covers the walls in the room where she's forced to spend most of her time.
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
Synopsis: A man takes brutal revenge against a friend who he believes insulted him.
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Synopsis: The citizens of a small town gather for their annual lottery, a rite to ensure the community's survival.
The Last Question by Isaac Asimov
Synopsis: A supercomputer is tasked with answering the one question that will determine the fate of humanity and the universe.
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison
Synopsis: The last five humans on Earth are left at the mercy of a malicious and sadistic supercomputer.
The City Born Great by N.K. Jemisin
Synopsis: Like all great metropolises before it, when a city gets big enough, old enough, it must be born; but there are ancient enemies who cannot tolerate new life. Thus New York will live or die by the efforts of a reluctant midwife...and how well he can learn to sing the city's mighty song.
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Monday, July 20, 2020
Before The Broken Star
Before the Broken Star is a 2019 young adult science fiction novel by Emily R. King. The novel was published by Skyscape and is the first book in The Evermore Chronicles. The novel is a fusion of steampunk and fantasy.
Before the Broken Star follows Everley Donovan, the sole survivor of her family's slaughter. She's been living on borrowed time due to a clockwork heart and seeks to avenge her family by killing Killian Markham, her family's murderer, before her time runs out. Her quest for vengeance leads her to a penal colony on the far side of the world. On the island, family secrets are buried and Everley finds her destiny is entangled with Markham's redemption, as the man may not be who he seems.
This book was somewhat of a mixed bag for me. I love a good revenge story and the ideas mentioned in the blurb were intriguing. This book references folk lore and in-universe myths frequently, and I enjoyed reading those myths and stories. There's an idea of there being seven distinct worlds and reading the snippets about each world was interesting to me. The science enthusiast in me enjoyed the steampunk parts of the story, mainly focused on Everley's artificial heart. I enjoyed piecing together the truth about what happened to Everley's family. Descriptions of the environment really captured my imagination and I liked reading about the land and wonder of the island Everley wound up on. The action scenes were also somewhat enjoyable. King created a very interesting "hook" for the second novel in the series.
While I enjoyed the aspects mentioned above, if I were to make a pro-con list about this novel, there would be more cons than pros. The characterization is fairly inconsistent. This applies to everyone from Everley herself, to Jamison, the man she's forced to marry, to Markham, the villain of the story. People's behaviors and motives seemed to change at the drop of a hat. None of the characters are relatable or easy for the reader to connect with. Very little in the story surprised me, because it's hard for someone to act "out of character" when they don't have consistent characterization. The plot of the novel is rather weak. Characters move from one plot point to another solely as the result of someone saying they need to do a certain thing or go to a certain place. Aside from Markham, none of the characters seem to have any agency. The revenge story itself gets sidelined for quite a bit in place of a generic quest.
The two biggest flaws with Before the Broken Star are pacing and the inability to build tension. The pacing for this novel is kind of all over the place. Everley sailing to the island seems to take up just as much of the book as the quest she's forced to go on with Markham. The journey itself doesn't seem to have any kind of urgency involved in it and it feels like it takes ages for anything exciting or important to the plot to happen. Some key revelations in the story take place too early to be satisfying. Later in the story, those same revelations could've been okay plot twists, but they happened too early and didn't really add anything to the story at that point. The ending also felt weird and contrived, with a last minute "gotcha" moment to set up the second book. As for stakes, there was a chance to make the ending of this novel very high-stakes. The reader is told very early on that Everley's heart will give out eventually and could give out at any moment. Unfortunately, the author didn't use this set-up as an opportunity to raise the stakes within the story, so the fact that Everley's heart could give out seemed like a missed opportunity and bringing so much attention to it felt odd. This book felt a lot like a novel that wasn't sure what it was supposed to be.
Before the Broken Star didn't really impress me. The ideas were there and the author had plenty of opportunity to create an interesting story, but failed to deliver. The novel suffered from poor pacing and not really knowing what it wanted to be about. The author has a very unique style and knows how to create a scene, but struggles to weave together a compelling plot. I don't think I'll be reading the second novel in the series.
Rating: 1.5 Stars
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Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Series I Never Finished
This goes without saying, but there are a lot, a lot, of book series out there. I've started a fair few, but most of them, I've never finished for one reason or another. Sometimes, it's because of not having enough time. Sometimes, I've just outgrown the series or my tastes simply changed. In any case, here's a list of the series I started, but never finished.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
The first time I read this book, I loved it. I thought the story was interesting. The urban fantasy elements were great and I couldn't wait to read the next one in the series. But since books don't just appear out of thin air, I needed to wait for the second book to be published. The second book came out, but I decided to reread Daughter of Smoke and Bone before buying it. And I realized that I wasn't really into urban fantasy any longer. The book wasn't quite as captivating as I expected it to be.
Matched by Allie Condie
This series, similar to the previous one, was one I stopped reading because my tastes changed. I read the first two books, Matched and Crossed but decided not to pick up the third book. I guess that while I like dystopia, I don't really like this kind of dystopia, which centers around a society where the government chooses your spouse for you.
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
This book was recommended to me by a friend years ago. It was when everyone was obsessed with dystopian fiction. She loved this book, so I said I'd give it a try. And I just didn't like it. Maybe my friend had hyped it up a bit too much, setting my expectations too high. I just felt very disappointed by the end and didn't want to continue.
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Back when vampires were all the rage, I picked up the first book in this series. I thought the book was fine. I didn't hate it, but I also wasn't impressed. As a result, I didn't see a reason to keep reading the series. It's run-of-the-mill urban fantasy in my opinion, which is a genre I no longer gravitate towards.
The Dune Saga by Frank Herbert
When I refer to "the Dune saga" I'm referring only to the six books Frank Herbert wrote, not the later books that were written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I read four of the six books in this series, dropping the series after God Emperor of Dune. There was a huge shift in overall tone between Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune and I wasn't a huge fan of it. I realized I wasn't enjoying the series anymore, so I stopped reading.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
I don't really have a long, drawn-out explanation for this one. I read the first book in this series, but I haven't read the second one yet. I don't know if I'll ever read the rest of the books in the series. I haven't made a deliberate decision to stop, but I don't feel compelled to continue.
The Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire
I loved Wicked. I felt only so-so about Son of A Witch, so I stopped reading the series. There are two more books, but I'm not likely to read them. I feel like Wicked should've just been a stand-alone, rather than the first of four books. I wasn't overly concerned with what happened in Oz after the Wicked Witch of the West was out of the story.
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Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
The first time I read this book, I loved it. I thought the story was interesting. The urban fantasy elements were great and I couldn't wait to read the next one in the series. But since books don't just appear out of thin air, I needed to wait for the second book to be published. The second book came out, but I decided to reread Daughter of Smoke and Bone before buying it. And I realized that I wasn't really into urban fantasy any longer. The book wasn't quite as captivating as I expected it to be.
Matched by Allie Condie
This series, similar to the previous one, was one I stopped reading because my tastes changed. I read the first two books, Matched and Crossed but decided not to pick up the third book. I guess that while I like dystopia, I don't really like this kind of dystopia, which centers around a society where the government chooses your spouse for you.
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
This book was recommended to me by a friend years ago. It was when everyone was obsessed with dystopian fiction. She loved this book, so I said I'd give it a try. And I just didn't like it. Maybe my friend had hyped it up a bit too much, setting my expectations too high. I just felt very disappointed by the end and didn't want to continue.
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Back when vampires were all the rage, I picked up the first book in this series. I thought the book was fine. I didn't hate it, but I also wasn't impressed. As a result, I didn't see a reason to keep reading the series. It's run-of-the-mill urban fantasy in my opinion, which is a genre I no longer gravitate towards.
The Dune Saga by Frank Herbert
When I refer to "the Dune saga" I'm referring only to the six books Frank Herbert wrote, not the later books that were written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I read four of the six books in this series, dropping the series after God Emperor of Dune. There was a huge shift in overall tone between Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune and I wasn't a huge fan of it. I realized I wasn't enjoying the series anymore, so I stopped reading.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
I don't really have a long, drawn-out explanation for this one. I read the first book in this series, but I haven't read the second one yet. I don't know if I'll ever read the rest of the books in the series. I haven't made a deliberate decision to stop, but I don't feel compelled to continue.
The Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire
I loved Wicked. I felt only so-so about Son of A Witch, so I stopped reading the series. There are two more books, but I'm not likely to read them. I feel like Wicked should've just been a stand-alone, rather than the first of four books. I wasn't overly concerned with what happened in Oz after the Wicked Witch of the West was out of the story.
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Monday, July 13, 2020
The Unblessed Child
The Unblessed Child is a 2020 young adult fantasy
novel by R.J. Kaldanis. It was self-published by the author in February of
2020. It is the author’s debut novel and the first book in The Blessed
Chronicles. I was provided with an advanced copy of the novel by Netgalley
for review purposes.
The novel takes place in a world where there are two types
of people, the blessed, who can wield one of the four elements, and the
unblessed, who cannot. The novel follows Aardriyah, an unblessed girl who has
been raised to believe she’s unwanted and unimportant, compared to her
siblings. Shortly before she turns 19, she begins having strange, vivid
nightmares of beasts and worlds beyond what anyone could imagine. She soon
finds herself being hunted by a mysterious figure with powers she’s never seen
before. To uncover the truth about her dreams, Aardriyah goes on a journey that
will change not only herself, but has implications for the world at large.
The Unblessed Child has a whole cast of characters,
but there are only about four or five that I feel are so vital that I need to
mention in this review. First, Aardriyah, our main character. She’s had to
learn to be strong and self-sufficient after being looked down on her whole
life for being unblessed and having red-hair, which is hated by the citizens of
the island where she was raised. Then, there’s Chastion, her older brother who
was adopted into the royal family because he was an exceptionally strong water
blessed child and the queens needed an heir. Chastion was once Aardriyah’s
lovable older brother, but years apart have made him into an entitled and arrogant
man who she loathes more often than not. When Aardriyah begins to have these strange
dreams, Teme, an old man in the village, seems to have an idea as to why and
help her along her journey. While he claims to want to help, it’s clear that he’s
got a few secrets that he’s keeping from her. On her journey, Aardriyah meets
Rachida, a fire blessed, who she befriends. Rachida was my favorite character
because she was funny and sassy and it was nice to have a little bit of a break
from serious moments for a bit. Lastly, there is Princess Kibo, another child
who was adopted by the queens of the water blessed. While helping Aardriyah, the
reader isn’t able to get much of a feel for who Kibo is, because her
motivations aren’t really explained and very little of her true personality is
shown. Unlike most novels, I can’t really say that this book has a main
antagonist.
Since this novel was the first book in a series, there was a
great deal of world-building that had to be included in the story. Kaldanis
needed to show the reader what this world was, how it worked, how the powers of
the blessed worked and why things are the way that they are in terms of political
power and social constructs. In my opinion, she did an excellent job of that
without making it seemed forced or like an exposition dump. I also enjoyed the
magic system and the way that it was explained, with society being categorized
based on the elemental magic and the division between each caste. The magic
system has a lot of potential that I hope to see in future books in the series.
The writing also really surprised me. It felt natural and fluid and it didn’t feel
like this was a debut novel. The writing style wasn’t overly flowery or
descriptive and that helped me follow the story easily, as opposed to getting
lost in the depictions of the world the story took place in.
While I enjoyed elements of this novel, there were a few
things that took away from my enjoyment. One was that Aardriyah lost nearly all
her agency once the plot truly kicked off. Prior to her having to leave her
home, she’s shown to be strong and frustratingly stubborn, but once she’s told
she has to leave, without being told why, she goes along with it. She does what
she’s told, out of character, with a minimal amount of fighting back or
arguing. I found it annoying as well that she kept circling back to resenting
her brother, even when there were much bigger and more important things she
needed to worry about. Another thing that annoyed me was the fact that Teme very
obviously knew exactly what was happening and who was after Aardriyah but didn’t
share that information until near the very end of the story. Others tried to get
him to reveal what he knew earlier, but they didn’t make much of an effort and,
when asked, he just pushed them off, saying he’d explain later. This didn’t make
any sense to me and, if Teme knowing what was going on had been revealed later,
it would’ve worked a little better. In his second appearance, the reader knows,
and the characters know, that Teme knows more than he’s saying, but the secrets
aren’t revealed until close to the end of the book. The pacing for this novel
was a little wonky. The plot moves quickly to get Aardriyah to leave Veros, but
then it slows down dramatically until the last 15% of the book. In that last
section of the book, the pacing picks up as the reader is told what Aardriyah’s
dreams are about and why she’s being chased before setting the stage for the
next book. The ending feels rushed as a result because so much information is
being revealed in so few pages. I finished the book feeling slightly
unsatisfied and a little off-kilter because of the pacing issues. The plot
itself isn’t terrible, but there weren’t very many surprises.
The Unblessed Child was an enjoyable book. I liked the
world-building and magic system a lot and the premise of the story was intriguing.
At the same time, the pacing and some other elements of the plot needed work. It was difficult for me to connect with many of the characters. It’s a quick
read and a good fantasy story, so I might read the sequel when it comes out to
see what happens next.
Rating: 3.2 Stars
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Wednesday, July 8, 2020
When It's Time For A Book To Go
All good things must come to an end, including ownership of a book. I've reached the point in my reading journey where I have too many books and nowhere near enough shelves in my house to hold them all. Some of you may be thinking "Why don't you get books from the library? Why not try ebooks?" To answer the second question first, I do read ebooks, but I'm also a book dragon, so I feel this need to collect as many physical books as possible. I don't take full advantage of library the way that I used to because, well, I tend to forget that it's an option. Anyway, this post is not about all of the books I have.
I wanted to talk about what happens when I get rid of books. Mainly how I decide which books go, and what happens to them. Because I do occasionally sit down and go through my book collection, pulling out books that it's time to say goodbye to.
The biggest factor to deciding if I'm going to keep a book or get rid of it is if I read it. I know it sounds obvious, but there are quite a few books I bought, intending to read, and just haven't. Sometimes it's because I've outgrown the story or age group and sometimes it's because I've realized I'm not a fan of the genre. If I've owned a book for more than a year, and I haven't even attempted to read it, I doubt I ever will. The second biggest factor for me in deciding which books to get rid of is how much I enjoyed a particular book. If I disliked a book or DNF'd it, I'm unlikely to read it again. Meaning it's pretty much just taking up space on the shelf. Aside from a few books that I've kept for sentimental value or ones authors have sent to me, any book that I don't intend to reread gets put onto the chopping block. Lastly, I try to decide if there's someone I know who might enjoy the book in question. Sometimes, I'll buy a book because I want to give the genre or author a chance, and I don't like it. That doesn't mean my sister or a coworker wouldn't like it. So, if I don't like a book, I might give it away to a friend or family member who enjoys that genre. The way I see it, I'm not getting rid of that book, I'm just giving it a new home.
Now that I've explained my methods for deciding what books I get rid of, let's talk about what I do with the books I decide to get rid of. (Not including the ones I give to family/friends). First, I try to donate them to the library. If the library won't accept them, due to the number of books or having enough of that particular title, I find a used bookstore and see if they're accepting drop-offs. Whatever they don't accept, I sell on eBay or another reselling site. Is it the most original tactic? Probably not, but the book finds a new home anyway.
So, that's what happens with the books I decide to get rid of. What do you do with books you no longer want?
Monday, July 6, 2020
God Emperor of Dune
God Emperor of Dune is a 1981 science fiction novel
by Frank Herbert. It was published by Putnam. It’s the fourth book in the Dune
saga following Dune, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. My
reviews on the previous books can be found here.
God Emperor of Dune takes place 3,500 years after the
conclusion of Children of Dune. Leto II Atreides has reigned as emperor
of the known universe for millennia. In an effort to preserve humanity’s
future, Leto sacrificed his own by becoming inhuman. Under his rule, the desert
planet of Arrakis has become a lush paradise, the all-important spice mélange has
become scarce and humanity as a whole has been prevented from exploration. A rebellion
led by Siona Atreides, a distant descendant of Leto’s, has arisen to oppose the
god emperor, but unknown to Siona, Leto’s Golden Path for humanity requires her
to fulfill a destiny she never could’ve conceived.
By far, this was the book I enjoyed the least in the series.
It’s mentioned in the introduction, written by the author’s son, that Dune,
Dune Messiah and Children of Dune formed their own quasi-trilogy and
God Emperor of Dune was the start of a new trilogy and that’s evident by
the overall tone of this novel. Dune was never the most optimistic
story, and it has a recurring theme of “you can’t change what’s meant to happen”
but this novel was far darker and far more cynical than its predecessors. While
I applaud Herbert for making Leto a tyrant and not trying to shy away from the
fact that he’s a tyrant, this series has reached a point where those elements
got tiring for me.
My biggest issue with this novel is the pacing. The copy I read
was nearly 600 pages, but there’s a large section of the book where nothing of importance
seems to happen. The beginning has a lot of things happen, the end has a lot of
activity, but the middle is nothing. Siona plans her rebellion. Leto talks a
lot about the future and his Golden Path but says very little of substance.
There’s a lot of talking and plotting that never seems to go anywhere. This
book basically had a lot of filler, and from the writing, I think the filler
was meant to make the reader consider the overall themes of the book, but the
middle of the book is so dry and boing, that I just found myself getting irritated.
This series has also veered away from its science fiction roots. It’s technically
still sci-fi, due to cloning, space travel and advanced technology, but most of
the plot fits better into the fantasy category than science fiction. I wish the
narrative had stuck closer to science fiction.
This novel has a cast of characters, but there’s not a lot I
can really say about them. Leto II is the main character, but as a result of
his extended life and no longer being human, he doesn’t really have much of a
personality or character growth. Most of the scenes he’s in involve him either
plotting to achieve his Golden Path, finding it funny that no one else realizes
what he’s doing or waxing poetic about humans
unwittingly continuing the same cycle of violence and oppression even as they
work to break the cycle. There is Moneo, a descendant, servant and close confidant
of Leto’s. He’s torn between being scared of Leto’s non-human side and doing
everything in his power to keep the emperor happy and making the Golden Path
come to fruition. Hwi Noree, the Ixian ambassador, is sent to serve in Leto’s
court and he falls in love with her, as she was designed to ensnare him. While I
didn’t have anything against her, Herbert didn’t really give the reader a
reason to like her or care about her relationship with Leto. We’re not really
shown how she’s irresistible to Leto, or the other characters who fall under
her spell. The reader is told that she was designed to make Leto fall for her,
but nothing is really shown to enforce that idea. Lastly, we have Siona, who
was my favorite character because she had a real personality. She had agency and
a goal, which no other character aside from Leto is shown to have, and she read
like an actual person. While she wasn’t necessarily a “good” person, she was
the best character in the novel because aside from Leto, she was the only one
who had real conviction behind her actions, not just blind devotion.
I know this review has been negative so far, however I don’t
want to make it seem like this is a terrible book. It’s just a very boring one
that I struggled to get through. There are three things about this book that
saved it from being a 0 Star book. The first is its message about the nature of
humanity. All of Leto’s actions, every act of oppression he’s caused, he’s done
because he knows something needs to change within humanity. He spent years
keeping humanity as a whole safe, but not allowing people true freedom, in
preparation for what will happen when he’s no longer around. He spent three
thousand years controlling humanity so that when he’s gone, they’ll become
something better than it once was. The second is its discussion about messiahs
and godhood. In Dune Messiah, Paul Atreides struggles with being a
messiah to the Fremen and dealing with the blood their holy war, in his name, has
spilt. In this novel, that idea was taken a step further to explore the idea of
godhood and the affect that has on the person being worshipped. And it’s not a
nice image, but the acknowledgement of the problems with worshipping a person
as a god makes the progression of events and resolution of the plot really
work. The last element I enjoyed was the subversion of a particular trope. Early
in the novel, it’s mentioned that Siona, as an Atreides, is going to be tested
soon. Her “test” is mentioned dozens of times before it happens. The
expectation, even in-universe, is that this test will cause Siona to abandon
her rebellion and hatred of Leto. If anything, Siona being tested results in
her becoming even more convinced of the need for a rebellion. As a result, the
conclusion came as a pleasant surprise to me.
God Emperor of Dune was a disappointment for me.
Herbert clearly had a lot of very big ideas, but didn’t quite manage to explore
on those ideas in an interesting and entertaining way. I liked elements of the
plot, but not the plot overall. I can see how this novel sets up the events of
the last two novels in the Dune saga written by Frank Herbert, but given
how much I disliked this novel, I don’t think I’ll be reading them. Right now, I’m
no longer invested in the rest of this story, as its moved so far away from
what was seen in the original Dune. Instead, I might read one of the
prequel books, particularly the ones focused on the war against the Thinking
Machines. A war against robots seems more entertaining to me than god emperors
playing 5-dimensional chess with themselves.
Rating: 1.6 Stars
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Wednesday, July 1, 2020
June Wrap-Up
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It's the end of the month, which means it's wrap-up time. Now, let's get into the books.
Books I Read and Reviewed
Warrior of the Wild* by Tricia Levenseller- 4.2 Stars
The Enixar: The Sorcerer's Conquest by Mikkell L. Khan- 2.7 Stars
Empress of All Seasons* by Emiko Jean- 3.4 Stars
The Knight's Daughter by S. H. Cooper- 3.1 Stars
Chaos of Stars* by Kiersten White- 3.6 Stars
Books I Read, Only Reviewed on Goodreads
The Tablet by Robert Thomas Minsky- 4 Stars (Goodreads review)
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring* by J. R. R. Tolkien- 5 Stars
The Witches of Willow Cove by Josh Roberts- 4 Stars (Goodreads review)
Woman by V.P. Evans- 3 Stars (Goodreads review)
A River of Darkness* by Masaji Ishikawa- 4 Stars (Goodreads review)
From A Shadow Grave by Andi C. Buchanan- 2 Stars (Goodreads review)
Genres Read
Children's Books: 1
Fantasy: 7
Thriller: 1
Contemporary: 1
Non-Fiction: 1
Figures
Number of DNFs: 0
Total Books Read: 11
Pages Read: 2,641
Average Rating: 3.5
What did you read in June? Any recommendations?
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It's the end of the month, which means it's wrap-up time. Now, let's get into the books.
Books I Read and Reviewed
Warrior of the Wild* by Tricia Levenseller- 4.2 Stars
The Enixar: The Sorcerer's Conquest by Mikkell L. Khan- 2.7 Stars
Empress of All Seasons* by Emiko Jean- 3.4 Stars
The Knight's Daughter by S. H. Cooper- 3.1 Stars
Chaos of Stars* by Kiersten White- 3.6 Stars
Books I Read, Only Reviewed on Goodreads
The Tablet by Robert Thomas Minsky- 4 Stars (Goodreads review)
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring* by J. R. R. Tolkien- 5 Stars
The Witches of Willow Cove by Josh Roberts- 4 Stars (Goodreads review)
Woman by V.P. Evans- 3 Stars (Goodreads review)
A River of Darkness* by Masaji Ishikawa- 4 Stars (Goodreads review)
From A Shadow Grave by Andi C. Buchanan- 2 Stars (Goodreads review)
Genres Read
Children's Books: 1
Fantasy: 7
Thriller: 1
Contemporary: 1
Non-Fiction: 1
Figures
Number of DNFs: 0
Total Books Read: 11
Pages Read: 2,641
Average Rating: 3.5
What did you read in June? Any recommendations?
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Monday, June 29, 2020
The Chaos of Stars
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The Chaos of Stars is a 2014 young adult fantasy novel by Kiersten White. The novel was published by HarperTeen in September of 2014. While I'd known of the author prior to reading, this was the first novel of hers I've written. The cover is what really drew me in, despite the old adage about not judging books by their covers. It can be purchased here from Bookshop.org or here from Amazon.
The novel tells the story of Isadora, the human daughter of the Egyptian deities Isis and Osiris. When she grows tired of her family's treatment of her, she's given a chance to travel to California to live with her brother. Her new life in the United States comes with its own challenges and dangers however, and Isadora struggled to keep her old life and her new life separate.
There's a very interesting cast of characters in this book, as you'd expect for a story focusing on the family lives of gods. Isadora, our narrator, was my favorite character. Raised by gods, she's become disillusioned by her family after learning that, although her parents will live forever, they're going to let her die. She wants a life outside of the Egyptian pantheon and to be defined as someone other than just Isis's daughter. She also has a lot of sass and personality, which I liked. Her parents are, as mentioned, Isis and Osiris. Osiris is the typical emotionally-unavailable father, given that he spends most of his time in the land of the dead. Isis alternates between seeming to care about her children to only being focused on how they're a reflection of her. Neither characters are inherently villains, but they're not meant to be likeable or sympathetic. Other Egyptian gods such as Horus, Anubis and Nephthys make appearances in this story as well. Once the setting changes to California, the reader is introduced to Sirius, Isadora's older brother, along with Tyler and Ry, friends she makes during her stay. Tyler and Ry are by far the two most relatable characters in the story, wanting Isadora to have fun and experience new things. Despite not knowing her for long, they care about her and each help her open up in their own way. I especially liked Ry and how his relationship with Isadora developed. In short, this book has a plethora of characters to enjoy.
I enjoyed the writing in this novel for two reasons. The first is that scenes in the present are interwoven with dreams Isadora is having and trying to figure out the meaning of. Each chapter begins with an anecdote, from Egyptian mythology, as told by Isadora and with a little more candor as a result. The stories really add to the characterization of the deities being discussed. The dreams give the reader a sense of the stakes of the story.Both elements feed into the foreshadowing within the story. The second reason why I enjoyed the writing was because White does an excellent job of setting a scene without going overboard. Whether the scene is describing Isadora's home in Egypt or the museum she volunteers at in California, it's very easy to picture the setting in your head while reading. Lastly, I was genuinely surprised by the main plot twist of the novel. Isadora has this feeling that something bad is going to happen for most of the novel, but the revelation of who is behind these events is executed perfectly.
The Chaos of Stars is a novel that is more character-focused than plot-driven. While there is a clear plot within the story, centered around Isadora trying to keep her life in Egypt separate from her life in California and keep everyone safe, most of the novel focuses on Isadora's growth and her coming to terms with her place within her family. This means that the pacing for the book is a little slow in parts. One event related to the main plot will occur and then a few chapters will pass before something related to that plot-point will come up again. This meant that while this was a quick read for me, I wasn't invested in much of what was going on for the middle of the book. As I mentioned above, I enjoyed the main plot twist/reveal of the story, however some of the earlier and smaller twists were very obvious to me early on. I'm not sure if all of the ones I'm thinking of were meant to be plot twists, but if they were, they didn't really surprise me very much. While I mentioned above that I liked Ry and Isadora's relationship, it was very clear to me early on that they were meant to fit into the friends-to-lovers trope. I don't have a problem with this trope, but it was so clear to me early on that that's what was being set up that I was hoping it wouldn't happen. I liked their friendship, but felt so-so about their romance.
The Chaos of Stars is a solid fantasy novel. The writing overall was pretty amazing. I found the premise interesting and I liked the elements of Egyptian mythology. The pacing and some of the foreshadowing could use improvement in my opinion. I'd recommend this novel to anyone looking for a quick read, especially if they're interested in a character-driven story.
Rating: 3.6 Stars
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The Chaos of Stars is a 2014 young adult fantasy novel by Kiersten White. The novel was published by HarperTeen in September of 2014. While I'd known of the author prior to reading, this was the first novel of hers I've written. The cover is what really drew me in, despite the old adage about not judging books by their covers. It can be purchased here from Bookshop.org or here from Amazon.
The novel tells the story of Isadora, the human daughter of the Egyptian deities Isis and Osiris. When she grows tired of her family's treatment of her, she's given a chance to travel to California to live with her brother. Her new life in the United States comes with its own challenges and dangers however, and Isadora struggled to keep her old life and her new life separate.
There's a very interesting cast of characters in this book, as you'd expect for a story focusing on the family lives of gods. Isadora, our narrator, was my favorite character. Raised by gods, she's become disillusioned by her family after learning that, although her parents will live forever, they're going to let her die. She wants a life outside of the Egyptian pantheon and to be defined as someone other than just Isis's daughter. She also has a lot of sass and personality, which I liked. Her parents are, as mentioned, Isis and Osiris. Osiris is the typical emotionally-unavailable father, given that he spends most of his time in the land of the dead. Isis alternates between seeming to care about her children to only being focused on how they're a reflection of her. Neither characters are inherently villains, but they're not meant to be likeable or sympathetic. Other Egyptian gods such as Horus, Anubis and Nephthys make appearances in this story as well. Once the setting changes to California, the reader is introduced to Sirius, Isadora's older brother, along with Tyler and Ry, friends she makes during her stay. Tyler and Ry are by far the two most relatable characters in the story, wanting Isadora to have fun and experience new things. Despite not knowing her for long, they care about her and each help her open up in their own way. I especially liked Ry and how his relationship with Isadora developed. In short, this book has a plethora of characters to enjoy.
I enjoyed the writing in this novel for two reasons. The first is that scenes in the present are interwoven with dreams Isadora is having and trying to figure out the meaning of. Each chapter begins with an anecdote, from Egyptian mythology, as told by Isadora and with a little more candor as a result. The stories really add to the characterization of the deities being discussed. The dreams give the reader a sense of the stakes of the story.Both elements feed into the foreshadowing within the story. The second reason why I enjoyed the writing was because White does an excellent job of setting a scene without going overboard. Whether the scene is describing Isadora's home in Egypt or the museum she volunteers at in California, it's very easy to picture the setting in your head while reading. Lastly, I was genuinely surprised by the main plot twist of the novel. Isadora has this feeling that something bad is going to happen for most of the novel, but the revelation of who is behind these events is executed perfectly.
The Chaos of Stars is a novel that is more character-focused than plot-driven. While there is a clear plot within the story, centered around Isadora trying to keep her life in Egypt separate from her life in California and keep everyone safe, most of the novel focuses on Isadora's growth and her coming to terms with her place within her family. This means that the pacing for the book is a little slow in parts. One event related to the main plot will occur and then a few chapters will pass before something related to that plot-point will come up again. This meant that while this was a quick read for me, I wasn't invested in much of what was going on for the middle of the book. As I mentioned above, I enjoyed the main plot twist/reveal of the story, however some of the earlier and smaller twists were very obvious to me early on. I'm not sure if all of the ones I'm thinking of were meant to be plot twists, but if they were, they didn't really surprise me very much. While I mentioned above that I liked Ry and Isadora's relationship, it was very clear to me early on that they were meant to fit into the friends-to-lovers trope. I don't have a problem with this trope, but it was so clear to me early on that that's what was being set up that I was hoping it wouldn't happen. I liked their friendship, but felt so-so about their romance.
The Chaos of Stars is a solid fantasy novel. The writing overall was pretty amazing. I found the premise interesting and I liked the elements of Egyptian mythology. The pacing and some of the foreshadowing could use improvement in my opinion. I'd recommend this novel to anyone looking for a quick read, especially if they're interested in a character-driven story.
Rating: 3.6 Stars
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Wednesday, June 24, 2020
10 Bookish Pet Peeves
I've been thinking a lot about the tropes I do and don't like in books. Thinking about this quickly turned into me realizing that I have some literary pet peeves that I need to get off my chest. Here are my ten biggest book pet peeves that no one asked for. These aren't in any particular order.
Watered Down Tolkien
I'm not going to sit here and pretend like all high-fantasy isn't compared to Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings had huge influence on the development of the genre and authors who would go on to write high-fantasy. I won't, and can't, fault an author for taking inspiration from Tolkien. My issue is when it's clear an author is trying to be the next Tolkien. You can have all the elves, dwarves and orcs that you want, but if you don't do anything new with those races, if there isn't something unique about the story, it feels like you're just ripping off Tolkien.
Non-sensical (Or Unneeded) Plot Twists
Plot twists need to make sense. There need to be breadcrumbs spread throughout the story giving the reader a sense of foreshadowing. If a happy-go-lucky side character changes for the last three pages to suddenly be a jerk because the bad guy shapeshifted to look like him, that's a bad twist. If the same character gets separated from the rest of the group halfway through, and when he's reunited he's been acting "strange" or seems less happy, that same twist works a little better. Plot twists also need to be crucial for the story to move forward. A book can have multiple plot twists, but the story needs to justify it. Either the thriller's two POV characters are actually the same person from different points in time or the main character is suffering from dissociative identity disorder. You can't have both just for shock value. Don't have a twist just to have a twist.
Bad Allegory
I feel like people want to write an allegorical novel, or have an aspect of their story be an allegory to something else, but they aren't willing to commit to it. In a science fiction novel, the treatment of one alien population by another is meant to be an allegory for racism, but the author doesn't go deep enough into the idea by exploring or expanding upon the in-universe consequences of the idea. So, the "racism" allegory falls apart and the message becomes very surface level. That's just an example, but I think we can all name at least one book where the author meant for it to be deep and thought-provoking, but failed.
Mean Girls Who Don't Make Sense
This one might need an explanation. I don't have a problem with "mean girl" characters, if it makes sense to have them in a story. They fit YA coming-of-age stories or contemporary fiction, maybe even in romance. Mean girls in fantasy or science fiction though? That's where I have an issue. If the protagonist is already dealing with an evil wizard, why do they also have to encounter Regina George?
Everyone Ends Up Married
I'm not the only person who has problems with this one, but I thought it should feature here. I'm not saying that a book can't have romance. I just hate it when the last chapter or two of a book consists solely of giving every character a partner. Especially for books that are not primarily romances. Please don't waste my time pairing people up. I don't care that much about the romantic subplots.
Jerky Love Interests
I mentioned this in my post about my feelings about romantic subplots, but I thought I should mention it here. You can write a bad boy without needing to make him a misunderstood outcast with a heart of gold. If he's a jerk for most of the book, and then does one nice thing, that doesn't make him a viable love interest. Enemies to lovers is one thing, if done well. But if I'm actively wishing that the protagonist ends up with anyone else, the romantic tension is actually complete and utter disdain.
Excessive Unanswered Questions
I know that some books are meant to make you think. Some authors end books the way that they do to make the reader want more. But sometimes, there are a boatload of unanswered questions at the end of a book because there wasn't enough world-building or the author didn't show/tell the reader enough information in the text to understand. "What happens next?" is very different than "I know what I read, but I have no idea what it's supposed to mean". Even if I don't know everything about the world, I should know enough or be able to fill in the blanks enough so that the cliffhanger/set up for the sequel, is actually a cliffhanger and not result in me wondering why I should suddenly care about this new character/threat.
Inconsistent or Unrealistic Dialogue
People are inconsistent. It's a fact of life and realistic characters might have inconsistencies. However, when characters speak a certain way, whether it's an absence of slang terms or not using contractions, or sounding like they stepped out of a Shakespeare play, for most of a novel and then suddenly the dialogue pattern changes, it becomes glaringly obvious and it feels weird to the reader. Likewise, who a character is needs to be taken into account when writing dialogue. A teenager's dialogue should sound like a teenager, not a 40-year-old housewife. It's very obvious when characters in specific groups are being written by people who've haven't spoken to members of that group in a while.
Two Minute Battles
I may have mentioned this in some of my reviews, but how the antagonist is stopped is just as important as writing a compelling villain. Don't spend 290 out of 300 pages telling me how evil and powerful the bad guy is only to have him be defeated in two pages. Unless this is a fake-out, and the heroes were fighting an underling disguised as the bad guy, it's a letdown. If the conflict with the antagonist isn't the main focus of the story (say, the romance comes first), don't build the villain up to be a huge threat.
Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink-itis
I know that's a long name for it, but it fully encapsulates how it feels while reading something that falls into this category. There are a few books I can name where the author clearly had too many ideas and not enough pages to devote to them. Instead of cutting some ideas out, and saving them for a sequel or another story entirely, they decide to include everything. As a result, all of these ideas are thrown in and there's not enough time to do each idea justice. To use The Hunger Games as an example, there's a reason why the 74th Games and the war against the Capitol didn't happen in the same book. It allowed the author a chance to give each one the attention it deserved. By having too many "big events" happen in one book, each one suffers.
Those are my ten biggest bookish pet peeves. Or at least the ten biggest I can think of at the moment What are some of your literary pet peeves? Are there any I mentioned that you like?
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Monday, June 22, 2020
The Knight's Daughter
The novel follows a 14-year-old girl named Mary McThomas who has spent her life dreaming of becoming a knight like her father. After an ambush on their village leaves Mary's father in critical condition, Mary's willing to do whatever it takes to save him. Together with her older brothers and a mysterious fae, Mary finds herself entering a world of danger and magic. While Mary searches for a cure, dark forces search for Mary, seeking her for their own gain.
The Knight's Daughter has four major characters: Mary, Drake and Joseph, her brothers, and Torren, the fae who approaches Mary, claiming she knows a way to save her father. Mary begins the novel as being very unsure of herself and she's not entirely sure about who she is and where she fits into the world. Drake and Joseph, both seventeen, are on the cusp of adulthood and the attack leaves them trying to fill the role their father usually holds in terms of protecting their family. I enjoyed reading the dynamic between the siblings and how their relationship grew and changed over the course of the novel. Given that this is a middle-grade novel, there isn't much character development to speak of, and the development that is there is mostly centered around the three McThomas siblings learning more about themselves and their place in the world. Torren is a fae who initially helps Mary because the man behind the attack on the village, Meverick Conan, had previously attacked her people. Conan serves as the story's main antagonist, who has people hunting for Mary for unknown reasons. He's filled with a desire for revenge and believes Mary is the key to achieving it. Along the journey, Mary and her traveling companions meet a plethora of people, both good and bad. My personal favorite was Reena, who belongs to a nomadic group. I thought she was the funniest minor character.
I found the story to be rather amusing. I enjoyed reading about the fae and the magic within the world. Cooper did an excellent job with the world-building, giving the reader plenty of information and exposition without making it feel like a lot. I also liked the theme of family that is present throughout the story. Mary's brothers join her on the journey, not to have a fun adventure, but to make sure nothing happens to her. The plot itself is centered on their family, which was refreshing because a lot of younger fantasy involves separating the main character from their family and having them go on a journey alone. I appreciated the explanation of why Mary was both the only person who could help her father and why Conan was hunting for her. I'm not a big fan of "chosen ones", which Mary is in a way as she finds out late into the story, but the in-universe reason given fits with this story.
Before I go into some criticism I have of The Knight's Daughter, I do want to briefly touch on how this book works as a middle grade novel. I don't do this for young adult works because YA and adult have a lot more overlap than middle grade and adult. From a technical perspective, this is an excellent middle grade book. The story and world aren't too advanced for younger readers. The writing itself is very easy to digest. Other than a few fight scenes, there isn't anything within the story that's too heavy or advanced for middle grade.
While I enjoyed The Knight's Daughter, there were a few aspects to the story that didn't quite work for me. As mentioned above, the writing is very straightforward, which as an adult reader is a negative, but as I said, it's great for the intended audience. As a result of the writing being so easy to digest, I don't really have an opinion on the author's writing style. I was a little confused by the pacing. There were parts where the narrative seemed to slow down more than it should've and then it took a while for things to pick back up. Conversely, there were parts towards the end that felt needlessly rushed. Lastly, there was a particular reveal/plot twist that seemed kind of tacked on. I don't want to give any spoilers, but to me, it felt like the twist had been added to set up the second book, and that wasn't needed since there was enough of the main plot was unresolved for the second book already.
The Knight's Daughter is an entertaining, quick read. It has relatable characters, magic and an overall good story. While I had some issues with pacing and the writing itself, I don't want that to deter others from reading it. I think it's great for middle grade readers who are trying to figure out what genres they like. I'd also recommend it to reader who enjoy Arthurian or medieval fantasy specifically.
Rating: 3.1 Stars
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Wednesday, June 17, 2020
My Professor Made Me Read It!
Back in November, I posted a discussion post called "My English Teacher Made Me Read It" where I discussed the books I had to read in middle school and high school as part of required reading. This post is a continuation of that one, discussing the books that were required reading when I was in college. As with the first post, I will be giving a brief, overall opinion of each book.
- The Great Gatsby- Yes, this book was also on the high school list. I also had to read it in college. Twice. I didn't like this book the first time. I didn't like it the second or third time. In fact, I'm pretty sure I liked it even less the second and third times. I don't understand why people think this book is so great.
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- I actually really enjoyed this book. It was weird, and insane things happened. The plot was hard to follow at times (when it had a plot) but given what the story is about, that makes perfect sense. It kept me engaged because I wanted to see what else would happen.
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks- This book taught me more about the medical field than I ever intended to learn. It tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, as the title says, but it also tells the story of how the cell samples gathered from her body, the HeLa cells, have been used in research since they were first collected in 1951.
- Native Son- This book does a very good job of conveying the message the author is trying to send. While not the first or most well known book to discuss the topic of race and racial division in the early 20th century, it is one of the best that I've read.
- Sister Carrie- I didn't like this one at all. I reread it to see if I might've misjudged it. I didn't.
- Miss Lonelyhearts- The entire tone of this book is depressing and nihilistic, which is what the author was going for. I commend him for achieving that, but since I don't enjoy books that are flat-out depressing, I wouldn't recommend it.
- The Glass Menagerie- This is a play by Tennessee Williams. Williams is known for plays with dysfunctional families. Reading his work is a bit like watching a trainwreck. While this doesn't have the most dysfunctional family he's ever written, the dynamics certainly are entertaining.
- Invisible Man- This is not the H.G. Wells novel about a man who is actually invisible. This novel, written by Ralph Ellison, gets it's titled from how its main character is invisible in society. I don't remember much about this book to be honest, so I'd say it was okay.
And that's the list of books I had to read in college. I thought plenty of them were fine. There were a few duds and a few I didn't expect to like, but really enjoyed.
Have you read any of the books mentioned above? What did you think about them?
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