ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
If you are expecting a modern, dynamic and innovative take on the classic fairy tale then loARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
If you are expecting a modern, dynamic and innovative take on the classic fairy tale then look elsewhere, this is not the book for you. Shallcross has created a lush retelling of Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's 1740 story - told entirely from the Beast's perspective. There are obviously Beauty and the Beast type stories from cultures all around the world - the Hindu 'The Tiger's Bride' and the Norwegian 'East of the Sun, West of the Moon' are two of my favourites. Ultimately like all fairytales, however, Beauty and the Beast is deeply problematic. I mean it's one of my favourites (Irish Fairy tales pip it to the post for me) but it is still a story about a young woman being imprisoned until she falls in love with her captor. No amount of desperation on the captor's part really excuses that. Ok so we all know the Beast let's the Beauty go - proving that he is no longer a beast inside the shaggy pelt - but it's all still a bit squickky. A few hundred years ago it was a parable for accepting that you may not be especially happy with your family's choice of husband for you (if you were a young woman) but that no matter what your bridegroom seemed like on the outside, he could well be a prince on the inside. You were enriching your family with his wealth. There's also a thinly veiled hint that sex is not quite the ordeal or monster you might as a blushing bride believe it to be. All this is quite distasteful to a modern audience so I was intrigued at Shallcross' decision to set it in Eighteenth century France and more or less retell the best known version of the fairy tale.
Forget the Disney film, which has given us the most enduring version of the Beauty in the zeitgeist. The author has not drawn on Disney at all for inspiration as far as I can see - ok there area few books scattered around in the story but that's it. (Really the marketing department using 'the tale as old as time' in the blurb is a bit misleading in that respect.) Instead the author has drawn heavily on Jean Cocteau's 1946 French film La Belle et la Bete an interesting if somewhat old fashioned aesthetic.
On the whole Shallcross does make the more unsavory aspects of the fairy tale palatable to a modern audience. The Beast is portrayed fairly sympathetically. Of course since he is a prisoner both in his castle and in his shape, there is very little action and great lengths are gone to with a magic mirror in order for him to have a voice in the parts of the story that wouldn't normally involve him. Isabeau (the beauty) has more interesting interactions with her family - two sisters and father - than she does with the beast unfortunately. You can see why Disney dispensed with invisible servants and brought in an army of singing kitchen appliances because without that, this story has two characters for most of the tale and it really stretches thing to make every walk, inner etc at all gripping. So to compensate the beast uses the magic mirror to watch Isabeau's family - unbeknownst to her - and we see what her sisters get up too. Those were some of my favourite scenes in the book actually which is a mixed blessing because the focus should be on the love story and yet I just wanted to hear more about Marie and Claude.
In the end I was left with mixed feelings about this book. On one hand the prose was gorgeous, the romantic plot was allowed plenty of space to bloom, it was interesting to see the beast's perspective and even I unromantic and unsentimental as I am found the story quite sweet. On the other hand the magic was a bit too convenient without any explanation, the reason for the beast being cursed makes no sense at all - seriously was the fairy drinking that day?!- and there is no antagonist to help drive the plot. (Disney added Gaston which turns out to be a wise decision. Even Cocteau had an under-developed love rival in his film.) You need antagonists in order to create tension and jeopardy. This had none.
And there were a few things that really made me raise an eyebrow. Isabeau spending most of the book in tears or having fits of vapours. We have hundreds of years of fairy tales and books written by men telling us this is what women do, we so don't need any more of them imo. The beast spending so much of the book just not using his brain at all. And also crying. Considering there was no antagonist and no obstacle to them being together other than stubbornness and a flimsy situation with Isabeau's father, there is a lot of needless heartbreak going on here which I grew impatient of tout de suite. And the mirror. The mirror really was an issue for me because it wasn't like turning on the tv to catch the tail end of the news. No, the beast was glued to it whenever he couldn't be with Isabeau. That and the way he watched her when she was walking in the garden having said she wanted to be alone was epically creepy. Towards the end of the book he even watches her changing clothes. I thought it was an editing blip and he'd turned away but no it's brought up later and taken as a sign devotion. Maybe if it hadn't been on top of all the other micromanaging and spying it would have been of but as it was... Bleurgh. I know a traditional component of the fairy tale is the beast asking the beauty to marry him every night after dinner but to have it replay exactly that way here was troubling. It smacked too much of not taking no as an answer if you're a man who wants a woman. It's not as if the beast even asks why she keeps saying no, he just keeps asking even though it distresses her. All in all there was just too much manipulative male BS in this book - the father's gambit to keep Isabeau home was despicable for instance. And just so you don't think I've got it in for the beast, aside from the mirror and the proposals, he acted well towards Isabeau throughout the book and she did not treat him especially well. Which probably all sounds pretty damning. It's not meant to because I actually quite liked this book. Despite no action, no antagonist, no tension and an old fashioned take on a fairy tale I know inside out, I was still enthralled. If you like quiet, clean fantasy and chaste romance this could well be for you. If you prefer more dynamic and modern retellings then I'd give this one a miss....more
Whilst continuing the main series arc with the intrepid historian Madeleine 'Lucy' Maxwell - Max to her friends - Taylor manages to deliver both anothWhilst continuing the main series arc with the intrepid historian Madeleine 'Lucy' Maxwell - Max to her friends - Taylor manages to deliver both another thrilling, humourous instalment and a very funny, tongue in cheek take on Outlander. I love this series so much. One to read and reread. My only quibble is the length of time between books, which if I'm being reasonable, isn't actually that long but I find it frustrating nevertheless. Highly recommend these fabulous time travelling historians....more
ARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review
4.5 stars
"Girls hunger. And we're taught, from the moment our brains can take it, that thereARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review
4.5 stars
"Girls hunger. And we're taught, from the moment our brains can take it, that there isn't enough food for all of us."
Cards on the table, this is a weird book. If you don’t like weird or, in places, deliberately vague, if fanciful but concrete metaphors annoy you then this may not be the book for you. It was absolutely my kind of weird and I loved it from beginning to end. I can be a bit hit and miss with Legrand’s prose – really didn’t like Winterspell that much, loved Furyborn earlier this year. Sawkill Girls reads completely differently which is no surprise in that it’s paranormal/ urban fantasy rather than epic fantasy. Personally I really enjoyed the imagery – when Marion is suffering headaches for example – but it’s the sort of whimsical extended metaphor that will drive some people nuts so be warned.
The plot on the surface is straight forward enough. Sawkill Rock is a strange island. There’s talk of ‘the collector’ and over the centuries girls have just disappeared from the island, never to be seen again. Marion and her sister, Charlotte, move to the island with their mother after the death of their father. Strange things start to happen almost at once, could something be targeting Charlotte? And then there’s Val, island queen bee, beautiful, charming with more than natural charisma. Is there a connection between her and the missing girls? Zoey certainly thinks so. Tough, intelligent and inquisitive, Zoey refuses to let the disappearance of her friend fade into Sawkill folklore.
Told in alternating POVs between Marion, Val and Zoey, this is a deliciously creepy horror story that turns the ‘girl in the refrigerator’ trope on its head. Because yes girls are seen as weak and vulnerable, yes they are told they can’t protect themselves and yes they are preyed upon – but they can also find awesome wells of strength and resilience within themselves. In the end damsels in distress can rescue themselves. There are a few things in here that get a bit Scooby-do-ish. A cult turns up for example and, rather like the watchers council in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has a huge investment in controlling female power. Personally I think it was there as a deliberate contrast. I think the author was saying ‘here’s what girls can do when they band together, they don’t need a bunch of old white dudes to come in and hold the leash’. I applaud that but it was delivered so earnestly that it slid sideways into pastiche. In the same way a couple of bits of dialogue were too on the nose in terms of delivering the message. However that is me being really super picky. On the whole this was a very positive female led book (without being so stridently feminist in its message so that people stop listening) – especially since it’s a book about girls disappearing.
I loved the concept of the Rock as a pantheistic entity in its own right. I love the way the relationships and friendships develop. The diversity representation was deftly done too. I enjoyed the monster – it reminded me of Stephen King’s IT via M.R. James and campfire ghost stories. I even quite liked the ending which is definitely a bit weird and existential. (That ending is really not going to be for everyone.) Legrand also pulls no punches with gore without ever turning it into spatter-punk. So go in expecting there to be blood.
Don't believe that book. That was written by men.
I was part of a buddy read for this book and found it hard to stop at the designated breaks, so the pacing is definitely on point. Really enjoyed this – best of Legrand’s books I’ve read so far. I highly recommend this as a Hallowe’en read – in fact I might reread it then myself.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
4.5 stars
On the surface this book is not telling an especially unique story, particularly iARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
4.5 stars
On the surface this book is not telling an especially unique story, particularly in YA terms. However the author’s attention to detail, the world building, the characterisation and above all the themes make this book something truly special.
Amani’s people were conquered a generation ago by humans from a different part of the galaxy. Since then a fragile and uneasy peace has existed under the rule of the brutal new regime. On her majority day, Amani is abducted by imperial droids and taken into service under the Princess Maram, heir apparent to the planet. As the princess’ body double, Amani must somehow balance loyalties with the growing waves of rebellion.
As I said, on the surface it’s standard YA fare in a semi sci-fi setting – there are space stations and ships, droids and settlements on various planets, but essentially the setting could have easily been historical or fantasy. What raises it above the bog standard ‘teenager called to incite a revolution’ tale is that the world building is rich and satisfying. A lot of thought and care has been given to the Kushailya faith. It’s never ground into your face but Amani’s belief in her god and his Prophetess, the myths and poetry surrounding it, are a part of her and tints her world view. It exists in the character’s love for poetry and for her love of her culture, both of which are more or less criminalised under the new regime. Parts of the book are quite gritty and instead of the faith part of Amani’s story coming over as at all preachy, it’s something she draws personal strength from. It’s never pushed on other characters. It would be hard not to like Amani as a character. Without falling into ‘ruthless heroine’ stereotype, the MC is strong, determined but also extremely loving and compassionate. It made for a refreshing change in YA MC terms.
But what really made the difference for me was the way Mirage meditates on some deep themes. It’s one of the most convincing portrayals of cultural erasure I’ve seen in YA fiction, for certain it leaves competitors such as ‘Carve the Mark’ in the dust. And it manages to deliver its message with grace so that you want to think about it. Too much YA is becoming strident in its preachiness of late. Often taking someone by the hand and gently leading them to a conclusion is more effective than dragging them kicking and screaming. Another huge theme is family – how becoming disconnected from your origins leads to a maladjusted adulthood; not that family is all necessarily because for some people it’s not, but that you must know and understand what you are rejecting before you reject it. There’s a long look at hating part of your heritage and feeling that you don’t belong here too. And then issues of poverty and privilege are also considered, as is friendship. All of these things together support the main theme – that your cultural identity matters because it informs who you are and how people react to you even if you don’t understand it or have been denied it. There is a poignant and powerful look at how radicalisation happens as a result.
If I have one criticism it’s that the romance was very instalove. I think that was because it was supposed to feel like a fairytale but it led to some seriously wince inducing decisions that didn’t entirely make sense considering the narrative. However the rest of the book was so good I was willing to forgive much. Plus Idris, he love interest, was really sweet! All in all a brilliant YA space opera with strong themes written in an engaging and easy style. Will definitely look out for the next book.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
odai eta ama...I hate and I love...
Up front, I hate romance as a genre so when a YA fantasyARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
odai eta ama...I hate and I love...
Up front, I hate romance as a genre so when a YA fantasy tips more towards romance there is a good chance I'll be jumping off that ride. Bear that in mind with regard to this review.
This isn't a bad book at all but it is all about the romance - which shouldn't have come as a surprise to me familiar as I am with the story of Tristan and Isolde. Consequently I found this very slow paced. There are fantasy elements and historical elements as well as bits of mythology but the focus is very definitely on the romance. Since I wasn't especially bothered about any of the main characters that aspect of the book didn't grab me. I can totally see this being someone else's favourite book of 2018 though so don't take my blase assessment too much to heart.
What I liked:
Branwen was an interesting character, a competent woman who loved her country and put duty before everything. It was refreshing to see a YA MC who wasn't just throwing herself after the hero.
The fantasy elements were quite magical even if they were only vaguely based on the old religion.
Until about the halfway point I enjoyed the friendship between Eseult and Branwen.
What I didn't like:
Ok the author writes a lengthly note on her choices for languages and names but it just didn't work for me. Perhaps it's that in my opinion taking a historical setting and changing the names is not creating a fantasy world. The world build was in fact a bit wishy washy. This set up further problems for me as a reader because it kept leading me to expect one thing in a historical or mythological context and then delivering something different and all too often very tame and watered down by comparison. I realise this is an issue of my own knowledge of ancient languages, mythology and history clouding my expectations but the world of Sweet Black Waves wasn't far enough removed to stop it being a constantly jarring reading experience. Add to that the mixture of Dark Age suppositions on social behaviour with Medieval courtly love mores and then a weird mash up of modern and more archaic language and it was just a headache. I was surprised to discover the author is a medieval historian tbh.
The characters read much younger than they are. In fact despite frequent veiled references to sexual love this is more for 12 to 14 yr olds. No character was more annoying that Esuelt however. By the end I was wishing she had just died in one of the many ways that threatened her throughout the book. (sidebar but we're back to the old blood on the sheets lost virginity trope. Seriously, everyone who write YA, enough! Can we all just STOP continually perpetrating the myth that first time sex ill hurt and cause bleeding? Grrr.) Branwen makes a few epic blunders too. Honestly when there's no good reason for an MC to keep her mouth shut then it just looks contrived.
I didn't buy the love story. In fact this deals with some serious themes but does it by grazing over the surface. It was hard to really get behind any of the characters.
Overall this was a decent story. I'm frustrated that I didn't like it more. I do actually want to know how it unfolds in future books. But so much of this was repetitive or just unnecessary imo. I would have preferred it to be a third shorter and a much tighter plot because there are good ideas here and despite my aversion to the author's linguistic choices, some intelligent thought has gone in to it. For a new generation who does not know the story of Tristan and Isolde, I imagine this will be ideal....more
Many thanks to the authors for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review
I'm not a huge fan of YA contemporary fiction - it usually seems to bMany thanks to the authors for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review
I'm not a huge fan of YA contemporary fiction - it usually seems to be either an author advancing a personal political agenda at the expense of the story or trite, over written drama. However Bacon Pie was neither of these things. Instead I was presented with a cute, quirky tale with a hate to love romantic story line. Weirdly it reminded me a bit of Ten Things I Hate about You - perhaps it was the Shakespeare references?
Lia is a tomboy computer game nerd with zero tolerance for fools. Kiev is a theatre enthusiast and accidental smart mouth. An unfortunate encounter sees them both volunteering at the Piggy Palooza or bacon festival (only Texas...) as punishment.
As if that's not a weird enough meet-cute there's plenty of drama from other characters too - Vienna - Kiev's sister, Cole - his best friend, Sophie - a cheerleader with terrifying eyebrows, Dom and Alex - Lia's dads, Barnabas - her best friend and Pepe - easily my favourite character.
While this book doesn't shy away from themes such as family dynamics, depression, divorce, cultural identity and sexuality, it's a fun, light read that doesn't stray too deep into those waters either. The characters are engaging and well rounded - even Cole had grown on me enough by the end of the book that I could tolerate him in small doses. The plot is simple but delivered with humour and warmth in an easy style that keeps you turning the pages.
I have no idea if this was deliberate on the authors' parts or whether it was coincidence or subconscious but at the beginning Kiev is auditioning for Hamlet. As events unfold he finds himself concentrating on A Midsummer Nights Dream. The plot loosely parallels this going from a not quite a tragedy but certainly Kiev leads you to believe its going to be a teen drama that takes itself seriously (which is what Hamlet is, easy to forget because of Shakespeare's prose but Hamlet is an immature brat) to what amounts to a romantic comedy of errors with several surreal and bizarre sidetrips (a Midsummer Nights Dream). If that was in fact deliberate it's a stroke of genius in terms of foreshadowing and deepening theme. And if it wasn't then I hazard that the authors' minds work in strange and fascinating ways and they should write more books together.
It's a quiet book without much angst and I really liked that about it. There was enough conflict to turn the plot but it didn't all hinge on one big drammatic reveal which really worked. I read this easily within 24hrs and thoroughly enjoyed it, not least as a change from all the SFF I'd read recently. Four very solid stars....more
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
DNF at 50%
I'm not going to rate this one. I think it might be a strong case of it's not you,ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
DNF at 50%
I'm not going to rate this one. I think it might be a strong case of it's not you, it's me. I hate DNFing books especially ARCs but this is just doing nothing for me. I don't dislike it nor do I like it. I am not engaged with the plot or the characters or the world building. I don't think this is the author's fault exactly, it's just a complete miss where I'm concerned. Others have rated this book highly and I feel like I must be reading a different book to them. There is just nothing for me to get hold of. At halfway through I still feel like I'm waiting for the story to start. I don't mind quiet fantasy but this is too slow even for me.
This is fantasy in the sense that it's set in an alternate world but don't expect magic or fantastical creatures. Or a lot of action tbh. This one just wasn't for me....more
ARC provide by St Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review
This is one of those occasions where I am left wondering if I read a different book tARC provide by St Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review
This is one of those occasions where I am left wondering if I read a different book to everyone else. Bear with me as I try to explain this. This isn't a bad book and I can see that it would appeal to many readers, possibly for the very reasons it did not appeal to me.
Eelyn is an Aska warrior, trained for the fighting season against the Riki, long time enemies of her people. In one such battle she discovers that her brother, dead five years ago, is in fact not dead at all but fighting for the enemy. Attempting to discover the truth of this betrayal, Eelyn follows her brother into enemy territory and winds up getting captured an enslaved. Meanwhile a worse threat gathers on the horizon - one which threatened to obliterate both the Aska and the Riki forever...
To say I didn't like this book would be wording it too strongly. There was nothing there for me to either like or dislike in the book as a whole. The writing was competent but in n way exceptional. The world building had plenty of sensory detail but was otherwise very wooly, relying greatly on the readers vague notions of the Vikings, or perhaps that they might have watched the TV show. The pace was adequate even though nothing happens for most of the book. It's an easy read. Ultimately there was nothing to make this book stand out either for good or ill as far as I was concerned.
Part of the problem for me was that this was an utterly linear plot, completely predictable and straight forward with no real subplot to enhance it or support it. I love sub-plots (as long as they are done well) but there was just nothing here. This might have made a tolerably good novella of around 12k words but lacked enough substance to be an exciting novel. In like fashion, the characters are also straight forward, unambiguous and all their actions are completely explained. I can't honestly say I was bored, I just wasn't ever engaged. It was like picking up a magazine in a waiting room.
I did actively like Halvard who seemed to have more actual character than the rest put together. Some of the sensory detail was very good, as I said. And it was definitely easily accessible.
There were things that genuinely annoyed me too;
Rape threat is used to create tension for about 60% of the book. This is a personal bug bear and I am not going to rant here because the book doesn't deserve it, it's hardly the only YA book that relies on it (a trend that needs to die a swift and ugly death right now.) I will say that if you are going to use the threat of rape then you ought to do the following. 1) actually use it to drive the plot, don't just use it to create tension. 2) have the balls to fully explore the implications. 3) don't cheapen it by using it as short hand for how evil an antagonist is and not bother to give them a character. 4) don't effing well use it as short hand for anything in fact, especially not a sense that MC has overcome a lot which is never delivered upon. 5) use the word 'rape'. Seriously. Actually use it. Sky in the Deep never once uses the word instead minimising and dancing around it. This is cheap and damaging, and utterly shameful.
I won't go into my reasons for why this is so infuriating here but this is an issue in YA fiction and it needs to stop. Clearly the author has done it because of 'reasons' and 'realism' so its not entirely her fault but for the love of all the gods could people please just THINK.
Other irritations? Flat dialogue. Flat characterisation. Vague and unbelievable fight scenes - that was actually annoying. Maybe most of the audience can't use a sword or throw an axe but the fight scenes in this were just not researched at all. Finally Eelyn is billed as this great warrior but you never see her fight especially well. She is cowed incredibly easily. And to add insult to injury she cries all the time. ALL. THE. TIME. There was barely a chapter that didn't have her bursting into tears. Maybe we're supposed to infer from that that she is sensitive as well as a warrior but all I got was that she was a wimp. Which makes certain of her actions very unbelievable later. And if you were promised a sweet romance be prepared to break out your electron scanning microscope and to suspend all disbelief ever held. You have been warned.
This is an easy , undemanding book with a straightforward plot and a female warrior. If that's your bag, have at it. For me it was facile, trite and bland but I am well aware that some of that is merely that I have a few odd expectations in terms of bookish requirements.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
First of all I am so annoyed with myself because I missed the fourth book in the series - VaARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
First of all I am so annoyed with myself because I missed the fourth book in the series - Valkarie's Song - which came right before this one. Having said that all of these books are self contained stories so while reading them in order may result in a richer reading experience, you won't lose anything if you do happen to pick them up out of order. I've been utterly addicted to this series since Wolfsangel came out years ago. The mixture of Norse mythology - focusing on the fact that Nordic gods were largely suffered and respected rather than adored because hey they just aren't nice - historical occurrences and weird (or wyrd!) dark magic, they are a GrimDark treat. I think this one may actually be the best in the series so far. You'd think that mixing Norse mythology, werewolves, Ragnarok, the occult and WWII wouldn't work, wouldn't you? But it absolutely does. I've always been morbidly curious by the Nazi fascination with the occult, ad that thread really binds this story together through use of the Elder Futharc (runes). I don't want to post any spoilers. Suffice to say that was a fast paced, twisting and appropriately Stygian ride. If you're a fan of the series, you'll love this. If you haven't discovered the series yet, you have four books to catch up on before this one is released. Highly recommend. ...more
I remembered two chapters in to this book, that I’d read a previous book by Legrand (Winterspell) and not reallMany thanks to Sourcebooks for the ARC
I remembered two chapters in to this book, that I’d read a previous book by Legrand (Winterspell) and not really connected with her narrative style, so I was sceptical that I would do much better this time. By chapter six I was hooked. Legrand has come a long way as an author in the last few years. That’s not to say Furyborn was flawless by any stretch but on the whole it was an unbelievably ambitious story (or first third of a story since this is a trilogy) told with fearlessness and flare.
I found the world building sufficiently detailed enough to support the scope of the story – which was utterly huge. The narrative switches between equal dual POVs – Rielle, a young court noble and best friend of the crown prince of Celdaria, hiding a frightening secret – and Eliana – a blade for hire in Ventera, whose prime motive is to survive the totalitarian regime of the Empire. The two young women are connected in a profound way, which the reader discovers as the overarching plot progresses. What struck me most was the many parallels between the two POVs. It’s basically the same plot for each of them and yet the two POVs are very different with different character journeys, both internal and external, whilst still mirroring each other. I found that an extremely accomplished way of telling and deepening the story, however readers who prefer (even without realising it) a more simple 3 or 5 act structure with neater conclusions and narrative peaks and troughs, may find this very irritating. It’s one of the reasons I think this book has been so polarising. Personally I think if you want fantasy where you are asked to think and not spoon-fed everything and babied along, you will really enjoy this but you need to allow six to eight chapters to bed in.
The author also plays with our sympathies as regards which MC we’re most invested in. One moment we might be more interested in Rielle, and the next it’ll be Eliana. In dual narrative books I am often keener to get to one character than another but in a strange twist I was just as invested in each. There are definitely influences from other books here – notably The Hunger Games, Harry Potter (at a stretch) and Queen of the Tearling – but there was nothing exploitative in those influences. You didn’t feel that plot points had simply been ripped off from other books (*cough* Red Queen *cough cough*) I liked both characters immensely, although Simon was far and away my favourite character, and one I sincerely hope we get more back story on and face time with, in the next book. Other noteworthy characters include Ludevine, Remy, Audric and Corlian. I do have a slight niggle with the characterisation and that’s that the secondary and tertiary characters don’t have a lot of external agency other than the main plot and MCs. My personal preference is that every character is just as real and has a back story (most of which we will never hear because it’s irrelevant to the story but I want to know that the author knows these things…). That way when they come into conflict with the MC it feels very organic and helps drive the plot. There were times where it felt like the author forced a character to go in a certain direction which led to a few moments of wobbly characterisation, a few inexplicable actions and some fairly flat dialogue. This is me being super picky because I could see more could’ve been done with the supporting cast.
My other main niggle is that the action scenes often felt incomplete. I mean you can tell me that character A swings a sword and character B’s head flies off and I will make that connection since I’m not totally devoid of intelligence, but this was more as if in a six step action sequence step three and step five were missing, possibly in an effort to make them fast paced, which made them seem rushed instead. Another super picky point.
A word on diversity: I’ve seen people complaining that this isn’t good Bi rep. Personally I don’t agree. It may not be the Bi story you want to read because the characters’ sexualities really aren’t the driving force of the story; they are an important aspect of the character but it just so happens that there isn’t much gay romance in this book. While I’m on this subject, a Bi character who happens to end up in a hetero relationship is still Bi. Their sexuality isn’t subsumed by the relationship. I get that it’s disappointing if a books marketing has led you to expect something that the book then doesn’t deliver. And I do understand the perspective that having female bisexuals always end up with a male love interest unintentionally continues to foster the misapprehension that ‘you only need to meet the write man and you’re cured’. And yes that is a pernicious and abhorrent mindset that should be killed with fire. Believe me I understand Bi erasure and I don’t condone it at all. The flipside however is that being Bi means you might equally end up in a hetero as a homosexual relationship. Hating on a book when that happens isn’t helpful and actually hurts bisexuals who are in hetero relationships. This is a fantasy story first and foremost. It actually doesn’t have any obligation to explore issues of sexuality if they are not a fundamental part of the story, whether we want it to or not. And isn’t it nice to see Bi characters in a book without their sexuality being presented as the most important part of them? Y’know, almost as if they were real people who were more than the sum of their parts ;p
In conclusion, if you like epic fantasy with a sweeping, huge scale storyline presented in a slightly different way, I can’t guarantee you will like this but you should certainly give it a go. If I’d been rating from enjoyment alone, I would have given it 5*s, but a few of my pet narrative peeves showed up so 4*s it is. I’m already looking forward to book 2.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
In ‘Home’ Amanda Berriman manages to combine several things I have only the most tenuous tARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
In ‘Home’ Amanda Berriman manages to combine several things I have only the most tenuous tolerance for in literature and do it in such a way as to make me absolutely love the result. I generally dislike present tense narrative but I was halfway through the book before I even noticed it was in present tense – always a sign that the author is in full control and you as a reader are safe in her hands. I'm also not very fond of inadequate narrators. I don’t mean unreliable narrators - I love an unreliable narrator. Inadequate and Unreliable narrators are both tricky to pull off realistically, although in my opinion managing the former requires feats of creative skill rarely possessed by those who attempt it. Both conceal things from the reader but an unreliable narrator intends to do this since they have an agenda of their own or a mindset that will not allow them to communicate the story more accurately. An inadequate narrator communicates faithfully but at the level at which they themselves understand the events - think Room by Emma Donahugh or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon. In fact while I acknowledge that those two examples are excellent books, where inadequate narration is done well even, I hated both of them intensely. Not so with ‘Home’ which is narrated by four year old Jesika. It takes a bit of an adjustment to get used to four year old speak but it is so authentic and emotionally honest you get drawn in before you even realise it. I honestly haven’t enjoyed an inadequate narrator so much since I reread ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. I loved ‘Home’ and I fell in love with Jesika.
Like the aforementioned books, ‘Home’ uses a child’s point of view to explore some very difficult issues. It’s a mark of Berriman’s skill that we are kept close enough to care deeply about the events as they unfold but we are in many respects protected by Jesika’s lack of full understanding. I think this is the mark of a truly great inadequate narrator. An adult narrator is unlikely to have as much power to make us consider the issues presented, and challenge our preconceptions, as a bright and engaging four year old, whose imperfect understanding and unoccluded vision take complex problems and make them simple enough for us to really focus on. We lose so much of the simplicity and sense of justice innate in children as we grow up – and we should in many ways because we have to function as adults – but the privilege of seeing the world through Jesika’s eyes makes you ask yourself whether you haven’t really lost something you should have tried to hold on to. Couldn’t we add things as we become adults rather than just subsume our child selves? But I digress. One of the strongest points in the novels favour was the pitch perfect portrayal of what it’s like to be a four year old. Home will make you feel things, people. I don’t necessarily even mean bad things - although let’s face it, much of Jesika’s reality is a grim one. Reading the book, I found myself remembering things I thought and felt at that age that I hadn’t thought of for years; remembering, in short, what it was like to be utterly reliant on someone else and the terror at the thought of that person going away; remembering the comparative powerlessness of being a child and the inherent sense of injustice that often went with it; remembering how it was to really be in the now almost all the time, because time was way too long and now was full of good things, and how simple things could be the most important things of all. I especially remembered checking the emotional weather forecast in adult faces and acting accordingly as Jesika does, how people shouting could seem to make the world shake. I think we forget these things as we grow up and they become trivial or inconsequential but from a four year old’s POV they are incredibly important. Berriman’s ability to put herself in Jesika’s shoes to tell us this story is breath taking.
Another strong point for me was how the story unfolded. There are many ways to tell a tale but there seem to be two main ways of getting your readers to turn the pages – the trick and the art. The ‘trick’ involves forcing your reader to continually ask questions. What happened then? Who killed the victim? etc etc. Most thrillers and crime novels employ this to great effect. The ‘Art’ is when an author leads you using the character as a lure. Instead of asking questions, the reader experiences what the character does as the author forces the character to react to sudden changes of situation. John le Carre uses this method. So does Jane Austen. And so too, does Amanda Berriman in Home, to great effect. It is utterly seamless and makes the book, which in many ways should be a challenging read, completely effortless. An experience, not merely entertainment. Twice I found myself reading an hour longer than I intended! ‘Home’ is unputdownable.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2018 and it didn’t disappoint. I think we can expect great things to come from the author. Can’t recommend the book ‘Home’ highly enough....more
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
‘Technically I’m a murderer, but I like to think that’s one of my better qualities…’
‘TruthARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
‘Technically I’m a murderer, but I like to think that’s one of my better qualities…’
‘Truthfully, the idea of this not ending in death never crossed my mind. Of all the outcomes and possibilities I considered, peace wasn’t one.’
To Kill a Kingdom has been a sleeper success for me. I’d heard good things about the book but not really dug into it too much, partly to avoid spoilers but also because I’m just not a mermaid enthusiast. That said the little I did allow myself to hear had me really eager to read the book and it didn’t disappoint. In fact it would be fair to say it blew my expectations out of the water – no pun intended.
Lira is a siren, heir to the underwater kingdom in the Diavolos Sea and daughter of the Sea Queen who is a ruthless and cruel megolamaniac. She has learned from her earliest memories how to be a killer of men, more specifically a killer of princes.
Elian is a prince, reluctant heir to the golden kingdom of Midas. But the sea and adventure calls to him and he spends most of his time on his ship with his crew of misfits living like a pirate, and hunting sirens.
The pair come into direct conflict as they both struggle to preserve their own kingdoms.
This has to be one of the best set ups I’ve seen in YA for a long time. Instead of ‘nice’ MCs we are presented with two antiheroes on a direct collision course with each other. There has been some whinging about insta-love but I really don’t see how much less like insta-love this could be. Lira and Elian start out not just hating each other but wanting and needing to kill each other! That doesn’t go out of the window once they lay eyes on each other either but is slowly eroded away over the course of the book as their respective goals throw them into constant conflict with each other. It’s absolutely beautiful and only enhanced by the natural spark and banter between them which really isn’t flirting for most of the book since it’s actually pretty nasty.
I love Lira as a character. I want to see more YA MCs like her – antiheroes that are intelligent, self-valuing, fierce, ruthless and driven, with plenty of agency and the potential to become more empathetic. Less simpering princesses please, fellow writers, and more queens-in-waiting like Lira. Above all let’s get away from the toxic idea that girls should always be ‘nice’.
The supporting cast were well rounded and diverse. It’s impossible not to love Elian’s crew who are a perfect ‘found-family’ in true ‘Six of Crows’ style.
And then for a fast paced book of only moderate length, TKAK also boasts exquisite world building, compelling narrative and beautiful prose. You’d think there wasn’t much more that could be layered in after all that wouldn’t you? But the author has also explored several important themes; blind hatred; prejudice; redemption and atonement. And not forgetting abuse of power and indifference. Let’s unpack that last one a little because the Sea Queen is a truly terrifying villain lacking in even the remotest scrap of empathy. There is the way that Sirens are required to breed and produce young (it’s a female race – they are paired up by the queen with appropriate mermen. The differences between mermen, mermaids and sirens are fully explored.) This breeding order is incredibly disturbing in that the Sea Queen, holding all the power, does not care about her subjects or the fact that she is more or less ordering rape for procreation purposes. It really highlights how some women in positions of power become utterly deaf in all respects to those who don’t have power, perceiving weakness of whatever stripe as despicable and not worth protecting. Only the strong are worth protecting because they can be allies since they are strong enough to protect and aid themselves. It’s amazing how common this mindset is (The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pearce also looks at this phenomena) and the author has captured it perfectly even as a subtheme.
Most importantly TKAK is just sheer fun. It’s great to read, an enjoyable experience in and of itself. It takes aesthetic from several sources – fables, fairytales, Disney – and weaves something new with it in an unforgettable fantasy adventure. I highly recommend this bold, imaginative and slightly savage fantasy reimaging of The Little Mermaid.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I think what I love most about these books - fabulous world building aside - is that at hearARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I think what I love most about these books - fabulous world building aside - is that at heart it's a story about growing up and defining your identity as separate from others. The first book concentrated very much on Girton making that transition from child to man, and there is more of that here but at a more sophisticated level. By sophistocated I mean that usually after you accept the mantel of adulthood you discover that your previous assumptions about adults which you held as a child are in fact false or at least incomplete. People are complicated. Nothing is set in stone. And being an adult often means not having firm answers or any answers at all - you're ahead of the game if you're asking the right questions. But perhaps the most profound discovery is that you must learn to use your own judgement effectively and in that respect being an adult means that in many ways you are alone. This is the journey Girton goes on.
I love Girton but he had several moments of being really very annoying in this book. Mostly because some part of him fought taking that final step into adult hood so he blinded himself with the childish belief that people do not change, with a stubborn refusal to do what he was good at - classic cutting off nose to spite face - and with his own judgement clouded with his personal prejudices. As frustrating as this is I found it made the denouement even more satisfying.
A world in which magic weilders are persecuted often doesn't make sense because in all honesty what other scenarios can you think of where those who have power do not take over? But Barker has made it work with her thorough and unforgiving portrayal of fear and prejudice, and with the way Girton wrestles with it in himself.
This felt like a bleaker book than the first one but it was right for the story. The themes of friendship and conflicting loyalties and the fear of being truly alone or left behind are still strong here. And aside from all that it's just a bloody good story. I am looking forward to King of Assassins....more
ARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars
This is a tricky one to review. I did like it but it took me a long time to get inARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars
This is a tricky one to review. I did like it but it took me a long time to get into. Part of that is that it reads like it should be aimed at the 12-14 yr old YA market and yet the scenes and circumstances of the book are definitely aimed at much older readers. I know putting a reading age on a books intended market is an imprecise science at best but it seemed as if the characters should be in their twenties not seventeen or eighteen. These things combined made the narrative a little jarring.
Enne Salta leaves her prestigious finishing school in order to find her adoptive mother who disappeared two months ago in the City of Sin. She enlists the aid of Street Lord Levi Glaisyer, who is fighting problems of his own with a Ponsi scheme going super nova and a boss who is just a little too…controlling… Meanwhile, the Pheonix Club has resurrected the deadliest card game in the city and they have their eyes on new players.
It’s an interesting premise and I love stories that are about wits and clever schemes, heists and cons. (Enough that I’m writing my own.) But some of this just didn’t work for me – possibly it just didn’t feel clever enough? The world building is good if a little sparse in places. Everyone has talents (which is the magical system). Your Blood Talent is dominant and gives you your main surname. Your Split Talent is recessive and gives you your secondary surname. Either can come from either parent. I really like this idea but felt it wasn’t fully explored or utilised, possibly because Foody has plans for it in a future book? It is annoying that very little work has to be done with these talents. If you take the graces in Graceling by Kristen Cashore for example, an innate talent can be improved with training and discipline and those who don’t work at it are out performed by those who do. I prefer that probably because I prefer the idea of a meritocracy even in magic over a potential class system based on who comes of what lineage. If you’re going down the latter root, power should be balanced with great disadvantages imo. Not that Foody really goes in that direction but it’s easy to see how it could turn that way.
I love stories of unlikely characters coming together to form a found family but that just didn’t really happen for me here and while I grew to like Enne, the only one I was really invested in was Lola who was woefully underused. I didn’t find Levi very convincing as a street lord I’m afraid – far too nice and cried far too much. (Enne cried far too much too tbh.) What I want from character, who is supposed to be a clever con artist, is facing certain death , is scheming and cleverly wriggling out of it. Not wasting the head start by stopping for a thirty minute fear based crying jag.
People have compared this to Six of Crows but it’s nothing like that at all, so if that’s what you’re after you’ll be disappointed. It has a feel of Caravel in some ways, the street gangs feel a bit like The Bone Season only much less gritty, the idea of the extinct royal lines reminded me of the way the Russian aristocracy was mass executed during the revolution. This book is still its own thing but it feels like it has sat on the shelf with other beloved books and picked up their flavours by proximity. There’s lots to like about it but I’m not sure any of it is necessarily new. The last third of the book bumped this up from 3 stars to 3.5 stars because everything came together and I was left wanting to read the next book. Overall it was enjoyable but perhaps not quite dark enough for me.
Loading...
