tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67853002579899028222018-03-05T20:43:12.835-08:00Briar Rose ReadsBriarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-46425553512941213772016-06-16T20:46:00.001-07:002016-06-16T20:46:58.620-07:00Review: The Heartless City by Andrea Berthot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-22g2546-9aY/V2NxWfqnTrI/AAAAAAAAAcE/_mGJLezoUuIiFF_RupW9XZ42GG5R4nwxACLcB/s1600/26044720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-22g2546-9aY/V2NxWfqnTrI/AAAAAAAAAcE/_mGJLezoUuIiFF_RupW9XZ42GG5R4nwxACLcB/s320/26044720.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26044720-the-heartless-city"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XwfZc040cKE/Vgiy1IcMtII/AAAAAAAAARk/riSG9WkvaF4hT6C7E9cmggjFaOoTObf5gCKgB/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br /><i>Many thanks to the author for providing a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>The Heartless City</i>&nbsp;had <i>so much</i>&nbsp;promise.<br /><br />After a bit of a slow start, I truly loved the beginning. Then, to my complete confusion and ultimate disappointment, the story jumped ahead years, and I realized I had been engrossed in a prologue. That prologue was the tale I most wanted to read: Virginia, smart and brave and traumatized, desperately trying to raise and keep safe a young daughter with unnatural gifts. Sadly, we jumped ahead to said daughter's teenage years instead.<br /><br />I initially liked Elliot, the main male character, very much. That mostly continued throughout the story. I didn't connect so well with Iris, Virginia's gifted daughter. She was a bit... <i>too much</i>&nbsp;for me. A little too overwhelmingly beautiful and special to feel real, and her first connection with Elliot felt like insta-love. (Keep in mind that I am <i>very</i>&nbsp;picky about romantic relationships. I'm sure a lot of people would enjoy that sort of powerful immediate connection.)<br /><br />There was some <i>gorgeous</i>&nbsp;prose, swirled together with the blocks of angst and overwrought, unconvincing character interaction. The book was also set against a background of some very interesting possible conflicts (the Hydes being the most obvious example), but those aspects were mostly dropped or underused. Paired with the fact that many of the secondary characters (Virginia; Elliot's friend Cam; amazing, tough, tiny Philomena) were far more interesting overall than the leads, this felt a bit like the first draft of a really, really amazing book.<br /><br />Bottom line was, <i>The Heartless City</i>&nbsp;didn't quite work for me, but there was a lot of promise hidden in its pages. I very much hope the author one day writes that truly incredible book.<br /><br />Rating:&nbsp;<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-knTiE6-trKo/Vgh5Et7U8sI/AAAAAAAAAQo/qk5O9kldqHsvMMVupwOWhB4wMIClC2J5gCKgB/s1600/3.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-knTiE6-trKo/Vgh5Et7U8sI/AAAAAAAAAQo/qk5O9kldqHsvMMVupwOWhB4wMIClC2J5gCKgB/s1600/3.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-3059520955736939252016-03-17T12:02:00.000-07:002016-04-18T12:03:03.456-07:00Review: Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VNZCtb1UyrE/VxUuddzGU5I/AAAAAAAAAbs/ljnFUxVx0LsMWWk7UKvk8CGBa_Xjbfg2ACLcB/s1600/10429067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VNZCtb1UyrE/VxUuddzGU5I/AAAAAAAAAbs/ljnFUxVx0LsMWWk7UKvk8CGBa_Xjbfg2ACLcB/s320/10429067.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10429067-sweet-venom"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-httzuZIfhWs/Vgi1A5LZxCI/AAAAAAAAASA/JH5VpRHTZ0sJYV4pSoSzhtMuJr0zTkr_QCKgB/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br />Tera Lynn Childs's <i>Sweet Venom</i>&nbsp;would have been a perfectly fun, normal young adult mythology tale if not for the inclusion of a creepy stalker who is, apparently, supposed to be charming. Its premise, about sisters who are the monster-killing descendants of Medusa, was interesting enough. Its prose was perfectly serviceable, and it had some tense, compelling action. All of which was overshadowed, for me, by the aforementioned creepy stalker.<br /><br />Open statement to everyone: Stalking is <i>not romantic</i>&nbsp;and <i>not okay.</i>&nbsp;Obtaining a girl's phone number without her consent? Refusing to leave her alone even after she has told you repeatedly to do so? That stuff is <i>nothing but creepy.</i>&nbsp;Please keep it out of my fluffy young adult mythology-romance books.<br /><br />Rating:&nbsp;<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QSr-6ovMvKE/Vgh5r2Ky2TI/AAAAAAAAARI/-r8kzmZJZG8K-vy8oJcpRvMOzCXLqvI2QCKgB/s1600/2.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QSr-6ovMvKE/Vgh5r2Ky2TI/AAAAAAAAARI/-r8kzmZJZG8K-vy8oJcpRvMOzCXLqvI2QCKgB/s1600/2.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-28600306917004865092016-03-09T11:55:00.000-08:002016-04-18T11:56:22.261-07:00Review: Love, Death and Tea by Will Once<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QGWhqkZc40Q/VxUtNzxA14I/AAAAAAAAAbk/5LXlD4oVYLsXNf7GEVHU8r0a4QGtegfhACLcB/s1600/26891781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QGWhqkZc40Q/VxUtNzxA14I/AAAAAAAAAbk/5LXlD4oVYLsXNf7GEVHU8r0a4QGtegfhACLcB/s320/26891781.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26891781-love-death-and-tea"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-httzuZIfhWs/Vgi1A5LZxCI/AAAAAAAAASA/JH5VpRHTZ0sJYV4pSoSzhtMuJr0zTkr_QCKgB/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br />Will Once's <i>Love, Death and Tea</i>&nbsp;was <i>wonderful,</i>&nbsp;and that's not a word I use lightly. It was quick, compelling, and so funny that I am pretty sure I woke up my housemates with some late-night laughing. I kept texting quotes to my sister, and now she wants to read it too.<br /><br /><i>Love, Death and Tea</i>&nbsp;offers a humorous, irreverent look at zombies and the apocalypse, with a different flavor from anything else I've read. If you're looking for deep, complex, twisty plotting and a huge cast of characters, look elsewhere: this book is light with crisp pacing, but the characters it does have are deftly drawn. During a difficult time, it was exactly the light-hearted escape I needed.<br /><br />Rating:&nbsp;<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pDC-oGEe0l0/VghuttVEd-I/AAAAAAAAAPY/PGv1nlzA0801i5kxO8yLYoBsuaOmE2w1QCKgB/s1600/5.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pDC-oGEe0l0/VghuttVEd-I/AAAAAAAAAPY/PGv1nlzA0801i5kxO8yLYoBsuaOmE2w1QCKgB/s1600/5.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-47691336904484892032016-01-10T11:51:00.000-08:002016-04-18T11:52:11.708-07:00Review: The Fiddler's Gun by A. S. Peterson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BXk1Ez-v06Q/VxUsHs4sKrI/AAAAAAAAAbg/PDQDjFrusAUS8CHj8xR1lzsu-ZOSRHlVgCLcB/s1600/7000924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BXk1Ez-v06Q/VxUsHs4sKrI/AAAAAAAAAbg/PDQDjFrusAUS8CHj8xR1lzsu-ZOSRHlVgCLcB/s320/7000924.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7000924-the-fiddler-s-gun"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s6A9ZxW39G4/Vgi0V-_1xKI/AAAAAAAAARw/BBM7HBJOFTMxV8hqZdyk0cQD60b1m_wWQCKgB/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br />A. S. Peterson's <i>The Fiddler's Gun</i>&nbsp;was a rollicking historical tale, headed up by a truly wonderful young female character.<br /><br />The storyline occasionally moved a bit slowly, but ultimately I think that only added to my enjoyment of the rich setting and well-drawn characters. Particularly Fin Button, the tough, headstrong, sometimes ruthless tomboy who did what she needed to survive--even if that meant leaving everything she'd ever known to become a pirate.<br /><br />Also, Fin's relationship with her love interest was a fun gender-swapped twist on the "young man leaves behind faithful girlfriend to go on a quest" trope.<br /><br />Fiction categorized as "Christian" is all too often preachy, shallow, and about as subtle as an anvil. This book was a refreshing change. The tale was built on bones of faith, but there was little preaching, and no trite easy answers. More like this, please.<br /><br />Rating:&nbsp;<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VGzT9i2gk2Q/VgjFQQjc5vI/AAAAAAAAAU8/8nq2jVpXT5Quqqy6eWoN88YZvWNea5edgCKgB/s1600/4.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VGzT9i2gk2Q/VgjFQQjc5vI/AAAAAAAAAU8/8nq2jVpXT5Quqqy6eWoN88YZvWNea5edgCKgB/s1600/4.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-80973758048794138692015-12-23T11:45:00.000-08:002016-04-18T11:46:10.315-07:00Review: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OBLurz4AWlk/VxUqTYb0QiI/AAAAAAAAAbY/7OTHSlc1tGIrqrkfNPDeVbD4_34nv3hZACLcB/s1600/17564519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OBLurz4AWlk/VxUqTYb0QiI/AAAAAAAAAbY/7OTHSlc1tGIrqrkfNPDeVbD4_34nv3hZACLcB/s320/17564519.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17564519-walk-on-earth-a-stranger"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XwfZc040cKE/Vgiy1IcMtII/AAAAAAAAARk/riSG9WkvaF4hT6C7E9cmggjFaOoTObf5gCKgB/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br />I liked Rae Carson's <i>Walk on Earth a Stranger </i>very much, with one notable exception: the lazy, useless, no-good burden of a reverend. That trope was thin and tired seventy years ago, and I'm taking off a full star for it. I expected better from the author of the <i>Girl of Fire and Thorns</i>&nbsp;series, which explored the complexities of faith and belief in a beautiful, authentic way.<br /><br />Still, there was much about <i>Walk on Earth a Stranger</i>&nbsp;to love. The main character yearned for freedom, and deeply enjoyed her taste of it while posing as a boy, but she didn't gleefully throw off all trappings of the feminine. Putting back on a skirt, she said, felt like being in her own skin again. She didn't want to abandon being a woman--she wanted freedom <i>as</i>&nbsp;a woman.<br /><br />There were a wide variety of other well-developed female characters, with complex relationships and motivations. And the male lead, Jefferson, was <i>wonderful.</i><br /><i><br /></i>This book reminded me, too, of why I loved the Western genre so much as a kid: the danger, maybe, the thrill and drama, but mostly the <i>possibility.</i>&nbsp;The wide-open sky. The idea that anything could be around the next bend or over the next ridge. Adding a touch of magic just makes it better.<br /><br />Rating:&nbsp;<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-knTiE6-trKo/Vgh5Et7U8sI/AAAAAAAAAQo/qk5O9kldqHsvMMVupwOWhB4wMIClC2J5gCKgB/s1600/3.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-knTiE6-trKo/Vgh5Et7U8sI/AAAAAAAAAQo/qk5O9kldqHsvMMVupwOWhB4wMIClC2J5gCKgB/s1600/3.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-30326548133963939592015-11-17T14:43:00.000-08:002016-04-18T11:25:19.316-07:00Review: Hour of Mischief by Aimee Hyndman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eg7ULAJ92eQ/VkusAJTo1LI/AAAAAAAAAas/SYhiO_oYrFk/s1600/26205179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eg7ULAJ92eQ/VkusAJTo1LI/AAAAAAAAAas/SYhiO_oYrFk/s320/26205179.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26205179-hour-of-mischief"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XjD_1M3VfHo/VkusERo6qdI/AAAAAAAAAa0/2cn2_K2rT4s/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br />Aimee Hyndman's <i>Hour of Mischief</i> was a fun, fast-paced romp through an original steampunk setting, and despite a few pesky editing problems, I thoroughly enjoyed it.<br /><br />In a clockwork world where time itself relies on a pantheon of clockwork gods, 17-year-old Janet pulls heists with her little found-family of thieves. A job gone bad lands them in prison, where the irreverent trickster God of Mischief, Itazura, offers Janet a chance to save her friends by working with him to avert the apocalypse.<br /><br />Janet was a great MC: tough, funny, haunted, utterly loyal to her team, and <i>completely</i>&nbsp;in over her head. Itazura served as a good foil--charming, witty, alien, and never <i>quite</i>&nbsp;trustworthy. The supporting cast was mostly well-developed, too. As a person with anxiety, I especially liked the character of Sylvia, Janet's teammate and dear friend, who was smart, observant, had a great head for strategy, and suffered anxiety attacks. I wished Sylvia had gotten more focus.<br /><br />The world-building unfolded naturally, and drew me in until I was completely absorbed. By the end, I dearly wanted to know more about Janet's world, its characters and creatures, and its eventual fate.<br /><br />There were a few drawbacks: Despite the good storytelling, <i>Hour of Mischief</i> could have used further editing to clear up its occasional grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Also, I had expected a stand-alone novel, and was caught by surprise when the storyline was not wrapped up. But despite the rough edges, I liked Janet and her world well enough that I will be picking up the sequel, whenever it arrives.<br /><br /><i>*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i><br /><br />Rating:<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dn551e7G8Us/VkutY35n8II/AAAAAAAAAbA/3MSu1qkYFV0/s1600/4.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dn551e7G8Us/VkutY35n8II/AAAAAAAAAbA/3MSu1qkYFV0/s1600/4.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-92224272785280635872015-10-27T10:02:00.001-07:002016-04-18T11:25:50.187-07:00Review: Black Widow Forever Red by Margaret Stohl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2E124lHRTyc/Vi-r213EguI/AAAAAAAAAaA/KXpTXAfTdF0/s1600/23358109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2E124lHRTyc/Vi-r213EguI/AAAAAAAAAaA/KXpTXAfTdF0/s320/23358109.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23358109-black-widow?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GZoNgb0GPMU/Vi-sFawMBuI/AAAAAAAAAaI/622GIld7wVg/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br />I nearly wept for joy when I saw that Margaret Stohl's <i>Black Widow: Forever Red</i> was going to exist. Natasha Romanoff is one of my favorite fictional characters. Now she's going to be in a YA novel--my favorite genre?! Life couldn't get any better!<br /><br />Well... It could, a bit.<br /><br />Natasha's characterization is... unsteady. She flips back and forth between arctic and maternal at a dizzying pace. I think that might have been meant to convey internal conflict, but it just comes off as inconsistent, in my opinion. Her characterization, to me, is not as bad as Tony Stark's, however. In the MCU, Tony is fascinating, as much as he's a jerk: crackling with humor and impudence, thinly layered over trauma and insecurity. In this book, he sounded like he was trying to be funny but didn't quite have the wit to pull it off. And the damage that's always just under the surface? Nowhere to be seen.<br /><br />And as for the original characters, teenagers Ava and Alex: <i>Tropes. Tropes everywhere.</i> It's not all bad, and they have their moments of being likeable, but there wasn't anything really <i>original</i>&nbsp;about them, nothing I haven't seen done dozens of times. Seemingly ordinary teenagers have a super-special suppressed past that comes roaring back in hidden memories! They're drawn together and feel like soulmates even though they don't know why! INSTA-LOVE!<br /><br />Spoilers for this section (highlight to reveal): <span style="background-color: #444444; color: #444444;">A character dies in the end (there are hints of this all through the book), and hir relationship to another character means that we should care about hir a <i>lot,</i>&nbsp;but I just... Didn't. I finished the book and went, "Hmm. Okay. Well, zie ain't gettin' any deader." Which tells you something about my lack of emotional connection to hir and everyone else.</span><br /><span style="background-color: black;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">Rating:</span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IU8G8nPEiDo/Vi-uMv0orDI/AAAAAAAAAaU/CQcPmHYOtHs/s1600/2.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IU8G8nPEiDo/Vi-uMv0orDI/AAAAAAAAAaU/CQcPmHYOtHs/s1600/2.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-69831834962920753802015-10-14T14:25:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:26:03.453-07:00Review: Wardbreaker by J. A. Cipriano<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-10ARcMy9DO0/Vh7Biy4Ul_I/AAAAAAAAAZQ/zf8BrTovWxs/s1600/26836921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-10ARcMy9DO0/Vh7Biy4Ul_I/AAAAAAAAAZQ/zf8BrTovWxs/s320/26836921.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26836921-wardbreaker?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DivStfGKHJE/Vh7DCOySgDI/AAAAAAAAAZc/pcv0k86GfuQ/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br /><i>*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author!</i><br /><i><br /></i>J. A. Cipriano's <i>Ward Breaker</i> was a book with great potential.<br /><br />There were a lot of intriguing things about the world in which it was set. I liked most of the characters. It was occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. And somewhere past the 70% point, I started forgetting to take reviewer's notes because I was reading quickly to find out what happened.<br /><br />Unfortunately, it could not quite live up to that potential because it really, really needed an editor.<br /><br />Misspellings ("feint" instead of "faint," for example) and grammar errors were quite common. Some of the most intriguing plot points or characters were dropped, never to be seen again, and the world, while interesting, was not fleshed out nearly as well as it might have been.<br /><br />Lillim Callina, the main character, is not from Earth. She's a member of a magical race called the Dioscuri. By the end of the book, I still didn't have much of a feel for exactly <i>who</i>&nbsp;the Dioscuri are as a people, or where Lillim grew up. An alternate world? Somewhere on Earth that just held itself separate from everyone else? I know there are more books in the series, but I'd still like to have at least a slightly better feel for where this girl comes from, since her not being from Earth was made into such a plot point. (Inconsistently: she apparently knew what string cheese was, but not what the term "nurse" meant. She also seemed to have pretty good snark and pop culture knowledge for someone who was clueless about Earth, which I excused because it was funny.)<br /><br />I liked Lillim, and most of the other major characters. Lillim is a former great warrior reincarnated into a teenage girl, which provided great opportunities for conflict--everyone near-idolized the person she was before, and Lillim doesn't feel she can live up to it--but, like several interesting plot threads, that was dropped pretty quickly.<br /><br />Lillim's male lead, Jean Luc, was a mystery wrapped in an enigma: I liked him, and how his relationship with Lillim unfolded, well enough. I also liked Danae, the succubus who didn't much care for sex, and I'd hope to see both of them return in later books.<br /><br />The main antagonist was creepy and vicious and difficult to beat: once s/he showed up I was always invested--though it was sometimes hard to follow exactly <i>what</i>&nbsp;was at stake on a global scale--because the risk to the major characters felt so immediate.<br /><br />Bottom line: Lots to love, but I would hope to see an editor's touch to improve spelling and grammar and tighten up plot and characterization in later books.<br /><br />Rating:<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N_qhC9ipVL8/Vh7HbdWVsTI/AAAAAAAAAZo/D-H-rLC2VYU/s1600/3.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N_qhC9ipVL8/Vh7HbdWVsTI/AAAAAAAAAZo/D-H-rLC2VYU/s1600/3.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-10651654437621192652015-10-01T16:53:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:26:27.449-07:00Review: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Klu0ALJJ1Pc/Vg26BGCmWHI/AAAAAAAAAYU/4CPvzNJOkHo/s1600/13356675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Klu0ALJJ1Pc/Vg26BGCmWHI/AAAAAAAAAYU/4CPvzNJOkHo/s320/13356675.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16029682-a-wizard-of-earthsea"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NuW1QbENv6o/Vg26FTXmOEI/AAAAAAAAAYc/GZ0oJXAECFU/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br />I cannot believe it took me this long to finally read Ursula K. Le Guin's <i>A Wizard of Earthsea</i>. (I feel like I'm at risk of losing my credibility as a lifelong YA fantasy fan!) But now that I <i>have</i> read it, I definitely understand the hype.<br /><br /><i>A Wizard of Earthsea</i>&nbsp;is <i>the</i>&nbsp;coming-of-age story. It is quiet and lush and intelligent. It is full of wonder, but does not flinch from the horrible.<br /><br />Gifted with incredible magic, young Ged makes a mistake--a proud, thoughtless mistake, a child's mistake--which is magnified because of his power. He spends much of the rest of the book seeking to atone, and to track down the terrible, nameless thing unleashed by his actions.<br /><br />The world-building is exquisite. Ged's journey, his search for atonement always interwoven with his discovery of the shape and nature and name of things, is deeply compelling.<br /><br />I will confess to some surprise at the lack of female characters--the only one I recall being positively portrayed was a fourteen-year-old who seemed to know her place, who dutifully took care of her household--but I have hope that will be remedied in later books.<br /><br />If, like me, you have managed to miss this classic, I advise giving it a read as soon as possible.<br /><br />Rating:<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jxCDZoY1LnU/Vg3G17KrvLI/AAAAAAAAAYw/pfp7afmXffc/s1600/5.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jxCDZoY1LnU/Vg3G17KrvLI/AAAAAAAAAYw/pfp7afmXffc/s1600/5.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-83867896916733659272015-09-30T15:57:00.002-07:002016-04-18T11:26:43.126-07:00"Waiting On" Wednesday: Revenge and the Wild"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by the ladies at <a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/">Breaking The Spine</a>. In it, book bloggers talk about the upcoming books they're most excited about.<br /><br />Finding a book isn't a problem for me. <i>Choosing</i>&nbsp;one is. There are always far too many upcoming books I'm just <i>dying</i>&nbsp;to read.<br /><br />Today's pick is Michelle Modesto's REVENGE AND THE WILD, which is scheduled for release on February 2, 2016.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XB80ks8YxMs/VgxmWkq5iFI/AAAAAAAAAXo/UpBWLHvrPhE/s1600/21843165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XB80ks8YxMs/VgxmWkq5iFI/AAAAAAAAAXo/UpBWLHvrPhE/s320/21843165.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21843165-revenge-and-the-wild?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AD58IVGioqg/Vgxmb7a3yjI/AAAAAAAAAXw/GZuFFHjw4PY/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><blockquote class="tr_bq">The two-bit town of Rogue City is a lawless place, full of dark magic and saloon brawls, monsters and six-shooters. But it's perfect for seventeen-year-old Westie, the notorious adopted daughter of local investor Nigel Butler.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Westie was only a child when she lost her arm and her family to cannibals on the wagon trail. Nine years later, Westie may seem fearsome with her foul-mouthed tough exterior and the powerful mechanical arm built for her by Nigel, but the memory of her past still haunts her. She's determined to make the killers pay for their crimes--and there's nothing to stop her except her own reckless ways.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">But Westie's search ceases when a wealthy family comes to town looking to invest in Nigel's latest invention, a machine that can harvest magic from gold--which Rogue City desperately needs as the magic wards that surround the city start to fail. There's only one problem: the investors look exactly like the family who murdered Westie's kin. With the help of Nigel's handsome but scarred young assistant, Alistair, Westie sets out to prove their guilt. But if she's not careful, her desire for revenge could cost her the family she has now.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">This thrilling novel is a remarkable tale of danger and discovery, from debut author Michelle Modesto.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">(Summary from Goodreads.)</blockquote>I cut my teeth on Westerns, and their current resurgence warms the cockles of my heart. Plus: magic? Monsters? Mechanical arms? A <i>beautiful </i>cover? All adds up to a book I very much want to read. Please don't let me down, <i>Revenge and the Wild</i>.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-54228570206110714212015-09-27T14:22:00.002-07:002016-04-18T11:27:47.997-07:00YA Recs: Recent Fantasy FavoritesI like a little variety in my fantasy. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a fairy tale that breaks free of retelling the same old stories. (What are we up to now, five Cinderellas? Nothing against them--Marissa Meyer's <i>Cinder</i> is wonderful--but it's so nice to have a new story on occasion.)<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iA1ikOVrITA/VghNC8VQ6GI/AAAAAAAAANg/pNDH-M_VqVs/s1600/22544764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iA1ikOVrITA/VghNC8VQ6GI/AAAAAAAAANg/pNDH-M_VqVs/s320/22544764.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22544764-uprooted?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XwfZc040cKE/Vgiy1IcMtII/AAAAAAAAARg/uuRd9zgqBlY/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br />Naomi Novik's <i>Uprooted</i> delivers there. Does it ever. The characters are as lush and wonderful as the world-building. Full of detailed, grounded magic, encroaching evil, and beautifully drawn relationships, <i>Uprooted</i> was one of my recent favorites. For me, this was a book that lived up to the hype.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Sometimes, though, I'm in the mood for a little magical realism.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hFjbJjvSDI8/VghZVucjerI/AAAAAAAAAN0/ZhKy7Bsk9jw/s1600/23346358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hFjbJjvSDI8/VghZVucjerI/AAAAAAAAAN0/ZhKy7Bsk9jw/s320/23346358.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23346358-the-accident-season?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XwfZc040cKE/Vgiy1IcMtII/AAAAAAAAARk/gQC-VWN2O0o/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br /></div><div>Moira Fowley-Doyle's <i>The Accident Season</i>&nbsp;is hard to describe. It's about secrets, and shadows, and shattering. It's about families, the ways we break ourselves and each other, the things we hide and how they always come back to haunt us. While the secrets underlying the "accident season" were intriguing, I ended up caring more about the damaged, sympathetic characters, and how they might find some measure of healing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Or what about good, old-fashioned second-world fantasy? Not a fairy tale, just solid world-building and a great story.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GIMjUksAsEU/VghcrvgcniI/AAAAAAAAAOE/aP4U1P2vzFQ/s1600/12084278.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GIMjUksAsEU/VghcrvgcniI/AAAAAAAAAOE/aP4U1P2vzFQ/s320/12084278.jpg" width="211" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RzEc9VmEDMw/Vghcr_tIz-I/AAAAAAAAAOI/6yf1uG_ihyE/s1600/18716722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RzEc9VmEDMw/Vghcr_tIz-I/AAAAAAAAAOI/6yf1uG_ihyE/s320/18716722.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12084278-city-of-a-thousand-dolls"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XwfZc040cKE/Vgiy1IcMtII/AAAAAAAAARk/gQC-VWN2O0o/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18716722-empire-of-shadows"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XwfZc040cKE/Vgiy1IcMtII/AAAAAAAAARk/gQC-VWN2O0o/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br />Miriam Forster's <i>Bhinian Empire</i> series (<i>City of a Thousand Dolls</i> and <i>Empire of Shadows</i>) is set in a richly-imagined world populated with shape-changers and based loosely on ancient India. With so many books already based on European mythology, this setting provided a refreshing change. I deeply enjoyed both books. (They are connected and set in the same world, but feature different main characters.)Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-6342501591359658822015-09-24T22:14:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:28:43.846-07:00Review: Beastly Bones by William Ritter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LreWYHnKabM/VgjKJky2DRI/AAAAAAAAAVo/SYI-sjbwT5w/s1600/24001095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LreWYHnKabM/VgjKJky2DRI/AAAAAAAAAVo/SYI-sjbwT5w/s320/24001095.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24001095-beastly-bones"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wPmWUOzYE80/VgjKMDSReaI/AAAAAAAAAVw/hePnD6R_y7c/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br />Far from suffering "second book syndrome," William Ritter's <i>Beastly Bones</i>--sequel to <i>Jackaby</i>, which I reviewed <a href="http://briarrosereads.blogspot.com/2015/08/review-jackaby-by-william-ritter.html">here</a>--was, I thought, superior in nearly every way to its predecessor.<br /><br /><i>Jackaby</i> was a fun book, but suffered a bit from lack of originality. It read like a mashup of "Sherlock" and "Doctor Who," with just enough likable characters and original concepts to keep it afloat. <i>Beastly Bones</i>&nbsp;takes flight from where <i>Jackaby</i> left off, advancing the world-building and the characterization of existing characters, and introducing several fascinating new players and supernatural beasties.<br /><br />Characters and events that seem unrelated all tie back together in the end, culminating in a suspenseful, explosive finale that I did not see coming. And have no fear--the lovable character from <i>Jackaby</i> who seemed to have been <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PutOnABus">Put On A Bus</a> at the end is present and accounted for here. This book takes place in his new home.<br /><br />Unlike many second books of trilogies, <i>Beastly Bones</i>&nbsp;refuses to end on a maddening, scream-inducing cliffhanger. It ties up the storyline in a satisfying way, while also effectively setting up the villain and story of the third book.<br /><br />Rating:<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EByBHrhyo0g/VgjMsC-6nlI/AAAAAAAAAWA/lK1KNpE_sb0/s1600/4.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EByBHrhyo0g/VgjMsC-6nlI/AAAAAAAAAWA/lK1KNpE_sb0/s1600/4.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-34168665052539657112015-09-09T14:24:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:30:05.325-07:00Review: Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-epETDKN1LIA/Vgmrx0B1pKI/AAAAAAAAAWs/recQnOm68lM/s1600/23719270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-epETDKN1LIA/Vgmrx0B1pKI/AAAAAAAAAWs/recQnOm68lM/s320/23719270.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23719270-vengeance-road"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LWCeokF4DBY/Vgmr0hVXB6I/AAAAAAAAAW0/DJUwRcn_ShE/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(This review contains some mild spoilers.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I wanted to love Erin Bowman's <i>Vengeance Road</i>.</div><br />I am a child of the West, daughter of generations of pioneers (raised, as you might expect, on Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey). My grandmother's father, born in 1887, lived to be 101, dying just after I was born. Though I don't remember him, my childhood was filled with the rhythm of the stories he passed down, among those from many other close relatives--mountain men and trappers; children who grew up in covered wagons; farmers and ranchers and one great-uncle who broke out of the Texas Rangers' jail (mostly to say he'd done it).<br /><br />I'm excited that Westerns are coming back into fashion. I was especially excited about <i>Vengeance Road</i>, because it sounded good--and, well, look at that cover. I'm shallow about beautiful covers.<br /><br />I could not love it, sadly, though it had some positives. The first and foremost reason I could not love it was because the dialect is very wrong. The Western dialect, which I grew up speaking as a "first language," may sound uneducated to outsiders, but it has its own consistent internal grammatical rules. It also has a powerful and beautiful storytelling tradition--which does no good unless you <i>understand</i>&nbsp;it.<br /><br />Dear authors: <i>Please do not write in a dialect with which you are unfamiliar unless you are going to make a SERIOUS effort to familiarize yourself with it.</i><br /><i><br /></i>Read books written by people who either speak the dialect natively, or who did their research well (ideally the former). Watch movies for which the same rules apply. Listen to stories being told by people who speak the dialect. (<a href="http://www.loc.gov/collections/american-english-dialect-recordings-from-the-center-for-applied-linguistics/">This website</a> is a great resource for that.) While you are doing those things, <i>pay attention. </i>Then, once your book is written, get beta readers who speak the dialect. They will tell you what you've done wrong so you can try to fix it.<br /><br />The Western dialect does not consist of misspellings and incorrect grammar. No one in real life has ever said, and I quote: "I's gonna said rude." We might say, "He done it" or "I seen him leave" or (in the older, pioneer generation) "He taked a bath." We would never say "I's gonna said rude." It makes my brain hurt just thinking about it.<br /><br />Beyond the dialect issues--which, I'm sure, bothered me more than most--was the lack of real consequences. I enjoy some ruthlessness--<i>True Grit</i> is a classic, of course--but early in the book, Kate's quest for revenge leads her to kill an innocent person. Though it is technically in self-defense, due to a misunderstanding, the man is no less dead.<br /><br />This is mentioned a few more times throughout the book, but it has no real consequences, and Kate still gets her happy ending--unlike the dead man. It's that lack of consequences, rather than the ruthlessness itself, that bothered me about that particular plot point. If a heroine is going to essentially mow down bystanders in her quest for revenge, I like to see that followed through.<br /><br />Then there was the treatment of Native Americans. It could have been worse--Liluye, the Apache girl, had little interest in helping the white people, and was definitely the lead of her own story in her own mind--but it was stereotypical overall. "Indians" were presented as the violent, faceless bogeyman for much of the story, and once they appeared as individuals, Liluye and her people fit the shallow "at one with Mother Earth" stereotype you see in movies like <i>Pocahontas.</i><br /><i><br /></i>This isn't to say there weren't positives. Kate's brutal, ruthless pursuit of "justice" (actually revenge) was sometimes compelling, and might have been more so had her actions been followed by real, permanent consequences. Kate's act of saving Liluye's life would usually have led to the tired, ugly old trope of a person of color who is blindly devoted to serving the white main character, and though the treatment of the Apache characters was tired and trope-y in nearly every other way, it was refreshing to have Liluye go, "Forget this, I owe you people pretty much nothing." There's one moment, between Kate and her love interest, that demonstrates consent in a very healthy way. And toward the end of the book, there was a twist I very much didn't see coming.<br /><br />What killed the story for me was: The lack of consequences (for Kate), the stereotypical Natives, and the clumsy attempt at Western dialect, which at its best absolutely glows in storytelling.<br /><br />Rating:<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2cLBNaQlD7U/Vgm3OHi5cNI/AAAAAAAAAXI/RebWgcP6Ev0/s1600/2.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2cLBNaQlD7U/Vgm3OHi5cNI/AAAAAAAAAXI/RebWgcP6Ev0/s1600/2.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-79526497473311461112015-08-28T13:58:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:30:37.588-07:00Review: A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5gAGN0GaS3o/VgmovEl0dII/AAAAAAAAAWU/k49rFSQOBwM/s1600/21524446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5gAGN0GaS3o/VgmovEl0dII/AAAAAAAAAWU/k49rFSQOBwM/s320/21524446.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21524446-a-thousand-nights"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ipvwFoW2q8A/VgmoyJIbdOI/AAAAAAAAAWc/G4Lq9tq2rlI/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br />I had the privilege of reading an ARC of E. K. Johnston's <i>A Thousand Nights</i> (in exchange for an honest review), and it emerged as one of my recent favorites. It features gorgeous world-building and vivid, well-developed depiction of scenery and culture. (I'm not at all surprised to find that the author has spent considerable time in the Middle East.) The characterization is wonderful, with a truly beautiful relationship between the sisters, who remain unnamed, but whose love for each other transforms the world.<br /><br />I drank in the beautiful, concise prose and the taut pacing, and after I was done reading, my mind kept going back to the underlying themes: the power of storytelling; the power of choosing to sacrifice oneself for another, out of love; the power that can be claimed by women, even in societies where they are afforded little.<br /><br />I got to read an ARC, but I pre-ordered another copy anyway. I want this book to succeed, and I want more books like it. <i>This</i>&nbsp;is the re-telling of Scheherazade that I've been longing to read.<br /><br />Rating:<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HSevj9-XgQ0/Vgmpp6diSQI/AAAAAAAAAWk/qKJ-5SGj8Eo/s1600/5.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HSevj9-XgQ0/Vgmpp6diSQI/AAAAAAAAAWk/qKJ-5SGj8Eo/s1600/5.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-39079577550828117982015-08-11T16:37:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:31:04.204-07:00Review: Jackaby by William Ritter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XXusbZ-uWd8/VgjHnFYYPBI/AAAAAAAAAVI/Ps5gLz3wK-M/s1600/20312462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XXusbZ-uWd8/VgjHnFYYPBI/AAAAAAAAAVI/Ps5gLz3wK-M/s320/20312462.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20312462-jackaby?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vmp3fYmVUgM/VgjHpyaotaI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/2F0kHKnXQQc/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">William Ritter's <i>Jackaby</i> is advertised as "Sherlock" meets "Doctor Who," and it doesn't disappoint on that count. For me, that was mostly a good thing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Occasionally it was a little too on-the-nose--I could <i>hear</i>&nbsp;Sherlock's or the Doctor's voice in the brilliant, eccentric Jackaby's--but mostly I thought the author succeeded in creating a distinct character and world despite the influence of those two powerhouse British properties.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Intelligent, headstrong Abigail, daughter of a famous paleontologist and a proper Englishwoman, determines to forge her own path in the world and quickly finds herself assistant to Jackaby, a man of science who believes only in what he can see. He just so happens to be able to see the mystical world beyond our own. The two dive into pursuit of a Ripper-like serial killer who may or may not be supernatural, their mission both helped and hindered by a series of mystical encounters.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In addition to the main cast, I enjoyed the setting, and the minor characters--the brave but sad ghost, Jenny, who serves as Jackaby's housekeeper; the handsome policeman with a secret, upon whom Abigail develops a crush; and the near-madwoman whose Sight is as likely to show her a jumble of horrifying nonsense as anything helpful, but to whom all dangers are equally real.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Though <i>Jackaby</i> was not necessarily the most original book I have ever read, all the components were solid, and the plot threads wove together to a satisfying--and surprisingly action-packed--conclusion. I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out later this fall.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rating:<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dHZhWY0CKb8/VgjMbZCc8sI/AAAAAAAAAV4/vVRYw7V3CXs/s1600/3.5%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dHZhWY0CKb8/VgjMbZCc8sI/AAAAAAAAAV4/vVRYw7V3CXs/s1600/3.5%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.jpg" /></a></div><br />Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-23461399489306266542015-07-14T18:10:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:31:21.415-07:00Review: Viral Nation by Shaunta Grimes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zbaWXmOc6o4/Vbxt29bIc1I/AAAAAAAAAMI/4z9vj9P_4hI/s1600/15985355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zbaWXmOc6o4/Vbxt29bIc1I/AAAAAAAAAMI/4z9vj9P_4hI/s320/15985355.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15985355-viral-nation"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s6A9ZxW39G4/Vgi0V-_1xKI/AAAAAAAAARs/FHANgaft5TQ/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I enjoyed Shaunta Grimes's <i>Viral Nation</i>. The world-building was good. The book kept me interested enough to finish. It was also nice to have an autistic main character, Clover, who felt like a <i>real</i> character, though I wasn't always sure how to feel about her. (I'm not autistic, so I can't speak with authority; for a <i>great</i>&nbsp;review by actual autistic people, including author Corinne Duyvis, go to Disability in Kidlit&nbsp;<a href="http://disabilityinkidlit.com/2014/02/07/corinne-duyvis-and-s-e-smith-review-viral-nation/">here</a>.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />On the downside, sometimes things seemed to happen just because they served the plot, and the ending felt extremely anti-climactic.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />I will probably read the next book, because this one <i>was</i>&nbsp;well-done enough to make me wonder what might happen next; and by the end, I was starting to care about Clover and her world and her friends.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Rating:&nbsp;<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-knTiE6-trKo/Vgh5Et7U8sI/AAAAAAAAAQk/NPm1Wp8Om6Y/s1600/3.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-knTiE6-trKo/Vgh5Et7U8sI/AAAAAAAAAQk/NPm1Wp8Om6Y/s1600/3.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a></span>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-78522688638419101252015-06-29T11:30:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:31:45.325-07:00Review: Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p-uFl-HWFow/VbxsyB4J-_I/AAAAAAAAAL8/sh4YpvYG-tI/s1600/16059426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p-uFl-HWFow/VbxsyB4J-_I/AAAAAAAAAL8/sh4YpvYG-tI/s320/16059426.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16059426-love-in-the-time-of-global-warming?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vsmd6yZDy_c/Vgi0oCQhOFI/AAAAAAAAAR0/jmeWwlBekwU/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Love in the Time of Global Warming</i> is a strange, ethereal retelling of <i>The Odyssey</i> in a post-apocalyptic world, focusing on a teenage girl in search of her family. I can see how the choppy back-and-forth structure, lack of internal logic, and sometimes implausible characters might bother some people, but I was able to turn my brain down and enjoy the lovely, lyrical prose.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The main character, Penelope, was an enjoyable narrator, especially in her fierce love of her little brother, whom she, with a big sibling's single-minded focus, considered the most beautiful and worth person alive.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />All in all, a weird but quick and enjoyable read.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Rating:</span><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dsJUpp9TTRE/Vgh5ScHobKI/AAAAAAAAAQs/JdGNkUf0umI/s1600/3.5%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dsJUpp9TTRE/Vgh5ScHobKI/AAAAAAAAAQs/JdGNkUf0umI/s1600/3.5%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.jpg" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-44005569652481415652015-04-10T10:34:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:32:09.380-07:00Review: Wish Girl by Nikki Loftin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I9Jb7Dz8tlI/VgjDoni44nI/AAAAAAAAAUU/tyL14xxMV0I/s1600/22403130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I9Jb7Dz8tlI/VgjDoni44nI/AAAAAAAAAUU/tyL14xxMV0I/s320/22403130.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22403130-wish-girl?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i-thvVpml9s/VgjDrcoOsvI/AAAAAAAAAUg/7P-CV3h35lU/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br />I grew up a quiet, introverted child roaming the remote canyons of the Texas Hill Country, searching for magic. I saw myself as fundamentally <i>wrong</i>&nbsp;because I just couldn't become an extrovert, no matter how hard I tried. Nikki Loftin's <i>Wish Girl</i> is the book I needed.<br /><br />Peter is gentle and thoughtful, and doesn't fit in his loud family. Smart, artistic Annie has a disease that could kill her, but the treatment could leave her with permanent brain damage; she's as afraid of that as she is of dying. They find each other in a canyon whose quiet magic can turn distinctly ugly to those who don't respect it.<br /><br /><i>Wish Girl</i> is about life and death. It's about children and the choices they are or aren't allowed to make for themselves, and how powerless they feel (and how there are no easy answers to that, because they <i>are</i>&nbsp;still children). It's about how our society sees quiet, gentle people as broken, <i>especially</i>&nbsp;if they are boys. It's a beautiful love letter to nature and silence, and the value of closing your eyes and listening for a while.<br /><br />The book itself, for all its quiet magic, doesn't shy away from hard questions and sharp edges, which gives them powerful impact when they come. Child or adult, introvert or extrovert: I think everyone should read this book.<br /><br />Rating:<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z68RGdT2lA0/VgjEsos7VlI/AAAAAAAAAUw/u2laIqpr8Cg/s1600/4.5%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z68RGdT2lA0/VgjEsos7VlI/AAAAAAAAAUw/u2laIqpr8Cg/s1600/4.5%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-31500014368578575482015-03-05T21:32:00.000-08:002016-04-18T11:32:44.037-07:00Review: Bone Gap by Laura Ruby<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-71nYrVhW2K0/VgjB82Yi0tI/AAAAAAAAAUA/HEi-3yUzYRQ/s1600/18806240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-71nYrVhW2K0/VgjB82Yi0tI/AAAAAAAAAUA/HEi-3yUzYRQ/s320/18806240.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18806240-bone-gap"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PaiGlymh0EI/VgjCBDZEtzI/AAAAAAAAAUI/z4DKBZlQoqY/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There's a gap in the cornfields, and if you fall through, you'll find yourself Somewhere Else.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Laura Ruby's <i>Bone Gap</i> is one of the most original books I've read recently, twining together the eerie and the mundane, the past and the present, in a truly haunting medley.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finn knows beautiful Roza was taken, but he can't tell by whom. His brother Sean, who loved her, can't forgive him for that. Finn determines to find Roza, even as he falls for Petey, the local Bee Girl--called that both for the fact that she raises bees, and for her strange face which entrances Finn, even as others call it ugly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the past, Roza leaves her homeland for America, where she encounters a man who will do anything to own her--even pull her out of our world, through the gaps into Somewhere Else.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Weird and dusty and beautiful, <i>Bone Gap</i>&nbsp;was packed with original characters, in an ordinary little town that was anything but, beneath a looming threat as inexorable as a summer storm.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The greatest power of magical realism, in my opinion, is its plausibility: we've all had those moments where we could almost sense something more, just beyond the edges of the known world. This book made excellent use of that, weaving a story out of the ordinary otherworldly magic of cornfields, silvered and rustling in the moonlight... and the all-too-common, terrifying menace of men who would go to any length to possess women they find beautiful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rating:<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VGzT9i2gk2Q/VgjFQQjc5vI/AAAAAAAAAU4/L2gUzpV9o20/s1600/4.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VGzT9i2gk2Q/VgjFQQjc5vI/AAAAAAAAAU4/L2gUzpV9o20/s1600/4.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a></div><br />Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-28475325878147653602014-01-22T23:37:00.000-08:002016-04-18T11:33:08.163-07:00Review: Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oLjV9hULDbE/VbxonMfHFJI/AAAAAAAAALY/IiXY6FNAVa0/s1600/17349203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oLjV9hULDbE/VbxonMfHFJI/AAAAAAAAALY/IiXY6FNAVa0/s320/17349203.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17349203-fortunately-the-milk?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-httzuZIfhWs/Vgi1A5LZxCI/AAAAAAAAAR8/YoJPXQ2EN1k/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The first time I read <i>Fortunately, the Milk</i>, I was on a road trip with my sister's family. Her kids (9-year-old twin girls, 5-year-old boy) were antsy and bored, and begged to be read to. I had a new book that I thought they might enjoy, though I myself had not read it yet.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />I read this book aloud to a carful of people who all ended up listening, whether or not they'd intended to. By the end, everyone was laughing--me, the kids, the kids' parents, and our cousin who had come along for the trip.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />As soon as I finished the final words, the kids begged for it to be read again.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />So that's how I wound up reading a book aloud, twice in a row, on a long car ride, and having more fun than should probably be legal.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><i>Fortunately, the Milk</i>&nbsp;is fun, light-hearted, full of absurd British humor, and deeply sweet--all about a father's love for his children (and flair for creative storytelling). Read it. I don't care if you're grown. Read it anyway.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Rating:</span><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qJgGR84aK3U/Vgh5aUqLy6I/AAAAAAAAAQ0/LazoZB3lifw/s1600/5.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qJgGR84aK3U/Vgh5aUqLy6I/AAAAAAAAAQ0/LazoZB3lifw/s1600/5.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-73909868103722286722013-09-23T23:49:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:33:26.340-07:00Review: All the Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-saFud5OFSd0/VbxrNKzwhZI/AAAAAAAAALs/L4uYrwh00A8/s1600/17297487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-saFud5OFSd0/VbxrNKzwhZI/AAAAAAAAALs/L4uYrwh00A8/s320/17297487.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17297487-all-the-truth-that-s-in-me?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CRt8-7aoAVc/Vgi1XjmDdLI/AAAAAAAAASI/yn0lhMuXhNg/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I <i>devoured</i>&nbsp;Julie Berry's <i>All the Truth That's In Me</i>. I can't even place my finger on why it gripped me so much, but it did. I could barely drag myself away to fulfill responsibilities, like cooking and eating supper. The main character, Judith, is so smart and broken and brave, and her prospects so bleak, that I couldn't imagine a happy ending for her, but desperately wanted it nonetheless. And then there's the mystery: What happened to Judith's friend Lottie? <i>Why</i>&nbsp;would someone kidnap Judith for two years, then cut out half her tongue?</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />All the way through, I felt vaguely uneasy, expecting to be let down by the ending. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that I definitely wasn't. The story was rapidly-paced, the world was well-built, and the ending was a satisfying conclusion that drew all the pieces together.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The unusual writing style (the book is written in choppy pieces, <i>to</i>&nbsp;Judith's longtime love, referring to him in second person) might not work for everyone, but it did for me. Highly recommended.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Rating:</span><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sWI0eQQG474/Vgh5hvmDByI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/3zuiuOaK2xM/s1600/5.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sWI0eQQG474/Vgh5hvmDByI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/3zuiuOaK2xM/s1600/5.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-61644375416134679232013-05-15T23:43:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:33:52.780-07:00Review: Flutter by Erin E. Moulton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t8kjY-tIslo/Vbxpl4MLSuI/AAAAAAAAALg/UD7yN_Wp_Qw/s1600/9206116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t8kjY-tIslo/Vbxpl4MLSuI/AAAAAAAAALg/UD7yN_Wp_Qw/s320/9206116.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9206116-flutter?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oc2qRlUB6vU/Vgi1lfScqoI/AAAAAAAAASQ/ZukzwqMchiY/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I wanted to love Erin E. Moulton's <i>Flutter</i>. I really, really did, in part because the cover was lovely. I also have an incredible soft spot for stories about families who protect and care for each other. The prose is very beautiful, and the Vermont landscape is lovingly described. However... there were a couple of things about this story that drove me completely mad by the end.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />1) Everything that could possibly go wrong, does. I do mean <i>everything</i>. Every time the sisters take initiative and come up with an idea, it fails catastrophically within pages. To the point that I started to wonder if the moral of the story is, "Don't ever take initiative! YOU WILL DIE!" Every idea these two little girls have just leads to more pain and struggle. It was depressing and eventually felt annoying and a bit contrived.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />2) This section is spoilery. Highlight to reveal: <span style="color: white;">The girls' great journey, the one that causes so much pain and hardship, that ends with them badly injured and one of them almost dying? It is for NOTHING. Absolutely pointless. The journey, quest if you will, that takes up almost the entire book... It avails them nothing. At the end, they're right where they started, just injured and traumatized. There's a pretty sentiment tacked on about how "love is the greatest magic," but for me it wasn't enough to make up for the pointlessness of most of the book.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />In conclusion: The author definitely has potential, but this one was a disappointment.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Rating:</span><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QSr-6ovMvKE/Vgh5r2Ky2TI/AAAAAAAAARE/oQxQyXzgqdo/s1600/2.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QSr-6ovMvKE/Vgh5r2Ky2TI/AAAAAAAAARE/oQxQyXzgqdo/s1600/2.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-24674872232824478672013-05-07T19:08:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:34:18.153-07:00Review: Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SMVXcFxwv_U/VbxEVJGC71I/AAAAAAAAAJs/XrXrMp2ATYk/s1600/13056868.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SMVXcFxwv_U/VbxEVJGC71I/AAAAAAAAAJs/XrXrMp2ATYk/s320/13056868.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13056868-vessel?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aPEzJWAosWU/Vgi11ac7sMI/AAAAAAAAASY/AOW6G6f4tAQ/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've long been a fan of Sarah Beth Durst. Her stories cover a wide variety of genres, and are always worth reading. <i>Vessel</i> was quite unlike anything else I'd ever encountered, and while it isn't my favorite of Durst's, it's still interesting.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />My favorite character in <i>Vessel</i> was the desert. It is beautifully described, and despite the difficulty of living in such a harsh place, I came to understand the fierce love which main character Liyana and the other desert people had for their home. I also loved the mythical creatures inhabiting the desert, particularly the sand wolves and sky serpents.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The human and deity characters were more or less interesting as well, though they will not be counted among my all-time favorites. Liyana is mostly practical and competent, with moments of passion and emotion. I am a practical person, and female characters whose main characteristic is "practicality" are few and far between in fiction, so I enjoyed seeing the world of <i>Vessel</i> through her eyes.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />My main problem with this story--the thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars--was the pacing and plot development. I felt that the pacing was uneven; so much of the story was spent just traveling from tribe to tribe, without a clear endgame. I kept waiting for the "real plot" to start, and then realized I was more than halfway through the book. The ending seemed abrupt and too easily resolved, and not all my questions were answered. (Highlight to reveal spoiler) <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: white;">So what happens with the drought now? You know, the big problem that was killing the desert people AND the people of the Empire?</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The Empire was underdeveloped as well. I came away from the book with only a vague, amorphous idea of what it was even supposed to be. (A big empire that's suffering from drought, basically. Very little idea about its people or culture or customs. I would have loved to see that better developed, and by extension, the character of the Emperor. He is a very major character by the end, but I still felt that I barely knew him at all.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Bottom line for me: This book was worth reading. It had some interesting characters, among which the desert itself was the most fascinating. The quandary about the vessels, and the deities that "killed" them to inhabit their bodies, provoked thought about the nature of sacrifice. The pacing was uneven and the plot seemed a bit muddled and meandering, but I would still recommend giving this one a chance.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Rating:</span><span style="font-family: &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hkNOZRtNsj8/Vgh50NtrjMI/AAAAAAAAARM/11jtDtcoY7s/s1600/3.5%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hkNOZRtNsj8/Vgh50NtrjMI/AAAAAAAAARM/11jtDtcoY7s/s1600/3.5%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.jpg" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-31107205280019404252013-03-06T13:13:00.003-08:002016-04-18T11:34:35.215-07:00Review: Bad Radio by Michael Langlois<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JNljg5JhCPs/UTexTrKtEfI/AAAAAAAAAGM/xJZrTCOCHnc/s1600/12430013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JNljg5JhCPs/UTexTrKtEfI/AAAAAAAAAGM/xJZrTCOCHnc/s320/12430013.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12430013-bad-radio?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Irlv7Eew1YE/Vgi2dXc9aEI/AAAAAAAAASg/ibjghobzZjw/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;helvetica neue&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Really enjoyed Michael Langlois's <i>Bad Radio</i>. Fast-paced, well-edited, gloriously creepy. The book has a lot of action, but there is enough time spent on character development to allow readers to connect with the protagonists. The characters, and their interactions with each other, rang true to me; for example, though Abe and Anne obviously care about one another, there is no forced sudden romance.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Great quick read: nothing incredibly dense or mind-bending, just a fun story with intriguing characters and sufficient body horror to make you squirm for days after you've finished the book.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />And now that I've lavished the book with praise, I'm going to address the one thing that drove me nuts:</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />A town of 30,000 people is <i>not a tiny town</i>. It's not even particularly small.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />I grew up in the country and the closest town of any size was about 15,000 people. It has a movie theater, grocery store, Wal-Mart Supercenter, two hardware stores, two auto parts stores, five or six motels, one nice hotel with actual suites, and about fifteen restaurants. A town twice that size would not be a "small town" with just a run-down diner and one cheap motel. For that you want a population more like 800 or 1,000.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Small detail that probably wouldn't bother most people at all, but for me it was a glaring case of Did Not Do the Research.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Rating:<span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;</span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-avgTtJdgirs/Vgh4lpP357I/AAAAAAAAAQY/xUuuGGgN0YU/s1600/4.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-avgTtJdgirs/Vgh4lpP357I/AAAAAAAAAQY/xUuuGGgN0YU/s1600/4.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a></span>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6785300257989902822.post-28369077309119429022013-03-06T13:07:00.000-08:002016-04-18T11:34:51.507-07:00Review: The Woodcutter by Kate Danley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d2fL1GlAepc/UTevrzZneqI/AAAAAAAAAGE/zTj0bhH7rlk/s1600/16128504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d2fL1GlAepc/UTevrzZneqI/AAAAAAAAAGE/zTj0bhH7rlk/s320/16128504.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16128504-the-woodcutter?ac=1"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qKl-vlJVAaA/Vgi2m22hM1I/AAAAAAAAASo/MlULPH--Kbc/s1600/goodreads-button.png" /></a></div><br /><span class="readable reviewText" style="font-size: small;"><span id="freeTextreview524611412"><i>The Woodcutter</i>&nbsp;is a deeply enjoyable little story: not complex, but lovely and magical. My initial impression was that it would be a dark take on a traditional fairy tale. Instead, it turned out to be sweetness hidden beneath a thin layer of darkness, which is just fine with me. The characters are compelling, though drawn with simple strokes: I especially loved the deep, quiet, fierce love between the Woodcutter and his wife of twenty years.<br /><br />Is the story without flaws? Not at all. The pacing is somewhat uneven, and it sometimes felt as though the author were cramming in as many fairy tale characters and scenarios as possible. I had to roll my eyes and smile fondly at some of the fairy tale conventions that came into play (true love! at first sight! conquers all!). But for me, the likeable characters and simple, beautiful prose more than made up for the shortcomings. I am excited to see where author Kate Danley will go from here.</span></span><br /><br /><span class="readable reviewText" style="font-size: small;"><span id="freeTextreview524611412">Rating:&nbsp;</span></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vPqlQjjlt8M/Vgh2nFjSxuI/AAAAAAAAAQM/5EK5f_I4-bk/s1600/4.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vPqlQjjlt8M/Vgh2nFjSxuI/AAAAAAAAAQM/5EK5f_I4-bk/s1600/4.0%2Bblue%2Bxsmall.png" /></a>Briarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05753516091225962658noreply@blogger.com0
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