Stars Above (Lunar Chronicles Short Story Collection) Spoiler-Free Review

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like all short story collections, "Stars Above" is a mixed bag. However, seeing as all of the tales are set within the world of The Lunar Chronicles, I enjoyed every one of them. Here's a brief, spoiler-free summary:
"The Keeper"- This story tells Michelle Benoit's story in more depth. It touches on her relationships with both Scarlet and Dr. Tanner, and finishes with how she came to protect Cinder. Well written and plotted, it manages quite a bit of story and character development for its length. 4 stars.

"Glitches"- This story follows Cinder as she joins the Linh family in New Beijing. She's a child, she has no memory of "the other family," and she's a cyborg. Young Cinder and Peony are precious, and I enjoyed reading this part of the story. 4 stars

"The Queen's Army"- Naturally, this is a story about Wolf and how he became an elite member of the Queen's Army. This story has a decidedly different tone from the previous two, and it was one of my favorites. Taken from his parents and genetically modified, Wolf (or Z, as he's known at the time) must deny his gentle nature and become a killer if he wants to survive. 4.5 stars

"Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky"- A cute story about pint-sized Thorne at school. The most interesting thing about this story was that Thorne was from a wealthy background, and how that shaped his character. Otherwise, this one didn't do much for me. 3.5 stars

"After Sunshine Passes By"- Next is a story about Cress as a child, and how she came to be put in a satellite. This one is quite short, and it is basically a reworking of the beginning of Rapunzel in the world of TLC. 3.5 stars

"The Princess and the Guard"- Winter and Jacin are the titular characters in one of the longer stories in the anthology. Basically, this story just explores their childhoods and backstory. Jacin was the character I felt the most distant from in TLC, so it was good to get more of his personality and character. Winter is, as usual, completely charming with a stain of sorrow. 4 stars.

"The Little Android"- A pretty straightforward retelling of "The Little Mermaid," but with an android (Mech6.0). It was a standout in that only Cinder has a brief cameo (as far as the main LC characters go), and we get to see more of the world and everyday people of TLC. Bittersweet and well done. 4.5 stars

"The Mechanic"- I'll admit that I was primed to like this one, since it is the story of Cinder and Kai's meeting from Kai's perspective. It was great fun to get in his head, since he is one of the more impassive/emotionally unavailable characters. As I suspected, he's pretty funny. I would read an entire book with him as the POV character. 4.5 stars

"Something Old, Something New"- Obviously, there is a wedding involved. This story was the sappiest, and definitely had the most corny parts, but it also surprised me with some truly hilarious bits. The mental images of all the male characters decorating for a wedding together was worth the read by itself. It went on a bit long for me, but it also neatly tied up the story and sent the characters into the next stages of their lives. 3.5 stars

Overall: A fun, breezy read with some standout stories, a liberal dose of humor and mayhem, and more of lovable characters. Definitely a must for Lunar Chronicles fans. 4 stars

View all my reviews

Best in Movies, Music, Books, and My Final 2015 Wrap-Up - December 2015

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I do know it's January 5th, and that I'm, as usual, late to the party. However, I really like the monthly wrap up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction, and I'm not going to get a little thing like being behind get in my way! For info on the link up and how to join, click here. (All images belong to respective copyright holders and are used for effect, and zero financial gain)

Despite the capslock above, this is how I feel about it being 2016

December seemed like it was gone in a second, and hardly marked due to a suspicious lack of snow. I wasn't complaining, as I had to drive just about every day, but I did miss the snow for Christmas and Cross-Country skiing purposes. Other than Christmas, work, more work, and Star Wars, my December was pretty quiet. I did manage to get up a few more posts and reviews, which was a wonderful thing.

I normally stick pretty much to books for the blog, and that isn't going to change, but I already did a comprehensive year in books post (more about that later), so I thought it might be fun to cover some other areas in my December recap. After my post rundown, I have some very short Top 5 for the Year lists of things other than books (and videos/gifs/etc). Also, since this was my first "official" blogging year, I have a few questions for you at the bottom of this post.

December Book Reviews:

1. Abomination by Gary Whitta - 4 stars
2. Winter by Marissa Meyer - (4.5 stars) & Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho - 4 stars
3. Dragonfly by Julia Golding - 3.75 stars

Only four reviews (sigh), but I read a lot of books! Also, I wrote about 8 more reviews for a local publication, so I suppose I shouldn't feel too bad?

Writing Related Posts:

Only one distinctly writing related post in December, my Beautiful Books entry for NaNo project, The Butler Did It - but there was a very long snippet to prove I was actually writing!

Tags/Awards/Etc.:

I finally got around to a few more of these - all very fun tags from my kind fellow bloggers. Naturally, my answers involved writing, silliness, and multitudes of gifs:

1. Dragon's Loyalty Award from Sara Letourneau
2. "Be Thankful Challenge" from E. Rawls
3. Christmas-y Tag from Deborah O'Carroll

#1 revealed some random facts (including how many siblings I have), and no one even tried to guess all my dragon gifs. Consider yourself challenged.
#2 brought out my rarely-revealed more sensitive side as I had to express the things I'm thankful for.
#3 explored how my family celebrates Christmas, and introduced the hunt-for-the-pickle challenge

YEAR END POSTS:

1. Top 10 Books I Read in 2015 - It was definitely a challenge to narrow them down
2. Top 10 New Favorite Characters in 2015 - Not as hard as #1 - still hard
3. 2015 in Books, and What's Next for 2016 - okay, so this was posted in January, but it is a comprehensive look at my entire year in books for 2015, so it works. This was a template put out by Jaime from The Perpetual Page Turner, and it had a ton of fun questions.

So that was it for me on the blog in December - but I hope to get more posts and reviews up in 2016!

Also, now that it is 2016, here are a few short lists of the non-book bests of 2015, a list of the top albums I listened to, and my general randomness:

Top 5 Movies for 2015:

I'm not much of a movie person. I watch them, enjoy them, and typically forget I saw them. If I didn't forget, you know I liked it! So here were my favorite movies I saw in 2015 (and reasons):

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 9 out of 10 stars.

 I am a Star Wars girl, and I was waiting for this with a mixture of excitement and dread. As you can see by my rating, I loved it. It was fun and exciting, and a great theater experience. The new characters were wonderful, the classic characters were epic, and it was so. much. better. than the prequels.

2. Boruto: Naruto the Movie - 9 out of 10 stars. 

Seriously, I loved this movie. The animated action sequences were breathtaking - so beautiful that the fighting was pretty much my favorite part. And then there was the Sasuke-Naruto partnership/broship where they both deal with being dads and warriors and awesome.

3. Ant-Man - 8.75 out of 10 stars. 

Ant-Man was hilarious. But it was also a stand-out from the other MARVEL movies in the past few years. After Winter Soldier and Avengers, it might be my 3rd best MARVEL film ever. It was like reading an old comic book - fun, colorful, just sweet enough, with great action and delightful characters.

4. Creed - 8.5 out of 10 stars. 

Well made, directed, and acted, with a ton of heart, Creed was definitely one of the most compelling stories onscreen this year. I am a confessed Rocky fan, but I felt like Creed broke new ground with confidence, while staying true to what made the originals good. My biggest qualms with the film were moral ones, to be honest.

5. Cinderella - 8 out of 10 stars. 

Surprised you, didn't I? While I seriously considered The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Mockingjay: Part II, I just liked Cinderella a little more. I really like Disney films, and I felt that Cinderella actually improved on the animated classic. It was charming, sweet but not saccharine, competently acted and directed, and absolutely beautiful. I love costume dramas and epics, and the costumes in Cinderella were exquisite. Also, I went with my little sisters, who were all completely in love with the movie, and that definitely helped.

I really didn't see a lot of movies this year, and there were a few I missed that I wanted to see (The Martian, Far From the Madding Crowd, Macbeth, Mad Max: Fury Road, etc), so I suppose I'll have to add them to my endless list of things to rent.

Music:

As for music, I continued my trend of zero rhyme or reason to my music tastes. Thanks to this handy Nerdist article about how Spotify tracks us all and ranks the most uniquely popular songs to a region, I know that my current playlists have more in common with citizens in Johor Bahru, Malaysia than they do with Grand Rapids, MI (closest city) . . .

Also thanks to the stalkerish quality of web music services, I also know my most listened to bands, albums, songs, so I'm putting that information overload to use by listing them here!

My most listened to playlist: Jupiter Jive (linked to Spotify)

Featuring dance-y hits from all over the world, and whatever attitude-filled tracks I decide to throw in, my JJ playlist was my go-to for writing, driving, dancing, cleaning, etc., and I listened to a lot of stuff that wasn't really my thing, before. If you don't know, Jupiter Jive is the dancing thief whose existence shapes a lot of my current WIP - The Last Coffee Shop. Much like his personality, the music on this list has pervaded my life, writing, and this book for the past year.

Most listened to soundtracks: 

Tie Between The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies  and the Attack on Titan (Anime) soundtrack

Despite my mixed feelings on the movies, I have nothing bad to say about Master Howard Shore and his epic compositions. They are splendid for writing to.

The Attack on Titan soundtrack is a brilliant international fusion of instruments/musical styles. Not only does it fit the multi-national anime well, it provides a varying and haunting soundscape that is perfect for writing post-apocalyptic fiction.

Top 5 Most Listened to Songs in 2015:

Yes, they're all on my Jupiter Jive Playlist

1. Collar Full -   by Panic! at the Disco

2. Fools Gold - by Fitz and the Tantrums

3. Dance With Me Tonight by Olly Murs

4. Work This Body by Walk the Moon

5. Fantastic Baby by BIGBANG

That last one is a leeetle embarrassing - considering that I racked up enough listens in 2.5 months of 2015 to make it my fifth most played song of 2015 . . .

Top 5 Most Listened to Albums in 2015:

Jupiter Jive stuff, mostly.

1. All This Bad Blood by Bastille

2.Vices and Virtues  by Panic! at the Disco

3. More Than Just a Dream by Fitz and the Tantrums

4. Dark Before Dawn by Breaking Benjamin

5. Talking is Hard by Walk the Moon

Top 5 Bands/Artists I Discovered and/or Got Hooked on in 2015:

1. Smallpools - an indie pop band whose song Street Fight was about my 10th most played song.

2. Ella Henderson - British X-Factor songstress with an incredible voice. Ghost was my 6th most played song this year.

3. Amaranthe - Swedish symphonic metal band with 3! vocalists and a great sound. I just couldn't believe I'd never heard of them before.

4. BIGBANG - Kpop/hip-hop sensations that I had consciously avoided listening to but was aware of for years. But, like a virus, I managed to catch fandom in record time. To be honest, I'd sort of avoided Kpop because everyone I knew who listened to it was basically addicted. And now . . . EXO, SHINee, Shinhwa, fill in the blanks - raises hand - I'm a fan. But I have a marked BIGBANG preference. Try one of their older songs, Blue, for a gentler introduction.

5. Abraham Mateo - this Spanish pop singer is the newest addition to my instant-like list. He may resemble a brunette Bieber, but don't be fooled - the kid can sing AND dance like a boss. His lovely vocals caught my ear when I was listening to a New Latin Beats playlist. Check out I'm Feeling So Good for a song you can dance to.

So that's it for movies and music. As far as 2016 goes - the movie I'm looking forward to the most is Captain America: Civil War. I'm also pretty excited about Doctor Strange though. And music, who knows? I just listened to a song by a Malaysian band that needs more investigation!

In books, I have some reviews lined up for releases that I'm really excited about. And of course, once I know more to share about my own book release, you won't hear the end of it.

Before I go, I have a three simple questions for you readers. As a newer blogger, I still feel really clueless sometimes, and I am always happy to receive advice!

1. Is there anything at all that you think I could be doing better, or should be doing? Honestly.

2. Is there anything you'd like to see, in particular, on my blog?

3. How often do you actually read book reviews (not just mine, any reviews!)

Thanks a bunch for reading, commenting, interacting, and for making 2015 a welcoming year for me in the blogosphere!

Happy Reading - May 2016 Bring You Many Bookish Joys!
-RH

Book Review: Dragonfly by Julia Golding

One of the most pleasant surprises of 2015 was this book: Dragonfly by Julia Golding. I was expecting rote YA fantasy - what I got was a sensitive, moving, and action-packed examination of cultural and religious conflict and cooperation.

Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

Princess Taoshira of the Blue Crescent Islands is appalled when she is ordered to marry Prince Ramil of Gerfal. And he's not too pleased, either. She is used to a life of discipline, ritual, and splendor. He is used to hunting and carousing. They hate each other on sight. But both of their countries are under threat from a fearsome warlord, and the only chance of peace is to form an alliance.

When Tashi and Ram are kidnapped, they fear there's no escape--from their kidnappers or from each other. Can they put aside their differences long enough to survive ambush, unarmed combat, brainwashing, and imprisonment? And will the people they meet on their adventure--including a circus strongman, a daring rebel leader, a sinister master of spies, and the best female fighter they have ever seen--help them or betray them to the enemy?

Arranged marriages, clashing religions, warlords on the move, and two teenagers who really just want to be their own people - this is the backdrop for Dragonfly. Though the novel takes place in a fantasy landscape, the peoples deal with a lot of the same problems: bigotry, religious and cultural differences, duty verse desire, and serious threats to our countries and ways of life.
.

Here are 3 more reasons why you should read Dragonfly:

1. An authentic and empathetic portray of religious and cultural diversity: Apparently this is one of my 2015 themes, since it seems to have cropped up in a lot of the books I read this year. If you are looking for a book that tackles these issues head on, but in a fantasy landscape, look no further.

2. The worldbuilding. This plays into #1. I felt totally immersed in the fantasy landscape. The depth of the world really drew you into the story and helped you care about all of the many people and allegiances. The religious systems added to this as well, with the antagonist's brutal, bloody religion, Tashi's goddess and ritual centered system, and Ram's casual Germanic god system, all in tension and playing into the plot.

3. The examination of faith. Specifically Tashi's faith. Saying any more would be severe spoiler territory about one of the strongest/most compelling parts of the book. I liked how Ms. Golding handled Tashi's belief system being challenged, and how Tashi had to make her faith her own. This was a very interesting plot element (and it had quite a bit to do with the plot). Also, the persecution she faced was raw and realistic. Persecution is a terrible, terrible thing, and all too real and relevant today.

Minor Quibbles: Since I have taken a vow of review honesty, I must put down a few of these (since I had them)

1. The romance felt a little slapdash, almost like an afterthought. (Or like it was required?) I really would have liked to see more of the developing friendship first. The characters chemistry as friends was better, and I would have liked to see them take their time.

2. Some of the side characters detracted from the main story. They were introduced fairly late, and I just didn't care as much about them, and they were a distraction. I feel like their stories might have been better saved for future books.

Overall: 3.75 out of 5 stars. An intelligent fantasy novel about compromise, faith, courage, and doing the right thing, Dragonfly really stands out from the crowd. Tashi is a uniquely strong heroine, and she was probably my favorite part of the book.

ARC Review: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Thanks Rae Carson, Greenwillow Books, and BEA for this signed ARC! The shiny gold signature just made it a little more special :)

First, just take a look at this pretty cover. The writing, the gold dust, the sky . . . so beautiful! Normally I don't like covers with people on the front, but it really works with the whole composition and mood here (and it isn't going to put a strange picture in my head!).

So when I was trying to collect my thoughts and describe this book, the first word that came to mind was "refreshing."

 Walk on Earth a Stranger stands out from a YA crowd of dystopians, contemporary fic, and the ever-popular paranormal. And yet, it will still appeal to readers of all those genres.

Lee (Leah) Westfall is a hard-working young woman with a dangerous secret: she can sense even the tiniest speck of gold nearby. And in gold-rush era America, this is a talent that people would kill for. Still, with supportive, loving parents and a lot of hard work to distract her, Lee manages to lead the fairly normal life of a hard working farm girl. Until terrible tragedy strikes, and Lee is forced to flee her Georgia home for gold-promising California.

Did you ever play the computer game Oregon Trail? If you did, you know the dangers of buffalo stampedes and cholera, and just how important picking proper traveling companions can be. But it isn't just a game: all of those things were real dangers and experiences to people headed west in the 19th Century. Hundreds of people and animals died on the journey, but that didn't stop brave souls from packing up everything they owned and pursuing a dream.

This is the real world backdrop for Walk on Earth a Stranger, and Rae Carson does a fabulous job of bringing this earlier America to life. Naturally, Lee's gold sense adds a supernatural twist, but it's too mild to make the book feel like real fantasy. Instead, it just adds layers of peril and thematic elements to the straight-forward travel/adventure plot. Even if historical fiction (or fantasy) isn't your thing, here are 5 reasons you should check out Walk on Earth a Stranger.

5 Reasons You Should Read Walk on Earth a Stranger

1. Rae Carson knows how to write strong, relatable heroines. Like Elisa in Girl of Fire and Thorns, Lee is neither perfect nor invincible. She is human, albeit a gifted one. Hard work and responsibility have made her tough, but in a period authentic way. In other words, she's a well written character who you will root for and empathize with.

2. The Setting. Look at the Oregon Trail mention above. Carson brings the trek west to life, and her evocative writing will grab you. It's different from any YA I've seen in a while, which made it a refreshing read. Also, there's a lot of discussion starters here, which would make it perfect for a teen book club.

3. The girl disguises as a guy - and it makes sense! Don't let the trope turn you off: Lee's disguise is 100% necessary, and Carson uses the disguise to examine and develop Lee's character. Carson skillfully examines gender roles, identity, and even identity complexes, without ever making her author-voice heard. And at the end of the day, Lee just wants to be herself: she's tired of lying about what she can do and who she is, and this played a big role in the story.

4. No tedious romance or melodrama. I know, I know, I'm always praising this. But seriously - I always have to make note of a book that develops ANY relationships with care and logic. Though there is a very slow burn romance hinted at with Lee's best friend, it makes sense and doesn't descend into silliness or a mess. And as for melodrama, a bunch of terrible things happen, but Lee reacts in a logical, period-accurate way, and she's a survivor. I really loved reading about her, and I can't wait to see where her further travels take her.

5. The writing. This ties into all of the above, but Rae Carson's worldbuilding and descriptions really pull you in. I know some readers found the start a bit slow, but I thought that it drew you in and centered you, only to throw you into a whirlwind with Lee. Everything from the pacing to the details about wagons and scenery immersed you in the story.

So there are 5 reasons you should read it, but this wouldn't be a fair and honest review if I didn't at least touch on the two reasons this book didn't get a five star rating from me.

1. The typecast preacher. We've all seen him: a cross between Mr. Collins (Pride and Prejudice) and St. John (Jane Eyre). And sure, there have been people like him. But I get tired of all Christian/pastor characters being portrayed as (often well-meaning) loony bigots who interpret "trusting God" as a lack of participation in their own life, and confuse witnessing to their fellows with forcing themselves on others. Granted, several of the side characters, in consistency with history, were portrayed as Christians, or at least paid lip-service to the "mind of the times" (which is authentic). But it's more the stereotypical character type that bothered me.

2. The minor character development with the multitude of side characters. Overall, this wasn't much of a quibble, as it's Lee's story. But I felt like her Uncle was a little too mustachio-twirling villain (he had his motives), and Jefferson (Lee's best friend) was mild and loyal, with the interesting twist that he was half-Cherokee, but I would have liked to see more reasons to care about him. Anyhow, there were a bunch of characters that we didn't see much of, so it was sometimes surprising (to me) when they'd pop up in the text (I couldn't remember who they were, etc.). The handy cast list at the beginning did help a bit though.

So, those things aside, I really enjoyed Walk on Earth a Stranger, and I am definitely invested in Lee's story. I'm sure Carson will develop the other important characters more fully in the following books, and I can't wait to see where she takes things.

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars. Walk on Earth a Stranger is a solid start to a series I will continue. With a diverse cast, historically accurate details, and just a touch of the supernatural, it's a fun read for both teens and adults.

ARC Review: Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

A big thank you to Clarion Books and BEA 2015 for providing this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

So, instead of blogging much this last week, I decided to catch up on some reading. Instead of tackling my current TBR pile, I picked up the Orbiting Jupiter ARC I've been holding onto since early summer. Gary Schmidt is one of my favorite MG/YA authors, and one of the only ones whose contemporary fiction made it onto my all-time favorites list. He is also a funny, nice guy who teaches at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. And I've had the pleasure of meeting him.

All of this means I saved his book because I was positive I would like it. And I did - it was beautiful and sharp, and heartbreaking. Seriously, my heart is still in pain,* and I finished it yesterday.

Orbiting Jupiter is set in rural Maine during a brutal winter (kind of like the last two ). 12 year-old Jack and his family take on foster kid Joseph. Joseph has just been released from incarceration (he tried to kill a teacher), and he has a three month old daughter (he's only 14). But Joseph isn't your average troubled teen. He's full of drive and fervor, intelligence, and he's hardworking. And he loves his absent daughter Jupiter, and the baby's mother, with intense loyalty.
Jack sees this other side of Joseph, and he takes to the other boy like a brother. Jack stands by Joseph's side even when the latter's presence brings him harm, and Joseph eventually opens up to the younger boy.  but events are already in motion that neither of them could foresee.
This could have been cheap melodrama or sensational, but in Schmidt's expert hands, Orbiting Jupiter is a restrained, gorgeous portrait of the true meaning of brotherly love and sacrifice. 

Saying anything more is spoiler territory, so I'll just give you 5 Reasons that you should read Orbiting Jupiter:

1. Gary Schmidt does his research. Schmidt has visited prisons, talked to incarcerated men and boys, and worked with troubled teens.** This experience comes out in all of his contemporary fiction (I highly recommend both The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now). He deals with realities that most people never contemplate, yet he never goes in for extra drama or sensation.

2. Joseph and Jack's relationship. Touching but not saccharine, I found the boy's relationship--how it grew and how they bonded into brothers, even in a short time--to be believable. Jack's determination to love Joseph and always "have his back," despite what adults and other kids said about him [Joseph], almost made me tear up on several occasions. And yet it was authentic-he thought and expressed himself in ways that made perfect sense for a 12 year-old boy.

3. Spare, beautiful writing. Schmidt doesn't waste words. His prose is as clean and sharp as the Maine winter he's describing. Likewise, the book is short but not too short. It is a perfectly formed little story that will linger with you.

4. A positive, but realistic, portrayal of foster parents (and parents in general). Joseph came from a troubled home: he won't talk about his mom, and his dad was abusive and possessive. His experiences with other authority figures, such as teachers, has been quite mixed. But the Hurd family is different. They work hard (on an organic farm) and love hard, and they stick by Joseph even when things are not easy, and get progressively worse. They don't force themselves on him as parents-they just project their love and empathy (mostly seen through Jack's eyes, as he is the narrator). This was refreshing, and very important to the story.
The reason this comes up is that I have read SO many books where negative foster parent situations shape the story. It's almost a literary cliche. And yes, there are many difficulties and problems when you take in a troubled kid, but I know it isn't always a train wreck.*** So this was refreshing.

5. Real world issues and characters that don't usually make the page. This ties a bit into #1, but Gary Schmidt excels at writing young boys (and young men). They are complicated, sometimes troubled, often misunderstood, and frequently irrational - but they are relatable, layered characters. And he uses these characters to tell stories and tackle issues in a quiet, thought-provoking way. And booksellers/moms/librarians take note: preteen and teen guys like his books, so I feel like they fill a special niche. Granted, Orbiting Jupiter deals with a bucketload of adult issues-seen through the eyes of a charming 12 year-old, but none of the things Jack has to tussle with are outside the realm of daily possibility (sadly) for 12 year-old boys!

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars. A beautifully written, heart-wrenching story about brotherly love and loyalty. Prepare to have your insides twisted.

Footnotes:
*Still in pain here

**Hypable did a good interview with Gary here. He told them a bit about his book, and where he drew the inspiration. Also, I highly recommend going to see Gary Schmidt if you have the chance. He's full of touching and hilarious stories.

***I have experienced friends and family who either did foster care/adoption, or were in the system.

Fantasy Novella Review: Mourning Cloak by Rabia Gale

I have been reading a lot of books for a review program through work, but on the sides, I've also found time to squeeze in a few other books (still working on Six of Crows), but it's basically one chapter at a time.

So, the beautiful novella enters the room.

Quick reads with an interesting plot thread, fully developed characters, and intricate worldbuilding: is it possible?

I read Intisar Khanani's Sunbolt a month ago, and I loved it so much that I encouraged (read:coerced) everyone around me to read it*. Alas, the sequel is not out yet . . . so in the meantime, I obtained a free copy of Mourning Cloak, by Rabia Gale. (Which I discovered thanks to following Khanani on Goodreads). Both of them are fabulous fantasy reads by independent authors, and you should definitely check them out.

This novella is currently free ( (July 2015 only)–use code SSW50 at checkout!) on Smashwords

The Mourning Cloakby Rabia Gale

Based on the cover, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect . . . erm, darkish steampunk? A fairytale fusion?

I was partially correct: Mourning Cloak is a seamless fusion of fantasy and sci-fi, with a rich world and complicated, flawed characters.

Mourning Cloak is the story of "former chosen-one," Kato Vorsok. He tends a bar, keeps a low profile, and he wants nothing to do with the god who deserted him, or the past that betrayed him.

But then a wounded mourning cloak-a winged demon creature who can turn to mist or pass through walls-shows up on his doorstep, and she knows his name. Normally, Kato would have killed this creature without a thought, but she knows too much, and he follows her out into the night.

5 Highlights:

1. Kato. Flawed, angry, bitter, his character jumps off the page. He is an interesting premise in himself: a hero "chosen one" who failed** to deliver a victory, who survived and left his faith and friends. Of course, like any good story, Mourning Cloak isn't quite that simple. Kato has a fully realized character arc, and I was rooting for him all the way.

2. The world/setting, Highwind, is revealed in fascinating glimpses: a hospital, "cyborg" style metal implants, prayer magic, deserts and golems. Seriously, there is a lot of stuff that effortlessly slips into the author's narrative. I want to know more.

3. The prose. Where have all of these lovely wordsmiths been hiding? Rabia Gale has an elegant, poetic way of writing sentences and stringing phrases together, which made Mourning Cloak so fun to read.

4. The plot. This sort of ties into #1. Without giving away too much, I can say that the plot twist was established early on, but it still delivered, and that every detail turns out to be important. Cryptic, much?

5. The supernatural element. A lot of steampunk novels deal with the friction between "science and machines" and either religion, tradition, or faith. Rabia Gale didn't go for that easy pass. Instead, it's ALL present in her world. There are priests with prayer magic, mechanical implants, monsters (both supernatural and man-made), and they all exist in a world that employs wards, charms, and medicines. The conflicts are not so clean cut and obvious.

Honestly, my only complaint with this novella was was the switching first person POV. I don't mind switching first person POV***, but when it switched from Kato's perspective to the mourning cloak for the first time, I was confused. It startled me out of the story. I feel like some sort of divider, or marker, was necessary to show when the POV jumped. Granted, their inner voices are quite different, so I caught on fast, but still . . .

Summary:

In short, this is an action-packed fantasy novella with a rich world and interesting characters. The writing is strong, and I will definitely buy the sequel.

4.5 stars out of 5

BONUS: The entire novella was inspired by the name of this glorious butterfly:

Taken from the Author's Pinterest page

Footnotes:

*Sunbolt review to come, I just need to sort out my feelings so it isn't a thread of reaction gifs. 

**Naturally, his failure turns out to be pivotal.

***I'll give any interesting POV choices a pass if the author does it well. I love grammar, and order, but I also like it when someone rocks the boat ;)

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Book Review - Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl (No spoilers)

Because I have not had time* to do a BEA review post, and now it would be sort of pointless, I'm going to review the first ARC (that I have finished) from my BEA haul:

DRUMROLL PLEASE

Margaret Stohl's Black Widow: Forever Red 

it's so (appropriately) mysterious that the Goodreads blurb is only this:

"This novel features all the thrilling adventure readers will expect from the Marvel brand, backed up by the young-adult cred of #1 New York Times bestselling author Margaret Stohl. Uncover a new side of the Marvel Universe, accessible to old fans and new readers alike, as Stohl weaves an unforgettable story through the world of the Black Widow." 

First: This cover is GORGEOUS. My cover is sort of boring (still cool though), without this fabulous artwork ------->



<--------But more importantly, it's a signed copy ;) I can forgive it for lacking the awesome art.

  And yes, this ARC was generously given to me by the lovely people at Disney and Marvel press in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Gifs are from Tumblr.com and belong to respective copyright holders.

When I first heard this was happening, I was so excited. Natasha Romanov a.k.a. Natalia Romanova a.k.a Natasha Romanoff a.k.a you get the picture, is one of my favorite Marvel characters (comics and movies) in both the classic and modern Marvel storylines. Her no-nonsense efficiency, her awesome skills, and her troubled past make for a fabulous character in the right hands.

Which leads in to the next part: I read three chapters of Beautiful Creatures once. Suffice it to say that I am not a fan.

I don't do sappy, drippy, really drippy witch/teenage-angst novels. Period. So I was all, Marvel, really? 

But then I met Margaret Stohl at BEA. She was fabulous - humble - and filled with trepidation about the general populace reading her take on Black Widow. That made me feel a little better. And she geeked out with us about how awesome Black Widow is in the comics, and then she signed my book.

And honestly, I shouldn't have worried so much, because I really liked the book.

So people of the world, here is a brief, spoiler free summary of Black Widow: Forever Red

Forever Red starts in Ukraine, 8 years in the past (you can actually read the beginning online). The Black Widow is hunting down her old mentor/trainer, Ivan Somodorov. The mission goes south, but not before Natasha rescues the girl that Ivan was experimenting on, turns the girl over to S.H.I.E.L.D., promises she'll come if the girl needs her, and leaves.

8 years later, we are introduced to the primary characters (other than Natasha): teenagers Alex Manor and Ava Orlova. Ava is, of course, the little girl that Natasha rescued eight years earlier. Ava had been living in a (dreadful sounding) secure S.H.I.E.L.D. facility before she escaped, and she currently lives in the bottom of a Brooklyn YWCA. Both of them have strange dreams, but Ava's are about Alex (she's never met him). Ava has also nurtured hatred against the woman who saved her life, and then left her to fend for herself in a strange world.

But children are disappearing again, and the Black Widow suspects that Ivan survived their confrontation. That means he is after her, and after Ava, so Natasha heads back into the field, and back into Ava's life. However, things are far more tangled than Natasha realized: her memories are leaking into Ava's head, thanks to Ivan's experiments in "quantum entanglement." Ava absorbs Natasha's skills, and the Black Widow can't feel it. As frustrating as this is, it's also incredibly dangerous. They aren't the only Entangled pair that Ivan left behind.

To disentangle themselves, Ava and Natasha must find Ivan, face their childhoods, and go back to where it all began. And what does Alex Manor have to do with everything?

My thoughts - without spoilers

5 things that worked:

1. I loved the book's format. Each present-day chapter is followed by a S.H.I.E.L.D. Line-Of-Duty Death (L.O.D.D.) case document. They are interviews (often with Natasha) and other files that tie into several plot threads. I love how these were worked in to the story

2. Margaret Stohl does a great job with Natasha's character. She's the hard edged, sensible, and capable assassin/spy we all love, but she's also human (but with a very messed up past).

3. Ava and Alex were both likable (surprisingly so), and I was interested in their character arcs. Ava as Natasha's "mini-me" provided some humor and insight into the Black Widow.

4. The plot. It was old-school spy stuff with gadgets, disguises, mad scientists, and chase scenes, but with an awesome heroine instead of a suave, suit wearing James Bond type.

5. The covert peeks into Natasha's classified past. Black Widow is mysterious, and that's one of the things I always liked. I was worried that a novelization would take away too much of that mystery, but it didn't. Natasha is given just enough history, just enough name-dropping (I didn't grin stupidly at everyone in the airport when I read a certain case note**), to both reconcile her comic/cinematic character, and leave a lot of interesting openings. Oh, and Coulson is in there a bit :)

BONUS: The Russian. I never forgot that I was reading about Russian characters, and it gave both realism and grounding to a book with a crazy mind-meld plot.

5 things that didn't work as well:

Image Credit

1. While I liked Ava and Alex, and was rooting for them, but they weren't why I was reading the book. I just didn't care as much, and I was far more engaged when Natasha was on the scene.

2. This was a minor part of the book, but the predictable Alex/Ava romance (while believable) didn't do anything for me. Sure, they were cute and not annoying, but (see above), I didn't really care. But hey, they're kids.

3. I felt like it occasionally suffered from trying to be too cryptic and mysterious. There were a few details that needed further explanation/examination for the plot's sake. The only major example of this was all the disappearing children.***

4. Ivan. He had a bit of Marvel Movie Villain Syndrome: Ivan was evil, sadistic, and had quite the past, and yet he felt a little flat. But again, only Loki and Wilson Fisk (Daredevil) have truly escaped this.****

5. This one is 50/50 for me (because sometimes it worked better than others): the constant reminders that we are in a very normal, modern, but alternate Earth where superheroes are an acknowledged thing and Avengers destroyed/saved New York once.

Overall:

4 out of 5 Spiders. 

I'm just one of those annoying people who wanted more Black Widow. Maybe a novel that takes place in the past now? With Winter Soldier or Daredevil cameos?<---YES

Footnotes:

*I know that having time and making time are directly related.

**(not really a spoiler but just to be safe) Black Widow's file has her age redacted. And there is a footnote that says to reference the files of Rogers, Steve and Barnes, James. Which means that they haven't thrown out her backstory from the comics. There is still a chance that Natasha will be more like her real age (just rewritten every time) and has trained under the Winter Soldier. So I grinned at strangers ( I was reading in a busy airport, people).

***Seriously, where did all those kids go? If this was really addressed in the book, I must have missed it. I think it was just mentioned in passing toward the end.

****If you count the Winter Soldier as a villain [which in CA:TWS he technically is), then that makes three.

So, have you read this? Will my review be whisked away into secret S.H.I.E.L.D. files even though I avoided spoilers? 

Do you love Black Widow, or think she was less deserving of a novel than other Marvel ladies? 

How do you feel about her treatment in the movies? Would you like to see a Black Widow and Daredevil or Winter Soldier team up in the cinematic/novel/TV universe?

Book Review: Fairy Keeper by Amy Bearce (YA Fantasy)

Happy Monday :)

I read quite a few Advanced Reader Copies, due to generous publishers and the wonderful people at Netgalley.com. A lot of these books are from major publishers, such as Tor or Random House, but I also like to mix it up with independent publishers and self-published authors. As anyone who reads this blog will know, I love fantasy , so that is often my go to for self-pubs.

Today I'm featuring Fairy Keeper by Amy Bearce (Curiosity Quills Press 2015), a fantasy adventure aimed at teens.

(This ebook was provided by NetGalley and Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for a fair and honest review)
Here's some of the official blurb from Netgalley.com:

"Almost everyone in the world of Aluvia views the fairy keeper mark as a gift, but not fourteen-year-old Sierra. She hates being a fairy keeper, but the birthmark is right there on the back of her neck. It shows everyone she was born with the natural ability to communicate, attract, and even control the tiny fairies whose nectar is amazingly powerful.

     Fairy nectar can heal people, but it is also a key ingredient in synthesizing Flight, an illegal elixir that produces dreaminess, apathy and hallucinations. She’s forced to care for a whole hive of the bee-like beasties by her Flight-dealing, dark alchemist father. 

    Then one day, Sierra discovers the fairies of her hatch are mysteriously dead. The fairy queen is missing. Her father’s Flight operation is halted, and he plans to make up for the lost income by trading her little sister to be an elixir runner for another dark alchemist, a dangerous thug. Desperate to protect her sister, Sierra convinces her father she can retrieve the lost queen and get his operation up and running.

    Sierra journeys with her best friend and her worst enemy — assigned by her father to dog her every step — to find the missing queens. Along the way, they learn that more than just her sister’s life is at stake if they fail. There are secrets in the Skyclad Mountains where the last wild fairies were seen. The magic Sierra finds there has the power to transform their world, but only if she can first embrace her calling as a fairy keeper."

Amy Bearce's debut novel was one of the more unique fairy stories I've read. The characters were well-developed and thought out, and the world was well rendered. And the Fairy Keepers - everything about this concept was interesting to me - the book definitely delivered in that respect. Sierra was a believable character, and her struggle with her lack of choices, her relationships, and her antipathy for the fairies she is bound to were well thought out.

As for the other primary characters:
Sierra's father, Jack, is a horrible, twisted man, and he constantly uses her younger sister, Phoebe, as leverage against her. This keeps Sierra under his thumb, and helps her rationalize how she harvests nectar for him. 
Corbin, Sierra's older best friend, is nerdy and gentle. However, he also harvests nectar from his fairies without a second thought, because his parents are healers who can use it to help people.
Nell, the "worst enemy" in the description, reminded me of Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon [Movies]. She was prickly, grim, and capable. However, traveling with Corbin and Sierra drags out Nell's back-story, and reveals that she and Sierra have more in common than they think.

Five things I liked:

1. The Characters. They were (for the most part) well-developed and thought out.
2. NO LOVE TRIANGLE.
   
   There are moments when it could have gone this way and it didn't. The issues of attraction, different kinds of love, and feelings were all dealt with in a mature and realistic way.
3. The whole morality issue with the Fairy Keepers' positions: did they have any right to take the nectar, what was it doing to the world, etc., was never dropped and was a major aspect of the story.
4. In that same vein, I felt like the world and its magic system had a lot of interest and depth. I would love to hear more about it.
5.  There was a great underlying message about being a steward and caretaker of the land that was never preachy.

Five things I didn't like so much:

1. The tone was a bit uneven, especially at the beginning. All of the stuff with Jack and Flight was dark and very YA, but most of the remainder was a little more Fablehaven. I would have trouble deciding exactly what group to recommend it for. Too old for middle grade, maybe 12 to 16 year olds? (This might be a marketing problem-I don't think it's an author problem)
2. My usual complaint. The world seemed like it had so much to offer, and like Bearce had put a lot of work into it, so I would have liked to read more about it.
3. Micah wasn't my favorite. He was the least necessary and least developed of the characters.
4. In that same vein, I felt like Sierra and Micah's relationship was a little off. She was only fourteen, after all, and still confused by all of her feelings about everything else. Her yo-yo back and forth from: Who is this random dude and why do I care? And I feel fuzzy when he's around, to Maybe we have something *starry eyes*  and I don't know anything about him but there's this connection I can't ignore (NOT ACTUAL THOUGHTS OR DIALOGUE-hers was much better). Or maybe it's just because I was even less interested in romance at fourteen than I am now, and my own perceptions are coloring this.
5. I felt like the ending was a little too easy. But this is really minor, as it all made sense, and played into the themes of making the harder, right decision, and doing right by the land and its creatures.

OVERALL: 4 out of 5 stars. Give this to teen girls who enjoy relationship centered stories, or liked Fablehaven and Inkheart (especially if they are looking for something shorter than both of those).

"In Which I Am Flummoxed by Beach Reads (and Excel at Creative Procrastination)" - A Love Letter (not the title of a Panic! at the Disco song)

All of the images in this post are copyrighted and belong to their respective owners. I am making zero money off of this blog, and off of them. And MARVEL, if you ever see this. I love you.

I could say that I've been neglecting my blog because of New York. That would be true. 

I could also say that it's because I've been crazy busy since I got back, which is also true. However, I've been avoiding the Internet because I've been trying to read as many books that could possibly pass for beach reads as possible.

Confession: I never read at the beach, I swim

Confession: I have no real idea what people read at the beach

I assume it's a lot like what people read on vacation, but I'm not sure. When I'm on vacation, I'll read whatever I was reading before I was on vacation, be it an ARC from work or a dry tome on genetic engineering, or whatever subject I happen to be researching for a novel.

Anyhow, I'm supposed to be writing reviews and recommending beach reads. Not for my blog, but for the women's magazine that I contribute to on a monthly basis. It's aimed at professional Michigan women of diverse tastes, so I always try for maximum variety in my book suggestions. This is great: it makes me read outside of my normal taste zone, and makes me better at my job (bookselling!). I really do understand that not everyone has reread The Lord of the Rings almost every year, and even more so, I understand that not everyone wants to read gritty, post apocalyptic novels with gallows humor and dry social commentary.* This is a wonderful thing-we are all different.

So today I had the day off from my real job, and I made myself stay home and read. This sounds wonderful, until you realize that I was trying to read about ten different books that I had zero interest in. They were not bad books. Someone would be interested in them. That someone was not me.

I succeeded in finishing a couple, which is a testament to the writers' skills. I can freely add these to my recommended beach reads, no reservations. But now that I am sitting at the computer, I don't feel like writing reviews at all. I'd rather work on my current project-a post apocalyptic humor/adventure novel that is silly and snarky and full of duels (wits and weapons), sci-fi tech, criminals, and coffee love.

Or I could be watching Daredevil (the Netflix series, not that dreadful movie). I only have 1.5 episodes left, and I am constantly distracted from what I am doing by wondering what will happen in that finale. It is pathetic.

But this post was not supposed to be about Daredevil.

I Googled beach reads (I do this every time), and found the answers unsatisfactory and banal: Gone Girl,** Beautiful Ruins,***The Notebook, ****The Fault in Our Stars*****

I could go on, but you could probably fill in the rest of this list with most of the pop book hits of the past decade. Some of the suggestions were interesting (And the Mountains Echoed and Where'd You Go Bernadette? for example, both of which are on my to-read list). But the problem was, even the interesting ones aren't sitting on my floor, waiting to be grabbed. So I considered going to the library.

But no, I was wearing holey jeans and a scrub top******and I didn't want to change. [As excuses go, this is pretty bad, but there you go]

I also knew that when I got to the library, I would see all the shiny books, forget which ones I wanted, and grab shinies like a magpie in a silver shop. And they would be about monsters, or chosen ones, or ninja assassins, or flying people. They would not be books that land on Real Simple's beach reads, or even BuzzFeed.

I try to limit myself to only one book about ^^^^^ per month. Variety, remember?

So instead, I starting reading a book about a woman who was fifty-six and had a falling out with her daughter about a television show. There was architecture, and family drama, and there were bizarrely attractive men sprouting out of the ground, like daisies (not exactly, but you get the point).

And I thought "How is this any more plausible than Harry Potter? How are these financially stable, uber-talented, attractive and successful people any more relatable than Bilbo Baggins or Elizabeth Bennet?

Answer: No. They are not.

I am twenty-six. I work at a bookstore. I write books, read books, and will watch (almost) anything MARVEL. I live with my sister, and if I don't budget scrupulously, I will not be able to pay my rent or buy food. I chain-drink tea and coffee, and sometimes I wear make-up.

Of the above characters, I relate the most to Bilbo. He's cranky, he lives in a hole, and he's enamored with elves [see my other posts]. I love adventures, but I am usually burned out before I embark on one, and decide to stay home instead. I have waited roughly twenty years for a stubborn wizard and a pack of dwarves to show up, but if they did, I would probably be a perfect beast, and if they raided my (lean) pantry, I would be irate. But I would go with them anyway.

This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about me, and if you are still reading, you get a gold star. 

But back to the point (I know there was a point): all novels are fantasy!

And before you wave that super-realistic holycrapsorelatable! thisbookjustgotme! or that thisbookissogritty! sorealandraw! can'tyoujustfeelthedirtthroughthepages,man? at me, hear me out. (I'll restrict myself to two examples)

EXAMPLE 1: I have never met a bizarrely attractive man in my life (sorry, every man I have ever met). They might exist, but they don't grow out of the ground, fall from the sky, hang out in my library, or live anywhere near me.*******In fact, sometimes I suspect that they are brewed in a secret S.H.I.E.L.D facility. And the women in the book never seem to notice that this is strange and unusual, instead they spend pages staring at the guy in excruciating, TMI, cringe-inducing detail . . .

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON UNREALISTIC WOMEN! THIS IS OLD NEWS AND HAS BEEN HOTLY DEBATED ELSEWHERE. I am specifically addressing the book I just read.

EXAMPLE 2: Most twenty-somethings through thirty-somethings that I know are:
A. Back in school because paper DECREES they need more if they want to get their dream job
B. Only wish that they were financially secure enough to have their own studio/fancy car/condo/dream house
C. Have student loans
D. They are married/engaged-to [if they aren't single] absolutely normal (wonderful) people who aren't secretly spies/master hackers/wizards/billionaires or whatever, and would never concoct schemes to kill them [this is something I'm sure we're all grateful for].


So those are examples directly addressed to the contemporary realistic fiction that I just read. There are more, but I could write an essay and I have not done enough research for that. I need way more footnotes, and quotations.

But my point remains: regardless of why or what you read, all fiction is fiction, and all fiction is fantasy of a sorts.

Even if we lived a world where we got Hogwarts letters or visits from Gandalf, we'd have to obey the rules of that world, just like ours. I always think about this while reading Jasper Fforde's lovably loony Thursday Next series. They are crazy and chaotic and wonderful, and I would love to live in them. But what if that meant I couldn't have other worlds too? What if books there weren't books here? Call me crazy, but I'm a writer, and this is the sort of thing I like to consider when I'm supposed to be writing reviews.

If you had to give up every book you'd ever read, and the whole world you've experienced, but you could have a totally uncertain life in a book-world of your choosing [no guarantees that you would survive, meet Mr/Mrs. Right, be chosen for an adventure, etc], would you actually do it?

Think about it.

Say what you will, we read for a lot of reasons. To know that we're not alone (you saw that coming, I'm sure). To experience things we'd never want to (really, who wants to be kidnapped and slung over an enemy horse, headed to who knows what terrible fate?). For sheer entertainment. But at the end of the day, if the book is scary, or miserable, or crazy, we can leave. It is the ultimate no-strings relationship. Books never ask for anything, but they give a lot. And after the book, there are people to talk about it with, there is an author to doggedly follow (stalk), and there are often feelings to deal with. There are Pinterest boards and Tumblr posts, and whole websites to make.

I love fantasy-as-a-genre because it is shameless. It says, "this isn't real, but I can make you believe it." It challenges your perceptions of reality, and often exposes deep, universal themes and truth. And it is fun.

But I will not force anyone to read it.

And because I know that not every successful, professional woman would like to read about monster hunting, I will read more books about successful, professional women. I will evaluate writing and plots and characters, and be better able to relate to more people.

All of this will help me as a bookseller (and I hope, as a person). But when I finally hit "send" on those reviews, I will dig under my bed for the first book with a monster or a wizard on the cover, and I will forgive every single overly-gifted orphan or bizarrely attractive man, and it will be wonderful.

So, do you have any good "beach reads" to recommend? Do you believe a beach read is anything more than just a book you bring to a beach?

 And how do you feel about the fantasy genre? Do you think that all novels are fantasy novels? Have you ever met a bizarrely attractive man, or are all your twenty-something acquaintances financially stable and ridiculously accomplished? I NEED TO KNOW

FOOTNOTES:
*I honestly love books like this. That may mean I have issues. But even I get tired of them sometimes.
**Really? I couldn't stand that book. I figured it out by chapter three, then made it through pages of vomit-inducing characters to find out that I had been right about the plot all along, and that there was no plot twist at all. Made me so mad.
***Sooooo boring. We read it for book club. It was sentimental and full of annoying characters and I Just. Didn't. Care.
****Never read Nicholas Sparks. Never seen one of his movies. Never plan to. But I know why Ryan Gosling is iconic.
*****Preposterous, pretentious, sentimental, and over-rated. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, and yes, I read it for book club. I felt horrible because I was the only one present who hadn't felt a thing the whole novel.
******I do not work in the medical field. My dad had to wear scrubs when I was born, and he gave me the top as a momento (sweet, huh?). No, I don't look good in them.
*******In this respect, I refuse to believe they exist until I've seen one. Not on TV. In real life. If they are hiding in basements, I don't think I want to meet them.

Book Review: The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman

Happy Thursday :)

As I happened to finish a few books this week (which felt awesome!), it's about time I reviewed at least one of them. So here we go:

I really, really, wanted to love The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman. It's all the Gothic high melodrama and fairytale eeriness that I love. And yet, it was too filmy and insubstantial to leave much of an impression.

In The Glass Casket, Rowan Rose keeps busy by translating ancient texts along with her scholarly father. They live in Nag's End (which is a village on the edge of nowhere-exactly what it sounds like), surrounded by "superstitious" villagers with layered traditions. Though her mother died when she was young, Rowan has a good relationship with her father and a strong friendship with fellow villager, Tom. However, everything changes when the kings' men come to town and are horribly killed, and Rowan's mysterious cousin, Fiona shows up in their wake. The Elders warn of hungry wolves, but Rowan begins to suspect that it is something, much, much darker, and not easily explained away by logic and science.

So, it's basically the child of The Village, The Brothers Grimm, and Hot Topic.

What I liked/What worked:

1. Templeman's mastery of tone and mood was great from the get-go. There was a timelessness to her atmosphere and descriptions which reminded me of The Village (in a good way)

2. The merging of Snow White, Snow White and Rose Red, and Little Red Riding Hood (with just a touch of The Demon Bridegroom legend). This was cleverly done, and it worked well with her story.

3. Templeman's prose and use of description (see #1) were lovely, and I could easily visualize the characters and action.

4. There is a guy named Jude. I really think we should revive that name. It has a sort of Clint Eastwood character swagger and charm.

5. Rowan was a scholar. She triumphs through loyalty, love, and knowledge. I liked that she had an inquiring mind, yet she didn't accept either her father's logical, scholarly beliefs, or those of the villagers, without question.

What I didn't like/What didn't work:

1. Uneven use of language. This is a pet peeve of mine, and there are so many books that do this, YA and Adult alike. Using modern slang terms like "Okay," when you are distinctly going for a medieval meets Victorian vibe is jarring and it snaps me out of the story. This is almost more of an editorial complaint-I know I've made that mistake myself, it's really easy to do! But that's why you want test readers.

2. The characters were flat (like in most fairytales), and we were just supposed to accept their insta-loves and their dramatic changes of heart. For example, Rowan starts out with a good relationship with her dad, whom she loves dearly. Later in the book, after all of the killings and danger, he decides she needs to be married off for her safety. Naturally, she is angry. However, she then decides that she hates him completely, even though he is trying to (misguidedly) protect her.* She has every right to be angry, but to utterly loathe the one person who has really loved you and guided you? That just didn't strike me as realistic. And it's only one example. There was also the creepy relationship of Fiona and her stepdad,** and her good relationship with her stepmother. Both of these were just dropped into the narrative, instead of developed through character.

3. There was too much going on, and not enough plot exploration. It felt like huge chunks of the story were missing (character development, plot development, worldbuilding, etc . . .). We were given some backstory on the types of witches in the world, but this didn't have much to do with the story until the end. We know city people are smart and logical, and that Nag's End is full of "backwards" old-fashioned types. We know there is a whole mythology and culture, but it is never really explored. You were given types and cues so you could fill in these blanks, with nothing to hold them up.***

4. The first two thirds of the book were basically a set up for the stronger last third. I felt like Templeman hit her stride toward the rising action, and that the plot became more cohesive. It was frustrating.

5. The world. This is related to all of the above. I felt like Templeman had a really fascinating world in her head, but it didn't quite translate to the page. It was like looking at beautiful pictures with no continuity, as if Hot Topic did a fairytale-themed Vogue section.

Overall: 2.5 stars for the book, but 4 stars for the idea.

For a similar feeling book that turns an old story upside down, try My Swordhand is Singing. It's creepy, yet poignant, and beautifully written.

Footnotes:

* This phenomenon seems to be everywhere in YA books. Just because young people are more emotionally volatile doesn't mean they're all Gollum/Smeagol crazy.
** Don't get me wrong, I didn't really want to know more about that creep, but I just thought it was one more random infodump, more than character development.
*** I am a worldbuilding fiend. The richer and more detailed the world, the better. I had very similar problems with The Forest of Hands and Teeth, which I disliked for many of the same reasons.