Stolen Songbird. My review from 2014.

I thought I would get back to adding some of my older reviews to the blog. This book was one that I really loved. I also read the second book in the trilogy. I'll post my review for that one later in the week.

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Steamy kissing scenes but mostly clean

 
For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the mountain. When Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she realises that the trolls are relying on her to break the curse.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind: escape. But the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time…

I absolutely loved Stolen Songbird. The twist on trolls was nice. They are not all ugly, only the ones who have inbred are. I loved that the protagonist is a singer, and it looks like we get to explore that side of her life a lot more in the next book, which I might add I am dying to read, but have to wait until next year until it's published! The ending just leaves you wanting more, which is pretty much how all of my favorite books are.

The romance in this one is a slow burn, which I really loved. The tension between Cecile and Tristan was both wonderful and frustrating. There were a few times I was yelling at them in my head to just tell each other certain things. And what a tease this book is, every time I thought something would happen between them it didn't. I thought Cecile was, for the most part written very smart. There is just one thing she does somewhere around page 300 that I thought was incredibly stupid, but other than that I loved her. I loved Tristan as well. He was a complex character and I liked that. There are also a lot of good supporting characters. Not all of them are very well fleshed out, but they are still very likeable. One of the best YA books I read in 2014.


View all my reviews

Lies That Comfort and Betray by Rosemary Simpson

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Some gruesome murders, talk of sex, sexual deviancy, abortionists, prostitutes.


The Ripper murders in Whitechapel are shocking enough to make news worldwide, and in the autumn of 1888, Geoffrey and Prudence find the stories in the New York Herald quite unsettling. But London is not the only city to be terrorized by a mad butcher.

What the Dead Leave Behind was the mystery I enjoyed reading the most last year, so needless to say, I was really looking forward to reading this sequel. I'll start by saying that I liked this one a lot, but not as much as I liked What the Dead Leave Behind. In that book the murder happened during the Great Blizzard of 1888 and I really found the setting interesting. This time around we have the murder happening at around the same time as the Jack the Ripper murders are taking place over in London. I was a bit disappointed in this because I feel like the Jack the Ripper thing has been done to death. This seems to be very loosely based on events that occurred in New York at a later date and features a police detective who was actually a real person.

For most of the book I thought I knew who the killer probably was, but also thought that the solution was too easy. The book did end up keeping me guessing for a while as eventually there ended up being three different good suspects. Besides the ripper part, this book dealt with some heavy issues including abortionists, sexual deviancy, and prostitution. This resulted in the book feeling quite a bit darker than the first book in the series.

I enjoyed revisiting the characters Prudence and Geoffrey, and also liked the addition of the new character Kevin and his dog Blossom, although I did feel like they stole the show a little. I had a big problem with the way Blossom was portrayed. The dog came off as way too human and it wasn't realistic in a book like this that is set in the real world. I also would have liked for a little more development in the personal lives of Prudence and Geoffrey, but I can see that that is being set up as a slow burn with the focus mainly on the mystery, which is fine since this is a mystery series. I just kind of missed them a little here because we didn't spend as much time with their perspectives.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for giving me a copy of this book for review.

View all my reviews

Inda by Sherwood Smith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Some talk of pleasure houses and sex, but no details. I didn't finish the book so there could be more.

Indevan-Dal is the second son of the Prince and Princess of Choraed Elgaer, destined to become his elder brother Tanrid's Shield Arm-his military champion. Like all second sons, he is to be privately trained at home by Tanrid, the brother whose lands he will one day protect.

When the King's Voice comes to summon Inda to the Military Academy, he might well feel foreboding, or even fear-war is imminent-yet youthful Inda feels only excitement. But there are things that Tanrid hadn't prepared him for, and Inda will soon learn that the greatest threats to his safety will not come from foreign enemies, but from supposed allies within his own country.

DNF at 48%. This was the first book I've tried by Sherwood Smith and I have some mixed feelings about it. To begin with, military fantasy isn't really a favorite genre of mine. The writing style took a little getting used to and all the hard to pronounce names and honorifics were annoying.

There were some things about the book that I liked. The political intrigue was interesting, and I really liked reading the parts about the different women and how they fit into the world. I also really liked Inda and some of the other boys at the academy, but I did get tired of all the bullying that was going on and that the adults did nothing to stop.

This book started out slow for me and I didn't really get into it until well into the story. It did start to pick up toward the end of part one, but I feel like this series is just not for me. There are three more books in the series after this one, and after looking into all of them I decided I'm not feeling the series enough to invest that much of my reading time into it. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that the world is not interesting enough to me, another is that I prefer books with monogamous relationships in them, and it appears this series incorporates a lot of casualness in that regard.



View all my reviews

January 2018 Book Club: Rendevous with Rama

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Sci-fi
Content: Clean

At first, only a few things are known about the celestial object that astronomers dub Rama. It is huge, weighing more than ten trillion tons. And it is hurtling through the solar system at an inconceivable speed. Then a space probe confirms the unthinkable: Rama is no natural object. It is, incredibly, an interstellar spacecraft. Space explorers and planet-bound scientists alike prepare for mankind's first encounter with alien intelligence. It will kindle their wildest dreams... and fan their darkest fears. For no one knows who the Ramans are or why they have come. And now the moment of rendezvous awaits — just behind a Raman airlock door.

I admit I'm not the biggest fan of hard sci-fi, thus the 3 star rating, which is stretching it a bit. Rendezvous with Rama is a slow, plodding book that is neither character driven nor plot driven. It relies mostly on the discovery and environment of Rama to make it an interesting read. At times that worked for me, but at other times it didn't. I was over half way into the book before I became really engaged in the story. I liked how the book kept me wondering what they would discover. However, I would have liked some pay-off in the end.

This was our fantasy book club read this month and I enjoyed discussing it probably more than I enjoyed reading it. I was one of the people who liked it the least, but I would still recommend giving it a try. It's always interesting to read classic sci-fi and compare it to how sci-fi is written now. Clarke had some interesting ideas of what the future could possibly be like. Some of them felt pretty dated, while others were not too far off. I found it silly that with all the hard sci-fi involved that the author has Mercury colonized, something that, to me is pure fantasy. The best thing about the book is definitely Rama itself and it was interesting, up to a point, how it worked as a ship and a world. Honestly though, that just wasn't enough for me. I personally need interesting and engaging characters to fully enjoy a book.

Dark Deeds by Michelle Diener

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Space Opera, Romance
Content: A couple of suggestive scenes, strong language


 
Fiona Russell has been snatched from Earth, imprisoned and used as slave labor, but nothing about her abduction makes sense. When she’s rescued by the Grih, she realizes there’s a much bigger game in play than she could ever have imagined, and she’s right in the middle of it.

Battleship captain Hal Vakeri is chasing down pirates when he stumbles across a woman abducted from Earth. She’s the second one the Grih have found in two months, and her presence is potentially explosive in the Grih’s ongoing negotiations with their enemies, the Tecran. The Tecran and the Grih are on the cusp of war, and Fiona might just tip the balance.

It took me a while to get back to this series but I'm glad I did. I thought the romance aspect of this book was better than the first one - it didn't feel quite so insta-love - but the AI aspect of it was not as interesting. Nothing can top Sazo, but I did like Fiona a little more than I liked Rose in the previous book.

I did feel like this book was set up too much like the last book was and it looks like the same will be the case for the third book in the trilogy. That's a little too repetitive in my opinion. I'm still interested in continuing on though, because this series is fun even with it's flaws. One thing I am hoping for though, is that the protagonist in the next book has a terrible singing voice and no one wants to hear her sing! Let me explain - the Grih race in the books hold music as a near sacred thing, and are completely enthralled when they hear someone sing or play music, because apparently they can't sing, or something - I really can't remember the reasons. Anyway, both Rose in book one, and Fiona in this book end up singing for them when they find out how it affects them. This resulted in some humorous scenes in the book, but it also got a little cheesy at times. Mainly I just want something different in the next book.



View all my reviews

No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished by Rachel Aaron

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: One small slightly suggestive part


 
When Julius overthrew his mother and took control of his clan, he thought he was doing right by everyone. But sharing power isn’t part of any proper dragon’s vocabulary, and with one seat still open on the new ruling Council, all of Heartstriker is ready to do whatever it takes to get their claws on it, including killing the Nice Dragon who got them into this mess in the first place.

For the past three years my daughters and I have been listening to this series on our road trips and we thoroughly enjoyed this third book in the series. Once again the narration was great. Being one of those people who prefer to actually read rather than listen - I just feel a bit disconnected from a book when I listen to it instead read it - this is the only book series I actually look forward to listening to. I think that says a lot about the narrator, and probably also something about how much I enjoy listening to this book with my daughters.

If you haven't read this series yet and you like dragons and also urban fantasy you should give it a try. This one had quite the surprise ending that I don't think any of us saw coming and that's makes me want to listen to the next book right now, but I'll wait patiently until our next road trip - or maybe impatiently - but I'll wait.



View all my reviews

December 2017 Book Club: Strange the Dreamer

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy

 

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries...

Based on the ratings, I went into Strange the Dreamer expecting something spectacular, but I ended up being a bit underwhelmed. This was our book club read and one thing that was discussed was how good Laini Taylor is at creating worlds. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to know exactly what to do with them after she creates them. If you like flowery, lyrical writing then you will certainly appreciate that about this book, and I do to a point, but that is not enough to keep me interested in the story. I need the story to dig deeper into the characters and the world building.

I think most people who read this probably feel a real emotional connection with it and that might be why there are so many high ratings. And you know what, that's ok. I've rated my share of books that way as well. For me though, I just didn't feel that connection this time, even though there were some beautiful moments. This is the first book in a duology and I thought it really didn't need to be. There's a lot of filler here with not a lot actually happening for as long as the book is. There is a huge cliffhanger at the end of this book, so most people who read it are going to want to read the next one, but I think I'm good with ending here.

Year in Books 2017

This is a little late, but I wanted to post a list of the books that I read this past year that I enjoyed the most.

First up, the books I enjoyed reading the most this year in the Adult Fantasy category:




This is one of my all-time favorite series and this, the 6th book in the series did not disappoint!

Next is...



The sequel to Age of Myth. Michael J. Sullivan can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. Epic fantasy that is fun and easy to read, I love it!

 Also on my best list is this historical fantasy by one of my favorite authors...




Daughter of the Forest is the first book in a companion series. Juliet Marillier's writing is just so beautifully lyrical, and though this wasn't an easy story to get through I loved it!



The next category is Short Stories. I read a few of those this year and these two were my favorites. Of course they are both fantasy, and coincidentally they were both written by Brandon Sanderson:



A Stand-alone, The Emperor's Soul was outstanding. It was my favorite book out of all the books we read for book club in 2017.

And also...



Another Stand-alone; I thought snapshot was very clever.



Now onto Young Adult Fantasy. I didn't read nearly as much YA fantasy this year as I have in past years. My goal for 2017 was to discover more adult fantasy, but these two YA fantasies were stand-outs:




Crooked Kingdom is the sequel to Six of Crows and it was just as good.





I loved Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles, so I knew I had to try Renegades. It was different, but just as good! This is the first book in a new series.



Next category is mystery:

I've read a lot of mystery this year, but this one was my favorite.




This is a historical mystery, one of my favorite kinds of mysteries and the beginning of a new series. I was hooked from the beginning!



And last is the romance category:

I usually only read historical romance and this book was the one I enjoyed the most.



This is the second book in the Ivy Hill series and while I liked the first book in the series a lot, I liked this one even better. This is more than just a romance really. I loved reading about the different characters in the town.

This one was also a favorite...




The first in a companion series, A Name Unknown could fit into the mystery category as well, although there is more emphasis on the romance than the mystery.



That's it. If you are looking for something new to read give them a try!

One Fell Sweep

After a long holiday vacation I'm back and ready to review more books. I'll start with this short review of One Fell Sweep.


One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Content: Strong language, sex scene



Dina DeMille may run the nicest Bed and Breakfast in Red Deer, Texas, but she caters to a very particular kind of guest… the kind that no one on Earth is supposed to know about.

I enjoyed One Fell Sweep as much as the first two books in the Innkeeper series. I love the whole idea behind this series and the world. I love how understated but powerful Dina is. One of the best things about Ilona Andrews' books for me is the different takes on vampires. They are never the typical vampires you read about in other stories. Also, the clash between the Draziri and the Hiru in this book, and Dina's task to keep the Hiru safe kept me turning the pages. I'm looking forward to reading more whenever they decide to write it.





View all my reviews