dragons Archives - The Y Logs

Yzabel / March 8, 2016

Review: The Shadow Queen

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

Review:

[I received a copy of this book through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.]

It’s been a while I received it, back when it was still an ARC, so I won’t comment about formatting and the few typos I found. It happens.

I’d deem it a decent “Snow White” retelling, in that it keeps its main themes (evil queen, princess fleeing in the forest, hunter sent to take her heart and coming back with an animal’s heart…) but thankfully veers away from the typical princess-in-distress trope—that one can get boring and tiring when there’s nothing else to the princess than “I’m pretty and in distress”. Lorelai had to learn to fend for herself, growing up in exile and always on the move, while also learning responsibility: towards the kingdom she has to reclaim one day, and towards her little brother Leo, whom she was entrusted to protect by her dying father. One may argue that if reclaiming the throne was so important, she’d have done it sooner; however, she was a child at the time, and waiting until she’s 17 is more logical than lame. In spite of what Gabril tells her at some point, I don’t think you should go fighting when you obviously have no chance of winning: it wouldn’t achieve anything in the end, except making you die before your time and ruining your people’s hopes. So I’m totally OK with that.

(I was less OK with what prompted Lorelai to more action, that is, one of the characters falling under the enemy’s blows. It was a funny character, whom I’d have liked to read more about, and it felt more like a cheap ploy than an appropriate “motivator”. Maybe that’s just me.)

So we have Lorelai, Leo and Gabril, and then Kol, Trugg and Jyn, the Draconi (half-human, half-dragons) trying to save their kingdom. To do so, Kol bargains with Irina, the Evil Queen, and that doesn’t end well for him. Naive and foolish little prince and princess, thinking they can deceive a deceiver. Ah, but something had to go wrong, right?

As expected (and in a way, it’s good, because unsufferable characters who don’t grow up are annoying), Lorelai has to take action, accept to use her magic instead of always hiding, and to wage war upon Irina. Her plans weren’t terribly twisted, but they weren’t the most idiotic ones either, as they mostly made sense: risky, yet calculated, and clearly aimed at weakening the enemy. Lorelai has a strategist’s streak, and she doesn’t attack anything or anywhere just for the sake of attacking.

I liked that Irina was made more of an evil character whose side of the story is never shown: she had her reasons, and we get a glimpses of them. Unfortunately, I had come to expect more in that regard, and in the end it was never truly “explained”—or, rather, her motives were explained on the surface, but I didn’t feel them as tangible, as something she really suffered for. There was jealousy, and her certainty of having been let down by her family, and wanting to reclaim what she saw as her own. There was a dilemma, too, as she had to choose between power and people. However, the latter went too fast, was decided too quickly. It was an important turning point of sorts, and as such, it would’ve deserved more screen time? I mean, if it’s about explaining a villain’s motives, might as well go all the way.

The writing was OK, not exceptional. The characters had their good sides, and were brave, but they don’t really float above many other characters, they didn’t left me with much of an impression. I didn’t care about the romance, which was close to insta-love. In spite of a lot of action, it felt somewhat boring at times. Overall it was alright, but nothing original or eye-opening in the end.

Yzabel / February 19, 2016

Review: The Masked City

The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

Librarian-spy Irene is working undercover in an alternative London when her assistant Kai goes missing. She discovers he’s been kidnapped by the fae faction and the repercussions could be fatal. Not just for Kai, but for whole worlds.

Kai’s dragon heritage means he has powerful allies, but also powerful enemies in the form of the fae. With this act of aggression, the fae are determined to trigger a war between their people – and the forces of order and chaos themselves.

Irene’s mission to save Kai and avert Armageddon will take her to a dark, alternate Venice where it’s always Carnival. Here Irene will be forced to blackmail, fast talk, and fight. Or face death.

Review:

[I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

3 stars. The Library-verse and the main characters are now established, and the plot could therefore fulfil its course without much exposition. (Although the “negative” point here is that I don’t think reading “The masked City” without having read “The Invisible Library” would be a good decision… but then, that’s why it’s called a second volume in a series, after all—exactly what it says on the tin.)

The focus is placed more on Irene herself, as an agent of the Library who has to navigate strange lands without counting on anyone but herself, nor on anyone’s wits but her own. Kai isn’t with her for most of the story, for reasons that are obvious from chapter 1: he’s been kidnapped, and in a reverse Damsel In Distress plot, it’s up to her to save him, with limited help from Vale who, as a human, would likely get mad very quickly in a high chaos level world.

And deliciously trope-y this book is, in more ways than one, both using archetypes and turning them around. The Dark Seductress, the Cunning Spouse/Grey Eminence, the Spy Hero(ine), the Enemies-turned-allies… Irene has to deal with those, and more, as the Fae in this universe are notorious for living vicariously through stories and archetypes, embroiling everybody around in their schemes in order to repeat those very plots. The more powerful the Fae, of course, the more gripping and unavoidable the story.

There’s less of the Library itself this time, and more of the Librarian In Action: this can be good or bad, depending on what wishes to read—I admit I would’ve preferred to see more of the Library and other agents, even though in general I enjoy adventures and spies characters. The Language is a powerful tool when used well, which is shown several times, as Irene can basically bend reality itself, and turn antagonists around by crafting a Story of her own; and yet it doesn’t make her all-powerful, because any circumstances when she cannot speak render her powerless—something she has to constantly keep at the back of her mind, in order to avoid such circumstances.

On the other hand, while there are high stakes and a real danger of war that must be averted, the kidnapping plot wasn’t the strongest one ever. And while keeping Vale as a secondary character was great (I like myself a good old private investigator), not seeing him much was a bit of a letdown. Another thing, perhaps a corollary of the archetype/stories-driven atmosphere, was that it wasn’t always easy to determine whether a particular action or decision was genuine, determined by the “storylines” Irene & al. Were thrown in, or an easy device to have the characters go where the author wanted them to. It both fits and doesn’t, if that makes sense. (And I’m not quite sure what to make of the potential romance subplot. It’s difficult to tell whether Irene is interested in either Kai or Vale in a “genuine” way—romance and love triangles can be pretty good or pretty bad, and can swing so easily from one part of the spectrum to the other…)

The writing felt also heavy-handed at times, laden with adverbs that kept creeping in. To be honest, I mostly read this novel while on the move, and as such I didn’t pay as much attention as I could have to the style itself; however, I suspect that if I noticed this in such conditions, it may be, indeed, rather noticeable in general.

Conclusion: a fun story, with a good deal of action and plenty of nice little tricks for those who enjoy their tropes. Nevertheless, it lacked the spark the Library would have brought it for me (not enough books and book-related heists, I guess).

Yzabel / November 5, 2015

Review: The Dream Engine

The Dream Engine by Sean Platt

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

A truth terrible enough to bury for a millennium …

A mysterious boy calling in her sleep …

A secret city that shouldn’t exist …

When Eila Doyle first sees the strange boy beckoning in whispers from somewhere deep in her imagination, she questioned her sanity. She was used to seeing strange things with her eyes closed — that’s what Eila did all day while strapped to the Blunderbuss, Building whatever the Ministry of Manifestation required — but never before have those images felt so real, or so dangerous.

After Eila learns the terrible truth about her reality and the monsters inside it, she thinks that maybe madness might be her only escape…

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

2.5 stars

A very interesting theme, but ultimately this novel felt more like an introduction.

I liked the idea of a world shaping its inventions through thoughts, from concepts and a strange machine called the Blunderbuss. I liked the explanation behind how this weird science worked, where exactly the concepts and images came from, not to mention that in general, anything that has to do with dreams tends to fascinate me. One part of the world living a relatively placid existence, with nights spent in quiet, without dreams; and the other, its counterpart, having to sift through dreams nightmares in order to send feedback. And the remnants, what nobody wants, the pollution born from human minds, which just goes… somewhere else. Although the explanations weren’t too easy to follow at first, soon they made sense.

Another thing I liked was how the “mysterious boy” didn’t end up as the mandatory love interest, the one that always ends up trampling over the plot in typical YA novels, whether their genre is actually romance or not. It was quite refreshing, and I can only hope that the world and the stakes presented by the “dream engine” will not fall prey to “luuuurve” in the next volume. There’s enough going in without giving in to trends. So, authors, thank you for sticking to the weird science and dreams and contraptions here.

However, as I was reading, I kept feeling that a lot of things often got rehashed and repeated more than necessary—that some trimming would’ve been in order. It took a long time for what I thought would be the plot to unfurl, and while Eila’s hesitation and questioning herself was totally understandable, it still looked to me like beating around the bush, instead of helping flesh out her character as well as others. In the end, Cora, Daw, Levi (for a few minutes, I couldn’t even remember his name, even though I’ve just finished reading the book… that’s how much an impression he made on me), all the others, were more shades than actual people. Eila was the most developed of all, yet her running in circles in her mind kept her at a basic level: I still don’t know what she likes and dislikes, for instance. I think this is the kind of plot where less time should’ve been spent on introspection, and more on subplots (no need for complex ones: simple things such as more than just Atwell confronting Eila after dinner, or someone realising she wasn’t with Cora every evening, etc.).

So much potential, so many endless possibilities, yet never truly explored…

The world itself, albeit interesting, also suffers from the “pocket universe syndrome”, in that the idea behind its foundations is great, but it seems really, really tiny, no more than a city and some land around it. It could be an island, for what it’s worth, completely isolated, and I didn’t get the feeling of a “real” world, for all its talks of airships and pilots bringing goods from other areas. How far is Stensue from Waldron’s Gate? Is Pavilion only under the latter, or does it extend everywhere? Are there other Pavilions under other towns? And so on.

Conclusion: despite finding quite a few likeable elements in there, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I may or may not pick the second book someday, to see if the potential of this series is going to be properly exploited; right now, though, I really don’t know.

Yzabel / October 18, 2015

Review: Homunculus and the Cat

Homunculus and the Cat by Nathan Croft

My rating: [rating=2]

Blurb:

Just a typical kitten saves the afterlife story, disguised as a book about death.

In a world where every culture’s mythology is real, Medusa’s sisters want revenge on Poseidon, Troy is under siege again, and the Yakuza want their homunculi (mythological artificial humans) back.

Near Atlantis’ Chinatown, a kitten and her human campaign for homunculi rights. Against them are Japanese death gods, an underworld cult, and a fat Atlantean bureaucrat.

The main character dies (more than once) and a few underworlds’ way of death is threatened.

There are Also giant armored battle squids.

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.]

Good ideas in this mash-up of various mythologies and their associated creatures, however, in the end, it was a bit too choppy to my taste.

The world of Gaia was inventive, fun, full of conundrums and syllogisms, all of those making for a place brimming with diversity… and with the problems associated to it, especially acceptance. This theme, along with the one of “humanity” in its largest meaning, was developed through the homunculi: artificial human-shaped beings, crafted by alchemists, gifted with certain powers, with a beautiful appearance for some, with intelligence and feelings, yet considered as unworthy because they didn’t have a soul—or so, some people said.

The political undercurrents permeating the story (the vote, the tricks used in Atlantis to thwart it against the homunculi, the strong will of a few people like Petra to help them get rights at last) were definitely interesting. Perhaps because of all the many creatures in this novel, the hypocrisy behind their reluctance to accept the “soulless” articificial beings was even more tangible, and made for a good metaphor of injustices happening in the human world. I can say I’d really have wanted this specific plot to shine more.

Where the mashup worked much less for me was in the narrative itself. A lot of things happened, more or less tied to the aforementioned plot depending on the moments, but they happened very fast, in a chaotic way. I guess it reflected the chaotic nature of Gaia, yet it didn’t male for a coherent read, and there were several moments when I had no idea anymore what was happening, why, or how the characters had come to that particular point or conclusion. Even though it made more sense once I read a few pages back, it was annoying nonetheless.

The other problem with such fast-paced events was that they didn’t leave much room to character development, and I felt I was told, rather than shown, the relationships between Tyro and the cat, Tyro and Mina, Tyro and Herakles… (Tyro wants to save him, but since I didn’t get to see them interact much, I didn’t feel very invested in knowing about the outcome. Same about Tyro and Ankh’Si: the conclusion here was so rushed I wasn’t sure if my copy of the book missed a chapter or two.)

I really liked the world developed here, however it was so diverse that it eclipsed the characters. Since I like those to be as developed in a “humoristic” read as in a “serious” one, albeit in different ways, I suppose, it didn’t work very well for me in the end.

Yzabel / June 11, 2015

Review: The Gates of Atlantis Complete Collection

The Gates of Atlantis Complete Collection by Wendy Knight

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

Centuries ago the great city of Atlantis had to be hidden from humans. Now magically buried in the depths of the ocean, it is the source of all magic. All is well in the magical world…until the leaders of Atlantis listen to the whims of a mad man.

A group of teens set out on their own unique quests to fight for the world they love. They face dangers they didn’t know existed. As they battle their way through mysterious tunnels and secrets of the ancient world, they find themselves in a race against time. One by one, the mad man will shut down the Gates of Atlantis and destroy the magic. Can these unlikely heroes stop him before it’s too late?

Book 1, Banshee at the Gate by Wendy Knight: Half-human, half-banshee Seven loves her life with her awesome brother Haran and her dad while delivering souls safely to death…until Death comes calling for Haran.

Book 2, Guardians of the Gates: Mermaid Talia wants to be a Guardian. Exander wants to leave Atlantis and explore the upper world. An accident at one of the gates gives them both their chance, but they also make a startling discovery—someone is destroying the gates.

Book 3, Secrets of the Mine: Adam believes in myths and magic. Clancy doesn’t. Two normal kids’ lives change when they embark on the adventure of a lifetime on the back of a sea kelpie…if only they can get away from the strange creatures that are determined to stop them.

Book 4, Magicians of the Deep: A trip to Ireland changes Colin’s life when a bite from a mysterious fish awakens unlimited knowledge and dormant magical powers. He knows exactly how to save a magical world, but can he get there before it’s too late?

Book 5, Madness Behind the Throne: Phoibos, bullied and taunted by other kids, believes something is wrong with Atlantis. His charm with the nobility and skill as warrior as he grows make him believe nothing will stop his quest to purge Atlantis from everything he finds impure.

Book 6, Battle for Acropolis: Talon keeps getting in trouble. It’s not his fault things around him randomly burst into flame, but he’s not sticking around to find out what happens next. When foster sister Hattie encourages him to run, they make a break for it, only to find an unexpected destiny awaiting them in Atlantis. They just have to get there first. When they do, they find a lot of help. Characters from all the previous books appear to help fight Phoibos. These unlikely heroes risk it all to save the magic and fight for Atlantis.

Review:

(I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

Banshee at the Gate:
2 to 2.5*

+ Interesting in terms of mythological content, especially as banshees aren’t so often featured.
+ Nice and heart-warming relationship between Seven and Haran, and fun dynamics between them and their allies.
+ No stupid love interest out of nowhere, for a change. This is meant to be adventure, and adventure we get.
– Confusing in how Atlantis was tackled in the beginning, presented as something obvious all the characters know about; I felt like there was a previous story I had missed. Perhaps I did.
– Villains too easy to get rid of in my opinion. Coming into banshee powers too easy as well.
– Plot sometimes a bit silly.

>> So far this reads definitely more like children/middle grade than truly young adult—I wouldn’t recommend it to readers above 12-13 (Seven, the protagonist, is 13, too).

Guardians of the Gate:
2*

+ Merfolk with a strong backstory of friendship and loyalty. Again, no useless romance.
+ Wily Leprechaun and good lessons about “careful what you wish for (and how you wish for it)”.
+ More info about the other ancient races (Giants, Dragons).
+ Ties into the first book.
– Plot dragged in parts and I found myself skimming at times.
– Adults shown as idiots who can’t/won’t do anything to help, which is too often the case in books, and isn’t believable.
– Lack of consequences (shouldn’t the villains try to act against the young heroes by now?).
– Some more ties with the first book would’ve been appreciated, especially at the end of this one.

>> Confirming this is definitely for kids, and not YA.

Secrets of the Mine:
2.5 to 3*

+ The kelpie. I liked reading about him.
+ Archaeology and finding forgotten civilisations.
+ Antagonistic characters that learn to cooperate.
– Slightly annoying characters (childish instant dislike).
– The writing wasn’t too exciting.

Magicians of the Deep:
1*

+ Learning more about Indiatlantis.
+ The way magical creatures are actually affected by the portals closing one after the other.
– Seems to be for an even younger target audience.
– Too much telling.
– More pronounced than in Book 2: how much Atlantis is like our (Anglo-Saxon) world: school, malls… Why couldn’t it be more different, as mysterious as it’s supposed to be?
– Repetitive crossovers with book 2.
– Callous characters (the Laytons seem like a nice enough family, at least the parents, but Colin just doesn’t seem to care? Also what he learns about his family later was dropped like a brick.
– This particular book jumped from one thing to the other (for instance, discussing an important matter, then suddenly, “anyway, let’s go to the mall”). It reminded me of how I’d sometimes play when I was younger, but in terms of plot and writing, it didn’t sit well at all with me. To be honest, I’m really not sure I would’ve liked reading this as a kid.

Madness behind the throne:
3.5*, possibly 4*

+ More mature characters, possibly because Callidora is an adult, but also because Phoibos even as a child kinds of grows up fast.
+ Political intrigue that is easy to understand for younger readers.
+ The stakes do seem more dangerous here than in the previous books
+ Though the “bad guy” has no excuses, we’re also shown what contributed to shape his vision/madness.
+ Atlantis shown as technologically advanced (computers in the age of Plato), while still being different—more magic, less malls and 20th-century-like American names.
+ Hints about who Phoibos really is
– …Though they make it fairly obvious to guess what his secret is (or not? We’ll see…)
– A few of the adult characters (the king, Lisandra) are somewhat childish.
– The relationship between Callidora and Titanos progressed so fast (although Calli does acknowledge that she doesn’t know herself why that was, and that it didn’t make sense).
– Atlantian years being 100 human years, reconciling both was a bit hard (considering what happened in the previous books, it feels like Phoibos took his sweet time to get to closing the doors, when it was described first as it happening within a mere few days).

>> So far, definitely the one I preferred in the series, because it deals with more political themes and shows more of the other side of the conflict, all this in a way that is easy to grasp by middle-grade readers without being dumbed down.

Battle for Acropolis:
3*

+ Everything comes together and without a repeat this time, since it’s the direct follow-up to previous books’ events.
+ Hattie was adorable.
+ Surprises that were predictable, but in a good way (you know they’re coming, yet you’re happy to see them coming, and happy when they’re finally here). The “finding the grandma” part definitely made me smile: expected, but cute.
– Some characters got discarded pretty quickly, and didn’t feel as regretted as they should’ve been.
– Villain decay at the end—not as epic an ending as I had expected.

>> Enjoyable throughout, although the finale felt somewhat flat.

Conclusion:

2.5/3 stars overall. It was OK for me as a light reading (2/2.5 stars), but I think a middle-grade audience would enjoy it more, hence my higher rating in the end—after all, I’m not really the targetted readership.

On the plus side, the relationships between the characters in general rang true. The creatures that appear in the novels are a good introduction to mythology in general, even if other series dive into this more deeply (Percy Jackson, for instance): Irish (banshees), mermaids, dragons, nymphs…

On the downside, Atlantis itself often felt too much like your average contemporary setting (high school, mall, etc.). Not saying I wanted to see only guys in togas living like in Grecian antiquity—and this setting makes it easy for kids to find their marks—but I expected something more different, not a copy of our modern world (I’m positive young readers wouldn’t mind, and wouldn’t have a hard time to embrace it either).

Yzabel / February 24, 2015

Review: Pacific Fire

Pacific Fire by Greg Van Eekhout

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

I’m Sam. I’m just this guy.

Okay, yeah, I’m a golem created from the substance of his own magic by the late Hierarch of Southern California. With a lot of work, I might be able to wield magic myself. I kind of doubt it, though. Not like Daniel Blackland can.

Daniel’s the reason the Hierarch’s gone and I’m still alive. He’s also the reason I’ve lived my entire life on the run. Ten years of never, ever going back to Los Angeles. Daniel’s determined to protect me. To teach me.

But it gets old. I’ve got nobody but Daniel. I’ll never do anything normal. Like attend school. Or date a girl.

Now it’s worse. Because things are happening back in LA. Very bad people are building a Pacific firedrake, a kind of ultimate weapon of mass magical destruction. Daniel seemed to think only he could stop them. Now Daniel’s been hurt. I managed to get us to the place run by the Emmas. (Many of them. All named Emma. It’s a long story.) They seem to be healing him, but he isn’t going anyplace soon.

Do I even have a reason for existing, if it isn’t to prevent this firedrake from happening? I’m good at escaping from things. Now I’ve escaped from Daniel and the Emmas, and I’m on my way to LA.

This may be the worst idea I ever had.

Review:

(I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

While I still enjoyed reading about some of the characters I had got to know in the first book, California Bones, I was a little less thrilled this time.

I really like the world and magic developed here: dark, treacherous, tricky… Leeching power off dead animals’ bones? Check. Taking it a notch higher and killing other osteomancers to devour their bodies and steal their magic? Check. Dangerous sabotage-type jobs and being pursued bycrime lords’ goons? Check. The triumvirate, their plan to regain the control the Hierarch used to have, the sacrifice it required. The worm in the apple, the intent to sabotage, playing a dangerous game. Yes, I’m never going to get tired of these, I think.

The relationship between Daniel and Sam was touching in many ways. Daniel could’ve killed Sam, done to him what he had done to his predecessor, yet he didn’t: on the contrary, he did his best to raise him, protect him, and help him turn into a decent being, instead of the monster he could’ve become. Sam was a likeable boy, too: with teenage-angsty reactions at times, yet also with the budding maturity to understand what they were, and that he had to go past those. This story is definitely one of coming of age, more than of thwarting the bad guys’ plans. Of coming of age, and of realising what family means: does the blood count more than time spent together, and what exactly, in the end, make people “family”?

What saddened me here is that the novel offered several interesting plots in that regard, but never really got deep enough with them. The reason why Sam was weak at magic was somewhat obvious, in retrospect, yet it would’ve deserved more screentime in terms of relationships. What happened to Sofia was recalled a few times, but since she hadn’t been there for long, it didn’t have the impact it could’ve had. Carson could’ve been more than just a glimpse into another side of Los Angeles, instead of a device to move the plot forward. And there would’ve been so much more to tell about Sam…

I liked the story, I liked seeing the plot unfurl; however, I also kept thinking “I want more, more, more”. Every time I got to see another aspect of this character or of that relationship, it was left dangling after some point. Although those threads may be picked up in the third book, I’m somewhat afraid that not enough was told here (especially considering the cliffhanger we’re left with at the end), and that this lack of depth will come back to haunt the series later.

Partly because of this, the last third of the novel seemed rushed on some points. A couple of bombshells were dropped (Daniel’s past coming back full-force, for instance), and it was difficult to see where they came from. Not uninteresting; just events that would have warranted a few more bricks paving their way. Here, too, I kept wanting more, and wondering if the author had to work with a set amount of words, forced to cram as much as he could before the end.

This said, I still liked the book and its characters well enough to be more than willing to grab the next one once it comes out. If only to find out whether the threads I mentioned previously will be tied.

Yzabel / May 1, 2014

Review: A Creature of Moonlight

A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

A stunning debut novel about a girl who is half dragon, half human, and wholly herself.

As the only heir to the throne, Marni should have been surrounded by wealth and privilege, not living in exile-but now the time has come when she must choose between claiming her birthright as princess of a realm whose king wants her dead, and life with the father she has never known: a wild dragon who is sending his magical woods to capture her.

Review:

[ARC courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

This novel was a delightful read, with enchanting prose that kept me enthralled—not too little description, not too much, and lyrical enough without diving head-first into purple prose. It was permeated with an eerie atmosphere, and there was something definitely haunting to that world encroached upon by nature and strange creatures from the woods. The latter were appealing, intriguing, making me thinkg that I, too, would want to see what was hidden in them. And I enjoyed the depiction of “sorcery”, the concept of knitting spells and/or creatures sent to do one’s bidding. I don’t think I’ve seen that in a story yet, so it was quite new for me, and I found the idea interesting, even though it didn’t turn out as it was meant at first.

I appreciated how women in general were shown here as people with the power to choose. Even though at first, some may seem powerless, drawn into an unwanted existence, or used as pawns, in the end, they want to exert their own power of choosing, and don’t hesitate to state it. Marni doesn’t necessarily know where she’s going, but at least she knows she doesn’t want someone else to decide for her. She could’ve given in easily to pressure. She could’ve married the lord and placed herself under his protection, thus making her life easier; but I think this would also have been the easy way out, the expected romantic outcome; I dreaded it, and that it didn’t happen felt refreshing for a change.

Marni’s also a character who grows up and learns. She’d have had many opportunities and reasons to enact revenge on those who failed and/or hurt her, but she didn’t act with too much haste, she pondered her decisions, and she seemed to me like a level-headed enough person.

The one thing that prevented me from liking this book more was how it kept meandering after a while, as if Marni’s thoughts were somewhat running in circles. It left me feeling that there was little sense of urgency to the story, that things “happened” in a slow way, and not to the extent they should’ve been happening. Considering Marni’s circumstances, for instance, I found it strange that events at court weren’t more intense. She speaks of several attempts on her life, yet those didn’t look as threatening as they were likely meant to be. So the story was beautiful, but there were a few moments when I wished it would go a tad bit faster.

3.5 stars. In spite of my qualms, this is a book I’d recommend.

Yzabel / April 5, 2014

Review: Viola Doyle, or An Unconventional Gift

Viola Doyle or An Unconventional Gift by Amy Lynn Spitzley

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

Riding her bicycle at a speed no proper young woman would attempt, letting her hair fly free, conversing with statues of long-dead heroines—these are all par for the course for Viola Doyle, much to her mother’s chagrin.

Keeping her newfound magical pin safe from those who would use it to unsavory ends and dealing with a handsome young historian takes quite a bit more effort.

And then, of course, there is the dragon…

To save herself and those she loves, it is up to Viola to become her own heroine, or suffer a terrible fate…

Review:

[I got a copy from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

This book was a fast, refreshing one. Not the best I’ve laid my hands on this year, but a pleasant one nonetheless. It’s suffused with a late Victorian/early Edwardian atmosphere, although the world it’s set in seems more like an alternate setting (I’m positive there never was a Queen Olivia in England/Great Britain). The heroine, Viola, also reminded me a little of Violet in The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist; I guess that was a wink at Arthur Conan Doyle, especially considering her family name.

Viola was an enjoyable protagonist, still young in many ways, but eager for more modern ways of thinking, the latter clashing, of course, with her mother’s ideals regarding girls her age. She’s not experienced yet, but she already knows what kind of man she wouldn’t spend her life with—and when she finds someone she grows fond of, she still remains who she is, and doesn’t become a smitten idiot. I liked her relationship with her grandmother, as well as the fact her family was descended from a corsair; it gave them a kind of flair, associating them with adventure while still allowing them to retain respectability. Even her mother can be surprising at times.

I only “liked” instead of “loved” this novel because, all things considered, it was a bit too short, and as such didn’t leave enough room to more protagonist development. The romance went a bit too fast, and a few more incidents related to the pin (for instance) would have made the story a little more exciting. A lot of things were predictable, such as how one can spot from the start who the villain is. However, I’m pretty sure middle-grade readers would like it nevertheless, and it makes for a nice little afternoon read.

Yzabel / May 21, 2013

Review: Seraphina

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

My rating: [rating=5]

Summary:

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty’s anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen’s Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift – one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

Review:

Mixed opinion on that one.

Gorgeous cover, for starters. Also, pleasant writing, more sophisticated than what is usually found in books intended for the targetted audience (while this might be a bad point for some, I had no difficulty with the vocabulary, and enjoyed the use of less common words for a change).

Rachel Hartman created a world that quickly caught my interest. Among other things: dragons who can take on a human shape in order to understand humans and uphold a decades-old peace treaty, yet are alien to “emotions”, and even fearful of them; zealots on both sides of the fence, who would like nothing more than to see the treaty gone; knights who’re the only ones left with the knowledge of how to fight dragons. Moreover, I was quite fond of some of the secondary characters. Orma was interesting to read about. Abdo and Lars were definitely of the nice kind. Dame Okra and her reactions often made me smile. Glisselda was a pretty positive character, with a strong streak and appropriate reactions.

Alas, I wasn’t so thrilled about the main characters, who fell too flat in comparison. Seraphina could have been much more interesting if her reactions had made more sense; for instance, she spent her whole life hiding who she was, going on with a well-established daily routine, but then throws herself head first into the investigation (I wanted to tell her “Well, do you want to be noticed, yes or no? Because you can’t have both.”). The prince, well… Nice, but nothing to write home about.

The pacing itself was a problem. The first part of the book dragged for a little too long, before things started to pick up, and I also think that the end dragged as well, considering what it dealt with. In my opinion, it should’ve ended sooner, instead of on the love-relationship part. And here’s another problem for me: the romance. Seriously, why, why does it always have to be about romance and love triangles nowadays? The story would’ve worked exactly the same way, with the same things at stake (being accepted for who one really is, fear of rejection, etc.) had Seraphina found a *friend* in Lucian, and not a *love interest* (which, by the way, came out of the blue). It doesn’t help that said love triangle is a bit on the twisted side, going as it is behind Glisselda’s back.

Overall, a pleasant enough read, but that would’ve been better for me without the romance (which felt forced) and with more punch and logics added to the main characters.