fantasy Archives - Page 11 of 12

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 / March 31, 2014

Review: Jack: The Tale of Frost

Jack: The Tale of Frost by Tony Bertauski

My rating: [rating=2]

Summary:

Sura is sixteen years old when she meets Mr. Frost. He’s very short and very fat and he likes his room very, very cold. Some might say inhumanly cold. His first name isn’t Jack, she’s told. And that’s all she needed to know.

Mr. Frost’s love for Christmas is over-the-top and slightly psychotic. And why not? He’s made billions of dollars off the holiday he invented. Or so he claims. Rumor is he’s an elven, but that’s silly. Elven aren’t real. And if they were, they wouldn’t live in South Carolina. They wouldn’t hide in a tower and go to the basement to make…things.

Nonetheless, Sura will work for this odd little recluse. Frost Plantation is where she’ll meet the love of her life. It’s where she’ll finally feel like she belongs somewhere. And it’s where she’ll meet someone fatter, balder and stranger than Mr. Frost. It’s where she’ll meet Jack.

Jack hates Christmas.

Review:

[I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
However, that was a few months ago—I totally missed the Archiving deadline—so I don’t know if my copy is actually an ARC, or if it’s exactly the same as the one that was officially published. Apologies for my taking so long to reading the book.]

Rating this book is hard. I read other works by this author, and liked them a lot, but somehow, this one didn’t elicit the same response from me. (I also preferred the first book in this series, Claus.)

There were beautiful things in this story, some of them in their sadness (Frost’s part, Sura), some comical, some that were both (Jack’s time among the humans, their instant rejection and his subsequent obnoxious ways). The plot itself also spins a very particular tale, and if you haven’t read Claus, then you’re going to miss on several details and connections.

I guess the main problem for me was that I felt disconnected from the characters, and would have wanted to get to know them more, “walk” with them some more—especially for the last 20%, when light is shed on several aspects of the plan. Perhaps I also wanted Sura and Joe to play more of a part in it? It’s hard to tell, but it made me feel frustrated.

On the writing side, I noticed a few jarring tense shifts now and then. However, as I said, I don’t know if my copy was the final release, or an ARC, so those may not remain in the published product.

Yzabel / March 23, 2014

Review: The Wizard’s Promise

The Wizard’s Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke

My rating: [rating=2]

Summary:

All Hanna Euli wants is to become a proper witch – but unfortunately, she’s stuck as an apprentice to a grumpy fisherman. When their boat gets caught up in a mysterious storm and blown wildly off course, Hanna finds herself further away from home than she’s ever been before.

As she tries to get back, she learns there may be more to her apprentice master than she realized, especially when a mysterious, beautiful, and very non-human boy begins following her through the ocean, claiming that he needs Hanna’s help.

Review:

[I got an ARC through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. A few things are liable to change in this book by the time it is officially published.]

I can’t say I didn’t like this novel, but I also know it won’t leave me with a lasting impression either. I reckon this is partly because a lot of time in it is spent on sea, travelling on fishing boats, and nothing really happens. There were a few events now and then, but they felt somewhat distanciated, as if they had been put here for something to break the monotony of the journey(s).

The one thing that definitely annoyed me in The Wizard’s Promise was its approach of “mystery for the sake of mystery”, which in one case even led to what I couldn’t help but see as a plot hole. Hanna finds herself on a journey to the north, not knowing why her captain, Kolur, is going there, and merely wanting to go home (understandably: as much as going on an adventure can be exciting, just sailing north without any inkling as to why she’s here, not even having been able to warn her parents about it, isn’t that appealing). This was the first problem: Hanna didn’t know, so she kept asking Kolur, Kolur kept not answering and/or changing topics, so hanna got angsty about it, which in turn make her appear as childish. Rinse and repeat. When at last she gets some answers, of course it’s too late to just turn back and head home.

The second problem was why Kolur brought her with him, and here’s the plot hole for me. There was basically no reason, except “if I had gone back to port to leave you at your parents’ first, I would’ve missed my window of opportunity.” If there was any other reason, then I definitely missed it. Not once did I get the feeling that Kolur needed Hanna’s presence and/or her magic (Frida filled the roles of both sailor and wind witch, putting hanna out of a job, and she went on board early in the story). When Hanna decided to seek work on another fishing vessel, weeks went by, and Kolur never once tried to convince her to come back. So, for me, he didn’t need her at all. Which leads me to ask, why keep her with him? Their first stop, Skalir, was only a few days from Kjora, where Hanna lives with her parents; since Kolur “recruited” Frida in Skalir, why not simply tell Hanna “listen, girl, I shouldn’t have brought you with me, I’m sorry; there’s something I need to do in the north, if you don’t want to come with me, I understand, I’ll put you on the first ship bound for Kjora and you can go back to your parents’.” Then, there’s Isolfr. He needs her, all right, and considering who he turns out to be, it makes sense. Still, it only works because Kolur kept Hanna on board for no reason. Thus, plot hole.

On the other hand, I liked the world developed in the novel. I haven’t read The Assassin’s Curse (by the same author, and set in the same world, from what I understood from the narrative), so maybe a reader who already knows it won’t perceive it the same way I did. In my case, I liked the way magic seemed to work, the way the names sounded (Kjora, Skalir, Isolfr…). Also, the people of Tulja looked overall like decent people, who didn’t make a distinction between men and women as long as one was able to pull his/her share of the work. They would’ve had every reason for throwing Hanna out, yet showed understanding, especially Finnur and Asbera; these two were definitely sweet and welcoming, and provided a good, kind counterpart to the apparent coldness of Kolur and Frida.

Overall, more a 1.5*, but since I did like some of the characters, and found reading about them pleasant, I’m making it a 2.

Yzabel / February 17, 2014

Review: Dream Caster

Dream Caster by Najeev Raj Nadarajah

My rating: [rating=2]

Summary:

Haunted by memories of his massacred settlement, sixteen-year-old Weaver seeks cover in a hidden refuge among the remains of a ruined city. In the midst of building a new life, Weaver discovers that he has the amazing power to cast his dreams into reality. Convinced it’s just an anomaly, Weaver ignores it. That is until he learns of a mysterious man who shares the ability, and uses his power to bring nightmares into existence and wage war on the world. The peaceful life Weaver hoped for begins to unravel as waves of chaos begin to break loose about him. In a race against time, Weaver must learn to accept his role as a dream caster and master his new power, before his new home is destroyed and humanity is pushed to the brink of extinction.

Review:

(I got a copy of this book through Goodreads’ giveaway/First Reads.)

I’m not too sure how to rank this book; it’s a toss between “it’s OK” and “I liked it”. Some ideas I really enjoyed, but they weren’t enough to make me love the novel.

What I liked:

* The concept of materialising dreams into reality. It paves the way for incredible possibilities, and the whole idea lends itself to basically “imagination come true”. Oh, what a writer can do with that. And Weavers seems to find original ways of exploring his powers at the end.

* Corollary of this: the creatures. The Fire Hounds are just so wicked, and I love the paradox of fire as having sustained humanity for centuries, yet turning into its worst enemy. The people must’ve felt miserable without it to keep them warm.

* The Dream Eater (although I’m not sure why he got that nickname, considering his way of acting). While his goals aren’t totally clear, they seem to run deeper than mere destruction.

What I didn’t like:

* I couldn’t wrap my mind around the dialogues. The characters speak (and think) as if out of a fairly literary book. It would work if the narrative was, say, first person POV and told by someone with an academic background—but it doesn’t cut it for dialogues. I know quite a few teachers and people with solid backgrounds in literature, and even they don’t talk in such a way in everyday life. It makes little sense that survivors in a post-apocalyptic setting, all the more teenagers, would talk like that.

* Weaver was so. frelling. dense. Having spent years working the way he did for Ruben, there’s just no way he could be so naive regarding other human beings. When Abanel tells him “Show me”, it’s obvious she means his settlement, not his cloak. Then, when they reach the new settlement, he’s told—at least twice—that he’ll be given a job for life; his five days as a guard can’t compete against years of cleaning waste, but the people here don’t know he’s been a guard for a few days only, right? He could have lied. He could’ve said “I was a guard”, period. Instead, he tells the truth, and then feels crushed when he’s appointed as, well, waste-cleaner. Well, duh. Could’ve sensed that coming from miles. He becomes more clever later, but after his first blunders, such a growth appeared to be too quick. It would’ve worked better for me if he had been less sense in the beginning.

* Also, “coincidences”. There’s ice around his bed, just like in his dream, even though the room is well-heated. There comes a moment when you have to accept that, no, “coincidence” just doesn’t cut it. It’s not like he had been told he had awesome powers without ever seeing proof. The proof is there.

* The archetypal bad-guys-who-don’t-like-him-on-a-whim. I found them useless and predictable (and they did a poor job as bullies anyway).

* The catastrophe that led mankind to the brink of destruction: it happened a few decades ago, yet nobody seems to remember much, not even the old guys who lived through it. It felt weird: I would’ve expected at least some records, if only written down a few years later by younger people who had heard accounts from “first-generation survivors”.

Yzabel / August 1, 2013

Review: Arrow of the Mist

Arrow of the Mist by Christina Mercer

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

Terror strikes the Celtic inspired kingdom of Nemetona when barbed roots breach the veil of a forbidden land and poison woodsmen, including 15-year-old Lia’s beloved father. Lia and three others embark on a quest to the forbidden land of Brume to gather ingredients for the cure. But after her elder kinsman is attacked and poisoned, she and her cousin, Wynn, are forced to finish the quest on their own.

Lia relies on her powerful herbal wisdom and the memorized pages of her late grandmother’s Grimoire for guidance through a land of soul-hungry shades, trickster creatures, and uncovered truths about the origin of Brume and her family’s unexpected ties to it. The deeper they trek into the land, the stronger Lia’s untapped gift as a tree mage unfolds. When she discovers the enchanted root’s maker, it forces her to question everything about who she is and what is her destiny. Ultimately she must make a terrible choice: keep fighting to save her father and the people of the lands or join with the power behind the deadly roots to help nature start anew.

Review:

(I got this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

“Arrow of the Mist” reads fast, and is brimming with vivid descriptions. Throughout the whole story, I found it easy to picture what was happening, the places the characters went through, and even the plants themselves (I’m really not well-versed in that area at all). The world it is sent in seemed vibrant and vivid, pitching a normal-enough country (Nemetonia) against the mysterious and enchanted Brume, where many creatures dwell, and where magic is far from being extinct.

Lia is a strong character, who knows what she wants, doesn’t hesitate to take matters into her own hands, and uses her knowledge to the best of her ability to help her family and her fellow villagers, even though some of the latter don’t seem to always be too kind with her. Yet her courage goes hand to hand with stubbornness, and her eagerness to save her kinsmen sometimes causes her to make rash decisions. She’s reliable, but not perfect, and as such, connecting with her becomes easy. This is helped, I think, by the fact that she travels with family and friends; the bonds uniting them are here from the start, not forged through random encounters and other wishy-washy reasons.

Paradoxically enough, though, the book’s strong points felt like shortcomings at times. While Lia gains in self-confidence and discovers her powers, the other characters don’t seem to evolve, and as such remained somewhat flat throughout the story. I think we weren’t given enough to see regarding their own personalities and lives before the quest started. The romance bit was awkward, and might have been best kept for the end of the book, with potential development in the next installment; as it is, it looked to me like it fell out of nowhere, then was quickly shoved out of the way. It wasn’t an essential aspect of the plot (Lia had enough people to save back home without adding the hope of seeing her love interest again on top of it), and therefore felt a little misplaced. In the same way, the world was beautifully described, but some parts were barely brushed off (the village’s life, for instance, or why the official rulers dismissed “the old ways”), leaving maybe too much room to forest-wandering that didn’t allow me to get a proper grasp of some potential other stakes in the story.

All in all, I enjoyed reading it. However, if I end up picking the second volume, I hope those questions will be given answers to at some point.

Yzabel / May 27, 2013

Review: Eden

Eden by Janelle Stalder

My rating: [rating=2]

Summary:

Trapped within the cruel world of hormones and bullies, fifteen-year-old Aiden is convinced life has more to offer him. His instincts are proven correct on the night he is awakened by a voice calling to him from outside his window. As he sleepily peers into his yard, his eyes slowly focus on a woman who says she is there to take him to Eden. Aiden is about to fulfill the life purpose he never knew he had.

It is in Eden, a land on the brink of war, where Aiden will finally learn to trust himself and those around him. Accompanied by Wolf, his sidekick Logan, and the beautiful archer, Elisa, Aiden is soon thrust into a battle to save Eden. Meanwhile Elisa, the only girl in the King’s Army, is in the midst of her own struggles. Betrothed to a man she has no intention of marrying, Elisa is caught between the need to prove herself and her desire for true happiness. And now that she has met Aiden, she is more confused than ever.

In this action-packed fantasy tale, romance, adventure, and intrigue surround Aiden as he learns just what he is capable of when he discovers confidence and courage.

Review:

(Book provided by the author through Read It & Reap 144 in the Shut Up & Read group, in exchange for an honest review.)

Overall an entertaining book, with a world that seems interesting, and characters who have potential. However, there were several things I couldn’t really come to terms with.

Among its strong points lies the fact that most of the characters aren’t all black or white. The “bad ones” are able to show proper behaviour, and because they want to seize a kingdom doesn’t make them complete louts, in spite of their reputation. The “good ones” aren’t all perfect either—some are womanizers, can’t express their feelings, or are too proud to lay down their arms (manner of speaking). It paves the way for interesting relationships. The author took into account the training part of her hero, who doesn’t happen to already know everything there is to know as soon as he appears in Eden. As for the world itself, it seems to have potential too.

On the other hand, I regularly felt that this very potential wasn’t realised—which is too bad. For instance, a lot of time was devoted to training, but it would’ve been more believable if it had spanned over a few months, instead of a few days only. Some things were also cut short, or not explained enough. Rose seemed to be here mainly to highlight Callum, more than to create tension regarding her fate and that of her brother’s. I didn’t really understand the logics behind a couple of plot points: why didn’t the arrow turn the tide of the battle the other way, and how come things ended up so fast for the “good guys”? Why was sending Aiden back the only way to save him? (Diana said in the beginning that he couldn’t die while in Eden, which implied he could die in his own world… so what did she do that made it so that he would die in Eden, but not back home?)

Part of me liked the book, and kept on reading to know what would happen. Yet another part always wondered why some things weren’t explained, or seemed to be interrupted. Perhaps the next book will bring answers, but in the meantime, it’s quite frustrating; I could’ve done with a few pointers as to what might happen, so that I may form my own hypotheses in the meantime.

Consider this a 2.5 stars. This book isn’t bad, far from it, and will please some readers. I just think it left too many things unanswered, and moved too fast (in terms of time frame, not of chapter length) for some elements to be fully believable.

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.

Yzabel / May 7, 2013

Review: Resenting the Hero

Resenting the Hero by Moira J. Moore

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

In a realm beset by natural disasters, only the magical abilities of the bonded Pairs—Source and Shield—make the land habitable and keep the citizenry safe. The ties that bind them are far beyond the relationships between lovers or kin—and last their entire lives… Whether they like it or not.

Since she was a child, Dunleavy Mallorough has been nurturing her talents as a Shield, preparing for her day of bonding. Unfortunately, fate decrees Lee’s partner to be the legendary, handsome, and unbearably self-assured Lord Shintaro Karish. Sure, he cuts a fine figure with his aristocratic airs and undeniable courage. But Karish’s popularity and notoriety—in bed and out—make him the last Source Lee ever wanted to be stuck with.

The duo is assigned to High Scape, a city so besieged by disaster that seven bonded pairs are needed to combat it. But when an inexplicable force strikes down every other Source and Shield, Lee and Karish must put aside their differences in order to defeat something even more unnatural than their reluctant affections for each other…

Review:

3.5 stars. Overall a pleasant and fun story to read. Don’t let the cover scare you away, even though it’s probably one of the worst I’ve ever seen in the fantasy genre, as far as published novels go.

I liked the concept of Source & Shield, the role they must fulfil in order to protect people from catastrophes. There are good sides as well as bad ones to such pairings: they’re respected, they get lodgings and food for free, they’re needed and know they help the world function in a better way… But some pairs have a dysfunctional relationship at best; if one makes a mistake, both get punished; and if one dies, the other dies too. An interesting aspect of the book was how it questioned the fundamentals behind the Source & Shield Service, gradually bringing the main character (and us readers) to realise how flawed it might me, at least on some points. Indeed, both Sources and Shields are recruited when very young, cut from their families, taught from that moment onwards to perform their respective roles—and are therefore injected with certain beliefs from the start. No need to develop more to see where this might be going.

Besides, while a little too theatrical to my taste, the villain actually made good sense when raising such points. Means and final goal? Bad. Rhetoric used to convince people? Not so bad itself, and hinting at many truths.

I was less thrilled about Lee, the narrator. I guess I expected something a little different. The blurb at the back of the book makes Karish appear as an unreliable character, full of heroics and prone to stunts and wild antics—and this is what Lee believes about him, and why she’s so annoyed as being Paired with him. The problem for me is that we don’t really get to see that, except for a couple of dialogues and parties that aren’t even so wild; most of the time, Karish actually behaves in quite reasonable ways (the less reasonable ones being the people fawning all over him). This in turn makes Lee seem very narrow-minded, voluntarily blinding herself, entrenched in her own ways, and refusing to give him a chance, ever. The whole relationship would have looked better if in the beginning, we had indeed been shown Karish behaving like an irresponsible young hero always seeking adventure and danger; or like a womanizer, with a different girl coming out of his room every odd morning. This would have make Lee’s predicament more believable to me.

Also, the world around the characters needed a little more building; but there are five other books in the series, if I’m not mistaken, so I hope such things will get developed in the next ones (which I’ll probably read, since I did enjoy the first).

Yzabel / January 2, 2013

Review: Incarnate

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

New soul

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

No soul

Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

Heart

Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Review:

I tend to get attracted to themes such as reincarnation, and I was interested in the idea of a finite amount of souls coming back year after year, knowing each other, and how one of them disappearing/being ‘replaced’ could throw off the balance… or bring something new to an old world that may have ended up stalling.

I liked the story quite enough; its prose was easy and flowing, and I had no difficulty picturing the world it was set in. It’s a world with a lot of secrets, some of which are only brushed on and leave the reader with the certainty that there’s much more to it than just ‘souls being recincarnated’. What about the walls with a heartbeat, how come Ana’s the only one who feels at unease with that? What about that freaky temple? Why’s the center called ‘Heart’ and the country ‘Range’ (now there *must* be a meaning behind that… I’d be disappointed if there wasn’t). Although we don’t get all the answers, it’s one of those stories that prompt me to think, try to anticipate, to imagine, and I liked this; it doesn’t happen to me with all books.

Including sylph and dragons, and potentially other mysterious creatures, adds a different, fantasy-like touch that was quite pleasant, even though it made me wonder why people in Heart, with lifetimes of experience and experimenting, hadn’t found a way yet to fight them more efficiently (lack of urgency? of interest? something else?). Also, Sam’s various encounters with dragons were definitely intriguing. Here’s to hope that there’ll be more about those aspects in the next book, because it seems too strange to be just some random coincidences. In any case, I liked how the attacks were described; those creatures seemed really impressive.

There are a few character-related things, too, I can’t wrap my mind around, or am not sure I liked or disliked. It’s a weird feeling. Ana’s reactions, for one, make sense given how she was raised, but grew old after a while. I’m thinking of her tendency to go into “everyone hates me” mode when quite a few people, actually, held out a hand to her and welcomed her into their world. It was like their efforts and presence over the weeks amounted to nothing, but one wrong comment from some random person would trigger an angsty episode. So, yes, understandable in the beginning, yet quickly tiring after that, especially with Ana flaring at the nice ones and keeping meek in front of those who despised her. The same way, Li’s cruelty seemed gratuitous (and if it was a way for her to make Ana pay for ‘stealing’ Ciana’s soul or whatever, then everyone and their dog seemed totally oblivious to it, and totally gullible, which was weird).

I’m not sure what to make of the romance either. It didn’t feel that useful to me, and there were moments, especially in the middle, where the dialogue/scenes about it dragged on and on and became a little boring. There was too much of it, which detracted from time spent on advancing the plot, and developing other characters (I’d have wanted to know more about Stef, Whit and the others, for instance). On the other hand, there was no love triangle, and since the latter has become such a crutch of YA novels in general, not having one was definitely refreshing.

I wasn’t too thrilled about the ending, which felt rushed–in part, maybe, because so much time had been devoted to the romance, and the rest had to be wrapped up faster? And the reason (and person) behind the newsoul(s) was kind of a letdown.

I’d rate this book a 2.5 stars. It has too many annoying aspects for me to give it a high mark. However, since I liked its world and atmosphere, and it made me spend an enjoyable moment nevertheless, I’m upping it to 3 all the same.

Yzabel / December 26, 2012

Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

In this mesmerizing debut, a competition between two magicians becomes a star-crossed love story.

The circus arrives at night, without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within nocturnal black and white striped tents awaits a unique experience, a feast for the senses, where one can get lost in a maze of clouds, meander through a lush garden made of ice, stand awestruck as a tattooed contortionist folds herself into a small glass box, and gaze in wonderment at an illusionist performing impossible feats of magic.

Welcome to Le Cirque des Rêves. Beyond the smoke and mirrors, however, a fierce competition is underway–a contest between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood to compete in “a game,” in which each must use their powers of illusion to best the other. Unbeknownst to them, this game is a duel to the death, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will.

Review:

This is one of those curious cases where I find lots of faults with the book, yet still end up liking it.

The world of the circus depicted here fascinated me. I’m usually not up for lots of long descriptions, but the author’s writing flows so smoothly that I couldn’t help but being entranced, and find everything delightfully enchanting. Strong visual imagery of the circus, its tents, the characters, their clothes… kept on invading my mind, especially as the dominant colour scheme was all in black, white and grey, with a touch of purple, which are colours that speak to me like no others can (perhaps because of the whole ‘polar colours’ symbolism). Erin Morgenstern created a place full of eerie yet pleasant visions, and I couldn’t help but coming back to her book and read more about those.

The second reason why I liked it is something that a lot of people find fault with, but that I personally appreciate: shifting timelines. I’m quite good at navigating such narratives, and I’m fond of the foreshadowing (or the ‘aha, so THAT was it!’) aspects made possible through it.

On the other hand, the plot itself and the characters were the novel’s weak points for me. Mostly the characters are interesting because of their quirks, but I’m convinced the author could have done more with them, make her readers closer to them. And the plot wasn’t what the cover blurb advertised: intriguing, with a certain amount of suspense, yet not the daring, somewhat dangerous and active ‘competition’ I had been led to expect. It’s a shame, for I guess it wouldn’t have been a bother if from the start I had known that I was going to read something that was slower-paced, and different in many ways. Also, the love story may have been stronger, with more impact, if the two characters had been aware earlier on of who they were to each other, and if they had been able to compete really face to face, and have more time ‘together’. I understand that they got to know each other through their creations; still, it wasn’t exactly as palatable this way.

I liked how everything tied up in the end, though, and I may read the novel again later on, to see if this changes my perception of the whole story.