Dina
I'm not sure about rating this at all. 3 or 3.5ish stars? This book was definitely something different.
My full review can be found at SFF Book Review
This book started out very interesting. The setting and style took me in immediately and the protagonist's strange gift - she can hear and fell the “souls” of inanimate objects - was intriguing enough to keep me going for a while. Additionally, Jane's best friend, Nathan Ashe, has disappeared, so she and her other friend Maddy set out to investigate and bring Nathan back... if he's still alive, that is.
What sounds intriguing turned into one of the most tedious novels I've read lately. The intricate prose kept me going long after I was already annoyed with the plot. The heroine constantly loses herself in memories instead of acting. We are fed the tiniest bits of (mostly useless) information but the plot simply doesn't move forward. I read more than half of this novel and when, by then, there still was only one clue as to what Jane's gift is, I gave up.
I read the last few pages to find out the secret - and it left me incredibly underwhelmed. I was too lazy to look for what happened to Nathan and (I think this speaks for itself) I really didn't care. The author certainly knows how to write beautifully and some characters have potential. The tension between Jane and Maddy was quite interesting but taking all things into consideration, none of these positive points are enough to make a good book.
This was alright.
It is NOT what's promised by the cover synopsis. There is no battle to the death between three sisters, there are no terrible moral decisions between family and survival. No no, this novel is entirely about the PREPARATIONS for that. As long as you know that going in, it is not a bad book.
Sure, the focus is mostly on the numerous romances and love triangles/squares/whatevers that spring up like mushrooms, but underneath all that, there are three very intriguing sisters living in three different but no less intriguing surroundings.
More focus on the side characters wouldn't have hurt. To me, most of them were just random names that randomly say stuff. Only the protagonists and their lovers had any personality. And of course the scheming people in the background, but they also kind of blur into the same person.
So yeah, it's a flawed book, it's not what marketing says it is but it has potential. And after this, the second book is definitely going to be that royal Battle Royale we were all kind of hoping for.
Full review hiding under this link
It's probably one of the most anticipated books coming out in September 2012. And I recommend you buy and read it. While it wasn't perfect, I did fall in love with the world Jay Kristoff has created. I look forward to the second book in the series and hope the author will show us more of this original world and bring us closer to his heroine. Read my full review on SFF Book Review
HOLY SHIT.
I need to gather my thoughts for a while before I can write anything coherent about this...
Wow, this was quite a ride - or I should better say walk.
Other reviews said that this was a quieter book, one more focused on the main character's growth, her finding herself and her place in the world, and while that's certainly true, there was also a fair amount of action.
This was my first Rachel Hartman book but I will definitely read the Seraphina duology now, even if I kind of spoiled some things for myself. Tess of the Road is, without a doubt, a masterpiece of YA fantasy and I am so glad enough people recommended it for me to pick it up and see for myself.
This is probably the oldest book I own (books that used to be my grandma's not counting). I remember it being read to me when I was very little, the later reading it myself and reading it to my little sister and brother.
It's a wonderful picture book with only a few lines on every page but you can tell that it's drawn with love. Anyone who's ever had a cat will recognise the typical behaviour that Mog is showing in this book. It is so very cattish that the book will be enjoyed by grown-ups as well as young kids.
This will always be one of my all-time favourites and I honestly can't wait to read it to my own kids someday and have them stare with big eyes when Mog loses his precious bunny and is crying big cat tears until the doll is found again.
Full review posted at SFF Book Review.
This was a gem of a novel! It was scary and disturbing, filled with magic and myth and magnificent prose that rivals any of the classical Gothic ghost stories. Caitlín R. Kiernan takes well-known tropes of speculative fiction, blending horror, fantasy and psychological thriller elements, and creates something entirely new. I have not read any of the other Nebula nominees for 2012 yet, but it's going to be damn hard to keep up with this one.
The Good: Fantastic prose, the best use of an unreliable narrator I have yet seen, an atmosphere as creepy as it is intriguing.
The Bad: If you need to know where you're at in a story, if you like to follow a red thread or a clear story arc, then this may not be for you. I urge you to give it a try anyway.
The Verdict: Like a siren song, this book sings you into a trance and won't let go until you've turned that last page.
Rating: 9/10 Close to perfection
What a fun adventure. I look forward to reading more about the Ketty Jay's crew. Full review at: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/chris-wooding-retribution-falls/
This is one of my all-time favorite books. And so far, it's the only one that got a 10/10 rating on my blog. Here's why: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/robin-hobb-royal-assassin/
Full review at sff book review
Six intertwined stories that range in time, setting and narrator as well as style and theme. I can't say I loved all of the stories but I did love how cleverly they were connected, how some stories connected back to the previous two tales and how each story concludes. Overall, this was an enjoyable book even though I would have hoped for a more glorious, big ending.
The most fun I got out of this was looking for all the little hints and clues as to how exactly every story connects to the one before and after. My favorite stories were Sonmi-451's and the Luisa Rey mystery. I did like most of Timothy Cavendish's story but with reservations. The other tales were harder to get through, either because David Mitchell chose a particularly difficult style (I'm not an English native speaker) or because I simply didn't care about the characters.
Overall, I'd recommend this to people who like fix-up novels and don't mind committing to a larger tale. It was utterly gratifying every time another connection was revealed and while the ending disappointed me a little, I'm very curious to see this incredibly creative novel as a film adaptation.
Maybe it's because I had very low expectations (I am one of the few people who dislike the Wayward Children series... a lot) but this was surprisingly good.
Fast-paced, fun world building, not the most original plot but highly entertaining from beginning to end. I also quite like Toby as a character and, to my own biggest surprise, I will continue reading this series.
I wrote a full review over at SFF Book Review.
As a long-time fan of the original Peter Pan, I love reading alternate versions, retellings, sequels, prequels, spin-off and what have you. This book promised a dark tale where Wendy wants to grow up and ends up with Hook - it's not a spoiler, it's the book's title!
It's the getting there that comprises the bulk of this story. Wendy, wanting to grow up and live her own romance, feels herself drawn more and more to the dark and well-mannered pirate captain, and away from the eternal boy who has always owned her heart. Hook's plotting manipulates almost all of the characters and pushes them in the direction he wants them to. Following them was fascinating, not only because they grow up but because they each grow up in a different way.
In Wendy's case, it has a lot to do with sexuality and I should warn those of you who want their books “clean”. There is a fair bit of sex in this story, although usually very subtly hinted at or described in a way that makes it obvious only to those who know what to look for (maybe I'm just filthy-minded...).
I loved the idea and the incredible atmosphere but there was one thing that put me off. Andrea Jones' writing style was a severe case of trying too hard. It could have been poetic, except every paragraph tries to be so poetic that it oversaturates and ends up clunky. For a book with not too many pages, it took me a while to finish and I usually struggled with the dialogue and the clunky descriptions, had to re-read entire pages because of logical mistakes - all things that could be remedied by a nice edit.
Which is why I'll read the second in the series - and also because I'm curious to see where the author leads our heroine, now that there are literally all the oceans of the world open to her.
6,5/10 - Quite good read.
My full review can be found at SFF Book Review.
This was a pleasant surprise. The cover and blurb are misleading - because this is neither a steampunk novel, nor is it epic fantasy about raging wars and bloodshed. It is a beautiful fantasy of manners, it contains a wonderful romance between two men, and - yes - it features mechanical dragons that are fuelled by magic. However, the dragons stay very much in the background.
It is the characters that really drive this book and it was because of the characters - with all their intricacies and relationships - that I wanted to follow. At a certain point this became one of those books you simply can't put down. There isn't a lot of plot but simply watching Thom struggle to understand and put some manners into the impulsive Rook, was an immense pleasure. Or Royston, the exiled magician, who is fascinated by this countryboy Hal who hands on his every word... I cannot say how much I grew to care for them and how much more thrilling this was than epic battles.
A highly recommended fantasy novel that is well-crafted and features some of the most intriguing characters I have read in a long time.
8/10
Full review over at SFF Book Review
After falling in Love with The Broken Kingdoms and N. K. Jemisin's writing style, I was disappointed in this book. Sure, she writes as beautifully as ever and the theological system she has set up in the city of Gujaareh was nothing short of brilliant. I would have liked to see more of it, though.
And I would have loved to have deeper characters. The only one I could in any way get close to was Nijiri. Ehiru and especially Sunandi felt very bland to me. If I don't like the characters, a book has already lost.
I will read the second part, mostly because I hope to get everything out of it that was missing here. More detail about everyday life with this Hananjan faith, more character depth and development, more emotion.
Wow, I hated this book. Shame, because the cover is one of the best I've ever seen... Full review at: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/chuck-wendig-blackbirds/
Read my full review at SFF Book Review
What an adorable book. I have Ellen Kushner to thank for putting it on my radar in the SF Squeecast - Flora Segunda did not disappoint. This is a fun adventure story of a girl who yearns to be a ranger - a sort of magical spy - but her family insists she join the military. While Flora still debates how to tell her mother that she doesn't want to become a soldier, she stumbles into a huge adventure and drags her best friend Udo, the little red dog Flynnie, and even the horse Bonzo into it.
A highly recommended YA novel featuring the coolest house since Hogwarts.