Kristen
Although I didn't find Grey Sister to be quite as compelling as Red Sister, I loved it anyway and could hardly put it down throughout the second half. I'm very invested in many of these characters, especially Nona, and I also very much enjoyed the themes surrounding various types of strength, power, and friendship.
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The House of Shattered Wings started strong: it has some beautifully written passages, the characters were intriguing, and I loved that it blended different fantasy elements together. However, it also had a lot of narrative introspection that bogged the book down and did not advance the characterization (which became particularly tedious in the second half since it often seemed as though it was making the same points repeatedly).
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Naamah's Curse is a difficult book to review because it definitely had its flaws, but at the same time, I really enjoyed it and want to read the next book. Considering the length of Naamah's Curse, not a whole lot happened. It seems to be a case of middle book syndrome since it wandered off for a while and then eventually came back to setting up the final book toward the end. Also, so much of the first book was explained in detail that I kept feeling like I was reading the equivalent of a clip show a couple of times. Not only was a lot of it expounded on early in the book, but even more from the first book was described toward the middle when Moirin was thoroughly questioned about her past. Looking back on it with these issues, I can't help but feel that I shouldn't have found it nearly as compelling as I did. Yet I'd be lying through my teeth (er, keyboard?) if I said I didn't find it extremely readable in spite of these weaknesses - just like the first book, I found it went by much faster than I would have expected for such a long novel. It wasn't a book where I kept counting the number of pages left and wondering when it would end, but instead I devoured it since I could hardly put it down.
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Full Review: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2015/06/mini-review-of-the-galaxy-game-by-karen-lord/
The Obelisk Gate is a complex book that is phenomenal in every way. The characters are each crafted with care to show individuals capable of a range of complicated views and emotions, and it builds on The Fifth Season wonderfully and thoughtfully. The writing is lovely and often very hard hitting emotionally. I've loved a few of N. K. Jemisin's books, but this is my new favorite by her–and a new favorite of the year and a new favorite book period!
10/10
Full Review: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2016/08/review-of-the-obelisk-gate-by-n-k-jemisin/
Old Review Text:
Review to come, but for now I'll just say that this is a wonderful, complex book that's even better than The Fifth Season. The Obelisk Gate is the best 2016 release I've read.
Yangsze Choo's debut novel, The Ghost Bride, is a wonderful novel that particularly excels at setting, both its historical location of Malaya in 1893 and the Chinese afterlife. It's the story of Li Lan, a young woman whose family's finances have been declining since the loss of her mother and her father's resulting grief and seclusion, beginning with her first proposal of marriage. The prosperous Lim family would like her to marry their only son, but there's a rather major drawback to this arrangement: the proposed bridegroom died a few months ago. Li Lan is not interested in this offer, but soon the dead man begins haunting her dreams insisting that she will marry him whether she wants to or not since she's been promised to him as a reward. Her desperate efforts to get some peace when she goes to sleep at night leads to her separating her spirit from her body, and she meets ghosts and travels to the Plains of the Dead to glean more information on what her deceased would-be husband is up to–and ends up learning more about both his family and her own family's past in the process.
The highlight of the novel is the immersive setting as brought to life through Choo's writing. There was quite a bit of telling and exposition, but this didn't bother me all that much since I found all the details interesting; the well-realized setting and the suspense of the novel's mysteries also made up for some slow pacing. Though I felt characterization and dialogue were the weaker aspects of The Ghost Bride, I still enjoyed it immensely and look forward to Yangsze Choo's second novel (The Night Tiger).
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3 1/2 stars - I do want to read the next one badly enough that I considered giving this 4 stars even though I usually rate 3 1/2 star books as 3 on here since that's just supposed to be “liked it.”
Resenting the Hero is a delightful book with main characters easy to root for and empathize with, a fun plot and a world history that leads to some very intriguing social dynamics.
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3 1/2 stars
Full review:
http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2008/10/review-of-revelation-space.html
My review of this book is here: http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2007/09/red-seas-under-red-skies.html
This particular version of the Sleeping Beauty tale is based on the familiar myth but makes it into its own unique version. While it is the same basic story with the fairies and a princess destined to prick her finger on a spinning wheel, the princess is not the main focus. The Sevenfold Spell is told from the perspective of a commoner named Talia, who is of marriageable age at the beginning of the story. The princess Aurora was just cursed by the evil fairy, and all spinning wheels have been outlawed from the kingdom. Talia and her mother earn their living by spinning, and the consequences of the seizure of their spinning wheel are devastating. Over the course of several years, we see just how this affects the course of Talia's life and how her story ties in with that of Princess Aurora.
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I didn't love it quite as much as The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden, but it's still a fascinating, beautifully written book.
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In the Forests of Serre is a beautifully written fairy tale with a focus on the human heart (literally and figuratively). I didn't love it as much as my favorites of McKillip's novels, The Changeling Sea and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, since I didn't get quite as invested in the characters. However, I did enjoy it very much, particularly reading about Princess Sidonie.
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4 1/2 stars
The Broken Kingdoms had everything I loved about the first book in this trilogy ??? an absorbing story, an intriguing setting and world mythology, and a likable narrator with a compelling voice. I cannot wait for the third book (especially since it is Sieh's book!).
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I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed this complex space opera. It's rather verbose, but I also thought it was worth reading for the ideas, the plot and creativity.
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The Parasol Protectorate is becoming one of my favorite new series. It's comedic historical fantasy set in a steampunk version of London populated with both humans and the supernatural (vampires, werewolves and ghosts). The first book in the series, Soulless, was also somewhat of a romance, but the next two books are not. In my opinion, this latest installment is about as enjoyable as the previous book and both are more polished than the first one.
Blameless is full of clever, whimsical humor and it struck me a couple of times while reading it that nearly every sentence is hilarious. There are so many well-worded phrases, but while there are plenty of funny situations the book doesn't compromise characterization just for the sake of being amusing. Alexia has become a character I really care about; she's so logical and courageous it would be difficult not to like her.
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3 1/2 stars
Hood is the first book in the new “King Raven” trilogy by Stephen Lawhead. Scarlet, the second book in the series, is also available, but the concluding volume Tuck has not yet been released. Much like the tales of King Arthur, Robin Hood is a story that has evolved over the years and Lawhead wanted to tell the tale set during the time it seems to have first appeared. Thus Hood begins a version of the classic legend set in 1093 during the reign of William II.
Complete Review:
http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2008/05/review-of-hood.html
3 1/2 stars
Even though I occasionally experiment with horror, it's not my genre of choice, especially if it's the gory type that has body parts strewn everywhere. So I don't go near books that proclaim “ZOMBIES INSIDE” and almost overlooked this one when a copy showed up in my mailbox as a review copy. Then I noticed that Mira Grant was the same as Seanan McGuire, whose October Daye series has become a must-read for me. That made me curious enough to read the opening paragraph, which had the same light, humorous narration as the author's other books.
After this, I was considering trying it, but I moved it to definite when Seanan McGuire mentioned it was more political science fiction than horror. After reading it, I'd definitely agree - it's not scary or full of graphic descriptions of blood spurting everywhere. Although there are jokes made about brains getting eaten, I was thankful there were no actual occurrences of this nature. As far as being grossed out goes, it was fairly mild - there was nothing that was described in such detail that it turned my stomach and I've read plenty of fantasy books containing parts that were far more disgusting than anything in this book.
That's not to say there is no sense of danger or excitement...
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