Tag: Book Review

Posted in Wrap up

December 2020 Reading Wrap-Up

Posted on by Line

“A girl is running for her life.”

First line in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

Somehow 2020 has ended, although I’m still checking the calendar quite often just to be sure. Not that 2021 is just magically going to solve everything right away, but it feels like we’re closer to an end to this pandemic.

My December was pretty much all work. As a postal worker, December really hits hard, and this year was even crazier than usual. I’m so glad it’s over! Right now, I could sleep for a month.
I still got some reading done, but, as has been the trend the last couple of months, less than what I consider average. Here are the stats:

The number of pages read was greatly helped by the fact that I finished a book of 1,000 pages that I had started in October (The Wise Man’s Fear). I had one reread this month, which was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and I won’t be reviewing that one. That leaves three books to get mini-reviews, and I think the headline for this month should be “Line doesn’t like popular books”. Enjoy!

Return of the Thief (The Queen’s Thief #6)

Author: Megan Whalen Turner

Published: October 6th 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

My rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Go to Goodreads to read the synopsis for the first book in the series, The Thief.

My thoughts

What can I say about a sixth and final book in a series without spoiling you? Well, I can say that was a very satisfying conclusion. All of the five previous books in the series work as standalones, but this final one still managed to use something from all of them to bind everything together. My only critique is that I wanted a little bit more from the ending to this book. We spend a lot of time building up to the end when the conclusion itself is quite brief. I would have liked to see some stuff wrapped up more nicely.

However, this last book confirms that the series belongs among my all-time favorites. I love Turner’s writing and the way she shapes her characters. It is unlike any YA fantasy I’ve ever read. There are also so many hidden meanings in her writing, meaning it’s a series I expect to love even more when I reread it someday.

The Wise Man’s Fear (Kingkiller Chronicle #2)

Author: Patrick Rothfuss

Published: March 1st 2011

Genre: Fantasy

My rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Read the synopsis of the first book, The Name of the Wind on Goodreads.

My thoughts

No. Just no. This book was unbelievably boring. I refuse to believe that every single scene was necessary to do whatever it is that Rothfuss is doing. So much of it is repeating the same stuff over and over and over again. It was interesting in the first book with the plot also visibly moving forward, but here in the second one, we’re just walking in circles.

There are still important scenes in here which make this book worth reading. Whenever I came across those, I was fully immersed in the story, however, they were very far between.

Finally, I will say that I almost gave it a better rating because I still really enjoy the writing, but the last third ruined that. Without going into spoilers, I’ll just say that it suddenly became very clear that this book is written by a man. The cringe! So much cringe! I’m still working on erasing images and conversations from my mind.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Author: V. E. Schwab

Published: October 6th 2020

Genre: Fantasy

My rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Buzzwords: Deals with the devil, romance, immortality,

Synopsis: France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever-and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore, and he remembers her name.

Goodreads

My thoughts

Those 3 stars might be a bit generous, and they’re more a reflection of how I can see this book working for other readers. Just not me. It so didn’t work for me. It’s funny because I see this book being recommended to people who love slow, atmospheric, character-driven stories, which is usually right up my alley. It just requires a better execution than this book had (please, don’t kill me).

The writing is very ambitious and very lyrical, but it’s just not done well. I didn’t feel the atmosphere. I didn’t feel her characters. Schwab was too busy coming up with 20 different ways of saying the same thing. And that’s why I think I didn’t connect with the characters. They had about three characteristics that Schwab kept telling us about over and over again. They didn’t have any depth. This kind of writing also hindered the plot as a huge part of each scene was dedicated to Addie walking around thinking up metaphors. It’s actually possible for writing to be beautiful AND progress the plot and the characters at the same time.

Finally, I was also quite disappointed with the plot that we did get, but then we’re going into spoiler-territory. I also know a lot of people love this book, so I’m going to stop my ranting.

Those were the last few books I read in 2020! I’m ready for 2021 to start and for it to be filled with amazing books. What was your favorite read of December?

Posted in Book Review

Why You Should Read The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley (Series Review)

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“The Home Office telegraphy department always smelled of tea.”

First line in The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

I’m here to tell you why you need to read The Watchmaker of Filigree Street series by Natasha Pulley because those books have recently blown me away with their awesomeness. However, I’m willing to admit that they aren’t for everyone, so through this post, I hope to shed some light on what aspects of the books I think work so well, all to help you decide whether they are books for you. First, a little bit on what they’re about.

Synopsis of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

1883. Thaniel Steepleton returns home to his tiny London apartment to find a gold pocket watch on his pillow. Six months later, the mysterious timepiece saves his life, drawing him away from a blast that destroys Scotland Yard. At last, he goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, a kind, lonely immigrant from Japan. Although Mori seems harmless, a chain of unexplainable events soon suggests he must be hiding something. When Grace Carrow, an Oxford physicist, unwittingly interferes, Thaniel is torn between opposing loyalties.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is a sweeping, atmospheric narrative that takes the reader on an unexpected journey through Victorian London, Japan as its civil war crumbles long-standing traditions, and beyond. Blending historical events with dazzling flights of fancy, it opens doors to a strange and magical past.

Goodreads

In case this synopsis didn’t convince you to read this historical fiction and magical realism story, I’m here to provide even more reasons to pick it up. Enjoy!

Each Book is a Contained Story

No need to worry about those pesky cliffhangers. Each book basically works as a standalone with its own contained plot. You should still read them in order, though, because we’re dealing with the same characters in both.

Magical Realism Element Gives Unique Twists

It would be a spoiler to tell you what the magical realism element is, but I’m going to hail it anyway because it manages to affect every little part of the story. It makes the author able to include plotlines you might have seen before. The magical realism element gives these familiar stories a unique twist that is guaranteed to hold your attention and keep you guessing all the way through.

An Atmospheric and Clever Writing Style

If you love a writing style that doesn’t force-feed you all the information but instead lets you make your own assumptions, you need to read a book by Natasha Pulley. She is so subtle in her style of writing, and it requires that you pay attention while reading. It’s not something you speed through. However, catching on to hints and suddenly understanding what’s written between the lines is such a rewarding reading experience.

Soft and Sassy Characters

Soft and sassy, also known as the best character-traits-combination anyone can have. They are ones you root for, and if you enjoy reading about such characters, they are going to march right into your heart and settle down there. It doesn’t mean that they are perfect. A lot of time is actually dedicated to exploring their flaws, which is done in a very cool way where the author doesn’t pass judgement on them. She simply presents them as they are and allows the reader to decide what to think. Bonus: You also get the best animal companion I’ve ever come across.

A Victorian London with a Touch of Japan

The words “Victorian London” are the only words a lot of readers need to hear before picking up a book, myself included. However, these books expand on that trope by giving it a Japanese twist. Personally, it was an unexpected but delightful splash of color to this world since I’m don’t know much about Japanese culture. The second book especially dives into this topic with great fervor, so I highly recommend these books to readers who enjoy reading about Japan. Or just want to know more.

I think that’s all I can say without going into spoilers. If you want more than these two books, there is also a companion novel called The Bedlam Stacks. I have a review for that right here if you’re interested. It takes place long before The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, but I still recommend you at least read Watchmaker first because The Bedlam Stacks include some backstory on a character from that one. Other than that, The Bedlam Stacks is pretty much its own story.

I hope you had some use out of this review. Let me know if you intend to read them or if you already have.

Posted in Book Review

Book Review: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

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“The Golem’s life began in the hold of a steamship.”

First line in The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

Author: Helene Wecker

Published: April 1st 2013

Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy

My rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Buzzwords: Multi-cultural New York, opposites attract, multiple POVs

Synopsis: Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic, created to be the wife of a man who dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899.

Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free.

Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker’s debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.

Goodreads

Review

With a title such as “The Golem and the Jinni”, you might think that those two characters were all this book was going to revolve around. I thought so too when I started, but it quickly became clear that this book also functions as a window into a diverse and multi-ethnic New York, more specifically the area known as Little Syria. We follow a wide variety of different characters besides our two main ones. Alternatively, we follow a lot of fates, which in the beginning was a little bit of a problem for me because we had to be introduced to everyone before the story could really start. And they weren’t fleeting introductions. You get everyone’s backstory as soon as they appear in the story, and they were all very interesting. However, after 4 or 5 backstories in a row, it gets a bit tedious. Especially because we hadn’t been introduced to any sort of plot yet. These flashbacks could have been spread out some more.

Despite its rough start, it is worth continuing on. We get to know our two main characters a lot more and experience how they each try to carve out a life for themselves despite their otherworldly natures. Their struggles pose some intriguing questions of what it means to be human and how you live your life to the fullest. While reading, I also couldn’t help but think that this is a book I would recommend to people who like reading about unlikeable characters as main characters. It isn’t usually my thing, and I always wonder if it’s just me who doesn’t like the character or they’re purposefully written like that. However, in this case, I do believe we’re supposed not to outright love the character. He isn’t particularly sympathetic.

My main reason for taking a star off my rating is that I was a little let down by the writing. Not that I’m considering it bad at all, but the book has such a literary fiction feel that it was a bit odd for the writing not to live up to those standards. It’s very straight-forward and non-flowery, which a lot of readers love, but I missed a New York atmosphere, especially when the story is so slow-moving. I also didn’t have that much of a connection with the characters because of this. I mean, they’re all great and interesting, but they aren’t characters I’m going to remember much about in 6 months. Finally, I also thought there were a few instances of the author over-explaining something to make perfectly sure I had understood a reference. It can feel a little annoying to read.

So that’s it for my review of The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. Do I recommend it? Yes! If you’re into a slow historical fantasy story in an urban setting with a Middle Eastern focus, I would definitely recommend it. It might have a difficult start, but the ending of this book makes it all worth it. It was so satisfying to see all the little puzzle pieces fit together in the end.

Let me know if you plan to read it, and if you already have, what did you think of it?

Posted in Book Review

The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley – Book Review

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Although I hadn’t been shot at for years, it took me a long time to understand that the bang wasn’t artillery.

First line in The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley

Author: Natasha Pulley

Published: July 13th 2017

Genre: Historical Fiction/Magical Realism

My rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Buzzwords: Peru, disabled MC, friendship, culture clash

Synopsis: In 1859, ex-East India Company smuggler Merrick Tremayne is trapped at home in Cornwall after sustaining an injury that almost cost him his leg and something is wrong; a statue moves, his grandfather’s pines explode, and his brother accuses him of madness.

When the India Office recruits Merrick for an expedition to fetch quinine—essential for the treatment of malaria—from deep within Peru, he knows it’s a terrible idea. Nearly every able-bodied expeditionary who’s made the attempt has died, and he can barely walk. But Merrick is desperate to escape everything at home, so he sets off, against his better judgment, for a tiny mission colony on the edge of the Amazon where a salt line on the ground separates town from forest. Anyone who crosses is killed by something that watches from the trees, but somewhere beyond the salt are the quinine woods, and the way around is blocked.

Surrounded by local stories of lost time, cursed woods, and living rock, Merrick must separate truth from fairy tale and find out what befell the last expeditions; why the villagers are forbidden to go into the forest; and what is happening to Raphael, the young priest who seems to have known Merrick’s grandfather, who visited Peru many decades before. The Bedlam Stacks is the story of a profound friendship that grows in a place that seems just this side of magical.

Goodreads

Review

Through The Bedlam Stacks author Natasha Pulley takes the reader on a journey to a far-out village in Peru in the year 1859. We follow Merrick as he hesitantly has agreed to help his friend Clem and the India Office collect cuttings from some very special trees that can treat malaria. They only grow in Peru but are heavily guarded to keep a monopoly in place, which makes the mission one of high risk.

Disability Rep

Merrick is recruited because of his great knowledge of plants, but he worries about the strain the journey and danger of the mission will put on his leg. You see, he was previously injured and now has trouble walking without a cane. His disability is one of the major topics of the book. I haven’t been able to find any own-voice reviews of this book to gauge the quality of the disability representation in here. However, in my own humble opinion, it was done in a way that was both respectful and educational. Very much one of my favorite aspects about the book. He’s also not the only character with a disability.

Slower Than Slow

Patience is a keyword should you decide to read The Bedlam Stacks. It is so slow that it almost grinds to a halt. Luckily, you’re rewarded for your patience when you get to the end. It’s the kind of book that if you DNF it midway through, you have no idea what it’s about. Just trust that there’s a point to it all.

Friendships

The way this book explores different kinds of friendships was what really made me love the reading experience. It goes into how friendships aren’t necessarily logical. Sometimes it just works, and other times it’s way more complicated than that.
I also just adore when characters show affection for each other, and The Bedlam Stacks very much delivered in that area.

He laughed. It showed how he had been when he was younger. Mild-mannered and handsome. In a shilling-spin of an instant, I realised that he wasn’t crude work but the ruin of something fine.

The Landscape of Peru

A lot of time is spent describing the landscape of Peru that Merrick travels through, and here we get to the reason why I only rated this book 4 stars and not 5. This description-heavy style of writing isn’t exactly my favorite. I have a hard time picturing what I’m reading, which means that these descriptions do nothing for me. Some of the magical realism aspects also went a little over my head because of this, but not to the extent that I wasn’t able to understand the story. I would have loved a more atmospheric writing style to make me feel like I was in that little village in Peru. I’m sure that would have made me love the book even more.

Overall

A book that took me out of my comfort zone, but nonetheless, gave me a reading experience I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. Natasha Pulley has woven an incredible story that slowly but deliberately pulls you in through deep character interactions and a desire to uncover the secrets of a small village.
My last attempt to convince you to read The Bedlam Stacks is this quote:

It’s good for a person to be terrorized by a goat. Hard to get high and mighty when there’s something chasing you for vegetables.

I hope you found this review useful. It’s a book I highly recommend, but it’s also very much a book that isn’t to everyone’s liking. I’m just very happy I read it, so let me know if you plan to. Or already have. I definitely plan to read more from this author.

Posted in Book Review

Book Review: Burn by Patrick Ness

Posted on by Line

On a cold Saturday evening in early 1957 – the very day, in fact, that Dwight Eisenhower took the oath of office for the second time as President of the United States of America – Sarah Dewhurst waited with her father in the parking lot of the Chevron gas station for the dragon he’d hired to help on the farm.”

First line in Burn by Patrick Ness

Title: Burn

Author: Patrick Ness

Published: June 2nd 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

My rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Buzzwords: Dragons, 1950’s America, racism

Synopsis: Sarah Dewhurst and her father, outcasts in their little town of Frome, Washington, are forced to hire a dragon to work their farm, something only the poorest of the poor ever have to resort to.

The dragon, Kazimir, has more to him than meets the eye, though. Sarah can’t help but be curious about him, an animal who supposedly doesn’t have a soul, but who is seemingly intent on keeping her safe.

Because the dragon knows something she doesn’t. He has arrived at the farm with a prophecy on his mind. A prophecy that involves a deadly assassin, a cult of dragon worshippers, two FBI agents in hot pursuit—and somehow, Sarah Dewhurst herself.

Goodreads

For this review, I’ve decided to go back to my old style review format where I share my likes and dislikes about the book in a few headlines and then give you my overall thoughts in the end. We’re starting with the negatives to end on the positives. Note that since I gave this book 5 stars, the dislikes are not my personal dislikes, but aspects about the book that I imagine other readers might not enjoy as much.

  • A Not So Epic Story

This book might feature dragons, but it isn’t epic fantasy. The atmosphere of the entire book gives off more of a small-town-vibe than grand fire-breathing dragon fights.

  • The Ending

Obviously not going to say much here other that I can see how it might not be a universally loved ending.

  • The Writing

Ness’ writing is impeccable as always. For some reason, I keep being surprised by his ability to make me care about whatever topic he wants me to care about. For example (and I know this might have me kicked out of the fantasy reader community), I don’t care about dragons. Only when Patrick Ness writes them apparently.

I also really like how he has a very subtle way of writing. Not everything is explained in great detail so he allows his readers to think for themselves and fill in the gaps. This is also why I want to recommend Ness to readers who usually don’t read YA. Burn is the kind of book that’s primarily categorized as YA because the characters are young, not because the writing or the themes are too youthful.

  • A Bunch of Great Characters

We follow quite a few characters in this book when you consider how short it actually is (382 pages). I love all of them! Even the ‘bad guys’ are written in a way where you understand them when you absolutely despise them. The rest of the characters are incredibly diverse and clearly portray distinct and well-rounded personalities. Several of them go through some interesting moral dilemmas throughout the story, which very much was the thing that kept me hooked.

  • Relevant Social Commentary

It takes place in 1957 in America which means that even though the racism of that time isn’t the main focus of the story, it’s still naturally there. The main character, Sarah, has a black mother and a white father and the book portrays multiple instances where that is a problem for her. As we know, those scenarios didn’t stop in 1957.

There is also quite a bit of LGBTQ+ representation in there although none specifically identify themselves. Two of them are very clearly gay, though. Another thing that wasn’t popular in the 1950’s.

  • Short “Chapters”

Now by ‘chapters’ I don’t actually mean chapters. I mean that it switches point of view quite often within each chapter. You just get these somewhat short scenes (not too short), before we move on to the next one. I really like this kind of storytelling. It gives a certain speed to the story so that you’re never bored with a POV.

I was pleasantly surprised by the book. The synopsis is pretty vague (on purpose), so the only reason I picked it up was because of Patrick Ness and my determination to read all of his books. This book proves that I can continue doing that.

The book’s strongest trait is that it is so well written while also manages to be thought-provoking. It portrays a historic setting but never fails to be relevant to our current society.

It’s a book I highly recommend, especially if you like a character-focused, low fantasy story with small-town-vibes and a pinch of dragon.

Posted in Book Review

Book Review: Chainbreaker by Tara Sim

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“The clock counted every painful second with ticks as thunderous and regular as a heartbeat.”

First line in Chainbreaker by Tara Sim

Chainbreaker (Timekeeper #2)

Author: Tara Sim

Published: January 2nd 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy

My rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

*This review contains SPOILERS for the first book in the series, Timekeeper (link will take you to my review).*

Synopsis: Clock mechanic Danny Hart knows he’s being watched. But by whom, or what, remains a mystery. To make matters worse, clock towers have begun falling in India, though time hasn’t Stopped yet. He’d hoped after reuniting with his father and exploring his relationship with Colton, he’d have some to settle into his new life. Instead, he’s asked to investigate the attacks.

After inspecting some of the fallen Indian towers, he realizes the British occupation may be sparking more than just attacks. And as Danny and Colton unravel more secrets about their past, they find themselves on a dark and dangerous path—one from which they may never return.

Review

Taking place a few months after the events in Timekeeper, Chainbreaker continues the story of clock mechanic Danny Hart after he has been reunited with his father. However, not everything is as great as it should be. Danny struggles with keeping his relationship with clock spirit Colton a secret while also worrying about a cryptic message from an unknown sender.

While Victorian London always manages to get me intrigued, the greatest strenght of this book is its relocation to India. A change of scenery really helps the story as it avoids becoming too repetitive. We follow our characters all the way to India and are introduced to so much culture. The author herself is half Indian, and you can tell that she really wanted to make the reader familiar with Indian traditions, languages etc. It’s not something I knew a whole lot about before reading this book so I found all of it highly interesting. I also really enjoyed how this information came so naturally. Our characters also know very little about the country and so they are learning alongside the reader.

The move to India also gives this book more of historic feel than its predecessor, as it weaves elements of the British Empire’s existence in India into its plot. It’s the kind of thing where if you’re just slightly interested in that topic, I highly recommend you read this trilogy because the author does such a good job depicting it.

Another thing I really want to compliment this book for is its characters. We see a change from single POV to 3 POV’s compared to the first book which is really refreshing. Instead of just sticking with Danny all the time as we did in book 1, we get to know Daphne and Colton a lot better in this one. I really liked how the different POV’s were used to both letting the reader know what’s going on at different locations, but also fleshing out the characters and their struggles. It made it seem like a natural decision to include them.

Overall, I love this book! Possible even more than the first one, especially because I could feel how passionate the author was about the subject-matter. She had a clear message, but managed to still create a story that is adventurous, heartbreaking and important. I still need to read the last book, but I already know that this is a trilogy I’m going to be recommending a lot in the future.

Posted in Book Review

Book Review: Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

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“The Drain looked the same every time, with all the people screaming as they ran away from the giant dark cloud of chaos but never running fast enough.”

First line in Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

Author: Veronica Roth

Published: April 7th 2020

Genre: Fantasy

My rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Buzzwords: chosen one PTSD, Chicago, urban fantasy

Synopsis: A decade ago near Chicago, five teenagers defeated the otherworldly enemy known as the Dark One, whose reign of terror brought widespread destruction and death. The seemingly un-extraordinary teens—Sloane, Matt, Ines, Albie, and Esther—had been brought together by a clandestine government agency because one of them was fated to be the “Chosen One,” prophesized to save the world. With the goal achieved, humankind celebrated the victors and began to mourn their lost loved ones.

Ten years later, though the champions remain celebrities, the world has moved forward and a whole, younger generation doesn’t seem to recall the days of endless fear. But Sloane remembers. It’s impossible for her to forget when the paparazzi haunt her every step just as the Dark One still haunts her dreams. Unlike everyone else, she hasn’t moved on; she’s adrift—no direction, no goals, no purpose. On the eve of the Ten Year Celebration of Peace, a new trauma hits the Chosen: the death of one of their own. And when they gather for the funeral at the enshrined site of their triumph, they discover to their horror that the Dark One’s reign never really ended.

Goodreads

Review

I’m so confused about my own feelings towards this book by Veronica Roth that I had been highly anticipating. The premise of exploring the aftermath of saving the world is such an intriguing idea. However, a book needs more than that and I overall felt that there were several areas where I found this book lacking.

We start off by being introduced to a group of 5 chosen ones – Sloane, Matt, Ines, Esther and Albie – ten years after they defeated The Dark One. Through the entire book, however, we only follow Sloane and her POV. I have previously called for more fantasy books to only have one POV, but in this case, I actually think that was the book’s first mistake. When you clearly have a group of 5 people, I would have loved for the POV to switch between them. Maybe not all of them but still more than one.
The story gets a little repetitive and stale through Sloane’s constant POV. We only get her struggles and thoughts and those kind of went in a circle. So for a book that deals with the PTSD of being the chosen one, I would have loved to seen the differences in the way the character’s handled it. But no, this book is only about Sloane.

And speaking of Sloane… she’s not that great. Which I think is the point. That is what I thought was really well done in this book. She’s clearly meant to an unlikeable main character. She’s selfish, rude, childish and has a certain dark sense of humor. Her characterization, however, is done so that is makes sense why she’s like that. It really fits her character. Personally, I think I’m too much of a Hufflepuff to appreciate these sorts of characters, so it didn’t exactly make me love the book. Nevertheless, if that is your jam, I think you might like this book.

So now that we’ve discussed Sloane, let’s talk about everyone else because this is where I was really disappointed. Every other character is actually seriously underdeveloped and seem only to appear when they need to push Sloane’s story along. Which really is such a shame because they could have been really interesting. The other chosen ones, for example, seemed to be dealing with their PTSD in different ways but we never really got to see it. It would have been great with something to break the monotony of the story.

The plot of this book is difficult to talk about in a review because it doesn’t get revealed until quite late in the book, so it’s really a spoiler to say anything about it. Besides the fact that it took waaaay too long for us to get to it, I did find it surprising and a good twist. However, the pacing of this book sort of killed it for me. Everything was drawn out and the book could easily have been shortened. For one, I could have done without all the detailed descriptions of buildings that seemed to be the most important even in high-stakes scenes.

Another thing I wish hadn’t been in the book were the snippets of documents that preceded most chapters. We would get excerpts from interviews, news articles, top secrets reports etc., but they might as well have been titled “Info Dumps“. My main problem with them wasn’t even that but the fact that they weren’t written as proper articles, reports etc. They were clearly just written for me to tell me stuff instead of being written for the people in the world of this book. It pretended to be real but it so clearly wasn’t that it pulled me out of the story every time. They were also so confusing that I got very little out of them.

I think I’ll stop rambling now. Do I recommend this book? Yes. If you think Sloane sound like your new favorite character, then yes, I think you’ll like this book. If you’re also into slow-paced fantasy stories that focus more on psycological trauma than fighting the bad guy, this might be your book.

Posted in Book Review

Book Review: A Touch of Death by Rebecca Crunden

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“The sun’s relentless heat had been overwhelming all summer, but it was particularly taxing that morning.”

First line in A Touch of Death by Rebecca Crunden

Note: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Author: Rebecca Crunden

Published: February 23rd 2017

Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopia

Series: The Outlands Pentalogy #1

My rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Buzzwords: Oppressive government, horrible futuristic disease, romance

Synopsis: A thousand years in the future, the last of humanity live inside the walls of the totalitarian Kingdom of Cutta. The rich live in Anais, the capital city of Cutta, sheltered from the famine and disease which ravage the rest of the Kingdom. Yet riches and power only go so far, and even Anaitians can be executed. It is only by the will of the King that Nate Anteros, son of the King’s favourite, is spared from the gallows after openly dissenting. But when he’s released from prison, Nate disappears.

A stark contrast, Catherine Taenia has spent her entire life comfortable and content. The daughter of the King’s Hangman and in love with Thom, Nate’s younger brother, her life has always been easy, ordered and comfortable. That is, where it doesn’t concern Nate. His actions sullied not only his future, but theirs. And unlike Thom, Catherine has never forgiven him.

Two years pass without a word, and then one night Nate returns. But things with Nate are never simple, and when one wrong move turns their lives upside down, the only thing left to do is run where the King’s guards cannot find them – the Outlands. Those wild, untamed lands which stretch around the great walls of the Kingdom, filled with mutants and rabids.

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Review

In a world where hovers and arranged marriages are everyday life, we follow Catherine Taenia who has had the sheltered and safe upbringing that comes from having influential parents. She faces great challenges in this book as she is forced on the run along with Nate Anteros whom she hates with a passion.

The books starts off with a strong introductory chapter that really manages to set the tone as dark and gritty. That is in general a strong-point in this book. It’s a very horrifying world. You get corruption, abuse of power (of the worst kind) and people getting executed for seemingly minor offences. Personally, I find it particularly horrifying that people are kind of forced to have children because their society needs more people. As someone who doesn’t want children, I find that extremely scary. I do see a lot of potential concerning the world building in the next books in the series. It seems like we only just scratched the surface here in book 1.

A conflicting point for me throughout the book were the characters. I liked the main character, Catherine, when I was a part of her thought processes. Her describing her feelings and her doubts were probably my favorite parts of the book. It was so well written that I felt was she what feeling. Also, I always appreciate it when authors spend more time on characters’ emotions than what buildings look like. My problems with the characters came into play through the dialogue. For some reason it felt a little off to me sometimes. Like what a character was saying didn’t exactly fit the tone/mood of the situation and said character. It made it difficult for me to get a feeling of the characters, especially the side characters, whose thoughts I didn’t know. That left me only really caring about Catherine which is a shame.

The book has some high-intense scenes that completely captured me and made me unable to stop reading. I could feel that the stakes were high and I wanted desperately to know what would happen. My only problem was that these scenes were cluttered together at the beginning and at the end of the book. Not saying that a book should be all action from beginning to end but the middle part just felt a little pointless. It became just a tad meandering and I had trouble paying attention.

Overall, I do think A Touch of Death is a good book. I would recommend it to those of you who like more character-driven dystopia that still give you an intriguing plot with moments that will make you hold your breath.

Posted in Book Review

Book Review: The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith

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“Books ran away when they grew restless, when they grew unruly, or when they grew real.”

First line in The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith

Author: A. J. Hackwith

Published: October 1st 2019

Genre: Fantasy

My rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Buzzwords: Books about books, angels and demons, diversity, magical library

Synopsis: Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing– a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.

But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil’s Bible. The text of the Devil’s Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell….and Earth.

Goodreads

Hi, guys. You’ve stumbled upon my review of The Library of the Unwritten. Before going into this book, my expectations were very high. The synopsis on its own presents such a unique concept or rather several unique concepts.

At the center of the story you have this magical library that stores all the books that have only ever been an idea and not an actual book. And oh yeah, it’s in Hell because of course it is. However, what really caught my attention was the fact that characters come to life to look for their authors (or sometimes to just live their own life). Isn’t that the dream of every reader? To talk to fictional characters? Well, all of that made me have really high hopes for this book. 

Because of the world’s originality, there’s a lot for the reader to learn at the beginning of the book. However, the author avoids being info-dumpy because the plot takes off pratically immediately so the reader kind of learns things along the way. It left me a little confused in the beginning of this book because there was a lot of information to grab onto and the plot wasn’t all that clear to start with. 

It became a little bit of a tough start for me but the further along I got, I became more and more mesmerized by the amount of thought that went into this book. It needed that build-up in the beginning because the pay-off later on is a stroke of genius. Or rather several strokes. You can tell the author cares deeply about books and writing because of it. I love when something like that transcends the page.

Another thing that hooked me was the characters. It’s definitely a character-focused story but not the kind that doesn’t also have a plot though. We follow a group of very (!) different people while they go on a quest-like adventure through different worlds. Every single one of these characters is so well written. They are complex and well rounded with intriguing backstories that kept me invested all the way through. They are now characters that I love with all of my heart and yes, I would die for them. 

I just quickly want to touch on the writing. It was something I had to get used to because it’s a little complex with some very long sentences and complicated words. This doesn’t mean that it’s bad by any means. It just meant that I wasn’t able to fly through it and I wouldn’t categorize it as an easy read. My non-native-speaking English mind had to pay attention in this one. 

Finally, I want to say that this book not only had such cool themes about books and writing, but also about mental health. You read about some raw and honest emotions throughout the book and I felt all of them. Hackwith makes it all so realistic and relevant even though it’s a fantasy book. She proves that the genre can provide so much more than just escapism. 

So those were my thoughts on The Library of the Unwritten which is now one of my favorite books. I can’t wait for the sequel, The Archive of the Forgotten which is out October 6th. 

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Posted in Book Review

Book Review and Spoiler Talk: The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima

Posted on by Line

“Raisa ana‘Marianna huddled in her usual dark corner at the Purple Heron, picking at her meat pie.”

First line in The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima

Author: Cinda Williams Chima

Published: January 1st 2011

Genre: YA Fantasy

My rating: 1 star

Hi, guys and welcome to my third post about the Seven Realms series, reviewing The Gray Wolf Throne. I debated whether to write this post or not because as you can tell from my rating, I did NOT like this book. This review is therefore going to be a little ranty but I’ll try to keep it brief. 

Having liked the first two books in the series, I was expecting this third book to be even better as we’re nearing the end. Now that I’m done, I’m struggling to find something positive to say about it. 

My main issue is probably the pacing. This book was waaaay to slow. Too much time was spent leading up to and preparing for significant events (which there were very few of). The dialogue went in circles. The characters would talk and talk and talk but they were having the same arguments with slightly different wording every time. They also spent a lot of time feeling sorry for themselves and it got pretty sickening after 300 pages. 

Basically, a lot of this book was not necessary for the plot or the character development. Important parts of this book would probably only take up about 100 pages (out of 517) and so I wonder whether this book should have ever existed. 

Another issue for me was the cringey and out-dated romance tropes. There have been a few of those in the previous books but not enough the make me annoyed. In The Gray Wolf Throne, however, they were just piled on top of each other and took up most of the book. I’m not going to describe them here because that would take forever and be kind of spoilery. I go into some of them in my spoiler section if you’re interested. One I want to call out though. The book trying to be “feminist” but then you have female characters hating other female characters purely because they like the same guy. No. Other. Reason. Stop it! The way that it is done in this one is making me especially angry. 

Okay, I’m going to stop this here. I’m still going to read the last book in the series because I might as well. This next part is going to be all about spoilers so stop reading if you don’t want to know more. 

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Spoiler Talk

  • Very slow start. Did we need to spent this much seeing them travel? It could easily have been condensed. 
  • Why was Crow’s identity revealed at the beginning? Without a spectacle? We got the information and then “oh let’s move on.” There was a build up for a reveal by the end of book 2 so why didn’t we get it there? I’m wondering why he was completely ignored in the last half of the book. They spent to much time talking about him before that. 
  • The dialogue is going in circles. Everybody trying to take the blame for something riddiculus and then feel bad for themselves. 
  • It was such a shock to me that the queen just died! I mean, I expected it to happen at some point but I guess I thought it would actually happen on the page. Not for it to be something we’re just told about. It was expected because we obviously need Raisa to be queen so Marianna had to go. 
  • Not gonna lie… I’m a little creeped out by the Mellony/Micah thing. 
  • Why is it that Raisa hasn’t punched Nightwalker yet? And why is she humoring him? He’s such a jerk and needs to be told. Same really goes for Micah. It’s really the trope of “the guy is hot so it doesn’t matter how he behaves” and it’s frustrating. Also don’t understand why Raisa would accept a kiss from Nightwalker 5 minutes after she’s reminded that he’s still with Night Bird.
  • There was no ending? Like… nothing happened. It just faded out with the coronation. I expected something to go wrong there as there hadn’t been a climactic moment. Did anything happen in this book? I felt like I was waiting and waiting and waiting. Then I came to the end to find out that I was waiting for nothing. Disappointed. 

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That was my thoughts on The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima. Not exactly a good reading experience but I haven’t lost hope for the series. I want to see how it ends. Let me know what you thought of it if you’ve read it. 

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