Category: Reviews

Mini-Review: The Fiery Cross

Published on by Rachelle

Fiery

  • Author: Diana Gabaldon

I bought The Fiery Cross a couple years ago. I was introduced to Outlander through my book club, and when I finished it, I bought Dragonfly in Amber.  When I finished it, very late on a school night, I immediately bought and began reading the ebook version of Voyager.  To save money and avoid anymore 1 am ebook purchases, I went on a quest to find the rest of the books in the series in used bookstores.  While I did manage to find them, life and other books got in the way of reading them.  I read The Drums of Autumn about a year and a half ago but didn’t start The Fiery Cross until this February.

While I spent more time getting through this book than any other in the series, that’s not because of the book itself or the fact that it could be a doorstop.  I’ve been reading brick-sized books since I was 12 and I love this series.  I’m attached to the characters to a degree I haven’t experienced since I read Anne Rice’s “Vampire Chronicles”.  This is the book I wanted to read instead of so many other books this year, but I signed up for several reading challenges, and it only qualifies for one of them.  When I found myself in the kind of stubborn mood that made me refuse to read anything I “should” read, I finished the remaining 400 pages within a couple days.  There were several tension-filled on the edge of the couch moments in those pages, and a couple of them made me shed tears of relief after everything worked out.  I can’t wait until I have the time to start A Breath of Snow and Ashes!

Review: The Merchant Adventurer

Published on by Rachelle

Merchant

  • Author: Patrick E. McLean
  • ISBN: 9781492973522
  • Genre: Fantasy

The above ISBN is for the paperback edition, but I listened to the free audio version from podiobooks.com.

I had so much fun listening to The Merchant Adventurer during my commute to and from school!  The story itself is light, comedic, and a bit satirical in a way that is very similar to The Princess Bride by William Goldman.  In fact, that comparison is mentioned in the synopsis on Goodreads, and it’s one of the reasons I chose to give this book a chance.  The other is that it has a 100% positive rating on podiobooks.com.

Patrick E. McLean does a fantastic job of narrating the audio.  All of his characters’ voices and the characters themselves were easily distinguishable from one another.  My favorite voice is that of Dimsbury’s, the evil snob of a wizard, but my favorite character is the smart-ass merchant Boltac.  He reminds me of what Miracle Max might have been like in his slightly younger days.

This book is going on my Through the Magic Door list.  It’s that awesome.  I’m also looking forward to listening to Patrick E. McLean’s other books on podiobooks.com, which all have 94% or higher positive ratings.  For more information and some extras, like a nifty and hilarious infographic written by Boltac, you can also check out the author’s website.  I highly recommend The Merchant Adventurer to anyone who loves The Princess Bride, comedic Fantasy, or just a good adventure story!

DNF Review: Daughters of Shadow and Blood – Book I: Yasamin

Published on by Rachelle

Daughters

  • Author: J. Matthew Saunders
  • ISBN: 9780986333101
  • Publisher: Saint George’s Press
  • Genre: Horror

I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I got through a few more than 50 pages before I gave up on this book and stopped reading.  First of all, the story seemed like a bad facsimile of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, right down to a Turkish secret society bent on destroying vampires and a historian trying to find out if Dracula really exists and nearly getting himself killed in the process.  Secondly, the dialogue was so contrived that I felt like I was watching a B-movie.  Thirdly, I felt like I’ve read this story too many times before.  I know it’s difficult to come up with a vampire story that is somehow different from all the others, but I kept getting a feeling of deja vu while I was reading.  It was as if I had read this before, even though I know I haven’t.  Finally, there is a scene in which two of the characters get in a car wreck that was bad enough for the airbags to deploy, yet they weren’t hurt at all.  They were able to not only get out of the car without any problems but were also able to fight off two goons, both of which are considerably bigger and stronger them.  Can you say 1980’s bad action film?

I’m sure there are plenty of readers who would love this book precisely because of how horrible it is, or because they love anything involving vampires no matter how bad.  As much as I love vampire stories and the occasional brain candy/B-movie/action film, I couldn’t take reading another page of this book after the car accident and fight scene.  I’m not saying this book doesn’t deserve a chance.  It’s just not for me, and life is too short to continue reading a book I can’t stand when there are so many other books out there I might love.

Review: A Crown for Cold Silver

Published on by Rachelle

Crown

  • Author: Alex Marshall
  • ISBN: 9780356505091
  • Publisher: Orbit
  • Genre: Fantasy

I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Crown for Cold Silver started out slow and made me wonder just how many characters I was going to be introduced to before I got to the story.  Then, it got so good that it became one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I’m hoping Alex Marshall writes a sequel.  The story didn’t end on a cliffhanger, but I can tell there is more to be told, and I want to know what happens next, especially with Zosia, my favorite character by far.  All of the characters are great.  They’re complex, flawed, even irritating at times, but Zosia is amazing because she kicks major butt, but makes plenty of mistakes, and she’s an older character.

In fact, none of the characters in this book are your run of the mill Fantasy characters.  Not everyone is white, straight, young, and beautiful or handsome.  The older woman, Zosia, isn’t a witch, and Hoartrap, who is a sorcerer, is built like a barbarian.  These are just two of the characters you meet that don’t fit the standard Fantasy archetypes.  The world is racially diverse, gender norms don’t exist, and sexuality is a non-issue in their society.  However, the author doesn’t present these details in such a way as to make the story into one that either has no morals or is vastly superior to our world.  The world in which the characters live is as messed up as ours.  They just have different problems.

This book is not for kids, or anyone who has a problem with excessive cussing.  I don’t think there’s a single character that doesn’t let some foul language rip at least once.  There is also a lot of bloodshed and violence (none of it is sexual though), and the characters get themselves into quite a few deadly situations.  Not all of them make it, and the ones that don’t aren’t the ones you expect.  You should be prepared to be surprised by quite a few events throughout the story, because around the time when you think you have everything figured out and know who is up to what, you’ll end up doing a double take.  You might do several double takes before you’re done.  If you’re looking for an epic fantasy full of non-standard characters, or if you love Dungeons and Dragons or the “A Song of Fire and Ice” series, you’ll love A Crown for Cold Silver.

 

Review: The Sparrow

Published on by Rachelle

Sparrow

  • Author: Mary Doria Russell
  • ISBN: 9780449912553
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books
  • Genre: Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction

I purchased this book.

I’ve managed to pull myself out of the emotional wreckage this book caused in order to write this review.  I considered not writing one, but this book is truly great.  I don’t know if it will continue to stand the test of time, but even with a small part of the story occurring in 2015, the technology still seems marginally possible.  This is a work of Science Fiction, though, so I had to be forgiving of the “science”.

Putting the science and technology aside (which is easy to do since the story is about the characters and their experiences interacting with the aliens they come in contact with), this book is difficult.  It took me several months to finish, and not just because I was reading five other books at the time.  It ran me through a wringer emotionally, so I had to repeatedly put the book down for a bit so I could process what I was feeling and thinking.  You quickly discover that Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit priest, is the only survivor of the mission to make contact with an alien species, and something horrible was done to him, but you don’t really know what.  Clearly, he’s suffering from PTSD, survival guilt, and a whole laundry list of physical health issues, but it’s through the back and forth between the present and the past that you very slowly find out exactly what happened and why.  You don’t know the full extent of the horrors until near the end.  Much of Emilio’s thoughts and emotions hit far too close to home, and I bookmarked several passages so that I could go back later to re-read them.  In a way, his story was therapeutic, but as anyone who’s ever been through any mental or physical therapy knows, it’s rough going.  It’s never easy, and many of the characters who are trying to help Emilio recover from his experiences don’t seem to understand that, in much the same way as most people don’t understand just how difficult it is to deal with mental health issues.

I highly recommend The Sparrow, but not necessarily to just those who enjoy Science Fiction.  Rather, this book is more for anyone who loves Speculative Fiction or Literary Fiction.  Please understand that the story may take a long time to get through, though, and I recommend having something light and easy to read for when you need a break, or for when you’ve finished this book, in order to balance things back out.  I read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, which did the trick and kept me from getting deeply depressed.

Review: The Coffee Legacy

Published on by Rachelle

Coffee

  • Author: Katharina Bordet
  • ISBN: 9781495943911
  • Genre: Fantasy

The ISBN is for the paperback edition, but I listened to the free audio version from podiobooks.com.

I really enjoyed The Coffee Legacy.  Each chapter begins with a different coffee recipe, and there’s one in particular that puts any iced mocha you could get in the US to shame.  Though she never says it, I will: we’re doing it wrong.  I can’t say much more than that without giving away major parts of the story, but most of it takes place in Vienna, Austria, there are some twists and turns scattered throughout, and the climax of it was unexpected.  When I first started listening I thought, “How is this Fantasy?”, but that changed within a couple of chapters.

I really wish I could say more, but I don’t want to spoil anything.  Not even the synopsis on Goodreads (click on the book cover above) or the author’s website, Wiener Blut, gives anything away.  If you love Fantasy, coffee, or both, you’ll love The Coffee Legacy!

Review: At the Water’s Edge

Published on by Rachelle

Edge

 

  • Author: Sara Gruen
  • ISBN: 9780385523233
  • Publisher: Spiegel and Grau
  • Genre: Historical Fiction

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Water for Elephants, but when I started At the Water’s Edge, I thought it might end up being a DNF.  I hated Ellis, Hank, and Maddie.  They’re spoiled American rich kids without a clue about reality and they decide to make a trip to Scotland to get proof of the Loch Ness Monster during WWII.  As the story progressed though, I found myself being more and more forgiving of Maddie, who comes off as more naive than anything else, and hating Ellis with a passion.  Hank is just an arrogant idiot, but Ellis reminded me of Pete Campbell from “Mad Men”, who reminds me of a supervisor I had many years ago.  I had the urge to snarl every time Ellis came into a scene.  The story and the setting are what got me past the point of only seeing them as people to be despised, except for Ellis of course, and I was grateful that the story began to focus on Maddie more than the other two.  I won’t give away the ending, but I will say that I was happy with it, even if a couple of the events were a bit convenient.

This is another solid, quality story from Sara Gruen.  The pace, plot, ease of reading, and the development of Maddie’s character all make this book worth reading past the beginning.  If you enjoyed Water for Elephants, you love any story that takes place in Scotland or during WWII, or you’re a fan of Historical Fiction, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this book.

Review: The Dream Lover

Published on by Rachelle

Dream

  • Author: Elizabeth Berg
  • ISBN: 9780812993158
  • Publisher: Random House
  • Genre: Historical Fiction

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think George Sand is my spirit animal.  I knew of her, but I didn’t know much more than that she was a French author who got her books published under a pen name.  I’ve never read any of her novels, but I fully intend to now that I’ve learned what an amazing woman she was, and how much I could relate to her and her life, especially in regards to her relationship with her mother and her heartache from one failed romance after another.

Don’t get me wrong, I fully understand this is Historical Fiction, but George Sand’s character came to life for me in such a way that I often felt like I was reading an autobiography, which is an experience I’ve never had before.  I wouldn’t doubt that Elizabeth Berg had to become George Sand in order to write this book, and I don’t care that not everything in it is factually true and liberties were taken where there wasn’t a consensus on the details.  This story is real to me in my heart, and that’s what matters.  I sympathized with her during the parts in which I didn’t have a personal experience I could directly relate to hers.  I empathized with her during the parts in which I could.  I felt for her and cried for her, and I got exasperated with the men in her life when she was forced to figure out ways around them in order to ensure her needs were met.  I wanted to comfort her as if she were my younger self in need of comforting.  I loved that she defied so many social norms and continued to do so well after her defiance was useful.  I also loved that she wasn’t perfect.  She made mistakes and she was a little too trusting with her heart and a little too forgiving of those who were no good for her.  She didn’t have the highest self-esteem, but she did have confidence in herself as a writer.  She also suffered from depression, which is something I’m very familiar with, but unlike a few of my other well-loved authors, she handled it better.

I need to stop there before I give away the whole story.  Suffice it to say, this is a book that needs to be read by anyone who considers themselves to be even the tiniest bit Feminist, anyone who loves anything to do with France, especially during the 19th century (my favorite time period), and anyone who loves Classic literature or Historical Fiction.

Review: Storm Front

Published on by Rachelle

Storm

  • Author: Jim Butcher
  • Genre: Urban Fantasy

I borrowed this book from the Boyfriend.

The Boyfriend had been trying to convince me to start the Dresden Files for almost as long as we’ve known each other.  I kept putting it off to read other books because I was afraid I might not like it, and it happens to be the Boyfriend’s all-time favorite series.  Then I watched the Boyfriend devour the latest book, Skin Game, in a day, which I had never seen him do with any other book.  So, I decided that I needed to know what was so great about it that the Boyfriend would spend more time reading than playing video games.

As I opened the cover, I happened to glance at one of the quotes in the praise section, which mentioned that lover’s of the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton would love this series too.  That piqued my interest more since I do love Hamilton’s books.  While I didn’t finish Storm Front in a day, that’s not for lack of trying.  Life got in the way.  Don’t you hate it when that happens?!  I finished it in three days, and I now know that the Dresden Files will be one of my go-tos when I hit a reading slump.  I’ve already got a bookmark in the second book, Fool Moon, but I’ve been forcing myself to wait until I could find the time to write this review as well as try to finish up some of the other books I was already in the middle of reading; otherwise, I might not ever finish them, and this blog would turn into a Dresden Files fan page.  Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen, no matter how much love I have for the books.

Now that the Boyfriend and I have something else to geek out about together, it’s a priority of mine to get everyone else to do the same.  Please, PLEASE, give Storm Front a chance.  I’m sure you can find it at your local public library, and if you love Urban Fantasy or the Anita Blake series, you’ll enjoy reading about Harry Dresden’s adventures.

Review: Seeking Daylight Parts I and II

Published on by Rachelle

Journey Thrones

  • Author: P.J. Owen
  • Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy

I listened to Journey to the Underhill Gates at podiobooks.com and I received The Thrones of Fire and Stone through P.J. Owen’s website.

The “Seeking Daylight” story is broken up into parts like a TV mini-series.  From my understanding, there are five parts, four of which have been published, but I didn’t know that going in, and I was only able to get the first two parts for free.  Since I’m participating in the #ShelfLove No Book Buying Challenge, it’s going to be a while before I can read the remaining parts.  I came close to deciding not to write a review because of that, but, given the current prices of the remaining parts in ebook format, I’d have no problem with buying them if it weren’t for the challenge.  Together, I wouldn’t be paying much more than a mass market paperback, which the entire story’s page count would be about equal to.  Once the fifth book has been published, the complete set would make a nice little gift for any middle-grade reader.

That’s not an advertisement; I just really enjoyed these first two parts of the story.  There are some minor similarities to the Harry Potter series, but that seems to be common in middle-grade books these days, and the Harry Potter series certainly wasn’t the first to have a group of three children, two boys and one girl, all students at a school in which they’re living, finding themselves in an unexpected scrape in an underground place that they had no idea existed.  Also, there is a prophesy that no one is explaining, involving Louis, who is a bit similar to Harry.

Unlike other middle-grade books I’ve read, though, this doesn’t feel like a ripoff.  At least, not these first two parts.  I’ll have to let you know if I change my mind about that after I eventually read the remaining parts of the story.  Until then, since these first two are free, and not even 200 pages long, give them a chance and decide for yourself.  They’re the makings of a great Fantasy story.