Tag Archives: 4-stars

Review: Maria V. Snyder – Poison Study

Posted on by
Reply
Poison Study
Maria V. Snyder
It is against the Code of Behaviour to kill, but that is exactly what Yelena has done. Stored in a dungeon for jut under a year, Yelena is willing to die to forget what she has been through already. When offered a second chance as a  poison tester for the Commander, she’s willing to make the most of what comes her way.

Yelena is a great strong female protagonist. She seems to bounce back from a bunch of problems. One of the reasons I liked her so much was because she wouldn’t give up. She’s very smart, and maybe a little bit too athletic to be believable, but then, usually the protagonist of most books is like that.

I found the romance of this book a little unconvincing. I was sure that the age gap between them was quite large, and also that it seemed to be a semi-dependant relationship. It also seemed to sneak up on Yelena without her noticing – something odd for a character who seemed to know herself well.
Plenty of foreshadowing going on in this book. Some of the smallest details end up being important. I love the way Yelena’s back story is gradually revealed, as it adds nice emphasis to her circumstances. I was unsatisfied with the Rand subplot. I wanted something better for his end. Yelena also seemed to about turn on him so abruptly. I could understand where Rand was coming from, but it seemed like there were more ways out of his situation. It was certainly a great way of showing the harsh side of the Commander and Valek though
Oh, those damn beans. I was so sure they were cocoa beans, but then they ended up being something different. Someone else give me an opinion here – did you think they were cocoa beans? Coffee beans? Something else? It was obvious that those were the cause though.
Sorry about the cover photo being so blurry. I had horrible lighting conditions, and it just wasn’t working for me. I’ll take this photo again if I’ve got time. UPDATE: I took a new photo! On a similar note – do you enjoy seeing my actual copies of books? Or would you prefer a plain old version from Amazon?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it without hesitation. I’ve got the next two books of this trilogy sitting on my shelf, but I can’t have them yet! I’d say this book was ideal for teenagers, and perhaps some adults – but don’t go looking for too much depth. Pick the books up, and you’ll be hooked for sure.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy4star

Review: Mercedes Lackey – The Sleeping Beauty

Posted on by
Reply
The Sleeping Beauty
Mercedes Lackey
Rosa’s mother has just died, and things seem set for her to inherit a horrible step mother determined to kill her off! Instead a craft set of trials is devised to determine her husband. Although Rosa has favourite, there is someone who hasn’t shown their hand and could destroy everything.
Initially this book starts out with a great sense of humour – something that Lackey says she deliberately included. As the novel progresses, things do become a bit more involved. One gripe I had was that the same analogy used by Godmother Bella in The Fairy Godmother to explain to Elena about her missing price is used again in this book.
I love Seigfried. He’s so likeable. You can tell from his physical description that he is frequently underestimated, yet underneath all that is a bright brain. I like his little bird too.
Rosa is awesome. I like Rosa too. She doesn’t get nearly enough airtime! Or I guess she does, but it’s not really that obvious because perspectives are swapped every which way. A strong willed female protagonist once again. I’m a bit sick of the Sleeping Beauty / Cinderella stories though – there doesn’t seem to be anything else going for the women!
There are some inconsistencies with the fairytales, and countless references to others. If you aren’t familiar with your fairytales, I’d suggest brushing up on them.
I liked the trials, particularly the riddles. That was my favourite part of the whole thing! Worth reading just for those. Perhaps this isn’t the most glowing of reviews, but it is enjoyable, and certainly easy to read with a thrilling conclusion.
It’s a complete change from Fortune’s Fool, where the kingdom in question is poor. This kingdom is so rich that they are constantly at war to keep the neighbouring kingdoms from stealing the gold. The final trial is quite logical from that really.
After awhile, the covers on these books become quite samey. There are only so many pretty women you can look at! It would be nice to have another strong male Hero in future books, and have him on the cover instead. I can understand that Lackey is a female and therefore writes female orientated things, but still…
This one is suitable again for teens as well as adults. Not even very many adult themes in this one! Just some clever use of language, humour and trials as I mentioned.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy4star

Review: Mercedes Lackey – The Snow Queen

Posted on by
Reply
The Snow Queen
Mercedes Lackey
Aleksia is the Snow Queen, ruling and saving young boys from becoming Clockwork Artificers. Imagine her horror when she discovers that she has a duplicate – and her duplicate is actually putting spears of ice into young men to destroy them. Aleksia has to prove that she is true, while also trying to overcome her own isolation.

This book is considerably later in time since The Fairy Godmother. Elena is now a senior Fairy Godmother, and has multiple Kingdoms under control. When I looked this up on Mercedes Lackey’s website to check the spelling of Aleksia’s name, I discovered this is actually the 4th book in the Five Hundred Kingdom’s series, when I have been rereading them as this being the 3rd book. Nevertheless, it didn’t have a huge impact on my enjoyment because it doesn’t depend on any characters from Fortune’s Fool.

I felt a little like Aleksia was too cold for me! I did connect with her character, but not to the extent that I did with Elena. There were parts of her that didn’t feel fleshed out (particularly her seemingly rational but out of proportion anger at the North Wind). More could have been done with her

There is a section where two people are attacked by bandits, and it is briefly described how they get out of the situation and gain from it. A couple of pages later after swapping view points, this is repeated and expanded upon. It wasn’t far enough away in the text hat I felt that the repetition was warranted.

Other parts of the novel didn’t connect. No matter how many times I reread this, I can never remember which of the two men with Veikkio Aleksia is interested. I can understand using different sounding names to emphasis that this is taking part in another part of the world, but it’s annoying to keep track of.

I loved the concept of the Runes foretelling what a person is good at for the Sammi. For such a practical people, I couldn’t understand how their afterlife could be so boring though! I would like to see more stories about them, because the end of this book didn’t feel finished for Aleksia at all. I wanted to know more about how she would bring more friendly people (not just children!) to her castle.

Recommended for adults and teenagers as there are no ‘sex scenes’, only a great story! Highly enjoyable, even if I feel that is isn’t quite as good as the others in the series. There are more new fairytales from other parts of the world that European readers may not be familiar with which adds an extra level of interest.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy4star

Review: Mercedes Lackey – Fortune’s Fool

Posted on by
Reply
Fortune’s Fool
Mercedes Lackey
In another tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, Sasha and Katya are both seventh born children. The difference between them is that one belongs on the land and the other in the sea. Both have important roles for their kingdoms, but both are equally alone as well.
Sasha and Katya show very little character development. Sasha is the kind hearted soul he has always been, and Katya the strong willed woman who loves clothes!  Their relationship also seems a little quick moving, but then again, the Tradition is behind it.
I like how this book has two climax points. The first is with Katya, which introduces her nicely, and the second is with the Jinn. The various adventures Sasha had didn’t hold as much weight with me because I knew that as a Fortunate Fool he would come out of them ok every time.
Nippon. Anyone who has studied Japanese will see that Lackey has blatantly ripped off their language. I’m not sure I found it great – I wanted something new, not something I was familiar with. Granted, it was a bit like medieval Japan, but in a Fairytale book I felt there should be more.
Three Baba Yagas! How scary. This is a fairytale that everyone should be familiar with, the strange house that walks on two chicken legs. This book really makes an effort to draw in a number of Fairytales, which is excellent.
The ending is a little bit too clear cut for me. Or rather, not the ending itself, but the little epilogue that is at the end, in a years time. All too very convenient and unlikely, even with the Tradition. I was under the impression that the castle was further away from Sasha’s kingdom that it appears, and it isn’t near the water except by a stream.
I’d recommend this book for adults only, simply because it has explicit sex scenes in it. They aren’t really necessary for the book, and they do feel a little gratuitous, but I guess Lackey doesn’t get to explore that much in her other books.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy4star

Review: Mercedes Lackey – One Good Knight

Posted on by
Reply
One Good Knight
Mercedes Lackey
Princess Andie is intelligent, waif-like beautiful and has just turned 19. Her mother however isn’t ready to see her as an adult, and would rather she was confused and silly with conventional beauty. When Andie finally gets a real ‘job’, she uncovers things that were probably better off hidden. Andie becomes a liability very quickly – as a virgin she’s very likely to be snaffled up by an evil creature…

Andie is smart, and bookish – just what I like in a female protagonist. She isn’t very good with common things, but her common sense is certainly in place. Yay for a non-traditional heir. Lackey has a good thing going, and she really works with it.
The different perspectives of this book, particularly the Queen vs Andie in the first parts of the book really set the plot going. Those that have read The Fairy Godmother in this series will recognise the Traditional path that is taking place, but Andie can’t see it. You just keep waiting for the penny to drop!So many good things to say about this book, but many of them would give away too much of the plot. It’s not a particularly hard read, but it will sucker you in and steal all of your time (oops to doing all that study I had lined up)

Andie’s knowledge of the Tradition, and also that of the other people in her Kingdom (such as Sophont Balen) seems strange, after the emphasis in The Fairy Godmother about most people having no idea. Yet everyone seems to be exploiting it easily! It’s nice to see how a situation can be resolved without a Fairy Godmother though – the regular people have a chance.
The cover of this book doesn’t match how I saw Andie at all. I though she was very thin with no breasts, and the girl on the cover certainly does have those! Also I expected that the dragon would be less fierce looking than that. Hard to discuss more without giving the plot away.
Worth a read. I’d say this book is suitable for teens as well as adults because it contains none of the explicit sex scenes of the first book. This series is a very good one, and worth buying to reread often. Lackey really breaths life into old fairytales.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy

4star

Review: Diana Wynne Jones – Year of the Griffin

Posted on by
Reply
Year of the Griffin
Diana Wynne Jones
The wizard university is suffering from severe money and staffing problems. The current head decides that his promising group of 6 students are likely to yield him money to repair the leaking roofs – but how wrong he is! With two students with jinxes, a griffin and a runaway dwarf things seem like they will go from bad to worse. Underneath all this, Wizard Corkoran wants to go to the moon but if he doesn’t change his set ways of thinking, he won’t get there – or will he?

As usual, I can’t do justice to the synopsis for the book. It’s easy enough to google one, and even just read the back of the book at the library. It’s a lot better to just read the book and be done with it! It isn’t a waste of your time to read anything by Diana Wynne Jones.

Elda is a strong female protagonist, even as a griffin she has her weaknesses. She is the youngest griffin daughter of Wizard Derk, and he doesn’t approve of her going to university, particularly the way the university has become hardbound and unable to teach anything but the basics. Even the basics are wrong, and together with the new friends she is making they must change the university from first year up.

This book is slow to start out in my opinion, but it is worth persevering. As the story progresses, it evolves from a simple university setting into a mess of assassins and mice! It is the characters and their various shortfallings that make the book interesting. It is rather plot driven, and I didn’t feel particularly attached to any of the characters, but finding out about each of their histories is interesting.
If you enjoyed ‘Dark Lord of Derkholm’, this book is a logical continuation. However, it is totally readable without having read the first book in this series. The novel is a little reminiscent of Harry Potter at first, with wizards going off to school. But really, it should be that Harry Potter is reminiscent of this! If you like school-based books, this one will draw you in.

The ending is just a little too neat, with everyone ending up happily paired! The story as a whole is good though, although not quite as good as the first book in the series in my opinion. Maybe I’m just tired of the old wizarding school idea? I would have much rather learned about how Kit and Blade (Derk’s sons) learnt magic from a dragon or perhaps about the childhood of Derk’s winged humans.

I would recommend this book for both children and teenagers. I wouldn’t say there was anything in it unsuitable for children, although I could be wrong. It is pure enjoyable fantasy, and I don’t regret having chosen this book off my shelf as my 40th book review reward.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy4star

Review: Tamora Pierce – The Will of the Empress

Posted on by
Reply
The Will of the Empress
Tamora Pierce
Briar, Daja, Tris and Sandry have each gone their own ways, and have now all returned to Winding Circle. But Winding Circle can not longer keep them – they are 18, and have reached the age of their majority. When Sandry’s uncle suggests that the other three accompany Sandry to her family holdings, it seems like a chance for the circle to be reformed.
The Empress is determined to court the four powerful mages and get them to stay with her. Things aren’t as rosy as they appear though, and various things conspire that Sandry soon finds herself wishing for home, even as the other three find things that they like in the Empire!
Once again, this book’s third person narration swaps between each of the four characters. Pierce makes it work really well, and it adds a further sense of continuity for the four characters. The character development is relatively obvious, as the four settle back into their relationships. Each of them has changed, but they are still able to connect and bicker as they once did. This is one of the real strengths of the novel, which takes me to read it time and time again.
Briar’s time away and how Luvo appears is something I’d really like to know more about. My suggestion for why Pierce hasn’t written about this is that it would possibly make the storyline too adult. I know that Pierce is planning a book where Tris goes to Lightsbridge, but I’m not sure if she is going to fill in any more of the time between ages 14 and 18.

Something that irritated me was the constant explaining of what a ‘kid’ and a ‘mate’ were. Perhaps in other countries, it’s not obvious that these terms refer to children and good friends, but to me, I knew what they were, and I didn’t need reminding! This was something that annoyed me a little in reading the other books of this series as well.

I would like to comment both positively and negatively for the specific inclusion of a gay/queer subplot in this novel. I’m happy that one has been included, and the idea is treated quite sensitively, but I’m not so impressed with who turns out to be lesbian. It’s a far too obvious choice to me, and seems to be playing to the stereotype of connecting sexuality and job choice. I won’t further spoil this for you, but it’s something I had to mention.

I hesitat to tag this book as queer, as some people would interpret this to mean that the entire book is about a queer character, but it really isn’t. I also wanted to label it with dragons, because Chime shows up again, but it is really a very minor role. Also, I could possibly tag it with depression, because one of the characters (not of the main four) has had several suicide attempts, but again, it’s not a focus of the novel.

I’d recommend this book, and the other eight books that came before this one, to children and teens alike. Please read them all in order! This one does stand alone, but really, why miss out on the story from before? It’s relatively family friendly, with some hints of violence and also of courtship. Some people may not be comfortable with the queer aspect, but I didn’t find it at all offensive.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy4star

Review: JRR Tolkien – The Hobbit

Posted on by
Reply
The Hobbit
JRR Tolkien
The Hobbit is a classic book, a sort of prequel to the Lord of the Rings. Bilbo Baggins is the sort of hobbit that doesn’t want to have adventures, but they come to him anyway. He is recruited as the thief for stealing dwarfish treasure back from a dragon! Nevermind that Bilbo has never left his comfortable hobbit hole before!
227221The Hobbit is like a children’s version of the Lord of the Rings in a way. At the same time, some of the material from it is very useful for understanding that trilogy, while having read the trilogy before also adds information to this one, particularly the references to the elves. I’d recommend reading both together, but if you don’t have the stamina for the Lord of the Rings, give The Hobbit a go anyway.
It’s difficult for me to be objective about this book because it is such a classic. I have to say that the book’s style of description didn’t really draw me in. I continued reading mainly out of a sense of duty, because I just couldn’t get attracted to the characters, which is a very important element for me. As the book progressed however, I really wanted to see how they would achieve things, and so I went on!
It’s not a bad book by any means, the plot line is interesting and Bilbo is believable and laughable as a character, it’s just the style of excessive detail doesn’t really do it for me. What stands out to me about this book is Tolkien’s awareness of his reader, and the way that the text is addressed to the reader in order to make it more personal.
I originally listened to this as a talking book while painting Lord of the Rings style Warhammer figurines. I’m pretty sure it was read by a full cast, and so it was really enjoyable. Nevertheless, on this reading of it I found that I didn’t really remember anything from the talking book. I own two different copies of this book, the one above and also one that has a plain cover.
I believe that this is being made into a movie that will be released soon. I really enjoyed the movies of the Lord of the Rings, even though I had read the books (an exception to what I usually find), and so I will hopefully get to see this one on the big screen!
I would recommend this book for teenagers, adults and children. Although there are some scary sections, overall the book is very family friendly. Who doesn’t love hobbits?

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy4star

Review: Tamora Pierce – Briar’s Book

Posted on by
1
Briar’s Book
Tamora Pierce
Briar was brought up as a street rat from age 4. Now he finds it hard to balance his gang upbringing with his new life at the temple. With plague on the way, Briar must learn new skills quickly. But will it be fast enough to save those he loves?
251702This book is told almost entirely from Briar’s point of view. The progress of the plot is rapid, and you will find it difficult to break away from the narrative. Pierce is a master craftswoman, filling out characters seemlessly with the books that came before.

The ending of this book is gripping, you won’t want to put it down. It didn’t take me very long to reread this book, but if you are reading for the first time you may want to dedicate more time to enjoying events.

Of the books in this quartet, this one is the most disturbing for me. I don’t enjoy the plague at all, as it’s easy to be reminded of swine flu. The close calls of a number of friends of the four children are very close to home for me.

Sadly for me, as you can see in the above picture, I have the hardcopy version of this book which was sent to me by mistake. As an Australian customer, I find it too expensive to send things back. If anyone would like to swap this book with me for the paperback version, I would love for my collection to be matching!

I’d recommend this book for children and teenagers. There are some ugly parts of the book, but nothing that I feel is too out there. If you have read through the first three books, nothing in this book will be a surprise.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy

or alternatively you can book swap with me!4star

Review: Tamora Pierce – Tris’s Book

Posted on by
Reply
Tris’s Book
Tamora Pierce

Tris, Daja, Briar and Sandry have survived the earthquake, and Summersea is also beginning to heal its wounds. There is no rest for the four friends though – as powerful mages they have a duty to help put things right as well as fight off the next attack.

58890As the title suggests, the majority of this book is about Tris. She is a budding weathermage, but she lacks control. Spouting with lightnings she is a danger to pirates and friends alike. Strangely, her magic seems to be leaking into her friends’, which makes for some very interesting results.

What I love about this book is that the cover really matches the contents. I imagined Tris’s hair a little bit more frizzy, but it’s a pretty good representation! The original title for this book was ‘The Power in the Storm’, which naturally I feel fitted better with the book’s content.

It is important to read this set of four books in order so that the progression of the characters can be clearly seen. The book is a good mix of plot driven action and character development. The pirates give the four friends something to do, and adds some interest to the book. I’d be perfectly happy to just hear more about what they learn with their teachers (but then, that’s me, and I like that type of thing), but I suppose the pirates add another level of interest.

This is another comforting book to me, I read it when I don’t want to get too involved! It only took me around 1-2 hours to reread in entirety. Since I’ve now reread it a lot of times, it’s hard to say what originally attracted me to this book. I’d probably say it was because I enjoyed this first book so much!

I would recommend this book for children (only just though, as there are some bloody deaths and nightmares) and teenagers. It’s a very easy read for me, but a very enjoyable one. It seems to me, anything by Tamora Pierce is imminently rereadable.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy

4star