Tag Archives: 5-stars

Review: Tamora Pierce – Trickster’s Queen

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Trickster’s Queen
Tamora Pierce
Aly has survived the summer. Now she returns to the city, and must protect Sarai and Dove even more carefully, in order to set one of them on the throne.
Aly really comes into her own in this novel. The few things about the first novel, where she doesn’t seem suited to a life of slavery, are entirely suitable to this novel. She’s independent, she’s finally trusted, she just needs to make sure she doesn’t become over confident.
I like Dove. She’s sensible, and really has her head on straight. She’s much more likeable than the headstrong Sarai. The other characters, mainly the leaders of the rebellion, also ring true for me.
The love interest with Nawat is really understated and won’t have your teenager going ‘ugh’. Adult readers might wish for a bit more action, but it wouldn’t be fitting with the rest of the novel.
Readers will be unsurprised by the ending, but pleased by it nonetheless. I think there was only one way it could have ended, and so of course it does end in that way. Predictable but true.
Something I possibly should have mentioned about the first book in this series as well is the wonderful world building. Just like The Immortals Quartet, it’s good to see some world outside Tortall for a change. It shows that Pierce has really thought about the whole universe, not just the mainland.

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Review: Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian

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Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian
Eoin Colfer
Artemis is facing off against Opal Koboi once again. That sneaking Opal is always getting into mayhem. This time she wants to wipe out all human kind, and make a mess of the fairy world as well.
9307674This final installment in the Artemis Fowl books is very much improved from the last book. Artemis may have lost some of his brains but the action continues on regardless.
It’s packed with action and adventure. There’s no clue to what is going to happen next and the suspense is killer. You have to wonder what Artemis’ brothers have to do with things…
There are laugh it loud moments in this novel particularly when dealing with Mulch. Ah I love the dwarf! At one point you think he’s a goner but there’s always more surprises.
Even without the last chapter this book is good. It irritates me a little that the ending leaves it open for yet another book but I live in hope that any further books are just as good.
This is one of the first blogger posts I have composed on my phone – apologies for its brevity. I’ve been a bit lax in my blogging lately, and have a bunch of posts to catch up on.

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Review: Tamora Pierce – Trickster’s Choice

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Trickster’s Choice
Tamora Pierce
Aly wants to be a spy like her da. Denied this option, and faced with the prospect of becoming her mother’s project, she decides to take a little sail to visit some friends. Instead, she’s captured by slavers and shipped off to the Balitangs to an unlikely role.
This is an old favourite of mine. Aly is a spunky, cheeky heroine that I enjoy reading every time. Nawat Crow keeps the humour alive, and you can see the potential in the two ladies from the start. You have to like Dove more though, even if she seems extremely mature for a 12 year old.
There’s enough action and blood in this book to keep most teenagers satisfied. You can’t feel too sad at the ending, even with some deaths. There’s several climax points which serve to keep the reader interested too.
This novel comes after The Protector of the Small series in Tortall, but concerns a different land. Additionally, there is a short story which I have previously review that concerns Aly and Nawat as well.
It took me just under 2 and half hours to read this novel. That makes it a light and easy read for when I just want to chill out and not think too much.

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Review: Juliet Marillier – The Bridei Chronicles 3 – The Well of Shades

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The Well of Shades
Juliet Marillier
Faolan must return to his homeland and face his history. He encounters many obstacles, including one who may be more than she sees. Not all is right at home either, with Bridei’s court in disarray with the arrival of a new Light Isles Princess.
It’s amazing to witness the character development of Faolan in this novel. What was begun in Blade of Fortriu is lead to a stunning conclusion here. Faolan becomes more and more likeable for me, and a better person all around.
There are plenty of narrative threads in this novel, and plenty of action. Sure, there’s less warmongering than in the others in this trilogy but the people element is strong and carries the book well.
I can’t think of enough praise for this novel. I was desperate to finish reading it, but was very sad when I had done so. Marillier writes such great fantasy that if she was a touch more prolific she might be my favourite author of all time!
It seems to me that the 4th book in this series, as yet unpublished (and possibly not to be written) would do a good job of rounding up some open ends. In particular, the influx of the Christian faith is only briefly mentioned, and more could have been made of its inevitable progress.

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Review: Ellen Wittlinger – Parrotfish

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Parrotfish
Ellen Wittlinger
Angela has become Grady. It hasn’t been an overnight decision, she’s known she’s a he for quite some time. The rest of the world has trouble adapting though, particularly his Jewish mother and ex-bestfriend Eve.
Parrotfish is a well written, thoroughly enjoyable teenage novel in the LBQT spectrum. Grady is an endearing character who will draw you into his story and make you feel along with him very nicely.
While some of the characters felt like placeholders (such as Grady’s dad, and Sebastian’s mother), the progression of other minor characters such as Sebastian himself and Eve were genuine. I liked the character of Kita, even if I felt that her reaction (and poor Grady’s reaction to her) was perhaps a little too over the top in terms of how accepting she was right away.
I felt that Parrotfish romanticized the truths of coming out as transgender a little bit. The fact that there was hardly any bullying, other than Danya and the glass of milk seemed hard to believe. Not that they weren’t hardships, and Grady really could have suffered if not for his friends, but just everything seemed a little too easy.
I enjoyed the subplot of the Christmas cheer. It’s hard to believe that so much can be packed into a novel from Thanksgiving to Christmas. If anything, I wished that the novel was a little longer – I wanted to know what Grady’s long term plans were.
I loved the analogy of gender being like a football field, with a continuum of gender. Some people aren’t girly girls, but they aren’t guys either. I’m probably somewhere on the middle of this genderfield too – I’m a girl, but I couldn’t tell you why I was one.
With a friend transitioning in the other direction (MtF) I felt like it was high time I got into the transgender set of literature. I’m so glad I picked this novel as my first real foray into it.

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Review: Jenny Nimmo – The Children of the Red King 1: Midnight for Charlie Bone

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The Children of the Red King 1: Midnight for Charlie Bone
Jenny Nimmo
Charlie can hear people talking to him. No, not the kind of voices inside his head that might mean he’s mad – he’s one of the Endowed children of the Red King. Charlie is able to hear the voices of what people were thinking and saying when photographs were taken. Life is not easy for Charlie though. His friend Benjamin thought they were going to attend the same school – but now Charlie must go to the Academy or be kicked out of home.
862369Nimmo has crafted a beautiful novel as a starter for this series. There are crafty foreshadowing motifs, and other parts that flow because of the imagery that Nimmo uses. I didn’t even mind the perspective alterations in order to show off the villains better!
Although I would say mainly this novel is plot driven (and also with a healthy dose of suspense thrown in), we also see some character development from Charlie and the others. The Flames have to be my favourites – and you just know there’s something extra strange about them from the beginning.
Billy Raven acts as a loveable, and question-inducing antagonist. It’s just what is appropriate for a children’s book, and I can imagine this book being put on syllabuses  because of the questions it could potentially raise. If you’re raising a budding fantasy lover, I’d absolutely recommend this novel as one of the early ones to read.
There are now lots of different covers for this novel – but I have the one on the left, and all of the other books in the series as matching ones! I love them, and they’re all subtly shiny. Sadly, the new book doesn’t match, but at least it’s obvious about where it belongs. I haven’t actually read that one yet,  but I will once I’ve reread all the ones in The Children of the Red King series (check the Reviews by Author page to see what I’m up to).
I read and loved this novel when I was considerably younger, and was re-attracted to it recently because there is a new book in the series (a prequel). This of course makes it nearly impossible for me to properly evaluate, but I have tried to some extent. Go and buy yourself a copy if you love simple, easy to read fantasy that still has hidden elements for you to puzzle over.

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Review: Leisel K. Hill – Persistence of Vision

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Persistence of Vision
Leisel K. Hill
Some authors just have a spark in them that makes their worlds come alive in new and exciting ways. Leisel Hill is one of those authors. This is her first novel that I have read, and man, I can’t wait to get my hands on the other ones in this series.

When I wasn’t reading this novel, such as when I was at work, I couldn’t resist thinking about it and mulling over what would happen next. I could say I was captivated by it! However, the attraction wasn’t so strong that it overcame my willpower to work – which is actually a good point for me.

Maggie’s character is so nicely realised. Her actions speak so much louder than her words, yet her words are natural and fit well with the rest of the dialogue. The whole concept (which I don’t want to spoil for you) of losing time and memories is a fascinating one, particularly when there are others that know what has happened – and things are understandably awkward because of this.
I think there was just one section where things didn’t add up for me, and this was the Trackers sent out to find Nat. Now that I’ve perked your ears up for that, you can keep an eye out and see if you notice the same discrepancy. Other than that, the twisting story and what each character knows about each situation is kept strictly under wraps, which adds an element of surprise, as well as being the reason you keep reading.
I never knew I could enjoy a dystopian sci-fi so much! The concepts were really fascinating, and I really could see how the world we are currently inhabiting could go the way of this novel. It wasn’t unbelievable, and the science that was included fitted with what I know already.
This is a novel written by an author who knows what the formula for a good book is, yet has adapted it to produce a great book. I follow Leisel’s blog, and she often posts about how to write good novels, and she has used those techniques to great effect in her work.

The ending was just as good/bad as I hoped. Good, because it was satisfying, bad because this book is only just being released, and I want more right now!!! There were some nice additional twists that got me onto the edge of my seat, and everything was just awesome.

I requested this novel from the author, and was lucky enough to receive a beautiful paperback of it. This has in no way influenced my review, although I have promoted this novel on my blog as much as possible because it’s a great book.

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Review: Julie Anne Peters – By the Time You Read This I’ll be Dead

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By the Time You Read This I’ll be Dead
Julie Anne Peters
Daelyn has tried to kill herself multiple times, and each time has failed. She’s got scars everywhere and can no longer talk, and doesn’t want to keep trying. Mix this with a boy who won’t give up on her and you get a poignant teenage novel.
You have to be in the right mood to read this novel I think. There are some great thought provoking moments, as well as the discussion questions at the end of the novel to consider. Novels like this should be in high school required reading.
The narrative is written so that you can’t feel too much of Daelyn behind it, which is the point – she has isolated herself from the world. Although the title of the novel suggests that this is written in a journal format – never fear, it’s not.
Although I was hankering after it when it first came out, I couldn’t say that this was one of my favourite Peters novels. It’s not bad, it’s a theme close to my heart, but it just lacks some of the pizzazz of the others. I don’t know what’s missing. Maybe it’s just that I expect queer novels from her, and this isn’t one of them. It’s definitely still about minorities.
Bullying is a problem which is becoming worse, not better, over time. Daelyn has suffered horribly, but indeed, she never did stand up for herself. It’s not really her fault though, although I’d love to know why she was fat in the first place. When I was in highschool, there was an obese girl who was bullied. I never really knew her that well though, and she moved schools because of the bullying. Kids are cruel.
I’d recommend this book for anyone who enjoyed Scars, The Burn Journals or anything else in that type of genre (coming of age / mental illness).

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Review: Tamora Pierce – The Song of The Lioness 2: In the Hand of the Goddess

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In the Hand of the Goddess
Tamora Pierce
Alanna’s secret is out to a select few. Now she must decide between her love for Jon, and her love for George. At the same time, she has to overcome her weaknesses to try and get to her Knighthood.

The storyline of Alanna’s fear of love becomes more prominent, and carries through this novel to the others in the series. There is at least a conclusion to this novel, even if it feels like each thing carries through each time.
There are time jumps in this novel that could have been made more of so that I noticed them. I did think Alanna was very young to be having sex with people, even if it’s only really mentioned in passing. It feels like Jon is exploiting her – he might well be.
Roger adds the plot progression to this novel that makes things happen. Although he did start playing a role in the first novel, he’s bigger this time. And of course, he’s the meanie that Alanna must defeat.
I’ve reread this many times, and enjoyed it every time. I’ll probably want to read it again next year! If I have time that is…
The ending is a satisfactory, yet predictable one. I’d recommend the novel for adults and teenagers once again. Excellent for anyone wanting to break into the fantasy market as a teen.

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Review: Tamora Pierce – The Song of The Lioness 1: Alanna: The First Adventure

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Alanna: The First Adventure
Tamora Pierce
Alanna wants to become a knight, but she’s a woman. With the help of her twin, Thom, she’s about to embark on the biggest deception of her life. The penalty of failure is most likely death, but she wants to protect those she loves.

I have read this novel so many times I have lost count. So when I tried to pull it apart in the same way I have all my other review books, I couldn’t! I’m sure there are some inconsistencies somewhere, but I just love Alan so much that I can ignore it.

It’s fascinating to try and work out where the turning points in the book are. For me, it’s a real challenge. I just love this novel! It’s good honest fantasy with an endearing main character and a woman who knows what she wants, and most of the time isn’t afraid to go get it!
What makes me come back to keep reading this novel? Well, it’s that the city is realised nicely, and there is enough historical interest to keep me reading (but not too much). It links in really well with the other books in the series as well. Pierce has mastery of knowing when to stop a novel – a bit of a cliffhanger, but not too much and you feel satisfied after reading.
I own this novel in an omnibus, and I waited for many years to see if the other books by Pierce set in this world would be released in the same form. Sadly, they weren’t, and now I have them all in very different covers. Within each series it matches though, so that makes me happy. I find the cover on the left very attractive 🙂
Please note that I have now changed the format of how my posts will appear, and also the titling conventions. If the novel in question is part of a series, I will now put that series name in the title with a number, so that it is easy to locate series in my Reviews by Author page.

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