book review

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 12 Comments

heartless

 

“Stuff and nonsense. Nonsense and stuff and much of a muchness and nonsense all over again. We are all mad here, don’t you know?”
― Marissa Meyer, Heartless

After my last read being so violent and depraved I turned to Heartless hoping for something a little lighter. Something that would leave me with a good feeling. What I got instead was the absolute worst book hangover I have ever had. I finished it nearly a day ago now and it is still dancing around in my head. The story got it’s hands in me and won’t let me go.

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From Alice in Wonderland we all know the general cast of characters that come from the classic Lewis Carroll novel. We have The Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts,the Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar, and a bevy of other characters that all seem at least a little out of their right minds. They are all lovable in their own ways and have made a lasting impression across generations since initial publication in 1865. What we have in Heartless is (mostly) this same cast of characters before Alice fell down the rabbit hole. Before the reign of the Queen of Hearts. They each delighted and entertained me. Most broke my heart.

Catherine, our lovely heroine, is a young woman with dreams of opening her own bakery with her maid and dear friend Mary Ann. Being the daughter of aristocrats her parents obviously don’t want her filling her head with such nonsense as having a career or owning her own business. That, in their minds, is simply and utterly beneath them. What they want, which of course overrules anything Cath may want for herself, is to have their daughter married off to the King of Hearts. Cath is absolutely, unreservedly, and entirely against it.

The king is a spineless dolt of a man who is very jovial in his ignorance of anything that could potentially be upsetting. His determination to ignore things that tip the happy balance of his kingdom has spread to his subjects and they all live in a contented state of cluelessness. The king plans to propose to Catherine, it never crossing his mind that she may be against it, at a ball and all the nobility in Hearts are invited. At the ball there is an attack by the dreaded Jabberwock and, luckily for Cath, his proposal is cut short and she dashes out into the night.

And into the arms of Jest.

Jest is the king’s court jester and quickly becomes the love interest of Cath. Jest, while I adore him, never felt completely right to me as a character. He was just too perfect. The author has explanations for this within the book but it still just rubs me ever so slightly the wrong way. I want my hero to seem human, which seems silly in the context of a book where many of the characters are in fact not human. Humans have flaws and imperfections which make them relatable. Jest seems to have none of that. Luckily for him it doesn’t make him obnoxious and you easily come to love him anyway.

Throughout the story we also meet Hatta. Hatta, known by Alice as the Mad Hatter, is perfectly sane and logical, thank you very much. This is something I love about the book. We know that at some point Hatta’s sanity takes a leave of absence but here he is an intelligent, logical man with an unprecedented talent for making hats and being mildly mysterious.

We follow Cath in her adventures as she attempts to thwart the king from his wooing of her, continues her efforts to open her own bakery, gets confusingly courted by Jest, and then watch it all come spiraling down in an out of control avalanche. I read another review of this book which I completely agree with. I would like to take the last five or so chapters of this book and forget that they happened. It would entirely change the entire story for the future Alice and I would be completely content with that. Don’t get me wrong, they are wonderfully written and it brings the story as a whole to a conclusion in preparation for Lewis Carroll’s world, but it completely breaks my heart.

There are so many lovely details of this book that bring it all together into an irresistible whole. It is magic and fun and love and mystery and, in the end, completely, emotionally draining. I don’t want to pick up another book yet because the world within this one still has it’s hold on me.

“These things do not happen in dreams, dear girl,’ he said, vanishing up to his neck. ‘They happen only in nightmares.’
His head spiraled and he was gone.”

 

24690 by A.A. Dark

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 6 Comments

24690

 

Alright, I went completely out of my comfort zone on this one. I don’t usually go for horror. At all. I think the closest I’ve come to horror is Dean Koontz and his books are more sci-fi/horror which makes it less real and scary to me. I love his Odd Thomas. I can’t even watch horror films. The last horror flick I watched was The Ring. In 2002. I had nightmares for weeks and would only shower with the curtain open. To say the least I do not do horror. Something about this book called to me though. I have a stack of books waiting to be read, several of them ARCs, but I just couldn’t stop myself from picking this one up.

Maybe part of why I couldn’t is the disclaimer plastered on 24690’s Goodreads page.

***********WARNING*********** This book contains EXTREMELY disturbing situations, explicit sexual content, and very graphic language. This book EXCEEDS the dark genre and has been classified as PITCH BLACK. May contain triggers for some. Read at your own risk!!

Really, how could I resist that? Come on. It’s like a taunt! So, against my better judgement, I dove in. I feel like I need my own disclaimer here, before I continue. I am in no way mentally unsound. I am nonviolent and extremely squeamish around blood. Heck, if it were the 70’s I’d happily pull on some bell bottoms and dive into the hippie culture of peace and love. I feel like I need to say that because, really, this book is messed up.

In the first opening pages we have two murders, one a complete blood bath, and a violent rape. I know, right? That would send many people running but I just couldn’t help myself. On we go.

Quickly we learn that the story takes place in an enormous secret facility hidden away under a mountain. There, the rich and corrupt pay handsomely to own slaves which they can do with what they please. No government interference. No consequences. These tenants each have an apartment within the facility where they often stay and house their slave as those purchased may never leave. They live there. They die there. There is no escape. Their prison is called Whitlock.

Within Whitlock we have Everleigh, slave 24690, and she has been enslaved there since she was a child. She is the victim of the violent rape in the opening pages and it was her master who was brutally murdered. Now that her master is dead, she is to be put up for auction. To stand before men and their money to be pawed at and sold to the highest bidder. These soulless monsters who see her as nothing more than a toy. A thing to be played with however they please. It takes a lot to please them.

Bram Whitlock is the owner of the facility as his father was before him and he has had his eye on 24690 for years. After a bit of song and dance where he tries to convince himself and Everleigh that he shouldn’t have her because of his depraved nature, they do the horizontal tango. A lot. It’s not pretty. No one would call what they do “making love.” If there is a rating higher than “R” that is what they do would fall under. Cringe with me, if you will.

What follows is Bram’s murder, Everleigh falling into the hands of his successor, and (pardon me) some of the most f*ed up crap you will ever read. We have cannibalism, fights to the death, beheadings, sexual mutilation, and more rape than you ever thought possible within the pages of a book. More than one person gets flayed. It is more than slightly disturbing.

Despite all of that, it really didn’t bother me that much. I’m unsure if that is a complaint or not but none of the characters were relate-able. They were all so far down the rabbit hole they were barely human. I am certain if they had seemed more human I wouldn’t have been able to finish this book. It would have been too much. As it is, the book is oddly appealing. There is no happily ever after, no neat and tidy ending but it does have a sick revenge. Don’t flinch, the guy deserves it.

If I do have anything negative to say it is that the editing is atrocious. There were so many punctuation errors at some points that the story was difficult to follow. They were distracting. At many points there also seem to be words missing which certainly disrupts the flow. A good proof-reader could really clean this up.

In a nutshell, if you are overly sensitive or squeamish turn and run. Otherwise, I think this book is worth a try. You may love it. You may also run for the hills or cry under the bed. Who knows. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

 

 

 

 

The Witchfinder’s Sister by Beth Underdown

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 3 Comments

thewitchfinderssister

 

I remember years ago (far longer than I care to admit) spending an exorbitant amount of time learning about the Salem witch trials in school. It was drummed into our heads as we learned the names of the accused, their supposed crimes, and their punishments. Twenty people were executed for witchcraft and five others died in prison. I recall being appalled of the things that transpired in that Massachusetts town and ashamed that it was part of American history.

Then I picked up this book and learned that the witch trials also occurred in Britain, which was certainly never taught in my history classes. I looked up some history on their witch trials and realized that what had happened in America was small potatoes compared to what had transpired across the Atlantic. Matthew Hopkins, unofficially titled Witchfinder General, was directly responsible for the deaths of around 300 people accused of witchcraft in eastern England between 1644 and 1646. As you may have gleaned from the title, this book is about his sister, Alice.

While Underdown’s work is certainly fiction, it is fiction loosely based around actual events. Those people did die. They were drowned, hanged, starved, tortured, and goodness knows what else. From a literary standpoint I feel like that is important to remember as it gives the book more weight. From a human standpoint, it is horrific. Be that as it may…

We begin with Alice Hopkins. She is traveling to her brother’s home in Manningtree from London after her husband’s accidental death. She is alone, pregnant, and relying on her brother Matthew’s good will to provide her room and board. She and her brother had been close as children, though they had grown apart after her marriage, and she hopes she will still be welcome in the family home. Matthew had never been a warm and kind person and had been terribly scarred by a fire as an infant leaving him disfigured. When his sister arrives she is welcomed back.

As Alice copes with the unexpected loss of her husband and later the miscarriage of her child she begins to learn terrible things about her brother’s life. He is accusing women in their village of witchcraft and imprisoning them. What aggravated me was that Alice saw what Matthew was doing and practically ignored it. She kept telling herself it wouldn’t come to anything even when he and his companions openly spoke of these persecutions in front of her. I understand that during the time period the woman yielded to the man in almost all ways and did not question him, however, how could she just idly stand by and make excuses for him? Oh, he was always a strange child, it will be fine. Oh, mother treated him poorly as a child, nothing will come of this. At what point does unlawful persecution become a big deal?

Eventually Matthew began taking his sister with him village to village to interrogate woman and send them away to prison, trial, and often execution. Still, she does very little to thwart him and mostly just thinks of herself and how she is going to get away from him before he sets his sights on her.

Little does she know that he already had.

After having witnessed multiple hangings ordained by her brother, including one in her own town of people she knew personally, Matthew has her locked away in the attic of their home. Alice is accused of being mentally infirm, much like their mother was, and unsafe to be allowed into the public. While the end of this book is not particularly surprising I don’t want to spoil it.

I will say that this book was very well thought out. The characters had depth and the details really drew you into that world. My only criticism is that it took so long for the story line to progress that it couldn’t hold my attention for long spans. During the first half of the book I didn’t feel like much of anything was happening (outside of some self pity behalf of Alice) while the second half progressed quickly. If that’s my only complaint then it’s still a good book by my count.

 

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This book was provided to me by Net Galley

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SeQuence (The Heart of the Ocean #1) by Lorraine M.L.M.

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 7 Comments

sequence

 

Look at the cover art. Look at it. Isn’t it lovely? Doesn’t it catch your eye? Occasionally that is how I pick my books. I will wander into a Barnes and Noble and meander aimlessly until a book cover catches my eye. I, surprisingly, have had great success with this. Some of my favorite books have been found with this method. Two of my favorite authors, Samantha Shannon and Christopher Fowler, have been discovered by this method alone. Just by the cover art on their books. So, you can imagine, when I saw this one I was ecstatic.

I regret every moment of my literary life from the moment I opened this book until the final moment I closed it.

Now, I promised myself when I started writing these reviews that I would be completely honest in everything I said. While I do try to at least find something positive to say about every book I read with this one I just couldn’t. So, you’re just going to get my review in all it’s irritated glory.

What completely baffles me is that on Goodreads there are four and five star reviews of this book. I beg your pardon, but did we read the same thing? The only reason I gave it one star was because things were spelled correctly. That at least gets it a one, right?

But that is all it deserves.

I have never in all my life been slapped in the face by so many weak willed, shallow, single minded characters outside of hormonal boys in high school. The story’s main character, Alessia, has had a troubled time as of late. Since her parents deaths she hears the thoughts of every person around her in her own head unless she has bags of water over her ears. So, instead of being clever and inventing ear plugs with liquid insides or water bag earmuffs she walks around literally holding bags of water over her ears. Way to solve your problems, Alessia.

Dear, sweet, simple Alessia’s aunt (who kindly took her in when her parents died) sends her to an island institution because everyone thinks that she is crazy. Fair enough. I would probably think so, too. And right that moment, within the first chapter of the book, is the last time I agree with any other concept put onto the page. Alessia, in her infinite wisdom, listens to a couple of brand new voices in her head and dives into the ocean surrounding the island institution. A wave tugs her under, she loses conscience while the new voices babble in her head, and instead of drowning she wakes up in a warm safe bed in a whole new world reached through a door in the water.

You must be thinking, “Oh, but you closed minded person writing this review, that could be fun! Give it a chance!” I agree. It could be. It wasn’t.

What we find in this underwater realm that doesn’t actually seem to be under water is Alessia’s long lost grandmother. Apparently her mother jumped in a pool in that world and washed up on shore on Earth some odd years ago. Many residents in this new land are mind readers, just like Alessia, and her grandmother throws a party to welcome her home. There she meets a fellow with red eyes (I can’t remember his name and simply do not care enough at this point to look it up) who is enamored with her. Luckily Alessia trips on some stairs into his arms and it’s love at first clumsiness.

For the next several chapters all we get hear about is how much Alessia loves her red-eyed friend and how much her tortured fellow loves her even though he keeps running away every time there is an uncomfortable situation. This goes on chapter after chapter after chapter. Almost every character we come across is perfectly pleasant and kind and, well, boring. Alessia gets in trouble, her gentleman saves her. Alessia gets in trouble, her fellow makes her feel better. What kind of message does this send to young women reading this? That only a man can rescue her? It’s infuriating. This ridiculous character is teaching YA readers to rely on a man to get her through tough situations instead of relying on herself.

Several more utterly ridiculous and dull situations occur through the course of the book but I simply do not see the point in relaying them here. They were barely worth my attention as I read them so I see no point in giving them my attention now.

I nearly feel bad giving this book such a poor review. Nearly. I know a lot of work, time, and thought goes into writing and precious few of the books written actually get published. It took bravery for the author to put her neck out and I commend her for that. Be that as it may, this book is not for me and I will not be recommending it to anyone.

 

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This book was provided to me by Net Galley

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The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost by Lucy Banks

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 5 Comments

thecaseofthegreendressedghost

It has been a very long time since I finished a book in less than twenty-four hours. In fact, I was probably a teenager at the time. A time when responsibilities were few, your folks still gave you dinner every night, and free time was pretty much constant. Anyone else feeling nostalgic? Now we all have a to-do list a mile long and a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. Unless you have a maid. If you do I’m incredibly jealous. In any case…

After my last read, which was an utter disappointment of a story that lasted 200 pages too long, I wanted an easy read. A slam dunk. Needed to get my reading mojo back. So, I went with what appeared to be a nice sci-fi mystery. Even the title reminded me of a Scooby-Doo episode and what heathen doesn’t like Scooby?  There is even a mystery solving gang with a van! Fun, right?

We begin with Kester Lanner whose mother has recently passed. The last thing she said to him was a request to find a fellow named Dr. Ribero. Following his mother’s last request he manages to find Dr. Ribero in a dilapidated old building. Now, Kester is a lovable wuss and does not want to investigate in this building even though this is where he tracked Ribero to. Being loyal to his mother’s final request, he ventures into the building and finds himself thrown into what he previously thought was only fiction. The group of folks he finds inside hunts ghosts and banshees and all sorts of paranormal things. He also learns that the mysterious Dr. Ribero is his father. *dramatic music*

Kester finds himself pulled into this world of the supernatural and watching his discovery is just, well, fun! He has always been an awkward fellow and has very little confidence or courage in himself. Still, he joins this group of folks in their hunt (granted they sure pressured him into it) and discovers he has a rare power that significantly helps his father and the rest of the team in capturing these otherworldly creatures. Of course, it scares the pants right off of him. The reader gets to watch this young man with no confidence start to discover himself and his place in the world.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was simple and fun. After my previous read being such a let down this is exactly what I needed. The author states that this is the first book in a series featuring our paranormal fighting group and I am looking forward to reading more about them.

 

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This book was provided by Net Galley

 

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The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 3 Comments

theshadowland

 

It is New Year’s Day 2017 and I figured what better way to start the year off than with a new book. I decided to do something different with my reading this coming year and entered myself in the 52 Book reading challenge both on Reddit and Goodreads. Goodreads allows you to easily keep track of what you have read, books you hope to read, and other suggested titles. The 52 Book Reddit community is still a little new to me but I’ve enjoyed conversations with other readers about books they have read or are reading, found reading suggestions from like minded folk, and have seen many readers who get encouragement to keep going by that community. I’ve very much enjoyed them.

Anyway, to The Shadow Land.

The author had previous success with her book The Historian, which is also on my future reading list, so I had opened this one with high hopes. We have a young American woman, Alexandra, who travels to Bulgaria to teach in honor of the memory of her dead brother who had wanted to visit the country. Alexandra, during her first few minutes in the city of Sofia, accidentally finds herself with someone else’s luggage. Once she discovers that she has someone else’s bag she is determined to find them to return it to them as the bag contains human ashes. Therein her adventure starts.

What struck me most about The Shadow Land is how the author, Kostova, is able to paint such beautiful pictures with her words. The book has enough detail to make the story clear in my mind without being obvious about it. She describes the towns that Alexandra visits so well that the descriptions themselves are enough to engulf me in the book. I think that is an art unto itself. Most books pull you in with their general story and plot, Kostova got me hooked with her lovingly rendered locations. I’ve run across very few author’s who are able to do that.

That being said…

If it wasn’t her descriptions the book wouldn’t be worth reading. Once Alexandra discovers she has someone else’s belongings she has her cab driver take her to the police to report it. What is the obvious thing to do at this point? Leave the bag with the police. What does Alexandra do? She and her cab driver named Bobby traipse all over the country to try to return the bag to it’s owner. Yes, how very nice of her etc etc. Despite being nice it is ridiculous. She is in a country she has never been to where they speak a language she does not know where she and her cab driver that she also doesn’t know drive all over creation to find people she doesn’t know. With all honesty, without Bobby the story would be completely unreadable. Alexandra follows him and his orders like a puppy. She seems to have no original thoughts outside of the occasional ramble about her dead brother. Without her brother she would have absolutely zero personality or thoughts. It is infuriating.

The most interesting character in this story is, funnily enough, the dead man whose ashes she is carting around. During flash backs we get to see the man’s, Stoyan, life. He was an accomplished violinist and through a very simple error ended up a political prisoner. During his story we are with him in a prison forced labor camp. It breaks my heart all this man goes through trying to get back to his wife. The poor man certainly didn’t get a happily-ever-after.

I wanted to love this book. I really did. I couldn’t. I spent more time reading it getting frustrated with what seemed a pointless endeavor than anything else. All the beautiful story telling in the world couldn’t salvage it for me. After reading over 400 pages the conclusion, when you actually find out what was going on, is maybe three paragraphs. I wanted to throw it. I read that part twice hoping I had missed something that would make the rest of the story worth it but I was just left, well, frustrated. Not the kind of book I wanted to start the new year with.

 

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This book was provided by Net Galley

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Mozart’s Last Aria by Matt Rees

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ Leave a comment

mozartslastaria

 

Some books can really draw you in with their cover art. I’ve spent many happy hours roaming through Barnes and Noble picking up books on the strength of their covers alone. In fact, it is how I have found two of my favorite series of books. Those being The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon and The Peculiar Crimes Unit by Christopher Fowler. The cover art reached out and grabbed me and I ended up getting absorbed. When I caught sight of the beautiful image on the front of this book the same feeling overtook me, I had to have it. It certainly helped that I have an absolute love of classical music including that of Mozart. I opened this book with excitement and high hopes.

I am sorry to say that my excitement quickly dissipated. This book is written around facts known and/or speculated about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s life. The narrator is Mozart’s sister, Nannerl, and she has all the personality of a dead fish. I sincerely hope she wasn’t this dull in life. We begin with her learning about her brother’s death. Her brother that she hadn’t spoken to in years. The brother that she had not shared the family inheritance with because she felt slighted by him. Yet she displays grief and pain when she learns of his passing. Give me a break. If you don’t care enough to keep in touch with someone in life then you have no reason to be so broken by their death.

Be that as it may, her brother’s death has an affect on Nannerl, and though you’ve hardly met her you are led to believe that his death completely changes her personality. The reader doesn’t get to verify this as you know practically nothing about her before this supposed change. So, what does she do? She leaves her only living child that she claims to love at the hands of a husband she doesn’t particularly trust or care for and goes to Vienna to Mozart’s grave and to see her sister in law.

There is a lot of political intrigue and conspiracy revolving through the story. Nannerl suspects that her brother was murdered and  weaves herself in the lives of her brother’s friends and acquaintances in order to learn the truth. No, that’s not as exciting as it sounds. She claims to be a stalwart catholic and attends services, prays, and tries to speak and behave in a way that God will approve of. While portraying herself this way she also engages in an affair. Her companion in this act is far more interesting than she is and he at least has some personality that does not revolve around religion.

I understand that during the time in which this book takes places the faithfully religious were commonplace though today it seems like an odd thing. I have nothing against their beliefs, only in the fact that she allows her faith to make her dull. Oh no! Someone said something indelicate! I must appear shocked and surprised! – That is her in a nutshell. Anyway…

Nannerl in the end does discover the truth behind her brother’s life and death and becomes closer to his wife and children in the process which is certainly nice. It is not enough to salvage this story for me. It was a struggle to finish this book. I can appreciate the story this book revolves around without enjoying the book itself though I can see how it would be enjoyable for some people. I’m just not one of them.

 

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ Leave a comment

thewhitequeen

 

Historical fiction is a genre I just can’t seem to keep away from. I have a dozen other physical books waiting to be read as well as several in my Nook but I had to have this one. Initially I watched a couple of episodes of the Starz series they made based on this book. At the time I didn’t even know it was based on a book but once I found out I had to have it.

What surprised me was how difficult this book was to find. I mean, a popular television series was made based on it and yet I had to dig to find a copy. I figured I could walk into my local library and pick it up or at least get it on interlibrary loan. Nope! I live in the greater DC area and no library in the county had a copy of this book. What the heck? I couldn’t get it on my nook, it wasn’t available on kindle or kindle unlimited, and at the time I couldn’t even find it on Thriftbooks! Of course, that made me just want to read it even more.

Once I finally got my hands on a copy, I could not put it down. Break at work? Read this book. Making dinner? Book in one hand, spoon in the other. Time for bed? Nope! Book on my lap. You know it is a good story when you lose sleep over it.

Through the pages I followed Elizabeth Woodville, the first commoner to become a Queen of England. She struck me as a highly intelligent, independent, and resourceful woman. Elizabeth’s story starts with her trying to get her land and property returned to her as they had been taken once her husband died in the war against King Edward. Who does she express her desire to get her property back to? King Edward. The man whose fault it was that her husband was dead. This took bravery and a great deal of cunning on her part. I tip my hat to you, Mrs. Woodville

However, once she did claim Edward’s attention and become queen (which was a bit of a scandal), her character progressively became far less likable. She went from a loving mother of two fatherless boys trying to reclaim what was hers to a conniving, plotting, distasteful queen. I feel I could make some pithy comments here regarding the history of the monarchy and how power corrupts but instead I will only leave this passive-aggressive note.

Non the less I felt for her. Throughout nearly all of her husband’s reign he was at war. Edward was away fighting battles and trying to secure his position beyond any shadow of a doubt and Elizabeth was home. She was trying to protect her family and her people. She was fiercely loyal and I can’t help but respect her for that. Elizabeth, even when she and her family were in sanctuary hiding from various threats to the crown, did all she could even resorting to spells in an attempt to keep her family safe.

Now, if you have a passing interest in the history of the time period you may recall the story of the princes in the tower. Elizabeth’s two sons, in a time of great upheaval with the crown at stake, were locked away in the tower of London by a usurper attempting to take the throne. The boys were never heard from again and there is no evidence as to what may have happened to them.  It is assumed that they were murdered for political gain but there is no clear evidence to that. This book takes that story and gives it a little twist. While I found myself in tears over the violence against these innocent children Gregory also gave a little twist to the old history. I won’t spoil it for you, but it does slightly change the princes in the tower tale that many have come to know.

Anyway, I won’t give away any more of the plot here. I will say that there is a massive amount of political intrigue, family turmoil, war, death, and suspense. There are complaints out there that the plot is slow moving and that the author doesn’t give enough life to the story but I certainly didn’t have that impression. Gregory paints clear and attention demanding images in my head that give this work so much life! This is one of my favorite books and I can easily see myself re-reading it in the years to come. I hope that if you choose to pick this one up that a) you can find it far more easily than I did and b) that you enjoy it just as much if not more. Happy reading!

 

 

On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ Leave a comment

ontheisland

 

I picked this book up on a whim. Browsing through recommended books on my Nook, this one had particularly good reviews. “What the heck, ” I thought, “with that many good reviews it must at least be entertaining.” Oh no, I overestimated the capability of the populace at large to choose decent reading material. A little harsh of me? Perhaps. I’m okay with that.

This book starts, as many irritating situations do, in an airport. Flight delayed? Yup. Having to wait with a teenager? Yup. This woman, whose age is hovering around that turning-point of 30, is waiting in the airport with a teenager to fly to the Maldives to be his private tutor for the summer. Bored yet? That’s what I thought.

These two people, whom I will not even grace with names, end up lost in the tropics on a deserted island after their plane goes down when the pilot dies after having a massive heart attack while in flight. Can you hear the melodramatic background music? But wait! There’s more!

You can imagine what goes on survival wise lost on a desert island. Find food. Find shelter. Pick up bits and pieces that wash ashore from your crashed flight which miraculously include a first aid kit and your suit case. How convenient. I think, however, that the main interest of the book was supposed to be based around the character’s love story.

The young man is around 17 and as I mentioned the lovely (of course) tutor is around 30. It seemed to me that the story was supposed to dance around the social faux pas of two people of such differing age becoming romantically involved. They do end up becoming involved and conveniently the young man is sterile (due to his battle with cancer which is the only emotionally wrenching part of the story). How nice for them, huh? Lost on a tropical island and don’t even need to concern themselves with birth control. Convenient.

As any good “lost on a island” story goes there is a brush with a shark, making friends with dolphins, finding a long dead body, illness from malnutrition, and quite a bit of doing the horizontal tango. If I recall they also make friends with a chicken. There is no imagery intended. They quite literally make friends with a chicken. Sadly, that sentence was also the most entertaining part of the book.

After spending a few years on this island, a tsunami washes them off their happy spit of land where they are then rescued after floating about in the water for a bit. The remainder of the book involves the two growing apart in society and then coming back together to live happily ever after with a brood of children (apparently the young man had his sperm frozen for later use) . I promise you that it is no more interesting than it sounds. I felt that the book should have ended with them getting rescued from the island, however, on we trudged through them feeling sorry for themselves after being rescued from an island where they most certainly were doomed to die an early death. Big on on the self pity.

As a whole, the book had a good premise. We had tragedy, a meeting of minds (not to mention bodies), and a return to society to live out their lives together. What this book was missing was detail, feeling, and it almost felt as if the author became just as bored in writing the story as I was in reading it. Throw this one back to the sharks. 

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 3 Comments

nefertiti

 

Was I completely disappointed in the last time period based book I read? Yup. Did I get drawn in to read another one? Yup. I am a real sucker for Egypt. How could I resist a book based around the chief queen of the heretic pharaoh Ankenaten? Her famous bust sits in a museum in Berlin, taunting me to come to see it. If I have a love for all things ancient Egyptian, then rule of Ankenaten is my obsession. I had to see how this author could bring both the splendor and atrocities of that period to life.

I’ll start with the fact that if you have no knowledge of ancient Egypt, then this book would be a little difficult to follow. Moran often names other pharaohs such as Hatshepsut as well as various gods of Egypt and cities. You could vaguely follow the story but if you don’t fully grasp the importance of Thebes or the priests of Amun, I don’t think that the story would make nearly as big of an impact.

This is one of those stories I was up until two AM reading with a cup of tea growing cold beside me. It completely drew me in. The characters had such life! When Queen Nefertiti began acting like a spoiled little child you wanted to put her in her place. When the pharaoh abandoned his country’s boarders to make the soldiers build him a new city you wanted to throw him to the Nile crocodiles. Each of these moments to reached out and drew me in for the ride.

Throughout the book you follow Nefertiti’s younger sister Mutnodjmet. She gets brushed aside and treated as a servant when her sister comes to power. While the rest of us most likely would have put our overbearing, childish sister in her place, Mutny (her nick-name which makes me think of a kicked dog) follows along like (shall I say it?) a wounded puppy. She is quiet and soft and likes gardening and children. To each their own.

We watch as the new capitol city of Amarna is built to honor the Aten instead of the traditional Amun. We are there as Nefertiti is made co-regent of Egypt. Then the author makes us hurt for the hundreds that die as the Black Plague washes through the city taking with it several member of the royal family. I must say that I also let out a sigh of relief when the heretic Ankenaten passes away of the same plague he brought upon his people. He was written as a selfish, thoughtless, arrogant man and it was almost worth letting out a cheer when he passes. Almost.

As a whole, this book was beautifully written. It is rich in detail, the characters have plenty of personality, and there are very few dull moments. It’s only downfall is it is not entirely suitable for people with no knowledge of the history of Egypt. I think it would be difficult for them to follow along through many of the discussions. Imagine walking up to someone who has studied the history of China all their lives and striking up a discussion of Egypt, They probably wouldn’t know Hatshepsut from Khufu.  This leaves the book with a diminished audience. Be that as it may, I adore it and will be looking for more works by this author.