reading

January Wrap Up

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 12 Comments

janwrapup

 

I thought I’d try something new this month with a month end wrap up of what I’ve read, tried to read, or started on during the month of January.

January Reads

During the month of January I read through nine books. Not as many as I wanted but also not shabby at all. For February I’m going to aim for ten again, hopefully I can hit it this time.

 


sequencethewitchfinderssister24690theshadowlandheartlesstheinvisiblelibraryadarkershadeofmagicthecaseofthegreendressedghostthreedarkcrowns

 

January Favorites

Sometimes a book really captures your attention and pulls you in. My two favorite reads for the month were:


heartless

I just can’t say enough about this book. I fell in love with it. Meyer tells the story of what happened in Wonderland before Alice and how the Queen of Hearts came to be. There is adventure, romance, danger, and a heartbreaking ending. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, have tissues because those last 100 pages are just full on ugly cry.

 

adarkershadeofmagic

 

This work by V.E. Schwab has become one of my favorite books ever. It is part of a trilogy and I read this one and the second, A Gathering of Shadows, in less than 3 days. At around 400 pages a pop that is no small feat, at least for me. Adventure, danger, magic, and some really beautiful story telling. Pick this one up!

 

Least Favorite

sequence

 

SeQuence quickly became my least favorite book for the month of January. It was full of weak characters with no thoughts outside of, “I love you!” and “Oh my gosh, I love you too but now must avoid you because I am emotionally immature!” Couldn’t deal with this book. Terrible.

 

 

Throwing in the Towel

Sometimes you start a book with high hopes. You want to get lost in whatever web it is weaving and leave the real world behind even if just for a little while. Occasionally the story just doesn’t grab you though and you end up throwing in the towel.

theliesoflockelamora

Every time I get on one of Reddit’s book boards or into Goodreads this book slaps me in the face. With it’s brilliant reviews and large fan base I figured The Lies of Locke Lamora would be a slam dunk. I was wrong. For some reason it just didn’t pull me in what-so-ever. I would pick it up and only get a few paragraphs in before I’d put it down again. By the time I put it down there had been zero female characters. Very disappointing.

 

agreatreckoning

I’m pretty sure failing at this one was my fault. I grabbed it from the library on a whim because the blurb at the back sounded entertaining. What I didn’t realize was that it was this book is the 12th of a series and some serious world building had occurred prior to it. The characters were walking around like you should understand their purpose already and I just didn’t. Not getting through this book is entirely on me.

 

Overall I think January was a pretty successful month of reading. I’m also starting February with a book I’ve been looking forward to, Caraval by Stephanie Graber, so I’m off on the right foot. How did you do this January? What were your favorites? What did you hate?

 

 

 

 

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 17 Comments

adarkershadeofmagic

 

I’m not going to putz and pontificate here, just get right to the point. I loved this book. Adored it. My fondness for it knows no bounds. If it were a type of cookie I would eat them until I was sick. If it were a sweater I would wear it every day. If it were a color I would paint my walls with it. If it were a person I’d marry them. I think you get my point…

Usually when I read a fantasy book I have a difficult time getting into it. The world just seems fuzzy and not quite clear so the story doesn’t suck me in. With the world that Schwab created that was simply not the case. I was completely sucked in within the first few pages. The world she crafted was so clear in my head, the characters so vivid, and the story so full that I couldn’t put it down. I can’t remember the last time that I was so thoroughly engrossed.

A sharp, elegant fantasy thriller – a breathless journey in the company of characters you can only trust to charm you. -Delia Sherman, author of Young Woman in a Garden

We begin with our dashing hero, Kell. Kell has the special ability to pass between realities. There are four realities which Kell explains as being stacked together like pages in a book. They are Grey, Red, White, and Black. You can’t cross from Grey to White without passing through Red. A lot of detail gets put into the world building but I’ll try to sum it up as best I can.

Grey gave me the impression of being based on our own 17th century. A little dark, not much in the way of technological advances, and a certain brand of lawlessness. Red is bright, vibrant, rich, and full of magic. Red is Kell’s home where he is an unofficial part of the royal family. White has been sucked of all color and vibrancy and is ruled by violence and terror. It is a horrifying place and is home to Holland, the only other person that can go between worlds besides Kell. There is very little known about Black. Black had been completely consumed by magic. No one was spared. The other worlds feared that they would be consumed as well so they cut themselves off and Black was locked away. Nothing could leave that fallen world. Any artifacts from Black that had gone to the other worlds were destroyed in fear that their disease would spread.

Kell begins as mostly just a glorified messenger between worlds as he and Holland are the only two that can pass between them. He delivers notes and messages and meets with the rulers across the worlds. He does, however, have an unfortunate habit of trading small items from one world to another which is strictly forbidden. It’s mostly just little things like music boxes and games. However, he finds himself accidentally transporting a dangerous package to his home of Red.

It is a surviving artifact from Black.

With the help of a girl, Lila, from Grey he tries to rid the worlds of this dangerous item. The influence of the dark magic from Black leaks from the artifact and begins polluting anyone who touches it and the world around it. Kell is determined to save the surviving worlds with great personal risk to himself. Lila is in it for the adventure and fun but finds something more of herself. She is strong and determined and you quickly find yourself rooting for her.

I was completely absorbed the entire book. There are twists and turns that take you by surprise, evil doers you aren’t expecting, bravery, sadness, and magic. It is all woven together into a wonderful story that is difficult to put down. I plowed through all 400 pages in 24 hours. I am so happy that I stumbled onto this book and can’t wait to read the others in the trilogy.

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The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 16 Comments

theinvisiblelibrary

 

Have you ever read a book title and went, “Well, this is going to be cheesy,”? That’s how I felt about this one. It is also listed as YA on Goodreads which was off-putting as that certainly wasn’t what I was in the mood for. For some reason I was drawn to it anyway so I off I plodded to the local library, toddler in tow. Have you ever taken a young child to a library? It is an adventure unto itself and inevitably ends in tears or giggles, there is no in between on that one.

First thing I want to mention is that this book really shouldn’t be listed as YA due to themes as well as vocabulary. Our leading lady, Irene, works for the invisible Library and she with her associates throw words around with more syllables than I have fingers. I actually had to look up the definition of a word while I was reading this. That hasn’t happened in a while. It was exciting.

The invisible Library (I’m using capitals with that on purpose, it’s not a silly error) is an expansive, well, library that exists outside of normal time and space. It is enormous and can take days to travel from one section to the next on foot. From there the librarians travel to different dimensions and alternate realities to collect unique books of historic value. Irene, a junior librarian, is given the task of going to one of these alternate realities to collect a particularly sensitive book. Little does she know how much trouble her assignment is going to be.

Irene is given an initiate librarian, Kai, on his first mission to take with her and train. There was some definite sexual tension sparking between those two which made for some amusingly uncomfortable moments. They quickly learn that the world their mission sends them to is listed as a major no-go-zone. That world is considered one of the most dangerous and unstable in the entire Library network. There the concepts of logic and reason often have little meaning. In their quest for this elusive book they encounter creatures that would have no place in the general concept of a “normal” world including, but not limited to, giant mind controlled crocodiles.

Okay, here we get to the cheese factor. Several mythological creatures are thrown at you and they can feel out of place at times. I think that is part of the point, though. They are supposed to feel out of place. Irene stresses often how this world defies logical rules which allows these creatures to thrive. They are meant to feel out of place because they don’t truly belong. Once you wrap your mind around that and accept it the book has a much better flow.

They battle crocodiles, a shape shifter that can steal someone’s skin, werewolves, and a bevy of other creatures in their attempt to retrieve this book. They do eventually tell you why the book is so important and the reason itself was also interesting. There was not much in this read that wasn’t interesting or entertaining.

Overall it was a very good book. The action didn’t take a back seat and the characters you meet are entertaining if a little odd. For the last third or so I couldn’t put it down because I had to know what happened. The conclusion was also satisfying. Now, there are going to be things left unresolved and a few plot points that may rub the wrong way but as this is the first book of a series I let that go with the expectation that those points would be explained in a later book. It was a quick read and highly enjoyable and I fully intend on picking up the rest of the series.

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 10 Comments

threedarkcrowns

Three dark queens

are born in a glen,

sweet little triplets

will never be friends

Three dark sisters

all fair to be seen,

two to devour

and one to be Queen

Look at that. Look at it. Read it. Let it take your imagination away. That is what is printed on the back cover of this book. And just look at that front cover. Doesn’t it draw your eye? Pull you in? Don’t you feel the yearning to read it? The art and the poem tempt you to pick this book up, give it a try. They make you feel like they will not let you down.

Oh, my friends, but they do. They do.

I have never been left infuriated by a book. I’ve been disappointed. I’ve been disgusted. I’ve been left feeling dirty. I’ve been left with my soul empty, carried away by musty pages. But never, in all my life, have I been infuriated. I promise you honest reviews and, oh, you shall have one.

We have three sisters, triplets, who were separated at a young age to be raised by different factions all on the same large island. This island is a kingdom unto itself and nearly entirely cut off from the outside world. Each sister has a gift.

Arsinoe was brought up in a village where most people have an animal companion, a familiar. The people of that village are fiercely independent and are people of the land. They can encourage plants and crops to grow, coax fish from the sea, and are skilled at the hunt.

Katharine was taken in by the current ruling faction, the poisoners. They are skilled at mixing poisons and being immune to them. The poisoners see any food that does not contain poison detestable and insulting. They are used to being in charge and will do anything to continue that way.

Mirabella was raised by the elementals. They have control of, you may have guessed, the elements. Fire, water, wind, and earth. Mirabella can call down a storm, walk through fire, cause an earthquake, and most anything else involving the elements. She is considered the strongest of the sisters and her faction also controls the heart of religion on the island by means of the priestesses.

These three sisters were separated to be raised by the factions only to be brought back together during their sixteenth year to, in a nut shell, fight to the death. Two of the sisters must die by the other’s hand. The one left alive will rule. They have their entire sixteenth year to accomplish this.

Doesn’t that sound like a great premise of a book?

The poisoners have had control for the last three queens and of course they want Katharine to conquer over her sisters so they may continue their rule. The problem is that Katharine is not a very good poisoner. She can mix and brew with the best of them but actually ingesting the poisons still makes her violently ill. She is weak. Arsinoe is a strong willed, brave young woman but she has no familiar and has not learned control over animals and growing. She is also perceived as weak. By contrast, Mirabella is a goddess. She can walk through flames without feeling the heat. She can bring on a storm that can sink ships in the harbors. She can shake the ground and bring buildings crumbling down. Most assume that she will be a shoo in for murdering her sisters and inheriting the crown.

And that right there folks is pretty much all you get the entire book. There is all of this build up and explanations and ceremonies leading up to the Beltane feast. It is the Beltane celebration that signals the beginning of the year when the sisters are to off each other. There is so much anticipation and focus on this that you expect there to be a bloodbath or something.

You know what? There isn’t. There isn’t anything. You wait the entire book for absolutely nothing to happen. Guess what? There is a second book. It hasn’t been published yet, but there is to be another book. So this one is just a 400 page buildup of absolutely nothing happening so that the second book will make sense. I just read 400 pages just to be coaxed into reading the second book. I don’t think so. It feels like a Walking Dead episode. Nothing happens nothing happens nothing happens…BOOM! Cliffhanger at the end to encourage you to watch the next one.

I got sucked into a story that ended up feeling like a preview for the actual action. Not only are there so many characters in the book (one of which is called by three different names just to make things confusing) that they are nearly impossible to keep straight. None of them mean anything to the story in the concept of this as a stand alone book. It’s like a commercial where you are supposed to be impressed by whatever the promoted item does but you never actually get to see it do anything. I am infuriated.

You know what? I’m sure the next book will be fantastic. That it will tie things together and make the build up interesting and hopefully kill off some of the multitude of characters. But guess what? I won’t be reading it. This commercial didn’t sell me on the product, it just ticked me off.

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.

bookhangover

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

netgalley

 

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

netgalley

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

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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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