First Read Friday: The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase & The Gods of Asgard #1) by Rick Riordan

   Title: The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase & The Gods of Asgard #1)
     Author: Rick Riordan
     Publisher: Disney - Hyperion Books
     Published: October 6, 2015
     Number of Pages: 528
     Genre(s): Mythology, Fantasy, YA
     Date Read: November 1, 2015
     Acquired: Walmart

Summary: 
Magnus Chasehas just turned 16, but he's not like most other 16 year olds, Magnus has been living on the streets of Boston, on his own for the last two years since his Mother died. Well actually she didn't just die, she was killed, by inexplicable wolves. So Magnus hates wolves with a passion now, and really who could blame him. For many teens who've just turned 16 their looking forward to a birthday party with lots of their friends, and maybe learning how to drive. Magnus is just looking for his next meal and to stay out of trouble. Magnus doesn't get what he wants though because apparently turning 16 triggers something, something that he doesn't understand, some sort of destiny. Somehow he ends up on a bridge fighting a fire giant for a barnacle covered sword, while being defended by his two homeless friends who are wielding a make way for ducklings sign and a toy store bow and arrow, after listening to an Uncle he hasn't trusted since long before his Mom was killed.

After his fight on the bridge Magnus finds his way to the einherji where the strange things just keep on coming, and the more answers he gets the more confused he gets. The aforementioned homeless friends come to rescue him, and it turns out they've been protecting him from unseen enemies all along, and they're not really homeless humans either, one is a deaf elf and the other is a fashion conscious dwarf who turns to stone in the sunlight. They set off on a quest to find Frey's Sword of Summer and keep Surt from releasing Fenris Wolf and starting Ragnarok. Will they succeed?

Review:
I have been waiting for a Rick Riordan Norse mythology series since The Kane Chronicles (KC) so when this was first announced I was freaking out and I have been so excited for it. I followed all the progress updates on Facebook, I gleefully and eagerly counted down the days until the release date. I was jealous that my friend Rachel got her copy before me and resisted the urge to ask her for spoilers beyond telling me exactly HOW Magnus is related to Annabeth (it had been circulating for months that he was going to be her brother so I HAD to know whether he was or not and I was impatient). I hurried to finish the book I was reading when it was released and then the book that I had gotten while reading that book (Chess Queen Enigma) so that I could get myself a copy of Magnus and read it.  So to say I had expectations and high hopes it putting it rather mildly. But oh man did it ever live up to my expectations. Once I got it it was near next to impossible to put it down. I would think about reading it while I was at work. I loved every single page of it, it hooked me right from the beginning and just stayed awesome all the way through. 

Rick Riordan just has a thoroughly enjoyable writing style, he's informative and educational while being highly entertaining. His humour is spot on and perfectly irreverent which I love. My favourite chapter title in the book for example is the one where is breaks the fourth wall "Hearthstone passes out even more than Jason Grace (Though I have no idea who that is)". I was really looking forward to seeing how Riordan would make Magnus stand out from Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus (PJ/HoO) and the KC because he did so well at keeping those two mythologies from being too similar even though they were both dealing with the same type of character really (modern teenagers with ties of some sort to mythological gods/goddesses). In PJ/HoO, you'll recall, the kids were all children of first the Greek and then the Roman aspects of the Greek/Roman pantheons (Thanks for catching that I typed Freek instead of Greek the second time there Google) while in the KC the teens were descendants of Egyptian magicians who could channel the auras and powers of the Egyptian pantheon. What he does with Magnus and his companions definitely stands on it's own from the previous two series and perfectly fits the Norse mythology.

As with his other two previous series the world of Norse mythology is well woven into the modern world, this time in Boston instead of a borough of New York. I'm sure given Magnus's connection to Annabeth that as the series goes on we'll get more and more references to people and events from the other series' especially PJ/HoO and I am really looking forward to that. I don't know how many books Riordan has planned for this particular series but I plan to read all of them.

--Ren

First Read Friday: The Chess Queen Enigma by Colleen Gleason

     Title: The Chess Queen Enigma (Stoker & Holmes, #3) [ARC]
     Author: Colleen Gleason
     Publisher: Chronicle Books
     Published: October 6, 2015
     Number of Pages: 351
     Genre(s): Mystery, Sci-fi, Steampunk, YA
     Date Read: October 25, 2015
     Acquired: Goodreads Giveaways

Summary: 
It is my great pleasure to introduce you this evening to one Miss Alvermina Holmes, daughter of Sir Mycroft Holmes, niece of the esteemed detective Sherlock. She would prefer that you call her Miss Holmes, or if you must use the familiar, Mina. Mina is every bit a Holmes, she is following in her uncle's famous footsteps as a master of deductive reasoning (although she still has much to learn). May I also introduce you to her associate Miss Evaline Stoker, sister of Mr. Bram Stoker, oh yes, and she's a trained vampire hunter. Together they form the team of Stoker & Holmes, under the guidance of the indomitable and infamous Miss Irene Adler they endeavor to become a crime fighting force to rival the likes of Holmes and Watson. 

The year is 1889 and our intrepid young heroines have been tasked by the Crown to act as diplomatic escorts for a foreign Princess as she attempts to restore the relationship between her country and England by returning a letter that will lead to a loss chess piece, a white queen. On the eve prior to their assignment to escort the Princess of Betrovia, Evaline gets drawn into a mystery involving her friend Pix. Inevitably everything goes bottoms up, the letter ends up stolen and Mina and Evaline are called in to track it, and the queen down. Mina deduces that their adversary in this endeavor is someone they have faced before, their own Moriarty if you will, a criminal mastermind known only as the Ankh. What, if anything does the Ankh and the missing chess queen have to do with Pix's mysterious client? And is everyone around them really who they appear to be?

Review:
I must preface this review by noting that the copy of the book that I read is an uncorrected advanced reader's copy that I received from the publisher via Goodreads Giveaways. Therefore, without having a finished copy of the book in hand I cannot say for certain whether or not any of the problems I had with this book actually appear in the final version of the novel. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I love books that take characters we know and love (or historical figures in the case of Bram) and give them bigger and more complex lives than we saw them have in their own stories. In this instance those beloved characters serve as background characters to give the two main characters a reason for existing, but I love that. There are things that Mina Holmes and Evaline Stoker can do that Sherlock and Bram could not as characters.The steampunk meets urban paranormal fantasy mashup intrigues me as well, you can't have a character called Stoker without having vampires. This is the 3rd book in the Stoker & Holmes series, but it is the first one that I have read. I went to the public library last night and borrowed the other two.

I'm betting that many of the problems I had with this book stem from the fact that I didn't read the first two before reading it. The story felt rushed to me over all, and like there were too many side plots that the author had to hastily try and fold into the main plot...which caused the main plot to get sort of diluted. The Dylan story line, that felt out of place for me, but that one I definitely expect is because I haven't read the first two books yet. Wedging the vampire portion of the plot (the Pix storyline) into the puzzle of the chess queen seemed unnecessarily contrived, it seemed more like its purpose was setting up the 4th Stoker and Holmes book rather than driving the plot of this book. And the actual enigma of the chess queen? I feel like that was the one storyline in the book that didn't get as much attention as it should have, it just to me any way felt like that investigation was just happening whenever they didn't have something else on the go. And the last thing that bothered me? The something else on the go usually related to men. I feel like Mina and Evaline shouldn't be concerned about men or what men think of them etc. but Evaline spends time telling us how jealous she is of another female friend of Pix's and also trying to sort her feelings out for him. Mina spends quite a lot of time trying (and failing miserably) to deny that she has feelings for Inspector Grayling (the Lestrade to her Sherlock). I'm telling you, if I am picking up a novel called a Stoker and Holmes novel, I am NOT picking it up for the relationship dramas of young Victorian ladies, I am picking it up for kickass vampire hunting a damn good mystery...and I just feel like both of those things were somewhat afterthoughts in the novel. 

Enjoyable read, just not 100% what I was expecting. Won't stop me from reading the rest of the series though.

--Ren

The Queen of Swords by Nina Mason #BlogTour

Check out my review for today over at Parajunkee's View: The Queen of Swords by Nina Mason #BlogTour http://ift.tt/1rP8GqS

Reviewing at Parajunkee's View

So I mentioned in my last post, very briefly, that I am now an e-Book Reviewer over at Parajunkee's View. I've written 2 reviews there so far, the second one went live today. Going forward, each time one goes live I will share a link here on the blog. For now I am sharing the first two here together: 

#Review of Netherworld by Lisa Morton

#Review of Queen of Hearts: Volume 1 - The Crown by Colleen Oakes

Enjoy!

- Ren

#Review: The Fault in Our Stars by @realjohngreen

     Title: The Fault in Our Stars
     Author: John Green
     Publisher: Dutton Books
     Published: January 1, 2012
     Number of Pages: 313
     Genre(s): YA, Realistic Fiction
     Date Read: February 9, 2014
     Acquired: Waterloo Public Library

Summary: 
Hazel Grace Lancaster is dying. This is not a secret. This is not new. Hazel has been dying since she was born, as have we all been. Because dying is a side effect of living. But if you really want to get technical, Hazel is actively dying whereas the rest of us are passively dying, and she has been actively dying since they found the cancer in her body. Her cancer has always been terminal, she's never had an X chance of surviving, there's never been a surgery to take the cancer out, because it's not that kind of cancer. She has accepted all of this with a grace befitting a girl whose middle name is Grace, she has accepted that she will cease to be sooner rather than later, and she just wants to get out with as little bit of a mess as possible. She doesn't want to be a grenade in the lives of the people who she loves and who love her.

She thinks she has a choice. Right up until the moment that Augustus Waters walks into her life, she is right. But Gus changes everything. They suddenly find themselves together on a whirlwind journey that only leads to one inevitable ending. Absolute and complete heartbreak.

Review:
Oh. My. Gods. John Green what have you done to me!? Oh but does this book ever live up to all of the hype about it. Mr. Green you are as spectacular an author as you are an entertainer sir, and you are an exceptional entertainer in my eyes so draw your conclusions on how I feel about your writing from that statement.

I had seen John Green's book in the Library, while shelving them, but I had never bothered to pick one up and read the dust jacket. And then I came across the YouTube Mental_Floss list show. Well that show is right up my alley, educational and entertaining, and hosted by John Green. As I worked my way through the playlist I said to myself, before he ever mentioned his books in the videos, "Gee I wonder if this is the same John Green who wrote those YA novels everyone is talking about." Well of course he's the same John Green. Still didn't make me pick up his books, but it did drive me to his other videos (CrashCourse is AMAZING and I watched all of the humanities videos in under a month, omg.). It was as I was working my way through CrashCourse US history, with all the hype building for the TFiOS movie, that I decided that I should check out his books. So I put The Fault in Our Stars on hold at the WPL, and while I was waiting I went out and bought Looking for Alaska (which is now on the to-be-read shelf of course, because my hold came in).

TFiOS arrived this past Thursday at the library, and obviously, since I am now writing this review I have finished reading it. I started it Friday night and I devoured it in three dedicated sittings in between bouts of watching Olympic Slopestyle (YES THAT IS ONE WORD, AND A REAL WORD GOOGLE, NO I WILL NOT HYPHENATE IT!) Snowboarding and Luge; and working on job applications, with a little smattering of John Green on the side because the last video for Crash Course US History was posted. I knew a little of what I was getting myself into having been watching John Green videos lately and having watched the trailer for the movie, and being brutally honest, I didn't think I was going to like it, like at all. I am not usually a Realistic Fiction fan. I am all about the escapism of literature, but at the same time, one of my favourite things about literature is well written, intelligent, sharp witted, and insightful characters. This book is chock full of those types of characters. Hazel and Augustus, even the names, especially his, conjure to mind images of old scholars in tweed jackets with leather patches on the elbows. They are not that image, they are young and they are funny, and they are dying. They are fully aware of the tragedy of their circumstances and they both have a deliciously black sense of humour. Which I can fully appreciate. My own family, myself included, is known for our wickedly dark sense of humour. 

This is not a happy book, there is no happy ending, there is tragedy and there is death, but as I said throughout it all there is humour. I think it is a truly special thing when a book that is essentially all about dying, death and the tragedy of lost love can still have a current of humour running from cover to cover. More than once I found myself moved to near tears (that is not to say your book could not induce tears in someone else Mr. Green, but I am one of those silly over emotional people that has an easier time crying over tiny things rather than big things, and your book is a very big thing indeed Sir.), but for every one of those moments there were two where I was laughing loudly, smiling, or snorting to keep myself from laughing at something that was probably meant to be serious.

This book resonated with me, I am not a cancer kid, but I have been affected by cancer many times over. We lost my father directly after a cancer operation four days before Christmas in 2002. Before that there was my Grandmother, before that my Uncle Jim, and even before that there was my Mother's sister, for whom I am named, but who I have never met, because she was a cancer kid, she died when she was 9. Since I am being honest, all of that was why I didn't want to read this book initially, because I didn't want to read about a young girl who had to face the awfulness that is cancer. But that is in the end what makes this book so good, Hazel handles the awfulness with a complete and devastating honesty. And I am emotionally devastated having finished this book. Because every page makes you think, and every page makes you thankful for the people and the things in your life that you love and that love you. 

So maybe it's the combination of the sheer emotionality of this book, combined with the feeling I always get about the Olympics, but I am sitting here bereft feeling both simultaneously like an insignificant speck upon the Universe, but also a complete and utter triumph because I am here, and I am living, and I am able to sit here and contemplate the way a fictional book has impacted my worldview, and that's not something that everyone can do. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that in order to remember that some of the things we take for granted every day are actually a BFD.

What am I trying to get at then? GO AND READ THIS BOOK. That is what I am trying to get at. It is just so well written, and moving, and powerful. And you need to read it. Now. Or you know not, really in the end it's up to you, but I think you should read it and I think everyone should read it. It should become required reading in high schools.

Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to try and decide what book to read next, and watch some more Luge! Well after I write the summary anyway, because I wrote the review first...

--Ren

First Read Friday: Snakecharm by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

     Title: Snakecharm (The Kiesha'ra, #2)
     Author: Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
     Publisher: Laurel Leaf
     Published: September 28, 2004
     Number of Pages: 167
     Genre(s): Fantasy, YA
     Date Read: February 17, 2013
     Acquired: Amazon.ca

Summary: 
In the wake of Charis Cobriana's death, Zane Cobriana, Diente to the Serpiente and Danica Shardae, Tuuli Thea to the Avians are still married and still ruling the two different tribes together; they divide their time between the Serpiente court and the Avian Keep trying valiantly to bridge the divide between their two peoples and further the tentative peace that their marriage has created. They have settled into this routine of travel, it is comforting, familiar and happy. But that happiness is not to last.

Syfka, a Royal Falcon has come to their court with a message from the immortal Empress Cjarsa; there is a Falcon hidden among their court and the Empire wants them back and will stop at nothing to secure them. Danica and Zane are in disbelief, they don't understand how a Falcon could have hidden themselves amongst the avians and serpiente. Syfka explains that Falcon magic enables them to change their appearance, including form and colouring, at will. Syfka refuses to tell them anything about this supposed criminal they should be seeking and not knowing her motives puts everyone on edge. 

Matters are only made more stressful when it comes out that Danica is pregnant with Zane's child; the child with be a hawk-cobra---and the Falcons do NOT like interspecies breeding; they don't even like it when a peregrine and a gryfalcon breed!  So when Danica and the would be child are almost killed, Zane knows exactly who to blame this time.  But that's not the only concern about the babe, will it be accepted? Can a half-breed truly rule both courts? Or will it destroy the peace simply by existing?

All he wants is to find this mysterious lost falcon so that they can send Syfka away and his wife and child will be safe. Will Syfka actually stay true to her word and leave? Will they even be able to find the Falcon? Will they like what they find when they do? Can they really give up someone they love to the monstrous Falcon empire? And what of their child? They know the Falcons won't accept her...but what about their own people? Surely their own people will accept their child as the heir to both courts? What other choice is there?

Review:
As one would expect from a sequel this one picks up pretty much exactly where Hawksong left off. Zane and Danica are settling into their fledging new rule when the dangerous Falcons start trying to stir up trouble. It was rather obvious that their rule wasn't going to be smooth given the events at the end of Hawksong but the Falcons waste no time sticking their beaks in.

This book switches perspectives, where Hawksong was narrated by Danica we get Zane's point of view for Snakecharm, which was a dead give away from the title of the book; rather obvious. I personally prefer Zane to Danica, he's more in touch with himself and with the people around him than Danica was. But I have major problems with this volume in the series, and I think most of my problems stem from the issues that seem to come up whenever Atwater-Rhodes puts a major focus on a male character. She has a problem developing her male characters, it's something that I and countless other fans of hers have noted throughout all of her books and Zane suffers the same fate. He had so much potential when he was the secondary character in Hawksong, but then he became the narrator and all of that potential just flew out the window. She didn't develop him, she didn't develop his relationship with Danica, instead she used him to focus on everyone and everything else around him. He does well doing that, he's insightful and a very good narrator, but he's also a let down because he was built up in the first book to be this badass character, but he doesn't actually do a whole heck of a lot, and certainly nothing I would describe as badass. 

After getting to the end of this particular book, I wish Rei had been the narrator instead; in fact I wish there had been two stories of these same events; that way Zane could have focussed on narrating his growing marriage and impending fatherhood, and Rei could have focussed on the political intrigues and his own budding romance. That way we could have also been treated to content about what exactly happened on Ahnmik.

That's the worst limitation and pit fall of first person narrators; they can't provide us every detail because they can only share with us the things they experience or what other characters tell them. Snakecharm could have been improved by either doing what I suggested above, or just simply changing to a third person narrator.

At least the villain here isn't repetitive; yes their end goal is still to destroy the tentative peace Danica and Zane are building. But Syfka and the formidable and intimidating Falcon empire taken it to the extremes; they don't just want to break up the peace they want to plunge the two races so far back into war that they will never be able to break out again. What makes that so ominous is the fact that we don't get to find out their motives for this desire until halfway through Falcondance.

Overall it's a good second volume, it has it's flaws and it could be better, but it does what it sets out to do; it drives the plot forward and introduces the series Big Bad. But it suffers the problem most sequels suffer, it just doesn't end up living up to the memory of the first book.

--Ren

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

     Title: Bitten (The Women of the Otherworld, #1)
     Author: Kelley Armstrong
     Publisher: Vintage Canada
     Published: October 1, 2001
     Number of Pages: 422
     Genre(s): Fantasy, Romance
     Date Read: January 2011 (and also last night...)
     Acquired: Christmas gift from my Aunt!


Summary: 
Elena has  been living and working in Toronto for a year now, leading the normal life she has always dreamed of, including a stable job as a journalist, a nice apartment with a lake view (if you stand at just the right angle at the right time of day), and a wonderful, caring boyfriend who sends her flowers and cooks for her...and doesn't question the fact that she likes to go out for "walks" at 2 in the morning. Those secret midnight prowls are her way of protecting her secret, you see she's the lone female werewolf in existence. She hates it. 

She's heading back to Stonehaven though, the Pack needs her expertise; when she was with them she used her position as long female wolf to help control the renegade lone wolves. Now some of those renegades have formed an alliance and they are hell bent on exposing and annihilating the Pack. And although Elena is obliged to rejoin her "family," she vows not to be swept up in Pack life again, no matter how natural and comfortable it might feel. She has made her choice. Trouble is, she's increasingly uncertain if it's the right one. Especially the more time she spends with Clayton.
Her crisis deepens when it turns out that the renegades plans for destroying the Pack specifically revolve around her. They want her, bad. Jeremy and the Pack, especially Clayton, will do anything and everything it takes to keep Elena safe and stop the renegades, but things get out of control fast. In the end  it comes down to Elena, can she do what needs to be done? Can she save herself and the Pack? Can she choose which life she wants more?


Just last year ago she was living a very different life, not one she had chosen, but one that was chosen for her by someone she loved (still loves if she were capable of being honest with herself). After being changed several years earlier she was adopted by the Pack, living with them in Stonehaven NY.  She had spent a long struggling with her resentment at having her life stolen away. Finally, torn between two worlds, and overwhelmed by the new passions coursing through her body, her only option for control was to deny her awakening needs and escape. That was how she'd ended up in Toronto.

Review:
My aunt gave me the first three books in this series (Bitten, Stolen, Dime Store Magic) for Christmas because my Mum had mentioned to her that I'd bought the 4th, 5th and 6th books of the series when I saw them on sale a few weeks before Christmas. Being a fan of the series herself she wanted me to start right from the beginning, which I always think is a good plan with series. I remember the first time I read Patricia C. Wrede's The Enchanted Forest ChroniclesI accidentally read the last book in the series first...didn't make them any less enjoyable though. But back to the point, so she bought them for me and I started Bitten at some point in January (it was the 6th book I'd read that month I can't remember when exactly I read it) and I really loved it. I am a big fan of Supernatural Fantasy, I enjoy seeing different authors interpretations of the different species. For awhile I contemplated getting a graduate degree in English and focussing on the evolution of Supernatural Fantasy, now it's just a hobby.


Female werewolves don't pop up all that often in the genre in my experience, so having not only a major character, but the narrator of the book be not just A female werewolf but the ONLY female werewolf sparked my interest right off the bat. It's not what one usually expects and I enjoy unusual. Elena is a strong female voice. Fiercely independent, sharp, intelligent, but also deeply flawed. She's definitely not the perfect heroine that romance readers are used to and that's another thing I find that makes this novel so enjoyable. And it's not just Elena's characterisation, Kelley Armstrong is an AMAZING characterisation writer, all of her characters are really well thought out and developed I feel. Take Clayton for instance, on the surface he comes across as a possessive, violent, selfish jerk. But when you stop and look at everything he does through the lens of his motivations, beliefs and past, it's understandable why he appears that way but appearances can be deceiving. He's actually a very moral and traditional character who cares intensely about his pack, especially their Alpha, Jeremy, and Elena of course. She's also a little too good at portraying the sleazy characters of Victor and LeBlanc, they give me the creeps.

I like the mix of plots, it's not strictly romance, although the romance element is important of course because Elena is struggling to choose between two lovers; but it's not just the lovers she has to choose from, it's the lifestyles and the realities they represent. Plus while she's dealing with her identity crisis she's also got to help the Pack deal with a group of rogues who want to alternately kidnap her and use her as a brood mare, or kill her, depending on which Mutt you ask. So there's lots of good fighting action going on as well.

Overall it's a fantastic first glimpse into the Otherworld, my only complaint would be that because of the insular nature of the Pack there's no mention of the other species, but that more than gets rectified in the next book so I'm not complaining too loudly.
--Ren

First Read Friday: Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

     Title: Hawksong (The Kiesha'ra, #1)
     Author: Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
     Publisher: Laurel Leaf
     Published: July 8, 2003
     Number of Pages: 243
     Genre(s): Fantasy, YA
     Date Read: February 15, 2013
     Acquired: Amazon.ca

Summary: 
A long, long time ago in a far away land lived many magical races of Shapeshifters, from birds, to snakes, to tigers and wolves these being could take the form of animals and of humans. This is the saga of the Kiesha'ra, the races of The Serpiente and the Avians who all descended from the ancient Kiesha. These two factions have long been divided, they have been at war for so many generations neither tribe can any longer be entirely certain of why they started fighting but they continue now out of retribution and because they know no other way. They are so diametrically opposed in their values and views that neither populace believes peace is even possible, their hatred is so entrenched.

But everything these two great tribes think they know is about to change when the young heiress to the title of Avian Tuuli Thea, Danica Shardae, a Hawk, ventures out onto the battle fields and holds the dying Gregory Cobriana, one of the sons of the ruling house of the Serpiente in her arms so that he will not die alone and will die knowing comfort, even though he had just murdered her brother Xander. That single act cements her desire to see peace between their two peoples, so that no Avian or Serpiente ever has to lose another loved one. She vows to do whatever it takes.

At the same time word gets back to the Diente of the Serpiente, Zane Cobriana, Gregory's older brother, about Danica's actions and he too is moved. Long having desired to see peace between the Avians and the Serpiente Zane has been formulating a plan for years and now he sees his moment to enact it. Arranging for the Hawk Royals to meet him at the encampent of the Tiger King for arbitration and negotiations he seeks out Danica in her bedroom and makes his proposal, literally, he proposes that they join their two houses and kingdoms by marrying one another. At first Danica is scandalised by the idea, but the more she thinks about it the more she agrees with Zane that it is the only way. So she agrees.

Can their relationship survive? Will the Avians accept a snake as their Tuuli Thea's alistair? Will the Serpiente accept a bird as their Naga? Is love really enough to overcome centuries of brutal, bloody war?

Review:
I still remember the first time I picked up a book by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, I picked up her very first book, In the Forests of the Night right around the time it came out I believe, because that was during my poet phase and I was really really into the William Blake poem she used as inspiration. If I remember correctly that may have been the book that was responsible for getting me interested in vampire fiction...it's been so long I cannot recall with 100% accuracy. So yes, I am a long time Amelia Atwater-Rhodes fan, so I really can't believe it took me so long to actually read this particular set of books by her. I mean really, it's been out almost 9 years. That being said I'm really glad I finally got around to it. HawkSong is really interesting.

In the early books of her main series, The Den of Shadows she alludes to the Shapeshifters very briefly, like with Jaguar in Midnight Predator. Hawksong and it's four sequels are a companion series to The Den of Shadows giving more history and background on three of the tribes of Shapeshifters. 

While the Hawks and the Serpiente in this book are interesting I am disappointed that she didn't choose to expand on some of the tribes that she'd already mentioned in The Den of Shadows. I'd love to know more about the tribe that Jaguar descended from, and I know the Tigers actually got mentioned in this series before they got mentioned in Den but they were in Hawksong so very briefly that we learned next to nothing about them, certainly nothing that comes close to hinting about what we learn about them in Poison Tree.

Aside from the intricacies of the cultures, the story line of Hawksong really isn't complex at all, and I feel like it's been done to death. Two races at war, the children of the ruling houses decide to join the two kingdoms by marrying, tentative peace is achieved, and then you're left with a cliffhanger about whether or not it could really last. It's a tired plot line and the reader knows how it's going to end, but I still think the journey in this case is fun, if only because of the cultures of the tribes as a whole. This novel is from Danica's POV so we're locked into her Hawk sensibilities as she tries to understand and immerse herself in the Serpiente culture. I like the fish out of water angle of it and I like that Danica, by the end of the book, really, really is trying to open her heart and mind as much as possible to the Serpiente people.

What do you think, can you enjoy a book that has a plot line that's been played out to the point of becoming predictable?

--Ren

Daughters of Eve by Lois Duncan

     Title: Daughters of Eve
     Author: Lois Duncan
     Publisher: Laurel Leaf
     Published: 1979
     Number of Pages: 256
     Genre(s): YA, Thriller, Suspense, Horror
     Date Read: 2002 (The 1st time...)
     Acquired: Coles (First copy) Amazon.ca (Replacement copy)

Summary: 
It's 1979 but in the small rural Michigan town of Modesta the ideals and values still scream 1950s, especially when it comes to girls, women's rights and the feminist movement. The girls at Modesta High are being driven slowly insane trapped in the anti-feminist time warp that is trying to suck them under. 

Ruth Grange has to deal with the fact that her three brothers get everything and get away with anything they want simply because they are boys, leaving Ruth to be their mother and housekeeper without a thought for her desires or dreams.  Laura Snow is the overweight girl that nobody tries to notice, for anything other than making fun of her that is, all she wants it a friend. Jane Reardon is trapped in an abusive household with a mother who won't stand up for herself let alone Jane. These three girls' lives are changed radically when they get invited to join the Modesta Chapter of the Daughters of Eve, a sorority-esque club that is home to the elite females of Modesta High and sponsered by their worldly and strong feminist art teacher, Ms. Irene Stark.

 It's more than a school club though-it's a secret society, a sisterhood, and they have a mission, to change the school, cast out the backward anti-female attitudes of not only the school but the town. At first, it seems like they are actually changing the way guys at school treat them. But then something happens and Ms. Stark begins to urge them to take more vindictive action, and it starts to feel more like revenge-brutal revenge. Some of the girls begin to question the group's actions, and Ms. Stark's motives and past,  but they are ultimately blinded and bound by their oath of loyalty and so the Daughters of Eve become instruments of vengeance. Can one of them find the courage to break the spell before real tragedy strikes and there's no going back?

Review:
I enjoyed this book so much that when I went to reread it about 5 years after first acquiring it and I couldn't find my copy I went out and bought a new copy.

This is a pretty dark and gritty novel, but one shouldn't expect anything less from the author of I Know What You Did Last Summer. It's also a very powerful novel, showcasing the results of what one negative influence can do to a group of people, especially a group of young, malleable &  impressionable people like the girls here. Irene Stark has a dark past and as you get further into the novel you can see just how unhinged she truly is to be capable of doing what she does to these girls. She could have benefited from counselling, it's this type of person that when you hear about them in real life you have to ask yourself how they even managed to become teachers and ask why we don't give psychological screenings to educators?

Another running theme in this novel is what happens when you give in to negative peer pressure, a club like this with binding oaths to secrecy, where the stronger members can force their will on the weaker characters and make them do things they wouldn't normally do if not for the pressure of being accepted and being part of an elite group, these are very real things that teenagers, girls especially, deal with on a daily basis. The girls in Daughters of Eve go down some very dark paths thanks to peer pressure. It's also interesting to pinpoint the moment where it goes from being simple peer pressure to mob rule. Very horrific to picture as you're reading it.

Duncan manages to explore those themes completely and thoroughly in under 300 pages, which I find incredibly impressive for such hugely loaded themes. Another aspect that impresses me is the way she manages to actually develop all of the many characters within the novel in such a short length. Other reviewers complained that she tried to take on too many characters and that many just ended up being stereotypes. I am inclined to respectfully disagree with that opinion, that is theirs and I have my own. I don't mind trope-y characters, tropes in characterisation fill a need. So yes you've got the brainy girl in Fran and the man-eating girl who of course is named Bambi as two examples, but both of these characters are much more fleshed out than that. Fran for instance ends up bonding with a boy, and emotionally and interpersonally she's actually one of the stronger voices amongst the girls and they all respect her and look up to her as a leader, where as the stereotype usually has the very brainy girl as being a wallflower, loner, plain or unattractive etc. Duncan makes certain that all of the Daughters of Eve are very real and very relatable, I remember the first time I read finding different aspects of myself within a few of the girls and that makes it very easy and enjoyable to connect to the book.

And now that I'm talking about it I want to re-read it again! Maybe I will!

--Ren

First Read Friday: Soulbound (Legacy of Tril #1)

     Title: Soulbound (Legacy of Tril #1)
     Author: Heather Brewer
     Publisher: Dial Books
     Published: June 19, 2012
     Number of Pages: 394
     Genre(s): Fantasy, YA
     Date Read: February 14, 2013
     Acquired: Wal-Mart

Summary: 
Kaya has lived her life knowing that she and her parents are fugitives, that their entire existence depends on discretion and secrecy. They are on the run from the ruling council of Tril, the Zettai Council run by the most powerful Barrons in the land. The Barrons are the warrior class, the highest of the Skilled and the most revered; every Barron has a single Healer bonded to them, that is the way it has always been and should always be according to council law, one Barron and one Healer and nothing else. After losing their respective Healers to the War and falling in love, Kaya's parents knowing they were breaking this law went in to hiding and raised Kaya, born a Healer, to know and hate these traditions. For 15 years this life of secrecy has worked, for 15 years they have been free in a way, living life hidden amongst the Unskilled who know nothing of the Barrons and Healers or their Council.

But suddenly and inexplicably and without any warning the war is on Kaya's front door and her father must give them all away in order to save not only Kaya's life but their entire village. In exposing them Kaya is discovered and is summoned, on pain of death for her parents if she disobeys, to Shadow Academy to be trained as a Healer, forced into a Bond with a Barron she does not know, and made to follows strict rules of Protocol that her parents had spent her entire childhood trying to keep her away from. Kaya chaffs under the rules of Protocol, unable to accept the passive, dangerous role of the traditional Healer, she does not understand why she should not be allowed to defend herself, why she should have to rely on her Barron to protect her at all times and at any cost. So she sets out to get herself trained no matter what the cost to herself, her family, or the people she asks for help.

Review:
This was the book that prompted me to bring up world building last Wednesday. I did something that I keep telling myself not to do while reading a book; I looked at the GoodReads reviews, I already learned that doing that does nothing but colour my opinion of the book as I continue to read it and yet I did it again with this book anyway. I swear lesson learned this time, promise. It was this review in particular that ended up being the route of my problems. Up until that point I honestly hadn't been bothered by the world building because I usually give the first book in a series the benefit of the doubt that further books will continue to expand the world. The problem lies in that this reviewer and all the other reviewers who mentioned poor world building are right. Brewer does not lay enough of a foundation here in Soulbound, so I have little hope that the rest of the series will be able to sufficiently make up for what is lacking here. We get a general description of what it means to be Skilled and Unskilled, but we get absolutely no information about why those labels came to be, who created them or why people like Kaya's parents haven't revolted and tried to change things. We get told about a war that is suppoed to be devouring Tril, meanwhile the only people who know about this war are the Skilled, and we get very little information about who the Big Bad is or what his motives are. I understand that a lot of this might be able to be attributed to the narrator, which in this case is the main character who has been sheltered from all of this information and so is probably unreliable; but I don't know, I feel like Brewer didn't even bother trying to world build, she envisioned Kaya to supposedly be this game changing character who is completely against the current hierarchy, but she really never does any real hard questioning or digging so how can she be expected to change anything when she doesn't understand any of it? Am I the only one thinking that way?

Another thing that bothered me about this book? The buzz words highlighted on the back: deeply romantic adventure, heart-stopping action and impossible to forget heroine; my problem with these buzzword is that none of them are true. I find nothing at all romantic about any of the relationships in this book, they're both unhealthy. We're told that Kaya's relationship with Trayton is this huge romantic thing, sure Trayton does a couple of nice, sweet, romantic things, but for every one of those moments there are another two-three where he's either manipulating Kaya, belittling her, abusing her, or neglecting her, and she lets him do it even though she's supposed to be this independent spitfire. Forgive me if I don't see the deep romance there. And don't get me started on her relationship with Darius, he's just as bad as Trayton especially when you get to the end of the book and find out he's been lying to her the entire time. Although if you're observant, which Kaya is not, at ALL, you'll have the big twist figured out pretty much the first time Darius is introduced, I know I did.

As for heart-stopping action, yes there were some nice action scenes thanks to the sword fighting, but I wouldn't class any of the battle scenes as heart-stopping not by any means, especially when the narrator herself spends most of the time worrying about not cutting herself on her own katana. Which brings me to the claim that Kaya is impossible to forget, from the cover I was expecting her to be the ultimate badass, I was left highly disappointed as she turned out to be full of stereotypes; yes she wants to learn to defend herself instead of relying on Trayton to defend her, very feminist, very independent I applaud her for that. She actually achieves that goal by the end, except she still does need rescuing at some point in pretty much every one of her fights. And honestly, she was damn whiny. For how much emphasis was put on battles and war and breaking Barron protocol, Kaya spent an inordinate amount of time angsting over her supposedly romantic feelings for the two male leads, even though she self identified as not being interested in boys when she was first introduced.

If I don't actually stop and think about all of those things then I can enjoy the book. I hope that the next book in the series is narrated by a different character, I'd much prefer to see things from either Darius's point of view or Maddox's they seem to be the most interesting characters to me. I know that's not going to happen though because this series is the Kaya show for better or for worse. I really hope that Brewer delves more into world building in the next book, because I think that she could have a really, really interesting world going here and I want to know more about the mythology. There is culture blending galore you've got names like Patrick and Samantha mixed with names like Trayton and Darius and Sharya; Japanese katanas and European Chain mail, the cover depicts leather armour but there's never mention of any in the actual story, they just all seem to be dressed like ninjas are always depicted. 

Overall, even though I have complaints, I will continue reading the series out of sheer curiosity to see just where she is going with all of this.

--Ren

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

     Title: Outlander (Outlander #1)
     Author: Diana Gabaldon
     Publisher: Seal Books
     Published: January 1, 1991
     Number of Pages: 870
     Genre(s): Science Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction
     Date Read: February 2006 (The 1st time...)
     Acquired: Chapters

Summary: 
The year is 1945, the Second World War has just ended and combat nurse Claire is finally reunited with her husband, historian and amateur genealogist (and former Army Officer) Frank Randall. They seek bliss and rest in the highlands of Inverness, Scotland so that Frank can do some family research on a descendant who was an Officer in the area back in the 1740s, before the start of his tenure as a History Professor at Oxford. Young and innocent they think they have the entire future together ahead of them, until curious Claire, unversed in the mysterious mythology of the standing stones of Scotland, goes exploring alone and disappears. 

Claire suddenly finds herself transported back through time, about 200 years back, because that's how all the legends go, to 1743, a dangerous time to be a British lady in the Scottish wilds where the border clans are at war with each other and with the British. As dangerous a place to be as the war she just finished surviving in 1945. She's confused, she's lost, she's alone...at least until she's picked up by a band of MacKenzie warriors on the run from the local British army regiment who save her from the Captain of said regiment, one Jack Randall... They take her in, believing her to be a British spy, and bring her to their laird for judgement. When he decides she's not an immediate threat they offer her protection, protection in the form of an arranged marriage to the young outlaw nephew of the laird, one Jamie Fraser, who Claire hasn't been able to keep her eyes off of since the moment she met him. She doesn't love him, she doesn't want to but she needs him. 

They begin their life together with Claire torn between her new reality and the reality she left behind, and a desire to return there. Things are going along as peacefully as one would expect from a war torn Scottish nation in the 1740s, until Captain Jack comes back into the picture. He seems to have a grudge against both Claire and Jamie, something that seems very personal. Can Claire learn to love Jamie? Can they come together enough to survive Black Jack? Or will she flee from Jamie the first chance she gets to try and get back to Frank?

Review:
I would like to start this review by saying, I like to consider this book as a stand-alone book and I would have been perfectly content to never have found out it was a series. I tried reading the second book and I just got very turned off by the willy-nilly back and forth of the characters travelling through times to multiple periods multiple times. I am very critical of time travel because it is really really hard to get right in a way that does not create glaring plot holes. I can pick out plot holes anywhere but present me with a time travel plot and I will find even a pin head sized plot hole that I then use to unravel the entire story, I've done it on several occasions thoroughly annoying people who genuinely enjoyed the story and never questioned the integrity of the plot. Just wanted to clear that up and let you all know why this review will make no reference to the rest of the series.

Back in 2006 I never would have willingly picked up a romance novel, not even if you paid me, and yet I actually paid hundreds of dollars for the privilege of reading this book, because I had to read it for an undergraduate English class. I will not lie, I have gotten out of required course readings I didn't think I would enjoy through various means in the past; like the time I didn't even crack the spine on The Tempest I just  based all my answers about the play on a combination of the very, very strange 3 man production of it I saw at The Globe, and Spark Notes. I was sorely tempted to do that with this book given the reading load I was faced with that particular semester and my distaste for romance novels. That was before I actually read the summary on the back, the minute I read the summary I had two thoughts, "Oh dear god time travel I am going to hate this even more than I would have if it was just a normal romance novel!" and "Ooooh 1700s Scottish Highlands! Swords and red heads, okay I'm done this book is getting read." Yup you tell me there will be sword play and I will read it, you tell me there will be sword play AND red heads (I have a thing for red heads in a big way, it has been known to lead to me embarrassing myself horribly...) and there's no way I won't read the book. It was actually about this time in 2006 that I read it because I spent my entire reading week glued to it, so that makes this week the 7th anniversary of me reading it for the first time, and since then I've read it about 10-12 more times, so that right there should tell you just how much I liked it.

I not only liked it, I loved it. With the exception of the first 39 pages. I was okay with those first 39 pages the first time I read it, but after finishing it the first time I'm not a big fan of Frank and just really don't want to read the part that he's in, so on most of the times I've re-read it I've started on the second half of page 39 and read from there.Did anyone else who has read it feel that way? Am I the only one here? For me the book really gets started in chapter 3, that's where Claire finds herself transported back to the 1700s and the fish out of water story really gets started. I'm so glad Diana gave Claire the characterisation that she did, because Claire's stoicism, strength, stubbornness and adaptability are what drive this story for me. If Claire had been the stereotypical romance heroine that I dreaded she would be when I heard I was going to have to read a romance novel I would have been crushed, but watching Claire grow into the role of a 1700s Scottish lady was nothing short of magical, by the end of the book I at least felt like Claire really belonged exactly where she was and I actually couldn't picture how she would fit into the WWII era world she had come from. 

Obviously I have to talk about her relationship with Jamie, the Hero of the novel, who numbers among my favourite literary red heads, can't really leave discussion of that relationship out. Diana's writing in this book is exquisite in my opinion, but I especially enjoyed her portrayal of the central romance in this couple, it was very realistically done. You have a heroine who is a "modern" woman coming back to the 1740s so of course there are going to be culture clashes, especially in the area of romance, and the clashes between Claire and Jamie are SPECTACULAR. Seemingly horrific, for obvious reasons, as Claire points out corporeal punishment is barbaric now a days (and even in 1945), but it was normal to Jamie, and honestly the way Diana handled the writing of it it comes across as more hilarious than horrific. For every moment of them blowing up at one another there are as many or more moment where you can just watch them slowly realise how much they love one another and that they really are quite well matched to one another in both personality and nature. Jamie is an impulsive, injury prone warrior and Claire is a responsible (usually), calm former combat nurse; which means that in the eyes of the Scots of the 1740s she's the best surgeon/doctor in existence. That becomes a bit of a running gag between the two. 

There are sex scenes, of course, it's a romance novel that's a given, but you don't read this novel for the sex scenes, or even just for the romance. There is an actual discernible and complex plot in this novel and it's just as important if not more important than Jamie and Claire's relationship, if only because of how intertwined the villain is to both Claire and Jamie as individuals and as a couple.

Since I'm being honest, I feel completely comfortable saying that in my opinion, this is one of the best and most well thought out and written books that I have ever read. And I have no doubt that I'll probably read it another 10-12 times in the next 7 years. Ask me again in 7 years and we'll see!

--Ren

First Read Friday: Falcondance by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Since Friday was a Holiday I'm choosing to post what would have been Friday's First Read Friday today, enjoy!

     Title: Falcondance (The Kiesha'ra, #3)
     Author: Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
     Publisher: Laurel Leaf
     Published: September 13, 2005
     Number of Pages: 192
     Genre(s): Fantasy, YA
     Date Read: February 22, 2013
     Acquired: Amazon.ca

Summary: 
When we last saw the Avians and Serpiente their leaders Zane Cobriana and Danica Shardae were pregnant and setting out with their Falcon friends, Rei and Kel, to create a Wyvern's Court in hopes of bringing their people together to not only achieve peace but to keep out the hateful influence of the Falcon Empire.

Now we fast forward several years and meet Nicias the pure blooded Falcon son of Rei and Kel, and the Grandson of the Heir to the Falcon Empire, Araceli. He's part of the Royal Guard of Oliza Shardae Cobriana, the heir to the Wyvern's Court. He is sworn to protect her with his life, a duty he takes very seriously, but his duty puts his life at stake when suddenly and without warning he begins to have nightmares of Ahnmik, nightmares which lead to a black out and a fall when flying with Oliza. His parents have no choice after that but to send him back to Ahnmik and to Araceli, because if they don't the Falcon magic that has awakened within him will drive him to total insanity.

Nicias is both drawn to and appalled by Ahnmik, simultaneously wanting to be there, succumbing to the seduction of Lily and the pull of the magic, and wanting to flee and get as far away from the place his parents hate the most. But he stays, because Araceli is the only hope he has, or so he is led to believe, until he finds himself drawn to the supposedly dangerous criminal Darien and her mysterious daughter Hai. Suddenly he finds himself smack in the middle of the royal power struggle his parents sought to keep him out of a struggle that will force Nicias to choose between duty and destiny. Is he strong enough to do what is necessary?

Review:
As the middle book of the series it has the task of moving the plot forward, but honouring what came before it. I'm not entirely sure it's successful in accomplishing that task. By skipping forward about 15-20 years Atwater-Rhodes has glossed over extremely important details about the building and growth of the Wyvern's court. It went from not existing at the end of Snakecharm to being an almost completely functional kingdom where the only real threat is what will happen when Oliza takes the throne, and for some reason her parents aren't as concerned about this as one would expect. In Hawksong and Snakecharm the readers were treated to Danica and Zane as highly conscientious people who thought about every detail of their plans and how those plans would affect their people. But either parenthood changed them or I completely misunderstood them in this book, because Zane at least seemed extremely different than the previous two instalments. I think this is compounded by the fact that we have Nicias as a narrator, he wasn't around during the events of the previous two books so maybe it's just that his perspective is skewing the reader's knowledge. That makes sense because he's a very introspective narrator who doesn't really seem to have a complete and full understanding of Wyvern's Court, which could be chalked up to the fact that he's a Falcon and the one thing the Avians and the Serpeiente can actually agree on is that they really really have a hard time trusting Falcons who look like Falcons. So not only are we not treated to how exactly the court was formed but we have little to no information about what exactly the Falcons were doing to work against them for the last 20 years.

At the end of Snakecharm the characters were well aware that the Royal Family of Ahnmik wasn't just going to let them get on with it. But from the sounds of the narrative that seems to be exactly what happened? Nicias coming into his magic seems to be the catalyst that gets the Falcons interested in acting again. But given what Nicias discovers about the Falcons' motives while he is on Ahnmik I find it REALLY hard to believe that the Falcons just sat back for all those years without interfering and just let Danica and Zane work towards re-uniting the Avians and the Serpiente after all the work they put into ensuring they would never re-unite. It doesn't make any sense; perhaps it's fleshed out more in Wolfcry? I haven't gotten around to reading that yet maybe I should make it my next book.

Moving away from plot and narration, one of the major themes of the series has been the personal growth of the narrators, watching them wrestle with their heritage and find a way to synthesize their histories with their day to day realities. Nicias has the hardest time doing this out of all 3 narrators so far. He's the son of two exiled Falcons living in a place where no one trusts someone who has a Falcon form. He has to learn how to control magic he didn't ask for and wasn't warned about from a woman who his entire family and extended family hates in a place he has never wanted to go. And while he's there he makes discoveries that not only change everything he knows about himself but everything he and everyone else knows about the world in which they live. Heavy stuff for a teenager. Nicias handles all of this surprisingly well. There are very few outbursts on his part. He's very level headed and mature.

I have to say that even though the book feels out of place, and I think the series would have benefitted from a book in between Snakecharm and Falcondance, something from Rei or Kel's perspective, that overall I enjoyed this instalment in the series. Nicias is by far the best of the three narrators so far. He also has the most interesting and involved story of the three which makes for an engaging read. Even though I feel it's weak as the third instalment and that it has it's flaws (what book doesn't?), it's still a good and enjoyable read.

--Ren

First Read Friday: The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

                                                                   

     Title: The Unwanteds
     Author: Lisa McMann
     Publisher: Aladdin
     Published: August 30, 2011
     Number of Pages: 390
     Genre(s): Fantasy, YA, Dystopian
     Date Read: February 11, 2013
     Acquired: Wal-Mart

Summary: 
Quill is a veritable fortress, surrounded by high walls with only one closely guarded gate, even the sky above is caged in, whether it is to keep enemies out or the populace within under control only the High Priestess knows for sure, and as her word is law, no one dares to question. After all who would try and rise up against a tyrant who ritualistically annually declares that a certain portion of Quill's population that have just turned 13 will be culled and sent to die in a lake of boiling oil?

Alex knows this is his rate, he knew from the moment he defied the High Priestess's ridiculous edicts. He knows, and is constantly reminded that Quill has little value for creativity, the Quillitary, and High Priestess Justine especially, value strength, detachment and clear headed logic above all else. And so it is that Alex is selected for culling as an Unwanted while his identical brother Aaron has been labelled not just Necessary like their parents but given the title of Wanted, the highest honour a citizen of Quill can hold.

So it is that Alex and the other Unwanted children are sent to the ominous Death Farm to face the Eliminators; when they arrive they put on stoic faces and bravely face the prospect of their deaths, only to be told, by the Death Farmer no less, that he has no plans to kill them. For he is a Mage and he has created a magical haven for the Unwanteds where they can be safe and free to not only hone their creative skills, but to use them as weapons in case they ever have to defend themselves against Quill should the High Priestess find out how Mr. Today has been defying her for so many years. Alex has finally found a place where he is wanted and can be himself, but what will happen when his new found peace is threatened? Can Artimé and the Unwanteds really prevail over the mechanical might of the Quillitary?

Review:
First and foremost I have to say that even though I adore the cover image on this book, how could I not it's got a flying stone feline and live origami fire breathing dragons, that it's actually a really poor cover choice. It gives away FAR too much. After reading the book I really wish they'd gone with a desolate image of Quill instead, it would have intensified the dystopian nature of Quill and the abject horror of the idea of culling 13 year olds just for being creative, which is one of the main draws of the blurb. A missed and wasted opportunity in my opinion. Although one that somewhat continued into the story itself. McMann is obviously trying to create a place and a leader that the reader will be horrified by and hate, try to make us see just how horribly the people of Quill have it. But it never goes quite far enough, yes the practice of culling children because they aren't logical or emotionless is cruel, unusual and disturbing, but the jacket blurb and cover have both already given away that this practice doesn't actually take place, and aside from that practice and the fact that Justine is a cold-hearted dictator, the people of Quill don't live in abject poverty or squallor, Quill seems to me to be more of a cross between Castro era Cuba and Medieval England than an Orwellian dystopia. I get it, the target audience for this series is tweens, but that's the same target audience that both Harry Potter and The Hunger Games were targeted towards and the covers claim that this book is "The Hunger games meets Harry Potter" led me to believe that there was going to be some darker content, and all it did was hint at it, it just didn't go far enough for my taste.

My other complaint is that it was super rushed. If you will allow me to compare it to Harry Potter for a few minutes, let me say this on the subject of magical education in each series; it takes a good 3-4 books arguably in HP for the kids to become proficient enough in magic to hold their own in head to head combat with other wizards, actually I'd probably say they aren't really capable of that until book 5, that's 3-5 years of magical education and training. The kids in Unwanteds are shown to be mastering their respective arts and moving on to magical warrior training after only a few weeks and it's not like these kids had ANY experience before coming to Artimé, they came from a place that banned all creativity. The climax of the book takes place around the 1 year mark of their arrival and they are able to not only hold their own but win in a battle against an army, granted the army they are going up against doesn't have magic but still I find it incredibly hard to believe that this group of 13 year olds could have gotten that good that fast.

That all being said overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable read, the characters where likeable, with the exceptions of Will, Justine and Aaron, the antagonists, McMann was clearly on a mission to make these characters as unlike-able as possible because I can't think of a single redeeming quality in any of them, and for the blurb I've read for the second book in the series apparently Aaron is only going to get even more unlike-able. The use of creativity as magic was entertaining, the idea of a stinging soliloquy or fire step is pretty neat, but I like the idea of literally boring your enemy to death with a story best, because I think we've all felt in the past that we had teachers who were doing that to us at one point or another. 

Any really creative person can easily sympathise with the Unwanteds and Artimé is a truly imaginative place filled with wonders, it's really easy to get into Artimé and want to know more. This book definitely kept me engaged and even though it didn't push the envelope as much as I wanted, and I found the pacing awkward I liked the book I believe it does its best to try and live up to the promise of being The Hunger Games for Harry Potter fans (although in my experience Potterphiles in general seem to be a large portion of The Hunger Games fanbase) and I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series as soon as I've made a noticeable dent in the pile. (Been banned from bringing any more new books into the house until I have done so...)

--Ren