Monday 31 March 2014

Cinder

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Book Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Date Started: March 30th 2014
Date Completed: March 31st 2014
Genres: Sci-Fi, Romance, Mystery, Adventure, Dystopian
Rating: Three stars
Review:

Cinder was a quick read for me, as I found the writing simple and the plot was quite fast. For me, whilst I did enjoy this book, it just lost some of the magic of the original story (Cinderella) I was brought up on. I also would really have liked more inclusion of the world and development around the story, rather than a spontaneous romance. If I'm being honest, the novel did grow me on as I went through, but it still wasn't as good as all the hype around it for me.

Cinder is a cyborg, toiling over her work as a mechanic to bring in money for a stepmother who would see her dead if it meant no having to admit the shame of having a half-human half-robot daughter. But one day, the prince shows up outside her stall, asking for her to do a special job for him and before she knows it, everything in Cinder's world is changing; her sister falls ill with the plague; her stepmother volunteers her for testing in the palace's labs; and a new danger comes from the skies threatening to wage war on Earth if the prince doesn't do exactly what they want.

The writing, quite frankly, wasn't amazing. There was nothing wrong with it either, but I felt like some of the narration degraded a potentially great book to…not so great. I always have been really harsh on description and that sort of thing because I think it's really important in making an amazing book and is so often overlooked. For me, Cinder was lacking in these things - so much I still haven't actually worked out what Iko looks like, and what parts of Cinder are mechanical. It was just a shame.

The story itself, is taken after the classic fairytale. I love the original fairytale, but if it's going to be remade into a new story, there's got to be something different; and the cyborg element didn't quite do it for me. Along with some of the other little details that weren't explained and just stuck out (e.g. why are her stepfamily allowed to go to the ball? Are they rich? Important?; Why do the robots talk and think like humans? Is there a reason for that?; What is the actual political side of New Beijing and the war?). It just lost the spark that the original fairytale had for me.
Another issue I had was that the parts of the story that weren't even derived from Cinderella were very predictable. And I didn't feel any threat from the antagonists in the story.
On the other hand, some of the comedy bits did make me laugh. When Cinder is announced at the ball made me laugh out loud because it just sounded hilarious. And, in fairness, the book did have a very good, different ending and I am really looking forward to the following books.

The majority of the characters seemed a bit one-dimensional to me, but they fitted nicely into their places in the story.
Cinder annoyed me, even though the idea of her was great. I would just like to repeat the fact that insisting you aren't girly, and seeming constantly annoyed with everyone does not make you not girly or masculine. And furthermore, having a go at your stepmother and then storming off does not really demonstrate not getting pushed around. Just saying.
I would happily just read a book about Kai (with Torin as the side-kick) because he was the only person I was interested in, and I felt like he actually acted like a human being. He made choices that weren't all about him, but he also had a part of him that did want to be selfish, and please himself. But he chose what he thought was best, and that made him the most realistic character to me.

The book was really fast paced which helped to keep my interest, and the easy reading let me fly through it.

I would recommend Cinder to anyone who likes sci-fi and romance. It fitted a bit too nicely with typical Young Adult style books for me, but I did still enjoy it, and I hope the following books are better, as I've been told. But it's still a nice, easy read with some entertaining parts and a good concept.

Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12973964-cinder

Sunday 30 March 2014

Stolen: A Letter to My Captor

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Book Title: Stolen: A Letter to My Captor
Author: Lucy Christopher
Date Started: March 24th 2014
Date Completed: March 29th 2014
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Contemporary
Rating: Three stars
Review:

Stolen was a random read, but it surprised me a little. It addressed certain issues that aren't really explored that often in an interesting way that made me engage with both the protagonist, and 'antagonist' - though it turns out to not be that simple.

Gemma was in Bangkok airport when she was abducted. And then she wakes up in the middle of a desert, in a big house, all alone with the man who kidnapped her.
(I don't really think this book needs any more introduction - that was all it took to get me interested.)

I really liked the writing style of Stolen. It's told through direct address in first person, though the reader is not the one being addressed. This really got the tone of the narration across, whilst also just being something nice and different.
I also loved the descriptions in the book. There isn't that much dialogue in the book, so Gemma's inner voice was really important in explaining what was happening to her. The location is also a key part in the story, so the landscape and how it worked had to be communicated well; which it was. I could picture a lot of what was happening and the surroundings just sounded like paradise in that dark time for her.

I think the idea of Stockholm's Syndrome is fascinating, and the way it was portrayed really caught my interest. I don't think it's an easy thing to describe honestly, but I think Christopher has done a good job of it and shown it from a variety of different perspectives.
The one problem I had with the story was that it was very repetitive, and that's the downfall of the whole book. I completely understand why it's story is so similar throughout, because the situation affects it in that way. But it still makes the book harder to get through unfortunately.
The ending was very well orchestrated to me and I think it draw the story together very, very well. The last couple of paragraphs got to me, actually.

There's a lot of subtle development from the characters throughout the book, but I still would have liked to see a more gradual development through a longer story that wasn't so rushed at the end.
Gemma was a really good, realistic character that I think a lot of young readers will be able to relate to. Although the majority of the book is about Gemma's abduction, there are still parts where it explores her life before, and the typical teenager experiences she had to go through. I think these parts in particular helped me in getting to know Gemma a lot more.
Ty was an absolutely great character. By are aware of who he is before he actually commits his crime, and so you're automatically against him. This made it really interesting for the rest of the book, because there's little hints the whole way through that actually Ty's crime isn't so much his - more of a consequence for other people's inability to help him in his life. That for me, was amazingly well communicated - I just wish there had been more.

The pace was really slow for me, unfortunately. I ended up skim reading a little later on in the book. This is mainly because its mainly a narrative of inner monologue, and that creates a lovely atmosphere in the novel; it was just a bit slow for someone as impatient as myself.
I kind of wish it had been longer, because I really want to see the characters change even more, but I was really bored around halfway through. However, that is due to the fact I'm used to much faster plot lines.

Stolen was definitely an interesting, different read. Although I became a little impatient with it, I still think it was really good and is something I'd recommend that everyone has a look at since it's very original and looks at a whole different side of life to anything else I've seen.

Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6408862-stolen?from_search=true

Monday 24 March 2014

The Rogue

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Book Title: The Rogue
Author: Trudi Canavan
Series: The Traitor Spy Trilogy #2
Date Started: March 17th 2014
Date Completed: March 23rd 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Mystery
Rating: Four stars
Review:

I really enjoyed the Rogue, and it was nice to continue on such an amazing story and world again. To be honest, it did feel a bit like a filler book for the finale of the trilogy, but the characters kept my attention well enough for me to forget about that most of the time.

The search for the rogue magician is still on, and with each day Sonea's friends are put in more and more danger. And then, when two Guild novices start to play around with black magic, it seems there's even more on her plate than she can handle. At the same time, miles away in Sachaka, Sonea's son is still living among the Traitors, desperate to work out their secrets and find a way to pay for his father's crimes.

I love Canavan's writing. It's so vivid and the characters are all so real. Even though the book is written in 3rd person, you still get a really strong idea of each person's inner monologue and how they think.
The speech is also a really strong-point in these books; it's both formal and funny at the same time. The dialect is also very different for each part of the world and maintained throughout. It's a very clever thing to include, and quite hard I think, but it really makes the world come to life and ensures the characters seem real.

I absolutely love the world Canavan has created and it's still developing this far into the series. There's always something new to learn and some conspiracy hiding underneath everything else. It's just amazing and I love it so much.
Being the middle book in the series, there wasn't anything huge that happened as the stories were mainly being developed from the previous book, but there weren't any times where nothing was happening; the characters were always moving about, talking and living their lives interestingly.

It's great to see all the old characters - I'm still not ready to say goodbye to them. There's also some really amazing and realistic relationships built up, including romantic and friendship types. It's a very character-driven story and so it's important that all the people are so likeable.
Sonea will forever be my favourite character, and the other people included in her story are the same. They're all lovely and bring out different qualities in Sonea's personality. Canavan's story doesn't have one protagonist, but if I had to choose one, I'd pick Sonea, because she really is a hero. (And then Rothen, Cery and Dorrien in her stories are so loveable and I never want them to go away.)
I also think Lorkin is really nice. He's not really a big male interest for me, but I respect him for what he does and how he acts. I think he and Tyvara are a good pair, though he's too dedicated to do whats right to allow him to be happy with her unfortunately.
I really love Dannyl, though I have to say I don't really see the point of his story. I suppose he'll make a big discovery that will change the whole story at some point, but so far it hasn't happened and it's been quite a while.

The pace was unfortunately quite slow for this whole book. I'm used to Canavan's writing holding lots of secrets that slowly tie together and create an amazing finale to a huge story. Because this is the middle book of the trilogy, there wasn't as much going on, but I know the last book is going to be explosive. I'm looking forward to it very much.

The Rogue is a great read for any Trudi Canavan fan, and it's really interesting to see the old characters continuing their adventures. It wasn't as good as some of the other books, but I can tell the last book is going to be amazing. There's some of the best fantasy I've ever read, and some amazing relationship building here, so try the series (starting with Canavan's Black Magician Trilogy) if you like that sound of any of that.

Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8411749-the-rogue

Monday 17 March 2014

Vicious

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Book Title: Vicious
Author: V.E. Schwab
Date Started: March 14th 2014
Date Completed: March 16th 2014
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action
Rating: Five stars
Review:

Vicious might be my new favourite book. There's so much going on throughout the whole thing, and right from the beginning I was in love with the story, the writing and the characters. And then, at the end, you basically have a completely changed set of characters, a ridiculously tense atmosphere and heart-stopping writing. And I was still completely sold.

Victor and Eli were roommates. They discovered something amazing. Now, they're enemies, each desperate to end the other's life. And now, with Victor out of prison and on the run with a fellow convict, it seems now is the perfect time for Eli to end everything. But then a little girl who can wake the dead turns up, and the tables turn. But in the end, who will end up dead?

I loved the writing so much in so many different ways and it was just amazing. I particularly fell in love with the way Schwab portrayed the relationships in the book. There's a lot of very complicated and broken relationships between all the characters, but she still managed to make them seem beautiful and sad and tragic and adorable and so many other things.
Another interesting thing about the book is that it jumps in time. At first, I was a little unsure if this would work, or get confusing, but actually it allowed the story to unfold even more gradually, letting the reader get to know the characters more and understand them. It also mades things extremely tense throughout the whole book, because you know you don't know the full story.

The concept for this book was awesome, and the way it was backed up with scientific evidence was great in making the story feel real. I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi because I feel it can get over-the-top with too little fictional evidence. But Vicious perfectly captured what I like to see in this genre.
This book literally had my heart racing for most of it. It was so intense, and in the last 100 pages I was speaking out loud when things happened - mostly about how unfair it was that the writer would put me through such mean things. Vicious did actually pull out my heart, tear it up, throw it to the ground and stamp on it repeatedly: just the bit near the end, how much they did actually care and how they knew it was going to be bad and they were sorry for that but they still did it and they were really concerned and affectionate and they cared and I just broke down.
And then that's all followed by the best ending ever. Everything was tied up cleverly with just enough left to make you wonder what would actually then happen and how would they continue in their lives. Just enough so that you curse Schwab because it's a stand-alone novel.

The characters from this book have a very special place in my heart, and they always will. I became so emotionally invested in them that at the end, my heart was actually pounding when something dangerous looked like it was about to happen.
Victor was a perfect narrator for such a twisted story. I can't get enough of the dark characters that actually are bad people (unlike a lot of books these days, where they're just 'misunderstood'). Victor was real and dangerous and actually quite scary at some points. But the fact that you learn so much about him so slowly throughout the book and then how he treats the people around him, I just fell in love with him.
Eli I was always wary of. I knew from the beginning he was going to be trouble, but I understand why he did all he did. I also understand why he broke and can (in part) imagine what it was like for him. So, yes, I am happy with his ending, but I do emphasise with him, also.
I love Sydney so, so much. She seems so much older than her years, but still had that vulnerable innocence at the same time. I also loved the way she affected the people around her and she was just great. Written amazingly, and genuinely real in my mind.
Mitch is my favourite big teddy bear character ever. I always like those types of characters, but Mitch was just lovely. I liked learning first-hand about his past and how he came to know Vic, and then Sydney too. I just loved him. (And his chocolate milk.)
Serena stood out to me as very, very clever. But also very scared. I think she was a really great character actually, though she didn't get as much of a climax as I was expecting.

When I read a book, I note down little things that I might want to mention in my review, and within three pages I was already reaching for my notebook to write down how much I loved it (actual note: 'first three pages + in love' - award-winning note-taking skills there).
And even after the intrigue of the opening prologue finished and the complicated science and plot started to emerge, I just couldn't put it down. Not all of this book is action and moving around, there's a lot of explaining and thinking and thoughtful narratives. But I loved every single second of it, which is why I'm upset this is only a stand-alone novel.

The hype around this book definitely deserves to be there. Vicious was one of the most thrilling, mysterious, fun and amazing books I've ever read and I think everyone should read it. Some of the technical stuff might confuse some people, but there's still plenty of other things to grab the reader's attention instead. I just can't explain enough how good this book was.

Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18180495-vicious

Friday 14 March 2014

Rebel Spring

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Book Title: Rebel Spring
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Series: Falling Kingdoms #2
Date Started: March 12th 2014
Date Completed: March 14th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Action
Rating: Five stars
Review:

I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. Looking back on my notes about the first book, every issue I had with the characters, pacing, plot etc were all improved on to the point I didn't even notice them when I was reading. It was just great and I can't wait for the last one.

Auranos has fallen to the King of Blood, and now Mytica's people have to fight back if they want to stay alive. Jonas, leader of the rebels, must find a way to take down the evil King. Cleo is held captive within the palace itself, and when the king reveals a new plan for her future, it seems her options are narrowing. Magnus, now engaged to a princess he knows hates him, must find a way to take his life into his own control, and out of his father's. And Lucia will have to find a way to tame her newfound powers if she is to stop the darkness from taking her over.

I seem to remember not liking the writing that much in the previous book, but this time I was too engaged in the story to pay much attention to it. That isn't negative - it just compliments the story more than the writing.
I especially loved the descriptions of the world-building, magic and geography of this fantastical world. It's not amazingly vivid like some other fantasy books I've read, but the complexity and concepts aren't common to find in a Young Adult book.
I also think the relationships were very cleverly done. It seems to be more of a love constellation than a love triangle - each character isn't quite sure where their heart lies and if they should trust it over their head. Just like real people.

The plot line was constantly changing in this novel. I think the previous book was quite predictable, however this sequel has so much happening that you're never entirely sure what will happen next and what consequences each action someone makes will.
I was really happy to find that magic was featured much more in this book. I remember vaguely being told about the myths and stories about magic in Mytica last time, but it never really had any impact on the plot. This time, it seems the whole trilogy is going to start spiralling around this newly discovered magic.
And finally, I just have to mention amazing it was to have strong female characters leading a lot of the story. In Falling Kingdoms, the women tended to be sidelined and didn't always prove that they could do anything. But this time, they proved their worth and didn't let anyone take advantage of them.

Although I favoured certain characters in the first, I've fallen in love with all of them for this book. I still love Cleo's parts, but the development shown from all of them is amazing. These are a whole different cast of characters from the ones at the beginning of the first book.
Cleo is still my favourite character and I can't help but feel sorry for her and everything that's happened. But, at the same time, it's made her such a strong character who won't let anyone take advantage of her. And then there's also the side where she is vulnerable and scared about what will happen to her and her people if she can't take the throne. There's so much to her character, yet there seems to be nothing at first glance. I like people like that.
I've grown to love Magnus more. He was so blinded by hate at the end of the last book, yet he's managed to find some sort of affection of the people who pose him the biggest threat, and he's become something like a good person. I can't wait to see what happens to him next, because I have a feeling he's going to be a hero.
Jonas' story was smaller than I thought it would be, but I still really liked it. He's a more complicated character than he seems and I think he struggles a lot with choosing between himself and the rebellion.
Lucia doesn't annoy like I think she did in the first book, although she doesn't particularly stand out to me. I think her story is very key to the whole trilogy, though she doesn't get as much attention as the other characters. I think I might be slightly relieved to that because her parts are a little slower than the rest of the story.

I couldn't put the book down throughout the whole thing. There was always something happening, whether it was detail for the general plot or an action scene with danger. I loved every minute of it.

I would recommend the Falling Kingdoms series to any fantasy or adventure lovers. There's also some astounding character development and some great romance in there. The first book did have its issues for me, but this sequel blows it out of the water. I would like the next one right now please.

Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17239882-rebel-spring

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Half Bad

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Book Title: Half Bad
Author: Sally Green
Series: Half Life #1
Date Started: March 8th 2014
Date Completed: March 12th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Mystery, Thriller, Romance
Rating: Three stars
Review:

Half Bad was good, but didn't really compare to the hype I've been hearing. It took me a very long time to get into, and even longer to care about the characters. It just felt like one big prequel for the following books that wasn't entirely necessary until the last third of the book. I was disappointed, but that's more fault to the hype around the book rather than the novel itself.

Nathan is a Half Blood: his mother was a White Witch, but his father was a Black Witch. One of the most dangerous Black Witches in existence, and Nathan has been paying for his father's crimes for the whole of his life. But as his seventeenth birthday draws closer, Nathan starts to wonder if he'll be allowed to live as a White Witch, or if his father's legacy will prove everyone around Nathan right, and brand him a Black Witch.

The writing in this novel was very good, with an interesting narrative. There was generally a really good balance between monologue, description and speech. For most of the first half, Nathan is completely on his own with very little happening. In this time I found it harder to get on with the book, however the narrative actually included even mixed content to keep me reading.
However, there was a lot of information dumping at the beginning. And I'm not sure how half of it matters. Perhaps it's there for future purposes, but I've already mentioned how I feel this book was one big long prequel for the rest of the trilogy - and its harder for me to like a book that can't write one whole story on its own.

I'm not going to rant for too long because I don't want to make it seem liked I hated this book, because it improved immensely in my opinion in Part 4. I would honestly have loved to start at Part 4 and miss out the first two thirds of the books, but that's not how it works.
All I really remember about before Part 4 is torture. Over and over again and for no properly explained reason. I understand the dramatic plot twists of using such events, but I just felt like nothing else was going on and it was overused to the point where it actually made me a little uncomfortable.
However, once it started to pick up, I loved it. The characters became more interesting and the story started to go somewhere. And then, what I would call the climax scene, was absolutely awesome. I don't understand why Green didn't write an action thriller, because the writing in this part was amazing and I got so into the action. Ultimately, it went a little downhill again for the last twenty pages or so, but I've always been more engaged with events than suspense.

It took me a very long time to care about the majority of the characters, and even though I liked some of them, I didn't really care about them.
I liked Nathan, but I don't have much to say about him. There's definitely some character development, but nothing that shouts out at me.
Gabriel was most definitely my favourite character. I loved him right from the start, and I still love him now. I also saw where his story was going, but it was still adorable.
I also really liked Rose, strangely enough. I don't think the reader is supposed to like her very much, but I found her a nice breath of fresh air from the rest of the characters (expect Gabriel of course).
Annalise annoyed me because I never felt she proved herself as either useful or to actually be caring. I hope Nathan opens his eyes in the next book.
Looking back on the book, I really liked Arran at the beginning, but he's forgettable with the drama that happens later in the book.

I couldn't deal with the pacing of Half Bad. It was great at the end, but I would have happily skipped 220 pages in from the start. It was extremely slow at the beginning. I feel like the whole beginning could have easily been covered in ten pages instead of repeating itself over and over.

I want to mention, I did enjoy the last third of this book: I just found it hard to get along with the first parts. Therefore, I would recommend Half Bad to fantasy and young adult readers. I think other people probably get along better with the first part, however if you don't, try and be patient if you're intrigued by the concept.

Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18621194-half-bad

Saturday 8 March 2014

The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart

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Book Title: The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart
Author: Mathias Malzieu
Date Started: March 3rd 2014
Date Completed: March 8th 2014
Genres: Romance, Adventure
Rating: Five stars
Review:

The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart is an amazingly quirky, unique, heart-warming and tragic little story. The fact that the book has been translated from French doesn't affect it's beauty and untouchable originality. Both the writing, characters and story are like nothing I've ever read before. It's just perfect in every way.

Jack's heart didn't work when he was born. So, instead, he was given a cuckoo-clock to keep his heart pumping. But there's three things he must do to stay alive: firstly, he mustn't touch the hands of his cuckoo-clock heart; secondly, he must master his anger; and thirdly, he must never fall in love, or else his little mechanical heart will not be able to cope. But, however simple it may seem, Jack begins to disregard those rules one by one until only the most lethal is broken.

Of course, as the story has been translated, it's likely that the writing wasn't exactly as it is in French. But Sarah Ardizzone (the translator) has a talent, it's fair to say. The writing was stunning; poetic, yet still managed to capture a slightly inventive and modern edge.
There were some passages in it where I had to read it over and over again just because it was so beautiful. The descriptions brought everything to life and made it seem like I was in a fairytale. The narration was so honest that I could imagine everything perfectly in my mind like magic.

This novel has the perfect story about life and moving on. It captures just how hard life, love and living can actually be when it feels like the world's against you. I've never read anything quite like it, and I don't think I ever will again. In essence, that's what makes the story so heart-warming and tragic at the same time. Bad things do happen, but good things do as well.
Even in the end, when your heart is breaking for all the characters, there's a sort of finality that allows you to understand that, even though no one is really where they wanted to end up, they've come out of it being a different and stronger person. I think the end was exactly how it should be for the book.

The characters in this book are surprisingly real for such a whimsical story. Furthermore, you become extremely attached to them without even realising it, until you're completely in love with each and every one of them. Right in time for your heart to be broken.
Jack was a perfect protagonist for this book. His narration is completely open and beautiful to match the story. He understands that he's risking himself throughout the book, yet he can't help himself, and there's something about that that everyone can relate to in one way or another. Furthermore, the fact that he's so honest about this just makes him even more loveable.
Miss Acacia is another astoundingly realistic character. She reminded me somewhat of Daisy from The Great Gatsby: although originally she has the best life, things start to go the wrong way and she makes some bad decisions. But that's what happens in real life. (I also absolutely loved the whole glasses idea where she just didn't wear them because she wanted to be beautiful, but then ended up walking into things.)
I even empathised with Joe who, I think it's fair to say, isn't a very nice person. But the story is designed to make you realise that even seemingly bad people actually have their own lives and struggles and things that have made them that way.
And then there's Melies who, of course, was my favourite character. I recognised him immediately as being based on the early film-maker and inventor George Melies (which made me quite smug, I admit). He was just a wonderful companion to Jack and an overall great character.

This is a short little book, so there isn't really anywhere for the pace to dwindle. Furthermore, the story has so many little parts and such an amazing journey, there's always something to catch the reader's attention.

I would recommend The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart to everyone. It's a beautiful story that's written magnificently. I captures the nature of love and life exactly and was just perfect the whole way through. You'll become attached to the characters and fall in love with the story. It's just amazing.

Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/
6671933-the-boy-with-the-cuckoo-clock-heart

Monday 3 March 2014

Falling Kingdoms

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Book Title: Falling Kingdoms
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Series: Falling Kingdoms #1
Date Started: March 1st 2014
Date Completed: March 2nd 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure
Rating: Four stars
Review:

Although Falling Kingdoms hasn't been everywhere I've turned, when I have heard about it, only good things have been there. I'm a little bit disappointed that it wasn't the 'Game of Thrones for teens', as I had heard. However, I did really enjoy this book, and literally couldn't put it down.

The lands of Auranos, Limeros and Paelsia are on the verge of war. After the sudden murder of a peasant in a market by Auranos' princess' fiancé, the leaders of each kingdom begin to plan. In the midst of it, the young Auranos princess must travel into enemy territory for the chance to save her sister; the brother of the murdered peasant finds himself leading a revolution; and on the other side of the continent, a brother and sister must uncover the secrets between the strange magic unearthing itself.

To be honest, the writing wasn't great. I got through this book very quickly partly because it was easy to read and partly because of the story. I was indecisive about what rating to give this book; it I hadn't found it so hard to put down, it would have been three stars. But because I enjoyed it so much, it was too harsh to give it a lower rating.
I've heard the second book is better, so I just hope that the writing is slightly more complex.

Although quite predictable, the development in this story is amazing. In actually quite a short period of time, all of the characters grow so much in their personalities and how they act around people. On top of that, the spiralling of events is very realistic and I absolutely loved how the same things were shown in such distorted and different ways in each separate part of the kingdoms. The accidental murder was looked on in so many different ways, and meant different things to each of the characters.
I really would have liked a bit more focus on the magic, though I can see how that will soon became very key to the story. The little parts with the Watchers I also thought was a bit unnecessary since not much has been explained yet. I must also complain about the over-the-top testosterone levels and the helpless girls. I do understand that the time period this is set in demands that women can't fight etc, but from rather strong-minded individuals, I did feel there was a little too much of depending on men when they could have at least tried something themselves.
Finally, I'm not entirely sure I like the end. To be honest, the whole book feels like it's leading up to something much bigger later. I understand that's necessary to make the later books amazing, it's just a little annoying when there's four hundred pages acting basically as a prequel.

There is a really good variety of characters and individual situations in this book. It is very driven by the people in it, and I liked every chapter despite the fact that I looked forward the Cleo chapters in particular.
I was immediately drawn to Cleo. I'm not sure why, as she isn't the typical character I love, but I connected with her and wanted to know her story. I think the biggest amount of tension was also created around Cleo's story and it had the best ensemble in her life. (Especially Theon, Nic and Aron. Cleo was a little too popular with the men, but I liked the different attitudes she had towards them and how those changed as she developed as a character through the story.)
I also really liked Jonas' story. It did link in with Cleo's more than I would have liked, and felt a little bit like a side-story, but I can see how it'll develop more in later books. He, also, developed as a character and I really liked how clearly he was blinded by his hate.
Magnus and Lucia were a bit odd to me. They started off well and then faded a little into the background. I was also a little confused as Lucia seemed to be the pivotal character plot-wise and yet we don't learn much about her at all. Perhaps this was leading up to future events, but there's a little too much foreshadowing in this book. Magnus, again, interested me with his development and hatred.

The pace was very good due to the change of perspectives and a lot going on in the story. I've already mentioned how hard I found to put it down. The only problem with the pacing would be that the action and climax scenes were quite short. I would have liked the tension to be spread out a bit more to keep my heart racing.

I would recommend Falling Kingdoms to fantasy fans. I've always loved these richer fantasy worlds, and I think Falling Kingdoms would be a great way to get into these novels - I just think there are some better versions out there. However, I really couldn't put this down and I loved reading it. I can't wait for the next book.

Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13613142-falling-kingdoms

Saturday 1 March 2014

Ghostwritten

18708073

Book Title: Ghostwritten
Author: Isabel Wolff
Date Started: February 17th 2014
Date Completed: March 1s 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Historical, Romance
Rating: Five stars
Review:

Ghostwritten was intriguing throughout and presented a perfect mix of a modern contemporary and a historical memoir. Being much more enjoyable than I expected, I enjoyed every minute of this novel and was genuinely touched at various points in the story.

Jenni is a ghostwriter - she writes down other people's ideas and stories. Mostly self-help guides and the odd celebrity biography. But at a friend's wedding she's offered something different. The chance to record the untold story of a victim of Japan's invasion of Java in the Second World War is almost too hard to resist. The only problem is it involves going back to a place Jenni vowed never to return to again, for fear of unearthing a secret she's kept silent about her whole life.

The writing was really easy to slip into and quite quick to read. This meant that I could really focus on the actual story and all the emotions (and there are a lot of emotions). It also made it realistic when it came to the characters and how they thought. Although I usually like very complex characters that have strange thoughts and a poetic inner-monologue, I was still able to connect with these characters and therefore understand how they dealt with what was going on around them.
I suppose the down-side of this was that there wasn’t really anything particularly unique about the writing style, but with such a memorable and in-depth story, I don’t think that really mattered.

The story had some really good tension with Jenni’s secret, and also some of the choices Klara had to face during her time in the camps. However, I felt like some of this tension was released far too quickly. Jenni’s big secret is referred to so many times throughout the beginning of the book that, when it came out, it all flooded out and then seemed to have very little side-effects. I’m not entirely sure how realistic that is - but it lost a lot of fictional tension and consequences.
I’ve always been interested in history, but I didn’t know very much about Japan’s occupation of Java until I read this book. It actually encouraged me to go and look up some more information, as it really fascinated me. Right at the end of the book, it also talks about the attitudes the survivors from Java were treated with once they got to safety, and it made me question what we actually consider a serious event or horrible experience.
There was a really nice balance between the contemporary and historical genres, as well as the mix of very serious issues, and then some smaller ones. I, personally, was more interested in the events in Java, however Jenni’s own ‘smaller’ problems did fit in nicely with the story.
I really liked the end of the book. It was very touching and drew all the necessary strings together.

All of the major characters in Ghostwritten are very likable. This, again, made it very easy to slip into. The only issue I partly have was that the two main characters were very similar when I thought more about them. I suppose, by showing them in two very different situations, this didn’t affect the story too much, but I would have liked to see a bit more differentiation between the women to make them individual.
Jenni, the first narrator, is introduced quickly and shown as a very nice person. We learn a little bit about her early on in the story, and that secret is kept until around two-thirds through the book. I’ve already mentioned that being released a little too quickly. But she is a lovely character.
I found Klara’s story a lot more interesting, as it seemed a lot more important than Jenni’s. She, also, seems like a very lovely and thoughtful person.

The pace started off quickly, with an interesting prologue. Unfortunately, for me it lost its momentum half-way through, so I started to slack a little on the reading. It did, however, pick up again near the end.
Even so, it is quite a slow book that needs its reader to take its time and think about the story as they go along. It’s a comparison between two worlds that are actually more similar than they at first seem, and I think a reader really needs to be thoughtful when they work out what these aspects are.

I would recommend Ghostwritten to fans of historical fiction. It's extremely interesting from a amateur historian's point of view, and I think fascinating for anyone else. It's also a very lovely and touching contemporary and a nice simple read.

Thank you to HarperFiction for providing me with this Proof Copy to review! 

Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18708073-ghostwritten