The Sin Eater's Daughter (The Sin Eater's Daughter #1) by Melinda Salisbury

A young girl is given the opportunity to literally   like royalty.  She would live in the king's castle and be treated like a princess.  All she had to do was forsake her family and have people fear her touch since it kills people instantly and painfully.  Small sacrifice since she gets to marry a prince (who's immune to her touch) and eventually become Queen. Right? This is the circumstance of the Twylla, the main character of The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury.

This is a narrative that takes place almost completely within the protection of the castle.  I believe the location is fictional unless I'm really bad at Medieval geography.  This does reinforce the idea that even though Twylla is not a prisoner, in many ways she is a captive of her circumstance and her fate.  The disadvantage is made all too apparent as the story begins to slow down in so many places.  Action in a story doesn't have to always have to be physical because challenges come in many shapes and forms.  It does have to be somewhat pronounced and not so repetitive.  The jewel of this story to me comes in the form of twists.  There are some credible literary acrobatics performed in the telling of this tale.  Of course, I'll give none of them away here.

What I will say is something I don't like to admit.  I could not find any of the characters likeable.  I can't place my finger on why.  The main characters get well rounded or at least we start to see their motivations and glimpses of who they are.  Twylla is the best developed which comes mainly from the fact that the story is told from her viewpoint.  The Prince and one of Twylla's guards are the others we really get to know since they spent the most time with her.

The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury is a book that shows much promise that could be delivered in the rest of the series.  This part of the story is a bit lacking and perhaps should have been a bit longer.  It discusses mature subjects and has some mild sex scenes all of which lands it a solid PG13 rating from me.

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by Tynga at Wednesday, May 11, 2016

 Fantasy amp; Magic, Love amp; Romance, Melinda Salisbury, Purchased, Review, Scholastic Inc., Spiritual, The Sin Eater’s Daughter, young adult  Leave your mark

✎

Rook by Sharon Cameron

Let me start off by saying WOW! I haven't read such a gripping YA book in a long time. Rook is refreshing, engaging and very well written. The author had me hooked right from the start with her strong characters and amazing settings. This isn't your typical dystopian novel, yet it absolutely fits into the genre even if technology-wise, the human race is set back into the Georgian era, a time of revolutions, social reforms and religious revivals.

The setting is, by far, what captured my interest. Set about 900 years in the future, the human race is fearful of technology and has been living without it for hundreds of years. A shift in the magnetosphere caused everything digital and electronic to fail, and exposed some people to deadly solar radiation. The Great Death is what the characters call this period and it set them back hundreds of years. Absolutely nothing technological is accepted in this dystopian world. Even clocks are too man-made to be accepted, let alone good old electricity, and gas or steam-powered engines. People are fearful that by accepting technology again, they will revert back to a society that depends on machines, to a society that replaces jobs with machines, which would lead to social inequality and injustice. Ha! If only they knew there will always be social inequality and injustice whether technology exists or not.

I love this quote, which one characters says when talking about a revolution, about social change. "Have you ever thought that perhaps...all of this could have happened before? That the people of the Time Before, no matter how weak we think them, that they were only making the mistakes of their ancestors, and that we, in turn, are only making the same mistakes as them? Technology or no? That the time changes but people do not, and so we are never really moving forward, only around a bend? That the world only ever turns in circles." (p. 205) Without realizing it, Sophia, while trying to do the right thing, is looking for social change and revolution by freeing hundreds of innocent people locked up in the Tombs, the prison below the Sunken City, which used to be Paris.

Sophia Bellamy, also called Sophie, is not your typical teenage girl. At least, I don't think she is. We don't really meet any other girls her age, so honestly we don't know what is expected of someone her age and social standing. But what I do know, is that it's not typical for a teenage girl to dedicate her life to freeing the innocent people of the Sunken City. Her dedication is admirable even though she's not really doing it out of purpose. As René stipulates, she does it because she enjoys it. In any case, Sophia is a strong and intelligent character, even though she may be a little naive when in comes to romantic relationships.

René Hasard, who started off as her enemy, goes from unwanted fiancé to possible love interest. Sophia knows she shouldn't fall for this womanizer but as they spend more and more time together, they quickly realize they have more in common than they previously thought. This would-be-relationship is really fun to follow, especially since Spear, Sophia's friend, is jealous because he always thought they would end up together. Sophia has only ever loved Spear as a brother and has a hard time understanding how he might have gotten the wrong impression. This almost-love-triangle is a plus to an already wonderful story, and like the book, the relationship keeps us readers on our toes.

Sophia and René's enemies are truly awful,  not only because of the social inequality and oppression they demand, but because they truly believe in what they're doing. LeBlanc, the Parisian Minister of Security, is also a believer in this new religion that worships the Goddess and Fate. His religion clouds is mind and we quickly realize how crazy he truly is.

Overall, Rook is a wonderful dystopian YA standalone. Sharon Cameron slowly introduces to the world she created, and while some people will appreciate all the the small details and development, I fear some readers won't appreciate the complexity. I think the slow build is necessary because we need to be invested in the main characters in order to appreciate their situation. I think it's also necessary because the book is a standalone and the author couldn't rush straight into the action. Like the author, I consider myself an amateur anthropologist (read the Author's Note because it's actually quite interesting) so the social and historical aspects of this book were really interesting. I also love science and technology and although it was banned in this society, I loved that it had a major influence on the story overall. Rook is an innovative, captivating and powerful story.

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by Tynga at Monday, June 29, 2015

 Commonwealth, Dystopian, Paris, Purchased, Review, Revolution, Scholastic, Scholastic Inc., Sharon Cameron, young adult  6 People left their mark

✎

Take Two: Defy by Sara B Larson

Take Two is a new feature I am launching on the blog! Tynga's reviews have been around for 6 years, and we have reviewed A LOT of books! And because we are a team of many with the same tastes, I decided to allow a second review of a same book, to give the reader a second opinion. I hope you will enjoy!

Read Jon's opinion of Defy

My thoughts:

What an awesome fantasy book! Alexa lives in a world at war. Her mother's country is fighting against her father's country in an anti-magic conflict. Both her parents were killed by a Fire Sorcerer and to avoid being locked in a breeding house (I will let you guess what happens there...), she disguises herself as a boy, with the help of her twin brother, and joins the army. Known as Alex, she climbs her way to the Prince's own guard and her whole world changes when her brother is killed and she is kidnapped with a fellow guard and the Prince himself.

I really adored this book and before I go all fangirl, I'd like to mention the two elements that bothered me. First, Alexa is a 17 years old girl playing the role of a 20 years old man. Even though she admits not being very curvy, I have a very hard time believing nobody noticed her lack of hair and beard? I mean this is the medieval era, in the army, I'm pretty sure the other men don't shave daily. Also, there is a love triangle later on in the story with another guard and the Prince. How is it that two men fall in love with her when she's been acting the part of a man for the last 3 years? It didn't really bother me, but I feel like it wasn't very believable AND the triangle was not necessary to the story.

Now onto positive things! I really liked Alexa. She was strong, dedicated but flawed, which made her a multi-faceted character. She faced many challenges during her young life and it showed in the decisions she made. I really liked the Prince also, even though I felt the urge to smack him on the head quite a few times. I didn't like the way he treated and used Alexa, but I understood his reasons. I really hope he treats her better in the future. I liked Rylan, but I thought he was too ingrained in the third-wheel role. It's nice that he is supportive of Alexa, but he is a bit too much like a doormat for my taste.

I really enjoyed the lore and the plot line. Sara manged to surprise me on more than one occasion, which is always a good thing. I even shed a tear or two hehe. In wasn't a breakneck pace, like most fantasy novels, but I was hooked the whole way through. The conclusion was simply breathtaking and I am super excited for the sequel, Ignite.

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Graceling by Kristen Cashore and Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas.

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by Tynga at Friday, November 07, 2014

 Defy, Fantasy amp; Magic, High Fantasy, Magic, Netgalley, Review, Sara B larson, Sara B. Larson, Scholastic, Scholastic Inc., War, young adult  1 Person left their mark

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