The Storyspinner by Becky Wallace

The Storyspinner was quite an original tale and I really enjoyed it, even though it's nothing like I imagined it would be when I requested it. With an archer on the novel I really thought the main character would be an epic fighter, a Katsa-like girl with an alpha female presence and I couldn't have been farther away from the truth! Oh Johanna has quite a presence, but it's her art, her stage presence, that mesmerize anyone listening to her tales, not her physical prowess.

The lore is definitely a really strong aspect of this novel. A 'normal' medieval society fighting for a throne on one side of the mountain and mystical soldiers blessed with magical abilities ruling the other side. Things get ugly though when humans try to find and kill the young lost heiress to the throne and the Keepers get involved. The basis of this story is completely different from anything I've read and I really enjoyed it. Add a little gypsy spirit to the mix and you've got quite a great recipe.

One of the down sides, for me at least, to this story is the numerous narrators. There's just too many of them (5 or 6?) to really relate to a particular character and while I understand the author's desire to show many different perceptive, I think it could've been achieved much more smoothly with a maximum of three narrators. That being said, I really liked Johanna's dedication to her family and she impressed me with her strength of character. She was a strong multifaceted lead role.

The plot was engaging but I felt like it was a bit held back because of all the perceptive the author chose to include. I would lie if I said I was riveted to the pages the entire time, because quite honestly, I thought of giving up on this book many times. I'm glad I held on though because I liked the story and the end was a killer. Now I really want to read the next book, and I truly hope the aspects that bothered me will be more polished in the sequel.

All in all, it's a good debut novel, but I think it would've been even better with a little more work in the editing department. You should definitely give it a try though!



 

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Posted by Tynga at 02:00

 Becky Wallace, Edelweiss, Fantasy, Fantasy amp; Magic, Harper Collins, Magic, Margaret K. McElderry Books, Review, The Keeper's Chronicles, young adult  Leave your mark

The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma

Ohmygoodness did I ever LOVE this book!  I know it's early in the year, but this may be a Top Ten Read of 2015.  My aunt recommended this to me; I'm so lucky to have people in my life to introduce me to such great books!  It's got an author as a character (H.G. Wells no less!), time travel, Victorian England.... love it!

The Map of Time is told in three parts--or episodes--that all come together beautifully in the end.  It felt like Felix J. Palma was conducting a gorgeous, moving symphony of a story.  He was able to skillfully gather up and weave together all the disparate moving parts and characters at the end to give the reader a conclusive, satisfying, and exciting ending.  That, my friends, is talent.  

I want to go ahead an reassure you that The Map of Time never felt confusing to me.  The cast of characters was definitely manageable, especially considering the length of the book and it's subject matter.  The majority of the first part of the book is told from the point of a young man named Andrew; the majority of the second part is told from the point of view of a young lady named Claire; and the majority of the third part of the book is told from the point of view of the author H.G. Wells.  There is also an omniscient, unnamed narrator who helps fill in gaps and provide the reader with extra insight.  I loved that there were a few points where the omniscient narrator introduced a character by name, only to immediately tell the reader that it's not necessary to remember them; they only play a bit part in the larger story.  Whenever a plot point or a character were influential to the story, the author found a way for the narrator to subtly "underline" them.

The Map of Time may be a lengthy tome (656 pages!) with a sometimes-confusing subject matter (time travel), but I flew through it and felt like it ended too soon.  I'm so glad that it's the start of a trilogy!  I began recommending it to other book-loving friends before I'd even finished it myself.  In the first part, Andrew is a devastated young man.  He's contemplating ending his life after the tragic death of his beloved.  His cousin swoops in and takes him to H.G. Wells, who has just published The Time Machine and who, they believe, may have an actual time machine that Andrew can use to go back in time and save his love's life.  In the second part, Claire is a young lady who is disillusioned with Victorian England.  She signs up for an expedition to the future to escape the pressure to get married.  She believes that life will be better for a woman in the year 2000.  In the final part of the book, H.G. Wells himself is confronted by a time travel dilemma; and his choice could have rather large ripple effects on history.  It's not all smoke and mirrors; every time a character time travels or is confronted by a time traveler, Mr. Palma gives explanations as to how it was possible.  He even preemptively answered questions that I hadn't even considered!  There are no plot holes that I could find!  I also found it all very accessible.  I'm a library worker, not a scientist, and I didn't have any trouble keeping up with the action and explanations.

I haven't read much steampunk in the past, but The Map of Time has peaked my interest.  I've already requested the sequel, The Map of the Sky, from my library!

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Posted by Tynga at 01:00

 Atria, Felix J Palma, Historical, Map of Time, Purchased, Review, Science Fiction, steampunk, time travel  1 Person left their mark

Ark Royal (Ark Royal Vol. 1) By Christopher G. Nuttall

This book is a retelling of the now classic story or humans first contact with alien intelligent life.  Told from the military perspective, many familiar tropes are used to tell the story.  We have the old warrior burned out from many years of hard use.  There is also the young warrior eager to make his way up the ladder and wield authority in the way he believes it should be done.  We have star crossed lovers (literally) living for the day. There are also the aliens who, for no known reason plunge all of humanity into a struggle for their existence.

These are not new ideas.  Then again, as I said in my post Soapboxing: Inspiration or Theft, the story doesn't have to be new, just well told.  In that, Ark Royal misses the mark by not having  texture and vision.  I'm not talking about just describing how things feel and look (though that would be a start).  A scene should be more than just a laundry list of objects and people.  All too often Mr. Nuttall's description were little more than that.  He didn't convey to me any feelings or impressions of the POV characters.  The interiors and exteriors of the ships weren't given a lot of detail for the reader to build on.

As for the characters themselves, there is a great deal of potential in them.  They are as varied as you would expect in a large military vessel (I have some firsthand experience).  They, too, lack some of the same texture and vision that the scenes are in need of.  They're not flat but, they needed a bit more personality to make them come alive.

I did like the way the author kept true to many of the details of military life and some of the details of living in close quarters.  All too often warships come across as pleasure cruisers in science fiction.  Much of the terminology and tactics had a good grounding in naval tradition and leant the story credibility.

Overall, I think Ark Royal is a decent book though it lacks something to make it memorable.  I still may look in on the second book in the series.  Mainly because of a relationship I suspect is going on between two of the characters.  This book has some graphic descriptions of sex that lands it a firm R rating.  There is also a bit a language and some very mild violence.

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Posted by Tynga at 01:30

 Action amp; Adventure, Amazon Publishing, Ark Royal, Christopher G. Nuttall, Purchased, Review, sci-fi, Science Fiction, Space Opera  Leave your mark

Burned by Karen Marie Moning

I'm having a love/hate relationship with this book. There are so many things that I loved about this book, yet it still left me unsatisfied with the direction the series is taking. I never thought I would say this, but after waiting for what feels like forever, Burned has left me disappointed.

First, I love that Mac is back! I really missed her in the previous book, which was all about Dani. Don't get me wrong, Dani can be a fun a quirky character, but personally I think she doesn't compare to Mac and isn't enough to be the main character of a book like she was in Iced. And she's kind of annoying. Originally, what made me fall in love with the series was Mac, and now it seems like the author has added so many point of views, it's hard to understand how it all pieces together. I'm just happy Mac is the (main) narrator again and it feels childish to complain about a few pages and a few chapters dedicated to other characters. However, I'm surprised by how much I like Lor. I did not expect to enjoy this woman loving, sex addicted character as much as I did. I love that were learning more about the mysterious group of Nine and that it's not just about Barrons and Ryodan anymore. I think Lor adds a new depth to the group, however, I'm not sure if I like this new Ryodan.  I guess you can say we see his softer side but it doesn't really work for me because I can only imagine him as a stern and rigid character.

The first half of the novel was kind of slow. As things slowly build up, I expected more out of this novel because of its length, but much of it is just filler. There was no clear antagonist in this novel so that might be another reason why it felt like the book was purposeless at times. It feels like Mac coasted through most of the novel which had me wondering when the real Mac would show up. I was surprised by our introduction to Jada and I'm still a little bit confused about her as a character and what it all means for the rest of the series. I don't want to discuss her too much because that would expose too many spoilers, but honestly I'm still not sure about her as character.

In the past, the heat between Mac and Barrons was enough to get me through anything, but in this novel, it feels like it kind of sizzle out. Their "inactivity" is boring, to say the least, and I expected more from the couple, especially in a novel titled Burned and with such a hot cover. The chapter before the prologue was pretty hot but just a flashback so it felt kind pointless and definitely a tease.

I'm having such a hard time writing this review, I think it's because I've never felt so disappointed by a novel before. Although it wasn't all that bad, my expectations were definitely set too high. I'm hopeful Karen Marie Moning will get back on track with her next book and that Burned is just an unfortunate event. Fans of the series still have to read this novel despite everything. Newcomers to the series will be disappointed and confused despite the glossary at the end of the book (which I thought was a great idea).

As readers, we could have done without Burned and hopefully it was just a way to set up the next great installment in the series.

http://youtu.be/moRdA43d4Nc

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Posted by Tynga at 01:59

 Delacorte, fae, Fever, Immortals, Karen Marie Moning, Library, Magic, Random House, Urban Fantasy  1 Person left their mark

Shadow Study by Maria V Snyder

Yelena, once so scared of magic grew dependent on her powers, and she realizes it when they are suddenly gone. A weird attack rendered her powerless and feeling oddly vulnerable. How did she live all those years so defenseless before she discovered her powers? She must keep it a secret though because many of her enemies would jump on this opportunity to put an end to her life.

I have been waiting for years for another Yelena & Valek book and I was so happy when Maria announced she's working on a new series featuring them. As much as I loved this novel, and I'll tell you all about it later, I'm afraid the years between the releases ( 7 since the last Study book, 5 since the last Glass book) played hell on my memory and I grew frustrated about all the details I had forgotten. To avoid this situation, I would suggest you reread the books before you get to Shadow Study, if it's something that would bother you too.

Yelena gained quite the reputation as the Soulfinder and liaison between Ixia and Sitia. She is almost bigger than life if you listen to all the gossip, so for her to be suddenly powerless and away from Valek was quite the challenge. I loved that even though giving in to despair was tempting, she never gave up and fought back with everything she had. This girl just doesn't have it in her to hide and wait it out. The mystery surrounding her magic's disappearance is quite thick, and I'm afraid we'll have to wait for the next novel to really know what actually happened. Thankfully, Snyder pointed us the culprit, which make the tension bearable, but barely. I really want to know how that person did it!

My favorite aspect of this novel, and by far, are all the visits to Valek's past. What happened in his youth, how he became an assassin, his struggles, meeting with the commander and finally, killing the king. I was completely mesmerized by those bit of tales speckled all over the book and I was craving the next one again and again. I admired his focus, determination and resourcefulness. Really, Ari & Janco can only dream of being that good, I was thoroughly impressed.

Fans will be happy to know many old friends -and foes- are featured in this novel. A peculiar new character is also introduced, and she is bound to leave you scratching your head in wonder.

The plot is of course filled with intrigue, battles and twist & turns. I never would have guessed the extend of the different betrayals taking place in this book, and I can't wait to see all the consequences in the next novel, Night Study, expected in 2016.

If I had one complaint to formulate, can we please have Yelena and Valek together?? They were apart the whole time! *pouts*

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Posted by Tynga at 00:07

 Fantasy, Fantasy amp; Magic, Harlequin, Magic, Maria V Snyder, Maria V. Snyder, Mira, Netgalley, Review, Soulfinders, Study  5 People left their mark

Stacking the Shelves [145]

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page!

——————

Guys I had a couple of super awesome books to show you, but I've had a week from hell and I couldn't put a post together. Even As I am trying to rush this before i head to the doctor with my youngest my plugins are failing on me -.-

I promise I'll put something together for you next week. my apologies!

---------EDIT---------

Turns out I got an appointment at 10 so I have time to put this post together afterall!

For review:

The Unleashing by Shelly Laurenston
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas (& pretty mask) - Thank you Lili! She's now an intern at Bloomsbury ^^
A Book of Spirits and Thieves by Morgan Rhodes

Bought:

The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead
Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

It's been a long time since I've had such an awesome collection of books to show you. I hope you enjoy yours just as much!

[inlinkz_linkup id=494254]

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Posted by Tynga at 02:15

 Stacking The Shelves  41 People left their mark

The Dragon Conspiracy by Lisa Shearin

[I'm writing this post very quickly due to work commitments so please don't mistake my brevity for anything other than a lack of time. THE DRAGON CONSPIRACY is a wonderful book from one of my favourite authors and I wish that I could do it justice with this post.]

With THE DRAGON CONSPIRACY, Lisa Shearin has gotten even more awesome! (I didn't think this was possible.) I was thrilled with the first book in the SPI Files and Shearin's done a remarkable job of making the characters and world more exciting in this, the next instalment.

This time around, SPI's turf has been invaded by an evil Russian dragon named Viktor Kain. He's shown up with the Dragon Eggs in tow, magical jewels with largely unknown powers. He claims it's to sell them but the eggs ended up getting stolen. Needless to say, an unhappy dragon, a mystery foe, and a flock of harpies (do harpies travel in flocks?) lead to a an exciting adventure for the readers, and extreme peril for Makenna, Ian, and the rest of SPI. We get to learn more about some of the other races that inhabit the series, which I enjoyed. I'm always interested in learning more about the worlds that authors create and Shearin has explores some new groups to the series, like harpies and gorgons. They're not terribly different from what you might expect but I particularly enjoyed her take on gorgons, which was neat. Shearin has a talent for taking existing ideas/beings and giving them a unique twist -- remember the grendels from THE GRENDEL AFFAIR? -- and I think she's done it again with the gorgons. I won't say too much to avoid potentially spoiling things for you but I will say that the SPI Files are a series to watch if you're looking for strong examples of world building.

We also get some nice insights into some less explored characters, like Rake Danescu. In many ways, THE DRAGON CONSPIRACY is Rake's chance to shine, which I enjoyed quite a lot, even though he's not exactly a good guy. Shearin is a master at writing bad guys shaded in grey, with just enough of a sexy rascal in them to make you root for them. (Tam fans, anyone?) She really gets to play with Rake this time around and his scenes are some of the best in the book. Of course, there are cracking scenes with Makenna since she always manages to get herself into awkward situations, especially when Ian's around. They give us some of the laugh-out-loud humour I expect from Shearin's writing -- and THE DRAGON CONSPIRACY does not disappoint. Other characters also have their moments to shine, which was very satisfying.

THE DRAGON CONSPIRACY contains all of Shearin's trademarks: witty dialogue, a winning protagonist, and a plot that doesn't quit. I can't recommend Shearin's work enough so I hope I've inspired you to give the SPI Files a try!

Read an excerpt

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Posted by Tynga at 02:00

 Adult, Dragon, Lisa Shearin, Penguin, Publisher, Review, SPI Files, Urban Fantasy  5 People left their mark

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

I want to flip things around in this review and open by talking about the great narration of Forever.  I listened to this on CD, and I'm so glad I did!  First, there's four narrators.  Each of the main characters are read by a different person, so it's easy to immediately identify which point of view the reader is hearing.  And here's the big, exciting part:  Maggie Stiefvater herself reads the part of Grace!  She does a great job.  How cool is it that you get to have the author right there, reading to you?  All four readers really give this book life.  The cadence is nice and even, even with switching between multiple actors.  The tone is steady; I never had to fiddle with the volume knob, even with the changes between male and female readers.  Overall, a fantastic audiobook.

Now on to the story itself.... In Shiver, Sam was a wolf and Grace was a girl; how could their love survive against those odds?  In Linger, Sam is a boy but Grace becomes a wolf; can their love continue to endure this shift?  Now, in Forever, Sam faces incredible odds as he tries to save the girl (sometimes a wolf) that he loves, and the rest of his wolfpack, as the town calls for a major hunt to eradicate the wolves from Mercy Falls.  He'll face these challenged head-on with Isabelle and Cole beside him. You'll notice the overabundance of the word "love" in my previous paragraph... if you're into romance, especially star-crossed romance, this is definitely the series for you!  Sam and Grace are so sweet together.  I love how they always tighten ranks to face adversity together; they never let rough circumstances or outside influences mar their devotion to each other.  Their relationship develops at a realistic pace too; they're teens, so it's a little quicker to get deeper than a more reserved adult relationship, but it's very much within the realm of possibility among young adults.  The fact that the characters are older teens, and that these books are aimed at teens, means that the shows of affection are mostly chaste.

All four of the main characters are very well-rounded by the time the reader gets to this third book.  One thing that I personally love in a book is dry, snarky humor.  Isabelle Culpepper delivers!  I love her sarcasm.  She's so confident and strong, and never hesitates to tell Sam and Cole exactly what she's thinking!  On the flip side, she's also fiercely loyal to Sam, Cole, and Grace, even to the point of going against her parents' wishes.  And we already know from the previous books how loyal Sam and Grace are to the rest of the group.  Their devotion to each other doesn't decrease in any way the time that they give to their friends.  And finally Cole... possibly the most complicated character that I've read in awhile.  On the one hand, he's a crazy rockstar living a rockstar life; on the other hand he's a quiet, introspective, and inquisitive guy.  Maggie Stiefvater does Cole very well; he is complex, but you never feel like he's bipolar.  He's just very multi-faceted.

The narration and the characters kept me interested in Forever through to the end, but I did feel like I had a bit of a rough start at the beginning of the book.  I felt like there was no plot, no development of conflict, throughout the first third of the book or so.  You know how books always have a build-up toward a conflict, then resolution?  At the risk of a bad pun, I thought it took forever to get to the plot point of Forever.  Never fear!  Be reassured: we definitely do get to a point eventually.  And perhaps I missed a hint or two earlier in the book; I was listening to this while driving.  I do not regret sticking to the book at all, and do plan to read Sinner before I leave the world of Mercy Falls.

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Posted by Tynga at 01:00

 Audio, Library, Maggie Stiefvater, Paranormal Romance, Review, werewolves, Wolves of Mercy Falls, young adult  Leave your mark

Lock In by John Scalzi

This book is original and intelligent on so many levels that I really hope this review will incite at least a few people to read it. Personally, I didn't know what to expect when I picked it up. I thought a science fiction novel would be a nice change of pace, however, it's important to note that even if it does have its place in science fiction, it can also be categorized as a mystery thriller.

I love the tag line that's on my copy. On the cover it says "A novel of the near future" and that is chilling thought. To think that a global epidemic could affect so many people, kill a good percentage of the population, and render some people to be locked in, physically paralyzed but still aware, is probably closer to science than it is fiction. The present day outbreak of Ebola in West Africa is still a threat, and recent scares of influenza may have been dramatized by the media but the fact remains that some grave illness could in theory affect the world and the potential for an global epidemic is scary. Obviously Haden's disease in this book is fiction but I think the author did an amazing job in making it as realistic as possible.

For the characters in the novel that are locked in, science and technology has advanced enough in this near future to enable them to interact with the world via a neural implant in the brain that allows them to control a threep, some sort of vehicle/robot for their minds. The beauty of the written word is that even if the narrator of the book is the voice of a young man that uses a threep to get around, it's very easy to forget that his real body is hidden somewhere in a room, unable to move. The narrator, Chris Shane, is a poster child for Hadens, those who are locked in. As a new FBI agent, he didn't expect his first week on the job to turn out like this. As he and his partner, Agent Vann, navigate the world of major technology and pharmaceutical companies, what begins as a simple suicide/murder investigation turns out to be a major corporate conspiracy. The many twists and turns will boggle your mind and will have you rethink the idea of hacking and fraud.

Agent Chris Shane is a very likable character. As a young man of a billionaire family, I admire his commitment to not let his famous past define who he is. He does not want to be a hindrance to the community and as an FBI agent, he believes he can make a difference. It would be easy for any Haden to simply live off the system, to use their disability as an excuse to not work and not  contribute to society but all the Hadens we encounter in the novel are contributing members of society. Among others, we meet Hadens that are lawyers, doctors, coders, corporate CEOs and then some that are simply administrative workers. The possibilities are endless and I love that even if Haden's disease has defined who they are, they are still normal people, trying to live out their lives. We can analyse all we want, but their situation is comparable to those living with disabilities in our world. They are subject to prejudice and bullying, but at the end of the day, they are human beings and should be seen a such.

Overall, I think the author is a genius in combining scientific elements to a possible yet improbable future. As a science geek, I admire authors that blend science and technology in their writing and that aren't afraid to go into details. In this case, it was brilliantly done. I could see this novel developed into a series because the characters are likable and so well established. However, I would be as pleased with a series as I am with a stand alone. The conclusion of the story is open to endless possibilities, yet wraps up the novel quite efficiently. Lock In was the first novel I read from this author and if his other books are as engaging as this one, I will definitely check out his other works.

Read an excerpt

Read the prequel - Unlocked: An Oral History or Haden's Syndrome

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Posted by Tynga at 02:11

 John Scalzi, Library, Macmillan, Review, Science Fiction, Tom Doherty Associates, Tor Books  2 People left their mark

Cursed by S. J. Harper

CURSED has a great blend of urban fantasy and procedural, with a nice helping of romance on the side. The first book in a new series from the writing duo of Jeanne C. Stein and Samantha Sommersby, CURSED employs Greek mythology but with a creative twist: the series centres on Emma Monroe, one of three Sirens cursed by Demeter for letting Hades make off with Persephone a long, long time ago. Even though they got her back, Demeter cursed Emma and her two unnamed sisters to live forever, saving young women and punishing them if they fall in love. In Emma's case, Demeter killed the man she married a few days after the ceremony. Demeter be pissed, guys.

As a Siren, Emma isn't gifted with super strength of accelerated healing; all she has is the gift of extreme persuasion, which puts her in danger every time she uses it, even if it's to save one of those endangered young women in her position within the FBI. Emma's in a very-losable-just-maybe-if-she-gets-lucky-winnable kind of situation. How could I wait so long to read this?


Emma and her new partner Zack Armstrong, a werewolf with a past life as a Black Ops sniper, are tasked with finding a missing artist, a case that eventually draws them into a much larger mystery involving multiple missing people. There are some really neat twists and turns that I won't give away but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by the reasons that the artist (and everyone else) disappeared.

Of course, Emma and Zach have something of a history, which makes things a bit tangly on the romantic front. Emma spends a lot of time fighting her attraction to Zach because she doesn't want him to die if Demeter finds out the depth of her feelings. It's a nice Catch-22 since it avoids the insta-love HEA you can find in some other series in the genre while also giving readers the romantic element they might be craving. The chemistry between Emma and Zach is off the charts and it gives CURSED some steamy interludes.

All in all, CURSED is a great start to a series, by two seasoned writers (Samantha Sommersby and Jeanne C. Stein). They've created a very interesting world and cast of characters and I've already got the next book loaded on my e-reader so that I can find out what happens to Emma next. (CURSED ends in a really powerful way and I'm so happy that I have RECKONING at my fingertips.

P.S. This cover model totally reminds me of Amy Acker (who I lurve!). Anyone else feel the same?

Read an excerpt (scroll down)

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Posted by Tynga at 02:00

 Adult, Author, Fallen Siren, Jeanne C. Stein, Penguin, Review, ROC, S. J. Harper, Samantha Sommersby, siren, Urban Fantasy  1 Person left their mark