Caraval by Stephanie Garber
My rating: 3 of 5 stars Caraval is one of those books that could be better but it's hard to pinpoint how. The premise is relatively unique even though more and more authors are headed towards the "glamor" of carnivals and circuses. Two sisters reside on an island and they are essentially being married off to the highest bidder by an abusive father. One dreams of running away and the other is resigned to her fate. For years they've been trying to obtain tickets to Caraval because of an old family legend about how magical it is. Throughout the entire book I felt like it was half-finished. The scope and history of the world that was created seemed neglected. The motivations of each character were dubious at best and I couldn't connect with the reasoning behind the things that they did throughout the novel. One of the things I did like though was when the author slowed down long enough to describe the scenes occurring around the characters. The individual scenes were immaculately crafted and I could completely visualize where the characters were. Overall this was a great brain candy book. The characters followed all the expected tropes, the setting was fantastical, there was adventure and romance, and there was a somewhat unexpected ending. I wanted more from this story and it was the equivalent of a meal that leaves you hungry an hour later. It wasn't awful, but if you've got other stuff in your to be read pile, head for those first. View all my reviews
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The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars The last in the Magician's Trilogy was at times wonderful and at times fantastic. We're seven years into the future from the last novel and we are once again treated to multiple storylines. Quentin has been kicked out of Fillory and is now a Professor at Brakebills. Eliot and Janet are the reigning High King and Queen of Fillory but Fillory is dying. Alice is still a niffin and everyone is searching for answers. I struggled a little at first with this book. I'm a huge fan of the TV show and I've noticed that even though we're on Season 2 for the series right now, it pulled bits and pieces of the storylines from all the books. It was a little confusing trying to reconcile timelines. That's not a book or a TV show criticism, it's more of a thing with me. After being a professor for a little while, Quentin gets fired because of a school prank gone wrong. He then gets sucked into a magical heist with a former student and a few other wayward magicians. While this is happening, Fillory is dying sending Eliot and Janet on a quest to save it any way they can. This final novel is disjointed. I felt like it was all over the place with plot and tone. I didn't think the entire side plot of the heist was even necessary. They could have found the thing they ended up with some other and less complicated way without introducing a dozen new characters. I liked the idea of Quentin being a professor at Brakebills, but it doesn't last long enough to enjoy it. I could have read an entire novel solely about Eliot and Janet trying to keep Fillory from falling apart. Julia, still the most underused character in the whole series, pops in momentarily towards the end to bestow a bit of that airy, creepy, floating wisdom before disappearing again to wherever it is she resides. I love this world but I was a bit disappointed by the finale of it. I am happy that I'll get more of it in the series on Syfy though. I can't wait for that to premiere next year. View all my reviews
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book hit me like a brick wall. It stopped me dead in my tracks and made me read it. Unless I'm on vacation, I have a hard time sticking to one book at a time. Technically I was "reading" two others when I got this one but they sat on the table untouched while I blazed through this one. It's been floating around my recommendations for a very long time now but I never took that leap. I recently went on a book buying spree, saw that it was on sale and snapped it up. I read it in five hours. I made the mistake of starting it late on a weeknight and lost sleep over this one. I haven't done that in a while. The world that the author has created sucked me in a way that few others have. It was rich and layered. The idea of parallel worlds that only a few could move through. Magic that is only available to some. It was a true adventure story. Part of what I loved about it was that the two main characters, Kell and Lila, did not fall in love. There was no swooning or freaking out about "does he love me like I love him" that gets so repetitive in these types of novels. It was too strong independent characters thrown together by circumstance working towards mutual and individual goals without the fuss of love. Don't mistake me. I enjoy the novels that use that storyline, it was just incredibly refreshing to read one that didn't use that trope right off the bat. You're given insight into both of their worlds, which incidentally are two different Londons. The multiple Londons is part of what I liked best about this book. There are four known versions of London and the world. While we center around the city, the possibilities are endless for future novels. A big part of what sucked me in was that in a genre that is flooded with the same sort of things, chosen ones, magic, good vs. evil; this book still felt fresh amongst the masses. I can't wait to read more. View all my reviews |