Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
My rating: 4 of 5 stars Senlin Ascends is one of those random finds that I probably wouldn't have touched on my own if it weren't for the recommendation of someone whose taste I trust. I follow an artist, Ian Leinto, and his work. He does the convention circuit often and I've had the pleasure of talking to him and his partner a few times. He recommended Senlin Ascends partially because he was responsible for the gorgeous cover art, but also because he's a friend of the author and a fan of the work. Thomas Senlin and his wife Mayra are on their honeymoon in the famous Tower of Babel. They get separated almost immediately and Thomas loses his wife in the crowds. After a few weeks of trying to stay around the area that they got separated, he finally decides to strike out on his own in order to find her. Thomas learns very quickly that he can trust no one but himself. The Tower is sectioned into multiple levels, all with their own laws and idiosyncrasies. Each level is described to be the size of a large city on their own. The grand scale of this world is incredibly described and the characters our MC comes into contact with are vibrantly detailed in their own personalities and motivations. Tom is robbed and must find a way to survive without funds and armed only with his mind as he continues his journey to find his wife. It's hard to tell you about this novel without giving too much of the plot away. Tom goes on multiple journeys throughout the book. He gets involved in a pantomime play, espionage, robbery, a bordello, an art heist… This book has something for everyone and questions everything. It's a sweeping fantasy novel with so many rich layers that you'll be unpacking it for days. Luckily, it's part of a series so you don't have to stop with book one. If you're looking for a fantasy novel that's light on magic and long on world building, you might just like this one. I will say that there were times where I felt like the story was dragging, but the author takes the time to explain each side character's motivation in a way that helps the story along…so that when that character does something later, you fully understand the ramifications of it. You'll see double crosses coming before Tom does but that's OK. The first thing you're told when you enter the Tower is to trust no one. Take a chance on this one. You can trust ME, right? View all my reviews
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The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by Ally Condie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars I've started this review before I finish the book. I've been wanting to get into this one for a while. Ally Condie is one of my favorite authors in general in or outside of the YA world. Her Matched trilogy is every bit as good, if not better than Hunger games. I said what I said. The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe starts out with our heroine sailing on a ship that is dredging gold out of the river. The vessel is boarded by raiders and tragedy strikes. Poe spends the next two years coming up with an armor that will kill any raider who attempts to board the vessel again. She is sent on a dredging expedition and talks her way into becoming the Captain of the ship. Things do not go smoothly, they rarely do…otherwise there would be no book! What follows is an extraordinary personal journey. On the surface you have a girl who is the Captain of her ship, sailing down the river in order to find gold for the Admiral. Underneath the basic plot, you have a story of self-discovery and healing. One of the things that I really enjoyed about this novel is that there is a vast world history that is hinted at in a way that leaves you wanting more. Why is there an Outpost? What caused the world and society to break into these new factions? If they are out in the middle of nowhere, where did all the supplies come from? While I have all these questions and would love to have them answered, they are all secondary to the main plot. I would have loved for this book to be longer. I wouldn't even mind a sequel just because I want to know more about the world in which Poe lived. That being said, it's well rounded on its own and I don't actually feel like anything is missing. View all my reviews
The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by Ally Condie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars I've started this review before I finish the book. I've been wanting to get into this one for a while. Ally Condie is one of my favorite authors in general in or outside of the YA world. Her Matched trilogy is every bit as good, if not better than Hunger games. I said what I said. The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe starts out with our heroine sailing on a ship that is dredging gold out of the river. The vessel is boarded by raiders and tragedy strikes. Poe spends the next two years coming up with an armor that will kill any raider who attempts to board the vessel again. She is sent on a dredging expedition and talks her way into becoming the Captain of the ship. Things do not go smoothly, they rarely do…otherwise there would be no book! What follows is an extraordinary personal journey. On the surface you have a girl who is the Captain of her ship, sailing down the river in order to find gold for the Admiral. Underneath the basic plot, you have a story of self-discovery and healing. One of the things that I really enjoyed about this novel is that there is a vast world history that is hinted at in a way that leaves you wanting more. Why is there an Outpost? What caused the world and society to break into these new factions? If they are out in the middle of nowhere, where did all the supplies come from? While I have all these questions and would love to have them answered, they are all secondary to the main plot. I would have loved for this book to be longer. I wouldn't even mind a sequel just because I want to know more about the world in which Poe lived. That being said, it's well rounded on its own and I don't actually feel like anything is missing. View all my reviews
Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars This one came to me not just as the OwlCrate exclusive, but also as a digital ARC. It must be something special if it's everywhere, right? I loved the premise of this novel. Nadya is living in a monastery, she has the power of multiple Gods and Goddesses within her. She may or may not be the chosen one, sort of depends on what she believes at the time. She's going about her life…dreaming about the great wide world…until one day the enemy raids the monastery and burns it down, killing everyone in their path. Nadya escapes and goes on the run and decides that she's going to take the fight to the enemy. She's going to use the power of the Gods to destroy them. What follows is a more or less typical adventure story for this type of novel. I have to admit that I didn't love this one as much as I wanted to. Every time the author started to go deeper, it felt like she pulled back. Nadya doesn't even really get into the full potential of her gift…or the Gods gifts. For a girl who carries the power of a dozen gods, she sure is helpless a lot. I expected a lot more from this one and I found it to be just OK. In going through other reviews on Goodreads I found a lot of very polarizing reviews. Most people seemed to either love it or loathe it. I just found it to be sort of a "whatever" read. I'd be willing to give book two a chance when it comes around, but if it ends up being like book one, I don't think I'll go much farther than that. View all my reviews
Slayer by Kiersten White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love all things Buffy. Just. Love. I've read the comics and seen the show multiple times. I never got into the novelizations of the show before but that was mostly for monetary reasons (i.e. I was broke and books get expensive after a while). Now, there's just too much catch up to do in that area so instead I go forward. I was really excited to see Slayer was coming out and even more excited to read it. I really appreciate when someone loves a thing so much that they end up inspired by it. Slayer starts out after the near end of the world in which Buffy has saved us yet again, but there is no more magic. While she does appear occasionally and is referenced from time to time, our girl is not the main character of this tale. We're given the Watcher's Council. Now pretty much defunct, they are intent on maintaining the old ways and old studies. Nina is a teenage legacy Watcher as is her twin sister. Her twin is considered the strong one, yet it turns out that Nina becomes a Slayer. This novel covers all the basic teenage novel tropes; embarrassing crush, my Mom hates me, struggles with feelings of inadequacy, learning to trust your instincts, etc. Even though it was a little predictable in places (OK, maybe a lot of places), the author does such a great job at rebuilding this world that I already knew and loved with all these new characters. I barely even noticed the predictability of it. What I read was a love letter to the Buffy universe. I can't wait to see what comes next. View all my reviews
The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston
I don't want to start by telling you about how much I dug Geekrella (except that I do, but I'll send you to my review of that here. Princess and the FanGirl is a continuation of that Con universe and was inspired by the Prince and the Pauper. A Hollywood starlet trades places with Imogen, a fan who is running a petition to save Jessica's character in the latest installment of her favorite series. Ridiculousness ensues from there and it follows some basic plot structures for a goofy teen romance set at a comic convention. Imogen starts to fall for Jessica's assistant even though they are incredibly mean and frustrated with each other the entire time. I've lived that trope, I don't much care to read about it. Jessica falls for Imogen's friend but doesn't tell her that they've switched places. All of the typical things happen from there. While I'm just cynical enough to get frustrated by romance tropes, I did love some things about this book. I love the world of the conventions that the author describes. In this book specifically she takes us to ExcelsiCon but very specifically describes the DragonCon set up and surrounding hotels. DragonCon is one of my favorite cons so it was nice to dive into it even if it's a fictional world. I also really liked the general idea of the two lead characters switching places. The Parent Trap/Prince and the Pauper aspect was a good one for me. The only thing I flat out hated about this book? Multiple nicknames. I dislike this practice in general for writers. If you want me to know your character, I can't gave three different names for them. Imogen was listed as Mo, Monster…and then when she's pretending to be Jessica she's Jessica and the character name of the show. It's too much for such a short book. Overall, listen…it's cutesy and con-y and still worth a read. Old characters are there from Geekerella and serve in a limited capacity. And if you liked the first one, you'll probably like this one. But if you're like me…you won't like it quite as much. View all my reviews
Tiger Queen by Annie Sullivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars A little about how I came to discover Tiger Queen. Prior to BookCon, I started following some of my fellow book lovers in the Facebook Group for the convention. Among them was Annie Sullivan who was promoting her new book Tiger Queen. I feel like I had been vaguely aware of her previous novel Touch of Gold, but I hadn't read it. Over on Annie's Instagram, she read a few lines from chapter one and I decided that I would see if I could get the ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) while at BookCon. The story was pretty fresh in the YA world from what I could tell and I'm glad to say that I was not disappointed. While I didn't get a chance to meet Annie or get the ARC at BookCon, I was able to get a digital copy from another ARC source online. The novel follows Kateri as she battles for the right to rule the kingdom that is meant to fall to her. Set in the desert after a lengthy drought, there are water rations keeping the population thirsty and hungry. There aren't a ton of YA novels set in the desert in general. The only other one that I've come across that I can remember right now are the stories that make up Assassin's Blade; most everyone else goes with a forest or a seaside town. The desert proves to be its own character throughout the story as it helps to layer the plot with additional sources of fodder for the storytelling. I enjoyed the fact that Kateri was strong and willing to train. She didn't have a doe-eyed entitlement or a "god given talent". She just seemed like a regular ol' princess fighting her way through the evil that was consuming everyone's lives. She wasn't the best trained assassin in the world, but she was willing to learn to be as good as she could be One of the other things I really loved about the novel was that romance, while nice, was not the main character's sole goal. She's trying to save her kingdom. She barely even notices another person in a romantic light until maybe half way through the book, and even then she doesn't sit around obsessing over it. Maybe I've just been burned by YA before to where I can't stand that trope (I'm looking at you Dorothy must die and Alice in Zombieland). Tiger Queen is a great adventure tale with enough twists and turns to keep you intrigued and interested as to where the story is going to take you. My only real complaint is that it wasn't long enough! Definitely would recommend that you pick this one up if you get the chance. View all my reviews
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
*************Update****************** I can't remember who told me I should listen to this one as an audiobook, but whoever did…THANK YOU! The performance of this book is what was missing the entire time. Previously I mentioned that it reads like a TV documentary. Hearing this played out loud definitely added to it. Plus the cast was pretty stellar. With different voices for the characters in my head, it was infinitely easier to imagine the situations they described. Bottom line is that I went from a four star review to a five star review because the audiobook was better than in print. I can't wait to see what the TV show they are making is going to be. ********************************************* A good portion of the online book clubs picked this book this month and I felt like I wanted to see what all the fuss is about. Daisy Jones and the Six is about a fictional 70s rock band and the drama surrounding the making of their album and the tour that they go on. The story is about what you expect. Sex, drugs, and rock & roll are on full display in this novel. Almost all the characters that we are presented with are fully fleshed out and have their own unique voices. The thing that makes this novel the most interesting, in my opinion, is that it reads like a documentary transcript. All events are being described to you as though you would see them on a screen. Having grown up in the era of Behind the Music on VH1, I could completely visualize this documentary. I could see in my head the various performances, recording studios, hotels, etc.; that they were describing to me. Unlike other novels that involve characters who are addicted to drugs and alcohol, this one tends to stay on the surface of addiction. The various consumptions of illicit substances are relayed to the reader in the way of hindsight. There's no depth or grit to it. I'd say this is probably the most disappointing thing about the story. While I do think the story works without such details, I don't think it goes as deep as it could have. I will say that I cried a little at the end. The story isn't just about a rock band and their journey, it's also about personal journeys. There's a quote from the poem Nature Boy by Eden Ahbez that's been used in various formats over the years that I think is the main theme of this book. "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return". Each of the characters is looking to be loved and learning to love others and themselves. View all my reviews
The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars I received this book as an ARC at BookCon. I knew nothing about it other than the basic synopsis and that I liked the cover. The story follows Fie, part of the Crow caste, and her family as they aid towns in removing plague victims before they can infect others. During a stop to a royal palace she finds herself embroiled in a murderous plot in which she and her family must attempt to save the prince from being killed and the throne from being usurped. I had quite a few problems with this book but to explain them I have to get spoilery so if you don't want spoilers, I suggest you stop now. Ok, still with me? I feel like the book suffered from too much world building. Yeah, you read that right. You've got a bunch of different "castes" of birds. Peacocks, Oleanders, Sparrows, Phoenix, Crows, Vultures. Ok cool. When the crows collect the bodies of the plague victims they take teeth in payment. Each type of tooth has it's own kind of power. Other than the Phoenix teeth which control variations of fire…it's incredibly confusing as to what each type of tooth does. And maybe I read it too fast but I don't remember reading as to why people are born as Crows vs. Peacocks vs. Vultures, etc. Nothing to say why you couldn't choose to be a different one as you grew up. Then the author tries to essentially imply that the only solid and honest caste is the Crows. There are occasional individual outliers but for the most part, Crows are the only good overall Caste. Weird, but I'm more or less OK with this except that… …while there's a central villain, unlike every other fantasy novel; you never actually hear from the villain herself. You only get to read about the main characters running from her agents. The book also really never explains how they are being tracked so well by the bands of bad guys. One of the things that I did enjoy was the flipped dynamic of the "witch/warrior" trope having to save the prince from certain doom. Usually it's the prince/princess having to do the saving. And Fie doesn't fall for the prince, she falls for his bodyguard/body double and she doesn't even start to think about that until at least half way through the book. Definitely a nice twist. I didn't hate it. I just felt like it was lacking some depth. I needed more in general from this story. Now, I just came off a Grishaverse binge so it earned an extra half star because I might just want more Grisha and nothing else compares. If you like YA fantasy you might dig this one too. I'm not going to recommend it, but I'm not going to tell you to avoid it altogether. Overall it's a passable way to spend a train ride home. View all my reviews
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars I've been eyeballing this book for a while now. A murder mystery AND magic. I'm totally in. Plus I loved the cover. I'm a cover snob, I can't help it. I literally book an entire series once because I knew the artist who designed the covers. I am what I am. Back to the book. We open to find Ivy Gamble, Private Detective, being stabbed by someone who she was working for. Very shortly afterwards, she's approached by the headmistress of a magical private school to investigate the death of one of the teachers. A school at which Ivy's sister is a teacher. You see, Tabitha is magic and Ivy is not and they have been estranged for years. So Ivy goes to investigate and finds herself quickly in over her head. She struggles with her own demons and addictions while trying to navigate in what may as well be a foreign country. She begins to try and be an entirely different version of herself. She does eventually solve the case and I will say that I thought it was obvious who the killer was. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised as to how exactly they got to that point. I laughed and I teared up a little with this book. Anyone who has ever felt that internal pull of sibling rivalry, the one where maybe you're just not good enough? You'll identify with Ivy on that level. Definitely and enjoyable and quick read. I liked Ivy's realness and the slight romance angle. I'm hoping to read more from this author and hopefully Ivy will be back. View all my reviews
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars Fair notice, I got an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley. You were going to get an honest review anyway, but you should probably have that information as well. If you've followed any of my reviews in the past, you probably already know by now of my unending love for all things Chuck Wendig. Even his twitter is worth reading and I can't stand Twitter. I've been itching to get my hands on his latest book the Wanderers and I have a copy preordered and ready to go for when it's released. Some say this novel is reminiscent of the Stand. Having never read the Stand, I can not speak to that. I will say that this story is very reminiscent of Stephen King's works in general. Wendig is blending a humanness to his supernatural elements in a way that old King has done before him. The Wanderers follows a group of people seemingly infected by some sort of virus. It makes them impervious to outside influences like sun, rain, medical care…but it also makes them walk. They walk without ceasing. If you attempt to stop them from walking they literally explode. One by one, the number of people walking grows and with it the number of family members that walk along side them. These people shepherd their family members as they walk. As the caravan grows, so does the dis-ease in the country. In this book-world, a thinly veiled Clinton is President and a thinly veiled Trump is running against her. If you're a Trump supporter, you're going to have a bad time with this novel (and Wendig's anything in general). I won't give away too much of the plot on this one because I think the twists and turns are worth preserving here. The characters that you end up following are from all walks of life and represent a good slice of what America is supposed to be about. There are a lot of political and personal triggers in this book. Wendig pulls no punches when showcasing the rotten parts of our country as well. The book is a long one but it's totally worth a read. If you like any of Wendig's other work…or if you just like Stephen King's work and you can't wait for his next one, I think you're going to enjoy this one. Part mystery, part love letter to America, part dystopian future; this one has a little something for everyone. View all my reviews |