CBR18 Book 53: "Monster, Monarch, Maiden by Rae Carson

Page count: 480 pages

Audiobook length: 12 hrs 55 mins

Rating: 4 stars

This was an ARC; thank you to NetGalley, Harper Audio and Greenwillow Books. My opinions are my own. This book is on sale now.

Bria Angarsold is an innkeeper's daughter (she mentions this at seven different points in the story, in case you were likely to forget) who was kidnapped by raiders, along with her sister and several other people who were at her family's inn at the time. Bria is one of the last surviving captives when the raiders' caravan is attacked by a mysterious young man. Seriously injured, but patched up by her rescuer, Bria knows that she won't survive in the wilderness by herself. Her sister is dead, and her family's inn was burned by the raiders. She has no home to return to, so she swears herself to the service of Titus, her brooding companion, vowing to help him on his dangerous journey.

It's obvious that Titus comes from wealth, from the expensive boots he wears to the impressive war horse he rides. He is on a perilous quest, assigned by the gods themselves, chased by assassins, and while he is initially reluctant to have Bria accompany him, her magical gift (which she had always seen as rather useless) proves to be a valuable aid in the challenges they face along the way.

As far as I can tell, this is a standalone fantasy novel by Rae Carson, and I was granted ARCs of both the audiobook and e-book versions of the story. I have to admit, I was glad when I got the e-book version, as I didn't entirely like the way Bailey Carr was narrating the story. So being able to read the story with my eyeballs was preferable. 

In this fantasy world, everyone is born with a magical gift of some sort. There are powerful and impressive gifts, like healing, shapeshifting or being able to take control over and manipulate everyone around you, but also small, seemingly harmless gifts like being able to change the colour of your nails, lighting small fires, or making things cold (Bria's gift). In a family of innkeepers, being able to make sure the food stays cold is very useful, but out in the world, kidnapped by raiders, it feels rather useless to her. As it turns out, once she starts experimenting with Titus' encouragement, her freezing powers can be a powerful weapon. It also makes her a lot more resistant to cold than most others, which is great when they have to traverse an icy lake to get into a cave to retrieve an object necessary for the quest.

Bria is resilient, pragmatic, and tries very hard not to dwell on the miseries she's gone through. She mourns her sister and her home, but tries to stay focused on Titus and his god-given quest to give her life a new purpose. He needs to retrieve several magical items in order to call down a dragon on a specific date, which will take him to where he needs to be in order to represent the goddess who selected him in a trial to determine who will become a new god. Each god in this world's pantheon has a chosen representative, and some are a lot more murderous than others, determined to take out their competitors before the divine trial. So Titus and Bria have to get to a specific destination on a specific date, or Titus fails. They also have to dodge assassins and various supernatural obstacles on the way.

It is obvious that any romance between them is doomed before it begins, as Titus is not only betrothed to someone (it's not a love match), but is also possibly going to become a new god if he survives long enough to summon the dragon and complete his quest. He is never going to be able to settle down and live a quiet life with a former innkeeper's daughter who might have a promising future as an ice merchant. Nevertheless, Bria can't help but fall for the handsome, stubborn and brave Titus, and he seems to return her feelings. 

"Breathtaking adventure and swoon-worthy romance for fans of Sarah J. Maas" is one of the promises in the official blurb, and while I can absolutely vouch for the adventure part of that statement, anyone who is expecting romantasy along the lines of ACOTAR or any of Sarah J. Maas' other books will be deeply disappointed. This is a fantasy quest with two interesting young protagonists, but the romantic subplot is extremely secondary, possibly even tertiary, and it is mostly longing glances and wistful sighs, all extremely chaste. Anyone expecting a steamy romantasy is going to be very disappointed by this. Stop it with the false advertising, publishers!

Standalone fantasy is rare these days, so I hope this isn't the start of a series. I wouldn't mind reading more books set in this world, though, which proved to be fascinating as it was revealed through Bria and Titus' journey. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR18 Book 43: "Prince of Storms" by Kit Rocha

Page count: 400 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for this ARC. This book is on sale now.

Naia, Einar and Aleksi return to the ice queen's island to figure out who tried to kidnap them and are soon joined by all the other deities of the High Court of the Sheltered Lands, concerned about them and wondering exactly who is behind this most recent plot. As Naia's powers keep growing and she needs to use them to protect the innocent residents of the island from dangers, it becomes clear that she is, in fact, the ancient goddess of Rahvekya reborn. She can remember an entirely different lifetime, as well as her relationship with the first Kraken.

However, Einar doesn't seem to remember his former life, and Aleksi sees the closeness between the other two and grows concerned about a future where he must let his lovers go, for their own good. Because of dangers from old foes arriving on the island, bent on revenge, Aleksi may not have long to worry about the future of himself or his lovers. The Betrayer wants the power of Rahvekya for himself and to kill Aleksi and now he may have the chance to achieve both. 

I tried to read this so I could finish and review it before the release date, but since NetGalley would only allow me to read the ARC in their own app, which doesn't save your progress, as well as forces me to read on my phone (something I only do in utmost emergencies, if I am stuck without one of my two e-readers or a physical book. It doesn't happen often). So in the end, I waited to start it until after release day, when my pre-ordered digital copy was available to download on my Kindle. Based on how uncomfortable it was to read in the NetGalley app, I may reject any future ARCs that are only available to read in that format. 

I read for pleasure, and for escapism, and I don't like when books feel like homework. Unfortunately, since I really do try to read all the ARCs I am granted and leave honest reviews for them, I had to get through this, but it took me far longer than it should have for a book this length. While I pretty much devoured books in the Bound to Fire and Steel duology in no time at all, this felt like a slog for the first two thirds of the book, and I for a lot of it, I was pretty much reading it out of obligation, not because I was particularly enjoying it.

The action does pick up in the last third, because that's when it basically becomes one very long action sequence, with SOO many different battles and near death-experiences for our heroes. Before that, the plot is very slow, and can't seem to move away from Aleksi worrying that the other two are better off without him, while they keep trying to reassure him that no, they aren't and they don't want him to nobly slink off somewhere to nurse his heartbreak for centuries. There's also the whole Naia and Einar are the reincarnated versions of Rahveyka's goddess and her lover, the god of Storms. I found it very hard to care about any of it. Things did get cooler when both Naia and Einar were fully able to embrace their new powers and truly kick the asses of their supernatural enemies. But with the first two thirds of the book being so boring, I cannot in good conscience rate this higher than 3.5 stars. 

Under the circumstances, though, considering the dystopian hellscape the authors who make up Kit Rocha live under, and the strides they've made to fundraise for democracy and help Americans offer resistance, it's laudable that they were able to finish this novel at all. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR18 Book 40: "Daugther of Tides" by Kit Rocha

Page count: 320 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Defeat the Goblin TBR: has a dark/stormy vibe

Naia is a very young water nymph, born directly from the Dreaming, but she has the memories and experiences of so many who have lived before her who had any connection to the sea. Einar was once a mortal man before he became the immortal pirate lord known as the Kraken, tied to his magical ship and his equally immortal crew. Aleksi is the most charming and beloved of all the gods; he is literally The Lover. After the events in Queen of Dreams (a book I read and very much enjoyed, but apparently didn't have the energy to fully review, Aleksi is feeling strange and unsettled. He keeps having strange visions, he doesn't instantly heal when he is injured, and he's started to worry that he is dying.

These three individuals are sent on a diplomatic mission to an icy kingdom, trying to broker a peace with Gwynira, the Ice Queen, who was previously one of the now imprisoned Sorin the Betrayer's allies. Einar has secrets he's keeping from the other two about his connection to the icy island kingdom they find themselves in, Naia is welcomed as a reborn version of the old goddess of the natives there, while Aleksi just wants to enjoy himself for as long as possible by hiding his impending death from the other two. 

I loved both the books in the Bound to Fire and Steel duology. I loved the world-building, I loved the pantheon of interesting deities (of which Aleksi and Einar both belong), and I found the tension between Ash, Sachielle and Zanya both interesting and sexy. Since I knew this was going to be a duology, I held off on reading this until close to the release date of the sequel, Prince of Storms (I have an ARC and need to read and review it by the end of this week). Unfortunately, whatever magic made the first two books in this world so incredibly appealing and immersive to me seems to have faded. I found this book slow to start, I found it difficult to really care about the characters or the mission they have been sent on. In addition, I found myself rather exhausted by how horny the three protagonists constantly are for each other. Maybe it would have been more exciting if they actually acted on their feelings until pretty much the very end of the book. Instead, it just felt annoying. 

The book picks up in the second half, but I never got the feeling of not wanting to stop reading, which was frequently the case with the first two books in this world. Maybe it's just that it was hard for me to feel any worry about Aleksi, since it's incredibly obvious that he's not actually going to die. He's part of the triad at the centre of this duology, which is a romance first and foremost, and the next book won't end with him actually dying and leaving the other two to grieve. While the various stakes were really high in the previous two books, I find it hard to get particularly invested this time around. It made me very sad, because I really had been looking forward to revisiting this world. 

I'm crossing my fingers that the sequel, which I will be starting soon, is better and that the duology as a whole works better for me once it's been completed. 

Judging a book by its cover:

We've got the churning sea, we've got a whole lot of tentacles. They seem to belong to more than one creature, so maybe the cover designer thought Einar had a bunch of friends to help him when he goes all Kraken-y?

CBR18 Book 30: "Black Water Sister" by Zen Cho

Page count: 384 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Monthly Keyword Challenge 26: Sister

Jessamyn "Jess" Teoh is feeling aimless and adrift. Born and raised in the USA, she has just moved to Malaysia with her parents, and they're staying with one of Jess' aunts while her parents are looking for their own place to stay. Jess is unemployed, broke and hiding the fact that she has a girlfriend in Singapore. Her girlfriend wants her to get a job in Singapore, so they can be together, but Jess keeps lying to her about her job searches. 

So when she starts hearing a strange voice in her head, Jess puts it down to stress. It takes a while for her to realise that the voice belongs to her dead grandmother, who used to be a spirit medium. Being mediums apparently runs in Jess' family, having skipped Jess' mother for some reason. Jess' Ah Ma was the avatar of a mysterious spirit goddess known as the Black Water Sister, and now a local businessman is threatening the park where the Black Water Sister's shrine lies. Ah Ma needs Jess' body to stop this, and settle a personal score against the magnate as well. Soon, Jess discovers that Ah Ma takes over her body at night, so she wakes up exhausted. She needs to figure out how to make a deal with her dead gran's ghost, before she ends up permanently possessed.

Black Water Sister is a rather unusual urban fantasy. Most urban fantasies are set in the USA or the UK, and the protagonists, often supernatural themselves, tend to solve paranormal mysteries involving all manner of creatures, like vampires, werewolves (or other shapeshifters), demons, angels, druids, witches, fae and the like. Our protagonist here is an aimless twenty-something who has no idea what she wants to do with her life, and the supernatural elements are ghosts and various spirit deities. The setting is Malaysia, a place I know very little about, in a culture I am also mostly unfamiliar with. 

While this was an interesting book, I found Jess a difficult protagonist to engage with. She's confused and depressed, and clearly has no idea what she wants with her life. While I understand why she needed to hide her queerness from her family, I also felt Jess was rather mean to her girlfriend, who only seemed to want the best for her. I'm frankly not sure what her girlfriend sees in her.

Obviously, having to share a body with the ghost of your estranged grandmother isn't exactly easy, especially when you're living with relatives you barely know and are struggling to understand the language. One perk of the whole experience is that while her Ah Ma is sharing her head, Jess becomes fluent in Malay very quickly. 

I read this back in March, and by now, I don't remember that much about it. The plot went in unexpected directions more than once, and there were both funny and some really rather gory bits. The only other Zen Cho novel I've ever read is Sorcerer to the Crown, a Regency-set story about magic, so if nothing else, this book proves that the author is able to write in different settings and time periods.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

CBR18 Book 21: "Black Sun" by Rebecca Roanhorse

Page count: 453 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Dark Corner selection - February 26

Defeat the Goblin - The pebble book - a book that was gifted to you

Monthly Keyword 26: Sun

Nowhere Book Bingo 26: A book with multiple POVs

Read the Rainbow: Black

This is a book with a number of different POV characters. There is Serapio, a blind young man whom we first encounter as a child, being horribly mutilated by his mother (who subsequently throws herself off a building). All this horrific violence is to make him a suitable vessel for the Crow God. He is trained by three mysterious individuals who continue his grooming to fulfil his mother's twisted goals. There is also Xiala, who is a Teek sea captain, tasked with taking Serapio via ship to Tova, the capital city of the empire. The other sailors on the ship seem sceptical about Xiala, but all Teek have a special connection to the sea, and because of this, she can get the ship through storms and other dangers, and they are forced to accept her as their captain. Our third major player is Narampa, who was the unlikely candidate to succeed the previous Sun Priest, and who now wants the priests to make a difference in society. Some of her fellow priests can only be said to be rather hostile to her ideas of reform, and plot behind her back to get rid of her. Our final protagonist is Okoa, son of the Crow clan matriarch. He's called back to Tova from his warrior training after his mother dies, and he has to take his place as his sister's chief bodyguard, basically. 

I finished this book in mid-February, so my memory of all the intricacies of the plot is now rather vague. The opening chapter was almost a deal-breaker for me (I just cannot with children in peril), but because several people I trust had assured me that this book is worth reading (I was gifted my paperback copy of it by the lovely Rochelle), I persevered. The first third or so was rather slow, and I found Narampa's chapters, especially, to be hard going. I liked Xiala from the start, and she is one of the reasons why I will probably continue with the series, even after there were bits that I wasn't wild about.

We had an interesting book club discussion about the book, and while the majority of the people who came in February liked it, I don't think any of us loved it. We appreciated the unusual setting; it's always nice to read something a bit different from the Eurocentric medieval fantasy worlds we often find in the genre. Since I am literally one of only two members in the group who has a child, none of the others was as bothered by the brutal mutilation of a young boy as I was. There was general agreement that Narampa was the dullest character, and that both Serapio and Xiala might technically be adults, but they have both had such weird lives that it's no wonder they make some truly inadvisable choices. While I liked Xiala, she seems rather self-destructive and Okoa and his giant crow (who he can ride on) may be my favourites of the lot.

I probably will continue the series (I own all three books, after all), but I'm not in a hurry to read the sequels. Some of the others in the book club continued, and seemed to think book two was a bit slower, but that the series ends well in book three. So we'll see.

Judging a book by its cover: I don't like this cover, I think it looks bad, and the UK publishers have chosen to go with exactly the same ugly image, so I don't even have the option to get an alternate one.  The Broken Binding special editions are absolutely gorgeous, but they also cost an arm and a leg, so that's not a suitable option, either. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR17 Book 69: "The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller

Page count: 369 pages

Audio book length: 11 hrs 15 mins

Rating: 4 stars

Nowhere Book Bingo 25: Reimagining or retelling of a classic

CBR17 Pie Chart Challenge: History

Patroclus is exiled from his father's kingdom after he accidentally kills a boy and is sent into fosterage with King Peleus. Here is where he meets Achilles, whose mother is the sea nymph Thetis. Achilles is supposed to become the greatest warrior who ever lived, and trains diligently to achieve this goal. While they are vastly different, Patroclus and Achilles become sworn companions, and Patroclus accompanies Achilles to train with the legendary centaur Chiron.

The boys stay with Chiron for several years, until they become young men. Their bond deepens, and they become lovers. Unfortunately, their pastoral life is cut short. Helen, rumoured to be the most beautiful woman in the world, has been abducted by Prince Paris of Troy. All the kingdoms of Greece are oath-sworn to accompany King Agamemnon and Menelaus to rescue her. Thetis takes her son and attempts to hide him away in a distant kingdom, since there is a prophecy that if he faces Prince Hector of Troy on the battlefield, he will die. However, Achilles is tracked down and seduced by the chance to fulfil his destiny. He can't become the greatest warrior ever if he doesn't go to Troy. He figures he'll just stay away from Hector, and then he can't be killed.

The quick and decisive victory the Greeks were expecting instead becomes a gruelling siege that lasts over a decade. Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, grows ever more resentful of Achilles, who refuses to show him the respect he believes he is owed. The tension and conflict between them keep escalating, eventually ending in tragedy. Prophecies can only be evaded for so long before the gods decide to manipulate matters to end as they have been foretold. 

Ok, fair warning, I'm not going to spoiler tag a myth that is literally thousands of years old. If you don't know the story of Achilles and how and why he eventually met his tragic end, that's really not on me. They even made a big movie starring many hunky men! Of course, in that one, Patroclus is Achilles' "cousin", and they give our dashing hero a female love interest and everything. No homo when you're Brad Pitt. Suffice it to say, in this book, which is frequently found in the top ten of banned books every year, Patroclus and Achilles are NOT cousins. They come of age together, yes, but they are in no way related, and their feelings for one another are most definitely romantic and sexual. Pretty sure no one would bother banning this book if they were just cousins and bros, happily seducing the various priestesses they captured as prizes of war. 

Having finally read this, which I have owned for oh so many years, I won't say that I was disappointed, because it is a very well-written book, but neither was I swept away by the story. Since Patroclus is the narrator of the book, I was idly curious whether he would keep narrating from the afterlife (turns out, I was right!). This is a good book, but I had read so much about how it had people in floods of tears. I felt no such emotions, probably because I knew when I started the book how it would end. Miller's other mythological novel, Circe, affected me much more strongly. I should re-read that and The Odyssey before Christopher Nolan's movie comes out next year. 

Judging a book by its cover: The cover for my audiobook is this fairly simple teal green one, with a golden Greek helmet on it. I much prefer it to the alternate cover with the big shiny golden breastplate. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR17 Book 34: "The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam" by Megan Bannen

Page count: 432 pages

Rating: 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit Books for this ARC. My opinions, are as always, my own.

This is the third book in the series, and as such, not the best place to start reading. This review may contain some spoilers for the previous two books in the series, and the place to begin is with The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. 

Tanrian Marshall Rosie Fox can't die. Or at least she doesn't stay dead, because she's a demigod, daughter of the Trickster. She is 157 years old, and has died more times than she can count. Every time it happens, it tends to freak out the people around her, and it gets mighty lonely watching everyone you care about grow old and die, while you just stay the same. Rosie's most recent death, from electrocution, happened after she stuck her hand into the wiring of one of the portals that allow people from outside to cross into the magical area of Tanria. The portals keep short-circuiting, and Rosie thinks she can see a strange, shadowy vine tangling in the machinery. It's when she's trying to "investigate" this that she, once again, dies.

The trouble with the portals is serious enough that they have to call for the inventor himself, Dr. Adam Lee. Rosie remembers meeting the impeccably dressed gentleman five years ago, but doubts he'll even remember her from so long ago. Of course, a statuesque woman over six feet tall, with long rust-red hair and "eyes like garnets", is difficult to forget, and Adam Lee remembers her very well. Not that he is willing to admit this at first, he seems shy and almost stand-offish.

Because of the trouble with the portals, which all seem to be breaking down, everyone in Tanria needs to be evacuated. Due to a complicated series of events, Rosie, Dr. Adam Lee, Rosie's partner Penrose Duckers and Duckers' ex-boyfriend Zeddie Birdsall are all stuck in Tanria when the final portal breaks down. Rosie notices that the shadowy vines seem to be spreading and growing thicker on the ground. The various animals and wildlife in Tanria can also clearly see and interact with the vines, but presumably, none of the other people can see what Rosie sees. 

Now, Adam, Rosie, Duckers and Zeddie have to work together to try to get the portals working again, or risk being trapped in Tanria, potentially forever. To begin with, animal messages can cross the magical border (it's a whole complicated thing, I can't begin to explain it here) and bring messages, supplies and food from the outside, but as the vines proliferate and thicken, it gets harder and harder for even them to cross over.

Duckers is very amused to see his normally unflappable partner so taken with Dr. Lee, and teases her mercilessly. He also tries to avoid his ex-boyfriend as much as possible, which isn't easy when there's just the four of them there, and Zeddie cooks almost all the food they eat. How can Rosie even hope to have a chance with Adam when she's over a hundred years old and will possibly never die? No one would want to complicate their life with someone like her, would he?

This is the third and final book in the Hart and Mercy trilogy, and while I enjoyed the second book, The Undermining of Twyla and Frank, it didn't enchant me in the way that The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy or this one did. Exploring some more of the mythological sides of this strange and original fantasy world, the story of exuberant demigod Rosie and the reticent and lonely inventor she falls for was an utter delight to read, and I loved finding out more about the portals, how they worked, and how they came to be invented in the first place.

Penrose Duckers has been an amazing supporting character in each of the three books so far, and part of the joy of reading the series has been seeing how he has developed over time. He is young and inexperienced when he partners with Hart in the first book, he goes through a lot of personal turmoil in the second book, and in this one, set seven years after the end of book 2, he has to rethink some of his former decisions and life choices when Zeddie Birdsall comes back into his orbit (Duckers breaks up with him in book 2 because he needs space). 

With every story featuring characters who have some form of immortality or can just live a terribly long time, I find myself so grateful that I will never have to deal with something like that. While Rosie has a nice life, there are very few people who can even begin to understand how hard it is to keep dying and resurrecting, seeing friends and loved ones drift away, or grow old and die around you. She's starting to get sick of the whole thing, and the Trickster's sudden reappearance in her life, claiming he wants to be a proper father to her (after most of a lifetime of being neglectful of her and her mother), isn't making the situation any better.

A friend of mine constantly complains that there are very few tall heroines with short heroes (I'm still waiting for Ali Hazelwood to change things up in her writing and try it), so I'm going to recommend she read this book. Rosie is six-foot-five, while Dr. Adam Lee is a full foot shorter than her (five-foot-five). Duckers keeps calling him her pocket boyfriend. At one point, he stands on a little step to reach up to kiss her (it's adorable). 

This was a wonderful ending to the trilogy, and very nicely wraps up the story not just of Rosie and Adam, but pretty much all the significant characters we've met over the course of the whole series. If you liked the first two, this one is well worth the wait. 

Judging a book by its cover: I'm not a huge fan of the colour orange (even before it became irrevocably associated with THAT one), and I really don't think the shade of blue of the background patterns, and then the bright pink of the heart at the centre of the cover go well together. They all sort of clash. Nevertheless, it continues the very whimsical tradition established on the previous two covers in the series. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

CBR17 Book 26: "The Gods Time Forgot" by Kelsie Sheridan Gonzales

Page count: 320 pages

Rating: 3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC. My opinions are my own. 

Rua remembers nothing from before she woke up in a muddy hole in upstate New York. Her maid and everyone around her claims that she's Emma Harrington, missing for two days, but Rua while Rua may look just like her, she is certain there is nothing of Emma in her. Emma's wealthy parents are determined to try bury the scandal of Emma's behaviour, which isn't made easier when Rua in Emma's body behaves in ways a debutante from the 1870s most certainly shouldn't. 

Finn Somethingorother (cannot be bothered to go back to the book to find his actual surname), Lord of Donore, is in New York trying to secure lucrative business deals so he can secure his position in society, and use his wealth and privilege to support a hospital and an orphanage. One of the wealthy magnates would like him to marry his daughter, but at every social gathering, Finn can't take his eyes off the scandalous Emma Harrington, who insists he should call her Rua. He also can't understand why he seems like he knows her from somewhere. 

According to the publisher: "Irish mythology collides with Gilded Age New York in this sweeping debut enemies-to-lovers historical romantasy, perfect for fans of Outlander and A Fate Inked in Blood." I'm a sucker for creative use of mythology in a story, I read far too few books set during the Gilded Age, despite loving historical romances, and I tend to really enjoy a good enemies to lovers plot.

Sadly, I should have remembered that most of the time, publishers have an extremely creative interpretation of what the book they're selling actually contains. Is there Irish mythology in this? Yes, and I thought it was rather creatively used, and wish there had been more of it. We also get an insight into New York in the 1870s, but it mostly involves very snooty and controlling mothers with lofty social ambitions for their offspring. Occasionally Rua wanders around unaccompanied in an inappropriately informal outfit, and gets herself into more trouble as Emma Harrington is more deeply embroiled in scandal. 

Is this enemies to lovers? Not even close. This is former lovers possibly trapped in the bodies of other people and trying to remember how they fit together and what the heck has happened to bring them to where they are now. The romance is probably the least interesting plot of this book, and once the whole convoluted mess of who Rua and Finn really are to one another and how they came to be in New York at this time is explained, the book is pretty much over, and there isn't really any time for the reader to see how their romance is likely to work out now that they know the truth.

There are absolutely elements that work, but as a whole, this book is unsatisfying and leaves you wanting a more fleshed out story with more complex characters and character dynamics. 

Judging a book by its cover: There are a lot of interesting elements incorporated in this cover (the knot work arch, the clock face in the background, the ravens, Rua's beautiful dress. However, I really don't like the way the artist has drawn the people, especially Finn, who looks more like a sinister villain than a romantic hero. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR15 Book 64: "Gods of Jade and Shadows" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Page count: 384 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Caseopea Tun is basically treated as a servant by her grandfather, cousin, and extended family because her mother ran away and made an ill-advised marriage. Caseopea suffers the indignities mainly because her tyrannical grandfather has promised to leave her some money once he dies. However, during another turbulent row with her spoiled cousin Martín, he reveals that their grandfather has no intention of leaving anything to Caseopea. She feels furious and rebellious, which leads to her opening the forbidden chest at the bottom of her grandfather's bed, hoping to possibly find some treasures she can steal. 

Instead, Caseopea finds a lot of old bones and having pricked her finger on one of them, they reassemble into a man, the embodiment of the Mayan death god Hun-Kamé. Apparently, Caseopea's grandfather aided the god's brother, Vucub-Kamé in imprisoning him, and he now needs to go on a quest to reclaim certain stolen body parts to regain his full power and battle his brother for dominance of the Mayan underworld. Caseopea has no choice but to accompany him, as a tiny bone shard is lodged inside her and she and Hun-Kamé are linked, and the god is siphoning life force from her. If they don't succeed within a reasonable time frame, Hun-Kamé will become fully human, and Caseopea will die.

This is set during the Jazz Age in Mexico, but apart from the occasional mentions of short skirts and flapper haircuts, it doesn't really come into the action all that much. Caseopea eventually gets a short haircut, but it's to clean up the remains of her hacked-off hair after Hun-Kamé required her hair to burn in a magic ritual to summon ghosts. Because of the historical setting, our protagonists travel by ship and train, rather than airplane, and obviously, this means they get to spend more time together in small quarters. 

Caseopea is an engaging heroine. She is clever and resourceful, and dreams of a life in the city away from her controlling relatives. Nonetheless, she's also pragmatic and while upset about the dangers her quest with Hun-Kamé exposes her to, possibly even ending in her own death, she accepts it as a consequence of her rather impulsive rebellion. Luxury and beautiful clothing are things that Caseopea has only been able to dream about. Hun-Kamé is a god and travels in style, and Caseopea, who has been a poor relation her whole life, enjoys the change in circumstances, knowing it might not last very long.

Hun-Kamé starts out as very imperious and distant, with little care for his companion, but as their quest progresses and he remains connected to Caseopea, he takes on more and more human aspects and even gains the ability to dream, something he claims no gods can do. His brother is convinced that this added humanity is the thing that will ensure his downfall, but in the end, he comes to love Caseopea and be loved in return, and that is one of the elements that eventually defeats Vucub-Kamé. 

The book has multiple POVs, and I understand why the author chose to tell the story like this, but also admit that I felt my interest waning every time the perspective changed to that of Martín, who is tasked by Vucub-Kamé to track down his cousin and try to persuade her to abandon Hun-Kamé, or the chapters where we follow Vucub-Kamé (although it gave some interesting insight into Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. 

This is the first novel I've read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and while I didn't love it, I found it an entertaining read, where I learned more about mythology from another culture. I have many more of Moreno-Garcia's books on my TBR shelf and look forward to reading more of her stories in the future.

Judging a book by its cover: I think this is a lovely cover, and Ms. Moreno-Garcia always seems to luck out with her cover designers, because I'm hard-pressed to remember seeing a single bad cover for one of her books. This cover is absolutely one of the things that drew me to the book in the first place. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR15 Book 5: "The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy" by Megan Bannen

Page count: 453 pages

Rating: 5 stars

CBR Passport Challenge: New to Me author

In a world very unlike our own, most people live on islands and when people die, they are not buried in coffins, but rather placed in boats and sent out to sea (like when we bury someone in the ground) or the boats are cremated. So undertakers don't just need to know the rituals of cleaning and treating a body, there are rituals to follow and sacred words to be spoken - but they need to be able to work wood and construct a variety of different boats for the deceased. Additionally, most people have a key around their necks from birth until death, and once they die - the keys of their departed loved ones are placed on a family altar and revered or at least kept safe in the keeping of their families. 

There is also an enclosed wilderness called Tanria, where once the Old Gods were imprisoned and now contain enough precious resources that people still risk their lives to go there. Marshalls have to patrol the area because drudges, zombie-like creatures inhabited by the souls of those who have previously died in Tanria attack new people when the corpse-shell they're inhabiting is too rotted to be of use are a danger to anyone foolish enough to venture into the area. Being a Marshall is a demanding and dangerous job, but Hart Ralston has been doing it alone for a long time and fools himself that he's happy in his solitude. He's very annoyed when his supervisor forces him to take on an apprentice, but the enthusiastic young man soon grows on him, despite Hart's attempts to stay impersonal and distant.

There are very few people of note in Hart's life. He's a demi-god, his father was one of the many New Gods who once roamed the world, although Hart has never discovered exactly what god fathered him (his Mum claimed he was called Jeff). One of the gifts he was granted is the ability to actually see the souls of the departed. Very useful when killing drudges, as he can ensure the soul has definitely left the body. Now, with both his mother and his de-facto father figure, the Marshall who trained Hart from he was sixteen, dead, Hart pretty much only has his former partner, now his supervisor and her wife as friends and due to a heated disagreement some years before, he doesn't really feel like he can rely on his supervisor either. 

Hart also has a nemesis, a person who riles him up like no other. Mercy Birdsall, the woman who seems to be single-handedly running the struggling undertaking business of "Birdsall and Sons" after her father had a heart attack the year before (the son in question seems a lot more interested in cooking and baking than taking care of dead bodies) for some reason brings out the worst in him, every time. Every time Hart has to deliver a body to her business (an occurrence happening a lot more often since the drudge problem in Tanria seems to be worsening), they snipe at each other and trade vicious insults. 

One evening, after a particularly bad argument with Mercy, Hart starts writing a letter, pouring out some of his sadness and loneliness to an anonymous "friend". He feels better after confessing some of his emotions and posts the letter, but never expects a reply, as it's not actually addressed to anyone in particular. So imagine his surprise when about a week later, he receives a reply from "a friend", who also seems to be lonely and all too happy to share their similar feelings of loneliness. Now it doesn't take a genius to realise who the mystery correspondent is, but it takes months of exchanging letters and becoming closer and fond of one another before Hart discovers that his anonymous pen pal is none other than Mercy Birdsall, and of course, he's been in love with her for years already (his partner finds the whole situation both hilarious and tragic). Of course, Hart refuses to tell Mercy that he is her "friend" in return, which only gets more complicated once they leave their animosity behind and start falling for each other for real.

This was such a strange book. The world-building is very unusual, the characters are all rich and interesting, even fairly minor supporting ones who you don't really need to suspect have complex inner lives. In parts, it's sweet and romantic, in other parts it's gory and rather terrifying. Anyone who feels squeamish about corpses should probably give this book a miss. It has the You've Got Mail thing of two feuding enemies falling for one another over time in anonymous correspondence, and unfortunately that section of the plot where one of them has discovered the identity of the other, but for REASONS can't bring themselves to confess the truth, and the tension just keeps building and you know the reveal is going to be awful and your beloved characters are going to suffer (interestingly, in the movie You've Got Mail, I don't care one jot if the protagonists suffer because I'm so disgusted with them both committing emotional adultery towards their current partners). 

This book also doesn't underestimate the intelligence of its readers. You are not given a heavy info dump in the early chapters, giving you all the facts you need to understand how the world works, how the religion factors in, why people act the way they do and so forth. The relevant information is revealed when the reader needs it and they have to piece together the little snippets of knowledge to make up a bigger whole as the story progresses. As I've tried to explain in the plot summary, without spoiling too much, the world building and overall plot of the book is rather complex. There's a lot more to the story than two enemies finding each other through anonymous letters. What exactly is Tanria? Why are people so keen to keep going there, even though they might very likely be killed by drudges? How are the drudges possessed by the souls of the dead, and why are there suddenly so many more drudges appearing? Where are all these extra corpses in Tanria coming from? What's the story of the Old and the New Gods? How come some people are demi-gods and how are they different from the rest of the population? Why do Hart and Mercy hate each other so much? Why was Hart's unaddressed letter sent to Mercy in the first place?

The characters of the story, are as I mentioned, all interesting and fully fleshed out, even when they only appear in a few scenes. Mercy's family members are chaotic and lovely, and it's not cruelty or neglect that make them oblivious to her struggles at keeping the undertaking business from going under. Hart starts the book as an ornery and rather selfish person, but let's just say his heart grows a bunch of sizes after he is forced to first take on a bubbly apprentice and grows very fond of him, and then has to come to terms with his feelings for Mercy and their troubled past together. He also has to do a lot of reflecting on his relationship both with his dead partner who trained him and acted as the only father he ever knew, and the now strained relationship with his ex-partner and see if fences can be mended, despite the harsh words that were exchanged years ago. Then there's the whole issue of his real father. Does being a demigod mean that Hart is immortal (a lot of demi-gods aren't)? He certainly seems to heal very quickly from even really serious injuries. 

This book may not be for everyone, but for me, it was pretty much perfection. It offered up something different from your general paranormal fantasy (this one doesn't really fit into 'urban' fantasy, as any of the settlements in this world are rather small and separate from the others), it had a fun premise, great characters, it made me laugh, cringe and towards the end, almost ugly-cry. Books that make me feel that many things deserve five stars. As far as I can tell, this is the first non-YA novel that Megan Bannen has written. I'm going to have to seek out her two YA books now, to see if they're as creative and well-written as this one. I also hope that there may be more books coming about Hart and Mercy, since Goodreads lists this as the first in a series. I would love to read more from this world and about these lovely people. 

Judging a book by its cover: I'm not sure why the cover design and colour choices made me think this was a YA novel, but it really did. I love teal, so any book in that colour is likely to catch my eye, and the bright pink (which also seems to be on the spine) brings a bright splash to the centre of the cover. I love the contrast between the golden lines and flowers, and the naked, skeletal bones. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

#CBR13 Book 5: "Lore" by Alexandra Bracken

Page count: 532 pages

Audio book length: 15 hrs 47 mins

Rating: 4 stars

Official book description:

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.

Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to bind her fate to Athena's and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost--and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees. 

Melora "Lore" Perseus has been trying to stay away from the brutal world she was raised in after her entire family was ruthlessly slaughtered seven years ago just as the previous Agon was about to end. She's living in a Brooklyn brownstone left to her by the kindly old man she worked as a caretaker for, who passed away about six months ago. Her only friend is Miles, a young man completely unaware of her dangerous background. Now it seems, her past is determined to catch up with her. She discovers that her old friend Castor didn't die of leukemia after all, but is in fact not only strong and healthy but has taken on the mantle of Apollo after the last Agon. She also finds the goddess Athena brutally stabbed on her literal doorstep and when the goddess offers her a bargain that will allow her revenge on the man who is responsible, Lore is reluctant at first but realises that she can't really refuse. She agrees to bind her fate to that of Athena, so giving her extra strength and resources. However, if either of the two dies, the other one will too.

Over the course of the next week, Lore and Athena work together to try to track down the man who has taken on the power of Ares and is systematically trying to wipe out all other gods (or those who have their power now) in the Agon. They are aided by Castor, his friend Evander and Miles, who insists on helping, even though he's the only mortal not trained from childhood in this strange deadly tournament. As they work on achieving their goal, Lore comes to discover that her childhood goal of becoming a legend may be achievable after all, but it will only come after even greater cost than she has already paid.

I don't know if this book is being marketed with 'Percy Jackson meets the Hunger Games', but it probably should be. The concept of the story, the Agon, is explained at the beginning of the book. I don't entirely remember why the descendants of all the great heroes have to keep hunting down the occasionally fully mortal Greek gods in order to earn power and glory, but that's the world we find ourselves in here. A world that sadly still considers only male fighters truly worthy, and which won't allow any women to be the head of a house and very few as acceptable as Hunters. Until her family was killed at the end of the last Agon, Lore was determined to prove everyone wrong and become legendary. After she found her father, mother, and two younger sisters brutally slaughtered in their small New York apartment, however, she determined to have nothing more to do with the Agon or the rivaling families vying for power. 

While Lore has spent most of the last seven years estranged from the world she once knew and is quite lonely, she has a very solid friendship with Miles, and it's good to see her reconnecting with Castor, Van (Evander) and later her old friend Iro as well. These teenagers have all been raised with some truly warped values and this last round of the Agon seems to be making all of them, not just Lore, realise that the old traditions cannot continue. Changes need to be made.

This book seems to be entirely stand-alone, which is unsual in and of itself nowadays. I enjoyed it and found the mix of Greek mythology, action adventure and death race interesting and enjoyable. The audio book is narrated by Fryda Wolff, who does a good job with the sprawling cast of characters. 

While I think this book absolutely fits into the YA genre with many of its character archetypes and plot beats, it should probably be recommended for older readers, as there are some really very violent scenes throughout. I remember being surprised that Pierce Brown's Red Rising series was being marketed as YA, and this is a bit in the same vein. Lore, Castor, Evander and Miles have neither of them turned twenty yet, but a lot of the themes and action set pieces are distinctly gory. So be aware of that.

Judging a book by its cover: I have always found Medusa a very fascinating character, and this cover, where a statue appears to be coming to life and staring straight at the reader was one of the things that first struck me when I decided to check out the book. Any cover image arresting enough to make me interested in picking up and reading the book has done its job well. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

#CBR12 Book 104: "A Touch of Stone and Snow" by Milla Vane

Page count: 398 pages

Rating: TBA

Official book description (cause I haven't finished the book yet):

Danger lurks in the western realms. The Destroyer’s imminent return has sent the realms into turmoil as desperate citizens seek refuge—but there’s no safety to be found when demons and wraiths crawl out from the shadows. Even Koth, a northern island kingdom left untouched by the Destroyer a generation past, is besieged by terrors spawned from corrupt magics.

When Lizzan leads the Kothan army against these terrors, only to see her soldiers massacred and to emerge as the only survivor, she is called a coward and a deserter. Shunned from her home, Lizzan now wanders in solitude as a mercenary for hire, until she encounters a group of warriors seeking new alliances with the northern kingdoms—a group that includes Aerax, the bastard prince of Koth, and the man who sent her into exile.

Though they were childhood friends, Aerax cannot allow himself to be close to the only woman who might thwart his treacherous plan to save their island realm. But when a goddess's demand binds them together, Lizzan and Aerax must find a way to overcome their painful pasts. Or there will be no future for the western realms...

According to the reviewer over on Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, this works fine as a standalone, because it was the first in the series she read. Be warned before you check any of the books out, however, that this is NOT for everyone. These books have a lot of violence and darkness and the order of the day is pretty much survival of the fittest and strongest. The world is still reeling from the terrible destruction wreaked by Anumith the Destroyer a few decades ago, and now there has been confirmation that Anumith is on the rise, returning to the Continent once more. The various peoples, countries, and tribes that live there need to form an alliance and fast, or they will all be swept away in the wake of the Destroyer's second invasion.

The protagonists of this book are Lizzan and Aerax and their romance keeps seeming impossible. They've known each other since they were children, and come from vastly different positions. As a royal bastard, Aerax wasn't officially acknowledged until a terrible epidemic came and killed most of the royal house. Lizzan's father was a high ranking army commander and her mother is a magistrate, before he got recognised as an actual prince, she would be seriously throwing away her future to be with him. Then came the incident that led to Lizzan's exile, where her father and much of the Kothan army led an attack to pacify nearby bandits but were surprised by a supernatural threat, leaving Lizzan as the only survivor. 

Lizzan was deemed a coward and a traitor, and her name was struck from the official records. No one from Koth is allowed to speak her name or even recognise that she is still alive. She had to leave Koth in disgrace and exile and hates Aerax for not speaking up in her defence at the trial. Aerax, having at that point been trained and come to know many of the island's official secrets, couldn't defend her, as it could lead to her death. He's adored Lizzan for as long as he can remember and will do anything to keep her safe, even if it means she despises him.

Lizzan has made her way, lonely and heart-broken, both physically and emotionally, using her warrior skills to protect refugee caravans and other travellers. She hears news of a Kothan delegation, including a white-haired prince (all of the Kothan royal family have tell-tale white hair) and does her best to get away. The book starts with Lizzan trying to flee, and Aerax wanting to catch her.

The Kothans need help from their neighbours to the South, and want to join the big alliance that's forming. But Aerax knows that they're going to need Lizzan's presence and her truth about the supernatural threat to convince others to risk themselves for an island and a people who withdrew when danger previously threatened. He also has motives of his own, that he's keeping from everyone, determined to see his course through, even if he ends up branded a villain by everyone, especially his true love.

Lizzan has by this point gotten sick enough of dishonour and scorn, and drunkenly demands a quest from the goddess Vela. The only way to fully be forgiven is to die gloriously in battle, and she asks Vela to help her accomplish this. Vela tasks her to protect the first person she casts her eyes on when she leaves the temple (one guess who she runs into seconds after leaving) and promises her death in a battle on the day of the first snow. So now both she and Aerax have purposes they must keep secret, and it seems unlikely that they'll ever have a future, as Lizzan is fated to die in a short while. 

I'm only about 50% through the book, yet I love what I've read so far. If it wasn't for having to finish a lot of reviews, help co-parent my demanding child and planning and prepping a three-course New Year's meal, I would be on the sofa with noise-cancelling headphones, blocking out the world and reading right now. I know so many reviewers have loved this book, including our own Emmalita, so I'm convinced it's going to be a satisfying final book for me to end 2020 with. 

Normally, I'd feel bad about reviewing a book I haven't finished yet, but the clock is ticking and the deadline for CBR12 is just around the corner. Time and the double Cannonball waits for no person. The continued adventures and just how Aerax and Lizzan get past their challenges to find true happiness together at last shall have to wait a few hours, until I've tidied, cooked, we've eaten and are settled down to wait for the fireworks. That's one good thing about this wretched year, we have no guests who will disapprove if I read for a while until the clock strikes midnight. 

And with this rambling review, I declare my reading goal for 2020 reached (double Cannonball achieved and a total of 25 out of 26 reading challenges completed), and wish you all a Happy New Year!

Judging a book by its cover: Yeah, I just can't take this cover seriously. Why is he wearing armour on his arms, and a big chainmail/armour hood thing, yet leaving his very ripped abs entirely exposed? It's like the whole discussion about superheroine costumes. This is just dumb. Cool sword, though, dude.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

#CBR12 Book 61: "A Heart of Blood and Ashes" by Milla Vane

Page count: 555 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Official book description: 

A generation past, the western realms were embroiled in endless war. Then the Destroyer came. From the blood and ashes he left behind, a tenuous alliance rose between the barbarian riders of Parsathe and the walled kingdoms of the south. That alliance is all that stands against the return of an ancient evil - until the barbarian king and queen are slain in an act of bloody betrayal.

Though forbidden by the alliance council to kill the corrupt king responsible for his parents’ murders, Maddek vows to avenge them, even if it costs him the Parsathean crown. But when he learns it was the king’s daughter who lured his parents to their deaths, the barbarian warrior is determined to make her pay.

Yet the woman Maddek captures is not what he expected. Though the last in a line of legendary warrior-queens, Yvenne is small and weak, and the sharpest weapons she wields are her mind and her tongue. Even more surpri sing is the marriage she proposes to unite them in their goals and to claim their thrones—because her desire for vengeance against her father burns even hotter than his own…

This book is pretty much your ultimate enemies to lovers story. There isn't just the flirty banter of rivalling colleagues in an office or dislike growing into attraction and affection, Maddek, our grouchy and grieving hero really is initially prepared to kill Yvenne, our clever and vengeful heroine, when they first meet. He hates her father and brothers and believes she is the reason his wise and brave parents were tricked away from the safety of their own lands and into enemy territory, where they were betrayed and killed.

Yvenne may be the daughter of a king and a legendary warrior queen, but she has not been raised in pomp and privilege, rather kept captive in a tower and forced to watch her father's abuse of her mother for years. Both her father and most of her brothers have abused her horribly, both physically and emotionally and desperate for a marriage alliance with a powerful and honourable tribe, Yvenne begged for Maddek's parents' help to get her away from her family. Her plan backfired spectacularly, and she feels terrible guilt about her role in their deaths, and the suffering they went through at the hands of her father, brothers and the men loyal to them. While she is physically weak and crippled, she nevertheless has her mother's blood in her veins, and the gifts of the goddess that bless the women of her line, and she's determined to be a worthy queen to her people. She just needs a man strong enough to defeat her father to marry her, so she can claim her birthright and inheritance.

Maddek's tribe values truthfulness above all, and before she died, Maddek's mother made Yvenne swear never to lie to him. Unfortunately, Maddek's grief and anger make it impossible for him to trust or believe anything Yvenne says, and he makes her swear never to even utter his mother's name (or he'll cut out her tongue). The massive distrust between the two doesn't exactly create a fertile ground for a good and strong relationship. Nor does it help that thanks to her father's mistreatment of her mother, Yvenne was born too early and barely survived her childhood. She's also been additionally crippled by her family after trying to help Maddek's mother escape. She's a far cry from the legendary warrior queens that make up her ancestors, nor is she anything like the independent, strong and capable warrior women of Maddek's nomadic tribe. When they meet, she's never even ridden a horse. 

What Yvenne does have is a fierce intelligence, a burning ambition, and the years spent being trained by her mother in the statecraft, manipulation and intrigue that a good queen will need to excel at. Her mother possessed psychic abilities and was able to see far and wide outside the tower she and Yvenne were captives in, and she told Yvenne everything and taught her as well as she could, to prepare her for her future. Yvenne loves her people and works very hard to get to know Maddek's loyal companions as well, knowing that she needs to learn as much about her new tribe as possible to be a worthy queen to them, even if she's nothing like what they value in a woman. 

This is not exactly a light-hearted or carefree book. In this barbarian world, an alternate reality where humans live side by side with pre-historic lizards and other dangerous beasts, physical strength and prowess in battle is valued. The gods that the various people believe in are very real and occasionally interfere directly in the lives of their followers. Some characters are blessed by the gods, others make horrible sacrifices to gain unholy magical powers for their own gain. 

There has been a lot of war, and death and all manner of atrocities and war crimes. Unscrupulous and evil men use rape as a weapon to demean and torture women (not directly described in the story, but there have clearly been loved one's raped in both the protagonists' pasts). A generation ago, the near-unstoppable and ruthless warlord known as the Destroyer was vanquished, but he didn't die, and there are rumours that he is on the move, coming back for another invasion. The various tribes of this world need a strong alliance to stand against him, and as prophecy would have it, Yvenne and Maddok are central to mounting a defense against him. 

I haven't really said much about the excellent world-building or the cast of interesting (and diverse) supporting characters, because this review is already getting long and if I'm ever to get through my backlog, I need to get better at being brief in my write-ups. Suffice it to say, two thumbs up for this too.

Milla Vane also wrote paranormal romances as Meljean Brook, whose Iron Seas novels, set in a Steampunk alt-Victorian world, are among my all-time favourites of the paranormal genre. As far as I can tell, she (like so many others) have had a difficult few years since she last published a novel back in 2014. I know she's been working on this new, pre-historic barbarian world for a long time, and thankfully for the reader, there are already two full novels and a novella to enjoy. My friend and fellow reviewer Emmalita absolutely raves about the books (and was lucky enough have her review quoted in Ms. Vane's social media promos). I have enough trust in the author after four novels and a few novellas set in the Iron Seas that I've already purchased everything Ms. Vane has published so far, but due to the darker subject matter and slightly grimmer feel to these books, I also don't feel in the mood to binge all three available stories in one go. I'm going to need a month or two to recover between books. 

Judging a book by its cover: Anyone seeing this cover, has to have at least a vague inkling that it's not your run of the mill Regency romance novel. There's the title, which suggests some dark subject matters. Then there's the cover model, who is wearing very little, except for some scraps of leather, scraps, and a whole lot of dirt and grime. The author describes this as "barbarian romance" and I think the cover sells that aesthetic very well indeed. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

#CBR9 Book 128: "The Wicked + The Divine, vol 1: The Faust Act" by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie

Page count: 144 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They appear as rock stars and are loved and hated in equal measure. In two years, they are all dead. The lesson they need to learn is: just because you're immortal, doesn't mean you're going to live forever.

In the first volume of The Wicked + The Divine we are introduced to Laura, a seventeen-year-old from London who is utterly devoted to the various recently incarnated gods, who appear as rock stars of various genres all over the city. After she passes out at one of Amaterasu's concerts, she is introduced to "Luci", the current incarnation of Lucifer and taken backstage to spend more time with some of the gods. Just as countless people adore the new godlings, there are those who hate them too. When armed gunmen open fire on the people in the room, Luci gets carried away, snaps her fingers and has their heads explode. During her trial, where she's adamant that they can't prove an actual link between her fingers and the dead bodies, the judge is spectacularly killed in the same way, and Luci finds herself in prison.

Laura is convinced that for all that she is scary and seems a bit unhinged, Luci didn't actually kill the judge. Someone is trying to frame her, and she wants to do whatever she can to help. She is sent to look for the mysterious Ananke, and comes into contact with even more of the twelve deities as a result. There is clearly more here than Laura understands and she knows she's neglecting her schoolwork and future by throwing herself wholeheartedly into the quest to free Luci, but she can't seem to help herself.

I didn't know a lot about this comic before I started reading it, and having finished the first five issues, collected in The Faust Act, I'm not entirely sure I know all that much more. As the description says, twelve gods get incarnated every ninety years. It's not always the same gods, but Ananke seems to be part of the group no matter what. In 2014, at least, they all appear as famous rock stars, utterly adored by their fans. Most people seem deeply sceptical to their claims of actually being divine, and it seems that Luci breaks a lot of unspoken rules when she openly shows off some of her dangerous and unpredictable powers. This has consequences as the issues go on.

As this is only the first trade, it does the job of introducing us to a large cast of characters. There's Laura, who's our entry-point into the comic, and a whole bunch of the different gods. Why are they reincarnated into the bodies of young, beautiful people? Why do they only live for two years? Who is setting up Luci for a murder charge? All of these questions will clearly be answered down the line.

I am very intrigued by the premise of this comic, and will absolutely be reading more of it. The fact that my husband "knows" both the writer and artist from an internet forum from many years ago is an added bonus. It's always good to support friends.

Judging a book by its cover: Jamie McKelvie's art is so gorgeous throughout this comic, and the monthly covers for the various issues feature beautiful facial portraits of the various deities. So it was a bit of a disappointment to me when the trade had this cover which is so simple, even though it is rather evocative.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR9 Book 13: "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman

Page count: 304 pages
Audio book length: 6hrs 29 mins
Rating: 4.5 stars

When it was announced that Neil Gaiman was doing a book of Norse myths, I was, not to put to fine a point on it, giddy with excitement. I've always been a mythology fangirl. I love the Greek and Roman myths, the Egyptians, but as I am Scandinavian, the Norse myths are obviously among the ones I grew up reading, even as a young child. I had several books of the Danish comic book Valhalla, so I knew several of the stories before I even knew they were the ancient myths of my people.

In the introduction to this book, Neil Gaiman says that his first encounter with the Norse gods were through the works of Jack Kirby in the Marvel universe. Mr. Gaiman has of course featured several members of the Norse pantheon in several of his own works, like the epic Sandman series or his very popular American Gods. He also says that the Norse myths are probably the ones that we know the least about and where many of the stories have gotten lost, as no one felt they were worth keeping alive. I appreciate him commenting on the fact that the goddesses of Norse mythology have gotten the shortest shrift of all. There are not all that many stories that survive about the Norse gods at all, and history being what it is, clearly no one felt that the goddesses were all that important (except of course that everyone seems to want to marry Freya - she is clearly the greatest prize to be won).

I got the audio book, because Neil Gaiman's a wonderful narrator whose voice I find incredibly soothing. Having him tell me the myths of my people, vaguely fictionalised to work better as stories was lovely, and I kept forcing myself to stop between stories, as I didn't want the book to end. While I was familiar with a lot of these tales from my childhood and mythology obsessed teenage years, there were also stories I hadn't heard or read before. The one where Loki steals the hair of the Lady Sif, Thor's wife, and has to figure out a clever way to replace it, ending up with the Norse gods getting possession of their greatest treasures, while Loki nearly loses his head in the bargain was a new one. As was the one about Kvasir and the mead of poetry.

Loki, Thor and Odin feature the most prominently in these stories. Loki is the trickster who pretty much always causes, but generally also sorts out all the various incidents that befall the gods. It's strange how he is accepted as one of them, but also constantly stands apart, the literal father of their eventual downfall. I enjoyed these stories a lot, but really do wish the women had been a bit more prominent. By making a faithful retelling, Gaiman couldn't give the ladies a bigger role than they already have, but especially the treatment of Loki's poor wife towards the end of the stories (after he's done something so nefarious that even the gods can't stand by and let him have his way anymore) is heartless in the extreme, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. So I can't give a full five stars.

For anyone who already likes Gaiman's writing, or is interested in learning more about the Norse pantheon, this is a must have book. It's not exactly very long, because there aren't all that many stories. I had a wonderful time listening to this book and will no doubt revisit this book many times over the years, to remind myself of the myths of my people.

Judging a book by its cover: It's not exactly a very fancy cover, as these things go, but it doesn't really need to be either. A dark, possibly slightly star-spangled background, with Thor's legendary hammer, Mjoenir, at the centre. I especially enjoy the shorter handle now that I've heard the story of how the hammer came to be made in the first place. Neil Gaiman doesn't need a fancy cover on his book of Norse myths. Either it's going to be something you get, no matter what the cover design, or it's probably going to be a book you pass by, no matter what exciting things they put on the cover.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR8 Book 88: "The Rest of Us Just Live Here" by Patrick Ness

Page count: 336 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Growing up in a small town somewhere in America (schools, family-themed restaurant, lots of cars, a bunch of huge churches, a Wallmart, a couple of multiplexes, so many trees), Mikey and his sister Mel (don't call her Melinda) are just trying to get through their final year of high school, hoping that something so momentous happens that the indie kids have to blow up the school gym again. Who are the indie kids, you ask?

The indie kids are the ones that all the YA paranormals are usually about. They have names like Finn (there are several in this book), Dylan, Kerouac, Satchel or something else unusual (Joffrey, Aquamarine and Earth are also mentioned) and they are bound to attract whatever new threat is coming, be it sparkly vampires, aliens, faeries, contracting cancer so they can all die beautifully together. Currently, something or someones called the Immortals are looking for human vessels and looking for a portal through to our world. Their first victim is one of the Finns, but Mikey, Mel, Mikey's gay linebacker best friend Jared and Mikey and Mel's best friend Henna (her father is Finnish) don't really care about that. They see Finn running into the woods, but don't give it much thought, as they are unlikely to be directly affected.

Mikey and Mel have more than enough to worry about in their own lives. Mikey has a pretty serious case of OCD, while Mel is in the same year as the others (despite being a year older) because she was hospitalised with anorexia for a long while. Mikey is hopelessly in love with Henna, despite the fact that he knows that for most of the time he's known her, she's been with someone else. Even now that she's single, he's afraid to confess his true feelings for her. After graduation, her parents (who are missionaries) are taking her to some war-torn corner of Africa to do aid work, so he's running out of time if he wants to have a chance with her before she leaves. The Mitchell siblings' father is an alcoholic, while their mother is a State Senator, busy running for re-election and desperate that no one sees any flaws in their family dynamic. Only their ten-year-old sister Meredith seems to be entirely normal and not overly bothered by anything, except whether she'll a) get tickets for and b) permission to go see her favourite band play live.

Mikey struggles with his anxiety and his OCD getting increasingly worse. Henna needs to decide whether she's going to stand up to her parents and refuse to go to Africa. Jared, who could easily have been an indie kid with the heritage he has (there is a reason all cats are absolutely mad for him) has weighty decisions of his own to make, and doesn't really feel that he can talk to his other friends about them. Mel still needs to be reminded to eat regularly and chafes under the concern from her mother. All the while they each have their own private little crises, the Immortals are causing havoc in the little town, causing accidents, disappearances and more indie kid deaths.

This is my first Patrick Ness book (I've heard so many good things about so many of his novels) and I decided to read it as it was one of the runners up in the YA Cannonball Book Club poll. Since I'd already read (well, listened to in audio) the winning book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, earlier this year, I wanted to see what other options we might have ended up with.

I'll give Patrick Ness this, his characters pretty much tick off every single square on a diversity bingo card. There is no danger of bland white-washing here. Eating disorders, mental illness, homosexuality, racial diversity (Henna is half African American, as well as being half Finnish). There's bad parents, so so parents and some really very great ones. These kids felt fairly real, which I guess is the point, as the whole book is a bit of a satire on all the melodramatic YA fantasy and sci-fi novels so popular right now. I'm such a sucker for those kinds of books though, and I think my favourite bits of the whole novel were the little snippets at the beginning of each chapter relating what was happening to the indie kids - I'm not ashamed to say I'd happily read a whole novel about Satchel and her struggles to save the town.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. As I have at least four other Ness books waiting on my bookshelves, this will absolutely not be the only book of his I'll ever read. I think the conceit of the book is more clever than the execution, but your mileage may vary.

Judging a book by its cover: I really love this cover, done in mostly blues with just a few characters in full colour (obviously our protagonists). The very skinny Mel, Jared with a cat at his feet, the neurotic Mikey and finally Henna, while all the others are the indie kids that these YA books are normally about. Interspersed between them are what I'm assuming are the Immortals, the creatures threatening the town, always in the background of our main characters' lives.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR6 Book 102: "Hounded" by Kevin Hearne

Page count: 304 pages
Audio book length: 9 hrs 43 mins
Rating: 4 stars

I'm sorry, but if I'm ever going to reach my double Cannonball, I'm going to have to cut corners somewhere:

Atticus O'Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbours and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old, when in actuality, he's twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: he draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword, known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he's hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power - plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish - to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil. 

Having at long last caught up with the Dresden Files and with others of the current paranormal series that I've been following for years already finished (the Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse books although Lord knows it was hard going to hang on till the end) or about to finish (Kim Harrison's the Hollows series - review of final book to follow soon), I felt the need to try out some new paranormal/urban fantasy books, and this is one I've seen mentioned in positive terms by a lot of people on the internet that I trust. Since I also have more Audible credits than I know what do do with now that I'm no longer downloading a Jim Butcher book a month, I decided to get Hounded as an audio book, even though I was also given the paperback as a gift for my birthday last year. The good thing about that is that I get the correct pronunciation of all the Celtic/Gaelic names, which tend to be spelled one way and pronounced wildly differently. I liked Christopher Ragland's narration style, but he's not as excellent as James Marsters on the Dresden books.

But what did you actually think of the book, I hear my readers complain? As the first instalment of an urban/paranormal fantasy series, it really was a lot better than many others that come to mind. As fellow readers of this genre are probably aware, it can take anything from one to three (or in the case of the Dresden Files - four) books for the characters, world building and story to be fully established and the series to get really engrossing and entertaining. Unless the books are very frustrating indeed, I'm always willing to read at least two in a series to see if I'm going to stick with it. Kevin Hearne managed to get me, if not hooked, certainly interested enough to keep reading. It wasn't even Atticus as the main character, although he is a lot more likable than say Harry Dresden, Kate Daniels or Toby Daye in his first book. What really got me curious to try more books was the rich gallery of supporting characters, including Oberon the hilarious wolfhound, the Morrigan and the little old lady (who's name slips my mind) who Atticus helps do yard work.

As far as I can see, there are seven books so far in the series, all rated higher than 4.0 on Goodreads. While that doesn't always mean all that much (after all, Edenbrooke, the worst book I read in 2012, is rated 4.35 and This Heart of Mine, the worst book I've read this year, is rated 4.12), I choose to see it as a promising indicator of the quality of the series. I'll try to portion the books out slowly, so I don't catch up with the series too fast. I already spend way too much of my time waiting for new installments of my book series to come out.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.