Category: Fantasy
Wilde’s Army by Krystal Wade
(Cover picture courtesy of Krystal Wade’s blog.)
“Hello, Katriona.”Those two words spark fear in Katriona Wilde and give way to an unlikely partnership with Perth, the man she’s been traded to marry for a favor. Saving her true love and protector Arland, her family, and their soldiers keeps her motivated, but the at-odds duo soon realizes trust is something that comes and goes with each breath of Encardia’s rotting, stagnant air. The moment when concern for her missing sister spirals out of control, all thoughts of trust are pushed aside and she finds herself trapped by the daemon tricks Perth warned her of.
However, rescuing those she loves is only half the problem.
Kate still must get to Willow Falls, unite her clashing people, and form an army prepared to fight in order to defeat Darkness. When so many she’s grown fond of die along the journey, her ability to play by the gods’ rules is tested.
How will she make allies when the world appears stacked against her? And will she still be Katriona Wilde, the girl with fire?
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I don’t think I’ve been this excited for the next book in a series since I finished Feed. And I don’t think I’ve ever been so anxious to get an advanced ebook off NetGalley either. So with that said, even though Wilde’s Army will only be released tomorrow on the mass market, I can’t wait for the next book in the trilogy, Wilde’s Meadow. Moving on…
Wilde’s Army is the amazing follow up to Wilde’s Fire. The romantic tension between Arland and Katriona (Kate) is still there and it adds another dimension to both characters. Better yet, the relationship feels real, unlike a lot of horribly forced relationships in YA literature. But Kate’s relationship with Arland is certainly put to the test in this book when she is forced to pretend she loves Perth in order to buy time to gather the army Griandor said she would need. Add to this the fact that her mother and her sister Brit are now in Encardia, increasing the pressure on Kate even more.
Krystal Wade’s fantastic world-building and masterful plotting are both excellent reasons to pick up her debut series, but the thing that speaks to me the most is her characters. Kate is memorable because she is very strong when she needs to be, but is also very vulnerable and struggles with the fact that a god (Griandor) has basically told her she will be the one to save or doom Encardia. Her love for Arland is also very real and never really takes a back seat to anything; in fact it’s probably more prominent in this book than in the first. One of my favourite characters, other than Kate, was Perth, the Ground Dweller Kate was promised to. In the first book he doesn’t play a very large role, but in Wilde’s Army he really acquires a nice amount of depth and isn’t all that he seems.
The world-building is even better than ever as we learn about new types of daemons, new peoples and the regional differences in culture and magic use, even among humans. As for the plot, it was riveting. Krystal Wade maintains an incredible speed throughout the novel, enough to keep me up reading much later than I should have been. And she leaves us with one heck of a cliffhanger, so I’m very anxious to see how she ends her trilogy.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
(Cover picture courtesy of Rachel Hartman’s website.)
Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend the court as ambassadors and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty’s anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.
Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen’s Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift—one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.
In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina’s tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they’ve turned the final page.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Rachel Hartman’s debut novel has received quite a bit of attention, and rightly so. Which is why for Canada Day (and review #150!), I’m reviewing Seraphina as it is a novel written by a Canadian author that I actually like. I’ve probably just jinxed Ms. Hartman now because excellent mainstream novels rarely win literary awards. Oh well, I’m still predicting that Seraphina will be a bestseller.
The novel starts out rather slowly, but this is a good thing because otherwise readers would be completely overwhelmed by the well built fantasy world it takes place in. Somehow Rachel Hartman is able to convey enough information so readers know what’s going on, but not too much so readers will keep reading to find out more. Seraphina’s incredible backstory is revealed to us gradually and could probably be used as an example of how writers should develop backstory. She is no Mary Sue and will go down as one of my favourite female leads ever, so hopeful writers take note!
And unlike in most fantasy novels, there is diversity. She has obviously put immense effort into her world building because of all the different peoples, religions and countries. Some of the government is based on feudal Europe, but it is not nearly as in-your-face as it is in many fantasy novels. Also, the people of Goredd are not homogenous and we actually see people who worship different gods (or “saints” as they’re called) and speak different languages. As for the coldly rational dragons…they’re incredibly unique and I mean that in a good way.
Technically Seraphina isn’t out yet (I got an early ebook from NetGalley), but I already can’t wait for the second book. Rachel Hartman is a new author with enormous potential, so it will be interesting to see where she takes the series.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
An Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughton
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
The year is 1162. Sixteen-year-old Lady Jeanette Avenel has always enjoyed her freedom as second daughter of a minor Norman nobleman in Teviotdale, Scotland. But after her sister, Isabel, disgraces the family, Jenny is suddenly thrust into the role of eldest daughter. Now Jenny has been chosen as a potential bride to the heir of the king of Scotland. While learning the customs of the royal court, Jenny is drawn to a mysterious young man rumoured to have been kidnapped by fairies, not knowing his past holds a secret that threatens everyone close to him—including Jenny.
An Earthly Knight is one of those books that stays with you, even years later. I decided to re-read it a few weeks ago and it was just as good as I remember.
Based off the ballads Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight and Tam Lin, it is both a mixture of historical fiction and fantasy. Since I have never read either of these ballads, I will not comment on how close An Earthly Knight sticks to them because I have no idea. However, I do recognize many fairy tale elements, like evil fairies and false love, so readers who love fairy tales will also enjoy this book.
Lady Jeanette, usually called Jenny, is the wonderful main character of this novel. She is three dimensional, strong for a woman of her time and does not fall instantly in love with Tam Lin. Her sister Isabel is actually my favourite character because although she is only a secondary character, Janet McNaughton did not neglect her character development. Or the character development of any other secondary characters, for that matter.
An Earthly Knight may be a bit slow-paced for some readers because of the descriptive writing style, but I still enjoyed it. Janet McNaughton draws her readers into a world where history and myth collide, where love and loyalty are put to the test and traditions are challenged. If you like fairy tale re-tellings, fantasy, and/or historical fiction, this is the book for you. As long as you don’t mind a little cliché, that is.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Land of the Silver Apples by Nancy Farmer
(Cover picture courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.)
Jack is amazed to have caused an earthquake. He is thirteen, after all, and only a bard-in-training. But his sister, Lucy, has been stolen by the Lady of the Lake; stolen a second time in her young life, as he learns to his terror. Caught between belief in the old gods and Christianity (AD 790, Britain), Jack calls upon his ash wood staff to subdue a passel of unruly monks, and, for his daring, ends up in a knucker hole. It is unforgettable—for the boy and for readers—as are the magical reappearance of the berserker Thorgil from a burial by moss; new characters Pega, a slave girl from Jack’s village, and the eager-to-marry-her Bugaboo (a hobgoblin king); kelpies; yarthkins; and elves (not the enchanted sprites one would expect but the fallen angels of legend). Rarely does a sequel enlarge so brilliantly the world of the first story.
First off, let me say that the ‘AD 790, Britain’ part of this blurb is complete nonsense. If you’ll recall, the first book apparently takes place in 793 AD. So either the blurb writer is confused about the timeline or does not know that AD goes forward while BC goes backward. If you’re really picky, let’s just say that this book takes place 3 years later, in 796 AD.
I love this book because we finally learn why Lucy is such a brat. That may seem like a lame reason to like a book, but I really, truly hated her in the first book and she’s even more obnoxious in this book. But Nancy Farmer has an excellent reason for adding what seemed like the token cute character at first and a seemingly unimportant event sets off a series of events in motion that will change Jack’s future forever.
Of course old favourite characters like the Bard, Thorgil and Lucy reappear, but we’re introduced to many new ones: the slave girl Pega; Brutus, a descendant of Lancelot himself; the Bugaboo, king of the hobgoblins; Ethne, a Christian half-elf and many others. My personal favourite characters include the charming and unpredictable Brutus, the Bugaboo and the Nemesis, who is a hobgoblin whose duty is to keep the Bugaboo from getting an inflated head. Now if only all leaders had someone like the Nemesis…
With amazing characters, a fast-paced plot and extraordinary world-building, The Land of the Silver Apples is a fitting sequel to The Sea of Trolls. readers will lose themselves in Nancy Farmer’s fascinating world where the old religion collides with the new rising religion, Christianity. I can’t think of an author who puts a better spin on old fantasy clichés than Nancy Farmer while still staying true to the time period.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
(Cover picture courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.)
When Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother in Victorian England, something terrifying is waiting for her in London’s Downworld. Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, who are members of a secret organization called the Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she has the power to transform into another person. The Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa’s power for his own. Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James and Will. As Tessa is drawn deep into a plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, she realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world…and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.
Even after more than a week has passed since I finished reading Clockwork Angel, I’m still not sure how I feel about it.
On one hand, Tessa Gray is a great character. She’s not nearly as helpless as Clary is at first in City of Bones. She does anything to save her brother Nathan, even if it means submitting to the torture the Dark Sisters put her through to train her to use her shape-shifting power. But while Tessa is three dimensional, some other characters like Will and Jessamine are not. Will is cold, distant and appears to be a womanizer, just like Jace was at first. He’s the stereotypical bad boy with a tragic backstory that made him that way, which makes Clockwork Angel feel like City of Bones rehashed.
What saves this novel is that it is set in a different time period with a different enemy: the mysterious Magister and his freaky robots. The plot is fast-paced and readers of The Mortal Instruments will recognize Magnus Bane and a few family names, like Lightwood and Herondale. We also find out why the club where Clary first saw Jace is called Pandemonium; it really does have an interesting backstory. If you’re completely new to Cassandra Clare’s writing I would recommend reading the first three Mortal Instruments books before reading Clockwork Angel because you’ll get a lot more out of it. It’s not necessarily a requirement, but things will make a lot more sense.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.