Category: Book Review
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
(Cover picture courtesy of Michelle Moran’s website.)
Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Ambitious, charismatic, and beautiful, Nefertiti is destined to marry Amunhotep, an unstable young pharaoh. It is hoped that her strong personality will temper the younger ruler’s heretical desire to forsake Egypt’s ancient gods.
From the moment of her arrival in Thebes, Nefertiti is beloved by the people, but she fails to see that powerful forces are plotting against her husband’s reign. The only person brave enough to warn the queen is her younger sister, yet remaining loyal to Nefertiti will force Mutnodjmet into a dangerous political game—one that could cost her everything she holds dear.
To put it bluntly, Nefertiti was disappointing.
I honestly don’t know what I was expecting, but I was hoping to at least have the story told from Nefertiti’s own point of view, not her half-sister’s. Mutnodjmet to me at least, had no backbone and remained woefully naïve about the political machinations of the court throughout most of the novel. When a conspiracy was uncovered, it was either her servant, mother, father or Queen Tiye who revealed it to her. She was not a very proactive narrator, instead reacting to events as they came her way.
Mutnodjmet was incredibly reluctant to be part of the royal family, which I can understand, but she still allowed herself to be pushed around. It was rather frustrating that she was so innocent that she had never told a lie (since she understood the laws of Ma’at) until she was thirteen. Nefertiti, who was supposed to be the subject of the novel, came off as shallow, petty, vain and…a bitch. There was really not one sympathetic bone in her body and although I loathe swearing, there is really no other word that can describe her. And maybe, you know, Nefertiti was like that in real life and was just as power-hungry as her husband, Akhenaten. However, she must have had at least some redeeming qualities, right?
The plot of Nefertiti is relatively slow-paced, but when you’re a regular reader of historical fiction, that’s usually not an issue. Michelle Moran stuck mostly to the facts, even though not as closely as she did in Cleopatra’s Daughter, and did include a historical note explaining why she changed things where she did. Perhaps it was just me who didn’t like the characters because I do tend to lean toward strong, rather cynical types. Or, perhaps, I will have to do what I’ve been threatening to do for a year now and write a novel from Nefertiti’s point of view.
Now that is most definitely wishful thinking.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
(Cover picture courtesy of Fat Girl Reading.)
The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It cam swallow even battleships with one bite. The Darwnists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker powers.
Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan’s peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory.
Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what’s ahead
I’m finding that I like Behemoth more than I like Leviathan. Now that I’m more used to Scott Westerfeld’s steampunk world, things make a lot more sense. And since Scott Westerfeld has already set up his universe, he can focus on the plot and characters.
This time I was actually able to connect with both Deryn and Alek. This is probably because I was more familiar with the world and could actually focus on the characters. Alek is much more sympathetic this time around because he isn’t as much of a spoiled brat prince as he was before. Deryn is also much easier to connect with as her secret is in jeopardy multiple times.
The world-building is excellent and I absolutely love Keith Thompson’s illustrations, which help bring the world alive. Scott Westerfeld masterfully intertwines the events of the real First World War with the fake scenarios he has created. The plot is faster paced than that of Leviathan and much more unpredictable. Overall, Behemoth is an excellent novel that makes me eager for the last book in the trilogy, Goliath.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
(Cover picture courtesy of Hooked to Books.)
Enter the dark, magical world of the House of Night, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed. Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as a fledgling vampyre and joins the House of Night, a school where she will train to become an adult vampyre. That is, if she makes it through the Change—and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint her human ex-boyfriend. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny—with a little help from her new vampyre friends.
Marked represents everything that’s wrong with the YA genre.
Okay, that’s a bit harsh and more than a little melodramatic, but it also has a grain of truth in it. Literary snobs point to the juvenile writing style, vapid characters and utterly predictable plot and say all YA books are like that. Let me show you two examples of the horrible writing:
“So I listened to the haunting Gaelic lyrics and pitch-forked up poopie.” (pg 133)
“I wished it was cold and Kayla would freeze her over-developed boobies right off.” (pg 175)
Writing style and voice are such important components of a novel that when they make it feel like a wish-fulfilling tween wrote it, it’s a good indicator of other problems. I don’t know about you, but pretty much all sixteen-year-olds I know would die rather than even think the word “poopie.” P.C. and Kristin Cast have deliberately dumbed down the writing so they think it will appeal to teens, but in truth they have underestimated their target audience and insulted my intelligence.
Pretty much all the of the characters, except Neferet, are stereotypes. Zoey is the chosen girl who’s super powerful, Damien is the smart and sensitive gay guy, Erik is the hot love interest, Stevie Rae is the cute little Southern girl and Aphrodite is the hot queen bee straight off Mean Girls. Neferet is really the only character with a little bit of depth and she barely features in the novel.
The plot is so predictable that it’s sickening. It almost felt as if P.C. and Kristin Cast made an effort to throw every cliché known to mankind in their novel. To be honest, if I didn’t know better I’d think this was a parody, yet it’s deadly serious. Scary, isn’t it?
I give this book 0.5/5 stars
The Mine by John Heldt
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
In 2000, Joel Smith is a cocky, adventurous young man who sees the world as his playground. But when the college senior, days from graduation, enters an abandoned Montana mine, he discovers the price of reckless curiosity. He emerges in May 1941 with a cell phone he can’t use, money he can’t spend, and little but his wits to guide his way. Stuck in the age of Whirlaway, swing dancing, and a peacetime draft, Joel begins a new life as the nation drifts toward war. With the help of his 21-year-old trailblazing grandmother and her friends, he finds his place in a world he knew only from movies and books. But when an opportunity comes to return to the present, Joel must decide whether to leave his new love in the past or choose a course that will alter their lives forever. THE MINE follows a humbled man through a critical time in history as he adjusts to new surroundings and wrestles with the knowledge of things to come.
I know what you’re thinking: “Another time travel romance. Are you kidding me?”
How do I know that? Well, I was thinking the exact same thing when I read the blurb John Heldt gave me when he asked me to review his novel. I was really skeptical when I started reading because the reason Joel time travelled was a planetary alignment. A planetary alignment for crying out loud! With a premise like that, could The Mine possibly be salvaged?
Actually, yes.
Pretty much all of the clichés you’ll find are in the beginning of the novel. What sets The Mine apart from a lot of time travel is that Joel, the protagonist, actually knows something about 1940s America and works hard to hide the fact he’s from the future. This is a huge contrast to the bumbling, secret-spilling protagonists who know nothing about the era that seem to populate every time travel novel.
Joel is a great main character: resourceful and intelligent but wracked by guilt when he has to hide his knowledge of upcoming tragedies. Despite his best efforts, he grows attached to his adopted family and even falls in love. Not Insta-Love, mind you, but real love that takes time to develop.
Despite the admittedly shaky start, John Heldt pulled things together in fine fashion. And the ending plot twist was actually unexpected because of the tone of the writing, but was highly satisfying. The climax was so heartbreaking that I was tearing up, but managed not to dissolve into hysterics like I did at the end of Flowers for Algernon.
So if you like romance, historical fiction and/or amazing characters, I would highly recommend this self-published novel.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
I’ve come down with a wicked case of the flu, but I still managed to post today over at We Heart Reading. Like dystopia? Then go and check out The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau.