Category: Book Review
Under My Skin by Shawntelle Madison
(Cover picture courtesy of NetGalley.)
Everyone wants to either be a member of the Guild or work for them. Little does the populace know that the Guild hides sinister secrets…
For Tate Sullivan, life in her small, coastal town is far from glamorous. The affluent lives of the Guild members and their servants isn’t something she has ever wanted. But all sixteen year-olds must take a simple test, and Tate’s result thrusts her into the Guild’s world, one where they hide horrible plans for those they select. Tate must fight the relentless General Dagon for control of her mind, body, and soul to keep the one precious thing she has always taken for granted: herself.
Her only ally is the same handsome boy she is pitted against in General Dagon’s deadly game. Quinn desires nothing more than to end the life of General Dagon who has taken over Tate’s mind. While romance blooms between Tate and Quinn, General Dagon plots to eventually take over Tate’s body, and love might end before it even begins.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Okay, so the blurb gives away the fact that Tate has to fight off General Dagon, who is trying to stay immortal by taking over the minds (and thus the bodies) of young people. But don’t let the blurb fool you: this book is so much more complex.
I absolutely loved the world-building in Under My Skin. It combines all of the good elements of YA (a very emotional/personal journey, mature but not overly dry themes) and leaves out all of the trendy terrible elements (a love triangle, a useless best friend, an inability to lie on the part of the main character). While the science of the mind-transfer is left out in the beginning for obvious reasons, I was very happy that as Tate kept fighting for her life, more of it was revealed. I like the idea of their whole dystopian world, that the mysterious Guild pays off families to unknowingly sell their children into slavery. The Guild is pretty exclusive and although some of the rich merchant families are aware of what’s happening, they want in on it too for the chance at immortality. It’s kind of a sick cycle when you think about it.
I love Tate almost as much as I hate her name. She’s not a very strong character in the beginning, however. She’s very self-conscious of the scar she has from the doctor fixing her cleft palate as a baby and that makes her have very low self-esteem. It’s one of the vulnerabilities General Dagon exploits as he fights to control her body and I love the whole self-esteem journey she goes through. And my favourite part is that it’s at an organic pace. She doesn’t just suddenly gain the willpower to fight him; she fights a little bit in the beginning and her determination grows as her self-esteem does. Whether or not it’s enough to actually beat the ruthless Dagon is another question, however.
The plot is actually quite fast-paced considering that this is largely a character-driven novel. There’s of course the conflict with a society that steals the bodies of teenagers but the conflict is largely between Dagon and Tate. Yes, there is some romance, but it’s not the forefront of the novel all of the time. I’ve read so many books with contrived romance lately, that I really couldn’t stand it if Shawntelle Madison did the same thing. Thank goodness she didn’t! Instead, the focus is actually the main character and her struggle for her life. As it should be.
Although the plot ends on a pretty big cliffhanger, I was still quite satisfied with where Shawntelle Madison chose to leave off. It fulfilled the main conflict of the story but also introduced the secondary conflict as the centerpiece for the next book in the Immortality Strain series. I can’t wait for the second book!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Organ Reapers by Shay West
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Detective Elliott “Eli” Robinson and his new partner, Ava Aguilar, are baffled by a series of brutal murders happening in their fair city.
No evidence, no eyewitnesses…only mutilated corpses with missing internal organs.
When Eli and Ava stumble upon evidence of similar gruesome crimes around the globe, they realize there is more to the murders, but the answers continue to elude them. In a race against time, Eli and Ava must figure out who is behind the killings and stop them before more people die.
But the answers will take them out of their comfort zone and into the realm of the fantastic: another world with a different set of rules, and a leader who has no qualms about killing.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from the author’s agent in exchange for an honest review.]
When I saw the blurb for this book, I just knew that I had to read it. The whole ‘detectives must solve mysterious murders that are increasing’ trope is nothing new to me but when I saw that the murderers are not human at all, but instead come from another world, I thought Organ Reapers would be a winner.
And you know what? I wasn’t wrong; I ended up loving this book more than I thought I would.
You see, at first you have the typical “I don’t need a partner” detective in Eli but when Ava comes onto the scene things change. Eli cleans up his act a bit and eventually Ava grows on him as she provides such a handy contrast to his brooding excesses. And when the murders become more frequent and they discover that they’re happening worldwide, Eli is pretty happy to have a partner that can connect the dots like Ava.
Likewise, Tani and Keena’s partnership in the other world, the one that butchers humans to steal their organs, start out pretty typically. They are believers in a cause, become disillusioned and start a de facto rebellion to overthrow the established order. Only things are not so simple because they’re the only ones openly rebelling and once they travel to Earth to try to set things right, they have a huge price on their heads. And when the two accidental rebels cross paths with the two detectives things get interesting.
The characterization was very, very good through the entire story. All of the characters grew as people by the end of the book and I felt like their conflicts were resolved realistically, if not completely resolved. It leaves room for a sequel but at the same time, I wasn’t mad at Shay West for leaving her readers completely dangling. It was an excellent medium.
What I really thought was interesting was the world-building of Tani and Keena’s world. It’s sort of like an alternate world but is in many ways similar to Medieval Europe. Now that sounds like a recipe for extreme boredom, but what’s interesting is the technology of the gateway to Earth as well as the fact that they can (and frequently do) do organ transplants. So you have advanced medical technology and portal technology combined with a very feudal way of life for a very interesting contrast. I personally would have liked a bit of a better explanation for the portal and how it came to be, but it wasn’t a major issue because it didn’t detract from the world-building or the plot.
As for the plot, not only was it fast-paced (while being largely character-driven) it was also very interesting. There were lots of twists and turns and although I did predict the ending, it was still very satisfying. I didn’t really get bored and what really interested me was the fact that at different points in the novel, I was rooting for different protagonists. At first I was firmly on the side of Eli and Ava, but then I began to feel a little more sympathetic toward Tani and Keena. I won’t give out any spoilers, but by the end your preconceived notions about who the good guys are and who the bad guys are will probably be destroyed.
I really have no complaints about Organ Reapers. It’s an exceptionally well thought-out book with realistic and easy to relate to characters combined with a great plot and pacing. You can’t really ask for much more, can you?
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Anthology: At Hell’s Gates by Various Authors
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
When evil overflows from the deepest, fiery pits, the battle will be At Hell’s Gates…Whether you are a zombie aficionado, or you feed on horror, there is something for everyone. We’ve summoned some of the top Zompoc authors, masters in horror, and even some new talent to strike fear into even the most jaded soul. Dare you look, let alone approach, the dreaded gates?
Each skillfully crafted vignette showcases previously created worlds in the individual author’s works. If you’ve ever yearned for more back story or ached to learn what happened to a peripheral character; your wait is over. But, as they say, “Be careful what you wish for”. Once it has been seen, you cannot go back. And once infected; there is no cure.
This collaboration is in honor of the brave men and women in our Armed Services who willingly lay down their lives for our freedom. Words could not possibly express our undying gratitude, so we have banded together, doing what we do best, to show our appreciation. All proceeds from the sale of this anthology will go to The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to serve wounded soldiers and their families. This is for you, those who have truly been…At Hell’s Gates.
[Full disclosure: I was contacted by one of the authors and received a free ebook from them in exchange for an honest review.]
I don’t normally post anything on Remembrance Day out of respect, but I thought this was the perfect book to review as all proceeds go to The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. You can’t pick out a more worthy cause than that.
As you guys have probably picked up on by now, I’m not a big anthology fan. Usually there’s one or two stories by authors I know and like and the rest aren’t very interesting or are pretty poorly written. There have been a few exceptions, but I generally try to avoid reading anthologies for just those reasons. I was a little skeptical reading this anthology because I’d never even heard of any of the authors, but the blurb intrigued me enough that I decided to give it a go. This isn’t just zombie fiction, after all; it also includes stories with other horror elements like vampires and ghosts.
I have to say that I was just blown away by this anthology. There were so many amazing stories in it that I find it hard to name all of my favourites. And in all honesty, I don’t think I could name a story that I actively disliked. There were some that I felt were ‘meh’ but none that I thought were bad and shouldn’t have been included. All of the stories were well written and well-edited, so much so that I have added several new authors and books to my enormous to-read list. Sharon Stevenson’s story Welcome to Hell and Seth by Jacqueline Druga in particular stood out to me.
At Hell’s Gates is a very well-edited anthology. I think I caught maybe one typo in the whole thing, but it’s more than that. The stories were very well put together so as to make the anthology flow. There was a large variety of stories and the order was rotated so that you didn’t have two intelligent zombie stories one after another or a run of three quasi-military survival group stories. Seeing as I read the whole anthology in one sitting, I particularly appreciated this attention to little details like making sure there was a wide variety of stories and that similar themes were spaced out well.
In this anthology there are intelligent zombies, traditional Voodoo zombies and modern Walking Dead-esque zombies. There’s really something for everyone and even if you don’t like zombies, there are plenty of stories that focus on other horrifying creatures like vampires and ghosts. And you certainly can’t deny that the anthology goes to a good cause.
So go out this Remembrance Day and get some excellent new reading material while supporting our troops.
I give this anthology 5/5 stars.
Of Bone and Thunder by Chris Evans
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Channeling the turbulent period of the Vietnam War and its ruthless pitting of ideologies, cultures, generations, and races against each other, military historian and acclaimed fantasy writer Chris Evans takes a daring new approach to the traditional world of sword and sorcery by thrusting it into a maelstrom of racial animus, drug use, rebellion, and a growing war that seems at once unwinnable and with no end in sight. In this thrilling epic, right and wrong, country and honor, freedom and sacrifice are all put to the ultimate test in the heart of a dark, bloody, otherworldly jungle.
In this strange, new world deep among the shadows under a triple-canopy jungle and plagued by dangers real and imagined, soldiers strive to fulfill a mission they don’t understand and are ill-equipped to carry out. And high above them, the heavy rush of wings slashing through the humid air herald a coming wave of death and destruction, and just possibly, salvation.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
As always, I’m going to be honest with you guys: I had a really, really hard time getting into this book. I’m sure that some of you out there would have a similar problem because of all the new vocabulary, culture, characters, etc. With that said, by about the second half of the novel I really began to appreciate Chris Evans’ writing.
His world-building is frankly amazing. Not only has he created a somewhat unique fantasy world (something that I haven’t seen a lot of lately), he has populated it with very interesting creatures, different races and cultures. My favourite part of the entire book was the dragons, or the ‘rags’ as their drivers call them. They’re so unique and yet at the same time, it makes perfect sense for them to have done all of the things Chris Evans thinks of: they can overheat, there are many different species of dragons, young dragons are more ornery when they’re first being ridden and they have their favourite roosting spots. My favourite seen was when one of the characters rides on a rag for the first time and they have to make a quick landing to cut it open because its core was overheating (because of old age). It was hilarious to read about his reactions to what was his first day in the Lux.
Really, you can’t fault anything with Chris Evans’ world-building the same way you can’t fault his characterization. He has such a diverse cast of characters that are so well fleshed-out that you can’t help but feel for all of them. In particular I liked Vorly because he was a rag driver, but Jawn, Wraith and Listowick were also right up there. Everyone in his book has their different reasons for fighting in the war: glory, honour, nowhere else to go, a chance at a better life, etc. It’s very realistic and I love the depictions of the soldiers who have been in the Lux for a long time compared to the new recruits, particularly the heavily devout ones. It certainly makes for inter-character tension and plenty of conflict.
My only real problem with the book was the pacing. It took me a little over half the novel to really get into it because even though I recognize this is epic fantasy, the plot crawled along at a snail’s pace. Yes, it helps to go slow to get your reader oriented, but that came later in the book so Chris Evans really could have sped up the beginning a little to hook readers better. It’s not a long book, only 496 pages, but in the beginning it did feel like an eternity. Once you get past the beginning, however, things get pretty crazy as the forces of the Kingdom and the slyts get ready to face off in a battle that has not been seen in the thus far guerrilla-style war. So yes, there is some sag in the middle and the beginning but the rest of the book is very, very fast-paced.
In the end, I’m very glad that I didn’t give up on Of Bone and Thunder as I was very tempted to in the beginning. Chris Evans is an excellent writer despite the shaky beginning and I’m definitely adding his Iron Elves trilogy to my ever-expanding to read pile.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
The Tiger Queens by Stephanie Thornton
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
In the late twelfth century, across the sweeping Mongolian grasslands, brilliant, charismatic Temujin ascends to power, declaring himself the Great, or Genghis, Khan. But it is the women who stand beside him who ensure his triumph….
After her mother foretells an ominous future for her, gifted Borte becomes an outsider within her clan. When she seeks comfort in the arms of aristocratic traveler Jamuka, she discovers he is the blood brother of Temujin, the man who agreed to marry her and then abandoned her long before they could wed.
Temujin will return and make Borte his queen, yet it will take many women to safeguard his fragile new kingdom. Their daughter, the fierce Alaqai, will ride and shoot an arrow as well as any man. Fatima, an elegant Persian captive, will transform her desire for revenge into an unbreakable loyalty. And Sorkhokhtani, a demure widow, will position her sons to inherit the empire when it begins to fracture from within.
In a world lit by fire and ruled by the sword, the tiger queens of Genghis Khan come to depend on one another as they fight and love, scheme and sacrifice, all for the good of their family…and the greatness of the People of the Felt Walls.
[Full disclosure: I received a free print copy in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
Ever since I read Daughter of the Gods, Stephanie Thornton’s take on Hatshepsut, I have become a serious fan of her work. So when the opportunity to read her take on the women of Genghis Khan arose, I couldn’t resist. And now that I’ve finished the book, I’m glad I couldn’t.
Stephanie Thornton’s main strength is her characters and that really shines through in this multi-character epic. Each one is so distinctly different and yet they’re strong in different ways: Borte, the wife of the great Khan; Alaqai, his fierce daughter; Fatima, a woman who hates the Mongols but grows to love them; Sorkhokhtani, the unlikely force behind her sons who would someday be Khan. My personal favourite is Borte because I’ve admired her since I read Conn Iggulden’s take on Genghis Khan, but all of them were wonderful. They all get different sections of the book and each one is very, very distinct. Every woman gets their own character arc and we get to experience all of their triumphs and failures first-hand. I could connect to all of the characters in this novel, something that’s not very common with multiple main characters.
Even though this book is nearly 500 pages long, the pacing is actually very good. I didn’t really feel bored at any point in the novel because while each character fulfills their own little subplots the greater plot (the path the empire takes) is also marching forward. Although I know a bit more than the average person on the street, I can hardly be considered an authority on the Mongol Empire so seeing the progression of it in this way, through the generations, was a real treat. It’s very hard to keep historical fiction fast-paced, but Stephanie Thornton does it very, very well.
Stephanie Thornton is a good historical fiction writer in that she can balance accuracy and a good story. There are very few sources from the time and while she does try to be as accurate she can with the wider events, I like how she admits that she does take a few liberties with events in her Author’s Note. However, she still maintains historical accuracy on the smaller details like Mongol customs, how they lived their daily lives, etc. It took a lot of research and hard work, but the result is a fairly historically accurate work that also happens to be a very, very good novel.
What more can I say? I could gush for days on the different characters and their hardships and successes, but it’s just best for you to go out and buy the book. Then you can experience for yourself the wonderful writing style of Stephanie Thornton, her amazingly fleshed-out characters and her painstaking attention to historical details. You can’t ask for a better take on some of history’s most powerful, but oddly forgotten, women. I can’t recommend this book enough.
I give this book 5/5 stars.