Category: Book Review
After the End by Bonnie Dee
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
The end of the world is only the beginning.
Zombies are on the loose and the world comes unraveled. A group of strangers on a Manhattan subway are brought together in the name of survival following the lead of Ari Brenner, a young man who represents authority because of his army uniform. Even though Ari doesn’t feel worthy of their trust, he steps up during the crisis as he’s been trained to do.
College student Lila Teske finds her non-violent beliefs tested in the crucible of a zombie attack as she takes her place fighting by Ari’s side. There are other members of the diverse group, but the focus of the story is on Lila and Ari, young people who learn about sacrifice, inner strength and even love during their ordeal.
With infrastructure down and communication with the outside world broken, the survivors head toward the nearest marina to escape New York. When they meet a lab tech who may know the key to defeating the virus, he must be protected at all costs. But the reanimated dead aren’t the only danger that impedes them on their perilous journey.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
It’s actually kind of funny that I found this book on NetGalley because 3-4 years ago I read an excerpt from the original version. The voice of the author was so unique that even though I didn’t have money to buy it at the time, it’s been on my list for a while. So when I saw a chance to read the whole book (a new revised edition, mind you), I leaped at the chance.
First off, Bonnie Dee’s zombies are not your typical zombies. They’re a little smarter and are surprisingly strong, but what really stood out for me was how you kill them. Just disabling their brain doesn’t work; you have to go for their spinal column to get to their so-called ‘primitive’ or reptilian brain that drives them. So having a bunch of guns and some sharpshooters isn’t necessarily going to save your butt this time like in so many zombie books. They’re also a little smarter and some of them are quite strong, so you’ve got the makings of a perfectly terrifying apocalyptic scenario.
So while the zombies and general world-building was good, my relationship with the characters was so-so at best. Ari and Lila were both very good, solid characters with lots of development. Ari has to fit into his unasked for leadership role as the only man with military training around and Lila has to reconcile the new everyday violence with her pacifist tendencies. If they don’t succeed in changing, they’re all going to die. There’s a definite romantic element to the plot as Ari and Lila become close, but it’s not always the main focus. The main focus is survival.
That was the really good part of the characterization. The bad part is that for her secondary characters, Bonnie Dee tends to use stereotypes. The pampered model, the cute and helpless kid, the scientist with the cure, the disgruntled teenager, etc. I would have liked her to flesh out her secondary characters a whole lot more, but she never really did. There was so much potential with many of these characters that was never lived up to, so in a way the characterization was rather disappointing when you compare it to that of the two main characters.
However, the plot is incredibly fast-paced. Bonnie Dee grabs you into her story and doesn’t let you go until you’re done reading. There’s a constant undercurrent of tension from the very real threat of the zombies as well as the many interpersonal conflicts that crop up in a diverse group of survivors. She has an excellent writing style that describes things in detail without ever really letting go of the fast pace. Thankfully, there was no middle sag in this book either as Ari’s group got their footing. It’s fast-paced pretty much all the time, which is what you really want in a post-apocalyptic novel.
So overall, I was pretty happy with how After the End turned out. The main characters were good, the zombies were terrifying and new and the plot was insanely fast-paced. The only real letdown was the secondary characters, which could have had so much more depth and added so much more to the story.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel
(Cover picture courtesy of NetGalley.)
After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual.
This year, it is my turn.
My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power.
But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.
Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
At first, I thought The Book of Ivy would be a guilty pleasure read. I’m a sucker for the failed-assassin trope, I’ll admit. What I didn’t really expect was that it would have as much depth as it did.
In her debut novel, Amy Engel has created some truly amazing characters. Ivy is one of the more memorable characters I’ve read in a long, long time. She’s brave and not afraid to stand up for herself, but at the same time she can be weak and vulnerable when it comes to her family. Not only that, she also knows how to act: she can hide her feelings from those around her reasonably well. But when Bishop starts to worm his way into her paranoid heart, she starts to question all that her family has told her about the current regime. It’s not perfect, but maybe the Westfalls don’t have Ivy’s best interests at heart.
Bishop was more than your typical love interest as well. He’s kind and patient, waiting for Ivy to come around rather than trying to force his affection on her once he falls in love with her. He knows that she doesn’t trust him and instead of saying “I am trustworthy”, he demonstrates it. Some of his actions are rather shocking to our sensibilities, but in the fairly brutal future they make sense. To his credit, he did the right thing but he is also disgusted about what he did in that case. That makes him a memorable character as well instead of just Generic Male Love Interest.
The world-building is excellent. There’s not much I haven’t seen in post-apocalyptic/speculative fiction but The Book of Ivy manages to combine old tropes with Amy Engel’s new take on them. She paints a realistic picture of a horrible world where the survival of the fittest is very, very true. Even within their community, there is always danger lurking around the corner and dissent is punished severely. I would like to know a little more about the founding of the community, but Amy Engel manages to explain all of the essential things in the course of the book. So I’m looking forward to learning more, but I’m not desperately seeking information in order to actually understand the book.
The only place that I felt The Book of Ivy was shaky was the plot. Not the pacing, which was excellent for a largely character-driven novel, but the plot itself. It was fairly fast-paced and the way Ivy changes is very believable, but I was a little annoyed at the end. Ivy did some counter-intuitive things in order to advance the plot at the end and set up the next book The Revolution of Ivy. I get that she needed to finally meet the rebels on the other side of the fence, but it could have been done in a more believable fashion. Still, it’s a first book and it didn’t make me mad or even anything more than slightly annoyed.
All considered, The Book of Ivy is an amazing debut that’s better than the books of more established authors. It’s one of the better post-apocalyptic books that I’ve ever read in the YA genre and considering how many I’ve read, that’s saying something. I can highly recommend picking it up when it releases on November 11. I can almost guarantee that once you finish it, you’ll be like me and become extremely anxious for November 2015 when the next book releases.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Forbidden by Amy Miles
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Roseline Enescue didn’t ask to become an Immortal, to have all of the guests at her wedding slaughtered, or be forced into marriage with a man whose lust for blood would one day ignite the vampire legend. Willing to risk everything for a chance at a normal life, Roseline escapes to America. Terrified her husband Vladimir will find her, Roseline enrolls as a senior in Chicago’s elite Rosewood Prep school. Mingling with humans is the last place he would look for her. But her transition into the human world isn’t easy. Mortal men flock after her while cutthroat girls plot her demise. Yet Roseline remains relatively unfazed by the petty hysteria until she falters into the arms of Gabriel Marston, reluctant MVP quarterback, unwilling ladies man, and sensitive artist in hiding. Troubled by the bond that pulls her towards the mortal boy, Roseline tries to ignore him, but Gabriel is persistent. As their lives entwine, Roseline begins to realize that Gabriel is much more than he appears. His ability to toss a football the entire length of the field and grind concrete into dust pales in comparison to the glowing blue cross tattoo that mysteriously appears on his forearms. Despite the forbidden bond between them, Roseline can’t help wondering what Gabriel is: He’s not human. He’s not Immortal. So just what is he?
[Full disclosure: I requested and received this ebook through NetGalley as part of the ‘Beautifully Unnatural’ four book package.]
I thought the premise of this book sounded a little dumb, to be honest. An immortal who just wants to be a teenager? Meh.
And yet, after all the effort Amy Miles went to in order to develop her characters, I kind of get it. Roseline was never allowed to be a child. She was raised for marriage into another wealthy family from birth and was a child bride on her wedding day. Add to that the fact she watched her entire family die before her eyes and that the blood of dead younger sister made her immortal and you’ve got a basic recipe for stunted growth. Not to mention all the myriad tortures Dracula inflicts on her. I think anyone would turn out with a lack of trust, not to mention an odd mix of maturity (because she had to deal with torture and politics) and immaturity (a response to being forced into said torture and politics).
From all this, you can definitely guess that Roseline is a pretty memorable character. I still don’t quite buy the whole 300-year-old immortal falling for a teenage boy, but I’m willing to give Amy Miles a little leeway here after she semi-justified Roseline’s immaturity. Gabriel is not bad in the beginning and I like how he actually develops into a character rather than just your typical love interest. He won’t abandon Roseline, no matter how much she pushes him away in order to protect him. Compared to other love interests, he also knows how to act and lie, which make him a far more compelling character than your usual guileless but oddly heroic male.
Even if the characterization was iffy in spots, the plot was not. Even when it was ‘slow’ (i.e. there were no major events happening), there was still an element of tension throughout the novel that kept your attention. I generally liked Roseline as a character so I was very invested in what happened to her, especially when she got the word that Dracula was going to go on a killing spree unless she returned to him. She has trouble adjusting to high school life in America but she does find a lot of things to be happy about at the same time: Gabriel, finally being allowed to be herself and (again) the whole not being tortured thing. Anyone would act a little irrationally after being denied freedom for centuries and then being given it back.
So overall, Forbidden at least had a solid plot and generally well-developed characters. The world-building was okay and I expect we’ll see a little bit more of an explanation in the other two books of the trilogy. For something I picked up as guilty pleasure, I actually found myself enjoying it on a more intellectual level. And that’s why I’ll be reading the next book to find out what happens.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
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The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Spies, poison, and curses surround her…
Is there anyone she can trust?
The Kingmaker’s Daughter is the gripping story of the daughters of the man known as the “Kingmaker,” Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick: the most powerful magnate in fifteenth-century England. Without a son and heir, he uses his daughters, Anne and Isabel as pawns in his political games, and they grow up to be influential players in their own right. In this novel, her first sister story since The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory explores the lives of two fascinating young women.
At the court of Edward IV and his beautiful queen, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne grows from a delightful child to become ever more fearful and desperate when her father makes war on his former friends. Married at age fourteen, she is soon left widowed and fatherless, her mother in sanctuary and her sister married to the enemy. Anne manages her own escape by marrying Richard, Duke of Gloucester, but her choice will set her on a collision course with the overwhelming power of the royal family and will cost the lives of those she loves most in the world, including her precious only son, Prince Edward. Ultimately, the kingmaker’s daughter will achieve her father’s greatest ambition.
Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick during the time of Elizabeth Woodville was queen has never been one of my favourite figures throughout history. He seemed to go wherever the winds blew, betraying this cause and that to make sure his own blood got on the throne of England. I’ve never liked historical figures like him, but I always pitied his daughters Anne and Isabel, who were nothing more than pawns in his schemes. Married off to men much older than they, told to think and act certain ways depending on their family’s current alliance and such.
I was also reluctant to pick up The Kingmaker’s Daughter because the last Philippa Gregory book I just read was The Other Boleyn Girl, which I hate with a passion right now. Still, I couldn’t resist the Cousins’ War series, not after loving The White Queen that featured Elizabeth Woodville.
What was interesting to me was seeing Elizabeth Woodville as the villain of the piece. In this story, everyone sees her as an evil witch who curses anyone who gets in her way. Why, she even kills her own brother-in-law. Anne Neville, our novel’s main character, is predisposed to see Elizabeth as the enemy and a witch because in reality she probably did. Gregory doesn’t make her out to be some sort of super-heroine that manipulates everyone around her either; she stays relatively true to historical fact and at the same time, tells a story of a woman who seized her own destiny only to realize its true cost.
Anne Neville is a three-dimensional character and not only that, she’s interesting. She’s brought to court at a young age and has to stay in that viper’s nest for a little while. It certainly makes an impression on her, but her naivete wins out when her father orchestrates a match that would make her sister Isabel Queen of England as well as later when her father does the same thing for her. As she grows, though, losing her father and her first husband, Anne really realizes the cost of all these ambitions both morally, personally and politically. Eventually she does get her dream, but it is a Pyrrhic victory.
I wouldn’t say that the plot of The Kingmaker’s Daughter is fast-paced by most standards, but it was interesting enough to keep me wanting to find out what happened to Anne. Although I’ve never been fond of her as an historical figure, I like how Philippa Gregory went above and beyond in terms of effort so that she would shine as a person, not just as a political pawn. Anne had a hard life, made only worse by the tragedies that occurred later on, so you can’t help but feel sorry for her and feel a vested interest in what happens to her next.
All in all, The Kingmaker’s Daughter was a pretty solid book. The character of Elizabeth of York really shone through in the end as her star was rising so I honestly can’t wait to read her take on things in The White Princess.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Short Story: Merry Christmas, Henry by Aubrey Wynne
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Henry, a shy and talented artist, moonlights as a security guard at a museum and loses his heart to a beautiful, melancholy woman in a painting. As his obsession grows, he finds a kindred soul who helps him in his search for happiness. On Christmas Eve, Henry dares to take a chance on love and fulfill his dream.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook in conjunction with the review tour in exchange for an honest review.]
Normally I’m not in the mood for Christmas books until at least December 20th. However, I put my grumbling aside about having to review a Christmas story while it’s still warm out and decided to take a chance on Aubrey Wynne’s short story. The blurb sounded interesting enough, so I figured I’d give it a go.
You know, in the end I was not disappointed in the least. Aubrey Wynne somehow managed to give me that warm and Christmassy feeling in the middle of October, which is certainly a testament to her writing skill. Yes, Merry Christmas, Henry is your typical heartwarming semi-sappy story about Christmas and the magic surrounding it, but I still loved it. It’s nice to read a story where the good guy gets what he deserves and life improves for him after having a hard life.
Henry is a pretty three dimensional character, especially considering the fact that this is a short story. He’s a shy and retiring artist who passionately loves his work at the museum. One day he becomes obsessed with a woman in an obscure painting in the back of the gallery and can’t get her out of his head. He visits her, talks to her and generally thinks of her as real. As Christmas approaches, the pull becomes stronger and stronger. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but let’s just say that anything can happen on Christmas Eve in Aubrey Wynne’s world.
The plot was fairly fast-paced since it was a short story, but at the same time I feel like I knew the main characters intimately. There was no one-time info dump, but rather an organic growth of Henry’s sad backstory and the events leading up to his getting a job in the museum. By the end, you really do feel like you know him intimately and Aubrey Wynne spins such a beautiful tale that you can’t help but cheer for the heartwarming ending.
In short, it’s the perfect Christmas story. Even in October.
I give this short story 5/5 stars.
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