Category: Book Review
Charming by Krystal Wade
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and that’s great . . . as long as you don’t die.
Sixteen-year-old Haley Tremaine had it all: top-notch school, fantastic family, and a bright future, but all of that changed when an accident tore her family apart. Now, an alcoholic father, a bitter younger sister, and a cold headstone bearing her mother’s name are all she has left.
Chris Charming has it all: a powerful CEO for a father, a prestigious school, and a fortune at his fingertips, but none of that matters when he lands a reputation as a troublemaker. Struggling to follow in his father’s footsteps, he reaches out to the one person he believes truly sees him, the one person he wants: Haley.
Little do they know someone’s determined to bring the two together, even if it means murder.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
I’ve read all of Krystal Wade’s books since she debuted a few years ago, but I think Charming is pretty much my favourite out of them all.
Yes, it’s a Cinderella retelling, but it’s not like you’re thinking. There’s certainly a Prince Charming (named, of course, Chris Charming) but there’s far more depth to their relationship than in the original. Haley is a very put-upon Cinderella, what with her alcoholic father and her perfect sister who doesn’t see him for what he really is: an abuser who beats his own daughter because she looks like her dead mother. And there’s plenty of romance and even a ball, but it’s not so simple as that because not only is this a Cinderella retelling, it’s a mash-up of Saw as well. (So yes, it does get a little gory at the end.)
Haley was an awesome character for me. Her little sister hates her, thinking that Haley is always deliberately trying to annoy their dad and that she only thinks of herself. In truth, Haley is the one who takes her dad’s beatings and his verbal abuse so that Jocelyn herself doesn’t turn into a target. She pretends not to care at school, works late on school nights and then goes home to do several hours of chores caused by their alcoholic father’s natural messiness. It’s a pretty bad scenario but I was still pleasantly surprised that when Chris Charming turned his sights on Haley, she didn’t immediately fall head-over-heels for him. No, she didn’t even trust him to be a decent human being because that’s how bad her father’s abuse has shattered her trust. Their relationship takes a while to develop and it’s not all smooth, which is far more realistic considering both of their backgrounds.
For a book that’s largely character-driven in the beginning, Charming sure has a fast-paced plot. Just when you think things are winding down, we get a wildcard thrown into the mix and then Haley has to fight for the lives of her ungrateful family. The mysterious third man who wants to bring Haley and Chris together is around every corner watching, listening and waiting. He’s just the sort of character to bring a little zip back into the Cinderella story, so it sort of retains its original dark overtones.
To sum up, I just really loved Charming. After the sort of disappointment that was Shattered Secrets, I love to see that Krystal Wade is back to her classic style of writing (only improved!). This book is a great retelling of Cinderella and if you’re into very nontraditional retellings of your favourite fairytales, you’ll particularly enjoy it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Stolen Skye by Nina Loard
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
It’s been years since the car accident, but with every disappointment Evelyn finds herself wondering about her forgotten days in London. After being dismissed from her job, she unknowingly wanders past an old friend who reintroduces himself by breaking into her home. Armed with a photograph and a handful of gems, he convinces her that after dropping out of her study abroad program, she befriended a group of accomplished thieves. Drawn to the handsome stranger in her living room and seduced by the idea of finally knowing the truth, Evelyn travels to London to face her past and understand what could’ve caused her to make such uncharacteristic life choices.
As conflicting memories surface, Evelyn fights her attraction to the Irish rogue, Finn, while sparring with the intimidating group leader, Ari. There’s the added problem of forgetting where she’s stashed a small fortune. Realizing too late that darker forces are closing in on her, Evelyn fights to save herself and the lives of those she’s grown to care for.
I hate to admit it, but the only reason I even considered reading this book is that it was free on Amazon at the time. Normally something like this would scare me off because I’d think “Oh, just another action movie wannabe”. You could say that I’m a little judgmental with these things, but I still did go into Stolen Skye with an open mind. You never know, right? It might actually be good.
The truth is, it’s better than good. It’s great!
I know it sounds like Evelyn has Hollywood Amnesia and she sort of does, but at least Nina Loard justifies it as the rare fugue amnesia (where victims can get their past memories back and don’t lose the memory of how to do basic things like tie their shoes). The main reason why I didn’t throw this book at the wall despite the amnesia cliche is that it wasn’t actually a cliche in this book. Evelyn is significantly hindered by her lack of past memories and she knows it. Sometimes memories come back to her if she’s in a setting from that memory, but it’s not a great big rush just when the plot finds it convenient.
Evelyn was a great character, to be honest. She’s smart and determined when she has a goal, but at the same time she’s still a little unsure of herself. I know I would be too if I was in the place where I lost my memories with these people who knew my former self. The whole art theft ring wouldn’t help either. Ari and Finn are two very different men and no, it’s not a typical love triangle in this case. Evelyn naturally grows attracted to Finn, but then something happens to sort of spoil their relationship. I can’t say anything without giving away a major spoiler, but let’s just say that it both did and didn’t surprise me.
For a character-driven novel, Stolen Skye is quite fast-paced. Of course there’s Evelyn rediscovering her past, but then a lot of the plot consists of her re-training as a thief and helping to plan a theft at one of the most famous museums in the world. (This particular theft not being illegal as they were hired for a publicity stunt.) We also see Evelyn try to learn what led to her accident and subsequent amnesia. Trust me when I say that where there’s lots of money involved, there’s a lot of criminal activity and the people with said money become targets.
What really stood out for me in Nina Loard’s book were her vivid descriptions of the locations. I’ve never been to London (something I plan to remedy in the future) but through her writing I felt like I was right there along with Evelyn. Her descriptive style appeals to me and although it’s not typically what you’d see in an action thriller, it somehow works because she has a good sense of timing. Few authors can both describe the characters’ surroundings adequately and still have lots of action going on. It’s an important skill and Nina Loard certainly has it.
This was definitely one of the best books I’ve stumbled across, paid or free. I’m so glad that I gave it a chance and went into it with an open mind because I’ve found a great new series that I’m dying to read the next book of. So check out the Skye Trilogy, people! It’s hard not to love it!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Goddess Born by Kari Edgren
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Pennsylvania, 1730
Selah Kilbrid keeps a dangerous secret: she has the power to heal.
A direct descendent of the Celtic goddess Brigid, it’s Selah’s sacred duty to help those in need. But as the last of the Goddess Born living in the New World, she learned from an early age to keep her supernatural abilities hidden. The Quaker community of Hopewell has always been welcoming, but there’s no doubt they would see her hanged if her gift was revealed.
When a prominent minister threatens to try her with witchcraft unless she becomes his wife, Selah has only one hope–that her betrothed, a distant cousin from Ireland, arrives as planned. Marrying Samuel would keep her secret safe, preserve her sacred bloodline, and protect her from being charged as a witch.
But when news of Samuel’s death reaches the Colonies, Selah is truly on her own. Terrified, she faces an impossible choice–forfeit her powers and marry the loathsome Nathan? Or find an imposter to pose as her husband and preserve her birthright?
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
From the blurb, I had pretty high expectations about Goddess Born. Not only that, it came highly recommended to me from a friend/colleague! So you could say Kari Edgren’s book had a lot to live up to. As it turns out, Goddess Born would far exceed my high expectations. The characters were excellent, the world-building was fantastic and Kari Edgren brought the early Colonies to life.
First off, the characters were excellent. Selah in reality, had a horrible decision to make when she learned of her cousin’s death. Her father is dead so there’s no man to protect her from the law and Nathan’s wrath. Her only hope is to marry her cousin, who’s dead. But nobody in Hopewell knows that, do they? So she embarks on a long, arduous and sometimes funny journey when she marries Henry, an indentured servant set to play the role of her cousin. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that yes, of course Henry and Selah are going to develop feelings for each other, but I also have to say that those feelings were far from Insta-Love. In fact, it was almost Insta-Hate for a while there.
Both Selah and Henry stand out for me as characters. They both have complicated histories behind the circumstances that found them married and neither one is really keen to divulge their past to the other. At the same time, it’s obvious that both of them feel for the other’s plight. Selah doesn’t like forcing Henry into a marriage just to save her own skin and Henry doesn’t like the fact that he’s the only one standing between Selah and Nathan’s considerable wrath. He feels for Selah and she for him, but of course things are always more complicated than that.
As for the magic of Selah’s line, I think it was pretty well thought out. It comes from the Celtic goddess Brigid and puts a lot of strain on its possessors. They have the power of life and death over medical matters, so you really have to appreciate the fact that Selah is a good person who would never hurt anyone, even her own worst enemy. Power like that can become heady and change people, but Selah is the sweet and level-headed young woman that she always has been. What I really liked about the fact of Selah’s power is that she does run out and she does have to do a complicated ritual to renew it by going to the Otherworld. Maintaining her power is not easy and adds another layer of conflict, rather than like in most stories where the power is never-ending and/or naturally replenishes itself.
I have to say that I also loved both the descriptions of the time as well as the pacing of the plot. Kari Edgren really made me feel like I was in Pennsylvania in 1730, even though obviously I haven’t and I’ve never even studied that period of history. I can’t vouch for authenticity in her descriptions but I do know that her writing really makes you feel like you’re in the period. Sometimes that’s almost better than being accurate and boring. The pacing, however, doesn’t allow for boredom. It starts out a little slow at first, but quickly we have Selah’s life spiraling out of control as Nathan makes his ultimatum, her father dies, she learns her cousin dies and she marries an indentured servant to pose as him. There is no such thing as a boring moment in Goddess Born.
So, at the end of all this, I don’t have anything but praise for this book. It came highly recommended and exceeded my expectations. It was fast-paced, felt historically authentic and the characters were amazing. I can’t recommend it enough and even if you’re not necessarily a big reader of historical fiction, I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Best Seller by Martha Reynolds
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Set in New England at the time of the American Bicentennial, Best Seller is the poignant story of a displaced young woman struggling to figure out who she is within the context of her hometown and the carefully masked dysfunction of her family. “Everything can be fixed by writing a check.” Words to live by for Robin Fortune’s wealthy father, until he can’t buy her way back into college after she’s expelled for dealing pot. Now he chooses not to speak to her anymore, but that’s just one of the out-of-whack situations Robin’s facing. At nineteen, she feels rudderless, working in a diner by day and sleeping with a buddy from high school by night – all so strange for her because she was always the one with the plan. While her college friends plotted how to ensnare husbands, she plotted a novel, which she scratched out into a series of spiral-bound notebooks she hides in the closet. But now, there’s nothing. No vision, no future, no point. In fact, the only thing she feels she has to look forward to is that her favorite author, Maryana Capture, is paying a visit to the local Thousand Words bookstore. Robin surmises that if she can convince Maryana to help her get her novel published, she’ll finally get herself back on track. Except that life never takes a straight path in this intensely satisfying coming-of-age novel.
[Full disclosure: I received a free paperback in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
I have to say that for all of my hesitation about Best Seller, it actually isn’t a bad book. It’ll never be a great book but Martha Reynolds is a pretty solid writer.
Her main strength is her characters because although I hate people like Robin in real life (naive, unambitious sorts of people who have never done a thing for themselves) I actually didn’t mind her in fiction. Do I like every decision she makes? Of course not, particularly when it concerns her love life. However, it’s a testament to the strength of Reynolds’ writing that I didn’t throw the book at the wall like I normally would with a character like this. In some ways I enjoyed Robin’s journey from pretty darn naive for a 20 year old to an almost adult by the end, and in some ways I was a little frustrated at the same time.
The reason I was frustrated was the plot. I love a good character novel but I do feel that a book has to have some sort of overarching plot or theme that the main character struggles with. That wasn’t necessarily so in Best Seller. There’s a lot of inter-character conflict but the main point of the novel (Robin is an aspiring young writer) gets wrapped up in just a couple of pages at the end. Just like every other conflict Robin faces, it gets wrapped up in a pretty little bow at the end with not even a little ambiguity anywhere. It’s just too perfect, really, especially when you consider characters like David who do a total 180 by the end.
I haven’t exactly lived through 1976 so I’m not going to talk about any historical accuracy in the novel. But, at the same time, Martha Reynolds’ writing made me feel like I was there with the characters: breathing in the smoke before smoking indoors in public places was illegal (which I do actually remember), tasting the breakfast at the diner and so much more. She has a very descriptive writing style and yet she never crosses into boring territory.
So when a writer can make me like the sort of person I’d rather slap in real life and can bring me back to an era I’ve never lived through, I can definitely appreciate their efforts and their talent. I just wish that Best Seller had more of a plot/point.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
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The Best and Worst of September 2014
September was a slow month traffic-wise, with only 4,861 views in total and with about 3,401 of those being unique page views. That’s down from even August, which would be surprising except that the same thing happened last year. However, once schools start their novel studies of The Hunger Games I think I can safely expect more views on my usual articles.
So what were the best articles in this pretty pathetic month?
1. Why Girls Hate Game of Thrones—A Rebuttal
2. How to Read 100 Pages in an Hour
3. The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome
4. The Day an Author Suggested I Kill Myself
5. Discussion: The Most Overhyped Book (For You)
For the first time in a while, we have a discussion in the top five. Considering the topic, it’s not all that surprising, but it is nice to see something new up there. My author article about a certain jerk was also strangely popular, which leads me to believe that someone Googled his name and the word spread through their circle of friends. Bringing up the incident in question isn’t my favourite thing ever, but if it keeps future reviewers from being victimized, I don’t mind all that much.
And what were the worst articles this month?
1. Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray
2. Parsifal’s Page by Gerald Morris
3. The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa
4. Short Story: The Princess of Egypt Must Die by Stephanie Dray
5. Now You See Them, Now You Don’t by Gordon Korman
Stephanie Dray is one of my favourite new authors, so it kind of hurts to see that two of her pieces of work were on the worst list. But I’m not going to worry about it too much unless her name remains consistently on the list, which no author’s has in the past. The ‘worst’ articles of the month change around, providing a nice contrast to the ‘best’ articles, which seem to never change. It’s always nice to know that there’s something predictable out there.
So how was the month of September for you guys, life-wise and stats-wise?