Category: Book Review
The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland
(Cover picture courtesy of Open Book Toronto.)
As a child in a small rural village in Sierra Leone, Mariatu Kamara lived peacefully surrounded by family and friends. Rumors of rebel attacks were no more than a distant worry.
But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never arrived. Heavily armed rebel soldiers, many no older than children themselves, attacked and tortured Mariatu. During this brutal act of senseless violence they cut off both her hands.
Stumbling through the countryside, Mariatu miraculously survived. The sweet taste of a mango, her first food after the attack, reaffirmed her desire to live, but the challenge of clutching the fruit in her bloodied arms reinforced the grim new reality that stood before her. With no parents or living adult to support her and living in a refugee camp, she turned to begging in the streets of Freetown.
In this gripping and heartbreaking true story, Mariatu shares with readers the details of the brutal attack, its aftermath and her eventual arrival in Toronto. There she began to pull together the pieces of her broken life with courage, astonishing resilience and hope.
Just how does one review a book like this? The Bite of the Mango is probably one of the hardest books to review that I’ve ever read, so please pardon the fact that I may be a little incoherent at times.
I can’t honestly find anything wrong with this book (other than the horrifying fact it’s true). Mariatu Kamara is a very brave young woman for telling her story with such brutal, unflinching honesty. Yes, I felt the style was a little too simplistic for my liking but that hardly had an effect on my reading experience. Sometimes simple is better and I think this was the case with The Bite of the Mango.
The one thing I would have liked more of was background about the civil war. I understand that Mariatu Kamara had essentially no knowledge of the war at the time, but it would have been nice to hear her thoughts on it as she told the story. I don’t mean that she should have gone off on a tangent, but maybe some reflections on the war with what she knows now would have been helpful.
Unfortunately, the civil war in Sierra Leone is not well known in the Western world, particularly for young people. The only reason I even knew of it before picking up this book was because I met a young woman my own age who had lived in a Liberian refugee camp around the same time. So yes, a little more background would have been nice. Was the whole narrative confusing without it? No and maybe it’s just my natural curiosity that would have liked more information.
Really, what else can I say? If you like memoirs, history or even just well-written nonfiction in general, I’d highly recommend The Bite of the Mango. You won’t regret picking it up.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris.
In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. It’s an abandoned abbey, its roof lined with stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.
And Grayson has gone missing.
No one seems to know of his whereabouts but Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant at their new home.
Ingrid is sure her twin isn’t dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he’s in grave danger. It will be up to her and Gabby to navigate the twisted path to Grayson, a path that will lead Ingrid on a discovery of dark secrets and otherworldly truths. And she’ll learn that once they are uncovered, they can never again be buried.
[Full disclosure: This was the second of two books I received in the mail from a mystery sender. As far as I am aware I am not under any obligation to review them for an author and as with every book I read, this is an honest review.]
Honestly, like The Commander’s Desire I’m still not really sure how I feel about this book. On one hand, I loved the unique mythos of the gargoyles and how they came to be gargoyles. On the other hand, the plot was rather predictable and at times oddly confusing. I could connect with some characters and not others.
I’ll start off with my favourite part: the gargoyles themselves. I’ve never been exposed to any gargoyle mythology outside of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney version) so this was a breath of fresh air for me. I feel like Page Morgan really thought out her gargoyles well and had a reasonably good explanation for how they came to exist and why they must protect their dwellings. The hierarchy within the gargoyles definitely makes sense if you look at the main types of gargoyles and grotesques in architecture as well. I really didn’t have any problems with the world-building in this one.
The time period is the turn of the century and the attitudes of the characters generally reflect it. At the same time, I felt like some of the things Ingrid did were far out of character and certainly were not acceptable for a young lady (no matter how disgraced) at the time. The way Page Morgan describes her setting immersed me in the history, but it was quite jarring to see such modern attitudes present in many of the characters. Other than that I really couldn’t spot any historical inaccuracies and the attitude problem requires only a slight suspension of disbelief.
My main problem with the book was the characters. The point of view wasn’t really consistent and sometimes I had no idea whose point of view I was reading. I wish the transition between characters was a little smoother because then I wouldn’t have been so confused when there was a lot of action going on. Some points of view even sound the same (the two sisters on occasion) so that really didn’t help the situation. Gabby was my least favourite character because she could be such a free spirit one minute and then have such prudish thoughts more in line with the time in the very next chapter. It’s that kind of inconsistency that annoys me.
All in all, I really can’t complain much about The Beautiful and the Cursed. It was relatively fast-paced and although it was confusing at times, I got the main gist of the plot. Would I read the second book in the series? Probably. I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy it, but if I found it in the used section I’d certainly give the rest of the series a chance.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
The Commander’s Desire by Jeanette Green
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Princess Elwytha wants revenge on the monster who murdered her brother. In a false exchange for peace, she offers herself in marriage to the enemy Prince. The plan? Kill the Prince’s battle-scarred Commander-the man who ended King Thor’s life with one filthy sword thrust through the back. To her horror, the Commander agrees to take Elwytha as his bride. Worse, the wedding date will be sooner than expected. Not all is lost, however. Now she has more opportunity to be alone with him-and exact justice. But the deed becomes difficult to carry out. Fighting her innate sense of honor, she begins to see the ironclad integrity of the man behind the scars. And with this knowledge comes doubt. Did he slay her brother? What exactly is the new king’s plan? Whom can she trust? Elwytha must decide well, for more than her life is at stake. Soon she must betray either allegiance to her kingdom-or the man who is quickly claiming her heart.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Even a week after reading The Commander’s Desire I’m still not really sure what to think of it. There were good elements and bad elements, so I might as well start with the bad.
The thing I didn’t like was the historical ambiguity. Sure, Jeanette Green set a time period for the thing but I really didn’t feel immersed in the period. It seemed like your typical quasi-Medieval TV show, if I’m honest. There were a few things that seemed true to the time period and almost made me feel like I was there, but Jeanette Green’s style of writing never really pulled me into the history and we sure didn’t get much background on the time.
I had so-so feelings about Elwytha and her relationship with the Commander. Sometimes their relationship was believable with that sort of push-pull dynamic that would come from being natural enemies. Sometimes their relationship bordered on ridiculous as Elwytha kept blowing her cover by threatening the Commander and giving him mixed signals. At times she was ready to kill him and sometimes it was like she was totally in love. I can understand the hot-cold feelings, but they were present far too often to make it believable or even for me to like Elwytha. Sure, the reader was told over and over that Elwytha was a fierce warrior on a mission but I never really got that vibe from her. She just seemed like a wannabe tough girl.
With all that said, I actually didn’t mind The Commander’s Desire. If you leave out some of the more ridiculous aspects you’re left with a generally sweet romance (if a little predictable) and a reasonably paced plot. The characters aren’t anything special, but they’re not horrible either. Basically, this is a mediocre book written in a decent enough style that if it sounds interesting to you I say give it a go! It won’t hurt.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
Kushiel’s Mercy by Jacqueline Carey
(Cover picture courtesy of Coverbrowser.)
Having learned a lesson about thwarting the will of the gods, Imriel and Sidonie publicly confess their affair, only to see the country boil over in turmoil. Younger generations, infatuated by their heart-twisting, star-cross romance, defend the couple. Many others cannot forget the betrayals of Imriel’s mother, Melisande, who plunged their country into a bloody war that cost the lives of their fathers, brothers, and sons.
To quell the unrest, Ysandre, the queen, sets her decree. She will not divide the lovers, yet neither will she acknowledge them. If they marry, Sidonie will be disinherited, losing her claim on the throne.
There’s only one way they can truly be together. Imriel must perform an act of faith: search the world for his infamous mother and bring her back to Terre d’Ange to be executed for treason.
Facing a terrible choice, Imriel and Sidonie prepare ruefully for another long separation. But when a dark foreign force casts a shadow over Terre d’Ange and all the surrounding countries, their world is turned upside down, alliances of the unlikeliest kind are made, and Imriel and Sidonie learn that the god Elua always puts hearts together apurpose.
As with all books that bring an end to a series or trilogy, I was more than a little skeptical of Kushiel’s Mercy. I mean, other than bringing his mother to justice what could Imriel possibly do next? In all honesty, I need not have worried.
Kushiel’s Mercy isn’t just about Imriel’s heart-breaking hunt for his own mother. It’s about the ruthlessly ambitious Astegal of Carthage and Imriel’s fight to stop him before Astegal destroys everything Imriel holds dear. I suppose Astegal could have became this stereotypical over-ambitious general type we get so often in fantasy fiction, but this was not the case. He was ambitious and at times completely ruthless but he had good reasons for his actions and most of his moves made sense in the wider political context. Readers can certainly draw similarities between Astegal and Hannibal of the Second Punic War, but they’re not so similar that you feel like Jacqueline Carey is rehashing history.
As with all of Jacqueline Carey’s books, I love the characters the most. I loved how Imriel developed and how his personality did nearly a 360 at a certain point in the story. (I can’t explain without giving away too many spoilers.) However, this change made sense and I liked it when it was reversed in a way. Imriel’s other self had developed, but also the real Imriel had changed at the same time. His love for Sidonie is reminiscent of the love his foster parents shared and you get the feeling that he will do anything to save her.
The plot never really dragged because there was constant character development and there were enough twists and turns to keep my on my toes. Truly, I never know what to expect from Jacqueline Carey’s great writing style and I was pleasantly surprised that even in her later books (which can go downhill for some authors) she still has that old spark that made Kushiel’s Dart appeal to me so much.
Of course there is quite a bit of graphical sexual content that may not appeal to everyone which is why I’d recommend it for those at least 16+. Probably more like 18+ to be on the safe side. Still, Jacqueline Carey has created a wonderful fantasy world that’s believable based on her alternate version of history, populated it with wonderful character and brought her Imriel trilogy to a sound conclusion. What more could I ask for?
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Iron Bells by Jeanette Battista
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
The year is 64 A.D. — though now A.D. stands for Anno Daemonii. Demons have crossed a gate into our world, taking the reins of power from humanity. A new Inquisition has begun, determined to root out any who stand against the new world order. The holy sites on earth have been destroyed — Jerasulem first, then the Vatican, then Mecca — and what resistance remains is ruthlessly crushed. Amaranth is a fighter in the resistance cell based in London. Dham is a Ringer, one of the few people left able to ring the remaining sets of blessed hand bells that have power over demons. When Amaranth discovers that her best friend has been possessed by a demon and is going to be used in the Resistance’s final, desperate mission, she asks Dham for his help in saving her friend. With the Inquisition closing in and betrayal threatening from inside the Resistance itself, Amaranth, Dham, and the demon — along with Catriona, a new, highly-skilled, highly-blonde bell-ringer — decide to head to Rome and the ruins of Vatican City, hoping to find a way to stem the tide of demonic possessions and close the gate.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I’m not sure what I expected from The Iron Bells. Certainly not a well thought out world where demons rule and the main character knows her mind. Amaranth is pretty confident in who she is but isn’t perfect and that’s such a breath of fresh air after the terrible slew of YA books I’ve read recently.
First off, the characters are fantastic. I like how even though she lives with a death sentence over her head for being part of the Resistance against demons, Amaranth is a pretty calm, cool and collected individual. She’s capable of thinking logically in difficult situations, but at the same time she’s also perfectly capable of screwing up. Although she tries to be above it all, she does get jealous of Cat and Dham and sometimes her anger clouds her judgment. In all honesty, that’s why I like her: she’s human. Dham wasn’t the greatest love interest I’ve ever encountered, but he certainly wasn’t the worst. Personally I liked Trick, who I can’t describe without giving away too much of the plot. You just can’t help but like Trick, believe me.
The plot was fast-paced and there were a few plot twists that I didn’t see coming. I liked how in some places Jeanette Battista slowed down a bit to let the reader catch their breath and to let the characters develop. Overall, it was well-paced and well-plotted and I didn’t want to put it down. The thing about The Iron Bells is that we also get little glimpses of this horrifying new world at a more natural pace. There aren’t any huge backstory dumps that slow down the plot and I’m grateful for that.
What impressed me the most was the world-building. An errant magic-user accidentally bringing demons into the world. How cool is that? And the fact that demons take over the world in a slow, subtle fashion and use our natural paranoia against us is just brilliant. The mythology Jeanette Battista presents us with is fascinating, as is the explanation for what demons may actually be. I didn’t see that particular twist coming, believe me.
Really, if you want to pick up something different in the YA/NA genre I’d definitely recommend The Iron Bells. It’s a breath of fresh air.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
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