Category: Book Review
Starlet’s Light by Carla J. Hanna
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Young Hollywood actress, Liana Marie Michael, gives up the fight until she sees the light.
Isolated on set in the United Kingdom, Lia struggles through the 5 Stages of Grief while shooting her last feature film. Cancer survivor, Oscar winner, and victim of several crimes, Lia sinks into despair as her heart fails. With supportive childhood friend Manuel Biro, and the help from Swiss billionaire-heir Pierre Lambert, Lia is ‘so done’ with acting and learns that she needs more than just a man’s love to prevail.
STARLET’S LIGHT is a touching story of Lia’s struggle with trust and commitment as she shapes the role she plays in her own life.
[Full disclosure: I received a free print copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.]
Remember how yesterday I said Starlet’s Run was better than the first book, Starlet’s Web? Well Starlet’s Light is better than both! The overall quality of writing is better, the characters are better as they mature and Carla Hanna’s message comes through loud and clear but not in an obnoxious manner.
Finally Lia sets off on her own away from Manuel for a change and she also meets Pierre. I hope I’m not spoiling too much when I say that a love triangle happens. Yes, I was inwardly cringing when I thought I knew what Carla Hanna was doing to Lia’s love life, but she had such an amazing twist on the love triangle that all was forgiven. In fact, more authors should do love triangles that way. It would certainly make for more interesting books and less one dimensional characters.
But while there is quite a bit of romance going on, Lia emerges as a character that isn’t completely dependent on the men in her life. She has her own interests, both loves and hates her career as an actress and struggles to control her life despite her failing health. Lia grew quite a bit in the first and second books in the series, but it’s really Starlet’s Light where she becomes a memorable character. She doesn’t have it easy and you can really feel her suffering, but with the help of her friends and her spirituality she makes it through to a sort of acceptance of her condition. Her realization at the end of the novel only makes you connect with her more. Lia’s far from perfect and she realizes that, making her my favourite character in the series.
As I said about the first two books, this is not a book you read for the plot. No, this is a book you read for the message as well as the characters. And believe me, the message is terrifying as we get to see even more about how horrible Hollywood is behind the scenes. I had my own terrifying realization as well while reading this: I’m fat. My dear little sister, who is described as a stick by pretty much everyone who sees her is fat. Why? Because we’re not that Hollywood size 0. Now, this didn’t make my self esteem plunge so much as make me realize how cookie-cutter the Hollywood ideal is. Seriously, Lia’s skewed view of beauty in the beginning is terrifying once it’s pointed out to you as a reader and it sends the message home better than any PSA or Dove Self-Esteem Project video.
If you haven’t started the series yet, I’d highly recommend it. Even for those of us who don’t like romance in general, the Starlet series is still a worthwhile read. If you like great main characters who actually grow throughout the series, you’ll love it. And, of course, if you’ve already read the first two books you’ll love the third installment of the series.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Starlet’s Run by Carla J. Hanna
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Hollywood actress Liana Marie Michael finds out that loving someone unconditionally, without losing who she is in the process, does not always have a convenient ending or an easy to memorize script.
As the path unfolds in front of her, Lia challenges the demons and destruction of her past, which had kept her like Alice in Wonderland, frozen in time and unable to escape the heavy web of expectation shrouding her heart. She needs more than the promise of true love to help her prevail. Exhausted from indecision, should she listen to what others think is best for her? What should she choose?
STARLET’S RUN is a triumphant story of Lia’s determination to step forward into a new and authentic life, taking on a role she has never before been given the chance to play–her self.
[Full disclosure: Carla Hanna sent me Starlet’s Run as part of a thank you for hosting a successful giveaway of her first two books. As always, this is still an honest review.]
I actually liked Starlet’s Run better than Starlet’s Web for various reasons. First was that we really got to see the destructive influence of Hollywood on Lia’s life and relationship with Manuel. Secondly, Lia developed far more as a character in the face of her medical problems and she really grew into her relationship with Manuel. Seeing the two of them struggle with her career, but eventually learn to strike a balance was satisfying. They’re not a picture perfect couple, but they do have a really strong bond and a healthy relationship despite outside factors. I don’t want to give anything away, but Lia’s relationships with other characters like her mother throughout Starlet’s Run also take interesting turns.
I wouldn’t call the plot fast-paced since this is a more character based novel, but it’s not like Carla J. Hanna drags the story on and on either. It’s somewhere in the middle, but mainly you should read it for the subtle messages and for the characters. You’ll want to cheer for Lia the whole time and you’ll love her even more as she grows as a character. Not only does she grow within her relationship with Manuel, she grows on her own. She has a life and friends outside of her relationship, unlike some YA heroines who have their partner and no one else.
One of the strengths of Carla Hanna’s writing is that she can get a message across without being obvious about it or preaching to her audience. She subtly criticizes the Hollywood lifestyle as well as the social expectations it places upon ordinary people, especially girls. Lia is also a very spiritual character without really being overly religious so she is also appealing to people from very different religious backgrounds.
Overall, I loved Starlet’s Run and with that awesome ending, I can’t wait to dive into the third book, Starlet’s Light.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
(Cover picture courtesy of TV Tropes.)
With A Feast for Crows, Martin delivers the long-awaited fourth volume of the landmark series that has redefined imaginative fiction and stands as a modern masterpiece in the making.
After centuries of bitter strife, the seven powers dividing the land have beaten one another into an uneasy truce. But it’s not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters of the Seven Kingdoms gather. Now, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed while surprising faces—some familiar, others only just appearing—emerge from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges of the terrible times ahead. Nobles and commoners, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and sages, are coming together to stake their fortunes…and their lives. For at a feast for crows, many are the guests—but only a few are the survivors.
Wow, whatever I was expecting out of A Feast for Crows definitely didn’t happen. You can say whatever you like about George R. R. Martin, but you can’t claim he’s predictable.
You know the tension between the Faith (the traditional seven gods) and the religion of the Lord of Light that was starting in the last book? Well, it’s definitely cranked up a notch in this one and I really want to see where it goes in the next few books. Without giving too much away, I think Cersei created a pretty disastrous situation for herself there. This increasing tension as well as the growing tension between the factions competing for control of Westeros just shows how well Martin really does understand politics. There are subtle plays for power, hidden alliances and outside factors that influence the politics as well.
Although I understand his reasons for doing it, I wish he would have included the points of view of Daenerys, Tyrion and Jon Snow. I’m incredibly biased since two of the three are my favourite characters, but I’m also curious about how their stories are playing out in the scheme of things. However, as a sort of consolation prize, getting the points of view of both Cersei and Jaime as well as new points of view from Dorne were great. Not only does it give you a far better understanding of said characters, it also allowed for a different perspective on the current political situation. Jaime’s disgust with Cersei, Cersei’s increasing instability and the power politics in Dorne centering around Myrcella were all fascinating.
For a book that’s nearly a thousand pages long, there weren’t that many places where the plot dragged along. Of course I got a little bored dealing with some of my least favourite characters, but the plot never crawled to a halt as it sometimes does in fantasy novels with multiple viewpoints. In typical George R. R. Martin fashion, there’s a heck of a cliffhanger at the end of the novel from pretty much every single viewpoint and I’m actually scared of reading A Dance with Dragons because then I’ll have to wait years for the next book. I am not necessarily the most patient person in the world when it comes to awesome series like this, that’s for sure.
If you haven’t started A Song of Ice and Fire you need to read the series from the beginning. Ignore the fact that there’s a TV show and enjoy the books before you decide whether or not you want to watch the show. Ignore the hype and judge the books on their own merit. And most of all, if you just finished reading A Storm of Swords you’ll love A Feast for Crows.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Graphic Novel Review: Batgirl Volume II: Knightfall Descends by Gail Simone
Images Courtesy of Goodreads and Collected Editions
From Goodreads
Batgirl Barbara Gordon faces foe after foe now that she’s back in the role of Batgirl. A deadly new gentleman killer, Grotesque, stalks the streets of Gotham City; The Court of Owls sets its sight on her father Commissioner Gordon; and an innocent woman sentenced to Arkham emerges more dangerous than the inmates she was locked up with!
Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian
(Cover picture courtesy of NetGalley.)
COBWEB BRIDE (Cobweb Bride Trilogy, Book One) is a history-flavored fantasy novel with romantic elements of the Persephone myth, about Death’s ultimatum to the world.
What if you killed someone and then fell in love with them?
In an alternate Renaissance world, somewhere in an imaginary “pocket” of Europe called the Kingdom of Lethe, Death comes, in the form of a grim Spaniard, to claim his Bride. Until she is found, in a single time-stopping moment all dying stops. There is no relief for the mortally wounded and the terminally ill….
Covered in white cobwebs of a thousand snow spiders she lies in the darkness… Her skin is cold as snow… Her eyes frozen… Her gaze, fiercely alive…
While kings and emperors send expeditions to search for a suitable Bride for Death, armies of the undead wage an endless war… A black knight roams the forest at the command of his undead father… Spies and political treacheries abound at the imperial Silver Court…. Murdered lovers find themselves locked in the realm of the living…
Look closer — through the cobweb filaments of her hair and along each strand shine stars…
And one small village girl, Percy—an unwanted, ungainly middle daughter—is faced with the responsibility of granting her dying grandmother the desperate release she needs.
As a result, Percy joins the crowds of other young women of the land in a desperate quest to Death’s own mysterious holding in the deepest forests of the North…
And everyone is trying to stop her.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
An unique alternate history? A fast paced plot with lots of twists? Awesome main characters? Great writing? You seriously can’t ask for anything else in this fantasy/alternate history book.
After reading Cobweb Bride I can’t believe that I didn’t discover Vera Nazarian sooner. She’s an amazing writer! Not only can she write great suspense and throw insane plot twists at her readers, she actually knows how to describe her scenery. One of the major downfalls of fantasy novels today is that there isn’t enough description of the setting. The author knows what their world looks like so they don’t feel it’s necessary to describe everything to readers. But Vera Nazarian has not made this assumption and her descriptions throughout the novel are beautiful. The world she’s created is so vivid, so real and gorgeous!
It’s Percy’s gradual development as a character that I liked best, though. In her own house, overshadowed by her beautiful older and younger sisters, she’s shy and very timid. Yet at the same time, you can sense an inner strength about her. It’s only when she decides to join the other Cobweb Brides heading for Death’s castle that you see the real Percy shine through. She’s tough, smart, resourceful and a brilliant leader. Authors take note: this is what a strong female lead really looks like.
I could rave on and on about the characters like Vlau and Percy, but I don’t want to spoil too many things. Let me focus on the plot for a few sentences, if you’ll indulge me: I was glued to my computer for all 293 pages. I’m dead serious here. The apocalypse itself wouldn’t have stopped me from reading Cobweb Bride. Vera Nazarian added some incredible plot twists and it ended on such a cliffhanger that I want the next book, Cobweb Empire, right now.
Seriously, I can’t praise this book enough. You need to read it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.