Beached by Ros Baxter

Beached by Ros Baxter(Cover picture courtesy of NetGalley.)

How far will a gentle sea princess go to save the home she loves?

When the clerk at a burger joint is assaulted for trying to sell a fish burger to a hot blonde, it’s just the beginning of a clash between Land and Sea. The world is going mad, and Princess Lecanora is on a special mission to stop it. There are just a few complications…

First, life on the land is a bit harder to adjust to than expected, what with the wearing of clothing and the consuming of delicious (but pointless) calories. Second, the most evil magician the world has ever seen wants her as his bride — consensually or otherwise. Finally, a completely inappropriate gun-toting mercenary who goes against every one of her pacifist principles keeps rocking her world.

As the forces of darkness gather, Lecanora must come to terms with the lengths she will go to in order to save the sea home she has always known, and the land she has come to love.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

When I requested this book through NetGalley I had no idea this was the second book in a trilogy.  Even when I went to check on Goodreads there was no clear indication this was part of a series, so I went ahead and requested it unsuspectingly.  Still, I’ll try my best to give Beached a fair review.  (If you’re curious, Fish Out of Water is the first book.)

This one for me was a solid ‘meh’.  Sure the characters were fascinating and I could definitely appreciate the world-building but this book lacked emotion.  I was being told Lecanora was confused, sad and/or in love, but I never really felt it.  Even when there was supposedly a heart-wrenching death scene, I never really felt the grief of all the characters that witnessed it.  Ros Baxter’s writing just lacked emotion.

Otherwise, her characters were good.  I like how Rania is a tough-talking cop (one of my favourite types of heroines).  She’s an actual strong female and I liked seeing her compared to Lecanora, who is more gentle and naive about the world of humans.  I liked Rania better than I liked Lecanora, but that’s more of a personal preference than anything.  Despite the lack of emotion, Lecanora was well fleshed-out and I could relate to her struggle to find who she is and who she wants to be.

The plot was very fast-paced.  There was twist after twist and although the ending was a little predictable, I appreciated the fact that the climax itself was not.  Overall I really couldn’t tell where the story was going and Ros Baxter’s writing kept me on the edge of my seat.  She has a talent for suspense and I suspect with a little work on the emotional side of her writing that she could make my top 10 list of favourite authors.  As it is, I generally liked the characters, the world-building and the plot but the lack of emotion was a definite downside.

The world-building was fascinating.  I liked how Ros Baxter borrowed from Norse mythology to create Aegira rather than going for your typical sort of mermaid story.  The way the rulers of Aegira are chosen because of their curse is fascinating as well and I liked how that plot point was resolved by the end.  Obviously I missed out on some things because I didn’t read the first book, but there was enough of a summary in the first few chapters that I could get the gist of what happened in the first book.

So overall?  A decent novel, but it would have been better with some more emotion.

I give this book 3.5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble    Goodreads

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.

Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend… and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.

This exciting fantasy novel, set against the pageantry and color of a fascinating, unique world, is a memorable debut for a great new talent.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

Can I just say wow?

That one word pretty much sums up my whole experience with The Goblin Emperor.  Really, it does.  The world-building was unique and three dimensional, the characters were memorable, the political intrigue was constant and the plot was fascinating.  I’ll start with my favourite part of the whole novel, though: the world-building.

This world of goblins and elves is amazing; there are no other words for it.  At first it seemed like a traditional nobody-becoming-king story, but then I realized that Katherine Addison had put her own unique twist on it.  This isn’t your typical fantasy world, oh no!  It’s set in a society where airships are used, where technology is slowly being more and more relied upon but there are people trying to hold back progress.  The monarchy is still around and I like how the court was infused with a more Eastern flavour.  If you’re familiar with the Chinese and Japanese forms of monarchy you’ll be able to pick out where Katherine Addison borrowed from those cultures to create her world.  It’s honestly refreshing to see a writer take old elements from Western fantasy (elves and goblins) and put them in an entirely new setting.

Maia, our confused protagonist, was wonderful.  He was the fourth half-goblin, half-elf son of the former Emperor, who died in an accident that took out the three in line for the throne ahead of him.  Maia was never raised to be Emperor, in fact he was abused physically and mentally by Setheris, the exile sent to look after him.  Seeing him suddenly in a position of supreme power over everyone is quite a jarring change but it feels like he deserves it.  Except that the position of Emperor isn’t all its cracked up to be: there are plots against his life, he has no friends at court and he has absolutely no privacy.  It’s stressful for him but I love how he learns to navigate the politics and set himself apart from his father as a just Emperor.

The only thing that could have used a little work was the plot.  Don’t get me wrong, though.  It was fascinating, very intense at times and I couldn’t put the book down.  But it would have been nice for Katherine Addison to reveal a little more information to her readers just a little sooner.  She did a good job avoiding info-dumps but I would have definitely preferred a little more information about her fascinating fantasy world sooner.  The names were a little confusing and extremely hard on my poor English-speaking tongue, but once you immerse yourself in her fantasy world you start to get the hang of them and the formal vs. informal pronouns and titles.

If you like fantasy or steampunk (or both!) you’ll love this book.  Go out and pre-order it immediately because it comes out on April 1.

I give this book 4.5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble     Goodreads

The Mirror by John Heldt

The Mirror by John Heldt(Cover picture courtesy of John Heldt’s blog.)

On September 11, 2020, Ginny and Katie Smith celebrate their nineteenth birthday at a country fair near Seattle. Ignoring the warnings of a fortune-teller, they enter a house of mirrors and exit in May 1964. Armed with the knowledge they need to return to their time, they try to make the most of what they believe will be a four-month vacation. But their sixties adventure becomes complicated when they meet a revered great-grandmother and fall in love with local boys. In THE MIRROR, the continuation of THE MINE and THE SHOW, the sisters find happiness and heartbreak as they confront unexpected challenges and gut-wrenching choices in the age of civil rights, the Beatles, and Vietnam.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.]

When a great series like this comes to an end I’m always sad.  But at least I can take solace in the fact that the Northwest Passage series ended on such a great note.

I liked seeing Ginny and Katie Smith (Joel and Grace’s twin daughters) travel through time just like their parents.  They were interesting characters and I liked how John Heldt incorporated their distinct advantage into their characterization—their knowledge of time travel.  Although they were sort of in denial at first, I liked how they quickly accepted the grim situation and made a plan of action to get back.  I also loved how they tried not to affect the time stream but how sometimes their human nature got the better of them as they started forming relationships with the people around them.  Each twin had a distinct personality so when the point of view switched it wasn’t very confusing.

As with all of the books in this great series, The Mirror is far more character-driven than plot-driven.  It does have an interesting plot and it’s fascinating to see America in the era of Vietnam and the civil rights movement, but the characters are definitely the best part.  The plot is a little slower than the previous books in the series by virtue of the fact that this one is longer but that wasn’t an impediment at all.  If anything, it made The Mirror one of the better books in the series.

One of the downfalls of historical fiction is that it can paint a picture of an idealized time when in reality history wasn’t always sunshine and roses.  I liked how the topic of cancer was approached, especially breast cancer.  It really makes you think how lucky we are to live in a world where there are far more treatment options and a much higher survival rate.  What really struck a cord with me was the topic of interracial relationships.  Ginny and James had a wonderful relationship and I was saddened (but not surprised) at the reaction of most people to a black man dating a white girl.  Some people still react this way today (my community is unfortunately proof of this) but it’s nice to see that as a society we’ve at least made some progress.

Essentially, if you’ve read the previous four books in the Northwest Passage series you’ll absolutely love The Mirror.  It’s got an authentic historical feel, well-developed characters and a plot that’ll have you guessing at every turn.  I’m sad to say goodbye to the series but I’m glad that John Heldt chose to end it this way.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble*     Goodreads

*Not available.

Reader Request Week #1: Finding Time to Read and Review

Megan S. of Life’s Unfiltered Ramblings submitted this question for my first reader request week:

Hey Carrie, my question to you is how you are able to not only read and review as many books as you do, but how you obtain all your books and ebooks. Do you have a partnership with someone? Do you get free copies from the authors? Also, how do you find the time? Do you have another job that may get in the way?

I have a full-time job and find it hard to accomplish all that I want with my blog, and seeing yours so successful has had me reevaluate my time and break down everything to reach my goals. Thanks for the inspiration and support you’ve provided me in the past.

There are a lot of pretty good questions in here so I’ll do my best to address them all in two parts.

Part #1: Finding books.

Well, the answer is dependent on when you’re talking about in the history of my blog.  Prior to starting a book reviewing blog I actually had quite a fair collection of books, which made up something around 200 of my first reviews.  But what happened when those were exhausted?  Well obviously I continued buying books but I also tapped other sources for books: authors and publishers.

Authors and publishers are a great source of free books and all you have to do in return is provide an honest review.  When I had my review requests open I got several free books this way, but after I closed my requests I joined NetGalley.  NetGalley is an online book catalog that’s perfect for bloggers like me to have a somewhat sustainable book habit because all you do for a free book is give it an honest review (if you’re approved).  I also request specific titles from authors and publishers (mainly authors) through email.  To someone not in the book blogging community you’d be surprised at how willing people are to give things away for free at the promise of an honest review.

Basically most of my books now come from either NetGalley or publishers/authors that I request books from personally.

Part #2: Finding Time.

(Just so we’re clear: I don’t work full time in the winter because our little tourist town decreases in population by at least 50%.  Working in a lumber yard/hardware store/building company does have its downsides.  But since we’re talking about blogging while holding a full time job I’ll talk about how I manage things for the other half of the year.)

The question I encounter frequently on the blogosphere is how do bloggers find time to blog?  Well, the answer is simple: The 168 Principle.

The 168 Principle was taught to me by a very wise man and it basically goes like this: there are 168 hours in a week.  Ideally you spend about 56 of those sleeping, leaving you with 112 hours.  In the peak season I work about 48 hours a week (6 days a week, 8 hours a day).  That’s a fair bit but that still leaves me with 64 hours to do whatever I want.  You can get a lot done in 64 hours a week, believe me.

Not all of those spare 64 hours are devoted to reading or blogging but the main idea behind this principle is that if you want to find time for something, you can.  If you want to blog, blog.  If you want to read, read.  It’s all a matter of scheduling.  Almost everyone can find a spare hour every day to set aside for themselves if they really try.  For example, if you’re a writer there are plenty of writers that find they have no time to themselves during normal hours so they write late at night or get up extra early to write.  The same thing goes for bloggers.  If I know my week is going to be tight scheduling-wise, then I just stay up a little later and read.

***

If this post raises a new question or you have another topic you’d like to see me cover for the 2014 Reader Request Week, head on over to this post and comment!

My question for you guys is: How do you manage your time?  Are some times of the year busier for you than others?  If you’re a book blogger, where do you get the majority of your books from?

The Best and Worst of February 2014

February just flew by in a cold haze for me.  Temperatures here in Saskatchewan have been even colder than usual, which hasn’t made walking to work any more pleasant.  Hopefully spring will come soon.

On the plus side, however, my stats were quite respectable in this shortened month.  I received a total of 5,688 views, which includes 3,593 unique views.  In addition to that, I’ve also welcomed 33 new followers.  It’s just a little more than half of the followers I welcomed in January but I’m still quite happy with my statistics, especially because of the severe lack of book reviews I’ve published this month.

So which posts were the most popular?

1.  Why Girls Hate Game of Thrones—A Rebuttal

2.  The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome

3.  How to Read 100 Pages in an Hour

4.  An Apology to Self-Published Writers

5.  WordPress, Stop the Arbitrary Suspensions

These are all articles this time around but as usual, none of them are surprising.  The only new one on my best 5 list is my rant to WordPress about their arbitrary suspension policy.  I was honestly touched by the concern many of my readers showed at my suspension and I’m glad there was no loss of followers and no significant decrease in statistics in the long-term.  Still, it was a pretty disturbing experience considering how much faith I’ve always put into this blogging platform.

Enough of my whining.  What were the five worst posts?

1.  The Mad Reviewer Reading Challenge Has Begun

2.  My Interview with Katie Hamstead

3.  The Best and Worst of September

4.  The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

5.  My Interview with Michelle A. Hansen

Oddly enough, this time around 2 of my worst posts were interviews.  My interviews have never been popular for whatever reason but I don’t recall them being on my worst list before.  Other than that, I’m really not all that surprised.  Two of the articles were at least a year old and the book review is definitely one of my older, not as well-written ones.  Looking back at some of the reviews I wrote in my first year I have to cringe.  They were pretty rough.

So how was your February?  Read anything interesting?