Fireblood by Trisha Wolfe

Fireblood by Trisha Wolfe(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

To save a kingdom, Zara must choose between a prince who could be the answer and a rising rebellion that threatens to take control.

When Zara Dane is chosen to marry Prince Sebastian Hart, son of the man who ordered her father’s capture, Zara knows she must fight to save everything she loves from ruin.

Being betrothed to the prince means a life trapped behind the towering stone walls of the Camelot-forged realm. Under the watchful eye of the prince’s first knight, Sir Devlan Capra, changing her future becomes difficult.

When an unlikely rebel reveals the truth about the deadly secrets that fuel King Hart’s twisted world, Zara’s path to rescue her father becomes clouded by deception. The Rebels clear her path by forcing Zara’s hand with an ultimatum: sway Prince Sebastian to join the Rebels, convincing him of his father’s evil nature, or they will take him out.

But Zara is uncertain about a future under the Rebels’ command and where the prince’s heart truly lies. She must decide who to trust, what to believe, and what she’s truly fighting for before the king destroys all of Karm, including her heart.

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

Fireblood had it all, really: complicated and realistic characters, a believable world, plot twists and even a fast-paced plot.  So why do I feel so melancholy after finishing the book?

Well, the problem is that the ending sucked.  I really thought Trisha Wolfe was going to break down some of the clichés that are so common in the YA genre.  After all, the first two thirds of the novel had all kinds of inverted and subverted tropes as well as new takes on old clichés.  But then something happened and it felt like the story took a totally random new direction into Clichéland.  I was just so disappointed in the predictable ending that it’s colouring my whole perception of the novel.

Despite the admittedly horrible ending, Zara was a great character throughout the novel.  She was strong and feisty without swinging too far into the territory of a stereotypical action girl.  I loved her conflicted feelings over Sebastian and Devlan; it was a love triangle I could actually identify with and believe.  That’s pretty rare in YA these days, so I’ll give Trisha Wolfe credit where credit is due.  I loved Devlan because I’m a sucker for the bodyguard-falling-in-love cliché.  He’s a complicated character, which makes it more realistic and his character arc never really followed the traditional bodyguard one.

The world-building in Fireblood was fantastic.  An evil despotic ruler taking civilization back to the Medieval period while constantly monitoring his people with technology?  Sounds good to me!  Although the way I’ve described it makes it sound so trite it’s really not and you may hate it at first, but Trisha Wolfe really added a lot of depth to her world.  She reveals some aspects of her world at a more natural pace as well, trusting in the intelligence of her readers rather than spoon-feeding information to them.

The plot was fast-paced and unpredictable for about two thirds of the novel, then the dreaded ending happened.  It was just so forced and didn’t really fit at all with the mood of the story that I had a hard time finishing Fireblood.  That just goes to show that without a good ending, an amazing novel can become just another mediocre one.  Do I hold out hope for the rest of the series, though?  Of course!  Trisha Wolfe is an incredible writer and I think she’ll learn from this first novel in the series.

I give this book 3.5/5 stars.

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Sworn to Conflict by Terah Edun

Sworn To Conflict by Terah Edun(Cover picture courtesy of trips down imagination road.)

Ciardis Weathervane fought for the living dead and won. But worse than taking on a mass murderer, was her discovery that she had been deceived by her friends. Now she needs to not only fight a war in the North and survive, but also decide where she stands in the midst of competing sides.

A threat to all she holds dear lies in the North and her heart is not the only thing she might lose. A massive army awaits in the mountain pass, surging closer to the gates of the southern lands. Nothing the Algardis army has done so far has dissuaded their march forward and Ciardis finds out that her powers to enhance are needed now more than ever.

As she faces her greatest fears on the battlefields and her heart is torn between her love of Sebastian and loyalty to her family, Ciardis must choose her fate carefully. For in her path, lies the destiny of the empire.

This third novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Transfer.

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

You know, I was more than a little skeptical of the entire Courtlight series after reading the first novel.  It was more than a little rushed and the writing was decent enough, but nothing special.  What made me stick with the series was the amazing characters and the incredibly unique premise.  So, now that I’m on the third book out of four books, was it worth it?

Of course!

I loved Sworn to Conflict even more than I loved the previous book, Sworn to Transfer.  It’s better than the first one and I thought it would be hard to top the second book, but Terah Edun has improved yet again.  She’s found the perfect balance between dialogue and description and has expanded her fascinating fantasy world yet again.  There are new creatures, new threats to the realm and terrifying new secrets that change everything Ciardis thought she knew.

Aside from the world-building, I really enjoyed the characters in this novel.  Ciardis is a great character in that she’s not afraid to stand up to Prince Sebastian, despite the fact he’s the heir to the realm and she’s only a Companion.  And when she’s betrayed by him, she doesn’t go running back to him, ready to forgive all of his wrongs.  No, she’s able to be mad and stay mad and eventually begin the long path to forgiveness.  It’s far more realistic, believe me.

The plot was fast-paced but not to the point where I had no idea what was going on.  There were so many twists and turns that I barely kept up, but I enjoyed myself the whole time.  You never really know just where Terah Edun is going to take the series and I think the final book, Sworn to Secrecy is going to be even better than this one.  I can’t wait for the release!

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory(Cover picture courtesy of Barnes & Noble.)

When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family’s ambitious plots as the king’s interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands.

A rich and compelling tale of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart.

First off, I don’t like the portrayals of pretty much any of the characters in this novel.  Mary Boleyn was sweet and innocent to the point of being nauseating when in fact she very likely was the mistress of the French king before coming to court in England.  As for Anne Boleyn herself (and don’t kid yourself, this book is really about her) she’s awful.  Truly awful.  Yes, we have accounts of her temper with Henry in later years, but was it truly to the extent Philippa Gregory tries to portray in this novel?  Probably not because she was a very educated, well-spoken and by all accounts, charming young woman.  As for George Boleyn and the homosexual ring around him those claims weren’t even really believed at the time and are laughed at by most historians these days.

As a lot of people mention in their reviews, this book plays with the facts constantly.  Even if I ignored all of the historical inaccuracies (which is hard to do as they’re always present), the story itself collapses.  Mary is just a spineless wimp all the way through the book, even at the end when she finally marries for love.  Her relationship with Henry was pretty unrealistic and I hated the whole Machiavellian schemes her family went through to maneuver her into the position of king’s mistress.  It was just unrealistic and more than a little ridiculous, even when I pretended I was just reading another fantasy book based loosely on history and not historical fiction.

The plot was unbearably slow, even for me.  What could have been around a 300 page book was stretched out over 600 pages.  I mean, really?  I don’t need to know every single detail of Mary Boleyn’s life, especially the boring times when she was nowhere near court.  Honestly, the 1000+ page books of Colleen McCullough have far more action in them than The Other Boleyn Girl.  It’s not even guilty pleasure because finishing this was a chore.  There were so many better ways to approach this, but throwing out the history and making Mary Boleyn ridiculously innocent was not the way to go.

In the end, The Other Boleyn Girl is for people who think soap operas are serious, not guilty pleasure.  If you enjoy descriptions of multiple debaucheries, back-stabbing and playing fast and loose with historical fact, you might like this novel.  If you can get past the navel-gazing introspection, that is.

I give this book 1/5 stars.

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The Mad Reviewer’s 2013 Holiday Book Buying Guide (Part Two)

(For part one, please see here.)

In part one of my annual book buying guide I covered fantasy, speculative fiction and science fiction books.  But I left quite a few genres out, so I’m covering as many as I can here in part two.  After all, not everyone likes the first three genres.

HISTORICAL FICTION

Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray1.  Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

I was initially a little skeptical of yet another Cleopatra Selene book, but this one definitely surpassed my expectations.  With some elements of fantasy mixed in with well-researched historical fact, you can’t go wrong with Lily of the Nile.  It also helps that Stephanie Dray has a captivating writing style.  Because of that, you really do feel like you’re right there along with the characters, both in Egypt in the beginning and Rome for the rest of the novel.

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers2.  Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy is technically alternate history because it takes place in an alternative version of the Middle Ages.  It has an awesome heroine who falls in love at a natural pace and one of the most endearing, realistic relationships out there.  This is YA at its best, believe me.  And this is coming from someone who’s growing weary of old YA tropes.  You also can’t go wrong with an assassin story combined with some pretty intense palace intrigue.

The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland3.  The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland

I never really thought about Josephine Bonaparte until I read Sandra Gulland’s amazing Josephine B. trilogy.  She really did have an incredible life and was a fascinating woman of the time.  If you’re into new takes on history, I can’t recommend the trilogy enough.  Even if you just read the first book, I can almost guarantee you’ll be sucked in by Sandra Gulland’s spell.  Her writing really does make you feel like you’re alongside Josephine, thus making her more sympathetic than history books portray her as.

The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough4.  The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough

If you’re like me and like really, really long books with amazing characters and new takes on history you won’t regret investing your time in this book.  Colleen McCullough is an amazing writer and she brings to life towering historical figures like Julius Caesar, Gaius Marius and Cornelius Sulla.  Even if you don’t like Roman history in general, you can’t go wrong with her award-winning series.  Like I said, this book is really long but it’s more than worth it.  The characters are just amazing and McCullough has certainly done her research here.

The Skystone by Jack Whyte5.  The Skystone by Jack Whyte

A new take on Arthurian legends that blends history and magic.  What more can I say but buy this right now?  You’ll fall in love with Publius Varrus just like I did and then you’ll never want the series to end.  He’s not really a character that I expected to like in the beginning but Jack Whyte makes him so compelling that you can’t help but love him.  He grows so much over the course of this novel and I really did appreciate all the effort that was put into creating an accurate post-Roman Britain on Jack Whyte’s part.  It makes the whole Arthurian legend come vividly to life. Continue reading →

Poll: What would you like me to change about my blog in 2014?

In addition to answering the poll, if you’re comfortable I’d love to hear your thoughts on how I can improve in the new year in the comments section.  As a reviewer I think I can handle some constructive criticism.