Kushiel’s Mercy by Jacqueline Carey

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.

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The Iron Bells by Jeanette Battista

gothic girl with a sword(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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*Not available.

Discussion: What Makes You Follow a Blog?

I know we just had a discussion on Friday, but this is more open-ended than my other one about book review request forms where I was specifically soliciting advice.

This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while.  Why do some people follow one blog and others don’t?  What makes you want to follow a blog?

Obviously subject matter and your level of interest in it is important.  I, for example, wouldn’t follow a blog devoted to football because I really dislike football.  That only makes sense.  But sometimes I’ve unfollowed blogs despite the fact that the subject matter is great.  Sometimes it’s because the blogger never responds to comments, never posts on a regular schedule and/or gets boring/loses that spark that made me follow the blog in the first place.

So what I want to know now is this: What makes you follow a blog?  What things do you look for in a blog before you decide to follow it?  Are there any follower dealbreakers for you?

The Defiance by A. G. Henley

The Defiance by A. G. Henley(Cover picture courtesy of Bookworm Confessions.)

It hasn’t been long since Fennel, a Sightless Groundling, and Peree, her Lofty Keeper, fell in love and learned the truth: the Scourge, and their world, are not what they seem.

Fenn and Peree are determined to guide their people to the protected village of Koolkuna, but first they must convince them that everything they believe is a lie. An impossible task, especially when someone seems hell-bent on trying anything–even animal sacrifice and arson–to destroy the couple’s new bond and crush the frail truce between the Groundlings and the Lofties. Not everyone wants to uproot their lives in the forest, and those who stay behind will be left terribly vulnerable.

Fenn and Peree’s resolve to be together, and the constant threat of the Scourge’s return, push both groups to the breaking point. Unable to tell friend from foe, Fenn must again decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice to ensure the future of the people of the forest.

Only this time, the price of peace may be too high to bear.

[Full disclosure: I liked the first book so much that I asked A. G. Henley for an ebook copy of The Defiance in exchange for an honest review.]

Oftentimes series with great first books never really measure up to the potential that I see in the first book.  Usually the second book lets me down in what I like to call Book 2 Syndrome.  Fortunately, The Defiance didn’t suffer from this at all.  In fact, it should probably be held up as an example of how second books should be written.

The Defiance starts off pretty much where we left off: with Peree and Fenn back in their respective tribes, trying to tell people that the Scourge are really just sick people and not real zombies.  Trying to tell someone something that would change their entire worldview is very difficult and that fact is reflected in the slower pace of the story.  Even though her very life is at risk, Fenn tries so hard to convince everyone that they should go to Koolkuna when she and Peree leave.  She wants everyone in both tribes, even the truly horrible people, to go and live a good life.

I’m not someone who is big on romance, but I love how Fenn and Peree’s romance has progressed.  It’s gone from a sweet, budding sort of young love to a more mature, secure love.  You can tell that these two people love each other no matter what, even though their respective tribes will do practically anything to keep them apart.  What’s so interesting about the whole Brilliant Darkness series is the fact that Fenn is blind and yet we get such a vivid picture of the characters and the surroundings.  It’s sort of refreshing that the main character isn’t constantly describing how perfect her love interest’s looks are.  No, Fenn focuses on who Peree is as a person and that is just what I like to see in YA.

The plot starts off a little slow like it did in The Scourge, but things quickly heat up.  The mysterious threats about Peree and Fenn’s relationship, the plotting of several community members as well as the impending move to Koolkuna made me read The Defiance all in one sitting.  It really was that good and I hated it when I knew the book was about to end.  And on such a cliffhanger!  I can’t wait for the third book, The Fire Sisters!

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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*Unavailable.

Discussion: Book Review Request Forms

As I cryptically hinted at yesterday I will be changing the way I accept book review requests in the future to avoid such a horrible backlog.  How will I do this?  Well, instead of leaving authors with no guidelines which they seem to take as an invitation to be lazy, I will make them fill out a form.  Yes, some authors will rail against the injustice of it all and how much time it will take, but those are the authors I really wouldn’t want to review anyway.  If you can’t follow my rules, I’m not going to read your book.  Plain and simple.

So my question for you guys is this: What would the ideal book review request form include?  Would you ask authors for things like the genre, book blurb, target age group, etc?  Do you think a review request form is the way to go?  Or should I be trying something else to avoid my backlog as well as badly behaving authors?