As you guys know I have a huge backlog of reviews for authors. Well, no more! Every weekend I will now sit down and make sure I read one book from an author on my backlog. I should have done this a long time ago and I feel awful about putting it off for so long, but I guess it’s better late than never.
Basically: Sorry and your book will be having a review soon. This will not happen again because of the new review request system I’m implementing next year.
(Cover picture courtesy of Imperial Beach Teen Blog.)
YOU CAN BE A VII. IF YOU GIVE UP EVERYTHING.
For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.
If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister’s niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter.
There’s only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed…and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that’s not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she’s only beginning to understand.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Despite my misgivings about the Goddess Test trilogy, I actually enjoyed Pawn by Aimée Carter. The world was refreshingly unique for what seemed to be such a stereotypical dystopia and I found the main character, Kitty, to be a pretty sympathetic character. Considering I usually want to strangle the female leads in YA dystopia, this is quite a feat if I’m honest.
First off, the world-building. It seems like your typical divided society dystopian trope, but it’s not really. There are actually reasons for the division and the reasons are explained when the history of the country is presented. I found the Hart family’s rise to power surprisingly believable and how they keep their hold on power even more believable. It was rather disturbing to see what Elsewhere was because it really reminded me of the world Lois Lowry created in The Giver, but I suppose it makes sense when you have a system like that.
Kitty was not your stereotypical heroine. She was ready to do whatever needed to be done to survive, even if it meant pretending to be someone else in a family that mostly hated her. Was she a kick-butt heroine? No and her reluctance made sense given her upbringing as well as the Hart family’s reputation. How she handles herself in that complicated maze of politics was quite impressive and I cheered her on the whole way.
The pacing was pretty good, but the only thing I found a little off about this book was the plot. It wasn’t boring, per se, but it didn’t exactly keep me on the edge of my seat. Some of the plot twists were unpredictable, yes, but they felt a little off. Like Aimée Carter was departing from the whole feeling of the story, what she had been building toward previously. It was a little disconcerting, but overall I think Pawn is a pretty good read and I’d recommend giving it a try if you like YA dystopia.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
(Cover picture courtesy of Bewitching Book Tours.)
Those in line to the Malenfer estate are succumbing to terrible ends – is a supernatural legacy at work, or something entirely more human?
Young Irish mercenary Dermot Ward retreats to Paris at the close of World War I where he drinks to forget his experiences, especially the death of his comrade, Arthur Malenfer. But Arthur has not forgotten Dermot. Dead but not departed, Arthur has unfinished business and needs the help of the living.
Upon his arrival at Malenfer Manor, Dermot finds himself embroiled in a mystery of murder, succession, and ambition. Dermot falls in love with the youngest Malenfer, the beautiful fey Simonne, but in his way are Simonne’s mismatched fiancé, her own connections to the spirit world, Dermot’s guilt over the circumstances of Arthur’s death… and the curse.
[Full disclosure: I received an invitation to read this book through NetGalley from the publisher and accepted the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.]
There are so many things to love about The Curse of Malenfer Manor but the main thing I loved was the writing itself. Iain McChesney has such an authentic style that I truly felt like I was reading a novel from that time period. There are no noticeable anachronisms and I suppose you could call the vocabulary ‘advanced’, but that all comes together to create that authentic, post-war atmosphere. This writing style especially stands out when we actually get to Malenfer manor, a manor that seems stuck in the days of lords and tenants. It creates an eerie atmosphere that completely suits the subject matter of the novel.
My second favourite thing was the characters. How could I not fall in love with Dermot? He carries his guilt over Arthur’s death with him, has a hard time accepting that Arthur came back to him as a ghost, falls in love with the beautiful Simonne and all the while is trying to discover the mystery behind the Malenfer curse. He has a lot of internal conflict to go along with the external conflict and that’s what made him such a memorable character for me. Arthur himself was quite the character as well and it’s a testament to Iain McChesney’s writing ability that although he was such a great character, he never outshone Dermot, the main character.
The plot starts out slowly enough, but when Arthur’s ghost shows up and we learn of his backstory with Dermot things really start to get interesting. And when the two friends arrive at Malenfer manor, it took all my will power to put my Kindle down and go to sleep. The Curse of Malenfer Manor is something you’ll want to read in one sitting in one sitting, believe me. The plot keeps twisting and turning and by the end you’re not sure if the curse really exists or if it’s something more man-made. Iain McChesney is truly a master of suspense.
Even if you don’t like traditional mystery stories, I’d have to recommend The Curse of Malenfer Manor. If you do like historical fiction, romance and/or supernatural elements in your novels, you should read this book. Give it a try; you won’t regret it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
As is my tradition, I won’t be doing a post this Remembrance Day. I will be at home remembering a man I never met: my friend’s grandfather, who was a Filipino soldier who escaped from the Martsa ng Kamatayan sa Bataan (Bataan Death March). He served in the army in his country with pride and went through a living hell that didn’t magically end when the war was officially over. I will also be remembering the countless men on my mother’s side of the family who served in almost every single one of the wars Canada has participated in. And of course I will take time to reflect on the countless men and women who were and still are affected by war.
So instead of spending today here on my blog or elsewhere on the internet, please take some time to reflect on what Remembrance Day means to you.
As you guys have realized, I’m pretty open about my blogging stats. I like analyzing them and hearing your thoughts on things like why certain articles are doing well or why traffic could be down in a given month. But one thing has been puzzling me of late: followers.
You see, I was flipping through my ‘Trophies’ in WordPress (which is a feature that shows when you achieved certain milestones in likes, comments or followers) and saw that I had 200 followers on January 31, 2013. That’s a year and a couple weeks after I started my blog. I figured that was pretty good, getting 200 followers in only a year considering that I don’t blog on controversial things that get lots of clicks.
Then I noticed another trophy: I had 500 followers on September 26, 2013. Less than 9 months after getting my 200 follower trophy, I suddenly had 500 followers. That’s 300 followers in less than 9 months. Considering it took me a little over a year to get just 200 followers you could say it took me by surprise. Then I started thinking: the more followers a blog has, the more new followers it seems to get. But why is that?
Is it because people seem more attracted to bloggers who look like they have their act together? Or is it because they see a good commenting community? Could it be because more people hear other people talking about the blog? It’s hard to say.
What do you think? Why do blogs with more followers have an easier time getting new followers than smaller blogs?