Starlet’s Run by Carla J. Hanna

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.

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Discussion: Favourite Characters

Every person who reads has a favourite character or characters.  There are just some characters that you remember years and years after finishing a book.  They speak to you because you can see a part of yourself in them or they have such strong personalities that you can’t forget them.

Harry Potter is, of course, quite a popular favourite and he remains one of my favourites to this day.  I say ‘one of’ because there is no way I can just choose one favourite character when I’ve read quite literally hundreds of books.  One of my most recent favourite characters would have to be Isherwood Williams from Earth Abides by George R. Stewart.  Ish isn’t a perfect person, but he’s resourceful and intelligent.  He makes mistakes and tries to be a good leader of his group while rebuilding civilization in his own manner.  Things don’t turn out quite how he wants them to, but he’s just one of those characters that believably shapes the world he lives in through sheer force of will.

Keeping with the depressing post-apocalyptic theme, Marco of The Return Man is another of my absolute favourites.  Tortured, cynical and at the same time full of hope, he’s a mess of contradictions that in the hands of any other writer would be a terrible character.  But V. M Zito made him believable by giving him an unique backstory that explained his cynical attitude as well as why his past continues to haunt him.  Opposite him at first is Wu, also one of my favourite characters.  Wu isn’t perfect and neither is Marco, but the two of them formed one of those unlikely friendships that just worked well.

I’ve rambled on enough about my favourite characters, so now it’s your turn.  Who is/are your favourite character(s)?  Why?

[As a side note, there are no rules for Discussion posts other than the usual ones from my Commenting Policy.  Feel free to engage myself and other commenters!]

eReader Update

Well, thank you so much to everyone who suggested eReaders for me!  It was really helpful to see all of the different opinions, especially from people who use eReaders a lot for the same purposes I want to.  Since it would be difficult to respond to all 18 of the comments I received from you awesome people, I thought it would just be easier to announce my decision here on the blog.

I’m getting a Kindle Paperwhite.  It seems to be the best choice and was the most frequently recommended one in the comments section.  It’s also far below my budget of $200 and has great memory capacity for my purposes.  I won’t be buying many ebooks from the Kindle store, but it will be so useful to take my reading with me wherever I go rather than being glued to the computer for hours at a time.  With the amount I read I doubt it will have the 8 week battery life that they say it does, but that’s not really an issue at this point.  What matters is that it’s light, small, has an easy to read screen and it’s the most convenient for my purposes.

When I’m getting the Kindle I’m not really sure, but it will be sometime this year.  But let me say thank you so much to everyone who put in a suggestion.  It was awesome to hear suggestions from people I trust!  I don’t honestly know how I could have done it without you.

A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin

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.

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Graphic Novel Review: Batgirl Volume II: Knightfall Descends by Gail Simone

Images Courtesy of Goodreads and Collected Editions

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!

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