Sworn to Raise by Terah Edun

Sworn to Raise by Terah Edun(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

Seventeen-year-old Ciardis has grown up in poverty, a cleaner in a small vale on the outskirts of the kingdom. But beneath her kingdom’s seemingly idyllic surface lies a hidden secret. Whispers of an inept crown Prince are growing ever louder—intensified by the five year anniversary of the soulbond initiations.

Amidst scandalous whispers, Ciardis finds herself chosen to train for the Companion’s Guild. She leaves her home and sets off on a personal journey to become a Court Companion. A position she’d never thought possible for a lowly servant to obtain, she must prove that she has the skills to attract a Patron.

But she must master those skills quickly. If the legends are true, only Ciardis can harness the power to raise a Prince in an Imperial Court sworn to bring him down.

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

Sworn to Raise had so much potential.  It could have been one of the best books of the year for me, yet it fell flat in some respects.  Terah Edun’s fantasy world was absolutely amazing, Ciardis was a pretty good character and the plot was exciting and believable and yet…there was something lacking.

I can’t say it lacked heart, because it really didn’t.  But what I think Terah Edun did here was try to cram too much information into only 176 pages.  A lot happens in Sworn to Raise in a very short time and it’s exciting, but it’s at the expense of detail.  Detail is everything in fantasy because the books take place either in an alternate Earth or a completely different fictional universe.  Detail helps us understand the universe, but also get to know the characters and generally find our way around.  Sadly, Sworn to Raise did not have enough detail because Terah Edun seemed to shy away from descriptive passages.  Too much description is boring, but too little and you get confused.  I wasn’t confused all of the time, but there’s still sort of that rushed atmosphere throughout the whole book that I really didn’t appreciate.  This book should have been at least 300 pages and even that would be pushing it.

Despite the rushed atmosphere, I did enjoy Sworn to Raise.  Ciardis is an interesting character who tries her best to raise herself from her lowly station in life—even if it means joining the Companion’s Guild.  While in training, she discovers who she really is and who she wants to be, making a few friends along the way.  Her decision at the end of the book wasn’t surprising per se, but it was satisfying because in the beginning Ciardis would have chosen otherwise.  Her character arc is fascinating, but a bit rushed because of the insane pace of the plot.

Terah Edun’s fantasy world is fascinating and generally stays away from the tropes you often find in fantasy.  There are a couple of tropes, but she put her own twist on them and made the plot pretty unpredictable.  Some of the plot twists completely blindsided me—something that doesn’t happen often in fantasy.  Yet, the rushed feel just didn’t do it for me.  I like a fast plot, but sometimes it’s okay to slow down and let your readers catch their collective breath.  Will I be continuing the series, though?  Absolutely!  Terah Edun has a great premise here and I think her writing will only improve with time.

I give this book 4/5 stars.

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Through the Crimson Mirror by Daniel Alexander

Through the Crimson Mirror by Daniel Alexander(Cover picture courtesy of Beyond the Bookstore.)

Have you ever felt lost as a parent?
Do you really know your children?
As a child, have you ever felt alone?

This is not your ordinary parenting book. The cover images depict something raw and naked. The topics dealt with are real and visceral. It is a story that we do not often tell: the story of parenting from a child’s point of view. A roller coaster of emotions awaits readers as the author chronicles the highs and many lows of his life. It blends sound research and experience with gentle storytelling to show parents the effect their parenting has on their children.

Inspired by dysfunction and tragedy, the author opens his life in order to help others better understand the human condition, and ultimately prevent other children from growing up the same way he did. The aim is to help parents notice the signs of dysfunction. More importantly, to do something about it before it is too late. In addition, to tell others who grew up lonely, or in imperfect circumstances, that they are not alone.
Warning: many of the topics dealt with are of an adult nature. For this reason, the book comes with a warning for children under the age of 13. However, all teenagers who read it should do so with parental supervision.

Topics discussed in this book
what is parenting?
education
communication
secrets and lies

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from Daniel Alexander in exchange for an honest review.]

It took me a really, really long time to read Through the Crimson Mirror, even though it’s less than 100 pages.  Normally a book that length should take me less than an hour.  Now, that’s not because it’s a bad book I had to suffer through.  No, it’s because Daniel Alexander’s book was good; I had to slow down and digest all of the information being presented to me quite thoroughly.

This isn’t just a book on parenting—it’s also a book for any teenager/young adult who wants to gain more insight into the choices their parents made.  In some cases, it could be a lesson on what to look out for if you decide to become a parent.  In other cases, it could offer an explanation for the behavior of parents.  Daniel Alexander covers everything from educational reform to lying to your children in his book and it makes Through the Crimson Mirror a thought-provoking read.  Do I agree with everything he talks about in his book?  Of course not.  But that’s really not the point: the point is to get people thinking about the choices we and others make as parents and how to see through the eyes of a child.

Through the Crimson Mirror is not a book for everyone, but if you’re looking for some thought-provoking commentary and insight all in less than 100 pages you’d do well to read it.  Whether you’re a parent or not, you’ll enjoy it and start thinking critically about the world around you.  That’s something very few authors can achieve, so I have to congratulate Daniel Alexander on that.

I give this book 4.5/5 stars.

Amazon*     Barnes and Noble*

*Only available as an ebook.

Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh by Katie Hamstead

Kiya; Hope of the Pharaoh by Katie Hamstead(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

When Naomi’s sisters are snatched up to be taken to be wives of the erratic Pharaoh, Akhenaten, she knows they won’t survive the palace, so she offers herself in their place. The fearsome Commander Horemheb sees her courage, and knows she is exactly what he is looking for…

The Great Queen Nefertiti despises Naomi instantly, and strips her of her Hebrew lineage, including her name, which is changed to Kiya. Kiya allies herself with Horemheb, who pushes her to greatness and encourages her to make the Pharaoh fall in love with her. When Akhenaten declares Kiya will be the mother of his heir, Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy Kiya.

Kiya must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown. If she does bear an heir, she knows she will need to fight to protect him, as well as herself, from Nefertiti who is out for blood.

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

First off, please don’t judge Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh by the tacky cover.  The story is so much better, I promise.

Since so little is known about the real Kiya (we don’t even know if she really was Tutankhamun’s mother), I’m willing to suspend my disbelief at the premise of her being Hebrew.  Okay, fair enough.  Most theories place her as Nubian, but they’re just theories and I thought the whole premise of Naomi offering herself to Akhenaten to save her sisters was just too good to pass up.  After being presented with an Egyptian name, Naomi embarks upon a dangerous journey through the intrigues of a dysfunctional court and an even more dangerous harem.

Now, this great premise would have been ruined if Katie Hamstead’s characterization wasn’t as strong as it is.  Naomi/Kiya carries the whole story on her shoulders as she learns to feel affection for and maybe even love Akhenaten, a man she was always taught was evil.  She also makes friends and enemies in the harem, the most notable being her rival, Nefertiti.  Or rather, Nefertiti considers Naomi her rival and the lengths she goes to in order to preserve her place as Great Royal Wife are incredible.  Whenever I picture the real Nefertiti, I can’t help but imagine her as the vain, ridiculously beautiful, scheming woman Katie Hamstead has portrayed.  Other notable characters of the time like the ruthless, but oddly considerate Horemheb feel spot-on to me.  The characters don’t always appear to be consistent, but the big reveals throughout the story show that they were acting believably the whole time.

The details of ancient Egyptian life are generally accurate, although Katie Hamstead used the modern name of Amarna to refer to Akhetaten.  But Akhenaten’s fits, the fact he discarded the old religion in favour of one god and his utter lack of desire to make war are well documented and I couldn’t spot any glaring factual errors.  In writing about Akhenaten, Katie Hamstead had quite a bit of leeway as there are very, very few records from the time.  Still, I can’t complain about the historical accuracy.

As for the plot, it was quite fast-paced for historical fiction and kept me reading into the early hours of the morning, far past when I should have gone to bed.  It was really that good.  Naomi was just a fascinating character and her confusion about Malachi and Akhenaten, her hot-cold friendship with Horemheb and the constant threat of Nefertiti’s jealousy kept me on my toes the whole time.  Some of the plot twists were predictable, but others (especially at the end) I didn’t see coming.  Especially the big reveal at the end involving a certain male character.

It’s that big reveal that makes me want the next book this instant.  Although we know generally what happens to Akhenaten and Naomi’s son Tutankhamun from history, I just can’t get enough of Naomi.  She’s definitely one of my new favourite characters and I’ve just found a new author to watch because if Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh is any indicator, we can expect great things from Katie Hamstead.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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Some More Advice for Book Bloggers

If you haven’t already, please check out the first part of this ‘series’ by clicking here.  Read it?  Good, let’s get started on Part Two of my completely unplanned, irregularly scheduled series.

There’s lots of advice for bloggers out there, but very few of it applies to book bloggers.  I know I was learning things on the fly as I started The Mad Reviewer and I want some resources to be available out there so not everyone has to learn while they’re going like I did.  Here are some pieces of advice I really could have used:

Envy

1.  Don’t obsess about free books and ARCs, especially when you’re just starting out.

Although I had no idea it existed until a month ago, there is apparently quite some envy and conflict among the book blogging community when it comes to getting review copies from publishers and ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies).  Not because getting free books in exchange for reviews is controversial, but because people get jealous of reviewers who brag about all of the free stuff they get.  They make it seem like all of us get sent dozens of books per month from publishers, which most of us don’t.

When you’re just starting out you need to focus on learning the technical aspects of blogging as well as improving your writing and connecting with other bloggers to build up your statistics.  There is no reason for you to obsess over free books when you’re already doing all of these things.  I mean, truly?  Free books are awesome, but they’re not the be all, end all of book blogging.  I’ve been around for almost a year and a half and I’ve been sent 3 books by publishers—and one of those was by accident.

Seriously people, it’s not that big of a deal.  It’s nice when it happens, but if not it’s not the end of life as you know it and it certainly doesn’t mean you have a bad blog. Continue reading →

The Mad Reviewer Challenge Check in

Since it’s Sunday and I’m far too tired/lazy to write a very deep or thoughtful post at the moment, I thought it would be a great time for a challenge check in.  If you’re participating in The Mad Reviewer Reading/Reviewing Challenge, how far are you?  25%, 50%, finished?  Since it’s almost June, the halfway point, you should probably be around 50%, give or take a few percentage points.  Assuming you’re pacing yourself and not procrastinating until you begin a reading frenzy in December. If you’re not participating, there’s still time to join if you want to go for one of the lower levels (click here for more info).

As you guys can see from my progress bar, I’ve read and reviewed 65 books toward my goal of 104 books, making me roughly 63% done.  No, I’m not counting the short stories or novellas I’ve reviewed since I know I’ll be reading and reviewing far more than 104 books this year.  I can afford to be a little more picky, which is why I’m also keeping track of how many pages I’ll be reading for the challenge.  (Thanks to Caleb Flanagan of 20four12 for that idea!)

So how’s the challenge going for you?  If you’re not participating, how’s your reading/reviewing in general going this year?