Tagged: masq1
Lady of the Eternal City by Kate Quinn
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
National bestselling author Kate Quinn returns with the long-awaited fourth volume in the Empress of Rome series, an unforgettable new tale of the politics, power, and passion that defined ancient Rome.
Elegant, secretive Sabina may be Empress of Rome, but she still stands poised on a knife’s edge. She must keep the peace between two deadly enemies: her husband Hadrian, Rome’s brilliant and sinister Emperor; and battered warrior Vix, who is her first love. But Sabina is guardian of a deadly secret: Vix’s beautiful son Antinous has become the Emperor’s latest obsession.
Empress and Emperor, father and son will spin in a deadly dance of passion, betrayal, conspiracy, and war. As tragedy sends Hadrian spiraling into madness, Vix and Sabina form a last desperate pact to save the Empire. But ultimately, the fate of Rome lies with an untried girl, a spirited redhead who may just be the next Lady of the Eternal City . . .
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
One of the things I’ve always struggled with in Kate Quinn’s Empress of Rome series is the believability factor. She does take the most sensational gossip about all of the emperors she writes about and portrays it in her novels. It’s a conscious choice rather than a mistake caused by lack of knowledge but sometimes it really doesn’t sit easy with me as someone who has studied Roman history to a certain extent. I liked where she took this sensationalism in her first book Mistress of Rome but really didn’t like it in Daughters of Rome because the believability factor with those characters was just not there. However, I set aside my impressions about the two books in the series that I’ve read (I’ve unfortunately skipped #3 but it wasn’t necessary to understand this story) to read Lady of the Eternal City. Because whether I agree with her or not on historical matters, Kate Quinn does write a good story.
Here we have some pretty fabulous characters: Vix, who is all grown up and watching his children both biological and adopted grow up, Sabina who is now Empress of Rome, Antinous the rather naive adopted son of Vix and Hadrian the capricious and ruthless emperor. Of all of these characters, I really did love Antinous the best. Of course I knew how his story was going to end but Kate Quinn made me love him in a way that I didn’t think was possible. For all that his naivete was his main flaw it was also his strength and led to some tremendous changes in other characters. In the cutthroat world of Roman power politics, he stayed innocent and really did believe the best of everyone, even those who mocked and hurt him. Antinous’ father Vix of course was also a great character. On one hand he is loyal to Rome because of his years in the legions. On the other hand, he’d really, really like to slit Hadrian’s throat because of a history of bad blood between the two of them. Vix is a complicated man and he’s far from perfect as you’ll definitely see around the halfway point in this book if you do read it. It makes him more realistic, considering his background.
The plot is not fast-paced even by historical fiction standards but Kate Quinn tells such a good story that you’ll have no problem sailing through the 500+ pages of the novel. Unlike some historical novels, it doesn’t feel like the unseen hand of the author is moving the characters forcibly down the paths of their historical counterparts. No, she creates her characters in such a way that it feels like you really know the historical figure and understand why the character chose to go down their particular path in life. Antinous’ story in particular resonated with me because so little is actually known about him as a person; he was sort of an ornament in Hadrian’s entourage for a number of years. But Antinous in the story really breathes life into a boy known to history as a wallflower, nothing more.
I don’t necessarily agree with the portrayals of all of the historical figures mentioned in the novel but Kate Quinn is generally very historically accurate. Her descriptions of everything from the numerous provinces Hadrian visits all the way to the everyday clothes of men and women are just fabulous. She brings a sort of authenticity to her writing that makes you feel like you’re right there along with the characters exploring the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire. And the little details she adds in to daily life just make it all the more believable. Lady of the Eternal City is one of those novels where you can quite honestly say you learned something from it when you’re done reading.
So if you have read and liked the rest of the Empress of Rome series, you will like Lady of the Eternal City. It reveals so much more about our old friends Sabina and Vix while also introducing an entirely new cast of characters in the next generation of the Roman elite. As with all of Kate Quinn’s books although it takes some of the most sensational stories from the time it remains true to the general historical facts and Quinn adds in little details that make you feel like you’re right there along with the characters. And that is one of the best ways to measure the calibre of any historical fiction novel.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Shadow Soul by Kaitlyn Davis
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
GAME OF THRONES meets GRACELING in a new fantasy adventure by bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis. Told in alternating male and female perspectives, THE SHADOW SOUL has been hailed as “an amazing start to a new series that is going to have people of all ages wanting so much more.” (Happy Tails & Tales Reviews)
When Jinji’s home is destroyed, she is left with nowhere to run and no one to run to–until she meets Rhen, a prince chasing rumors that foreign enemies have landed on his shores. Masquerading as a boy, Jinji joins Rhen with vengeance in her heart. But traveling together doesn’t mean trusting one another, and both are keeping a deep secret–magic. Jinji can weave the elements to create master illusions and Rhen can pull burning flames into his flesh.
But while they struggle to hide the truth, a shadow lurks in the night. An ancient evil has reawakened, and unbeknownst to them, these two unlikely companions hold the key to its defeat. Because their meeting was not coincidence–it was fate. And their story has played out before, in a long forgotten time, an age of myth that is about to be reborn…
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Normally I’m extremely skeptical of any book hailed as similar to “Game of Thrones” or “Graceling” but to be compared to both in the same sentence? I was pretty skeptical. But I set that skepticism aside when I read the blurb because despite the overly aggrandizing opening the rest of it sounded pretty good. I will clear up one thing first: The Shadow Soul is not really like A Game of Thrones or Graceling. However, it is still a good story in its own right.
The thing that really stood out to me is Jinji, the female main character. She sees her whole tribe wiped out by the man she loves (who was possessed by what she calls the shadow) and then is nearly killed in an attack later. Thankfully, she’s saved by Rhen and thankfully for Rhen, she then saves his life in turn. Both of these characters get page time in their respective points of view. The chapters tend to alternate but it never really feels confusing since both of them have very, very different voices. Jinji is more reserved and quiet in part because that’s how she was raised but also because she’s still processing the grief associated with being the literal last member of your culture after seeing the others brutally wiped out. Rhen is more brash and loud but you can really tell he has the best interests of his family in his heart the whole time. Having them travel together was a good idea because it forced two very different personalities to get along, all the while holding back secrets from the other person. Jinji is hiding the fact that she is a girl while Rhen is hiding the fact that he’s actually a good guy, not the hedonistic playboy the kingdom seems to think he is.
The world-building was good but it never really had that wow factor. It was refreshing to see a Native American-like culture depicted, particularly since in the kingdom it is struggling against the ‘modernizing’ forces of invaders and the fact that its territory has been severely limited. And it was nice to see Jinji struggle to keep some of her traditions alive, even if the rest of the people in the kingdom frown upon her culture. Seeing Rhen’s reaction to some of her cultural practices was nice as well because it reveals that mixture of guilt he has for being a part of the family that committed an effective cultural genocide against her people but also the respect he has for those people. In essence, it reveals a lot of the modern attitudes toward native peoples and one of the great things about fantasy is that it can hold a mirror up to our own world for us to examine. My only real criticism about the world-building is that I would have liked the politics to be a little more subtle than “that other kingdom is jealous of us”. That is certainly a factor in many wars and in politics in general but it isn’t the only one as is really depicted in The Shadow Soul.
I must admit that despite all of the deserved praise of this book, there was one part that I had to struggle through immensely: the pacing. The plot itself was not bad even if it was a little predictable because Kaitlyn Davis used pretty familiar fantasy tropes. However, the pacing was brutal in the beginning. I don’t mind slow pacing but for some reason I really had to force myself to keep reading until the story really got going about 30% of the way in. It’s not that the plot it self was boring but rather that Davis just doesn’t have that flair for description that some authors have. Some authors could describe a peanut butter sandwich to you and it would be fascinating (see: M.J. Rose, Kristin Cashore, George R. R. Martin) but Davis’ longer descriptions were, well, boring. Her writing in general is excellent but I just wasn’t sucked into the story as I should have been, considering that there is quite a bit of action in the beginning. It’s hard to explain as you can tell from my rambling, but it felt like The Shadow Soul lacked excitement until about a third of the way in. After that it was pretty exciting and I had to keep reading to find out what would happen next, but the beginning was quite hard to get through.
So while the book has a great premise, decent enough world-building and vivid character, the beginning of it definitely lacks “oomph” (for lack of a better word). Would I recommend it to most fantasy-lovers? Probably because there were some interesting plot twists, particularly toward the end. But it’s getting past the beginning that is the real hurdle to reading this book. If you can get past the beginning, you’re in for a treat because the pacing significantly improves but if you aren’t one for sticking it out you’ll be sorely disappointed. By the end of the book you’ll be just as eager as I am to read the next book but the beginning, for whatever reason, was the hardest part of the book to read. It doesn’t lack action but it does lack excitement, if that makes any sense at all.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Hopebreaker by Dean F. Wilson
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
In the world of Altadas, there are no more human births. The Regime is replacing the unborn with demons, while the Resistance is trying to destroy a drug called Hope that the demons need to survive.
Between these two warring factions lies Jacob, a man who profits from smuggling contraceptive amulets into the city of Blackout. He cares little about the Great Iron War, but a chance capture, and an even more accidental rescue, embroils him in a plot to starve the Regime from power.
When Hope is an enemy, Jacob finds it harder than he thought to remain indifferent. When the Resistance opts to field its experimental landship, the Hopebreaker, the world may find that one victory does not win a war.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
Two years ago I really couldn’t have told you what steampunk was but it’s really been growing on me, particularly of late. So when I had an opportunity to read Hopebreaker, I leaped at the chance. It sounded like some pretty good steampunk from the blurb and it turns out that I was not wrong in trusting the description.
What is really striking about the world of Wilson’s The Great Iron War series is that it’s a mixture of fantasy and science to create a special blend of steampunk. On the fantasy end, we have demons controlling the human population by swapping out the souls of human fetuses with the souls of demons. Magical amulets are worn by rebellious pregnant women to prevent this from happening. On the science end, we have things like the Hopebreaker and the other machines used by the Resistance and the Regime. They’re classic steampunk complete with steam-powered engines and a mixture of cold machinery and elegance. And the world-building itself was quite good because Wilson’s grasp of politics is also good. Not everything is so black and white in his world and oftentimes there are people caught in the middle of the faction fighting that just really want to live their lives in peace, thank you very much. There are traitors on both sides of the line and nothing is as it seems.
The main character Jacob was both excellent and hard to relate to. On the surface he is an excellent character: he’s a thirty year old man who has been smuggling as a way of staying alive and rebelling against the Regime. In theory he supports the Resistance by getting the demon-preventing amulets into the hands of women throughout the city but he really just wants to survive. He doesn’t support the Regime because of the whole demon thing but he doesn’t actively support the Resistance because sometimes they can be just as bad as the ‘bad guys’. But when he’s captured by the Regime and saved by the Resistance in a raid he really has no choice but to fight with them, particularly as he wants to stay alive. Then he finds out that maybe he’s not as neutral and uncaring as he would have liked, particularly around the smart, brave and morally ambiguous Resistance leader Taberah (she’s not the supreme leader but she does command a fair number of men). But once he meets Taberah that sort of gets to the crux of my problem with him as a character: I can’t connect with him on an emotional level. Sure, he displays emotions in theory but I really wasn’t feeling them from him. Maybe it’s just me but it was sort of disappointing that he seems to go through the novel with minimal emotional reactions to the crazy events unfolding all around him.
Despite my little quibble with Jacob, I did otherwise enjoy the novel because the plot was well paced and although it was sometimes predictable there were enough twists thrown in to keep things interesting. You can probably guess the end of the novel by about a third of the way through but it’s well written so it’s actually quite an enjoyable journey that will have you eagerly turning the pages to find out what happens next. Dean F. Wilson is excellent at writing suspense even when the outcome isn’t really in doubt and he sort of keeps a line of tension running through the novel that slowly ratchets up until things seem ready to explode. So like I said, you’ll probably be able to predict the ending but you’ll enjoy the plot and want to know what happens next all the same.
If you’re looking for a little steampunk in your life or just a great suspenseful novel with generally good characters, Hopebreaker is for you. It’s a great introduction to a steampunk world that I’m really looking forward to learning more about.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
When the British Empire sets its sights on India in the 1850s, it expects a quick and easy conquest. After all, India is not even a country, but a collection of kingdoms on the subcontinent. But when the British arrive in the Kingdom of Jhansi, expecting its queen to forfeit her crown, they are met with a surprise. Instead of surrendering, Queen Lakshmi raises two armies—one male, one female—and rides into battle like Joan of Arc. Although her soldiers are little match against superior British weaponry and training, Lakshmi fights against an empire determined to take away the land she loves.
Told from the perspective of Sita, one of the guards in Lakshmi’s all-female army and the queen’s most trusted warrior, The Last Queen of India traces the astonishing tale of a fearless ruler making her way in a world dominated by men. In the tradition of her bestselling novel Nefertiti, which Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander series, called “a heroic story with a very human heart,” Michelle Moran once again brings a time and place rarely explored in historical fiction to rich, vibrant life.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I have to say that I’ve had mixed experiences with Michelle Moran’s books. The first book I read by her was Cleopatra’s Daughter and I absolutely loved it. The second book I read by her was Nefertiti and I both hated it and was supremely disappointed by it. As a result of the second book I never read any of her other works but the blurb on Rebel Queen and my previously good experience with Cleopatra’s Daughter convinced me to give her a second chance. In the end, I am so glad that I did.
Rebel Queen reveals to Westerners like me a society and culture that we rarely think of. I’m ashamed to admit that before I read this book I knew essentially nothing about Indian history other than the odd occasion when they came into contact with empires and cultures I did study like the Mongol and Alexandrian Empires. So imagine my surprise and my delight when I learned that not only was Rebel Queen mostly historically accurate, it taught me so much about Indian culture. I loved learning in a very organic way about the different gods and goddesses in the Hindu religion that are really just aspects of one god and I loved learning about how various cultures influenced India up until that point. The concept of purdah brought in by the Muslims (the practice of separating and sequestering women) was definitely interesting to see in Sita’s little village and when she finally travelled to become a bodyguard to Queen Lakshmi it was in stark contrast to the open, more equal expectations of men and women in the capital city. Of course I don’t know how accurate all of this is but Michelle Moran seems to have done her research and only changed a couple of the place names and the chronology just a tiny bit throughout the whole book so I think it’s safe to say that it’s at least mostly accurate.
Sita was a very interesting character. When her mother dies giving birth to her little sister, the only hope her family has of providing a dowry for one of them is for Sita to start training as a Durgavasi, the elite all female bodyguard to the rani (or queen in English). There are only ever ten Durgavasi at any one time so Sita has to become an expert in the bow and arrow, pistols, swords and daggers as well as learn both English and another one of the main languages in India in order to be a valuable member of the court. When she’s chosen as the newest Durgavasi at only 17 it’s the culmination of a lot of hard work but also the start of a new type of hard work. There’s of course the physical side of training but Sita also has to become versed in the little intricacies of the court as well as learn how to speak, act and dress like a member of the rani’s court. Not everyone in the Durga Dal is so kind to her, however, and one in particular seems out to get her constantly. As she learns to integrate, Sita certainly grows as a person and her main concern is always her little sister back home. But when the British start to annex Jhansi, Sita is forced to make heart-rending choices as she is forced to choose between her family and her rani, who has become a friend to her. I think we all know essentially how the story ends but it’s Sita’s journey that makes it worth reading.
For historical fiction, Rebel Queen is very fast-paced but by most standards it’s in a sort of happy middle. It’s fast-paced enough to stay interesting but at the same time there are times the plot slows down to allow you to get your bearings and learn more about the characters. Character development is never sacrificed in the name of the plot and I loved seeing not only how Sita grows into her role but also how the rani goes from being childless to being a mother to a figurehead/peacekeeper and finally the full on rebel queen that history knows her as. It’s an interesting journey and even if the plot had been slower paced it still would have kept my interest. Michelle Moran is a pretty good writer in general so it’s great to see the proof in this book that the disaster that was Nefertiti was a fluke.
If you like historical fiction I really can’t recommend Rebel Queen enough. Even if you’re like me and no absolutely nothing about Indian history, it’s very hard not to love this book. You’ll fall in love with the characters and cheer them on even though you can probably guess how things end and maybe you’ll learn a little bit about Indian culture and history like I did. So go on and buy this book! It releases today here in Canada and the US. (It releases in early April in Britain under the title The Last Queen of India.)
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Silver Pear by Michelle Diener
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
An unlikely princess . . .
Kayla is determined to master her new-found abilities as a wild magic witch. She’s learning everything she can so she and her betrothed, Rane, can put a stop to the sorcerers who are recklessly gathering their power, building up their magic to take each other on in a war that will destroy the countries of Middleland.
An even more unlikely sorcerer . . .
Mirabelle’s father was one of the greatest sorcerers in Middleland, but when he used the magic in the silver pear to bespell his pregnant wife to give birth to the greatest sorcerer who would ever live, he never thought that child would be a girl. Mirabelle is nothing like a usual sorcerer, confounding every expectation, and when she comes to the rescue of Rane’s brother, Soren, she makes a decision few sorcerers would. She saves him, rather than herself, losing the silver pear in the process.
And using magic always exacts a price . . .
With war not just a possibility but simply a matter of time, there are no neutral parties and no fence-sitters in Kayla and Mirabelle’s new world. Everyone is either an ally or an enemy and there is a price to pay for everything. The question is, how high will it be?
[Full disclosure: Michelle Diener gave me a pre-approval widget for NetGalley so I could receive an ebook in exchange for an honest review.]
I must admit that while I downloaded The Silver Pear in fall 2014, I was so busy that I didn’t have time to re-read the first book, The Golden Apple and so I didn’t actually get to read it until a couple weeks ago in February 2015. So by the time I finally got to read this book, I was more than ready to slip back into Michelle Diener’s awesome fantasy world to learn Kayla and Rane’s fates.
What makes this book different from the first one is that it’s told from four different perspectives grouped into two main sections: Kayla and Rane get alternating chapters before the viewpoint switches to Soren and Mirabelle for alternating chapters before switching back to the first pair. In the hands of some authors this would never work but Michelle Diener makes each character’s voice so distinct that it would be very hard to confuse the points of view of the four different main characters. And the alternating points of view sometimes overlap but they’re never just a recap of what happened in the head of another character just one chapter ago. That makes the plot move forward constantly at a really unrelenting pace; it’s part of the reason why I stayed up to read this book until way too early in the morning.
As with the first book, the characters are amazing. Kayla still remains my favourite because I love seeing her grow into her power as a wild magic witch but Mirabelle is an interesting new addition to our unlikely quartet. She has a fantastic backstory that’s filled with both tragedy and privilege and once she learns to trust Soren she reveals it bit by bit in a natural, very organic way that never slows down the plot. Both Rane and his wayward brother Soren were excellent characters as well and you can tell that both of them care very much for not only their sibling but for the amazing women they travel with for a large chunk of the novel. All four main characters are well fleshed-out but Michelle Diener also never neglects her secondary characters, particularly Ylana, the earth witch Kayla froze in The Golden Apple. Ylana is not all that she appears to be and she definitely plays her cards close to her chest. At the end of the day, you never really know what side she’s going to choose and that kept me in suspense for a fair bit of the novel.
So here we have a great plot and very believable, realistic characters, but how was the world-building? Like with the first book, I was blown away by Michelle Diener’s world-building. Only this time our adventures are not confined to the Great Forest! We get to see many of the kingdoms that make up the world of The Silver Pear and the toll the feuding sorcerers have taken on those kingdoms. Battles between sorcerers can get very, very nasty and the politics behind which king backs which sorcerer are complex and often fraught with danger. Will Kayla and the gang be able to corner the worst sorcerer, Eric the Bold and his companion before they both destroy the kingdoms? I’ll leave it up to you to figure that part out when you read the book.
Really, if you read and loved The Golden Apple, you’re going to love the second installment in the Dark Forest set. If you haven’t picked up the first book I would definitely recommend reading it before tackling The Silver Pear but it’s not totally necessary because of the handy summary of events Michelle Diener has at the beginning of the novel. I can’t recommend both books enough so if you like unique fantasy with three dimensional characters and fascinating worlds, you can’t go wrong with either this book or the first book.
I give this book 5/5 stars.