Tagged: masq1
Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray
(Cover picture courtesy of Stephanie Dray’s website.)
Sorceress. Seductress. Schemer. Cleopatra’s daughter is the one woman with the power to destroy an empire…
Having survived her perilous childhood as a royal captive of Rome, Selene pledged her loyalty to Augustus and swore she would become his very own Cleopatra. Now the young queen faces an uncertain destiny in a foreign land.
The magic of Isis flowing through her veins is what makes her indispensable to the emperor. Against a backdrop of imperial politics and religious persecution, Cleopatra’s daughter beguiles her way to the very precipice of power. She has never forgotten her birthright, but will the price of her mother’s throne be more than she’s willing to pay?
Oftentimes the second book in a trilogy suffers from what I call Book 2 Syndrome. It means that the book is essentially a set up for the more exciting final book and ends on a huge cliffhanger to sucker readers into buying another book. This is definitely not the case with Stephanie Dray’s debut trilogy.
Cleopatra Selene is an even better character in this book not only because of her age but because of her life experience. Stephanie Dray manages to find a perfect balance between Selene’s ambitious side and her religious side, the side that is totally devoted to Isis. At the same time (for what will become obvious reasons) Selene has a hard time trusting and forgiving people. She’s not a perfect woman and never pretends to be but her inner strength is undeniable. Truly, Selene is spared nothing by Stephanie Dray and goes through so much suffering throughout the novel. Yet with the suffering there is also healing.
Much like Lily of the Nile, this book was a one-sitting read. I literally could not put it down, going so far as to read it while having supper, which is not something I’d normally do no matter how interesting a book is. The plot is fast-paced but there’s so much character development not only for Selene but for Chryssa, Juba, Octavian and Helios as well. It’s really a fascinating read from a lot of perspectives.
Song of the Nile is not a miraculous example of historical accuracy in fiction. Yet I loved how Stephanie Dray admitted this in her ‘Dear Reader’ note and gave actual justifications for any changes. There is also a huge gap in the record of Cleopatra Selene’s life so she did have a little more leeway with her characters than most historical fiction writers do. Despite these changes where possible the novel is historically accurate right down to the details of everyone’s clothing.
If you haven’t started the trilogy yet I can’t recommend it enough. It’s well-written so that you feel like you’re actually there with these historical figures. It’s fast-paced but doesn’t sacrifice character development in the process. And it’s historically accurate where possible. What more can you ask for in historical fiction?
I give this book 5/5 stars.
A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance — beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.
Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever.
Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone — a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.
From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.
After loving the first four books, I’ll admit that I really wanted to love A Dance with Dragons. I really, really tried. But it was such slow-going. It took me over a month to finish this book which should be a warning sign right there.
The problem, I think, at this point in the series is a little something called character bloat. There are too many characters. There are so many different houses and players entering into the war for Westeros that it’s simply become ridiculous. I can hardly keep track of them all and I’m not bragging when I say I have a good memory when it comes to books. Some points of view could have been cut from the book entirely. Did Quentyn Martell really have to have his say? Arya’s story barely went anywhere.
If it was just a slow plot I could handle it but it feels like the characters are going in totally different directions. Daenerys is an indecisive, idealistic moron compared to the strong, sure young woman she was in previous books. Jon Snow keeps swinging between rigidly sticking to his oath as a man of the Night’s Watch and totally violating it by siding with a king. Tyrion…well I don’t know what to think of him anymore. It’s okay that characters change and explore themselves. That’s what makes a story good! But it’s not okay that they randomly go in a whole different direction with pretty much zero explanation.
Despite all this, when I actually sat down to read A Dance with Dragons I didn’t mind it all that much. Some parts were pretty darn good. Although George R. R. Martin lost some of the things that made his series great in the beginning (his ability to kill off main characters ruthlessly, for one) he still has that amazing world-building. We learn so much about Westeros and the rest of Martin’s world that it almost makes up for everything else. The history of all Seven Kingdoms and the impact on people and other places was fascinating. I loved learning more about the world’s history! It added more depth to Martin’s world.
Yes, I will read The Winds of Winter when it finally does get published. Will I be looking forward to it as much as I did this book? Probably not. I’m just hoping that the next book will be better and that we’ll go back to that magical spark George R. R. Martin had in A Game of Thrones.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
(Cover picture courtesy of the Graceling Wiki.)
Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past. Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.
Each book in the Graceling Realm series is a little different. The first book, Graceling, is first and foremost about a Graceling’s (Katsa) struggle to remain free in a world where Gracelings are the property of kings. The second book is about Fire, a part-monster who has to struggle with the gift of her beauty and mind control that makes others suspicious of her and her motives. And finally, this third book is first and foremost about Bitterblue, a queen who really is trying to rule and heal a broken realm to the best of her ability.
I love how Kristin Cashore never paints her characters as perfect, even in the end. Bitterblue is first and foremost a flawed character and she grows because of it. She has no clue about Monsea aside from what her advisers tell her and even when she tries to gain independence they block her at every turn. She has a hard time relating to the average person even though she thinks she’s getting better when she starts sneaking out. It’s only when she truly looks inside herself and at her kingdom that she becomes the queen Katsa and Po meant for her to be.
Bitterblue is pretty much my favourite character in the whole novel, but the secondary characters are well fleshed out. Sapphire is fascinating, Fox is full of surprises and we even see how Katsa and Po have changed eight years into their relationship. There aren’t really any stock characters and that’s one of the main reasons why I love Kristin Cashore’s writing. She may take forever to write her books, but she does an amazing job with them.
I can’t in all honesty call the plot fast-paced yet it kept me up later than I intended. There are a lot of twists and turns as plots are uncovered and Bitterblue is forced to act and react to them. Everything we thought we knew about Monsea is turned on its head and there are stirrings of revolution in the other kingdoms.
Speaking of politics, that’s another one of Kristin Cashore’s strengths. In her fantasy world things don’t stagnate, they change as they do in this one. New technologies and ideas are developed, just like they really were in the Middle Ages. Tyrannical kings are toppled, new realms are discovered as exploration technology improves and medicine gets better. There are actual consequences for the actions of nobles and kings! It’s just a fascinating concept for fantasy and I’m so happy that Kristin Cashore takes her time to consider the geopolitical consequences of everyone’s actions.
If you loved the first two books in the series, you’re pretty much guaranteed to love Bitterblue. It’s that simple.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Fireblood by Trisha Wolfe
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
To save a kingdom, Zara must choose between a prince who could be the answer and a rising rebellion that threatens to take control.
When Zara Dane is chosen to marry Prince Sebastian Hart, son of the man who ordered her father’s capture, Zara knows she must fight to save everything she loves from ruin.
Being betrothed to the prince means a life trapped behind the towering stone walls of the Camelot-forged realm. Under the watchful eye of the prince’s first knight, Sir Devlan Capra, changing her future becomes difficult.
When an unlikely rebel reveals the truth about the deadly secrets that fuel King Hart’s twisted world, Zara’s path to rescue her father becomes clouded by deception. The Rebels clear her path by forcing Zara’s hand with an ultimatum: sway Prince Sebastian to join the Rebels, convincing him of his father’s evil nature, or they will take him out.
But Zara is uncertain about a future under the Rebels’ command and where the prince’s heart truly lies. She must decide who to trust, what to believe, and what she’s truly fighting for before the king destroys all of Karm, including her heart.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Fireblood had it all, really: complicated and realistic characters, a believable world, plot twists and even a fast-paced plot. So why do I feel so melancholy after finishing the book?
Well, the problem is that the ending sucked. I really thought Trisha Wolfe was going to break down some of the clichés that are so common in the YA genre. After all, the first two thirds of the novel had all kinds of inverted and subverted tropes as well as new takes on old clichés. But then something happened and it felt like the story took a totally random new direction into Clichéland. I was just so disappointed in the predictable ending that it’s colouring my whole perception of the novel.
Despite the admittedly horrible ending, Zara was a great character throughout the novel. She was strong and feisty without swinging too far into the territory of a stereotypical action girl. I loved her conflicted feelings over Sebastian and Devlan; it was a love triangle I could actually identify with and believe. That’s pretty rare in YA these days, so I’ll give Trisha Wolfe credit where credit is due. I loved Devlan because I’m a sucker for the bodyguard-falling-in-love cliché. He’s a complicated character, which makes it more realistic and his character arc never really followed the traditional bodyguard one.
The world-building in Fireblood was fantastic. An evil despotic ruler taking civilization back to the Medieval period while constantly monitoring his people with technology? Sounds good to me! Although the way I’ve described it makes it sound so trite it’s really not and you may hate it at first, but Trisha Wolfe really added a lot of depth to her world. She reveals some aspects of her world at a more natural pace as well, trusting in the intelligence of her readers rather than spoon-feeding information to them.
The plot was fast-paced and unpredictable for about two thirds of the novel, then the dreaded ending happened. It was just so forced and didn’t really fit at all with the mood of the story that I had a hard time finishing Fireblood. That just goes to show that without a good ending, an amazing novel can become just another mediocre one. Do I hold out hope for the rest of the series, though? Of course! Trisha Wolfe is an incredible writer and I think she’ll learn from this first novel in the series.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Sworn to Conflict by Terah Edun
(Cover picture courtesy of trips down imagination road.)
Ciardis Weathervane fought for the living dead and won. But worse than taking on a mass murderer, was her discovery that she had been deceived by her friends. Now she needs to not only fight a war in the North and survive, but also decide where she stands in the midst of competing sides.
A threat to all she holds dear lies in the North and her heart is not the only thing she might lose. A massive army awaits in the mountain pass, surging closer to the gates of the southern lands. Nothing the Algardis army has done so far has dissuaded their march forward and Ciardis finds out that her powers to enhance are needed now more than ever.
As she faces her greatest fears on the battlefields and her heart is torn between her love of Sebastian and loyalty to her family, Ciardis must choose her fate carefully. For in her path, lies the destiny of the empire.
This third novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Transfer.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
You know, I was more than a little skeptical of the entire Courtlight series after reading the first novel. It was more than a little rushed and the writing was decent enough, but nothing special. What made me stick with the series was the amazing characters and the incredibly unique premise. So, now that I’m on the third book out of four books, was it worth it?
Of course!
I loved Sworn to Conflict even more than I loved the previous book, Sworn to Transfer. It’s better than the first one and I thought it would be hard to top the second book, but Terah Edun has improved yet again. She’s found the perfect balance between dialogue and description and has expanded her fascinating fantasy world yet again. There are new creatures, new threats to the realm and terrifying new secrets that change everything Ciardis thought she knew.
Aside from the world-building, I really enjoyed the characters in this novel. Ciardis is a great character in that she’s not afraid to stand up to Prince Sebastian, despite the fact he’s the heir to the realm and she’s only a Companion. And when she’s betrayed by him, she doesn’t go running back to him, ready to forgive all of his wrongs. No, she’s able to be mad and stay mad and eventually begin the long path to forgiveness. It’s far more realistic, believe me.
The plot was fast-paced but not to the point where I had no idea what was going on. There were so many twists and turns that I barely kept up, but I enjoyed myself the whole time. You never really know just where Terah Edun is going to take the series and I think the final book, Sworn to Secrecy is going to be even better than this one. I can’t wait for the release!
I give this book 5/5 stars.