Tagged: masq1
Drought by Pam Bachorz
(Cover picture courtesy of Pam Bachorz’s website.)
Ruby dreams of escaping the Congregation. Escape from slaver Darwin West and his cruel Overseers. Escape from the backbreaking work of gathering Water. Escape from living as if it is still 1812, the year they were all enslaved.
When Ruby meets Ford–an irresistible, kind, forbidden new Overseer–she longs to run away with him to the modern world, where she could live a normal teenage live. Escape with Ford would be so simple.
But if Ruby leaves, her community is condemned to certain death. She, alone, possess the secret ingredient that makes the Water so special–her blood–and it’s the one thing that the Congregation cannot live without.
Drought is the haunting story of one community’s thirst for life, and the dangerous struggle of the only girl who can grant it.
In most books there is often a sentence or question that keeps coming up for me as I read them. The recurring question for me in Drought was: “What is going on?”
Pam Bachorz raised so many questions in Drought, but very few of them were answered. Who is Otto? Why does his blood have magical properties? Why hasn’t the Congregation escaped after 200 years of slavery? Why did Otto leave? Why haven’t any kids been born since the Congregation formed? How did Darwin West enslave people like this? And why is the Congregation completely in the dark about modern inventions when it’s 2012 in the story? Surely Darwin wasn’t able to keep them completely isolated.
There are some pretty heavy religious undertones in the book, but they made no sense whatsoever. The Congregation is much like a cult and Ford introduces Ruby, the main character, to the idea that they’re worshipping a false god (Otto), but I had no idea where Pam Bachorz was going with it. As my English teacher frequently wrote on my essays, “So what?” Why is religion discussed so much in Drought but never actually plays a believable role in the motivations of the characters?
Ruby, the protagonist, is decent enough I suppose. Like in most YA novels, she is 200 years old but essentially acts like a teenager and falls in love with a teenager. Okay, I get that the Congregation ages much more slowly than regular people, but really? Even if you are treated like a child for 200 years, if you see the kind of violence Darwin West inflicts on your own mother, you’re going to grow up a lot faster than Ruby has. Her ‘romance’ with Ford feels completely contrived. It’s like the author didn’t know how to make readers truly connect with the characters; her writing doesn’t have that much emotion in it, to be truthful.
Drought had so much potential but ended up being a complete mess plot-wise and character-wise. This is one of the few series I will not be continuing in the foreseeable future.
I give this book 1/5 stars.
Wilde’s Meadow by Krystal Wade
(Cover picture courtesy of Krystal Wade via email.)
Happy endings are hard to find, and even though Katriona is in the middle of a war with someone who’s already stolen more than she can replace, she aches for a positive future with her Draíochtans.
Armed with hope, confidence in her abilities, and a strange new gift from her mother, Kate ventures into the Darkness to defeat a fallen god.
Losses add up, and new obstacles rise to stand in the way. Is the one determined to bring Encardia light strong enough to keep fighting, or will all the sacrifices to stop those who seek domination be for nothing?
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Wilde’s Meadow is like an opera. Not because it’s melodramatic or the plot is ridiculously convoluted, but because it has grand themes and memorable characters. It’s reminiscent of Aida what with all the tragedy and sacrifice in the last part. But, unlike most operas, the ending is not abrupt and it is quite satisfying from a fan perspective and a critical one.
As many of my Twitter fans know, Krystal Wade has taken great pleasure in tormenting me about Wilde’s Meadow. When she told me she cried while writing the last part of the novel, I was pretty concerned. I rarely get attached to characters in a series on this level; I think the last series that I was this emotionally involved in was Harry Potter. Yes, the Darkness Falls series is that good.
By this point in the series there really aren’t that many new characters, but many of the old ones go through surprising changes, especially Perth. Out of everyone, he surprised me the most. But it was, as usual, Kate whole stole the stage (as she should). Her love for Arland, her desire to help Encardia, her friendship with Flanna…all of these actually feel real to me. Kate is three dimensional along with all of the other characters, something that a surprising number of authors can’t even manage.
Need I really say anything about the plot? It’s the last book in a trilogy; of course it’s fast paced. Krystal Wade spent a lot longer building up to the climax than I thought she would, but for whatever reason it still worked. Just when you think the book is over, she throws another plot twist at you and the suspense ratchets up another notch. This is one of the very few books where I could not predict the ending, which is a refreshing change in fantasy. I won’t tell you if it ends well for the lovers, but let me say I can see why Krystal Wade cried while writing some parts. I almost cried reading some parts and I don’t get emotional over books very often.
If you’re looking for an amazing fantasy trilogy with memorable characters and a satisfying (if not completely happy) ending, I would highly recommend the Darkness Falls trilogy.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Puppet Parade by Zeinab Alayan
(Cover picture courtesy of Zeinab Alayan’s website.)
The life of a puppet master is never ordinary. Oliver Deere knew this when he ran away from home to take up the trade of puppetry, but he had no idea just how much his life would change.
After his puppets come to life and flee town, Oliver meets up with a masked girl who hides a mysterious past. As they travel together in search for Oliver’s lost puppets, they find that the line between puppet and master is becoming much less clear – and much more deadly.
As Oliver and his companion enter the strange world of The Parade, they begin to realise that their journey will lead them to discover the truth behind a dangerous villain’s path, and in the end, discover more about each other.
[Full disclosure: Zeinab Alayan sent me a free ebook in return for an honest review of her novel.]
When I saw the title Puppet Parade I must admit I was skeptical. Why? For no logical reason, really. I just thought it sounded stupid.
Yes, I judged a book by its title. I’m a terrible person, I know.
However, once I actually started reading Puppet Parade I was pleasantly surprised. Zeinab Alayan has a very nice, easy to read writing style and although she slips from past to present tense once or twice (especially near the end), I didn’t find nearly as many mistakes as I would have expected in a self-published novel. The only error that really threw me off was in the beginning where there was ‘nut’ instead of ‘but’ on page 8.
Sophie and Oliver really are great characters. In normal novels a man and a woman travelling together would pretty much fall in Insta-Love, but that’s really not the case with this odd pair. Zeinab Alayan took time to fully develop their personalities as they journeyed together through the mysterious Parade and discovered that despite its outward appearances, it had a much more sinister purpose. Sophie’s backstory is pretty incredible, but Puppet Parade does seem to be based in a fairytale-like setting so it does make sense in the context of the story. Oliver can be pretty eccentric but really is an interesting character who is very determined to protect Sophie, even before he admits to himself he has feelings for her.
The world of Puppet Parade is a refreshing break from all of the high fantasy I’ve read lately. Yes, it is fantasy, but it really doesn’t stick to any of the traditional fantasy tropes and clichés. It seemed to be pretty cliché at first, but Zeinab Alayan put an incredible twist on the mysterious world of the Parade that made sense, but was surprising at the same time.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
The gold thread shimmers in the fading light.
It promises Charlotte Miller a way out of debt, a chance to save her family’s beloved woolen mill. It promises a future for her sister, livelihood for her townsfolk, security against her sinuous and grasping uncle. It might even promise what she didn’t know she needed: lasting hope and true love.
But at what cost?
To get the thread, Charlotte must strike a bargain with its maker, the mysterious Jack Spinner. But the gleam of gold conjures a shadowy past—secrets and bonds ensnaring generations of Millers. And Charlotte’s mill, her family, her friends, her love…What do those matter to a powerful stranger who can spin straw into gold?
In her brilliant debut, Elizabeth Bunce weaves a spellbinding fairy tale, spun with mystery and shot through with romance.
A Curse Dark as Gold completely exceeded my expectations, something that is incredibly rare in a fairytale retelling. Elizabeth Bunce gave the heroine of the story, called Charlotte in this version (usually she has no name) a lot more depth than the traditional Rumpelstiltskin legend does. And Rumpelstiltskin himself, although he’s never called that, is surprisingly sympathetic. He is a villain in the traditional sense of the word, but in this version there are no set roles; it is very ambiguous, especially at the end.
Elizabeth Bunce also added enough plot twists to give the plot depth while keeping readers in suspense. Throughout the story, you really get the feeling that this is Rumpelstiltskin but it’s different enough that you are in doubt about the traditional happy ending during the climax. What impressed me the most about A Curse Dark as Gold was how Elizabeth Bunce chose to set it in a fantasy world similar to Britain as the Industrial Revolution was kicking off. Of course, that would explain why the mill was so important and was threatened with closure because of the new, more efficient machines in the city.
I thought Charlotte fell in love with Randall a little too quickly, but that’s probably because I’m not a romantic. Other than that, I really had no complaints about the characters, which is incredibly rare in a fairytale retelling. If you had to read just one fairytale retelling, I would recommend this one. Try it; you won’t regret it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Now You See Them, Now You Don’t by Gordon Korman
(Cover picture courtesy of ACK children and young adults.)
One man holds the key to freeing Aiden and Meg Falconer’s parents from prison: a mysterious figure named Frank Lindenauer. Aiden and Meg must cross the country to try to catch them…even as the FBI tries to catch them first.
In California, Aiden and Meg fall in with a crowd that already has its share of trouble. They want to believe they’ve found friends who will help them out. But if they’re not careful, these “friends” will sell them out instead.
More impossible escapes, more danger and more excitement. One would not think Gordon Korman’s On the Run series would be all that different, but unlike a lot of action/thriller series, it’s not just the numbers on the spines that distinguish one book from another. Each book moves the plot forward while providing all the action and humour you can expect from Gordon Korman.
What distinguishes Now You See Them, Now You Don’t from the first two books is that we discover more about the mysterious Frank Lindenauer and we see the darker side of the inner city. Meg and Aiden finally make mistakes and it’s only luck that saves them at times, not their own ingenuity. This would be annoying except for the fact it shows they have flaws; they’re not the perfect fugitives. They are still clever enough to hold readers’ attention, but their flaws give them a lot more depth than they had before.
The premise of On the Run certainly isn’t unique (going on the run to prove someone’s innocence), but for the target age group it certainly will be. Even if you’ve read something like this before, Gordon Korman’s humour and action-packed writing will win you over. They’re quite short books, only around 100 pages, but I still re-read them once a year.
I give this book 5/5 stars.