Tagged: romance
Operation Owl by Tara Quan
(Cover picture courtesy of Elle Rush’s blog.)
A Beyond Fairytales Adaptation of Grimm’s The Owl
Five years ago, Maya Jain kissed her best friend only to have him run out of her dorm room and leave the state. When he shows up in Washington, D.C., a wanted fugitive sought after by every branch of the US government, she can’t bring herself to ignore his plight. As their physical relationship picks up where it left off, she decides it’s time to make him see her as more than the bespectacled, bookish girl he once called “Owl.”
After being accused of espionage and treason, Zack Strong needs a forensic accountant to help clear his name. Not knowing who he can trust, this white-hat hacker has no choice but to ask his former best friend and math tutor for help. Together they unravel a cyber conspiracy at the Barn, an NSA facility tasked to intercept electronic communications. But as they traverse the nation’s capital to avoid capture, Maya insists on letting their simmering sexual tension take its natural course. Even though he’s never been able to shake the memory of their one kiss, he refuses to let her give up her life for a man with no future.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
Operation Owl was a solid ‘meh’ for me personally. Yes, I went into this expecting for there to be lots of romance (which was fine) but I also expected a little bit more action. I’ll explain.
Essentially, the big conspiracy plot that’s the reason why Zack is running plays second fiddle to the interpersonal conflict between him and Maya. That’s just fine by me in theory, except that in practice, the actual huge conspiracy probably made up less than 25% of the book whereas the rest was about their friendship. With a conspiracy that big, I would have preferred a little more action because it’s pretty important. So even though Operation Owl does have an interesting plot on the blurb, it’s actually very much the ‘romantic comedy’ it’s labelled as. (Though lacking on the comedy part.)
Despite my misgivings about the plot, I did enjoy the characters. Maya and Zack have had a complicated relationship, to say the least. We learn about the events of five years ago that led to Maya kissing Zack and how that in turn led to them not seeing each other in person for all that time. When they finally meet again, having Zack being chased by the government’s hired mercenaries doesn’t exactly make for the best circumstances. Still, they make it work and their bond re-forms. I liked seeing from each of their viewpoints how they learned to let go of the past and just focus on the present. This is definitely one of the better romances I’ve read.
Tara Quan’s writing style is actually very good. It’s well-suited to the contemporary feel of her novel and while it is pared-down, I was never confused about the setting or which character was speaking (as sometimes happens when authors try to cut too much description). She does an excellent job with the sexual tension of both characters and by a certain point in the book you’re just ready to scream at them to go and have sex already. Which is sort of the purpose of that unresolved sexual tension, I suppose.
So character-wise and writing-wise, I really have no complaints. I would have liked for there to have been more focus on the conspiracy, but that’s just me. At least the conflict was resolved nicely (but not necessarily neatly) at the very end and it would almost be believable were I not such a cynic about politics. Again, that’s just me; it’s actually quite a satisfying ending from a reader’s standpoint.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Hyacinth by Abigail Owen
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Book #2 of the Svatura Series
Selene sacrificed everything when she took her brother’s place as ruler of the Vyusher, including her secret love for her one-time adversary Griffin Aubrey. When nightmares that are just a little too real start, Selene fears she’s turned into a cold-blooded killer…the monster that Griffin thinks she is.
Griffin and Ellie Aubrey are finally safe for the first time in over a hundred years. But when an unknown menace drives Selene to leave her family and ask for help, Griffin must decide. Can he move past his hatred of everything she is? Or will the bond that could bring them both the greatest joy now be the source of their deepest despair?
The threat of the danger stalking Selene in her dreams might be too much even for this powerful group. And Griffin doesn’t want to easily forgive the woman he blames for killing his family…
[Full disclosure: I was provided a free ebook copy of this a couple of months during the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
Ellie, the main character of the previous novel only barely features in this one. Although I really did like her, that was fine by me as I got to see way more of Griffin and a whole bunch of Selene. Both of them are fascinating characters in their own right but I’ll talk about Selene first.
She was enslaved by her brother for 150 years, which is long even for a Svatura. More accurately, she had to do what he told her because of his mind control but unlike the rest of the Vyusher tribe she was fully aware of all of the horrible things Gideon had her do. That really just makes it more awful when you think about it. So now Gideon is dead and Selene is having a hard time accepting her role as Queen. Not only that, now she has to cope with the crushing amount of guilt from 150 years of hunting other Svatura.
What I find interesting with the way she copes is that she really doesn’t magically get over everything on her own; for that, she needs more than a little bit of help from the original Svatura group of the first book. One has the power to help heal emotions but even with Ellie’s help in amplifying it Selene will never be totally healed. This is way more realistic than having her completely healed in time for the final showdown. At the same time, even though I wanted to smack Griffin for being indecisive, I do believe it was far more realistic than him loving Selene despite all of their history together. By the end of the novel you’re really in doubt as to whether these two are sure they love each other but I promise you that the ending is a satisfying one.
Just like with the previous book, the plot of Hyacinth is more character-driven than plot-driven. The characters cause many of the events that happen in the end of the novel but this book is far from slow-paced. Abigail Owen managed to balance character development with plot development and I really appreciated that balance. It makes for a much more enjoyable, interesting read. There weren’t really any truly enormous surprise twists for the plot but I did enjoy Hyacinth all the same.
Abigail Owen is fast becoming one of my favourite authors, as you can probably tell by this review. I can’t wait to read the third book in the Svatura series! In the meantime, I’d highly recommend it to pretty much all readers who like a little fantasy in their everyday life. You really can’t go wrong with the Svatura series.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Book Blast: Wilder Than the Rest by Shirleen Davis
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The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima
(Cover picture courtesy of Cinda Williams Chima’s site.)
A thousand years ago, two young lovers were betrayed-Alger Waterlow to his death, and Hanalea, Queen of the Fells, to a life without love.
Now, once again, the Queendom of the Fells seems likely to shatter apart. For young queen Raisa ana’Marianna, maintaining peace even within her own castle walls is nearly impossible; tension between wizards and Clan has reached a fevered pitch. With surrounding kingdoms seeking to prey on the Fells’ inner turmoil, Raisa’s best hope is to unite her people against a common enemy. But that enemy might be the person with whom she’s falling in love.
Through a complicated web of lies and unholy alliances, former streetlord Han Alister has become a member of the Wizard Council of the Fells. Navigating the cut-throat world of blue blood politics has never been more dangerous, and Han seems to inspire hostility among Clan and wizards alike. His only ally is the queen, and despite the perils involved, Han finds it impossible to ignore his feelings for Raisa. Before long, Han finds himself in possession of a secret believed to be lost to history, a discovery powerful enough to unite the people of the Fells. But will the secret die with him before he can use it?
A simple, devastating truth concealed by a thousand-year-old lie at last comes to light in this stunning conclusion to the Seven Realms series.
I’m far from a romantically inclined person but I really did love the twist about Hanalea and Alger Waterlow. Not only was it unexpected, I liked how it was resolved and how Cinda Williams Chima treated it in general. History is written by the victors, as the saying goes.
The main story of Han and Raisa is also pretty good. There’s lots of betrayal, intrigue and drama but it never really goes into soap opera territory. Politics and duty often get in the way of love but I liked how both characters handled it according it to their personalities: Raisa tried hiding behind duty and Han challenged her to follow her heart instead. It makes for a great subplot on top of all of the chaos in the Fells and elsewhere.
They’re on the brink of civil war as a foreign army invades and nothing is as it seems, of course. I loved how Raisa really rose to the challenge in this book. She was always a strong character but she really came into her own in this last installment. I can actually picture her as a successful queen now that she’s matured so much in The Crimson Crown. Not that she was immature in the first book but now she’s behaving like a grown woman despite the fact she’s still really a teenager. Han, of course, is great as usual. He really grows into his role as Raisa’s adviser and confidant and he is determined to do everything he can to protect her. Han is just awesome so there’s not really much to say.
The plot was pretty good as well. It felt sort of incomplete at the end what with the random twist but at the same time it was a generally satisfying end to a good series. The rest of the book, however, was excellent and I was so involved I really didn’t want to put The Crimson Crown down, even to eat or sleep. So I’d say that’s a sign of a good book.
If you loved the previous three books in the series, I think you’ll really enjoy the last installment. I may or may not read Cinda Williams Chima’s other series but at least I can say that I’m glad I picked up the Seven Realms series. It was definitely a worthwhile read, despite the rocky beginning.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Intrinsical by Lani Woodland
(Cover picture courtesy of Lani Woodland’s site.)
Sixteen-year-old Yara Silva has always known that ghosts walk alongside the living. Her grandma, like the other females in her family, is a Waker, someone who can see and communicate with ghosts. Yara grew up watching her grandmother taunted and scorned for this unusual ability and doesn’t want that to be her future. She has been dreading the day when she too would see ghosts, and is relieved that the usually dominant Waker gene seems to have skipped her, letting her live a normal teenage life. However, all that changes for Yara on her first day at her elite boarding school when she discovers the gene was only lying dormant. She witnesses a dark mist attack Brent, a handsome fellow student, and rushes to his rescue. Her act of heroism draws the mist’s attention, and the dark spirit begins stalking her. Yara finds herself entrenched in a sixty-year-old curse that haunts the school, threatening not only her life, but the lives of her closest friends as well. Yara soon realizes that the past she was trying to put behind her isn’t going to go quietly.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this book in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
This book is a solid ‘meh’ for me. There were some things I thought were really awesome and some things that weren’t so awesome. So first I’ll talk about the awesome things.
I loved how Intrinsical sounds pretty much like your typical YA novel from the blurb but Lani Woodland completely deviates from the usual formula. Yes, there’s romance and ghosts but there are so many plot twists you won’t be able to predict the ending. One of the strengths of Lani Woodland’s writing is definitely her ability to plot a novel so that you’re not really sure what’s going to happen next but you’re very, very eager to find out. I didn’t really have the urge to put this book down until I was actually done.
One of the ‘meh’ things was that Woodland’s voice seemed far too sophisticated for a sixteen-year-old, even one going to an elite private high school. It was just too mature, too descriptive compared to Yara’s actions. It’s a shocking contrast to hear Yara thinking like a thirty year old woman but acting like a three year old when she throws her temper tantrums. Some authors can pull this off but this was one of the things that distracted me from the admittedly great story.
The characters were okay, aside from the voice-action contrast I mentioned. Yara is interesting in that she denies her heritage before finally embracing it fully. Brent is interesting in that he’s not a typical male lead because he’s not constantly trying to make out with Yara. He’s actually quite shy about the whole romance thing, which is a refreshing change from your typical bad boy type of love interest. They’re both well fleshed out characters so I can’t really complain about that.
Essentially, Intrinsical is a good book and I’d recommend it to some people. But be prepared for the voice-action dissonance in Yara making this book go from a ‘good’ to a ‘meh’.
I give this book 3/5 stars.