Review – These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

I have read some many amazing books that I was lucky enough to receive through Netgalley over the past few months, and I’ve been devouring books so quickly that I haven’t given myself the chance to actually sit down and write review for them. Now, thankfully, I have found the motivation!

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong is a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, and honestly that was all I needed to know to be excited about it. I love a retelling of a well known tale, especially if that retelling makes the story more diverse. In this version we follow Juliette Cai, who has returned to her home of Shanghai after living in America for several years to retake her role as heir to the Scarlet Gang. But returning means dealing with things she’s been trying to forget; including running into her first love Roma Montagov, heir to rival gang the White Flowers, and facing their fraught past. But when a mysterious illness means that people on both sides of the gang divide start ripping their own throats out, Juliette and Roma must work together to puzzle out the mystery at the heart of their city, or risk everything they know being torn apart.

I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting too much from this except for it to be a fun quick read, but I got some much more than that, the synopsis really doesn’t do this book justice! This book is a total mix of genres, young adult, historical, romance, with a dash of sci-fi, and moments that almost made me feel like we were teetering on the edge of fantasy, but thankfully Gong handles this is such a interesting and fun way. This book isn’t all about the relationship between Juliette and Roma, and even though it’s an interesting take of the aftermath of their love affair I think it benefits from having such an intriguing plot to propel you through the novel. I don’t want to give too much away because discovering the mystery for myself was one of the parts of this that I loved, but it was fast-paced, dark, and delicately left clues throughout the narrative without it being spoon-fed to the reader, nor made too hard that you couldn’t begin to guess yourself as the plot developed.

The aesthetics and diversity in this novel were really well-handled, clearly showing another example of how important it is to have own voice narratives in the book industry. Shanghai felt vivid and real to me as a reader who has never been, and the 1920s aspect gave it a fun interesting flare which heightened the affective imagery even more. Gong even managed to balance all this and dynamic interesting characters! Juliette is reimagined as a knife-wielding, scary, complex woman, who’s ability to lead a crime syndicate you never doubt. I liked the balance of her being confident in her femininity while also being what you may call a typical “badass” YA female lead. Quite often in novels like this female characters are made to abandon typically female things, and even most emotions, to be considered worthy of the title of “badass” but thankfully Juliette is a character who is unashamedly both. She also deals with being often treated like a foreigner in her own country while enduring the pressure to be this American woman with an American education to get people to respect her, which just adds another layer of depth to her story and development. She was the most memorable character throughout the entire book and has stuck with me the most. But Gong also managed to bring more development to the side characters from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, including a brewing m/m romance and a trans character. All of whom I hope play a bigger part in the sequel!

Roma was probably the only character that I felt a little lacklustre about, and in retrospect that is probably only because the others shined so much. He’s quiet and introspective, and a refreshing take on the usual Romeo figure I feel like retellings give us. I do hope he gets more development in the sequel as I definitely see the potential of this character but for now he wasn’t someone who stuck much in my mind. I also didn’t feel too much of his Russian culture, not in the way you felt the Chinese and American influences on Juliette and her struggle with both. It was an interesting element, but again I feel like it could’ve been explored in more detail to give an interesting contrast to the Shanghai setting and provide a little more character to Roma.

Overall I did enjoy the romance between Roma and Juliette. I liked the fact that they had a history and we were watching the aftermath; the tension between them was great and it really helped keep that when they were simultaneously drawn to each other and yet were pushing each other away the whole time. I do wish we got more of their back story, more of what they were like before Juliette left, I think it would’ve given just that extra bit of detail that their story needed. At first it did just feel like we were thrown into the middle and expected to know their history, even though we didn’t and we’re drip fed it quite slowly, so I was a little confused at first. I was routing for them and enjoyed their encounters, but I wasn’t as invested as I think I could’ve been. As I hope I am in Our Violent Ends.

Overall this book is an excellent example of a diverse YA novel that retells a familiar tale in a fun, unique way. I really enjoyed my time reading it and am excited for the sequel, but there are definitely things I’m hoping it improves upon in terms of the relationships between the characters.

Review – Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

I haven’t written a review for about 7 months. This year has been the weirdest one ever and I completely lost the motivation to write reviews. However, I still managed to read a lot of books! I read 79 in 2020, 79! I’ve never read that many, but I’m pretty sure it’s a fluke. I’ve spent a lot of my time on furlough not working and I filled this time with reading, and I read some pretty great books in the past year, some have become instant favourites so I want to try and catch up on reviewing them, especially the ARCs I was lucky enough to recieve from NetGalley. So without dwelling further on this crappy year, I’m going to dive straight into a review of one of my favourite books, which will come as no surprise to the people who know me becasue this is an author I never shut up about.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab. Thanks to Titan and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC.

In rural France in the 1700s, Addie makes a deal with the dark, her soul in exchange for a never ending life of freedom. But the darkness doesn’t play fair, and suddenly Addie finds that as soon as she leaves someone, even just for a second, they forget everything about her. Addie is cursed with being constantly forgotten, no matter how hard she tries. Until 300 years past and in modern day New York, she comes across someone who remembers her.

“Being forgotten, she thinks, is a bit like going mad. You begin to wonder what is real, if you are real. After all, how can a thing be real if it cannot be remembered?”

This book has been on my TBR since I first heard about it in 2017; or that’s the date my Goodreads tells me. It’s a premise that has disappointed me in the past with a completely different book, but I hoped that Schwab’s would be beautiful, heart-breaking, and hopeful. Thankfully, I was right because I find the premise of being forgotten by everyone you meet ridiculously complex and intriguing.

I usually love a more plot heavy book, something with lots of twists and turns and intrigue. This had such amazing characters and emotional journeys that it didn’t need a huge sprawling plot full of foreshadowing, and dark villains to battle, to keep me utterly enthralled. One of my favourite series is the Shades of Magic by Schwab, so I know that she can write those kinds of fantasy novels, and write them well. So Addie LaRue just proves how multitalented this author is.

This book is so impactful in my mind that I forget that there are only really 3 characters that are central to the story; Addie, Henry, and Luc. Although the other background characters are well balanced and feel just as real as the main cast, they don’t have the same memorability as the core set. Addie is an engaging and interesting protagonist who story is so compelling I didn’t want to put the book down because I cared about how her story progressed. As this book doesn’t run chronologically and jumps around the timeline, it was interesting to see the balance of the naïve Addie who made the deal, to the 300-year-old Addie who had figured out the loopholes she could exploit, and who could expertly undermined Luc (or the “devil”) with the ease of someone who had been doing so for centuries. Henry’s story hit me differently. While Addie’s is built around true loneliness, the loneliness of being forgotten, Henry’s seemed to hit me more emotionally, probably because it’s more real. He’s lost in a crowd of people who love him, thinking that they don’t care. It’s hard to explain why, but here’s a quote that has stuck with me:

“Other people would call him sensitive, but it’s more than that. The dial is broken, the volume turned all the way up. Moments of joy register as brief, but ecstatic. Moments of pain stretch long and unbearably loud.”

Henry and Addie’s story is beautiful to read, to watch them grow together and experience their soft love story feels life a gift. I’m trying to find another way to say it without sounding entirely soppy but this is exactly how I felt when reading this book back in August. Yet, you can’t talk about this book without mentioning Luc. He was such a complex, interesting part of the novel, and he’s not even in it that much. And yet, you constantly feel his presence. He hovers over Addie like a rain cloud. I won’t say too much because I hate to spoil, but watching him develop was unexpected and wonderful.

As you can probably tell, I gave this book five stars. I still sit and think about it. I could try and choose a favourite but I’m convinced for me it is impossible. Is it Addie’s growth? Henry’s emotionally journey? Their love? Luc and Addie’s centuries long battle? The beautiful writing that makes you savour every moment? Yes, it’s everything. This, to me, is a triumph for Schwab and it was everything I wanted it to be.

Netgalley Proof – More Than Just a Pretty Face by Syed M Masood

Sometimes, all you want to read is a fun YA romance so thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Syed M. Masood for providing me with this proof at the perfect time in exchange for an honest review. 

It’s been a long time since I read a YA contemporary romance that I had forgotten how easy and quick they are to blast through. I picked up this novel because it sounded cute and I’m trying to be more proactive about reading more diversely. Danyal knows he’s not the best at school, but he is attractive, funny, likeable, and he wants to be a chef anyway. But when he gets chosen for his school’s high profile academic competition, everyone else sees it as a chance for him to prove himself, pull himself into a passing grade, and become a viable suitor for his long time crush. He’s supposed to present a paper on Churchill and everyone knows his teacher loves Churchill. But when Danyal looks more into the history of him, he decides to show Churchill and history in a light that would definitely make sure he fails the class, but he can’t let it go. So he enlists the help of Bisma, a nerdy girl with a past she’d rather forget, and learns that maybe what he wants in love, isn’t what he really needs. 

This novel was overall enjoyable, fun and surprisingly had some really deep points about Churchill, history, and the Bengal Famine. I really enjoyed the conversations the characters had about how whitewashed the history we are taught is, and how important it is to see the flaws and speak about them. This was one of the strongest points of the novel for me. 

The one aspect I thoroughly enjoyed without much issue was Danyal, he was an easy character to like, though a few of the things he said did have me cringing, he was overall compelling, funny, and endearing. I loved the way he treated Bisma and her past, their relationship actually felt like one built on mutual respect and trust. It was also nice to see their romance grow, and how much they enjoyed each other’s company. I thought it was very believable and organic. Bisma herself was also a character that was easy to like, strong but also when she was ‘weak’ it didn’t make her lesser, it was clearly stated that she was struggling but it didn’t diminish her. All the characters are interesting and honestly probably the strongest thing about this novel was how distinct and individual they all were.

While it was highly enjoyable, the writing was choppy and often jumped from scene to scene before I’d even noticed what was happening. There were some moments where Masood’s writing talents really shone, Danyal Speech at the Renaissance Man, whenever the topic of history came up, and the dialogue (especially between Bimsa and Danyal) were all really easy to read and enjoy. But I don’t think it was as consistent as it could have been, it was just too disjointed. If the novel had been much longer I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed it as much as the style would’ve bugged me too much; I wanted longer scenes between the characters and often felt parts were unfinished because there were such sudden stops even when characters were mid-conversation. 

I would like to state that I am in no way knowledgeable enough to comment on the representation of the Muslim faith in this novel in detail. Although I could see certain inconsistencies within the novel. I was concerned that it was the devout religious friend that had to learn to have fun and stop being so morose, instead of everyone compromising and learning from each other to reach a mutual understanding: I feel like this could’ve been handled better so show that being deeply religious doesn’t take away from the rest of your personality. There is much that definitely went over my head because I’m still educating myself, I recommend looking at the own voices reviews of this novel on Goodreads, which is what I have been doing. They explore this factor in more detail, and discusses some things about that rep that I didn’t notice as easily.

Overall this book was fun, it was easy to read and went by fast. It definitely had it’s issues, but as a YA romance it certainly had a relationship I looked forward to reading more about.

Netgalley Proof – Goldilocks by Laura Lam

“Really, they were afraid of women. Or hated them. Wasn’t that much the same thing? The country saw those angry men as a fringe movement right up until one was elected president.”

The Earth is slowly dying and humanity along with it. Valerie Black has been campaigning for years for a mission to be sent to a Goldilocks planet, one perfectly aligned for habitable life and that might just be the saviour of humanity. However, the rights of women have been declining on Earth and suddenly her all female crew is no longer allowed to complete their mission and head to Cavendish. Until the crew steal the rocket and begin the journey themselves believing they are the right ones to create the new society on the new planet.
Naomi has always wanted to go to space and she’d done whatever she’d needed to to get there, even go along with Valerie’s plan of hijacking the mission to Cavendish. But when things start to go wrongb aboard the ship it’s clear that there will be even harder decisions to make, and terrible secrets to unfold.

Described as mixture of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Martian, Goldilocks balances the issues of women’s rights, the threat of climate change and space travel all in one novel. Although it tackles these heavy issues it was a fast paced thriller that had me gripped from page one. Lam manages to explore weighty themes without making me feel overwhelmed, or losing any of her plot to these bigger messages. The plights of the women on the crew were, unfortunately highly relatable and easy to imagine in a world stuck in a chaos of humanities own making. This was helped by the fact that, even though her cast of characters is small as we mainly focus on the five on the ship, each one has a well-built, flawed personality that was very believable. The narrative follows Naomi and her journey to Cavendish, yet I still got a sense of each of the characters motivations and personality through her limited perspective. I would however have enjoyed a little more of a look into the minds other crew members, but that is only because I found them so dynamic and intriguing.

With the issues that the novel present us, sexism and climate change, I do wish there was some more backstory into how the world dissolved into this. With climate change it is more self-explanatory, and if you already know the science you can fill in the gaps. However, with the issue of women’s rights I think that a little more information about how this happened would have not only driven home point more, but fleshed out this reality Lam is painting for us. I loved the feminist message in this novel and how the crew are all strong women with different talents but very real flaws, I just think that we needed to know more about the state of the world as a whole. We are supposed to believe everything at face-value and just accept that this is how the word evolved. Yet this is a very minor criticism, and the only one I really have.

My favourite part of the novel, aside from the characters, was the science. You can see how much research has gone into this novel as how Lam has tried to use as close to real science as possible, and it really pays off. The level of detail is just enough to know that everything being explained in the novel is most likely possible, even if in theory, but not enough to confuse me and throw me from the plot. It makes the fact they are supposed to be in space believable, and much easier to picture than I anticipated.

As for the plot, I don’t want to say too much because so much could end up being a spoiler. However, I think the flashbacks to Naomi’s journey to the ship was well plotted and added something to the world building this book needed. And I loved piecing together everything that was happening on the ship to figure out what was really going on. There is a hint of mystery throughout the whole book which definitely makes itself known, and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Overall, I flew through this book, and was completely immersed in Lam’s writing style, the mystery, characters, and the depiction of this almost apocalyptic future. One I would definitely recommend for fellow lovers of Sci-Fi. Haunting, thrilling, hopeful, and utterly human.

Finally, thanks to Headline and Laura Lam for providing me with this proof to review.

Tale You Know, Story You Don’t – Circe by Madeline Miller

“I thought: I cannot bear this world a moment longer.
Then, child, make another.” 

This review contains some spoilers

There was no way I could resist buying this book when I found it on offer. The beautiful cover, the rave reviews, and the twist on classical Greek Mythology; I was sold ages ago, and now I had no excuse. I was so eager to read it I breezed through it so fast, and I haven’t really done such a speed read in such a long time. Yet, now I think back, as much as this book was enjoyable and easy and fun to read, there was something (a couple of somethings) grating on me when I began to collect my thoughts together to write a review. To me, this book had so much lost potential that could’ve made this “feminist retelling” a five star read.

It had all the making of this, a wonderful idea, beautiful, almost lyrical, prose that walked along the line of complex and simple, with a main character I cared about pretty quickly. But this wasn’t enough for me to hype it as much as I had seen in other reviews.

Circe herself was a well-written protagonist with a very clear growth throughout the book. I loved all the parts that were about her journey, and the trails she had to pass, and the things she over came. She was fun to read from and an interesting choice of Greek Myth to follow; one I personally didn’t know that much about. However, the times I felt her presence was only when her personal story was active. This was very rare yet every time these sucked me back into the story. These moments were the beginning when her story begins before her exile, with the Minotaur and Daedalus, when she was turning men into pigs, almost every moment with her son, her confrontation with Trygon, and finally when she faces Scylla. I loved everything about these scenes, Circe came alive in these scenes, the plot had focus and direction and it was fabulous.

Nevertheless, there was too many moments when Circe slipped into the background of the stories of men. I love the depth and knowledge that has clearly gone into retelling these Greek myths, however at times it felt like we were just being told what was going on. Granted, Circe is trapped on her island, but the story was suddenly no longer about her. But about Odysseus, Troy, her brothers or the trails of others. And I hate to say it, but now I look back these moments feel flat to me, they needed more life, the life Miller is clearly capable of creating because she does it so well with the part where Circe is an active member of the tale.

For a feminist retelling I found that this needed to be reinforced more and make Circe a stronger part of the narrative. I was also confused as to why Circe’s narrative always revolved around her relationship with men. Especially after they’ve hurt, manipulated, and underestimated her. Why go back to them? Why let them in her life again, and again, and again? This may also be because the only male character I actually liked was Daedalus; the others I disliked or had no opinion of. Her brief interaction with the other female characters was deeply interesting, and there was some more lost potential there. I could’ve read so much more about Circe and her sister, or Penelope, or even Scylla. It could have lent itself very well to a bisexual Circe too.

I wanted to love this book. It was very enjoyable and I am so glad I read it. I can also now stare at it’s beautiful cover on my shelf. But… But there was so much that I wanted from it plot wise that I didn’t get. I would recommend giving this a go, especially if you love retelling’s and/or Greek mythology, the writing is great and the idea is sound. I just don’t feel like I got the feminist spin I was promised.

Intensity on Another Level – The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang

“I have become something wonderful, she thought. I have become something terrible. Was she now a goddess or a monster? Perhaps neither. Perhaps both.”

I didn’t realise it, but I was expecting a lot from The Poppy War. The way it had been pitched to me (through others and even through the synopsis) was a young girl going to famous school and learning there’s more magic in the world than she thought. And that she can channel it. Everyone seems to love a magical school setting, yet these days I’m a little bored with the trope, but this had got some good attention and it was in my local library. Heart wrenching was the word I kept seeing on social media. But I was ready for it to only be okay.

It has exceed my expectations.

This isn’t a novel about a girl going to magic school. This is a novel about war. It’s about revenge and how far people will go to get it. Kuang pushes her characters to the limit and shows how they break, the decisions they make due to their suffering. To simply bubble it down to “ooo magic school!” Is doing a disservice to the amount of military knowledge that has gone into this book. Kuang has researched into Chinese Military history during her years at university and it shows. She manages to pour all her knowledge into this book and it shows. The strategic thinking her characters show and the movements their enemies make is clearly calculated: this novel is one planned down to the finest detail.

This novel is spilt into three distinct parts and I will say that the first part now feels a little slow after the intensity and face-paced nature of the ending. We watch Rin in her preadolescences and she truly is a child, her focus is only on beating her classmates and proving that she deserves to be at Sinegard. The novel does seem to drag until Rin shows signs of power, until the magic even shows it face, it took me a while to get past part one.  Nothing extremely punchy and seemingly important happens, yet personally, this was not entirely necessary looking back. This is to show the reader how Rin became who she is. And it also made me care about her, meaning that when her actions get worse and more questionable during her time in the Militia, we are still rooting for her. We want Rin to win. The Mugen are inhuman, they deserve what they get, we only see through Rin’s eyes and her view is clouded by revenge and anger and pain. To Rin she is in the right, she cannot see from another view point, and when she does she must push that part of herself aside or she will never recover. Her guilt and love redeem her; this is only possible thanks to a masterful writer, if Kuang wasn’t good at making three dimensional characters, my desire to find something good in Rin wouldn’t exist.

In parts two and three you are immediately throw into the action, everything that happens, happens so fast that you can’t help but read on. Because there’s no lull, no stopping, no break in the action. They have a problem they either fall to it or beat it. Then something happens as soon as that conflict is finished. The pacing in the novel is the one reason my Goodreads doesn’t say five stars. The beginning is super slow in comparison to the end, yet the ending doesn’t ever let up, not even for a heart to heart. This could be justified by the fact they’re at war but this wars spans years, Kuang does a good job of cutting out the travel and progress we don’t need to see, but all that’s left is a jumble of conflicts at the end. Maybe too much was attempted in the last 2/3rd’s of the novel but it is still the only critique I can give.

Kuang does not hold back on the graphic imagery of war laced throughout her novel. The massarce and battles are shown in detail and, frankly, I’d warn you not to be eating your lunch at work while reading the scene at Golyn Niis. Inspired by true historical events, Kuang does not hold back at describing what has happened to this city. It’s dark, haunting and truly powerful, I think these are the scenes that will stay with me long after. The fact that Kuang used real-life events to lay the ground work for this act is harrowing, this isn’t just a work of fiction. Things like this have really happened in Chinese history (and probably other places too because the world can be awfully gruesome), Kuang is brave for not bending and making the war more fantastical where the “heroes” always succeed. I applaud her for showing war how it really is.

This quote really stuck with me throughout the novel, and I can’t help but think it highlights the true story of the novel much better than any synopsis and review ever could:

“War doesn’t determine who’s right. War determines who remains.” 

I can’t wait for the next instalment, to watch Rin and the others grow and change, and most likely, become even darker. Kuang has built an incredibly detailed world and I can’t wait to see what she does with the magical elements she has weaved through the story and what she has in store for Rin now she has slipped down the path of darkness. I can’t recommend this book enough, I read a lot of fantasy and this is unlike anything else I have read.

 

Before There Were Crows – Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

“I’ve been waiting for you a long time, Alina,” He said. “You and I are going to change the world.” 

I wasn’t going to read this. I figured there’s was no way I’d love it as much as Six of Crows (I was right), however, I found it in my library and decided to take a chance. Why not support my local library and tick off a book from my tbr that had been there a while? Also, I really want to read King if Scars and I felt I needed to know more about Nikolai before I did.

You can tell that this is Bardugo’s first novel, her narrative style hasn’t found the flow she manages to achieve in Six of Crows. The first person narrative does lend itself to the twists and turns of the novel, however it seems simple in comparison to the style she employs in her duology. It feels almost like every other YA book with a strong female protagonist; I will admit that I have begun to drift out of this section of the fantasy genre, in favour of books more targeted towards “adults”. I still love YA, yet recently I have been enjoying more complication plots and prose, some YA can achieve this, and I’m a firm believer that you can read YA at any age, however I cannot deny my tastes have grown. I’m so glad that Bardugo changed to third person limited in Six of Crows, it’s a personal preference that I have begun to notice whenever I read a novel. I enjoy third person storytelling so much more, and it’s where Bardugo’s prose really shines.

The world building is her strongest element in this first novel, she lays out the world and the powers of the Grisha without telling us, but by showing us. It’s not as much of a prominent element in Six of Crows, but I still managed to pick up the basics while reading the duology. However, there are certainly things that I didn’t know about in Bardugo’s world until reading this first novel. I love the detail that has gone into its creation and I’m sure it will only increase my appreciation of her other novels.

One thing I have noted about Bardugo’s writing is that she is fabulous at writing dark characters. The Darkling is instantly my favourite of the series, as even through Alina’s perspective you get a strong sense of his character, and do I dare say, his struggle with the darkness within himself. I already know how some, or most, or this trilogy ends. Spoilers are hard to avoid when the books have been out for a number of years. But I do hope that we get to see his character develop as the conflict within his self increases. I don’t see him as a villain, not completely anyway, though he’s definitely not the clean sparking hero; there is just something about his character that screams “redemption”, or I’m a sucker that just likes this character and wants him to have more of a prominent role other than “bad guy”.

As for the other characters my opinions are not as strong. Alina was an okay protagonist, however I’m no longer used to reading YA female heroes this young, and her voice seemed overly naive and a little annoying. She seems to constantly bend to the whims of others, something I hope disappears as the trilogy progresses. Bardugo wrote such strong heroines in Inej and Nina, who were so dynamic, interesting and effortlessly independent, that I’m hoping this is only the start of Alina’s development. Otherwise, I can see myself getting annoyed with her quickly. I do not want this to be about the love triangle – but through her perspective in the first book I can see this being a strong element.

Speaking of the love triangle, I only have one word for Mal – boring.
Though he wasn’t seen for most of the novel I still got no image of him other than a great tracker, possibly a bit of a lad. Good looking and knows it. Alina sees him as an amazing human being, but I can’t help thinking that she glorifies him a little because of their shared experiences as children. The only promising thing is that there seems to be an edge of anger to his character, I want someone to pull at that thread and then maybe I’ll be interested. He needs to be shown throughout the rest of the story being more that Alina’s childhood friend and lover. I’m also not sold on the Alina/Mal love story, this runs along with me being unsure of his character – I don’t know why Alina loves him. Aside from her having known him since childhood and he’s good looks, there is nothing about him that shows me he isn’t just there to be the foil to the Darkling. Mal needs flaws, and Alina needs to see them.

Even though I know the ending, I’m looking forward to seeing how we get there, and hopefully watch as everything I want for these books comes about. Bardugo is still a fabulous writer and it’s good to see how she has grown since this first series and to fully experience the world she has created. Fingers crossed my library has the next one…

 

P.S. It is insane how many times I have written Smoke and Bone as the title of this book, why must books have such similar titles?! 

How do you Review a Classic? – Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

“I will be calm. I will be mistress of myself.”

Elinor is sensible, she knows how best to act in society and plays the affairs of her heart very close to her chest. Marianne is a hopeless romantic, swept up by the handsome Willoughby before she can truly assess what she is doing. Both sisters feel the ups and downs of love as they are presented with the complicated ways of courtship, and are surprised when their different approaches to life and love land them in very similar situations…

Can you really spoil a 200 year old book…? But just in case, spoilers.

I always try to read a classic at least (at the very least) once a year. But when it comes to reviewing them I always find it really hard. This book in particular has been around since 1811, that’s 207 years. Whatever can be said about the book has already been said, and I always think there must be a reason this book is still standing the test of time. Thankfully with most Jane Austen novels I have read this generally is true, Pride and Prejudice still holds fast as my favourite classic of all time. But not all of them are as good as their reputation, and I think accepting that fact is something everyone must do. Just because that book is revered as a classic by almost every literary critic, it doesn’t mean it will appeal to your particular tastes. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, The Major of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, and Villette by Charlottle Bronte are books that I just could not make it through without a struggle. I thought that this is what was going to happen with Sense and Sensibility, but thankfully I was wrong.

I started this book all the way back in October 2017, and simply put it down in favour of something more exciting, and because I found the opening far too slow. It’s been a while since I read a classic like this and I had forgotten how it can often take a while for the story to progress. But I forced myself to pick it back up after binge watching North and South (2004), this had put me in a period drama mood, which definitely helped when reading Sense and Sensibility. I thoroughly enjoyed reading more Austen, and the story picked up later as the focused shifted more from Marianne and Willoughby to Elinor and Edward. Even though Marianne is supposed to be the more romantic heroine, the sensibility to Elinor’s sense, I enjoyed reading about Elinor so much more which helped me complete the novel.

Elinor was just a heroine that appealed to me more, she was quiet about her feelings and never let them influence other people or become an issue. She was deeply observant and caring, and I just felt like I could relate to her quiet steadfastness more so than Marianne’s dramatic personality. I wonder how I would’ve felt if I was still a teenager when I first read this novel, but we shall never know. I certainly enjoyed the sisterly relationship the most in the book, I was glad when the middle portion of the novel seemed to focus more on their relationship and the complexities of it with their seemingly clashing personalities; this could be because of my own close relationships with my sisters. This is where the book really shone for me, the romance didn’t hold a candle to that of Pride and Prejudice. Colonel Brandon and Marianne didn’t interact enough after the Willoughby situation for me to care whether or not their got together. I cared slightly more for Elinor and Edward, but I wish they had more interactions between her learning about Lucy and their happily ever after. I was more intrigued to read about Elinor and Marianne gaining a better perspective on each other and realising they weren’t as different as they both believed; the defensiveness they both held over each other was very realistic to me and a high point in the novel.

However, despite how much I loved this book I couldn’t quite give it 5 stars, one reason was definitely the slow start, but the other was the rushed ending. Austen seemed eager to tie everything up with a nice neat bow and it didn’t fit with the rest of the narrative. Now, I loved the character of Colonel Brandon, he was a great character and his friendship with Elinor included some of my favourite moments, and yet I don’t think that Austen should’ve married him to Marianne in the end. If they had more interaction I could probably see the appeal of their union, but it felt like a way to make sure that all her characters got the “happy” ending. I’ve heard the theory of Marianne being punished for her open heart by marrying him, but I didn’t get that vibe, I just think it would’ve worked better if it had been hinted they both found someone else. Marianne was not interested throughout the whole book and then suddenly she was; in short I wanted more proof that she wasn’t settling for someone safe after the heartbreak she suffered early on in the book. It was rushed, and there’s not much worse than a rushed ending. Even if it was one I was anticipating from the very start.

I’m very glad I got back to reading this novel and finally convinced myself to read it. I own a beautiful copy and it was just a perfect read for the mood I was in at that time. Although definitely not Austen’s strongest, I can see why people love it so much and would definitely say (now I’ve read 4 of Austen’s books) that it is one of the ones I would rate most highly.

A Book with Potential – The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

“Once there was a girl who was drawn to wicked things.
Things like forbidden, ancient stories.
It didn’t matter that the old stories killed her mother. It didn’t matter that they’d killed many before her. The girl let the old stories in. She let them in eat away at her heart and turn her wicked.”

When Asha was a child she told the old forbidden stories to the First Dragon, until he turned on her, burnt her kingdom down and left her scarred for life. Determined to redeem herself in the eyes of her father and her people, Asha has become the Iskari, the fearsome dragon hunter. Yet even though she is one of the most feared people in Firgaard, Asha is still bound in chains, promised to the cruel commandant Jarek who saved her from the dragon’s flame.
There is only one way to free herself and seek revenge, bring back the head of the First Dragon for her father. But something is stopping her at every turn, and with the life of a mysterious slave on the line she must decide what matters the most – her revenge or saving a life. The truth of the world she thought she knew is about to shatter, and Asha must decide if she is ready to let the truth in.

Spoilers below

Sometimes you just need to read a book with dragons in. It doesn’t matter what book it is, as long as it has dragons I’m willing to give it ago. It is one of my many book weaknesses. The Last Namsara is a new release that I hadn’t actually heard about on the internet, I found it in my local Waterstones and quickly added it to my Goodreads (thank goodness for Goodreads because otherwise I’d forget all the amazing books I’m planning to read). They say don’t judge a book by it’s cover, but with this one the beautiful hardback drew me to it instantly – although I did buy it on Kindle in the end.

A part of me thinks that I am slowly growing out of the YA fantasy genre, this book was good, but not awe-inspiring. The plot was almost one we had seem a million times before; tyrant king, suppressed people, rebellion, forbidden love! It fills out all the criteria for a YA fantasy novel. Yet I’m still willing to read any sequels that come along because the world built behind the generic plot was incredibly interesting and well thought out. The fact that stories are a power, that they are what fuel a dragons fire, is such an unusual concept; it could be used and twisted in so many different ways because that is the power of storytelling. Anything can happen.

One of the best things about this book was the way Ciccarelli told the stories. Some of the old forbidden stories were weaved between chapters, and slowly revealed more about this world and it’s history. I particularly like the idea of the old stories being events that actually shaped their world, rather than legends or folklore, it adds a depth I liked. The random placements of the stories worked well for me because it broke up the plot a little; when things were moving too fast the stories slowed it down, where backstory was missing, the stories filled us in on what came before. I also really liked Ciccarelli’s writing style within these little excerpts, she made them sound like fairy tales, secret fairy tales that we weren’t supposed to know.

In comparison the characters were… okay. Asha was a good character to follow, as the conflict within her was very clear. She was harsh, determined, pretty badass and incredibly loyal to those who had earned it. Although she sometimes felt like a background character in her own story. Her brother was plotting a rebellion without including her until the very end, the villains used her like a pawn (or like a tennis ball, whacking her back and forth for their own amusement) but she wasn’t overly involved with them either. Even her love interest seemed to have other things simmering on the back burner that he didn’t really need to include her in. Asha also seemed to do what the Old One asked far too quickly, though she knew there would be consequences to not obeying Him she didn’t put up too much of fight. To me, she should have done if He was her supposed ‘enemy’ at the beginning of this novel, or she needed a more valid reason to follow what He required of her. Maybe it was her true calling and nature shining through, maybe I’m being too critical and it was the speed at which I read book that made the plot seem far too fast in certain places (yes I’m also talking about the romance, maybe I’m just used to love that grows over the series these days rather than within one book; I love some slow-burn romance).

Characters that did really interest me however, were Dax and Roa and their shaky alliance. I hope that in the next book we are given more focus on these two characters and their motivations. Why did Dax go to the people who imprisoned him to help with a rebellion? What pushed him to want to overthrow his father in the first place? Why is Roa the one her people chose to link to the new king, and why did she agree? I do have more questions but hopefully you get the gist. Also Torwin! It is briefly mentioned how he learnt all his skills, but it still felt like we could have been given more; I was expecting him to turn out to be a spy because of how involved he suddenly was with Dax and the Scrublanders. Alas I was wrong, but he was still an interesting, honest character who I’d love to see more development from throughout the series.

Something else that I would love to have more focus on – the dragons! They were some of the more interesting dragons I have read, with their story hoarding, their loyalty to the Old One, and the way they link with their riders. But they were simply tools used in the characters many escapes. I just wanted more focus on the dragons. I love dragons, and these had an intriguing background story to be told.

Whereas the love story got a lot of the “screen time” within the novel. Thankfully even though the characters seemed to fall for each other pretty quick, in the end I felt there was an equal relationship between the two main characters. If not in the world itself, at least between each other, which was a massive growing point for Asha’s character.

This book was a interesting, fast-paced, well-written YA fantasy that is probably one of the better ones I have read recently. But if this book/series is to make a large splash within this overly populated market, it’s going to need to do something truly spectacular in the next book.