Review: Dead Reckoning by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edgehill

Title: Dead Reckoning [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Mercedes Lackey [Website|Twitter|Facebook] Rosemary Edgehill [Website]
Standing: Stand alone, but could be the beginning of a series.
Genre: Horror, Historical, Steampunk
Published: June 5th, 2012 by Bloomsbury USA
Format: Kindle edition; 336 pages
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley

Jett has seen them—the walking dead. She was there the night they attacked Alsop, and only escaped with her life through the dedication of her faithful steed. When after fleeing she comes upon Gibbons and White Fox, who are both investigating mysterious disappearances, they are hard pressed to believe her tale. However, they’ll learn soon enough that things are like good ol’ Sherlock said and “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth” (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sing of the Four).

Deep in the heart of Texas three young souls, each on their own mission, band together to battle (you guessed it) zombies.  Jett Gallatin is a young woman passing as a man, gambler, and sharpshooter as she scours the west looking for her twin brother who disappeared at the end of the war.  Honoria Gibbons is a headstrong woman with a scientific mind set out to investigate mysterious disturbances and whether or not they can be credited to the invisible air ships someone is attempting to sell her father.  White Fox (who for some reason isn’t even mentioned in the publisher’s blurb, he is a main character, see him there on the cover behind Jett and much more visible than Gibbons?) is a white man raised by natives, working as a civilian scout for the US Army set out to investigate what has happened to a soldier’s family. 

Is anyone else extremely turned off when books are pitched as ‘perfect for fans of _________’?  This almost always assures I won’t pick up a book.  I feel like I’m constantly thinking ‘oh, this is another dystopian that wants to be the next Hunger Games?  No, thank you.’  And Dead Reckoning fell into that pile for me when I read the lines “perfect for fans of Cowboys vs. Aliens and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies.”, particularly since I have negative interest in either of those.  But still, I haven’t read any Mercedes Lackey yet this year, which is kind of a *gasp* moment for me since she’s one of my all-time favorite authors and I read through the Queens Own and Mage Winds trilogies on a frequent loop.  I’m not a huge fan of most of co-authored stuff, but I’d never read any of Lackey’s non-fantasy work, and since girls dressed as boys is a surefire trigger for my book sense, I had to give Dead Reckoning a go. 

Needless to say, Dead Reckoning did not disappoint, but it didn’t impress either.  The story of a zombie army being raised and controlled in the old west of Texas was interesting.  I really liked that because Jett was from New Orleans she was familiar with the notions of hoodoo, and found the notion quite hair raising, but that Gibbons insisted on a more scientific base for the creatures’ existence as well.  A crazed cult leader gone over the edge, spoiling his ingenious mind with notions of grandeur made me just uncomfortable enough to be on the edge of my seat through portions of our story.

Each of our three main characters had an interesting foundation.  Jett is a highborn lady of New Orleans whose family has been destroyed by the Yankees after they conquered the south in the Civil War.  She refuses to believe her brother, Philip, is dead, and sets out to find him.  Jett doesn’t put on her masquerade because she despises girly things, in fact, she longs to return to the days of petticoats and luxury.  Unfortunately, she knows that her disguise is the only thing that has kept her safe and alive in the west for the past two years.  Gibbons is a scientific mind, raised by a father with such tunnel vision into his scholarly pursuits that he hardly noticed she was a girl.  She is logical, intelligent, and bent on having an explanation for everything.  She refuses to be belittled because she is a woman, and is at times the envy of Jett who lives in hiding.  White Fox was raised from the time he was quite young by natives who took him in after his wagon train was destroyed and he was the only survivor.  Part of me wished he would have just been a native himself, but part of me also loves this storyline.  I was obsessed with Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski and other stories of white children raised by native tribes as a child, so needless to say, I took a liking to White Fox.

Now, notice I said ‘good foundation’ back there.  On the surface, these characters and the story had a lot of potential, but in the end it all sort of fell flat for me.  I constantly felt as if I was being told the story, rather than shown it, and it was neither strong enough in plot or character development to make up for a lack of the other.  I just kept wishing for more depth.  I wanted to feel the developing friendships between Gibbons, Jett, and White Fox, I wanted to care about their pasts and potential futures.  I wanted to be afraid of the zombies, and feel chills across the back of my neck when the air got cold.  But I didn’t.  In fact, Dead Reckoning did so little to quench my gore craving, I wasn’t sure I cared if the things did destroy Texas.

The same lack of oomph goes to the whole steampunk element of this book.  I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure why it was there when it seemed unnecessary.  Other than the brief mention of air ships (which as far as we know, did not actually exist), and Gibbon’s auto, there wasn’t really anything steampunk here.  I’m not sure why a book can’t be set in the Victorian time period, have scientifically minded characters, and not be an attempt at steampunk, when in fact this time period was full of scientific pursuits and progress.  For example, I would have love to have seen more focus on the railroads or telegraph!  I feel like steampunk writers need to go big or go home, and in this case it needed to be ramped up quite a bit.  I did like that it was steampunk in the wild west, which was a fantastic and fresh idea, I just wasn’t digging the application.

All things considered, Dead Reckoning was a quick read with a new take on some old tropes.  There’s no romance, smart and strong women, zombies, and a bit of a cult.  If all these things appeal to you, I’d say it’s worth a shot!  Since my own review is underwhelming, please check out some of the more enthusiastic ones I’ve linked below.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  Eh, this wasn’t a bad read, but honestly if it weren’t for Mercedes Lackey’s name on the cover I wouldn’t have been willing to give it a shot.  I’m glad I did, but I’ll head back to Valdemar now, thank you.

Recommended for: Those interested in horror or steampunk in the old west (because hello, who wouldn’t be?), and fans of the authors.  I’m fairly certain this is being released as an adult novel, but it has definite crossover appeal for the YA crowd. This is a standalone but it was very not so subtly hinted that they would like to make it a series.  Bare that in mind if that sort of thing matters to you.

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Ageless Pages Reviews
Short and Sweet Reviews
Read My Mind

Road to Avonlea aka ROAD TO MY HEART

I know most of us grew up watching Anne of Avonlea, but I fear too many of you likely missed out on the wonderful television series, Road to Avonlea.  I used to watch this show every week with my mom, it was our thing, and I have since rewatched it as an adult.  I swear if I had $200 to spare, I would buy the entire box set.  Luckily for you, you can get the disks from NetFlix if you have the service, and I do so recommend it.  The show is set in our beloved Avonlea, and lasts for seven seasons and a movie, and you will certainly recognize a few names and faces:

 

That’s right!  Marilla Cuthbert, Rachel Lynde, and Muriel Stacy are each in Road to Avonlea, played by the same actresses as in the Anne movies!  Also, Davy and Dora Keith, who are in the Anne books, are in Road to Avonlea as well.  Some other familiar faces with different names would be:

Mag Ruffman, who you may recognize as Alice Lawson, from Lawsons’ General Store, is transformed into the ever cheery and optimistic baby of the family, Olivia King.

Jacki Burroughs, who played the professional dramatist in Anne of Green Gables is a strict school mistress and head of the King family in Road to Avonlea.

Cedric Smith, who plays Reverend Allan in Anne of Green Gables takes on the role of the middle child, only son, and head of the King farm in Road to Avonlea.

There are in fact many more doubles in Road to Avonlea that you may spot, and you can find a complete list at Avonelea Vignettes, here.  I have chosen these three because, as you may have surmised, Road to Avonlea largely surrounds the lives and times of the King family.  Now, there was once a fourth King sibling, another girl, but alas, she has perished most tragically.  When her husband is thrown in jail for something scandalous, their only daughter, the spoiled and haughty Sarah Stanley is sent to live with her Aunt Hettie in Avonlea.  There, she must deal with her most tragical of circumstances, particularly—cousins.

Of course they all hate each other, and there’s tons of drama to be had.  There’s even a scene that was considered too racey for television at the time, which had to be cut out (it involves cracking an egg on someone’s head and is rather laughable by today’s standards—don’t worry, it’s on the DVD).  Felicity King is just the worst when you first meet her, but you know what?  I end up adoring this girl—the eldest of the King children.  Why?  Well, in no small part, because of Gus Pike.

Oh friends, let me tell you.  You think that Anne and Gilbert have one of the all time greatest slow burn romances?  They’ve got nothing on Felicity and Gus.  Okay, okay, so it’s very nearly the same type of story, but in Road to Avonlea you get 6 seasons and a movie to bite your nails over this pair!  Of course, they’re totally in love, and totally hate each other for years.  It’s fantastic!

Here’s some things you ought to know about Gus Pike:

• Mysterious past involving pirates and buried treasure.
• Lives in the lighthouse—very spooky and intriguing!
• A true seaman and wandering spirit.
• Unwavering devotion to Felicity.  Even when she’s outright cruel to him.
• Plays the fiddle…hot?
• Fantastic accent.

In short, Gus Pike has held a piece of my heart for the past 20 years, and probably always will.  I adore Road to Avonlea, the town, the drama, the people…it’s all so wonderful.  Okay, okay, at the beginning they put ridiculous make-up on Sarah Stanley because it’s 1990, and the picture is often terrible, but please look past that.  This show has a heart of gold, and I’m not even kidding when I say I love it so much just the credit sequence can bring tears to my eyes:

If you call yourself a lover of Avonlea, you must find a way to watch this show.  And when you do, please oh please let me know what you think.  You can find out more information about Road to Avonlea at the official website, here. 

In addition to the blogs and posts already linked, character images may be credited to Share TV’s Road to Avonlea and Yet Another Period Drama Blog, both of which have lovely posts and information about the show!

Review: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Title: Code Name Verity [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Elizabeth Wein [Website|Twitter]
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Published: May 15th, 2012 by Hyperion Books for Children (first published in the UK February 6th, 2012 by Egmont Press)
Format: Kindle edition; 327 pages.
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley.

Oct. 11th, 1943—A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.

When “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn’t stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she’s living a spy’s worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage and failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?

Harrowing and beautifully written, Elizabeth Wein creates a visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival that shows just how far true friends will go to save each other. Code Name Verity is an outstanding novel that will stick with you long after the last page.

I don’t know how to write this review.  It seems to be a lot like Fight Club.  The first rule of Code Name Verity is you don’t talk about Code Name Verity.  But I shall try.

My feelings toward Code Name Verity are somewhat of a Catch 22.  I would have never heard of this book if I hadn’t seen some amazing reviews, but if I hadn’t read such amazing reviews, I would have approached with an even greater air of mystery and no expectations.  It’s not that I didn’t greatly enjoy Code Name Verity, I did very much and I so hope you read it, it’s that I didn’t fall in love quite as I expected to.  I fell in love a whole other way. When everyone tells you as you start a book to store up on tissues, it kind of make you feel like you missed something when you only tear up briefly in two parts, and shed nary a tear.  I just want to get that confession out of the way.  I found Code Name Verity to be incredibly beautiful and powerful, and yet I feel like it affected me differently than I expected.  I expected tragedy, and yet what I found was daring and hopeful, a fierce friendship to adore.  I just couldn’t find myself distraught over Code Name Verity, because to me it was too inspiring and steadfast to blubber.  In no way am I saying those who have been wrecks upon finishing this book are in any way weak or wrong, I just had a different reaction.  I was pretty happy, and that was why I teared up. 

I first heard of Code Name Verity shortly after devouring Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis.  I loved that duology very much, and was positively salivating for more historical fiction set in WWII, but not the mainland Europe WWII, WWII as it was experienced in Great Britain.  Needless to say, I pounced on the opportunity to read this book.  And, despite physically taking place in France, Verity’s confessions of operations in Great Britain were exactly what I was looking for. 

I think I’ve grasped on to WWII Great Britain, because for me it is a fear I can understand.  Growing up, we are taught about the horrors of the Holocaust, given amazing books like Number the Stars and The Diary of Anne Frank that are so heartbreaking and frightening, it’s quite frankly beyond my mental capacity to feel like I can truly understand the terror.  It’s just too terrible.  I know it happened, and I feel so strongly about it, and yet, I know I can never really understand.  Reading about the war effort in Great Britain, however, is something I can wrap my head around.  I’m not saying I can fully grasp it in the sense that I’ve ever experienced anything even approaching the blackouts, the Blitz, or attempting to navigate with no street signs, but it’s certainly an easier circumstance to picture yourself in.  It kind of makes you think that most American’s sense of danger during the war effort was laughable in comparison to Great Britain in the same way that most of Great Britain’s sense of danger was laughable in comparison to those living in mainland Europe.  This reality was emphasized through the events of Code Name Verity, and I appreciate so much that this book was able to help me understand the stepping stones of fear that existed in WWII.

But then, the reality is, Code Name Verity isn’t really about WWII.  It’s about women who do what they love and what they are good at, not for the war effort, but because they can and they want to.  It’s about friendship, comradery, and true bravery.  Not the kind of bravery where you think ‘I’m going to do this because it’s the right thing do do’ or ‘it will save so many people’ or ‘I will sacrifice myself’, but the kind of bravery where you don’t even think because in your mind there is no other option.

I came to feel so strongly for both Maddie and Verity through Verity’s writings.  There’s nothing quite like an indignant Scot (do not call one English…I get the same way when people say I’m from the Mid-West), and a girl who loves flying so much that she will risk her life to do it often.  The equation drawn between love and friendship is beautiful and real in a way that makes Code Name Verity one of the most powerful stories of friendship I have ever read.  The entire book you are questioning Verity’s story, wondering how much is real, but you never question her relationship with Maddie.

Code Name Verity was a magnificently written story that managed to exceed my expectations, while simultaneously not meeting them whatsoever.  It wasn’t quite the story I expected, but I think for that I loved it more.

I have told the truth.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  Obvs I really want to read the Lion Hunters series since there’ve been quite a few comparisons drawn between the main character and Eugenides of The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner.

Recommended for:
Anyone and everyone who enjoys epistolary novels, historical fiction, or unreliable narrators.  Particularly those who enjoy stories of friendship, true bravery, and Peter Pan.

Please do check out the trailer for Code Name Verity!

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  Before you read this book, I challenge you to make a list of your 10 greatest fears.  Then, once you have read it, do it again and see—what 10 things are you afraid of now?

Get a second opinion:
Janicu’s Book Blog
The Book Smugglers
Chachic’s Book Nook

Audio Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Title: The Help [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Kathryn  Stockett [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Historical
Published: February 10th, 2009 by Penguin Audio
Format: Audiobook; 18 hrs, 7 min.  Read by Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Cassandra Campbell, and Octavia Spencer.
Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

I don’t read a ton of adult novels, and even when I do, I don’t often read the Bestsellers as I’ve found my tastes and the tastes of the masses don’t often align.  I have found, however, that with these types of books audio is often the way to go; for example, I really enjoyed The DiVinci Code on audio during a road trip, when I probably wouldn’t have read the book otherwise.  So when people of the blogosphere were constantly recommending the audiobook of The Help by Kathryn Stockett, along with a real life friend of mine, I decided to check it out.  I’m happy to announce that everyone was right!  This was a wonderful audiobook, certainly the ideal format for this story.

Now, I know some readers dislike multiple narrators, but I’m a fan, especially when the audiobook employs various narrators for each of the perspectives.  The Help made use of this expertly, providing us with three narrators for the perspectives of Minny, Aibileen, and Skeeter.  One of the ladies in my book club told me she’d attempted to read The Help, but gave up because she couldn’t handle the written dialect.  This is a complete non-issue in the audio format as the narrators have the accent and dialect down pat.  The only issue I had with it was starting to think in a southern twang after too long of a listening session.

The Help does an excellent job of immersing the reader into the world of early 1960s Jackson, Mississippi.  It’s hard for someone as young as me, or from a place so nearly devoid of diversity as me (We have six, count ‘em, SIX African Americans in my home town.  We did have a black woman mayor for years though which I think is pretty great considering.) to truly understand what any of the women in this book were living.  Unsurprisingly, The Help was about women’s rights nearly as much as it was about civil rights, and is filled with strong, brave, and stubborn female characters for you to love and hate.  

Honestly, I could talk a lot about the themes or messages of this book, but I feel like there isn’t much I could say that hasn’t already been said.  I know I’m not the last person to read this book, but I’m so far from the first that going on and on seems silly.  Mostly I just want to accentuate the fact that even though this wasn’t a book I would normally have picked up, I am so glad I did--I loved it.  Also, this audiobook is masterful, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys audiobooks.  I’m now super excited to see the movie and compare, though I’ve been battling that very long wait on Netflix since the release.  Ah well, I’ll see it eventually (and let you know what I think when I do).

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  Like I said, this wasn’t my normal read, so I probably won’t go out of my way to read Kathryn Stockett’s next book.  That said, I am very willing to try more audiobooks that are in a similar vein and come highly recommended.

Recommended for:  Those interested in the history of civil rights and black/white relations in the south in the 1960s, people who like stories about strong women.  Anyone who enjoys audiobooks.

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Confessions of a Book Addict
Presenting Lenore 

Review: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

  Title: The Book of Blood and Shadow [Amazon|GoodReads]
  Author: Robin Wasserman [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
  Standing: Stand alone novel.
  Genre: Young/New Adult, Mystery
  Published: April 10th, 2012 by Random House Children’s Books
  Format: Kindle edition; 448 pages.
  Source: ARC from publisher received via NetGalley.

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up.  When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love.  When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark.

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead.  His girlfriend Adriane, Nora's best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.

The Book of Blood and Shadow was, for me, one of those reads that is almost but not quite right.  I enjoyed it as a read, but found myself far from blown away with a story that was more tepid than bone chilling.  The story starts with the gruesome murder of Nora’s best friend, Chris, but then backtracks to that fall in order to give us a greater scope on the scene.  Nora, Chris, and Chris’s freshman roommate, Max, are hired on as research assistants for a local scholar of old manuscripts, where they are set to translating from Latin.  Chris and Max are given the more prestigious task of attempting to translate and decode a manuscript that has been of interest to conspirators for centuries, while Nora is relegated to translating a pile of letters.  Nora, though put out by the belief that she has been assigned this ‘lesser’ task by virtue of being a high schooler or a girl, soon finds herself enraptured by the letter writer, Elizabeth’s, story.  Nora feels a certain kinship and understanding between herself and Elizabeth, feeling the need to keep her most private correspondence private, and understanding her words with more ease and depth over time.

While all of the characters were well-written, I found myself unable to connect with any of them or feel truly invested in their futures.  Chris, undoubtedly the most likable character, is announced dead before the story even gets going.  Nora’s relationship to Chris, and to Elizabeth, were the only relationships I really felt in the book.  Her romance with Max seemed very lukewarm to me, and as such I couldn’t really grasp her devotion and faith in him (I’ll admit it, I’m prejudice against boys who recite poetry to come across as ‘smart’ or ‘romantic’, to me it just reads lame).  Nora’s relationship with Adriane also seemed rather mild, but I did enjoy having Adriane around as she was the only character that seemed to bring any humor to the book.  I suppose in the end, I would have to state that The Book of Blood and Shadow, as a mystery, seeks to be both plot and character driven, but is lacking somewhat on both accounts.

The writing in The Book of Blood and Shadow is nearly poetic, a story that seems like it should be adrenaline filled is instead more quiet and subtle.  The mystery to be solved presents a fun and engrossing trail throughout the book, with various twists and turns to uncover.  I did, however, question the plausibility of the mystery itself.  The information uncovered from Elizabeth’s letters didn’t really seem that difficult to figure out.  I suppose the best reasoning one can come up with for previous scholars not having uncovered it is the supposed unimportance of Elizabeth’s letters.  This didn’t really line up for me though, given events and beliefs exposed later in the story.  

The setting of Prague always lends and air of mystery and intrigue to any story, and The Book of Blood and Shadow is no exception.  I found myself craving more detail of the city, like those we received in Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but as the character in that book lived in Prague, while the characters in this one are only visiting, it seems fair that we don’t get quite the same feel for the city.

The Book of Blood and Shadow, despite its faults, is a book worth reading for those who enjoy uncovering age-old mysteries.  I very much enjoyed that while this was a contemporary mystery, it had many elements of historical fiction in play.  The mystery, those involved, and even the city of Prague lended the perfect elements of a good historical fiction, while at the same time having the conveniences of a contemporary novel.  This book will appeal to those who enjoy conspiracies, and secret societies; with a more subtle Indiana Jones and the Arc of the Covenant feel, The Book of Blood and Shadow was intriguing and fun.  I will say that this book presented three very different but interesting views on faith and God, all of which presented a possible extreme; I do think that my inability to align with any of these extremes is part of the reason I felt disconnected from the story.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I do still want to read Robin Wasserman’s Skinned series, but I won’t be prioritizing it based on my experience with The Book of Blood and Shadow.

Recommended for:  Fans of Indiana Jones and the Arc of the Covenant, Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco, or The Divinci Code by Dan Brown.  Basically those who enjoy mystery and adventure with religious themes.

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Book Labyrinth (Guest review by Ashley’s mom)
The Readventurer
Xpresso Reads

Review: Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Title: Scarlet [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: A.C. Gaughen [Website|Twitter]
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Young Adult, Retelling, Historical
Published: February 14th, 2012 by Walker Childrens
Format: Hardcover; 292 pages.
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Challenge: Debut Author Challenge

We do what we do because there's something we can do about it. Things like 'how long' and 'what if' aren't part of that. It's about the hope, not the horror.

Scarlet, known to the people of Nottinghamshire as “Will”, but to her small band of outlaws as just Scarlet has spent the past two years as one of Robin Hood’s most trusted friends and partners in crime.  The band works tirelessly to make certain that the townspeople are fed, and have the money to pay the outrageously high taxes demanded by the sheriff.  They work the roads of Sherwood forest, trying hard to provide for the people that should have been under Robin’s care, but for some contrived treachery his father supposedly committed to crown and country.  When the sheriff hires a thief taker, Gisbourne, to capture and kill the Hood and his mates, Scarlet finds herself pushed into corners she’s been avoiding for years.  Suddenly, her trustworthiness and loyalty to the band is called into question as she strives to hide her past and stay a firm part of the band.  Each of these tasks becomes increasingly difficult as Gisbourne works to destroy them, and as Scarlet deals with the emotions of those around her.

So...let’s talk about this slight obsession I have with books that star girls masquerading as boys.  LOVE IT.  For some reason, this theme always grabs me.  I think one of the reasons for this is that it always guarantees you a strong woman balking against stereotypes--just the kind of girls I like to root for.  One of my favorite parts about Scarlet was the fact that her band knew she was a girl the whole time.  There wasn’t that whole ‘omg when is he going to realize she’s a woman and fall madly in love?’ pressure the whole book, because all of the characters that matter already know.  I mean, I love that moment (All Men of Genius, Leviathan), but it was refreshing to have a new play on this thing that I love so much.

I wasn’t sure going in how I was going to react to Scarlet.  I’d seen her described as ‘prickly’, ‘defensive’, and knew that a lot of people had a hard time bonding to her.  I am happy to say that while yes, these are completely accurate descriptions, I am in the camp of people who fell for and loved Scarlet immediately.  She’s quite moody, and withdraws into herself in an unhealthy way, but she’s also completely kick-butt with her knives, fiercely loyal, and completely dedicated to helping those in need.  Scarlet pushes her own emotions to the backburner so often, she herself doesn’t really even know how she feels about her bandmates John or Robin.  Or rather, she doesn’t let herself acknowledge her feelings.  Scarlet has so much hope for everyone else in her life, but so little for herself.  She’s so certain of her own eventual unhappy ending that she doesn’t dare risk the notion that she is worthy of anything more.  She’s entirely who she wants to be, and not at all who she’s supposed to be.  She’s faithful, dedicated, and willing to take the world’s troubles onto her back.  I found my heart wrenching for Scarlet for so much of this book, I adored her so.

And then there’s the men in her life--Robin Hood’s band of merry brothers.  In Scarlet, the band currently exists of only four ‘men’; Scarlet, Robin Hood, Little John, and Much.  A.C. Gaughen explained that she kept the band at this because Robin Hood was so young in her rendition.  Little John and Much were Robin’s “boys”, he’d grown up with them, and mysterious Scarlet was his dearest friend.  I liked Robin, he was haunted by his past in ways that let him understand Scarlet like no one else, and his need to protect the people of Nottinghamshire made him a true hero in my book.  He could be a bit of a prat, and was outright mean to Scarlet on occasion.  He’s so caught up in what he should feel and what those around him feel, that he fights against his own emotions in some rather annoying ways.  Also, I got really sick of hearing about his eyes.  Apparently, Robin Hood’s eyes are the most amazing things ever because I swear they’re mentioned in detail just about every time Scarlet looks at him.  

John provided a good counterpoint to Robin.  He obviously was crushing on Scarlet, and I love how completely oblivious she is to the whole thing.  I also wasn’t sure until the very end how John really felt about our heroine, if his feelings were genuine, or if he just thought them so.  He’s a good guy, but he certainly isn’t one to take a hint!  I actually liked John’s perseverance with Scarlet, even though we all knew he isn’t the man for her.  He’s confident in ways that Robin and Scarlet are not, but he also doesn’t really understand either of them with the depth that they are able to understand one another.  Honestly, I think my favorite of the men was Much, who we got to see the least of.  He was the most identifiable for the townspeople, and for me as well.  He was just a plain nice guy, who had everyone’s best interests at heart.  When Robin and John would get all mixed up in the head about Scarlet, Much was always there to step in and be a bastion of sanity and solace for her.

All in all, this wasn’t a completely character centered story, and that’s okay!  The action and adventure was worth the lack of character depth, and I’d also like to say that though not all of the characters complexities were highlighted, they were in no way shallow or lacking.  I loved that the plot was driven in an open and direct way.  From about 20 pages in we know the gist of what Scarlet is hiding from the band. But the devil is in the details, which get spread throughout the story like breadcrumbs, revealing more of her and her past to us slowly as time goes on.  I really appreciate this style; I sometimes get annoyed at the big ‘gasp’ moment of reveal that isn’t really a surprise at all.  That wasn’t how Scarlet was done!

Finally, I just have to say that I loved the way Scarlet ended (despite it lacking a certain scene...*ahem*!).  I love that it doesn’t just tie up everything all neatly; Scarlet has some loose ends, but in the best possible way.  This book is entirely about the power of hope, and the ending allows us to go on with the hope and knowledge that Scarlet, Robin, and the band will have many more adventures to come.  Fantastic!  I’m sure that Scarlet wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty perfect for me, and I highly recommend it to you.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: Yes!  I loved this retelling so much, I want to give A.C. Gaughen a big ol’ hug.  She created a new and unique spin on a well-known and oft retold tale, that is totally legit!  I love the history and reasoning she included in her author’s note, and the fact that this book contained a primer for those of us wanting to read more Robin Hood?  LOVE IT.  Totally on board with this author.

Recommended for:  Fans of books like Tamora Pierce’s Allana, Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan (Scarlet reminded me quite a bit of Deryn at times--I think it’s the way they talk!), and Lev A.C. Rosen’s All Men of Genius.  Again, we’re talking strong female protagonists who are willing to go against society to be themselves and follow their dreams.

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Review: Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers

Title: Grave Mercy [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: R.L. LaFevers [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: First in a new series, His Fair Assassin, though it seems they will be more like companion novels, so yay!
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Fantasy
Published: April 3rd, 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format: Kindle edition.
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley.
Challenge: YA/MG Fantasy Challenge

I can dodge a blow or block a knife.  I am impervious to poison and know a dozen ways to escape a chokehold or garrote wire.  But kindness?  I do not know how to defend against that.

Ismae is forced into an arranged marriage to a man who terrifies her, by another who is just as bad.  When her new husband sees the scar marking her as a daughter of Death, he beats her savagely, and locks her away.  She is rescued by those who would send her to the convent of St. Mortain, filled with women who serve as the handmaidens of Death.  There she is trained in all manner of assassination tactics before being released on her first assignments to test her for full initiation into the convent.  These tests lead her on an assignment to the high court, where she must ferret out traitors and protect the young Duchess.  She is supposed to watch one man in particular, but soon Ismae doesn’t know who she can or cannot trust, including herself.

You know those books that fill you up and leave you positively giddy and excited about life?  Well, this may sound odd, but that for me was a book about this female assassin who is the daughter of Death.  Morbid much?  Well, maybe a little, but in this case I don’t think so.  Grave Mercy was a beautifully rendered historical fiction with touches of fantasy, mythology, and a slow burning romance that will have any girl holding her breath.  I was hooked in from the first paragraph, where we learn that Ismae bears a scar from her mother’s attempt to abort her as a fetus; the fact that she survived indicated that she was the daughter of Death himself.  

The story takes place in Brittany, which is now the upper NW corner of France, but at the time was its own country sitting uncomfortably between England and France.  LaFevers creates a haunting and wonderful mythology where the country’s nine gods have been transposed into saints under the Christian church (as the Christian church was wont to do).  Ismae escapes a desperate and cruel life under the abusive men that raised her and bought her as wife, to study under the tutelage of the sisters of St. Mortain’s convent.  The convent trains its members as assassins, as they are all offspring of their saint, Death himself.  Literally. Like Megan Whalen Turner's The Queen's Thief series, or Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar, the gods are very present and important in a more direct way that we often see. As full initiates of St. Mortain, these women work as his handmaidens, dolling out vengeance to those who put Brittany in danger.  

Dudes, can I even express how awesome Ismae and her sisters in Death are?!  Apparently not without reverting into surfer lingo.  If you love strong women who don’t take no crap from no man, Grave Mercy is for you!  Ismae and the other girls all have horrors in their pasts that have led them to the convent.  At St. Mortain’s, they are offered a chance at a new life, one where they will be the wolves that prey.  They are trained in skills of weapons, combat, poisons, and seduction.  They have a seeress that forsees those who have been marqued for death.  To them, their work is not murder, it is a sacrament to their god and father.  Ismae has her own unique talents given by her father; she can see maques indicating when and how a man will die, and she is immune to poison.  Ismae gratefully accepts a place at the convent, looking forward to proving herself and casting vengeance on men, who in her experience are only cruel and untrustworthy.  

And then there’s Duval.  Duval!  Prepare for the slow-burn romance of the year because man oh man.  It’s a good thing corsets weren’t around yet, or there’d be lots of swooning going on up in here.  Duval is unwillingly saddled with Ismae, each have their own agendas and countless reasons not to trust one another.  And they don’t.  Not only is this a romance that takes hundreds of pages to unfold, it develops from the very depths of mistrust.  Personally, I loved Duval instantly.  It was clear by the relationships he had with his friends, and the fierce dedication and support he showed for his half-sister and country, that he was a wonderful man.  And he would have to be to earn any leeway from Ismae, who has only known men as dangerous, conniving, treacherous, and cruel.  Duval never pushes Ismae, or asks her to be anything but who she is, and I love it.

I will say that this is one of those books that I’m torn about seeing the ‘YA’ label on.  Yes, this is great for YA readers, but at the same time I am sad at the amount of adults who will not read this series because of it.  The characters and situations, to me, make this a very adult book, so I’m hoping there will be plenty who give it a shot!  I am so excited to see this series continue, largely because I believe it will be set up in a companion novel sort of fashion.  The second book will be about another of the girls at the convent, Sybella, and so I am hopping the third will be about their friend Annith.  I love series that do this, and though I adored Duval and Ismae, I am happy they won’t be the focus of Dark Triumph.  Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll get all huffy if they were to make an appearance!

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I’ve already considered stalking and/or bribes to get my hands on Dark Triumph asap.  Not only that, but I can see myself rereading Grave Mercy in the future, such was my love for it!   

Recommended for:  Anyone whose favorite SoIaF character is Arya, or I suppose fans of strong women who persevere through tough times in general.  This is a fantastic historical fiction, even for those who prefer theirs fantasy free--all of the politics are very true to life, and it would be a strong book even without the mythological elements (though I loved the mythological elements!).  

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  I learned something very important about reading historical fiction!  If you aren’t familiar with the history don’t go read about it before you finish the book.  Total spoilers.  If you’re interested, I read some history of Brittany on Wikipedia, and the author also has a lovely post on the specific era here.  Do read it, but after.

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Review: Song of the Red Cloak by Chantel Acevedo

Title: Song of the Red Cloak [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Chantel Acevedo [Website|Twitter]
Standing: Stand alone novel?
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Fantasy
Published: July 26th, 2011 by CreateSpace
Format: Kindle edition.  
Source: Purchased.

A prophecy has been told of one prince's betrayal of another, of a slave uprising and the destruction of Sparta, of love and death.  The time has come to pass that these prophesies may be fulfilled.

Galen and Nikolas have grown up the best of friends, much to the concern of most of Sparta; Nikolas is a prince, destined to be king, while Galen is a helot--a slave--destined only to serve.  Galen dreams of freedom, of being a true Spartan and wearing a red cloak, but he knows this will not happen, so he will help Nikolas to achieve his.  While assisting Nikolas in a cruel coming-of-age ritual, Galen and Nikolas have a run in with Zoi, a mysterious young woman with unusual powers.  Galen, however, begins to suspect that Zoi has her part to play in the prophecies he learns from Karinna, Sparta’s beautiful new sybil.  

So, like many out there, I tend to shy away from self-published books, at least until I hear good words from others.  Chantel Acevedo is a real life friend of an author I love, Rachel Hawkins, and she had such kind words to say about Chantel and her book that I just had to give it a shot.  Chantel Acevedo is a total sweetheart, and I was excited to read a book that began as a NaNoWriMo book to see what someone could achieve from this event.  I am so happy to say that not only were there no noticeable typos, Song of the Red Cloak offered a compelling story of friendship, love, and BADASS SPARTANS.

Song of the Red Cloak was an excellent historical fiction, with some awesomely creative fantasy elements drawn both from Grecian myth and Acevedo’s own creation.  I loved all of the elements of Spartan society that were discussed, especially the details about the women.  I’ll say it right now, if I ever have to be part of a past society, I’ll take Sparta please (just not as a helot).  They get to go to school, get trained to fight, can speak their minds, and are pretty much awesome:

When foreigners asked why Spartan women were the only females in all of Greece allowed to speak their minds, the answer was always the same:  because Spartan women gave birth to real men.

Yeah, I know, it’s one of those cliche Spartan phrases, but it’s always in Spartan stuff BECAUSE IT’S AWESOME.  Song of the Red Cloak did not include the other Spartan phrase, “Come back with your shield or on it.” so we’ll let it roll.  I will say though, that one of the things that bothered me a bit about the book in the first half was feeling a bit like I was getting a history lesson.  This is somewhat necessary to make sure readers understand terminology, but occasionally it felt like facts were thrown in because they were cool facts more than because they were necessary.  Another aspect that bothered me were a couple of inconsistencies in descriptors.  For example, near the beginning, Nikolas surprised Galan by coming up behind him, but about three pages later when describing Nikolas, it is said that he could never sneak up on anyone.  My only other issue was the time-line.  While the pacing of the story was good, things seemed to come to a head very quickly, in a matter of days events took place which to me would have made more sense over a matter of weeks.

Song of the Red Cloak addresses the age old and tragic issue of prophecy.  As so often with prophecies, they are open to interpretation, misinterpreted, or people attempt to avoid them.  This, as always, works toward the detriment of those involved.  We see this story through the eyes of Galen, a slave who both respects and hates Spartans.  I very much enjoyed the focus on a male protagonist, and a story where there was just as much (if not more) emphasis on the value of his friendship with Nikolas as there is on his relationships with Zoi and Karinna.  All in all, I very much enjoyed the world depicted by Acevedo, which was both historically accurate and wonderfully creative.  

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I’ll totally check out whatever Chantel Acevedo writes next!  I admire her for self-publishing, and think she’s got some great stories up in that head.  Song of the Red Cloak was stand alone, but it seemed very open for the continuation of this story. She also has another book out, Love and Ghost Letters, which won the International Latino Book Award.

Recommended for:  Fans of Ancient Greece (Sparta in particular), people looking for a focus on friendship, strong women--because Sparta had em’ and some hot dudes too.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  Well...my boyfriend had to sit through 300 with me.  Yeah, guys like 300, but they probably don’t like watching it with their girlfriend literally drooling at all the eye candy.  Also Spartans make me want to eat large amounts of next-to-raw meat and punch things.  And kick people down pits.