My Lady Jane » Book Review

My Lady Jane was a strongly hyped book written by three well-known YA authors. I believe it was also an Owlcrate book for the month of May. I was feeling a little apprehensive going into the book because while I was familiar with all three authors, I couldn't say that I particularly adored their previous works.

Cynthia Hand is the author of the Unearthly trilogy, Brodi Ashton is the author of the Everneath trilogy, and Jodie Meadows is the author of the Newsoul trilogy and The Orphan Queen series. I've read the first book of both the Unearthly and Everneath trilogies, but the love triangle didn't inspire me to continue. I read a brief sample of the first Newsoul book and chose to stop there.

Thankfully, My Lady Jane didn't suffer any of those issues.

Tudor England

For most of us, the historical setting will be very familiar. Who wasn't fascinated by King Henry the VIII's various marriages and break from the Catholic Pope? It was one of the few times my class perked up during our history lessons. Even though our focus is on Lady Jane (made obvious by the title), we are initially introduced to Edward. From then on, our perspectives switch between Jane and Edward.

Edward is a teen boy who doesn't focus too much on his kingdom. All of his work is done through his privy council and his advisors, including Lord Dudley. He enjoys the company of his half-sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, and his cousin, Jane. Even though Edward wonders what it would be like to marry Jane, he is convinced by his advisors to marry her off to a Gifford Dudley, and to allow Jane's male heirs to be Edward's successors should he not be able to provide his own heir.

Most of that seems to be historically accurate as far as I can surmise from my AP History class and brief research. Now comes the interesting part...

Magic?

In this version of history, magic exists. More precisely, shapeshifters exist. Naturally there are two factions. Those who are shapeshifters and those who are not. They do have precise terminology within the novel itself. But it has been a little while since I've read the book and I've already returned it to the library so I can't recall them offhand.

We learn that Edward's father could turn into a raging lion if he was displeased. Edward and Jane spent much of their time as children wishing and practicing to be a shapeshifter themselves. The addition of these fantastical elements does allow a historical fiction book to appeal to a wider range of readers. It also allowed certain tweaks to be made to our version of history.

Romance

I did mention that Edward had considered what it would be like to marry Jane. However, there is NO love triangle in this book which I was deeply appreciative of. Instead, we get to see the romance between Jane and her new husband Gifford develop. This is actually one of my favorite tropes in historical romance novels. For whatever reason, I do love to see a marriage of convenience or a marriage of hatred to turn into a marriage of true love and affection.

This romantic story did not disappoint. I adored Jane as a character. She was intelligent and smart, focused and driven. I enjoyed her sense of humor and nothing fazed her for too long. Her interactions with Gifford were sweet and I was really rooting for both of them throughout the novel.

We also get to see romances develop with other key characters as well, but I'm feeling a little too lazy at the moment to expound upon that further.

My Rating & Why

I did really like this book. Even though it is close to 500 pages, I could read it relatively quickly. My only complaint is that it felt too juvenile. I would say that it fell closer to the middle-grade end of the spectrum rather than the mature YA that I was expecting.

The romance is VERY PG. The plot is quite simple even for someone unfamiliar with the historical time period. While I enjoyed the sense of humor from the characters as well as the omniscient narrator, it didn't set the book apart for me in any way.

A Promise of Fire » Book Review

Ellen and I were both DYING to get our hands on an ARC copy of A Promise of Fire when we saw the slew of 4-5 star reviews from reputable bloggers. Unfortunately, we didn't feel the same kind of magic that they did. Ellen disliked it (to put it mildly) and she already wrote up a review (HERE) detailing her less-than-stellar opinion of the book.

Fortunately for me, I didn't despise it quite as much as she did. But I definitely agree with all the issues that Ellen brought up in her review.

Catalia

Our main character, Cat (as she likes to be called), is 23 years old. I didn't figure that out until I started writing this review! She talks like a petulant 15 year old. During her inner monologue, she frequently uses words like 'gah' and 'gag'. If I was playing a drinking game, I would be drunk in 3 chapters flat. Okay, okay. I'm a lightweight. BUT STILL.

"Thanks the Gods. Gag!
Sort of.
Except not at all.
Gah! I'm going insane!"

SHOOT ME.

The synopsis calls Cat smart-mouthed.

I wouldn't say that the words coming out of her mouth are... 'smart'. It's mostly a constant stream of 'I hate you', 'get lost' and 'let me go'. Look, I love a witty character. I LIVE for banter and sexual tension. She talks for the sake of saying words and to antagonize others. I should pull out quotes, but gaaahhhhh I don't wanna! (See what I did there?)

One of my bookish pet peeves is when a character claims that she is secretive and guarded and yet can't seem to keep her mouth shut and spills her secrets anyway. This happened NUMEROUS times. For example, even when she clearly makes everyone around her promise to keep her secrets from Griffin's family, SHE IS THE FIRST ONE TO BLAB IT OUT. It took about 10 minutes into dinner for that to happen.

Uh huh. Guarded. Secretive. I see it. Of course the BIG secret needed to be kept because how else can we stretch it into a trilogy?

My other pet peeve is when self-sacrifice is taken to the extreme (*cough* Supernatural *cough*). Cat is supposed to be a strong, badass woman with amazing powers. And sure she makes use of some of them, BUT TO THE POINT OF DEATH. This happened not once, not twice, but a total of THREE times. She gets completely conked out and needs Griffin to take care of her. That seems to be the feminist response to the damsel in distress trope. We can't have the female be completely incompetent... so let's make her snarky and powerful, but still need a man to save her from the aftermath of it to keep the romance alive!

Why a 3 Star Rating?

For all my griping, I did enjoy the read. It was frustrating at times, and cringe-worthy at times, but I kept going and I was always interested to see what was going to happen next. Even though Kato & Flynn (the other members of Griffin's personal team) were practically identical characters, I ADORED the brother/sister relationship they had with Cat.

Even though I found the romance problematic and Griffin a little too high-handed, I was still invested. Until a certain plot detail cropped up. Then I totally lost it. [spoiler]Magical sexual healing??? WTF! Poseidon sent Cat a magical jizz man to heal her?![/spoiler] I managed to get through it though. Thank god for Ellen.

Even though I firmly believe that this book didn't have to be stretched into a trilogy, I am still willing to give the next 2 books a shot. Hopefully it gets better from here.

A Promise of Fire releases today. Happy reading everyone!

The Witch Hunter » Book Review

Disappointed doesn't even begin to cover my range of emotions upon completion of The Witch Hunter. I wanted to love it! I was completely ready to jump on the bandwagon. But I sadly could only wave as the bandwagon passed me by along its journey to the squealing fandom.

Elizabeth - Our Witch Hunter

The setting of the book isn't anything new, surprising or special. Our main character is Elizabeth and she happens to be a witch hunter. She is pretty damn good at her job but unfortunately gets accused of witchcraft herself. Whoops.

Luckily she gets rescued! Unfortunately it's by a wizard. That isn't going to do her reputation any good.

I really enjoyed the first 100 or so pages of the book. But I quickly started losing interest after that. I can't exactly explain why. Maybe it's because I had left my hotel in Ohio and I could no longer read by the pool. Maybe the first 100 pages were only made interesting by the fact that I had THIS to look at (via bookishpeach @ Instagram).


I genuinely liked Elizabeth. She was strong, hard-working, and loyal. However, most of the characters surrounding her seemed dull and lifeless. Call me crazy, but it got to the point where I felt that book was seeping energy OUT of me.

Romance

We do have a teensy love triangle in the works. It didn't bother me too much because the two love interests were kept separate from each other and there wasn't a whole lot of mooning on Elizabeth's part. Her first love interest is Caleb. He introduced her to Blackwell and the world of witch-hunting but can't seem to see Elizabeth as anything other than a sister or a dear friend. So we do have some pining to deal with. Luckily it wasn't overwhelming and I found it quite relatable (since I do occasionally find myself in the pining stage as well).

Then we have John, the healer. I liked him, he seemed nice and sweet. But I FELT nothing. I wanted a romance that I could really get behind, something I could root for. All I felt was a lot of 'meh'.

Our Crew & Villain

I'm lumping these two categories together because I have the same complaint.

(Just so you guys know, I recited the rest of the lines in my head)

Elizabeth ends up going on a quest with a John, George and some girl whose name I can't remember because of a prophecy. What a wonderful opportunity for me to fall in love with these characters!

Nope. NOTHING. I have NO feelings.

We instead end up at a really bizarre juvenile party that reminded me a terrible YA high school contemporary instead of a fantasy story with real stakes. The change in tone really threw me off and I couldn't make myself recover from that.

Onto our villain, Blackwell. He was SO BORING. Nothing about his character surprised me at all. Apparently, I had guessed the big reveal right after reading the synopsis (which I must say, must be some kind of record for me). He was just a standard villain. There was nothing interesting about him.

There wasn't anything interesting about anyone, really.

I do have the next book, The King Slayer, already checked out from the library. I will probably give it a go in a few days just so I can complete this duology. Maybe it will be a little better than The Witch Hunter.

I know some of my blogger friends out there really enjoyed this one. I'M SORRY GUYS! I really did try, I promise.

PS: There is NO political intrigue. Absolutely none. Don't fall for the Game of Thrones comparison!

The Forbidden Wish » Book Review

The Forbidden Wish is a beautifully written book filled with exactly the kind of magic I needed. I shall do my best to be coherent, but there might be more swooning and gushing than one might except from a romantic cynic such as myself.

Now, I will be the first one to say that I am tired of the fairy-tale retelling genre. But Khoury did an amazing job with this one. This is a fantastic stand-alone fantasy novel that is a retelling of the story of Aladdin. At this point, I can't even decide which version I love more.

Our Jinni

Our protagonist is Zahra, the jinni. Formerly known as Genie voiced by our beloved Robin Williams. There are some major differences between the two. For one, Zahra is a woman. For another, she possesses an entirely different kind of humor.

Aladdin stumbles across Zahra's lamp deep in a cave surrounded by a beautiful garden made entirely of gems. He manages to escape with the help of Zahra and forges an unlikely friendship beyond that of master and jinni.

I loved reading from Zahra's perspective. She is a flawed character, witty, manipulative, and sometimes painfully insightful. Her life experiences have warned her against love in a way that is entirely realistic and plausible. I've read/watched too many heroes refuse to show or have emotion out of pure stubbornness and selfishness instead of having a justifiable reason.

The story is told in first person and is addressed to Zahra's old friend Roshana, also referred to as Habiba. Roshana used to a previous master of Zahra's but they formed a deep and abiding love for each other that transformed their bond into that of sisterhood. When Zahra spoke of Roshana, it was as if Khoury had weaved a spell around my heart. I could feel that love and connection resonate within myself, and it was a very powerful moment for me.

Everyone Else

The princess of our story, Caspida, is freakin' badass. She is a warrior princess with her own band of warrior-maidens. How amazing is that?! I loved every single moment with her and her ladies. Khoury did an amazing job creating a vast array of strong female characters with their own strengths, weaknesses and personality. Every character was distinct from each other and had their own role to play within their insular society.

The interactions between Zahra and Caspida had me pumping my fist in delight. Two strong women coming together to discuss politics and the fate of the kingdom? SIGN ME UP.

The romance that slowly developed and simmers between Zahra and Aladdin was absolutely swoon-worthy. Their relationship is built on friendship and mutual trust. There were moments when I would skim over some of the political intrigue in the story to get to an Aladdin and Zahra section. Of course, I made sure I went back and re-read what I missed.

Magic and the Jinni

I found the descriptions Khoury used to describe Zahra's brand of magic to be breathtaking. I am typically not a visual imaginative reader. By that, I mean that I don't picture things in my head. But when I was reading about Zahra, I couldn't help but imagine the swirls of smoke that would erupt around her as she practiced a certain aspect of her magic and giggle over her ability to turn from a cat or a bumbling peacock to a tiger at a moment's notice. I know I keep saying the same things over and over again, but this book was just beautiful.

If you're interested in learning a little more about Zahra's background, Jessica Khoury has written a free short story (HERE) on Wattpad aptly titled The Jinni.

I couldn't recommend this book more. I strongly urge you to pick it up and give it a chance yourself.

Rat Queens, Vol. 1 » Graphic Novel Review

I have owned the first volume of Rat Queens for over a year now. I can't believe it took me this long to pick it up!

I ADORED it. It is dark, gory, and laugh-out-loud hilarious. The artwork is stunning, and I loved the diverse group of women that made up the squad of Rat Queens.

Our Rat Queens

Betty



Betty, our Hippy Smidgen Thief, was dueling it out with Dee for my favorite character. She had some of the funniest lines, and she never failed to make me laugh.

Dee



Dee, our Atheist Human Cleric, is my official favorite. She has badass healing powers, and her social skills speak to my soul. This panel is my absolute favorite. That is straight up me at a party. Also I have to admit, I do have a teensy girl crush on Dee. BUT WHO WOULDN'T, amirite?

Hannah



Hannah is our Rockabilly Elven Mage. And she is SO COOL. I mean, look at them tats.

Violet



Violet, our hipster dwarven fighter, is a kickass fighter. And according to this installment, she and Dee have the most interesting backstory by far.

These women are unapologetically themselves. They are bawdy, vulgar, arrogant and badass. They aren't wearing skintight spandex, their bodies look like the bodies of women. I shouldn't be this excited by something this simple, but you don't often see women represented in graphic novels/comics in a realistic manner.

The volume was quick-paced, it threw you into the action right away. While I usually enjoy that, it did take me a while to recognize the individual characters. I also didn't necessarily feel like all of the characters were developed equally. I had a harder time getting to know and remember both Hannah and Violet. Hopefully that will be rectified in the next installment!

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Are there any graphic novel series that you enjoy? Let us know in the comments below!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone » Review

This book, written by one of my favorite authors, did not make a great impression the first time around.  Although you don't know it at first, this first book in Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy [spoiler]truly starts in medias res.[/spoiler] There is a lot going on, as well, and it's difficult to get a grip on during the first read-through.  The first time I read the book, I made a lot of incorrect assumptions, like [spoiler]that we were dealing with insta-love. We're not.[/spoiler] I also disliked our main character, Karou, thinking she was a tiresome, self-impressed hipster chick, which she kind of was (in the first book), but when you know all of her backstory, Karou becomes immeasurably more likable. Unfortunately, it takes a while for that backstory to come into play.

What made me push through Daughter of Smoke and Bone was the wealth of positive reviews for the book and my enjoyment of Taylor's short story collection, Lips Touch: Three Times.  I decided I wasn't giving the series the good ol' college try and made another attempt.

I am so glad I did.  Because, while I'm hesitant to call the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy something like a 'masterpiece,' it is most definitely an 'achievement.'  Laini Taylor's imagination is just insane.  It's a pleasure to dive into and swim through.  She writes well, treating us to surprising little similes and turns of phrase that are so rarely found in YA these days.

About Laini Taylor's style — it's very distinct.  It's distinct to the point where if I read a piece of hers without her name attributed, I'm very certain I could identify it. That's really remarkable, when you think about it. (Remarkable on Taylor's part, not mine :P) So many authors struggle with finding a distinct voice, and Laini Taylor just nails it. Really, the only author I can think of that Taylor shares similarities with is Holly Black, and even then, there are strong differences between the two.

Taylor's style mixes dreamy elements of fantasy with modern settings — romance and humor sprinkled throughout.  There are, of course, Taylor's signature similes and unusual turns of phrase aplenty, although these are much thicker in her short stories than in her novels.  And then, there is always a dark undercurrent of aggression, greed, and sexual violence. I'll get to those issues more in my review of Days of Blood and Starlight, but for now I'll just say that Taylor most definitely has a strong thematic message throughout her body of work.

Anyways, about the actual book.  It opens with a blue haired girl, Karou, being attacked by a vampire.  When I first read the book I was all, "NO! Not another vampire book!" But it's a false alarm — Karou's ex-boyfriend is a street performer/tour guide who dresses like a vampire. Karou, her faux-vampire ex-boyfriend, and her close friend, Zusana, all live in Prague — a nicely exotic setting.  Karou and Zusana are art students and I'd now write that Karou lives a pretty normal life... only she doesn't.  She is replete with mystery.  She knows martial arts, keeps a knife in her boot, speaks tons of languages, never seems to dye her perfectly blue hair, and good luck follows her everywhere.

We find out the answers to all of these mysteries soon enough, but I found it overwhelming to take in at first.  Laini Taylor has created an immense story and it's a lot to take in.  This is unquestionably my main complaint with the book, but I couldn't tell you how to fix it.  I'm not sure that Taylor didn't do the best job possible easing us into her huge concept.  It was confusing as all hell at first.

Another weakness of the story lies in the *first read-through* of the romance.  When reading the romance for the first time, there are so many misconceptions because the backstory is just not there.  [spoiler]You don't even know that there IS a backstory.[/spoiler] So, when I first read the book, I thought, this is intolerable!  It isn't, actually — it's just way more palatable and intriguing once you know more about what's going on in the story.

Overall, Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a very good beginning to a great series.  There are definitely some issues with how the immensity of information is introduced, but don't ask me how Taylor could have done better.  I give this first book in the trilogy four stars.



 

The Subtle Knife » Review

In the sequel to The Golden Compass, Phillip Pullman shows how a book can be totally different from its predecessor while still holding true to the style and heart of the original.

At the end of His Dark Materials' first installment, Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon, stepped through a rift in the universe and into a parallel world.  Needless to say, I was anxious to see how Lyra was faring and where she went.  Masterfully, however, Pullman draws out the suspense by introducing us to a new protagonist, Will Parry, who lives in a place readers are quite familiar with.

After becoming immersed in the alternate Britain of the first book, it was somewhat jarring to encounter our own, modern world.  I thought it was pretty genius, however, making His Dark Materials into a more complex fantasy.  The interplay between the worlds was fantastic, as we soon see, for early in the book, Will stumbles into a parallel universe himself and bumps right into Lyra Silvertongue.

The chemistry between Will and Lyra was fantastic, but not in a romantic sense.  Their interactions were dynamic because they're such fundamentally different people.  Will is very much an adult before his years, solid and responsible, while Lyra is like the spirit of childhood, clever and minxish.  The two were at delicious odds when they first meet. However, what Will and Lyra both are is resourceful, and pretty soon, they've created an intriguing plot for readers to follow.

Our slew of villainous adults from book one are back in The Subtle Knife, with even more adversaries thrown into the mix for good measure.  We have Mrs. Coulter, beautiful, charismatic, and charming, with her true nature revealed by her infernal monkey daemon.  Then there is Lord Asriel, seemingly a force for good but willing to do incredibly evil things.  The fact that Coulter and Asriel are Lyra's true parents, well, it makes matters even more complex.  Such intriguing questions emerge. Do Coulter and Asriel have love for their daughter inside their hearts, at all?  And how much of her parents' characters is made manifest in Lyra?

The Subtle Knife was an outstanding book, straddling the line between middle grade and young adult.  In the end though, the book is ageless.

Ruin and Rising » Review

I can't believe it's over!  I remember the first time I read book one... It's like a Disneyland commercial — Never Forget the Magic!  ...And then I waited years to read book two, well past its release. Way, way past.

Why did I do this, when I loved Shadow and Bone so much?  I think it was because I was terrified over what would happen to the characters.  I didn't want to read about them getting maimed, or dying, or never being quite the same, like Frodo, at the end of Lord of the Rings.  Because I knew something like that had to happen to make the serious epic and serious and all that.

But, I'm pleased to say that I finally bit the bullet and read Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising back to back, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be!  That's not to say there wasn't maiming, death, and Frodo-fate, because there was. All of that happened, but my heart is still intact.

After a bit of weird pacing in Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising had a steadier pace and I enjoyed the book more than the middle installment but less than Shadow and Bone.  There were some really excellent plot twists that had me gasping and a proper, finished ending that left me satisfied.  (Granted, my ship sailed, so I had reason to be pleased.)

There's not much I can say about the plot without giving things away.  It wasn't a perfect construction, but I found it to be structurally sound.  My main quibble is that the climax was rather abrupt and a tad of a letdown.  I was expecting a bit more of a drawn-out, epic battle, but we got a skirmish instead.

As for the out of control love rhombus in Siege and Storm, well, it settled the fuck down in Ruin and Rising, thank God.  Things were handled quite skillfully and gracefully in my opinion. (Again, my ship sailed.)  There were plenty of swoony moments in the text, especially after a certain twist took place.  It was a great moment where plot and relationships collide and the effect was just excellent.

Overall, this isn't a book that I ever should have been scared to read, although it definitely kept my heart racing, wondering where the next betrayal was coming from, when the Darkling would manifest to wreck havoc, and what the third amplifier would do to Alina.  It was a magnificent conclusion to a great series.

Shadow and Bone » Review

Even though it was years ago, I still remember when I first read Shadow and Bone.  I started it in the evening... see where this is going? Yes, rays of light were poking through the windows by the time I finished the book.  Those rays of light were so fitting, let me tell you.

The book's premise isn't super unique.  There is a girl who manifest super special powers and finds out she must save her country (and the world!) from evil.  But, you know, there's a reason that general premise is so popular.  It's super compelling.  Add to that Bardugo's Russian inspired setting, vivid description, and worldbuilding and we have something special on our hands.

Alina Starkov, our protagonist, is an unlikely Chosen One.  She's prickly, scrawny, and ordinary. Oh yeah, and really grumpy and insecure.  She's a character that you only sometimes admire, but always root for.  Our villain is the Darkling, an almost omnipotent "grisha,"  who can summon and manipulate darkness.  He's almost a deity and he is pretty freaky.  I rate him up with Sauran in my list of "Near Impossible to Beat Literary Antagonists."  Many readers find him dishy, but I don't feel that way.  This character is a bad person.

As I mentioned before, the setting is in a Russian inspired country at the beginning of its industrial age.  The fitting term used by Bardugo to describe her genre, is "czarpunk."  Our story starts out with teenage Alina conscripted as a mapmaker's apprentice in the national Ravkan army.  Maybe it's due to all of the World War II footage I've seen in my schooldays, but I could picture so vividly the chilly landscape and dirty roads that the army stops through in our opening scenes. Also conscripted in her regiment is Alina's best friend and childhood soulmate, Mal.  Poor Alina has a serious case of the loves for Mal, which, again, isn't exactly original, but was very compelling regardless.

But I'm dancing around the main hook of the story.  There is a magic system in Bardugo's word.  Much like Kristin Cashore's Graceling, certain people are born with powers that bend the laws of the natural world.  These grisha are powerful figures in Ravka, and comprise an army led by their most powerful member, the Darkling.  As mentioned previously, the Darkling summons darkness.  His foil, a summoner of light, has not been discovered. Untiiiiil...

There now, doesn't that intrigue you?

As for faults, I found the middle portion of the book to sag slightly compared with Shadow and Bone's powerhouse opening and ending.  Alina could be insufferable at times, but it's understandable, as she's at the beginning of her character arc.  Got to start from somewhere, right.

All in all, this is a five star YA read and Leigh Bardugo has emerged as a top author in the genre.  If you like YA lit in the slightest, this isn't a book you'll want to pass over.

Six of Crows » Review

I love this book so much I carry it around with me when I go places. I love it so much that I mark it up with colored pens so I can figure out how Leigh Bardugo writes so well. I love it so much that I'm currently reading everything Bardugo has written. I love it so much that I've read the book five times over already, and it hasn't even been a month since its release.

Part of the reason I love it is that I'm currently writing an industrial fantasy adventure and Six of Crows happens to be an industrial fantasy adventure. It's a little niche off of steampunk that I love. So right away the genre of this book had me. There are all the issues that come from the setting being on the cusp of modernity, there's a healthy dose of magic, and there's action, risk, and suspense. Love it!

Another aspect I adored was the character development. The book follows a team of criminals and has an ensemble narration, with clearly defined arc for each character. Mechanically, the character arcs were neat and well done. Emotionally, they were compelling.

My favorite characters, though I loved them all, were Kaz and Inej. Kaz is the perfect anti-hero, a twisted and dark criminal genius, who happens to still be a teenager and working his way to the top. Inej is a former sex slave that Kaz rescued and turned into his own personal spy, redirecting her skills in acrobatic performance.  Their relationship is so compelling.  I could seriously write an essay on their relationship, their dynamics are so complex.

There's also Jesper, a combat savant with a nasty gambling addiction. There's Nina, a grisha Heartrender — a throwback connection to Bardugo's Shadow and Bone series. There's Matthias, a Nordic-inspired giant who worked as a grisha hunter before he was imprisoned on a hellish island. And then there's Wylan. Poor Wylan is the only member of the team who doesn't get POV chapters, so as of now, I'd call him a more peripheral character. He has a privileged background, but threw it all away because of his principles.



The book starts out with a chapter that could turn off readers, because it slides into the action indirectly and gradually, through the POV of a redshirt. Chapter two is when we get introduced to Inej, and from there, I can't see readers having a problem sticking with the book. It sinks its claws in.

As for the plot, I think Bardugo did a marvelous job in making things believable. There were a few instances where I questioned plausibility, but for a heist novel, it was pretty solid. Bardugo also did fantastic work in weaving quiet moments into the action. I just want to give her a standing ovation.

Already, I'm plotting how to get my greedy paws on the sequel, Empire of Crows as soon as I possibly can. Six of Crows ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, setting up book two perfectly. This is going to be an amazing series, everyone.

Also, I entered a contest to get my name inserted in the second book.  This is my entry.



 

Siege and Storm » Review

Siege and Storm is such a middle book.  By that I mean, it is very much a bridge between a beginning and an ending and doesn't really pull too much new stuff out of its hat.  Despite this, it's still a good read.  However, it didn't knock my socks off like its predecessor, Shadow and Bone, did.

The book starts off with Alina and Mal on the run from the Darkling.  Then, mere pages into the book, the plot arrives with a bang.  Seriously, I got some reader whiplash from how fast things took off.  Perhaps I would have appreciated a bit slower of a buildup.

Then, once things get going, they are going, until... the pace drops.  We get chapter after chapter of descriptive summary and very little dialogue.  With the breakneck start, this sudden lull was a bit jarring and noticeable.

As for our romance, it was in a middle-of-the-series state as well.  Alina juggles three romantic possibilities.  Three.  It was a bit much, even for a romance lover like myself.

She continues to pine after Mal, despite, you know, being with him, and their relationship struggles under the weight of Alina's chosen-one burden.  They are most definitely the most insecure couple I've ever encountered in fiction, although Mr. and Mrs. de Winter from Rebecca come in a close second place.  At one point, one of Bardugo's characters comments, saying something to the effect of, "for a case of true love, you two are awfully insecure."  Truth!  But is it any less annoying for being highly intentional on the author's part?

We also meet a bevy of new characters, and the series is stronger for it.  I particularly liked meeting the younger son of the King.  He was a complex, yet distinct, character and scenes were always brightened by his presence.  Vasily, his older brother, made for a great villain as well.  Coming from Kentucky, Vasily reminded me so much of a particular brand of snob that is the rich horse racing aficionado.  Perhaps living in California, Leigh Bardugo is familiar with the breed as well.

As for the Darkling, he was largely absent in the book, which I liked, because that character scares the bejeezus out of me.  A mass murderer who almost claims the omni-trifecta: omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient? Yikes.  I hesitate to say he's a flat character, because a lot of it can be chalked up to his being mysterious, but I've never gotten into the Darkling.  His sins never leave my mind long enough for me to feel anything but creeped out.  But maybe the fact that he provides a lot of food for thought makes him an accomplished character? Perhaps.

This has been a very muddled review, but I hope I got across what I wanted.  Siege and Storm was a good book, yet raised a lot of argumentative feelings in me regarding the plot and characters.

Carry On » Review

Carry On is a strange novel, with a strange, nesting doll-like genesis.  First, there was a little series called Harry Potter and Rainbow Rowell, a writer, wrote Harry Potter fanfiction online.  Then Rowell published an original novel called Fangirl, where a character, Cath, writes fanfiction about a series called Simon Snow, which Rowell bases off of Harry Potter.  Now, Rainbow Rowell has published the book that Cath the character was writing as fanfiction — and both are titled Carry On. Got that?

Carry On is tied so closely to Harry Potter, it can come across as a spoof at times.  There are jokes that I think poke fun at Rowling's masterpiece a little, such as Voldemort's propensity to attack Harry constantly at Hogwarts — purportedly the safest place for Harry to be.  In Carry On, the Mage, our Dumbledore-like character, tells Simon Snow that he must leave Watford School of Magicks immediately because the Insidious Humdrum just won't stop attacking Simon there.  I got a good laugh in at that.

But aside from the jokes, Carry On is mostly a loving homage to both Harry Potter and the the once thriving culture of Harry Potter fanfiction.  While reading Carry On, I felt enormous nostalgia both for Harry Potter and for one of my favorite pieces of fanfiction, The Shoebox Project.  

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="602"] The Shoebox Project's Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.[/caption]

The Shoebox Project was a multimedia effort by two college students, one a writer and the other an artist, who shared the passionate belief of many that Rowling's characters, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, were so, so gay for each other.  The Shoebox Project was highly sophisticated, hilarious, and moving.  I'm not entirely sure if Rowell is familiar with The Shoebox Project, but I kind of hope she is.  It so perfectly encapsulates what Carry On represents — the brainchild of a nascent writer, made with equal measures of talent and passion, that can never see the mainstream of literature, but is nonetheless followed by many thousands of fans.

Apart from its ties to Harry Potter, Carry On stands on its own feet as a powerful and well-written story.  For instance, Rowell writes characters that are clear translations of Rowling's famous characters, but nonetheless emerge as distinct and fully dimensional characters in their own right.  A great example is Penelope Bunce, our Hermione Granger character.  At the beginning of the story, I was only making comparisons between Penelope and Hermione.  As the story went on, however, I stopped comparing and contrasting entirely.  Penelope Bunce was her own, wonderful and clear-cut character.

As for the romance, it was hot without being explicit.  I loved Simon and Baz together — their intense love/hate obsession and their never knowing if they want to smack or smooch each other. There are not tons of mainstream YA books out there with gay romance, but I can see the tide turning soon. Carry On is a great example of how gay romance can bust out of its niche corner and be appreciated by all.

One thing I didn't like about Carry On was the pacing.  Our exposition was enormous. It took a long, long time for the gears to get turning.  And then, the plot ramped up to a fever pitch.  One revelation was coming after the other, the pages of the book were dwindling, and I just wanted to yell, stop, stop, STOP! Slow down! Instead of a proper triangle, the plot looked like a blip on a heart monitor.

Then there were some inconsistencies with the language.  Rowell did a good job at incorporating British slang, especially in a manner than reads like American fanfiction — jumpers, trackies, boaters, etc. What better example than this quote...

"Agatha, is everything, you know, tickety-boo with Simon?"

There were some places though, where the continuity of language lapsed. Baz being described as "smart" instead of "clever" was a glaring oops.  And then, in the beginning portion of the book, we see "magic" be spelled "magick."  However, later in the book, we revert to the popularized spelling.

"Thank magic! I was worried you'd never speak again."

This isn't a big deal, just something I noticed. Overall, I loved Carry On.  I can't recommend it enough for both fans of J. K. Rowling (which is pretty much everyone) and for fans of Rainbow Rowell.

Bravo, Rowell. Carry on writing, and I will carry on reading.



 

The Golden Compass » Review

When I was a kid, I was homeschooled, and ran with a very religious crowd. Lutherans, Methodists, Mennonites, Baptists, Southern Baptists... All of my friends had different belief systems, which had subtle differences despite being all 'Christian.' My family, however, was Catholic, and we were a minority in the universally Christian homeschooling community. On the kids' part, we ignored our families' differences when we got together to learn or play. Sparks flew amongst the parents though, and the kids picked up on it. From my mother, me and my siblings learned words like 'Heretic', 'Protestant,' 'Anti-Catholic,' 'Sola Scriptura' and 'Scott Hahn.' A climate of bias against, and downright hatred towards, other Christian religions was the norm of my youth. In high school, I attended a Protestant cottage school. Okay, I guess it was Southern Baptist technically, but wow the principal loathed Catholics. (This woman was also cruelty incarnate.) She knew my family and I were Catholic and would glare at me when ranting about the extravagances of the Vatican and the morally corrupt popes like I, personally, spoke for the Magisterium. She loved Pullman's His Dark Materials. Loved it with a special kind of passion. Why? Mostly because, besides writing really bomb books, Pullman lobs those bombs at Catholicism. Pullman's main antagonistic force in his series is the "Authority." This oligarchical organization rules through the power religious belief and wealth, and has enough power and sway to influence world politics. Sound familiar??? In book one of the trilogy, The Golden Compass, we see the Authority give power to an off-shoot organization, which, in turn, kidnaps and mutilates the souls of children. This is subtle stuff for kids, but a glaringly obvious motive to an adult reader. Now, I don't have a problem with Pullman putting a controversial message into a children's books. Virtually every children's book has a motive, some more intense than others. Furthermore, speaking as a (non-practicing) Catholic, I understand that nothing,nothing is above criticism. To get all worked up over someone else's questioning of your beliefs is the mark of extremism. I love Pullman's writing. It's classic, lyrical, and vastly imaginative. I also like his powerful and gutsy message. Unfortunately, I will always associate this amazing book with one of the pettiest, most mean-spirited adults I've ever encountered... But it all works out though. Because all I have to do is imagine my former teacher's head on top of Mrs. Coulter's wretched monkey daemon, and everything is perfect.

The Bone Season » Review

What an odd book! When trying to decide on a rating for The Bone Season, I was waffling between three and four stars. My reasoning for three stars was that, while this book is a fantasy of sorts, it was also unrelentingly weird, and I never really felt like I believed it all. What settled me on four stars, however, is the feeling that a lower rating would be doing the book a disservice, because The Bone Season really is an accomplishment.

I'm not even going to try to explain the plot of The Bone Season. Just know that it involves special powers, an oppressive and discriminatory government, underground crime syndicates, a powerful, humanoid species, and a prison camp/city. It's all slightly baffling, which is, in my opinion, the main weakness of the novel. It was so much to take in. Granted, I'm not sure how the author could have presented her world to us in any other way. All I can say is, I frequently found it overwhelming.

Now for the praise. The creative bravery of Samantha Shannon is something to be applauded. Despite the fact that the world ofThe Bone Season did my head in at times, it was also nice to read something so different from what's usually presented in urban fantasy genre. In fact, I hesitate to call this series true urban fantasy since that genre has become so distinct — read trope ridden — of late. The quality of writing that we see in The Bone Season was also at a higher level than what we typically see in urban fantasy of late. There were slip ups throughout the novel, but for the most part, I was impressed by the solid prose.

Our main character, Paige, is compelling as well. She's 19 during the events of the book, but comes across as much older. She's a quiet, self-possessed young woman, although she's still trying to find herself. Shannon also strikes a great balance between making Paige be special and stand out from the crowd, without turning the character into a reprehensibly superior life form.

Speaking of superior life forms, there is the Warden, who is the second most prominent character in The Bone Season. For him, I really think we need more books to develop him further. He's depicted, throughout the novel, as both a cold, empty shell and as someone with unusual motives that go against the tide of his species. He was a little all over the place, but he was, nonetheless, a commanding presence. I do look forward to see where Shannon takes him during her 7-book series arc.

All in all, there were plenty of bones to pick with this novel, but I couldn't help being impressed despite it all. I'm truly looking forward to following this immense, new series.

Illuminae | Review

It's been a few weeks since I closed the cover on Illuminae and I'm rethinking my initial rating of four stars.  I might be a hardass and lower it.  As I've written this review, I've gotten crankier and crankier about certain aspects, although I do have to be fair — this book grabbed my attention from the get-go, and it wasn't until late in the book that I started critiquing its faults.  Let's get down to it.

The novel is narrated through documents and messages, a type of updated epistolary style.  At first I thought that this would cramp the pacing, and it did to an extent, but not nearly as much as I anticipated.  For having all of its action be related as past events, Kristoff and Kaufman did an amazing job at making the the narrative seem like the present.

Our novel starts off with a cover letter for a compilation of documents.  The letter tells its recipient that the documents will relate the story of a catastrophic event on an illegal mining colony (in outer space).  We start off with two teenage survivors of the catastrophe being interviewed (our protagonists).

Before the catastrophe, Kady was a spunky, punky young lady with aspirations of college and traveling the universe.  Ezra was a talented G-ball jock with a close bond with his miner dad.  The two kids used to date.  Except, they messily broke up hours before the catastrophe occurred.  They both made it off the colony, thanks to Kady's badassery, but are on separate rescue vessels. Most of the novel follows their independent activities on different ships.  Ezra is drafted into the military as a pilot.  Kady is taken under the wing of an accomplished computer hacker.

I don't want to get into the plot further, because of spoilers, but there is a lot going on in Illuminae.  There's a pursuit across space, a deadly contagion, malfunctioning artificial intelligence, an evil corporation, and more!  To be honest, it was too much at times. One or two plot points could have been excluded and the story would have been much more streamlined.

Another thing that could have been improved was the style of narration that took up most of the climax. [spoiler]That of AIDEN, the Artificial Intelligence.[/spoiler] In my opinion, it was the least dynamic narrative style, and made the finale of the book annoying to read.  It was like reading high school poetry. Blah. I can't emphasize enough how much I disliked [spoiler]AIDEN.[/spoiler]  Speaking of high school, I hated the texting abbreviations and :P faces that littered the book.  Just personal preference.

One MORE thing.  I couldn't help but notice the extreme similarities between Illuminae and Kaufman's Starbound collaboration with Megan Spooner.  In fact, they are ridiculously alike. Now, writing similar works isn't exactly a sin, but Kaufman is risking becoming a one-note author, which isn't exactly good.  It definitely made me wonder, though, what traces of Jay Kristoff were in Illuminae?  Did he serve to make the male lead more authentic?  Is he responsible for AIDEN? I'm curious, because it's hard to tell.

Now that I've sufficiently ragged on Illuminae, let me spend some time praising it.  The book was good.  Period.  There's a lot of bad YA out there and Illuminae floats to the top without breaking a sweat. I was sucked in the the story immediately and read the book in one sitting. I enjoyed myself.  That is not to say, however, that there's no room for improvement.  I think the novel could have benefited from adding dimension to EVIL Corps, or whatever it's name is, having the characters be fleshed out further, shaving off plot bulk, and more.

All in all, I can see Illuminae being a popular book, but I doubt it'll be a breakthrough hit.

The Midnight Thief | Review

The only reason this little fantasy novel came to my attention is because its sequel was on a list for August 2015 releases.  Thank Jesus that I don't have long to wait to read the second book, because I am officially a fan of the series.

The Midnight Thief features thieves and assassins in a fantasy setting — a dynamite combination.  Our thief is Kyra, a young lady who pays the rent by taking on burgling jobs.  She's has a bit of a Robin Hood mentality, however.  She only steals from the citizens of her city, Forge, who can afford it.  Trouble starts, however, when Kyra's impressive talents catch the attention of James, the young and ruthless leader of Forge's assassin's guild.

Now think.  This is a YA fantasy.  Kyra is a young woman.  James is a young man.  All reason and genre precedents lead to there being a romance between the two.  And it sort of happens.  Sort of.  But more than that, there is incredible tension between the two.  I was staggered by what went down between these characters.  I can't say anything more, except that I am extremely interested to see where Blackburne is going to take the relationship between the two going forward.

Somewhat less interesting is our second narrator, Tristam, who is a soldier for Forge.  He has been stationed out beyond the city walls, attempting to protect the suburbs, if you will, from raiding parties of humanoid monsters that ride gigantic cats.  Yes, you read that right.  It's a little weird, but I can forgive the oddity.  Through Tristam, we get the perspective of the side of the political opposition to the assassin's guild and James.  Unfortunately, or perhaps not (???), there may be a love triangle a-brewing amongst Kyra, James, and Tristam.  All I can say is, if Blackburne decides to develop that gist, then I have no idea how things will unfold.  I have a favorite, isallI'msayin'.

I'm almost ashamed to admit... but I'm solidly Team James.  I KNOW! He's so violent and, if not evil, then certainly bad.  He does bad, bad things in The Midnight Thief and I would understand if his status as a love interest is completely compromised.  I can't help, however, but hold out hope for his redemption.  He's an enthralling character.  As Kyra notes:

There was something about James—his intensity of purpose and strength of personality—that could inspire a woman’s loyalty despite the cost.

I'm a fan. Going forward, I hope that James does not become the story's villain outright.  He is given nice dimension in The Midnight Thief, but the ending sees ol' Jimmy on very uncertain grounds.  Basically, I'm dying to see what happens next.

As for complaints, I will say that the pace at the beginning may have been too breakneck.  It was nice to have matters develop so quickly, but it also seemed a little slapdash, having scenes tie up so fast.  Likewise, it might have been nice to have some more world-building happen in beginning so we get a better idea of the setting our characters are operating in.  Overall, it's not bad when your main complaint is wanting moar!

Naturally, I will be reading book two, Daughter of Dusk, the day it comes out.  Stay tuned for my reaction to the second installment in this promising, new series!

 

The Falconer | Review

Let me start this review with a small rant about steampunk.

Steampunk, or mechanical fantasy as I call it, is a genre of fiction featuring a historical setting with advanced, often whimsical, technology.  It is often set in the Victorian period, although there are exceptions.  Dirigibles, automatons, spider-like vehicles, and weapons masquerading as ladies' accessories are popular pieces of steampunk machinery.

I DO NOT LIKE IT!

I dislike how steampunk machinery makes no scientific sense whatsoever.  I also dislike how steampunk books are often choked with genre cliches and tropes.

That being said, I can tolerate it in small doses.  My favorite series of all time, Lindsay Buroker's The Emperor's Edge, has steampunk elements to it.  However, for the most part, the technology in Buroker's series make sense, and the characters are often slaving over hot boilers or wrangling awkward machinery gone awry.  I like that Buroker's machines are bulky and malfunctioning and hinder the heroes as often as they help them.

On the other hand, Elizabeth May's The Falconer has the kind of steampunk technology that I'm not overly fond of — mechanical hands that shoot out to pour tea and fold bustles.  There are implausible helicopters ornithopters and and little ornate devices that hold tremendous power.  Um, what kind of power and how does the device harness it?  Nevermind that! Tremendous power!!

I connect the star and the remaining knife. Power flows from the objects as they melt together to form the larger star. The metal is smooth in my palm again.

See what I mean?  It's nonsense, I tell you!

As for the rest of the book, it's good.  It's a fun read, with kick-ass heroine and lots of action and antics.  The Falconer follows a young Victorian lady of Edinburgh, Aileana Kameron, whose mother was brutally murdered by a faery.  In the days after her mother's death, Aileana learned that her country has a bit of a faery infestation and humans are being slaughtered because of it.  Shortly after, she met her... unique... tutor, Kiaran McKay, who instructs her in all things murderous and violent.  With his help she goes on a supernatural killing spree.  Her life of wreaking revenge is upended, however, when she learns that the faeries below ground,  imprisoned in their kingdom, are very close to breaking out.

My favorite part of the book, funnily enough, was a character called Derrick.  He plays the comical sidekick, which is usually a part that I care little for.  But Derrick was truly hilarious.  He's a pixie, a male Tinkerbell, and lives in Aileana's closet, mending her gowns for honey, which intoxicates him.  His scenes caused me to laugh quite often.  More than that, he also served to make the fae folk more accessible.  Athough Derrick doesn't kill humans like his larger kinfolk, he is still an uncanny creature.  I liked how May made the villains slightly more sympathetic by giving them a spectrum of behavior that we got to witness.

However, there were issues with the book besides the steampunk.  I found myself arguing with Aileana's logic and the behavior of other characters quite a bit.  The writing also seemed to be... manipulative, unkind, coy?  I felt strung along, as a reader, having things withheld that didn't have to be.  Did the romance really have to unfold that way?  It was strung out for so long that when something did happen it felt too little too late.  And the cliffhanger.  By god.  What a disservice to readers.

All in all, I give The Falconer three stars.  It had good elements and frustrations in equal measure.  However, I will surely be picking up the sequel, which comes out this November.

 

 

Court of Fives | Review

Court of Fives started out so, so wonderfully.  For the first third of the book, I was totally and completely enraptured.  So, understandably I think, I was a little miffed when the book took a turn for the worse right before its halfway point.  What Court of Fives did well, it did well.  Which made its mistakes that much more disappointing.

So, what it's about... It's not a close enough interpretation of Little Women to be a retelling, but Court of Fives is definitely inspired by Louisa May Alcott's classic.  Both books feature families with four daughters and a military-enlisted father.  Elliott's daughters have names that correspond closely with Alcott's famous Mary, Beth, Jo, and Amy. The "Jo" character has a passionate hobby. However, that's where the salutation ends.  The connection is a touch random and amounts to nothing but a startling revelation if you went into reading not knowing about it.  Personally, I think the story could have stood up just fine without the matchy-matchy names.

Court of Fives is set in an empire that's a little Egyptian, a little Persian, a touch Venetian, etc.  There is some mechanical fantasy thrown in as well, akin to steampunk, most prominently in the form of the Fives, a competitive obstacle course. Our protagonist, Jo, I mean Jes, secretly trains for the Fives when she can escape from her large family.  Speaking of her family... draaaaama.  Jes and her sisters are racial mixes.  Their father is a lowborn, yet high achieving, son of the empire. The girls' mother is their father's concubine, incapable of being being his wife because her heritage is that of the empire's conquered people.

The whole situation is a tense, awkward mess and it was an utter pleasure to read about.  I'd say the family dynamics were, hands down, the best part of Court of Fives.  I was on the edge of my seat to find out what would happen next with the faux-Marches, especially when the seediness of having a live-in concubine and a mess of illegitimate daughters gets in the way of the father's burgeoning military career.  I'm getting shivers just thinking about it.

As for our protagonist, Jes, I'm going to get real for a second.  Unlike everyone else on planet Earth, Amy is my favorite March sister.  I loathe self-appeciative Jo.  Elliott's Jes is similar enough in personality to Alcott's Jo that my distaste crossed over.  I could tolerate Jes and her spunkiness tolerably well until the character made, in my opinion, a terrible decision that careened the story away from the direction I wanted it to go in.  Depending on whether or not you agree with Jes's decision can make or break Court of Fives for you, I think.

All in all, there were some highly successful elements to Court of Fives that make it worth reading.  However, I'll be curious to see if other readers object as strongly as myself concerning Jes's decisions.

 

Magonia Review

Since becoming a blogger I've become a different reader.  Before I wrote book reviews, I wouldn't bother finishing a book that wasn't working for me.  Now, I make my best effort to read books in their entirety, because I can write more informed reviews that way.  Still, I was only able to get through about two thirds of Magonia before skipping ahead to the ending and calling it a day.

Magonia is a Narnia-esque fantasy — a girl living in the normal world discovers a magical one, just "through the wardrobe," as it were.  Aza, the girl in question, has always been sickly, unable to breathe air effectively, for some mysterious reason.  Her doctors say she's quickly running out of time.  But, just at a fatal moment, Aza is whisked away to Magonia, a land of bird-like creatures and airships in the sky. Able to breathe the thin air, Aza comes into her own strengths for the first time, but must question the intentions of her new Magonian family. What do they want with her and are they being entirely forthright? Meanwhile, back on the ground, Aza's best friend, Jason, is determined to find her...

I have a lot of problems with Magonia.  One of my main issues is that the book is stretched too thin.  Headley wrote a stand-alone contemporary/fantasy — with only 320 pages!!  On top of that, the novel spends a good amount of time in exposition mode at its beginning.  I think it was the author's intention to build up her characters and raise the emotional stakes of her story by fleshing out Aza's existing relationships before she's taken away to Magonia. It was a good idea, but I think the book would have been better served by jumping into action a little quicker.  Because the beginning lagged, Headley had to start her fantasy world-building late in the game, which hurt the pace of the story.

On top of that, we were pulled away from Magonia over and over again by the chapters focusing on Jason's — largely internal — activities.  He was a thin character, slavishly devoted to Aza.  It bothers me when characters can't stand on their own, and Jason entire purpose throughout the novel was to worship Aza... who was over-worshiped. Her funeral scene left me alternatively sniggering and gaping.  A moment that was supposed to move me, instead gave me the biggest laugh in the book! [spoiler]When Jason, who is wearing an alligator suit, with the words "Aza Ray was here" painted on the head, drives to the burial honking morse code messages to Aza... only not real morse code because he doesn't want anyone to know what he's saying. [/spoiler] Truly, the histrionics in this book turned me off.  The emotion was always ramped up to ten, but because I was not invested, everything came across as clownish.

In case it hasn't come across clearly yet, I do not recommend this book.  A good alternative would be The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.

 

Bone Gap Review

So, Bone Gap. I picked up this book because I've been making an effort to read more critically-applauded YA titles.  I believe that the Young Adult genre, which can be tremendously fun, also has more to offer than juicy hooks and romantic drama.  There's important stuff out there being written.  I just need to read more of it! Bone Gap popped up on my radar as such a book to read, but I wound up being largely unimpressed.  I give this book three stars, because it's well-written, but overall it failed to make an impact. Here's why.

Bone Gap dips its fingers into magical realism, a genre I remember studying in high school when reading Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits. Magical realism, also known as marvelous realism or fabulism, is characterized by a realistic setting being pervaded with strange, unnatural occurances — often introduced with a nonchalant attitude, as if it's perfectly normal for magic to invade real life.

Latin America is responsible for introducing magical realism into literature, and the style was immediately understood as something important. In the regions where the genre was born, harsh governments prohibited criticism from being written openly. In disguise, magical realism questioned and attacked established political and social systems.

In recent years, we've seen a surge of magical realism in YA books.  For the most part, I have not been a fan of the trend.  It seems to me that these books are masquerading as literary.  They ape the style of an important literary genre, but fail to use the techniques as a means of social critique — or in any way deeper than window dressing.  (For more of my complaints on this issue, see my review of The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender.)

This is my main issue with Bone Gap — that for the most part, it's purposeless. There is a strong theme that runs throughout the book that argues for the unimportance of physical appearance, which is good.  Mostly, though, the threads of Bone Gap's narrative are willy-nilly.  It's hard to understand how the book works as a whole, because the story is random, spinning it's stylistic wheels with little direction.

The story takes place in the fictional Illinois town of Bone Gap.  As one of the characters notes, there are no mountain gaps in Illinois — the town got its name for the gaps in the bones of the world.  Roza, a mysterious Polish exchange student who was taken in by two brothers, Finn and Sean, is kidnapped and dragged into one of these gaps by a creepy, nightmarish entity.  Finn, a young man known for his spaciness, is unable to describe Roza's kidnapper to the police, earning him the disdain and ire of the townspeople of Bone Gap.

The narrative perspective flits among various characters, but mostly focuses on Roza and Finn.  I got to be fatigued by their storyline-heavy sections, instead looking forward to those chapters that focused on the stolid, yet passionate Sean, and the independent, individualistic Petey — Bone Gap really shines when it focuses on its characters, instead of its bizzare plot.

Despite its nice moments, however, Bone Gap will not be a story I revisit.  Instead, I'll mentally shelve it with other YA books that tried to hit a higher literary mark and missed.