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The Gilded Wolves

By Brookelorren on 6 Comments
The Gilded Wolves cover

I recently finished reading The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. There were things about this book that I absolutely loved, and I do plan on reading the second book, but overall, it was not my favorite book. I was fortunate that I was able to get an advanced review copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Gilded Wolves is set in Paris in 1889. Séverin is trying to reclaim his lost inheritance. He has a set of friends that are helping him get it, but as they steal (or “acquire”) the objects necessary to prove who he is, they end up running into trouble and get in way over their heads. They also run into enemies that are trying to destroy the order of things (and not in a good way).

First, what I loved about this book:

  • I love the setting. It is set in Paris in the late 1800s, about 100 years after the French revolution. Ms. Chokshi makes you feel like you’re there. I love history, so I love the details included here.
  • I love the characters. This book features several characters that have gotten together, and they all have their different quirks and motivation. Zofia is mathematically inclined and would probably be seen as having Asperger’s in a contemporary book, Séverin and Laila pine for each other but mutually agree to stay away from each other, Tristan is Séverin’s loyal friend… these guys are all great and likable in their own ways, even though they’re thieves.
  • The magic system is wonderful and well thought out. Behind the history that we know of, there is a group of powerful people that control these magical artifacts that all have different properties. They’re great, and I love how they’re integrated into the world that we do know.

Even though I can say all these wonderful things about this book, and I can say that I enjoyed it, it took me a while to read. I’m not sure why. I think maybe it was a little bit too long and detailed.  There may have been a little too many twists and turns for my taste.  I will probably read the second book, because I do want to find out what happens to these characters (and there’s a relationship that I’d like to see lead somewhere), but it’s not going to be a book that I pre-order months in advance, like I will with Chain of Gold and Legend 4.

The Invisible War

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The Invisible War: A Tale on Two Scales is a graphic novel that tells two stories at the same time. First, it tells the story of a nurse who is helping the cause during World War I. Second, it tells the story of dangerous dysentery microbes as they try to make their colony thrive. It is a short, interesting story that would be good for both homeschooling families and interested teens/adults. I was fortunate in receiving a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

On the macro scale, we read the tale of a World War I nurse who contracts dysentery from one of her patients. We see her interacting with patients, talking to her friends, and going about her daily life in the war. By no means will you be an expert on World War I by reading this graphic novel, but you might get a better idea of what these heroes faced. Our heroine was an Australian nurse, so it’s interesting to see the war from a non-US perspective.

On the micro scale, we see the battle that dysentery microbes fight inside the gut of our heroine against her helpful cells that are trying to destroy them. We see them try to find a suitable place to colonize and thrive, and then, as our heroine’s immune system kicks in, we see the bacteriophage in her gut fight back. Again, reading The Invisible War won’t make you an expert on microbiology, but it’s a fun peek inside our immune systems to let us see what we deal with every day.

This graphic novel is cute, fast-paced, and informative. As a homeschooling mom, I plan on making my kids read this book myself. I would recommend this for kids (and even interested adults) in junior high or above.

In addition to the cute comic that this book has, the back of the book has more information about the subjects in the book. It is supposed to be interactive, but I had difficulty getting the interactive parts of this book to work, so I just read the comic and then read the extra information at the end. I was able to learn more about viruses and what it was like to be in World War I by reading this supplemental information.

If viruses and World War I is something you find interesting and you want a more detailed account, I would recommend The Great Influenza by John M. Barry, which details the Spanish flu that killed 50 million people during World War I. If you just want a quick read that presents this subject in a fun way, then I recommend this book.

There is a new version of this book coming out on January 1st that is currently available for pre-order.  While the book that I read was the older edition, the newer version is less expensive.

Frostblood is a Nice Wintry Read

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Frostblood coverI recently read Frostblood by Elly Blake.  I listened to it on audiobook.  It is one of those books that starts off a little slow and then grabs me towards the end.

There are three types of people in the word: firebloods, who have naturally elevated temperatures and can create fire, frostbloods, who have naturally cold temperatures and create frost, and those that have no special talent for either frost or fire.  Our heroine, Ruby, is a fireblood.

The king is a wicked man who wants to exterminate all of the firebloods.  At the beginning of our story, Ruby is caught by the king’s men.  In the process, her mother is killed, her village is burned, and she is hauled off to prison.

That would be the end of our story, but Ruby is rescued by a couple of frostbloods who plan on taking down the king.  They train her to use her fire powers effectively.  Of course, living among frostbloods has its own challenges.  Many people don’t trust firebloods.

Throughout Frostblood, we learn the secrets of the evil king and also of fire and frostblood.  We also learn more about the people who come to rescue her from the prison.  These characters begin to grow on you.

Towards the end of the book, the seeds of a romance blossom, but I won’t tell you who, because it will spoil the surprise.  I thought the couple was good together and I can’t wait to read about them more in the next book.

So what did I like about this book?  In general, I enjoyed the book.  I liked the second half of the book better though.  I liked the growing relationship between Ruby and (redacted).  I liked how she cared for the people in the monastery she was taken to, and how they also eventually grew to care for her, overlooking the fact that she was a fireblood and they were frostbloods.

To me, the book seemed to start slow.  I’m not sure why.  Perhaps it was the audiobook format itself.  The characters had an English accent, and it just seemed strange.  Perhaps it was because the mother died so early in the book that I didn’t really get to know her well.  At any rate, I initially didn’t know whether I was going to plan on reading the rest of the series or not.  The last half of the book hooked me, however, and I plan on reading the next book in the series.

Overall, this book won’t make my top ten books of the year list, but I enjoyed it anyway.

All Hail The Girl King!

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
The Girl King cover

January is going to be a great month for new book releases. One of the books that you might be excited to read is The Girl King by Mimi Yu. I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lu is the oldest of two siblings. She was raised from birth to be a warrior. Her younger sister, Min, has always been shy and mousy. When her ailing father decides to name Lu’s cousin, Set, as the next emperor, and decides that Lu and her cousin should be betrothed, the whole kingdom goes into an uproar.

A short distance away, Nok is growing up as an apprentice to a grandfather-like figure. When he runs into Lu and discovers that he has a gift that he didn’t know about before, his world suddenly changes.

I loved this book. For one thing, the setting was great. It was in this Asian setting that was a lot like China, but magical. You could imagine the layout of the capital city, as well as the larger layout of the entire country. There were lakes and magical places that weren’t hard to visualize at all.

Another component I liked about the book was the characters. For a time, I wasn’t sure which characters I was supposed to like. They all had some sort of charm about them, as well as their weaknesses. I could see the character growth in Lu, Nok, and Min, even though some of them didn’t develop in the most wholesome of ways. You’ll have to read the book to find out who you don’t want to root for, because I’m not giving away spoilers.

The writing was great as well. While this wasn’t a book that I absolutely couldn’t put down and kept me awake when I should have been sleeping, the writing sucked me in.

The Girl King is part of a series, and I have already added the second book to my Goodreads to-read shelf. This book won’t be released until January 8th, but you can pre-order it now. I’m glad I was able to read the ARC, because The Wicked King comes out that day too. Which do you read first? Tough choice.

Daughter of the Pirate King was Okay

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Daughter of the Pirate King coverI recently read Daughter of the Pirate King (on audiobook).  I was looking for something to listen to as I take my daughter to school three days a week.  There are a LOT of books my local library doesn’t have on audiobook!  I found this one was available, and I decided to check it out.  Unfortunately, I thought it was just okay.

Alosa is the daughter of the Pirate King.  Her father sends her on a mission to retrieve a map from another vessel.  In order to achieve this, she purposefully allows herself to be kidnapped.  After being kidnapped, she begins to search for the map, using various techniques to fool her captors.  Eventually, she finds her way back to her ship, but not after we discover a secret about her.

That’s the story in a nutshell, but it doesn’t really tell why I thought the story was just okay, and why I won’t rush out to read the next book in the series.  I wouldn’t refuse to read the next book, it’s just way down there on my TBR… and with all of the other books out there clamoring for my attention, it’s not likely to happen.

Anyway, as a character, Alosa was way overconfident.  She felt that she could kill any number of men that she came across.  Even after finding out her secret, her claims were still probably a little unrealistic.  I just didn’t really connect with her all that much.

I didn’t really feel her love relationship with Riden all that much.  Perhaps it’s because Alosa herself kept denying that she had feelings for him.  It was evident that she cared for him, but I didn’t get the impression that Alosa cared deeply for much of anything other than herself.

That being said, the audiobook quality to this book was outstanding!  The voice acting was amazing.  If you’re going to experience this book in any way, I suggest the audiobook format.

While I don’t dislike Daughter of the Pirate King, there just wasn’t enough there to interest me.  I didn’t grow attached to the characters.  I wasn’t looking forward to getting into the car to find out what happens next.  While I know that there are people that just love this book, it wasn’t really the book for me.

I’m a Fangirl

By Brookelorren on 10 Comments

Fangirl coverI recently finished reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.  I had been seeing it on a lot of Top Ten Tuesday lists and decided it sounded good.  When it became available on audiobook, I had to read it, because it seemed like a story I could identify with.

Cath is starting her first year of college.  She has an identical twin sister that wants to live on her own this year.  As a result, Cath feels… lost.

She also has a difficult time talking to people, and she writes fanfiction.  Wow, you could say the same thing about me!  Only Cath is way more successful at writing fanfiction than I am, and she really has a difficult time talking to people.  She has such a difficult time talking to people that she’d rather hang out in her room eating protein bars than ask someone how to get to the dining hall.

Throughout the story, Cath finds love (who I’m saying I won’t say), deals with being a fanfic writer when her professor thinks it’s unprofessional, and deals with family difficulties.  Most of the excitement happens towards the end of the story, and that’s when I really didn’t want to put down the book.  I was just okay with the story at the beginning, but when it picks up, it really picks up.  I loved it.

The characters were great.  I could identify with Cath, but there were so many other great characters.  Her sister Ren is a typical college student who gets a little too into partying.  Her roommate, Reagan is the brooding, moody type with a good heart.  Levi is one of those really friendly but not so smart types.  Nick from Cath’s fiction writing class makes a good writing partner.  Cath and Ren’s dad is a little wacky.  They all make this a great story.

If you’ve ever been to college, thought about going to college, or have written fanfiction, you should probably read Fangirl.  It’s an excellent story.

Since I read Fangirl on audiobook, I have some comments about that.  I was NOT a fan of the audiobook quality.  The voices were outstanding, don’t get me wrong.  My problem with the audiobook was the editing.  It was horrible.  Half the time, when a new section of the book took place, the first few words of the sentence were cut off.  Not acceptable.  I took music recording classes in college, and I seriously could have done a better job editing this audiobook as a college senior.  There’s no excuse for cutting off words in an audiobook.

City of Heavenly Fire was Heavenly!

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments

City of Heavenly Fire coverThis summer, I started reading Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series.  I recently finished the amazing conclusion, City of Heavenly Fire.  Having read all the books, I can tell you that this is a series that you will want to read.

Because this is the sixth book in the series, there may be some spoilers to previous books.

At the beginning of City of Heavenly Fire, Sebastian is on the loose, and he’s beginning to cause trouble again.  Around the world, Institutes are being attacked.  None of the shadowhunters are safe; they all decide to retreat (temporarily) to Idris.  This leaves the downworlders vulnerable.

Sebastian and his Endarkened forces attack the fortress of the Iron Sisters.  It’s almost a massacre for the shadowhunters that show up to fight, but Jace turns out to be an extraordinary weapon.  The Endarkened are vulnerable to his heavenly fire, as is Sebastian.  Unfortunately, the heavenly fire makes it difficult for him to get close to Clary.

As our adventure continues, the teens from the New York Institute make a journey to end Sebastian once and for all… and may have to give up a little more than they would like.  You’ll just have to read this amazing book to find out what happens.

I love how this book expands on setting elements that we saw in previous books.  In City of Lost Souls, we first hear about The Wild Hunt.  In this book, we hear more about it.  We are also introduced to places in other dimensions.  The book is full of imagery from Biblical and classical sources, which adds a little bit of color to this series.

I continue to grow more in love with these characters and their relationships.  Jace and Clary, Simon and Isabelle, and Alec and Magnus continue to have their relationships develop in different ways.  We are also introduced to some new characters, some of whom we will see in both The Infernal Devices and The Dark Artifices books.  I plan on reading both.

Part of me was sad to see this amazing series end, but I’m glad that there are other shadowhunter books to read.  I already have the first two books from The Infernal Devices on hold at the library.  I have to take a short break from this series while they become available, but I’m sure it will be worth it.  At the time I write this, there was a great sale on Lady Midnight, so I’m all ready to read that when the time comes.

The Young Adult Writer’s Journey Begins… Here?

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The Young Adult Writer's Journey CoverI recently finished reading The Young Adult Writer’s Journey by Janet Schrader-Post and Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds.  It is a book written for authors who would like to write young adult books.  I thought the book was useful and well-written, although I don’t exactly think that this book contains a lot of information that you wouldn’t find elsewhere.

The newer you are to young adult literature, the more helpful I think this book will be to you.  It goes into The Hero’s Journey, what teenager’s lives are like, and general things to keep in mind when writing young adult books.  There’s also information about marketing your book (because you are going to need to market your book, whether you self-publish or go the traditional route with an agent).

There’s a lot of information here that is pretty basic, especially if you have been doing your research for a while (and I recommend that).  One of the biggest recommendations that I have if you’re going to write YA books is to read YA books.  The authors of this book don’t place a lot of emphasis on that, but it really helps you get a feel for the books that people are actually reading these days.  YA is a rapidly shifting genre, and if you read a lot of YA books and read this book, then you might think that there’s a little bit in this book that’s slightly outdated.

While The Young Adult Writer’s Journey does have some good information about story arcs, promotion, and the like, I wouldn’t stop my learning with just this book.  Get on book Twitter.  See what actual teen book readers are saying about Young Adult books.  Read actual YA books.  While this is a quick read that you might want to use for reference now and again, it is by no means complete, nor does it represent the latest in YA.

Get Lost in City of Lost Souls

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City of Lost Souls coverCity of Lost Souls is the fifth book in Cassandra Clare’s series, The Mortal Instruments.  I didn’t want to put it down.  This series just continues to get better and better.

Because this if the fifth book in The Mortal Instruments series, there may be spoilers for the first two books.

As the story begins, Jace is missing.  Along with Sebastian’s body.  The Clave is looking for them, but other, more pressing matters pop up, and the search for them loses priority.  Clary and her friends are not going to give up on him, however.  Especially Clary.

We find out that a demonic force has bonded Jace with Sebastian.  If one is hurt, then so is the other.  Even though Sebastian has evil plans in mind, he can’t be killed without Jace being killed.  The search turns into a quest to separate the two and eliminate Sebastian.

I love the relationship development in this book.  Jace and Clary make this series for me.  Although Jace isn’t quite himself for the majority of this book, they still love each other and have some great scenes together.  Simon and Isabelle seem to be working their relationship out as well, which is nice to see.  I also like to see Jordan and Maia, a couple of newer characters in this series, as they work towards rebuilding a relationship that they once thought was over.  Alec and Magnus are having difficulties in this book, but that’s pretty typical for real relationships.

Sebastian has nice character development in this book.  We know that he’s evil, but evil people usually don’t think that they’re doing wrong.  His mind was obviously twisted by his father and by his demonic blood, but we also see that he’s a lonely boy who is trying to do good (although he’s going about it the wrong way).  He also seems to have a strange fixation with his sister.  While Jace and Clary fought against their attraction when they thought that they were siblings, Sebastian seems to disapprove of Jace and Clary and seems to want Clary for himself.

Clary also develops as a person in City of Lost Souls.  She has to make some difficult decisions throughout the book.  Jace asks her to go with him in the book, and she chooses to go with him.  She sees it as the only way to save him, even though she knows it might be dangerous.  Later on in the book, she makes a selfish decision that could have turned out disastrous.  In the end, she chooses to put someone else’s wishes above her own, even though it might not have worked out for her best personal interest.  It was also great to see her developing skill as a fighter.

I loved reading City of Lost Souls, and can’t wait to read the final book in the series.

I Fell For City of Fallen Angels

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City of Fallen Angels coverAfter waiting for several months, City of Fallen Angels became available at my local library.  It is the fourth book in Cassandra Clare’s series, The Mortal Instruments, and the wait was worth it.

As with any book that is not the first book in a series, this review may contain spoilers for previous books.

City of Fallen Angels begins a few weeks after City of Glass.  Everybody is back in New York, and it seems like life is getting back to normal.  As normal as life can be when you’re a shadowhunter, at least.

Clary and Jace are having problems, and they won’t speak to each other about it.  For much of the book, we don’t know why either.  They both love each other, and it’s apparent that whatever problem is going on is affecting them.  They’re both having trouble sleeping and even eating.  This leads to one of my favorite lines in the book.  Simon is wondering whether Jace wants to break up with Clary, and his response is “Break up with her?  Are you insane?”  Okay, so that’s not the problem.  We do find out later what is wrong, but in the interest of not giving out spoilers, you’ll just have to read the book.

Simon is having his own issues.  After being that nerdy kid for most of his life, he now finds himself interested in two girls.  Neither of them know about Simon’s relationship with the other one.  Oops.  And they both expect to go with Simon to Luke and Jocelyn’s wedding, which is rapidly approaching.  As if girl problems aren’t enough, he’s being tracked down by people who want to kill him, and his mother discovers that he’s a vampire and he has to leave home.  What a mess!

Valentine might be dead and gone, but there are still other monsters to contend with.  Throughout this story, we find out what is bothering Jace, who is trying to murder Simon, and what else this new villain is up to.  Our story doesn’t completely end with a happily ever after, but that’s why this series has a fifth (and sixth) book.

I loved this story.  This story, like many of the other Mortal Instruments books, incorporates myths and Bible lore into its story, and it makes it quite interesting.  If you’re reading this far into the series, you probably are already invested in the characters and care about what happens to them, and of course, I wanted to find out more.  Even though I was supposed to be reading another book to review at the time I was reading City of Fallen Angels, I couldn’t put it down.

I absolutely love this series, and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Other reviews in The Mortal Instruments Series: