All posts tagged book reviews

Spectacle was Spectacular!

By Brookelorren on 6 Comments
Spectacle cover

2019 is already turning out to be an amazing year for books. I recently read Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zdrock. It was a wonderful book and I highly recommend it. I was fortunate enough to be provided with an Advanced Review Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Nathalie is a normal girl living in 19th century France. Or so she thinks. She recently got a summer job at Le Petit Journal writing the daily morgue report. In Paris back in these days evidently, unidentified bodies would be put on display at the public morgue for people to identify (and gawk at). Nathalie’s job is to visit the morgue every day and report on what she finds there.

Recently, there has been a murder. When Nathalie goes to the morgue to report on it, she touches the glass separating the body from the viewing public, and has a vision of what happened. She’s freaked out by this, of course. Evidently, she says something while she’s having the vision, but she doesn’t know what she says. She also ends up with memory loss after she has the vision. The book is written from third person limited perspective, so as a reader, we know what her lost memories are, even though she doesn’t.

As the summer progresses, there are more murders. Her ability to view the murders was not just a one time thing. She is torn by wanting to help, and accepting the accompanying memory loss, and wanting to avoid these visions. She’s also afraid that she might inadvertently attract the killer’s attention herself.

Nathalie eventually discovers where this ability came from, but I’ll leave that as something for you to discover when you read this book. Her ability is connected to the murders, which become more personal as the story progresses.

I didn’t want to put down this book, because I wanted to find out who the killer was and see him come to justice. I wanted Nathalie to find out more about her gift. While reading the book, I tweeted “If only I didn’t have to sleep! Spectacle by @jlzdrok is amazing! I’m 69% of the way through it and darn it… if I could get by on less sleep to finish it I would! You have to read it.” I think that’s a good recommendation for the book.

Spectacle won’t be released until February 12th, but you can pre-order it today.

Clockwork Prince was Great!

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
Clockwork Prince cover

Last year, I started reading all the main Shadowhunter’s books, by Cassandra Clare. After reading Clockwork Angel, I had to read Clockwork Prince. This was a lovely book that you won’t want to put down. It’s also heartbreaking, but in a good way. You’re definitely going to want to read the next book in the series, Clockwork Princess, right after this one.

Because this is the second book in a series, there may be spoilers for Clockwork Angel in this book. You have been warned.

I normally don’t care for prologues, but in the prologue to this book, you’ll discover something that you probably already suspect: Will is in love with Tessa. Why is he trying to push her away though? We find out in this book, but Tessa is growing close to Jem while this happens. This leads to one of the most heartbreaking situations that I could imagine (one of the reasons why you’ll want to have Clockwork Princess ready when you finish this book). Never fear, this whole situation will resolve itself in one of the best ways possible. Just not now.

While Tessa and Will and Jem are in the middle of their confusing situation, Clave members are trying to undermine Charlotte. Even though Charlotte and Henry run the London Institute together, everybody knows that Charlotte is the one that’s really running things. The Clave can be a little… old-fashioned. Benedict Lightwood is itching for her position. Meanwhile, Mortmain is still on the loose. If Charlotte doesn’t find him soon, she could be out of a job. Tessa might even have to leave the Institute.

The search for Mortmain is on, and in the process, we find out things that the characters would rather not know, as well as have a great battle. People will die. It all adds up to one amazing book.

Clockwork Prince is full of secrets, spies, and heartbreak. There is also more amazing worldbuilding. I had to find out what happened next. There were lines that seemed insignificant from the first book that were very important in this book. It makes me want to reread it (I will, at some point).

I highly recommend Clockwork Prince, The Infernal Devices in general, and the Shadowhunter’s Chronicles as a whole.  I love them.

Clockwork Angel was Heavenly

By Brookelorren on 4 Comments
Clockwork Angel cover

In 2018, I read the main books (so far) in the Shadowhunter’s Chronicles. All of them. After finishing City of Heavenly Fire, I didn’t think that I would be interested in another ship as much as I was in Clary and Jace’s. I was so disappointed to finish that series, but I wanted to find out what happened next. I was wonderfully surprised when I read Clockwork Angel and discovered how lovely that was.

When Tessa Gray arrives in England from America, she is in for a surprise. Instead of her brother waiting for her, there is a coachman. The dreams she may have had of the city are replaced with nightmares. She is kidnapped, forced to learn how to shapeshift (she didn’t know she could do that before) and then is told that she is supposed to marry someone called The Magister. Huh? But then, lucky for her, the Shadowhunters show up and save her. But that’s not the end of her adventures.

I think it’s at this point in the story where I begin to fall in love with the whole Shadowhunter’s series, because I start to fall in love with these new characters and with the Shadowhunters of London. There are characters here that we already know, like Magnus Bane, and I begin to be amazed at how the London Institute and what happens here has a history that is seamless with The Mortal Instruments, which I just read.

I love the characters here, and the relationships. Will Herondale has a love for books and reminds me a lot of his descendant Jace. Tessa seems to see through his self-disparaging attitude. Jem is kind and has a love for violin playing. Then there’s Charlotte and her absentminded genius of a husband, Henry, who invents things that don’t always seem to work as planned.

Even though Tessa has been rescued by Will and Jem, the Magister is a threat. Plus, he has her brother. Will they be able to take down the Magister and rescue her brother? You’ll have to read this book to find out what happens. As you do, you’ll see Tessa become the brave person she was meant to be, discover that some villains you didn’t expect, and become immersed in London of the late 1870s.

Clockwork Angel convinced me that I needed to read all the core Shadowhunters books. While reading this series, I went ahead and bought Lady Midnight (which was on sale at the time) and pre-ordered Queen of Air and Darkness. Because I wanted to read all of them at that point. When I finished this book, I was impatient to read the next book in the series, Clockwork Prince.

Enchantée was Enchanting

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments

Enchantée coverEnchantée is an amazing book!  I had a feeling that I would love this book when I first started hearing about it, and I was certainly not disappointed.  This book was so amazing that, with about 30 minutes left in the book, I actually considered coming to work late so I could finish it.  The responsible part of me prevailed; I ended up going to work on time and finishing it at lunch.  When I finished the book and started putting my things away to go back to work, the smile this book left me was so bright, one of my co-workers thought I was going home.  It’s that good!

Netgalley gave me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

I probably should add a little background information on myself because it might influence how much I love this book.  I love history.  Last year, I took a class on Coursera about the French Revolution.  Part of the charm of this book to me was seeing this part of history come to life.  There’s a lot in this book that is historically accurate, and I love that about this book.  While I loved the historical aspect of the book, it’s not a central feature of the story.  The French Revolution is in the backdrop of this powerful story of love, magic, and illusion.

Camille is our heroine.  Her family has fallen on hard times, as it has for most Parisians.  Her brother is an abusive drunk, and they’re behind on their rent.  Sophie, her younger sister, is an excellent hatmaker who dreams of marrying into nobility.

Although everything seems bleak, Camille and Sophie’s lives change when Camille helps a couple of balloonists with their runaway balloon.  Their lives further change when Camille chooses to use la magie to transform herself into an aristocrat and start gambling at Versailles.

She falls in love with Lazare, one of the balloonists.  When she discovers that he’s actually an aristocrat and sees him at Versailles, things become complicated in her life.  To top it all off, the Vicomte de Séguin seems to have taken an interest in her, and Camille doesn’t want to have anything to do with him.

With a half hour left to go in the story (there were no page numbers in my book, just approximate reading time), I was wondering how Ms. Trelease was going to pull off a satisfying ending.  Camille was in an almost impossible situation, and I didn’t know how her life was going to end in anything but disaster.  This was either going to be one of the best books that I read for the first time in 2018, or it was going to have a disappointing ending for me like Allegiant chapter 50.  I was not disappointed.  The ending was more delicious than I could have even imagined.  The ending of Enchantée made me want to perfect the ending of my own novel that I was outlining at the time.

J’aime Enchantée so much!  The writing was magical.  The characters were amazing.  I loved Camille and Lazare together, and I love how Camille cared for her sister.  This story had me hooked from the very beginning.

Enchantée will be released on February 5th.  I highly recommend this book.  It is one of the best books I read last year, and I definitely plan on reading it again someday.

The Wicked King was Diabolically Good

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment
The Wicked King cover

The Wicked King, by Holly Black, was sitting in my mailbox yesterday, and after reading The Cruel Prince, I had to read it right away. It was an un-putdownable book. After finishing it, my first question was “How long until the next Folk of the Air book again?” The next book, The Queen of Nothing, can’t come soon enough, if you ask me.

Because The Wicked King is the second book in a trilogy, there may be spoilers for The Cruel Prince in this review.

When we last left Jude and Cardan, Jude had managed to place Cardan on the throne as High King of Faerie. It was a scheme to eventually put her brother Oak on the throne while keeping her foster father, Madoc, from having control of the realm. Instead, she was actually the one in control, with Cardan as her puppet king. When we join them at the beginning of this book, Jude is acting as Cardan’s seneschal, and he has to do anything that she commands.

The two are no longer enemies in school. They spend their days running a kingdom where its inhabitants have to be truthful, even if they are scheming and deceptive. They still see themselves as enemies, but they have to work together nonetheless.

And they still just happen to have this weird attraction to each other. Which I love from a reader’s perspective.

It’s been five months since Cardan pledged to be obedient to Jude, and she can feel the months trickling away. Sooner than she’d like, he will be released from his promise, and he can do what he’d like again. Oak still won’t be old enough to rule. What then? Jude is concerned about all of this, when threats come to her, Cardan, and Oak from the Queen of the Undersea. She wants him to marry her daughter, Nicasia. And that’s all I’m going to say, because you’ll want to find out what happens for yourself.

The book was well-written. The prose slides through your mind like you’re watching a movie, and you forget it’s even there. Ms. Black brings the characters and the setting to life, and even though it was getting late as I read this, I just could not put it down. It’s almost as if I was in Faerie dancing: once you start, you can’t stop until it’s over.

At the same time, the ending! It was a little unexpected, but I absolutely loved it. It didn’t exactly end in a cliffhanger, but I wanted more. Immediately. I must have the next book!

Needless to say, I highly recommend The Wicked King. It’s the best book that I’ve finished all year (so far). Never mind that it’s January 9th and I’ve only finished three books. I have a good feeling that The Wicked King will end up on the list of my favorite books of 2019 anyway.

So when does The Queen of Nothing come out?  Because we needs it!  I will definitely try to get an ARC of the next book, because I need to find out what happens as soon as I can!

The Cruel Prince Is Magical

By Brookelorren on 8 Comments
Cruel Prince Cover

One of the most popular books of 2018 (according to Goodreads readers) was Holly Black’s book, The Cruel Prince.  I had to wait forever for it to become available on my library’s waiting list, and it was so good, I ended up buying the hardcover during Amazon’s Black Friday sale anyway.

The book drew me in right from the beginning.  The text was inviting, and the book starts with… a murder.  From there, the story continues to stay interesting.

The story revolves around a set of sisters.  The oldest, Vivi, was half faerie.  The two younger twins, Jude and Taryn, are human.  After their parents are murdered by Vivi’s biological father, they are taken to live in faerie.

Jude and Taryn don’t exactly fit in.  The prince, Cardan, along with his friends, treat them cruelly.  Despite this, Jude wants to be a warrior among the faerie.  She has the temperament for it.

The king is expected to pass on his throne, and several of his children are conspiring to get it.  As with a lot of transitions of power, this one might come with some surprises.  Jude becomes involved in one conspiracy, only to find that her father is involved in some shady dealings of his own.  You won’t want to put down this book as you find out what happens.

There were a lot of things that I loved about this book.  First, the writing is great.  It’s hard to explain why, I just could feel how it drew me in.  Second, the setting and characters were great.  I haven’t read too many books set in faerie, but that didn’t matter, reading this book.  The characters weren’t flat good-guy or bad-guy types; they all had a little of both to them, just like real life.  The plot was also great.

The Cruel Prince was one of my favorite books from 2018 for a reason.  I’m looking forward to reading The Wicked King when it comes out as well.

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.

Frostblood is a Nice Wintry Read

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment

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

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment

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.