Category Archives: Fantasy

books, Fantasy, Reviews, YA

Empire of Shadows (Bhinian Empire 2) by Miriam Forster

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Stars: 3 out of 5

It would be a mistake to call this book the second in this series, because it’s not a continuation of book one. More of a prequel, actually. But that’s not explained until the epilogue, so I experienced a sense of confusion when I started reading this. In book 1, we were following Nisha who was heading for the capital. This books stars with a completely different character, and there is no mention of Nisha until, yet again, the epilogue. So I spent a good while wondering how the two books were related instead of just enjoying the story for what it was. I think if that was mentioned upfront, my satisfaction with this book would have been better.

Now, as far as the story itself goes, it’s typical YA fare, but on the better side of the spectrum. At least we aren’t tortured with the dreaded love triangle in this one. My problem is that I found the supporting characters more interesting than the two protagonists. 

Let’s be honest, for someone who trained for four years to be a bodyguard, and who is a weretiger to boot, Mara really sucks at her job. I can’t remember even one instance when she successfully protected her charge in this book. The tiger to tiger confrontation at the end of the book doesn’t count, because the author was leading towards it almost since the beginning. When I look back at Mara’s actions in this book, all I can remember is her standing there in impotent rage when her charges are being endangered, or struggling with her tiger instincts and needing a rescue of her own. Honestly, she is more a damsel in distress in this book than a protector, and that’s frustrating. 

I liked Emil slightly better, and he gets progressively better as the book goes on, once he finally stands up to his father and realizes what is important to him.

I didn’t particularly like the instalove story between Mara and Emil either. They talked twice. He gave her a gift. Suddenly, they can’t stop thinking about each other, and he is the only person who can prevent her from turning when she is hurt. Yeah, nope, not for me.

The side characters are a lot more interesting than those two! I would have loved to see more of Rhivati and her grandmother. Especially, her grandmother! And the tea vendors! What an amazing concept! I would love to read a book about them and their unofficial “king”. As it stands, they are a woefully underutilized concept. Same goes for the Jade caste. 

As it stands, I found that the story resolution was a little bit too easy and convenient. With the bad people one-dimensionally villainous, and the good people one-dimensionally good and forgiving. And it seems like a lot got glossed over in the end as well. Emil and his brother actively participated in a plot to overthrow the Emperor, yet they were not judged or tried for it. The main conspirator fled the city, yet there is no mention of anyone looking for him and bringing him to justice. It almost feels like the Emperor didn’t care. “Ha-ha, my city got invaded and a lot of people died, oh, and I’m one heir short now, but no worries, life goes on.” This was honestly unfulfilling.

Also, I don’t agree with the ending. Having Rhivati conveniently die to release Mara from her oath so that she can go have a happy ever after with Emil is the worst copout I’ve seen in a while. Why even make her take that oath in the first place? I would have loved to see her struggle with her duties to Rhivati and her love for Emil, who can’t remain in the city without renouncing his people and his way of life. How would they have maintained their relationship against these odds? That would have been a book worth reading. 

PS: On the plus side, at least now we know who Nisha’s parents are.

books, Fantasy, Ghost Story, Reviews, Urban fantasy, YA

The Whispering Skull (Lockwood & Co 2) by Jonathan Stroud

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Stars: 5 out of 5

I really like this series so far, and that must be worth something coming from someone who doesn’t usually read YA books. Yet this is how YA should be – smart, interesting, with engaging characters and a developing plotline that evolves from book to book.

The characters are engaging and feel like real people, even if Lucy can come across as rather snotty and judgmental at times, especially when she describes other women they encounter. But I think that stems from deep insecurities she has about her appearance and her worth as a woman. After all, she has never been valued as anything other than an Agent, so that’s what she tries to build her whole personality around.

Lockwood is charming and charismatic as ever. And he is smart. He is the brains of this company, even if George is the one who does all the research. And as it often happens with very smart people, he has no patience for those who are a bit less smart them him, or who fail to do what he wants them to do. Thus why he was so irritated with George throughout this book and failed to see that his friend was getting more and more enthralled by the mirror.

All in all, I love the dynamics within this group. They feel like excellent partners, but more then that, they are becoming good friends, even sort of surrogate family to each other. 

The world depicted in this series is fascinating, in a gruesome and depressing kind of way. The adults live a state of constant fear, and the children are robbed of their childhood and forced to confront the horrors of the Visitors. Let’s be honest, the Rat House was terrifying. I like that we discover more and more details about what it means to live day to day with the Problem, and how people cope and adapt. I also like the little hints we get in each book that there is something bigger going on behind the scenes.

I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series as soon as possible to learn more about Lockwood’s sister, and the mysterious Orpheus society and its ties to Marissa Fittes.

books, Fantasy, Reviews

In a Garden Burning Gold (Agryrosi 1) Gold by Rory Powers

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Stars: 2 out of 5

I am very disappointed with this book. The blurb promised something new, fresh, and with a unique worldbuilding. The book itself was simply… boring.

I understand that this is book one of a duology, but it seems like the author decided to pack all the worldbuilding and foreshadowing into this first book and leave all the action sequences for the second one. NOTHING happens here. Oh, we get plenty of travel between different locations, and politicking between the immortal rulers of the different countries… There is just… no urgency. No stakes, so to say.

We are told that  the Agryrosi family is in danger, that Baba is loosing his grip on the land and the good will of the Council. That there could be an insurrection and the whole family would be killed and replaced. Okay, that’s the stakes then, right? Problem is that we are told that in the very beginning of the book, then the story unfolds at a very unhurried pace, I would go as far as say glacial. We spend about 75% of the book traveling, getting set up in different locations (which are described in great detail), but there is no action or sense of immediate danger or looming doom. 

Another issue is that the characters act like they are in a bad YA book instead of the adults they are supposed to be. 

Take Rhea for example. She is almost 200 years old, and came to her power when she was 24ish. She also chooses a new consort with every turn of the season, lives with them for the whole season, then kills them at the end to bring forth the next season. She even mentions that a lot of times those relationships are quite intimate and even carnal… Yet she behaves like a blushing virgin when shown even a little bit of attention by Michaeli, her latest consort. Really?

It also makes no sense for Lexos to entrust her with the mission of uncovering the conspiracy her consort is part of. She is a glorified trophy wife. She lives in her consort’s estate most of the time, and everyone knows who she is. Do you really think that people who are planning to rebel against her father will let her into their confidence? 

And let’s be honest, she sucks at playing detective, or at telling lies, which another inconsistency with her character, since we are told that she is a master manipulator. Well, absolutely nothing in her behavior in this book shows that. In fact, for someone who lived for almost 200 years and traveled all over the country, she is strangely incompetent when it comes to reading people and understanding them.

Also, for a family of siblings who profess to love each other very much, there is too much deception and casual cruelty going on. And they don’t TALK to each other. They assume things, but they never talk them through. Lexos just assumes that Rhea will go against their father and do as he asks, because he is her brother and she loves him. He doesn’t even think of the consequences of that disobedience for her. And when he has to dole out the punishment, he doesn’t even apologize afterwards, even though she was beaten for his cause.

Lexos is actually a lot more unlikeable than Baba to me. He shamelessly uses his siblings in the name of protecting the family, never even stopping to think about the damage he does to them. Like that horrible game of chess between him and his little brother, where he destroyed him while Baba was watching, but never even thought to find him afterwards to apologize and explain why he had to play along with their tyrannical father.

So I don’t feel the love and care between the siblings, and I don’t feel the urgency of the stakes. Heck, by the end of the book I still didn’t particularly care if that family lived or died. Which made for a very long and boring read. Needless to say, I won’t be continuing with this series.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Reviews, Urban fantasy

London Falling (Shadow Police 1) by Paul Cornell

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Stars: 3 out of 5.

As far as first books in a series go, this one wasn’t particularly impressive. In fact, it was almost a DNF until about 30% into the book. 

It is a very slow start, but it also starts with a story that doesn’t seemingly have anything to do with magic and the rest, so I kept wondering why we are following these two undercover cops who are trying to nick this drug lord. Yes, it is relevant to the case in the end, but it could have been summarized in a lot less chapters and gotten out of the way quickly before we get to the meat of the story. As it stands, it dragged way to long and almost made me DNF the book. It gets more interesting once the team gets the “Sight” and the story actually picks up, but getting there was a slog.

The biggest issue for me were the characters. At least two of them are really unlikeable from the moment we are introduced to them, even if they grow on you afterwards. But that’s not so much of an issue in itself. I read books with unlikeable characters before and loved them. My issue is that we don’t get to know them enough to get to care about them. Yes, we get Ross’s backstory, because it’s essential to the larger story. Yes, we get mentions of one of the UCs being mercilessly bullied when he was a child. Of Quill and the other UC, we know even less. Which means that to me they don’t exist as individuals, but just as coppers tied to this story that’s unfolding. Heck, a few times I didn’t even understand why they reacted the way they did. Maybe I am missing some important cultural background here and didn’t get some of the subtitle hints of social status in different descriptions, but some of their actions and reactions made me scratch my head.

Another problem is that the magic described has no apparent logic at the beginning, and makes only slightly more sense by the end of the book. So is this localized to London only or does each city have something similar? Does it mean that magic is linked to the past and human memory? That nothing new can be magical? Why does it require sacrifice? What are the rules of all of this? 

I mean, I am more than willing to believe in a magical system the author invented, but I want to understand it. And I expect the author to follow the rules of that system as well. Here, we have a lot of random magical occurrences in London that are unrelated to the case. And the main villain seems so overpowered… yet four mundane coppers (with the Sight, but no magic powers of their own), continuously thwart her efforts and manage to overpower her in the end. How? What is the logic behind this?

Coming back to the requirement of a sacrifice. Ross sacrificed the witch in order to beat her. So whom was that sacrifice dedicated to? The smiling man? Does she have a bargain with him now? What will the consequences be for the team? It’s unclear. 

All in all, it’s a very muddled book that lacks structure and drive, especially in the beginning. Though the glimpse of London it gives is interesting enough that I will probably check out the next book in the series, but I expect a few more answers, especially as to how this whole magical system works.

books, Historical Fantasy, Reviews

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox

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Stars: 2 out of 5.

DNF at 75%.

This was going to be a solid 4 or 5 stars book until about 50% into the story. The setup was wonderful. Old manor that used to be an abbey, the moors and the fog, the cold and unwelcoming servants, and a mysterious library… What is there not to like about this?

Unfortunately, things go downhill from there. And not in small part because of the protagonist’s actions. For someone who constantly says that she doesn’t need anyone to take care of her, because she was doing that just fine on her own, thank you very much, she sure makes a lot of stupid decisions. Like not heeding the warnings of her staff about the library, or about associating with certain people. Like trusting a man who she doesn’t really know from Adam, just because he was nice to her and likes talking about books. Like accepting his marriage proposal after barely knowing him a few weeks and going on a couple dates. Especially when even she notices his unhealthy fixation on her library… just because she is lonely and feels unappreciated. Strong independent woman, yeah right. 

That’s the major problem with this book. No matter how much the author tries to show Ivy taking some action, and making some decisions, like organizing a book lending club, she isn’t an active player in this story. She doesn’t push the story forward. None of her actions progress anything. Things happen to her. In essence, she has no agency in this story at all. I understand that it was supposed to convey her dismay and confusion at progressively loosing her memories, but it misses the mark here, in my opinion. She comes across and pathetic and helpless, yet also stubborn and pigheaded when she shouldn’t be. She gives up all resistance the moment she encounters any difficulty.

For example, when she finds her journals shredded, she immediately abandons the idea of keeping a diary of her days. I would immediately create another diary and keep it on my person at all times, and yes, continue to write down everything that happens. She just sweeps all the evidence into the fire and doesn’t even confront her staff about this… or go to town and call her friend Susan, or do anything but continue to flounder in bewilderment. 

This might work for some readers, but this passivity made the book more and more boring to me. To the point that I started skimming ahead to see if Ivy would even try to fight for he freedom and sanity, but by 75% of the book she was just as pathetic – a prisoner in her own home… And I didn’t care to find out what would happen in the end. So I gave up.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

books, Reviews, Urban fantasy

Dirty Magic (Prospero’s War 1) by Jaye Wells

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Stars: 4 out of 5.

This is everything the first book in a series should be. It has an engaging heroine, an interesting story that manages to get personal for said heroine. There is just enough worldbuilding to introduce the world and the main players, but we aren’t bashed in the head with infodumps. 

The city of Babylon has a problem – a dirty magic problem. Think about the war on drugs and multiply it by ten, because the effects of dirty magic potions are mostly well-documented, but if a new one pops on the market, they can be quite unpredictable and even deadly. As Kate Prospero finds out one night on patrol when she has to confront what looks like a literal werewolf. But there are no such things as werewolves, right? Correct. It’s a new potion called Gray Wolf, and it’s a nasty one.

I really liked Kate as a character. And I loved her backstory. I can understand her hatred for dirty potions and those who cook them. She was one of them. She loved doing it to, discovering new recipes, letting others try them. And the consequences and side effects were somebody else’s problem… until those consequences hit very close to home. I understand her desire to cut herself from magic altogether, because she is afraid of relapsing into cooking again. And even though it complicates her life a lot in this book, and I really wanted to shout at her a few times because she was being pigheaded about it and putting the life of her loved ones in danger, I still understood her motives. That’s what I like about my protagonists – I don’t have to necessarily like them, but I have to understand what makes them tick. 

I also liked that Kate isn’t a lone wolf or a woman-hater, like a lot of urban fantasy protagonists tend to be. She has a solid support system and a good female friend in Pam. And while her life is difficult, because with the same last name is a notorious coven leader and crime lord it’s hard to make an honest living, she tries to make the best of the hand she’d been dealt.

My only issue with this book is the main villain’s motivation. I understand what the original plan was and even what Bane wanted to gain by creating Gray Wolf. What I don’t understand is why he thought attacking Abe’s flesh and blood (and I’m not talking about Kate here) would be a good idea. I also don’t understand Abe’s motivation for going along with this. Surely, revenge wasn’t the only reason… I’m hoping to find out more in the next book in the series. 

All in all though, I’m glad I finally gave this book a chance. I crossed another book off my TBR list and discovered another interesting urban fantasy series I wouldn’t mind continuing.

books, Fantasy, Reviews, Urban fantasy

The City Beneath the Hidden Stars by Sonya Kudei

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Stars: 1 out of 5

DNF at 40%.

Well, this was a disappointment. I love discovering new authors. I also love exploring settings set up in cities other than the usual London/New York/another well-known English-speaking city. So I was very excited about this story set in Zagreb. I hoped to learn some new lore and get familiar with a city with so much history. Unfortunately, the result is less than stellar.

I get what the author tried to do. The writing is supposed to be edgy and witty, and the sarcastic commentary that breaks the third wall is supposed to illicit a chuckle from the reader now and then. And it absolutely would… if it’s well done, which is not the case here. The overwrote language, never-ending descriptions and constant “winks” from the omniscient narrator to the readers get pretty boring very quickly. 

I don’t a detailed description of every single item crammed into the stairwell of a hoarder’s house. I don’t need a three page walkthrough of the market square. What I need is an engaging story and interesting characters I can follow. The rest is just setting. If I wanted to visit Zagreb remotely, I’d buy a tourist guide with pictures.

As it stands, I am not even sure, 40% in, what the story is supposed to be about. The Black Queen is returning? Cool cool… only she didn’t DO anything particularly horrendous so far, or even driven the narrative much. As far as the main villain of the story, she simply doesn’t pull the weight. As for the protagonists, they are simply blah.

There is also an overabundance of secondary characters that appear for a few pages, never to be heard of again, but are described in painstaking detail nevertheless. This overdescription of everything makes for a boring and tedious read, and since there isn’t really a good story to back it up, I don’t feel like investing more of my time into this 400 page book.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Dark fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews

The Beholden by Cassandra Rose Clarke

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Stars: 3 out of 5

It is sad when you say something like “It was okay,” when you try to describe a book. Unfortunately, this is exactly what this book was. Just okay. The story was okay and moved swiftly enough to keep me interested. The characters were okay, though I question the need for some of them. The worldbuilding was… lacking, honestly. 

There are some aspects that I liked about this book. The relationship between the two sisters being one of them. It felt very real. It wasn’t saccharine sweet. They bickered, they resented each other, they didn’t see eye to eye on some things. But they always cared about each other, even when mad and fighting. 

The sisters were also pretty fleshed out as characters, with distinct motivations and character flaws, so it was easy to empathize and root for them. Though Celestia’s stubborn belief that Lindon would help them and do as she asks “because he is her husband” became a little bit grating overtime. Especially after their first encounter when he proved that no, he wouldn’t do as she asked or even listen to her.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about Ico. Honestly, I’m still not sure what purpose he played in this book. He had no motivation for going on this quest (apart from being forced into it for no fault of his own), and he is never a driving force in this story. He is more of a complaining sidekick that the sisters drag along. We could have cut his character out of the book completely and not lost any of the story. The sisters could have hired the help of a nameless boat captain or guide and he would have fulfilled the same role.

I loved the jungle and the valley of the Seraphine river. It is so well described that I could feel the humid heat and smell the sweet and rotting stench of the river. I was less entranced with the other locations in this book, because we spent a lot less time in them, and most of the time spent was indoors, so I couldn’t really picture them in my head.

And speaking of locations, some of them were completely unnecessary. For example, what was the point of the whole visit to the Emperor’s palace? It didn’t move the plot whatsoever. They learned nothing new there. It was just a detour before continuing the story. And it felt shoe-horned into the story as an afterthought.

Finally, I’m still not sure how the magic of this world works, and it’s never really explained. So we have aetheric magic, and the magic of each Airiana is different, but then also you have the Starless mages, and oh wait, the magic in the city of Bloodwine is also different, and there is alchemy… It’s a confusing mess. Don’t get me wrong. I’m more then happy to believe in a complex magical system, if I understand the rules. Here, the author doesn’t even bother explaining them, so that’s frustrating.

Also, I’m not sure I am onboard with the ending. Are we forgetting that the Emperor of the Seraphine had forbidden them to go after Decay? That he kept them as hostages in his palace to prevent them from doing that? That they basically committed treason? And killed a few of his guards escaping the palace? Yet Celestia returns to Cross Winds, like nothing happened. Is she not afraid that Starless Mages will come for her in the night? For her son? The Lady of the Seraphine even told her that those are human affairs that don’t concern her. Yet Celestia seems to continue her life, like nothing happened. 

I am also not particularly sure how I feel about the romance between Celestia and Omaira (spelling). It felt completely unnatural to the story. Probably because it wasn’t woven organically into the story to begin with. Celestia was so focused on finding Decay and preventing her husband from dying that any hint of romance simply wasn’t there (or I missed it). So it was shocking to me to see them so sweet on each other days after her husband died. This as not needed. They could just have been really good friends brought together by pain and loss and the hard times they experienced together. Whatever grew out of that friendship could have been a story for another book.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Fantasy, Reviews, Urban fantasy

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones

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Stars: 3.5 out of 5

This book has been languishing on my TBR list since 2013, and even though I own the book, I never got around to reading it. So thank you for the Cleaning out your TBR challenge for finally giving me the push I needed to tackle it.

All in all, I actually liked the story. It has that magical realism that I love in Neil Gaiman and Garth Nix’s books, where the characters live in a seemingly perfectly normal and mundane world, but sometimes elements of the supernatural infringe upon their existence. Or blend with it, like it happened for most of this book.

I also loved Polly. She is an excellent main character. She is complex and fleshed-out, and really likeable. I can understand why she would be so taken by Mr Lynn – he is the only adult, apart from Granny, that showed her the least bit of care and interest. The more you learn about her home life, the more you realize just how horrible and self-centered her parents are. To them, having a child is an obstacle to their happiness. And the culmination of that is when her mother sends her packing to live with her father… who didn’t even have the courage to tell his new wife that Polly was coming to stay for good. And what kind of father just leaves their daughter at the train station without making sure she has a ticket and enough money for a snack, or actually seeing her off on that train?

Polly was a neglected child who craved for someone who would care about her, so she clung to Mr Lynn who had shown her a little kindness, but most importantly, who listened to her and cheered for her accomplishments, no matter how big or small they were.

So yes, I liked this book, but there is one factor that I simply can’t overlook. That’s the fact that Mr Lynn used her. An adult purposefully befriended a ten year old child and continuously insinuated himself into her life over the years. Yes, you could argue that he had a magical reason for this, and was hoping that she would save him from the fairy queen he was indentured to, but the fact stays – he was grooming her. He knew exactly what he was doing, and it’s not like Polly could give her consent to this. Not when she was a child. And that’s something that I simply can’t overlook. It makes my skin crawl. So I am taking 1 star off my score here.

However, I am glad I finally got around to reading this book, and I will check out other books by this author.

books, Dark fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews

To Ride a Rathorn (Kencyrath 4) by PC Hodgell

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Stars: 5 out of 5

I continue to be impressed with this series. The complexity of the worldbuilding is staggering. Every book adds a new piece of the puzzle to the bigger picture of creation. I am fascinated and I want to know more.

I also really like Jame as a character, and I think that she grew and evolved a lot since the first book where we saw her emerge out of the Haunted Lands. She is finding her stride and her own worth in this world. She is finally making peace with her powers and her destiny, even though, in true Jame fashion, she will follow that destiny on her own terms. I think she is beginning to realize that family isn’t only blood. That it’s also the connections you create or the creatures you bind to yourself (either intentionally or not). And that you are responsible for that family. Speaking of that, I am not happy with how she treats Graykin in this book. Hopefully, she realizes that and course corrects in the next book.

It’s also interesting to see that Jame is already performing her function as Nemesis, albeit in a small way. She is like a hot knife puncturing old abscesses everywhere she goes. Things hidden for decades come to light, horrible crimes committed in the past have repercussions in the present. And Jame is in the middle of it, whether she wants it or not.

Speaking of old crimes. The more we find out about what happened 60 years ago with Jame’s family, the more I feel for both Jame and Torisen. No wonder they are so broken, coming from so much pain, misery and death. No wonder their father went mad. Sounds like his life had been horrific. 

As I said, I think Jame had a lot of character growth in this story and became a better, and more stable, person. My complaint is that Torisen didn’t get that chance. He seems stuck in his soulscape, constantly listening to the poisonous words of his dead father, doubting himself and his sister. He needs to open that door and face what’s behind it, the sooner the better. He can’t afford not to, if he wants to remain the Highlord and save his people from the moral corruption that seems to have infected the Kencyrath. 

I also loved Jame’s dreamlike travels through Rathillien’s countryside and her interactions with the local Gods, Mother Raga especially. And I’m glad that her and the rathorn colt didn’t kill each other. 

I will definitely continue with this series because I want to know more about this complex world and I want Jame and Tori to finally vanquish their demons and become the twins they were destined to be.