Mortal Heart (2014)

Mortal Heart. Robin LaFevers. 2014. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 464 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I liked it. I did. I really did. But I'm not sure I LOVED it. I do think it met my expectations, however. I expected it to focus on Annith. I expected it to uniquely tell her story, reveal more of who she is, and what makes her strong. And readers definitely get that. How did Annith come to the convict? What was it like for her to spend her entire life at the convent, to not know what life outside was like? What was it like for her to train all those years, to see others come and go? Has she had an easier time of it than Ismae and Sybella? Why is Annith never the one chosen to go on assignment, long-term or short-term assignment? Does not being chosen mean she's too weak or not trustworthy enough in the Abbess' mind? How does she cope with waiting? These questions are all answered in the third book of the trilogy. If you've dared to find Annith boring or obedient in previous books, you'll be challenged.

I did come to like Annith, to appreciate her story. (Sybella's story, I believe, remains my favorite.) And I did like the romance. I don't think I can say one word about the romance. If you haven't read it, then that might make no sense since usually, I don't consider naming a potential love interest a spoiler. But if you have read it, you probably can guess why I'm afraid of spoiling things. I will say I thought it was well done. I wasn't disappointed by it. (I think Sybella and Beast remain my favorite couple, however.)

I also really liked that half the book brings us back into company with Ismae and Duval and Sybella and the Beast. The first half of the book covers almost the same time period as Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph. The last half is more of a sequel, the plot progresses forward. Readers spend time with Duchess Anne and those close to her. What does Brittany's future look like? Will Anne ever have enough military support to hold onto Brittany's independence? Will the French be successful? How many will lose their lives in war to fight for the country they love?

While all three books have teased readers with mythology, with world-building, this one I think does so even more. I solidly like it. I do. I would definitely recommend people finish the series if they've enjoyed the previous books.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Gabriel Finley & The Raven's Riddle (2014)

Gabriel Finley and the Raven's Riddle. George Hagen. 2014. Random House. 384 pages. [Source: Review Copy]

I would say I enjoyed Gabriel Finley and the Raven's Riddle, but, I'm not sure enjoyed is the right word. It kept me reading. I found it hard to put down. I wanted to know what happened next. Even if part of me didn't want to know. The book is creepy, or middle grade creepy which may or may not be satisfying enough for adult readers. There are ravens and valravens (vampire ravens), owls, robins, and perhaps a handful of other birds. Some working for good, some working for evil. There is some mythology and world-building. Gabriel Finley is the hero. This is his coming-of-age story. He's being raised by an aunt. She's strange and secretive and NEVER talks about his parents--well, in particular his father. As his birthday approaches, he begins to find out a bit about his family's past for better or worse. Turns out his father and uncle are a bit different or unique. Turns out he is different too. He can understand birds--ravens. He can hear them talking in his mind. Their is one in particular that is apparently destined to be his best friend, his other half.

Gabriel Finley and the Raven's Riddle is part coming of age novel and part adventure-quest-fantasy. The quest is both to save his father AND to save the world. All adventure quest stories have friends who help. Gabriel has several that he lets in on the secret. Abby and Pamela. And then there is Somes, a sometimes bully that just happens to come along at the right time to fall into this adventure.

I wanted to know what happened next. But at the same time, this one irritated and annoyed me. The hero didn't always seem so bright and clever.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Reread #43 Grave Mercy

Grave Mercy. Robin LaFevers. 2012. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 560 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I have now read Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers three times. (The first review; the second review.) It is a book that is a pleasure to reread. (Not every book is.) I enjoy Grave Mercy because it is intriguing and compelling.

It is set in Brittany in the late 1480s. You can read more about the time period in which this historical novel is set. One of the central characters is Anne of Brittany. Some might feel it is heavy on politics, but, I enjoyed the politics and the tension.

I wish the author had included more, at the very least more real names. For example, instead of "king of England" or "England's king" I wish she'd named him: Henry VII. There were places she could have been more specific, grounded the book more into history. I'd have LOVED an author's note. I'd have also loved an indication of which characters were historical people and which weren't. 

Grave Mercy is not your traditional historical romance. (Well, now that I think about it. If Philippa Gregory can have witches and curses in her Cousins' War series, and be considered "historical" romance, then Grave Mercy might rightly be included as well.) For those that love, love, love romance, I think there is plenty of it in Grave Mercy. I think that is one of its most satisfying features. For those that love fantasy and/or mythology, I think it has some appeal as well. The heroine, Ismae, is Death's daughter and his handmaiden. She lives in a convent, of sorts, dedicated to serving Death. She is a trained assassin. She kills those that her lord (Death) has marked for death.

One of her assignments brings her close to Duval, the half-brother of Anne of Brittany. They share a common goal: to protect Anne, to protect Brittany. But she's been taught--trained--to trust no one, to love no one. So this assignment will test her certainly!

The book has plenty of action, drama, mystery, and politics.

"Are you drunk?" I try to put as much scorn into my words as he did.
"No. Yes. Perhaps a little. Definitely not enough." The bleakness is back and he turns to stare into the flames.
I am torn between wanting to leave him to wallow in his despair and wanting to rush to his side and chase that look from his eyes. That I long to do this appalls me, sets panic fluttering against my ribs.
"I suggest you return to your room," Duval says, his gaze still fixed woodenly on the fire. "Unless you have come to practice your lessons of seduction on me?" His mouth twists in bitter amusement. "That could well entertain me till sunrise."
I jerk my head back as if I have been slapped. "No, milord. I had thought only to pray for your soul if Madame Hivern had seen fit to poison you. Nothing more." And with that, I turn and flee the room, then bolt the door against the disturbing glimpse of both his soul and mine. Whatever games are being played here, he is master at them, and I will do well to remember that. (155)

"What is my fair assassin so afraid of? I wonder."
"I'm not afraid."
Duval tilts his head to the side. "No?" He studies me a long moment, then rises out of his chair. I hold my breath as he crosses to my bed. "Are you afraid I will draw closer, perhaps?" His voice is pitched low, little more than a purr. My breath catches in my throat, trapped by something I long to call fear but that doesn't feel like fear at all. (174)

His smile flashes, quick and surprising in the darkness. "When one consorts with assassins, one must expect to dance along the edge of a knife once or twice. I bid you good night." (218)

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

A Creature of Moonlight (2014)

A Creature of Moonlight. Rebecca Hahn. 2014. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 313 pages. [Source: Review copy]

A Creature of Moonlight is an enjoyable fantasy novel for young adults. Marni, the heroine, is being raised by her grandfather (Gramps). The two live an isolated life, in a way. They don't mingle with the villagers as often as one might expect. Marni, for the most part, is too interested in her garden and the woods. And Gramps, well, he's a lot older than he used to be. Still people come. Some important people. Nobles and such. Some villagers. Now that Marni is nearly grown up, men of all classes are beginning to see her as more than a flower girl, more than "Tulip." Does this make Gramps happy or worried? And how does Marni feel about it herself?

A Creature of Moonlight is fantasy. In the world Hahn has created, the woods are magical and mysterious and more than a little dangerous. There are stories--new stories, old stories, long-handed-down stories--of young women who entered the woods and were never seen again. Marni herself knows one such case. One of her friends disappeared in the woods. But Marni knows the woods. I wouldn't say she feels absolutely at home in the woods. There is a part of her that loves the woods, loves the danger and mystery. There is a hesitant part of her as well, that part keeps her coming home again. As she says so well later in the novel, "You can want a whole slew of things. It's what you choose that ought to matter."

Choices. Marni has difficult choices to make. Does she belong in the woods? Does she belong at the palace? For you see, Marni is no ordinary village girl. Her grandfather was the king. Her uncle IS the king. She is the daughter of a princess--a murdered princess. Neither choice appeals completely to Marni. The novel introduces readers to both settings. Readers see Marni reclaim her place in the royal family. They see her being courted by one of the lords. Readers also see her come into her own in the woods. These chapters in the woods are fascinating in a dark way. Marni learns what happens to young women who WANT to be taken by the dragon of the woods. But is either place right for her?

I liked this one very much. I thought it was beautifully written. There are sentences that are just WOW. The storytelling was nicely done. I liked quite a few of the characters. The characters all seemed appropriately flawed. That being said, not all the characters were given equal depth and substance. Even more characterization might have made this one great. But as it is, it is an enjoyable read.

Quotes:

"But she always kept on until the end. She knew, as I knew, that you don't stop a story half done. You keep on going, through heartbreak and pain and fear, and times there is a happy ending, and times there isn't. Don't matter. You don't cut a flower half through and then wait and watch as it slowly shrivels to death. And you don't stop a story before you reach the end" (11).

"My breath catches. Not just because I thought we'd gone over this, but because as he says it, for one crazy instant I think about saying yes. I think about living with this man, who's always taken my side, who melts me right away with his kisses, who believes in me and my innocence even when he really shouldn't. He really shouldn't. Before I can stop myself, I throw my sewing back on the floor and push myself out of my chair. Edgar rises to his feet as well, wary. "How many times is this?" I say, my voice shriller than I mean it to be, but I push my anger on, fall gladly into it. "What is it with you, my Lord of Ontrei, that makes you think that when I'm telling you no, and no, and no again, what I really must be meaning is ask me again? Could be I'm crazy, but I've no wish to be the stone you step on to reach the throne..." (181)

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Reread #41 Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle. Diana Wynne Jones. 1986. 336 pages. [Source: Bought]

 I first read and reviewed Howl's Moving Castle in 2009.

After Sophie's father dies, her step-mother sends away two of her sisters. Sophie she keeps on as an apprentice in the family's hat business. Sophie trims hats. While she's trimming hats and arranging them, she finds herself very often talking to the hats, supposing what kind of person will buy the hat, etc. The shop begins to do well--really well. One person--one witch--notices and decides to act. Poor Sophie finds herself under the witch's spell! Sophie leaves her old life behind, without a word, and goes on an adventure of sorts. Life certainly becomes more challenging for Sophie! But she soon finds a new place to belong, a strange place, an odd place, but a place that begins to feel oddly enough like home. Sophie makes friends in unexpected places.

I loved rereading Howl's Moving Castle. From start to finish, this fantasy novel proves delightfully charming. I loved the characters. I especially loved Sophie and Wizard Howl. I loved the world-building. I love the storytelling. I loved Jones' descriptions. It's just a fun, fun adventure story with heart.

Here's how it begins: "In the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three. Everyone knows you are the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out to seek your fortunes. Sophie Hatter was the eldest of three sisters. She was not even the child of a poor woodcutter, which might have given her some chance of success!" It hooks readers from the very beginning. It certainly hooked me!

I would definitely recommend this one! I just love it!
© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

The Only Thing To Fear (2014)

The Only Thing To Fear. Caroline Tung Richmond. 2014. Scholastic. 288 pages. [Source: Review copy]

What if the Nazis had won the war? The Only Thing To Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond is set in an alternate universe where this is so. It is set in the future, eighty years after the Nazis win the war. Zara St. James is our sixteen year old heroine. She is a bit unusual. And not just because the Nazis are so strict as to what is normal and abnormal. There are a couple of premises in the book: 1) Germany and Japan were successful in creating super-soldiers, genetically enhanced superior soldiers giving them the military advantage. 2) Russia, or the Soviets, never joined the war against the Nazis. I share these details because it is important to be grounded in this imagined reality or future. Both facts are important not only in understanding the past--as created by the author--but the future as well.

Though the eastern states have been under Nazi rule for almost eight decades, there are plenty of Americans still angry enough to fight and rebel. Zara's uncle Redmond leads the local Alliance. Zara whines for almost the entire book on how it is so completely unfair that she's not allowed to join yet. Zara is the only family Uncle Red has left. He's lost almost everyone he's ever cared about. Plenty of people have lost loved ones to the Nazis. Zara refuses to accept that that is just the way things are. She demands justice. Not clinging to future justice when the Alliance gains strength and numbers, but a RIGHT NOW justice even though all the odds are against them.

So Zara's rebellion is strengthened by her odd gifts. To say more would be to spoil the book. To say less would give you the wrong impression of the book. This book is DEFINITELY speculative fiction and not just because it's set in an alternate future. Zara has a unique advantage over most people--an unnatural advantage. I almost wish that it hadn't gone that direction. I wasn't looking for that kind of read.

Romance. What would a YA read be without a little romance?!

The Only Thing To Fear was a quick read. I liked it just fine. I didn't love it.


© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Thursdays with the Crown (2014)

Thursdays with the Crown. (Castle Glower #3) Jessica Day George. 2014. Bloomsbury. 224 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I enjoyed reading Thursdays with the Crown. I'm glad I read it so soon after finishing Wednesdays in the Tower. I only wish I'd had the time to reread the first novel in this fantasy series, Tuesdays at the Castle. I'm sure I would have appreciated the whole series even more if I'd had the chance to reconnect with the characters and have an attachment. That being said, I ended up enjoying so many of the characters anyway. Thursdays with the Crown picks up right where Wednesdays in the Tower left off. I was prepared to love it from the start.

The novel opens with Celie, Lilah, Pogue, Rolf, Lulath, and Rufus (Celie's griffin) finding themselves in a strange, foreign place. They have been transported to the Glorious Arkower, a land they believe the Castle originated from. They come into this adventure with a few assumptions for better or worse. When they come across two different men with two very different stories--contradictory stories--everything becomes a bit confusing. Who is telling the truth? Is either man telling the whole truth? What is true and what is only half-true? If a man lies about one thing, does that mean he's lying about everything? Celie and her friends will have to puzzle things out.

It is definitely an adventure fantasy. It is a quick read, a delightful read in many ways. I think I love Lulath best of all.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

The Kiss of Deception (2014)

Kiss of Deception. (The Remnant Chronicles #1) Mary E. Pearson. 2014. Henry Holt. 489 pages. [Source: Library]

Kiss of Deception was an excellent fantasy. It is probably one of the best fantasies I've read all year. From start to finish, it held my attention. I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of it that held up for three-quarters of the book. The mystery being who is who.

Kiss of Deception has multiple narrators. Princess Lia is our heroine, our runaway bride. Some chapters are narrated by "The Prince," and other chapters are narrated by "The Assassin." To add to the delight OR possibly add to the confusion, there are chapters narrated by Rafe and Kaden. Readers know that Rafe could be the Prince OR the Assassin. Likewise, readers know that Kaden could be either the Prince or the Assassin. The first third of the novel focuses more on all three being on the go. The Princess has runaway, taking her maid Pauline with her. The Prince is chasing after her. The Assassin is chasing after her too. Of course, he has been hired by someone to kill her. And the Prince's motivations are vague. What happens when these two men find her hiding in a small country town? What happens when she begins to get to know these two men, Rafe and Kaden, over the course of a week or two?

Kiss of Deception was definitely suspenseful in places. There's a bit of an intrigue mixed dangerously OR delightfully with romance. Readers learn that there is so much to learn about the world in which this novel is set. There is a hint of depth to it. I wanted more--in a good way. It wasn't that this novel was inadequate, it was that what we know is so small in comparison to what we don't know. And there's this wanting to see more, know more. If fantasy worlds feel fake, then, the wanting is completely different. It isn't curiosity but frustration.

I felt this novel was well-written. I enjoyed the world-building. I enjoyed the characterization.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

The Glass Sentence (2014)

The Glass Sentence. S.E. Grove. 2014. Penguin. 512 pages. [Source: Library]

The Glass Sentence has an intriguing premise with incredible potential. As soon as I heard the premise, I knew I had to read it. And, in many ways, it is a premise-driven novel. And there's nothing at all wrong with that, not when the premise is so unique. What is the premise? A Great Disruption occurs (roughly 1799) which fragments time itself. Continents and countries are displaced in time, if you will. So explorers are not just traveling from place to place, but also time to time. It makes exploring even more dangerous and unpredictable. Some societies want to forbid travel between Ages, want to stop foreigners from coming to their land, want to forbid travelers from leaving.

In The Glass Sentence, readers meet Sophia Tims. Her parents are explorers that have been missing most of her life. She has been raised by her uncle Shadrack, a cartologer. He insisted that her parents leave her behind. She was just three. She loves him, she does, but she misses her parents. She holds onto the hope that they'll come back OR that she'll go off adventuring and find them. Shortly after the novel opens, he begins to teach Sophia what he knows. He begins to share his secrets with her; he tells her that there are many different types of maps. That maps can be written on things besides paper. They can be written on glass, for instance, or even water. She's looking forward to learning...

But. Just when it is getting started, Sophia returns home to learn that her uncle has been kidnapped and that his study has been destroyed. Sophia and a new friend, Theo, a former zoo exhibit, team up to save the day. Can they find her uncle? Can they rescue him? Can the bad guys be defeated?

The world building works. It's an interesting and complex world. And, as I said, the premise has great potential. It's just an exciting sounding premise with plenty of appeal.

I liked it. I did. I didn't quite love it as I was hoping. But it was well worth a read.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

The Dust Girl (2012)

The Dust Girl (American Fairy #1) Sarah Zettel. Random House. 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I enjoyed reading Sarah Zettel's Dust Girl. It's historical fantasy set in America in the 1930s. It starts in the tiny town of Slow Run, Kansas, but, the heroine Callie LeRoux won't stay put. The quest in Dust Girl very much reminded me of the quest in Rick Riordan's Lightning Thief. Less humor though. It isn't just the depression getting Callie and her family down, it's the dust bowl too. Their are whole sections of the U.S. truly devastated and overwhelmed. Even those who aren't farmers are suffering greatly. Callie and her mom are among the last living in their town. Everyone else has left, out of want or desperation. One day, her mom disappears in a dust storm. Callie is upset and confused. How could her mom vanish so suddenly? It doesn't seem natural, it seems, well, supernatural. And Callie is right. There are secrets to be uncovered. For one, Callie is only half human. Callie is given the tiniest bit of help before her journey begins, and, she even finds a companion to go with her willing to face anything and everything. But it won't be an easy or safe journey. The journey, of course, is to find her mother, and, to find her father, and to learn MORE about her heritage, who she is, and what "magic" if any she possesses.

I liked this one. I found it a very pleasant, very enjoyable, fun read. I liked Jack. I liked Callie. I liked meeting some of the not-so-nice characters. I liked trying to piece together the mystery. I look forward to reading more in this series.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

The Lost Sun (2013)

The Lost Sun. (The United States of Asgard #1) Tess Gratton. 2013. Random House. 368 pages. [Source: Library]

My mom used to say that in the United States of Asgard, you can feel the moments when the threads of destiny knot together, to push you or pull you or crush you. But only if you're paying attention.

I found The Lost Sun to be an enjoyable read. I didn't love, love, love it. But all the same, I found it to be a quick and pleasant read for an afternoon. The hero of The Lost Sun is Soren Bearskin. He is "destined" to be a beserker just as his father was. His beserker legacy troubles him greatly. He does not want to give way to it, no matter if it's in his nature or written in his destiny. He does not see anything positive in it. Soren Bearskin falls for the new girl at school, Astrid Glyn. Astrid is a seer; her mother was a very, very famous seer. Early in the novel, something bizarre happens. Baldur the Beautiful, a god who was supposed to resurrect in the springtime, did not appear. He did not come back to life. He did not rejoin the gods. He's completely missing. Astrid and Soren team up to find him. Astrid's dreams and visions offer BIG clues to the pair. Together can they find him and set things right?

For readers who enjoy fantasy quests, The Lost Sun is definitely recommended. Astrid and Sun have a mystery to solve, and they go on a quest together. Along the way, they offer readers a look at a very different alternate vision of the U.S. 

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

You Wish (2010)

You Wish. Mandy Hubbard. 2010. Penguin. 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Kayla McHenry is the heroine of You Wish. It is Kayla's sixteenth birthday. If Kayla was getting to spend the day as she wished, she might not mind her birthday quite so much. But Kayla doesn't have any say in her birthday party. Her mom is an event planner. And her daughter's sixteenth birthday party is the perfect place to showcase her skills to clients and potential clients. Yes, most of the guests are strangers to Kayla, and the one person Kayla herself invited to the party oh-so-politely requests permission to not come so she can go on a date with her boyfriend. Yes, from the start readers know that Nicole is NOT best friend material.

Kayla makes yet another birthday wish as she blows out her candles. But for the first time in sixteen years, it actually comes true. For better or worse. Her wish that was granted? That ALL her previous birthday wishes will come true. A roomful of gumballs. Her rag doll coming to life. Ken as a boyfriend. The sudden ability to speak Italian fluently. Almost all of Kayla's wishes are regrettable. But the one she most regrets, OR, should I say the one she most WANTS to regret, is her wish that BEN would kiss her. Ben has been her dream guy for several years now. Nicole got up the courage to ask him out a few months ago, now he is HER boyfriend.

Kayla's life has become crazy since her sixteenth birthday. And since the wishes are coming true one day at a time, Kayla knows that almost anything could happen in the next two weeks...

I wanted to like You Wish. I did. I thought the premise was wonderful. Some of the wishes were very well done. Like when Kayla went from flat-chested to full-figured overnight. Like when KEN showed up and started following her around believing that she is Barbie. But despite all the fun, I thought the novel was very weak in terms of characterization and relationship building.

Stuff happens to Kayla because of her wishes. The end. No other characters are given any depth at all in the novel. Especially Ben and Nicole. Readers are treated to almost three hundred pages of Kayla obsessing over Ben. In a way, it was nice that readers never got to see Nicole as an actual human since the whole plot is about how Kayla and Ben are meant to be together forever. But I can't really enjoy a novel with no characterization. Yes, it was fun and playful and a quick read. But a favorite? I just can't.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

The Glass Casket (2014)

The Glass Casket. McCormick Templeman. 2014. Random House. 352 pages. [Source: Review copy]

The Glass Casket has a great opening line,

"One bleak morning in the eye of winter, five horses and five riders thundered into the remote mountain village of Nag's End." 

It caught my interest and kept me reading until the very, very end, without a single break. For the record, I do NOT like horror novels. I do NOT like thrillers. Witches. Monsters. Vampires. Not my thing AT ALL. Yet, for some reason, I found myself unable to walk away from this fantasy novel. In other words, I found myself LOVING it.

After these strange riders fail to return, several men go up into the woods and investigate. What they found shocks them to say the least. One man is bloodied and his eyes and tongue are missing. The remaining four were found NAKED and frozen. One could reason that wolves might have killed one of the five men. BUT what would lead four men to strip off their clothes, fold them up, and allow themselves to freeze to death?! And what was up with the last journal entry found in their belongings that reads: It's starting. Tom Parstle is, I believe, the one who finds that journal entry. And he also removes something else from the scene, something that any fan of Pirates of the Caribbean could warn him against, a coin or medallion. "It was a circle enclosing a smaller circle. They were linked by seven spokes, empty spaces between them. He was leaning in to examine it more closely when he found himself suddenly queasy, as if beset by a noxious force" (19). The men return with some answers but more questions.

Rowan Rose is our heroine. She is Tom's best friend. She's super smart. She doesn't only know how to read and write, she knows how to read and write in several languages. She assists her father in his translating work. In fact, she is BETTER at translating than her father is. She does not want to marry. She wants to be a scholar. She thinks her father is supportive of her plans for the future.

Jude Parstle is Tom's brother. Jude has long been thought to be the lesser of the brothers. No one expects much of him, Tom, well Tom is "the good brother." Jude, well, Jude is allowed to do whatever. Rowan and Jude have a tense relationship: they are ALWAYS bickering. Everyone thinks that Jude hates Rowan, that he perhaps hates her because she's so brainy, though that is more Tom's theory. (Tom thinks his brother is only interested in one thing from a woman.)

Those five riders weren't the ONLY strangers to come to town. There were three other strangers: a glassblower, his wife, and a young woman that is OH-SO-EXTRAORDINARILY-BEAUTIFUL. Her name is Fiona Eira. Not everyone is pleased with these strangers. Rowan's father, Henry, is the most opposed. He insists that Rowan have NOTHING AT ALL to do with Fiona.

So what is Rowan to do when her best friend, Tom, falls madly, deeply in instant-love with Fiona? He HAS to meet her. He just HAS to. He begs and pleads with her to be the go-between, to seek her out, to introduce herself, to speak well of Tom, to arrange a meeting for them the next day. Rowan is creeped out by Tom's obsession in all honesty. But. She dares to disobey her father. She'll do it for her friend. At the very least, her helping Tom may help him calm down a bit.

But this wouldn't be much of a horror novel if Tom and Fiona live happily ever after...

The Glass Casket is definitely packed with action and suspense. There is a big mystery to solve. It is intensely violent. The scenes depicting violence--murder--are very graphic. It is also graphic when it comes to passion. Yet despite the fact that this one is in many ways plot-driven, I feel Templeman did a good job with characterization. I definitely had favorite characters.

Rowan and Obsessed-Tom talking about LOVE:

"Rowan," he said, "do you think it possible to love someone upon first laying eyes on them?"
"Well, the poets certainly thought it so if they're to be believed, a woman's eyes can know a future lover upon seeing him, and if the man sees the fire in those eyes, sees himself there, then he can fall in love before they've even spoken a word."
"But what do you think? Do you think it's possible?"
"I don't know. I suppose I like the idea of some part of our bodies knowing and recognizing our futures even if our minds cannot. That appeals to me. But no, I don't think it possible."
"You don't? Really? If your future husband came riding into the village one day, you don't think you'd recognize him immediately?"
"I don't think that's how it works."
"How does it work, then?"
"I think in order to love someone, you must know their heart. You need to witness their goodness, and you can't know something like that unless you've known someone for a while. I think familiarity breeds love."
"That's not very romantic of you."
"Isn't it?"
"I'm talking about love, grand love--that thing that makes you feel like your knees are about to give way, that certainty that you've seen the essence of your future in a pair of red lips."
"Tom, beauty isn't the same thing as goodness; it isn't the same thing as love." (52, 53)

Rowan on Jude:

Staring at him, she felt rage burning in her chest. How was it that he could make her so angry? How was it that he always seemed to know how she felt without her saying a word? It was unfair. He had no right to her feelings. Her temper getting the better of her, she strode over to him, her hands clenched into fists, and took a single wretched swing at him. The force she'd put behind the blow was intense, but she never connected, for he caught her forearm gently in his hand, and looking deep into her eyes, he held her gaze. (75)

Sample of atmosphere:

The funeral should have been the next day. It ought to have been. The village ought to have gathered in Fiona Eira's home and the elders ought to have performed the rites. She should have been covered in the funerary shroud, hiding the sight of human flesh so as not to offend the Goddess. Her body laid up on Cairn Hill at the Mouth of the Goddess, stones carefully arranged atop her resting spot. These were the things that ought to have been done. But sometimes things don't go as planned. (117)

It was a coffin. A glass coffin, intricately carved, and set out in the yard for all to see. Inside it was the girl, her black hair splayed out around her, her lips like rotting cherries set against a newly ashen complexion. (129)

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Hero (2013)

Hero. (Woodcutter Sisters #2). Alethea Kontis. 2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]

At first, I thought I might have found Hero so very, very confusing because it's been two years since I read Enchanted. And then I reread my review of Enchanted. I found Enchanted just as confusing it seems! So even if I read these two close together, I might not have made sense of this crazy fairy-tale-esque world.

The Woodcutter Family is something, magically, crazily dysfunctional perhaps? Hero stars two of the seven sisters and a brother, Trix. Readers get a glimpse of Thursday (the pirate sibling). But this is not Thursday's tale to tell. This is Saturday's story almost start to finish. But it isn't her story alone. It also belongs to Peregrine. Here is the least confusing part that will still sound confusing:

Peregrine is a boy under enchantment to look like a girl; the witch's daughter is a role he plays and has played for many years. I'm not sure what is enchantment and what is just acting on his part, assuming a disguise that he can put on and take off at will.

Saturday is a girl under enchantment to look like her older brother, Jack. Now how the witch casts the spell to make Saturday look like Jack is beyond me. The spell was intended to bring Jack to her. She wants REVENGE. Jack blinded her.

Somehow Peregrine can see past the enchantment and see the real Saturday. And Saturday learns Peregrine's identity early on as well. I can't remember if she sees the real him, or the enchanted girl. Regardless, these two are destined to fall in love.

They meet, of course, because both are trapped by the oh-so-evil blind witch who can't seem to get her magic to function right. She's just capable enough to be thought a possible risk to life-as-we-know it. But not capable enough that there's a rush to bring her down immediately.

Anyway, the whole book is confusing and messy. It had its moments where I could see why it would be appealing to readers. But it didn't work for me.
© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Rump (2013)

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin. Lisel Shurtliff.  2013. Random House. 272 pages. [Source: Review copy]

What a fun book! I really, really enjoyed Liesl Shurtliff's Rump which boasts of being, of course, the TRUE story of Rumpelstiltskin. From page one, Rump makes a delightful hero in this middle grade fantasy. Here's the first paragraph: "My mother named me after a cow's rear end. It's the favorite village joke, and probably the only one, but it's not really true. At least I don't think it's true, and neither does Gran. Really, my mother had another name for me, a wonderful name, but no one ever heard it. They only heard the first part. The worst part." Rump lives in a world where your NAME leads to your destiny, so, you can imagine that Rump struggles with what destiny has in store for him since it "blessed" him with a name like that. Rump is NOT friendless, however. His two biggest supporters are his Gran, who has raised him from his birth, and Red, his best friend and sidekick who has a Granny of her own in the forest. The situation is relatively bleak when the novel opens. Rump lives in a poor community that is easily oppressed by the king. The local miller dispenses food to the community based on how much gold the person (family) has contributed. So hunger is a part of life for many. One day, however, Rump discovers something in his Gran's woodpile: his mother's spinning wheel. His Gran is NOT pleased that Rump wants to keep it, to learn to use it. Rump gives it a try, and, he discovers the magic within. Yes, he learns he has the magic inside him to spin straw into gold. But what does NOT come naturally is the wisdom on when to use and when NOT to use magic. He has NOT learned that all magic comes with a price. That his oh-so-delightful talent might come with a big, big price that he won't want to pay.

I love this one. I do. I love the narration. I love the storytelling. I love how the story was adapted and changed. I loved that magic had consequences. I loved seeing Rump grow and mature into Rumpelstiltskin.
© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

The Shadow Throne (2014)

The Shadow Throne. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2014. Scholastic. 336 pages. [Source: Review copy]

The Shadow Throne was the PERFECT conclusion to a near-perfect trilogy. I fell in love with this series from the very beginning. I absolutely loved The False Prince, which introduces the orphan Sage. Our hero is brave, strong, snarky, and clever. Technically, he's also good at lying. But some of that at least is due in part to the life he's been forced to lead for so long. Dare I say it's been NECESSARY lying?! Sage is a character I loved from the start. He's one of several orphan boys kidnapped by a rogue regent with his own agenda. Tobias and Roden are the other two boys. The regent's mad plan is to put an orphan onto the throne, trying to sell the other regents with the idea that this boy is THE LOST PRINCE thought to have been killed by pirates over four years before. Connor, the mad and bad regent, knows his schemes are ambitious. But he's very arrogant, confident that he can do the impossible: train an uneducated orphan how to be a prince in just TWO WEEKS. Sage, guessing that failure equals death, decides he will be THE ONE to win the job that when all is said and done he does not want. In book two, readers see Sage, King Jaron now, on the throne. But this transition has been anything but easy. His regents who are much, much older see King Jaron as a joke. I don't know that they'd openly admit that they regret his return from obscurity. But, more and more are willing to say they regret putting him on the throne WITHOUT a steward or regent to "GUIDE" him until he comes of age. Just a few weeks have gone by, and Jaron's future is looking bleaker and bleaker. Early on, it becomes obvious to Jaron that life cannot continue on as it is. Without his country's support, without his country's knowledge, King Jaron is determined to act in the best interests of Carthya, and try his best to prevent the war from starting NOW. Even Jaron knows that war will come. But war in a few months is better than war tomorrow if your country is as ill prepared as his is. This is the book with Pirates! In the third book, the war has begun. Jaron and Tobias and Roden (not to mention Imogen, Amarinda, Mott, and Harlowe) face incredibly difficult challenges; everyone will be pushed and challenged. It's VERY, VERY intense. I loved it.

There are so many reasons I loved this series.

I loved the characters. I loved how the characters developed throughout each book. I loved how the core of each character stayed the same, in a way, yet how they continued to grow and mature. I loved the main character, Sage/Jaron. I loved the minor characters. They never felt minor to me. I loved getting to know Tobias and Roden. Especially in this final book, I really appreciated these two! I also loved Harlowe, a character first introduced in the second book. Mott is another character I adored!!!

I loved the relationships. I loved how the relationships built. How respect and trust worked out in some of these relationships. I loved the theme of grace and redemption, of forgiveness. I loved the honesty. I loved see Jaron and Mott; loved seeing Jaron and Tobias; loved seeing Jaron and Roden. The friendships in this one are so very, very strong. And this isn't even including the light touch of romance!

I loved the world-building.

I loved the plotting. The twists and turns. This series has so many surprises! The plot is well-paced and a perfect blend of intensity and humor.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Reread #15 The Runaway King

The Runaway King. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2013. Scholastic. 352 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I have just finished rereading The False Prince and The Runaway King in anticipation of The Shadow Throne. In a perfect world, every single reader would be a rereader. In a perfect world, every one would find the time to go back and reread all the prior books in a series, in trilogies especially. I know it's not realistic. But I can dream, right?! I took the time this time. I am SO GLAD I took the time to go back and read these two books back to back. In three days, I read The False Prince, The Runaway King, and The Shadow Throne. It was WONDERFUL. It was all kinds of wonderful!!! It was so satisfying, so compelling. I really came to know and love all of the characters. I really started noticing all the stories within the BIG story. I definitely recommend this series!!!

I originally reviewed this one in March 2013. 

Original review:  

Jaron has only been on the throne a short while and already the kingdom is in great danger, Jaron's life is at risk. The regents of the kingdom want Jaron to go into hiding, "for his own good" of course. They would rather deal with a steward in the king's place than have a "boy" on the throne, a boy who isn't afraid of facing reality. Jaron looks at the facts and sees: WAR IS COMING, WAR IS COMING, WAR IS COMING. His regents seem to see a different reality: peace, peace, peace, we must have peace no matter what, peace, peace, always we must have peace. Jaron would feel absolutely alone--forsaken--if it wasn't for a few friends who knew him before, knew him as Sage...

Running away from the throne, from the kingdom, might be Jaron's best option...

The Runaway King is such an exciting book! I love, love, love the fact that we get to go with Jaron/Sage on his journey into enemy territory as his own cleverness is put to the test...

I am still loving the world-building, the characterization, the dialogue, the storytelling. It's a GREAT book.
© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Reread #14 The False Prince

The False Prince. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2012. Scholastic. 342 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Last March, I read The False Prince and The Runaway King the first two books in Jennifer A. Nielsen's Ascendance Trilogy. It was love. Not just love, but LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. I considered myself lucky that I had waited until the second book in the series had been released. I didn't have to wait! I could continue reading right away! When I received a review copy of The Shadow Throne a few weeks ago, I was oh-so-tempted to read it right away. But I didn't. I thought the book would be even more satisfying, even more wonderful if I took the time to reread the first two books. It was worth the wait.

I thought it was love the first time around. I really, really did. But. If it's possible, I think I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it even more the second time. The False Prince introduces the world and the characters so very well. And its a timeless fantasy story in many, many ways. Even knowing where the twists and turns were going, I still found myself very engaged with the story, still in love with its richness.

From my original review:

I thought this one would be good, but even I didn't expect it to be THAT GOOD. This book is WONDERFUL. Everything I wanted it to be! Readers first meet an orphan named Sage. When we meet him, he's on the run having just stolen meat from the butcher. He is "rescued" from the butcher by someone in the crowd, Connor. But is the rescue genuine? Connor goes with Sage to the orphanage and explains that he's just bought Sage. Sage soon meets other orphan boys his own age that Connor has bought from various orphanages in the land. He's taking them to his castle...

Sage is suspicious fearing that Connor and the men working for him are DANGEROUS. Yes, he could be beaten, he could be imprisoned, but he knows that he could also be KILLED if he displeases Connor. Does knowing this make Sage less defiant or outspoken? Not really.

Connor has a plan--an ambitious plan. The royal family has been killed, murdered, and no one knows the truth, yet. The second son was presumed dead at sea, but, what if one of the orphan boys could assume this second son's identity and become king? Connor wants the boys in competition with one another and in training to become the future king. In a few weeks time, he'll pick the "lucky" boy.

Sage wants to be the boy, for better or worse, perhaps knowing that to fail in this means certain death. But that doesn't mean he likes Connor or trusts him. He doesn't trust Connor...at all.

I loved spending time with Sage! I loved being introduced to this fantasy world!!! I loved the setting, the characterization, the writing!!! This is a magical, oh-so-satisfying read!

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Lady Thief (2014)

Lady Thief. A.C. Gaughen. 2014. Walker Books. 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I definitely enjoyed Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen. But I LOVED the sequel Lady Thief even more. This one is all about "Lady" Marian and her not-so-fortunate marriage to Gisbourne. Unfortunate for several reasons: one, HE'S cruel and abusive and just wicked through and through, the puppet of Prince John; two, because her heart belongs to another: Robin Hood, of course!

I loved Lady Thief for many, many reasons:

I loved how it brings more history into the story. I loved seeing Prince John and his wife, Isabelle. I really, really, really loved seeing Eleanor of Aquitaine (the mother of King Richard and Prince John). The character of Eleanor was just awesome, I felt. It truly added something to the story to have her there, and Eleanor truly did impress and inspire Scarlet!

I loved how it uses other Robin Hood stories, but, somehow makes them even cooler. For example, in Lady Thief, Prince John comes to Nottingham to appoint a new sheriff. (The old sheriff having been killed in the first book.) Gisbourne is there, of course, eager and anxious to be appointed. He has every intention of being THE ONE. Yet, Prince John puts a twist on it: the new sheriff will be the man who wins a competition...the competition covers many things, but the last day of competition, of course, you guessed it AN ARCHERY CONTEST.

I loved the romance between Marian (whom readers know by another name) and Robin. But this is not an easily grasped love. It will be a love that demands sacrifice and hardship and call for heartbreak and angst too. If their love is to be realized, it will take both of them fighting all the odds.

I loved the characterization of Robin Hood. I loved seeing him drawn with such substance from the times in which he lived. I thought it was very well done having him suffer so horribly, so realistically, from PTSD. He is a haunted hero whose past in the crusades has left him broken and changed.

I continue to love the other characters: John Little, Much, Tuck, and in this one we meet Alan a Dale.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Seven Wild Sisters (2014)

Seven Wild Sisters: A Modern Fairy Tale. Charles de Lint. Illustrated by Charles Vess. 2014. Little, Brown. 272 pages. [Source: Library]

Seven Wild Sisters is a charming fantasy novel set in the modern world. The novel begins by focusing on the middle daughter, Sarah Jane, but by the end of the novel, all seven sisters have played a role in this delightful fairy fantasy adventure. The story begins, well, one could choose a dozen different "real" beginnings for this one, so I'll merely say the STORY FOR SARAH JANE begins when she befriends "Aunt Lillian." Aunt Lillian lives alone, secluded, near the woods. No electricity, no running water, no "modern" conveniences. No easy life for her. She wouldn't want to really slow down. She lives off the land; she lives for the land. She has almost seen it all. And by all, I mean she has had ENCOUNTERS with faeries and such. She is definitely different and in a way extraordinary. Sarah Jane, of course, LOVES her once she gets to know her, and from the start, Sarah Jane WANTS to get to know her. Sarah Jane's sisters are more reluctant perhaps, but, enter into this big adventure they will nevertheless! The other sisters include: Adie, Laurel and Bess, Elsie, Ruth and Grace.

Sarah Jane's adventures start when despite Aunt Lillian's advice, she finds herself getting involved in "a war" between different faeries. She sees an injured 'Sang man--100 poisoned arrows piercing him--and helps him. The bee faeries are "the enemy" depending on which "side" you find yourself. Lillian KNOWS Sarah Jane put herself--and her family--at risk. But she'll do everything she can to help her out of the mess and into a big adventure she'll never forget.

I liked this one very much. I'm not sure I LOVED it.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews