Tag: fiction

Quests of Kings, by Robert Evert

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Image belongs to Diversion Books.

Robert Evert is a professor. His latest novel, Quests of the Kings, is a young adult fantasy.

Natalie is a 16-year-old peasant girl who works every job she can find to support her mother and her siblings, but options are limited for girls in her society. Natalie is determined to make a better life for her family, and dreams of the exciting life of an adventurer. But Natalie runs afoul of Brago, one of the most famous adventurers, and finds her life in danger.

While on the run, Natalie seeks help from Sir Edris and his squire, the only ones powerful enough to go up against Brago. She joins the kings’ quest for a golden harp, and starts to feel safe with her new friends. But Brago isn’t about to let Natalie—or those she loves—off that easily.

Quests of Kings had potential. A brave young woman, working to support her family in a culture that places little value on women in general:  there’s a lot of potential there. Except Natalie comes across as being needlessly defiant, thoughtless, manipulative, and a liar. There’s a lot of action in the book, but it’s mainly due to Natalie’s thoughtlessness. When people put their lives in danger for her, she just takes advantage of them and treats them however she wants. She is not a likeable protagonist, being almost as cruel as Brago—albeit just out of carelessness and thoughtlessness than sheer evil.

(Galley provided by Diversion books via NetGalley.)

The Bone Witch, by Rin Chupeco

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Image belongs to Sourcebooks.

Rin Chupeco writes books that mix fantasy with dark thrillers. The Bone Witch is her newest novel.

The women in Tea’s family are witches, but when teenage Tea raises her brother Fox from the dead—unintentionally—she learns she’s far different from the others. Her gift for necromancy makes her a bone witch, both feared and shunned by everyone she knows. Then an older bone witch arrives to take Tea and her brother far away for training.

Becoming an asha—one who wields magic—is the hardest thing she’s ever done, but Tea wants it more than anything. The intricate rituals, the esoteric knowledge, the combat training all prepare Tea for her new role. But training isn’t all that waits for Tea, and dark forces are rising in secret, set to destroy everything she holds dear.

From the book’s website: “Memoirs of a Geisha meets The Name of the Wind…” This is exactly what this book is! And since I loved both of these books, it stands to reason that I’d love this one. Which I did. I started off a bit confused, but gradually I got a grasp on everything. The cultures in this book are rich and intricate, especially the ashas’. There’s action, history, a little bit of romance, and a lot of magic…everything to keep the reader entranced until the very end. I highly recommend this book!

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(Galley provided by Sourcebooks via NetGalley.)

Portal of a Thousand Worlds, by Dave Duncan

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Image belongs to Open Road Integrated Media.

Dave Duncan started out life in Scotland, but moved to Canada as an adult. In addition to working as a petroleum engineer, he has published over fifty books. His newest novel is Portal of a Thousand Worlds.

In an Imperial China in an alternate nineteenth century, murder, shapeshifting, and dark magic are all commonplace things. But the Portal of a Thousand Worlds is about to open for the first time in a thousand years, bringing chaos, rebellion, and natural disaster with it.

Now the Firstborn—reincarnated through countless generations—is the only one who knows the future, and he’s imprisoned at the command of the dowager empress, who is hiding secret so large it would rock the entire nation to its core. Add in a rebel army led by a zealot, and several shapeshifting monks, and the stage is set.

Portal of a Thousand Worlds is not a fast-paced adventure story, yet it is filled with adventure, intrigue, and magic. Rich in historical and cultural detail, the setting takes center stage, and the characters are vivid and full of life. I recommend this to any fans of historical novels, and richly-detailed fantasies.

(Galley provided by Open Road Integrated Media via NetGalley.)

Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee

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Image belongs to Grand Central Publishing.

Min Jin Lee is the award-winning author of Free Food for Millionaires. Her newest novel is Pachinko.

Sunja is the daughter of a desperately poor Korean family in the early 1900s. To her mother’s shame, she ends up pregnant and unmarried:  Sunja didn’t know the father was already married, and walked away from him when she found out. A young minister offers to marry her, and they move to Japan before the baby is born.

Pachinko follows the life of the family as they live as Koreans in Japan. Ostracized and despised, the family struggles to find hope and success amidst prejudice and poverty. Forever despised because of their ethnicity, Sunja’s family retains their pride despite the obstacles they face.

Pachinko is not an easy book to read. The tales of the war and the havoc it wreaked in Japan are horrible, but so are the atrocities faced by Koreans living in Japan during the time, some of who were actually born in Japan but are still identified as Korean and discriminated against. The writing is a vivid description of the poverty-filled life faced by Sunja and her family, but also a moving description of love and strength beyond imagining. I highly recommend this.

(Galley provided by Grand Central Publishing.)

The Sky Between You and Me, by Catherine Alene

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Image belongs to Sourcebooks Fire.

Catherine Alene is a teacher who has battled an eating disorder. Her new novel is The Sky Between You and Me.

Raesha wants to win Nationals. It’s not just about competing and how great her horse is, it’s also about honoring the memory of her mother and they dream they used to share. This year, it’s also about beating the new girl on the team, who keeps flirting with Raesha’s boyfriend and hanging out with her best friend.

Lighter. Leaner. Faster.

This is all Raesha thinks about. She knows minus five on the scale will give her an edge in competition, will make her horse faster. It will also make her more like her mother. So Raesha focuses on minus five to the exclusion of all else, until she is no longer sure of who she is without it.

The Sky Between You and Me is a free verse novel, which I didn’t realize before I started reading it. I almost put it down, but I’m so glad I didn’t. The free verse puts the reader firmly in Raesha’s head, allowing them to see everything from her perspective, where Lighter. Leaner. Faster makes sense. But the reader can also see the destructive path Raesha is on, and wants desperately for her to fight her way free of the eating disorder that has consumed her whole life. A great read!

(Galley courtesy of Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley.)

Unpunished, by Lisa Black

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Image belongs to Kensington.

Lisa Black has worked as a forensic scientist. Unpunished is the second novel in the Gardiner/Renner books.

Maggie Gardiner is investigating the death of a copywriter at The Cleveland Herald, whose body was found late one night hanging from the printing machinery. Instead of a suicide, like first suspected, the death turns out to be murder, and is followed quickly by others, leaving Maggie no choice but to put her trust in the one person she doesn’t want to:  detective Jack Renner, whose dark secret haunts her every second.

For Maggie knows this dark secret:  that Jack is behind the vigilante killings that have eliminated murderers and other horrible criminals, criminals the law never gave justice to. But Maggie insists Jack stay on the right side of the law now, a pact that may haunt her, as Jack’s abilities may be the only thing that helps them solve the newspaper murders.

Unpunished was a new-to-me series. I love crime/forensic novels, and enjoy guessing the most unlikely characters as the murderer. While this novel had an interesting backstory, I think I probably would have enjoyed it more if I’d read the first one.

(Galley provided by Kensington.)

The Road to Enchantment, by Kaya McLaren

 

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Image belongs to St. Martin’s.

Kaya McLaren is a former archeologist turned author. Her newest novel is The Road to Enchantment.

When Willow was a girl, she watched as her mother set a mattress on fire in the front yard, roasted marshmallow Peeps over the flames, and said goodbye to Washington and her cheating husband, dragging Willow with her all the way to New Mexico and a new life next to an Apache reservation. At first, Willow struggled to fit in, then she just couldn’t wait to leave. Now she loves her new life in L.A. But one phone call from Darrel, her best friend back home, and everything changes:  her mother is dead, her boyfriend dumps her, and she finds out she’s pregnant.

Now Willow finds herself back in New Mexico, sorting through the memories of her old live, and trying to figure out how to pay back what her mother owed on the DeVine Winery and goat ranch so she can escape back to L.A. Now the small community she grew up in feels more like home than Willow ever imagined, and she must reevaluate what is truly important in life if she is ever to find happiness.

The Road to Enchantment is filled with the magic of an everyday life, with the simplicity that brings happiness, and the realization of deep truths present in every person. Willow is trying to find herself—without realizing it—and what she finds is not what she expected. I’ve never been to New Mexico, nor do I have any experience with life on or near a reservation, yet this book brought it to vibrant, shimmering life, tempting me to light my old life on fire and run away to a new life. A beautiful, evocative book!

(Galley provided by St. Martin’s.)

Dawn Study, by Maria V. Snyder

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Image belongs to MIRA books.

Maria V. Snyder is a meteorologist turned best-selling and award-winning author. Dawn Study is the third book in the Soulfinders series, but also the sixth (and last) book in the Study series, and the ninth book in the Chronicles of Ixia series. It hits shelves on January 31st.

Yelena and Valek have come a long way from their beginnings in a cell in Ixia. Now their bond goes beyond borders, and their family—both blood and heart—evokes loyalty even in the most trying situations. With their homelands on the brink of war, they must use magic and skill to stop Ixia from invading Sitia when nothing is as it seems.

The Cartel is determined to keep magicians and those in power under the spell of Theobroma—and to keep Yelena as far away from their plots as possible, despite her determination to beat them. With bounty hunters dogging her steps, she is forced to make a dangerous deal, while Valek investigates the layers of deception surrounding the Commander. The fate of both countries—and Valek and Yelena—rests on the most unlikely weapons, one that can help them, and one that may destroy everything they hold dear.

Dawn Study is the final Study book, which saddens me, since I’ve been reading this series since the beginning. The way Yelena and Valek have grown and changed since the beginning—a prisoner sentenced to death and the super spy who offers her a chance at redemption, as a poison-taster—is astonishing. Their relationship grew with each novel, and the bond between them now is rock-solid. They spend most of this book in water so hot I had no inkling how they’d escape. Even the “minor” characters in this series are memorable and vibrant. I cannot recommend these books highly enough. I’m sad the series is ending.

(Galley provided by MIRA books.)

The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden

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Image belongs to Del Rey.

Katherine Arden is from Texas, but has spent time in Russia and Vermont, so she now chooses Hawaii as her home. Her background picking macadamia nuts makes novel-writing look good. The Bear and the Nightingale is her first novel.

In the almost-everlasting Russian winter, when snow grows deep enough to cover houses, the only thing to do is stay inside and huddle together for warmth, telling tales to pass the time. Vasilisa loves this time with her siblings, listening to the fairy tales told by their nurse, especially tales of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon who appears in the night to claim unwary souls. Even the household spirits fear him, so wise men do likewise.

After Vasilisa’s mother dies and her father brings home a devout new wife from the city, the family is forbidden from honoring the household spirits. This frightens Vasilisa, who senses this is far more important than anyone knows. When the crops fail and forest evil takes its toll on the village, Vasilisa’s stepmother becomes even more determined to either force her into a convent, or a marriage. But with danger drawing ever nearer, Vasilisa must call upon powers she has long denied, if she is to protect her family from a nightmare straight from the words of her nurse’s most frightening tale.

The Bear and the Nightingale is not what I expected. It’s layered and complex—and cold!—with Russian culture infusing every page. Vasilisa is an unusual character; she’s so strong and determined, yet with a touch of sweetness to her fierceness. The fairy tales in this novel are not the Disney version most of us think of, but dark and forbidding like the original tales are. I really enjoyed this novel, especially because of its unique setting and voice.

(Galley provided by Del Rey via NetGalley.)

Local Writers’ Event and Reader’s Indecision

This week was fairly productive, considering it was the first week of grad school (Eep!). I did a tiny bit of writing—1,000 words or so—in The Fall, plus outlining 10 scenes in it as well. Having an outline made the writing flow pretty well. Something I know, yet I still started writing this story with no outline. Smart move, there.

I did a little outlining in the Witches revision, also. I’m sort of feeling my way with that, since I’ve revised the story several times, and this is more of a re-write than a revision, but I’m using the current draft as a guideline. We’ll see how that works out. My voice and style have changed significantly since I originally plotted the story.

Yesterday I attended a local authors’ event with a friend. It’s part of the library’s Year of the Book promotion. Each author had a table, and they each spoke for 10 minutes.

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Lineup of authors.

My friend and I went because we both love Rachel Caine’s work. (I’ve read The Morganville Vampires series, the Weather Warden series, the Outcast Season spin-offs, and her re-telling of Romeo and Juliet. I’ve been wanting to read her The Great Library series as well.)

Somehow, by sheer luck, we arrived about 15 minutes before Rachel’s talk, just in time to hear Sarah MacTavish. (I feel like I’ve heard of her, but can’t swear to it. I read SO MUCH that authors sometimes get a little bit mixed up in my mind sometimes.) I enjoyed her talk, and the short chat I had with her afterwards, and bought her book, Firebrand. Young adult fiction about the Civil War from an author who carries her supply of books in an R2D2 suitcase? I’m sold! I’m looking forward to the read, just as soon as I wrangle enough time from my schedule for it.

My purchases for the day:

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It’s been quite a while since I purchased physical copies of fiction. The bottom two books I bought at the event, the top three at B & N beforehand. I was so excited when I got home, but I had serious reader’s indecision:  What to read first?

Answer:  Firstlife, by Gena Showalter, because I’m hoping to get approved to review the second book in the series, and because I’ve been interested in this one for a while. Isn’t the cover gorgeous?

Confession:  I read the entire thing last night. Loved it! The concept is so unique, and the characters compelled me from the first page. You should definitely read this!