I only ever made it 43 pages into this book before I decided it just wasn't for me. I only ever made it 43 pages into this book before I decided it just wasn't for me. ...more
This book was so much and more. Other than kind of meandering toward the end, it was a near perfect read for me. Stunning, beautiful and so amazing toThis book was so much and more. Other than kind of meandering toward the end, it was a near perfect read for me. Stunning, beautiful and so amazing to read. I highly recommend this book to other readers. ...more
Let’s get this out of the way now. This book is trash. All the way, to the end of the road, it’s abAlright, alright. Alright, alright, alright.
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Let’s get this out of the way now. This book is trash. All the way, to the end of the road, it’s absolute trash.
And this was me:
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Gawd I loved this book. All the while I knew it was bad. Just down to it’s very core it’s a bad book. But it is so. damn. addictive.
So Shazi’s best friend Shiva has just been murdered by the King, Khalid. So she leaves her lover, Tariq and volunteers as tribute (sorry not sorry) to be Khalid’s next wife.
Now, let me get the complaining out of the way early.
Shazi is annoying. Like very obtuse. She is full of pride (which I love) but she’s very clumsy about how she goes about discovering the Khalid’s secrets (which I hate) – which basically boils down to her whining to him a lot about them instead of doing any real investigation. Then there’s the time when she pretends to everyone that she can’t shoot arrows and lets herself be goaded into revealing that, actually, she’s a great shot within like 5 minutes. Way to go, there Shazi.
Also, the romance is super instalovey and I never really bought it. Obviously, there was a sizzle or I would have been out the door so fast you’d have thought I was being chased by a bear. But when it came to their devotional love proclamations, I was left unmoved.
The writing is a little subpar but it’s nothing to cry about.
Also the plot. Shazi barely even tells the stories. Like, it happens a few times but mostly it’s so quickly done and over with and they’re very underwhelming so I’m not sure, like, if I were a blood-thirsty sultan, that I would spare her life for those stories. I mean, I’m just assuming here because I’ve never slaughtered dozens of innocent girls. Maybe if I did, I’d be as easily amused as Khalid was, I don’t know. THIS IS ALL CONJECTURE.
Okay. Deep breath. So what did I like about this book?
Gawd, I don’t know.
If I could pinpoint the magic that was The Wrath and the Dawn and bottle it up and sprinkle it over everything I would. There was just something, ultimately, very readable about it. It made me want to devour everything and never stop.
It was like doritoes, you know? You know they’re bad for you, but you can’t stop eating. So moarish. I need more. I’m reading The Rose and the Dagger immediately and not one of youse can stop me.
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This review and others like it can be found on my blog ...more
I don’t know if Cruel Beauty truly deserved five stars on merit but goddamnit I’m awarding it all the points for enjoyability. All of them. I loved thI don’t know if Cruel Beauty truly deserved five stars on merit but goddamnit I’m awarding it all the points for enjoyability. All of them. I loved the hell out of this story. The passion. The intrigue. Ignifex. Nyx’s rage. Ignifex. All the kissing. Nyx.
This book kind of had it all for me. Plot, mystery, intrigue and a whole lot of making out. It’s almost like Hodge was trying to distract me from the crazy plotholes and loose story structure. It was fantastic! I haven’t been this entertained by a book in ages. I immediately went out and bought a copy (I got mine from the library).
So if you’re into mythology and kissing and just looking for something eminently, page-turningly good, then this is your book.
This is only a mini review as I wrote a guide to Beauty and the Beast retellings here....more
It's time to admit that I'm just not finishing this book. I made a great effort though, reaching pretty much 90%.It's time to admit that I'm just not finishing this book. I made a great effort though, reaching pretty much 90%....more
Last Will and Testament started out really strong for me. Mostly because of Lizzie’s amazing narrative voice and unapologetic style. How unapologetic?Last Will and Testament started out really strong for me. Mostly because of Lizzie’s amazing narrative voice and unapologetic style. How unapologetic? Well the story starts out with her screwing another girl’s boyfriend when the police show up and inform her that her parents are dead.
Lizzie’s entire life changes then, when she has to adult-up and take on her two younger brothers while cleaning up her life at Radleigh university. To do that, she needs the help of her uptight TA, Connor Lawson.
Lizzie’s voice started out and remained the very best aspect of this novel for me. I would say there were a lot of great things about Last Will and Testament. Great characterisation, hot romance action, maintenance of drama and story line, good writing.
It was just the little things that got me, ya know? How quickly Connor and Lizzie’s relationship sparked up. The whole will-they-won’t they that came on really thick and fast and then just eased up abruptly in a way that made me question its legitimacy.
Don’t get me wrong, despite these criticisms it was still a great read, that I thoroughly enjoyed. And all the sexy times were greatly appreciated. No. Really.
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I just really loved Lizzie. Like so much. Such a flawed and well-rounded character. And Connor was delicious when he finally removed that stick from his ass. Oops, did I just say that out loud?
So whilst it wasn’t a perfect read for me, it was pretty damn good, and I think a lot of people are going to like this one....more
I described this book to my mother. “It’s about a chef who gets kidnapped by pirates. He has to cook a gourmet meal for the pirate captain once a weekI described this book to my mother. “It’s about a chef who gets kidnapped by pirates. He has to cook a gourmet meal for the pirate captain once a week. And this pirate captain, mom, she is AWESOME!”
My mom smiled knowingly, “Oh. And then they start getting it on like rabbits!”
I faltered for a moment, stalling while trying to explain. “No! It’s not a romance-romance. I mean, they do develop a relationship but it’s…not a focus in the novel.”
My mom seemed to understand, giving a confident nod. “So how does a teenager become a pirate captain?”
My brain stalled again. “No, um, the chef and Mabbot are middle-aged.”
This time, it was my mother was the confused one. “What are you doing reading this?”
She has a point. This isn’t my usual blog-reading fair. Not romance and no teens? Yet as soon as I saw this book on the publishing line up, I couldn’t resist getting it and I’m so glad I did.
This book was amazing. No-holds-barred, completely fantastic. I loved every minute of it.
No detail is spared and the level of research used in this novel is astounding. Obviously the biggest fascination for me was the seemingly-insurmountable task Wedge is faced with once a week. Preparing a gourmet meal on a pirate ship where food is scarce, basic and the kitchen rudimentary at best. Yet Wedge is a genius and his resourcefulness both in cooking and trying to escape was more than admirable. It was fascinating!
But obviously the biggest draw for me was the construction of the characters. Wedge, a pudgy, middle-aged, chef pitched against Mad Hannah Mabbot. She’s brilliant, fiery, passionate, endlessly-capable, fierce, blazing, outlandish, charismatic. If you can tell I loved her, good. Kids, when I grow up, I want to BE The Shark of the Indian Ocean, Mad Hannah Mabbot, Back-from-the-dead Red. I seriously need to start working on a badass pirate name like that. The journey they go through as Captain Mabbot chases The Fox, the King of Thieves, and evades the grimly determined Laroche while aiming to bring down the Pendleton Trading company is action packed, blood-soaked and utterly enthralling.
The writing is detailed and so incredibly nuanced. Wedge’s personality shines from every page as the fussy, prudish, cooking-obsessed Catholic man who has the world and his Regency-era appropriations torn down around him. The result is a much better person. Don’t be deceived. There are no alpha-males with rippling muscles, or chest-heaving women needing to be saved. Captain Mabbot would kick an alpha male in the teeth, tie him over a churning ocean and laugh madly while she robbed him blind. Wedge can only really beat a steak into submission, but he’s smart and passionate and lovely. Eli Brown has given me everything I wanted in a novel. A diverse cast, a delightful, realistic break from traditional gender roles and a gratingly beautiful human touch.
This book eats lesser pirate tropes for breakfast. Respect it’s authoritah or Captain Mabbot will have you keel-hauled.
This book was given to me for review purposes. I received no gifts, favours or money for this because why anyone would want to pay money for my reviews in beyond me.
I did not request this book, I didn’t even know it existed until a publicist in Australia sent it to me. “Read this or I will punch your ovaries in thI did not request this book, I didn’t even know it existed until a publicist in Australia sent it to me. “Read this or I will punch your ovaries in their still-beating hearts until they cry and explode.” Okay, maybe she didn’t use those exact words, but I like to imagine she was secretly thinking it.
I’m kind of glad she did mind-threaten me though because this book was fabulous with a capitol FAB!
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All the Truth That’s in Me follows the events of a small pilgrim-like town. Judith is the town pariah. She and her best friend disappeared two years ago. Judith returned home after an extended period of disappearance, her best friend did not. The town wants to know what happened to Judith, but she can’t tell them. Her tongue was cut out and she’s mute. The boy she was in love with, who seemed to care for her in return, is out of her reach.
Do you ever feel like the world is once again descending into an Atwood dystopia where women are judged on purity, looks and moralities that are valuable to men? Did you ever wonder what that would be like to live in? Thankfully, you don’t need to, because Judith lives in it. She loses any and all status in her town when she returns “spoiled” and suspicion lingers of her morality, derived from a situation where she was held prisoner at the hands of a madman.
But that rejection by her own family and society is also kind of freeing for Judith. She’s semi-invisible, untouchable, and also kind of free to be human – to be herself. She’s cut-loose to be this free-spirited, sexual being who longs for all the things she can’t have and, in a way, experience a better version of herself. Her situation allows her to see past the pitfalls and trappings of her grossly imperfect society, so that she can fight for her own value and worth.
The romance with Lucas is charming, lovely and heart-wrenching all at the same time. This novel manages to pack an emotional punch as well as remaining consistently noteworthy in its plotting, pacing and writing. I’ll be looking forward to future novels by Berry.
This ARC was provided to me by the publisher for reviewing purposes. This did not entice me to be any less annoyingly opinionated than I would otherwise be....more
I am so very, very glad I picked up another Maria V. Snyder book by getting my greedy little hands on Touch of Power, because I so very much love AvryI am so very, very glad I picked up another Maria V. Snyder book by getting my greedy little hands on Touch of Power, because I so very much love Avry and the world Snyder has constructed in Healer. The question is, can it hold up to the first book? Maybe it depends on the type of reader you are. For me it almost did, but not quite. That’s not to say that it wasn’t still a pretty damn enjoyable book.
There was much less of the long walking scenes in this novel and much more of Avry doing what she should be doing. Avryfying the world with her badassery. Allow me to list the good things about Scent of Magic:
1. Avry rocks.
2. Kerrick’s around but he’s not (Yup. You can see why I’m such a well-regarded reviewer, right?)
3. Kerrick becomes like 20% cooler. Like he went from being Douchetastic to likable. It was amazing, actually. Like magic.
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4. The shit that happened that I can’t tell you about because – Spoilers! (Doctor Who fans, just imagine I said that in a River Song voice with a cheeky wink.)
So this book is a lot more suspenseful and has a whole lot of new characters – which is the plus. Less walking, also a plus.
But it wasn’t perfect. If you’ve already read the reviews then you’ve likely heard the desperate pleas of fans for the ending which was just… no. I refuse to speak of it. That ending? Gah!
But the issue with the book was inherent in Touch of Power too, so it’s a little silly to complain about. But those Death/Life lilies are turning into a deus ex machina – and they were already a little bit like that in book one. However the magical discoveries of this majestic plant keep cropping up. It’s weird. You’re immersed in a magical, high-fantasy world where a woman can absorb people’s injuries but these freakin’ lilies seem unrealistic?!
Anyway, end result is that I am definitely reading the next one. This series isn’t perfect but there is addictive qualities to it as well as my not-insignificant crush on Avry.
Review copy provided for me by Harlequin AU for reviewing purposes. No money or gifts were exchanged for this review. Only love. Sweet, sweet loving....more
I’m not going to be short with the praise here. I loved Shadows on the Moon pretty hard. But this isn’t a light-hearted novel to be embarked upon by jI’m not going to be short with the praise here. I loved Shadows on the Moon pretty hard. But this isn’t a light-hearted novel to be embarked upon by just anyone. Hardcore epic fantasy fans used to large tomes, new worlds, language and speech that they’re not previously familiar with and novel pacing that takes its time, will be the ones who really get this book.
Suzume is a complicated character with an intense story to tell. Shadows on the Moon chronicles this sprawling, high fantasy tale faithfully and with great attention to detail. Once again, this will probably be something those familiar with the genre will appreciate. The nerdy details and pedantic chronicling of a new world and submersing yourself into it occupies a particular reading niche that’s not going to endear itself with everyone. This is a book for a patient reader, someone easily swept up in something different and amazing. A lot of it hinges on how you relate to Suzume, who I personally adored.
She’s not a typical heroine in that she is vengeful and very dedicated toward that revenge. Bloodthirsty and, at one point, vicious. She doesn’t lie to herself to make nice with the world, she doesn’t make up excuses for other people being horrible. She is an astute observer of human nature, intensely aware of the people around her – flaws and all.
The novel is flush with rich language, and gorgeous writing. Marriot takes her time in description to give form and purpose to every aspect she focuses on. I assure you I don’t want to wax poetical about this and, I’m about to sound really wanky when I say that she often manages to describe the essence of something just as much as what it is.
Steph will say that it just kind of moseyed along and stalled at points. I have a very respectful, well-thought out argument to the contrary.
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Don’t go giving me your reasonable, understandable criticisms! I won’t have it!
Of course, there’s two absolute scene stealers in the book: Otieno and Kano. Kano Akira, the fairy godmother, because she was just delightful and sweet and hilarious. Then Otieno because he was delightful and sexy as hell. I loved him so hard and that little lawn scene between him and Suzumi? DAMN girl!
Over all, I loved the writing, the attention to detail, the story telling and the characters. This is most certainly not going to be a book for everyone but it is one of the best damn Cinderella retellings I’ve ever read.
Kat Kennedy
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