Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie

**Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie is out in two weeks on Tuesday, September 8th! Don't forget to pick it up from your favorite bookseller!**

Two Year Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie. Random House Publishing; 2015. 304 pages. Ebook. 

***I received an advanced copy of this book to read and review courtesy of NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group***

I consider myself to be a rather eclectic reader; I can enjoy something in almost any genre, and I can, in a rather chameleon-like fashion, alter my state of mind to various styles of writing. Unfortunately, I couldn't get myself to enjoy this particular novel.

As a result of this, I have officially decided that Salman Rushdie's writing is simply not for me. That is not to say that it is not wonderful writing, as Rushdie has a lovely prose with intricate stories and details, but rather that his writing is just not my type of writing. I have read Midnight's Children and I began (though was unable to finish) The Satanic Verses. I did enjoy Midnight's Children, but I never really fell in love with either of his works. I read both of those a while ago, so I figured I would give Rushdie one more go. Unlike Midnight's Children, there are not hundreds of made-up words that will confuse you - a huge relief to me, I assure you. Two Year Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights is classified as magical realism, but it has plenty of much more fantastical elements to satisfy any fantasy-lover out there.

In brief, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights follows the story of Dunia, a jinn princess who, unlike normal jinn, falls in love with a mortal man and produces an abundance of offspring with him (seriously - we're talking births of ten to twenty kids at once here, supposedly) over two years, eight months, and twenty-eight nights. Eventually, years and years later, there is a great, unprecedented storm in New York that leaves the descendants of Dunia and her mortal man with strange powers: one man discovers he has begun to levitate off the ground and can longer put his own feet on solid ground; a baby is able to detect the corruption of any one person by merely touching them. All of this culminates in a struggle between dark and light forces, in which her descendants play a large and important part.

There are countless metaphors, symbolism, themes, and underlying messages that I think gives each reader the opportunity to dissect and devour it in their own way. Rushdie's prose is magical in itself: his words float along, perfectly capturing each moment before flowing smoothly into the next. Even in his long (very long), drawn-out informational lectures about the jinn, his words still read in a very lovely and elegant manner. It truly is magical novel, and the overall foundation of the novel is actually rather exciting and intriguing. I love hearing the details of the jinn and the overall fantasy/fairy story elements. Oh, and if there's one thing that one hundred percent, without a doubt understand and can take away from this story? The jinn really, really love sex.

The characters were hard for me to relate to. I felt a rather constant disconnect, and I felt more like an outsider viewing their stories from a great distance than actually being in and a part of their lives as I read along to find out what happens. Dunia is an intriguing character; the jinn don't normally feel many human-like emotions, nor do they generally consort with them, so she becomes unique in her relations with Ibn Rushd, her mortal lover. She tends to float back and forth between worlds, and provides a rather mysterious and complicated character for us to follow.

This is a dense book; the stories intermingle, the writing intermingles, and it continues to become more and more complex as it carries on. I found myself feeling confused and lost at multiple instances throughout the book. I honestly struggled to finish this, but something was tugging at me to carry on (plus, I knew I really wanted to write a review for it). The abundance of metaphors quickly become tangled up in one another, and I soon found myself losing interest at various points. The best way to describe my enjoyment of this novel is with the notion of random spurts of enthusiasm. I would be slogging through a particularly dense or uninteresting part, only to suddenly find myself enraptured in what was happening (I particularly enjoyed reading scenes with Mr. Geronimo). To me, this is a rather accurate depiction of the entire book: it has a somewhat random setup of involved scenes mixed with drier, more textbook-like informational writing. (Side note: I really love this cover, I think it adds a very simplistic yet symbolic image of the contents of the novel. It fits wonderfully - good job, designers!)

Overall, I am giving Two Year Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights  three stars, as it was both intriguing and beautifully written, but also confusing and lacking in engagement. I would recommend this to any who loves mythology, fairy tales, fantasy, magical realism, or deep, complex novels that seem to thrive on in-depth story lines. However, as I mentioned above, I do think this particular novel requires a certain type of reader, though I would encourage anyone interested to give it a try - you might just love it.

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The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Little, Brown and Company; 2013. 771 pages. Hardcover/Hardback. 

Is it possible to both like and dislike a book at the same time? To answer my own question: yes, it is, because that is how I feel about The Goldfinch. And that is exactly what I think makes it so great.

I have no idea how to succinctly summarize this book in a few sentences, but I'll take a stab at it: A young Theo Decker survives a terrorist bombing at a museum, where his mother does not, and he now feels ultimately responsible for her death. Before leaving the museum after the bombing, Theo steals a painting (though not entirely with the thought of stealing on his mind) that his mother adored, and spends the rest of the novel in deep, deep agony and anxiety over the thought of getting caught with it. However, the rest of the novel also follows Theo's extremely complicated life as he grows into a man, and also how he becomes involved in the dirty, gritty art-thief underworld.

I'm not sure when the last was that I was this conflicted about a book. There are pages and pages of details that could easily be removed in an annotated version (not that I'm suggesting there actually should be an annotated version - I don't). However, the book would lack much of its character without the details - they are part of what makes this novel work so well.  Dashes, as well as all other forms of punctuation, are used a lot, and there is a  major sense of stream of consciousness that permeates Tartt's writing and drags the reader along for a whirlwind of a ride. I love her style of listingHer writing is so strong and almost obnoxious at times that I wouldn't disbelieve someone having a physical reaction to it. I could feel myself panicking along with Theo; I could feel my heart racing as Tartt's sentences became short, hurried, and jumbled. It's not a very lighthearted book, but it's also not in-your-face dark. It sort of drags on in this somewhat negative, somewhat ho-hum manner.

The characters are also hard to love, but also hard to hate. At times, I understood Theo, but at others, I couldn't stand him or figure out what was going on in his head. Deep down, Theo is simply the result of fragmented and broken childhood, struggling to make terms with himself and figure out his own life. However, he doesn't really actively try to figure out his life; instead, he just goes along with the flow, letting life take him where it does. There are few instances where Theo decides that he is going to take the reins and do something his way, such as when he decides to leave Las Vegas. Even then, though, this was a direct result of other circumstances (which I will not mention so as not to add spoilers). Theo is quiet and reserved, yet also impulsive and risk-taking. All these qualities in Theo makes it hard to decide whether he is one that should be pitied for having such a difficult life, or disdained for his irresponsible and sometimes uncaring behaviour. 

We also have Boris. Where do you start with Boris? How does one even describe him? Boris is the son of a Ukrainian man that Theo meets in Las Vegas, who soon becomes one of his closest and only friends. Boris is free-spirited. He does what he wants, when he wants; he's extremely street smart, and seems to know everything, including how to get out of any sticky situation. Tartt does a really wonderful job of conveying Boris' accent; I swear I could actually hear that odd, English-learned-in-Australia-yet-Russian accent, and it was perfect.

There are so many other characters that I would love to delve into more, such as Andy, Hobie, Mrs. Barbour, Pippa, Kitsey, Xandra, and Theo's father, but I will refrain myself. Theo has many, many interactions with various people, and it is through these interactions that we begin to more fully understand who Theo really is as a person. Each relationship seems to reveal a little bit more about his personality, history, or opinions, and it provides a vast amount of information about Theo's character.

One other quick point I wanted to touch on regarding character relationships was Theo's relationship with his mother was also somewhat puzzling to me. There wasn't anything inappropriate, so I'm not implying that. But it didn't seem like the normal mother and son relationship; of course, everyone's relationship is different, but the way in which he reminisced and thought about their time together was displayed in an odd way. It was more like a long lost lover than a motherly relationship; he dreamed of their moments together, but not in a truly grief-stricken way. At the end, he mentions that 

The Goldfinch is really rather haunting. Even when I put the book down, I could feel it lingering around me; I could still feel that bleak, drug-riddled mania that Theo so often had. I felt like I was constantly reading this book, and it felt as though it was taking me ages to make it through. It's a depressing book. I never walked away from it feeling happy or satisfied; I felt, instead, as if I were missing something - it was an uneasy sort of feeling. That being said, it's still addicting. I went through many phases where I truly enjoyed the story, and others when I just wanted it to be over. By the last 200 or so pages, I just wanted it to be over. Unnecessary plot lines and events became too much and I needed to finish this book so that I could move on with my life. At times it was difficult to remember what the plot or point of this novel was, and I could never truly decide if this novel was more about Theo and the painting, or Theo's personal life and development. Despite this, Tartt's prose truly does have moments of utter beauty; there are many passages and quotes that I would love to share, but I will share just one that I feel exemplifies Tartt's meaningful, deep, and breathtaking style:

                     “That life - whatever else it is - is short. That fate is cruel but 

                       maybe not random. That Nature (meaning Death) always 

                      wins but that doesn’t mean we have to bow and grovel to it. 

                     That maybe even if we’re not always so glad to be here, it’s 

                     our task to immerse ourselves anyway: wade straight

                     through it, right through the cesspool, while keeping eyes

                     and hearts open. And in the midst of our dying, as we rise  

                     from the organic and sink back ignominiously into the organic, 

                     it is a glory and a privilege to love what Death doesn’t touch.” 

I've seen quite a few people compare this book's style to Dickens, and I can actually understand the reference. The wordiness, the long, long sentences, the over-exaggerated need to add extra details and information - it's all there. She also takes time to explore and comment on the various social classes that inhabit the many different places Theo visits. She also takes great care in delving into the lives and details of a wide cast of characters, even those that the reader may not particularly care about. There are also a lot of orphans running around in this vast book, which is, of course, reminiscent of Dickens.

Honestly though, I don't know who to specifically recommend this book for because it covers such a wide variety of subjects. There are drugs, art history, young boy/teen adventures, bad parents, good parents, thievery, antiques, international travel, and so much more. If you have time, patience, and a thirst for something different, then I would implore you to give The Goldfinch a chance. It is long, arduous journey, but I think you'll be just as intrigued by Theo's life and struggles as I was, and therefore unable to put that book down. Even when you do, it will still remain stamped in your memory, and for that reason, I feel it deserves four stars.The overarching theme that "life is short" is a beautiful ending to this book, and I believe that it is something that everyone can learn, and no one can ever hear too much. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

 A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Bloomsbury Children's; 2015. 416 pages. Ebook. 

I don't know how Sarah J. Maas does it, but I haven fallen in love with every single thing that I have read by that woman. After reading all of the currently published Throne of Glass books, (minus Assassin's Blade, but including Crown of Midnight and Heir of Fire), I'll be honest and say that I was a little worried that it would be too similar and the characters would have too many overlapping traits. Thankfully, however, it turned out to be a perfectly unique, innovative story that contains just as many magical elements, but in entirely new ways. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) is, at its core, a fairy tale retelling; it contains elements of the well-loved Beauty and Beast story, but in a very loose, dark, and twisted sort of way. ACOTAR tells the story of a woman named Feyre who accidentally kills a member of the fae one day while hunting, and is then forced to repay her debt by living in a Prythian court, where she is watched over by two fae known as Tamlin and Lucien. While living in her new world, she learns the struggles and secrets of the fae, and slowly begins to warm to her captors, all the while becoming caught up the political turmoil of Prythian.

The two biggest factors that I think are what made this book so successful were the wonderful combination of characters and setting. While this book does contain some pretty intense action, the bigger emphasis was placed on the relationships between characters, as well as individual character development. Feyre, for instance is a strong woman who is fiercely loyal to her family, despite her often negative feelings towards them. Throughout the entire novel, she is the one taking care of her family, while in return her family acts as if they could not care less about her. Her sisters are useless; Feyre must hunt and provide for her family while they sit at home and carelessly throw away any extra money that she makes on frivolous items. Thankfully, by the end of the novel Maas allows us to see more sides of the sisters' personalities, which helps us to both understand their actions and see how they can change. Although Feyre is not a weak character in the slightest, she enters the house of Tamlin as an rather innocent, naive person. She has only ever heard myths and tales about the fae, which leads her to believe that that is how all fae act; she is, as we soon found, quite wrong. As she adapts to her new living situation, she begins to learn more her 'hosts,' as well as the lives and struggles of the fae as well. 

Moving on to Tamlin... Where to start? Tamlin is such a unique and interesting character; I was immediately intrigued by his actions and words. His demeanor is reminiscent of your typical 'charming captor' trope, but it was also very different. When he first meets Feyre, he is in his fae form and acts rather frightening and harsh, but we are soon able to learn that he isn't really a truly cruel person at all. It was curious to watch as he struggled to be nice and charming at times, but then naturally charming at others, such as when he takes Feyre to a lovely little lake to enjoy the Spring Court's weather. His relationship with Feyre is slow to start, but soon takes off with fiery speed. What begins as a rather mutual dislike (or hatred, one could argue) soon turns into a passion that cannot be stopped. The chemistry between the two is spot on, and completely obvious. 

Lucien and Rhysand are the last two main characters that I would like to discuss. Lucien comes across as talkative and honest man who isn't really afraid to say what he thinks. He's like the charming, teasing older brother that may be distant and brutal at times, but is ultimately someone you care deeply for. He has faced great tragedy and upset in his life, and he uses that to fuel his everyday existence and strive for revenge against Amarantha. Where Lucien is a somewhat lighter, honest-but-friendly character, Rhysand is a much darker, deadly sort of person. He is suave and immensely persuasive. He is incredibly tricky, and his power is deadly, which quickly instills fear in Feyre. While he is seen as an enemy, he is also a form of an ally, aiding Feyre when she needs it the most. Rhysand was another character that was extremely intriguing to me. How far would he go to help Feyre fight against Amarantha? How does he really feel about the current situations occurring in his world, and how does he truly feel about Feyre and Tamlin? These are all questions that I hope will be answered in forthcoming books. 

Maas has deposited all of these wonderful character in a land called Prythian, made up of various courts of fae, which are currently be ruled by a terribly and delightfully wicked fae known as Amarantha, a perfectly evil villain with an intriguing backstory. I loved this setting. Maas' fantasy world contains many of the same elements of other fantasy worlds, such as the poor peasants struggling to survive, frightened by the mythical tales they've been told their entire lives, and lands separated by magic and non-magic, it is still entirely unique and magical in its overall imagining. I enjoyed the various glimpses at faery traditions, other members of the fae, and the variety of beasts that inhabit the land, such as the Naga, Attor, Bogge, and Suriel. Every element brought even more fantasy and excitement into the story.

Overall, I highly recommend ACOTAR. For me, the sign of a good book is when I constantly have a desire to read it. If I'm not reading it and I'm dying to pick it up and lose myself in the pages, I know it's a winner. A Court of Thorns and Roses left me constantly longing to pick it up at every moment. The characters, setting, and storyline were perfect, and for all of those reasons, combined with the sheer enjoyment it brought me, I am giving ACOTAR  a lovely five stars. It earned every single one.

If you like A Court of Thorns and Roses, you might also like:

Thrones of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. 

Helen of Troy by Margaret George

Helen of Troy by Margaret George. Penguin Books; 2007. 638 pages. Paperback/Softcover.

This massive tome by Margaret George tells the story of Helen of Troy, the woman whose "face launched a thousand ship." Married to Menelaus, she becomes queen of Sparta and endures a marriage lacking passion or desire. The gods, however (specifically Aphrodite), have other plans for Helen, and she becomes enamored with Paris of Troy, eventually running away with him and igniting the the infamous Trojan War.

I really, really wanted to love this book. I so badly did. I'm a classics major, so this is basically what I live and breathe and am obsessed with. It was a wonderfully written, extremely interesting book to read, but, unfortunately, I had a big problem with the characters - specifically Helen and Paris. I completely understand where this story is coming from and why the characters act in the manner that they do, but I became so annoyed with them at various times throughout the novel. At points, I really just wanted to grab and shake them while telling them to stop complaining - you brought this on yourself, so now live with your consequences. They knew this would happen (damn Greeks always trying to ignore and hide from prophecy when we all know it comes true every. single. time) I was also disappointed with the fact that Helen and Paris' affair never really moved me. I didn't feel caught up in their deep, passionate love; in fact, I almost didn't care. I almot wished Helen had just stayed at home in Sparta. I could obviously see how passionate they were, but I didn't really become a part of it like I had hoped I would. I never really enjoyed or liked Paris' character; he was rather bland and one dimensional. This also moves into the fact that while the story itself was supposed to be extremely emotional and heart-wrenching, it was actually rather emotionless. While the dialogue relating to war and politics sounded very accurate and real, the dialogue concerning emotions, such as between Paris and Helen, was lacking any real meaning, and again, made it hard to care or become invested in their story.

That little rant aside, it was a actually lovely book otherwise. I know, I probably sound contradictory. But honestly, it was beautifully written. The other characters were depicted wonderfully and I truly enjoyed them. The writing was seamless and poetic; it almost begs you to read it slowly in order to fully appreciate the beauty that can be found.

This is definitely a dense book, and it took me a bit longer to get through than other books of this side. There is a lot of information about the characters, politics, war, etc., and it can be a bit heavy and dull at times. I really appreciate the obvious amount of research and effort George went to in order to create an as-accurate-as-possible account of Helen and her involvement with the Trojan War, as it was by far one of the better retellings of Greek mythology that I have read. If she had taken that research and developed a slightly more emotional story, it would have made a much more intriguing novel.

Overall, I'm giving Helen of Troy three-and-a-half stars. I had a really hard time deciding between three and four, so I decided half works well. The story was written beautifully, but the characters lacked depth, and that was a pretty big problem for me, personally.

Books similar to Helen of Troy:

The Creation of Eve by Lynn Cullen

Both novels share a vibrant and elaborate storyline set in a richly described setting. The Creation of Eve centers on a female Renaissance Painter, Sofonisba Anguissola, as she becomes a painting teacher to Queen Elisabeth, wife of King Felipe II of Spain.

Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund

Much like Helen of Troy, Abundance focuses on a first person female narrative that is full of lyrical, poetic descriptions. Abundance follows the life of Marie Antoinette from her marriage to the Dauphin Louis XVI of France to her death in 1793.

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A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin

Update: Life has, once again, reared its ugly head and taken up much of my time in the form of school, internships, and general work and duties. However, I have finished what seems to be quite a few books recently, so now I just have to catch up and work on some reviews. A review for Haruki Murakami's (one of my favorite authors, in case you were wondering) Kafka on the Shore will be coming soon, along with a few other fun ones. The past few have been young adult, but I've been reading quite a varied assortment lately, so there will be a bit more variety in the upcoming reviews. :)

A School For Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin. Tor Teen; 2015. 352 pages. Ebook. 

**I received this book as an ARC courtesty of NetGalley**

A School for Unusual Girls will be released next Tuesday, May 23rd!

I was looking forward to this book so much. I even had it listed on my Anticipated Spring 2015 Releases.  Sadly, it did not live up to my expectations.

I don't normally post full summaries, but it was intriguing and promising, so I feel it is necessary to share:

"It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.

After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje Hous… She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their hearts..."

The beginning was equally promising; I was enthralled during the opening chapters, and also so excited that I had found yet another great book. Unfortunately, about halfway through I realized it was not going to continue in such a positive fashion.

One of the biggest issues I had with this novel was the pacing. Way too many things happened way too soon with little explanation or reason (I'll get into the lack of explanation after this). As in most books, there is, of course, romance. But this romance happens so fast that I am left holding the book wondering how in the world these two people could so quickly be passionately obsessed with one another. It's one of those "happens at first sight" things, and it is not executed very well. Besides the romance, though, the plot itself just move much too quickly. I felt like I had barely been introduced to characters or plot ideas before something new was thrust upon me.

Now, regarding the lack of explanation. There was too much mystery leftover. I can't even tell you exactly what it is that the girls do or how they are able to do the things they do because it's never explained.  i'm still confused. There are constant hints and foreshadowing about all the mysteries surrounding the Stranje house and the girls that live there, but they are left completely unanswered, which is extremely frustrated. You know how in some books the author leaves certain things unanswered and it really adds this mysterious and amazing element to the story that just makes it 100x better? Yeah, this is not one of those.

On a more positive note, Baldwin does have quite a lovely writing style. There is a nice rhythm to her writing that allows you to keeping turning the pages even though it's not the greatest story. ALong with this, the plot itself is quite imaginative. If executed differently, I feel that this book could have been much, much more enjoyable. The overall idea of having a house for "unfit society girls," who always appear to have some sort of secret, and a major quest for aiding a war is an extremely intriguing prospect. While I am not sure if I will continue the series or not, I do hope that Baldwin can clean up the issues found in this first book for the rest of her releases. 

A School for Unusual Girls will be receiving three stars. It was enjoyable, I'll give it that, but it just didn't hold up. The plot was loose, the storytelling a bit haphazard and rushed at times. Despite that, as mentioned above, it was still an entertaining read, and thus receives three stars. 

Also, as mentioned above, this book will be released next Tuesday, May 19th. If you're interested, don't forget to mark your calendars!

Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan Book Review

Robin Sloan. Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 2012. 304 Pages. Hardcover.
**I read this book and wrote it's review about a year ago, but for some reason never posted is. So, now here it is.**

This book was truly a lively and delightful read. It wasn’t filled with an overly dramatic or heavy subject matter, but was simply  a wonderfully entertaining book. I would actually say this book was the definition of entertaining.
This story follows the journey of a young man named Clay Jannon who finds a job at a quaint and quirky bookstore. While working the nightshift at this bookstore, Clay encounters a variety of unique and eccentric customers. The strange thing about these customers, however, is that they never buy any books; instead, they merely ‘check out’ the oldest books in the store. Clay soon discovers that there is much more to this bookstore and some of the books inside it than he thought. We, the readers, then follow Clay on his journey to decode the mysterious books and everything that goes along with them.

First, I love books (obviously). Because of this, I loved that this was one of those "books about books" and that the overall focus and aspect of the novel was... well, books. The bookstore itself was so entertaining to read about, with its huge, towering bookshelves and different varieties of books it contained (i.e. "regular books," the "Waybacklist").
.
When I first started this book, however, I don’t think I realized how much of a role modern technology would play in it. I feel that most authors who try to incorporate advanced ideas and technologies are either really successful at it, or fail miserably. Luckily, I found Sloan to be extremely successful in this endeavor. I found the topic itself to be very interesting, and I found myself intrigued by the programming and coding that was used throughout, no matter how accurate or inaccurate it may be. I think all of it added a really nice touch to the story.

There was also a very unique array of characters that each had an extremely distinct and entertaining personality; they brought such life and excitement to the novel. One of my favorite aspects of the novel was Clay himself. He had such a witty and refreshing narrative that truly captures you and transports you into the story.

The pacing of the novel was spot-on; I never felt that the story was too rushed. I also did not find myself getting bored from the  novel moving too slowly either. And yes, this book does seem a bit far-fetched at times, but it is fiction, afterall, and that is extremely understandable.

Overall, I found this to be an extremely well-written and exciting novel that I would definitely recommend to anyone. Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore will receive a nice four stars from me.

Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong

Sea of Shadows, by Kelley Armstrong. HarperCollins; 2014. 406 pages. Hardcover.

Sea of Shadows was a book that I stumbled onto on BookOutlet when they were having a huge sale and it was only $1.99. It seemed interesting, it was cheap, I was on a book-buying spree, and how can you say no to $1.99?

I must be honest, I don’t quite understand why this book has so many low reviews. I can understand a few, and even not having really high ratings, but not necessarily the really low ones. Many people seem to believe it was boring, and while I guess I can understand their view, I politely disagree. It was very engaging, and full of exciting action, folklore, and entertaining characters.

In brief, Sea of Shadows follows twin sisters Moria and Ashyn, the Keeper and Seeker, respectively, of a town called Edgewood. When their entire village is destroyed, they must venture on a journey to find out what has gone wrong.

The characters were very appealing, however I do think that each character needed to have a more defined and unique voice. Twin sisters Ashyn and Moria were lovely, entertaining characters, but not too different. Their personalities are described as being extreme opposites, Ashyn being shy and gentle, and Moria being much tougher and more outgoing. This is evident at times, but overall I think they had similar voices that sometimes made for little distinction between the alternating chapter viewpoints. However, I could also see their similar voices as being a method of showing how close both girls are; since they are Seeker and Keeper of Edgewood and twin sisters that have grown up very close together, it only makes sense that they might share similar voices or qualities. Supporting characters Ronan and Gavril were also quite a delight, but again, shared many similar traits, and to be quite honest, I’m not sure if I can even remember who accompanied each girl on their journey. Entertaining, but not overly memorable. I’m getting a wee bit tired of every single boy/girl pairing in a book ending up with some romantic setting.

I do feel that the story lacked adequate description and worldbuilding. While certain aspects were described in great detail (particularly violence), I did feel a bit lost in where exactly things were takig place, and what the culture of these places was. Another issue was the mirroring and repetitiveness that occurred throughout the story. It seemed like everything was the same: Moria and a companion travel and fight forces against them, Ashyn and a companion travel and fight forces against them. Perhaps this is a plot device trick for Armstrong, or perhaps it’s just a small lack of originality.

Kelley Armstrong definitely knows how to write. However, I do think I expected more. I’ve heard people rave and rave about Kelley Armstrong, but I had never had a chance to read anything until now. I thought the book was great, but not quite up to par with all the praise I’ve been hearing for Armstrong. I was a bit disappointed that the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, since I wasn’t necessarily planning on reading the rest of the series, but now I feel somewhat obligated, and I am interested to find out what will befall these characters.

Overall, it’s not the most memorable story. However, I still thought it was a very enjoyable read, and definitely worth a shot for someone that’s just looking for a good book to read. Because of this, I am giving Sea of Shadows 3 ½ stars.

Sea of Shadows comes out on Wednesday, March 3rd!

Empire of Night, book 2 in the Age of Legends series, comes out April 7th, 2015!

Weekly Wrap-Up 2/22-2/28

Since I'm finally starting to have a bit more spare time, I'm going to be start doing more weekly updates, possibly daily updates/themed posts. So to start that off, here is my weekly wrap-up for this week!

This week was a pretty slow week as far as finishing any books. However, I did manage to finish Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong. I really enjoyed it, and should have a review up by the end of the weekend!

Currently Reading:

Centurion by O.C. Shaw (courtesy of NetGalley)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (AMAZING)
Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch 

I'm hoping to finish these either this weekend or the beginning of next week, so then I can finally get around to finishing The Song of Achilles!

What books did you guys read this week?

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor. Little, Brown; 2014. 448 pages. Ebook.

I loved this book. I really, truly did.

The backstory (skip if uninterested): I first heard about it a couple of years ago when it first came out, thought it sounded interesting... but then quickly forgot about it and moved on. I don't think it particularly stuck out to me at the time. Then, as the years progressed, I kept seeing and hearing more and more about this book, and I added it back to my "to read soon" shelf. I finally picked it up (and bypicked it up, I mean checked it out from an online  library - heck yeah, love those things) on my Kindle. I don't really like reading on my Kindle, but I had absolutely no problem making it through this one.

However, I find it necessary to clarify: just because one may love a book, it does not mean that there were not elements that I did not enjoy. Okay, clarification over.

The review:

Laini Taylor is a serious master wordsmith. Her writing is a lyrical, flowing masterpiece. She knows exactly how to craft her sentences and words to create a perfect scene or emotion. With Taylor, simple says a lot. I can honestly say that her writing did not appear cliche'd in any manner, and truly seemed unique. It really helped with the creation of the world she has created, a world that is truly entertaining and remarkable. Taylor has also been able to incorporate some truly marvelous humour into her narrative that really brings color and life into the story.

Another aspect that I really enjoyed about this book was the characters. Taylor has created an extremely vibrant cast, each with their own distinct personality. They really have depth, as well, which, sadly, I have not been able to find lately in a lot of books. It was so entertaining to read the banter that went back and forth between the various characters. I also really liked the fact that her characters were so real. By that I mean that they weren't perfect. They make mistakes, they say and do stupid things, and they have realistic personalities ad reactions.

The only thing that I wasn't a huge fan of was the shifting perspectives and storylines. I tend to get confused fairly easily with books when they do this, and to be honest it just annoys me, so this bothered me a bit. However, I will say that it did not negatively impede the story or flow, and as you can see, I was still able to really enjoy the story.

I realize that this review has been slightly vague, lacking details about specific characters and such, but I really feel that this is a book that you should go into knowing the basic plot of, but not knowing too much about (not that it's bad if you know a lot). I honestly did not know much, and it just seemed to make it much more enjoyable for me.

So if you, like me, have been putting this book off for a while, don't do it any longer. Pick it up as soon as you can and just allow yourself to get sucked into this truly remarkable world. I've been in a  little bit of a reading rut lately, and it's been hard for me to lose myself in a book like I used to. With this book, however, it was so easy. Go grab a copy, and don't put it down.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. Eccos; 2014. 400 pages. Hardcover.

This book disappointed me. Now don’t get me wrong, it was still entertaining – but, sadly, disappointing. It was imaginative, but flighty. I couldn’t put it down, yet at times I wanted to do nothing but that. I think I had my hopes too high for this book. I had heard so much, and I truly believe it was simply too over-hyped.

The novel starts off with a young girl of 18, Petronella, – or Nella, as she prefers to be called – and her arrival in Amsterdam to begin her new life married Johannes, a merchant trader. This presented the first problem for me: her age. Although I know how mature women can be at the age of eighteen, Nella simply seemed too mature. She had the airs of a woman quite a few years her senior, and it simply seemed a bit too much. She did have quite a lot of naiveties, which was more realistic, but it didn’t quite match up to her supposed age. Her sophistication seemed to go beyond her years, especially for having grown in a rather average setting before moving to Amsterdam.

But alas, moving on. I truly enjoyed Burton’s writing. She has a wonderful grasp on using language to capture emotions and set up a scene. While I didn't necessarily enjoy the way in which she always used this language, which I will get to momentarily, I really do think Burton is a wonderful wordsmith, who truly is a natural and gifted writer. I immensely enjoyed her descriptions and language during moments of crises; it was a very simplistic style, yet it conveyed so much.

However, this brings me to my second issue: confusion. Although I loved the way in which Burton wrote and styled her story, I found it to be a bit confusing at times as far as plot was concerned. I found myself unsure of what was happening at times, largely due to the fact that her writing style does not always provide enough description or information about a scene or event that is occurring. Similarly, her writing style is one that leaves a lot up to the reader to deduce, and sometimes it is not as obvious as one would think.

Now, the characters. It was a fun cast of characters, each with their own extremely distinct personalities. However, I must say that they tended to be somewhat clichéd. Besides Nella and Johannes' sister, Marin, they weren't overly multi-dimensional or dynamic, as we did not see many sides to some of them. I suppose many people wouldn't see this as a flaw, but character development can truly make or break a novel, and this novel was rather lacking. 

Also, there is one aspect of the book that is left unexplained. And I must say, it kills me a little bit. There are times when authors can perfectly execute an “unexplained” or “open to interpretation” ending, but this was not quite one of them.

Overall, I would recommend this book, but not to someone who is overly picky about their books. It is an enjoyable read, and definitely interesting. As annoyed as I would become with this book at times, I found myself unable to put it down; I just had to know what would keep happening to this unfortunate group of people!

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