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Book Review: The Winters in Bloom by Lisa Tucker

The Winters in Bloom by Lisa Tucker

  • Method of Obtaining: I received an advance copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Atria Books
  • Release Date:  9.13.2011
        

Together for over a decade, Kyra and David Winter are happier than they ever thought they could be.  They have a comfortable home, stable careers, and a young son, Michael, who they love more than anything.  Yet because of their complicated histories, Kyra and David have always feared that this domestic bliss couldn’t last – that the life they created was destined to be disrupted.  And on one perfectly average summer day, it is: Michael disappears from his own backyard.

The only question is whose past has finally caught up with them: David feels sure that Michael was taken by his troubled ex-wife, while Kyra believes the kidnapper must be someone from her estranged family, someone she betrayed years ago.

As the Winters embark on a journey of time and memory to find Michael, they will be forced to admit these suspicions, revealing secrets about themselves they’ve always kept hidden.  But they will also have a chance to discover that it’s not too late to have the family they’ve dreamed of; that even if the world is full of risks, as long as they have hope, the future can bloom.

Lyrical, wise, and witty, The Winters in Bloom is Lisa Tucker’s most optimistic work to date.  This enchanting, life-affirming story will charm readers and leave them full of wonder at the stubborn strength of the human heart.

I also recommend:

My Review:

When I picked up The Winters in Bloom by Lisa Tucker I was definitely in the mood for some family drama reading. I got chills with the opening section and felt immediately connected to this small, 5-year old child named Michael. Then, he was whisked away and the story began to unfold.

The Winters in Bloom is a novel that explores not only the disappearance of Michael, but the past histories of his parents. Both are overly cautious for reasons of their own. For David Winter, it was tragedy of one kind, and for Kyra, tragedy of another. And both their pasts intersect in a twisting, winding turn of events that had me guessing until the end of the book.

While I enjoyed very much the “unputdownable” nature of The Winters in Bloom, I do have a bone to pick with it, however. The introduction of the book gave me this awesome, fantastic character in Michael and, aside from a few moments here and there throughout the story, there really wasn’t much more time spent with him. As a result, what time there was spent with him seemed a bit gimmicky – like he was fairly one-dimensional and, as a result, the end of the book came off as a bit fake. I wanted to feel a powerful emotion of some sort when I got to the ending pages, but instead, I found myself speeding up my reading just because I wanted to finish and had lost that momentum of caring about Michael after the big reveal of who did it happened.

With that said, the rest of the book leading up to the reveal? Kept me guessing and was highly entertaining.

Check out what these bloggers had to say!

Teresa’s Reading Corner | Romancing the Book | That’s What She Read

 

 

 

Lydia
19 May, 2013
Contemporary, Mystery, reviews
0 comments
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Book Review: Shattered Pillars by Elizabeth Bear

Shattered Pillars (Eternal Sky #2) by Elizabeth Bear

  • Method of Obtaining: I received an advance copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Tor
  • Release Date:  3.19.2013
        

The Shattered Pillars is the second book of Bear’s The Eternal Sky trilogy and the sequel to Range of Ghosts. Set in a world drawn from our own great Asian Steppes, this saga of magic, politics and war sets Re-Temur, the exiled heir to the great Khagan and his friend Sarmarkar, a Wizard of Tsarepheth, against dark forces determined to conquer all the great Empires along the Celedon Road.

Elizabeth Bear is an astonishing writer, whose prose draws you into strange and wonderful worlds, and makes you care deeply about the people and the stories she tells. The world of The Eternal Sky is broadly and deeply created—her award-nominated novella, “Bone and Jewel Creatures” is also set there.

I also recommend:

My Review:

Picking up where Range of Ghosts left off, Elizabeth Bear dives right in with Shattered Pillars – action and strange names galore. Having just finished the first book of this series, I felt somewhat prepared and even more so, excited to see where the adventure would lead.

The development of Edene in this book is one of the most important storylines, I think. But in spite of its importance, it reminds me a lot of the storyline of a certain dragon lady in George R.R. Martin’s popular series. No, Edene is not surrounded by dragons, nor is she a hot, blonde HBO actress. What I mean is that when I read GRRMs books, I knew there was something important going on in that thread of the story, but I just didn’t care enough to figure it out. Then, when I started to watch the HBO series by the same name – I got it. I just needed to see it brought to life. I think the same applies to Edene. From what I understand of what is going on, there’s a lot of gross stuff happening around her and it’s strange and confusing and I have a hard time caring (other than how it affects Temur). But I know it’s important, so be sure to pay attention to that story…I know I forced myself to.

Now…Temur, I have no problem paying attention to. I love the story there and really am enjoying the exploration of the world through the various religious practices and especially the way the world is set up. There’s action, adventure, questing, and politics all happening in a setting that is the most exotic setting I have been exposed to.

Really looking forward to seeing how this series wraps up. If you are looking for a complex story to satisfy your cravings until the next “big” book comes out, I do recommend you look into this one.

Check out what these bloggers had to say!

Val’s Random Comments | Fantasy Cafe | Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

 

 

 

Lydia
18 May, 2013
Fantasy, reviews
0 comments
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Book Review: Firebrand by Gillian Philip

Firebrand (Rebel Angels #1) by Gillian Philip

  • Method of Obtaining: I received an advance copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Tor
  • Release Date:  2.19.2013
        

At the end of the sixteenth century, religious upheaval brings fear, superstition, and doubt to the lives of mortals. Yet unbeknownst to them, another world lies just beyond the Veil: the realm of the Sithe, a fierce and beautiful people for whom a full-mortal life is but the blink of an eye. The Veil protects and hides their world…but it is fraying at the edges, and not all think it should be repaired.

Discarded by his mother and ignored by his father, sixteen-year-old Seth MacGregor has grown up half wild in his father’s fortress, with only his idolized older brother, Conal, for family. When Conal quarrels with the Sithe queen and is forced into exile in the full-mortal world, Seth volunteers to go with him.

But life beyond the Veil is even more dangerous than they expected, and Seth and Conal soon find themselves embroiled in a witch-hunt—in which they are the quarry. Trapped between the queen’s machinations at home and the superstitious violence of the otherworld, Seth must act before both of them are fed to the witch-hunters’ fires…

I also recommend:

My Review:

I’ll readily admit that, after the initial scene in Firebrand hooked me, it took a while for the book to regain the momentum it had in the prologue. But, ultimately, it did get there and I am excited to write this review because Firebrand was a book that, once it hooked me, it wouldn’t let me put it down until I finished it.

Gillian Philip takes the Sithe (I’m assuming they are similar to the Sidhe? but may be wrong here), a people who live on one side of the “Veil” and writes them into a world that is placed, apparently, into the medieval human times. An interesting contrast comes out of this, as the Sithe are ruled by a woman, are proud of their female warriors, and have a post-modern sense of morality (i.e. homoesexuality, polygamy, etc). The story follws a young, Sithe boy who was born out of a union between a witch and the captain of a dun who, now, is involved in a relationship with another witch. The young boy, Seth, is unloved by both of his parents and, in the beginning of the story, forms a bond with his older brother who is the only one to accept him.

Firebrand walks a fine line. There are quite a few world shifts as Seth and his brother move from the Sithe world into the human world and back. Yet, those shifts are needed in order to keep the story moving and Philip has definitely set the pace for the upcoming books in the series.

The only real issue I had while reading Firebrand is the lack of development between the character Catriona and Seth. Because of Catriona’s lack of voice (and her convenient receiving of voice at one point) she felt more like a plot device than an actual character that contributes to the story. This was magnified by the ultimate fate of Catriona at the end of the book.

Still, this was a fun novel and I’ll be looking forward to seeing the next installment when it is released.

Check out what these bloggers had to say!

Bibliophilic Book Blog | Little Red Reviewer |Anna’s Book Blog

 

 

 

Lydia
17 May, 2013
Fantasy, reviews
2 comments
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Book Review: Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear

Range of Ghosts (Eternal Sky 1) by Elizabeth Bear

  • Method of Obtaining: I received an advance copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Tor
  • Release Date:  3.27.2012
        

Temur, grandson of the Great Khan, is walking away from a battlefield where he was left for dead. All around lie the fallen armies of his cousin and his brother, who made war to rule the Khaganate. Temur is now the legitimate heir by blood to his grandfather’s throne, but he is not the strongest. Going into exile is the only way to survive his ruthless cousin.

Once-Princess Samarkar is climbing the thousand steps of the Citadel of the Wizards of Tsarepheth. She was heir to the Rasan Empire until her father got a son on a new wife. Then she was sent to be the wife of a Prince in Song, but that marriage ended in battle and blood. Now she has renounced her worldly power to seek the magical power of the wizards. These two will come together to stand against the hidden cult that has so carefully brought all the empires of the Celadon Highway to strife and civil war through guile and deceit and sorcerous power.

I also recommend:

My Review:

If I had not received the sequel to Range of Ghosts from the publisher, I can honestly say that Range of Ghosts would never have entered my radar. I’m fairly picky when it comes to my high-fantasy, and one of the qualifications is that the strange-name to familiar-name ratio be fairly balanced. Range of Ghosts was definitely not balanced.

However, I took the leap and purchased Range of Ghosts because I am unable to just dive into the second book of the series without having read the first. To be honest, about 100 pages in, I thought I was just going to have to suck up a loss because I just couldn’t get into the story. Then things started to happen.

So if you are like me and struggle with strange names and terms and trying to get your imagination wrapped around an extremely detailed and exotic world, let me lay out for you a little bit of the things you might just see in this series.

First, each kingdom has a different sky. You know which kingdom you are in by looking up – and the skies change according to who is in power. Cool, right? Yeah, I thought so once I figured it out.

Second, fluid sexuality is alive and thriving in this book. Characters can switch from male to female and back due to special circumstances.

Third, horses named Dumpling are fantastic characters. I won’t spoil the surprise.

Fourth, females (barren and fertile) have immense power. I loved this aspect of the book and, frankly, it’s a strong reason for why it’s receiving this review. I am fascinated by Edene, awed by Once-Princess Samarkar, and a little bit in animal love with a certain tiger.

I would recommend ignoring the summary of this book, as it just doesn’t do the complex nature of the story justice. Take your time, get to know the characters, and rest assured by the end of this first book, you will be rewarded.

Check out what these bloggers had to say!

The Little Red Reviewer | A Fantasy Reader | Neth Space

 

 

 

Lydia
16 May, 2013
Fantasy, Mythology, reviews
0 comments
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Book Review: Mending the Moon by Susan Palwick

Mending the Moon by Susan Palwick

  • Method of Obtaining: I received an advance copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Tor
  • Release Date:  5.14.2013
        

Melinda Soto, aged sixty-four, vacationing in Mexico, is murdered by a fellow American tourist.

Back in her hometown of Reno, Nevada, she leaves behind her adopted son, Jeremy, whom she rescued from war-torn Guatamala when he was a toddler—just one of her many causes over the years. And she leaves behind a circle of friends: Veronique, the academic stuck in a teaching job from which she can’t retire; Rosemary, who’s losing her husband to Alzheimer’s and who’s trying to lose herself in volunteer work; Henrietta, the priest at Rosemary’s and Melinda’s church.

Jeremy already had a fraught relationship with his charismatic mother and the people in her orbit. Now her death is tearing him apart, and he can barely stand the rituals of remembrance that ensue among his mother’s friends. Then the police reveal who killed Melinda: a Seattle teenager who flew home to his parents and drowned himself just days later.

It’s too much. Jeremy’s not the only one who can’t deal. Friendships fray. But the unexpected happens: an invitation to them all, from the murderer’s mother, to come to Seattle for his memorial. It’s ridiculous. And yet, somehow, each of them begins to see in it a chance to heal. Aided, in peculiar ways, by Jeremy’s years-long obsession with the comic-book hero Comrade Cosmos, and the immense cult of online commentary it’s spawned.

Shot through with feeling and inventiveness, this is a novel of the odd paths that lead to home.

I also recommend:

My Review:

When I received Mending the Moon by Susan Palwick from Tor, I have to admit, I was taken in by the pretty packaging. It’s beautifully bound, has a gorgeous, simple cover, and I wanted to pick it up and read it right away. So I read the inside description and I was immediately moved from interested to confused. Tor is well-known for publishing fantasy and sci-fi (through the Forge imprint) so what was a book about grief and murder doing in my hands?

I almost let it get to me. Almost. So let this be a lesson – don’t let first impressions get the better of you.

What I found in this book were many, many good things. First, it’s smart writing. I’m graduating from a small, liberal arts college this Saturday, and the descriptions in this book (from both students and teacher’s perspective) of college life are spot on. Especially the literary class descriptions. In fact, I found myself wanting to take a course that was described and it actually gave me a research bug of my own. But it’s not all the school part that is the smart writing – it’s all just intelligent, good, solid, story-telling.

Secondly, there is never any promise about answers. Because that is not what this book is about – the jacket flap will tell you that much. Instead, through a rather genius way, the story is told through a mirror. That mirror? The medium of a comic-book-type set of heroes created by four computer science kids. It’s actually quite brilliant… and once I understood what was happening the Tor publisher clicked for me.

What I love most about this book was it reminded me that fantasy fiction isn’t all high fantasy or urban fantasy. It also includes comic book heroes, Korean dramas, Japanese manga… you name it. Fantasy is fantasy – it’s taking real life and seeing it through unusual means. And it doesn’t require a dragon – a comic book hero works quite as well.

 

 

 

Lydia
7 May, 2013
Contemporary, Fantasy, reviews
0 comments
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Book Review: The Iron King by Maurice Druon

The Iron King by Maurice Druon

  • Method of Obtaining: I received an advance copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  HarperCollins
  • Release Date:  3.26.2013
        

The Iron King – Philip the Fair – is as cold and silent, as handsome and unblinking as a statue. He governs his realm with an iron hand, but he cannot rule his own family: his sons are weak and their wives adulterous; while his red-blooded daughter Isabella is unhappily married to an English king who prefers the company of men.

A web of scandal, murder and intrigue is weaving itself around the Iron King; but his downfall will come from an unexpected quarter. Bent on the persecution of the rich and powerful Knights Templar, Philip sentences Grand Master Jacques de Molay to be burned at the stake, thus drawing down upon himself a curse that will destroy his entire dynasty…

I recommend:

  • Here be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman
  • The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth
My Review:

I love good historic fiction and, when I saw that George R.R. Martin endorsed The Iron King, I figured I’d be in for a good ride. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.

I don’t know why exactly this story fell short for me. There are several things I can think of that are just small things that got to me, but it is quite possible that all those small things just added up to me not enjoying myself while reading this book.

The first thing was the language. It may have been a translation issue (this was originally written in French), but the story did not flow at all. Sentences were stiff and awkward at times. The transitions did not flow, at all. Moments that were just wrought with angst and horrible scenes that begged for tears, were not just written clinically, but almost glossed over as well. Having just read Geoffrey of Monmouth’s The History of the Kings of Britain this semester, I can say that I’ve read some difficult British history that could run circles around the story in this book.

The second thing I had a hard time with is the jumping from one story to the next. I understand that there were a lot of things that led to the 100 years war. Afterall, what war didn’t start as a result of many little things leading up to a big act? But in a relatively short (340ish pages) book, it’s nearly impossible to cover each thing in a manner that gives credit to where it is due. As a result, as I was bandied back and forth between characters, I felt the story was incredibly rushed.

Finally, the story itself. The first two things quite possibly affected how I interpreted the story, but it just didn’t seem interesting enough to be put down in anything other than a history book. The most exciting moment in the book was during the execution of two men, and even that was only given a cursory paragraph. I’m not bloodthirsty, don’t get me wrong, but I was hoping for a bit of drama to make me want to keep picking up the book.

Overall, I’d say give this one a pass. Pick up Geoffrey of Monmouth’s book, or something by Sharon Kay Penman if you are looking for a bulky, but still interesting historical read. And if you are hoping this will give you your Game of Thrones fix while you wait for the next episode/book, let me just apologize in advance. I wish someone had warned me.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

CaffeinatedLife | Dark Matter

 

 

Lydia
5 May, 2013
Historical, reviews
0 comments
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Book Review: A Half Forgotten Song by Katherine Webb

A Half Forgotten Song by Katherine Webb

  • Method of Obtaining: I received an advance copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Orion
  • Release Date:  5.28.2013
        

A spellbinding tale about the power of love, the danger of obsession, and the unfaithful nature of memory. A Half Forgotten Song is by turns haunting, heartbreaking and joyous.

1937. In a village on the Dorset coast, fourteen-year-old Mitzy Hatcher has endured a wild and lonely upbringing, until the arrival of renowned artist Charles Aubrey-along with his exotic mistress and their daughters-changes everything. Over the next three summers, Mitzy sees a future she had never thought possible, and a powerful love is kindled in her. A love that grows from innocence to obsession; from childish infatuation to something far more complex. Years later, a young man in an art gallery looks at a hastily-drawn portrait and wonders at its intensity. The questions he asks lead him to a Dorset village and to the truth about those fevered summers in the 1930s.

I recommend:

My Review:

Finally! My faith in Katherine Webb has finally paid off. When I received an advance copy of A Half Forgotten Song I wondered if this would be the one, the book to finally push me past that “meh” feeling I always get at the end of Webb’s novels and it pushed me… and then some.

I love a good, dark, gothic, love-lost story. The setting in A Half Forgotten Song immediately set the pace for the tale: a rotting cottage on a cliff in the windy, cloudy coastal area of England. The characters: a wrecked father and ex-husband about to lose it all, a somewhat crazy old lady, and an artist long dead. With a skillful touch, Webb weaves the story between the present and the past and slowly reveals bit by bit of the story that had me completely spellbound. And, even as the clues were revealed, I did not know for certain what the end result would be until I reached the end of the story – how I love it when that happens!

This book has haunted me these past few days. I’ve been unable to study, write, or even watch mindless television because each of those things were encroaching on the time spent in this book. I needed a book like that to get me reading again and now that my appetite has been awakened, I cannot wait to dive into the other stories on my shelves.

I just cannot explain how happy I am that my gut feeling about Katherine Webb, and my continued faith in her, has proven to be true. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

The Chronicles of Radiya | More than a Reading Journal 

 

 

Lydia
3 May, 2013
Favorites, Gothic, Historical, Literary Fiction, reviews
0 comments
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Book Review: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

  • Method of Obtaining: I purchased my copy.
  • Published by:  Scribner
  • Release Date:   1925
        

In 1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald announced his decision to write “somethingnew–something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned.” That extraordinary, beautiful, intricately patterned, and above all, simple novel became The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald’s finest work and certainly the book for which he is best known. A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, Gatsby captured the spirit of the author’s generation and earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies some of Fitzgerald’s–and his country’s–most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new beginnings. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter–tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…. And one fine morning–” Gatsby’s rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about the American Dream.

It’s also a love story, of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby’s quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying, but extremely rich Tom Buchanan. After the war, Gatsby devotes himself blindly to the pursuit of wealth by whatever means–and to the pursuit of Daisy, which amounts to the same thing. “Her voice is full of money,” Gatsby says admiringly, in one of the novel’s more famous descriptions. His millions made, Gatsby buys a mansion across Long Island Sound from Daisy’s patrician East Egg address, throws lavish parties, and waits for her to appear. When she does, events unfold with all the tragic inevitability of a Greek drama, with detached, cynical neighbor Nick Carraway acting as chorus throughout. Spare, elegantly plotted, and written in crystalline prose, The Great Gatsby is as perfectly satisfying as the best kind of poem

I recommend:

My Review:

Wow, what a difference a few years makes. In preparation for the upcoming movie, I picked up The Great Gatsby as the first pleasure of the summer. I remember being in a bit of a fog when I read the story back in 2010, and I think I sped through it quickly sometime in late 2011, but this time.. this time there was something special.

I firmly believe that there are times when the right book is picked up for that time in your life. As I look forward to changes, from graduation to a move thousands of miles away, I needed a story that not only had lush imagery, but also heart-breaking tragedy. It wasn’t necessarily that I felt strongly for any of the characters, although I did feel a bit of an affinity for Daisy Buchanan this time around, but instead I felt sorrow for how empty the life of Gatsby was. I think this is also because I have been immersed in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (and that series first made me aware of the 1919 World Series story, which was mentioned in Gatsby!) and I have been made super-aware of how lavish life isn’t all its cut out to be. Money does not power make, and this story is a prime-example of that. For all of his money, Gatsby never actually achieved or acquired what he wanted, and then when he made that decision to enter his pool in an attempt to actually enjoy a part of his life…well, you know. (Trying to stay away from spoilers – even though this is an older book.)

I cannot wait to see the spin that Leo DiCaprio puts on Gatsby and I think that the descriptions and over-the-top style that makes this book such a beautiful thing will translate well to the screen.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

An Unexpected Book Blog | BookNeedLove | Lara’s Book Club

 

 

Lydia
1 May, 2013
Comedy, Historical, Literary Fiction, reviews
0 comments
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Book Review: The Typewriter Girl by Alison Atlee

The Typewriter Girl by Alison Atlee

  • Method of Obtaining: I received my copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Gallery Books
  • Release Date:   1/29/2013
        

In Victorian London, there’s only so far an unmarried woman can go, and Betsey Dobson has relied on her wits and cunning to take herself as far as she can—to a position as a typewriter girl. But still, Betsey yearns for something more…so when she’s offered a position as the excursions manager at a seaside resort, she knows this is her chance for security, for independence, for an identity forged by her own work and not a man’s opinion. Underqualified for the job and on the wrong side of the aristocratic resort owner, Betsey struggles to prove herself and looks to the one person who can support her new venture: Mr. Jones, the ambitious Welshman building the resort’s pleasure fair. As she and Mr. Jones grow ever closer, Betsey begins to dream that she might finally have found her place in the world—but when her past returns to haunt her, she must fight for what she’s worked so hard…or risk losing everything.

I recommend:

My Review:

I had high hopes for The Typewriter Girl by Alison Atlee. I mean, I read that this book would be for lovers of Kate Morton and trust me… I’m right up there in fangirl status when it comes to Morton. So I thought okay – great recommendation, great cover, interesting premise, and feminist leanings! Perfect!

But it wasn’t so perfect. What I expected was to read about a woman who, in spite of the limitations placed on her by the time she was living in, managed to rise above it all and make a life for herself. What I got was a book about a woman who, in a nutshell, needed to be rescued by a male in spite of being broken.

There’s a big difference there between expectation and reality. Were my expectations unfounded? Let’s look, as this is in the books description:

“Underqualified for the job and on the wrong side of the aristocratic resort owner, Betsey struggles to prove herself and looks to the one person who can support her new venture: Mr. Jones, the ambitious Welshman building the resort’s pleasure fair. As she and Mr. Jones grow ever closer, Betsey begins to dream that she might finally have found her place in the world—but when her past returns to haunt her, she must fight for what she’s worked so hard…or risk losing everything.”

So we have an underqualified woman, Betsey, who is struggling to prove herself. We have a Mr. Jones, an ambition man. They grow close, that’s to be expected. Betsey begins to dream she may have found her place but something returns to haunt her so she has to fight for it all or risk everything?

Now that can be taken two ways. The way I read it was that Betsey and this ambitious Welshman had managed to create something together, in spite of Betsey’s underqualification and past history. And that something they managed to create appears as if it might be something connected to the resort – right?

Big disappointment here. What I got instead were sex scenes, some steamy, some not. Crude language (does not equate a forward thinking woman, rather it tore at the character of Betsey). Blame placed on herself, a devaluation of women who are unable to conceive, the need for knights on white horses to come swooping in and fix it all – and then some. I was sincerely disappointed by the character of Betsey and felt as if I’d been duped. As I read I kept thinking.. surely here is where Betsey comes into her own – but what was revealed was that Betsey’s own was simply a desire to be like every other woman of the time.

Unfortunately, this is not a story I can recommend. Instead seek out authors such as Isabelle Allende, Barbara Kingsolver, and Margaret Atwood for strong, forward thinking women.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

 One Little Library 

 

 

Lydia
28 January, 2013
Historical, reviews
0 comments
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Book Review: Sacrifice by Cayla Kluver

Sacrifice by Cayla Kluver

  • Method of Obtaining: I received my copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Harlequin Teen
  • Release Date:   10/23/2012
        

This is not the time for the fight to end. Now is when the fight will begin. This is the time to regain what has been lost.Alera

Queen of a fallen kingdom, secretly in love with the enemy.

Shaselle

Daughter of a murdered father, rebel with a cause.

One lives behind the former Hytanican palace walls and walks the razor’s edge to keep the fragile peace in her beloved homeland. The other slips through the war-torn streets, seeking retribution for her family’s tragedy, following whispers of insurgency.

Both face choices that will separate them from those they cannot help but love. As their stories intertwine, a conspiracy ignites that may end in slavery or death—or lead to freedom anew, if only each can face what must be sacrificed.

I also recommend:

My Review:

Once again I am blown away by the complexity of this story. Sacrifice by Cayla Kluver is the third (and final I believe) book in the Legacy series and all of the main players have been maneuvered into places that seem nearly impossible to get out of.

I’ve been following this series since the release of Legacy and it is one of the series of books that I do not have to go back and reread in order to remember where I left off. Within a few pages of Sacrifice it all came rushing back to me – fluttering of my heart included. I felt like a teenage girl all over again.

There are a few things about Sacrifice that make it worthy of your time (and the series as a whole). While the romance aspect is there, Sacrifice centers around two very strong-willed, very determined young women who, ultimately, have to make choices that are difficult and necessary in order for the world to continue in a way that makes sense. I was at peace with where both characters ended up and throughout the entire book kept wondering where exactly Kluver was going to go next. I simply could not figure a way out of their predicaments without the story losing some of its quality, but it worked and it worked well.

This series has a little bit of everything (and some beautiful covers!) and it comes highly recommended by me. I wish I’d been able to get my teenage hands on books like these.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

The Reader Bee | Dark Faerie Tales | Alexa Loves Books

 

 

Lydia
26 January, 2013
Fantasy, Favorites, reviews, Young Adult
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