Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Review: The Great Pursuit by Wendy Higgins

March 21, 2017April 18, 2017 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Eurona Duology #2

the great pursuit -wendy higgins In The Great Pursuit, the dramatic sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Great Hunt, Wendy Higgins delivers another thrilling fantasy filled with dangerous enemies, political intrigue, searing romance, and a princess who is willing to do everything to protect her kingdom.

One hunt has ended, but the pursuit for love and justice continues.

The kingdom of Lochlanach has traded the great beast that once terrorized the realm of Eurona for something far more dangerous: the ire of powerful Lashed woman Rosaria Rocato. Rosaria demands that Eurona overturn the laws prohibiting magic, or an innocent will be killed each day.

Despite the king’s resistance, Princess Aerity believes they must make peace with the Lashed, and though she’s accepted a betrothal to the man who took down the beast, she cannot help thinking about Paxton, the Lashed man who stole her heart and disappeared.

Aerity soon discovers that Paxton has joined Rosaria’s army in the war against her family. Though her feelings for him are still strong, her duty to her kingdom and her family is stronger—especially when her parents are kidnapped and she has to step up to the throne and once again put aside what’s best for her in order to do what’s best for her people. Paxton and Princess Aerity must fight to see what is more powerful: their love or the impending war between the magical Lashed and the non-magic humans.

4.5 Drink Me Potions

The Great Pursuit wraps up a duology in a way that fit my expectations and some. With mysterious intrigue about the evil Rosaria and her plans for the Lashed, this story has elements that would excite different readers.

Starting back very closely from where the previous novel left off, our protagonists are all in a bit of a pickle. Aerity is being rushed to marry Lief, who previously won her hand for killing the first beast that terrorized the land. Her actual love, Pax, is on the run into other kingdoms following the Zandalee women, fierce warriors who showcase the power and might of women instead of the traditional male-dominant role. And Aerity’s cousin, Wyn, fancies Lief while it’s obvious that someone else who’s more worthy of her attentions is left with his unrequited love.

What a love-mess. Fortunately, I thought it was more fun untangling this than I thought it would be, and all my ships have come true. But that’s besides the point (unless that was something you desperately wanted to know too).

Facing off not just one enemy, but two, the powerful Lashed army is coming upon them and they don’t even know it. I normally appreciated Aerity a lot for her stance against her country’s laws on the Lashed and for how selfless she was to sacrifice her own wants for the better of her kingdom, as a true leader should do. At times, it was still difficult as of course the ship game is strong for Pax, but at least I got it.

I felt the romance took up a large space in this story, yet there still felt like it was balanced well with the action parts that took up the rest of the plot. Nothing was going to be the same again in this kingdom if they wanted Lashed and un-Lashed to get along with each other like they once did. This particularly trope reminded me a lot of Marie Rutkoski’s The Winner’s Curse trilogy and I think it similarly looked into this element. Although how it was developed and managed was quite different between the series, Higgins managed to still deliver a heart-pounding story that I gobbled up in a matter of hours.

Oh, and did I mention there was such a HOT scene with Pax and Aerity? My wait since The Great Hunt was definitely rewarded.

Overall Recommendation:
The Great Pursuit delivered the perfect ending that I had wanted, almost wrapped up in a neat bow without it getting too stiflingly perfect. From a world divided and lovers separated, this story brought together battles facing off cunning foes and romances that were just as I had hoped. Aerity is still the strong-headed leader she’s been becoming since before and each of these characters learn more about what it means to live in a world that’s changing. I think fans of the first novel would be satisfied with this ending.

Review: The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May

February 25, 2017April 19, 2017 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Falconer #2

the vanishing throne -elizabeth may Everything she loved is gone.

Trapped. Aileana Kameron, the Falconer, disappeared through the fae portal she was trying to close forever. Now she wakes in an alien world of mirrors, magic, and deception—a prisoner of the evil fae Lonnrach, who has a desperate and deadly plan for his new captive.

Tortured. Time after agonizing time Lonnrach steals Aileana’s memories, searching for knowledge to save his world. Just when she’s about to lose all hope, Aileana is rescued by an unexpected ally and returns home, only to confront a terrifying truth. The city of Edinburgh is now an unrecognizable wasteland. And Aileana knows the devastation is all her fault.

Transformed. The few human survivors are living in an underground colony, in an uneasy truce with a remnant of the fae. It is a fragile alliance, but an even greater danger awaits: the human and fae worlds may disappear forever. Only Aileana can save both worlds, but in order to do so she must awaken her latent Falconer powers. And the price of doing so might be her life…

3 Drink Me Potions

The Vanishing Throne was just as imaginative and epic as its predecessor, filled with character development and lush new settings and mysteries.

First off, can I just say that I’m so glad Aileana isn’t constantly harping on about revenge and what not in her mother’s killer in this book? It was a major turn-off in the first book as her bloodlust drove her to do irrational things and the descriptions of how it overtook her was just getting tiring.

That’s not to say that she doesn’t have things that happen to her in this book that wasn’t worthy of being mad about. It starts right off where we last left our hero. Trapped in some underground world with their number one enemy. Things pretty much stay level on the action department from there. I felt so bad for her as her strong spirit was slowly broken down and her physical body tormented in cruel ways. Fortunately, they don’t stay in this world for long in the book, which surprised me as I assumed this part of the story arc would last longer.

But of course, this allows more time for the other familiar characters from book 1 to appear. Derrick is such a sweet little thing, with a fiercely loyal spirit to Aileana and love for honey. We get to know more about him and his people in this story, including the weird history that he and Kieran share. Speaking of our resident bad boy, a TON of things about his past and who he was were answered, although many more questions popped up just as soon afterwards. He’s a lot softer than I remembered him being in the first novel, but I suppose feeling love towards another human could do that to you. The romance was unrushed, but at the same time, it felt a little lacking for me. I totally love this ship but my heart just wasn’t captivated by it so much in this book.

What disappointed me less was the overall story plot. After getting back to Scotland, things were so very unlike what they were in the first book. Time has passed (after all, fae time differs greatly from human time on Earth) and people Aileana knew had changed after facing horrendous events in the aftermath of the Wild Hunt in Edinburgh. While this completely different setting, and their new camp base, intrigued me, the action (aka battles) weren’t as suspenseful or mysterious as I anticipated. Don’t get me wrong, crazy things go down as their enemies close in on their surviving human base, and of course a certain few fae were really gunning for our girl Aileana. Some of the events that occurred just felt a bit predictable overall.

Although exciting things do happen with regards to this main story arc, no matter how predictable, I felt this book suffered a little. I can’t quite pinpoint how. It seemed to have the makings of everything I could want in a fantasy to make me quite happy, yet I felt my attention swerving to another book and it took a while to finish this book after a long break. This could’ve just been me and the exciting books I read prior to it, so don’t feel too disappointed yet with this sequel. That ending! Oh my goodness, it really sets things up for the next and last book. I’m pretty sure some big head-to-head is coming our way. So stay tuned and just get through this one. I’m sure it can be enjoyable for quite a few readers who loved The Falconer.

Overall Recommendation:
The Vanishing Throne continues with our brave heroine, Aileana, as she tackles one-on-one with a fearsome foe. Although there are plenty of scenes that should leave you breathless with anticipation and excitement, something just didn’t hit me right with this book. Maybe it was the pace which sometimes felt a little slow, or the romance that just didn’t seem to excite me as much as it should. But with plenty of imaginative additions to the fae lore and familiar secondary characters playing a different role in this book, I’d say this sequel should satisfy most fans even if it didn’t quite do the trick for me.

Review: The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid

February 23, 2017February 26, 2017 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Diabolic #1

the-diabolic-sj-kincaid A Diabolic is ruthless. A Diabolic is powerful. A Diabolic has a single task: Kill in order to protect the person you’ve been created for. Nothing else.

For Nemesis, that person is Sidonia, heir to the galactic Senate. The two grew up side by side, and there’s no one Nemesis wouldn’t kill to keep her safe. But when the power-mad Emperor summons Sidonia to the Imperial Court as a hostage, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia.

She must become her.

Now one of the galaxy’s most dangerous weapons is masquerading in a world of corrupt politicians and two-faced Senators’ children, and Nemesis must find within herself the one thing she’s been told she doesn’t have—humanity. With the Empire beginning to fracture and rebellion looming, that could be the one thing that saves her and the Empire itself.

3.5 Drink Me Potions

Wildly imaginative and set in a futuristic universe that feels familiar yet still so foreign, The Diabolic would’ve made a bigger impression on me if the first 50% hadn’t dragged in its information dump.

Setting the tone

I was at first very intrigued by how S.J. Kincaid crafted this futuristic world where humanoids were almost human (yet so much cooler and better in some ways!) and this complex religion was revered in honour of the great Cosmos who created this universe. From holographic communications to weird, traditional dances and etiquette, imaginative would definitely be the word to describe the beauty of the world building here.

The protagonist, Nemesis, was also very unique. As a Diabolic, she was one of those humanoids, but crafted for a specific, single-minded purpose: to protect the one she was chemically bonded to when young.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about her in the beginning. You can’t help but feel empathetic at first when you see how she was reared before meeting her master. It wasn’t pleasant, and definitely not humane. But I suppose since she wasn’t thought of as “human”, they don’t require all those excessive human luxuries, now do they?

But she wasn’t always the easiest person to love either. She was crafted to protect her master, Sidonia Impyrean, so that meant she had to be strong and ruthless to do whatever it took to ensure Sidonia’s safety and happiness.

And those Diabolics took their masters’ safety VERY seriously. Even the slightest offense or action or reckless behaviour could have Nemesis honestly considering whether to just kill this person or not. Her less-than-human thought process wasn’t always so easy to connect with her.

While this initially had me excited about the book, the novelty eventually wore off as the story slowly dragged. Things from the synopsis we knew was going to happen took forever to get there, and once Nemesis was hiding out at the Emperor’s place pretending to be Sidonia, it still took AGES to get the ball going. Like, what was the main arc of this book? Where was the excitement going to start happening? I don’t want to just read about Nemesis’ struggles in fitting in and just more fun facts about what these royals and spoiled teens do (although some of the activities they do seem rather fun–ahem, interesting chemical enhancement tech anyone?).

It wasn’t until like at the 50% mark that it truly started picking up my interest. And I’m surprised I made it there as there were times where I contemplated just not continuing.

What was with that sloooowww burn romance that popped up?

I always had a feeling that the infamous, mad (as in crazy) nephew to the Emperor who was next in line for the throne would be the potential love interest for Nemesis. He had more sides to him than you would think, although our first introduction to him in the book may not have immediately suggested that. But there would always be inklings of suspicion as why else would the author introduce us to him then?

Tyrus’ eventual relationship with Nemesis, especially after finding out who she was, was beautiful. I have no words. It had my heart pounding cheering them on even when they weren’t sure if they could truly trust the other. They were both so used to having to rely on themselves, but for different reasons. They were lonely and vulnerable people, yet they couldn’t show that to the outside world. They had to be emotionless. But with each other? They could afford to just BE. How beautiful is that?

I loved that it was realistic and it wasn’t instant. It took time for the both of them to get to the point where a healthy relationship would even be possible. And in the midst of this budding romance, the action wasn’t forgotten. HERE’S where the main arc of this story started popping up. Time to overthrow the evil emperor!

So for the next 50% of The Diabolic, my heart was racing and I was on the edge of my seat to hurriedly finish this darn book already! If only this thought had hit me like, 25% earlier! Could’ve saved me some time and stress over not loving a book.

If anything could save this book, I do think Tyrus’s relationship with Nemesis would. It definitely boosted my rating by A LOT.

Surprises and what not

I didn’t think this book had it to surprise me in any way. The romance was predictable (albeit written in a very delicious manner), and the main arc wasn’t a huge surprise either once the heat started packing to get it done.

However, a couple of things did manage to raise my eyebrows in a huh, I didn’t see that coming moment.

One would be Sidonia Impyrean. I didn’t dislike her, but I didn’t love her either. She didn’t seem to have too much of a backbone, unlike Nemesis. Clearly I could tell that she cared for Nemesis just as much, viewing her as if she was part of her family although a made “creature” such as Nemesis wasn’t really considered anything to love, let alone respect. She surprised in ways that I can’t really say without giving away spoilers. But I will admit that in hindsight, she wasn’t as one-dimensional as I initially pegged her.

The other would be the absolute cleverness in which the plot weaved itself towards the end. You have certain expectations of what’s gonna happen, but the HOW is still up in the air. Well, Kincaid really had a lot of fun with this how. And I will say that Tyrus is one mad genius! Wish I had a guy like him who thought 10 steps ahead as my friend.

But the most surprising was how much I ended up liking Nemesis. She wasn’t the cold-hearted creature I thought she was. Just because others thought she couldn’t feel (and in turn made her believe it too) didn’t mean that she was emotionless. She may have been created, but she still felt. As she navigated learning what it meant to live for herself for once, I think it explored many central themes, but especially towards a path of self-enlightening.

If these things couldn’t get your heart racing and excited nearer to the end, then maybe it’s just that sci-fi isn’t for you. Otherwise, hold onto your seats. You can get through the first half for a story that does deliver in the end! (Though I’m not sure how it’ll continue with book 2 and 3 when it ended at such a nice place here….but I’m not complaining!).

Overall Recommendation:
The Diabolic was smart and imaginative as it created a futuristic universe that was both familiar yet still so different. I enjoyed learning more about how the system ran here, who was in charge and the unique humanoids that were created for certain purposes. Enter our protagonist, Nemesis. She wasn’t easy to love at first, but she grows on you as you follow her adventures. You’ll cry (or its likeness as she can’t technically cry) with her, rage with her and fall in love with her. Kincaid’s story started off on the wrong foot, but I would think sci-fi fans would enjoy this addition to the genre.