Tag: fantasy

YA

Review: The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Winner’s Trilogy #3

the winner's kiss -marie rutkoskiSome kisses come at a price.

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.

At least, that’s what he thinks.

In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they’ve done to her.

But no one gets what they want just by wishing.

As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win?

 

3.5 Drink Me Potions

I honestly may have expected too much from this book. The Winner’s Kiss is the dramatic conclusion of the Winner’s Trilogy, filled with battles and Kestrel’s cunning wit to outsmart her homeland’s emperor and entire kingdom. Including her father, the general.

It picks up right where the previous book left off, thank goodness. What with all the incessant misunderstandings in the previous novel, I was starting to think that nothing could ever get rid of that underlying frustration I get whenever Arin and Kestrel are near each other.

So with abated breath, the story continues with Kestrel hauled off to the Middle of Nowhere as a prisoner of war. Shocker. Her father betrayed her.

I have always loved Rutkoski for her ability to still weave a great story without the unnecessary drama of a love triangle. Yes, the amount of misunderstandings was overwhelming but in a different way. However, the obstacle that keeps our two favourite people apart this time was unexpected and kind of brilliant in its own rights. I had wished that, as the title states, Kestrel better get that darn kiss she so deserves, and Rutkoski doesn’t disappoint in that either. I won’t ruin any of the romantic nuisances of it, but I think it can be satisfactory even for the harshest critics out there. It satisfied me, after all, and I most definitely criticized this.

Along with the much awaited reunion and final understanding between them, the story also spiked up in action. With allies from another kingdom come to help, they may actually stand a chance against the forces of Valoria. I wouldn’t say the book lacked in any suspense, but at times, it just felt a little slow to me when the army’s moving from this place to that while assessing the dangers from all fronts. Sure, that’s Kestrel’s thing, but it didn’t help pick up the pace any more.

What could have possibly added to this bit of slowness was the way Rutkoski writes. I do enjoy the way she can poetically describe a scene. It’s not all that colloquial or conversational. It’s great. To an extent. This kind of writing also makes me feel, as the reader, a little more detached emotionally from everything that’s going on. We move from what Kestrel’s feeling, and then to Arin, and back. All in a couple of sentences. My heart just wasn’t as invested into it as I could have been, I suppose. This may just be something up with me though.

All in all, this conclusion was satisfactory, in particular the ending. It ended off with a twist right up Kestrel’s alley and I was left hooting for joy at the way it all was splendidly handled.

Overall Recommendation:
Written in the beautifully poetic prose that’s come to be expected by Rutkoski, The Winner’s Kiss somewhat lives up to its name and provides a resounding conclusion both in battle and in love for our protagonists Kestrel and Arin. I wanted to love it more, but the occasional slowness to the plot and emotional detachment made it hard. Overall, the story provides everything that Rutkoski promised: retribution for the Herrani and an epic adventure that Kestrel and Arin lead us through.

YA

Review: The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Winner’s Trilogy #2

the winner's crime -marie rutkoski

Book two of the dazzling Winner’s Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement… if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

 

2.5 Drink Me Potions

Kestrel’s adventures continue with The Winner’s Crime. Unfortunately, this one didn’t sit as well with me.

As you might come to expect of our dear protagonist, Kestrel’s cunning and oh so very smart. Where we left off from the previous novel, she’s in a dire predicament and her love, Arin, has no idea of what she’s done for him and his people’s sakes. Oh how I wanted to tear down a building in my frustration at that.

Here they were. Just about to really figure out that they loved each other, or that they could believe in each others’ feelings, but things tore them apart and now there are just HEAPS of misunderstanding.

This whole NOVEL is based on misunderstandings galore . From one encounter to the next, it’s like realizing the potential and strength of their love for one another is just on the tip of one of their tongues but SOMETHING, oh my goodness there’s always something, keeps them from confessing it or explaining their noble actions.

I won’t say that The Winner’s Crime suffers from Middle Book Syndrome. It doesn’t. There’s plenty of under-the-table kind of suspense building as kingdoms teeter on the brink of war. Alliances are made and broken. Where Kestrel and Arin stand as their worlds are about to fall apart may determine the outcome of their survival and their love’s survival.

But none of that CLOSURE happens in here. It’s like, so near the end, and I thought, YES, they’ve finally come to their senses about each other , only to have that dream dashed on the rocks. Kestrel’s got things up her sleeves that only her brain can really truly understand, but Arin, in his hurt, may ruin them all. So the kind of action and suspense in this middle book isn’t all-out fighting like its predecessor, yet it was still fascinating to see the heart of Valoria and the dark plots being hatched there.

I will end with this. The Winner’s Kiss better have a TON of making up between Aren and Kestrel. ‘Cause I’ve just about HAD it with their endless misunderstandings. I guess it’s one way of keeping up the romantic suspense without adding in a love triangle. I will, grumbling aside, acknowledge my thanks to Rutkoski for that fact.

Overall Recommendation:
The Winner’s Crime began where the previous book left off with our favourite cunning Kestrel trying to manipulate things from the heart of Valoria. However, she’s playing a dangerous game and the suspense racks up as we see how the dominoes may tumble from her actions. Meanwhile, the romantic suspense is just about killing me as Arin is bitter and has no idea of what Kestrel’s done for him. Where there seems to be moments and chances for reconciliation between the two, it never quite reaches that point in this book, thereby dashing away a higher rating and making me wanna hit my head against a brick wall. I will say you gotta read this (or at least skim this) as there’s essential plot twists here, but otherwise, I would save my breath for the final conclusion.

YA

Review: The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Lady Helen #1

the dark days club -alison goodmanNew York Times bestseller Alison Goodman’s eagerly awaited new project: a Regency adventure starring a stylish and intrepid demon-hunter!

London, April 1812. Eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall is on the eve of her debut presentation at the royal court of George III. Her life should revolve around gowns, dancing and securing a suitable marriage. Instead, when one of her family’s maids disappears, she is drawn into the shadows of Regency London.

There she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few chosen to stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons that has infiltrated all levels of society. Carlston is not a man she should be anywhere near, especially with the taint of scandal that surrounds him. Yet he offers her help – and the possibility of finally discovering the truth about the mysterious deaths of her parents.

Soon the two of them are investigating a terrifying conspiracy that threatens to plunge the newly Enlightened world back into darkness. But can Helen trust a man whose own life is built on lies? And does she have the strength to face the dangers of this hidden world and learn the truth about her family’s legacy?

Set in the glittering social world of the Regency upper crust, The Dark Days Club is a supernatural adventure that introduces New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman’s Lady Helen Wrexhall – another heroine whom like Eona, readers can take to their hearts.

4 Drink Me Potions

The Dark Days Club reminds me of all the reasons why I adore historical fantasies. With the delicious and dark setting of the Regency era in London, we follow the perfect heroine in her journey into the paranormal world living right beside her.

Lady Helen wasn’t immediately what you would expect of a heroine in a high fantasy novel. She wasn’t necessarily abhorrent to the life of a lady in 1812. Countless parties, mindless gossip among the peerage and entrance into the society as a woman, she was groomed for this. Not some evil-fighting secret club. So it’s no wonder that she wasn’t exactly all gung ho for the craziness that tends to follow hunting inhuman creatures known as Deceivers.

There wasn’t as much action as I would have expected for the length of the book, but where it lacked in exciting fights, the extreme detail of the time period was amazing and not as tedious as one may think. The descriptions into Lady Helen’s world really immersed you into this time period of London. I will admit, I’ve always loved a good book in historical London. Normally it’s Victorian London, but Regency London was absolutely perfect for the setting of the novel. Civil unrest was coming what with the illness of the King and the antics of the French with Napolean Bonaparte. This was perfect for an evilness creeping into the world that the Dark Days Club was hoping to avoid.

There is a whole lot of background setting for the series in this first novel. It gave a chance to understand the numerous characters that were introduced. Helen was very easy to like. Hung under the black cloud that was her mother’s traitorous reputation and her uncle’s very male-dominant views, it wasn’t easy to be a less-than-submissive woman. I loved her strong belief in her mother, and later, her hard decisions when it came to figuring out what she was. Her want and loyalty to treat others kindly, including those who were under her on the societal ladder like her maids, made me admire her more. She was a nice balance of learning independence without being overbearingly arrogant of herself but still being a team player requiring support from others at times.

As for the romance part of this story, unfortunately there wasn’t a whole lot of it. Lord Carlston was, however, the perfect potential partner for her. He himself had a scandalous reputation to the rest of society, that wasn’t fully explained yet in The Dark Days Club. One can hope it’ll be fleshed out in the next one ’cause I’m very anxious to know the answer. He was a great mentor to Lady Helen, but the delicious undertones of other possibilities to their relationship made me very hopeful that there’d be TONS more to the two of them next time. (Here’s to hoping, at least. Please, Ms. Goodman?) In a way, I’m kind of glad romance wasn’t a huge part in this book. It may have taken away from the glorious introduction of the world of Deceivers and the people born to fight against them.

A historical fantasy novel may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but hold that yawn for a second and give this a try. Goodman’s thorough research into the era and depictions of certain real life figures in that time period enhanced the setting while still making it her own unique creation. Lady Helen’s adventures will suck you in as she dives into a dark world of monsters living among men. There may have been the odd moment of slower pacing, but overall, The Dark Days Club is everything and more that it promised to be. Intrigue, a bit of murder mystery and hints of romance, this novel is purely a delightful read.

Overall Recommendation:
The Dark Days Club features a protagonist learning to be courageous in a world of evil that has just opened up to her. With both familiar historical figures and well-thought out characters, Goodman presents a beautifully realistic setting in Regency London. Well-paced and immersive, we follow Lady Helen’s adventurous introduction into inhuman creatures known as Deceivers, all the while mentored by the mysterious and handsome Lord Carlston who may also hold more than just friendly feelings. Although explicit romance was kept to a minimal, the dark intrigue and descriptive feel of the novel provides more than enough excitement to last the length of the novel. Here’s to hoping for more of Lady Helen’s adventures (and a bit more romance with Lord Carlston) in the coming sequel! A definite recommendation.