Tag: fantasy

YA

Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Syrena Legacy #1

of poseidon -anna banks

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma’s gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom…

Told from both Emma and Galen’s points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

 

 

2.5 Drink Me Potions

Of Poseidon is like staring at a car accident on the highway – or should I say, like a shipwreck in the ocean? It’s kinda sad, not all too great to look at, yet there’s something oddly addicting that draws the eye towards it either way. That is exactly how I felt towards this novel.

First off, the romance between Galen and Emma is eerily instant. They feel some “pulse” that makes them curious and oddly attracted to each other? Uh, it could’ve gone so much better with the girl meets boy scenario that was first introduced at the beginning of the story. It just left a sour taste in my mouth seeing their reactions to each other, in BOTH POVs.

And beyond the not-so-believable love attraction, the absolute worst aspect of this? The terrible characterization of the female leads.

Emma, honest to goodness, is one of the worst protagonists I’ve had the chance to follow. She is exasperating and annoying. How many times can a girl say Ohmysweetgoodness in her head? And said it in THAT way too. Ok, I can live with her naivete and her more annoying traits. But does it stop there? OH NO.

She has the WORST temper. One minute she’s okay, and the next there’s this “uh oh” look on her face that tells you she’s gonna do something awful ’cause a temper tantrum is brewing. She could be throwing you out – I mean, through – a glass window in the next second and you wouldn’t know what hit you.

That’d be the glass window you’ve just been thrown through, by the way.

She also toys with Galen for the most bizarre reasons or motives. I just don’t understand how he can stand her and her mood swings. Even I have a hard time figuring out what her motives are and I’m a girl.

“Galen, do you mind?” Emma says, drawing a distracting circle on his arm with her finger, sending fire pretty much everywhere inside him. He recognizes the mischief in her eyes but not the particular game she’s playing.
“Get whatever you want, Emma,” he tells her. With a coy smile, she orders seventy-five dollars worth of candy, soda, and popcorn. By the cashier’s expression, seventy-five dollars must be a lot. If the game is to spend all his money, she’ll be disappointed. He brought enough cash for five more armfuls of this junk.

Like…what just happened there? If you say that’s exerting dominance in a relationship, well that’s one messed up way of doing it. And it’s definitely not what one should do in a fun and loving relationship. This scene also popped up in the middle of nowhere. I was blinking in astonishment at her games. Like, who the hell does she think she is? She also doesn’t even eat all of it and just ditches it later.

Besides Emma, there’s also Galen’s twin sister, Rayna. If you think Emma’s awful, I flipping don’t know what to think of Rayna except I absolutely would wring her neck if I knew her personally.

She’s a spoiled princess who craves attention. If you don’t give that to her, she’ll play her games with you to draw it out. Toraf, the one guy who, for I dunno what reasons, honestly loves her could only get her attention by playing hard to get. But even when finally succumbing to probably the best thing she’d ever get in life, Rayna constantly throws her own tantrums and acts like some self-righteous idiot. Like she’s the best thing there is and Toraf should do whatever she dictates to him. It doesn’t help that he actually would do anything for her, probably including grovelling at her feet all day.

“What’s Toraf’s favourite color?”
Rayna shrugs. “Whatever I tell him it is.”
I raise a brow at her. “Don’t know, huh?”
She crosses her arms. “Who cares anyways.”

Did I mention she’s selfish and never listens to what anyone says, even if it’s for her own good?

Why the heck do all the main female portrayals represent tantrum-throwing as a good thing because they get rewarded by their men falling for just this thing, rephrased in a better way as their feisty spirits? ‘Cause honestly, I’d be fed up and tell them to grow up. And soon.

So why did I just not give up? Well, Of Poseidon was hard to look away. It was mesmerizing watching it sink further and further in the characters’ crazy antics. I didn’t really care for any of them. It was just amusing to see the “twists” that weren’t really altogether surprising considering the synopsis of the sequel gives it away. Note to self: do NOT read the sequel synopsis next time. But it was rather obvious even without having accidentally ruining it for myself.

So like the shipwreck that it is, I finished it in a few sittings. I couldn’t help it. And that ending? When I saw the Acknowledgements page, I knew I had to see what a wreck the next one may turn out to be. It was too sudden and my curiosity was piqued. Otherwise, I’m telling you, don’t go further than this novel. Not everyone would find this wreck of a book amusing. The world building with these mermaids – whoops, I mean, Syrena – wasn’t even significant in this novel. Sure, some tidbits were thrown out, but it could’ve been a lot better and more exciting.

If only Emma wasn’t such a terrible protagonist.

Overall Recommendation:
Of Poseidon sank like the shipwreck it was, where it was hard to look away even though it was a terrible sight. It had such potential with the background and history of the Syrena but most of the novel was spent on land and followed the most annoying and temper-tantrum-throwing girl ever. Add an insta-love romance on top of that, I’m not sure what else could possibly redeem this book as these points were all that it advertised. If you find it as amusing to read, then sure, go ahead and read the sequel, but otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend it at all.

 

YA

Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3

cress -marissa meyer

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who’s only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

 

3.5 Drink Me Potions

I wanted to love this as it so clearly thrilled the majority of Meyer’s fans from her previous two novels in the Lunar Chronicles. However, the only feeling I’m left with is mild adoration instead of the OMG, that was the best thing ever.

Let me start off by saying that I did really enjoy it, but it just didn’t meet my extremely high expectations after reading Cinder and Scarlet. I will break down what I loved about it, and what gave me pause from giving it a maximal rating.

LOVED:

1. Cress was different from the two previous protagonists in the series. She’s a little naive (after all, she spent a huge chunk of her life stuck in a floating satellite all on her own) and a whole lot innocent. Her voice stood out from regular heroine-types in YA literature. She wasn’t a fighter; she believed in the best of everyone.

NOT-SO-LOVED:

1. Maybe it was her innocence or whatever, but her huge crush on Thorne even before she met him was a little farfetched for me. She fell for a figment of her imagination, someone she molded Thorne to fit into when she read up on his history. I’m not saying their romance wasn’t great and all – eventually. Just, the strength of her feelings before even truly getting to know him really puzzled me. Honestly, why him? Of all the people she spied on, she picked Thorne and believed the best motives behind all his crazy plots and mishaps.

LOVED:

2. The camaraderie between all the protagonists so far in the series. Cinder was still very much present, for which I’m glad ’cause she’s still my favourite character of all of them and an integral part of everything. Their banter and scenes were very fun to read, and Meyer writes in a way that each person she added to this story wasn’t some generic version of each other. They had a unique personality that definitely shone through their actions and their comments.

For example, Cinder can be quite sarcastic but you know she has a genuine heart. Thorne is hilarious with his wittiness, charm and sometimes the most inappropriate things to say. Add Cress’s innocence and eagerness to help him out, it made for a lot of fun reading this novel, considering the length of it could potentially bore people if it wasn’t kept entertaining.

Knees suddenly weak, Cress reached for [Thorne’s] forearms to stabilize herself. “You came for me.”

He beamed, looking for all the world like a selfless, daring hero.

“Don’t sound so surprised.” Dropping the cane, he pulled her into a crushing embrace. “It turns out you are worth a lot of money on the black market.”

NOT-SO-LOVED:

2. Because of the continual addition of new protagonists with each book, there are more and more POVs separating all the characters. So you’ll be invested into one particular scene with say, Cinder, and then suddenly pop on over to what Cress is up to. It made me impatient to get past one person’s adventures in order to continue with the one I was most invested in. So by the end of Cress, even with 500+ pages, it didn’t seem like as much happened for each character because the length of the novel was split so heavily between so many people. I just didn’t love Cress as much as Cinder because I read so much more about Cinder’s hardships and rise to heroine status.

LOVED:

3. The plot was jam-packed with crazy things that each heroine had to face, along with their potential “Prince Charmings”. It wasn’t boring as there’s always one thing or another happening to someone. The action and adventure were just as fun as you would expect from Meyer, that I can assure you.

NOT-SO-LOVED:

3. But, because of the segmentation of everyone’s POVs, the plot didn’t flow as smoothly. Eventually when most of the gang got back together, it was a little easier to go from Point A to Point B.

The other thing was the lack of romance (or hints of it) for the most part.  Obviously, the grand finale would give us all the closure we needed with each heroine and their love lives, but there just wasn’t much in this department here. Wolf and Scarlet get separated early on, Cinder and Kai still have some unresolved issues since book 1, and Cress has these huge expectations for Thorne that he really didn’t ask for so he obviously doesn’t measure up.

All in all, Cress was a fine novel and continuation in the Lunar Chronicles. It just had a lot of expectations to meet, and these points may have just been things that only bothered me as the majority of fans found it immensely enjoyable.

Agh, but that ending! Now I really want me some Winter.

Overall Recommendation:

Marissa Meyer does it again with this next installment of the Lunar Chronicles. Due to my nitpickiness and extremely high expectations for her work, I didn’t enjoy Cress as much as I had hoped. Switching between too many POVs made the plot seem disconnected in places and there just wasn’t enough resolution in the romance department for a fairy tale retelling. That’s not to say it wasn’t still a good read. I would recommend this to any fans captured by Cinder as the pace picks up heading into the finale.

YA

Review: Crystal Kingdom by Amanda Hocking

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Kanin Chronicles #3

crystal kingdom -amanda hockingThe kingdom she loves has turned against her. Can she save it before it’s too late?

Bryn Aven—unjustly charged with murder and treason—is on the run. The one person who can help is her greatest enemy, the gorgeous and enigmatic Konstantin Black. Konstantin is her only ally against those who have taken over her kingdom and threaten to destroy everything she holds dear. But can she trust him?

As Bryn fights to clear her name, the Kanin rulers’ darkest secrets are coming to light…and now the entire troll world is on the brink of war. Will it tear Bryn from Ridley Dresden, the only guy she’s ever loved? And can she join forces with Finn Holms and the Trylle kingdom? Nothing is as it seems, but one thing is certain: an epic battle is under way—and when it’s over, nothing will ever be the same…

4 Drink Me Potions

Wowza. And that completes the Kanin Chronicles.

That was my first thought upon completing Crystal Kingdom. Having read Frostfire at the very beginning of this year and getting to complete this trilogy by the end of it, it feels like a journey that I’ve taken with Bryn this year.

And I can’t say that her adventure doesn’t end off with a bang. Because it sure does. Right from the beginning, she’s off where we left her in Ice Kissed.

With Konstantin Black. Aka the Kanin’s #1 enemy and Bryn’s enemy (and secret childhood crush). Oh, and a total badass.

Amanda Hocking is an absolute genius when it comes to delivering epic adventures as that is what we get here with Bryn now being a fugitive on the run, stuck with an ally that is no help with getting her better connections. Written in a fast-paced sequence, we follow the two of them all around the different troll kingdoms.

Like, YES, we finally get to see the other troll kingdoms besides the Skojare. I absolutely adored their palace in Ice Kissed but there are plenty more interesting things to come here. I don’t want to ruin much beyond that. Of course, the synopsis already does a good job of implicating the Trylle kingdom. If you have read Hocking’s first series (which I haven’t, I will admit), you’ll be genuinely pleased to see some familiar characters popping up quite frequently.

And with grand adventure, there also comes grand sacrifices. Bryn was a strong and well-rounded character. She has that fight and courage in her that is found in a lot of battle-skilled/warrior-like heroines, but she also developed well over the course of the trilogy. It is here that I really saw her emotionally mature. She was always this person who relied solely on herself. Love had no place in her life. It was a distraction, a weakness. But it also showed that she could be lonely living a life like this. With love burning in her heart, she finally understood that maybe it wasn’t such a problem but rather a motivation for doing well.

However, as I said, there comes sacrifices. I won’t say what kind, but every great tale of heroism and adventure has their fair share of problems that just couldn’t be prevented. I will admit that one of those scenes had a really touching moment there. Let me just say that Hocking makes beautiful characters come alive but keeps it realistic, and I’ll leave it at that.

As for the romance, I am OVERJOYED that there was no love triangle. I honestly swear there were hints for one since Frostfire but I’m glad it wasn’t a necessary tool to add into a story that seemed perfectly fine the way it was. Ridley is still amazing as usual, but there’s some conflict between him and Bryn that they’d have to work out. I did wish there could’ve been more of him in the novel as he doesn’t pop in until mid-way. I suppose it was hard to realistically have him pop up on Bryn’s adventures so quickly, but still. My heart broke over the Ridley-less pages.

I may not have liked Konstantin at all for the last two books. Come on, how many people could’ve fallen for a guy who was known as Kanin’s #1 enemy? And Bryn hated him with a passion after what he did to her and her father. It’s fairly easy to dislike a guy with that kinda description and background. But he was always intriguing, and I think that’s where people fell for him a little. In Crystal Kingdom, he’s everywhere. And by the end of it, I wanted to be his best friend the way he seemed to be for Bryn. It was strictly platonic. She didn’t waver in her love for Ridley, but of course, there was a sort of love for Konstantin as well, just not strictly the romantic kind. And that goes to show how well-done this novel was to turn an opinion completely around.

I’m not sure if Hocking will ever come back to these troll kingdoms after having done two series with them. However, I will end off saying that it was a wonderful journey following the Kanin people and that she’s one ingenious author for creating such a captivating, mythical world within our everyday modern one. I do truly wish there would someday be more.

Overall Recommendation:
Bryn’s just been kicked out of the only home she’s ever known, but as the courageous and ever-determined heroine that she is, Crystal Kingdom follows her on a grand adventure to right the wrongs in her kingdom and set everything right once again. Allied with Konstantin Black, someone I once hated but by the end you’ll be calling him a best friend, and filled with treacherous battles and action, this fast-paced novel definitely fulfills the ideal of the word “finale”. Delicious romance, beautiful settings in varying troll kingdoms and a heart-stopping sacrifice, this is one book that you just have to read. Honestly.