Tag: magic

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: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Lone City #1

the jewel -amy ewingThe Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring.

Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life.

Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence… and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both more than they bargained for.

2.5 Drink Me Potions

I must say, I had such high hopes for The Jewel. The synopsis was brilliantly intriguing. And the plot line was definitely unique. Come on, our protagonist is a human incubator–I mean, a surrogate for the royalty’s babies. You don’t see that kind of idea popping up everywhere in the YA genre these days.

And that’s about all the genuinely great things I can think of to say about this book.

It was disappointingly slow. It took a long time to even get the Auction started. I mean, I totally get that it’s very important to set the background of this place known as the Lone City.

Oh, and that wasn’t done very well either. World building. So it’s basically broken into 5 rings of society with Violet’s family coming out of the poorest group (of course). And the royalty is broken into 4 founding families with the ruling couple known as the Exetor and Electress. First of all, what’s with those names? Originality, I suppose. Like, I think of circuits whenever I saw the Electress’ name pop up. Not sure if that’s what Ewing was going for.

So the pacing was SLOW as crap. And after reading the whole novel, I look back and think to myself, “What the heck really happened in this book?” . ‘Cause seriously, it’s basically a bunch of gossiping among the royal ladies who brag about their purchased surrogates like they’re freaking furniture or pets they could care less about. Oh, and the odd backstabbing and political scheming. But nothing really EXCITING ever happens. Except maybe about the potential plannings of a rebellion….which is so overdone but at least it’s something beyond gossip, right? I’ll get back to this point later.

Anyway, world building wasn’t great. I still barely know anything about how it all came to be or how the Auction even started. If I thought the history of the Lone City was weird, the idea of Auguries and these “magical powers” that surrogates were born with mystifies me 100 times more.

Being a science person, it’s genuinely confusing. A genetic mutation found ONLY in people from the Marsh (aka the poorest ring of society) gave these girls the ability to become surrogates for the royalty who seemed to be making defective babies as of late. Okay, I can accept that. But uh, a genetic mutation also gave rise to 3 magical properties that could change colours, shapes and growth of things? Is this a fantasy novel or a science fiction story?

This was the randomest thing I’ve read in a long time. Being incubators wasn’t enough, they had to be “magical” too? I guess the story wouldn’t have survived very well if these girls were just “normal”. Harder to overthrow a society, hmm?

And apparently in this society, men are absolute pathetic and weak excuses for human beings. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy having such strong female presence for a change. After all, nearly every character with a personality beyond something equivalent to a boring piece of cardboard was, well, female . Those backstabbing ladies in the royalty. The other surrogates. The Electress, of course. But the men don’t have to be written so….I don’t even have a word for it. Disrespectfully? We don’t really know much about the Exetor beyond the fact that he rules. The Duke of the Lake is definitely the submissive half to the Duchess. Most men, in fact, are described as either frail or desperately drunk at dinners to tune out the schemings of their wives.

What is with this? The only male even worth an inkling of respect is Lucien, an unexpected and only friend of Violet’s in the Jewel. And he’s a lady-in-waiting, so maybe that’s why he appears to be the exception to this. I guess in a world dominated by surrogacy in the royalty, the women are in charge of their own destinies and have more pressure in securing their bloodline. But still. No excuse for not giving many males even the slightest backbone of a personality.

And that , my dear friend, leaves me with our love interest. Ash. I have nothing against him. Nothing at all. He seems like a decent guy who also got wrecked by people from the Jewel. They own him, although not in as obvious a way as how Violet and other surrogates are.

He pops up midway in the novel, and oh my goodness, it’s practically LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. In the weirdest way. Like, Violet, I get you haven’t spent much time with males your own age that aren’t related to you because A) you’re a surrogate and held in some holding facility since you hit puberty and B) you don’t have time to think about your own love life when you’re a surrogate. But HELLO, here’s some fairly attractive guy and BOOM. Instant-love.

Literally. She sees him and all of a sudden, she can’t get him out of her head. Or the itching desire for him to hold her or whatever. It was slightly nauseating to read.

Oh, and if that wasn’t awful enough, Ash fell for her rather fast too. I just couldn’t understand their dying love for each other when I practically did not know Ash all too well myself. Like I said, he popped up midway in The Jewel. We never had the time to get to know him beyond the fact that he was a lonely companion screwed over by the royalty. Like who wasn’t really screwed over by these people at the end of the day? Even the royalty screwed each other over. He wasn’t all that special just for his sad history.

So for the first time in my life, I was VERY excited about everything EXCEPT the romance. I’m a huge romantic, so this is saying a HUGE something.

Sigh. And right when the rebellion, or whispers of the rebellion, was starting to heat up….I flip the page and it ENDS there. With one slightly surprising twist that maybe I should’ve seen earlier, but still. Now I’m gonna have to read book 2 ’cause that was maybe the only highlight for me.

All I can say is, I think The Jewel is gonna be a hit or miss for you. Especially if you hate insta-love romances. This was 100% in that category, and I’d like to think that I’m a sucker for most romances as long as they’re written somewhat decently. You have been warned. Don’t get misled like I did. You’ll just be facing a huge disappointment by the end of it.

Overall Recommendation:
The Jewel presented itself with a unique idea: girls being sold as surrogates to carry babies to full term for the royalty. And in this society, there are political unrest and stirrings of change for the roles of the surrogates. What could’ve been an amazing fantasy novel with a crazy concept just didn’t hold up to the awful insta-love romance and slow pacing of the story. Violet was a decent protagonist with strong powers (I know, these surrogates are also magical?) and may just have what it takes to be the “saviour” for all the other surrogates, but nothing really happens in this first novel beyond a glimpse of an underground rebellion stirring in the Jewel, the heart of the royalty and the wealthy. I wouldn’t recommend this novel unless you may find the synopsis intriguing enough to try it. I don’t hate it enough to not continue the series out of morbid curiosity, but it really is a hit or miss.

YA

Review: The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Eurona #1

the great hunt -wendy higginsKill the beast. Win the girl.

A strange beast stirs fear in the kingdom of Lochlanach, terrorizing towns with its brutality and hunger. In an act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona—kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson’s hand in marriage.

Princess Aerity understands her duty to the kingdom though it pains her to imagine marrying a stranger. It would be foolish to set her sights on any particular man in the great hunt, but when a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention, there’s no denying the unspoken lure between them…or his mysterious resentment.

Paxton is not keen on marriage. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He’s determined to keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast and protecting his family—yet Princess Aerity continues to challenge his notions with her unpredictability and charm. But as past secrets collide with present desires, dire choices threaten everything Paxton holds dear.

Inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ tale, “The Singing Bone,” New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins delivers a dark fantasy filled with rugged hunters, romantic tension, outlawed magic, and a princess willing to risk all to save her people.

4.5 Drink Me Potions

Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins for this copy in exchange for an honest review

**The Great Hunt comes out on March 8, 2016**

I just gobbled this story up as fast as I could. There are so many things to love about The Great Hunt, but mostly it lies with Higgins’ beautiful descriptions of the land of Eurona as well as her amazingly real characters.

The story starts off a little slow, I will admit. From the synopsis, you already know that Princess Aerity’s hand will be given to whoever can kill the beast that has laid waste to the kingdom of Lochlanach. It just takes a long while for the plot to catch up to that point as the setting of the tale doesn’t immediately begin from there. That was where my impatience grew. However, that is the ONLY complaint I have with it.

Here is what made the story come alive to me (and hopefully to you too).

The chills from the very beginning
Right on the first page, the setting is beautifully told. Imagine a nice night out on the docks with your beloved. It’s the perfect place to be together and away from prying eyes. Nothing can destroy this beautiful moment.

But it does.

The roars of a beast, one that no one can fathom with their own eyes as it looks like nothing anyone has ever seen before — or at least, no one survived to tell the tale if they did.

The cries of the couple. The desperation to get away and keep your beloved safe.

The eventual relief that it left you alone. And the unspeakable, bone-chilling horror that the monster has taken from you the greatest thing possible.

I mean, doesn’t that just set the mood? There’s something wild and dangerous out there, and no one’s safe. I could feel the desperation of the royal family, especially the king, as they had to decide on what they could POSSIBLY do to stop such a monstrosity.

And if that wasn’t enough to get your heart racing, the characters may just do you in.

The very personal connection with many characters
First of all, let me tell you. There are absolutely TONS of characters in The Great Hunt. At first, it was hard to track down who was who in the royal family, and what kingdom was what (thank goodness there was some sort of index for that). But it speaks to how 3rd person writing – which is rather rare these days in YA – can sometimes drive an even greater connection between the reader and the characters that live in this world. You don’t always need an “I” in a story to gain that personal touch/perspective.

So having this ability to follow along several key characters’ perspectives and thoughts, it made it easy to empathize and understand their situation, even when other characters couldn’t understand why so-and-so wouldn’t act the way they wanted them to.

Along with connecting with characters, it was a testament of good writing when you can introduce so many different “nationalities” of people from other kingdoms that make up Eurona as they join in on the hunt for the beast. From fierce warrior women (yay! who says only men can fight?) to people I picture as Vikings with their broad chests and long beards, wearing fur-everything. Each group of people were unique, but so were individuals.

In particular, a few characters just held my heart. I don’t normally fangirl much over love interests….but oh my.

Paxton is just. Perfection.

He’s not necessarily a bad boy character. He has his reasons for what he does, which I will allow you to figure out on your own (although it was fairly obvious once you read some key pieces of information earlier in the novel). He loves his younger brother dearly and would do whatever it takes to protect him. He may act indifferent and downright rude at times, but from knowing his perspective, it’s not his fault he chooses to do so. My heartstrings are just yanking at their ends for the unfairness of it all for him.

If I have fallen for him, you can imagine how crazy it is for Aerity as she notices these very things as well. The underlying attraction and tension between the two of them is….I just have no words. It gets hot . Not with too many physical things going on, but I mean, if you were standing there beside those two, you would definitely feel that tension going on. It was palpable. I don’t know how Aerity’s cousin Wyn could stand to be with those two for long without blushing red FOR them.

As for Aerity, she was a decent heroine. She didn’t want to go forward with the marriage deal in exchange for a dead beast. I guess I could understand that. What if an old fart kills the darn thing and she has to marry him and….?

But she braved through it. Kingdom first, after all. Good, Princess.

She loved her siblings and her cousins more than anything. She had that kind spirit and heart for those in need, even for someone as unpleasant as Paxton was.

Wyn’s storyline didn’t convince me as much. I don’t know how other readers will view it, but I prefer her strong and not in need of some man to help her and bring her out of the darkness that was unfortunately dealt to her. Oh, and I might be biased, but I think if there has to be some guy in her life, I’d prefer it to be the good lieutenant Harrison. Just throwing it out there.

There was one person that I don’t particularly like. Or at least, I’m unsure of how to view him. He’s not necessarily bad, but he also holds views that make me want to slap him and tell him he’s not good enough for anyone. And according to Higgins’ website, only crazier things are in store for this character. I hope he dies in book two Let’s just say I’m suspicious of him ’cause I can’t get a good read on his character…

I must say, the ending was not altogether unexpected, but it’s driving me crazy that the wait is that much longer for me. I hope you enjoy the read as I have, and I am impatiently awaiting the next and last installment of this duology.

Overall Recommendation:
Told in third person, Higgins delivers a beautiful tale of sacrifice, love and courage. A great monstrosity is terrorizing the land of Lochlanach and this brings great warriors from far and wide to help defeat it in exchange for Aerity’s hand. With an amazing cast of central characters, especially my dear favourite Paxton, their perspectives and stories draw you in as you dive into their lives and understand what’s at stake for each of them. Full of action and magical intrigue as something darker is looming in the horizon, The Great Hunt is a fantastic read that can put a smile on my face and break my heart at the same time. A definite recommendation.