Tag: strong protagonist

YA

Review: The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Ravenspire #1

the shadow queen -cj redwineLorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

 

3.5 Drink Me Potions

Wrought with magical battles and characters full of heart, The Shadow Queen was a nice addition to the fairy tale re-telling genre, but it just seemed to lack that little extra umph to get my heart kicking.

C.J. Redwine honestly is an amazing author. The different kingdoms she’s created are uniquely her own and the problems her characters face are reminiscent of the Snow White story but it’s not solely following its predictable path (ie. no little dwarves, my dear fellow readers).

It’s true, the story never really lacked action and suspense. Princess Lorelai is constantly in danger from being found out by her evil stepmother, another magical mardushka who would kill her the instant she realizes the girl’s not dead. From one battle to another, magic against magic, family against family, The Shadow Queen is full of interesting battle sequences. It was enjoyable and the pacing was okay, albeit a little slow in some places between fights.

The characters were golden. GOLDEN. Lorelai is fierce as a warrior but a true queen. She loves with her whole heart, to the point that she’s unwilling to hurt people who’ve been bespelled to kill her because it’s not their fault they’re willing to do her harm. She doesn’t even care that it’s to her own expense that she’s sparing them. Like, if it were up to me, I’d be a little okay with torching a few innocents if it meant staying alive to save thousands more. Clearly she’d make a better queen than I would….

She may be a great potential queen, but she’s also a loving sister. Her little brother Leo is almost everything to her. Her best friend, her confidante and someone who could make her smile even in the most serious of times. I can attest to that feeling, being a big sis myself. I adored Leo’s personality and character too. Redwine really makes them jump out of the page at you, like you can see them talking to you and not just at you.

Prince Kol was an interesting character for the role of the huntsman. I liked his dedication to save his people and to live up to his honor even when it came at his own expense. He and Lorelai are a lot alike in that area. So it’s no surprise they kinda start falling for one another.

The main thing that maybe prevented my rating from skyrocketing is that I didn’t feel the chemistry between them all that strongly. Yes, they were friends and allies over time, and they admired each other for their strength of will. It helps that they each tried saving the other. But love? It was a little more difficult to grasp that underlying emotion. For a fairy tale, I’m pretty sure the love aspect of the story should be a strong component of it.

I wish I could say I loved this, but I will at least say that I enjoyed the adventure while it lasted. And I can’t wait to see what other stories Redwine is going to craft from the other kingdoms she’s briefly mentioned in this book. I do suggest you give it a try. My lower-than-expected rating may only be a “picky me” thing.

Overall Recommendation:
With lots of spunk and action galore, The Shadow Queen is a nice re-telling of Snow White with plenty of additional magical creativity and world building. The characters were fierce and brilliant, truly an original personality crafted from Redwine’s imagination. Lorelai in particular is a great protagonist with the heart of a good queen and the spirit of a warrior. I enjoyed her relationship with her younger brother and even with Kol. Their romantic chemistry was a bit lacking in my opinion, but overall, this is one story I would still recommend you read, especially for others like me who adore a good fairy tale re-telling.

YA

Review: This is My Brain on Boys by Sarah Strohmeyer

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

this is my brain on boys -sarah strohmeyerAddie Emerson doesn’t believe in love, at least for herself. A straightlaced, brilliant girl, she’s more interested in getting an A than falling in love. But Addie is determined to prove the science of love—because Addie Emerson does believe in science.

Science tells her that “love” is nothing more than the brain’s state under the influence of certain chemicals. And by artificially stimulating those chemicals, the brain can totally be tricked into falling in love. So Addie decides to apply that knowledge—and make her classmates fall in love—to win the coveted Athenian Award for Science in her elite private school. One way to speed up the process—adrenaline—she’ll put her classmates in dangerous, high-risk situations . . . and research the fallout.

But a mysterious new guy keeps messing with her plans. And she kind of can’t stop thinking about his gorgeous brown eyes. With backstabbing competitors—including her former lab partner, the preppy, wealthier-than-thou Dex—and more than one pair of star-crossed lovers—can Addie manage to salvage her experiment and win the Athenian? And what happens if she does the unthinkable—and falls in love?

4 Drink Me Potions

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

**This is My Brain on Boys comes out on May 10, 2016**

Funny, smart (mostly), and intriguing, this is not just any regular summer read from Strohmeyer. This is a book that both drew me in with its premise as well as kept me entertained.

Addie Emerson is a brilliant girl. And very socially awkward. She loves neuroscience and anything related to the brain. As a science student myself, I could appreciate her random use of neuro-related terminology. It may get a tad bit overwhelming for those who don’t necessarily appreciate such huge words and don’t really understand what all these different neurohormones are, but for me, it was absolutely perfect.

The science was mostly okay, though a couple of places I swear the terminology was mixed up. However, even for science parts that were more fantastical than real, I’m not the kind of person who gets pissed at that. It’s not meant to be a realistic science paper. This is a fun novel that focuses on a protagonist who uniquely loves science, and with a project on love . What more can you hope for? So the rest of my review focuses on all the things this book does right. If you’re one of those people who DO get annoyed at “less-than-realistic science” in a fictional book meant for teenagers, then I think you should go elsewhere right now. Like, right now.

That’s right. Don’t read further if that’s you. Just keep moving along.

Okay, now where were we? Ah, Addie Emerson. She’s naive in social attitudes and pleasantries, as well as takes every word literally (even slang and common phrases) but she has a good heart. Right off the bat, you enter her POV and see how she sees the world. It’s different. It’s fascinating. And it’s very much hilarious.

“They didn’t reject me because I’m socially awkward, did they? I’ve read plenty of books on the social behavioural patterns of adolescents. I know to keep at least forty-six centimeters between myself and others to ensure enough personal space.”


She’s a protagonist that you can stand behind. Over the span of the book, you figure out what her project is that she needs to work on to win a scholarship for college. And the fact that she’s been victimized in the past.

And hence, bringing in our second POV in the book, Kris, made the story even more fun. He’s the total opposite of Addie. They meet right at the beginning of the book and he brings freshness and worldly passions to balance out the colder, scientific end of the plot. He only wishes to make amends for what he’s done in the past, and he finds that this summer of “punishment” may have been the best thing that’s ever happened to him. His presence makes everything more complicated for Addie, and this is one chemical reaction – I mean, relationship – that I can appreciate.

The other secondary characters were maybe a bit cliche and stereotypical but that doesn’t mean they don’t bring out the fun and goodness of this story. From Dexter, the other extremely awkward scientist in this book, to Tess as a Drama Queen and actors’ daughter, these people jump out and make you wanna laugh with them or just give them a good punch in the face.

All in all, I’ve never been a huge fan of Sarah Strohmeyer’s past works but I do believe This is My Brain on Boys is one piece of work I can stand behind. It’s truly a hilarious and marvelous read.

Overall Recommendation:
Strohmeyer has outdone herself with this smart and entertaining book on science and love. Addie Emerson is a brilliant neuroscientist who fancies herself an expert on the chemistry of falling in love. With her quirky mannerisms and naivety, it’s very hard not to like our spunky protagonist. However, a chance meeting with Kris turns everything upside down for Addie and her experiment. I enjoyed the ups and downs of their relationship, especially when Addie tries to explain physical attraction with science. With pieces of hilarious prose and fun use of neuro-related terminology, This is My Brain on Boys is a perfect read for this summer, in particular for those with a tiny penchant for “less-than-real science” thrown into their novel.

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.