Book Review

Review: Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake

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Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake

Title: Mortal Gods (The Goddess War, 2)
Author: Kendare Blake
Genre: Mythology, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Tor Teen (8th September 2015)
Blurb:

ARES, GOD OF WAR, is leading the other dying gods into battle. Which is just fine with Athena. She’s ready to wage a war of her own, and she’s never liked him anyway. If Athena is lucky, the winning gods will have their immortality restored. If not, at least she’ll have killed a bloody lot of them, and she and Hermes can die in peace.

Cassandra Weaver is a weapon of fate. The girl who kills gods. But all she wants is for the god she loved and lost to return to life. If she can’t have that, then the other gods will burn, starting with his murderer, Aphrodite.

The alliance between Cassandra and Athena is fragile. Cassandra suspects Athena lacks the will to truly kill her own family. And Athena fears that Cassandra’s hate will get them all killed.

The war takes them across the globe, searching for lost gods, old enemies, and Achilles, the greatest warrior the world has ever seen. As the struggle escalates, Athena and Cassandra must find a way to work together. Because if they can’t, fates far worse than death await.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

MORTAL GODS by Kendare Blake is the second book in The Goddess War trilogy. The book continues the stories of Cassandra and Athena from ANTIGODDESS (review). The old Greek gods are slowly dying; fading ignobly in agony. Cassandra and Athena face the oncoming battles with a fragile alliance stretched between them. And Cassandra is the girl who kills gods.

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Review: Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow by Rainbow Rowell

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Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Fantasy, Sword and Scorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Macmillan (8th October 2015)
Blurb:

SIMON SNOW ID THE WORST CHOSEN ONE WHO’S EVER BEEN CHOSEN.

That’s what his roomate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here – it’s their last year at Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story, and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story – but far, far more monsters.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

CARRY ON: THE RISE AND FALL OF SIMON SNOW by Rainbow Rowell is a standalone novel, which is linked to her young adult novel FANGIRL (review). CARRY ON tells the final part of the Simon Snow series which readers of FANGIRL will be familiar with, as the Simon Snow series is the fandom that Cath, the main character of the novel, is immersed in. Rowell gives readers a glimpse into the world they’ve only heard about through Cath, and her love of it.

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Review: How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

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How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Title: How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon, 1)
Author: Cressida Cowell
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books (4th February 2010)
Blurb:

HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK THE THIRD was an awesome swordfighter, a dragon-whisper and the greatest Viking Hero that ever lived.

Can Hiccup pass the Dragon Initiation Programme with a toothless dragon and fight the Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus before it gobbles up every Viking on Berk? It’s time for Hiccup to learn how to be a Hero.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON by Cressida Cowell is the first book in the series of the same name. The book follows Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third as he attempts to pass the Dragon Initiation Programme.

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Review: Uprooted by Naomi Novik

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Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Title: Uprooted
Author: Naomi Novik
Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Macmillan (21st May 2015)
Blurb:

Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what the stories tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travellers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true; he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our father’s would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, ambitious wizard known only as the Dragon, to keep the Wood’s powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman must be handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as being lost to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows – everyone knows – that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia – all the things Agnieszka isn’t – and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But no can predict how or why the Dragon chooses a girl. And when he comes, it is not Kasia he will take with him.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

UPROOTED by Naomi Novik is a standalone young adult fantasy novel. The novel is heavily influenced by fairy tales and tells the story of Agnieszka who lives in a small village that is protected by the Dragon. Next to this village is the Wood, which casts a dark shadow. The book begins just before Dragon picks the next young woman to serve him.

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Review: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

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The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Title: The Iron Trial (Magisterium, 1)
Authors: Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Genre: Fantasy, Swords and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Corgi Books (2nd July 2015)
Blurb:

Call has no idea what he’ll come up against in THE IRON TRIAL but he knows that if he passes the test, he’ll become a student of magic at the Magisterium.

Only, all his life, Call’s been warned to stay away from magic, so he tries his best to do his worst – but he fails at failing.

Now he must enter the Magisterium, and it’s even more sensational and sinister than he could ever have imagined . . .

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

THE IRON TRIAL is the first book in a new series – Magisterium – by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. Callum Hunt has been warned, by his dad, about the dangers of magic his whole life. So when he’s forced to take part in a series of tests that could mean he becomes a student of magic at the Magisterium, Call is determined to fail. Only, Call ends up passing the tests somehow.

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Review: Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong

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Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Deceptions (A Cainsville Novel, 3)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Sphere (20th August 2015)
Blurb:

TRUST NO ONE

Olivia Jones is desperate for the truth. The daughter of convicted serial killers, she has begun to suspect that her parents are innocent of their crimes. But who can she trust, in a world where betrayal and deception hide in every shadow?

RISK EVERYTHING

Liv does have one secret weapon: a mysterious sixth sense that helps her to anticipate danger. The trouble is, this rare power comes with its own risks. There are dark forces that want to exploit Liv’s talents – and will stop at nothing to win her to their side.

FACE THE TRUTH

Now Live must decide, before it’s too late. Who does she love? Who is really on her side? And can she save herself without burning down everything that matters most?

A twisting and atmospheric thriller, Deceptions is a fast-paced, gothic tale laced with passion, mystery and murder.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

DECEPTIONS is the third title in Kelley Armstrong’s gothic thriller series Cainsville. This novel continues the story of Olivia Jones, as she unravels more about her past and the secrets of Cainsville. Armstrong reveals more of the secrets of Cainsville and of Olivia’s past in this book.

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Review: Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

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Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

Title: Career of Evil (A Cormoran Strike Novel, 3)
Author: Robert Galbraith
Genre: Crime, Detective Story, Mystery
Publisher: Sphere (20th October 2015)
Blurb:

When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.

Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people in his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them . . .

A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, Career of Evil is also a gripping story of a man and a woman at crossroads in their personal and professional lives. You will not be able to put this book down.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

CAREER OF EVIL in the third book in the Cormoran Strike series written by J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. Strike investigates when a package delivered to Robin Ellacott, his secretary-cum-partner, contains a severed leg. He is certain that the crime is somehow linked to his past, and there are four people he thinks could be responsible.

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Review: Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

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Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

Title: Talking to Dragons (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles: Book Four)
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Young Adult
Publisher: Magic Carpet Books (March 2003)
Blurb:

Always be polite to dragon!

That’s what Daystar’s mother taught him . . . and it’s a very wise lesson – one that might just help him after his mom hands him a magic sword and kicks him out of the house. Especially because his house sits on the edge of the Enchanted Forest and his mother is Queen Cimorene.

But the tricky part is figuring out what he’s supposed to do with the magic sword. Where is he supposed to go? And why does everyone he meets seem to know who he is?

It’s going to take a particularly hotheaded fire-witch, a very verbose lizard, and a badly beahving dragon to help him figure it all out.

And those good manners certainly won’t help!

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

TALKING WITH DRAGONS by Patricia C. Wrede is the fourth book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. This book follows the story of Daystar who at sixteen gets handed a magic sword by his mother and sent into the Enchanted Forest, and has to work out for himself what he has to do.

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Review: Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

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Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

Title: Calling on Dragons (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles: Book Three)
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Young Adult
Publisher: Magic Carpet Books (March 2003)
Blurb:

A Princess’s work is never done – not even when she becomes queen!

Princess Cimorene is now Queen Cimorene . . . and she’s faced her first queenly crisis – the Enchnated Forest is threatened with complete destruction!

Those wizards are back – and they’ve become very smart. (Sort of.) They’ve figured out a way to take over the forest once and for all . . . and what they have planned isn’t pretty.

With a little help from Kazul the dragon kind, Morwen the witch, Telemain the magician, two cats, and a blue, flying donkey-rabbit named – what else? – Killer, Cimorene might just be able to stop them.

And some people think being queen is easy.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

CALLING ON DRAGONS by Patricia C. Wrede is the third book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Princess Cimorene is happily married to King Mendanbar, and is now Queen of the Enchanted Forest. Morwen the witch, who is friends with Queen Cimorene and Kazul, notices that there is something going on in the Enchanted Forest – the spells that Telemain the magician and Mendanbar wove don’t seem to be working. The wizards are back . . .

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Review: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles Books 1 & 2 by Patricia C. Wrede

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The following two reviews are going to be a little different than normal, as I have read both books before (sometime in the early 2000s).

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

Title: Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles: Book One)
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Young Adult
Publisher: Magic Carpet Books (1st November 2002)
Blurb:

Princess by Birth. Adventurer by Choice.

Meet Princess Cimorene – a princess who refuses to be proper. She is everything a princess is not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboy-ish, smart . . .

And bored.

So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon. And not just any dragon, but Kazul – one of the most powerful and dangerous dragons around. Of course, Cimorene has a way of hooking up with dangerous characters, and soon she’s coping with a witch, a jinn, a death-dealing talking bird, a stone prince, and some very oily wizards.

If this princess ran away to find some excitement, it looks like she’s found plenty!

Review:

DEALING WITH DRAGONS is the first book in Patricia C. Wrede’s superb Enchanted Forest Chronicles. This book follows the story of Princess Cimorene of Linderwall who finds that the life that is expected of her as a princess is actually rather dull. Especially as there are a lot of expectations about how a ‘proper’ princess is supposed to behave, and what she is supposed to do. When her parents try to marry her off to a prince, Princess Cimorene runs away and ends up living with Kazul the dragon.

DEALING WITH DRAGONS was one of the books I read when I was a young teen that really cemented my love of fantasy, particularly my love of fantasy with strong female heroes.

Princess Cimorene is not your typical princess; she has little interest in activities that are normally associated with princesses, and would instead prefer to learn Latin, or magic, or how to fence. I found her to be a really likeable and relatable character – I especially admired her ‘can do’ attitude. I also really liked Kazul the dragon, who I think Wrede wrote brilliantly. She was like an elder sister to Cimorene.

Wrede brings humour, fun, and a unique spin on what could be your typical fairy tale. Princess Cimorene is not stolen away by a dragon, instead she runs away to a dragon so she can live the life she wants. Neither does she have to be rescued by a prince, turning fairy tale conventions on their heads.

Although the main plot thread of DEALING WITH DRAGONS focuses on Cimorene finding her place in the world, Wrede cleverly interweaves some addition plot threads that make the book a compelling read. The story is easy to follow, and Wrede takes the typical ideas from fairy tales about what dragons are like and princesses, and princes, and wizards and turns them into something new.

If you are thinking of venturing into the realm of fantasy fiction, then this series might just be the one for you. Wrede writes a strong female hero, an interesting plot, and a humorous, interesting story.

 

Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

Title: Searching for Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles: Book Two)
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Young Adult
Publisher: Magic Carpet Books (November 2002)
Blurb:

Kidnap a dragon? How daring!

How stupid.

Cimorene, the princess who refuses to be proper, is back – but where is Kazul the dragon? That’s what Cimorene is determined to find out.

Luckily – or perhaps not-so luckily – she’s got help: Mendanbar, the not-very-kingly King of the Enchanted Forest, has joined her in her quest. So with the aid of a broken-down magic carpet, a leaky magical sword, and a few buckets of soapy lemon water, they set off across the Enchanted Forest to tackle the dragon-napping and save the King of the Dragons.

Review:

SEARCHING FOR DRAGONS is the second book in Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles, and continues the story of Princess Cimorene and her life with Kazul the dragon. This time Kazul has disapperared, and Cimorene makes it her mission to find her. Meanwhile something is going on in the Enchanted Forest and its king, Mendanbar, is determined to find out what.

SEARCHING FOR DRAGONS is a great addition to the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Wrede continues Cimorene’s journey, and introduces some new characters as well as more of the world. Wrede also continues the theme of re-imaging fairy tale tropes, which I think she does to great success.

The book starts by introducing us to the King of the Enchanted Forest, which I think helps us to get to know Mendanbar better. It was interesting to see what the world was like from his point of view. Cimorene was exactly as I expected her to be; comfortable and settled into her role as the King of Dragon’s Chief Cook and Librarian, and still exasperated with the occasional knight who turned up to try and rescue her.

The plot of the book focused on two main mysteries; where was the King of Dragons, and what was going on in the Enchanted Forest. I think this worked well, and Wrede told a compelling story, which was fun and enjoyable to follow. The world of the Enchanted Chronicles seems like a really interested, complex world. And I really love some of the ideas in this book that are introduced with the appearance of new characters.

SEARCHING FOR DRAGONS had the same fun and irreverence as the previous book – if you enjoyed DEALING WITH DRAGONS then you are sure to enjoy this one too.