Can’t Stand the Heat by Louisa Edwards

Posted on January 31, 2010 by janicu

Can’t Stand The Heat (A Recipe for Love)

Louisa Edwards

The Premise: It all starts the opening night of Adam Temple’s restaurant, Market. In a room full of press, foodies, and society people, Délicieux food critic Miranda Wake, tipsy on the alcohol in ready supply and impatient to be served, interrupts Adam’s opening speech with quick judgments about the food. He responds rashly and a challenge is thrown down: “You wouldn’t last ten minutes in my kitchen.” To Adam’s horror, Miranda accepts (with visions of a book deal dancing in her head).

Read an excerpt of Can’t Stand the Heat

My Thoughts: From a food lover’s point of view, this book is a lot of fun. The author really puts you there in a busy kitchen in New York City. Her writing has an exciting flavor – it feels very modern to me, maybe because it doesn’t try to make things more refined than they are. The kitchen is full of characters, people who are rough and loud, but very close knit and fit into the restaurant life. Details about the stations, the pecking order, the bustle, and the cooking seem well researched but presented in an exciting package. The food is a large part of the courtship: Adam shows Miranda how to make poached eggs and waffles with bacon, and despite his initial misgivings, Miranda’s unfiltered appreciation for Adam’s food wins him over.

I really liked Adam. He has passion for Market and he’s alive when he’s there – the center of the hurricane of activity, he seems really happy with his life: his new restaurant, a well-tuned crew, doing what he loves. Adam’s intensity of focus as the head chef is heady stuff to Miranda, who likes her job, but sees it as a job, not as a passion. Miranda’s ambitions are a result of her responsibility in raising her younger brother, while Adam loves making food for itself. Despite Miranda quickly annoying Adam with her plans to “expose” his restaurant with a book and interviewing everyone with that goal in mind, Adam doesn’t stay mad very long. He doesn’t dwell on Miranda’s mistakes, and focuses his energies on noticing how pretty and smart he finds her. It was surprising how quickly he was willing to forget that he was angry with her, but his quickly dissolving temper and zest for life is a consistent part of his character so I let it go. This is a good thing in this relationship, because Miranda is constantly doing things I considered low. She has her reasons, but they were tenuous, and I found myself on the edge of disliking her throughout the book because of her willingness to exploit others. On the other hand, I felt for Miranda because of her older sister protectiveness of her younger brother, and I liked her persistence in the face of adversity. Unfortunately, this didn’t really excuse how Miranda kept messing up just when I’d gotten over the last thing she had done. The conflict between the hero and heroine never lasts long, mostly due to Adam’s easygoing nature, but it propels the story along to it’s movie-style ending.

There are a lot of strong supporting characters in this book. The people in Adam’s kitchen were drawn very well, and there is hint of sequel bait with Devon Sparks, a TV personality whose restaurant Adam once worked in (confirmed with an excerpt for the next installment of Recipe for Love series). In particular Adam’s maître d’, Grant, his best friend (and sous chef) Frankie, and Miranda’s college-aged brother Jess. There is a side romance between Jess and Frankie that affects the main one. Their romance is one of opposites attracting – the shy young college student and the brash, punk-rocking, Cockney cook – it works, although at times I found it over-romanticized.

Overall: I loved the writing style and the way New York restaurant life was represented, and I liked the vivacious hero, but the heroine walked a really fine line for me. Despite this flaw, I would gladly read the next one in this series.

Buy: Amazon | Powells

Other reviews:
Smexy books – 8 out of 10
Monkey Bear reviews – C
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books – B-
Racy Romance Reviews – “Overall, I really enjoyed Can’t Stand the Heat.”

Links:
Louisa Edwards on the trueromance blog

Child of Fire by Harry Connolly

Posted on January 13, 2010 by janicu

Child of Fire: A Twenty Palaces Novel

Harry Connolly

This was a book I won over at the lovely Book Love Affair which is one of my favorite blogs for urban fantasy recommendations.

The Premise: Ray Lilly is a newly released convict who drives around a powerful woman named Annalise. Annalise tracks down illegal spell users and other nasties associated with people using magic and fixes the problem (often without mercy and with a high bystander death rate). Ray is not fond of Annalise and her methods, and as for Annalise, she hates Ray. The only reason he’s still alive is that Annalise was instructed not to kill him by someone in the Twenty Palace Society, the community of Sorcerers that she works for, so Ray works with her in mutual dislike. Their current assignment is to track down the odd magic signature in the town of Hammer Bay.

Read an excerpt of Chapter 1

My Thoughts: It’s nice to have a male protagonist in an urban fantasy. Ray was an interesting character — he’s a very recent ex-con and he mentions things he did in his past which go from car theft to murder, but the particulars are unclear. I got the impression that his last stint in jail was somehow related to having his new job now. Clues about his past are slowly fed to the reader, and I hope more will be explained as the series continues about what really happened. From what we see of Ray, he has a conscience and the thought of killing people horrifies him. He’s also protective of innocents around him and gets very bitter when he thinks that someone is just standing around doing nothing. Annalise calls him too sentimental for the business, but he ultimately does what he has to for survival and to do his job. I also like that he’s got little magic compared to his boss so he has to rely on his quick thinking more than on his spelled tattoos and ‘ghostknife’ made out of paper wrapped up in tape and laminate. Ray has a lot of depth. Annalise on the other hand is someone who is very hard to read. Probably because we see her through Ray’s eyes. With him, she has two facets – impenetrable, and stoic. Every so often a little bit of emotion seems to seep through her but it’s enough for Ray and the reader to know she’s one of the good guys, but I think it will take more than one book to get a real reading on her.

The townspeople in Hammer Bay on the other hand did not much as big as impression on me. They were sketched with a quick hand – prominent features like a mustache or hair color and height would give you a general impression, but it would be enough to recognize them later on in the book. There are a lot of townspeople that Annalise and Ray meet, and I don’t think the reader is supposed to really get too attached to any one of them because they’re soon fodder for the evil and corruption going on in Hammer Bay. I mostly did not like the town, because sometimes the reactions of people were so extreme, such as going from having a pleasant conversation with Ray suddenly disliking a comment he makes so much that they’d let him walk into a beating by a band of Hee-haws. It was almost a cliche about small town suspicions and prejudice against strangers, and I’m not sure how much was supposed to be natural and how much was the influence of the evil presence in the town.

There’s a lot of violence in this story. Most of the time it didn’t get past vaguely uncomfortable, I think I was able to keep myself mentally separated enough not to get squicked, but there are some sad parts, especially when you discover what has been happening to the children. I would say this book has some elements of horror in it, which becomes apparent early on. I wasn’t expecting it so I was surprised by how the book started out.

Overall: The writing is good and there is plenty of action which meant I kept picking it up and reading it when I had the chance, but it has a lot of violent bits which left me with an unsettled feeling throughout. If you like gritty tales, you will be fine I think.

Buy: Amazon | Powells

Other reviews:
Book Love Affair – 7 out of 10
Lurv à la Mode – 2 out of 5
Fantasy Dreamers Ramblings – 2.5 out of 5 stars
Karrissa’s Reading Review – 4 out of 5

Silent In the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

Posted on January 9, 2010 by janicu

Silent in the Grave

Deanna Raybourn

This book has been on my radar for a while now. It was on a lot of best of 2008 lists and had positive reviews from bloggers who have tastes similiar to mine, and then Angie of Angieville has been pimping it left, right, and center. When I noticed that the ebook was offered for free (FREE!!) at everyone’s reading I downloaded it immediately. The direct link to the downloads by the way are here — epub, mobipocket.

The Premise: This is the first book in a series set in the Victorian era. The story starts with a party hosted by Lady Julia Grey and her husband Edward, which goes south when Edward collapses on the floor. When Edward dies, it’s not really a shock because of his known family history of heart problems, but Julia’s vision of the world is turned askew by Mr. Nicolas Brisbane, who informs her that he was hired by her husband to investigate threats he was receiving. Mr. Brisbane also tells Julia that Edward was probably murdered. I also have to point out the cracking first line, which every other reviewer has commented on. It just draws you in – read it here in the excerpt.

My Thoughts: This is set in the Victorian era, but it has a modern edge. The story is told from the first person viewpoint of Julia, who comes from an open minded and eccentric family – the Marches. Julia starts off as a bit of a disappointment to her colorful family – all she wants to be is normal, but after her husband’s death, she takes stock of her life and begins to come out of her shell. This is one book where there’s marked growth and change in the main character. The author takes a few liberties with Julia’s character because of her freewheeling family, but it worked for me.

I also liked that around Julia’s investigations, we see a lot of day-to-day interactions between Julia and her staff and between Julia and her family. We catch glimpses into how a household was run in those times, and the ‘rules’ that the nobility abides by, and it’s all very normal and familiar to these characters but for me, it was excellent world building and lovely to read.

I’m not sure you should read this so much for the mystery than for the characters. There are several well rounded side characters such as Julia’s servants (her butler and ladies maid in particular), and members of her family (especially her sister Portia), and then there’s Julia and Nicolas Brisbane. While this has romantic elements and great sexual tension between Julia and Mr. Brisbane, the romance is not at the forefront of the book, and this is one of those series where the relationship evolves slowly over the course of several books. Julia is funny for her nosiness about Brisbane and her adventures in amateur sleuthing. Brisbane, while he is a dark and broody type, has great interactions with Julia, especially when she surprises him. A couple of times, I was laughing out loud at the things Julia did, and Brisbane’s agog response. I was reading this while on vacation and I was in the living room just laughing like a fool while my mother-in-law stared at me like I was crazy.

As for the mystery itself – there are only so many people who it could be, there are not that many characters to choose from, so an early guess is likely to be right, but why they did it and how was more mysterious and ultimately more surprising to me than who did it. There’s also the side mystery of Brisbane himself, which are hinted at when Julia visits him – a strange sudden illness when he’s a healthy man, and his odd interactions with Julia’s laundress.

Overall: I loved this one. It hit me in all the right places and I went on my best of 2009 list. I even made my mom read it (her report – almost done but she peeked at the ending! – tsk. But she asked if I had book 2, muhahaha).

Buy (this book was just reissued in trade PB): Amazon | Powells

Other reviews:
Angieville – A very positive review
The Thrillionth Page – “lovely”
Miss Picky’s column — 3 out of 5
Aneca’s World – 3.5 out of 5
Rosario’s Reading Journal – gave it a B-
Reading Adventures – “highly recommended”
The Book Smugglers – Thea gave it an 8, leaning towards 9
Tempting Persephone – positive review

Links:
Silent Pretties — Angie points out the gorgeous UK covers for the Julia Grey mysteries. I want them too!
Silent in the Grave website

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Posted on December 25, 2009 by janicu

Graceling

Kristin Cashore

This is the copy of Graceling I bought on my trip to Boston and finished on the plane ride to AZ this week. My review of Fire, Cashore’s other book in this world, is here: livejournal | wordpress

The Premise: Graceling is the story of Katsa, who is a graceling — someone who has two different colored eyes and preternatural ability in a certain skill. Katsa’s grace is that of killing, and since this was discovered, she’s been nothing but her uncle the king’s enforcer; threatening and killing as he sees fit. As Katsa grows up she dislikes herself and her role in the kingdom more and more. Things begin to come to a head when Katsa meets Po, a prince from another kingdom who is a Graceling too.

My Thoughts: I read Fire before Graceling. Graceling was published before Fire, but chronologically Fire happens before Graceling. I think you can read these books in either order, but I felt that I was a little more spoiled from reading Fire first than I may have been the other way around. I was less surprised about the villain of Graceling than I think I would have been if I’d read them in the other order.

I really LOVED Fire, I found myself just contentedly reading it and not wanting to move or do anything else, but I had a different reaction to Graceling. Graceling was an excellent fantasy with a sweet romance, but it didn’t enthrall me in the same way that Fire did. I found Graceling a slower read and I put it down more, especially in the first third of the book. I think I connected to Katsa a little less than I did Fire. She grew as the book progressed, and she learned to accept her Grace and believe that she wasn’t really a monster, but she was less emotionally available and had problems with opening herself up to people, and maybe that was why I couldn’t connect as well. Or maybe the reason is that I read Fire first so I love that most? It’s hard to tell what makes me love one book more than another sometimes..

I think a few people have already commented on Katsa’s unwillingness to get married. I could understand the idea in general, but when Katsa kept trying to explain it she alienated me more. I don’t think I really needed to read that she felt that getting married was too similar to being owned by someone, the way she was with King Randa. After a while, her constant fearful explanations about it made me think she was just a chicken rather than someone who had a life philosophy and just didn’t want to get married. Why was it brought up so much?! Ug, it started to irk me.

On the other hand, I really liked Po, Katsa’s love interest. He was a lovely secondary character, especially in the way he responded to Katsa and her moods. Cashore really writes some great guys in her stories! Po has a way of accepting Katsa for exactly who she was that was refreshing. I also loved Bitterblue, who is one of the most levelheaded young ladies I’ve read of in a while. I’m glad to know she has her own book which is coming out sometime next year (word is we also can catch up with Po and Katsa in it too).

Final note: There are sexual situations in this book, but it was written in a very vague way; nothing explicit.

Overall: I liked Fire better, but it’s another good young adult fantasy by this author. Brave heroines, understanding heroes and deep friendships make this series a recommended read. Cashore goes onto my autobuy author list.

Buy: Amazon | Powells

Other Reviews:
Book girl of Mur-y-Castell – “it was ok”
Book Love Affair – 9 out of 10
Lurv a la Mode – 4 scoops (out of 5)
Jawas Read , Too – Positive with some quibbles. I agreed with this review
Calico reaction – Worth the Cash

Skin Game by Ava Gray

Posted on December 23, 2009 by janicu

Skin Game (Berkley Sensation)

Ava Gray

I picked this one up because Ava Gray is the pseudonym for Ann Aguirre, who is an author I love.

The Premise: Kyra is a con woman with a very special ability. Whenever she touches someone, she picks up their best skill. She’s on the run after embarrassing casino owner Gerard Serrano, a man was responsible for her father’s murder. While on the road, she meets Reyes, who she thinks is a drifter, but who is really a hitman charged with finding out where she hid the stolen money, and with killing her afterwards.

My Thoughts: The two characters had interesting back stories, with imperfect parenting, which served to bond them after their initial mostly physical relationship. I liked that Reyes was a character of mixed racial heritage, and I loved that he was a cook. Kyra’s blase attitude towards sex (she was a one night stand only girl) and how she didn’t cling to Reyes afterward was also different. The secondary characters were also well-written. I was most intruiged by the mysterious Foster, who is a cold and mysterious manipulator, and Gerard Serrano’s right hand man.

After reading this one, I think I understand why the author used a pseudonym: it’s a very different book from the science fiction romance and urban fantasy under the Ann Aguirre name. This one is a lot more steamy, with plenty of explicit sex scenes, which isn’t what you’d encounter with her other series. I don’t tend to go for the steamy books, but the sex in Skin Game was well-written and not purple. I think people who enjoy a high steam factor will enjoy the story.

While the steaminess is a change, the imperfect characters and interesting relationships between them, a hallmark of Aguirre’s writing, are not. They are in full force in this paranormal romance. A con-woman and an assassin, the hero and heroine don’t sound very nice, but it worked because they still had their own personal rules about who they targeted with their skills. Kyra goes to the seediest bars in town and then uses the skills of the resident best dart-thrower or pool player to win a game. In the end, she has to use these borrowed skills with her own nerve to win some cash, which seems like a more honest swindle to me. Reyes also only targets scumbags to kill. It’s because of this code that makes him start to question whether his employer lied to him about Kyra, because in observing her, she isn’t like his usual kills.

I say that this works for the most part because there’s one scene in particular where I felt like the characters stepped too far away from higher moral ground for my comfort. I balked because I felt that Kyra let rage and vengeance dictate her actions, and Reyes and another character did not blink. Looking at it objectively, it’s probably the only way the book could go, and I’ve read other characters doing questionable things under the Aguirre name, but for some reason this scene bothered me anyway. Maybe part of it is I know that in this series, I’ll probably see one couple at a time, and if someone does something in this book that I don’t quite approve of, they may not be on the page later on for me to see their redemption. I wished Kyra and the others could have found another route instead of using violence, but this book is not about nice, perfect people. It’s about imperfect people with questionable morals who still find some happiness in another person, and maybe I’m more rigid in what I want in my hero and heroine, but I still find the idea of antiheroes in love kind of cool.

Overall: Plenty of steaminess for those who love a good sex scene. Different from the urban fantasy and space opera under the Ann Aguirre name, but with the same imperfect characters I love to read about. I have a quibble about the characters which made me not connect as much as I’d like to, but a very good paranormal romance, and I am looking forward to the sequel.

Buy: Amazon | Powells

Other reviews:
Genre reviews – 4 pints of blood
calico reaction – Worth the Cash
giraffedays – 4 out of 5 stars
Smexy books – 5 out of 5 stars
Babbling about Books and more – A-
Dear Author – B-

Interview with Ava Gray at Smexy books

Cordelia’s Honor (Part 1: Shards of Honor) by Lois McMaster Bujold

Posted on December 19, 2009 by janicu

Cordelia’s Honor

(Vorkosigan Saga Omnibus:

Shards of Honor / Barrayar)

Lois McMaster Bujold

I’d never read any of Lois McMaster Bujold’s work before but was told that this is a science fiction author I’d probably like. Cordelia’s Honor is an omnibus with Shards of Honor and Barrayar in it. They were published in the late 80’s and are the prequels to Bujold’s longer Miles Vorkosigan series.

The Premise: Cordelia Naismith is on a survey mission on a previously unexplored planet when suddenly she and her companion realize that their base camp is on fire. They rush back to see their survey ship flying off without them and one of the other members of their team dead. Cordelia realizes they’ve been ambushed by the Barrayarans, but not all of the enemy race is in accordance. She’s stumbled into a mutiny in the ranks and soon is a well-treated hostage in the hands of Captain Aral Vorkosigan who has a stash of supplies hidden some distance away.

My Thoughts: I hadn’t realized that Bujold’s work had romantic elements although I was familiar with her name. This book reminded me a little of Linnea Sinclair’s Finder’s Keepers, because the two books feature a hero and heroine meet while stranded on a planet together and work as a team to survive. I like that situation — throwing two different people together and seeing what happens 🙂 . In this book, Naismith quickly realizes who Vorkosigan is — also known as The Butcher of Komarr, who is reviled amongst the galaxy, and her academically-inclined world of Beta Colony, so of course, her initial reaction is not favorable, but as they warm to each other she finds out the real story behind his name and a romance soon blossoms. But their time alone together is interrupted by military skirmishes between their two planets as the Barrayarans make a bid for another planet’s resources.

What I liked about this book was that the couple was a little bit older and neither Cordelia or Vorkosigan expected to find someone at that point in their lives. They had both been burned in some way by past relationships and had become accustomed to the idea of being alone for the rest of their lives when they happened to stumble on each other. I thought that their experiences and age meant the protagonists had a dignified air in their declarations and they were both aware of who they were and what others would think of their union. Cordelia is particularly practical about it, but at the same time, the depth of their feelings is not small and I really wanted them to have a happy ending.

I liked Cordelia’s character. She has a calmness in the face of calamity that I enjoyed reading. It’s Vorkosigan who first points it in the book, and afterwards I had to agree. Sometimes she surprised me with her quick thinking, and there is plenty of action going on in this book where she has to use it. Vorkosigan is likeable too but is less a focus. My impression is of an honorable military leader and member of the ruling class who is good at what he does and isn’t always popular with the politicians in his homeland.

There was plenty of quiet moments between the hero and heroine, but then there are also military skirmishes, space flights, chases and escapes. It is full of action and moves forward without me feeling either bored or too flooded by action; there was an excellent balance which made the plot engrossing. There is also some interesting ideas about politics and war and some grey areas like how perception may be skewed by expectations and prior beliefs, then compounded by limited knowledge of the truth. The science fiction aspects are also there in terms of medical advances, transportation, weapons and transportation, but it doesn’t either overwhelm the reader. It’s part of the setting and used in daily life, and as in our lives, some places are more technologically advanced than others.

Overall: Recommended for SFR fans. If all Bujold’s books are like this, I think I’ve found another SFR author to glom onto. There’s a perfect balance between action and character development that I like, and I plan to make my way through the rest of this omnibus and then onto the Miles Vorkosigan saga.

Buy: Amazon | Powells

Other reviews:
Jo Walton @ Tor.com (positive. She has a series of posts on this saga)
Guest review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (B)
Guest review at Dear Author (A)

Links:
Interview with Lois McMaster Bujold about writing the Vorkosigan Saga @ Tor.com
Danger Gal Friday: Captain Cordelia Naismith @ Lisa Paitz Spindler’s blog
First sale story at Dear Author

Heroes at Risk by Moira J. Moore

Posted on November 20, 2009 by janicu

Heroes at Risk

Moira J. Moore

Slowly going through the review backlog, whoohoo! 🙂 As with the last book, I bought this one.The Hero series so far:
Book 1: Resenting the Hero (livejournal | wordpress)
Book 2: The Hero Strikes Back (livejournal | wordpress)
Book 3: Heroes Adrift (livejournal | wordpress)Excerpt of Heroes at Risk (it’s the only one I could find)

****** mild spoilers for the rest of the series, go read my earlier reviews if you aren’t up to this book yet *****

The Premise: This is the fourth book in the Heroes series. Shield Dunleavy (Lee) Mallorough and Source Shintaro (Taro) Karesh are back on the mainland (they henceforth only refer to Flatwell as “that damned island”) and have to face their old life and friends again, which leads to some awkward situations because their relationship is not really clear. Meanwhile High Scape has gone from being a hotbed of disaster to a cold spot, but the people of High Scape have taken to a new trend – dabbling in magic. Some particularly misguided citizens are murdering “lucky” people so they can use their ashes for these spells. Of course, Lee’s first thought is that her handsome partner is prime pickings for another kidnapping.

My Thoughts: This was a good one. I don’t know what it is, but I love to analyze these characters, especially Lee, and we get a lot of fodder for discussion when Lee as usual gets everything all wrong by assuming things in her own blind way. Oh god do I want to shake this woman! Of course, if she was the type of person who was better at reading people (or even as half as good as she thinks she is), I don’t think this series would be as fun. As people have commented on my earlier review, she’s the ultimate unreliable narrator. I was amused that in this book Lee’s faults such as this one, are pointed out to her face, much to her irritation. I agreed with Lee that it was rude, but I think she should listen to some of these criticisms sometimes.

The primary relationship I love to observe is of course Lee and Taro’s. I’m going to point at Angie’s review where she said it perfectly with “it’s always a treat to watch them circle each other once more, to attempt to navigate the treacherous waters that lay between their opposing natures and meet somewhere in the middle”. After the events of the last book where the Pair reach a new plateau in their relationship, some may think that everything is settled, but this is Lee we’re talking about. She as usual makes her assumptions about Taro and when they’re back in High Scape, she bases her actions on these assumptions. It’s a little telling how Lee shields herself from grief by doing things like this, but she’s emotionally inexperienced. Taro’s reaction to this is so Taro as well – he gets emotional, but his reaction seems to bounce harmlessly off Lee’s Impervious Wall of Logical Assumption. Watching things come to a head was one of the reasons why I love this series.

While I’m obsessed with gleaning meaning from every interaction between Taro and Lee, the story is really not primarily focused on their relationship. Lee spends a lot of time in the city trying to learn about the new trend in dabbling with magic. She questions why it’s considered illegal if it is supposed to be all fake anyway, and her discoveries raise some interesting questions about whether magic is real and what it means for Sources and Shields. This intersects with some of the other odd discoveries that she and Taro have made over the past few books regarding their powers and their world. I’m not sure where the author is going to take this, but I sense she has a plan, and I’m really curious to see how it all comes together. Moore introduces a new group of people in High Scape who seem to know a lot about magic and hold a lot of power, and meanwhile there has been a shift in rulers which suggests that their world is on the cusp of change. I think I’d be most happy to see some sort of change in the expectations that are put on Sources and Shields. Throughout the series, there have been questions about how Things Are Done regarding for example, the role of the Triple S in politics, if Sources and Shields are allowed to have a relationship, and whether it’s fair that Sources and Shields never have to pay for anything or never get paid.

A not on the cover: I love the colors and I like how Lee looks, but this is not what Taro looks like in my head. He doesn’t look good to me here.

Overall: Possibly my favorite book in this light fantasy series so far. I’m loving Lee and Taro’s relationship, and the way the series is unfolding has me very interested in where it’s all going.

Buy: Amazon | Powells

Other reviews (all good!):
Angieville – A lovely review. She writes what I want to say but better!
The Book Smugglers – Thea gave it a 7
See Michelle Read – also a positive review

Interview with Moira J. Moore at Angieville

The Way of Shadows (Night Angel book 1) by Brent Weeks

Posted on November 18, 2009 by janicu

The Way of Shadows

(The Night Angel Trilogy)

Brent Weeks

This book languished on my nightstand for a few months. My husband bought this series after realizing it’s about assassins and he recommended it to me after he finished. The 645 page length was daunting though so I didn’t get around to reading it until I was ~~threatened~~, err, reminded that my husband wanted to lend it to a friend and I better read it before he gave it to them.

The Premise: The first book in the Night Angel trilogy, this is an epic tale about the citizens of Cenaria, but the focus is on Azoth, a street urchin who lives on the streets with a ragtag band of other children. His group all hand in most of their earnings to Rat, one of the “Bigs” of their group, who leads through terror. Azoth rashly provokes Rat who decides to use him as an example and Azoth’s only hope for survival (and protect his two friends, Jarl and Doll Girl) is to apprentice under Durzo Blint, the best wetboy (an assassin with a magical edge) in the city. Durzo is never afraid and Azoth wants to never be afraid again. That’s how the book begins, but it becomes bigger and more complex as we meet new characters and see the intricate interactions between them their ramifications on the fate of Cenaria.

Excerpt of The Way of Shadows

My Thoughts: How do I describe this book? It starts off sort of simple and then becomes more complex as you go along. At first when I got a sense of the city, I wasn’t that impressed by the world building. II felt like it wasn’t something I hadn’t seen before: the groups of street children, the idea of Guilds, the corrupt king and unrest while a neighboring land populated by evil magic-doers plots to invade. It reminds me of a lot of other fantasy, but that was okay, because after the world building foundation was in place, the characters and the plot were so unique fascinating my earlier quibbles were forgotten and I enjoyed the book. The author also introduces some new-to-me magical aspects which are peppered throughout the story.

The Way of Shadows begins as a coming of age tale. Azoth has nothing to protect himself or his two friends, the young, mute Doll Girl and the smart but small framed Jarl, and he dreams desperately of leaving the streets and apprenticing under the number one wetboy in the city, Durzo Blint. Azoth’s dream is an almost impossible one, but he does manage to catch Blint’s attention and Durzo promises to teach him only if he passes a test. I was really engrossed by this part of the story – wanting Azoth to pass his test and to destroy Rat, but it is also probably one of the most violent parts of the book. The abuse against children, by other children, while adults may know what’s going on and do nothing, was really hard to read. It gave me chills, but it sets up the story so you know not to expect things to go the way you want them to.

The second part is the apprentice-ship phase where Azoth becomes someone else–Kylar. He trains and grows up and so do his friends and enemies. The focus of the book shifts a little and we get introduced to the points of view of some other characters. Brents starts setting the characters up like pieces on a chessboard. Friendships and actions that occur in this phase may be small and seemingly insignificant but have greater repercussions later on. We also get a lot of interesting characters and begin to learn about their motivations and secret griefs. I particularly liked Durzo Blint who avoids morality and emotional connection. Finding out why and whether it really works for him is part of the fun. Azoth/Kylar’s training as a wetboy was fascinating but not glamorized. The book doesn’t shy away from the darkness of the job.

The final part of the book is Azoth’s final trial to become a full-fledged wetboy. The one thing you should keep in mind if you read this book is DO NOT expect things to go the way you think. At first the twists are minor, but the further you get into the story, the more you realize much of the book is set up for more and more surprises and turns. I think this author has an evil streak, because characters I had begun to like as suddenly killed off while characters I hated kept being despicable and unchecked. Each of the characters only knows his or her little part of the story and often acts without knowing that they’re doing the wrong thing for the overall picture. If you really connect to a character you may get disappointed at what happens to them, but ultimately I thought that the book did end in a hopeful place despite all the things that go wrong. Of course, this book is LONG. I was 200 pages from the end and wondering how we weren’t already at the end, because the sh*t was hitting the fan and I couldn’t see how there were 200 pages to go. Usually in fantasy the ending happens shortly after a battle, but in The Way of Shadows, the author was not done, things kept coming, more and more twists showed up, I couldn’t believe it. While I could appreciate the twists, if I can find any fault, I’d say they did start to feel improbable just by how often a new one was thrown in.

Overall: An gritty epic fantasy tale with more twists than a bag of pretzels. It didn’t quite wring me out and I thought it was ultimately hopeful and worth the read, but it was a roller coaster. I’m very curious where things will go now.

Buy: Amazon | Powells

Other reviews:
Hello, Ilona Andrews liked it! (link has Andrews’ thoughts plus an interview with Brent Weeks)
Un:bound – Haglerat called it a wonderfully rich traditional fantasy
Tempting Persephone – also liked it and recommends it
Fantasy/SciFi Book review – loved it
Fantasy Book Critic – Highly recommended
My Favourite Books – also a positive review
Giraffe Days – a mixed review

Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore

Posted on November 13, 2009 by janicu

Heroes Adrift

Moira J. Moore

This is (for some reason) one book I read last year but didn’t review. I just read Heroes at Risk and wanted to review it, but it felt like I was skipping this book, so here goes: a review from my memory to fulfill my OCD completest tendencies. This is another series I’m addicted to where you have to get used to the heroine (and narrator) to enjoy it. She can be really obtuse about herself while simultaneously making observations about other people. Check out my reviews of book 1 and 2 if you’re interested in trying it out.The Hero series until now:
Book 1: Resenting the Hero (livejournal | wordpress)
Book 2: The Hero Strikes Back (livejournal | wordpress)

The Premise: This is the third book in the Heroes series which is about a Shield and Source Pair who protect the populace from natural disasters by channeling them away. Dunleavy Mallorough (Lee) and Shintaro Karish (Taro) have been mysteriously called to court in Erstwhile by the Empress. Lee doesn’t like it, and soon she’s proved correct for this reaction because the queen tasks the Pair to find one of her heirs, who was hidden away on Flatwell, one of the Southern Islands. Lee and Taro go there, only to discover that Flatwell doesn’t recognize Pairs the same way that the mainland does. This means Lee and Taro have to actually earn their own money while trying to find this lost relative!

Excerpt of Heroes Adrift

******** possible mild spoilers of the earlier books from this point ********

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one, probably because when push come to shove, Lee and Taro really worked together in this book. They’re both miserable, and only have each other. It’s hard, particularly for Taro, because Flatwell people see him as plain and useless, not as vibrant and beautiful as he was always seen in the mainland (and in other books). The role reversal was amusing, and Lee becomes the stronger, more admired part of the Pair, much to her and Taro’s astonishment. Meanwhile, poor Taro begins to question his usefulness, because in Flatwell, his skills as a Source and his pretty manners are seen as unmarketable. Only stubborn Lee continues to see him as he was seen on the mainland, which says a lot about their relationship.

This book was a little bit of a breather for me in terms of getting annoyed at Lee. I think that Lee has a habit of not speaking her thoughts out to people (because Shields are supposed to be stony), and just letting them talk, which leads to misunderstandings. I often think “Why don’t you SAY that!”, but no, she doesn’t, she assumes they should logically realize what she’s thinking and then she’s surprised when they come to their own decision, because of their “talk”. Thankfully, in Flatwell, the people are a bit different from the mainland–they’re less interested in what Taro and Lee are up to, and so Lee doesn’t get into those situations so much. The focus is much more on just the two of them, and the results are delightful.

You could say this is sort of a transitional book, but I think the mission this Pair is on may have repercussions later on in the series. I feel like Moore is very subtly putting it into the readers heads through Lee that there’s beginning to be a shift in the political climate in this world. There’s also a lot of questions about if things being done the way they are now are the right way to do things, particularly in regards to Sources and Shields.

Also: This may be my favorite cover for this series so far.

Overall: A really interesting installment where Lee and Taro’s roles get a little twist and there are some juicy developments in their relationship.

Buy: Amazon | Powells

Other reviews:
Angieville – a positive review
The Book Smugglers – 7-Very good

Cast In Silence by Michelle Sagara

Posted on October 28, 2009 by janicu

Cast in Silence (Elantra)

Michelle Sagara

This is one of my reads this weekend during the 24-hour read-a-thon. I bought this a while ago but hadn’t had the time to read it until now.

The Premise: This is the fifth book in the Chronicles of Elantra series which is a fantasy set in the city of Elantra, where Kaylin Neya, a member of one of the arms of law, called the Hawks, lives. Kaylin is the focus of a lot of attention because of mysterious symbols written all over her body, which have been there since her birth, and for the amazing things she can sometimes do. In this installment, the story continues shortly after the events in Cast in Fury when a message makes it’s way to Kaylin, demanding her help with something that’s disrupting the fiefs.

Book 1: Cast in Shadow
Book 2: Cast in Courtlight
Book 3: Cast in Secret (review – LJ | wordpress)
Book 4: Cast in Fury (review – LJ | wordpress)

My Thoughts: By this book, the characters surrounding Kaylin have been introduced, but we get some surprising background into Kaylin’s past when someone she knows from the fiefs shows up on Kaylin and Severn’s patrol with a message from the fieflord Barren. I don’t remember if it was mentioned in any of the earlier books in this series, but we discover that Kaylin spent time in Barren in between leaving Nightshade and before joining the Hawks. Exactly what she was doing there is slowly revealed in this book. I liked that I was learning some new back story about Kaylin, and we also get surprised by a different view of Lord Nightshade. I think I got part of my wish after reading the last book, which was to learn more about Kaylin and her powers. Each of the books in this series has delved a little into the different people of Elantra, and this time we’re circling back to the fiefs and to the characters and their pasts. I’m a big fan of the way Sagara writes her cities and the characters in them. It always feels like there’s a lot interesting things that the reader wants to know more about, so I’m glad that in each successive book, we learn something new. I also wanted to see more relationship development between Kaylin and the other characters, which we do see, however, don’t expect much romance in this one. Although the book is published by Luna, an imprint of Harlequin books, the romance in this series is very low and usually only faintly hinted at. In this installment there is even less than that.

When this series first came out, I think I read the first book like it was candy. I loved the idea. When the second book came out, I loved it even more than the first (it’s my favorite of the series). Then in the third and fourth, I started to have some problems (which I brought up in my earlier reviews): there were too many times where people either berate Kaylin for asking some obvious question about the world that she should know the answer to, or would just NOT tell Kaylin something because it was some taboo to talk about and again, Kaylin is just an idiot for asking. Meanwhile, Kaylin (and the reader) have no idea what the other character was going on about. In this book, thankfully, we don’t have another situation where the story would have ended 100 pages earlier if someone had answered Kaylin’s question, but we do have the usual – “Kaylin, I don’t know how you’ve survived for so long” comments. Sometimes I agreed because I know Kaylin is not supposed to be blabbing certain things to certain people, and she just can’t help letting secrets slip out, but other times, I just found that old chestnut exasperating. I know this is supposed to be part of her character (I’m pretty sure, because this is not a trend I see in other Sagara novels), but it still annoys me a lot. I hoped it would improve, but while Kaylin has grown over the course of the series, she’s still considered in need of learning, so I suspect it won’t for the next few books.

The other (bigger) problem I had, (and I suppose it’s connected), is that so much is conveyed through dialogue and I often had trouble understanding it. Someone would say something loaded with meaning, and it would completely go over my head. But I knew it meant something because of the reactions of the other characters. So I’d reread it. And still not get it. I didn’t realize how often this happened until the read-a-thon when I noticed that my reading speed was about 30 to 40 pages an hour, when my usual reading speed is more like 60 to 100 pages an hour. I just kept having to reread pages and it had a significant impact on my pace. I’m not sure if it was just because I was getting tired from reading hours on end, but I think that the way the dialogue is written lends itself to needing rereading for understanding.

Overall: My feeling are mixed. I love this author. I think that this book is very well written, especially in terms of world building, actual writing style and characters. I will keep reading to find out how things play out for Kaylin, however, with the repeated problems in understanding the dialogue and with how Kaylin’s character is treated, my enthusiasm for this series is dropping. I hope the next installment renews it.

Buy: Amazon | B&N

Other reviews:
Dear Author – gave it a B