Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin is a young adult alternative history novel set in a world in which the Nazis won the Second World War. We follow our protagonist, Yael, who is a death camp survivor, and her mission to kill Hitler. This mission hangs on the fact that Yael’s experiences in the death camp gave her the ability to change her appearance to look like any other woman. She must impersonate famous motor cyclist Adele Wolfe, the only person in recent times who has been able to get close to the Führer. To achieve this goal she must first compete in a trans continental bike race from Germania (Berlin) to Tokyo while not revealing her secret to Adele’s brother and former flame Luka Löwe. I have to say this book really got under my skin. I was completely invested in Yael’s story and rooting for her. I lay awake at night thinking of her story What I liked The protagonist. I loved that Yael is a blend of kick ass heroine and vulnerability. Graudin did an excellent job of making the mission personal to Yael through the use of flashbacks and the imagery of the wolf tattoos. Her…
Harry Potter with a twist continues in The Copper Gauntlet, the second book in The Magisterium series from Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. As I mentioned in my review of book one, The Iron Trial, it is impossible to read The Magisterium and not think of Harry Potter. In this case, imagine that Harry has learned about his Horcrux situation right at the beginning of his academic studies and that Neville has been acclaimed as the Chosen One, able to defeat Voldemort. This gives Call a far more nuanced outlook than Harry, especially at an equivalent age (Chamber of Secrets era.) which makes him, to me, a more interesting character. Don’t get me wrong; I love Harry. However, in the early books at least, he sees things very much as black or white, good or evil. Not so Call. The connections are too numerous to be accidental. This time around they are more subtle, but still present. We have an antagonist whose main objective is to conquer Death itself. His nickname is “The Enemy of Death.” Voldemort, anyone? Fair enough, it is a fairly common trope, but combine it with magic school and you have Harry Potter. Another theme common…
One of the books I was most anticipating this year was Robin Hobb’s Fool’s Quest, which was released on August 11th and it certainly didn’t disappoint. I found it impossible to review this book without mentioning some minor spoilers, so I will hide the spoiler part of the review. To summarise though I loved this book. Fitz and the Fool are one of my favourite literary partnerships and I loved reading the continuation of the story. This is the second in the Fitz and the Fool trilogy, following on from Fool’s Assassin. The first book was a slow burner, if still very enjoyable, focussing more on character development than action. This followup is more action oriented and is a wonderful read. I gave Fool’s Quest five stars out of five and would thoroughly recommend it to any Hobbs fan. For those new to Hobbs, start with Assassin’s Apprentice (but be aware it’s a slow starter but well worth it) The rest of the review may contain spoilers and my speculation for book three, so click through only if you have read the book and/or want to be spoiled.
[book-info title=”Because You’ll Never Meet Me” author=”Leah Thomas”] Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas is a young adult contemporary novel and tells of the pen friendship between two isolated young men, Moritz from Germany and Ollie who lives in the US. Each of the two young men has a physical ailment which limits their interaction with mainstream society. These same limitations – for Ollie an severe reaction to electricity and for Moritz a heart defect requiring an electronic pacemaker – precludes their ever meeting face to face. Their friendship develops through the letters they write to each other. The novel is written in the style of letters exchanged between the two. I loved this book, which I listened to in audiobook format. What I liked The characters. I adored both Ollie and Moritz and was emotionally invested in their journeys. I was really rooting for them both. Their two differing points of view are beautifully brought out through the letters they write to each other. Each has a unique writing style which gave a wonderful insight into their characters. It is a mark of how invested I was in the two that when Moritz finally comes back…
The Invasion of the Tearling is the second in Erika Johansen’s YA Tearling fantasy trilogy. It continues the story of young queen Kelsea Glynn as she prepares to deal with the aftermath of her actions in the first novel, The Queen of the Tearling. I’ll start this review by stating that I hadn’t actually intended to continue with this series, given that I had significant issues with Johansen’s worldbuilding and character development in the first book. However, I recently read the book blurb which indicated to me that Johansen was taking clear steps to address some of the issues with the worldbuilding at least and so I decided to give the series a second chance. What I liked Additional point of view character. For this second outing, Johansen has added a second point of view character, Lily. Lily is a woman from the pre-Crossing era who has a strange connection with our protagonist, Kelsea. Through her eyes we learn more about the history of the Tearling’s founding and what led William Tear to strike out to begin his utopia. I absolutely loved Lily’s story and, personally, I was far more engaged with her plight than Kelsea’s. These sections were wonderful…
The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon is the second in her dystopian fantasy series – it is the follow on to The Bone Season which I have read and reviewed. It follows straight on from the ending of The Bone Season and deals with the aftermath of the events of that novel. I will say straight off that I enjoyed The Mime Order much more than the series opener. Much of the heavy lifting in terms of worldbuilding has been done – although there is naturally much more to learn – so Shannon is able to concentrate on weaving a strong narrative. What I liked Very strong narrative. For me this worked very well in this book. Our protagonist has a clear, logical goal towards which she is working – the uniting of the clairvoyant underworld to provide a viable opposition to the Raphaim – and while there are lots of twists and turns in the way, it remains the backbone of the story. Personally, I was invested in this plotline and enjoyed watching it coming to fruition. I also felt Shannon kept the plot moving on briskly and had me wanting to keep turning the pages. Engaging protagonist. The…
Fairest – Levana’s Story by Marissa Meyer is a prequel to her fairytale reimagining series The Lunar Chronicles. It provides the backstory to series antagonist Queen Levana Blackburn of Luna. If you are new to The Lunar Chronicles, PLEASE don’t start with this book – go read Cinder, Scarlet and Cress and then come back to it. It will be more engaging in that way. This book is a very focussed character study of Queen Levana and how she turned from a naive, self absorbed young girl into the tyrant our heroines are trying to depose. There is little in the way of worldbuilding or major plot development. It remains mostly confined to the Lunar Royal Palace. What I liked Character development. This is the focus of the book and is excellently done. We follow Levana’s progression from a self absorbed, naive young girl to the vicious despot of the later books. I appreciated how each step and decision she took along that path was small and logical at the time but each developed her character as it turned out to be. I found her an interesting character, and at many points she gained my sympathy for what she went…
Firefight by Brandon Sanderson is the second in his YA contemporary fantasy trilogy Reckoners about ordinary humans turned megalomanic villains when they received superpowers. It continues the story – begun in Steelheart – of David and the Reckoners who aim to bring down the despotic Epics. If you enjoyed Steelheart, you’ll likely have fun with Firefight – it’s more of the same. It continues on the theme of power corrupting and strength of spirit perhaps overcoming this. What I liked Expanded world and character set. In this instalment David and the Reckoners leave Newcago, the location of the first book, to go take on a new Epic, Regalia, in Babylar, in other words, New York. It’s always fun when an author takes you new places, and Sanderson’s world building is excellent. His take on New York is unique and adds to the whole scope of the novel. As well as new locations we also meet new characters. They are a lot of fun and and are reasonably fleshed out. New layers in the whole origin of the Epics plot. In this book, David learns more about the cause of the Epics’ superpowers and their weaknesses. I imagine we’ll learn even…
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion tells the story of the romance between Don, a university professor clearly on the autism spectrum, and Rosie, a young woman he assists in her search for her biological father. Their relationship is complicated by Don’s insistence that any potential partner prove her compatibility by completing and passing a multi page questionnaire. Causes for rejection as a potential partner include; being a vegetarian, smoking, being continually late, all of which apply to Rosie. I adored The Rosie Project – it engaged me in the characters and had me at times giggling at Don’s antics, and generally rooting for them. I listened to it in audiobook format which was excellent. What I liked The characters. I adored them. Don’s social ineptness was very endearing (although I don’t think I’d want to deal with it personally on a day-to-day basis) and Rosie was such a lot of fun. I was rooting for them, both in their romantic relationship and their quest to identify Rosie’s biological father thanks to Don’s genetics know-how. Even the minor characters, such as Don’s friends Gene and Claudia, had their own issues which kept them interesting as well. Don’s character development. I…
The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan is the fifth and final book in the Heroes of Olympus saga. In this book the seven demigods of the prophesy finally have their confrontation with Gaea. I listened to it in audiobook format – perfect for a sick day from work where you don’t feel like doing much. If you enjoyed the previous books, it’s very likely you will like this one, too. It’s more of the same, with resolution of lots of plotlines. It seems this is the final book in Percy’s world, at least for some time – Riordan is moving onto a series on Norse mythology (sign me up for that asap) – so it is nice to get some closure on these characters with whom we have spent five and in many cases 10 books. What I liked The writing style. A Rick Riordan novel can be characterised as a mixture of humour and adventure, and Blood of Olympus is no different. I often found myself chuckling out loud at a particularly amusing turn of phrase. Riordan’s books are definitely a quick, fun read. The resolution. Riordan resolved the main conflicts efficiently and pretty much as predicted, throwing in…