The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is whimsical tale of a magical competition by proxy between two conjurers which takes place through the medium of a fantastical circus which “opens at nightfall, closes at dawn.” The challenge is further complicated by the fact that the two chosen proxies fall in love. I read recently that the novel in its original form was little more than a series of vignettes with little in the way of plot or cohesion to pull them together. While in the published form it’s true that visual images are more important than plot, it still flows very well. I found that The Night Circus sneaked up on me. It didn’t immediately draw me in, but the more I read the more I fell in love with Morgenstern’s circus and the people who live and work in it. What I liked Visual imagery. One of the real treats of The Night Circus is the beautiful images conjured up by Morgenstern’s writing. Her descriptions of, say, the Ice Garden or the Cloud Maze are breathtakingly evocative and stunning. It really made me wish I could visit them in person. Larger than life but relatable characters. All of the…
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani is the fairytalesque story of Sophie and Agatha who attend the School for Good and Evil. The twist is that Sophie, who s is beautiful and thinks of herself as a princess and is expecting to go to the School for Good, ends up being placed in the School for Evil whereas reclusive, less traditionally attractive Agatha is placed in the School for Good. Much of the book revolves around the girls’ struggle to adapt to an environment and course of study which feels alien to them. What I liked The Sophie Agatha friendship. This relationship is really at the core of the book. Although the girls are very different, they do share a close bond even if they don’t always recognise or acknowledge it. I loved the way their friendship was developed – and tested throughout the book. The nature of good and evil. Of course, it’s implied that, since the girls were sent to the schools they were, there was obviously some implication of what made Agatha “good” and Sophie “evil.” From various incidents it appears that evil is equated with selfishness and good with consideration for others. I’m not…
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani is the fairytalesque story of Sophie and Agatha who attend the School for Good and Evil. The twist is that Sophie, who s is beautiful and thinks of herself as a princess and is expecting to go to the School for Good, ends up being placed in the School for Evil whereas reclusive, less traditionally attractive Agatha is placed in the School for Good. Much of the book revolves around the girls’ struggle to adapt to an environment and course of study which feels alien to them. What I liked The Sophie Agatha friendship. This relationship is really at the core of the book. Although the girls are very different, they do share a close bond even if they don’t always recognise or acknowledge it. I loved the way their friendship was developed – and tested throughout the book. The nature of good and evil. Of course, it’s implied that, since the girls were sent to the schools they were, there was obviously some implication of what made Agatha “good” and Sophie “evil.” From various incidents it appears that evil is equated with selfishness and good with consideration for others. I’m not…
Red Rising by Pierce Brown is the first in a trilogy of YA dystopian novels. It tells the story of Darrow who, after his wife’s martyrdom, is given the opportunity to escape his lower class existence in order to infiltrate his society’s elite. The idea behind this is that he will give the rebels opposing the current regime a man on the inside to help bring down the current system. When he learns that his class has been lied to for many years, he doesn’t hesitate to take this opportunity. I received a copy free to review from Netgalley. Del Rey is promoting Red Rising quite heavily at the moment, and it’s always quite fun to see books I’ve read free on huge piles in bookstores or in internet advertisements. Feedback has been generally excellent – Red Rising has an average rating of 4.35 on GoodReads. What I liked Good worldbuilding. Brown does an excellent job of setting up the world in which Darrow lives originally, his challenges, and despair at his wife’s death. He then follows it up with a good description of the world of the Golds – the elite – the world Darrow must infiltrate. While survival…
Red Rising by Pierce Brown is the first in a trilogy of YA dystopian novels. It tells the story of Darrow who, after his wife’s martyrdom, is given the opportunity to escape his lower class existence in order to infiltrate his society’s elite. The idea behind this is that he will give the rebels opposing the current regime a man on the inside to help bring down the current system. When he learns that his class has been lied to for many years, he doesn’t hesitate to take this opportunity. I received a copy free to review from Netgalley. Del Rey is promoting Red Rising quite heavily at the moment, and it’s always quite fun to see books I’ve read free on huge piles in bookstores or in internet advertisements. Feedback has been generally excellent – Red Rising has an average rating of 4.35 on GoodReads. What I liked Good worldbuilding. Brown does an excellent job of setting up the world in which Darrow lives originally, his challenges, and despair at his wife’s death. He then follows it up with a good description of the world of the Golds – the elite – the world Darrow must infiltrate. While survival…
Cress by Marissa Meyer is the third in the Lunar Chronicles series and is loosely based on the Rapunzel fairytale. It also continues the stories of Cinder and Scarlet, the heroines of the first two novels based on Cinderella and Red Riding Hood respectively. Cress is quite a different kind of protagonist to Cinder and Scarlet who are both rather feisty and capable. This fits very well with the Rapunzel backstory; like her fairytale counterpart, Cress has spent the majority of her life isolated from human contact and the world in general and when the girls and their guys break her out she is naturally very uncertain and rather naive. One of the themes of the fairytale is leaving parental (over)protection and going out into the world despite all its dangers and this is seen in Cress. Once again Meyer has woven in the main storybeats of the original fairytale – maiden, trapped in a tower, wicked witch, prince blinded – but has given them a very original twist in her retelling. What I liked Cress’s characterisation. Despite being less kickass than Cress or Scarlet, Cress still has her strengths more so as she gains in confidence. Certainly, she…
Cress by Marissa Meyer is the third in the Lunar Chronicles series and is loosely based on the Rapunzel fairytale. It also continues the stories of Cinder and Scarlet, the heroines of the first two novels based on Cinderella and Red Riding Hood respectively. Cress is quite a different kind of protagonist to Cinder and Scarlet who are both rather feisty and capable. This fits very well with the Rapunzel backstory; like her fairytale counterpart, Cress has spent the majority of her life isolated from human contact and the world in general and when the girls and their guys break her out she is naturally very uncertain and rather naive. One of the themes of the fairytale is leaving parental (over)protection and going out into the world despite all its dangers and this is seen in Cress. Once again Meyer has woven in the main storybeats of the original fairytale – maiden, trapped in a tower, wicked witch, prince blinded – but has given them a very original twist in her retelling. What I liked Cress’s characterisation. Despite being less kickass than Cress or Scarlet, Cress still has her strengths more so as she gains in confidence. Certainly, she…
Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead is the sixth and final book in the Vampire Academy series. It is an excellent end to the series, and ties up a lot of loose ends. In it Rose must go on the run to avoid execution on false charges. Meanwhile Lissa must navigate the murky waters of Moroi politics. What I liked Culmination of foreshadowing. As the final chapter of the story unfolds, it’s clear Mead had everything well planned out from the beginning. Throwaway lines from earlier books take on major significance. We also get to meet characters who have only been mentioned in passing. Lissa’s character development. By this book Rose’s character has already matured significantly, and in terms of character the spotlight is more on Lissa in this book as she navigates Moroi politics. She learns a good deal about herself and her future role in society. Of course it doesn’t quite mitigate my personal gripe of teenage characters being given real power despite their limited life experience. The Alchemists. I loved what we learned about the Alchemists and I look forward to reading the spinoff series, Bloodlines. What I didn’t like The Rose/Lissa bond development. I really didn’t…
Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead is the sixth and final book in the Vampire Academy series. It is an excellent end to the series, and ties up a lot of loose ends. In it Rose must go on the run to avoid execution on false charges. Meanwhile Lissa must navigate the murky waters of Moroi politics. What I liked Culmination of foreshadowing. As the final chapter of the story unfolds, it’s clear Mead had everything well planned out from the beginning. Throwaway lines from earlier books take on major significance. We also get to meet characters who have only been mentioned in passing. Lissa’s character development. By this book Rose’s character has already matured significantly, and in terms of character the spotlight is more on Lissa in this book as she navigates Moroi politics. She learns a good deal about herself and her future role in society. Of course it doesn’t quite mitigate my personal gripe of teenage characters being given real power despite their limited life experience. The Alchemists. I loved what we learned about the Alchemists and I look forward to reading the spinoff series, Bloodlines. What I didn’t like The Rose/Lissa bond development. I really didn’t…
First of all, my apologies for the hiatus in posting this week. I’ve been suffering a miserable cold and eye infection so I’ve not really been feeling much like blogging. On the other hand, audiobooks meant I was still able to enjoy my reading without hurting my eyes. I was able to get through both The School for Good and Evil, a good vs evil fairytale by Soman Chainani and Cress, book three in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Both of these are excellent books narrated by fantastic narrators and I will do full reviews once I get rid of this cold. Added to my library this week I had been hearing good things about The Maze Runner by James Dashner, but it was not one that grabbed me so much that I wanted to buy it. I waited patiently to come to the head of my library’s ebook queue and downloaded it to my Kobo today. Cress, in both Kindle and Audible formats. This is the week of release of the third book in the Lunar Chronicles and as I adored the earlier books in the series I had this on preorder. I listened to it straight through and…