Longbourn by Jo Baker is the retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice from the point of view of the Longbourn servants. I received a copy free to review via Netgalley. I should start by saying straight off that this retelling doesn’t have Austen’s sharp insight and witty dialogue, but that would be a lot to ask of any writer. That is not to say it’s not an enjoyable read nevertheless. What I liked Meeting old friends again. I’ve always loved Pride and Prejudice and Austen’s characters and enjoyed meeting them again from a fresh perspective. Baker has done well in maintaining the essence of the characters. Jane is still as sweet and lovely, Lydia is still immature and naive, Darcy is still aloof, Wickham is still a slimy piece of work. What I did enjoy about this interpretation was the added depth we got to some of the more minor characters. Yes, Mrs. Bennet is still a drama queen, but we get more of a sense of the unhappiness beneath her need for attention. Likewise, Mr. Collins; although he remains smarmy, we see more of the young man struggling to cope with an elevated position without the necessary experience…
Longbourn by Jo Baker is the retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice from the point of view of the Longbourn servants. I received a copy free to review via Netgalley. I should start by saying straight off that this retelling doesn’t have Austen’s sharp insight and witty dialogue, but that would be a lot to ask of any writer. That is not to say it’s not an enjoyable read nevertheless. What I liked Meeting old friends again. I’ve always loved Pride and Prejudice and Austen’s characters and enjoyed meeting them again from a fresh perspective. Baker has done well in maintaining the essence of the characters. Jane is still as sweet and lovely, Lydia is still immature and naive, Darcy is still aloof, Wickham is still a slimy piece of work. What I did enjoy about this interpretation was the added depth we got to some of the more minor characters. Yes, Mrs. Bennet is still a drama queen, but we get more of a sense of the unhappiness beneath her need for attention. Likewise, Mr. Collins; although he remains smarmy, we see more of the young man struggling to cope with an elevated position without the necessary experience…
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker is the story of, well, a golem and a jinni who find themselves in turn of the century New York. Recently awoken/liberated respectively they must find their feet in and adapt to the New World while avoiding threats which could destroy them. First of all, I would like to say just how much I loved this story. I loved the characters, the narrative, the setting. What I found rather interesting was the fact that, had the golem and the jinni been just ordinary immigrants instead of supernatural creatures, 80% of the story could have remained unchanged. It is much more a story of new immigrants to the States adapting to their new lives and country and friendships formed than a fantastical tale of the supernatural. That is not to say that the element of the fantastical did not add an extra layer of depth to the tale, but it is well grounded in reality. What I liked The characters. All the characters were beautifully written, from our two protagonists down to “Ice Cream Salah.” Due to circumstances beyond their control, the golem and the jinni find themselves alone in turn of the…
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker is the story of, well, a golem and a jinni who find themselves in turn of the century New York. Recently awoken/liberated respectively they must find their feet in and adapt to the New World while avoiding threats which could destroy them. First of all, I would like to say just how much I loved this story. I loved the characters, the narrative, the setting. What I found rather interesting was the fact that, had the golem and the jinni been just ordinary immigrants instead of supernatural creatures, 80% of the story could have remained unchanged. It is much more a story of new immigrants to the States adapting to their new lives and country and friendships formed than a fantastical tale of the supernatural. That is not to say that the element of the fantastical did not add an extra layer of depth to the tale, but it is well grounded in reality. What I liked The characters. All the characters were beautifully written, from our two protagonists down to “Ice Cream Salah.” Due to circumstances beyond their control, the golem and the jinni find themselves alone in turn of the…
Clockwork Princess is the third and final book in Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices trilogy, following on from Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince. My view of the series was merely consolidated rather than changed by my reading of the finale – Cassandra Clare is excellent and writing characters and worldbuilding, not so great at pacing. What I liked The characters. I adore Tess, Will and Jem and I felt the way their story was developed in this final volume was very well written and very touching. I really felt for all the protagonists in the book. We also get to see the development of Will’s relationship with Jem from their initial meeting through flashbacks. I know some people disliked the epilogue, but personally I loved hearing about what happened to the characters after the ending of the story. I also loved all the secondary characters – Charlotte, Henry, Cecily, the Lightwoods. Writing characters and their interactions is clearly Clare’s real strong point. I enjoyed the fact that certain characters were not necessarily evil, believed they were doing the right thing, but were still major hurdles for our protagonists. The narration. Yet again the trilogy switched narrator. All four narrators did…
Clockwork Princess is the third and final book in Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices trilogy, following on from Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince. My view of the series was merely consolidated rather than changed by my reading of the finale – Cassandra Clare is excellent and writing characters and worldbuilding, not so great at pacing. What I liked The characters. I adore Tess, Will and Jem and I felt the way their story was developed in this final volume was very well written and very touching. I really felt for all the protagonists in the book. We also get to see the development of Will’s relationship with Jem from their initial meeting through flashbacks. I know some people disliked the epilogue, but personally I loved hearing about what happened to the characters after the ending of the story. I also loved all the secondary characters – Charlotte, Henry, Cecily, the Lightwoods. Writing characters and their interactions is clearly Clare’s real strong point. I enjoyed the fact that certain characters were not necessarily evil, believed they were doing the right thing, but were still major hurdles for our protagonists. The narration. Yet again the trilogy switched narrator. All four narrators did…
Cold Magic by Kate Elliott is the first in the Spiritwalker trilogy and tells the story of Cat Hassi Barahal as she comes to terms with the strange new path her life is taking her and the new powers she acquires. Cold Magic has been on my TBR list for some time. I’d picked it up several months back when it was on special offer on Kindle for $1.99, but never got round to reading it. It moved up the list a few weeks ago when I read an intriguing article on the magic system, yet it never quite made it to the top. Finally a couple of weeks ago, Audible released it as an audiobook. This is the first of the books to be released on Audible, so I picked it up to listen to during my nightshifts and it finally made it to the top of the list. I’m very glad it did! What I liked Interesting themes. Elliott explores some interesting themes in this novel. One of the major ones is magic vs technology. The society in which Cat lives is beginning to make progress with industrialisation and this engenders conflict with the powerful Mage Houses, the…
Cold Magic by Kate Elliott is the first in the Spiritwalker trilogy and tells the story of Cat Hassi Barahal as she comes to terms with the strange new path her life is taking her and the new powers she acquires. Cold Magic has been on my TBR list for some time. I’d picked it up several months back when it was on special offer on Kindle for $1.99, but never got round to reading it. It moved up the list a few weeks ago when I read an intriguing article on the magic system, yet it never quite made it to the top. Finally a couple of weeks ago, Audible released it as an audiobook. This is the first of the books to be released on Audible, so I picked it up to listen to during my nightshifts and it finally made it to the top of the list. I’m very glad it did! What I liked Interesting themes. Elliott explores some interesting themes in this novel. One of the major ones is magic vs technology. The society in which Cat lives is beginning to make progress with industrialisation and this engenders conflict with the powerful Mage Houses, the…
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare is the second in the Infernal Devices trilogy. I have already reviewed Clockwork Angel, the first one in the set. I would say I enjoyed Prince more than Angel. In fact, I very much enjoyed it indeed. What I liked The characters. Clare spends a lot of time on character development in this book, possibly at the expense of plot, but it was well worth it. I already liked the characters from book one, and book two brings even more depth to them. What I found interesting with the two main male protagonists, Will and Jem, was how their physical appearance contrasted with their emotional makeup. Jem, with his silver hair and eyes and frail body seems almost ethereal yet emotionally Tessa describes him as solid, steady, reliable. Will, on the other hand, has dark, vibrant good looks, at the peak of physical perfection, is a broken and haunted soul. There are strong hints of this reversing however as Jem’s love for Tessa and his impending mortality leave him vulnerable and Will is making good progress battling his own internal demons. The love triangle. Often, love triangles in young adult novels make me cringe – I’m…
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare is the second in the Infernal Devices trilogy. I have already reviewed Clockwork Angel, the first one in the set. I would say I enjoyed Prince more than Angel. In fact, I very much enjoyed it indeed. What I liked The characters. Clare spends a lot of time on character development in this book, possibly at the expense of plot, but it was well worth it. I already liked the characters from book one, and book two brings even more depth to them. What I found interesting with the two main male protagonists, Will and Jem, was how their physical appearance contrasted with their emotional makeup. Jem, with his silver hair and eyes and frail body seems almost ethereal yet emotionally Tessa describes him as solid, steady, reliable. Will, on the other hand, has dark, vibrant good looks, at the peak of physical perfection, is a broken and haunted soul. There are strong hints of this reversing however as Jem’s love for Tessa and his impending mortality leave him vulnerable and Will is making good progress battling his own internal demons. The love triangle. Often, love triangles in young adult novels make me cringe – I’m…