Two Minute Review: Prisoner of Ice and Snow by Ruth Lauren

Title: Prisoner of Ice and Snow
Author: Ruth Lauren
Genre: fantasy
Series: N/A
Pages: 288
Published: expected April 4 2017
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 3.75/5

When Valor is arrested, she couldn’t be happier. Demidova’s prison for criminal children is exactly where she wants to be. Valor’s sister Sasha is already serving a life sentence for stealing from the royal family and Valor is going to help her escape . . . from the inside.

Never mind that no one has escaped in three hundred years. Valor has a plan and resources most could only dream about. But she didn't count on having to outsmart both the guards and her fellow prisoners. If Valor’s plan is to succeed, she’ll need to make unlikely allies. And if the plan fails, she and Sasha could end up with fates worse than prison.

This fresh and exciting middle-grade debut effortlessly melds an unforgettable protagonist, a breathless plot, and stunning world-building—and is impossible to put down.

Did you like Pixar's Brave and Merida, especially? Or the Anna and Elsa show aka Disney's Frozen? Well the stubbornness and archery angle of the first meets the impenetrable, enduring-even-the-depths-of-winter sister-bond of the second in Ruth Lauren's Prisoner of Ice and Snow. It's a fun, inviting story; Lauren mixes some great tropes into her writing and uses those tropes in fresh new ways. Prison Break-esque plotting and complex women are the norm for this fast-moving middle grade fantasy and are used to create an entertaining story and memorable characters.

The world is interesting and has potential; there's a vaguely Russian/Baltic feel to Valor's home country and surrounding states, but there's not much real worldbuilding done. The focus here is on Valor, her sister Sasha, and then their various allies and opponents. Though there is some atmosphere and tension to be found in the 280-odd pages, Prisoner of Ice and Snow is undeniably a more character-driven MG novel. The story is directly propelled by Valor and her refusal to give up on escape. She is the anchor of the story and it's easy to invest and care about her. A strong plot and better characters make up Ruth Lauren's debut more than worth a read.

Two Minute Review: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Title: Geekerella
Author: Ashley Poston
Genre: contemporary, retelling
Series: N/A
Pages: 320
Published: April 4 2017
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 3.5/5

Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale.

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad's old costume), Elle's determined to win unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons before he was famous. Now they re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he's ever wanted, but the Starfieldfandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

I ended up liking Geekerella, but it was a struggle at first.

First, the book has a lot of superficial similarities to another book about fandom I read and hated last year. Instead of making me feel, "wow this is what that book was trying to do!", I felt like it was more of the same. A fandom liberally ripped off of Star Trek. A nerdy main character with no interests outside of fandom. A movie reboot and fan backlash, also liberally stolen from the real Trek fandom. An overabundance of actual fandom references to make the book seem hip to geeks IRL. It's not Poston or the book's fault my mind compared it to another, but it kind of is its fault that this has been done before.

Second, while I liked Darien from his first chapter, I took a long time to warm to Elle. She just came off very flat for me. She had no interests outside of the fandom. I needed her to write original screenplays or volunteer at an animal shelter since she loves the neighbor’s dog. Listen to obscure Swedish pop or secretly smuggle Harlequin romances under her pillow. Something! Work it into the existing story by having her be a former ballroom dancing champion, a childhood passion driven by all those waltzes with dad in the living room. Or, she took the job at the Magic Pumpkin because she has a secret love of the movie Chef and a passion for street food. Literally anything besides fanfiction and reruns. Elle won me over once the story moved to the con, but it made more than 50% of the book a slog.

I do like the attempt at diversity in the book, as Darien is Indian and the role of Carmidore is specifically written for an Indian main character, something we Trekkies definitely didn’t get in 1966. There’s also a f/f beta romance, though it doesn’t get a lot of screen time and the evil step-mother is a homophobe. I could see the author making an effort, especially in the crowd scenes, but there's a small primary cast and it's pretty white.

Random gripes: Darien's assistant is a fucking idiot and it's not cute. Promoting her was the worst idea in the whole book. She'll tank his career in three months. I also hated the saboteur plot and I don't understand how getting stuck on a roof and filming a stunt gone wrong were supposedly career-ending gossip items? In these modern Cinderellas, why are there never any aunts or grandparents fighting for custody? Like, you don't just get custody of your ex's kid unless you've legally adopted them, and if these evil step-mother's are going to court for custody, why? Also, I know you feel the dog's being abused, but you can't just steal other people's pets or bring them to tent-pole action franchise premiers.

As you can see from my random complaints, there’s nothing really wrong with Geekerella. Despite a slow start and some plot points that don't have a lot of grounding in the real world, it’s a cute premise. It's a fun fantasy, but it never brought me to the impossible universe with Ella and Dare.

Review: The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova

Title: The Shadow Land
Author: Elizabeth Kostova
Genre: historical fiction
Series: N/A
Pages: 496
Published: expected April 11 2017
Source: publishers via NwtGalley
Rating: 3/5

From the #1 bestselling author of The Historian comes an engrossing novel that spans the past and the present and unearths the dark secrets of Bulgaria, a beautiful and haunted country.

A young American woman, Alexandra Boyd, has traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping that life abroad will salve the wounds left by the loss of her beloved brother. Soon after arriving in this elegant East European city, however, she helps an elderly couple into a taxi and realizes too late that she has accidentally kept one of their bags. Inside she finds an ornately carved wooden box engraved with a name: Stoyan Lazarov. Raising the hinged lid, she discovers that she is holding an urn filled with human ashes.

As Alexandra sets out to locate the family and return this precious item, she will first have to uncover the secrets of a talented musician who was shattered by oppression and she will find out all too quickly that this knowledge is fraught with its own danger.

Kostova's new novel is a tale of immense scope that delves into the horrors of a century and traverses the culture and landscape of this mysterious country. Suspenseful and beautifully written, it explores the power of stories, the pull of the past, and the hope and meaning that can sometimes be found in the aftermath of loss.

Elizabeth Kostova has been a favorite author of mine for almost fifteen years, despite a relatively low output in that amount of time. Her first novel, The Historian, ranks among my top-five all-time favorite books -- of any genre. She followed up that supremely atmospheric, gothic supernatural debut with something a little different; her sophomore work The Art Thieves was a total departure in tone, plot, and character. With The Shadow Land, her third published novel to date, Kostova once again employs the narrative structure of dual, connected storylines in different eras, though she tackles new themes and ideas her historical look at Bulgaria. 

Descriptive, layered, and detailed, Kostova's style is storytelling is given to be rather verbose. Her brand of storytelling relies heavily on using the setting and research to help foster the plot; this is an author that can recreate a vivid time and place. The plot of The Shadow Land is narrowly focused and centered on an American teacher Alexandra Boyd ("Bird"), a mysterious figure named Stoyan Lazarov, and the history of Bulgaria as experienced by those two characters in their differing times. The beginning of the novel is rather slow and takes time to create any real tension or suspense for Alex or her stalwart cab driver Bobby ("Bo-bi"!). Still, it's easy to fall into Kostova's recreated Sofia thanks to the author's obvious due diligence when it came to research.

I did like this novel, but have to admit it is my least favorite Kostova. I am sad to say that for all its merits, and while technically proficient and impressive, it lacks an emotional connection. Even though Kostova is given using emotionally-distant narrators and main characters, it was hard to engage with Alex's inner monologue. For the first half of the book her main emotion is tiredness and general helplessness; hoping someone else will find the solution to her problem. I missed the agency and decisiveness of past protagonists from this author; I also missed the chemistry between love interests. Though Bird and Bobby are great friends, theirs is a bond that's purely platonic and it lacks the oomph. Simply put: this book lacked the ability to create emotional investment. I was more drawn into the story for the writing itself than for the outcome of Alex/Stoyan's stories.

The Shadow Land is a novel that showcases the power of the past, combined with this author's usual descriptive style to create a good historical fiction in an often-overlooked country.

Top Ten Series To Finish in 2017

Top Ten Tuesday is all thanks to The Broke and the Bookish! This lovely header is thanks to APR's own Dani.

1. N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance trilogy
Read: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Broken Kingdoms
To Read: The Kingdom of the Gods

2. Sebastien de Castell's Greatcoats series
Read: Traitor's Blade, Knight's Shadow, Saint's Blood
To Read: Tyrant's Throne

3. The Memoirs of Lady Trent series by Marie Brennan
Read: A Natural History of Dragons, The Tropic of Serpents, The Voyage of the Basilisk, In the Labyrinth of Drakes
To Read: Within the Sanctuary of Wings

 
4. The Great Library series by Rachel Caine
Read: Ink and Bone, Paper and Fire
To Read: Ash and Quill

5. The Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher
Read: Furies of Calderon, Academ's Fury, Cursor's Fury
To Read: Captain's Fury, Princeps' Fury, First Lord's Fury


 

6. Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness
Read: The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer
To Read: Monsters of Men

7. The Illuminae series by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
Read: Illuminae, Gemina
To Read: Untitled

 

8. The Girl at Midnight series by Melissa Grey
Read: The Girl at Midnight, The Shadow Hour
To Read: The Savage Dawn
 

9. The Spiritwalker trilogy by Kate Elliott
Read: Cold Magic, Cold Fire
To Read: Cold Steel

10. The Blythewood serieis by Carole Goodman
Read: Bythewood, Ravencliffe
To Read: Hawthorn

Two Minute Review: The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley

Title: The Storm Sister
Author: Lucinda Riley
Genre: general fiction, historical fiction
Series: The Seven Sisters #2
Pages: 705
Published: November 2015
Source: purchased
Rating: 3/5

Ally D'Aplièse is about to compete in one of the world's most perilous yacht races, when she hears the news of her adoptive father's sudden, mysterious death. Rushing back to meet her five sisters at their family home, she discovers that her father - an elusive billionaire affectionately known to his daughters as Pa Salt - has left each of them a tantalising clue to their true heritage.

Ally has also recently embarked on a deeply passionate love affair that will change her destiny forever. But with her life now turned upside down, Ally decides to leave the open seas and follow the trail that her father left her, which leads her to the icy beauty of Norway...

There, Ally begins to discover her roots - and how her story is inextricably bound to that of a young unknown singer, Anna Landvik, who lived there over 100 years before, and sang in the first performance of Grieg's iconic music set to Ibsen's play 'Peer Gynt'. As Ally learns more about Anna, she also begins to question who her father, Pa Salt, really was. And why is the seventh sister missing?

Following the bestselling The Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister is the second book in Lucinda Riley's spellbinding series based loosely on the mythology surrounding the famous star constellation.

Veteran author Lucinda Riley's historical Seven Sisters trilogy returns with a new main character, a fresh mysterious history featuring dual narratives in separate times, combined with a convoluted romance, and a lot of detail and atmosphere. These are the hallmarks of a classic Lucinda Riley story: her books are definitely on the verbose side, twisty, and verge juuust a bit predictable in their plotting. I wouldn't go so far as to say there's a formula behind her novels, but they do tend to follow the same worn path. Still, despite the overextended length of the book and the familiarity of its progression, there's a good story to enjoy in those 700 pages.

A loose retelling/reinterpretation of the myth of the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades, each book centers a fresh but interconnected plot with a different daughter of the enigmatic Pa Salt. The books can be read as standalones or as a series, but the best experience would be to read each successive novel to piece together the whole picture being shown. The Storm Sister is ostensibly the story of Ally D'Apliese, adopted sister to Maia the first novel's main character, and second eldest of her all-female siblings. Despite this being "Ally's" book, Riley weaves much more than just her individual backstory into the narrative with the inclusion of a secondary story set 100 years before Ally's plotline.

The more historical, secondary story with Anna and Jens was far less compelling than Ally's more modern storyline. My total lack of involvement or entertainment with their plot is one of the reasons I could not rate this higher than a 3/5 stars.

The Book Sacrifice Tag

Helllllllo readers, today Dani and I are doing the Book Sacrifice Tag! Sounds a little bit aggressive, but it's all fun and games until someone slanders a favorite book.

 Let’s start this off with a Zombie Apocalypse! Let’s say you’re in a book store, just browsing, when BAM! ZOMBIE ATTACK. An announcement comes over the PA System saying that the military has discovered that the zombies’ only weakness is over-hyped books. What book that everyone else says is amazing but you really hated so you start chucking at the zombies knowing that it will count as an over-hyped book and successfully wipe them out?!

Dani: Oh we're starting off with a big f-you to all my friends. The first Raven Cycle book is ok. Blue's a fine character. There's a pretty neat twist with Noah. But it's not all that, guys, and the series quality dramatically falls off. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  

Jessie: Okaaay here goes, since I have many to pick from on my 'overhyped' shelf: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. There's some very bad prose in this, the ship is iffy at best, and the plot is thin enough that it super does not need to be two books. I rated it 3 stars but it's so overhyped to me.

 Let’s say you’ve just left the salon with a SMASHING new haircut and BOOM: Torrential downpour. What sequel are you willing to use as an umbrella to protect yourself?

Dani: Again, I'm forced to preface this with the fact that I gave the first book 5 stars and the second book 4 stars. From my review of the trilogy closer:

There is actually a scene where the main character and the villain face off on a catwalk over a bunch of evil science equipment. Has the book been optioned, because I feel like this was written just for the dramatic trailer shot of Shailene Woodley hanging from the scaffolding, feet shrouded in factory fog, while the music crescendos. Otherwise, there is zero reason to include something straight out of a 1980s action movie or a Silver Age comic book.

Gtf out of here, Lark Ascending.

Jessie: I also have a shelf just for these books. My choice for this is gonna make my coblogger rage at me but: Deadline by Mira Grant. Guys, it took me months to read this. I can read books of this size in an afternoon. To say that Shaun's narration was a decline in quality from Georgia's is a massive understatement. Blah and boring. OH AND YES BECKS DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER.

Let’s say you’re in a lecture and your English teacher is going on and on about how this classic changed the world, how it revolutionized literature and you get so sick of it that you chuck the classic right at his face because you know what? This classic is stupid and it’s worth detention just to show everyone how you feel! What Classic did you chuck?

Jessie: Thomas Hardy's entire oeuvre but since I only get one, I shall focus my rage on the worst offender and my favorite to hate: Tess of the D'Urbervilles. This book is infuriating. I have made my hatred very vocal.

It's Thomas Hardy's birthday and as a present to yourself for the occasion never ever read Tess of the D'Urbervilles.

— Jessie ❄️ (@jessiexmachina) June 2, 2016

 My distaste is pure.

Even thinking about Tess of the d'Ubervilles is enough to make my blood boil.

— Jessie ❄️ (@jessiexmachina) August 12, 2014

More?

@Reader_Fictions also Tess of the d'Ubervilles. FUCK THAT BOOK.

— Jessie ❄️ (@jessiexmachina) August 12, 2014

@mizgillianberry Tess of the d'Ubervilles still fills me with rage every time I think about it. Awful horrible book

— Jessie ❄️ (@jessiexmachina) July 29, 2013

Dani: Frankenstein. Fuck off Percy Bysshe Shelley, we all know you fucked this up for your wife. Never use one word when fifteen will do, my eye.

 Let’s say that you’re hanging out at the library when BAM! Global warming explodes and the world outside becomes a frozen wasteland. You’re trapped and your only chance for survival is to burn a book. What is the book you first run to, your least favourite book of all life, what book do you not fully regret lighting?

Dani: I'm never going to stop ranting about this blatant cash grab: a 202 page, $20 hardcover that only features 150 pages of actual writing, some with less than one line on a page. Besides being horribly organized, it's badly written and full of nasty deaths for fan favorites, like falling off a toilet in a drunken stupor. Seriously. Never has it been more obvious that an author was done with a series and her fans. It has 2 stars on AMAZON, for god's sake.

Jessie: If not Tess.... The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is definitely up there; that book pissed me off and also made me ?  Or maybe Paullina Simon's boring, HUGE, AND problematic The Bronze Horseman? Any and/or all of them.

&

April TBR Planning

New month, new semi-planned TBR.


The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 From Taylor Jenkins Reid comes an unforgettable and sweeping novel about one classic film actress’s relentless rise to the top—the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine.

Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Filled with emotional insight and written with Reid’s signature talent, this is a fascinating journey through the splendor of Old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means—and what it takes—to face the truth.

This is a bit of a departure from her usual kind of novel, but TJR has quickly become one of my favorite authors. This may not be like her previous books but I am very excited about this -- Old Hollywood vibes and messy love lives sound pretty good to me!
 

The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olsen -- this is one I admit I wasn't too interested in at first. The title, cover, and description all sound pretty damn generic. But this is already gathering some good buzz and movie deals so I figured I might as well accept the ARC.

Romancing The Throne by Nadine Jolie Courtney -- this is a YA contemporary that I picked up from edelweiss based purely on how cute it seems, the illustrated cover, and how it feels like a YA version of The Royal We. I am 100% here for both of those things.

Queer, There, And Everywhere by Sarah Prager -- after reading and loving Rejected Princesses earlier this year, I am reminded how much I enjoy reading nonfiction. This book is the "first-ever LGBTQ history book for young adults" and it sounds fantastic.

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

From acclaimed author Emery Lord comes a vibrant, compelling story of love, loss, faith, and friendship.

Lucy Hansson was ready for a perfect summer with her boyfriend, working at her childhood Bible camp on the lake. But when her mom’s cancer reappears, Lucy falters—in faith, in love, and in her ability to cope. When her boyfriend “pauses” their relationship and her summer job switches to a different camp—one for troubled kids—Lucy isn’t sure how much more she can handle. Attempting to accept a new normal, Lucy slowly regains footing among her vibrant, diverse coworkers, Sundays with her mom, and a crush on a fellow counselor. But when long-hidden family secrets emerge, can Lucy set aside her problems and discover what grace really means?

Emotionally-charged and unforgettable, Emery Lord’s storytelling shines with the promise of new love and true friendship, even in the face of life’s biggest challenges.

I've really grown to love Emery Lord's books. I think they've only gotten better as she goes, which makes me excited to dive into this, her newest!