Rating: 2.5/5 I found it hard to rate this book; I was caught between 2.5/5 and 3/5. At last, I opted for 2.5/5 due to personal taste. There are several factors that excited me about THE PASSION OF DOLSSA. First of all is the historical accuracy: it was my first time reading about the Inquisition in France, and this setting is so thought-out I can't but admire the author for her work. For example, I particularly appreciated the usage of the langue d'oc instead of French, which would have been inappropriate for the time. They may seem like insignificant details, but put together they paint an extraordinary picture of the historical period. Occasionally, YA authors overlook some inconsistencies they believe their readers won't notice (or maybe the authors themselves are not knowledgeable enough to notice), but Julie Berry doesn't make this mistake. Therefore, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to readers who are interested in learning more about its context. To an extent, I also liked the writing style: it's tailored to the time period without being excessively pompous; moreover, the abundance of narrators and narrative forms is quite interesting. However, I did not find it engaging; instead, to me it seems rather dull. I can't say for sure whether it was the writing style that did not persuade me to care for the characters or the other way around. In either case, the two elements are indeed tied together, because I could not bring myself to feel for any of them. Furthermore, the only two that piqued my interest, Dolssa and Lucien, are seldom the narrators. When an author tasks a somewhat ordinary character with the narration of the life of an extraordinary one, I enjoy the technique if the ordinary character displays some appealing traits, too, but in THE PASSION OF DOLSSA any character but these two failed to hold my attention. Moreover, the novel is not very eventful, which only made the experience more difficult for me. More than half of the book is about three sisters hiding Dolssa from the inquisition in a small village. I kept waiting for something to happen, but it didn't. I'm sure this story is meant to be appreciated for its psychological impact rather than the narrative itself, but I wasn't convinced by either of the two aspects. When I say that I gave this book 2.5/5 stars for subjective reasons, I mean that this is a very accurate YA take on novels with a strong religious theme, so, if you are curious or enjoy this premise, you will most likely fall in love with it. The author's note at the end also reinforced my impression of a (fictional) saint's or mystic's biography written for a teenage audience. Unfortunately, it's the sort of book I don't find compelling, so I can only praise the author's precision in her research, and her overall polished prose.
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Rating: 5/5 Lately, I have been reading loads of fantasy novels with a female MC, so I was eager for change. However, the best fantasy novels with a male MC I've read were humorous; the serious ones turned out be rather tedious in my experience. Not so THE GOBLIN EMPEROR. I will admit Maia, the MC, didn't seem like my favourite type of character at first. I found him endearing in his clumsiness, but I didn't like-like him. That changed further into the story, when he realises the only way to survive in court is to outsmart the other courtiers and nobles trying to take advantage of his inexperience. From then on he shows craftiness, ingenuity, and a subtle disposition for mischief that piqued my interest. He grew on me page by page. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone looking for adventures, perilous journeys, and the like. Maia's quest is contained within the palace walls; he isn't a warrior, but an emperor, therefore we are invited to partake in the intricacies of politics, not of a forest or a war. The elvish society thus depicted is exquisitely complex, but at the same time it's easy to learn about it, because the MC is as clueless as we are. Having lived in isolation for most of his life, he inherits his late father's throne with little or no knowledge of stately affairs. As a result, instead of boring exposition or, worse, omission of the inner workings of the court, because they are already obvious to the MC (though not to us), the rules of this geopolitical novel are shown to us in a thorough and entertaining fashion. The central conflict takes place between tradition, represented by the court, and innovation, which Maia brings about because, being new to this environment, he hasn't been exposed to the old ways long enough that he can't see the advantage of breaking away from them. Cue some cool steampunk elements – such as fledgling steam-powered technology – which, though not prominent in the narrative, are quite a nice touch. Again, this is not an action-packed novel, so Maia's task to find out who had his father and brothers murdered, unwittingly placing Maia himself on the throne as a consequence, is only a subplot. In fact, it is delegated to another character and the resolution is quite simple, but leads quite smoothly to the end of the story. This is perfectly consistent with the premise: as a ruler, it is inevitable for Maia to delegate some of his duties to others, but, again, if you expect a detective story set in a fantasy world, this is not the book for you. It's a psychological, subtle novel rather than an in-your-face type of story. The highlights of THE GOBLIN EMPEROR are politics, philosophy, and introspection, complemented by high quality dialogue that drives plot and character development in a very natural manner. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that my favourite parts are Maia's interactions with his people, how he comes to trust them, how he learns not to, and how they in turn change their attitude towards him, eventually warming up to him or even getting to admire his good qualities. He isn't a perfect ruler, but he is trying hard. Lastly, the author deals with poignant themes such as gender equality and racism. I appreciated the messages conveyed within the fantasy frame; I found them cleverly interwoven with the storyline and they provided good food for thought, too. Overall, THE GOBLIN EMPEROR proved to be what I was looking for: a good serious fantasy novel with a male protagonist. Fantastic work! Rating: 4.5/5 I came across this book on the hunt for original fantasy YA novels. It's a urban fantasy set in modern-day Brooklyn and Alex, the MC, is a bruja (a Latin American witch) that would very much rather be a normal girl, except she accidentally puts her family in danger by misusing her abilities, and falls in love with a mysterious helper. In all honesty, this premise is the opposite of original, but my interest was piqued at the promise of Latin American folklore and magic. I'm a sucker for myths, legends, and traditions from all over the world, so the novelty of this element did it for me. Fortunately, LABYRINTH LOST proved to be a refreshing change from the usual YA plot that the blurb seemed to set up. Sure, the MC doesn't want her amazing powers because she doesn't want to be "weird" (how cliché is that?). Sure, that power runs in the family and giving up on it means disappointing generations of brujas, starting from her mother and sisters. Sure, her dad left them and she thinks it's her fault. Sure, all of these elements are the same we have seen in countless other books, only this time you get the distinct impression this is what the writer wants. She gives us banal expectations, then she takes them and tears them to shreds. I loved it. I like Alex's personality and the decisions she makes. Instead of simply whining about her unwanted magical destiny, she chooses to wait for her Deathday, the celebration of the awakening of her powers, to try to get rid of them... except it doesn't go as planned. I really appreciated the absence of a lengthy transition from the status quo to the new reality of Los Lagos. This is how a novel usually goes when the MC strives to be normal, like Alex: they meet some sort of guide or mentor that introduces them to the new magical scenario; then they spend forever running from this person or arguing with them because "they just want to lead a normal life"; and finally (maybe) the story moves on… Too bad half of the book is already gone. LABYRINTH LOST gets down to business: Alex does the deed, realises she's the only one that can fix what happens, and sets out to save her loved ones. Action, adventures, and magic ensue, which is the best strategy to keep me interested until the final page. Even the romance was a pleasant surprise in the end, although maybe it's my fault for not reading the full blurb on GoodReads first. Erm. (view spoiler) The author spins this rather dull tale in a way I did not see coming, but I won't reveal any more than that as I'm trying to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible. The focus on the love Alex shares with her family rather than romantic love is another strength of the book. Alex's relatives accompany and support her during her trials as well as guide her on her personal journey to self-discovery and self-acceptance. Compared to the trope according to which family is "the Enemy" and the MC struggles to get away from them, it's refreshing to see that the bond with her family makes Alex stronger. I'm not giving it five stars because the initial development of the Nova-Alex relationship was cringy and in some places sheer overkill: for example, yes, I'm afraid we do have to put up with extensive descriptions of Nova's eyes and muscles. But that eventually changed and then I couldn't put the book down anymore. Looking forward to the sequel! Rating: 3/5 I wish I could give this book more stars. Epic fantasy is one of my favourite genres and I love novels with a large cast of characters. When a writer is especially good, each voice has unique traits and shows me different facets of humankind. THE GRACE OF KINGS does that beautifully. The most emblematic example is the dychotomy between the two major characters, Kuni and Mata (sorry not sorry if I'm obvious): Kuni is a trickster, although a good one at heart, and he is more keen to reach his goal than to do it according to an honour code; Mata is the opposite, a traditionalist convinced that a victory is no victory if obtained through less than noble means. The variety of characters in this book struck me, as I expect this to be a difficult achievement when the writer is a single individual, so kudos to Liu for the depth of his imagination. What I also enjoyed was the variety of the world the author presents to us. I love world building and I have fun trying to guess what the writer was inspired by as he was creating his own universe. In this work I could spot some of the Latin and Greek classics I used to study in high school, which was an added bonus because I adore them! All the cultures in the story are very intriguing and well-crafted, although the issue I had with this novel is related to the wide expanse of Liu's world. I got very frustrated with the amount of info dump. There is so much exposition that I felt bored and dissatisfied; at times I considered abandoning the book, but then the incredible characters would draw me in once more when something actually happened. The intricacies of politics are fascinating and the descriptions of battles are surprisingly funny and clever other than merely entertaining. This book may appeal to Tolkien's fans, already accustomed to this type of writing, but, unfortunately, in my case I was torn between the excitement for the elements I liked and the boredom for the endless paragraphs of information I honestly did not need. To be fair, Liu's project was ambitious and the outcome is admirable if anything because the premise was so complicated, but it wasn't enough to make me a happy reader. I'm still not sure I will read the rest of the series, though I have to admit I already miss Kuni (my favourite) and Jia. Rating: 5/5 I was really excited by this book! Admittedly, before reading it I wasn't crazy about the concept (none-too-skillful heroine is trained by cool guy to become a mighty warrior), but I was curious about the fantasy setting, so I gave it a try anyway. I'm glad I did, because my prejudice so wrong. First of all, it's a sad truth that I very seldom like MCs. Especially in YA fantasy books, they tend to get on my nerves, but I keep reading for the plot and some interesting minor characters. This time, I rooted from Daleina from the beginning. She isn't talented, but she is driven and she strives to reach her goal. Then she meets disgraced Ven, who sees her real potential and teaches her how to take advantage of it, but does notturn her into an invincible war machine. She is still less powerful than someone born with a natural talent, but she makes it work. It's a character arc a lot of us can relate to, and it was great to see it in a YA story as opposed to the usual "born special, becomes the best" plot structure. The absence of a substantial love story (there is a love interest, but he is of little to no relevance) and the relationship between the MC and the major male character, Ven, are both peculiar and refreshing. Disgraced champion Ven and Daleina share a father-daughter bond rather than romantic love. Other than original, Ven's presence in Daleina's life since her childhood creates a well-crafted contrast with Daleina's real parents, whose influence on her is very scarce in comparison. However, there is a downside to the relationship between Ven and Daleina: Ven being the only one to acknowledge Daleina's possibilities is a trope I've already seen in many YA books. Ven himself is also rather cliché, the typical mysterious man with a dark past. To be honest, I raised an eyebrow at said dark past: the Queen accuses him of attempted assault and everyone believes it. I'm not sure if I missed something there, but he is supposed to be one of the most faithful of the Queen's champions (if not the most faithful). So how come the Queen destroys his reputation with a word and no evidence to support it, and yet everyone listens to her? Anyway, I'm happy to overlook minor inconsistencies, given how entertaining the story turns out to be. From her normal life in the village – made compelling by the chance to get to see more of this forest- and spirit-bound society – to her training at the Academy first and under Ven's supervision later, there is plenty of action. The "mystery" isn't really a mystery, due to the short interludes written from the Queen's POV, but you will still be looking forward to see how the plot plays out. I also got so excited about the magical element! In most recent YA books, magic comes in the form of anthropomorphic creatures with supernatural skills. In THE QUEEN OF BLOOD instead there are six types of spirits, one for each natural element, and they are often nothing like humans, but rather somewhat animalistic, instinctual creature with both the desire to create and a destructive thirst for human blood. In the end, the story gets deliciously dark and twisted, and I was not expecting the plot turn for the worst after bad and worse come into play. I was left in a fangirl-y daze and waiting for the rest. |
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October 2017
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