My pet peevs: The Storyspinner by Becky Wallace

A lost princess, a breach in a magical barrier, Keepers with an affinity one of the four elements and a handsome Lord. This is The Storyteller, more or less.

Click the Goodreads button to read more about The Storyspinner.

The Storyteller is a high/historical fantasy novel with all of the classical ingredients. Team good vs. team bad, ordinary people vs. people with magical abilities. Nothing new there really, but I still enjoyed the story. I have to underline my liking of the novel before I start listing my pet peeves, because I did enjoy the story and I want to read the sequel. Alas there are things to be said about the story and the use of language that is not positive.

The Edward Cullen complex

Why did the heroine of the story have to fall for the guy who throw punches before using his vocabulary? He beat you up girl, there is no excuse for that even if he thought you were a thieving boy. His brother is so much nicer! I cannot forgive the author for this, and I feel it sends out all the wrong signals to young girls. Never forgive a guy that punches you in the face.

A smile curled the corner of his mouth. “But if you can think of a way to sneak me out, I’d love to go slumming with you.” “I’ll think on it.” She didn’t mention that she had a mother and older brother who kept her far from the pubs and inns, fairly trapping her at their wagon. “Although,” Dom said, his face suddenly serious. “We couldn’t really call it slumming. I bring the quality of everyone up a few notches.” Johanna laughed and caught a glimpse of Brynn’s grim face as she added scented oil to the lanterns bracketed around the room.

Words belonging to another era

Also I found some words that I reacted to, like the use of the word cupcake(did you know the word cupcake was first used in 1826? It is so according to Wikipedia). It felt totally misplaced in this kind of fantasy setting:

Other young ladies and at least one lady’s maid speckled the ground around her like cupcakes fallen from a tray.

An exotic girl 

Why does a woman of color have to be described as exotic just because she isn't white? Or? Don't use the word exotic to describe people and I think you'll be alright, Wallace. Lots of bloggers and authors have written about the use of the word exotic before - here is useful advice.

Maribelle shook the maid away and ran her fingers through her hair, letting it cascade down her back. She was beautiful. And exotic. And noble.

Seeing the paragraph above in combination with this sentence makes it even worse:

The girl was attractive in an obvious way, petite and fair-skinned, with small hands and delicate features. Pira wanted to hate her, but she had to give Johanna credit for a toughness that belied her size.

I am sure that the author has just been a bit thoughtless here and meant no harm, but it is best just to avoid setting people against each other like this based on skin tone. The tone of ones skin is not what makes a person more or less beautiful, kind. mean or any other personal trait.

Cliches and body perfection focus:

I am just fed up with perfection, nothing wrong with being perfect but the world isn't like that. Please spread body positive vibes instead please, for both boys and girls alike.

Her bare legs were pale and well shaped against the dark gray river rocks.

The evening stars crowned his dark head with pinpoints of light, casting a shadow over his eyes. The effect was stunning, highlighting his straight nose and full mouth.

The sun glinted off the planes of his high cheekbones, kissing his face with morning light.

All the negatives aside, Wallace did a good job with her story. I was hooked from the beginning and when I felt my interest starting to fall it was always a new hook there to keep me reading. It is not just the main character of this story that is a storyspinner. I am looking forward to more books from Becky Wallace and I hope my advice will be taken into consideration so there is no pet peeves to be seen in the sequel ;)

Have you read The Storyspinner?
What did you like/dislike about it?
Do you agree with my pet peeves or do you think I am overreacting?

Book Review: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

My thoughts:

First of all, how gorgeous is that cover?! I am not ashamed to admit that beautiful covers draw me in, but in Incarnate the story was just as beautiful. If only every YA fantasy was as exciting, original and well written as Incarnate, but it really is the butterfly of its genre. I can already tell that Incarnate will be on my Top 10 of 2012 lists, and I'm saying that in January!

Ana is incredible. For the first eighteen years of her life, she has been taught that she is a nosoul, unworthy of love, happiness and life itself. And like I am sure many of you know; if you're told something often enough, you start believing it. I felt so bad for her, and was really rooting for her to find the truth about who she really is. I really enjoyed discovering the small pleasures of life alongside her, and seeing her regain faith in herself, and trust in the world around her.

Sam. Wow. I think I'm in love with him. He was such a kind, gentle soul, showing Ana the kind of friendship and love she had never known before. It was really interesting to see how he deals with being over five thousand years old, to carry all that knowledge and pain from past lives into the future. When he talked of his past lives and deaths I could feel the pain as if it was my own, and I really got to see what a blessing and curse reincarnation was for him. And his love for music was so beautiful!

The story is perfectly paced, with excitement well mixed in with Ana's daily life. I never felt like anything was rushing or going to slow, but was happy for the story to take me where it wanted to go. And wow - that twist toward the end had me crying out in anger! Still the ending itself came together perfectly, with just enough unanswered questions to make me want the sequel, yet without any of the cliffhangers that just make me frustrated.

I really don't feel like anything I say can do this beautiful, beautiful book justice, so please just pre-order a copy and see for yourself! Incarnate is a new favorite for me, and I can't wait to read more of what Jodi Meadows writes in the future.

Cover:

GORGEOUS! And so fitting to the story!

My rating of this book:

Want to know more?

Add Incarnate to your Goodreads wish list

Visit Jodi Meadows' website
Read Jodi's blog
Follow Jodi on Twitter

Full disclosure:
ARC received from NetGalley

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores like Amazon and The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

My thoughts:
I seem to be one of the few who didn't actually like Maggie Stiefvater's The Wolves of Mercy Falls, but since my problem was more with the werewolves than her writing I was still excited to read The Scorpio Races. (And even more excited that it's something as rare as a standalone book from a well-known author.)

I was not let down. Not only is the writing both unique and beautiful, but Stiefvater has managed to use two completely different, personal voices for Puck's and Sean's point of view. The chapters flowed together effortlessly, and I got so connected to both of the main characters that I often found myself wondering what one was doing while I was reading about the other.

Puck was incredibly easy to like. Not because she's perfect; far from it. In the beginning of the story she often comes across as both childish and petulant, and only thinks about how events affect her. Puck doesn't go through a huge transformation, but does becomes more sure of herself and her own aspirations, and picks up some of the empathy she's been lacking. What made me like her so much is that she's not the most beautiful, the smartest, or even the nicest, but she still comes across as a great girl, and you just want to root for her.

Sean quickly became a favorite of mine. His connection to the horses (both the water horses and the regular ones) was incredible, and through his gestures, whispers and loving touches I felt as if I really shared that connection. There was just something so different about him, not just from the other characters in The Scorpio Races, but also from every other male lead in YA. Instead of the author focusing on how hot, popular or cool he is, she shows us (and I mean she actually shows, not just tells) what an amazingly good guy he is.

My only problem with The Scorpio Races was the pacing. The first 350 pages or so of the story focused on the preparations leading up to the race, and so when the race finally began it ended up feeling a little anti-climatic to me. I wish there had been a little more action, and more about the origin and myths of the water horses, but other than that I really enjoyed this book. And if there's one thing I can say about The Scorpio Races, it's that it's hands down the most original Young Adult fantasy I have ever read.

Cover:
Simple, yet fitting.

My rating of this book:

Want to know more?

Add The Scorpio Races to your Goodreads wish list

Visit Maggie Stiefvater's website

Read Maggie's blog

Follow Maggie on Twitter

Full disclosure:
Checked out at my local library

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores like Amazon and The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book Review: Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life....

My thoughts:
I am a huge fan of Maria V. Snyder's writing, and Poison Study is one of my favorite fantasy novels of all time. My expectations for Touch of Power were very high, and so I was happy to recognize it as a Snyder novel from the very first chapter.

Avry reminds me quite a bit of both Yelena (Study-series) and Opal (Glass-series). She is self-proficient, independent and is used to not trusting anyone. There were times when I was annoyed with her stubbornness, and others when I was amazed by her quick thinking - just the way I like my main characters. Avry's healing powers are not harmless to herself, yet she never even questions healing her friends, or even enemies, when they are hurt. Healing is as natural to her as breathing.

Touch of Power is very fast paced, and there's action waiting behind every corner. I did miss getting to know Avry and her thoughts a little better, as there are a couple of situations where I just don't get why she acts the way she does, but all in all I liked the non-stop action. Touch of Power has none of that slow first-book-in-a-series-syndrom that seems to be very common (yes, I'm looking at you Bloodlines), and I can't wait to learn more about Avry and her powers in the next book, Scent of Magic, which is coming out some time in 2012.

Cover:
Beautiful cover, I love the colors, and once you've read the book you'll get the importance of the lily!:)

My rating of this book:

Want to know more?

Add Touch of Power to your Goodreads wish list

Visit Maria V. Snyder's website

Read Maria's blog

Full disclosure:
Review copy from Netgalley

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores like Amazon and The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.

To all science fiction and fantasy fans!

I just discovered a new imprint called Haikasoru which specializes in bringing Japanese science fiction and fantasy "to America and beyond". I've only ever read one book written by a Japanese author before and that gave me a taste for more. The book I read was the young adult thriller called Chain Mail Addicted To You by Hiroshi Ishizaki(read my review) and I highly enjoyed it. That's why I simply couldn't resist ordering a few of the titles that I discovered over at Haikasoru. I'm pretty sure that there's more great Japanese titles out there than the one I've read, here's what I bought:

Loups-Garous by  Natsuhiko Kyogoku

A killer that might be a werewolf? Now that really got my interest. You can read an extract from the novel here, you can also check out the synopsis from Goodreads below:

In the near future, humans will communicate almost exclusively through online networks - face-to-face meetings are rare and the surveillance state nearly all-powerful. Even school children are only allowed to meet in the flesh on school grounds. So when a serial killer starts slaughtering students, the crackdown is harsh. And despite all the safeguards, the killer's latest victim turns out to have been in contact with three young girls; Mio Tsuzuki, a certified prodigy; Hazuki Makino, a quiet but opinionated classmate; and Ayumi Kono, her best friend. As the girls get caught up in trying to find the killer - who might just be a werewolf - Hazuki learns that there is much more to their monitored communications than meets the eye.

Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara

You can read an extract from the novel here, you can also check out the synopsis from Goodreads below:

In the land of Toyoashihara, the forces of the God of Light and the Goddess of Darkness have waged war for generations. But for 15-year old Saya, the war is far away and unimportant--until the day she discovers she is the reincarnation of the Water Maiden and a princess of the Children of the Dark. Raised to love the Light and detest the Dark, Saya must come to terms with her heritage even as she is tumbled into the very heart of the conflict that is destroying her country. Both the army of the Light and Dark seek to claim her, for she is the only mortal who can awaken the legendary Dragon Sword, the weapon destined to end the war. Can Saya make the dreadful choice between the Light and Dark, or is she doomed like all the Water Maidens who have come before her?

Slum Online by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

I haven't been addicted to any combat games like the person in this novel is but perhaps I might still be able to relate to the main character? I did have a period where I play a lot of Tekken on our PS, I'm not a violent person but that sure is a great way to let out some steam and to feel like your the best fighter with the greatest skill out there. At least it made me feel that way when it came to playing against my boyfriend and siblings, because this was the only game I was ever any good at. They beat me in adventure and racing simulating games, so obviously beating up people was more my kind of thing(that really makes me sound scary, I'm not, I promise!).


You can read an extract from the novel here, you can also check out the synopsis from Goodreads below: 

"...I log in and Tetsuo comes to Versus Town. A make-believe man in a make-believe city. He was new there, and he had come for one thing: to fight." Etsuro Sakagami is a college student who feels uncomfortable in reality, but when he logs onto the combat Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game Versus Town, he becomes "Tetsuo," a karate champion on his way to becoming the most powerful martial artist around. While his relationship with new classmate Fumiko goes nowhere, Etsuro spends his days and nights online in search of the invincible fighter Slasher Jack. Drifting between the virtual and the real, will Etsuro ever be ready to face his most formidable opponent? 

Book review: Lex Trent Versus the Gods by Alex Bell

What's this book about?
Law student Lex Trent is a very lucky man, literary speaking, Lex uses his luck to steal(he really is 'The Shadowman') and con people. One day when it seems like Lex has run out of luck and there seems to be no no escaping jail, the goddess of Luck appears. Lex strikes a deal with the goddess and escapes the police. Lex agrees to be the goddess player in the very dangerous Games, where gods uses humans as play pieces in their own game.

Check out the synopsis on Goodreads.


My thoughts:
Alex Bell certainly has skills when it comes to writing characters that are true to their kind. Lex Trent, the main character, is one selfish boy and his actions made me nod along thinking "I know a couple of Lex Trent's in real life". It's much easier to like some of the supporting characters, for Lex is not a sympathetic person.


Lex and his twin brother lost their parents when they were young. The boys were left in the care of their grandfather, Allister Trent. After a few years of taking care of the boys Allister got the soulless wake, in this book the soulless wake is the fantasy equivalent to Alzheimer. Bell impressed me with the way she wrote about the illness and it becomes evident that she has experienced it up close and personal. I lost my grandmother last winter and she suffered from Alzheimer so I too have first hand knowledge of how the illness gradually takes away your loved one long before they pass away. Lex cannot handle the fact that his grandfather is ill and he escapes to the city. During the day he works in a law firm and in his spare time he is thief.


Lex almost ends up in jail but somehow luck(and a deal with the goddess herself) helps him get away. That's when the story begins and Lex steals an enchanters ship(that will get him into a lot of trouble in the future). 


I was super exited about the this book but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. I never felt there was a climax to the story and I felt I wanted more of the world building(I felt it only scratched the surface). The scenes that were supposed to be getting me a bit closer to the edge of my seat never managed to do just that and the problems were to easily solved to my liking. I thought the characters were cleverly written but I never could connect to the story. Still things that happened in the last chapters of the book remained unsolved, but there wasn't any cliffhanger ending, so I think I need to check out the sequel, due in 2011


My rating of this book:
2,5 stars out of 5.


Want a second opinion? Check out the reviews written by some of my book blogging friends below:  
So far only one of the blogs I follow have reviewed the book about Lex Trent, but I expect there will be more reviews from my friends in the future and then I'll update the list below.

A taste from Ana's review over at The Book Smugglers(do check out the entire review): 

An excellent story, with a protagonist who is the epitome of the irreverent scoundrel set against an inventive mythological world, what is not to like?

Want to know more?
Visit Alex Bell's homepage
Read Alex's blog
Follow Alex on Twitter


Pages(paperback):  344
Publisher: Headline
ISBN 13: 9780755355181
Full disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for a review. I want to thank Samantha at Headline for providing me with a copy of this book.