Book Review: Crown of Midnight

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas
Book 2 of Throne of Glass

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice.

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

Review:
Oh my goodness, you guys.  
Seriously.

I read this book last weekend and had to look for the right gifs to do it justice.
This is the Celaena book we've wanted:  she's put in moral dilemmas, she has squee-worthy romance moments, she finds and loses friends, she gets all dressed up and she also straight-up murders the crap out of people.  There are reveals.  There are Serious Moments.  There is humor.
Basically:

 It's just....it's so much.  My poor little heart, cold and reptilian though it might be, was struggling to handle all the input it was getting.  (Randomness of the day:  when I tried to type "input" my finger muscles typed "pinup" instead.  Make of that what you will.)

So now Celaena is the King's Champion, which is great because it means she didn't die in a tournament for the honor.  Score.  The downside is that she is under contract for four years.  And it's not like the king is friggin' Arthur or something.  So her gig pretty much involves slaughtering people that are basically decent because she has the skills to do it.  She doesn't want to, but King Jerkwater has threatened to murder everyone she loves if she doesn't toe the line.

Mistress Kick-butt's reaction to the king's "plans"

Well, Our Lady Death-in-a-Dress decides she's not buying garbage that King Douchecanoe is peddling and is doing her best to weasel all sneakily out of killing sort-of innocent people. So we get Cunning Celaena and Secret Rebel Celaena.  One mission goes somewhat awry and she becomes Knife Fighter Celaena.  Then something spoilery-so-shall-not-be-revealed happens and she becomes Super-Murder Hyper-Slaughter Celaena.  (I liked that part.)  

Readers get to see more of her tender side when she finally - FINALLY - gets the guy that's been admiring her for longer than he cares to admit.  She's gooey on the inside.  Aww.
But even with her marshmallow center, her outer shell isn't made of candy.  It's made of titanium, and Not-Taking-Any-Bullsh*t Celaena draws a line in the sand and breaks her own heart to stay on the correct side of it.  When our heroine is at the lowest of the low, even I needed a hug. 

She can be decorative.  She can be petty.  But she also uses her brain more often than not.  She has a line even she will not cross.  She even has secrets that she hasn't revealed to the reader (which shouldn't have been a surprise, but still was because I was doing the reading equivalent of the "Phoebe Run" through this book).

To sum up:  We get to see our legendary assassin actually get bathed in blood.  We get to see her fall in love and dress all pretty.  We get to see her show her moral mettle - and suffer for her sacrifices.  AND we get a frickin' cliffhanger that makes me want to grab the next book.  Which is, of course, nowhere near being published.  

Read this book.  Read it right now.* 

5 stars!  

*"now" means "after finishing the first book"

Book Review: Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Book 1 of "Throne of Glass"

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another.

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another.

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Review:
Yes, I'm a little late to the party on this one.  When the publishing world freaks out over a book, I tend to be a little skeptical.  The benefit of living as a book pessimist is that you're always either pleasantly surprised or constantly being proved right.  In this case, I'm happy to be pleasantly surprised: the blogosphere hype seems dead-on.

There are readers who can cry "Mary Sue" about Celaena, our kickass heroine.  I can understand where the criticisms come from, especially if opinions are based almost solely on the first few chapters of the book, but all in all I found Celaena to be an engaging and root-worthy protagonist.  Is she the best assassin, like EVER, and is she gorgeous and does she make all the Boys Important To The Plot love her and does she have the prettiest eyes and is she physically tough as shoe leather?

Yes.

But she also is somewhat self-destructive.  She mistrusts just about everyone, for very good reason.  She withholds information that might be valuable to someone else - or potentially damaging to herself if revealed.  She falls for possibly inappropriate men.  Even though she's a reputedly legendary fighter, she nearly gets murdered or maimed a couple times.  A couple challenges prove too much for even her much-vaunted talents and she only gets by with help from other contestants.

There are levels of politics and magic here that make the world interesting and give the story some resonance and depth.  Through the cast of characters and their political goals, the world is revealed, layer by tantalizing layer.  Humor permeates the dialogue without ever cheapening the story.  While Celaena definitely seems to get some of the best lines, she isn't the only witty character in the kingdom, for which I'm grateful. 

The ending is very satisfactory, and while the larger outcome isn't exactly a surprise, there are enough moving parts in the the rest of the narrative to push the reader right into the sequel.

4.5 stars!  A terrific debut and a great book to read and reread!

Panther's Top Ten Books to Movies Wishlist

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This is my last minute post, becuase this Top Ten is too awesome to leave alone. I love movies and I love books but rarely do I love both the book and the movie. What I love about a list like this is no one has to agree with me. These are from my limited reportoire of books that I already visualize in my head (starring me, of course!). Here's hoping you agree with a few of them:

1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I LOVED this book and all I could do is think about how this would make a great movie (Daft Punk, just play your music from Tron, ok?). I think this movie would also have broad appeal, although I am not making that one of my criteria for this list at all.


2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

This book has a strong female character and everything that I like in books and movies alike: action, adventure, romance and list keeps going...

3. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

A wonderful Sience Fiction trilogy. I think this would be done best in a movie format instead of the usual TV series.

4. Monster by Walter Dean Myers

This book is already in screenplay format and would make a good and powerful movie.

5. The Last Apprentice Series by Joseph Delaney

This is being made into ta movie coming out this fall which I think it a mistake. There are so many episodic storylines and with thirteen books in the series this would make a much better TV series. The apprentice could actually start his age (13) and grow up as the series goes on. If it was released though a cable channel like AMC then it would not need to be 24 episodes per season. There is a lot of potential for this series.

6. Runaways by Marvel (Brian K. Vaughn, Joss Whdon and others)

Marvel has struck gold with The Avengers and most of their spin-offs and prequels. This fun series should be no exception. A bunch of teens find out their parents are superheroes, or actually supervillians but is running away their only option? Great for a TV show.

7. Jamaica Inn by Daphne DuMaurier

I have no idea why, but this is one of my favorite books. I watched the TV miniseries with my mom and was haunted by it. There was also a film version by one of my favorite directors, Alfred Hitchcock which was horrible. So, please, Masterpiece Theater will you take this on? Thank you!

8. Little Century by Anna Keesey

I'll admit it I like westerns. I like westerns more when there is a female protagonist who makes it on her own. This was a good book and I want more books like it and the same goes for movies. Do all westerns have to be about the boys?

9. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This book was so descriptive it was hard not to visualize what this book would look like as a movie. And it would be beautiful.

10. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

This book was not one of my favorites but I think I would absolutely LOVE a movie version. Beasties versus Machines, steampunk, World War I, what more can you ask for?

Honorable mentions:

Little House on the Prairie Mini series. Make this like the books and not that annoying TV series and please for god' sake don't put it on the Hallmark channel. These books could be done without too much nostalgia.

The Thirteenth Tale
I just love this book and want to star in the movie as the girl who lives in the bookshop and interview the old woman.

Sabriel
I love you.

The Hangman's Daughter
There is potential with this one. Historical mystery. Yes!

Top Ten - Books I would love to see as a TV Show or Movie

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week, we are decreeing that this would be in a perfect world in which the adaptation would be done perfectly and not ruin our favorite books. 

And so - onto the list!

1. The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle.
I know there already is *a* movie about this, but I want a massive, live-action, epic-length feature about this think.  Or a miniseries with Game of Thrones' production values.  More unicorn and Red Bull action, please!

2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
I feel like we need more shows about women that can both kick butt and find love while making a difference in their world.

3. Joust series by Mercedes Lackey
Pseudo-Egypt land where lucky soldier can ride dragons into battle.  A young peasant boy who rises from the lowest of the low to become a major player in kingdom politics.  Romance!  Battles!  Dragons! 

4. The Immortals quartet by Tamora Pierce
Nothing against Song of the Lioness, but this one has talking animals in it.  Following Daine on her adventures was one of the best experiences of my teenage years.  I want to share this bounty with so many other people.

5. Hidden Kingdom trilogy by Clare Dunkle
A criminally under-acknowledged trilogy, really. Two girls find their place in a realm ruled by the Goblin King.  For all the people who grew up with Labyrinth and wanted a more romance-filled happily ever after.  Goblins and elves and humans and all sorts of strange magic. 

6. River God by Wilbur Smith
For people who wanted HBO's series Rome to go on and on, this might actually fit the bill.  The history is somewhat sketchy (read:  nonexistent) but the setting is plausible enough.  There's plenty of violence and romance and adventure and war and whatnot to sate even the heartiest appetite for them. 

7. Hawksong and Snakecharm by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Neither of these books are especially long, but their limited pages are just packed with adventure and feelings.  The world is particularly interesting - people who can be snakes or hawks, and the never-ending war between them.  The romance between the two main characters is oddly deep and satisfying for how short the book itself is.

8. Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop
There is no reason why I love this series as much as I do, but I wish I could watch it in Game of Thrones-style miniseries.  The first time I read it, I didn't love it, but partway through the series I was completely hooked and couldn't stop.  Now I want to watch it in long serial style.

 9. Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueliene Carey
There is enough sex et cetera in this book (and its sequels) that even HBO might not be willing to take it on.  But it would still make a kick-ass series set in not-Renaissance France, and journeying throughout the greater European area.  All the books are dark, but the finale is exceptionally so - without ever really falling into the "life is dark, man, dark" trap that some grimdark fantasies slip into.

10.  Firebringer Trilogy or Darkangel Trilogy by Meredith Anne Pierce
Okay, I can't decide between these two, so I"m making them both my number ten.  Firebringer has unicorns and griffins and dragons and it's AWESOME.  The Darkangel trilogy has vampires (sort of) and demons and possessed creatures and it's also AWESOME.  So many plots strings twisted up and then resolved!  So many feelings!  I haven't read either in a few years, but I might need to dig them out again....

 

 You know, I'm rapidly discovering that these Top Ten lists aren't really helping me get my TBR pile any smaller.  I just keep digging up older books that I've already read and now want to read again.  Curse you, good books!

Book Review: Conspiracy of Alchemists by Liesel Schwarz

Conspiracy of Alchemists by Liesel Schwarz
Book 1 in The Chonicles of Light and Shadow

LEAVE IT TO CHANCE.

Eleanor “Elle” Chance, that is—a high-flying dirigible pilot with a taste for adventure and the heroine of this edgy new series that transforms elements of urban fantasy, steampunk, and paranormal romance into pure storytelling gold.

It is 1903, and the world is divided between light and shadow. On the side of light is a wondrous science that has transformed everyday life by harnessing magical energies to ingenious new technologies. But each advance of science has come at the expense of shadow—the traditional realm of the supernatural.

Now two ancient powers are preparing to strike back. Blood-sucking immortal Nightwalkers and their spellcasting Alchemist allies have a plan to cover the whole world in shadow. All they require is the sacrifice of a certain young woman whose past conceals a dangerous secret.

But when they come after Elle, they get more than they bargained for. This enterprising young woman, the daughter of a scientific genius, has reserves of bravery and determination that even she scarcely suspects. Now she is about to meet her match in more ways than one: a handsome yet infuriating Warlock named Hugh Marsh, whose agenda is as suspect as his charms are annoyingly irresistible.

Review:
Let it be said that Steampunk and I have a difficult relationship.  I really want to love it, I really do.  I think it wants to please me and offer me all sorts of things that other genres just don't have:  steamships and dirigibles and corsets and fancy gadgets and women actually doing things regularly.  But then I realize that, no matter how much steampunk tries to do for me, it's *only* steamships and dirigibles and corsets and gadgets.  It's not that there's anything wrong with them, per se, but it becomes hollow.  As Ferretbrain once said, "It's an aesthetic looking for a purpose."

So I was pleased to find someone who is trying to pull steampunk into a realm where more fantasy readers are somewhat more comfortable, using magic as well as high-tech steam gadgets to forward a plot and set up a story.  There are Warlocks who wield powerful magic and there are Alchemists who forged a dark alliance with Nightwalkers (read: vampires) to gain earthly power.  

As almost every steampunk novel does, this one starts with a plucky-and-tough-yet-vulnerable young woman trying to make her way in the world as an airship pilot.  Of course she is.  But before she can say "goggles," she's pulled into an adventure that's way beyond her.  Enter Hugh March, a mysterious man with a mysterious past who does mysterious things for mysterious reason.  MYSTERY, dammit!

And of course they are thrown together - two personalities that are not really alike but they start to rub along nicely after a while - and their adventures across Europe and Turkey show them each other's strengths.  Also, love.  And smoochin'.

The book's real strongsuit lies in the adventure part.  When the two main characters are off doing things and shooting down air pirates and exploring Constantinople and doing stuff in Venice, the book is solid.  

It's when they start solely interacting with each other that the book starts to be bang-your-head-against-a-wall frustrating.  The characters aren't bad, mind you, but Elle has got to be the single most dense and self-deluding Steampunkette ever.

I feel like there was a scene that went something like this:

Hugh:  So, you have some special vision powers and the Warlocks want you to use it for them because it will be good for the world.  
Elle:  Nuh-uh.  I don't.
Hugh:  Um, you totally do.  And if you don't help us, the world will end.  Because, you know, Alchemists and stuff.
Elle:  I don't have powers, Hugh!  If you weren't so dreamy - and if I would just stop having these pesky visions - I could slap you.  I'm leaving now.
*Leaves room, has powerful vision.*
Elle:  (Upon waking, to self)  That Hugh. Such a jerk, saying I have "powers."  Doesn't know what he's talking about.

This is me after that scene:

So yeah.  About 25% of the book could have been cut out if that conversation had gone something like:
Hugh:  You have powers.
Elle:  Huh.  That explains a lot.  What do we do about it?

The worldbuilding is really clever and the story itself is a great adventure.  I really enjoyed the combination of fantasy (fairies and vampires) mixed with stereotypical steampunk (advanced-yet-old tech, airships), but I'm not 100% sold on the main character.  I wouldn't object to reading the sequel, however, to see where the story goes.  

3 out of 5 stars!

A "shining" review

In preparation, or rather anticipation for the upcoming novel by Stephen King called Doctor Sleep (September 24, 2013) I decided it was finally time to read The Shining.  I have grown up knowing who Stephen King is. He was a guy who wrote scary, horror stories that turned into scary, horror movies on T.V. or the big screen that I was not allowed to watch, yet.  I watched the Stanley Kubrick version of The Shining in college and was scared out of my mind while my boyfriend was sitting next to me in awe of Kubrick’s filmmaking abilities.  Over the years I have picked up a few of King’s works like The Stand and part of The Dark Tower series but I never picked up some of his scarier books.

Earlier this year I heard murmurings that Stephen King was writing a sequel to The Shining and was immediately intrigued. What makes an author go back to story after thirty-five years? Especially, an author who tends to only write stand-alone novels? Since I drive a lot for work, I decided to listen to The Shining and I was not disappointed. First of all, the story was written very well. We do not only get the perspective of one character, but all four of the main characters. I really liked this change in perspective because each character had a story to tell and all of their voices were necessary to complete the picture.  

We see young Danny Torrence who is trying to understand the thoughts he hears from others, most notably his parents and make sense of the world, which is hard for any five year old. We hear Wendy’s inner thoughts about her controlling mother, her fears about her son and her jealously over her husband and son’s close relationship. Jack Torrence, the man who eventually gets consumed by the hotel, is one of the most tragic characters I have read. We learn about growing up in a household with an abusive father, his struggle with alcoholism and every other event that led him to take this caretaker job. You are angry at him but also sympathetic. We even get the inner thoughts of Dick Halloran, the Overlook’s Chef, who “sees” Danny right away and explains “the shine” to him.  All of the feelings of these characters are explained in such a realistic way that these are not just characters in a book they are people you know or perhaps thoughts you have had yourself.

I listened to this story on audiobook instead of reading it and Campbell Scott did a superb job. He did not make a lot of changes in his voice when speaking when changing characters but when the hotel starts to get a hold of Jack you can hear it.  The good thing about listening to the story is that you do not miss a detail. The book is a little over-descriptive at times and some of the inner monologues become a little repetitive but overall the flow of the story worked well and transferred to audio format successfully.

I decided to watch the movie again as I was reading the book and the contrasts were startling. My boyfriend from college turned into my husband and he was still amazed at the cinematography. We both loved how the camera just followed little Danny and his tricycle (power-wheels!) around and around the hotel. I was of course, still scared out of my mind and angry at the many changed Kubrick made. There is no slow change that comes over Jack, he looks crazed from the beginning. At the beginning of the novel the family of three seems to have fun. They go to town a few times and during the first snow they sled together. There are random strange incidents that happen to give a sense of foreboding and you get the feeling that each family member is wary of their surroundings and has a bad feeling about the place but with nowhere else to go they are stuck, until literally they are stuck under feet of snow. In the movie,  Jack Nicholson did a great job and that look in one of the early scenes he gives his wife and child outside playing in the snow will haunt my nightmares for a long time. But he seems condescending and snide with his wife and child from the start and it is no surprise that he goes crazy and tries to kill them after a few months with them.  There could be a book written on the differences so I won’t go further but the change in the character of Jack was one of the biggest disappointments for me.

I cannot wait to read Doctor Sleep. If I can wait long enough and if Campbell Scott will read it to me I might wait for the audiobook. For such a terrifying book, I think I will need listen to it in the daytime, with the light shining down on me.

Rating 5/5 stars

Top Ten Tuesday: Books You Wish Were Taught in Schools

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

There are some books that stick with you for the adventure they take you.  There are books whose main characters become you imaginary best friend or book crush.  There are books that make you cry or make you angry.  However they get to you, if they make you read, I'm all for it.

I would rather someone read awful crap than not read anything at all.  Of course, in a perfect world, students would read amazing books instead, and get a terrific book addiction and then the world would be populated with more readers no child anywhere would ever have to hear, as I did: "Why don't you get a life instead of reading all the time?"

Books that Make Reading Fun
1. The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle.
 "The unicorn lived in a lilac wood and she lived all alone."  This is the most perfect opening sentence to one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. Boys - have no fear!  She might be a unicorn but her adventures are filled with anything but rainbows.  There are harpies and witches and demon bulls and talking skeletons and a cursed castle.  As a bonus, it's a deeper book than it seems on the surface, including lovely passages about responsibility, fate, and immortality. 

2. Lamb by Christopher Moore
By all rights, the religious right could have taken arms up against this book, but it seems the reading public took it for the lighthearted joke it was intended to be and have been keeping it in print for years.  There's even a special edition that looks like a Bible.  There are so many jokes and puns it's hard to keep track of them all.  Basically, it's Life of Brian except it is really about Jesus.  There just isn't enough satire in school curricula.

3. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
I'm sure there are kids who would read this for fun anyway - or who already have.  Why not discuss some of the other things in it, like the morality of what the adults are doing, the dubious benefits of waging war, the global population issues, guilt vs innocence.  Yes, it's a story about games, aliens, and spaceships, but it's also about a lot more. 

Books with Female Protagonists that Boys Will Root For, Too
5. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
You knew this was going on the list, right?  I think this is an important evolution in YA literature simply because of the way the female protagonist interacts with other women and because of the way that the male lead responds to her (superior) prowess - with respect instead of intimidation.  There is a rather pervasive yet not ham-handed feminism throughout the story, and no one should object to the ideas Cashore presents.

6. Bloody Jack by L. A. Meyer
Sometimes you want to smack Jack (aka Mary Faber) around for making ridiculous decisions and then having to face the consequences, but in this first book, it's all about the Age of Sail and the domination of the British Empire.  There's a healthy dose of history here served up alongside all the hijinks.  The series goes on for (at this time) eleven books, giving readers more and more stories to devour.

7. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Along with the protagonist who needs to get out of her backwater home, there is a murder mystery going on based on An American Tragedy by Dreiser.  A books about a book about a real murder.  Excellent.


And finally, the "Precautionary Tale"Book
8. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.
Love it or hate it, I feel like young women (and probably the young men, too) should be forced to read this series with a counselor who can explain why this is not romantic, and if your S.O. ever does anything like this in real life, you are probably in an abusive relationship. 


Confession:  Labor Day has thrown me for a loop and I almost forgot to post something today.  Whoops!