Book Review: The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

The Queen of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling, Book 1) by Erika

Johansen

Completed: April, 2014
Length: 448 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

On her nineteenth birthday, Princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn, raised in exile, sets out on a perilous journey back to the castle of her birth to ascend her rightful throne. Plain and serious, a girl who loves books and learning, Kelsea bears little resemblance to her mother, the vain and frivolous Queen Elyssa. But though she may be inexperienced and sheltered, Kelsea is not defenseless: Around her neck hangs the Tearling sapphire, a jewel of immense magical power; and accompanying her is the Queen’s Guard, a cadre of brave knights led by the enigmatic and dedicated Lazarus. Kelsea will need them all to survive a cabal of enemies who will use every weapon—from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic—to prevent her from wearing the crown.

Despite her royal blood, Kelsea feels like nothing so much as an insecure girl, a child called upon to lead a people and a kingdom about which she knows almost nothing. But what she discovers in the capital will change everything, confronting her with horrors she never imagined. An act of singular daring will throw Kelsea’s kingdom into tumult, unleashing the vengeance of the tyrannical ruler of neighboring Mortmesne: the Red Queen, a sorceress possessed of the darkest magic. Now Kelsea will begin to discover whom among the servants, aristocracy, and her own guard she can trust.

But the quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun—a wondrous journey of self-discovery and a trial by fire that will make her a legend…if she can survive.

The Queen of the Tearling introduces readers to a world as fully imagined and terrifying as that of The Hunger Games, with characters as vivid and intriguing as those of The Game of Thrones, and a wholly original heroine. Combining thrilling action and twisting plot turns, it is a magnificent debut from the talented Erika Johansen.

Fiction or Non-Fiction? Genre?: Fantasy. Fiction.

What Lead You to Pick-up This Book?: I read it as part of a TLC Tour.

Summarize the Plot: When you read the back of the book, or the synopsis I posted above, you expect a straight fantasy novel. That is not what you get! This actually takes place in a different version of our world. We only start learning about what happened to create this new world, but there are mentions of the society we live in now. I suppose that is where the comparision to The Hunger Games comes in... Something bad has happened, but the 'games' are wars and power struggles. Kelsea is a reluctant queen, though. She was brought up in isolation until her 19th birthday when she is collected to take over the kingdom. In many ways she is prepared, but in other ways she has a vast new experience ahead of her. She is also determined to be different from her mother which leads to a different sort of queen. It's hard to be original in such an explored genre, but I think Johansen is well on her way and this is her debut novel!

What Did You Like Most About the Book?: Firstly, strong female character. She definitely grows within this book, so, I expect she will even more as the series progresses. She still accepts help when she needs it so it is not unbelievable. I also like that there is no love triangle so far (and hopefully won't be!). As to the story itself, I liked how it was set in a different version of Earth. I wasn't expecting that in the beginning. Johansen really thinks everything out to both intrigue and inform the reader. I am curious to learn more about the events. I also enjoyed all the characters in their own ways.

What Did You Like the Least?: There was nothing that really stuck out as bad about the book.

What Did You Think of the Writing Style?: I liked it! She knew just how to keep the readers interest. There were quiet moments and more exciting moments. It was just enough mixture to progress the story, but also keep the reader interested. You also felt like you were getting to know the world and the people that inhabit it.

What Did You Think of the Main Character?: In the beginning, I wasn't so sure... But then the novel got going and Kelsea grew on me. She was basically a lonely young woman that had been thrust into a very important role. She has moments where you remember that she is 19. I like that there was a mixture there so that she wasn't so naive the whole book it was annoying, but also that she felt feelings for a boy and other things that 'normal' teenagers should experience. She was also a big reader and I appreciated that.

What Did You Think of the Ending?: Well, you obviously know this is going to be a trilogy or series or something along those lines. But, no cliffhanger ending! There are some things that obviously you still want to know more about and events that are in the workings, but the ending is satisfying. I was very happy with it!

Overall, I am very impressed that this is a debut! Bravo to the author. Definitely worth checking out and I can't wait for the sequel!

Book Review: What Makes This Book so Great by Jo Walton

What Makes This Book so Great by Jo Walton

Completed: February 2, 2014
Length: 448 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads.com

As any reader of Jo Walton's Among Others might guess, Walton is both an inveterate reader of SF and fantasy, and a chronic re-reader of books. In 2008, then-new science-fiction mega-site Tor.com asked Walton to blog regularly about her re-reading—about all kinds of older fantasy and SF, ranging from acknowledged classics, to guilty pleasures, to forgotten oddities and gems. These posts have consistently been among the most popular features of Tor.com. Now this volumes presents a selection of the best of them, ranging from short essays to long reassessments of some of the field's most ambitious series.

Among Walton's many subjects here are the Zones of Thought novels of Vernor Vinge; the question of what genre readers mean by "mainstream"; the underappreciated SF adventures of C. J. Cherryh; the field's many approaches to time travel; the masterful science fiction of Samuel R. Delany; Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children; the early Hainish novels of Ursula K. Le Guin; and a Robert A. Heinlein novel you have most certainly never read.

Over 130 essays in all, What Makes This Book So Great is an immensely readable, engaging collection of provocative, opinionated thoughts about past and present-day fantasy and science fiction, from one of our best writers.

I all ready mentioned this book in some rambling. You can find my post here. Instead of my usual post on the book, I am going to talk about some of the general stuff that Walton wrote essays on in the book. I am hoping others will add their two cents.

Essay 2: 'Why I Re-read'.

My response: First of all, with all the ridiculous words in the dictionary... Reread should be correct. I never hyphenate it. My computer never tells me it is wrong; but that might be because I use it so much the computer gave up! I wish I reread more. I actually did a bit better with that last year because I started listening to books I had read before on audio. I have a few more plans to do that this year. When it comes to rereading, though, I do terrible. So far this month I did reread the first Volume of Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Boxers by Gene Luen Yang. And, I am slowly rereading Fables. Otherwise, I tell myself to reread and then new books call to me instead. I just feel guilty because my reading died, for me, the second half of 2012 and my TBR is probably the most unmanageable it has ever been. I need to get over the guilt because I keep books to reread them and then it takes me forever to do so.

What are your thoughts on rereading?

Essay 8: 'Re-reading long series'. 

My response: Jo Walton is one of those rereaders (I guess that is not a word, oh, well!) that rereads all the previous books before a new book comes out. This is something else I would love to do and don't. Face it, the world is consumed by series. I start new ones regularly just because standalone books are getting so rare. Especially in fantasy and science-fiction where my reading normally focuses. And there are series that I have all the books, but haven't finished because I have to back and reread the books I have read. As a result they just sit on my shelves because I am atrocious at just reading one series or one author one right after another. So, last year I reread The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley to finish this the series... I still haven't finished the series. Or Jim Butcher? I have read book 1 twice and still never read on in the series. Not to mention, I have never read beyond Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and I have read Outlander at least twice.

Am I alone on this problem? Are most people more like Walton?

Essay 33: 'Better to have loved and lost? Series that go downhill'

My response: First of all, the person that Walton is responding to is evil. The series he used as examples are some I am in the midst of, so that will really help me get through them quicker! What are some series that you feel this has happened with? I mostly just find 'bad books' in series. For example, I love Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series, but I didn't love all of the books. (*cough* Dime Store Magic *cough*). I find that even when there are bad books I still keep trying to give the series a chance. The only series I can think of giving up on entirely after reading a bunch of the books was The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine. And, personally, I don't think that was her fault. I think I just outgrew the story.

Any series you have read that have gone downhill?

Essay 119: Gulp or sip: How do you read?

My response: Both. I think my reading suffered last year because I forgot to sip and never had time to gulp. I kept waiting for dedicated time to read that never seemed to happen and my books sat around waiting for me. In the past, I just read whenever the chance presented itself. If I read a paragraph, that was still one step further in the book. You know what, though? You have to retrain yourself to do that. I started last week reminding myself that while I wait for such and such a thing, I should read. It's like a lost skill! I am doing better with it, though.

Do you gulp or sip? (If you are wondering, gulp means sit and read for extended periods of time and sip basically means sneak a page while waiting for the light to change, for example.)

Essay 121: Do you skim?

My response: Nope! Actually, I did once with this chunkster of a book because I wasn't liking it and I had to read it. I can't remember the book at all any more... I just remember that I skimmed! I agree with Walton that even if the part of the book isn't interesting me that much, there might be something important in there that I will need to know later in the book. So, I read the book in its entirety. Just like even though Walton talks about books I have never read in this book, I still read all of them and the entire things. When I finish a book, I want to actually finish a book.

So, do you skim?

Essay 124: The Suck Fairy

My response: You can read the essay for a more detailed explanation, but basically this is about how you go back to read a book that you loved and now you can't remember why. She is essentially saying a fairy made it suck, only she doesn't make it so simplistic. Anyway, as soon as I looked at this essay I thought about Madeleine L'Engle. I loved her when I was younger, but now some of her books don't seem to work for me any more. It is devastating. And you know why? Probably for the same reason The Chronicles of Narnia don't work for me any more... There is stuff in those books I missed entirely when I was younger. Now that I know the truth of what things mean, it loses the attraction. I do still really like A Wrinkle in Time, though. I just used to reread the whole series every couple years and now I wait longer because I don't want to destroy my happy memories of the series.

Anything stand out for you that you feel a 'Suck Fairy' invaded?

So, hopefully you enjoy this different sort of 'review'. I really enjoyed this book and hope that more of you will get a chance to read it. I am reading a book right now that I had never heard of before I read Walton's book. It might have came up somewhere else down the line, but I am excited to explore the books in this collection. They might not all work for me, but it will be fun to see.

Strongly recommended! (Although, with the warning that you should probably have a slight interest in fantasy and science-fiction first!)

2014 Reading Challenges

I didn't do any reading challenges last year... Well, this year. I decided to do a couple in 2014, though. Nothing too stressful. We will see how it goes! The ones I picked out are below: 

Hosted By Teresa's Reading Corner.

January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014

There are five levels to the challenge: 

Flirting-Listen to 6 Audio Books
Going Steady- Listen to 12 Audio Books
Lover- Listen to 25 Audio Books
Married-Listen to more than 25 Audio Books
You Define the Relationship- Create your own challenge (choose your own name and level starting as low or going as high as you’d like) 

This challenge is completely laid back. I want it to be as enjoyable as possible.
Audio Books can be any genre
You can cross challenges
You don’t have to be a blogger to participate. You can tell us about what you are listening to in the comments of the monthly link up.

My Thoughts: In a dream would I would like to listen to two audiobooks  a month, but we will see how that goes... To start with I will go with Going Steady - Listen to 12 Audio Books.

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Hosted at it own dedicated blog.

January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014

Wondering what’s a chunkster? A chunkster is an adult book, non-fiction or fiction, that’s 450 pages or more.

Rules for this challenge:

Audio books and e-books are now allowed. You want to listen to a chunkster on audio? Be my guest.
Essay, short story, and poetry collections are allowed but they have to be read in their entirety to count.
Books may crossover with other challenges.
Anyone can join.
You don’t have to list your book ahead of time.
Graphic novels don’t count. Sorry guys but reading a chunkster graphic novel isn’t the same as reading a non-graphic chunkster.

I’ve been thinking long and hard about the levels of participation that have always been a part of this challenge. This year we’re going to try something new: there won’t be any levels.

My Thoughts: I am not going to stress about it. I just want to clean some of the chunskters off my shelves.

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Hosted at its own dedicated blog.

January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014

Here’s the schedule:

Jan./Feb.: Gulf Wars (Gulf War/Operation Desert Storm and Iraq War/Operation Iraqi Freedom)
March/April: French and Indian War
May/June: Korean War
July/August: WWI (100th Anniversary)
Sept./Oct.: WWII
Nov./Dec.: Vietnam War

Level of Participation:

Dip Your Toes: Read 1 book for any war
Novice: Read 1 book per war throughout the year for a total of 6 books on 6 different wars
Intermediate: Read 2+ books for 1 war, and 1 book for each of the others for a total of 7 books
Expert: Read 2+ books for each war for a total of 12 books

My Thoughts: I really like the idea of this challenge. I should do it more! I am not sure what level to go with just because I have no idea what to read for some of the wars. I normally read primarily WWI and WWII, so I will have to see what the options are for the other wars and take it from there.

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Hosted at its own dedicated blog.

January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014

Here is how the Challenge will play out this year:

Levels:

Modern Age: read and review 12 books during the year (that's only 1 book a month)
Bronze Age: read and review 24 books during the year (Can you handle 2 books a month.)
Silver Age: read and review 52 books during the year (Are you up to a book a week!)

You must sign up for a level, but once you complete that level you may move up and try for the next one.

My Thoughts: I am behind on my graphic novel reading. I need to catch-up! I am going to go with the Modern Age. I would have to start going back to the library to do better than that. We will see how it goes.

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Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Books Completed: 69
Completion Date: April 27, 2007
Publication Year: 2004
Pages: 448
Owned Prior to 2007
Book Three in The Women of the Otherworld series

From Canada’s new queen of suspense, another hugely entertaining supernatural thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. Prepare to be enchanted . . .

Forget the cackling green hag in The Wizard of Oz, forget Samantha from Bewitched. Real witches are nothing, NOTHING like this. For years real witches have hidden their powers, afraid of being persecuted. They have integrated so well into the community, you could have a witch living right next door and never know about it. Take Paige, for instance, whom we first met in Kelley Armstrong’s novel Stolen. Just an ordinary twenty-something who runs her own website design company, worries about her weight and wonders if she’ll ever find a boyfriend. Okay, so she’s leader of the American Coven and guardian of Savannah, the teenage daughter of a black witch. Really, life is ordinary. But then a telekinetic half-demon, Leah O’Donnell, shows up to fight for custody of Savannah. And although Paige is ready for her, she’s not quite so prepared for the team of supernaturals that Leah brings with her, including a powerful sorcerer who claims to be Savannah’s father.

When all hell breaks loose -- literally -- and Paige is accused of witchcraft, Satanism and murder, the Coven, fearing exposure, abandons her. Cut off from her friends, Paige is forced against her better judgment to accept the help of a young sorcerer lawyer. And she quickly comes to realize that keeping Savannah could mean losing everything else.

Breathtakingly thrilling, hip and funny, this new novel is another page-turning triumph from an author who is going from strength to strength.

To read the review to this book on Twisted Kingdom, click here.

Book Twelve in the TBR Challenge, Book Twelve in the Chunkster Challenge, Book Twelve in the 12 Months of Fantasy Challenge, Book Ten in the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

Books Completed: 68
Completion Date: April 26, 2007
Publication Year: 2003
Pages: 576
Owned Prior to 2007
Book Two in the Women of the Otherworld series

Even though she’s the world’s only female werewolf, Elena Michaels is just a regular girl at heart -- with larger than normal appetites. She sticks to three feasts a day, loves long runs in the moonlight, and has a lover who is unbelievably frustrating yet all the more sexy for his dark side. Like every regular girl, she certainly doesn’t believe in witches. Then again, when two small, ridiculously feminine women manage to hurl her against a wall, and then save her from the hunters on her tail, Elena realizes that maybe there are more things in heaven and earth than she’s dreamt of.

Vampires, demons, shamans, witches -- in Stolen they all exist, and they’re all under attack. An obsessed tycoon with a sick curiosity is well on his way to amassing a private collection of supernaturals, and plans to harness their powers for himself -- even if it means killing them. For Elena, kidnapped and imprisoned deep underground, separated from her Pack, unable to tell her friends from her enemies, choosing the right allies is a matter of life and death.

Once again, since Kelley Armstrong is author of the month on Twisted Kingdom, you can click here to view the review.

Book Eleven in the Chunkster Challenge, Book Eleven in the 12 Months of Fantasy Challenge, Book Nine in the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

The Eagles' Brood by Jack Whyte

Books Completed: 32
Completion Date: February 25, 2007
Publication Year: 1994
Pages: 639
Owned Prior to 2007
Book 3 to A Dream of Eagles cycle or The Camulod Chronicles

Born of the chaos of the Dark Ages, the Dream of Eagles produced a king, a country and an everlasting legend—Camelot

Most know him as Merlyn; all call him Commander. Caius Merlyn Britannicus is responsible for the safety of the colony known as Camulod, and for the welfare of the colonists who look to him for guidance, leadership, justice and salvation. Uther Pendragon, the man who will father the legendary Arthur, is the cousin Merlyn has known and loved since their births—four hours apart on the same day, the year the legions left Britain. As different as can be, they are inseparable: two faces of the same coin. In a world torn apart by warfare and upheaval, each is the other’s certainty until a vicious crime—one that strikes at the roots of Merlyn’s own life—drives a wedge between them.

To read my review for this on Twisted Kingdom, click here.
This is the third book I have read by this author. To view the reviews for the other two books click here and here

Authors Gender:
Male: 6
Female: 26

Book Two in the Chunkster Challenge and Book Five in the 12 Months of Fantasy Challenge.

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

Books Completed: 6
Completion Date: January 16, 2007
Publication Year: 2006
Pages: 470
Owned Prior to 2007
Shortlisted for Man Booker and The Orange Prize

Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked out streets, illicit liaisons, sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941, The Night Watch is the work of a truly brilliant and compelling storyteller.

This is the story of four Londoners - three women and a young man with a past, drawn with absolute truth and intimacy. Kay, who drove an ambulance during the war and lived life at full throttle, now dresses in mannish clothes and wanders the streets with a restless hunger, searching . . . Helen, clever, sweet, much-loved, harbours a painful secret . . . Viv, glamour girl, is stubbornly, even foolishly loyal, to her soldier lover . . . Duncan, an apparent innocent, has had his own demons to fight during the war. Their lives, and their secrets connect in sometimes startling ways. War leads to strange alliances . . .

Tender, tragic and beautifully poignant, set against the backdrop of feats of heroism both epic and ordinary, here is a novel of relationships that offers up subtle surprises and twists. The Night Watch is thrilling. A towering achievement.

This book was one of my Christmas presents to myself this past Christmas. I enjoy books that are set during the World Wars, so when I started to hear good things about this book, I knew that I was going to have to read it. I am very glad I did. The first book for the Chunkster Challenge, which means I have completed one of my goals for the month of January.

I am going to have to say, this is one of the more original books set during the Second World War that I have ever read. For starters, the majority of the characters in the book, both major and minor, are women. Many of the popular World War literature focuses on the men's side of things, so it was interesting to see women as main characters. Having never read Sarah Waters before, I think this book was a very good introduction to her. I did not really know what to expect, so the fact that the main characters were almost all women was something I expected, the fact that several of the characters are gay surprised me. I did not know that this was a staple of Sarah Waters writing because I had never read her before, but it was not a bad thing. I do not really mind the sexuality of the characters that I read, but I can see this book being not for everyone.

I am not sure who out of the main characters was my favourite. The four main characters are Kay, Helen, Viv, and Duncan. They all have a past in this novel, and with the writing style starting at the end and working backwards, you find yourself curious about how things turned out the way that they did. Kay is an interesting character. As is said several times through the book, she is looking for a wife, but luck does not appear to be on her side. She really is sweet, but she never seems to end up with what she is looking for. She also often gets mistaken for a boy because of her short hair and boyish style of dressing. She was the one that I looked forward to learning more about because when you meet her, she is nothing like she was earlier in the war. Helen surprised me, but annoyed me at the same time. She never seems to know what she is doing, and seems to be influenced a lot by the people around her. Then there is Viv, she is involved a situation common to the last century, but you cannot help feeling both bad for her and want to tell her to smarted up at the same time.

Then, there is Duncan. He is quite an interesting character to read about, especially as you read more about him the earlier years. He is at battle with his demons, and I am not sure that his story is ever clearly revealed, it is more something that you assume from the information that is presented. All the characters are interesting to read about, as well as the other characters that show up in the story because of the main characters. It really is a very enjoyable read, and a very good book to start the New Year out on. Worth every page.

4.5/5

Author Gender:
Male: 1
Female: 5

This was a new to me author.

Challenge Organization

As I posted in December, it is my goal to try and read more books that have been sitting on my to be read pile, so I divided all my books up. Today I chose what I would like to read off those piles for January. These are not set in stone, because I am bad about not reading what I am supposed to read, but here are my proposed books:

For the Classics Challenge, the five books I would like to read in January and February are:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton or Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott (meant to read them last year, but did not, so they are not on my original list.)

TBR Challenge
White Teeth by Zadie Smith

12 Months of Fantasy Challenge
The Grand Ellipse by Paula Volsky

O'Canada Challenge
The Time in Between by David Bergen

Back to History Challenge
The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Chunkster Challenge
I have three chunksters that I started, so I suppose it could be one of the three, or in a dream world, all three of them:
Tatiana and Alexander by Paullina Simons
The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

Then, I want to read a teen novel. I am reading Inkheart right now, but it did not come off my to be read pile. I have too many good ones to pick from, but I will read something! I also want to read a Jean Plaidy novel, the next Robb.... and about 500 other books!

Advent Calendar, Chunkster Challenge, and Mount TBR

First up, we need more people for the Advent Calendar that is starting on Sunday! I find my blog slowish, I did not think we would have such a problem finding enough people! To read more about it, click here, and be sure and leave a comment and join in the fun!

Over the weekend, I looked all the books in my tbr pile. It has reached new heights, and I started to look closer. There are many books that have sat on that pile for quite some time. With this in mind, I decided to come up with a good New Year's Resolution. I made little challenges for myself with all the books that were laying around. I am going to post about each challenge, one a day. As they are challenges, should anyone else relate to the challenge, feel free to join in! I would just like to get to the end of 2007 with some of the books that have sat for so long, gone. This is The Written World, and hopefully next year I can travel to new Written Worlds.
First up, though, Bookfool is hosting The Chunkster Challenge. The aim is to read a book a month for 6 months. I am hoping to read at least 6 books in a year. My list is below, as well as a button that someone made for me. It is not an official Chunkster Challenge button, they are not up yet, but it makes my post look prettier until I have something to replace it with.


1. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
2. The Silver Rose by Susan Carroll
3. Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb
4. Map of Bones by James Rollins
5. The Eagle's Brood by Jack Whyte
6. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
7. Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop
8. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
9. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
10.Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
11.Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong
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I am really addicted to the pictures found here, as well as on the link that I included yesterday. And, once again a big thank you to Chris for my button.