I read Mage's Blood due to a buddy hate-read I'm doing with my boyfriend. He has to read the Shatter Me series and I have to read the Moontide QuartetI read Mage's Blood due to a buddy hate-read I'm doing with my boyfriend. He has to read the Shatter Me series and I have to read the Moontide Quartet, a series that, according to him, constantly rewrites the rules of its own world-building at convenience. BUT, he emphasized, the first book isn't all that bad.
Not all that bad, he said.
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Its saving grace is that it got mildly entertaining in the last third and I was irrationally invested enough to keep reading for more than fifteen minutes a stretch. That's what the extra star is for.
The world-building is shit. It lifts entire cultures, countries, and prejudices from our world and pretends it's high fantasy simply because it goes by new names. Though new is an overstatement, given that Cym the beautiful gypsy girl is "Ramoni", which is basically a barely reworked spelling of Romani. Sometimes Hair doesn't even bother with new names. The words "namaste" and "si" appear. The man is too lazy to even invent a new language.
Fantasy languages are not that hard. Just mash your hand into the keyboard. Bvnbac. See? Now that means bread.
I'm not against real-life prejudices being portrayed in fantasy. In fact, it's to be encouraged because we see xenophobia and sexism in these high fantasy books and realize how silly it is that these things exist in our world. What I'm against is how brainlessly they're represented. People of color are discriminated against, homophobia is rampant (the word "cocksucker" was used with the subtlety of a toxic gamer), and the one intersex person that appears is treated as a vile, pitiable thing. In A Game of Thrones, the wildlings are very obviously an allegory for fear of immigrants. The word immigrant is never mentioned and the wildlings are not predominantly people of color, yet readers can easily deduce what this plot point is referring to in terms of real-world inspiration. Hair lacks that creativity and subtlety. Why write high fantasy if you're just going to copy and paste everything? Just go urban fantasy. That way you can still work in gnosis, Hair's magic system which is functional enough, but completely typical.
Don't forget the coincidences. This character is about to die, but she conveniently knows the one spell that will save her! Oh no, I've written myself into a corner BUTT WEIGHT the character with all the answers conveniently shows up at the protagonist's house.
I also found it rather misogynist that Huriya and Vedya, women who have a high sex drive, are cast as villains. Other things set them apart as villains, of course. They're vain, selfish, and bloodthirsty. But my question is, why add sexual hunger to the mix? Is it to make them seem more villainous, which would then imply that female sexuality is bad and is something to be controlled. (view spoiler)[Ramita's biggest crime, you'll remember, is fucking her ex-fiance. I hate Kazim with a vengence and thought she was a moron for betraying Meiros, but I find it interesting that her entire character arc hinges on her controlling her passion for Kazim. (hide spoiler)] Elena goes over to the good side once she breaks it off with her lover and boss Gyle. It's an uncomfortable theme that runs throughout the book.
Not exactly looking forward to the next book if this was my boyfriend's definition of "not that bad." Plus he only has to read the original Shatter Me trilogy. This series has four books.
Remember that manga/anime about an honor roll student who discovers he has the power to kill people by writing down their name in a special b2.5 stars
Remember that manga/anime about an honor roll student who discovers he has the power to kill people by writing down their name in a special book and hence decides to play god and execute criminals?
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Yeah, this book ain't it.
Instant Karma is plain wasted potential. It's a cutesy contemporary romance about a straight A student (Prudence) who suddenly gains the power to karmically punish people, but instead of running scientific experiments or using her power for big-scale projects like taking down despots and terrorists, she—wait for it—uses it on someone spraying graffiti on a billboard. She also punishes a girl for saying something vaguely mean about her brother. Not to his face, mind you, but in a private conversation with her friends that Prudence had no right to eavesdrop on.
I just expected an an academic overachiever to have a little more ambition. Like go online, look up rapists and mobsters, then see if her powers work. Do they only work if she's seeing an event happen in front of her, or does it work through a televised live event too? How far is her karmic reach? Can she punish that dictator in North Korea? But I guess all that experimenting would detract from the novel's sugary theme and the romance.
The romance did nothing for me, by the way. Just thought you should know. Quint is your run-of-the-mill love interest, complete with constant winks and a lopsided smile. (Does anyone actually wink in real life? I've never seen it.)
There are so many derp moments as well. Prudence’s powers conveniently fail when she’s confronting a criminal at the gala. Fights ensue which could’ve been avoided if she'd used an ounce of common sense and, you know, talked to people beforehand. (view spoiler)[Like why wouldn’t she tell Rosa about the earring and that’s why she wanted money from the beach fundraiser to pay for it? Why go rummaging through the cash drawer yourself? For a straight-A student, Pru is awfully obtuse. (hide spoiler)]
I guess I must have defaced a sign somewhere because this was a total letdown.
Thesis and PhD applications are taking turns driving me in an early grave, so in lieu of a proper review, here are a random assortment of tho2.5 stars
Thesis and PhD applications are taking turns driving me in an early grave, so in lieu of a proper review, here are a random assortment of thoughts from the mind that brought you Cynical Natalie and Nice Natalie.
(P.S. They’re still alive. Nice Natalie is knitting booties in preparations for Christmas, and Cynical Natalie is stockpiling coal as projectiles)
✨Kip reminds me of Samwell Tarly, if Sam had a penchant for bad jokes at inopportune moments ✨”Locke opened his mouth to say something ill-advised” from Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora is Kip in a single sentence ✨The magic system is cool and complex and too much for my overworked brain to handle atm ✨The Prism is the Avatar. Fight me ✨Actually the whole world is very much like the 4 elements. Drafters have temperaments who adhere to their color. Green represents wildness, for instance ✨Why is there slut-shaming?? ✨Really why? Why does Liv need to comment on some bitchy classmate’s cleavage ✨Do men just look at their beloved and think how beautiful she is, for the 1000th time, even when there’s a war going on? Yes, Karris is beautiful. Liv is beautiful. We get it ✨Kip’s pubescent mood swings
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✨GAVIN BRAGGING ABOUT LASTING ALL NIGHT ✨And so the Prism invented the first technicolor movie. He will shortly be hearing from Walt Disney’s lawyers ✨The whole marriage thing with King whatshisface. Classic villain move ✨Do I get a prize for guessing one of the plot twists? If so, can it be pink?
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✨Green golem=hulk smash ✨I wish we had flashback chapters ✨Liv, stop lusting after Gavin. He’s more than twice your age ✨That prison is on fleek
That is all. Also, emoji stars are shiny ✨✨✨✨✨...more
“He might be young, with the face of an angel, but there was no mistaking the truth in his eyes. He was a killer.”
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Guess what happens next.
“He might be young, with the face of an angel, but there was no mistaking the truth in his eyes. He was a killer.”
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Guess what happens next. Go on, guess!
Yes, my dear stranger on the Internet. They fall in love.
It's a hardly a spoiler. You know it's going to happen the instant Yumeko notices Tatsumui's chiselled abs.
Honestly, Kagawa's work of late is extremely predictable and derivative. Which makes me equally disappointed and annoyed because I love, love, love her Iron Fey series. I want Puck to show up at my window, make flowers bloom from my bedpost, and carry me off to a quiet meadow somewhere. Blood of Eden, though rather unmemorable, was a good read and most importantly, different from her previous novels.
The Talon Saga is where is all starts to go downhill and Shadow of the Fox, unfortunately, is a sad continuation. It also reaffirms my belief that most authors who hit it big during the Paranormal Romance craze are slowly becoming obsolete. We're seeing it with Lauren Kate, Alexandra Adornetto, Becca Fitzpatrick... The ones who continue to thrive, like Kiersten White, do so because they're willing to evolve with the times. No longer is YA willing to put up with rapey love interests and Mean Girls. It's become bolder, more diverse, more mature, more willing to push the envelope.
Shadow of the Fox is basically a mashup of familiar Kagawa tropes. Tatsumui is broody and emotionally closed off, so essentially a clone of the soldier guy whose name I can't remember from Talon and to a lesser extent, Ash from the Iron Fey. Yumeko is Meghan and Talon's heroine mushed together. Kind-hearted, sweet, naive with a mild independent streak. The ronin Okame is a sarcastic rogue and a comic relief caricature along the lines of Puck, the vampire guy from Blood of Eden, and the snarky dragon from Talon. And then there's a fourth miscellaneous character whose personality varies, but is always male.
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Seriously, what is with the lack of important female characters? There's the heroine, but that's it. Kagawa always insists on surrounding her with prominent male characters. And the villain is usually female. Make of that what you will.
Did I like anything? The Japanese mythology elements are interesting. Though it did get increasingly annoying when words like "hai" or "ano" are casually slipped in. Yes, yes, authenticity, but it's cheapened by so many anime fanfiction that do the same.
If you're going to read a Kagawa book, go for The Iron King. At least there's Puck and killer world-building in it.
“One day, a queen will rise,” he whispered, as if the books had ears to eavesdrop. “Perhaps it will be in our lifetime, perhaps the one to follow u
“One day, a queen will rise,” he whispered, as if the books had ears to eavesdrop. “Perhaps it will be in our lifetime, perhaps the one to follow us. But Maevana will remember who she is and unite for a greater purpose.”
My reading experience summed up in one gif:
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The Queen's Rising takes a bunch of familiar YA fantasy concepts and fails to do anything new with them. We have the bring-magic-back-into-world quest, the find-a-magical-artifact scavenger hunt, a cruel, two-dimensional usurper king, and of course, the classic reinstate-the-rightful-queen-to-her-throne extravaganza.
Things happen, but they feel muted. There’s no urgency to this book, nothing that makes me want to keep turning pages. Perhaps it's hasty to say that Ross does nothing new—I did enjoy the lack of petty jealousies between the female ardens at Magnalia, where they train to be a passion in either wit, music, art, knowledge, or dramatics. There are strong sisterhood undertones to the narrative. But it's not enough to save this book from being a total snorefest. Some plot-turning decisions that characters make are really stupid, too. (view spoiler)[Allenach accepts his daughter back just like that. How dense and convenient can you get?? (hide spoiler)]
The romance is equally bland. Anyone with a gram of foresight could tell Cartier, Brienna's passion master, would be the love interest. The only saving grace is that this book isn’t romance-centric, so I got to snooze through the monotone plot instead of the romance.
The writing is nothing to write home about either (haha). It tries too hard and simply comes off as cliche and purple:
“He could feel the magic teem about her, as tiny flecks of diamonds in her armor, as stardust in her hair, as moonlight on her skin.”
“War was like fire—sudden, hungry, and easiest to stop before it took hold. He would do all he could to contain the blaze. He feared for his
4.5 stars
“War was like fire—sudden, hungry, and easiest to stop before it took hold. He would do all he could to contain the blaze. He feared for his country and for himself. He’d be a fool not to. But some part of him, maybe the privateer, maybe the demon, maybe the prince who had clawed his way to the throne, was itching for a fight.”
Rule of Wolves is everything King of Scars should have been. I complained in my review of KoS that it felt meandering and lacked a coherent plot beyond a fanservice Nikolai book. RoW is much more tightly plotted with bundles of action. Something happens in every single chapter that moves the overarching plot along.
Mal and Alina show up, though I honestly don't give much of a fuck about them. (The Netflix adaption made me like Mal, though I maintain his book counterpart is insufferable) What I cared about were the Crows and thank the Saints, I got my wish. I'm not going to lie—it's very deliberate fanservice the way Kaz, Jesper, Wylan, and Inej make appearances. But I just wanted my Dirtyhands content, so Cynical Natalie can shut the eff up. (view spoiler)[Inej almost got to meet the Sun Saint, her idol, asdyfgbbvhb. (hide spoiler)] The ending of the novel also sets up a very clean opening for SoC #3 despite Bardugo saying she's going to take a break from the Grishaverse for a while. At ease, my loves, we will most definitely get more Brekker content.
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Freddy Carter as Kaz is so perfectly cast, by the way. The whole cast is.
I love Nina’s character arc, how she heals from grief but not completely erasing Matthias from her memory. Love that strong leaves a mark and though it no longer hurts, Nina will always miss him. The advent of new love is done so well, so lovingly for lack of a beetter word. Hanne and Nina are an amazing pair, and I especially like (view spoiler)[how Hanne becomes a man at the end, demonstrating the transgender possibilities of Tailoring. (hide spoiler)]
Zoya’s journey is wonderful, too. In many ways, she’s the true star of this duology, not Nikolai. We knew her as the classic mean girl in Shadow and Bone, a grudging ally to Alina in Ruin and Rising, and now a general who has seen too much war and has hardened her heart against emotion as a result. She’s bracing like a strong drink, as Nikolai says. It’s amazing watching her character develop from its one-dimensional stages to this nuanced woman who is both fierce and tender-hearted, brave and afraid, desiring Nikolai and yet too scared to come closer. (view spoiler)[The whole dragon queen thing at the end gave me serious Game of Thrones vibes, but it’s hardly fair to let one fantasy series claim ownership over dragons, which are one of the oldest fantasy tropes in existence. (hide spoiler)]
Don’t worry, Nikolai isn’t completely left out. Outshone as he is by the two leading ladies, he still finds opportunities to do the improbable and protect Ravka while cracking jokes. God, I love him.
(view spoiler)[I gotta say though, how dumb are Zoya and Nikolai for going along with what the Darkling wanted (i.e. meeting Alina)? I guess they were desperate, but c'mon. You know he's a master manipulator. (hide spoiler)]
The Darkling gets a few chapters as well. His ending is fitting, I guess. (view spoiler)[Eternal torture in exchange for being remembered. He’s always wanted to be Ravka’s savior after all and this way, he gets to atone for his crime. But he’s likely going to be set free in SoC #3, dammit. (hide spoiler)]
All in all, a fulfilling (temporary) end to the Grishaverse.
Ten days to figure out how to beat his enemies at their own game.”
Kaz Brekker would have so much fun with Levi Glaisyer. He'd fleece Le
“Ten days.
Ten days to figure out how to beat his enemies at their own game.”
Kaz Brekker would have so much fun with Levi Glaisyer. He'd fleece Levi dry, then convince him Halloween pumpkins are a good investment in December.
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Look, in the olden days, a kinder, softer Natalie might have given Ace of Shades 3 stars. There's nothing overtly offensive about it. The writing's decent (if a bit tryhard at times), there are clear stakes, okay world-building—all in all, a solid YA fantasy. But these days, thesis deadlines are squeezing my fun-meter dry and when I sit down with a book to relax, I expect to be transported.
I paid for a good time in the City of Sin and I didn't get it.
Ace of Shades is very obviously inspired by Six of Crows, but falls completely flat where Crows soared. I can't buy Levi being a street lord at 17. He's too youthful, too inexperienced. Kaz, despite his age, was depicted as wise beyond his years and fully capable of commanding a gang. Levi actually acts his age, which is fine except his whole backstory falls apart. He should've been knocked down ages ago.
The romance has the finesse of a Donald Trump speech. I had the same issue with Descendant of the Crane. The hero/heroine notes that the other party looks attractive, but gee whiz, I’m certainly not going to fall for him/her! Nosiree, there’s more important business afoot! Then several chapters later, they’re pawing at each other in a broom closet. Where’s the slow burn from friendship to love? Or if it’s enemies-to-lovers, the hatred to grudging respect to tentative friendship to angsty love? I'd prefer slow uncertain development rather than the literary equivalent of a topic sentence.
Also, the guidebook excerpts in front of every section are cool, but makes no sense when you actually think about it. Guidebooks are meant to promote tourism and bring in capital. Those excerpts just warn people away. Have fun building a new bridge with your meager treasury.
Points for Levi being bisexual, though the primary romance is heterosexual so make of that what you will....more
"My feelings about Maxon. Maxon's feelings about me. Whatever was going on between Aspen and me. And my feelings about actually becoming a princess
"My feelings about Maxon. Maxon's feelings about me. Whatever was going on between Aspen and me. And my feelings about actually becoming a princess."
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That quote up there is all you need to know about The Elite.
It's genuinely painful to read. It's worse than The Selection because, for all its flaws, it was a debut. I'm willing to cut debuts a little slack. Sequels are when writers start finding their footing, both in terms of plot and writing.
Let's start with the first. Plot, what plot? It's all about America's feeeelings, about Maxon, about Aspen, about becoming queen—which she doesn't want, because she's not like other girls. Celeste is still a slutty bitch because God forbid we get some actual depth to her character. Marlee—does anyone really care about Marlee? She's a half-baked supporting character, whose most prominent moment is defined by how America reacts and its impact on 'Mer and Maxon's relationship. The servants, who America cared so much about in the first book (BECAUSE SHE'S NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS), barely make an appearance.
You can literally copy and paste the rebel invasions from The Selection, and nothing would change. They have so little impact on this story, it's laughable. No one important can die, nothing is allowed to disturb America while she agonizes over her feeeelings.
I still refuse to believe America somehow became a monarchy. Its foundation was built on overthrowing a monarchy. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets when an orange muppet with a wig became president nine months ago. You mean to tell me they laid down and took it when a general crowned himself king? A family dictatorship along the lines of North Korea, I might be able to accept. But then that would mean dealing with icky issues like destructive weapons and torture and inhumane prisons, and stuff like that can't possibly be authorized in this Candyland dystopian. Kings and princes, on the other hands, are nice and safe and dreamy.
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America continues to take her stupidity to new heights by brandishing a historical diary—which she was warned not to tell anyone about under any circumstances, because she's not supposed to know about it—at a presentation broadcasted live to the entire nation and in front of the king and queen. But who cares? This is Candyland dystopia and she'd never suffer any real consequences. (view spoiler)[And I was right. (hide spoiler)] She has more important things to worry about, like her feelings.
By the way, why doesn't the Selection test the girls on concrete things like diplomacy and language and political science? The sexist social structure only requires the queen to be pretty and soft-spoken, but she has some form of political duties. We saw in the first book that the queen has to greet dignitaries from other countries. Surely that requires some form of schooling.
There are some instances where the girls are required to demonstrate these skills, but they're far and in between. And they're always rushed in favor of gagging romantic scenes (which we somehow we need every fucking dialogue line of, including the color of his eyes). Part of me thinks it's deliberate, so Cass doesn't have to do research or dedicate hours to thoughtfully plotting an intellectually intricate scene.
The dialogue just makes me cringe:
"The sky is blue, the sun is bright, and Aspen endlessly loves America. It's how the world was designed to be. Seriously, Mer, you're the only girl I ever wanted. I couldn't imagine being with anyone else."
You'd think a book so rooted in romance would put some actual effort toward its defining feature, but it's cheesy and cliche.
Maxon is probably the one character I give a shit about, even though his backstory has been done a million times. (view spoiler)[What is with this YA dystopian wave and fathers whipping sons? Divergent had it, The Immortal Rules had it. (hide spoiler)] I feel for him, this young man trying to juggle the desires of the public and his parents with his own. And he calls America out on her bullshit. Anyone who does that is cool with me.
Aspen is blah. All he cares about America, and he has no personality outside of her.
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Some things I liked, such as America calling out Maxon for saying he loves her, but essentially cheats on her every day with the Selection, or the line she gives Aspen about not wanting their relationship to be out of default.
It saddens me, because there stands the amazing fierce heroine America could have been and the clever intriguing story this could have been, if it weren't weighed down with the frivolity and ridiculous romance.
It might appeal to the traditional target audience for YA: 12-16. But these days I'm looking for something that respect its older readers.
Why Restore Me is Unrecyclable Trash Reason #1: Juliette is stunningly, magnificently incompetent at her job
The ending of Ignite Me is shit, alright? Why Restore Me is Unrecyclable Trash Reason #1: Juliette is stunningly, magnificently incompetent at her job
The ending of Ignite Me is shit, alright? Juliette becomes Supreme Commander of an entire country in the name of “feminism” DESPITE her having received no proper education or training. Restore Me simply highlights how terrible that decision was.
I mean, look at this crap:
“Why did I think I’d be capable of running a entire continent? How did I allow myself to imagine that a supernatural ability to kill things with my skin would suddenly grant me a comprehensive understanding of political science?”
"I did not think it would be easy to be a leader exactly, but I do think I thought it would be easier than this"
“What do you mean, my quarters? I have quarters?”
Juliette is boggled out of her tiny mind that Warner can speak seven languages, even though it should be common sense given that he was the commander's son. At one point, she wistfully wishes Anderson, the evil dictator she killed, were alive so he could take governance off her hands. Oh, she also calls him talented.
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The scenario reminds me of my experience with Wandavision. Everyone was sobbing their eyes out and bumping Wanda up to their favorite Avenger, while I had no sympathy for her at all. She held an entire town hostage and forced its residents to relive her nightmares nightly. All the good characters talk about how hard Wanda had it and how her actions are understandable—indirectly telling the audience to sympathize with Wanda. In the end, when normalcy is restored, the townspeople see Wanda off with unforgiving eyes and the special agent says to Wanda, "They will never know what you sacrificed for them." As if Wanda, not the poor people she terrorized, is the victim here.
Maybe some people sympathize with Juliette. I imagine that must be the case, given how astounding popular this series is. She's a teenager with great potential struggling to do her best. On a certain level, I sympathize with her. But my sympathy does not stretch beyond my concern for the populace. I sure as fuck wouldn't want Juliette as my president. I wouldn't trust her to run a bake sale, let alone the shattered remains of a dictatorship. It's lunacy to parade placing an incompetent woman in a position of power as feminism.
Why Restore Me is Unrecyclable Trash Reason #2: The Soap Opera Continues
In the original trilogy, we found out Warner and Adam are brothers. Now we discover Juliette’s parents weren’t her real parents and her real ones might still be alive. And she has an older sister??
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Why Restore Me is Unrecyclable Trash Reason #3: There is No Plot
Half the book is Juliette finding out she is shit at her job. Then two people show up from another country, Juliette gets shot (don't worry, it has very little impact on anything), she finds out secrets about her past, and for the grand finale, (view spoiler)[she murders 600 people (evil commanders, of course) and her real parents take her home. (hide spoiler)]
Why Restore Me is Unrecyclable Trash Reason #4: Juliette and Warner's Romance is Bullshit
“If Juliette has been supreme commander for seventeen days now, she and I have only been in a relationship for two days longer than that."
That quote seems pretty self-explanatory. They are the classic YA power couple: soulmates despite minimum interaction.
I maintain that Warner is an abusive fuck, but even if we ignore that, these hormonal teenagers know next to nothing about each other.
"I know he loves me--I can feel, in our every interaction, how deeply he cares for me--but even so, he's only ever offered me the vaguest information about his life."
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The thing is, she whines that Warner and Castle are keeping secrets from her, but the instant she finds out any type of impactful information (like Warner's ex), she has a mental breakdown. Kinda hard to blame them for hiding things.
Juliette and Warner's sex scenes are nauseatingly perfect too. There are common descriptions of heated skin to keep it age-appropriate. I actually wonder if they break into fever every time they fuck. And, of course, they orgasm together in perfect symphony.
Why Restore Me is Unrecyclable Trash Reason #5: Juliette's Thick-Ass Plot Armor
You can rest assured nothing bad will ever happen to Juliette. Her plot armor is so thick, it'd stop a dozen machetes. She’s never seriously injured and everyone kisses up to her. She never suffers consequences in her personal relationships due to her actions. It’s always the other person's fault and they’re always, ALWAYS, panting to make it up to her.
Even when Juliette force Kenji and Warner to spend time together. Even when she makes Kenji wait two hours for her because she was fucking her boyfriend. She prettily apologizes, they forgive her, and the world moves on, orbiting Juliette, the center of the universe.
"I'm the girl whose gift is chaos, who can either save the realms or end them.
I lived up to my gift; I'm the one who broke the world."
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Lol,
"I'm the girl whose gift is chaos, who can either save the realms or end them.
I lived up to my gift; I'm the one who broke the world."
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Lol, I'm sorry. I just had to use that scene.
The Fallen Kingdom is a frankly disappointing finale to a series I've consistently rated 4 stars or above in the past.
Oh, sure, it's satisfying, I suppose. All the threads are tied up. But it's satisfying the way rice and vegetables are satisfying. It fills you up, but lacks the same giddy pleasure as cake or bacon.
There were so many times I just wanted to scream at Aileana. The romance used to be fun and a nice complement to the main plot, but now it's centerstage and recycles the same old YA Paranormal Romance plot:
Everyone: Kiaran is now dangerous. He will and can kill you. Look at these humans drained of blood he left on our borders!
Aileana: *waltzes into his territory and has repeated sex with him in his castle*
Everyone: One of the siblings has to die, or the world will end. Kill Kiaran, or choose to kill his sister Aithinne.
Aileana: My boyfriend for the world? I'm not sure that's adequate. I'm sure there's another way! *Hawaii explodes in the distance*
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I know their love is earth-shattering and shit, but after reading so many YA books, both good and bad, I find it increasingly hard to tolerate and sympathize with raging teenage hormones, aka choosing love over the fate of the whole world. Nina Zenik from Six of Crows would laugh herself sick at these two.
While I'm on the topic of Six of Crows, it's possible to create a good enemy-to-lover romance while making sure neither of the parties lose their heads and forget their loyalties. It's possible to both love and mistrust the person who has been a threat to you for so long. Aileana and Kiaran just don't have that nuanced relationship. I have to compare to Aileana to Bella when it comes to her sense of self-preservation. 'I love him and he loves me, and therefore he won't rip my throat out and I trust him unconditionally.' Yeah, no, it doesn't work that way.
(view spoiler)[She didn't even get mad at Kiaran for killing Derrick. Yes, he was being mind-controlled and she knows that, but there has to be that spark there, that pinprick of blame and hatred. Derrick was her best friend and companion. Hell, even Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon 2, a freaking kid's movie, lost his shit when his dragon accidentally killed someone he cared about. (hide spoiler)]
The reveal that either Kiaran or Aithinne must die in order to save the world is shown rather early in the book, which I thought was a bad plot decision. It just makes Aileana look selfish and stupid when she frets that she can't kill her boyfriend, even though it'd save the world.
For the six billion people you just doomed to ashes and misery, I will slam a sword through you myself before cutting off Kiaran's head. Some moral quibbling is expected, of course, but showing your hand so early on just makes for lot of angst and a very irritated Cynical Natalie.
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The Fallen Kingdom also tries to sell that Aileana is Dark!Aileana now and ruthless, what with the "We always try to play the hero before we become the villain" quote, though honestly the only time she comes off as truly evil is when she won't despise her heart and kill her boyfriend. Once again for the folk in the back, for the world. For her human best friend and her husband, for Gavin who's an absolute gem, for those people Kiaran killed, for everyone who've never met and basically doomed.
The ending is a ridiculously convenient cheesefest. (view spoiler)[Of course, Kiaran comes back to life. Of course, Sorsha sacrifices herself for him, a man who will never love her back. Like Sorsha isn't a red-shirt no one gave a shit about anyway. The only death I really felt cut up about was Derrick's, but he's apparently not important enough to be resurrected. (hide spoiler)]
"Choose carefully, Nona. Let the Path lead you to a name."
Nona opened her mouth. "Cage," she said. "Let them call me Cage."
Red Sister is what you
"Choose carefully, Nona. Let the Path lead you to a name."
Nona opened her mouth. "Cage," she said. "Let them call me Cage."
Red Sister is what you get what you combine Arya's arc from Game of Thrones with Harry Potter.
There's stabbing and friendship. Magic and religion. Illicit potions and assassin lessons. Red herring villains and badass mentors. A "Chosen One" and prophecies.
You'll notice I put quotation marks around "Chosen One" because it's not what it seems. Everyone thinks Nona is the Chosen One after she arrives at the Convent of Sweet Mercy, fresh from the executioner's block, to train to be an assassin. Born a hunska, one of the four godly tribes, she is extraordinarily talented for a girl of eight and has more hand-eye coordination than I do while holding a cup of milk.
BUT there's a curveball. And another curveball. And another. This entire book is basically me getting hit in the face with curveballs, from the moment I noted the teenage-ish cover model and then discovered Nona is under twelve years old throughout the whole book. Except for sporadic chapters from the future (present?), we mainly track Nona's childhood in the village to her life in the Convent.
One of those curveballs is Ara. Beautiful, rich, and skilled, she's despised by Nona from the very beginning.
You can imagine how I reacted.
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But Nona grows to realize she's wrong. She discovers Ara is actually a really nice person, a loyal friend, and first impressions aren't everything.
"Ara's crimes appeared to be confined to being beautiful, being born rich and bring the Chosen One. Everything else, Nona realized, was something given to her by Clera or something assumed."
(I lowkey ship them. I know they're not old enough yet, but shhhh, let me dream of the future.)
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The world-building is woven seamlessly with the narrative. It's too complicated to explain and my goldfish of a brain no longer remembers the specifics, but know there are absolutely no info-dumps. Everything is presented to us naturally and smoothly.
All in all, I'm excited to see Nona grow into her cover model. And do more magic, stabby stuff.
"I didn't choose the blood that runs in my veins," I replied. "Any more than you chose your fate. You and I, we've become what we were made to beco
"I didn't choose the blood that runs in my veins," I replied. "Any more than you chose your fate. You and I, we've become what we were made to become."
I feel like I could throw a dart in a bookstore and hit at least a dozen YA books with practically the same quote and premise.
The nature vs nurture debate is well-trodden ground in fiction, not just in YA. Is there such thing as fate? Are villains born or made? These are all themes that can be reinvigorated and made fresh and unique, but Carve The Mark just fails across the board.
I'm the first to admit Divergent had its problems. But at least it was fun, fast-paced, and filled a Harry Potter and the Hunger Games niche. Carve The Mark is boring. Lifeless. Take them out of space and it'd be a more standard dystopian than its comparison title Divergent. And it ends abruptly just when things are getting exciting, as though it knows it needs something to bring readers back.
There's absolutely nothing noteworthy about the main characters Cyra and Akos. They're just there, taking up space, saying their lines, running through the motions. It's a mark of how utterly blah they are that their banter falls flat. Not a single crooked grin graced my mouth while reading.
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The romance is formulaic and didn't carry as much depth as it should have. Akos was captured by Cyra's people (the Shotet) as a child. Her brother ordered the murder of his father and brother. He is a prisoner falling in love with his captor, but he spends a weirdly short amount of time analyzing this.
Where's the self-loathing? I can't believe I'm asking this, but where's the angst? He accepts his feelings far too easily for someone in his position.
I personally think Ryzek, Cyra's power-hungry brother, is a far more interesting character to focus on because his currentgift allows him to swap out his own memories for someone else's. It explores the question of how much your past defines your personality. The person usually on the receiving end of these memory swaps is Akos's brother Elijah. Unfortunately, Roth insists on shining the spotlight on the boring siblings.
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Finally, the chronic pain/self-harm glorification:
"The gift," I said, "is the strength the curse has given me." The new answer was a blooming hushflower, petals unfurling. "I can bear it. I can bear pain. I can bear anything."
For the record, the title refers to a Shotet practice where lines are carved on their arm to mark their kills. Pain is a main theme in Carve the Mark and is ultimately presented as something positive, something that helps you build character.
There has been considerable outrage over this, which you can Google. While I agree that this message has some uncomfortable implications, I sort of understand why Roth wrote it the way she did. Her religious beliefs, I personally think, shape the way she writes. It's why she ended Allegiant the way she did.
(Please note that this is pure speculation and I could be as wrong as BBC Sherlock fans who thought Mary Watson was working for Moriarty. But the English major in me won't shut up.)
Overall, I expected more. More from YA, more from an author who has an international bestseller and a film franchise under her belt.
I won't be waiting for the sequel with baited breath....more
"This isn't about Adam or Warner," I tell him. "This is about me and what I want. This is about me finally understanding where I want to b
3.5 stars
"This isn't about Adam or Warner," I tell him. "This is about me and what I want. This is about me finally understanding where I want to be in ten years. Because I am going to be alive, Kenji. I will be alive in ten years, and I'm going to be happy. I'm going to be strong. And I don't need anyone to tell me that anymore. I am enough, and I always will be."
Ughhhh, I'm an absolute sucker for these kinds of feminist-awakening stories. Juliette's growth is outstanding. Mafi may have been writing by the seat of her pants initially, but she clearly had an outcome in mind, no matter how vague, and she goddamn delivered.
God, when Juliette gave that speech to Kenji, I was an inch from screaming, "YAS QUEEN YAS!"
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It was a ballsy move making her timid and unlikable and not all that together in the first place, but I'm so glad I stuck around. I love the message that your first love doesn't have to be your only love and you can grow out of your teenage crush. That it's okay to walk away from an abusive relationship. That emotional abuse is still abuse.
"I think he wants me to pretend I'm the girl who doesn't really speak and spends most of her time being scared. The kind of girl he needs to protect and take care of all the time. I don't know if he likes who I am now. I don't know if he can handle it."
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Alright, still with me? Ready for the hammer to drop? (You all know it wasn't all Wonder Woman undies and Katniss braids, or three red stars wouldn't be sitting up there.)
Like I said, I love its stance on first loves, but I don't like feeling manipulated into it. The series is obviously shoving us towards Warner, so Adam becomes a needy, unreasonable prick with a stick up his ass.
In Fracture Me, his first priority was his brother and he held off on saving Juliette to make sure he's safe. In Ignite Me, he tells Juliette that she's the only thing he ever wants, which is great in terms of banishing the concept of unhealthy all-consuming love, but very messy characterization. Mafi has no idea what the fuck to do with Adam except to make him look as bad as possible.
Warner, in contrast, is absolutely perfect now. Every sin, every bad thing he has ever done is rationalized or ignored. If he can really sense Juliette's emotions, wouldn't he have known that she was repulsed by him when he was making moves on her way back in Shatter Me? Or does it not matter because he wasn't in love with her yet and didn't care about making a half-mad teenage girl uncomfortable just to get what he wanted? If he couldn't, then his ability (and character) is pretty damn convenient.
(Also, Warner can Apparate like Game of Thrones's Varys. After Juliette has a fight with Adam, she calls him with a pager or some sort and he's there in three minutes. Just throwing that out there.)
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Next thing I had a problem with is genre. This series is not dystopian. It's a coming-of-age romance set against a really, really vague dystopian background. The Reestablishment is the Booeyman. It's the threat in the shadows, there but not really. Warner's father is the stereotypical bad guy and as flat as a pancake.
Three books, two novellas, and we still don't have a clue what the world is like. How's the environment? Are there other countries? Is there a textile industry making all these jeans Juliette finds laid out on her bed?
Even the final battle is wrapped up too easily. There's no buildup or a sense that people were ready to rebel. In The Hunger Games, we got sporadic rebellions first before the showdown in the Capitol, which took one entire book. But here, all of a sudden, everyone in Sector 45 decides to join. No snitches or anything.
(view spoiler)[Then Juliette declares herself leader of nation.
"I've always known, deep down, who should be leading this resistance. I've felt it quietly for some time now, always too scared to bring the words to my lips. Someone who's got nothing left to lose and everything to gain. Someone no longer afraid of anyone.
Not Castle. Not Kenji. Not Adam. Not even Warner.
It should be me."
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Symbolically, I get it. It fits with her overarching character arc of embracing her power. Practicality-wise, are we really going to trust a sixteen-year-old with little formal schooling and zero knowledge of politics to rule over a country? Ignite Me ends rather abruptly, without letting readers know whether she steps down eventually or if the other sectors fall in line. (hide spoiler)]
I mentioned earlier that Juliette's "feminist awakening" was a positive thing, but it also left a bad taste in my mouth towards the end. She gets really dictator-like, and it's equated with strength and girl power. She does whatever the hell her selfish ass desires, even if people die. She doesn't give soldiers from the opposing side a chance to surrender and afterwards, there are no conversations or inner monologues about the sanctity of life.
And I must have lost track of how many times Juliette forgets about James or Kenji or Castle because she's too busy worrying about her own problems. When Kenji thinks about passing the torch of rebellion to someone else because of Omega Point and their depleted numbers, she basically rips his head off. The ugly truth is she wants revenge on Warner's dad, so she drags everyone on her quest to murder him.
The girl from Shatter Me was scared of her own shadow. This girl, standing on the roof with Warner, watching the horizon, would Hulk-smash anyone who disagreed with her.
If it's a villain-in-making story, then I tip my hat. But I don't think it is. I think we're supposed to see Juliette as a hero and liberator, which terrifies me because she's morally grey at best. She's certainly a worse person than Katniss is.
This review is already pushing a thousand words, so I'm going to wrap it up with a few last thoughts:
1) Why is no one concerned about the healer girls? In Fracture Me, Kenji was all gung-ho about saving Juliette. Here, everyone's all, "Oh, they'll be fine. Warner's dad will keep them alive." I know they're minor characters, but some concern would be nice.
2) Kenji is as awesome as ever, though I wish he weren't so far up Juliette's ass.
3) Juliette is super, super powerful and basically invincible. That sentence speaks for itself.
4)
"It's like a soap opera." Ian nods. "But with worse acting."
Entire series in one quote. It's cheesy, cliche, and shamefully entertaining. I regret nothing.
"And I understand, for the first time, that I have the power to destroy everything."
Before I go into my review, let's take a moment to a2.75 stars
"And I understand, for the first time, that I have the power to destroy everything."
Before I go into my review, let's take a moment to appreciate Kenji. Practical, funny, brilliant Kenji. He's the Minho of the series. When Juliette is off angsting over Adam or with Adam, he's there to cut through their bullshit and remind them that there's a war going on. His friendship with Juliette stretches as far as his first priority—the destruction of the Reestablishment and keeping Omega Point safe.
"I'm not blind, okay? On a purely physical level? Yeah, you're pretty sexy--and that suit you have to wear all the time doesn't hurt. But even if you didn't have that whole 'I kill you if I touch you' thing going on, you are definitely not my type. And more importantly, I'm not some perverted asshole," he says. "I take my job seriously. I get real shit done in this world, and I like to think people respect me for it."
Forget Adam and Warner, he's the man I want.
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Alright, appreciation time over. The gloves are off. (Har har, subtle reference to the ending)
The melodrama is back in spades in Unravel Me as Juliette finds out *gasp* she's slowly killing Adam by being with him! (He's not technically immune to Juilette. Long story.) Oh, angst! Oh, woe! Oh, tormented gazes across the cafeteria that fall like oddly shaped stones on Juliette's bleeding heart!
But wait! Warner smashes back in the picture and she... might... be... FALLING FOR HIM!
*See how annoying capitals are? Stop using them, book.
I have ninety-nine and a billion problems with Juliette and Warner striking up a romantic relationship, but let's start with Warner himself first. In Shatter Me, he was the cruel, charismatic leader who made Juliette feel icky. Here, he's a tormented Prince Charming that was good all along. I didn't get what readers were saying about Rhys from A Court of Mist and Fury, but I get it: his character does a complete one-eighty. In fanfiction speak, Warner is OOC—out of character.
The reason Juliette initially falls for him is that she sees him being nice to a puppy. Then she has nice, long conversations with him and gets to his gooey interior. He transforms from a two-dimensional character to a three-dimensional human, so Juliette can no longer hate him.
If depth is all it takes to change villains to heroes (case in point, Warner's mustache-twirling father), then Hitler must be Jesus Christ reborn. Serial killers are capable of kindness, too, you know. Hitler was lovely to his secretary and the people close to him, according to that memoir. The rather thoughtful message of refusing to acknowledge the enemy's humanity in order to kill them is lost under this putrid heap of romance.
There's also that uncomfortable you-secretly-wanted-it reveal. Warner forced himself on her at the end of Shatter Me and Juliette pretended to go along with it so she could attack him. But now we find out she actually liked it. How fucking rapey is that?
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Despite it all, I was enjoying Unravel Me. I liked that she eventually realizes she needs to stop relying on Adam and be her own person. Then the ending happened and laughed in my face for ever thinking it could break out of the neat little Cliche Romance mold it built itself in. It spit on all the growth Juliette did in the last four hundred pages. She doesn't need a man, but look, here's something with a penis charging in to save the day! He comforts her and opens her eyes to the truth, just like Adam did in Shatter Me. Her character arc is exactly the same. It is then rinsed and ushered off to the next book to inspire false hope.
I'm going to read the last one. We all fucking know it. I'm reading Fracture Me right now.
Some random thoughts I couldn't structure into my review:
-Castle is an idiot. He's a bigger idealist than Trump. It's a wonder Omega point has survived this long if Anderson is as ruthless and intelligent as they make him out to be.
-Juliette is beautiful. This is very important because we're reminded every time she has contact with a heterosexual male.
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-I don't hate this series. I honestly don't. It's too amusing to be annoying. For someone who's currently trapped in end-of-semester hell, it's a relief to dive into something that isn't intellectually challenging. I skimmed a lot and was able to bang out a full-length review. (Trust me; you're not missing out a lot if you skip a line or two of Juliette's melodramatic thoughts.) There are some genuinely good themes if you read between the lines.
“I look around the bridge at my crew. Squad 312. This pack of losers and discipline cases and sociopaths, these misfits that nobody in the
3.5 stars
“I look around the bridge at my crew. Squad 312. This pack of losers and discipline cases and sociopaths, these misfits that nobody in the whole of Aurora Academy wanted to get paired with.”
Me: *stares at Aurora Rising*
Aurora Rising: *sits on table*
Me: *stares more intensely*
Aurora Rising: *sits on table*
Me: *the earth's axis begins to tilt from the force of my stare, much like when Feyre and Rhys have sex*
Aurora Rising: *sits on table*
Me:
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I've spent the last couple weeks debating a question that may very well shred my fundamental understanding of my entire being: Have I outgrown YA?
I should have loved Aurora Rising. It's reminiscent of Six of Crows in space. It has wisecracking teenagers. It has nice disability representation in the form of Finian and his exoskeleton suit. The six main characters all get POV chapters and have distinct voices, which is no easy feat. The plot moved at a good pace and had a meaty twist at the end. (view spoiler)[I don't like that Cat lived though. You could argue it's a fate worse than death, but I suspect it's so she can be magically cured at the end or intervene at some crucial moment and save another character's life. (hide spoiler)] Plus it handled "fated lovers" in a way that didn't feel cliche or melodramatic.
Sometimes books don't click. It's a sad truth. You can appreciate a book without feeling an emotional attachment towards it. But of late, the only books I seem to enjoy are non-YA. The YA books I've read, like Ace of Shades or Descendant of the Crane, all seem tripe and juvenile.
Which leads me back to my crisis: Am I outgrowing YA? Am I getting old? Good God, am I going to have to get a mortgage, even though I don't have the slightest clue how to boil an egg??
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We may never know. But by all means, give Aurora Rising a try. It has a lot of good things going for it, even if I can't quite pinpoint the reason it doesn't sing to me....more
"'Once, I was a mouse,' she says and strips off her glove. She reaches into the cage to stroke the rodent's tiny bald haunches.
'But I am not anymor
"'Once, I was a mouse,' she says and strips off her glove. She reaches into the cage to stroke the rodent's tiny bald haunches.
'But I am not anymore.'
Since this worked out so well last time:
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After the bloody events of the Quickening last book, one would be forgiven for expecting, nay, anticipating murder, mayhem, and violent mind games this round. One would expect the queens to focus tunnel vision-like on the prospect of winning and continued existence.
...Right?
"Not as beautiful as that." Nicolas bends and kisses the back of her gloved hand. "Not as beautiful as you."
Katharine blushes and nods downfield toward the targets.
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Katharine, my reborn poisoner, my best hope for some slaughter, has reverted back to a blushing milkmaid in the presence of a new hot suitor. You'd think she'd show some suspicion or caution towards handsome, unusually nice strangers after what happened with Pietyr, but either she's the most confident idiot in the world or the most hormonal. Take your pick.
(view spoiler)[She buys Pietyr's explanation way too easily. Granted, it takes nearly the entire book for her to accept him again, but there's not nearly as much mistrust and hatred as I expected. (hide spoiler)]
As someone who's writing a thesis on literary doubles, it gets frustrating when the duality between Nicolas (Katharine's new suitor) and Pietyr are presented with the subtlety of a knock knock joke. Katharine literally says Pietyr is her better half, the one who wants her to be softer, kinder. Nicolas relishes violence and feeds her dark side.
There's just so much goddamn romance. The first 30% of One Dark Throne is occupied with the queens' various romantic storylines, with Katharine occasionally sending out poisoned clothes as a transparent attempt to create tension.
I don't mind romance. Honestly, I don't. But when the blurb promises high stakes and war, I expect blood to flow all the way up to my knees.
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Arinsoe and Mirabelle. I had little to no expectations for these two, so I wasn't that disappointed when they sat back like the vanilla bread rolls they are. This series tries so hard to sell me that it's morally grey!, these characters are dark! when they are as pure as fresh stream water. (view spoiler)[Katharine's newfound darkness, as it turns out, is the result of weird malevolent magic. (hide spoiler)]
What I do have are questions:
1) Why does Arinsoe's low magic spell work astonishingly well after the disaster with the bear last time?
2) Actually, why is she still using low magic at all, given what happened? Why doesn't she at least hesitate or show inner turmoil?
3) Why would anyone randomly pick up a knife off the ground and then use it to slice meat? This doesn't make much sense if you haven't read the book, but the aftermath of this ludicrous decision sets quite a few plot wheels spinning.
Dare I say, plot convenience?
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(view spoiler)[Joseph's death is yawn. Does anyone really care about him? He's like the Mal of this series. (hide spoiler)]
The writing and world-building are still frustratingly sparse. On the former, the narrative gives off a traditional "fairy tale" vibe where we have action and dialogue, but we never have a solid handle on its characters. One Dark Throne largely foregoes stream-of-consciousness narrative (inner thoughts/monologue, simply put), so it's hard for me, personally, to relate to these characters. It lacks intimacy. They're plot pieces, not people.
As for world-building, two full-length books have gone by and I still don't have a good idea what Fennbirn looks like nor the three clans' culture and surroundings. (Truthfully, I don't have a clue what the sisters look like either) There are poisoners and naturalists and elementals... and then what? There's nothing to expand on. All I get from Wolf Spring (naturalist Arinsoe's home) is they're big on fried clams. But it's been two books! I should know more than fried clams.
Towards the end, we are led to believe that we'll receive world expansion in the form of the mainland, though I stand by my point. It's been two books. Nearly 800 pages. We should know more. I should feel more.
"Vin was not fury. She was not terror. She had grown beyond those things."
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I've been waiting two books for Vin to woman up and be the kind o
"Vin was not fury. She was not terror. She had grown beyond those things."
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I've been waiting two books for Vin to woman up and be the kind of heroine epic fantasy deserves. She's matured so much since the mistrustful creature Kelsier welcomed into the fold four years ago. While she doesn't come close to cracking my top 20 favorite female characters, she's finally a character I can respect.
And the plot. Excuse me while I swoon. Gone are the linear plotlines of The Final Empire. The twists are intelligent and strategically placed. I almost want to reread the whole series to catch all the sneaky hints Sanderson placed in the first two books.
I'm also really glad Spook has a larger part. He won my heart from the start with his endearing nature. Part of the reason I disliked Vin is how mean she was to him. (You were beaten every day by your brother, honey. Show a little compassion to your fellow street rat.) His coming-of-age character arc is long overdue and it's developed skillfully over the course of the narrative.
A few criticisms. Where are all the ladies? Other than Vin, no other women have their own POVs or hold significant roles. Allriane (who I adore) barely shows despite being a powerful Soother, and Tindwyl was a plot device for Sazed to lose his faith. Beldre, the Citizen's sister, is a fascinating character I'd love to know more, but isn't properly fleshed out. It grates on me, especially when Vin is incredibly well-developed.
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I also never jumped on the Vin/Elend bandwagon. Their main thing is unconditional trust. So if Vin does something stupid, Elend lets her carry on, and vice versa. It seems to be a tremendously dangerous state of mind to be in given the events that happen (view spoiler)[Ruin controlling people. (hide spoiler)] I understand it's connected to Vin's abandonment issues and Zane, but blind trust is never a good thing. (view spoiler)[Use steel to communicate if you must. (hide spoiler)]
On whole though, The Hero of the Ages is a brilliant finale to the Mistborn trilogy. Started with a sputter, ended with a hearty bang.
"It was a mistake. All of it. For as long as she'd known him, Mariko had despised the very idea of this boy.
But the truth of him?
The truth was not
"It was a mistake. All of it. For as long as she'd known him, Mariko had despised the very idea of this boy.
But the truth of him?
The truth was not quite as simple. It was silent entreaty. A wordless plea."
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Last time I offered a three-sentence summary of The Wrath and the Dawn. This time, I give you yet another short summary of Flame in the Mist:
Mariko: I'm going to dress up as a boy to infiltrate the Black Clan and find out why they sent people to assassinate me!
Okami: *works his chiseled cheekbones*
Mariko: Never mind
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Seriously now, I do think the romance here is better than The Wrath and the Dawn. There are no weird Twilight comparisons and blissfully free of rapey undertones.
But boy, was it random. Okami does next to nothing to endear himself to Mariko, but she falls in love with him anyway. The premise is exactly like TWATD—girl infiltrates boy's home with the intention to kill him, then tumbles head over heels for him without sufficient justification. You'll notice I didn't say "fall." Because she doesn't so much fall as plunge headfirst at Mach 1.
This is a quote from right after she nearly drowns:
"Mariko had never thought she'd see so many naked feelings cross his finely chiseled face."
Girl nearly died, but ya know *whispers* chiseled. Okami also smells like warm stone and wood smoke, courtesy of Dior's newest cologne line.
Also like TWATD, Mariko is set up to be this fierce, intelligent, badass character, but fails spectacularly at the one task she's given. Mariko is an awful spy, alright? Halfway through the novel and all she's done is mentally swear revenge x10000 and throw a teapot at someone. Ahdieh may be going for a fish-out-of-water scenario here, where Mariko thrives in political power games, then realizes the same tactics can't be applied to the real world. But we aren't shown scenes where she dominates in those fields either. We're just told (over and over and over again, by her brother, by Okami) that she's smart and supposed to take it at face value even when all evidence suggests otherwise.
I'm still scratching my head over the decision Mariko makes that kicks everything off. After her progression is attacked by the Black Clan, Mariko decides to track down her assassins herself because returning home, battered and dirtied, will cause rumors about her reputation, thus, hurting her family. Did I miss a few steps? A) Why would a pampered girl raised within the security of palace walls think she can make it on her own and B) What exactly will catching the assassins prove? I understand her desiring to taste freedom, but it's a terrible life decision. Like climbing Mount Everest.
The writing doesn't help either. It's melodramatic and overflows with declarative fragments like, "She would murder them. She'd show them all." (I made that up; I'm too lazy to flip for a real quote.) Sentences like that appear all the time, without much variation in sentence structure. They're meant to be impactful—and they are in sensible amounts. Too much, and it feels tired and unoriginal. Ahdieh tends to overexternalize her characters' emotions as well. For instance, if a character is sad, it rains, that kind of thing. It occurs so often, it loses emotional impact. When everything from walking through a garden to murdering a man feels DEEP and MEANINGFUL, nothing is.
I rated this lower than TWATD, but I do think it's slightly better in terms of romance. I just couldn't think of a single good thing about it individually.
FYI, Dragon's Beard candy originates from China. Flame in the Mist is centered in feudal Japan. Just sayin'....more
"You may think you know the story. It goes like this: once upon a time, there was a sixteen-year-old girl named Jane Grey, who was forced to marry
"You may think you know the story. It goes like this: once upon a time, there was a sixteen-year-old girl named Jane Grey, who was forced to marry a complete stranger (Lord Guildford or Gilford or Gifford-something-or-other), and shortly thereafter found herself ruler of a country. She was queen for nine days. Then she quite literally lost her head.
[...]
This is how we think Jane's story should have gone."
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There's one very important rule to keep in mind while reading My Lady Jane: don't take it seriously.
Unlike Riders, it's not a book that attempts to be anything more than its content suggests, which is a light-hearted comedy. There is literally a Douglas Adams-like paragraph where the narrators, after Jane ties up a bad guy, discuss the peculiarity of rope existing in this era and where she got it in the first place.
That's its saving grave. Because it is stuffed full of cliches and stuff that would grate on me otherwise. The man Jane is forced to marry is unbelievably and thankfully handsome. Jane is a beaut behind her hardcovers and throws herself in unnecessary danger for reasons of "girl power." She's also fond of books to the point of two-dimensional ridiculousness. And Gracie, the typical badass girl who rescues the hero when he's in a scrape and about as original as a snowflake, just so happens to fall in love with him.
But you know, we're not taking it seriously. And it shines precisely because of it.
Jane and G's hate-to-love relationship is written very well. Their banter is adorable.
"Jane, I cannot allow you to sleep on the floor," G said gallantly.
She smiled. "The pillow and blanket are for you, my lord."
"Ah. Of course."
I also loved the authors kept in mind the societal expectations of women at the time, but eventually had the male love interests go through a feminist awakening. G's initial revulsion to Jane becoming queen is understandable. He wasn't raised in our time. Boys raised in our time have difficulty accepting women in power. His main concern is that she'll dominate him entirely, ignoring his opinions and concerns.
"He never blamed her for reading. Or for thinking. Or for stating her opinion often. And God's teeth, she stated her opinion often.
He would never have lorded his 'lord and master' title over her.
But now, she was his queen. ...How was he supposed to be a husband after that. Was he to be lord and master of his household, as long his household, the queen, agreed?"
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A fluffy historical retelling that's good for a chuckle....more
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