I liked this one a little better than Carve the Mark. I think maybe because the world was more established and the complicated relationship between each character was more set. Also opening up the universe to new planets made and introducing more characters with darker skin as more than just warriors or brutal dictators also helped. That doesn’t make some of the character development any less problematic but I do think that Veronica Roth listened to the criticism of the first one and took that into account while writing this one. I’m also grateful that this is only a duology and not a trilogy. Knowing that this was the last book, I felt the pacing was better, the story more concise loose ends tied up. That being said, she did leave an opening to return to this world if she wanted to but I’m happy with how it ended.
The Fates Divide picks up right after the end of Carve the Mark. Cyra and Akos, along with Ryzek, Cisi and Isea and Eijeh have fled the arena and leaving the Shotet in chaos. With Ryzek presumed dead and Cyra leaving their is a power vacuum in Shotet that unfortunately gets filled by her once presumed dead Dad, who makes Ryzek look tame. If that wasn’t enough, Isea is grieving for her lost sister and using her Chancellor position to take revenge with the help of the Assembly. They also have those pesky little fates to contend with. They must all overcome all these obstacles and succumb to their fates but at the same time create their own. It’s tug of war. Cyra really comes into her own in this one. She has been told her whole life that she wasn’t worth it. She had a gift that could only bring pain and for that reason she pushed people away and expected people to disappoint her. Akos is rattled with guilt because he promised his dad to save his brother and that is almost impossible now. They both are way to earnest and way to self-sacrificing for my liking but it is who they are. In this one, we also get the point of view of Akos’ sister, Cisi and Eijeh. Eijeh who is destined to be an oracle but after years of torture by Ryzek has changed him but through him we see how the oracles work and how unreliable they can be. Cisi’s point of view gives us a glimpse of the other side of the Thuve and Shotet fight. The first book was only of Cyra and Akos and the Shotet. The Shotet are not well liked by and seen as pest because of their militaristic ways and constant scavenging. We can see how quickly things can escalate when you stop looking at the other side as less then they are. Our own hurt and pain blinds us to the hurt and pain of others and forces us to make rash decisions. Cisi tries to be that moderating voice before real a catastrophe happens.
Overall it was a good series that I enjoyed. I’m glad that the problems of the first book didn’t carry over to this one.
The kingdom of of Orleans is obsessed with beauty because their people were cursed with grey skin and brittle straw hair. The Belles are the blessed few who were born with color and the ability to make others beautiful too. They can change a person’s skin color, bone structure, hair and make-up and because of this they have a privileged place in the kingdom. Camille is one of six new Belles and she wants to be the Favorite. The Favorite lives in the Palace with the Queen and the Royal family. She gets to help create the laws of beauty and sets the standard. She will do anything to be the favorite even if it means getting it over her best friend. However Palace life isn’t what she imagined. For one thing, the Princess is a nightmare and a psycho. She’s the technically the second in line for the throne but her older sister has been in a coma so she’s about to named regent. Camille is smart and ambitions but at times she is so slow I want to scream at her to pay more attention to wants going on! She at times is so wrapped up in being the best Belle and impressing others that she fails to see that she is falling right into their trap. It was a good set up to an intriguing series. It had a lot of world building in the this one so now that is out of the way, I think the rest of series will move at a better pace.
This novel had a lot of hype around it and I’m glad to say it was justified. From the very beginning I was hooked. With the exception of one section, it was fast paced and gripping. I immediately liked Zelie and was rooting for her to succeed. I was drawn to Amari and struggle to right the wrongs of her family and battling her own fears. Both of these women are strong and brave. They have their own flaws but when it came to helping those in need they didn’t hesitate to step in. It’s beautifully written and full of lush imagery that I felt I was taken to an Orisha just as I was taken to Wakanda in Black Panther. There is so much potential in how this series will unfold that I really can not wait to read the next book. Like I want it right now!
The final book in the Front Lines trilogy was fitting ending for all three of our heroines. The alternate history re-imagined World War Two if women had been allowed to serve and be drafted into the Military. Rio, Frangie and Rainey all enlisted as the US was on the brink of joining the war. Throughout the trilogy we have followed Frangie, Rio and Rainey through basic training, northern Africa and Italy all while trying to figure out who they are how they fit in in this new world. Does being a soldier make them any less feminine? And what future do they have to look forward to after the war is over. At the end of the last book, they were all awarded Silver Stars for their bravery in Italy. If they thought winning a Silver Star would make their lives as soldiers, they were mistaken. In some cases it only made their mostly male soldiers resent them even more. Rio’s hometown sweetheart, struggles to deal with the fact he had to be rescued by his girl and she gets rewarded for it. The gender roles have been reversed and he can’t deal with it. Our Soldier Girls are preparing for the D-Day invasion to open the final book. With it comes all the blood and carnage that we come to expect from years of seeing this battle depicted on the big screen. As the girls progress from Normandy to Paris to Battle of the Bulge in Belgium to finally Germany. They are faced with hardships and hard decisions as they continue to face the cruel reality of war. They are fighting a war against the Nazis about also about the sexism and racism in the Military. It truly speaks to what women face today. I have to wonder what our country would be like if women had been able to serve in World War Two. How would our world be different and how much would it be the same? It sort of get the sense that Michael Grant doesn’t seem to think that history would have changed all that much but also could be my own cynicism. Anyway, it was a good series full of great characters and an interesting ideas. I’m glad I read it but I can’t help but wonder what if there were stories of real soldier girls that could be told.
The Princess Diarist is as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming. Carrie Fisher dusted off her old diaries she wrote while filming the first Star Wars movie in 1977. Like everything in her life, she is brutally honest about what she saw and what she did and tells it with a biting sense of humor. Reading this a year after her untimely death is definitely after bittersweet as she was more or less correct about her own obituaries would say and what pictures they would use. The bulk of this memoir is focused on her affair with costar Harrison Ford, who as you know played Han Solo. Passages of her diary talks of her struggle to deal with the knowledge she is having an affair with a married costar and how she is falling in love with him even after telling herself that she wouldn’t. She also talks about how she struggled on the set, being told to lose weight and hours in hair and make up and keeping up the facade that she was more experienced than she actually was and of course the awkward promotion of the movie after the release. Carrie Fisher became Princess Leia in this diary and the transition wasn’t smooth. There was a lot bumps and bruises along the way but she eventually found peace with her alter ego. Honestly, we are lucky to have had Carrie as our Princess Leia and as our General Organa.
So this book wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. It was more meh. I wanted to get into it but I just couldn’t. The pacing felt a little off to me. It started fast a little too fast for me. Ella’s mother has invented technology that allows people to relive their best memories and Ella has the ability to go into people’s minds and memories and look around their minds. She does this once and all of a sudden she’s an expert. She all of a sudden knows how to manipulate minds and search around strangers memories to find what she needs. Then pacing slows as we try to find out why she can’t remember the hot rebel, Jack and if he’s the terrorist or is it the government? After it moved too fast and then moved to slowly and then we finally got to the climax and was dragged out and then it was over. I was a little disappointed because I really loved Beth Revis’ Across the Universe series. This had so much potential to be a cool book that just never really got going.
Stevie Bell is starting at a new school. The mysterious and illustrious Ellingham Academy. Started by the infamous and rich Albert Ellingham the for the brightest students. Ellingham opened his school because he believed education was a game, a game that should be open to everyone so he made it tuition free. However, the history of Ellingham is tragic. Albert’s wife and Daughter are kidnapped and another student goes missing. While there was a confession and trial many things about the case have been left unsolved. Stevie is determined to solve the case. What Stevie didn’t count on was another student dying and a new mystery develops. Maureen does an excellent job setting up the past mystery with flashbacks and FBI transcripts and interweaving it with the present. At first it seemed that they cases were related and then they didn’t and then it did again. She always able to keep you on your toes. Stevie is ambitious. She knows that her interest are a bit unusual and it makes it hard for her to make friends. An issue that makes her anxious. As she tries to solve the mysterious before her she also must contend with school work, friendships and other relationships and forging your own path and not necessarily the path expected of you. I don’t think I have read a book depict anxiety in such a realistic way before. It really gets to the heart of how anxiety can paralyze a person but also shows how one can overcome those thoughts. Stevie is a great role model in that respect. The cast of characters around Stevie are interesting and I’m sure we will get more of them as the series progresses but I have to give a shout out to my boy Nate. He is the friend that everyone needs because he was willing to put himself in uncomfortable position because he saw Stevie was in a bad place and it was the push that Stevie needed. That’s a true friendship.
2 Women, So Many Books 