Review: Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Bethlylou

As you may have noticed. Kate and I haven’t posted much lately. I’ve been on vacation and had every intention of updating while I was gone but I was too busy enjoying doing nothing but hanging out with my parents and friends that blogging didn’t happen. Oops. Let’s try to make up.

Stars Above is a collection of short stories that takes place in the world of Lunar Chronicles. Most of the them are prequels, giving readers more insight into who the characters were before the action the novels. In the case of the first story, The Keeper, it fills in the story of how Cinder came to earth and how Michelle Benoit and Scarlett fit into her life before she became a cyborg. Glitches follows Cinder as she meets her step family for the first time and how she went from the great hope to the just the mechanic. In the Mechanic we get to read Kai’s first meeting with Cinder from his perspective and the final story, Something Old, Something New takes place a few years after the end of Winter where the whole gang comes back together for the wedding of two them. I won’t say who because I don’t want to spoil it but you will be happy. My favorite story was The Little Android. It’s the only story that doesn’t star anyone from the Lunar Chronicles but does feature a cameo by Cinder. It’s about an Android like Iko that wants to be more then just an android. She starts to have feelings with a human and buys an escort android body to pass herself as human to get closer to him. The problem is that the man is in love with someone else. We get a better view of what life is like for people living in New Beijing before Cinder’s revolution for androids, cyborgs and humans. It’s a very bittersweet story but beautiful written. This collection is worth it just for this story alone even if you are not a fan of the Lunar Chronicles. For the fans, it’s a must read.

Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Kate

I am late to The Martian party, people. I was told by every person I know (and a few people I didn’t) that I would LOVE this book. And, I said, “Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. I’ll put it on the list.” And, I did put it on the list. Then, they made a film out of it and I thought, “Oh, I’ll read it before I see the film.” And, then the film was released and I thought, “That really does look good.”

And, then my friend gave me the audio book to listen to on a road trip. R.C. Bray read the audio book and he nailed the main character. I’m in love with Mark Watney. Seriously. If Mark Watney were a real dude I’d have his poster in my office. He’s like the Chris Hadfield of fictional astronauts. Mark Watney might be my new book boyfriend.

In case you don’t know the story, it’s like this: We’ve gone to Mars! And, Watney is an astronaut on a Mars mission who accidentally gets stranded on the planet. Oops. The whole novel is about how we works to survive on the surface. How he feeds himself, how he makes contact with NASA, how he’s eventually rescued. There were so many tense moments and so many funny moments and so many wonderful, “let’s work this problem” moments. This book reminded me why thirteen year old Kate wanted to work for NASA. (She didn’t want to be an astronaut. She wanted to be one of the nerds on the ground that runs eleven thousand different scenarios so that things don’t explode or go wrong (and so there is a back up plan when things do explode and go wrong.) Thirteen year old Kate, much like [redacted] year old Kate is claustrophobic and could never be an astronaut. Riding on the subway freaks out her a little. Especially when it stops between stations, for the love of god.)

So, this was a really excellent book and I want to sing the praises of the narrator of the audio book for a moment. I can’t say enough good things about them. Bray did such an amazing job that two things have happened. 1. I’ve looked for other audio books they’ve narrated just because they narrated it and 2. I’ve pretty much decided that I’m never going to see the movie because Matt Damon isn’t Mark Watney. He won’t sound right.

I highly recommend this book. If you somehow also missed the hype and you’re interested in space, suspense, and occasional comic relief, she should pick this book up!

This counts as my Audiobook for the Diverse Stacks, Diverse Lives Reading Challenge.

Review: Blackbird by Anna Carey

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Bethlylou

I admit that I have had this book sitting on my Nook for awhile now. It was one of those it’s on sale impulse buys. I read Anna Carey’s her Eve series. It was great until the last book. I was really frustrated with how Eve spends the entire series running away from getting pregnant to only get pregnant anyway. So I bought this book but held off reading it and really only decided to read it because it’s not that long. Only about 186 pages on the Nook. It’s completely different from Eve. Instead of of being another dystopian novel, it’s a contemporary novel. Our heroine wakes on a LA subway track with no memory of who she is or how she got there. All she has on her is a bookbag, money, a fresh shirt and a notebook that instructs her to stay away from the police and call this number. She does and arrives at the appointed office to find that it’s empty and the safe is open with money missing. She’s been set up and forced to be on the run. She quickly realizes that she’s being followed and some of them want to kill her. She turns for help to Ben. A boy she caught selling pot on her first day. The two set out to try to figure out who she is and what is going on. Why are people trying to kill her? Who is orchestrating it? Who is she? Is there anyone one looking for her?

The intriguing thing about this book is that it’s written in the second person. I’m not sure I’ve read a book written in that voice before. In short stories yes but not a novel. It lends it well to the narrative. It really adds to the uncertainty and paranoia of our character. However it took a while for me to get used to it. “Sunny” as she calls herself since she doesn’t remember her name is resourceful. She has small snippets of her past but she doesn’t know if they are real or not or how they relate to what is going on with her. She finds that she knows how to do things that suggest that maybe she wasn’t all that innocent as she would like. She knows how to pick locks and how to evade people who are following her. She also knows how to fight. This makes her a little uneasy about herself. I like her, she’s quick on her feet and smart. She comes to the same conclusion of what is going on the same time I did but her story isn’t over yet. We have one book to go to find out more about the people who are hunting her and if she finally be able to out run them or take them down.

Review: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Bethlylou

So It may surprise you or at least my friends who read this blog but this was the first graphic novel I’ve ever read. Yeah, I know. I talk a good game. Kate and I watched the Saturday morning cartoons of X-Men and Spider-Man when were kids and, well, I pay attention. I listened to my friends and customers when they talked about various superheroes. I’ve pretty much seen all the movies. I’ve read various articles and critiques. I love Agent Carter. So I’ve paid attention and have been able to piece together this and that, enough that when I talk about comic characters and movies, I’ve come off as I know what I’m talking about. I’m a total fraud and I know it. I’m trying to fix that.

Nimona isn’t your typical superhero story. Actually she a villain’s sidekick. One day she shows up at Lord Blackheart’s place telling him she is going to be his sidekick and help him take over the kingdom and finally defeat his nemesis, Sir Goldenloin and the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics. Blackheart is resistant at first since there are rules but Nimona will not take no and once she shows him her shape-shifting abilities, he gives her a chance. At first, she’s a little bit too enthusiastic and dives in head first but eventually she and Blackheart find the perfect working relationship. After their first mission into the Institution, they come across the Institution’s questionable plans and it makes you ask who are the heroes and who are the villains.

There are many things I liked about this book. One is Nimona. She’s spunky, funny, loyal, brave, vulnerable, angry, lonely, friendly. She’s all those things and more. She clearly hasn’t had an easy upbringing. Her ability has made her an outsider, a monster, but really she is just a little girl looking for somewhere to belong. Lord Blackheart is a smart, curious man who feels he has been wronged and then took up the role he thought he was expected to play. He is really the first to see Nimona for who she really is. The world is not black and white. There is both good and bad and all of us. I was really taken with the story. The artwork was very nice. I liked the medieval aesthetic with a modern twist. Nimona is drawn as a sorta emo girl with pink and purple half shaven hair. She’s round not thin. She’s real. I was really touched by the story. It wasn’t just good versus evil or what does it mean to be good and evil but also finding our place in the world. Hoping to be judged on who they actually are and not what they are perceived to be. Isn’t that what we all ultimately want? I truly loved this book and I can say my first foray into graphic novels has been a success.

Review: Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Bethlylou

Cruel Crown is the collection of two prequel novellas to Red Queen. The first novella is Queen Song where we get the backstory of Cal’s mother and what really happened to her. The other is Steel Scars that follows Farley as she leads the Scarlet Guard into Norta. They both were pretty good. Giving more insight into world the books take place. Since Red Queen is told from Mare’s point of view, things like how the silver hierarchy is set up and how the Scarlet Guard works isn’t give much detail because Mare doesn’t know these things in much detail. That’s what kind of great but these little novella’s. I’ve written in the past about how it’s trendy for YA authors to write novellas or short stories that take place in between books or prequels. Sometimes they are just filler but other times they serve the purpose of filling in wholes that didn’t have time to get to in the narratives. They also usually focus on supporting or minor characters instead of the protagonists in attempt to flesh out the world a little bit but usually they are of little importance. If readers don’t read them, it’s no big deal. They will still be able to the novels without missing anything.

Of the two stories I liked Queen Song the best. It follows Queen Corianne before she became queen. She’s the only daughter of a once great house that is down on their luck. She catches the eye of Prince Tiberius, Cal’s and Maven’s father. It follows their courtship, their short marriage and her eventual death. She’s a feisty and curious girl, who is interested in mechanics and how things work but in a world where her only role is to be married off her dreams will never happen. When she meets Prince Tiberius things start to open up for her. She finds an equally lonely person to commiserate and love but never really gets over the feeling of being weak and useless. Among those helping her feel that way is rival Elara, who would become Tiberius’s second wife and Maven’s mother. She’s a powerful mind reader but the extant of her power is not truly revealed until the end. Over the course of the story Corianne falls deeper and deeper into paranoia and sadness. She’s been accused of tricking the Prince into marrying her. She suffers many miscarriages until Cal is born. She believes that Elara is behind it and ultimately she is right but no way to prove it. It’s really quite sad. From the very beginning there is a sense of foreboding since we know from Red Queen that she is dead and is believed by suicide. I kept hoping that there would be some kind of happy ending but knowing there would not.

In Steel Scars we get to know more about Farley and her motivations for not only for the Scarlet Guard but also for Mare. We know in Red Queen that the Scarlet Guard is a resistance movement against the silver leadership but I assumed only in Norta. I guess I’m going to have to go back and read it again. Farley is from the Lakelands and comes to Norta to start the Scarlet Guards operations there. While there she meets Shade Barrow, Mare’s brother, who becomes a spy for them. Mare believes Shade to be dead until the end when it’s revealed of his involvement but also that he is like Mare. Red blood with Silver powers. We really don’t get much else from the story then that and why Farley is keen to recruit Mare. Also, i think we are seeing the budding relationship between Farley and Shade. There might be other hints for Glass Sword, the next book in the series but we will have to wait and find out.

Quick Review: Dark Tide by Jennifer Donnelly

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Bethlylou

As I read this book, I go back and forth being enthralled and “why am I reading this again?” I’m interested enough in the story to keep reading to find out how it’s going to end but some of the cutesy words is well eye rolling. I know that it takes place under the sea and they are mermaids but I find it annoying. They call each other merls instead of girls but why don’t they call boys, moys or something like it? It’s a small thing. The other thing that bothers me is that there are six mermaids who must come together to stop the evil Orfeo but only Sera, Astrid and Becca seem to get the limelight. Ling (who is on the cover) Neela and Ava are little more then afterthoughts. I realized there are a lot of characters and not easy to give all them equal time but Marissa Meyer did a wonderful job of doing just that in the Lunar Chronicles so it is possible. I want to know more about the other mermaids. I was excited when I saw the cover and Ling on it. The last time we saw the merl (god I hate that) she was captured by the big bad guy on her way to find her piece. You would think that would be center stage but we don’t even get to Ling until 50-60 pages into the book. The little we get from her is exciting as she tries to escape from Orfeo, find her piece and also escape from the work camp she is sent too. At least she got a couple of chapters. Ava got one and Neela none, which is weird since she was a big part of the last book. Maybe that means we will get more of them in the final book coming out later this year but I have a feeling it’s going to be more of Sera and Astrid. Not that I don’t like them but I want to know about the others.

Review: The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa

Posted on January 16, 2016 by Bethlylou

*Spoilers*

I’m not sure if Julie Kagawa counts towards our Diverse Stacks, Diverse Lives challenge since I would have read her books anyway. This is the last book in the The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten series. I knew I was going to read it as soon as I finished the last book, The Iron Traitor and I’m going to read Soldier, the next book in her Talon series. So counting her as my Asian American author doesn’t really go in the spirit of the challenge since we are trying read new authors, However, I think it’s good to point out the diversity that is already in my reading list. Yes, this is a little self serving, pat myself on the back type of thing but while I do mostly read white women, I’ve never been exclusively been just that and honestly until this past year I’m not sure I’ve noticed. I’ve been reading Julie’s work for a couple of years now and it make me think. I’m not sure where I’m going with this but you should read her work is all.

So The Iron Warrior is the last book in the The Iron Fey series’. The first series followed Meghan as she transitions from normal teenage girl to Fairy Queen of the Iron Fey. In Fairy mythology, iron has always been one their weaknesses and the human world has become more and more technologically advance the Nevernever has started to get poisoned, except for some of the Fairy who have adapted and created a new kingdom of Iron. Call of the Forgotten is the continuation of the series but follows Meghan’s brother, Ethan and son , Kerrian. Now, it’s been about a decade since Meghan has left and in that time Ethan has grown cursed with the sight and is constantly harassed by the Fey. Then one day he finds himself back in the Nevernever with a new girl, Kenzie and his nephew, Kerrian, who is roughly the same age thanks to the fact that time moves differently in Faery. Yeah, it’s weird. It’s even weirder since Ethan didn’t even know that Kerrian even existed. You see, their was a prophecy that one day Kerrian would kill Ethan and either destroy the courts or unite them. So obviously everyone wants to keep them apart. It didn’t work because the prophecy is set in motion when Kerrian does in fact stabbed Ethan and temporarily lifting the veil between faery and the human realms. Now Kerrian is the champion for the Forgotten Queen who looks to lift the veil permanently and only Ethan can stop him.

Ethan is the type of hero I like. He’s sarcastic and I do love sarcasm. He’s also a fighter. Not always the swiftest on the up take but he’s loyal. He knows the stacks are high and despite being given outs several times throughout the book he never backs down. Kerrian I’m not really digging. He’s quite stubborn to the point of destroying the Nevernever. Everything starts with Kerrian unwillingness to let go of his love. Since the story is from Ethan’s point of view, we don’t get to know the inner working of Kerrian’s mind and because of that I found him a little unsympathetic. We all have people we love that we don’t want to lose but losing your soul for them. Killing your uncle and friend. No one would want that. If he was able to keep his emotion’s in check all of this could have been avoided but then again we wouldn’t have a story. Kenzie is my favorite. She’s a normal human. She’s not fairy or half fairy or related to. She just happened to be with Ethan when he goes back and because she is curious and looks for adventure sticks around. She is also sick so wants to live life to fullest. That being said she is the smartest of them all. She adapts quickly to the Nevernever. She may not be a fighter but it’s often her quick thinking that saves them . I would love a book just about her.

All and all this was a great series with a satisfying ending. It’s not the usual fairy story and full of action and adventure. If you like fairy books or fantasy, you can’t go wrong with the Iron Fey.

Review: The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Bethlylou

If you are on the internet and you follow fashion, especially celebrity fashion then you probably know Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan or as their known, the Fug Girls. Their fashion blog, GoFugYourself, is one of the most popular on the web. It’s a mix of humor and fashion as they dissect what celebs are wearing and the latest trends. They are also huge Royal watchers and not just the British royal family but all of them. Although the Wills, Kate, Harry and the Queen do hold a special place in their hearts so it’s really no surprise that they inspired this luscious book. Unless you have been living under a rock for the last ten years then you know how Prince William and Kate Middleton became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Their romance took the world by storm since Kate is a commoner and basically living almost every living girl’s fantasy of meeting a Prince and marrying him. (If I can take a moment here: Kate was a commoner but it’s not like she was poor. If I remember correctly her parents have a very successful business and were considered upper middle class. They just were not apart of the aristocracy.) The Royal We mirrors their relationship but ups the ante by making our Kate, Bex an American. Bex meets Prince Nick at Oxford instead of St. Andrews and live in the same house throughout university and even break up for a while only to get back together. So while the trajectory of their relationship was familiar, it’s what happens in between that is truly interesting. Bex is wonderful. I’m not just saying that since she’s from our home state of Iowa but she’s funny, smart and real. Nick is rife with insecurities and a sense of duty. It must be hard to be born into a position. Nick is in constant fear of being caught doing the wrong thing that he he has to hide who he is. In fact throughout the book both Nick and Bex go through periods of indecisiveness about who they are and how they are supposed to act and it usually gets them into trouble. They behavior is understandable. I wouldn’t want to live under the constant scrutiny that the Royals live in today. With social media and everyone having a camera on their phone you must be on your best behavior all the time. That must be exhausting. They both had a lot of growing up to do and even after all they still find ways back to each other and forgive because that is what you do when you are in love.

The story wouldn’t be complete without a Prince Harry and Kate’s sister Pippa. Prince Freddie is a ladies man. Sleeping his way across London and the world and escaping any kind of condemnation by his charm. Lacey is Bex’s twin sister who is the good girl to Bex’s bad. I’m not sure what I make of her. She’s an intelligent woman who is full of life and optimism. When we meet her she is premed and eventually starts Medical school but she gives all that up to be a party planner in London to be closer to Bex. In one way, I do understand Lacey’s motivation. Bex isn’t just her twin, her sister but her best friend. They shared a womb, shared bedrooms and even went to the same college and then all of a sudden Bex decides to study abroad at Oxford, meets and falls in love with a Prince. Lacey starts to feel left behind. I get it. Kate may not be my twin (though we have asked multiple times if we are) but she’s my sister and my best friend. We have lived together and have the same group of friends but like Bex, Kate has studied abroad (many times) and yeah I felt a little lost without her being close by. I look at her and see all that she is doing to realize her dreams and ask myself what am I doing? It was one the reasons why I made the decisions to move to NYC. Kate was moving to Buffalo to work on her phd. and I just sorta felt stuck in Iowa City. So why not move and try something different. But as close as I am to her and my desire to live nearer, I never thought about giving up what I want or ask her to give up what she wants. Sure I’ve had thoughts of moving to Buffalo but those are thoughts never stuck. As close as we are, we are our own people. For Lacey to give up Medical school that she has been working for most of her life to be near Bex, live the high life and possible have a chance with Freddie just doesn’t sit right with me. Maybe I’m being to judgmental. I’m not upset with Freddie who spends the book partying and sleeping with women so why should I be with Lacey? The difference is that Freddie is the spare. While Nick was born with too many expectations, Freddie was born with not enough. He’s not going to rule but he’s not going to have to get a job either. He acts the way he does because he knows it will get under the skin of his father, who is real piece of work. So I guess his actions are more understandable.

All the characters are fun. I do love Bex and Nick’s group of friends. Especially Cilla, Gaz and Bea. They make the story more real and when Bex gets in one of her funks, they save the day. I hope that real Kate and Will have friends like that because how else do they survive. I was looking for a good romance and that’s what I got. They are not perfect, actually they both are flawed but through it all there was no question about how much they loved each other and in the end they found themselves. Anyone looking for a nice beach read or a little light reading to get you through the cold months, this is for you. Even if you are not a royal watcher.

Review: Endure by Sara B. Larson

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Bethlylou

*Spoilers Ahead*

This is the final book in the Defy trilogy. For those who are not familiar it follows Alexa who is a guard to Prince Damian but she has to be pretend she is a boy named Alex or be subjected to the cruel breeding houses. Over the series Alex is exposed as Alexa, saves the Kingdom from the evil King of Antion, fall in love with the Prince but also have feelings for her fellow guard, Rylan. Then after all of that has the save kingdom once again from the even more evil King of the neighboring country of Dansaii. That’s a real simplified synopsis but you get the idea. It’s sort of the typical YA novel where the girl must defeat evil while trying to figure out who she loves at the same time. It’s really isn’t much of a love triangle as Alexa is pretty clearly in love with Damian and Damian makes it pretty clear that he is in love with her but you know he’s the Prince and later the King and she’s just a guard. It can’t be simple as them saying I love you and be done with it.

Alexa is a good character. She’s a fighter both figuratively and literally. In this world there are sorcerers that have powers to create fires or earthquakes. Alexa isn’t but a revelation that her father might have been one and she may have inherited some of his powers in the form of quick reflexes, which makes her on the best fighters in the Prince’s guard. She is steadfast and loyal and despite many tragic deaths she still pulls though and gets things done. As for the other characters, they are not as fleshed out as Alexa is. Damian is giving more time. We get that he’s vulnerable and his doubts of his own abilities and loves Alexa. The same with Rylan. He’s a good guy who always stands by Alexa but not much else. I would have liked to know more about them and the other characters. Maybe one of the flaws of first person story telling. I get this feeling that YA authors are getting over their fears of killing off characters, no matter how important they are. I think this is great because it does give books a little more drama. I used to feel a little cynical when characters were in trouble because you sort of knew that authors wouldn’t risk alienating readers by killing off popular characters. Well not any more. Now it anyone can go and boy the body count is high in this one and many I was sad to see go.

It was good series with a good ending. I’m glad that I read it but it’s not going to go down as one of my favorites.

Quick Review: Manners and Mutiny by Gail Carriger

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Bethlylou

There is so many things to love about this book and this series in general. It’s beyond funny. Sophornia is in finishing school but it’s not just any Victorian age finishing school. Yes, Miss Geraldine’s teaches her girls how to behave like a lady and how to land a good husband but also how to kill them too. Miss Geraldine’s develops the best lady intelligencer’s in the majesty’s realm. Sophronia and her friends may still be students but they are all that stands in the way from the evil Picklemen taking over the realm and keeping peace with the vampires and werewolves. So don’t take these girls lightly. They may have all the charm and manners of a lady of quality but that only makes them more deadly. If there was one downside to this and that it needs more Soap. Soap is Sophronia’s one true love. In a world where social class is important, they are a forbidden match. Sophronia doesn’t come from most wealthiest of families but she is expected to marry a certain class of gentlemen and a black sootie is not that class. At the end of the last book he is turned werewolf to save his life. In this Steampunk London, supernaturals are granted equal footing with the upper class but he’s still the wrong race and well now the wrong species. His role is a little lesser then in past books since he is no longer at the floating school. He is not really given much to do but he does make the most of the time he does have. All and all it was a good ending to a great series. I’m going to have to read Gail’s other series that take place in the same world because if these are any indication, they will be a hoot.

2 Women, So Many Books

Our "to read" stacks way exceed our life expectancy

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