Category: Fantasy

‘House of Earth and Blood’ – Sarah J. Maas

CHAPTERS 1-5 ONLY (NetGalley Extract)

We’re introduced to Bryce and her world is, to put it bluntly, chaotic. A clear attempt to bring in an older audience, but the story will be what really makes it work. Hints of an intriguing world, though we’re not given a lot of detail here. What we do get, however, is a definite setting-up of a story to capture our interest…who is behind this attack? Why Bryce? Will she survive this?
Thanks to NetGalley for the sneak peek…thank goodness I don’t need to wait too long for the release of the book itself.

HAVING FINALLY MANAGED TO READ THE FULL NINETY-SOMETHING CHAPTERS…

I got a little caught up in the hype at this foray into adult literature. I started in earnest…and then I have to admit to struggling.

I can’t put my finger on exactly why this was so hard to get into, but I really felt like I might not finish it at certain points. And that feeling continued for over thirty chapters – which is just too long to expect a reader to stick with you in the expectation that it’s going to get better. I did…and put my trust in reading buddies who pretty much unanimously voiced the view that it was worth sticking with. To them, thanks, as left to my own devices I probably would have bottled this.
The character of Bryce (part-human child of the Autumn King) is flawed, but you root for her from the beginning, and the dynamics of her various relationships hint at some intriguing developments. There’s plenty of background info given and the world-building is established as we read. We get lots of suggestions about shifting power alliances and past events are clearly going to have bearing on what we see/will see. From the outset we are clear that a range of groups have a vested interest in the events depicted…and we are somewhat in the dark as we try to piece together quite how everything fits.
To cut a very long story short, this book focuses us on a hunt for a long-lost Fae relic. As the search takes place, we have a side-story of what exactly led to the deaths of Bryce’s friends at the start. There’s the drawn-out relationship problem, this time featuring Bryce and Hunt. For those familiar with Maas’s writing the relationship is a prickly one, with both parties damaged in some way; a lot of teasing and sexual tension; the usual ‘white noise’ of overblown sexualised moments that promise much but never quite deliver…and the very firm expectation that things will sort themselves out eventually. We also get a fair amount of complicated family relationships and action from other worlds that means we’re never quite certain where this is going. And then, once things get going, we have some great scenes.
I think this is one to mentally prepare yourself for. Perhaps you’ll love it from the start – in which case, once we hit that magic moment (it was part three onwards for me) you will be fair gushing in your praise for Maas and the feel good factor delivered by what comes later. For me, the latter stages really were emotional with plenty of action to engage us and hints of some fascinating developments to come. There was upset, love, fear, hope and a growing sense of a world showing its true potential. It helps that Bryce has her vulnerable moments, as when she really gets going she’s hard to ignore and that knowledge that she’s in it for the right reasons keeps us rooting for her.
Having taken weeks to get to part three, the latter stages got their claws in me and I raced through the last fifty-odd chapters in a couple of days. That doesn’t sit well with me, but it was most definitely worth it. And now I cannot wait to see how Maas continues the events set in motion.

 

‘Stardust’ – Neil Gaiman

A lovely fairytale about a young man claiming his birthright and a journey into the land of Faerie.

I feel I must have watched the movie of this at some time because it all felt so familiar, but I thoroughly enjoyed this sojourn into an unusual land.

The town of Wall is on the boundary of the land of Faerie. Each year a market is held and people can purchase things they have never seen before. Our story begins with a young man being sold a beautiful glass snowdrop, ending up under a spell and having sex with an enchanted young lady who spends half her life as a bird. We then see him left with the child.

Years later the child, Tristan, is almost an adult and in love with a young lady called Victoria. He promised to catch her a falling star in exchange for her hand in marriage. And so begins an unusual quest.

Along the way Tristan comes to realise he’s not quite what he thought. He learns to trust his own judgment and ends up saving the star from others who pursue her for their own ends.

A truly magical story that ends exactly as you want it to. It put a smile on my face.

 

‘Rituals’ – Kelley Armstrong

A fitting finale to the series, which merges crime and the paranormal, but it keeps us hanging on right until the end to get some of our answers.

With Ricky stepping aside at the end of the previous book, there is a part of Liv that misses him though she remains focused on the work she has to do for Gabe. These two edge round each other, seeming destined to be together but reluctant to take that step. Getting insight into both characters’ views though, it is a rather inevitable moment that we’re waiting for.

This time round the trio realise they’re dealing with a darkness much bigger than that they feared. When Gabe’s mum reappears we know there’s something odd going on. So many characters seem to have made deals that bind them to another, and there is a clear sense that we are waiting to see how all these moments link.

There’s more fae stuff, a lot of relationship stuff, a few dangerous moments…and, just when it all starts to seem too much, a rather sneaky resolution. It wasn’t quite what I was hoping for, but it fits with the way the characters have approached everything through the series.

 

‘Betrayals’ – Kelley Armstrong

When Olivia’s life exploded–after she found out she was not the adopted child of a privileged Chicago family but of a notorious pair of convicted serial killers–she found a refuge in the secluded but oddly welcoming town of Cainsville, Illinois. Working with Gabriel Walsh, a fiendishly successful criminal lawyer with links to the town, she discovered the truth about her parents’ crimes in an investigation that also revealed the darker forces at work in the place that had offered her a haven. As if that wasn’t enough, she also found out that she, Gabriel and her biker boyfriend Ricky were not caught in an ordinary sort of love triangle, but were hereditary actors in an ancient drama in which the elders of Cainsville and the mysterious Huntsmen who opposed them had a huge stake.

Now someone is killing street kids in the city, and the police have tied Ricky to the crimes. Setting out with Gabriel’s help to clear Ricky’s name, Olivia once again finds her own life at risk. Soon the three are tangled in a web of betrayals that threatens their uneasy equilibrium and is pushing them toward a hard choice: either they fulfill their destinies by trusting each other and staying true to their real bonds, or they succumb to the extraordinary forces trying to win an eternal war by tearing them apart.

The whole link between Gabe, Liv and Ricky isn’t going away, so we can safely say nothing will get resolved any time soon as they try to figure out the best way forward. Things are still good with Ricky and Liv, but there’s more than a few nods to Liv and Gabe being a potential relationship. So, until that point we keep muddling along with nothing satisfactorily sorted.

This time round Ricky is under suspicion for crimes we know he didn’t commit. Supernatural elements are required to help figure it out, and the backdrop of the two fae forces battles on.

A few dramatic moments and plenty of opportunities for each to come to the rescue of the other. We get a number of past visions thrown in and hints of ongoing plotting by the two fae groups.

This felt like business as usual, but I’m hoping we get some answers soon.

 

‘Calamity’ – Brandon Sanderson

While it’s always good to see how an author chooses to resolve a series, this one felt quite different to what I imagined.

This time around David and the Reckoners are following Prof to the city of salt. They know he has something planned, but can’t tell what. They do, however, know that they need to offer him the chance to face his fears and claim the darkness, as opposed to simply killing him now he is an Epic.

The story focuses on the planning and development of resources we aren’t expecting. We see Megan come into her own with her ability to use her powers, and we also see some characters that we wouldn’t expect to get involved playing their part in this battle.

Prof remains a threat. He seems determined to vanquish anyone in a position to oppose him. David and his group come up with some very daring plans. They rescue Tia and even bring back Prof’s child from an alternate world to try and battle him. Nothing is seeming to work.

While I don’t want to give away exactly how this resolves itself, the presence of Calamity is instrumental – as is David’s willingness to confront his own weaknesses and fears.

 

‘Firewalker’ – Josephine Angelini

Having made it back to her own world it was hard to see what would happen to Lily next. She is with Rowan and her family, and the appearance of Rowan seems to have calmed Samantha down a little. Unfortunately, too many people want to know where Lily disappeared to for three months and how she is miraculously healed.

Initially, Lily is reluctant to provide answers. Eventually, under Rowan’s guidance and when a familiar terror from the past turns up in this world, Lily realises she has to trust her friends and create a new coven.

Initially, this doesn’t make much sense. The worlds don’t mix well, and I think a lot more people would have pursued this further in reality. That aside, it was good to see some more characters and definitely good to watch Lily battle with the fact she is still communicating with Lillian.

Before too long, a painful decision has to be made. Lily and her group have to get back to Rowan’s world.

In between the personal character stories, there was a real focus here on the alternative realities and trying to get us to understand Lillian’s actions. We also got to see some interesting developments with regard to the Woven and wha5 Lily’s presence in this world could signify.

 

‘Deceptions’ – Kelley Armstrong

TRUST NO ONE
Olivia Jones is desperate for the truth. The daughter of convicted serial killers, she has begun to suspect that her parents are innocent of their crimes. But who can she trust, in a world where betrayal and deception hide in every shadow?

RISK EVERYTHING
Liv does have one secret weapon: a mysterious sixth sense that helps her to anticipate danger. The trouble is, this rare power comes with its own risks. There are dark forces that want to exploit Liv’s talents – and will stop at nothing to win her to their side.

FACE THE TRUTH
Now Liv must decide, before it’s too late. Who does she love? Who is really on her side? And can she save herself without burning down everything that matters most?

Part of my issue with this was just as soon as we started to look as if we were getting somewhere, things changed tack and we were back on another new route.

Olivia is increasingly having visions. They seem to be memories of events she’s never lived, but their purpose is evident…to help her figure out the reality of her situation.

She and Ricky are still in a loved-up state, but there’s clearly more to this than we first thought. Her friendship with Gabe continues to be a difficult one. There’s plenty of suggestions that both might want more, but it’s never going to be so straightforward.

The love triangle went on and on and on. The developments with the fae and their feud make it pretty clear there’s no easy answer here. Some interesting developments with regard to Olivia’s birth parents – and not all of it is quite as we expect.

By the end of the book I was more than a little frustrated with the main characters, but also wondering how a group of otherworldly creatures can be so rubbish at sorting things out!

 

‘Firefight’ – Brandon Sanderson

Having now acquired the nickname of ‘Steelslayer’ David has got himself in position with the Reckoners and they are on the tail of another Epic. This time, they are heading to the former Manhattan – a hippy-like place that has been submerged by water – in order to fight the epic known as Regalia.

Unfortunately, David has to deal with the fact that he is in love with Megan, the epic known as Firefight, whom everybody else wants to kill because she murdered one of their own. His mentor, Prof, is also an epic and is clearly more than accustomed to using his powers when he needs to.

From the outset, it is evident that nobody is being entirely honest with anyone else. They do a bit of scouting and find another couple of lesser epics that they decide to try and take down in an attempt to draw out their primary target. David masters the art of using his jet-pack (for want of a better term) and the new characters lend a bit of an alternative view to events.

Throughout this I was intensely irritated – probably more than I should have been – by David’s repetitive comments about being bad at metaphors. The obvious error each time he did this really annoyed me and i was amazed that nobody had spotted it. Of course, we learn later, it was deliberate just to set up what is meant to be an endearing moment near the end. It wasn’t, but that’s just my opinion.

Once we got underway with the nitty-gritty of this it did get more interesting. It seemed unevenly paced though, although the final moments were definitely interesting. Not entirely sure what we’ll get to see of David in the next one – there’s more to this boy than we’ve been led to believe I’m sure of it – but it definitely looks like it’ll be worth checking out.

 

‘Goddess’ – Josephine Angelini

Having created rather a mess, we now reach the point where the Scions realise they have to use their talents to challenge the gods. Certainly a battle to remember.

Once again, Helen is having to use her skills to do things nobody should have to consider. After the battle in the last book, her, Lucas and Orion have become blood brothers – and Helen has taken on more skills. The question is, can she come up with the answers to prevent the mortal world becoming playthings to the gods?

This reminded me of a game of chess. Characters were each plotting moves, and some of those closest to Helen were being used in the most awful way imaginable. There’s the ongoing love triangle to resolve – though with Helen’s feelings for Lucas never in question, this isn’t much of an issue.

At some points this read like a script for a very high-budget movie. We had all sorts of mythological creatures coming into play, and we get little cameos from everyone…including Zeus.

Having some of our questions answered definitely made certain scenes easier to read. There was a clear sense that not everything was resolved, and the suggestions of what could happen in the future left it in a great place.

 

‘Dreamless’ – Josephine Angelini

In many ways, a standard second part of a trilogy but this was ultimately frustrating as so much was unresolved.

Helen is having to deal with the sudden arrival of her real mother. There’s weird things happening in Helen’s dreams and nobody is quite sure how to resolve the issues from recent events.

We quickly learn that a Helen is a descender and has the ability to travel into the underworld. She is, according to prophecy, the one who will do what is needed to beat the curse of the Furies. Unfortunately, she won’t be doing it with Lucas by her side.

The relationship element irritated me. They’re being very honourable and avoiding each other as it could start a war. However, they are still clearly enamoured and only being prevented from doing anything because they’re told they are first cousins. Helen’s mum clearly indicates this isn’t the case so it seems she has other reasons for wanting to keep them separate – which may be where Orion comes in.

So, a weird love triangle. An awful lot of hanging around in hell and not really getting any further with anything…all while someone evil decides to play god and try to engineer a situation that can be used to their advantage. There’s more nods to mythology and an awful lot suggested as to what might come next.