Mad About the Hatter by Dakota Chase

Mad About the Hatter

By: Dakota Chase

Harmony Ink Press

Release Date: August 20th, 2015

Acquisition: NetGalley

Summary: 

This isn’t his sister’s Wonderland….

Henry never believed his older sister, Alice’s, fantastic tales about the world down the rabbit hole. When he’s whisked away to the bizarre land, his best chance for escape is to ally himself with the person called the Mad Hatter. Hatter—an odd but strangely attractive fellow—just wants to avoid execution. If that means delivering “Boy Alice” to the Queen of Hearts at her Red Castle, Hatter will do what he has to do to stay alive. It doesn’t matter if Henry and Hatter find each other intolerable. They’re stuck with each other.

Along their journey, Henry and Hatter must confront what they’ve always accepted as truth. As dislike grows into tolerance and something like friendship, the young men see the chance for a closer relationship. But Wonderland is a dangerous place, and first they have to get away with their lives.

My Review:

I am torn between saying I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was completely put off. Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourite stories, so the fact that this was based off the novel was a huge plus. Unfortunately, it is set in the modern era so the main character Henry uses a lot of slang terms, curse words, and it kept pulling me out of the story. The author also had the characters from Wonderland use colloquialisms, slang, and saying that they would thoroughly be confused by as they do not come from our world. If I imagine that those aspects changed and the story was set in the time period it originated in - the plot is wonderful. I really enjoyed the characters, world building, and overall tale.

Overall I would recommend it if you don't expect it to be in the same era. As long as you're not put off by that fact, I think you will thoroughly enjoy the book.

Verdict: Give It A Try

Star Rating: 

A Sky Unbroken - Megan Crewe

A Sky Unbroken

By: Megan Crewe

Skyscape

Release Date: October 13th, 2015

Acquisition: NetGalley

Summary:

The rebels have been disbanded, their plans ruined. Betrayed by those she trusted most, Skylar finds herself herded, along with a small group of Earthlings, into a living museum—a human zoo—on the Kemyates’ space station, subject to her captors’ every whim. Any move Skylar makes could result in the extinction of her people—but giving in means losing any hope of freedom.

Meanwhile, Win returns home and evades punishment by pretending to be loyal to Kemya. But he can’t bear knowing that Skylar is imprisoned or watch his fellow Kemyates swallow the Council’s lies about Earth. He must bring the truth to the Kemyate public and see the Earthlings freed—even if it means openly challenging his world’s rulers.

In this final book of the action-packed Earth & Sky trilogy, neither Skylar nor Win knows they are about to uncover an even deeper conspiracy—one that could push the future they’re fighting for completely out of reach.
My Review:

I would like to preface this by saying that this is book three of the Earth & Sky trilogy – and I have previously reviewed book two in the series. That being said, if you don't start with the first book you will only be slightly confused the entire time. I suggest beginning with the first obviously. but technically you could just read the third novel. I believe that the author did a good job building on the first and second stories, but also made the third book able to stand on its own. It was an interesting premise that I haven’t read before, but I also wouldn’t reread the book. The world building was scarce and the characters underdeveloped. Most, but not all of the time, I didn’t feel like I could relate to them. I would recommend this read to those that like books that are sci-fi, about space, or time travel. I think it was too specific to appeal to a wide range of audience.

Specifically just about the third novel:
I feel that the third novel was more enjoyable than the second because the love triangle was less prevalent. Love triangles have been overused in books, I feel like I read them in every novel lately so the crumbling of this one improved the novel. That being said, I found the storyline could drag on without a lot of interesting character development, history, or action. Overall, it was enjoyable and I suggest reading it.

Verdict: Give It A Try

Star Rating: 

The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia


By: C.S. Lewis

HarperCollins

Published: 1950+

Acquisition: Personal Books 

Summary: 

Journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures, and epic battles between good and evil—what more could any reader ask for in one book? The book that has it all is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, written in 1949 by Clive Stables Lewis. But Lewis did not stop there. Six more books followed, and together they became known as The Chronicles of Narnia.

They open a door and enter a world.

Narnia...the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy...the place where the adventure begins.

Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first, no one believes her when she tells of her adventures in the land of Narnia.

But soon Edmund and then Peter and Susan discover the Magic and meet Aslan, the Great Lion, for themselves. In the blink of an eye, their lives are changed forever.

My Review:

This series is absolutely incredible. You should stop reading my review right now and just go read it. Go on. I'll wait here.

Obviously not every book is perfect in this series, but overall it is incredible. The character development, world building, and language is on par. If you start with the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe you will enter the world of Narnia and fall in love with the Pevensies. From there you could venture through time to meet the future King, Prince Caspian or travel to Narnia's sister countries to meet a boy and his horse. Or should I say Horse? Sail the seas with Caspian or find out where it all began with the White Witch.

Although there are a number of different orders that people suggest you read the series in, there is no debate about one thing - you must read it. And honestly, I don't know why it took me this long. So go, dally no longer.

Verdict: Go Read Immediately

Star Rating: 

His Dark Materials (Golden Compass, Subtle Knife and Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman

His Dark Materials Series

By: Philip Pullman

Knopf Books For Young Readers

Published: April 16th, 1996

Acquisition: Personal Book

Summary: 

Golden Compass

Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however,nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the compass of the title. All around her children are disappearing—victims of so-called "Gobblers"—and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person's inner being. And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved.

Subtle Knife
Lost in a new world, Lyra finds Will--a boy on the run, a murderer--a worthy and welcome ally. For this is a world where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and witches share the skies with troops of angels.

Each is searching--Lyra for the meaning of Dark Matter, Will for his missing father—but what they find instead is a deadly secret, a knife of untold power. And neither Lyra nor Will suspects how tightly their lives, their loves, their destinies are bound together . . . until they are split apart.

Amber Spyglass
In the astonishing finale to the His Dark Materials trilogy, Lyra and Will are in unspeakable danger. With help from Iorek Byrnison the armored bear and two tiny Gallivespian spies, they must journey to a dank and gray-lit world where no living soul has ever gone. All the while, Dr. Mary Malone builds a magnificent Amber Spyglass. An assassin hunts her down, and Lord Asriel, with a troop of shining angels, fights his mighty rebellion, in a battle of strange allies—and shocking sacrifice.

As war rages and Dust drains from the sky, the fate of the living—and the dead—finally comes to depend on two children and the simple truth of one simple story.

My Review:

Although this is very obviously a work of Christian-fiction, I would recommend it to any reader. It was one of those books that I always wanted to read, but just hadn't gotten around to. I am very happy that I am not able to say that I read the series.

The characters are well thought out and executed, while also developing throughout the series. Characters that initially seem like minor, relatively forgettable people are woven into the fabric of the plot and given backstories. Others are able to grow as the books progress or their motivations are uncovered. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, their flaws, desires, dreams throughout the story.

The author also did a wonderful job with world building, giving each new place a life of its own whether it was familiar to us or not. Even short trips to new worlds were given breadth and dimension that made me enjoy the story further.

I don't want to give the story away, since I would recommend it to all - so just go read it. Enjoy it.

Verdict: Classic Read For A Reason

Star Rating:

Scream - Stacey R. Campbell

Scream

By: Stacey R. Campbell

Green Darner Press

Published/Release Date: July 20th, 2015

Acquisition: NetGalley

Summary: 

It’s Halle Henry’s final year at Lakeview Academy, and she is determined to make it her best year yet. But when drugs are discovered in her boyfriend Alex’s backpack and he is expelled, Halle’s life spins out of control.

Refusing to believe the accusations against him, Halle vows to get to the bottom of what really happened and bring Alex back to campus so they can graduate together.

Now, all Halle has to do is save her boyfriend, solve a murder, graduate from high school, and keep from getting killed in the process.

My Review:

I was only given the third book to read in the Lakeview Novel Series. That being said, this cannot be read as a standalone novel – the reader would be much too confused. This series is too unbelievable for my taste – like when shows “jump the shark”. The sister is secretly royalty. A student just happens to witness a murder on a ferry and the murderer works at his school. Also, that murder and his wife are actually from Florida where they escaped jail time by hiding out in Canada for an unsolved drug case. And of course, a student solves it all! I’m going to give the author the benefit of the doubt that she did all of her world building and character development in the first two novels, because this one lacked it. I would recommend it to readers that the style of “realistic” fiction that Sara Shepard (ie. Pretty Little Liars, Lying Game) writes.

Verdict: Only If You Read The Prior Books

Star Rating: 

Clouded Sky - Megan Crewe

The Clouded Sky

By: Megan Crewe

Skyscape

Published/Release Date: May 5th, 2015

Acquisition: NetGalley

Summary: 

When seventeen-year-old Skylar escapes the time-bending Enforcers who secretly control Earth, her troubles have just begun. She and her friend Win take refuge on Win’s home space station with his fellow rebels, but the fate of Skylar’s planet still spins out of her control.

To avoid detection, Skylar poses as the Earthling “pet” of Win’s rival, an arrogant boy named Jule. Homesick and faced with a cool reception from the other rebels, she throws herself into the group’s mission: assembling a weapon to disable Earth’s restrictive time field. Gradually, Skylar’s skill for detail gains respect—even from Jule, who is more vulnerable than he lets on.

Yet challenges spring from every side. Not only must Sky navigate the muddy waters of romance, but suspicions of betrayal grow among the rebels as their work narrowly misses sabotage.

In the latest in Megan Crewe’s Earth & Sky series, can Skylar expose the traitor before time runs out and Earth is destroyed?
My Review:

I would like to preface this by saying that this is book two of the Earth & Sky trilogy – and I was not given book one to review so I essentially started in the middle of the story. That being said, although I didn’t necessarily understand all of the references to the first book I didn’t feel confused throughout. I believe that the author did a good job building on the first story, but also made the second book able to stand on its own. It was an interesting premise that I haven’t read before, but I also wouldn’t reread the book. The world building was scarce and the characters underdeveloped. Most, but not all of the time, I didn’t feel like I could relate to them. I would recommend this read to those that like books that are sci-fi, about space, or time travel. I think it was too specific to appeal to a wide range of audience.

Verdict: Give It A Try

Star Rating: 

The Paper Magician - Charlie N. Holmberg

The Paper Magician

By: Charlie N. Holmberg

Publisher: 47North

Published: September 1st, 2014

Acquisition: Purchased on Kindle

Summary: 

Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic… forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined — animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner — a practitioner of dark, flesh magic — invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

My Review:

Although I was dismayed by the romantic nature of this book, the overall premise was quite agreeable. I honestly judged a book by it's cover, or rather its title. The Paper Magician. Intriguing, no? I quite like magic, so the title spoke to me and I decided to purchase it. It was set in the early 20th century, although there was almost no world building. Outside of the magician's home, the reader did not get to experience much of London. There seemed to have been very little research into the customs of the time or manner of speech. A times, modern colloquial terms and slang would be used in the book which made it more difficult to believe the time period.

The reason why Ceony was sent to Magician Thane? Folding, or paper magic was becoming a dying art. In the modern age of emails, texts, and instant communication - that is completely feasible. Where once one would sit down with a quill and some paper, now to correspond with acquaintances they just need to tap away at a keyboard. Bookstores adorned every town, filled with pages and pages of the most fantastical stories or tales - suddenly closed and those same stories now in digital form. The absolute necessity of paper is being replaced by technology and that would translate wonderfully well into the plot of the book. But in the early 20th century, why is paper folding a dying art? Unfortunately, we never find out.

The idea of individuals, or magicians, bonding with a manmade thing (paper, glass, etc) was interesting although unfortunately not developed well enough. I would have loved to read about the different crafts, learn the extents of the magician's abilities with each material, and be able to develop my own love of (or desired affinity toward) a material. Personally, I love the idea of being able to harness one of the elements - air, fire, earth, water, or spirit. An author could write a beautiful description of a water user bending the liquid to their will or soothing injuries, giving the reader wonderful ideas and showing them the possibilities of the element. This author just made me want to do some origami, which don't get me wrong is beautiful but all of her descriptions of the "magic of paper folding" was just that... paper folding. She did a half fold here and a dog-eared fold there. Don't get me wrong, the final results were sometimes amazing - like a human-sized paper airplane with convenient handholds. Who wouldn't want to fly that? I would have loved a short chapter just dedicated to the various crafts - a magician 101 if you will. For example: Magicians who work with metal are called Smelters, they can craft bullets that never miss their mark. Those who deal with paper are called Folders, they can breathe artificial life into paper. Glass makers are called... And those that practice the darkest of magic, blood/flesh magic are called Excisioners.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and purchased the second one in the series only one day after I finished the first. It had its pitfalls, but I found myself generally ignoring them as the book really drew me in.

Verdict: 

Star Rating: