Book Review: Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson

Title:  Strands of Bronze and Gold
Author:  Jane Nickerson
Series:  Strands #1
Genre:  YA folklore retelling/historical fiction
Pages:  352

Rating:  B+

Synopsis from goodreads.com:  When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram’s beloved father dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation—on fine ivory paper, in bold black handwriting—from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of Mississippi.

Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life, and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the mystery of his past, it’s as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former wives—all with hair as red as her own—in the forgotten corners of the abbey, Sophie knows she’s trapped in the passion and danger of de Cressac’s intoxicating world.

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Creepy, suspenseful, and mysterious, Strands of Bronze and Gold is an interesting retelling of the Bluebeard folktale.  Instead of the story being set in France, where the tale originated, it now takes place in Mississippi, on a Southern plantation.  It's told from the POV of Sophie, the newest conquest of Monsieur de Cressac, as she leaves her home in the Northeast to join him.

While the writing is good and the setting beautiful, the story, specifically the ending, could have been better.  I felt like the book excelled at building the tension and the suspense.  I couldn't go to sleep without seeing how everything ended.  But the final climax and following conclusion don't live up to the rest of the book.  I guess I was expecting something way more spectacular and well-written, but it all happens so quickly that it just feels rushed and thrown-together.

It also would have been nice if the story didn't stick so closely to the original tale.  The biggest difference is the plantation setting and the anti-slavery subplot.  Other than that, the story is pretty much the same, just drawn out.

I still enjoyed Strands of Bronze and Gold though, because the characters have depth, the writing itself is good, and the tension is spine-tingling.  And I intend to read the next book in Nickerson's series (which is based on the Scottish "Ballad of Tam Lin") because it sounds cool, and I do love her writing style.  B+

Book Review: Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed

Title:  Cinders & Sapphires
Author:  Leila Rasheed
Genre:  YA historical fiction
Pages:  400

Rating:  Incomplete (didn't bother finishing it)

Synopsis from goodreads.com:  Rose Cliffe has never met a young lady like her new mistress. Clever, rich, and beautiful, Ada Averley treats Rose as an equal. And Rose could use a friend. Especially now that she, at barely sixteen, has risen to the position of ladies’ maid. Rose knows she should be grateful to have a place at a house like Somerton. Still, she can’t help but wonder what her life might have been had she been born a lady, like Ada.

For the first time in a decade, the Averleys have returned to Somerton, their majestic ancestral estate. But terrible scandal has followed Ada’s beloved father all the way from India. Now Ada finds herself torn between her own happiness and her family’s honor. Only she has the power to restore the Averley name—but it would mean giving up her one true love . . . someone she could never persuade her father to accept.

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Ever read a book that you just knew was going to be awful, after only reading the first three pages of the prologue?  I read the first couple of pages of Cinders & Sapphires, and I didn't even want to finish the prologue.  The prologue!  But I forced myself to keep reading.  After all, there was a chance it could get better, right?  Wrong.  I gave up on page 174.  The terrible writing, the flat characters, and the practically stolen storylines from Downton Abbey - I just couldn't make myself read it.

Leila Rasheed both tries too hard and not enough with her writing.  She loves the flowery descriptions, often going crazy with her adjectives.  It just feels like she must have had a thesaurus open next to her the entire time.  On the other hand, there were times when her writing felt cliched and juvenile.

And the characters had no depth to them at all.  Two-dimensional and stereotyped, they were bland and boring.  I didn't care if Ada never made it to Oxford or ended up with her insta-love Ravi.  I didn't care if Rose discovered the scandalous secret of her parentage.  Honestly, I couldn't connect with any of these characters because they had no personality to draw me to them.

But what irked me most of all was the fact that this book, described as "Downton Abbey for teens", is pretty much nothing more than a blatant rip-off of the TV series.  When I first heard about this book, I was super excited because I love Downton Abbey.  The intertwined lives of the upper class and their servants has led to some amazing books and TV shows in the past, ones that I have really enjoyed.  But none of them was an obvious copycat of another show or book.  Don't waste your time with Cinders & Sapphires; if you love Downton Abbey like me, then just stick to the show.  Incomplete

Book Review: Splintered by A.G.Howard

Title:  Splintered
Author:  A.G. Howard
Genre:  Fantasy/Retelling
Pages:  384

Rating:  A-

Synopsis from goodreads.com:  This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

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As soon as I found out this was a sequel/revamp of Alice in Wonderland, I knew I had to read it.  And then after reading the first few sentences, I knew it was going to be an awesome book.

"I've been collecting bugs since I was ten; it's the only way I can stop their whispers.  Sticking a pin through the gut of an insect shuts it up pretty quick... Crickets, beetles, spiders...bees and butterflies.  I'm not picky.  Once they get chatty; they're fair game."

Obviously, Splintered is a much darker revamping of Alice in Wonderland.  All the familiar characters you fell in love with while watching the Disney cartoon are completely different - twisted and dark and usually evil.

Alyssa, the great-great-great granddaughter of the original Alice, is no innocent little girl in a blue dress.  She's a skateboarder girl who works for a vintage clothing store and embraces her punk side.  Her love interest Jeb is also your atypical hero, a fellow punk skater with a pierced lip and cigarette burns on his arms.  And yet, he's one of the most awesome "heroes" ever.  I'm absolutely in love with Jeb.

Funnily enough, I read this book right after having a conversation about love triangles with another blogger.  I usually like love triangles in books, especially when they're well-written.  But sometimes authors throw one in their book that just doesn't make sense or you just hate.  In the case of Splintered, the "love triangle" just didn't work.  It's my only complaint for the whole book.  It's so incredibly obvious that Jeb is awesome, perfect, and in love with Alyssa, and she's in love with him.  Then she runs into Morpheus in Wonderland, and despite figuring out that he's unreliable, manipulative, and deceitful, Alyssa is still drawn to him.  Why????  I guess the whole sexy and mysterious thing is working in his favor (and I usually like the "bad boy" for those very reasons), but in this case, I had no sympathy.  Jeb is no boring white knight; he's the perfect combination of bad boy and hero, with all the reliability and strength of the hero & all the mysterious sexiness of the bad boy.  So I could've done without the triangle, but that's my only complaint.

Everything else about this book is amazing.  The characters, the story, the settings, the plot twists - I was thrilled with this darker, punk revamping of Alice in Wonderland.  Plus, that cover art is beautiful.  A-

Book Review: Altered by Jennifer Rush

Title:  Altered
Author:  Jennifer Rush
Genre:  YA Dystopian/Science fiction
Pages:  336

Rating:  A

Synopsis from goodreads.com:  Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

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Thank you, Jennifer Rush, for writing this awesome book!  From the minute I picked it up to the second I put it down, I was on the edge of my seat... well, edge of my bed in this case.  I started it so late last night because I got distracted by my iPod (I'm addicted to the Bejeweled Blitz app), and I only intended to read a few chapters before going to sleep.  Obviously that didn't happen.  The story is engaging and addicting.  There are so many twists and turns and revelations that I didn't want to stop reading until I'd discovered them all.

Altered has an incredible plot and amazing characters.  Every single one of them had a distinct personality, and each had a chance to shine.  Even the secondary characters never seemed flat.  I would have loved a little more development in the character's backgrounds, but since they don't even remember their pasts, I figured that it would be unlikely to happen.  

Cas is probably my favorite character because he's lighthearted and fun, and he helps break the tension during rapid-pace action.  And I do love the relationships that develop between Anna and the boys, whether it's friendship, romance, or animosity.  Just as each boy has a very different personality, they also each play a different role in Anna's life.

I love a book that's unpredictable, and Altered fits that description.  The plot is original and heart-stopping.  And I never knew what was going to happen next.  Every time I thought I'd figured it out, the book went in the complete opposite direction.  So exhilarating!  I cannot wait for the next book to see where things go from here.  A

Book Review: The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell

Title:  The Cadet of Tildor
Author:  Alex Lidell
Genre:  Fantasy/Young-adult
Pages:  400

Rating:  A

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):  There is a new king on the throne of Tildor. Currents of political unrest sweep the country as two warring crime families seek power, angling to exploit the young Crown's inexperience. At the Academy of Tildor, the training ground for elite soldiers, Cadet Renee de Winter struggles to keep up with her male peers. But when her mentor, a notorious commander recalled from active duty to teach at the Academy, is kidnapped to fight in illegal gladiator games, Renee and her best friend Alec find themselves thrust into a world rife with crime, sorting through a maze of political intrigue, and struggling to resolve what they want, what is legal, and what is right.

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I don't even know where to begin.  I started & finished The Cadet of Tildor this afternoon; I couldn't help it.  Once I started reading it, I just couldn't put it down.  There was so much intrigue, excitement, and adventure.  The characters development was amazing, and the ending was great.  The only thing I'm upset about is that it's over!

Renee de Winter is a kick-butt heroine, eager to prove her worth not only to her peers but also to her father.  She's so real because she makes mistakes along the way, and she doesn't suddenly become this perfect swords-woman who can take on anything after a few lessons.  Her friends, Sasha and Alec, are interesting; Alec more so simply because his character plays a much bigger part throughout the book.  He did  grate on me a few times, but I think that's where the author was trying to go with him.  The new trainer at the Academy, Korish Savoy, is a great character.  At first he just seems very harsh and egotistical, but as the story goes on, there are more sides to him that you didn't see in the beginning.  (Best line: "I don't do hugs.")  None of these characters ever seemed flat or two-dimensional.  They all received great character development that made them come to life.

The plot was incredible.  The king is a young man who's just taken the throne, and his actions to step up fighting crime are met with hostility.  There are two rival crime syndicates in Tildor - the Family and the Vipers.  The Family are just like how they sound, a very mafia-like organization that's very political and tries to stay just outside the line of legitimate business without crossing too far.  The Vipers are far worse.  Kidnappers, murderers, human-traffickers - they're not afraid of going too far or even of really hiding their crimes.  These two groups not only cause problems for the kingdom but also for each other, which is what causes most of the adventures in the book.

There was tons of fighting.  The action never stopped; the story never dragged or got mired down by the politics.  And there was constantly a new twist or unexpected turn that you just didn't see coming.  There was the teeniest touch of romance, but overall it didn't play much of a role in the story.  This book was more about Renee's growth into a soldier and her adventures in Tildor.  I'm still just so sad that it's over.  I cannot wait for Lidell to write another book.  A

2013 Debut Author Challenge

This year I've decided to participate in a reading challenge.  Usually, reading challenges and I do no get along well, but I think I'll be able to complete this one.

The Debut Author Challenge is hosted by Hobbitsies, and is intended to give new authors exposure, as well as help readers find new books.  I'm one of those people who had no idea what new books were coming out last year, so I really like the idea of this challenge.




The Rules

• You have to read and review at least twelve debut books.
• You have one year to complete the challenge.
• The books must be young adult and/or middle-grade.
• The books must be the author's young adult and/or middle-grade debut.

I'm excited for this challenge because I actually have a bunch of 2013 debut books on my crazy TBR list.  For January, I'm going to start with the following:

• The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell
• Altered by Jennifer Rush
• Splintered by A.G. Howard