September 2016 Book Review: The Glittering Court

THE GLITTERING COURT

By Richelle Mead

~Book Review~ 

 

Warning! Spoilers!

THE GLITTERING COURT did manage to surprise me in some good and some bad ways. Let’s take its synopsis, for instance. At the mention that this was similar to The Selection, I was extremely hesitant because I skimmed through half of that book in boredom. However, since this is Richelle Mead, surely she can take one of these typical competitive “Learn How to Be A Lady,” schools and add a twist to it.

She definitely did. The second half of the book went all Wild, Wild West, and I was like, “Whoa, wait—now they’re mining for gold?” It’s okay. It kept things interesting.

Not much time is spent at The Glittering Court, where impoverished girls are sent to learn how to be a lady and marry some rich buck in the new frontier. The book does touch on the topic of colonialism and racism. Adelaide is a high class lady, but she trades in her lavish lifestyle for a chance at adventure on the New Frontier. Naturally, this makes Glittering Court school a breeze. Her roommates become her friends—Tamsin is convinced she is God’s gift to man, and Mira is a Sirminican refugee who gets treated like a second-class citizen because of her heritage.

Finally, there is Cedric. I did like how the romance was done. It was a forgone conclusion, but Adelaide added some spice to Cedric’s life, and Cedric was sweet, adorable, and loyal until the end. There were some parts that dragged, but I appreciate that Mead took the risk to make the story move from the court across the sea. It made the second half seem like a completely different story. Adelaide barely faces any repressions once her charade is found out, but hey, she’s a charmer.

I actually feel like this storyline could have been wrapped up in one book. However, there is a hint at politics, and the first peoples who live in the “new world” aren’t happy about the frontier towns popping up. Lastly, whatever secret Mira has is really bothering me! Mead didn’t give us any clue as to what she is up to the entire length of the book, and in my opinion, that was a pretty lame reveal at the end—basically, she’s up to something—and the big reveal is: she’s up to something and we still don’t know what that is.

The Glittering Court is expected to have three books total, but I’m not sure how she’ll be able to stretch the series that far. But as I said: it’s Richelle Mead; let the surprises continue!

Recommended for fans of: Kiera Cass, Cassandra Clare, and Veronica Rossi

Upcoming Book Review: Splintered by A.G. Howard

August 2016 Book Review: Falling Kingdoms

FALLING KINGDOMS

By Morgan Rhodes

~Book Review~

Warning! Spoilers!

ON THE COVER of half of the books in the Falling Kingdoms series is a really cool-looking assassin guy (or girl) who looks like they means business.

I’m still trying to figure out who the heck that would be in this lukewarm, extremely expository series.

In the land of Mythica, there are three poorly drawn kingdoms who grapple for power. Princess Cleona is from the kingdom that is all good and light in the world, there is a random desert kingdom that makes wine where rebel Jonas hails from, and there is a third gray, power-hungry kingdom where the Inquisition has gone wild that seeks to conquer the other two. Prince Magnus and his sister Lucia have the honor of being the children of said power-hungry king.

There are also random deities who hang out in random realms and shape-shift into animals to comment on the various battle proceedings and the prophesied sorceress. There are also two goddesses who hate each other and are responsible for the split in countries and magic.

The world-building just didn’t entice me, and the characters were everything I have seen before. Cleona was the typical hot-headed princess who thinks it’s smart to bring just a single guard into enemy territory, Jonas is a brash rebel who is so judgmental that he is entirely unsympathetic, Lucia has the personality of a sheet of paper and is manipulated by everyone around her, and Magnus is a pale imitation of Leigh Bardugo’s the Darkling.

However, my biggest gripe with this series is the writing style. There is just no sense of wonder or painting the picture of these various kingdoms; it is entirely too simple and flat for me, and makes the characters come off as simplistic and flat as well. I can’t picture anything unique about these kingdoms, so I fill it in with bits of other fantasy books who took the time to expertly capture the taste, smells, and feels of their world and gods. This series does have a lot of fantastic action and a swiftly-moving plot, but that’s lost on me if I’m not invested in the stakes.

Recommended for fans of: Sherry Thomas, Rae Carson, Colleen Houck

Upcoming Book Review: The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead

July 2016 Book Review: Exquisite Captive

Exquisite Captive

By Heather Demetrios

~Book Review~

Warning! Spoilers!

I WAS A HUGE FAN of the Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud. He captured perfectly the hot undercurrent of pain and anger the Jinn felt for being enslaved to magicians and forced to carry out their will, and Baritmaeus’s wit was an endless delight. Demetrios’s Exquisite Captive expertly captured that struggle for me, albeit with strong, sensual undertones.

Nalia is one of the last of her kind, a royal Jinni who survived a brutal massacre of her people. She now spends her days enslaved to the powerful and mysterious businessman Malek in California, who holds a couple secrets of her own.

At first the dark relationship between Nalia and Malek was all Alicia and Diego from Gran Hotel (I sadly just finished this amazing TV series; pardon the reference), where Nalia is doing everything in her power to escape, and Malek is pulling all the stops to convince her of his twisted love. However, in my opinion, Jinn revolutionary leader Raif is no charming Julio, but more of an angsty guilt-tripping type who holds a grudge again Nalia’s class of Jinn. The pair eventually fall in love while working to free the Jinn from slavery. However, where Demetrios really succeeds is creating a compelling, riveting character like Malek. You really understand everything that is driving him, even if you don’t agree with it, which makes Nalia’s choice at the end lead to some great character tension for future books.

The story flows effortlessly, and I was pleased that it hardly stays place in California, but incorporates areas from all around our world. The backstory behind the Jinn world and the politics that opened it up to ours creates an interesting mystery, and I appreciated that Nalia has some kick-ass powers she isn’t afraid to lose.

This seductive series continues in Blood Passage, and I am eager to see where it goes!

Recommended for fans of: Amber Lough, Julie Kagawa, Leigh Bardugo

Upcoming Book Review: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes