"The Crown's Game" by Evelyn Skye

I had such high expectations for this book: two enchanters dueling to the death, 19th century Russia, the author who supposedly knows Russian history and culture and thus ensures a historically accurate setting - what's not to like?

Unfortunately the best thing about this book is the gorgeous cover. The characters fell completely flat for me. None of them were remotely interesting or exciting. I did not feel attachment to any of them. The plot also felt like a weak re-imagining of The Night Circus. I did like the enchantments - those were probably the strongest parts of the book, and the reason I rated this book at 3 stars and not lower.

The author also failed in the historical accuracy area - I wish she did not claim this from the outset. There were glaring mistakes like repeated (and unnecessary) focus on the pastries ("oreshki") that did not even exist in the 19th century or references to pews when anyone who's ever been to Russia knows that Russian churches do not have pews - standing room only! In addition, Kazakhs in the early 19th century (aside from highly educated nobility) did not speak Russian or owned taverns in St. Peterburg! I also cannot imagine the tzar ever traveling to the steppe - much less forming a liaison with a common Kazakh maiden. I do think the author deserves credit for weaving Kazakhs into the story but please do not claim to be historically accurate!

The plot was mediocre, unoriginal and the ending was just awful. Sounds like there will be a sequel but the way the author described the writing of it in a recent interview does not give me any confidence that she knows where to go with the story line. I should really stop buying new releases.... Very disappointing. 

A Series Review: "The Search for WondLa" by Tony DiTerlizzi

                 

The Search for WondLa is a three-book middle grade series set in a distant future. We follow the girl named Eva Nine who is born in a high tech underground sanctuary and is raised by a Multi-Utility Task Help Robot (Muthr). It took me a while to get into the first book simply because for most of it, the reader (along with Eva Nine) have no idea where she is and what is going on in the world. Basically, while she is a child, Muthr prepares Eva Nine for the day when she will leave the sanctuary and integrate into the life on the surface. However, their life is completely turned upside down when one day a terrible beast breaks into their sanctuary and Eva Nine has to flee and fend for herself in the wild. What she finds above ground is totally different from the instructional videos she had watched her entire life. The world is populated with strange plants, animals and even aliens who act like Eva Nine is the one out of place. For most of book 1, I honestly had no idea whether Eva Nine was on earth or on some other planet. Everything becomes clarified in the last third of the book, and then the series really take off at a nice pace. Books 2 and 3 are simply amazing. There is a lot of action, mystery, and political intrigue. I also thought that for a children's book, the series have some profound spiritual messages that I really appreciated. For example, here is one quote from Book 3 that I really liked:

We are born, we live, and we perish, perhaps to be born again in some other form... Galaxies are but one living entity burning with the energy from all of us. Life and death are but siblings who turn the universe continually. Endlessly.

Another aspect of these books that has to be mentioned is the fact that the author is also the illustrator for the series. The books have beautiful illustrations throughout. Tony DiTerlizzi has created an unbelievable world with completely new creatures, animals and plants, and all of them are not just described in his books, there are also full page illustrations that bring his imagination to life.

I highly recommend this series not just for children but also for adults. I rated book 1 at 4 stars and books 2 and 3 were both 5-star reads.

"Lady Midnight" by Cassandra Clare (The Dark Artifices No. 1)

Lady Midnight is the first book of a new trilogy set in the Shadowhunters world by Cassandra Clare called The Dark Artifices. It follows Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn of the Los Angeles Institute who were first introduced at the end of the Mortal Instruments series. Five years have passed since we saw them in Idris during the Dark War. Emma and Julian are now 17 and have become parabatai, or warrior partners bonded through rune magic.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and will definitely continue reading this and other upcoming series set in the same world. However, the more I read paranormal YA series, the more critical I become of plots, characters and writing. Since the market is now saturated with novels in this genre, the most popular and better-written ones definitely need to set a certain standard of writing. This is not to say that this book had major flaws. It did not. However, there were some things that to me did not quite live up to the standard I have come to associate with Cassandra Clare's work.

First of all, it was hard to get into the book in the first few chapters. This was partly because some things were repeated too many times (e.g. the fact that Julian took care of his siblings was rehashed from multiple angles). In addition, a lot of information was provided about the events of the Mortal Instruments books, the magic, magical beings and the world itself. I understand that this might be useful for refreshing the readers' memory, but it could have been done in a more subtle way.

The overall mystery/plot line for this first installment was excellent. I had no idea who the killer was and really enjoyed all the twists and action. The only weak point for me was the blackout at the Institute. So they could not use the phones to contact the Clave, what about a fire message? I thought Shadowhunters were not supposed to rely on mundane devices anyway. It would have been nice if this was factored in. In addition, the whole parabatai romantic love prohibition was emphasized way too much especially since this was never emphasized in the previous books. I realize this is the whole point of this trilogy and needed to be believable, but it was a bit forced since other books never focused on it. Or if it was mentioned, it was in passing.

I am also not sure how I feel about the ending. I am not a fan of lying and breaking someone's heart for the sake of their own good. This seems like such an overused trope. In addition, Julian, I believe, is being set up to somehow turn evil, or borderline evil. Clare refers to him as "ruthless" way too many times". He already is "an expert liar" and now the girl he loves decides to hurt him "out of love".  I do prefer complex characters. Life is not black and white. And I hope Julian will continue being an interesting character instead of going all evil.

I rated this book at 3.5 stars. Cannot wait to read book 2.

The 5 Love Languages of Teenagers by Gary Chapman

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I do not usually read any kinds of self-help or parenting books. However, I do have a twelve-year old and in the past few months I was thinking that I should probably educate myself a bit more on the upcoming teen years. Thus my purpose for reading this book was to prepare and educate myself so I can be a better parent as my daughter starts navigating the troublesome teenage years.

If you are like me (i.e., have a pre-teen or a teen and do not normally read parenting literature), I definitely recommend this book. Some of the criticisms I've seen about this book are that it is a regurgitation of Chapman's other 5 Languages of Love books or that it does not provide any earth-shattering advice. I had never read any of his other books, and I also was not looking for any parenting tricks or magic methods. But for me, this was a great concise guide on how to be a parent of a teenager.

What I liked most is that Chapman clearly lays out the approaches that will allow parents to understand their teen better, to show their teenagers that they are loved and to learn how to effectively set rules and discipline their teenagers. Nothing in the book was confusing or impractical. All of his recommendations were cogent, to the point, very doable and supported by multiple examples from his counseling practice. I also appreciated the statistics quoted in this book and the fact that he did not shy away from difficult subjects such as alcohol and drug use and teen pregnancy. I would say Chapman wrote this book in a very loving manner to both parents and teens, without sounding preachy or condemning anyone but offering practical steps to foster better relationships.

I am very glad I read this book. If you are going to read just one book on parenting teens, please read this one. 5 out of 5 stars from me!

"The Girl from Everywhere" by Heidi Heilig

I have recently discovered that I really enjoy books featuring time travel. Earlier this year I read Into the Dim and quite liked it. The Girl from Everywhere is also a fantasy novel that involves time travel. In fact, it has most of the elements that I love in an adventure story: historic settings, a pirate ship, a heist, mythical and/or fairy tale creatures and elements, and of course time travel.

Our main character is a sixteen-year old girl named Nix whose father is the captain of a time-travelling pirate ship. The captain and his crew are roaming the seas of time in search of a map of Hawaii depicting the island as it was back in 1868, the year Nix's mother died. The captain is determined to go back in time to save the love of his life.

I really enjoyed the story line in this novel. Heilig did a great job weaving in myths and magic into historical settings. Her descriptions of places and people are vivid. I felt transported into the settings that she described. The plot itself is very interesting and the end was unexpected for me. Since the main character is a sixteen year old girl, there is some romance in the story, but it is not the main focus of the book at all. As a teenager, Nix is very aware of the young men around her and ready to fall in love, but it is not a stereotypical YA romance novel. I also liked the well-researched myths and legends and the fact that the book has an appendix in the back that further expounds on the ideas that formed the foundation of the book.

This was a real treat of a read. 5 out of 5 stars. I cannot wait for the sequel.