Review: Magnificent Devices

Magnificent Devices by Shelley Adina

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Another great adventure, this time with a lot of airship time and a change of scenery to an alternate Old West. A supposedly simple trip to Canada went wrong in every possible way. What a ride!

The only thing is, I'm not sure what I think of the Texican Territories as the setting in this one. I think I ended up liking it OK, but I did miss London. And then the ending seemed a little too easy - dramatic, yes, but I would have liked to see Claire mastermind her way out of yet another impossible bind instead of it just happening to her.



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Review: Lady of Devices

Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Lady of Devices is the first pure Steampunk I've ventured into. I've read some that were also historical fantasy or paranormal, but I was afraid I wouldn't like the scientific aspects of steam and gadgets on their own quite as much. But I'm really loving this series. It's a lot of fun, and the technology isn't dry at all. You mainly just have to be willing to suspend disbelief about this alternate Victorian world because Claire's escapades are so outlandish. She's a fantastic heroine, full of spunk and ingenuity, and unconventional ways out of complete disaster. I'm already half way through book three, I'm having such a blast reading these.



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Review: Sojourn (Updated)

Sojourn by Jana Oliver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Alternate Victorian historical mystery with time travel and shape shifters, and Jack the Ripper on top. This was exactly my cup of tea. It did start out feeling like a bit of a mish-mash at some points, but I ended up really enjoying it and the whole series. All of these elements came together better and better as the overall story developed, although it might not be apparent yet by the end of the first book.

In this book, there are three mysteries including the Ripper plot. The paranormal and science fiction elements add just a little more flavor to it as well. There's a tiny hint of possible romance to come, but nothing really developed. This is not a historical romance in disguise, for which I was thankful.

I enjoyed the complexity of the plot compared to many time travel novels I've read where the traveler just pops in and out of other times but the main story is in the present. This one really dwells in Victorian London with all its atmosphere and very real danger to a lone woman investigating murders on the streets of London, rousing the suspicion of the law while she's at it. Jacynda can't avoid getting embroiled in events and lives of the time. And she can't be sure if one of her new friends is the killer she's after.

I like how this doesn't avoid the question of how she inevitably changes history just by being there and interacting with people. And then there's the question of who is purposely messing with history from her own time. I also like that the future time period is not our present, but is far in our future as well. It made for two interesting settings, whenever we did see the future.

This was lots of fun - and I liked the sequels even better, as the time travel aspect gets more involved and the implications more complicated later on.



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Review: Secondhand Charm

Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Secondhand Charm is quite a unique fantasy with a fairytale sort of feel. It’s not a retelling, which I enjoyed because it was fresh and new, but still with the feeling of a fairytale. I read it all in one sitting, and was pleasantly surprised by the turns it took. There’s a bit of romance, very mild, and not the focus of the story. I found it a very enjoyable YA fantasy that stands alone and doesn’t feel teenagery. I’d recommend it to any fairytale fantasy reader. Well, unless you really hate snakes.



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Review: The Hawk and His Boy

The Hawk and His Boy by Christopher Bunn

My rating: 0 of 5 stars



About 75 pages in, I decided to call this one good. It's just not holding my attention, and jumps all over the place to all these different characters, none of whom I care about yet. I keep waiting for it to actually get back to Jute, who at least was interesting in the beginning, but he's hardly made an appearance since. I know the bad guy better than him already.

Like another reviewer said, every chapter felt like another part of the introduction. It may have been my mood, but I didn't feel like waiting around for 300 pages of introduction to get to book 2, where maybe the adventure would begin.

Anyway, I found myself skimming and decided not to waste my time on it anymore. Then I looked and realized it was one of my free books, so I don't feel so bad dropping it.



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Review: Emerald Green

Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This was another fast and entertaining read, but Gwen kept crying all the time, and the ending kind of fizzled out. On top of that, the romance is hard to swallow - undying love in less than a week! And the entire trilogy takes place in only two weeks. I tried to ignore these things, but they would crop up and distract me. Not bad for YA, but it definitely feels like YA.



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Review: Cold Fire

Cold Fire by Kate Elliott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I said about Cold Magic that it somehow got under my skin in spite of the very heavy world building at the start. Now it has gone from being under my skin to being a world that I am dreamily living in and don’t want to leave. The atmosphere is fantastic, the writing beautiful at times, the sense of place rich and layered. Regardless of characters and plot, being in the world is a feeling to savor.

This book takes us out of the frigid north that is still ruled by princes and mages into the Antilles, where a sort of democracy exists, and where you can almost smell the ocean and taste the fruit. The world building is done with a much lighter hand, expanding your view at just the right pace. Issues of independence, slavery, democracy, women’s rights, class, power, magic and fate - all are interwoven with an immediacy that makes a spellbinding tale. I love how complex the world gets with the growing unrest in multiple nations and the spirit world on top of that. It keeps me from getting bored and keeps me wondering how it’s all going to tie together. Let me just say it was worth the effort the first book took to get into.

And the plot itself is such an adventure! The action starts immediately, and takes completely unexpected turns, keeping me on edge. You know when you read a book that annoys you in some ways, frustrates you in others, and yet you are completely into it and enjoying being in it, and it wins you over by the end? That's this book. It’s an elusive feeling, hard to describe exactly why it grabs you when it may not grab someone else. I’m happy just to enjoy the fact and not over-think it.

One thing I’m really coming to appreciate about this series is the complexity of the characters. They are all flawed, sometimes making stupid decisions, or decisions they believe are right but end up being poor choices once they have more of the facts. Sometimes they’re just plain immature and regret it later. Everyone has their own agenda, not necessarily good or bad, but their goals are not all the same, and there are betrayals, small and large. No one is trustworthy all the time, but most of them are likable some of the time.

I should mention that there is romance, more in this book than in the first. But it’s not the whole story, and I’m enjoying this aspect of the series as well (once Catherine stops being stupid, that is). I’m amazed at how much I ended up liking Vai. He was such a pompous, arrogant, cold prick in the first book, but turns out being much more than he seems. When I found out more about him my opinion did a complete turnaround. Now I’m attached to both him and Catherine, and I’m afraid of what they’re going to have to go through in the last book. Whatever happens, I’m going to try not to rush through it.



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Review: A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Many books for children are still magical for adults reading them without the benefit of nostalgia, but this was not one of those for me. Honestly, I found it simplistic and moralistic, and was surprised to find there was much more talking than anything else. I expected more adventure, more action, but everything that actually happens is through philosophizing. I thought it was kind of boring. Talk about bashing kids over the head with how they are supposed to behave in the guise of Science Fiction!

It's also not really about time travel so much as travel to other worlds. The worlds were interesting and sometimes creepy, as were some of the characters they met there. I liked Mrs. Whatsit and her companions. They were entertaining.

But the main characters were basically just led around and told to 'go there' without being given any idea what to do there, and then the final solution was a moral lesson. Not surprising for the time it was written, I suppose, but I expected more... something. Excitement. Action. Fun.

The main character is whiny in a stamp-your-foot kind of way. She's constantly throwing fits and lashing out because she doesn't understand things. And although she dutifully learns her lesson by the end, I found her annoying.

Would I have liked this if I read it when I was a kid? Maybe. But I don't think it would have lived up to the adventures of The Magic Faraway Tree.



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Review: Ruby Red

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Ruby Red is the first in a YA time travel trilogy that is really more of a contemporary paranormal set in London, and otherwise similar to other YA paranormals in tone (high school, parents/family, mean girl, quirky best friend, etc.).

It's also very short - only 200 pages - so it really just felt like a setup. I was frustrated at the end, realizing I'd just read an introduction and would have to read the next book to get anywhere with it. But I decided to continue on since this one was so short and fast to read, and it didn't drag even though not much has happened yet.

It is definitely YA-ish in tone and depth. It's not very sophisticated, and has a lot to do with mean family members and other stuck up people (ones I'm seriously hoping get what's coming to them), and Gwyneth trying to find out the truth about a world that has been hidden from her for her whole life. Now she's suddenly part of it but they are still not telling her anything.

The time travel parts are regrettably few and short, although the concept is interesting (they talk about it quite a bit, but don't actually do it much). I hope there will be more time spent in other time periods in the next book.

There's a bit of romance, too, but it came out of nowhere, so I wasn't that convinced. I think it probably should have waited until later in the series but they had to make something happen in the first book. Oh well. At least it was a fast read, and kept me somewhat entertained for an evening. My hopes are all on book two for some real development in all areas.



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