Review: A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



This definitely felt like Twilight for adults to me. It's not just the taboo, over-protective, sophisticated, you smell too good to me, vampire romance. It's the slow focus on 'getting to know each other,' with food and wine, yoga and car rides. The family introductions, learning of old secrets, the fact that vampires don't just drink human blood and can go out in daylight - all of it was reminiscent of Twilight.

What was different was the mostly European setting (a bit more fitting than Washington for vampires), the atmosphere of historical discovery, and the fact that Diana is a witch from a long line of witches who refuses to do magic. She is also a historian, an alchemical scholar. When the focus is on the mystery of the manuscript she is studying, you can feel the history and smell the musty libraries. There's a depth to the ages and a background of centuries that make this something different.

If only it wasn't soooo long, and those interesting historical discoveries not so few and far between. It's about 600 pages, and maybe 20% of it is the interesting stuff or actual action breaking into the ordinary days. The rest of it is lengthy conversations over wine and tea, and the minute details of everything that Diana encounters or thinks of during her day. The details do provide quite a vivid picture of the scenes, but often it was too detailed, which was distracting and I found my mind wandering.

I'm in a bit of a conundrum because of the 20% that was interesting. I want to know what happens with the book and the magic and the fate of all creatures. Unfortunately I know that there are two more books just as long with just as much extra padding to slog through if I'm going to persevere to the actual happening. And most irritatingly, this book ends on a cliffhanger so that I have no closure at all. I may be forced to read the sequel for that reason alone.



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Review: Sumerton Women

The Sumerton Women by D.L. Bogdan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sumerton Women begins with a girl of eight, Cecily, suddenly orphaned when her entire family dies of an illness. She becomes a ward of the Sumerton family, where she experiences mostly suffering and loss with a few breaks for happiness. Every relationship is touched by sadness or tragedy or misunderstanding. Although Cecily manages to bring new life to the family, after a while she gets sucked into it herself and the brightness that she brings to the story dulls, especially in the last half when her falsely pious 'sister' takes center stage.

The story takes place during the reign of Henry VIII, and the family is affected by Henry's whims, their potential fortunes shifting with each of his wives. With a nun whose Priory is dissolved and a priest who welcomes the chance for reforms, the consequences of Henry's attitudes towards the Church become personal. I enjoyed the opposing viewpoints of the Catholics vs the Reformists, both falling on dangerous times. What I almost couldn't bear was the bitter, self-righteous vengefulness of the daughter who continually ruins everyone's lives - and is 'spiritual' for all the wrong reasons.

This was an emotional story full of tragedy, loss and bitterness. It was engrossing, but too often depressing. There were at least a couple breaks from the despair, and the historical aspect was interesting enough, so I decided to raise my rating to two stars.

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Review: The Mage's Daughter (Nine Kingdoms, #2)

The Mage's Daughter: A Novel of the Nine Kingdoms by Lynn Kurland
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What started out as a fluffy fantasy romance with a fierce, stubborn, sword-wielding heroine turned into a soggy romance with a blubbering, weak-kneed heroine. I lost count of the number of times that Morgan blinked away hot tears or realized her cheeks were wet, or dissolved into uncontrollable weeping, or felt like weeping but managed not to. She was a completely different person from the first book. I can understand that she had some difficult changes to become used to, but I would have expected her toughness in everything else to carry over into how she handled her more emotional crises.

It's unfortunate that the copious amount of tears got in the way of the rest of the story, because it was actually better than the first book in many ways. The world is more detailed, we learn more about the Nine Kingdoms, who populates it, and how the magic works.

I especially enjoyed learning more about the earning of Weger's mark and the way that Miach pursues Morgan. Miach becomes an even more interesting and humbly impressive hero now that we are able to get to know him more. Unfortunately the romance does stall the action for quite a while, though (coinciding with a lot of the weeping and talking and running away from issues). It took over too much for my liking, but once it came back to the actual plot I enjoyed it again.

Just like with the first book, this is merely an installment that does not stand on its own at all. It's a meandering building towards... something. Something that we've known was happening since the first page but have been blindly trying to understand. By the end of this book, we finally know what that is. And - that's where this ends, with the confrontation postponed until the next book.

I'm looking forward to reading more of Miach, but I hope Morgan gives me a reason to like her more in the last book. Hopefully, she will pull herself back together and become a worthy heroine who saves the world without drowning it in tears. She needs to toughen back up to take care of the evil she faces and not just hide her face in Miach's shoulder all the time.

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Review: Star of the Morning (Nine Kingdoms, #1)

Star of the Morning by Lynn Kurland
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is an enjoyable Romantic Fantasy series, but it's definitely more on the Romance end of the scale so you have to be in the right mood for it. I found myself wishing the world and secondary characters were a bit more defined, and that the magic and adventure were more prominent. But the huge focus is definitely the relationship.

To illustrate the lack of detail, at one point I was reminded that one of the characters is a dwarf, and only because he was referred to as a dwarf. Even now I can't remember which character it is. He was just as nondescript as the other supporting characters. There was also little explanation of the magic system or the makeup of the Nine Kingdoms. You just have to figure it out as you go along, but even the areas that they travel through lack much detail. (This does improve a little bit in the second book). So it's not the most intricate fantasy world. But still I liked it. Just be aware that this is definitely fluff, and not the highest quality stuff. Sometimes that's just fine.

If you don't like Romances, you should probably avoid this. If you do, this one is made more interesting by the magical setting and the quest that is the backdrop for a sweet romance.

You also should know that the ending is really only the beginning, and both this book and the next one have cliffhanger endings. I ended up wanting to read them all straight through as if the trilogy was a single book.

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Review: Across the Universe (Across the Universe, #1)

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Across the Universe was quite different than what I expected. For some reason I was anticipating more of a space opera but it ended up being purely Dystopia. It takes place on a space ship, but other than that it is about a far future society that is completely contained within that ship.

It is an interesting view of what would happen on a 300 year voyage to colonize a planet, with the colonists all frozen while the caretakers and their descendants run the ship. It's impossible to anticipate all that might happen on such a long voyage, and something goes badly awry. Amy, unfrozen 50 years before her time, struggles to adjust to an unrecognizable, hostile society that has gone wrong, built on secrets and lies. She's stuck on a claustrophobic - and creepy - ship where she has no place and her appearance sparks chaos.

Although it's a fascinating story and I do want to continue on, it's a bit too bleak for my tastes. 3 stars.

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Review: A Million Suns (Across the Universe, #2)

A Million Suns by Beth Revis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As the second installment in a Dystopia, this was very well done. I can't say I liked it, but it was good.

A Million Suns offers a very realistic view of what happens to the society on board the Godspeed after liberation from its pacifying drug and dictator. It shows what happens without a good plan for replacing those controls on the people with something more constructive. As the members awaken, the society disintegrates and chaos ensues. It's a horrifying view of the baser side of humanity when unchecked by laws or ideals.

Although I understand the direction it took, I was still disappointed by the fact that none of the people on board exhibit any positive signs from their liberation. They give themselves over almost entirely to the instinct to rule themselves without regard for others. They are all still like animals, all dangerous, none with nobler instincts (aside from Elder, who was already in a different class). But in spite of the depressing realities, the tension, the secrets and mystery, made this a riveting read. I only wish there had been some lighter moments. I'm looking forward to the final book - but hoping there will be more humanity in the society that emerges.

When I finished, I wasn't sure how to rate this. Based on actual enjoyment it would only be 2 stars because it's more depressing and dark than I usually like. But it was really good, easily worth 4 stars if only I'd enjoyed it more. So 3 stars seems a decent compromise.

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Review: Princess of the Midnight Ball

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a good retelling of the fairy tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. It is full of the despair and pain of the curse that the princesses suffer. Their silent suffering permeates the kingdom. It is well done as a YA level story, but not exactly a fun tale even with the touch of romance.

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