Cast In Secret - Michelle Sagara

Cast In Secret by Michelle Sagara
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

These books read like police procedurals with a smart-mouthed officer with a blinding weakness for children, but in a world overflowing with mysterious magic and cool species. So not really action-oriented, but gripping if you enjoy investigations that involve talking to witnesses and putting the pieces together. All of that builds to the end, when I find myself reading so fast I forget to blink. All without swords! (However, there are knives.)

The investigations are centered on crimes, but the more fascinating mysteries are the magic and world with its multiple species, and these really take center stage. Each book so far has illuminated a new aspect of the world and magic, becoming more intriguing as the picture clears. I don't always understand everything at first, but I get a general idea and carry on, and it becomes more clear as it goes. I love that it feels like there's so much left to learn in future books, too.

This book in particular illuminates the Tha'alani, one of the mortal races. I really enjoyed them much more than I expected!

Kaylin is still impulsive and driven mostly by instinct when it comes to magic, but she's learning. She's also learning to keep her mouth shut occasionally. To say anymore than that would be to spoil it, so I won't. Enjoy.

For the King's Favor - Elizabeth Chadwick

For the King's Favor by Elizabeth Chadwick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For the King's Favor is a worthy companion novel to The Greatest Knight. It takes place during the same time (during the reign of Richard II), and overlaps with William Marshal's story at a few points, so definitely read that book, and probably also its sequel, first.

It's great to see glimpses of William again from another perspective, but it's also great to learn more about the Bigods. William and Roger struggle in parallel to build their houses, but their obstacles are very different, and Roger's honor is just as fine as William's in his own way. We also get Ida's full perspective in this book - she is not just a prize to be won or given, but a woman doing her best to make a life in a world where she has no power and few choices.

This is written in the same style as the Marshal books, covering many years in a way that is somehow not boring. I love how Chadwick shows the capriciousness of kings and how it could make and break people's lives, sometimes more than once. I feel like I know the people who lived in those times, their ambitions, heartaches, successes through luck or hard work and loyalty, or their failures in spite of them. Chadwick makes the history come alive.

The Tea Rose - Jennifer Donnelly

The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Tea Rose was a really good book, and I'm so glad I persevered past the absolutely devastating first 200-300-odd pages. It's one of those books that starts off with everything going so well that you know it's not going to last long. I had a sense of foreboding, but the amount of tragedy and pain was really too much. It just kept coming in wave after wave. It wasn't just a bit dark or a bit tragic. It was crushing, suffocating loss and pain. That's going to stick with me for a while. I'm really proud of myself for pushing through it, because I usually hate reading books full of tragedy, and this was darker than I can usually tolerate.

I'm fairly certain I stuck with it partly because of the tea. I love tea. I drink it all day long. And I love Victorian stories, and this one was refreshingly focused on industry and shops, and factories - not something I've seen very often since packaging and selling tea is not as glamorous as taking tea in the parlor. The sense of place was very vivid, and it kept me reading, along with the hope that such tragedy couldn't continue for 700 pages without reprieve.

I was totally ready to walk away if Part 2 didn't start turning things around. But luckily it did. From that point on, even though there are still sad parts, the overall tone is more hopeful, and things start to go right. I was finally able to settle down into an enjoyable historical tale with more regular ups and downs. The strength of love and friendships and resilience of spirit began to shine through, and the memory of those will stick with me for a while too.

Then, for the last part of the book, I suddenly found myself glued to the pages. I couldn't read fast enough to see how everything would play out. I wasn't completely sure I could trust everything to work out how I wanted it to, but in the end, all of the resolutions were so completely satisfying. I can't believe I'm saying it, but it was worth it to persevere. What a roller coaster ride.

The Burning Stone - Kate Elliott

The Burning Stone by Kate Elliott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This started out as a 5-star, couldn't put it down, book. It gave me just what I had been looking for in book 2. Then... well, sprawl set in. Plot threads multiplied, and complications began breeding. This is good. This is complex. But as the sprawl unfolded before me, I found myself wishing for a tighter focus on the characters that I care about.

All of the characters, even minor ones, are so well-drawn and nuanced, and they change realistically with events. I dislike so many of them, and the ones I like aren't perfect, but are subject to their own flaws as well as to drastically changing fates. It almost made me dizzy how quickly tides could turn. It makes me impatient to see where it's all going.

I do appreciate the textures of the world-building that all these characters bring, but I really just want more of Liath, Alain, Hanna and Rosvita (I love that old woman!). I don't care much for Ivar's story (I don't like him or his group of friends), or for the visions of the Eika chief (although I know it will be important at some point). There are so many tantalizing hints about important things, I am impatient to solve it all. But, it seems I will have to bide my time because this is going to take a while.

Since it was just a bit too slow in parts and spreading out a bit too much, it ended up not being that 5 star read after all. It's such a hardship to settle for 4, but it was still very good.

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is not YA. First of all, the heroine is 19. Second, it is lacking the cliches that I've come to dread when picking up a YA book - at least aside from the immature stupidity of the heroine, who insists on doing things she's been counseled / asked / told not to, seemingly oblivious to the danger. Also, the romance is quite adult, so let's at least go with New Adult if we have to label it anything.

This is an engrossing fairy tale retelling that turns into something much more. It's Beauty and the Beast, so the romance is predictable, but it's also about the Fae, whose world is beautiful, magical, wild and violent. The world and its conflicts are revealed at just the right pace to bring it alive. Then the ugly violence of the conflict overtakes the pleasant little romance with a brutality that I found a bit of a shock.

It's a solid start to a series that has me wanting to know more about the world and the Fae, both hopeful and afraid of what will happen to them.

Calamity - Brandon Sanderson

Calamity by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was another entertaining, fast-paced read. I enjoyed it all the way, and had a hard time putting it down. I liked the concept for the new city, and am still amazed at Sanderson's imagination.

Warning: unmarked spoilers for previous books after this point.

On finishing, I do wish there had been more character interaction. There's a lot of fighting and reacting, and not enough of the team putting their strengths together to solve it. I also wish that dealing with Prof had taken less time.

I'm also not sure about how it wrapped up. Did it fulfill its promise? Am I satisfied? I'm still mulling that one over.

Some of the cleverness was sacrificed for action scenes, the same kind that I grow bored of when superheroes throw each other around endlessly in movies. What I enjoyed so much about Firefight was the mystery of the weaknesses and how to use them strategically. There wasn't as much of that here, and not as satisfying a 'clicking together' when all was revealed. [Actually, not all was really revealed - so many questions left! (hide spoiler)]

I guess this is where the 'young adult' aspect of the series really came through. The complexity of the ending was a bit lacking. I do think I wanted something more once I turned the final page. I expect a bit more payoff from Sanderson, honestly. I probably wouldn't hold anyone else to such a high standard and am being stingy.

That said, this was still very entertaining. I loved this series much more than I expected to when I heard what it was about. I recommend it!

Season of Storms - Susanna Kearsley

Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a bit different from Kearsley's other books, but I still enjoyed it once it got going. I could tell it's one of her earlier works. The past timeline doesn't mesh with the modern one very much. It's not well developed at all, but is presented just through occasional flashbacks. These answer questions for the reader rather than driving towards something that needs to be discovered in the present.

The mystery and all the drama are in the modern time, so this reads more like a contemporary romance (but light on the romance) with a bit of a ghost story. It doesn't really seem to matter what happened to the other actress 70 years ago. It seems like just a backdrop or a side note.

Fans looking for Kearsley's distinctive flavor may find yourselves disappointed unless you alter your expectations beforehand.