Book Review — Hunted

Title:  Hunted
Author:  Meagan Spooner
Genre:  YA fairy tale retelling, fantasy
Pages:  Hardback, 374
ISBN:  978-0-06-242228-6
Opening Lines:  "We always know before the change comes.  When the storm approaches, we feel it in the thickness of the air, the tension in the earth awaiting the blanket of snow."

Rating

"Beauty knows the Beast's forest in her bones—and in her blood.

"She knows that the forest hold secrets and that her father is the only hunter who's ever come close to discovering them.

"But Yeva's grown up far from he father's old lodge, raised to be part of the city's highest caste of aristocrats. Still, she's never forgotten the feel of a bow in her hands, and she's spent a lifetime longing for the freedom of the hunt.

"So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there's no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas . . . or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentlemen.

"But Yeva's father's misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he'd been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.

"Deaf to her sisters' protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a curse valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva's heard about only in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin—or salvation.

"Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?"

~ Jacket copy

One of my coworkers suggested this book over winter break.  Unfortunately, despite teaching English, it is hard for me to sit down and commit to a book.  (Is it possible to lose my love of reading because of my job?)  Even though I have been reading through horror—slowly!—my husband suggested taking a break before I hit burn out.  Somehow, this book kept coming back to the forefront of my mind.  

For those of you who know me or have been following this blog, fairy retellings are one of my guilty reading pleasures.  However, many of them seem to follow similar tired tropes found in ever other retelling or YA romance and never dare to try something new.  Even though this is a Beauty & the Beast story, Meagan Spooner takes on elements from Russian fairy tales to add depth to her story.

In many ways, Hunted is like any other retelling—merchant father loses his fortune and ends up in the clutches of the Beast.  As a way to save her family, Beauty ends up becoming the Beast's prisoner and falling in love with him.  That is where the similarities end.  Yeva—to her family, Beauty—is her father's daughter.  She loves to hunt and craves the freedom found in the wood.  Despite the hardships it will mean for her sisters, Yeva is secretly happy about the loss of her father's fortune.  It means living in her father's hunting cabin in the woods. 

When her father's faithful hunting dog fails to come home without him, Yeva casts off all vestiges of status to become her father's savior.  However, she find something she does not expect—the Beast her father has talked about throughout her childhood.

At the onset, Hunted is a slow-burn.  Spooner does a wonderful job setting the stage for everything to follow; however, for fans of fairy tales, it is sometimes hard to slog through the known and familiar.  Hunted also lacks world building.  It relies on the character development of the Yeva and the Beast. 

The ending, while beautifully written, was expected due to the hints dropped by the author.  However, despite that, it was an amazingly rich story. 

Book Review — Nightlife

Title:  Nightlife Author:  Rob Thurman Genre:  Urban Fantasy Pages:  Paperback, 339 Publisher:  ROC ISBN:  978-0-451-46075-2 Opening Lines:  "People . . . They do the craziest shit."

Rating

"Welcome to the Big Apple.  There's a troll under the Brooklyn Bridge, a boggle in Central Park, and a beautiful vampire in a penthouse on the Upper East Side—and that's only the beginning.  Of course, most humans are oblivious to the preternatural nightlife around them, but Cal Leandros is only half human.

"His father's dark lineage is the stuff of nightmares—and he and his entire otherwordly race are after Cal.  Why?  Cal hasn't exactly wanted to stay around long enough to find out."

"He and his half brother, Niko, have managed to stay a step ahead for four years, but now Cal's dad has found them again. And Cal is about to learn why they want him, why they've always wanted him: He is the key to unleashing their hell on earth. The fate of the human world will be decided in the fight of Cal's life . . ."

~ Jacket copy

Shortly after this book came out, my former sister-in-law sent it to me as a Christmas present.  I eagerly picked it up, started reading it, and then promptly put it back down.  It was clear from the writing that it was her first book, and I couldn't convinced myself to push any further.  However, after a lot of nagging, "guilting", and pouting on the part of my former SIL, I dusted off the book and gave it another chance.  The second time must have been a charm!  I was able to tear through it in a few days.  

A few months ago at a gaming session, this book came back to mind.  I remembered loving it and needed to reacquaint myself with it.  Sadly, I couldn't find my damn copy and went on a quest to get my hands on it again.  Sadly, I had a similar experience to the first time I tried reading it.  Yes, it was interesting, but . . .

Cal is a monster.  He's the misbegotten spawn of a union between a drunken fortuneteller and something that has all the vestiges of a demon.  His mother is loath to even acknowledge his existence, his father lurks in the shadows and watches every movement, and his half brother is left as his only guardian.  After escaping from his father's realm four years ago, Cal and his older brother have been on the run.  Now, however, after things appear to be calming down, Niko (his older brother) spots a dreaded Grendel in Central Park.  

Please do not mistake my intro, this book is not a bad book and has the markings of a great story!  In fact, if I recall correctly, the later books get progressively better and are riveting.  For me, however, this book really fell short.  

At best, most of the characters are extremely two dimensional and lack a real zest or spark which gives them something a bit more.  Most of them are easily forgettable once you put the book down.  

The pacing of the book felt off, too.  There were points when it felt rushed, veered off, and slowed down considerably.  

Honestly, I am sitting here trying to squeeze myself for something to say, but nothing is coming out.  When it gets right down to it, there was nothing truly memorable about this book.  What I remember most comes from later books and how the characters were later developed.  It is obvious that this book was a first one, and the author definitely started to come into her own. I might recommend this series to people just for the later books, but I almost wish this one could be skipped.  

If you want a simple read that doesn't require too much commitment and big words thrown in for good measure, this isn't a bad book to pick up.  It is definitely a far introduction to the later books, which are far better—if memory serves.

Book Review — Cinder

Title:  Cinder
Author:  Marissa Meyer
Published:  January 2012
Publisher:  Feiwell and Friends Book, a Macmillan imprint
Pages:  Hardback, 387
ISBN:  978-0-312-64189-4
Opening Lines:  "The screw through Cinder's ankle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle."
Author Links:  Website  ♠  Twitter  ♠  Fabebook
Rating:

"Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother.  Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder's brain interface has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing.  This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball.  He jokingly calls it "a matter of national security," but Cinder suspects it's more serious than he's letting on.

"Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder's intentions are derailed when her younger sister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that has been devastating Earth for a decade.  Blaming Cinder for her daughter's illness, Cinder's stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an "honor" that no one has survived.

"But it doesn't take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig.  Something others would kill for."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts:  Since I first read Beauty by Robin McKinley, I have been enchanted by retellings.  Fairy tales have always held a special place in my heart and will always be a comfort read.  When I read about this book, my curiosity was piqued.  Unfortunately, I was not able to get my hands on it right away, so I have been pining over it.  After finishing a book for review, I decided to pick this book up.  With the loss of my husband's grandmother and another huge crisis we're dealing with, I needed something that would bring comfort.  And, of course, I return to my old love: fairy tales.

Wow.  Just pure and simple, wow.  There are not enough words to describe the masterwork of this book.  It is simply a masterpiece and something that will stay with me for a long time.  While the characters were true to the original Cinderella story, I felt that Meyer did an amazing job making them her own and adding little twists.  For example, I never expected her fairy godmother!  Further, being a cyborg, I wondered how it would work with her stepmother, sisters, and father.  It was a brilliant idea that she was an orphan and adopted by her father.

The characters in this book were rich!  I loved Iko!  Even though she was an android, I really liked how Meyer was able to turn her into something more.  It makes me wonder whether her personality chip was the only thing behind her uniqueness or she was growing and learning by being around Cinder.  I also felt that she made Prince Kai more approachable and human.  In the stories of Cinderella, the prince is always someone outside.  In this, Kai was a real person with real feelings.  I felt his pain when he was trying to decide how best to run his country. And Peony . . . She was a lovely, vibrant teenage girl.  It was hard not to have a fondness for her.

The setting was as rich as the characters and the storytelling.  Meyer did a wonderful job trying to imagine what life would be like after nuclear war, devastation, and so on.  She also put a lot of thought into the technological side of things.  I liked how the palace, while fully into the here and now, still retained elements from the past.

When I started this book, I had an idea of what the book might be, but I never really expected Cinderella and Anastasia.  That added another layer of depth to the book, and one I would have considered.  Even though it was hinted at throughout the book, I still found myself stifling a gasp when the truth finally came out!

Cinder is nothing short of magical!  I wept for Cinder and her inability to cry, grieved with her, and found I needed to keep a box of tissues near by.  This book will always hold a place of honour on my bookshelves and will be recommended to others!

Pages: 11,975
Current Progress:

37/50 books