Tag: book blog

Stormcaster

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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Genres: Fantasy
Pub. date: Apr. 2018 (read Feb. 2020)
Series: Shattered Realms #3

Stormcaster is where the characters all finally start to catch up with one another and we get an idea of where the story is really going. I’ve read a lot of reviews from people that think this is the strongest book of the series, but I think I still preferred Shadowcaster over this one.

Stormcaster starts out with yet another character POV, Evan Strangward. We’ve been introduced to Evan in other books, but here we finally get to learn what team he’s actually on and all about his history. Plus we finally get to learn more about Destin Karn! Evan and Destin feature heavily in the first 100-150 pages of the book, which I thought was really strong and exclusively tells Evan’s story, before Chima finally commits to the multi-POV book and starts alternating between all of her characters. We finally get to return to Ash, Hal, Jenna, Lyss, and Lila, but with so many characters constantly changing and with the plot going in so many different directions, I feel like not a whole lot was accomplished in this book. It was a relief to finally get the merging of stories, but in my opinion Stormcaster felt like a bit of a filler book with just enough action to progress the story. I still loved it, but I was left feeling the tiniest bit disappointed.

I don’t have a whole lot more to say about the plot; the characters continue to be the highlight of the series for me because there is no shortage of complex and interesting characters. I’m excited to see what happens in the final segment – but find it hard to believe so many character arcs and plot threads can be resolved in just one more book!

Shadowcaster

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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Genres: Fantasy
Pub. date: Apr. 2017 (read Jan. 2020)
Series: Shattered Realms #2

Okay, this book was awesome! I loved the story and the characters and I’m super into this series, but I thought it was a really interesting choice in execution.

Flamecaster focuses on two characters: Ash and Jenna, with a strong supporting cast. Picking up Shadowcaster is almost like starting a completely new book because suddenly Ash and Jenna are nowhere to be seen and we have new protagonists: Lyss, Hal, and Breon. I really liked both books, though I might give a slight edge to Shadowcaster, but it was a little disorienting to be separated completely from all the characters you spent the first book bonding with and have to build a bunch of new relationships. Especially when the first half of this book completely overlapped with the timeline of the first book. So even though we didn’t know the specifics, we pretty much knew what was going to happen. I kind of wish these two books had been combined to make one big book with many POV’s. Although I can see how a 1000 page book would be daunting to readers, but I could still see it working as 2 books with multiple POVs.

Anyways, that was the main flaw I had with this book. I still thought the storytelling, plot building, and character development were all excellent. I fell just as much in love with the characters in Shadowcaster as I did with the characters in Flamecaster and I excited to see them all together. The first half of the book was on the slow side because we were missing some of the tension because we ultimately knew what was going to happen, but the second half was a thrill!

I love Lyss and Hal! Not necessarily as a couple, but definitely as individuals. I wasn’t really into Ash and Jenna’s relationship in the last book and I while I felt Lyss and Hal’s could still have been drawn out a bit more, there was definitely more tension and less instalove. Though I could do without Hal constantly mooning over how Lyss “isn’t like the other girls”. But I did love Lyss!

Lyss’ story isn’t a story that hasn’t been told before, but I still loved it! She’s bold and brazen, but also caring and respectful. One of my favourite scenes was when she refuses to run off and start a war without first consulting the queen. I was totally expecting her to run off and make mistakes and ultimately be a hero, and it was cool to see her instead acknowledge another woman’s power. Then when she overhears her mother talking to Captain Bryne, again I thought she was going to run off and be reckless in revenge, but instead she just calls her mother out on lying to her. It was very mature and I loved how honest she is throughout the book. I don’t believe for a second she’s only 15 though. I’m not really sure why Chima insists on having all her characters be 15-16 years old. Literally none of these characters act like 15 year olds and I think the story would be a lot more believable if they were all in at least their early 20’s.

Anyways, despite my criticisms, I still loved this book and I’m already 100 pages into Stormcaster. A quick browse through the next book looks like we finally get to return to some of the characters from both books, but the first 100+ pages is still about yet another new character, so I guess Chima might have struggled to structure this series differently. Multiple POV stories definitely have a very different dynamic than 2-3 POV stories and I feel like maybe she was trying to avoid a confusing epic with too many characters and too complex a plot. Structured as is, the plot is still pretty easy to follow because we only focus on a few stories per book.

Flamecaster

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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Genres: Fantasy
Pub. date: Apr. 2018 (read Jan. 2020)
Series: Shattered Realms #1

I read the Seven Realms series about a year ago and loved it, but I knew something bad was going to happen at the beginning of this series and I couldn’t face it after becoming so attached to the characters in the first series, so I didn’t jump right in.

After returning from my 5 week vacation, I wasn’t feeling super motivated to read, so I decided it might be easier to return to a world I was already familiar with. It was a great choice because Flamecaster gripped me right from the first chapter! I found the Demon King pretty slow and it took me a while to get into it, so I was expecting a similar experience with Flamecaster, but Chima had lots of action packed into the first few chapters and I was immediately drawn in to the story.

Flamecaster is set in the same world as the Seven Realms, but a generation later. Our protagonist is Adrian sul’Han, or Ash, son of our heroes from the previous series. When something bad happens at home, Ash feels forced to flea and takes up residence at Oden’s Ford, learning to be a healer and wizard. In another part of the realms, Jenna is forced by the Arden Empire to work in the mines in Delphi. Her hatred of the king motivates her to join the rebellion, but a strange magemark on the back of her neck draws the attention of those she’d rather stay away from and she finds herself hunted for it.

I don’t want to say too much else about the plot for those that haven’t read the first series. Everyone warned me that you must read the Seven Realms series before the Shattered Realms series, but I disagree. This book is easy enough to understand without having read the first series, I’m just not sure why you’d want to skip the first series. The Seven Realms series is great, as is this one, so why not read them in order!

I really liked falling back into Chima’s writing. She’s definitely an accomplished writer and I enjoy how smart her plots are. I’ve read some reviews that this is a slow burn book, which in a way it is, but I was never bored and I loved the natural progression of both the plot and the characters. I love how you’re not sure how you’re supposed to feel about some of her characters and that her questionable characters are just as intriguing as her protagonists. Lila was a real favourite for me in this book and I’m dying to learn more about Destin Karn. We get a glimpse at the end that there’s something else going on with him and I can’t wait to learn more.

The only part I didn’t totally love was the romance. There’s not a lot of romance in the book, but I think the romance that is present came on a little too fast. I do enjoy a bit of romance in my fantasy books, but tension is key. I like watching the natural progression of a romance throughout the course of a novel or series, and the anticipation and build up. This book had very little romantic tension and I really struggled to buy into the characters attraction.

But otherwise, this book gave me the perfect amount of resolution and intrigue at the end. Luckily for me I don’t have to wait a year for the next book, but had I read this when it first came out, it would still have been a satisfying ending. Can’t wait to see where Chima takes this in the next book!

Dual Citizens

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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author: Alix Ohlin
Genres: Literary Fiction, Canadian Lit
Pub. date: Jun. 2019 (read Feb. 2020 on Audible)

Dual Citizens is one of the those weird creations of Canadian literature that I ended up really loving, yet wouldn’t necessarily recommend to everyone. It’s a bit of an artsy story with a meandering plot, but it’s ultimately about family and sisterhood and that really resonated with me.

Lark and Robin are sisters that grew up in Montreal and received little attention or praise from their young mother. So they instead look to one another for support and long for the day when they can branch out on their own. Lark is shy but very studious and does well in school, earning herself a scholarship for a college in the States. Robin learns to play the piano and has a natural talent for it. She is dismayed when Lark leaves her behind to go to school and within the year she runs away to live with Lark.

Eventually Lark discovers a love for film and Robin is accepted to study piano at Julliard. But the pressure of music school gets to her and as Lark dives further into her film degree, the sisters begin to grow apart. The separation between the two sisters was jarring and upsetting for me. They were all each other had and I felt as set adrift by the separation as Lark did. The sisters are very different and Lark struggles to understand why her sister suddenly distances herself and they begin to grow apart, each caught up in their own struggles and insecurities.

Lark spends a lot of time working in the film industry and is quite successful, but she reads like a character who just moves through life without actually engaging in it. She is passive in every scenario and I really felt like part of her was missing during her estrangement from Robin. I’m not really an artsy person and I don’t care for film, but I really loved the storytelling in this book. I just felt this ache throughout for the relationship that Lark and Robin once had and the strain and impact that the loss of communication had on Lark. The feeling of incompleteness while the two were separated and the tenseness that continued between them even once they were reunited. It’s scary to watch two people that were so close become disconnected to the point that they don’t really know who the other person is anymore.

It really reminded me of the feelings of nostalgia and sadness that you get when you return home and realize that the people you loved and spent so much time with have all changed. The feeling of moving on, but thinking fondly of the experiences you once shared, but the sadness of realizing that some experience meant more to one person than the other.

It’s hard to describe, but Lark’s longing for both motherhood and a renewed relationship with her sister were so authentic. It’s a slow moving story with little driving the plot, but I related so keenly to Lark. I think Ohlin captured a very flawed, but real relationship, and I felt really invested in Lark’s life. I don’t think it’s a story for everyone though and I’m not sure I’d want to read it again because of the emotional toll, but I’m glad to have picked it up and thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook. A great story with a lot of depth!

Bloodlust & Bonnets

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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author: Emily McGovern
Genres: Graphic Novel, LGBTQIA+
Pub. date: Sep. 2019 (read Jan. 2020)

I’m a little bit delayed with this review, but I picked up Bloodlust & Bonnets at a bookstore in New Zealand because I liked the colourful artwork and thought it looked like the story might have a Nimona-style brand of humour. I was correct on both fronts!

Bloodlust & Bonnets is set in Victorian times and tells the story of Lucy, Byron, and Sham, a bunch of “queer misfits” looking for an adventure in the form of destroying Lady Travesty, the leader of a vampire cult. Their adventures take them all over Britain, with each character struggling with their own personal hang-ups while they all try and get used to being part of a team.

It’s the kind of hilarious, feel good, nonsense that despite all its shenanigans, still has a ton of relevant social commentary buried in it about gender norms, identity, and equality. It made me laugh out loud, but I also loved it for its portrayal of kick-ass female heroines, suave male poets that also like to wear fancy dresses, and gender non-conforming vampire hunters that just need to learn to trust other people. It’s a romping good time!