Series

Review – The Dark Enquiry

/ justbookreading / 4 Comments

The Dark Enquiry

By Deanna Raybourn

Harlequin

ISBN: 9780778312376

4.5 stars

First, I have a confession.  I did something I never do — I read a book out of order in a series.  OK, so not a big, earth shattering confession but I felt I needed to say that for readers of this series.  I’ve heard fabulous things about the Lady Julia Grey novels and have been meaning to read one for a long time.  So when I saw this one on NetGalley I requested it and proceeded to read with abandon. Yes, abandon people.

I feel I should warn of spoilers since this is a series so here you have it but since I haven’t read any of the previous books, I can’t be sure that’s an accurate statement.

Lady Julia Grey is now back in London navigating and negotiating her marriage to Brisbane.  While the two are very much in love, it’s Julia’s insistence on being a true and full partner in Brisbane’s life, which includes his work as an investigator and private detective, that’s causing a small wrinkle in their otherwise happy marriage.  He balks but she insists, and being Julia, she wins.  Brisbane does everything to keep her out of his latest case, including building her a photography studio as a distraction, but Julia manages to not only get involved but also nearly get herself killed in the process.

This book was so entertaining and if they’re all like this, I want to read them all now.  Julia and Brisbane are a great couple and for as annoying as she can be, Julia’s delightful.  Obviously, there’s much I missed in regard to the relationship but I didn’t feel lost which is a testament to Raybourn’s.  She gives you enough to go on and lets you fill in the rest, which in a series I don’t mind and was perfectly at home with here.

There’s one more thing I need to mention — I didn’t care who the killer was.  Remember, a mystery is at the heart of this story, and I don’t usually pick up mysteries because I mostly spend my time trying to figure out who did it without paying attention to characters or plot.  Here, I didn’t even care who did it and I didn’t read ahead which is HUGE for me.  A first actually.  Maybe I finally found the right mix for me when it comes to a mystery; I need ghosts and really great characters.  Also, the romance is good.  I must say this because I’m pretty sure from reading this one installment that many readers are invested in this relationship too.

I probably don’t have to say this but I will anyway — I plan to go back and read the four previous books in this series.  If this one was any indication of the goodness I will be experiencing, I will be a very happy reader.

I downloaded an advanced review copy of this book from NetGalley.

Review – A Clash of Kings

/ justbookreading / Leave a comment

A Clash of Kings

By George RR Martin

Bantam Books

eISBN: 978-0-553-89785-2

5 stars

Spoilers abound so feel free to skip this review if you want to read the series yourself and experience it without my opinions.  No feelings will be hurt in the process.  And, honestly, I don’t know how else to write this review without spoilers considering so much is going on in this series.

If you’re interested, my thoughts on A Game of Thrones can be found here.

In reading about these books, one thing that always comes up is that Martin if not a writer afraid of killing off main characters.  I love this and hate it at the same time — I become attached and he takes away just like that.   A shame but it’s also wondrous.  He’s writing about a medieval world where people are constantly fighting and in most cases, one or more lose their heads.  The death of main characters in his books makes total sense when you look at on the whole.

Beginning A Clash of Kings exactly where A Game of Thrones left off, Eddard Stark has lost his head, taken off by the new boy king, Joffrey, who spends his days being cruel to Stark’s daughter, Sansa, who was promised to be his wife.  All of Westeros is at war with no less than four men proclaiming themselves king including Robb Stark who now calls himself King of the North.  The capital, King’s Landing, is in flux with Joffrey as king, her mother Cersei playing Queen’s Regent, and her dwarf brother, Tyrion, acting as the hand to the king.  Chances for peace low, fighting goes on with everyone dying at a rate one has trouble imagining.  Daenerys, a young widow but still refusing to accept the loss of her power now that she’s tasted it, is still contemplating how to return and Jon Snow, Stark’s bastard son, is finding life as a member of the Night’s Watch more dark and despairing than he ever thought possible.

Wow.  If I had to use one word that would be all I need to describe this book.  Martin tells this story from 7, 11, 13 (I didn’t count them all but there are many) points of view.  It feels overwhelming sometimes but there’s too much going to and you can’t put it down.  You keep reading and reading interested to know what’s going to happen to each and every character.  You have that much invested.

For as much as I want to keep going with this series, I’m taking it very slow.  I could simply devour every one of these books one after the other, but I won’t.  I’m forcing myself to take it slow; one book every few months.  I’m doing this for several reasons: 1.) it’s a planned seven book series, only five books are written with the fifth coming out this July; 2.) if I come to the end of book five with nothing to look forward to for years, I may go into some sort of withdrawal and I can’t have that.

If you have a chance to pick up this series, do it.  It’s intimidating, 800+ pages, but the story is so good, fantastic really, that you’ll be completely entranced.  I highly recommend this book and the whole series, even though I’m only on book two.

Today’s Book – A Clash of Kings

/ justbookreading / Leave a comment

The problem with oversleeping is the lack of time one has afterwords which results in short posts like this one.  I’m reading A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin.  In one word: fantastic.  Read it, after A Game of Thrones of course otherwise confusion might reign.  That is all I have time for, again, the oversleeping.

Review – A Conspiracy of Kings

/ justbookreading / 5 Comments

A Conspiracy of Kings

By Megan Whalen Turner

Greenwillow Books

ISBN: 9780061870934

4 stars

A Conspiracy of Kings in the fourth book in The Thief series.  I don’t know that I loved this one, which is supposedly the final book in the series, as much as the previous three, but I did enjoy it.

Sophos of Sounis is more concerned with complaining about his tutor than with the fact that he may one day be the King of Sounis.  When his father’s villa is attacked, he gets the chance to figure out whether or not he has what it takes to be King of Sounis.

I missed Sophos in the last two books.  He’s a likable character in The Thief but here, well, I wanted to slap him and yell at him to grow up.  He’s going to be King, let’s face it, you know he is, and his land is at war and all he can think to do is whine about the tutor he can’t stand because he thinks he’s smarter than him.  And while that might be true, it just shows you how childish he is.  When he finds himself a slave in one of his father’s Barons’ household, he thinks about staying there because it’s easier to let someone else make decisions which made me wonder why I liked him in the first place.  But then he finds out there’s more to him than even he thought and the rest flowed, although I did miss Gen, the King of Attolia and the former Thief of Eddis, in this book.  Gen was a whiner too but there was something still so likable about him because you knew he was doing it to hide something.  Sophos just whined.  This one is all about Sophos and while he’s good, he’s no Gen.

I’m slightly annoyed though.  It did end on a good wrap-up note but I feel there is still more and I don’t know if another book is planned — must Google!  Otherwise, it has been a satisfying series and I recommend it.

Tuesday Teaser – A Conspiracy of Kings

/ justbookreading / 6 Comments

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.  The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

Play along: Grab your current read; Open to a random page; Share two teaser sentences from that page; Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

I’m reading A Conspiracy of Kings by Meghan Whalen Turner, which is the final book in The Thief series.

“I think my face must have made it clear what I thought of that. ‘And my abduction?’ I asked pointedly.” (pg. 220)

Review – A Game of Thrones

/ justbookreading / 5 Comments

A Game of Thrones: Book One of A Song of Fire and Ice

By George RR Martin

Bantam Spectra
eISBN: 978055389784-5

5 stars

A Game of Thrones has been on my radar, way out there, but it was there.  I thought about reading it a few times but never quite found the time.  Then HBO announced it would be producing a series based on the book, and yet, I still put it off.  So in December I finally got around to picking it up and what can I say other than I am completely and utter in love with this book, the world, and the characters.  Without me listing, and believe me when I say it would be a long list, let’s just say everything about it is great.  Yes, it’s that good.

Now for the dilemma — how do I describe this book?  It’s epic fantasy, it’s long (over 700 pages on my Nook), it’s also violent at times but so fantastically told that it’s almost impossible to put the book down.  I don’t want to give too much away (which is very hard for a person who loves spoilers) so my description will be short and somewhat vague.  The story takes place in a medieval world that resembles England.  Kings, queens, knights, court politics, and drama infuse the story with a richness that rivals any good bit of historical fiction.  But there’s something more.  In the world of the Seven Kingdoms, the king rules from the Iron Throne.  When King Robert calls upon Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell to act as his councilor, all hell breaks loose in the realm and no matter what Stark does, there will be no way to keep a war from starting.  The political struggle for the throne is the main story which all others revolve but there’s also a Wall that looms heavy in the background.  What lies beyond the Wall that was built to keep the realm safe is an army of the dead and while not much is offered up on what and who they are, they add a dark overtone to the story that can only be bad.  In the Seven Kingdoms, winter can last decades so when people say winter is coming it adds a foreboding to the amazing world that makes you want to dive into the next book immediately.

So, are you confused now?  Maybe a little frustrated with me for not offering more?  Please don’t be.  I’m a person who loves spoilers but I think this a book that has to be read to understand the amazing world created by Martin.  Yes, it holds true to basic fantasy (witches, spells, and dragons) but the weight added by the political drama brings the story to a new level.  Each chapter is told from the perspective of a single character which I’ll add was a little daunting in the beginning because the cast of characters and references is long and complicated, and while it may take a minute to adjust, it flows smoothly from there.  From Eddard Stark who is called to court to be the Hand of the King, to understanding the dreams and persistence of his daughters who came to court with him, to his wife Catelyn who suffers heartache over their young son’s injury, to his son Robb who must rule in his place, to the annoyances of the King, the lives of Queen’s brothers, to the brothers who protect and patrol the Wall, and the life of a forgotten ruler’s daughter who is poised to attack to regain a lost kingdom.

Yes, there’s a lot going on in this book but don’t let that deter you.  Martin manages to walk a fine line that threatens to spill into overindulgence, but it never happens.  What does happen is pure enchantment.  His world building is amazing and it doesn’t take long to get sucked into it.  It’s dark, violent, and bloody, but fits with the story and never feels overdone.  If you’re looking for a great fantasy novel, A Game of Thrones is it.

The Last Kingdom

/ justbookreading / 4 Comments

The Last Kingdom

By Bernard Cornwell

Harper Collins Publishers

ISBN: 0-06-053051-0

4.5 stars

I’m on a mission to read all the Cornwell books in my library and that’s a rather long list so it may take me a while.  The good news is that I will be entertained by the challenge I’m setting for myself.  This latest series I’m starting features Saxons and that’s a topic I fully enjoy.

Uhtred, a boy of ten, joins his father in battle against the invading Danes.  He’s the son of a nobleman and, thanks to the death of his oldest brother during the battle, heir to his father’s English lands.  In the same battle that leaves his father and brother dead, Uhtred is captured by the Danes.  Earl Ragnar, the Danish chieftain that defeated his father, raises Uhtred as his own teaching him to fight like a Viking.  Expected to fight the English alongside his Danish tribe, he fights an internal battle between his loyalty to Ragnar, who loved him as a son, and to his English heritage and the new king, Alfred.  Uhtred feels little loyalty toward Alfred and doesn’t like him on a personal level, but he clings to his dream of ruling his homelands someday.  Fortunately for Uhtred, he prefers battle to loyalties and would rather fight than worry about the person on the other side of the shield wall or political implications.

The Danish way of life portrayed in this book is brutal but it’s hard to dislike the Danes simply because of the love they show for Uhtred, and even when he decides that he must fight for the English, don’t hold it against him as they value his sense of loyalty which they instilled in him.  Alfred is a thoroughly unlikable person, and along with Uhtred, I had trouble liking him but you still have to appreciate his cunning.  Uhtred managed several times to get caught up in Alfred’s plans and being young, cocky, and willing to think with his fists instead of his brain, he walks right into situations that get him in trouble.  That’s also what makes him extraordinarily likable.  He’s flawed, frequently irrational, and single minded in his thinking sometimes, but he believes what he’s doing is right and you agree with him.

Cornwell, and I have probably said this before, has an amazing talent for writing historical fiction.  The details make his stories and each time I finish a book I immediately want to pick up the next in the series.  I have been trying to pace myself so I don’t burn out because while I always enjoy his books, they tend toward the violent aspects of war and I sometimes find myself needing a break to forget the sound of swords crashing against bone.

Religion plays a large part in this story as Alfred is extremely pious but Uhtred, who veers more toward the pagan, is an equal opportunity believer who is happy to let his king think he has found god and secretly prefer to ask Thor and Odin for their assistance in battle.  It’s an amusing side-story and I’m sure one that will be developed more as these types of religious battles seem to always find a place in Cornwell’s books.  It’s never overpowering but always presents enough of an internal battle for a character to be an interesting element.

There are five books in the Saxon series and I’m looking forward to more.