Paperback Book Review: The Summer Country

Title: The Summer Country
Author: James A. Hetley
Series: 1 of ?
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Ace
Page Count: 360
Type of Book: Paperback, Book I Own

 

Based off the title of the book, and the brightness of the cover, this is actually kind of a dark fantasy book filled with fae, druids, magic, a dragon, and cats. There’s even falcons and other types of birds listed in the book towards the back half of the story as well. This book has an odd assortmet of animals all around, actually, some that might surprise you in the end.

This book features a young woman named Maureen, who is dealing with a traumatic event from her childhood and trying to get over it and be normal as an adult. She was raped as a child by Buddy Johnson, a boy that her sister had gone out with at the age of fourteen when she was just beginning to understand why she liked boys and why boys liked girls. Maureen still hasn’t gotten over it, and doesn’t trust males with a ten foot pole.

It eventually turns from the normal world to the magical world, where a man is following her and that man-named Brian-eventually brings her into an ancient war of prophecies, women with power, and ancient blood that still sings. This book is a like that of a fine irish whiskey-so says Charles de Lint, and I strongly agree with him, even though I’ve never had whiskey, let alone irish whiskey in my life. It looks like an innocent light-hearted fun book, but there’s a war going on that both sides are determined to win for various reasons.

As to the story itself-its not original in that there’s Pendragons and Merlins and Arthurs type story, but the way its written, and the feel of the story is like a breathe of fresh air in a foreign country that you’ve forgotten about over time. There’s different kinds of magic involved-both good and bad, and there’s all kinds of plot twists that you don’t see coming.

I really loved the depth of the characters in the book, the villains were definitely evil enough to be realistic, and the heroes weren’t always brave either which made me happy for variety. There’s also music, and poetry-a lot of Shakespeare mentioned towards the end of the book. There’s a variety of all kinds of magical things in here to tickle your fancy, if you’ll give it a try.

I’m fairly sure that this is the first in a series, but not positive. And I’m currently checking on Goodreads to see if it is or not…and, yes, it is! Book one of yet another series that apparently I’m now invested in.

 

4.5 stars!

Paperback Book Review: Binti

Title: Binti

Author: Nnedi Okorafor

Series: 1 of ?

Genre: Science Fiction

Page Count 91

Publisher:  Tor

Type of Book: Paperback, Novella

Rated: 4.9/5 Stars!

Binti was a belated Christmas present by my grandmother who asked what I wanted this year, and I said books. I gave her a list of some of the most anticipated reads, and what kind of things I liked, and she found Binti among them. Granted, it was a lot shorter than either of us realized, but it was also very entertaining. My only single complaint was how short it is! I want more! 91 pages isn’t nearly enough for the excellent world-building that the author does!

I’ve been seeing this book pop up all over my social blogs that I follow, and am glad to jump on the band-wagon while the book is still fresh and popular. I also am pleased to add to the hype of this book, even despite how ridiculously short this book is. It was also yet another read for my mother, who only has time for ridiculously short books, and she too enjoyed this one immensely.

I really am interested to see if this will be turned into a television show or movie set. It would be a fascinating movie/tv show, and I know a lot of people would be eager to see it if it came to be.

Binti, herself, is one of my most favorite literary characters of the year. I really admire her strength in going out and achieving her dreams…even if her dreams are waylaid by mysterious dangerous aliens that only she can communicate with. I really felt as though Binti was a different version of Uhura from Star Trek, but only more bad ass than usual!

I can’t say enough good things about Binti. It was wonderful, epic, grand in scope. The characters were fascinating, and her people were intriguing. I loved everything about Binti, but I do wish that it was longer, and just…

I need more.

I rate this book an almost even 5 stars, only one part of a star taken off because its so short.

And now, as I’m adding the rest of the Binti series to my Amazon wishlist, you can,

-Pass Me That Book

 

Paperback Book Review: Traitor’s Blade

Title: Traitor’s Blade
Author: Sebastien de Castell
Series: 1 out of ?
Genre: Fantasy
Page Count: 370
Type of Book: Library Paperback
Rated: 4/5 stars

Traitor’s Blade took me by surprise. On the one hand, I loved the characters and the world that the book contained. It was a fun read, fast paced, gritty and full of sarcastic characters that those who follow my blog may know by now that I love sarcastic assholes. Especially funny, caring, tough but soft in the center sarcastic assholes.

This book started off strong, and just kept right on going. It didn’t pause in the plot, the action, or the death scenes-this guy clearly took a page out of George R. R. Martin’s book, because I swear it felt like a character died in every chapter. There’s torture involved, a particularly harsh scene with a horse at the end that made me cringe in sympathy and horror, and there’s even a girl that made my heart bleed due to her tragic backstory, and how she acted throughout the book.

The characters may have made the story, but I think it was really Falcio-the main character-who brought the story home. His sharp wit, his bitterness at the unfairness of the world, his don’t stop until you die attitude made me fall hard for his character.

My only real complaint was the end of the book, setting it up for book two. It wasn’t a strong cliffhanger that just cuts off abruptly, it did wrap things off, but there was a lot of unresolved issues, it felt like.

Still, I really loved this book, and was surprised at how much I wound up enjoying it. A lot of reviewers either loved it or found it lacking, some even giving it two stars. I think the story itself was a fine way to pass an afternoon.

Four and a half stars out of five.

Now that I’ve finished this book, however, I need another one. So,

-Pass Me That Book

{This review was posted on Goodreads and my blog at Pass Me That Book. You can find the link to my blog on my Goodreads homepage.}

 

Netgalley Review: Keep Her Safe

{Look! I reviewed in time! And I thought I wouldn’t make it! Ha!}

Title: Keep Her Safe
Author: K.A. Tucker
Series: ?
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 448
Type of Book: Netgalley Ebook
Rated: 5/5 stars!

 

I rarely like thrillers. I rarely read thrillers. And yet, I’ve heard so much about this book that I had to try it out. And wound up falling in love with it, as cliche as it sounds. This book surprised me. It kept me up till 1 in the morning, eagerly flipping through to the very end. And what a bitter sweet ending it was!

I’ve never before read a K.A. Tucker book. I haven’t even really heard of K.A. Tucker until this book started floating around the blogs that I read that isn’t mainly scifi/fantasy. But the main attraction of this book was the cover, and it sounded interesting. It’s described as Making a Murderer meets Scandal. I’ve never watched Making a Murderer though I have, on occasion when nothing else was on, watched Scandal. And it fits, though I like to think of it as more along the lines of Law and Order: SVU meets Scandal.

To get into the nitty gritty-there’s suicides. There’s murder. There’s a scene that talks about child sexual abuse. There’s that same child who runs away. It’s got a teenager struggling to live in a shitty trailer park home, surrounded by drug dealers, wife beaters, and other such lovely people. *note the sarcasm* Basically if you have a rough past, and triggers, stay away from this book. Because it has all the *feels*.

I liked Noah best out of the characters of this book, but I also really identified with Gracie, the girl who lived in a horrible trailer park. The two of them together were my favorite parts of the book, and some of the only happiness that they found together. Both had terrible family history with one another, that made them separate and bring them back together years in the future. The both of them work together to fix what their families had wrought upon the world.

But every character had a deep personality that was startling and refreshing. Every one of them had reasons for doing things, reasons for living-reasons for dying. It made for a gripping read, and I read every page with avid interest.

My only complaint was the ending. I like happy endings. And this ending, while it had some good points, was more terribly sad than anything. Supposedly there’s a companion novel to this, though I don’t recall what the title was.

Nonetheless, this book is definitely worth reading, though be prepared for staying up all hours of the night trying to finish!

In the meantime, now that I’m done with this book, you can

-Pass Me That Book

Paperback Book Review: Leviathan Wakes

Title: Leviathan Wakes
Author: James S. A. Corey
Series: Book 1
Genre: Science Fiction/Space Opera
Page Count: 560
Publisher: Orbits
Rated: 4.5/5 stars!

Leviathan Wakes is an impossibly big monster of a book. It sucks you in and there is so much of it, that you keep reading and reading and wondering if there is ever going to be an end to it. But it’s also on hell of a fun ride!

It reminds me very strongly of Firefly, in regards to the crew. In regards to the plot, it kinda makes me think of that young ya novel called “Illuminae”, which was a lot of fun too, and this book has just as much casting if not more so. It makes George R.R. Martin’s killing off characters seem small in comparison as well, so don’t go getting attached to anyone.

The chapters alternate between two character POVS: Miller and Holden. At first, I was more interested in Holden, but towards the end I felt more for Miller than I did Holden. Usually I just stick with one of character pov, and be done with it, but apparently not this time. This time, I had to go back and read chapters that I skimmed over because I wanted my favorite character, and wound up missing things anyway.

This book’s plot is a monster of a thing. You won’t see things coming. Which makes it all part of the fun.

Though admittedly, I did get rather angry at the ending. I mean, really? That’s how this first book ends? I can’t say because of spoilers, but…come on! That isn’t how things are supposed to go! At least, that’s not how I wanted things to go!

The book is long, true. At 560 pages, it took me three and a half days to finish it, mostly in part because I had to go back and read over what I skimmed as well. It’s long, but it’s well worth it. You’ll find yourself laughing often, it’s got loads of humor, and plenty of sarcastic assholes as well-my type of characters.

We’ve even got Reavers zombies in this massive space opera drama, which made it even cooler and more fun than I thought possible.

I’m all for getting the second book, because if it’s as fun as the first one, then why would I want to miss out on it? Apart from length, this book earned every star I gave it which in total equals 4.5 stars. A very high rating, and well deserved!

I definitely look forward to these two authors writing as one, but in the meantime, I’ve other books to read too while I wait. So-

Pass Me That Book!

Paperback Book Review: Glimmerglass

Title: Glimmerglass
Author: Jenna Black
Series: Book 1/?
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Page Count: 295
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Type of Book: Library, Paperback
Rated: 4.2/5 stars

“I was trapped in Avalon. My Aunt was hunting me, my dad was in jail, and the only people who seemed to be on my side were a pair of Fae teenagers I barely knew.”

Dana Hathaway is the main character of this book, with an alcoholic mom and a father she’s never known who is supposedly a powerful Fae that lives in Avalon, which is in England (I believe). Avalon is a magical place on Earth, in an alternate Earth, where there are two worlds that intersect-Fae and Mortal. Most mortals don’t know about the Fae, or don’t believe in them. Dana Hathaway knows, however, that she is not normal. She is a half breed-half human, half Fae, and that makes her a Fairiewalker.

This book reminded me very strongly of a couple of other favorite fae type stories: The Iron Daughter series by Julie Kagawa, and the Switched series by Amanda Hocking. I really enjoyed this book, though I did wish that the main character wasn’t quite so naive. She runs away from her mother after her mother embarrasses her at a voice recital, and flees to her father…never realizing that this might have consequences. For one thing, she winds up meeting her Aunt Grace who is not as she first appears, and then she meets Ethan and Kimber who are siblings, in another dangerous situation. There are many attempts made on her life, and the usual ‘why is everything and everyone trying to kill me’ trope.

Turns out, she’s wanted by all kinds of fairie; but especially wanted dead, if she can’t be controlled, or coerced to a certain side. She’s finally safe at her dad’s-seemingly, of course. She doesn’t trust him, not after everyone’s lied to her, tricked her, tried to kill her, and so forth.

Glimmerglass is a well written book, but the characters can be frustrating at times. My favorite character was easily Finn the bodyguard. Who reminded me very strongly of Artemis’s bodyguard in the book series Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.

This is the first book of a series, which I didn’t realize upon snagging this from the library, but that’s fine with me-I get to read more of an interesting world filled with action, adventure, and intrigue-as well as the cliche’d romance, as well.

I highly recommend this series for all to read, because of its unique storyline, and interesting plot. 4.2 out of five stars!

Now,

-Pass Me That Book!

Hardback Book Review: Every Heart a Doorway

Title: Every Heart a Doorway
Author: Seanan McGuire
Series: Book 1
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Tom Dohurty Assosiates, LLC
Page Count: 175
Rated: 5/5 Stars

Type of Book: Library

Every Heart a Doorway was a fantastical book. I loved all the characters, and it was one of those rare books that included a girl turned guy, an asexual female character, and twins! It starts off with a woman named Eleanor who persuades parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and other such relatives to send their children who weren’t ‘quite right’ after having vanished to her Home for Wayward Children. These are children who have opened doorways into other realms, other universes…and been sent back after a long period of time and now have to adjust to their lives once more. This is a place where Eleanor teaches them to adjust, or helps them to have a place to stay until they can figure out how to find the doorway back again.
Nancy is one such girl, and she arrives with her suitcase full of clothes and unease. She had been pretending she hadn’t left for so long, that when Eleanor asks her where she’d gone, she still lied through her teeth. But slowly, ever so slowly, she begins to realize that these people, these children, are just like her. While they haven’t gone to the universe she had, they still had gone to their own respective universes through various kinds of doorways.
Then a murder happens, and another. And soon they begin to realize that its not safe in the home. Someone is killing them, and they think it’s Nancy, or Jack-the girl who trained as a doctor in her world. Jack and Jill, her identical twin sister, are both struggling to keep together, while Nancy finds friendship with Jack, Kade, Sumi, and others.
The entirety of the book made me think of a darker version of Miss Peregrin’s Home For Peculiar Children, which I also loved.
While this review is short, the book was short as well at only 175 pages, I managed to finish it in one sitting in under two hours, trying to prolong this book because I loved it so. This is another book that I’ll treasure, and hopefully one day be able to go out and buy a copy of it.
At any rate, that’s this book review done, and now-
-Pass Me That Book!

Paperback Book Review: The Fifth Season

Title: The Fifth Season
Author: N.K. Jemisin
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction
Publisher: Orbit
Page Count: 468
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Type of Book: Library

If you don’t like books that swap between character povs, then this book probably will irritate you. But persist, and you will be shocked and rewarded and delighted at the end of the book. I cannot tell you without spoiling you, so I will make it so its harder to read and you can skip over it: the three characters are the exact same person who changes their name at different ages.

My favorite pov was Damara. She was, whole-heartedly, something new and fresh and original. I can’t say why I identified with her so much, only that I really, really got involved with her story. I spent the entire afternoon flipping through her chapters alone, and then when the book was done realized that I had to go back in order to fill in some of the blanks. I hate that about books, but it was also kind of fun doing that at the same time. For reasons above, see the spoiler as to why one has to go back and re-read the other characters to figure out what happens.

This book was different. It was new, and fresh, and original, and dealt with things in a new way. There were some things that I hated about it *SPOILER link* where Schauff breaks Damara’s hand just to see if she has control, for example.

Otherwise, this book wowd me, though it took a bit to do so to be honest. The writing was rather excellent, and this is the first NK book that I’ve read, and the first of a series. I don’t think I’ll read more of her books in this series, though I’m itching to test out The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, as it sounds a bit more my speed.

I read this book in mostly one sitting, being interrupted once for dinner. I highly recommend giving it a go, and can definitely agree with the hype that this book received, and that it was well worth the Hugo and Nebula Awards that it won as well.

4.5 stars out of 5.

Until next time,
Pass Me That Book!

Also as a sidenote: I’ve included a new thing with the organization of each review, where I say ‘type of thing’ at the end of title and author and so on. ‘Type of Thing’ has many variations such as: library book, wattpad novel, amazon ebook, random find, paperback, hardback, etc…I’m still trying to be very organized when it comes to books, as you can clearly see.

Hardback Book Review: The Aeronaut’s Windlass

Title: The Aeronaut’s Windlass
Author: Jim Butcher
Series: Book 1
Genre: Steampunk Fantasy
Page Count: 630
Publisher: Tor
Rated: 4.5/5 stars!

I read the A. Windless book in two and a half days, because I wanted the story to linger so it took a little longer to finish. Jim Butcher proceeds to be one of my most favorite fantasy authors in the fantasy genre! While this was a completely different world from that of Dresden Files, not to mention his other fantasy series that is underrated (in my opinion) the Furies series {look up name of series}, this one is still very “Jim Butcher” in that it’s unique, got loads of characters I adore, and has lots of drama, talking cats!, and airships.
This book starts off with a duel between a girl (a very ‘large’ girl!) and a guy that’s an entitled a**. It progresses to include talking cats, friendships that you didn’t see coming, enemies that you want to kill just because they’re that evil. The airship kinda makes me think of a blend between Firefly and Enterprise, especially in regards to the crew. Whether Jim Butcher made Journeyman out to be like Scotty of the engineering department, I don’t know. But that’s how I saw him as.
Gwen, Benedict, Rowl, Captain Grimm (or, in the cat’s terms Captain Tall Trees), and Littlemouse…I adored the entire cast. The bad guys were appropriately bad, and the good guys were awesome to the point that I couldn’t begin to decide who was my favorite. At first I thought it was Gwen, then I changed my mind to Benedict, then to Rowl, then to…well, you get the idea. There is quite the cast of characters in this book, that almost makes up having to read 630 pages! That’s a fair bit of reading to be done, and while I’m a fast reader, there’s a lot going on in this here monster of a book. Jim Butcher’s descriptions of airships in general is extensive. How one would fix engines so that they would go faster. How wood is so expensive for repairs. How the crew would mutiny if fed terrible food made by the Captain again. (I loved that scene.)
And then there’s Littlemouse, who has a cat! Or rather, the cat has her. Littlemouse, being not so little either. She was a brave, strong, true friend to all, especially to Folly and Gwen. And how could I have forgotten to mention Folly earlier? She is one of my real favorites! For some reason, I lean most towards the maddest character driven people in fantasy novels. Who knew? Then there’s her old Master Farus. He reminded me a lot of the old man in the Dragonlance series. What was his name? The old man who liked flinging fireballs…I have a very strong feeling that he and Master Farus would get a long splendidly. Those two would make for a dangerous combination.
Then there are the ships themselves. Captain Grimm’s Predator was my personal favorite, but I liked the ship names-the Itasca! The Valiant! The Thunderous! So many strong ship names!
I could blather on and on about this book, of which I didn’t think I would love nearly as much as I did by the end of it. My only real complaint was that ending. Jim Butcher, you stole my heart with this book, and I need another, please. I especially want more stories about cats coming in to save the day!
There were some mysteries-more than some, I think-left by the end of the book, though I can see why the author left it off as he did. At 630 pages, its a monster of a book, and there is still a large amount of the story to be resolved. The Enemy may have gotten away, and the Predator may need to be repaired (again) and they may have lost a large number of people throughout the book…
But at the end of it all, this was a truly unique, originally, heart in your throat read.
My hat goes off to you, Jim Butcher.
If by some chance you happen to see this review, I do hope you like it. A friend of mine insisted that I didn’t need to write a ten page review of the book, much though I wanted to.
So cheers,
And-
Pass Me That Book!

Bookstore Trip!

Today I get to go to the bookstore!

Which means that there will be more bookish hauls in the future. I’ve been reading less due to writing my own books, but I’m still actively reading throughout the day. I’ve a few that I’m working on now that are PDF files, but having physical books are always better, I think.

I plan on getting some more swords and sorcery type fantasy novels, because I’ve been feeling like reading those lately. I also want to find a copy of The Magicians by Lev Grossman. I’ve seen the show, and I read the book once before but its been some time, and I really want to own my own copy.

So, a trip to the bookstore, and I’m at the library now writing this up. Books abound! Its looking to be a beautiful day involving lots and lots of books!

Cheers!

Now-

Pass Me That Book!