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Book Review: The Far Pavilions

Hello Everyone,

Book Title: The Far Pavilions

Author: MM Kaye

Series: Book One of Two

Genre: Adult Fiction, Historical, Adventure, Romance

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Page Count: 1000

Goodreads Summary:

A magnificent romantic/historical/adventure novel set in India at the time of mutiny. The Far Pavilions is a story of 19th Century India, when the thin patina of English rule held down dangerously turbulent undercurrents. It is a story about and English man – Ashton Pelham-Martyn – brought up as a Hindu and his passionate, but dangerous love for an Indian princess. It’s a story of divided loyalties, of tender camaraderie, of greedy imperialism and of the clash between east and west. To the burning plains and snow-capped mountains of this great, humming continent, M.M. Kaye brings her quite exceptional gift of immediacy and meticulous historical accuracy, plus her insight into the human heart.

My Thoughts:

This book took me a solid week to read! Long winded, lots going on, a bit sexist here and there but those were the times, and I felt as though I would never finish reading this book. I learned there’s a part two. I’m not sure I’m going to read that, lol.

My Review:

This book was a struggle for me right from the start. While I was liking the adventure and the characters, it felt as though it went on and on and on. A 1000 pages of epic adventure, romance, and historical fiction at its best. While people adored Gone With The Wind this was the epic I wanted! The writing was lush, beautiful, and detailed.

I know a lot of newer book reviewers might not be enthusiastic about reading this 1000+ page time, but I’m insisting that it’s worth it! The ending is bittersweet, and the characters and setting will sweep you away. From India to England there’s something new to devour from each page.

The story starts with a premature baby being born in winter and the mother dying due to her not used to the fiercely cold winds. The story expands. It touches to n war. Cholera takes the baby-main character-father and uncle’s lives. More are lost. Travels are had.

This book does have it’s horribly sexist moments. While it’s a relic of the time it’s set in, there are certain things that are hugely sexist in the book. There’s dry spells here and there when it feels like nothing happened. And the ending was a slow burn that felt bittersweet; exactly as those on Google and Goodreads both have stated.

I feel as though this, while a hefty tome, is well worth the effort in reading. Especially if you’re a fan of Gone With The Wind and Outlander. This is equally as huge and well written as the pair.

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Until next time,

-Pass Me That Book

September TBR: I Haven’t Done One Of These In Ages!

Hello all,

Lots of things happening in September. September first is my birthday!!! 🎂🎉🎂 Happy birthday to me!!! (I’ll be 32 for those curious.)

Series September is also going on, meaning you try to knock out as many series as possible.

Magical Readathon is happening but I doubt I’ll participate in that one.

Becca’s Bookopolathon which I think I misspelled lol, is also happening. I’m not sure I will participate in this yet or not?

Big Books September is something I’m doing for myself in reading as many big books as I can seeing as we’re at the home stretch of the end of the year.

Here’s my potential tbr subject to change:

Now I have read Eragon books 1 + 2 but I don’t think I’ve read book 3 and I know I haven’t read the last one.

I have read the Poppy War but not the remaining two.

I have read ALL of Pawn of Prophecy first original set up until the second series midway through.

And I’ve read book one of Sabriel but not the rest.

See a theme going here? Lol. I’m hoping to grab these from my local library and finish these all off hopefully. The rest I haven’t listed are ones that I’ve not read. These are some extras that I’m contemplating for series + big books:

I probably won’t get to all of these lol. And I’m still struggling in writing reviews, but I really am behind and hopeful that September can be my catch up month. Y’all can join me in #BigBookSeptember. I’d love for you to spread the word! Just tag me on Twitter as @Lovesbookandtea! What’s your tbr looking like? Read any of these? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

-Pass Me That Book.

History or Mystery? Top Six Books On My TBR

Hello everyone,

I’ve got quite the hefty tbr going and so I thought I’d share some that I’m looking forward to reading here soon (I hope!). In no particular order these books are high on my wishlist to read:

A historical fiction piece about a group of men surviving in Alaska while the leader’s wife makes her own efforts to survive.

After losing her husband to war, a woman begins to become a well known midwife and leads a revolution.

A married couple become separated by war and husband believes that his wife has died when a chance encounter shows otherwise a few years later.

A woman goes on a hunt for lost art, and becomes involved in a mystery a painting believed to have been destroyed might actually be around after all.

A woman homicide detective returns to Ireland after clues show up of a long ago missing woman.

A woman begins to question that the man she loves might be a serial killer.

Each of these have elements history or mystery that I’m eager to explore. Some are new releases, while others are are backlist titles I’ve been meaning to get to for ages. Are any of these ones y’all have heard of? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

-Pass Me That Book

Hardback Review: Even the Darkest Stars

Title: Even the Darkest Stars
Author: Heather Fawcett
Publisher: Harper Collins
Page Count: 304
Genre: YA Fantasy

Review:

This book was high on my expectations list, and did not disappoint. The cover fit extremely well with the story, which made me happy. I loved the dark blue cover of the book, and the title, which was initially what made me snag this book from the library. I now want to buy my own copy at some point in the future, it was that good. My only complaint was that it left off at a cliffhanger (readers of this book might groan at the obvious pun).

This book had it all-pet foxes as familiars, witches, demons, dragons, mountain climbing in dangerous terrain, and searching for an item as a means of a quest. The characters were driven, each in their own way, towards their own goals. You didn’t know who to trust, who to believe in when they had their scenes. Although I think my favorite scene was imagining baby dragons heading towards Chirri’s cabin.

Magic was complex, there was history of their world, and the Nightwood was a fascinating topic that I wished was discussed more often, because it contained witches who had a long time grudge against the human empire from blocking them off from the rest of the world. There was also ghosts in this book, which was a startling surprise, and there were explorers…

I just loved this book so much.

The author drew me in slowly, and built up until I had reached the very end. I knew that their situation wouldn’t be resolved when I had fifty pages left, and by the time I hit fifteen pages before the end of the book I realized that this was going to be one of those authors whose books I would snap up in a heartbeat in the future. She writes as though everything is desperate, the characters are at deaths’ door, there’s no more choices left…

And it’s exciting reading, full of adventure, magic, and mystery. There’s Lusha with her ravens, and poor Aimo, and River, and Ragtooth, and all of the characters I just loved to pieces. The story was epic, the book lived up to its expectations, and I couldn’t ask for more-but I am. I want book two. I want it now. Please don’t tell me that this is how the story ends, because if that’s the case, then that’s a terribly sad ending.

Overall, I give this book five stars. It was worth the wait, and I’m glad that this is still helping me out of my reading slump as well.

Go, read the book. I’ll wait.

Until then,
Pass Me That Book!