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Goddess of Yesterday
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
First off, I should say that I absolutely love Greek mythology. I do not consider myself sufficiently schooled in the subject, but it is a passion of mine. I do not, however, like reading about the Trojan War. Therefore, I was a bit iffy when I request this book from book swap on goodreads.com . After reading it, I was pleased that the novel barely touched on the war.

There are so many thing that I love about this book that I don’t know if I can even fit it all into one review. I normally do not like narratives, but I think this novel wouldn’t have been the same if it hadn’t been. When it first starts, the main character, Anaxandra, is only 5 years old and , thus, narrates through the eyes of a five year old (who knows how to express herself very well…). As the story progresses and Anaxandra grows older, the way she thinks and talks also evolves. You almost feel as if you grow with her, learning the things that she does and experiencing what she does with such clarity.

From page one, the plot unfolds, another thing I adore about any book. There is no excessive detail or long drawn out explanations of anything. Cooney wastes no time with excessive writing when she can sufficiently say it in a few sentences. Something I thought was very realistic considering the narrator. It almost reads like a stream on consciousness. It isn’t staccato and rough like Hemingway’s writing, reading smoothing while still sounding like what is going through a young girl's mind during the time.

The plot actually wasn’t too complicated. A young girl is given to a king as a companion for his daughter. Their village is sacked when she is older and she lies to Menalaus to save herself and thus becomes a companion for his young daughter. Helen meets Paris, and the rest is history. It sounds simple enough, but every page had something on it that progressed the storyline. It seemed that something was always happening.

Cooney's Helen of Troy had me clutching my book firmly in my claws, trying not to through it across the room in rage. I always picture Helen of Troy as a narcisstic woman who should have been put in her place. Cooney portrayed just that: a woman so caught in her own supposed birthright, beauty, and self bestowed power that, at time, Helen acted as if she was a goddess herself. She had accepted her life but was bored with it. It wasn't until someone as equally gorgeous and captivating as her came along, Paris, did she gain the courage to finally defy her husband.

I equally agreed with Cooney's portrayal of Paris. The young prince, who was also known to be quite the stud of his time, just bragged about his conquests and skills, of which, in truth, he had none.

What is not to love about two people wrapped up in themselves actually falling in love with each other? I wondered if they were only in love with the idea of them having a mate that compared to their unsurpassable looks.

All in all, there were far to many things in this novel that made me place it back on my shelf instead of donating it once I had finished. It lacks a certain maturity that I had grown use to from the other novels I have been reading as of late, but considering it is a young adult novel, I think Cooney can be forgiven for such a triviality.

If you like fiction about ancient Greece and Greek Mythology, I whole-heartedly recommend this little gem.
  
The City of Brass: Daevabad Trilogy
The City of Brass: Daevabad Trilogy
S.A. Chakraborty | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.6 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fantastic world-building (1 more)
Character Development
Slightly confusing terms (0 more)
So much to say about this outstanding debut novel! First I'd like to address the issues around the author, then I'll delve into the book itself. (It's fantastic, though!)

So the book has been touted as an "own voices" novel, seemingly much to the author's chagrin. She is Muslim, but she's a white convert (Chakraborty is her married name). She has striven to correct the misconception about her ethnicity when she finds it, tweeting about it and talking about it in interviews. (This interview is a good example.) Because the book is pure fantasy, in a fantasy realm after the first few chapters, I'm not too worried about it not actually being written by a middle-eastern author. She does note in the interview I linked that she's not qualified to write some stories because of her ethnicity, and I appreciate that recognition of privilege. As far as I can tell, (as a white person myself) she did justice to the bits of mythology that she included. (Given the reception by people who were so excited about it being an Own Voices book, I think I'm probably right.) Her twitter (@SChakrabs) is FULL of links to minority authors and retweets about their books. I am very impressed by the level of her advocacy for minority authors.

So that aside, I LOVED THIS BOOK. I almost always enjoy fantasy inspired by non-western mythology: Children of Blood and Bone was fantastic, and though Forest of a Thousand Lanterns had a western fairytale at its heart, being reimagined through an Asian lense was really neat to read. The Bear and The Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower were Russian inspired, as were The Crown's Game/The Crown's Fate. I really do try to pick up non-western inspired fantasy when I can. City of Brass scratched that itch perfectly.

City of Brass opens in Cairo, where our heroine, Nahri, is a con-woman with small healing magics. When a ritual goes awry, she's thrust into the world of the djinn. It's when Nahri and her accidental bodyguard, Dara, arrive at the Djinns' city of Daevabad that the story really gets started.

I'm still a little confused about the difference between djinn and Daeva; Daeva seem to be one of the tribes but also the name for the entire race, and some of them get offended at being called djinn but some of them don't? I'm not really sure about that distinction. There is a clear line between djinn and Ifrit, though - Ifrit are immensely powerful, immortal beings who refused to subject themselves to punishment many centuries ago. I'm not sure I actually see a downside to being Ifrit, other than the djinn all think they're evil. The Ifrit, however, are out to get Nahri, and Dara's not having any of THAT.

I love Dara - he's a fascinating character, with a violent, mysterious backstory. I'm very eager to read more about him and figure out exactly what's up with his background. Nahri is also awesome - a little arrogant, but by the end of the book she's starting to learn she might need help from those around her. Unfortunately, also by the end of the book she doesn't know who to trust. The naive djinn prince, Ali, is the third main character of the book, and while I can see him having an interesting story, his personality is still a little flat. Hopefully the second book will see advancement in all three of these characters' personalities.

And I can't WAIT for the second book! City of Brass didn't exactly end on a cliffhanger, but it did leave many questions unanswered and our main characters' fates uncertain. Unfortunately, I can't find any information on the sequel, just that it's being edited. No release date or title yet.

Read this book. It's fantastic.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
  
Thunder Hunter (Viking Soul #1)
Thunder Hunter (Viking Soul #1)
Rachel Medhurst | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Thunder Hunter (Viking Soul #1) by Rachel Medhurst
Thunder Hunter starts off many years ago, with Loki and Thor fighting. Freya is there too, plus many others, all of whom will die unless something changes. What changes is Loki kills Thor, but Freya puts Thor's power inside his grandson. Trygger must find all of the Fallen Ones before he can die, no matter how long it takes. Once that has happened, Thor will live, and Trygger will die at last, and live among the gods. Fast forward a few years, and Trygger only has five more to find. He as lived through many assassination attempts by Loki's descendants, and has killed more than his fair share too. And then Freya decides she will help him, by sending one of her descendants, Chloe.

I have to be honest, there were parts that I really enjoyed in this book, but there were also parts that I didn't like. Trygger has been by himself for a long time, and has focused only on completing his task so that he can die. Along the way, he has lost most of society's "niceties", but that doesn't stop EVERY. SINGLE. WOMAN. from throwing herself at him. Even if her job is to kill him! Sorry, but I don't get that bit. Also, he said that he never had women stay over at his place, but he has on hand a little black dress from someone he has killed just lying around!

This was an enjoyable book if you don't look to deeply at it. I'm not entirely sure where the story is going, which is a good thing, but I don't think I'll be reading any further along. If you enjoy tales of Norse mythology though, I would definitely recommend it to you.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
The Prey of Gods
The Prey of Gods
Nicky Drayden | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well written, diverse characters, super unique plot (0 more)
Amazeballs!
Amazeballs. Bananapants. Just WOW! All accurate descriptions of my feelings about this book. To say the plot is extraordinarily unique would be an understatement. I can honestly say I have never read anything quite like it and I mean that in the best way possible. A crab and a dolphin in flagrante delicto? Sure, why not?

Set in Africa in the future, it features a cast of wonderfully diverse characters, whose DNA is altered through the use of a new designer drug allowing them to tap into divine superpowers they never knew they had, allied with newly sentient household robots, in a fight to save the world from an evil ancient demigoddess. Sounds wild, right? That’s because it is. It is also 100% pure greatness, not from concentrate.

This isn’t a book that eases you into its craziness. It begins with the preparation of a circumcision to be followed by a celebratory party. Within the first chapter we find out about the whole crab and dolphin thing. (Sorry y’all, trying to avoid spoilers here lol.) I enjoyed seeing this particular romance develop and unfold throughout the story, in such a strange world it was a refreshing spot of sweet and normal. Well, as normal as it could be in this book lol. I also liked seeing the way the author brought sentience to the robots and how they even developed their own personalities and loyalties. There honestly wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this. The numerous threads and subplots were each well developed and expertly woven together into a cohesive story, the characters were just awesome, the world building and mythology were well done and easy to imagine, the writing style and pacing had me hooked from page one. It’s just really well done on every level.

By far the most original and compelling book I’ve read so far this year. Nicky Drayden is definitely an author to watch! Highly recommended; two super enthusiastic thumbs up; five solid sun-sized stars!
  
Empress of All Seasons
Empress of All Seasons
Emiko Jean | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
7
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Characters (2 more)
World-building
Japanese mythology
Old, tired tropes (0 more)
I am so torn on this book. I'm really tired of the trope of "batch of girls competing to win a dude" that seems to be so popular lately. But this is an Asian take on the trope, so I don't want to come down too hard on it for that. I attended a panel at the last Baltimore Book Festival about old tropes being resurrected by minority authors, and I agree that just because a trope might seem old and played out, putting a new spin on it with minority characters and themes deserves its own time. That is definitely valid. But they were talking about tropes like vampires and zombies and retold classics like Pride and Prejudice and Alice in Wonderland. I'm not sure the trope of "girls competing to win a dude" deserves more time in any form. (To be fair, I kind of equally hate guys competing to win the hand of the princess. No one should be obligated to marry someone just because they won an arbitrary competition. There are all kinds of consent issues there.)

Despite that, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters, the variety of yõkai, the bits of myth interspersed throughout the book. I do question Akira being trained to be a master of shuriken in a matter of days - like, really? And I wish instead of summarizing a ton in the epilogue, she'd just written a sequel, because I think there's enough material to do it. You'd think, with so much I didn't like about the book, that my overall opinion would be negative - but it's not. Even with all of those bad points, this book was enthralling and kept me reading right to the end.

Empress of all Seasons is a great Japanese-inspired fantasy that relies a little too much on old tropes. Set your inner critic to the side and just enjoy the ride, because the story is fantastic.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
  
SO
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa brings Japanese mythology and folklore to life, taking readers on an exciting journey through feudal Japan, Kagawa weaves together three characters from different backgrounds all while introducing readers to a wide variety of demons the characters come across. The novel follows these characters as a new age approaches and the Kami Dragon is summoned, granting a wish to the one who holds the pieces of the Dragon Scroll.

Shadow of the Fox is primarily told in the two perspectives of Yumeko and Tatsumi, with the occasional addition of a third. Yumeko is a half-kitsune, half-human raised at the Silent Winds temple to hide her true kitsune nature, though she is forced to flee after everyone is slaughtered by a demon who wants to retrieve a part of the scroll. Readers interested in seeing kitsune magic coming to life on the page may find themselves disappointed as Yumeko shows little of her magic and hides her true nature from her companions.

One of those companions includes Tatsumi, a samurai from the Shadow Clan ordered to bring the Dragon Scroll regardless of the cost. Raised as a weapon, Tatsumi is taught from a young age to hide all of his emotions and thoughts from those around him as doing so would pose a danger. Not able to accomplish his mission right away, he finds himself in an unlikely alliance with Yumeko and begins to question his upbringing.

The first novel in a stunning new series, Shadow of the Fox is a magical adventure with an ominous feel throughout and will have readers wanting the sequel to the story.

<a href="https://60secondsmag.com/review-shadow-of-the-fox/">This review was originally posted on 60 Seconds Online Magazine</a>.
  
TB
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b><i>I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
When I first read <i><a href="http://www.bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-the-prophecy-of-shadows-by-michelle-madow"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Prophecy of Shadows</a></i>, the book felt really slow. The pacing just didn’t feel right and there wasn’t enough action. But the series showed promise to get better (and like with any other book, there’s the risk of the sequel being worse than that first book), so when I saw <i>The Blood of the Hydra </i>being available on Netgalley for request, I jumped at the chance because I wanted to see if the series would get better.

And I have to say: Wow. Despite the book has the feel of a love triangle on the horizon, <i>The Blood of the Hydra</i> is more interesting - Madow incorporates more mythology (rather than the first book, when Nicole is new to the world and learning everything about it). The characters undergo a development - in the first book, there’s a bit of tension and a division, yet a sense of unity, among the five witches. In the sequel, there is still tension, but that tension from the first has noticeably died down.

<i>The Blood of the Hydra</i> is also more action packed than the first book. More monsters and more fighting involved - honestly, I enjoyed the sequel more than <i>The Prophecy of Shadows</i> and cannot wait to continue the series.

Side Note: I know I reviewed the third book before the second. Shh.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/mini-reviews-pt-2-zac-brewer-amie-kaufman-meagan-spooner-michelle-madow-dawn-rae-miller-jamie-blair/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>