Joy (The Dreughan #3)
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I’ve already killed for my family, and I’d do it again, without remorse. I am Troy, the happy...
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Swords & Riches
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An exciting adventure story with strong Christian values. In the world of Zera, even a simple...
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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The City of Brass: Daevabad Trilogy in Books
Mar 25, 2018
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
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The Grizzled
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Amy Norman (1042 KP) rated The Cruel Prince in Books
Apr 1, 2020
I have been lucky enough to pick up the follow up books one after the other, I think having to wait for the next parts would have been far too frustrating.
Holly weaves a fantastical world with perfectly imperfect characters, that you can't help but gravitate towards.
This was a great starter book but the next two in the series were even better.
If you enjoy fantasy lands that intersect with our own, combined with weird and wonderful creatures. Assassin's in training, and the beginnings of many schemes to go awry then this will be perfect for you.
There is also magic in this land but it is not showy, and doesn't become the be all and end all focus, as so many books with magic potential do, and often fall flat because of it.
There is great character development, and you will be torn over whether you should be rooting for 'heroes' or 'villains', and there is a lot of grey area around that.
Please do go and read this series, Holly is a fantastic writer and you can really feel the care and love she has put into building this world, you won't regret picking it up.
The German House
8.0
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Frankfurt, 1963 At the war’s end, Frankfurt was a smoldering ruin, severely damaged by the Allied...
Historical Fiction Post World War Two German Literature
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Red (Dead World, #1) in Books
Jan 18, 2018
At first, I cringed when it came off as another paranormal romance where the lead female, Red, is strong and independent to the point of annoyance. I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. The beginning does show her to be quite capable of taking care of herself, but Summers does not make her a one woman army. Summers also gives Red very human female emotions. Red does not close herself off from the world and her emotions, she gets scared, angry, sexually frustrated, all without fighting said emotions. It was so refreshing, I almost cried.
Not only that but Morgan, the lead male protagonist, was not so overbearingly male that it hurt. Yes, he did try to take control of investigation, only so Red would not figure his big secret out. That was completely believable, as was his alpha male attitude that did not completely run his life. I liked that Summers did not make Morgan the be all the end all male that most male protagonists usually are. She made his cousin Kane, more attractive, but Red still feel for Morgan, another scenario so rare to paranormal romance.
The only issue I had with this novel is that it is placed in the near future with great advancements in technology. While I enjoyed the world that Summers created, it was sometime hard to follow or understand the technology and government. I gathered enough that it did not hinder the enjoyment of the story.
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