Smashbomb

This collection of short stories is set on the island of Neverness. All of the stories are interconnected and characters reoccur as adults after they were in a story as children. We see how an experience in one story then becomes a cautionary tale or a fairytale in another. I loved the atmosphere in this book: menacing, dreamlike, happy, sad - like a fairytale really.
The language used was really very poetic. If you're attracted to this as a Fantasy reader, the language is weighted more on the 'Literary Fiction' side. I like both, and this didn't even occur to me until I read another review on Goodreads! There are plenty of Fantasy writers out there whose prose can be lyrical!
I also liked how the beginning and the end of the book were connected. Very clever, original writing, this is a short story collection that didn't feel to me as though they were short stories. Well worth a read!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this gorgeous book!

Kudos

Dana (24 KP) rated Soundless in Books

Mar 23, 2018

I very much enjoyed this novel. The story was so fresh and different than what I have been reading recently. Plus, it's a standalone!!

I enjoyed how Mead attempts to put words to gaining the ability of hearing after coming from a society that has been deaf for centuries. It explored how a person would be able to deal with suddenly being able to hear out of nowhere.

Though I enjoyed this novel, it was not my favorite of hers. There were moments, especially at the end, that I would have liked to see expanded and explained more. I felt like there wasn't enough build up to it for the ending she gave it. It was very reminiscent of a fairy tale where everything gets resolved very quickly.

I wished that more of the magical aspects that were introduced into the story were both introduced earlier and worked into the story more.

That being said, I loved the relationships between the characters, especially between the two sisters. Fei's relationship with Li Wei could have been built up and explained a bit more, thought.

Overall, I enjoyed it, but, like I said, it wasn't my favorite.

Kudos

Deborah (162 KP) rated When Beauty Tamed the Beast (Fairy Tales, #2) in Books

Dec 21, 2018

Not so very long ago I reviewed the first of James' fairy tales series, A Kiss at Midnight, which I found OK, but not one to hang on to and read again, and I said that I always thought I should like her books more than I actually do. I have to say that it was almost as if someone was listening, as I liked this book a whole lot better. There is only a thematic connection with the other books; there don't appear to be any characters in common.

I liked this book as the two protagonists had personality and you could see what they would see in each other, which I found hard in the last book. The whole set up was maybe a bit far fetched, but it was quite an amusing tale - with a fair sprinkling of strong language. I smiled when the heroine had been reading Miss Butterworth & the Mad Baron - as I'm sure many readers of Julia Quinn will! A much more engaging and entertaining read, good protagonists and interesting supporting characters, giving enough interest but without detracting from the main plot.