Review: The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

Summary:

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

Publication Date: February 16, 2016

Retellings are very easy to muck up completely and I was glad to see that The Shadow Queen didn’t fall into that trap. I liked the direction that Redwine went when retelling “Snow White” and I really found myself rooting for Lorelai.

The characters were all very likable, although I was pretty devastated by a death that I felt happened way too early. Lorelai was a good protagonist and I felt for her as she struggled between using her magic and risking that her magic would lead a trail straight to her and her family. Queen Irina was scary evil, but I appreciated the author giving her a back-story to make her less of a one-dimensional villain. Prince Kol won me over too. I wasn’t too sure about how I felt the whole half-dragon thing, but I was able to get into the romance early on between him and Lorelai.

The pace was mixed with the middle dragging a little more than I liked. It just seemed to take a really long time for Lorelai to make a move against Irina and I grew tired with the angst. There are a lot of high fantasy elements in this one, which normally isn’t my thing, so that could be a bit of why I grew bored as well.

The conclusion wrapped everything up nicely and I was pleased to find that it wasn’t a cliffhanger. I’d definitely check out the next book in the series to see how the author expands upon the world.   

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel for review!

Review: Copperhead by Tina Connolly

Summary:

The sequel to Tina Connolly's stunning historical fantasy debut.

Helen Huntingdon is beautiful—so beautiful she has to wear an iron mask. Six months ago her sister Jane uncovered a fey plot to take over the city. Too late for Helen, who opted for fey beauty in her face—and now has to cover her face with iron so she won’t be taken over, her personality erased by the bodiless fey.

Not that Helen would mind that some days. Stuck in a marriage with the wealthy and controlling Alistair, she lives at the edges of her life, secretly helping Jane remove the dangerous fey beauty from the wealthy society women who paid for it. But when the chancy procedure turns deadly, Jane goes missing—and is implicated in the murder.

Meanwhile, Alistair’s influential clique Copperhead—whose emblem is the poisonous copperhead hydra—is out to restore humans to their “rightful” place, even to the point of destroying the dwarvven who have always been allies.

Helen is determined to find her missing sister, as well as continue the good fight against the fey. But when that pits her against her own husband—and when she meets an enigmatic young revolutionary—she’s pushed to discover how far she’ll bend society’s rules to do what’s right. It may be more than her beauty at stake. It may be her honor...and her heart.

Publication Date: October 15, 2013

It was fantastic to return to the world Connolly had created in Ironskin. I really found the setting enchanting and I liked the unique spin on fey lore. Copperhead also cleared up some confusion I had about the fey and the Great War that had occurred between the fairies and the human population.

I was glad to see the story continued, especially after the ambiguous ending of the last novel. I had liked Jane’s sister Helen in the first book and I was happy to see her character come to the forefront of the plot. I had found Jane boring at times and I think Helen’s flighty personality added a little levity to the heaviness of the novel.

The characters from the first book were back, but I was hoping for more of the romance between Jane and Edward to be continued. There is romance in the book, but the plot isn’t driven by Helen’s love life. Copperhead was definitely not a retelling of Jane Eyre like the first book. Although readers would benefit from reading the first book, it’s not necessary. The story was easy to follow and the end finished the story arc nicely.

My only complaint would be that I felt like the plot was a little slow moving for my tastes. This was an issue I had in the first book. However, once things started to happen, the novel became a real page turner. The descriptions were beautiful and I did try to take my time and enjoy the world building efforts put in by the author.

I liked the feminist undertones of the novel and there were a lot of thought-provoking themes like how far will women go for beauty. The author is a talented writer and I loved the book’s Gothic feel.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

I received a copy of the novel for review from the publisher.

Review: The Bird by Jo Michaels

Goodreads Summary:

Stormy Terrabonne's life is about to be changed forever by a bright red cardinal. She soon finds herself being whisked away from all she's ever known to save an entire race of people known as Trobodytes. When she's presented to the Queen, Stormy learns how she's expected to help: By killing an evil wizard named Bordash Bladeslinger and stopping him from cutting down the sacred trees that bind Trogon to Earth.

Now, there are only two trees left. One of the trees presents a double dose of jeopardy: It's also tied to the renewed life of Stormy's mother. While Stormy learns more about the gifts she gained by becoming a Trobodyte, someone manages to poison that all important tree.

It's a race against time as she faces a legion of fairy tale creatures she never knew existed, learns to harness the power within herself to battle Bordash Bladeslinger, and tries to find a way to heal the dying tree before it collapses and takes her mother with it.

Publication Date: February 26, 2013

I’m normally not a fan of fantasy novels. Blame it on my ADD, but I have a hard time keeping all of the characters and world building straight. The Bird is a fantasy novel, but I never felt overwhelmed by information dumps or elaborate back-stories that were hard to follow. It was a great read and I thought it was creative the way Jo worked in themes about feminism and nature into the narrative.

The Bird has parallel plots going on. The first plot centers on a woman named Stormy and her quest to bring down a wizard in an alternate world. At the same time, Stormy’s mother is given a second chance at life and is reborn as a thirteen year old. I liked the way Jo tied the two worlds together and how things occurring in Trogon affected her mother in the human world.

What I always enjoy about Jo’s books is that she writes strong female characters. The men usually take a backseat and the women shine. The Bird was no exception. Stormy is a force to be reckoned with and that’s even before she becomes a master of weapons. As tough as she was on the outside, I liked how her romance with Michael was able to bring out a softer side.

The plot’s pacing was good and the action started quickly. Some of the character’s choices were rash and I felt myself wanting to yell at them through the book. But it only shows how invested I became with the story.  

There were a few great twists I didn’t see coming and the ending tied everything together nicely. This is a wonderful indie fantasy novel and I highly recommend it to all readers.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars 

Review: Splintered by A.G. Howard

Goodreads Summary:

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Publication Date: January 1, 2013

This is the first retelling of Alice in Wonderland I have ever read and I’m definitely impressed with this debut author. I loved the twists on all of the Wonderland staples and the mysteries surrounding Alyssa’s heritage. And that cover? It’s probably my favorite book cover of the year.

Readers are likely to be blown away by the world building in Splintered. Although the author takes her inspiration from Alice in Wonderland, she adds her own dark and disturbing spin on things. The imagery in the book was chilling and a far cry from the beloved children’s book. The bandersnatch especially was one of the freakiest and scariest creatures I’ve ever read about.

The characters were a mixed bag for me. Alyssa grew on me. At first, her character came off as kind of clichéd and I found myself rolling my eyes at how “punk” she was. After her transformation in Wonderland, I grew to like her and found she had more depth than I originally thought. Her love interest Jeb was a yawn and I didn’t find myself invested in their relationship. I found Morpheus much more interesting and there scenes together drew me in more than the sweet moments with Jeb.

The pacing was just okay for me. At times, I felt like I couldn’t stop reading while others I grew bored and found myself eager for the scene to end. I especially felt like this in the beginning. The second half, especially after Alyssa’s arrival in Wonderland, was a much more captivating read.

The ending was pretty good, but it seemed like it was kind of open-ended and made me wonder if there’s a possibility for a sequel. There are plenty of stories left to explore in the Wonderland universe.

I would recommend this book to fans of Alice in Wonderland and individuals who love books filled with fantastical creatures and amazing world building.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book for review!