I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed Legendborn. I don't often read YA, but I love a good King Arthur retelling and the fact that it stars a young black woman gives it a uniqueness.
For Briana Matthews, a lot of things seem to come easily. She’s an excellent student, accepted to UNC Chapel Hill's Early College program at 16. She’s close with her parents and her best friend Alice, who is joining her at school. But Bree's mother dies in a car accident right before Bree left for school and after the two had had an argument. Lost in her grief and unsure of her path, Bree finds herself pulled into a secret society with members who call themselves “Legendborn”. The mysteries of this group appear to have some connection with her mother’s death, so Bree dives head-first into an organization that makes it very clear it was not made for her.
The Legendborn draw on the numerous...
I hate to tell you to go back and read Black Sun before starting Fevered Star, but you really should. And the good news is the "to be continued" ending won't bother you nearly as much as it did me if you can head straight into this one. Not that this one has a very satisfying ending either, but it's at least not quite as cliffhanger.
As before, the world (a weaving of pre-Colombian influences) is strongly engaging and well developed, with fascinating characters and culture. We have several viewpoints in Fevered Star, some more compelling than others. We learn more about our avatar's powers and about their own interior struggles. We see the people that surround them, those who love them, hate them, or want to use them. Heroes and villains are very much a matter of perspective. There's a war coming and the book is all about forming alliances and putting people in the right places, which can...
I don't read a lot of YA, but Queen of the Tiles combines murder and Scrabble and how could I pass that up? The Queen of the Tiles, Trina Low, is dead. She died a year ago during a championship Scrabble game, but someone has resurrected her Instagram account and is implying that she was murdered.
This was just such an entertaining book. It was well-thought-out and just full of wonderful words. The characters were diverse and, while they had the typical teenage jealousies and overreactions, they weren't annoying. I was surprised by who the "bad guy" was and happy with the solution, especially because it wasn't the typical direction a murder mystery heads.
I listened to the audio, which was a good choice. The narrator did a good job with the voices and the teenage emotions. I'm also not sure I could have pronounced some of the Scrabble words without help. Those kids had a massive vocabulary.
Complicated female friendshipsScrabble and wordplayExploration...
Black Sun is the first book in Between Earth and Sky trilogy, and it is a high fantasy inspired by the civilizations Pre-Columbian Americas. The winter solstice in the holy city of Tova usually means a time for celebration and renewal. But this year a solar eclipse will occur with the winter solstice. The story marches toward that Convergence.
I listened to the audiobook and each of the four points of view had their own narrator. We have Xiala, a boat captain who can control both water and people with her Song. We have Serapio, a blind man who Xiala needs to make sure is in Tova before the Convergence. The chemistry between them is fabulous. Naranpa is the Sun Priest, doing her best even though she has more enemies than she understands. Last is Okoa of clan Carrion Crow, who we know the least, but seems the most willing to accept what he doesn't understand. They're all compelling...
As I was thinking about what I was going to write about My Heart Is a Chainsaw, I had mixed feelings. Jade, the main character, is amazing in a damaged, determined, outsider way, but I didn't like where the story left her at the end. Actually, I didn't like how the story treated her all the way through. Even the adults that cared were disappointing. But I didn't realize it was the first in a planned trilogy. That gives me hope. Jade story isn't over.
The opening of My Heart is a Chainsaw is perfect, sets the mood just right. Then we meet Jade. She's seventeen, knows all there is to know about slasher movies, and has a terrible home life. Things aren't much better at school or work either. When a new girl shows up, a potential final girl, Jade sees what she believes is a slasher cycle starting in her small town.
The book moves slowly in parts, but...
The Old Fox Deceiv'd is the second in Richard Jury series, but can definitely be read as a stand-alone. This time around, Jury is sent to Rackmoor to investigate the killing of a woman whose identity is in question. If she really is the prodigal ward returned, old jealousies, angers, and future inheritance money all come into play.
Jury is patient and thorough. As expected, he is focused on solving the mystery, but his soft side does come out once in a while. I was happy that Melrose Plant was back in this one. He is again Jury's sidekick, providing a sounding board and doing a bit of his own investigating. The townspeople and those at the house are an interesting bunch, from the broke artist to the child living more or less on his own with his dog.
The situation at Rackmoor is complicated and full of emotions and secrets. The plot has some surprises and the major clue was...
