Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #2) and Ruin and Rising (#3) by Leigh Bardugo

Amy          

Lynnie  

 

young adult, fantasy, action-suspense

Continuing where the first novel in the series left off, Alina and Mal find themselves on a boat, hostages of The Darkling, with destruction and ruin left in their wake.

Amy's Review 

Siege and Storm was a very solid second-of-a-trilogy which brought the story forward, introduced charming new characters, and was also full of suspense and action.  I loved it! This is very unusual for a second series novel and I give kudos to Leigh Bardugo.  Clearly, this is her best series. I’ve tried two of her other series which were written after this one and did not feel the desire to continue reading either of those series.  But I can’t wait to read the final novel in this one! I love these characters and the world in which they exist. I love the pace of the novel and the details and the creativity.

As with most series, there isn’t much new to review but I will say that this novel carried on another unique tradition. The first novel ended 56% of the way through the Kindle file with other end material taking up the remainder of the file. This novel filled only 63%. Again, how bizarre!!!!  I read a lot of Kindle files and have never seen the novel take up such a small percentage of the total file. I will make sure to look at the 3^rd novel before beginning so I can be more mentally prepared. Although, in honesty, with both the first and the second, I could tell the novel was nearing the end due to the heightened action and suspense. So, it wasn’t so much of a surprise as a disappointment since I was thoroughly enjoying both novels when they abruptly ended. :D 

Lynnie's Review 

The nice thing about reading a series long after it's been released, is the ability to read the next book while the story is still fresh in your mind. I read a few books between Shadow and Bone and this book and I was glad to get back into the Grishaverse to see what Bardugo had in mind for Alina and Mal.

Thankfully, I was not disappointed! Prepared for second-in-a-series filler I was pleasantly surprised by the action in Siege and Storm. The story moved forward in important ways, our characters continued to develop, and new characters were introduced, all of whom I generally loved. As in any good war story, not all of our favorites survive, but it never felt gratuitous. One interesting thing is that this book made me far less enamored with Mal both as a character and as a partner for Alina, though I'm still interested in learning more about his journey. For the record, I am currently 100% on Team Nikolai! I am eager to see what Bardugo has in store for this cast of characters next.

Bardugo's world-building is really wonderful. She's descriptive, creative, and her characters are wonderfully witty. Can't wait to read Ruin and Rising to see how the story ends. 

Amy     

Lynnie  

young adult, fantasy, action-suspense

In the conclusion of the trilogy, Alina and Mal must find a way to locate the last amplifier and destroy the darkling.

Amy's Review

Ruin and Rising was a fantastic conclusion to The Shadow and Bone Trilogy.  I love the rare trilogy that can maintain its momentum through all three novels.  Kudos to Leigh Bardugo!

The momentum and action of the prior two novels, as well as all the terrific characters, continue in this novel.  The highs and lows felt right and I was happy to keep reading to find out how things would turn out.  I thought the ending was terrific.

Really, I don’t have much new to say about this series that I haven’t already said in reviews for the earlier novels.  But, I did enjoy it very, very much!

Lynnie's Review

It was lovely to spend some time back in the Grishaverse again. Bardugo has created some really wonderful characters and communities and it's fun to read about their interactions and adventures.

This was a fitting ending to the Shadow & Bone trilogy, but my biggest complaint is that my favorite character (Nikolai) was essentially taken out of this story, which bummed me out to no end. That's not to say I was disappointed in the story telling or even the conclusion, I just missed his voice and witty banter. Having learned that he has his own duology, though, I've been placated and am looking forward to reading those.

Bottom line is that if you enjoyed the first two books in this series, you will enjoy this one as well. It wraps the story arc up nicely and was a fun, fast read.

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

Amy  

fiction

Home Fire is a heartbreaking family drama centered around 3 siblings of Pakistani heritage, raised in London. Their family had suffered great loss during their childhoods—first the disappearance of their father who ran off to be a jihadist, then the death of their grandmother, and then the death of their mother when the older daughter was 18 years old and the twins were 12 years old.  Now that the twins are 19 years old, the family’s story is told in five segments, each from a different person’s point of view. 

The structuring of this novel was very well done.  Each point of view moved the overarching story forward but also enlightened previous segments.  All of the points of view were interesting and educated me about lives and cultures very different from my own. The pacing was perfect. I thought it was going to be a sort of romance at the beginning but that is not what the novel is about. Kamila Shamsie’s story-telling technique. Particularly regarding touchy subject matter, was impressive. I liked the characters enough to want to keep reading to find out how things turned out. The ending was one of the most stunning endings I’ve read recently.

The story makes the reader think about the ways people are motivated and the forces that cause people to take action.  Manipulation, belief systems, cultures, desperation, parenting, idealism, finances, relationships, family histories, burdens, freedoms, and self-worth all inform peoples’ choices and behaviors.  Issues regarding immigration, multi-ethnicity, and citizenship are raised. The reader also gets insight about how young people can be recruited and radicalized by groups like ISIS. It is also a cautionary tale about what could go wrong when political motivation supersedes humanity. It was a very worthwhile read.

The narrator, Tania Rodrigues, was spectacular. She has a wide range of accents and her voice acting was pretty darn perfect.  A+

   

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

Amy   
Lynnie

science fiction, action-suspense

Kira is a scientist about to embark on a future in which she is more in control of her destiny when she stumbles upon an incredible discovery and her life changes forever. She must move forward with care since the balance of the world is in her hands.

Amy's Review

This is a completely different type of novel for Christopher Paolini, the genius behind the Eragon series. Although, upon a little more thought, the adventures of both Eragon and this novel begin when an innocent person stumbles upon an extraordinary life form. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars takes place in space in the distant future.  After a brief introduction which is engaging but painfully obvious in its impending tragedy, the pace is suddenly thrust forward at warp speed and doesn’t let go. 

Paolini does an incredible job explaining action-filled, otherworldly scenes. However, he does not get into female characters’ heads very well. Kira, the main character, never felt believable. In fact, she experienced trauma after trauma and handled most of it like a stoic.  This from a person who went on too long about her romantic relationship at the beginning of the book as if she was a person with too many feelings rather than not enough.

About halfway through this very long novel (almost 900 pages), it was beginning to lose momentum for me. I mean, there was still plenty of (too much?!) action but, in addition to not buying in to Kira’s character, it got a bit convoluted and complicated. And a particular scene written in all italics did a lousy job of explaining the existence of a type of alien. Rather, it was bizarre and too lengthy. After I’d read a bit further and Kira’s interpretation was revealed, I had to go back and re-read that section to try to make sense of it. That definitely helped. But I thought that, for such a pivotal moment in the story, it should have been written much more clearly.

I decided to go with it but by about the 75% mark, I was honestly ready to quit the novel. It started feeling silly.  Silly conversations. Silly situations. Everything had become so unbelievable and far-fetched that it had lost me.  Alas, after investing this much time in it, I was curious to see how the author would wrap everything up.  And then around the 90% mark it started getting completely ridiculous.  I started skimming pages because all the detail was not necessary and it was obviously going to be a very long “fight”. I really only needed the highlights and the outcome.  It was just too unbelievable for me to truly enjoy. 

Finally, the end of the novel was really good (after the long fight was over) and actually touching.  But I think I would’ve liked this novel more if it were about 1/3 shorter. It was simply too much. And then I barely had the desire to glimpse the addendum at the end. I wasn’t interested in learning how the author could defend the science and it was very dry material.  In my opinion, fictional novels should not require glossaries or detailed background data.  Any information needed should be shared in the story itself.  If I ever DO feel the need to refer to reference material, I’m not enjoying the novel enough for it to matter.

Lynnie's Review

This book took forever for me to read, partly because it was long, but mostly because I was rarely inspired to pick it up. Honestly, I should have abandoned this book about 25% in, but it’s the end of the year & I felt like I had time to meander in a book for a while.

For a book that was literally filled with action, it was weirdly dull & predictable. Aliens, military, rogue civilians, fight... regroup... repeat. Also, in Paolini's world, it's not enough to have multiple types of aliens; within each type (family?) of alien, there are multiple varieties- it’s like Paolini could not decide what he wanted so he added every single idea that came into his mind. It was distracting & the minutiae of his details ended up taking away from the actual story.

Paolini also did not do a great job of writing a female lead character- at no time did she seem believable & at one point in the story he spent nearly an entire chapter dealing with a subplot of her period in the most ridiculous way. It felt very much like he was saying, “look at me, I can write about a woman & her body” even though it leant absolutely NOTHING to the plot & was just... odd. I liked several characters throughout, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the plot.

Overall, I could see what Paolini was trying to do with this story, but in the end I didn’t care.

 

 

   

Under Currents by Nora Roberts

Amy  

fiction

The beginning of Under Currents was so difficult to read because it involved details about the spouse and child abuse happening in Zane’s family. It was brutal and terrible.  I had to put the book down for a while.  I just wasn’t sure I wanted to read something so depressing and hate-filled. But I re-read the book description and felt hopeful that I might’ve already gotten through the worst of it by the time I had to set it down. Thankfully, I was correct.

While I found many of the characters endearing and enjoyed the setting, and feel the premise is a worthwhile topic, this novel was odd. It was published in 2019 and Nora Roberts has written hundreds (!) of novels, but this felt very much like someone’s first attempt at a novel to me.  This is only the second book I’ve read of hers.  I really enjoyed the first one I read which was her most recent novel, Hideaway.  It didn’t feel like these two novels were written by the same person. The lines between the story segments were almost visible to me.  I could practically demarcate the riveting full-formed sections, the rushed half-assed sections, and the flimsy dialogue attempting to tie everything together. It just did not feel well crafted overall.  Parts were heart-felt and emotional and others were stiff and seemed slapped in there to fill gaps clumsily. Some segments had lots of attention to detail and others were just brief summaries.  There was this big character development and then the characters’ actions were quick and short-lasting. I guess the bottom line is that I felt the purpose of this novel was simply to cover the topic of domestic abuse rather than to create a meaningful character-driven, or even story-driven, narrative.  The story felt invented to make a point. I was never able to forget that I was reading a novel. It didn’t feel real. And the “mystery” was entirely predictable too.

The topic of domestic abuse is very difficult to read about. Heck, it’s hard to think about.  I would imagine that this book is triggering to some people and this needs to be noted. And, despite all my trouble with this novel, I do feel the topic of domestic abuse was handled well. It was raw and ugly but also sensitive, supportive, and hopeful.

   

The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archives #1, 2, & 3) by Brandon Sanderson

Amy  

fantasy

Centering on three main characters (Kaladin, Dalinar, and Shallan) this epic fantasy revolves around people and creatures who share a hazy past of mystical heroes and villains. The three central characters begin to realize that the old stories might actually be true. The Way of Kings is about good vs. evil, battling kingdoms, and tensions among diverse belief and racial systems. But in the midst of the chaos and unrest, these three people begin to understand new things that make them believe life as they know it is changing.

I almost gave up on this one before the story could really begin because it started with a long, boring fight scene that lasted for the first hour of the audiobook. I hate reading about/listening to battle scenes. I did not appreciate that Brandon Sanderson chose to open a novel that way. Thankfully, after this opening, we were introduced to some interesting characters and situations.  But, of course, with a book mostly taking place on battlefields, there were still too many battles to slog through in this novel for my taste.

The Way of Kings has a huge cast of interesting characters.  All the creatures and supercharged abilities which Sanderson invented were wonderfully creative.  I thought he did a great job of world-building--describing completely alien vistas, creatures, and objects, not to mention cultures and customs.  Aside from all the battles, I thought he crafted the story well.  The mysteries were told in an engaging order, in alternating protagonist settings, compelling me to keep reading to find out about some of the characters’ pasts and all of their futures. I look forward to reading the next book in the series to see how these characters fare.

The male audiobook narrator, Michael Kramer, also narrated the Mistborn series by Sanderson. As with that series, he’s a pretty good voice actor but has an annoying monotone “narrator” voice. This novel also had a female narrator, Kate Reading.  She, too, had an annoying monotone “narrator” voice, sadly.  Her voice acting was alright but I didn’t like the tone she used for Jasnah’s voice. Also, she committed the unforgivable crime of not pronouncing one of the secondary characters’ names the same way that Michael Kramer did. Since he was the lead narrator, this was a production failure on her part.  Together, I give them a B as an ensemble.

Amy   

fantasy

Wow! Sometimes I can’t understand what Sanderson’s hints (at chapter beginnings and during interludes) are supposed to tell me in Words of Radiance.  But he’s created such lovable, engaging characters that I can’t stop reading. I have to find out what happens to them, even if I feel a little lost at times. These are huge novels with tons of characters and an epic storyline. And he does them very, very well.  I am alternatingly charmed, alarmed, angry, and delighted by them.  I am invested in their future even though their reality is so fantastical that I’m unable to explain it to others.  At its core, this is a tale of good vs. evil. But I just love it when Sanderson is at his best. This is one of those times. Can’t wait for the next one to make it through the library queue!

This one had the same narrators as The Way of Kings and I enjoyed them much more in this one.  Thankfully, Kate Reading fixed her pronunciation of Sadeas' name!  And her repertoire was more impressive in this novel than the first one.  I'll give them A- this time.

Amy  

fantasy

Another humongous novel in the Stormlight Archives epic fantasy, Oathbringer delivers lots of action, character growth, nefarious plotting, backstabbing, heroism, friendship, and rivalry. As has been apparent in this series from the beginning, sometimes things are not as they initially seem. I appreciate the way Sanderson makes the reader think about how things are interpreted. His fantasy serves to make the reader think about situations based in our own reality.

Admittedly, sometimes in these novels, I get lost and don’t understand the explanations for crazy things happening.  However, as I understand the general gist of things, I don’t let it disturb me too much.  Obviously, there is a lot of wiggle room between good and evil in these characters.  I think that’s the point. Every good person has some bad sides and every bad person has some good sides. But the fantasy world these characters inhabit is pretty far-fetched which makes it hard to follow at times. It’s not that Sanderson doesn’t build worlds well. It’s just that he doesn’t hand deliver clear explanations all the time. When dealing with belief systems and scenery that are completely “out there” I wish he’d provide a little more clarification. On the other hand, sometimes, he dives into what appears to be a lot of detail for no apparent forward motion of the story. Then I zone out (especially when listening to an audiobook) and probably miss a few things of importance. I felt like this novel, more than any other I’ve read by him so far, seemed to gain and lose momentum quite a bit.  It felt like it had a lot of stops and starts in terms of holding my interest. But then the ending was more engrossing than any of the previous novels. I couldn’t put it down.

The narrators have both really grown on me after listening to them for hours and hours. I read some of this novel on Kindle and listened to some of the audiobook.  Michael Kramer, particularly, really showed off his voice repertoire in this one and I was blown away by the variety of voices.  Kate Reading also has improved very much since the first novel.  Aside from some annoying “narrator voice” sections, I thought they did a great job.  I’m moving them up to a solid A. Unbelievably, I forgot to look up their websites for my review of the first two novels in this series and just realized that they are married!  They share a website. They’ve won me over.