Dearest Book Review

Dearest
Alethea Kontis

Rating (out of 5): 5
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Fairy Tale
Release Date: February 3, 2015
Series: The Woodcutter Sisters
Series Volume: 3
Profanity: Very Mild
Violence: Mild
Sexual Content: None
Age Recommendation: 8+
Author Website: Alethea Kontis

Summary:

“A fabulous fairy-tale mashup that deserves hordes of avid readers. Absolutely delectable.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review of award-winning series debut Enchanted

Readers met the Woodcutter sisters (named after the days of the week) in Enchanted and Hero. In this delightful third book, Alethea Kontis weaves together some fine-feathered fairy tales to focus on Friday Woodcutter, the kind and loving seamstress. When Friday stumbles upon seven sleeping brothers in her sister Sunday’s palace, she takes one look at Tristan and knows he’s her future. But the brothers are cursed to be swans by day. Can Friday’s unique magic somehow break the spell?

Review:

Alethea Kontis gets better with every book she writes. I fell in love with the Woodcutter sisters in Enchanted, fell in deeper with Hero, and have completely lost myself in Dearest. Friday’s story was endearing and wonderful. It doesn’t hurt that the story focused on some of my favorite fairy tales as well: The Wild Swans and The Goose Girl.

The story picks up just before Saturday broke the world and we get to see what the rest of her family was doing while she was away. In the wake of the disaster Friday takes it upon herself to care for all of the children in the families who’ve been misplaced by the giant ocean. Eventually she stumbles upon Tristan and his brothers sleeping in the castle’s tower, there is an immediate connection between the two and Friday sets out to help break their curse. This sets in motion a chain of events that will take Friday further than she’d ever imagined, and teaches her more about herself and love than she ever would have staying at home.

Friday’s story is my favorite of the Woodcutter Sisters series so far. Her adventure is exciting and delightful and also very funny. It was wonderful to see her blossom from the quiet character I’d seen her as in previous books to a confident woman who was willing to go to great lengths to save those she cared about.

It’s often difficult to juggle multiple characters but Alethea does it with great ease. Tristan along with each of his siblings were all wonderful characters, each with their own personalities. The other characters included in this book were all enjoyable as well, I found myself particularly drawn to Conrad and Friday’s darlings, Michael, John, and Wendy (yes like in Peter Pan). I also was delighted to see more of Sunday, Rumbold, Monday, and many of the other characters I’ve come to love in the previous books.

As with all of the books in her Woodcutters series Alethea Kontis weaves together a multitude of different fairy tales and stories creating one that both delights and surprises. I’m well versed in the original versions of The Wild Swans and The Goose Girl and I still found myself surprised by each and every cleaver twist in the story.

Dearest will make you laugh and it will make you cry. It is a love story and an adventure. For those who’ve already read the first two books in this series I highly recommend that you get Dearest as soon as you can. For those who haven’t read the series and found this review at all intriguing please start with Enchanted (book 1) or this one won’t make very much sense. But read Dearest (or Enchanted) if you like romance, adventure, magic, fairy tales, or just a really good read. You won’t regret it.

Note: I reccieved an electronic copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my fair and honest opinion which I have stated above.

~Dawn

UnHappenings Book Review

UnHappenings
Edward Aubry

 

Rating (out of 5): 5
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction
Release Date: January 8, 2015

Profanity: Mild
Violence: Very Mild
Sexual Content: Very Mild
Age Recommendation: 14 +
Author Website:
Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads




Summary:

When Nigel Walden is fourteen, the UNHAPPENINGS begin. His first girlfriend disappears the day after their first kiss with no indication she ever existed. This retroactive change is the first of many only he seems to notice.

Several years later, when Nigel is visited by two people from his future, he hopes they can explain why the past keeps rewriting itself around him. But the enigmatic young guide shares very little, and the haggard, incoherent, elderly version of himself is even less reliable. His search for answers takes him fifty-two years forward in time, where he finds himself stranded and alone.

And then he meets Helen.

Brilliant, hilarious and beautiful, she captivates him. But Nigel’s relationships always unhappen, and if they get close it could be fatal for her. Worse, according to the young guide, just by entering Helen’s life, Nigel has already set into motion events that will have catastrophic consequences. In his efforts to reverse this, and to find a way to remain with Helen, he discovers the disturbing truth about the unhappenings, and the role he and his future self have played all along.

Equal parts time-travel adventure and tragic love story, Unhappenings is a tale of gravely bad choices, and Nigel’s struggle not to become what he sees in the preview of his worst self.

Review:

UnHappenings grabbed my attention right away with its beautiful cover and intriguing summary. What all was in store in a book about a young man whose life was constantly changing around him? I was in for quite a surprise, and a good one at that.

Nigel Walden has spent his life trying to figure out why everything seems to unhappen to him. These strange unhappenings can be as little as him having a cat he never actually found to as large as people he knew never existing. His quest to make sense of it all leads him on a journey through time where not everything is as it seems.

I loved this book. I was pulled in immediately by Nigel’s witty and sarcastic tone as he narrated his tale. I really enjoyed the scientific aspect of it, and the fact that Nigel himself did a lot of  research and studying that had to do with time travel. Many books of this type would glance over the sciencey parts (no matter how actual or not they turn out to be) and give readers the barest of information. UnHappenings does the opposite. We travel with Nigel as he tries to unravel the mysteries of time and how to get around it. Edward Aubry’s writing style makes it easy for anyone to understand the time travel aspects of this book so there’s no worry if you’ve never been introduced to time travel.

UnHappenings isn’t about time travel alone, it’s also a sweeping love story between Nigel and Helen, the girl who he’s hoping is immune to his unhappenings. I found myself on the edge of my seat at the end of every chapter, wanting and waiting to see if she was still there or if anything had unhappened. I found myself rooting for the two of them throughout the story. As the story progressed I was pulled deeper and deeper into the mystery of time travel and the unhappenings eagerly waiting to get some answers, and when I finally did I was astounded.

The writing is wonderful easy to fall into and the pacing is well done. The book was written from Nigel’s continuing point of view so I never found myself confused by which Nigel this was or what time it was like some time travel books tend to do.

UnHappenings is much more than a time travel book. It’s a story that will challenge your thinking on love, just how far will one go to protect the love that they have found?
 
I’d recommend this book to any fan of science fiction, time travel, and romance. If you’re looking for a great book with a deep story and wonderful characters then pick up a copy of UnHappenings, you won’t be disappointed.

Note I received an electronic copy of this book in from the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest opinion which I have stated above.

~Dawn

Black River Book Review

 Black River 

Peter Fugazzotto

Rating (out of 5): 4
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Release Date: December 9, 2014
Series: Hounds of the North
Series Number: 2
Profanity: High
Violence: High
Sexual Content: Mild
Age Recommendation: Adult
Author Website: http://peterfugazzotto.com/




Summary:

Shield Scyldmund has lost his purpose.

For the past twenty years, Shield and his mercenary brothers the Hounds of the North have been purging the Dhurman Empire of warlocks and witches.

But now the Dhurmans no longer want or trust the aging clansmen.

So when an opportunity arises to return North to help an Apprentice Chronicler hunt down magic wielders, Shield is filled with hope.

But everything changes when Shield learns that the witch he is hunting is Birgid Wordswallow, the lover he abandoned two decades ago.

Review:

Black River by Peter Fugazzotto is the dark tale of a band of hunter's who are groping for some meaning in life. It is the sequel to the novella The Witch of the Sands but can be read without having read the novella. The story focuses on Shield Scyldmund, the leader of a group of witch hunters called the Hounds of the North. They have spent most of their lives as assassins for hire fighting in the war that has been raging over their land for decades. Greying and not as strong as they once were the men dream of one day returning home and finding a meaning to their lives that they seem to have lost.

This is a dark tale and Sheild's journey is not one for the faint of heart.

Peter's writing is excellent and draws a reader right into the story weaving the sands of the desert and the heat of battle into a picture that is not hard to visualize. The story is well written and takes readers on a journey unlike any I've read in a while. I liked the characters as well, they were well realized and each had their own distinct personality.

The government, politics, and magic system were all interesting as well. The magic system in particular was interesting with it being limited to only a few people and the Emperors difficulty in trying to harness it for his own.

The main problem I had with this book was the strong language. If you don't have a problem with a lot of colorful language in books then you shouldn't have to worry about this part. But if you do then let me warn you, this book does contain very strong language and the f-word is used more than once. This is a big thing for me because colorful language tends to knock me out of a story, no matter how it is used.

Black River is an interesting tale written by a very talented author. I would recommend it to anyone interested in fantasy, dark fantasy, and the tales of warriors. I wouldn't recommend it if you have an aversion to strong language however.

Note: I received an electronic copy of this book from the author in exchange for my fair and honest opinion which I have stated above.

~Dawn