From Z to A: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Dear Aly,

ok ok, I know that it’s been far too long since I’ve posted here, but now that I’m all graduated and stuff, I have a bit more free time to buckle down and mow through my massive TBR list. It’s getting to be so beautiful outside and my backyard is the perfect reading spot lately.

My roommate, J, introduced me to her fave book series, The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. Currently there’s two books out, The Name of the Wind, and The Wise Man’s Fear. There is a third book due out at some point but there’s really no info about when that will be, much to the disappointment and anxiety of the fans.

It’s so hard to distill The Name of the Wind down into a condensed summary but I’ll try. We meet Kote, an inkeeper who meets with a scribe to take down the story of Kvothe (pronounced Quoth like “quoth the raven…”?). Kvothe has many stories surrounding him, many of which are false or embellished, but many are true as well. Kote weaves an intricate tale of young Kvothe’s adventures and misadventures and gives us a gorgeous world and a magic system.

I don’t want to get too into the details because I’ll get hung up on a small detail and never finish giving you my thoughts. Basically, I’m hooked. There’s so much to explore in Patrick Rothfuss’s world, and he has such a landscape to work with. There are so many elements that I’m sure I’m missing. J even says she’s gone back to read the series multiple times and finds more and more each time.

If you’ve got the time and you love some good high fantasy, please do yourself a favor and pick up The Name of the Wind. Now, beware, it’s quite a hefty read, but I feel that it captured my attention from cover to cover.

Happy reading!!!

Zoe

From A to Z: The Riddle by Allison Croggan

Dear Z,

My last book of 2014 was the first book of this series, The Books of Pellinor, and my first review of 2015 is of The Riddle the second book of the series. The Riddle follows Maerad and Cadvan immediately after the events of The Naming. However in The Riddle we learn a lot more about the diversity of the world Croggan has built and there is less focus on Barding in general. To understand the references in this review I do recommend reading my review of the first book here.

Maerad and Cadvan start the second book out at sea as they travel to the island of Thorold. Thorold also has a Bard school but the customs are varied from those in Annar that Maerad visited in the first book. Thorold reminded me of a mix between a Spanish coastal town and Norway. The people are boisterous and mostly very joyful. Their streets are filled with colors and there is an extended mid day break from work, similar to Spain. However they are also at the foot of large mountains and many goat herding villages abound in Thorold. In Thorold the reader gets a peak into how thing are going to turn sour between Cadvan and Maerad. As was said often in the first book, the ways of the heart are hard to understand.

However Thorold is not the only place Maerad travels in the Riddle. She returns to Annar though not for long and the reader gets a glimpse fo the Bard school Gent. Then she goes to the far North as is foretold in her foredream and sees Zmarkan, and goes to the winter hub Murask of the Pillanel people. Maerad herself is half Pilanel. The Pilani peoples travel in caravans doing trade in the southern lands and come back to the Zmarkan for the Midwinter Festival. Maerad has the chance to travel on boat, on horse, and by dog sled. She visits Bards who were not schooled in the Annarien traditiona sense. She even finds family.

And beyond her travels Maered meets another Elidhu, Arkan the Winterking. The Winterking’s reach is far and she comes up against his power throughout the book. He controls storm dogs with baying thunder and paws of cloud that can destroy forests. He also controls Iridugals mountain giants made of stone.

Overall The Riddle is thus far my favorite book of this series. Mind you I have not read the final book so i will give my final verdict then. But having read the first three previously I can say it is still the best one so far! If you love high fantasy you will love this series. It’s buy an esteemed Australian YA author! Go check it out!

Until the Next Read,

A

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From A to Z: The Naming by Allison Croggon

Dear Z,

The Books of Pellinor series is a high fantasy series that I originally got into at a very young age. I fell in love with it, so much so that for whatever reason out of all the trips to the bookstore I have made in my life I can actually remember the one where I picked The Naming out among several other books and then ended up picking it out to buy. This was back in the day of my parents buying my books at a teacher discount from Borders Bookstores. So anyway this books has been around on my shelves for a while. However between books would sometimes be a few years wait. This has lead to rereading. The Naming, the first book I’ve now reread three times. The sequel will now also have been read three times, and the third book will be reread for the first time and now finally the fourth and final book is free for me to read.

The Naiming, The First Book of Pellinor, takes place in the land of Annar. Annar is split into seven kingdoms ruled by Bards, not your rodinary Bards however. These Bards are more in tun to the traditional idea of a wizard. Bards use the Speech, a language that allows them to speak spells of great power and talk to animals. They have a long history told in song mostly. Within Annar there are the Bard schools where anyone born with the Gift can go and live and learn to be a Bard in service of the Light. However there are Dark forces at work as well, lead by the Nameless One a Bard who cast off his true Name to attempt to gain eternal life. Maered our main female protagonist comes into the world during a time where the Dark’s forces are gaining strength in Annar once again and Hulls or Black Bards are becoming uncomfortably common. The Light is weakening. Maered is found by the Bard Cadvan as a slave.

Within the Naming we follow Maered and Cadvan as they head to Norloch, the First School of the Light. As they travel they attempt to unlock Maered’s mysterious past as a child who had once lived in the school Pellinor that was sacked years ago. Event though that is odd enough it is soon found out that Maered is hunted by both the Light and the Dark, for she is the One,The Tiger Lily meant to save all of Annar. This leads them through many different adventures across the lands. The two face wers and hulls. They meet an Elemental or Elidhu in the forest and Maered becomes a Bard. As the narrative weaves on the reader learns more and more about not only the characters but this magical and rich high fantasy world. At the end we are et to learn even more about the more vast stretches of the land as well as about the true nature of Maered herself.

If you adore high fantasy such as The Lord of the Rings or Garth Nix’s Sabriel this will be right up your alley. If you want another high fantasy with a powerful female protagonist like in The Throne of Glass series or Girl of Fire and Thorns you will love Maered. Basically go read this series, you won’t regret it.

Until the Next Read,

A

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From Z to A: Death Sworn by Leah Cypess

Dear Aly,

Obviously on road trips, space is limited, which means… less books 😦 never fear though! I brought my Nook and Death Sworn by Leah Cypess!

Death Sworn is about a young sorceress named Ileni. Her magic is soon to run out, so her people, the Renegai, send her to train a group of assassins in the arts of magic. The past two tutors have died, so she’s pretty sure she’s in for certain death. Only, when she gets there, she finds that things are a little more complicated than that. She meets Sorin, the assassin designated to keep her safe within the caves they live in, and she also meets all the other boys. She is reminded daily how deadly they really are. She’s also on a mission to figure out who or what killed the past two tutors. And the answer she finds may not be the one she’s expecting.

I really liked Ileni because she learned fast. She was always aware of her status in the caves and understood that she was basically sent there to die. The thing that kind of confused me though was the shift that occurred to her actually caring what happened to her – to me it seemed a little bit rushed. The book is a pretty quick read, and there’s a sequel, so I’m sure the next book will have more about her as well.

One thing I found to be lacking was the backstory on Ileni’s people, and the Empire the assassins are trying to take down. There were a few details thrown in that I wanted explained more. There’s also a past love interest for Ileni that comes up a few times, but other than those times, he’s never really developed, making it hard for me to sympathize with her heartbreak sometimes – if only because I didn’t really get a feel for how they were together.

Overall, if you’re looking for a good, middle-of-the-road YA high fantasy book, Death Sworn is for you! I enjoyed the storyline and a lot of characters were pretty interesting.

Happy reading,

Zoe

 

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From Z to A: The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Dear Aly,

I think I’ve finally found it within myself to pick up high fantasy again! I had a dry spell for a while, but there’s some amazing new releases that I had to try!!

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson is a multi-perspective novel and the beginning of a series (The Remnant Chronicles). It’s the story of a princess, Lia, who doesn’t want to marry a man she’s never met. She runs away with her maid, Pauline, to a small town. They both work in an inn and disguise themselves. Soon enough, though, word of her flight reaches many people, including the prince she was supposed to marry. Oh, and an assassin too! When all three paths cross, things get complicated.

The interesting thing about The Kiss of Deception is that though it’s written in multiple points of view, after a certain point, the reader loses track of who is the assassin and who is the prince. Though their parts are labeled “prince” and “assassin” the names of each aren’t necessarily true. From the moment Lia meets the two men in the inn, we don’t know which is which. This makes guessing who is trying to kill her all the more difficult. The men, Kaden and Rafe, are both not who they say they are, and as their stay in the town goes on, we see both of their resolves and intentions change a bit.

The whole thing about this novel is who is the assassin. I thought I knew, but I didn’t! I was so wrong, and I think that’s a really nice testament to Pearson’s writing, that she didn’t give away who was who. Her descriptions were lush and full of detail and I loved the interactions between Lia and the two men.

If you love the tv show Reign, liked Falling Kingdoms, or A Game of Thrones, I think you’ll really enjoy The Kiss of Deception!!!

Happy reading,

Zoe

 

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From Z to A: Series Wrap Up: The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

Dear Aly,

I finally finished the Grisha books by Leigh Bardugo just in time for the release of the final book, Ruin and Rising.

In the second installment, Siege and Storm, we find Alina and Mal on the run from the Darkling (again haha). They do have to team up with him to find the second amplifier, the sea whip. This mythical creature lives in a dangerous part of the ocean, only accessable with many Grisha and a lot of luck. They actually do find the sea whip and Alina kills it, but they find an unlikely ally in the privateer the Darkling hired to take them out to sea. Again, Alina and Mal have to go on the run. This particular book focuses a lot on the relationship between Alina and Mal, and how it’s basically falling apart. Alina is Grisha, Mal is not, so that makes loving each other very hard, since Mall will die before Alina. Mal struggles a lot with his feelings and the tension between them gets kind of annoying. We’re gonna call this second-book-syndrome because it just seems like this happens a lot in the second book of a trilogy (ahem Divergent and Shatter Me).

The third and final book, Ruin and Rising comes out today, June 17, 2014!!! I was able to get my hands on the collector’s edition from Barnes & Noble. Ruin and Rising has a lot of action. There’s a lot of great Alina/Darkling interactions, and I really felt happy with the way the Darkling’s character was developed. He’s still a disillusioned, self aggrandizing dude, but we see a more vulnerable side of him as well. Mal and Alina become stronger, although Alina is faced with the hardest decision she’ll ever have to make. I felt the ending was satisfying, it wrapped up the series in a great way, and didn’t leave me wondering about anything. You can check out all my thoughts on this in my Krypton Radio review.

Again, I’m going to mention the amazing world building, because it’s, well… amazing. Leigh Bardugo managed to create a whole new language as well as a world. Her Grisha are well ordered and their ranks are easy to understand. I was really impressed with all the work she did.

Overall, AMAZING series. If you love YA high fantasy, please check out the Grisha Trilogy, you won’t be disappointed!

Happy reading,

Zoe

From Z to A: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Dear Aly,

Apparently I’m on a fantasy kick again!

I wasn’t actually sure I was going to like Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. I’d picked it up literally maybe 10 times at the bookstore, and I adore the cover, but the premise never struck me as need to read. Then I went to Leigh’s panel at the LATFOB, realized I had already bought for my e-reader, and dove right in, and now I’m obsessed!

Alina and Mal are best friends living in an orphanage. In their world, there are people called Grisha: humans with spectacular powers. I found a link on Leigh Bardugo’s tumblr page that explains what every Grisha’s powers are, so I’m linking it here. Basically, when Alina and Mal are older, they serve in the army, where Alina is a mapmaker and Mal is a tracker. As the army approaches the Shadow Fold, a dark void created by the Black Heretic a long time ago, things get a little hairy; the army gets attacked by the Volcra (nasty flying human-ish things). Alina blacks out as she’s being attacked by one, and when she wakes up, she’s a prisoner behind presented to the Darkling, the most powerful Grisha who can summon the power of darkness. She and everyone else realizes that she is a Sun Summoner, the most rare type of Grisha, and probably the only one. She is taken back to the palace and separated from Mal. It’s then that she realizes that the people she trusted are trying to use her for very sinister things.

Leigh Bardugo took on a huge thing building this world!! I’m not very familiar with anything related to Russia, so I can’t say how accurately she portrayed the people or places, but I like it nonetheless. It was nice to read such a complex book. I really had to think while reading this.

We’re going to dedicate a moment to the Darkling. Here goes: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Ok, moment over. I’m not going to say anything else, you’re going to have to read the book to understand my reaction, haha.

Overall, I really enjoyed Shadow and Bone. I fell in love with Leigh’s characters and the world she created, and the sequel, Siege and Storm is downloaded onto my iPad and ready to go!

Happy reading,

Zoe