Night Angel

 

The books contained within the trilogy, which I have in omnibus form, are The Way of Shadows, Shadow's Edge, and Beyond The Shadows, all by Brent Weeks.

I picked up this trilogy upon my husband's request since he had read it more than a year before me and had just loved it. That being said, I was still hesitant to read it since our tastes have differed on past novels. But this book was on my shelf and I was determined to make my way through all the books I owned. And boy am I glad to have given this one a chance, because it turned out my husband was right!

The series is set in a world where everyone is divided by class lines (sounds familiar) but there is very little to no chance of someone jumping into a better life than the one they are born into. However, one boy, Azoth, is deteremined not to be a begger and pick-pocket for the rest of his life answering to bullies bigger than him. Instead he amazingly convinces a master assassin to take him on as an apprentice. The Way of Shadows is the story of Azoth from the time he is a young boy trying to find Durzo Blint's approval until he gains that approval and takes on his first missions. Shadow's Edge continues the story of Azoth, who is now called Kyler. The kingdom he lives in has undergone a dramatic take over and life as Kyler knows it has changed, and maybe not for the better. Beyond The Shadows concludes the trilogy, picking up with Kyler as he tries to finish what he and his friends have started with the taking back of the kingdom.

Throughout the whole trilogy there are elements that are mixed into the tale to be revealed only when the time is right, meaning that there were many times I was just as shocked at the truth as Azoth/Kyler. I was even astonished to realize that at the end of it all I was surprised at how events end, something that I don't encounter much any more. Weeks is an amazing author that managed to keep both my husband and I, and others I have spoken to, on the edge of our seats and entertained throughout the whole story. He is an author I look forward to revisiting when I get the chance.

I highly recomend this trilogy to anyone looking for action, a little romance, an unlikely group of heros, plot twists, and fantasy that takes bits of our world and uses them to enhance the world Weeks has created. This is a book that will deffinetely never leave my possesion!

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a complicated love story about a man that falls in love with a woman living alone in a large house with her son. The questions that plague the rest of the community of people looking for the evil in everyone do not seem to bother him, but when things start to spin our of the tenant's hands, she decides to give her diary to the man she has fallen for so that he will know everything. Thus begins the back story of Helen which is a sad story indeed.

This was my first encounter with a Bronte, and I must admit it was not a bad one. I loved this tale of a woman trying to make her life better than what she was given and the men whom have so influenced her life, including her son. It was a book club read or, I will freely admit, I might never have picked it up as I tend to not like classics. I was once more corrected and made to enjoy an incredible author that managed to make me feel utturly heartbroken at her main character's plight.

I recommend this to those that can handle authors such as Jane Austin, as the writing can be a little difficult to understand for some. However, I highly recommend that anyone that has not taken the time to pick this one up yet, do so soon. It was a great book that I am glad to say I read, and it makes me eager to pick up yet another Bronte, hopefully in the very near future.

Elsewhere

This unuiqe take on the afterlife was the second book on the Book Club's reading list. And boy it could not have been any more different from Cranford of last month.

Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin, is the story of a young girl who dies crossing the road. Suddenly she wakes up on a cruise ship to the island where everyone goes to wait out their time after death. She is greeted by her grandmother who is astonishingly young and is made to go through orientation where she learns everythign she needs to for the life beyond death. The twist? Oh nothing much, except that in the afterlife you live backwards! Meaning if it took you thirteen years to reach the end of your life, it will take you thirteen years to reach the end of your death and you will slowly grow younger, until you are ready to be reborn in the world once more.

Not only was this a very new and wonderful take on the afterlife, but I believe it was well written! I fell in love with the characters and understood their difficulties and feelings in this post-life life. The main character, Liz, is no more than a teenager when her life is ended and she is understandbly upset and unable to more on, much as people on this side of things are. The author does a great job of bringing life to these dead people! I loved the writing and plot and all the little bits in between.

That being said, not everyone in the book club was as thrilled with this work as I was. Some said that it was not what they expected, that they thought the main character was a bit annoying. Well, I guess it isn't for everyone. But if you are looking for a fresh take on what happens when life ends and death begins, this may be the book for you. I would recommend everyone read it, if only for the point of expanding your horizons and thoughts about what occurs after you cross over. I think many people will be pleasantly surprised by this one, I know I was.

Catching Fire

"The bird, the pin, the song, the berries, the watch, the cracker, the dress that burst into flames. I am the mockingjay. The one that survived despite the Capitol's plans. The symbol of the rebellion." -Catching Fire (p. 216)

Well of course I picked up this book expecting something amazing. And of course I was not dissapointed by Suzanne Collins! Catching Fire is another amazing book in the series that had drawn so many into the world of Katniss and her friends and family. A world where children are thrown into an arena to fight for their lives inf ront of the whole world, including those they left behind. But we thought that Katniss left all that behind when her and Peeta made it out alive in The Hunger Games by defying those in charge. Well, maybe they should not have made so many people mad, because of course they are pulled into the mess they have made when it is announced that former winners of the games will be the ones participating at the next Hunger Games.

Of course not everything is what it seems as the world seems to careen around Katniss as she tries to make it out of everything alive, or at least alive enough to save those around her. Even she doesn't know the full  magnitude of the events taking place that she knows little to nothing about.

And of course through all of this is the strained love triangle Katniss is caught in without her agreement. This just makes things more intense for the story as readers pick their sides and hope they favorite makes it out alive. Are we so different from the people of the Capitol?

Anyway, of course this fast paced book full of twists and turns and confusion is worth the read. Finishing it in less than 24 hours I am eager to pick up the next one! Have you read them all? What do you think? Well, without giving too much away, let us know!

Cranford

"In the first place, Cranford is in possession of the Amazonz; all the holders of houses above a certain rent are women." -Cranford (p. 1)

This was the first book in my book club for the year, and let me tell you I think it is a little promising that we are now all looking at the reading list and thinking it can only get better from here.

Cranford is a collection of stories discribing the lives of women located in the town for which the book is named. As the quote I picked for the book states, it is a town made up almost completely of women, or at least all the people in the town that seem to matter are women. And it seems that none of them are married. And they are all older, and very set in their ways. So there is a good deal of gossip going on in each story and a very large number of opinions about everything that is happening. In essence this book reminded most of the members of the book club of a sitcom.

I don't even know where to begin in the list of things that the women in my book club did not like about this book, but I will say that even the one that selected this book was not enthusiastic about reading it! The book was originally published as a sereal, meaning that each week one of the chapter was put in the newspaper for everyone to read. And we debated on if that could have been the reason that the stories in the book seemed to be so broken up. I had difficulty reading it as each chapter seemed to be like a puzzle piece forced to fit with the one beside it even though they didn't belong together. I suppose that in reality that was our only major problem, but it seemed like with an obstacle like that it made the rest of the book so difficult.

I will say that there were a few stories that made me laugh. At one point the story even grew interesting and most of us were eager to continue to see how things worked out. But then the book just ended. Almost as if in mid thought!

All in all the bok was a let down, but as with most books I am glad that I was given the oppurtunity to read it, even if it was just to appreciate the other books in the club more. This is one of the few books that I would not recommend to others. Sorry. Although if someone feels different, please feel free to comment, let me know why you liked it so much! Maybe I will pick up the book again in the future and see it from your point of view! Otherwise I may never read this book again. Sorry.

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Thank you to Vicky over at Notes From An Aspiring Writer blog for tagging me in the Next Big Thing Blog Hop! Those of us who do, in fact, have a Next Big Thing to talk about, will be answering some pretty basic questions about the books we're working on. I have chosen to talk about the book I am most proud of, even though it is not yet finished. After I answer the questions, I will tag a few authors who will answer the same questions and then pass the word on! Okay, I got this.

Q: What is the working title of your next book?

Divided We Fall. And as far as I am aware that is what it will remain.

Q: Where did the idea come from for the book?

My friends. I have a very diverse group of friends and while we don't usually agree on certain things we manage to remain close. And yet there are so many people in the world around us that can't manage to be civil to strangers because of these same differences. I got tired of seeing it all around me and so I am working on a book about what the world could be like if we let our hatred get the better of us.

Q: What genre does the book fall under?

I am going to have to say contemporary fiction. Maybe I would even go so far as to say satire.

Q: What actors would you choose to play the parts of your characters in a movie rendition?

Wow, I haven't thought about this question for this book. I think I would like to see Brittany Underwood as the main character, Christian.

Q: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Christian is part of a world divided along religious lines, but she wants to be given the chance to show she can be accepting of others.

Q: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I want to say it will be picked up by an agency, but if in the next few years it isn't, I am highly considering self-publication.

Q: How long did it take to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Well, I got half of the way through it in one month with Nation Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), but I am not completely happy with it. When it is done, I will answer this question again.

Q: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

To be honost, I don't know of any. Again, I will answer this question again if I find any.

Q: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My friends. I told them what I was planning and they supported me through every step, even giving me ideas for characters since it takes place with our grandchildren. And my husband who thought it was an incredible idea and is still pushing me to finish it.

Q: What else about the book might pique a reader’s interest?

Divided We Fall, enough said. I hope readers will see that this is a book about where we are possibly headed and they will be both intrigued and scared by what I have to show them. But it is also a book about a girl who sets out to change the world, and through her friendship and family, she can do just that. I want it to inspire and challange people.

Ok, this is when I tag other authors to continue the hop. So I have chosen authors that have inspired me and who have put their Next Big Thing out there. I am also hopign to review their novels this year (1 of which I have already read and loved, but am waiting to review).

Mrs. P. A. Pursley

Melissa Burnett

 

 

His Dark Materials

The Golden Compass
"In many ways Lyra was a barbarian. What she liked best was cambering over the Colege roofs with Roger, the kitchen boy who was her particular friend, to spit plum stones on the heads of passsing Scholars or to hoot like owls outside a window where a tutorial was going on, or racing through the narrow streets, or stealing apples from the market, or waging war." -The Golden Compass (p. 34-5)

The story starts with Lyra, a young girl living among the scholars of Jordan Coleg in Oxford, sneaking into a room where she is not allowed and hearing things that spark her curiousity and which leads her onto a wild adventure involving unlikely villans, lifelong secrets, painful discoveries, and an awesome bear in armor!

When I first picked up this book my husband looked at me in shock. He could not believe that I had not yet read this series! Now that I have finally picked it up, I can't believe that I have waited so long, either! This book was very interesting, filled with action from one leg of Lyra's journey to the next. I enoyed the world that Philip Pullman creates, one so close to our world yet different in ways that make all the difference. And one of the things that I noticed early on is how Pullman does a great job of explaining the bits of this universe that are different from ours without looking down on the reader or filling the book with exposition to discribe it all. By making the main character a young, oftentimes niave, girl he allows the reader to learn a lot through her.

Over all I am sorry I did not take the chance to read this book when I was younger and would have hung on every word of all three books. Yet I am so glad that I am getting the oppurtinuty to do so now. I look forward to reading the next two books. I also look forward to encouraging my kids to read them as well. You should do the same if you haven't already!

The following  is from the next book of the series. If you have not yet finished the first book you may not want to continue reading. You should stop now and come back later. I do not believe there are really any spoilers, but I am warning you that you may find out things you didn't want to know yet. Read on at your own risk.

The Subtle Knife
"When she saw the answer, she relaxed at once. He could find food, and show her how to reach Oxford, and those werre powers that were useful, but he might still have been untrustworthy or cowardly. A murderer was a worthy companion. She felt as safe with him as she'd felt with Iorek Byrnison, the armored bear." -The Subtle Knife (p. 28)

The story of Lyra and her journey continues. While the first book is set in Lyra's world, this next book takes a trip into the world that the reader knows. Will's world, as he is the first character we meet and one that stays throughout the novel to help Lyra. He is yet another piece to the ever expanding puzzle as Lyra tries to figure out what Dust is, what her father and mother are trying to do with it and the world, and where she fits in with the whole big story. And now she has to figure out how Will fits in as well!

Will and Lyra are so similar, both being survivors with parents that are less than ideal, looking to figure things out for themselves since they can't seem to rely on any adults. Yet they come from two different worlds and they may have two completely different roles to play in the grand scheme of things!

Along for the ride trying to help Lyra, and therefore at times Will, are such favorites as Lee Scoresby and Serafina Pekkala as well as new players of the game Dr. Mary Malone and the man everyone thought dead Professor Stanislaus Grumman. Others fade in and out throughout the story aid or hindering the two children as the case may have it. But through it all they remain mostly focused on what they must do and they plan on doing it together.

Again I enjoyed this book although it took me longer than I would have liked to finish it. If I can make one suggestion to you it would be to read all three books straight through. I put this book down for my Book Club book of the Janurary and picking the series back up proved a little more difficutl than I anticipated. It doesn't help that while The Golden Compass leaves off with Lyra crossing into a new world, this one begins with a little boy in our world. However, I do not think the book slowed down much from the first, instead Pullman was very effective at keeping up the pace of the story, something that tends to be difficult with most trilogies.

I look forward to finally picking up the third book and making my way through the chaos that is different worlds, different missions, different players, and different beliefs! Pullman brings a new meaning to organized chaos in my opinion, and I am rather enjoying it! I hope you have gotten the chance to continue the series if you have not done so in the past! It is a good read!

The Amber Spyglass
'"I'll be looking for you, Will, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we'll cling together so tight that nothing and no one'll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you... We'll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams... And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won't just be able to take one, they'll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we'll be joined so tight..." -Lyra, The Amber Spyglass (p. 497)

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is how incredible I thought this series was. That and how I am kicking myself for taking so long to getting around to reading it. This book was such an amazing finale to the story of Lyra and, later, Will. Let me try to give an impression of the book without spoiling anything for anyone that has not already finished it, so bare with me a bit.

This final book in the "His Dark Materials" series is the conclusion, therefore it stands to reason that everything is put to rights in this last book. And I must say that when the reader first picks up the novel they are reassured by it's thickness that every loose end with be tied up nicely and neatly for the reader. However, I am not sure that is necessarily the case. While yes there is a major battle, Lyra and Will accomplish the missions they have been given, and certain truths are discovered as well as how to fix them, the ending is left just open enough for the reader to fill in the blanks how they may want to. This isn't to say that the author left it hanging, no, but he does not make the fatal error of saying "Will went on to. . ." or "Lyra then. . . " which I think sometimes ruins a stories ending. The reader should be allowed to feel the way things should have ended is exactly how they did. The author's job stops at a certain point so to speak.

In the first two books I felt twisted and turned around so much that for a while I wasn't sure that the last book was going to be able to answer all the little questions that I had building up, but not only does Pullman manage to straighten everything out, he does so in such good form that it doesn't feel like the reader is spoon fed all the bits or overwhelmed with it all in one revieling moment. Each answer is placed right when it is needed and it all makes perfect sense as the answers appear!

This is all a round about way of saying that Pullman is such an excellent writer! I lvoed the story, the characters, and, obviously, his style of writing. These books can often be found in the young adult section, but as an adult I loved them! I plan on reading them to my children sometime in the next year or so, knowing that even though they may be young they will be able to understand everything as Pullman does an incredible job with his imagery and storytelling abilities. This is such an amazing series and I agree that it is becoming a classic!

So get your hands on a copy as soon as you can, if you have not already read them. And if you have read the books I see no harm in rereading them! I look forward to being able to enjoy them once more with my children!