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| £7 for 2 |
Hi guys,
I haven't done a reads of the month for a super long time. I have had sooo many issues with my ereaders that I can't even go into it without hulk smashing. Unfortunately I broke my trusty kobo ereader last year and decided to upgrade to a kobo Arc 7hd tablet. All I will say is 3 defective ereaders in less than 7 months this year and a loss of £160 later! Safe to say my reading habits have been affected in many ways! Any way I needed some new reading material, so I headed over to Tesco and picked up 2 books for £7. I am into a lot of genres so chose 2 very different books to keep me entertained. Lets get started.
The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen ( 3.5 stars)
Set in the 24th century, soon to be crowned Kelsea Raleigh Glynn begins a fraught and perilous journey to reclaim her dead mothers throne and right the wrongs of her decimated kingdom, on her 19th birthday. Having been raised by her mothers most trusted friends in hiding to thwart those out to kill her. She rides to her potential doom bearing her right to rule in the form of the Tearling sapphire. A ancient jewel with unknown magical powers and the backing the Queen’s Guard. Described as plain and studious, Kelsea feels the burden of her throne keenly.She is ill-equipped to deal with the treacherous ways of the royal court, when all she really wants to do is read her books and learn new things.
Determined to do and be better than her mother Queen Elyssa, Kelsea resolves to rule with fairness and strength taking her first stand against her uncle and arch enemy the red queen and potentially sparking a war. Having finally claimed her crown, queen Kelsea now begins to dismantle and rebuild her kingdom.
This is definitely mature YA. I think this has the potential to be a very good trilogy but I don't think it brings any thing new to the table in terms of fantasy. The history is a little patchy and unexplained as to how these countries came to be -no spoilers but I am hoping this will be delved into in the second and third instalment.
I liked the fact that the main protagonist Kelsea is a female that doesn't pander to many of the female character tropes within literature. But was disappointed with the fact that at the expense of not being cut from the cloth of the traditional princess, Kelsea is described as "plain". In order for her to be smart she can't be pretty. Not that she has to be beautiful but this is mentioned a few times in the book.Perhaps playing to the notion that this is aimed at YA, Kelsea also suffers from unrequited love and falls in love with the dark and mysterious criminal who kidnaps and helps her escape being murdered. I found this story line didn't enhance the the book and was unnecessary. Or the fact that Kelsea makes major decisions with her heart although she is described as studious and analytical. Again not a big deal but does contradict some of her earlier character traits. There is no mix of those two. I think I would have personally enjoyed this more if Kelsea came across as a powerful, self-possessed, assured 19 year old women ready to take up her mantle and carving out her own path although she has had this role trust upon her and getting to see more of her personality.
The Ways of the Dead: A Sully Carter Novel by Neely Tucker (2.5)
In a time when newspaper is king the murder of teenager Sarah Reese, the daughter of powerful Washington, D.C. judge has gripped the city. Seasoned once upon a time war journalist Sully Carter is covering the death of Sarah and the subsequent arrest of 3 local young men.
With a back drop of racial and sociopolitical tension mentally scarred, functioning alcoholic Sully wades his way through a pile of incorrect information and misdirection. To find the truth behind this murder and how it is linked to the disappearance and subsequent murders of local women from the area Sarah was found in.
Drawing on his less than upstanding source crime kingpin Sly Hastings for the word on the street. Sully deduces that the 3 young men have been arrested incorrectly and nothing is as it seems. Making him several steps ahead of the police and leading to his superiors at the newspaper to question his work.
Sully has stumbled upon a pattern of murder with a few blocks in a neighbourhood but is swiftly shut down by his editors. Sully pushes forward with this and is swept up in a unforeseen series of events.
I am a big fan of crime novels but didn't really enjoy this book that much. I just didn't get into it. None of the other characters were as developed as Sully and it was very clear when reading it. I think it is a book you either love or can do without. I found the use of Sully going into this down trodden area and being made out to be a saviour of these wrongly accused men and the voice of the people within the neighbourhood very stereotypical and stale. Tucker did try to give Sly Hastings the opportunity to met out "street justice" for these young women but again the idea of sly meting out illegal punishment whilst sully takes a cleaner so to speak route is problematic. The novel does however highlight the fickle nature of global media and how that ties into race, who are given the right to be victims, politics and wealth.
This is actually based on the true case of the Princeton Place murders. Unfortunately the murders went undetected as the women who were murdered were of an ethic background and were not seen to have unsavoury pasts.
There you have it my loves, hopefully I didn't give away any spoilers!
What are you reading?
Until next time................
Smooches
Stephanie aka Wednesdays Girl
xoxo
Don't forget to come find me and Follow @GirlWednesdays
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