Review: Imperial Hostage by Phil Cantrill

I received this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.  Please ignore the cover, which is, I think, the world's ugliest cover.  I couldn't stand looking at it the whole time I was reading the book.  It looks like a third grader drew it.

I believe the book is for YA audiences, but it is hard to tell, as there was some sexually suggestive content and quite a bit of gore.  It covers the time that Prince Erechtheus of Attike' spends as a hostage in the kingdom of Poseidia.  I wasn't really clear about WHY the various kingdoms send the hostages, but it seemed to be more like a foreign exchange program than an actual hostage situation, as the hostages were all educated and treated well, even given some measure of freedom.  Erech is to stay from his 12th year through his 25th, and then he can return to his own kingdom to, hopefully, take the throne.  He has many adventures as he learns and adjusts to his new home.

The book, to me, was like a cross between the Harry Potter books (kids going away to be educated and learning about powers they didn't know they had) and the Clan of the Cave Bear series (the two are not set in the same time period, per se, but some of the elements remind me of Ayla's experiences).  I liked it, but it wasn't great literature.  It was mostly a series of different adventures that Erech and his friends experience, but they didn't seem to be connected by any overarching theme or really connected in any way.  I think I received the second in the series to review also, but I'm not sure.  If not, I'm not sure I would seek it out.

Recommended for the younger set, with a warning about a couple of risqué scenes (not overly graphic, and probably not as bad as what is in most modern YA, but just in case parents are easily offended, I wanted to put that out there); recommended for those with an interest in light fantasy and/or Ancient Greek/Rome.  I would imagine that those who like Rick Riordan's work might enjoy this book.  I give it three out of five Whatevers.

2013-10

Review: Beloved by Toni Morrison

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.  Heartbreaking and spellbinding.  Unforgettable.  I don't know what else I have to say besides that.  I understand why Toni Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature and why this book won the Pulitzer.  I cannot believe I had not read it until now.  If you haven't read it, please go out, get a copy by hook or by crook, and read it NOW.

This story of the shame of slavery and one mother's decision to make the ultimate sacrifice for her children is absolutely a must-read.  What Sethe does to try to save her children the humiliation and pain she has experienced at the hands of whitepeople, and the consequences thereof, will stun you.  The book hit me in the gut and then stabbed me in the heart.  It's been a long time since I read a full-length novel centered around the Civil War and/or Reconstruction era, and maybe never since I read one from the perspective of a former slave.  It crushed me with guilt, but Morrison's beautiful words were also a salve for that pain.  I'm simply unable to adequately put into words what this book is and how it made me feel.

An unequivocal five out of five Whatevers.  I got my copy from BookMooch, but it is staying on my permanent shelves.  I want to read it again in a few years, and a few more after that.  This book is another in my overarching quest to read the Pulitzers.  I'm up to a paltry total of six, now.  This one is just bewitching, much like Beloved herself.  Read it.  As soon as you can.

2013-9

Review: The Hostage Bride by Jane Feather

I finished this book last night, while watching my Dawgs get beat by Clemson.  The copy I read was a Kindle book which I purchased with my own money.  I bought it because my mother-in-law had given me the third in the Bride Trilogy by Jane Feather in a load of books she was getting rid of several years ago.  Not being one to let good books go to another home, I snagged a whole shopping bag full of them.  And, of course, I can't read the third in a trilogy without starting at the beginning!  I didn't know the genre when I bought the book from Amazon, but I kind of figured it was a romance novel.  I am not a HUGE romance reader, but I do like a good, dirty novel every once in a while.

The book is about Portia Worth, bastard daughter of ne'er-do-well Jack Worth, unacknowledged son of the House of Granville.  The Granvilles have been feuding with the House of Decatur for years, ever since Cato Granville and Rufus Decatur were young boys, and Cato saw his father take his own life, rather than submit to the Decaturs.  When Jack dies, his last request is that Cato make sure his daughter has a place in Castle Granville.  Portia is a rough and tumble girl, a tomboy, not accustomed to civilized society, whose only wish is to be a soldier someday.  During a botched kidnapping attempt, Decatur thugs grab Portia, instead of her cousin Olivia, and she becomes a hostage of the House of Decatur.  And then, of course, she falls in love with her captor.  And there is sex.  Will she return to the Granvilles or stay with the House of Decatur?  Will her family ever forgive her?

I did like the book, and I'm giving it three out of five Whatevers.  It's not high literature, but it was a quick read and a nice bit of fluff in between more substantial reads.  There were many typos which annoyed me (seriously, an apostrophe every now and then would not kill you), and I was a little squicked by not only the Stockholm Syndrome-ness of it all, but also by the next-door-to-abusive behavior of the brutish Rufus Decatur.  But overall, I liked Portia and her ability to go against the social mores of the 17th century.  The development of the friendship between the girls seemed a bit fast and inorganic, but I'm able to suspend my disbelief quite a bit in order to get through a book.  Recommended for romance-lovers, but not recommended for feminists or those who are easily offended by sex scenes.

2013-8

Review: Pirate King by Laurie R. King

I finished this book probably two and a half weeks ago, and kind of forgot about writing a review of it.  Not that I didn't like it...I think I was just a little underwhelmed by it, so writing a review fell by the wayside.  It didn't help that it was a Kindle book - when I have a book to review, I put it by the computer, so I don't forget.  With a Kindle book, that really doesn't work so well.

ANYWAY - it was a Kindle book, which I bought myself from Amazon, probably with my Christmas Amazon money, which I get every year.

In this installment of Laurie R. King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, Russell is sent along with a film crew making a movie about a group of actors putting on a presentation of The Pirates of Penzance.  Talk about a confusing premise.  She is sent to Portugal and Morocco with the film crew, to keep an eye out for any untoward behavior, as crime seems to follow Flytte Films around.  She plays nursemaid to the thirteen (!!!) young ladies who play the major-general's daughters kidnapped by the pirates.  Meanwhile, she is looking for clues to the unknown illegal behavior that she and Holmes are sure is involved with Flytte Films' pirate movie.

I didn't love this one.  Which is very disappointing, given how VERY MUCH I loved the last two books in this series.  This one was okay, maybe even good (because Laurie R. King at her very worst is way better than some other authors at their best), but it just didn't grab me the way the previous books have.  There wasn't enough action or something.  And my mom said the same thing when I told her what I was reading - it wasn't one of her favorites, either.  All in all, three out of five Whatevers.  Recommended for continuity purposes for those invested in the series, but don't start with this one if you're a newbie.

2013-7

Review: Gone: A Photographic Plea for Preservation by Shelby Foote & Nell Dickerson

I received this e-book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.  I'm kind of embarrassed to say that that was about two or three years ago.  Um, I'm a little behind on my reviewing responsibilities.  But I'm working to get caught up.

This book was an e-book, but in print form, I would imagine it would be truly beautiful.  Nell Dickerson is a photographer, who has a strong interest in preserving the past...not just the past of the Old South, the focus of this book, but an interest in EVERYONE preserving their past.  She does this through photographing old Southern homes, architecture and design from the Civil War era.  In this book, she juxtaposes her photographs of these old homes with a story by her cousin, Shelby Foote, a famous Civil War historian and novelist, "Pillar of Fire."  The story is about the burning of an old plantation home in Mississippi by Union troops, at the tail end of the Civil War.

So what did I think of the book?  I very much enjoyed the short story.  But, honestly, I didn't pay much attention to the photos, as I was too wrapped up in the narrative to look closely at them.  They are beautiful photos, but my interest was more in Foote's words.  When I did stop to look at the photos, they didn't really seem to coincide with the story, and thus seemed a little pointless to me.  I would much rather the photos have their own book, where the story wouldn't detract from their importance.

Overall, three out of five Whatevers.  Recommended for Civil War buffs, photography nuts, and those with an interest in preserving our national heritage.

2013-6

Review: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

I first read this classic in high school, but I remembered almost nothing about it when I started this re-read. The copy I read was acquired through BookMooch. It took me quite a while to read it...I kept reading magazines instead of the book, so I didn't really start it until June or July, despite having finished my last book during the Read-a-Thon in April. I finally finished it on Tuesday night.

So what did I think of this book? I actually really liked it. I am a huge fan of Gothic novels, and this is the quintessential Gothic romance. Catherine Earnshaw and the man known only as Heathcliff were meant for each other, but when Heathcliff leaves the family home (he was adopted by Catherine's father as a small boy), Catherine marries another. Because of this, Heathcliff spends the rest of his life making everyone around him, especially anyone who had any connection to Catherine, miserable.

I never realized when I first read the book, back in high school, just how abusive Heathcliff is. There is honestly no other word for it. He is mentally, physically, and emotionally abusive to anyone within his charge. Despite Heathcliff's evil nature, however, or maybe because of it - a major theme in the book is the contrast between life at Wuthering Heights - the wild, depressing, GOTHIC home of Mr. Heathcliff - and Thrushcross Grange - the civilized domicile of the Earnshaw family - I still very much enjoyed the book. It was dark and foreboding. You always felt that something terrible was about to happen, and you were kept on the edge of your seat waiting for it to occur.

Recommended for those who enjoy classics or Gothic novels. Four out of five Whatevers.

2013-5

RAT: This Is the End, My Friend

Title of book(s) read since last update: Food Network magazine
Number of books read since you started: two and part of a third
Pages read since last update: 46
Running total of pages read since you started: 531
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  60 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 895 minutes
Mini-challenges completed: Opening Meme
Other participants you’ve visited: None
What I've eaten/drunk: bottle of water; Special K Sausage, Egg and Cheese Flatbread; jelly beans; Loaded Baked Potato Pringles; more water; T.G.I. Friday's Buffalo Chicken Bites; carrots; more water; more Loaded Baked Potato Pringles; more jelly beans; yet more water; 3 slices of cheese pizza for dinner; more water; T.G.I. Friday's Potato Skins; Diet Mt. Dew; more water

It was a less successful Read-a-Thon for me this time around, but the good thing about the Read-a-Thon is...there's always the next one.  I wish I hadn't gone out the night before, but what can you do?  Life doesn't stop for the Read-a-Thon, unfortunately.

I took a huge break in there and went to sleep, but I got up a bit after 7 am and finished strong!  (This is my secret RAT strategy...wake up early on day 2 and power through to the end.)  Now I guess it's back to real life until October.  Sigh.