Review: IRONSIDE: A MODERN FAERY TALE by Holly Black

In the realm of the Faery, it’s time for Roiben’s coronation. On the night of the coronation, Kaye, drunk from faery wine, declares her love for Roiben and asks for a quest. Roiben sends her on an impossible one: to find a faery that can tell an untruth, and everybody knows no faery can tell a lie, even the tiniest one. See how impossible the quest is? Miserable and convinced that she doesn’t belong anywhere, Kaye tells her mother the truth - that she is a changeling in the place of her daughter. So Kaye ventures to the Seelie Court to see Queen Silarial. In exchange for the human Kaye, she has to give out Roiben’s real name. She uses a fake one, and escapes with Ethine, Roiben’s sister. The two, along with Corny, Kaye’s gay friend, went into hiding. Later, Kaye finds out about the Seelie Queen’s plan, to let Roiben battle his sister to death for the Seelie throne. Will Kaye make it in time to warn Roiben? Or will she fail to save her love because of the quest?

     Author Holly Black brings us another tale of dark faery politics and dangerous love. Darker and deadlier than the previous novel, Tithe( I haven’t read Valiant, and judging by the summary, Valiant took place way before Tithe), Ironside is sexy and completely different from the norm. Language lively and expressively vivid, the plot is complete and not without a lot of twists and turns.

     Kaye, as always, is brave and very likeable. Roiben is his usual stay-away-from-me-as-you-will-hurt-yourself self. All of the characters are fully fleshed out and lively.

     Also, the relationship between Kaye and Roiben is as heartbreaking as ever. You’ll cry and laugh as Kaye dances a figurative dance of love with Roiben. I love how Kaye’s relationship with her mother shift and change into a deeper, truer relationship. The misunderstandings are cleared and lies busted, as Kaye learns that her mother’s love will never diminish, even if she’s a pixie.

    Intriguing and magickal, Ironside is a dark modern faery tale with a fresh angle. A job well done by Holly Black, though I wish there were more stories of Kaye and Roiben. Perhaps there are necessary full-stops for wonderful stories.

     Cover: This is a cover I Love! See how the well the black contrasts with the  shine?

Ratings: 5 stars

* For mature readers

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Review: BLEEDING VIOLET by Dia Reeves

Biracial and biculture(Hanna’s words, not mine) Hanna Jarvinen (the last name is different, but I don’t know how to type it) is a normal teenager hitchhike to find her mother, Rosalee in Portero, Texas. Okay, Hanna is far from normal. She is manic depressive, hears voices, hallucinates and has a history of violence. With that, she thinks she will  stand out in Pertero, but she is far from wrong. No matter how strange Hanna is, Portero is stranger with its doors that lead to somewhere and the monsters that plague the town. Rosalee gave Hanna two weeks to make a friend in order to stay, and when she starts dating a Mortmaine, initiates who guard the town from danger, all hell broke lose. Watch Hanna and Wyatt(the boyfriend) battle evil and discover the truth about Portero.

     Bleeding Violet is dark and moody, just my type of novel. Reeves created a wonderful world of paranormal, letting us follow Hanna through her fitting in in Portero. There’s also some gore provoking action too, and more than enough steamy romance. What I love about Bleeding Violet is the darker mood of the novel the language made you feel. There are laughs, but more ew factor.

     Hanna is a lovable character, though not your typical one. She is the first patroganist I’d read that is loose in the mind, in a good way. She lacks the stereotype patroganist’s qualities, like sweet and kind. But Hanna is sweet in her own way and perhaps even more ass-kicking than most female characters. She is ultra witty too, always ready with a sharp response-you’ll know after the first few chapters.  Also, it’s not everyday you get to read about females characters of color.

     The side characters are less developed, except for Rosalee and the subject of interest, Wyatt. Well, there’s not many side characters anyway. I like how Hanna and Rosalee’s relationship grows, from pushing away to acceptance at last. It’s like watching a game of tug-and-war, always guessing who would tire faster and give in.

     The romance of Hanna and Wyatt is a fully developed one. There’s no love at first sight or pathetic puppy dog love, just two people despising each other at the beginning to falling in love during interaction at the end. The conversations and fights between the two are very realistic and resemble a real life couple. And they went through thick and thin together, so that just makes their relationship that much stronger. There’s enough chemistry and you’ll simply heart the couple. Enough said.

     For the paranormal front, there’s no vampires or werewolves, only the kind of monsters you were afraid of when you’re still young. And Reeves was pretty creative with her monsters. There was action scenes too, described vividly so I could see Hanna slicing off meat.

     All in all, Bleeding Violet is a crazy paranormal, the key elements in it working together perfectly. Reeves brings us a psychotic, nutty tale full of everything for everyone, going through the life the strangest girl on earth. The insane girl inside of me just LOVE this novel.

     Normally I pick a book up by its cover(not a good habit, I know) and Bleeding Violet captures my attention instantly. What do you think that says?

Ratings: 5 stars

* Contains swearing and sex, for mature readers

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Review : INCARCERON by Catherine Fisher

 

Finn the Starseer is a Prisoner of Incarceron, a vast cell which hold thousands of criminals. He has strange dreams of the Outside, where stars shine and birds sing. Instead, he is in the wing of Comitatus, and he is forced to use his skills to hold a cart long enough for an ambush. Finn gets the empathy of  a Maestra, and holds her captive by the order of Jeromic, the leader. He gets what he wants-a crystal key he sees in his dreams, but not before he watches the Maestra and her companions fall to death. Together with Keiro, Gildas and Attia, Finn finds a way to the Outside.

       Claudia Arlexi is also a prisoner of some sort in the Realm. Although she is in the Outside, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron is trapped in an Era, unable to advance and unable to evolve. As the date of her arranged marriage with the Earl of Casper draws near, Clausia tries to find the key to Incarceron. with the help of her tutor, Jared. When she finds it, a switch in the Key enables the Finn and Claudia to communicate with each other. Claudia is very sure that Finn is the lost Prince of Havaarna, Giles, the boy she was engaged to before he died. At what lengths will the two Prisoners do to Escape?

An entrancing tale of bravery and cruelty of man. Claudia, a haughty, false royalty in a frozen time; Finn, a kind, believing Prisoner. Both are hell bent on escaping, both are alone. Fisher's melodious language transported me to the time when Claudia and Finn live, feeling what they feel and doing what they did. It has its fair share of moving moments, when the Warden of Incarceron confessed his love to his daughter, and the love between student and teacher. The story is original, the suspense thrilling. There are also a few unexpected twists in the storyline. In the end, it is a tale about commitment, love and belief in what you do.

The cover is spectacular, even though the Key is not quite what I'd pictured.

Ratings : 5 stars (PERFECT!)

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