The Name of The Wind (& The Wise Man's Fear)

 The Name of the Wind & The Wise Man's Fear
Patrick Rothfuss

The first two books of the Kingkiller Chronicle series by Patrick Rothfuss. Telling the story of Kvothe, the unrivaled sword fighter, musician and magician.

So how did I feel about these books, you ask? Simply put; I fell in love.

I started off pretty skeptical as they are very heavy on imagery and at first I wasn't sure where the description ended and the story begun, but once it did and once I'd fallen in love with Kvothe, I was a goner.        

I didn't put either of these books down until I finished them. Rothfuss's style of writing is addictive, it has a fast pace to it yet still manages to include enough imagery and extra information to keep the world he's created developing. Every word is devoured and I couldn't help re-reading paragraphs in order to make sure I had drained everything from it.

I'm not fond of books written in first person, and I don't usually like switching time frames (the books alternate between Kvothe's past and Kvothe's -disguised as a innkeeper Kote- present). However I can appreciate why Rothfuss does this and it adds to the book and plot enormously.

I have one complaint - the third isn't written yet (or at least is in progress). But to be honest all good things come to those who wait and I am definitely waiting!

The Kingkiller Chronicles are brilliant for young adults and adults alike, a great one to put on your shopping list for people's birthdays etc. The world is incredible, the characters wonderful and the writing itself topnotch.

You don't want to miss out, I promise you.

Good Reading!
Tabs
X

Seraphina

Imagine watching the T.V. and your favourite character is watching something spectacular, unsuspecting as a mysterious figure clothed in dark and intrigue creeps closer behind them, producing a long, sharp, shining dagger preparing to thrust it between his shoulder blades and just as the darting tip pricks his flesh your character spins and deflects the blade much to your anxious relief causing you to release your breath you didn't realise you were holding. Only for 3 more assailants to appear out the shadows and begin attacking him and as he grows steadily weaker and things begin to seem dire and hopeless your characters love interest arrives and sparks explode as they protect each other whilst arguing over who is taking whom and going where.

This scene portrays the mixed emotions and rollercoaster ride I embarked on whilst reading Seraphina. Rachel Hartman has in her fantastical debut spun a bittersweet story of politics, romance, music and dragons. Her characters are so well developed and I fell in love with them all, even the villains. Her style of writing is so lyrical and smooth that I just fell into the rhythm she weaved even though I was desperate to speed ahead and find out what happened. Hartman knows how to control and direct the reader without losing their interest, instead allowing your involvement in the story to spiral constantly feeding titbits to fan your flame until it all explodes in a shower of fabulousness.


Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page

However I have one complaint..... it has a sequel which isn't out until March 24th 2015.. Cruel Hartman very cruel. I await it with bated breath meanwhile naming Seraphina my book of 2014 so far and awarding it the coveted Skinny rating.

Good Reading
X

Grimm Tales for Young and Old

The Grimm Tales, for young and old, by Philip Pullman was a delight. A retelling of the magical fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers, Pullman weaves in a little of his own magic with sprinkles of wit, reflections and swift direction into these iconic famous tales.

I was smitten from the moment I saw it in Waterstones; not only was it a collection of popular and not so popular fairy tales but it had been retold by one of the best fantasy authors of our time Philip Pullman, with each tale ending with a small concise and often funny analysis by the man himself.

A collection of 50 folk stories there are some classically brilliant ones (variations of Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and the Three Musicians of Bremen) and some less known, however no less entertaining.

Pullman has selected the best of the Grimm Tales and given them a new lease of life for the children and adults of today to read and enjoy in a far more modern manner.

A extremely obvious Skinny Rating for my new fairy tale collection of all time.

Good Reading
X

Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Every so often you come across a book which makes you realise how one aspect can make one book shine so much brighter than others. For me, that aspect is the setting. If you can really, I mean really, imagine the place you're reading about, if you can feel the rain on your face, see the mud and dark shadows the characters have to pass through, if you feel yourself remembering places the character have visited. For me the minute a book holds a map on its pages showing the reader physically the world they are about to enter, this book almost definitely promises to be good. It promises me that there might be some depth, some adventure, some wars, some cross country trekking, most usually some magic, a lot of fantasy and it definitely promises the author has put enough effort into creating a world where their story can take place. 

Maps are both aesthetic and functional, it might be just as I've never learnt the art of reading them, but I find something alluring about the lines of a map portraying vast expanses of land in a small space whispering a whole lot of secrets to anyone who will listen..... Anyway enough about my admiration of maps;  basically seeing a map of the world I was about to enter before I'd even started the story  fills me with a great deal of hope!

And Throne of Glass delivered, when I received it in the post, I'd been a little apprehensive over where the story would go, but go it did! The first part of the blurb:

'In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake. She got caught.'

At this I was intigued, to say the least, an kick-ass assasin, a girl at that, it promised to be good! But then the second part;

'Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament - fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin's heart be melted?'

Here my apprehensions started to form as it sounded a bit like a rip-off of the Hunger Games, with a bit of cheesy romance thrown in. I mean 'melted'??? It was a turn-off of a word to use!

However I am more than happy to give Ms Sarah J. Maas a thumbs up! I adored Throne of Glass and I read from beginning to end non-stop. Although the romance was a bit cheesy there were still some scenes which I wouldn't have predicted and thoroughly enjoyed. Celaena was a flirt and a tease with The High Prince Dorian but it wasn't in a way that meant the reader wanted to slap her but it made for some amusing exchanges between the two of them and I loved following them. Celaena and Captain Westfall was more predictable but I liked how the novel ended without any firm plans being set in Celaena's love life thus allowing it to further develop in the other coming novels.

The setting, as you might have guessed, was very well done, and Maas delivered a complex world with the countries at war, and rebels fighting back. This separate plot of the bigger picture was woven in well amongst the immediate story of Celaena and her Champions tournament. On the whole Maas has created a story that I adored, a right mash of the Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings and a bit of James Bond! I have bought the second in the series and also ordered a Kindle, for other reasons, but mainly the fact there are 4 e-novellas available on Amazon!

I think, and I don't think I'll regret it, but Throne of Glass will earn a Skinny rating (6 out of 5) as although it had a few minor faults the story itself was so enthralling that they slipped to the kerb!

It can be ordered from Amazon.co.uk for £3.85 and is published by Bloomsbury. It's been a while since I've read a series I've really really loved and wanted to buy the next book for reasons other than making sure the plot didn't change too far from what I'd predicted! In other words I've brought a Crown of Glass for the book and the story and the characters theirselves rather than the whole series!

I wholly suggest you invest, Sarah J. Mass, Erilea and Celaena deserve a huge fan following!

Good Reading

Tabby

X

Charm and Strange

Ever read one of those books that all the way through you believe one thing is happening, until right at the end the whole plot changes/reveals its true intention and you realise what really happened? This was one of those. It was also one of those books that stayed with you even after you'd turned the last page, a book you wanted to share with everyone just to have them experience the same roller coaster of feelings you felt. It's similar to watching a video you feel is important to share with everyone: you feel the need to MAKE EVERYONE read it.

When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .

Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn was simply amazing, it has been a long time since I read a book that really made me remain focused on the story, no drifting could be allowed, this book demands your attention. Written about an extremely important issue Kuehn delves deep into the psychological mindset of the victim, in this case Andrew Winston Winters. However she does it in such a subtle way using metaphors and euphemisms that it isn't horrific and graphic but instead highlights how children adapt their perception on situations to make it appear less horrific. What I really liked was that you didn't really realise what was going on until right at the end, when Kuehn began to break down the wall Drew had created in order to forget his ordeal (basically Drew thinks of his family as werewolves and this helps him deal with his issue.) This continued metaphor softens and actually enhances the impact that writing directly about the ordeal would have. However I don't want to dissect it too much as part of the books charm is unraveling the plot by yourself (finding it very hard to write about it without revealing what this taboo subject Kuehn deals so well with is!)

Kuehn writes the novel by alternating between Andrew's past (antimatter) and Andrew's present (matter). This clear distinction between Drew's flashbacks and his present situation culminates with the final catalyst that causes present Andrews downward spiral into depression and madness being revealed near the end of the book. Although some people may find the changing chapters confusing and difficult to follow; for me, it was a brilliant idea as it helped break up the story and prevented it from becoming too much of an emotional overload. The characters themselves were well developed and unpredictable which added more to the essential suspense of the novel and the masterful way Kuehn made the characters change to fit in with Andrews altered view of his ordeal was amazing as it helped stop the reader guessing immediately what issue she was dealing with and prevented them from losing interest. For three quarters of the novel I was waiting for Drew to turn into a Wolf! I also enjoyed the distinct difference between the characters in Andrews present and past. Present characters were far clearer and easier to follow and pin and more predictable whilst the characters in the past were far darker, hazy and unpredictable as well as drifting in and out of the story.

"A deftly woven, elegant, unnerving psychological thriller about a boy at war with himself, Charm and Strange is a masterful exploration of one of the greatest taboos.

No one really knows who Andrew Winston Winters is. Least of all himself. He is part Win, a lonely teenager exiled to a remote boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts the whole world out, no matter the cost, because his darkest fear is of himself …of the wolfish predator within. But he’s also part Drew, the angry boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who, one fateful summer, was part of something so terrible it came close to destroying him. Sensitive, yet confronting. Unsettling…and utterly enthralling. Unlike anything you will have read before."



If you hadn't already guessed I loved this book and it will receive the esteemed elusive Skinny rating (6 out of 5) and was such a roller coaster, quite a challenging, read that I will love to return to it again. Also as it is Kuehn's debut novel she must be thoroughly commended for this thrilling unsettling piece of work and I seriously hope she gathers a good fan base as I'll be looking out for more of her books and I really want other people to experience her insightful beautiful writing! Published by Electric Monkey an imprint of Egmont, Charm and Strange can be purchased from Amazon.co.uk for £11.56 (hardcover) or £4.30 (e-book) really recommended!!!

En Bon Lu!
Tabby
X

A Face Like Glass

In Caverna, lies are an art - and everyone's an artist.. 

Ever read one of those books, that from the first sentence you know you'll be gripped, entranced, in love with the book, the story, the characters? Well this is one of those books!

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge and I loved it. It was a relief and a refreshing breath to read a book that has a proper story, has a huge amount of little stories, a great setting, an amazing set of characters, Hardinge gives it all. About half way through this book I was thinking about how to review it and I've decided one of the best ways to tell you how good it is, is to tell you what books it's similar to. If you loved the Inkheart trilogy, this book is for you, Harry Potter, this book is for you, His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass, The Amber Spyglass etc), this book is for you, The Chronicles of Narnia, again this book is for you. A Face Like Glass has that quality of writing that should make it a childrens, young adult, adult classic. It's set in a beautiful dangerous, strange and magical. A magic, multi-layered, elegant rich novel that anyone would enjoy slowly savouring and exploring.

The Bookbag summed it up perfectly 'This is the kind of book which makes you slow down as you reach the final pages because you don't want it to end'.

Hardinge's characters are complex and her setting even more so. Caverna is a underground city full of magic craftsmen, who make wine that makes you forget, cheeses that show you the future, and perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer, even while they slit your throat. Caverna's politics with these masterful craftsmen is full of intrigue, assassinations, back stabbing and uneasy alliances, and into this unruly unpredictable mix falls a orphaned girl, Neverfell who wears her emotions on her face. This is a fearful sight for the people of Caverna who are born with blank faces and who have to learn expressions, meaning they can lie smoothly to your face while they wear a understanding truthful Face. In a place where it is impossible to tell who is lying Neverfell provides an innocent naive pawn that can be shuffled back and forth in chess moves of a great complex scale.

It draws you in.  You twist your mind into new shapes.  You start to understand Caverna…and you fall in love with her.  Imagine the most beautiful woman in the world, but with tunnels as her long, tangled, snake-like hair.  Her skin is dappled in trap-lantern gold and velvety black, like a tropical frog.  Her eyes are cavern lagoons, bottomless and full of hunger.  When she smiles, she has diamonds and sapphires for teeth, thousands of them, needle-thin.’

‘But that sounds like a monster!’

‘She is.  Caverna is terrifying.  This is love, not liking.  You fear her, but she is all you can think about.’”

I read a few reviews on A Face Like Glass and one reviewer summed it up amazingly well: 

The whole book is a masterpiece, in my opinion, but what really blew my mind was the epilogue (and not just because it felt right and necessary).  In a stroke of pure genius, Frances Hardinge suddenly switches the perspective to that of an outsider for the final pages.  Reading from his point of view, it suddenly came crashing down on me just how far down this particular rabbit hole I had really gone.  I had fallen for Caverna and in doing so, I had gone a bit mad. (http://www.thereadventurer.com/1/post/2012/07/ya-review-a-face-like-glass-by-frances-hardinge.html)

It is a book ridiculously hard to review due it's multi-layered elegant enthralling story which weaves such a beautiful entrancing magical story that I won't forget it in a long time, nor would I want to. For me it would be hard to peel each layer apart individually to dissect it for you as I think it would ruin the amazing flow that I associate with this novel as well as ruining the story for you guys, if you want a more in-depth review read the review I got that sum up, but if you're happy to go on my word, do, and BUY IT!

It's definitely one of those books that I'll keep 

a) for a rainy day

b) for my mum and my family and anyone I can persuade to read it

c) for my future children

d) for a rainy rainy day

e) for a normal day

f) I hope you get the picture, it's a book I think I'll read again and again and hopefully again.

As you might have guessed A Face Like Glass will receive the esteemed Skinny rating ( 6 out of 5 ) and I really recommend you dig a little deep in your pockets and buy it, it's all for the greater good of stretching your imagination to cope with the wonderful worlds authors like Hardinge can offer you. Blow your mind, you might as well! It's published by Pan MacMillan and can be purchased, a late Mothers Day Present (for you to read first of course), from Amazon.co.uk for £5.56.

dobré čtení (Czech)

Tabs

X

The Double Shadow

The Double Shadow by Sally Gardner is a epic-ally brilliant book. It's as good as her other three, I Coriander, The Red Necklace and the Silver Blade (which I'm staring at as I write this!). A mish mash of detective, romance and thriller this book is beautifully written. Gardner's details and descriptions are gripping and vivid. It was a real joy to read. I was honestly enthralled by the first chapter.

It's set before and during the Second World War, but don't worry it's not really about the war, so no guns on the Front. It basically follows Amaryllis Ruben and her friend Ezra. Ruben's father has invented a memory machine that freezes people's good memories (as well as their bad) and stores them in a sort of parallel universe; the theory being you can then replay them whenever you want. However he has also invented this machine as a way to shelter Amaryllis from the outside world and the depressing and mysterious, as well as complicated, circumstances around her mother's death.

Boiled down this story can be interpreted as the effort of a caring father to protect and keep his 'little' girl safe from the dangerous war torn world. Amaryllis's story  can be related to by the modern teenager as nearly all of them will have a father who wishes to protect, and really preserve, them as a little girl, as well as making sure they're always happy. Stress the happy, happy memories plays a big part in this novel as you would find out if you read it (which, of course, you should!!).

It's not all plain sailing though, Amaryllis doesn't want to enter the memory machine and once in it, all alone besides a past she can't and possibly doesn't want to remember, she's stuck. However Ezra loves Amaryllis and hasn't forgotten about her despite the fact she, her father and several other people, in various convoluted sub plots, have disappeared. He's determined to find her and the British Secret Service are just the people to help him do it! (It's a very clever story drawing on many things from the time it's set in!)

The book follows Amaryllis through her discovery of her past as well as several events that prove key to things that happen later in the novel. After about half of the novel it also follows Ezra on his quest to find the peculiar, slightly snotty, charming girl he has somehow found himself falling in love with. It is a very bittersweet love story that involved much intrigue, murder and mystery.

You might have noticed, that for once, my words are failing me and my review is coming out in a bit of a jumble.... I'll sum it up quickly then before I throw you off the scent of this delicious book.... It's a brilliant intriguing read that is extremely busy and keeps you entertained and enthralled from the word 'go'.

It receives a distinguished mark, the Skinny rating, 6 out of 5, and can be purchased from Amazon.co.uk for around £6.99 (or cheaper if you go to a different seller) and is worth the read, especially if you enjoyed any of her other books. It's also of a similar calibre to Code name Verity (Elizabeth Wein) (a review will be forthcoming at some point) and the Nostradamus Prophecy (Theresa Breslin). It's published by Indigo an division of Orion.

En Bon Lu!
Tabs
X

Skinny

Skinny by Donna Cooner made me seriously re-think all my ratings for this blog, because it is definitely worth the top mark I can give it perhaps more so than some of the other books that got a 5. I conclude I shall create a new top rating even higher than the 5 and it shall be called the Skinny rate...... (a 5.5 - 6 in technical terms!). It was incredible -  Cooper tackles the issue of obesity so well through Ever, a 15 year old girl who weighs 302 pounds (21.5 stone). Ever has a tinkerbell goth girl in her head who whispers to her what people are thinking 'Look how fat she is'. 'Kill me if I ever become like her', I found this incredibly sad and I admit this is one of the places where I cried. Her mum also died from cancer which is one of the reasons Ever became fat, she didn't end her mother and Ever's tradition of eating chocolate at bedtime and she quickly gained weight because she was now doing it all by herself.

Happily ever after? Or never ever, Ever. Ever's mom loved fairy tales, but at fifteen-years-old and weighing 302 lbs, Ever Davies is sure that "happily ever after" was never written for her. She lives under the constant scrutiny of everyone around her, and "Skinny" - the voice in her head - makes sure she never forgets how fat and ugly she is. That is, until Ever decides to take drastic action. With the help of her long-suffering friend Rat, Ever embarks on the risky, terrifying journey of gastric surgery. But while Ever's body gradually changes on the outside, she soon finds that changing the person on the inside is much harder. And silencing Skinny is the hardest task of all.

Ever
Ever is really interesting to follow as you can literally see how she changes, both on the outside and inside. She starts off isolated, unhappy and alone apart from her best friend Rat. After a talk with her stepsister Briella where they insult each other, Briella calling her fat, and so she embarks on gastric surgery. Following this and her drastic weight loss she begins to see how fickle people can be and how she has perceived everything, what she wanted she actually already had. 

Rat
Rat's a science geek, pure and simple, but he's also really sweet and cares a lot for Ever. He doesn't mind she's fat but she doesn't realise this instead Skinny convinces her it's because he pities her and doesn't know how to tell her. Rat supports Ever through her gastric surgery helping her draw up charts etc to map her progress.

Briella
Ever's stepsister at first Briella and Ever don't get on, Ever always being jealous of Briella's skinny body and gorgeous looks. Ever can't see past the physical attributes of people and with Skinny whispering in her ear over reads situations and can't accept compliments or offers of friendships when they're offered. Finally Briella and Ever get on and Ever discovers they have a lot more in common than she previously thought. Briella's cute, spunky and caring, though she feels quite insignificant next to her glamourous cheerleading sister Lydnsey.

 I really loved this novel - it made me laugh, cry, sigh and fall in love with it. Cooner portrays the struggles of obesity and the pain and hardship Ever has to go through as a result of the gastric surgery. Her personal experience adds a credibility to this novel and I really enjoyed the breath of fresh light and the realistic nature of this novel. Skinny wasn't written to be a love story or a portrayal of school life instead it is a honest account of a fat girl attempting to become thin in order to fit in and be happy with her body.

I give Skinny the Skinny rating, 6 out of 5. It was great, eye-opening and loveable in three words. It's coming out in paperback on the 4th of February 2013 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.co.uk for £5.24. I really really do recommend this, it's an amazing insight into the turmoils of a teenage mind, one whose is insecure and struggles to cope with her body image, even if you're not overweight I promise you can relate to it and this is one of the reasons I strongly suggest it and the main reason I loved it. It's published by Electric Monkey an imprint of Egmont Publishing UK.

En Bon Lu!
X