Top Ten Books On My Winter 2013/2014 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week we're listing the books that have made it to the top of our Winter 2013/2014 TBR piles. 
 

New & Upcoming Winter Releases:
Roomies by Tara Altebrando & Sara Zarr — More Sara Zarr, please! Also, I have hopes that this will be the sort of college story that I expected (and didn't receive) in Fangirl. 
World After by Susan Ee — This is loaded on my Kindle and ready to be read. I'm interested to see whether we start getting any answers to the many uncertainties that Ee poses in her post-apocalyptic world in Angelfall.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge — Never will I ever not want to read a retelling of "Beauty and the Beast." Seriously.

Enders by Lissa Price — I received an eARC from the publicist. I reviewed the first book in this duology, Starters, back in the early days of this blog and enjoyed it well enough.
These Broken Stars by Megan Spooner & Amie Kaufman — I don't love that this is being marketed as "Titanic in space," but the hype and the fact that this has gotten rave reviews makes me excited to read this. 
 

Owned Older Reads:
Everneath by Brodi Ashton — This YA trilogy ends in January. High time, then, to read the first two books (which are patiently waiting on my Kindle).
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey — I received this book last April but have been waiting for perfect cold, snowy weather to accompany my reading of this one.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch — I miss my adult high fantasies, and I haven't read a chunkster in a while now (talking over a year now). Not acceptable. This will happen.
Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor — Since the trilogy concludes in April, I want to give myself a bit of time to read and process the second book before then.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente — As my inaugural pick for Ready to Become a Fan of..., of course I need to spend some quality time reading this one (and its sequels)! 
 
Please be sure to let me know what books you plan on reading this winter!

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Review: Shadow on the Crown by Patricia Bracewell

Shadow on the Crown by Patricia Bracewell

Series: First in an expected trilogy

Published: 2013, Viking

Genre: Adult Historical Fiction

Source: Library

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“You must ever be prepared within yourself to face what trials may lay in store for you. let this be your first lesson: No one else must see you like this, Emma. Do you hear me? However great the provocation you must never allow anyone to see your fear.”

As the younger sister of Richard II, duke of Normandy, Emma has very little control over her own life. So when her brother and Æthelred II, the current king of England, forge a marriage alliance between Normandy and England, Emma has little say. The marriage would provide Æthelred with a new wife and an alliance with Normandy against frequent coastal attacks made by the Danes. As not merely the wife of the king, but a coronated queen of England, Emma’s family expects her to provide some guidance for the king and overseas support for Normandy’s causes.

Once in England, however, Emma is an outcast. With the exception of a Norman retinue, she’s left behind her home, family, and friends. Æthelred does not trust her and wants nothing to do with her outside of her knowledge Norman and Danish politics. Her husband’s children do not want a stepmother, especially one whose future children might challenge the current succession. Surrounded by suspicion, dislike, and fear, Emma’s new position is not enviable. Intelligent, impassioned, and outspoken, Emma is not quite the political pawn that anyone expected, however, and she is willing to do what it takes to become recognized as the true Queen of England.

Shadow on the Crown is not merely Emma’s story, which was a surprise to me. Emma is the main narrator and the majority of the plot focuses on her, but she still shares the narration with three other characters: her new husband Æthelred, her son-in-law and the crown prince Athelstan, and Elgiva, daughter of one of the more powerful English ealdormen. I am not normally a fan of multiple narrators, and it took me a while to warm up to the switches between them. Through selecting these key characters as narrators, however, Bracewell is able to paint a much richer portrait of England at the turn of the twelfth century.

Of these narrators, two are more typically good while two are more typically evil. Emma and Athelstan  both genuinely care about the fate of England and its people. As Æthelred’s decisions become increasingly driven by fear and paranoia, these two each look for ways to curtail any negative consequences of his actions. In contrast to Emma and Athelstan, Æthelred and Elgiva are driven by fierce passions and selfish desires. Elgiva uses Æthelred’s attraction to her to gain what little power she can, while Æthelred’s actions seem driven primarily by his guilt over the murder of his brother Edward (which he did not commit but feels some responsibility for it). As the title implies, the spectre of Edward literally shadows Æthelred’s perception of his kingdom.

It would have been easy for Bracewell to leave her characterization at that, to leave her narrators evenly split between good and evil. But she doesn’t go that route, for which I am grateful. As the protagonist, Emma is quite complex: she has conflicting loyalties between her family, her new husband, and her personal sense of morality. Despite being a female living in the twelfth century, she possesses a considerable deal of agency. While Emma’s actions are driven primarily by the best benefit of her people (English and Norman), it is easy to suppose that Elgiva’s actions stand in stark contrast, as Elgiva manipulates men to gain power. She’s not a likable character, but neither is she a two-dimensional villain; in a time when women have little standing in society, both characters find some degree of strength and self-empowerment.

Against the female narrators, Æthelred and Athelstan were not quite as interesting to me. I hated Æthelred for abusing Emma and for the many reckless decisions he makes that endanger his country. My appreciation for Athelstan’s character--and his willingness to see Emma outside of her role as the Queen of England, as a scared woman in need of friendship--grew incrementally as the book progressed. I did feel, however, that Shadow on the Crown is a story that belongs to the women more than the men, that the men’s narrations did not have as much to offer.

I loved Bracewell’s decision to not only base this story on the true events recorded within The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, but to provide snippets of the text itself to accompany key sections of the story. They really helped ground the story in reality. I often find when reading historical fiction about much older eras that sometimes it’s hard not to focus on the fictionality of the stories. Bracewell’s inclusion of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and impressive research, however, continually caused me to realize that these were real people, and many of the events that are recounted did, in fact, happen.

It should be noted, however, that Bracewell does admit to using some authorial license. Shadow on the Crown only covers Emma’s first few years in England, which is apparently the least-known part of her life. Bracewell details some of the changes and additions she made to historical accounts in her author’s note at the end. Good historical fiction should do more than simply rehash events of a different era, however; it should make them relatable and meaningful. And I cannot deny that Bracewell has done just that in her story. She has drawn attention back to the fascinating Emma of Normandy, and the western Europe of the twelfth century.

I was quite impressed with Shadow on the Crown. While I had some issues with Bracewell’s choice of multiple narrators, this is still a strongly researched work of historical fiction. It accomplishes everything I want in my historical fiction, merging together history and fiction to create a well-written story that allows me to learn in the process. I cannot believe I haven’t heard of Emma of Normandy before, to be honest. I’ll definitely be continuing with Bracewell’s series and also seek out other stories about Emma and her “oft-forgotten period of history.”

Rating: 4 stars

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Review: If I Lie by Corrine Jackson

If I Lie by Corrine Jackson

Published: 2012, Simon Pulse

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Source: Library

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Sometimes a moment defines you, defines how people see you the rest of your life. That’s something my father said, a truism he shared with his troops. You can accept it or fight it. If you’re lucky, you’ll recognize the moment when it happens.

This was my moment. 

Born in a small southern town composed primarily of war veterans and their families, Sophie Topper Quinn has been raised on topics of honor, loyalty, and respect. She’s learned what happens when people break the promises and lose trust in one other. Her family is a prime example: because her mother cheated on her father, who was currently deployed overseas, and then left him, Sophie’s had to grow up without a mother. She’s grown up being told that her mother is worthless, and has been rechristened as Quinn so that she and her mother no longer share the same name. 

When a picture of Quinn making out with a guy who is most definitely not her boyfriend Carey becomes viral, Quinn finds herself stuck in a similar downward spiral to her mother. Except Quinn doesn’t have the luxury of leaving town. Instead, she’s forced to endure all sorts of cruelty from others for daring to cheat on her boyfriend just days before he gets deployed to the Middle East, and for daring to hide the truth.

For reasons I can’t quite formulate, I’ve found myself intrigued by this book’s premise from the very start. I wanted to know just what secrets Quinn is hiding from her town, and why she allows herself to be wrongly vilified. Although Quinn is no longer Carey’s girlfriend, she is the bearer of dark secrets that neither she nor Carey wants to see the light of day. Although I spent so much time speculating on what happened, the story itself presents more of an exploration of why things happened as they did. And what a fascinating exploration it is.

First and foremost, I really appreciated the amount of research and depth that Jackson put into a story dealing with military families. It’s not a topic I’m very familiar with, but it provides a fascinating subculture to study. Quinn’s father was a colonel in the military, her boyfriend Carey is currently serving, and her town itself is most distinguishable as a “military town.” Quinn has the opportunity to learn more about war veterans in depth as she assists with a project meant to record their memories and experiences.

Of course, the fact that the military is a constant preoccupation of her town makes it that much more difficult for Quinn to deal with the consequences of her supposed cheating on Carey. Carey, who graduated high school early to attend boot camp and has just been officially declared as MIA overseas, is literally like a hero to their town. The fact that Quinn would do anything to hurt Carey is not just disrespectful, but downright reprehensible in their eyes.

The amount of bullying that Quinn endures is incredibly difficult to read. I appreciated that Jackson is unflinching in her portrayal of how teens can hurt one another, and also how adults can revert to teenage behaviors out of anger. In a flashback, Quinn reveals that her high school’s principal was considering suspending her for having been unknowingly photographed in an incriminating picture. I mean, that’s just ridiculous. Because Quinn does not attempt to defend herself or her actions, she deals with social ostracization from former friends, Carey’s parents (who somehow blame her for Carey’s disappearance), and  basically every other adult in town. Worst of all, Quinn’s own father now thinks she’s nothing more than a copy of her own cheating mother.

While my heart ached for all that Quinn had to endure, at a certain point I started feeling more frustrated than sympathetic by Quinn’s stubborn refusal to tell the truth. I get that she believed Carey’s secret was not hers to tell, but at times it was almost like she wanted to become a martyr. She allowed others to treat her like dirt for months. And she refused support at every turn. Her best friend Angel, Blake, the guy with her in that photo, George, her elderly veteran friend, even her father: all of them would have stood by her, given the chance. Yet as she’s bullied at every turn, Quinn does not once tell Carey the consequences she has to endure for keeping his secret. Honestly, at times I felt as though Quinn was too self-sacrificing and Carey was incredibly selfish. I respect how deep their friendship is for one another, but I did not find it necessary for Quinn to keep Carey’s secret by pretending to still date him.

Not surprisingly, I did not like any of the secondary characters, with the exception of George. The relationship that Quinn forms with George, one of the residents at a local VA Medical Center, is honestly the best and most touching part of this novel. Essentially as a punishment for Quinn’s “transgressions,” her father makes her volunteer at the hospital a few afternoons a week, and there she assists George with his project to capture the military stories of other veteran residents. Out of everyone who has been a part of Quinn’s life, it is only George who does not pass judgment on Quinn for her actions, only George who is willing to see her as more than the personification of one bad decision. At one point George basically tells Quinn that he doesn’t believe in all the bad rumors circulating about her, because he actually knows her. It’s more than sad that no one else in her town - particularly her friends and father - can’t say the same.

If I Lie is essentially a story about Quinn’s personal growth. She decides what matters to her and sticks by it, no matter the personal consequences. Although I personally found Quinn’s actions a tad unrealistic, at least she knows who she is and what she wants. This is a beautifully written and well-researched story with tons of character development. I just had a hard time reconciling Quinn’s thought process and found her tribulations overdramatic and unnecessary at times. Many readers, however, seem to have loved this one, so take my review with a grain of salt.

Rating: 3 stars

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Review: Shiloh by Helena Sorensen

Shiloh by Helena Sorensen

Published: 2013, Self-published

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Source: From the author

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“There is no before the Shadow. There is no beyond the Shadow. There is only Shadow. And it will feast on you as it has feasted on everything and everyone you love.”

Shiloh is a world cloaked in shadows. It’s a world of fear and hopelessness, plagued by shadowy fiends and unending shades of darkness. It’s a world where people have started to forget their pasts, the glories that once were theirs, and all that humanity has the potential to accomplish.

All of that changes when Amos, only a child, wields fire and saves his family from the Shadow Wolves. For many, Amos represents the hope that their lives can be improved once more. But Amos is only a young boy, and the expectations that his father and mother, his young sister Phebe, his best friend Simeon, and all the people throughout Shiloh who know about his power are a lot to bear. Too much, perhaps, even for one with such potential.  

At a first glance, Shiloh appears to be a story about a chosen one: Amos, the first boy in a long time with the power to control fire. He has given his people hope where none was before. But with his power come duties and responsibilities that Amos is unable to provide, and his rise to power becomes instead a descent into infamy. This is not just Amos’ story, however; nor is it the story of his childhood friend Simeon. Instead, Shiloh features a broader cast of characters: Amos and Simeon, yes, and also Amos’ sister Phebe, Isolde, a girl out to save her sister, along with various adult mentors.

Even more than these youths, Shiloh is both the story and the history of a people living under a shadow, literally and figuratively. Sorensen is a very talented fantasy writer whose strengths lie in worldbuilding. I found Shiloh to be a complex, nuanced world. In this world, light is clouded at best, completely hidden at worst. And from the shadows come new dangers, such as the Shadow Wolves and Shadow Cats. The people have adopted to life there the best they could, but it’s not hard to see the adverse effects of a life without light. Even their internal lights, supposed to show their own radiance and power, have begun to fade.

In addition to the descriptions of the physical world that Amos, Simeon, Phebe, and Isolde inhabit, Sorensen has also crafted an exquisitely detailed mythology. Her ideas of creator gods may not be groundbreaking, but the mythology is solidly established. A prologue first introduces readers to the world of Shiloh as created (and warped) by the god Ram and his children. The Shadow and its horrors are the direct result of the gods Rurik and Riannon. And yet there’s much more to Shiloh than the evils of the Shadow, as the lead characters come to realize over time. The lore of the land is repeated many times, each time giving Sorensen’s mythology greater breath. I really appreciate solid worldbuilding and I found this to be a definite highlight of Shiloh.

Against such wonderfully detailed worldbuilding, the characters felt a little less fully realized. I still cared about them and their fates, but sometimes I had to pause to remember who each person was, and how they were connected to the overarching storyline. Still, though, I liked Isolde’s devotion to her sister Rosalyn and her determination to do whatever it takes to make her sister safe. I enjoyed Simeon’s conflicting desires to be like Amos and accept his decisions, versus his knowledge that not all of Amos’ decisions are the best ones. Best of all, I loved the internal war that rages within Amos to either use his powers as he sees fit, or to use them to help his loved ones.

The prose is also quite beautiful. Sorensen is at her best in describing the land of Shiloh and the mythology its inhabitants hold as truth. Her writing is fluid, poetic, and lovely. It was a bit of a surprise, therefore, to find that dialogue is written in such a heavy dialect. I can recall only one character whose dialogue sounded similar to Sorensen’s overall narration. At times it was more than a little jarring to go from some beautiful prose to overly simplistic dialect. As a reader I do not have a problem with dialect if the entire novel is narrated in a character’s voice, but the switching back and forth here made for some difficult transitions. Still, though, I appreciated how Sorensen emphasized the various educational and social differences of her characters.

Narrative choices, formatting issues with a pdf-to-Kindle-compatible ebook conversion, and not quite enough investment in individual characters meant that Shiloh wasn't a perfect read for me. Overall, however, I found myself quite impressed with Sorensen’s debut work. It’s clear she’s read many high fantasies and has striven to incorporate the same feeling in her own work, with considerable success. I look forward to seeing Sorensen’s skills grow through future works.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: I received this review copy from the author, but that in no way affected my opinion.  

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Top Ten 2014 Releases I'm Dying To Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week we're discussing some 2014 releases we're eagerly anticipating. My list is primarily books releasing within the first six months or so because I wanted my choices to have their covers and blurbs readily accessible. Maybe I'll do a part II of this later next year. 

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (Release date: January 28, 2014)

Never will I ever not read "Beauty and the Beast" retellings. Or, at least I can't pass up those with an interesting premise. From the blurb, it sounds as though perhaps Beauty actually has some agency for once? At least, it sounds as though she agrees to marriage in order to kill her kingdom's ruler.
Death Sworn by Leah Cypress (Release date: March 4, 2014)
I've heard wonderful things about Cypress' last book, Mistwood, although I haven't gotten around to reading it myself yet. And her 2014 offering sounds just as good. This is about a girl who loses everything she's known when she loses her magic, and when she has the opportunity to learn about the magic in her world, she has the chance to cause great changes in her world.
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski (Release date: March 4, 2014)
Early hype for this one has been ridiculous. I love the gender reversals hinted here, as the females are given the choice to get married or join the military. And the female protagonist buys a male slave. At least, I hope that this story creates a discussion of gender roles and stereotypes. Fingers crossed! 

The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson (Release date: March 11, 2014)

I know this author's historical retelling of the Bluebeard tale, Strands of Bronze and Gold, didn't receive the best reception. But I don't care because this is a retelling of freaking "Tam Lin" and I will read this. That is all. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then here you go.
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton (Release date: March 25, 2014)
Magical realism. No matter what the rest of the blurb says, I know that I will have to give this one a try (the entire synopsis sounds lovely as well, by the way). It's about a normal girl who is born with a pair of wings. I have a lot of love for the magical realism genre, so I hope the term isn't used lightly here.

Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman (Release date: April 22, 2014)
After loving Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire so much, I'm definitely eager to read more WWII historical fiction. And I love that the narrator here starts off as a Nazi and must work with a Jew to undercover the truth of her father's death. So interesting!
The Falconer by Elizabeth May (Release date: May 6, 2014)

A historical fantasy revenge story? And the revenge is being exacted by a high society girl intent on killing the faeries responsible for her mother's death? Yes, please! I've heard mostly good things about this one as well, since the U.S. release is quite a bit later than the U.K. release. 
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (Release date: May 13, 2014)

Confession time: I haven't read anything by E. Lockhart. I know! Hopefully I'll be able to remedy this problem before May, but if I haven't then I will make sure to read We Were Liars close to its release date. The blurb is pretty vague (it sounds like a broken friendship among teens), but there's already been lots of hype and I can't wait to learn more about this story.

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo (Release date: June 3, 2014) 
I didn't think it could be possible, but Siege and Storm was even better than its predecessor Shadow and Bone. That means my expectations are through the roof on the conclusion to this high fantasy trilogy, but I don't think that Bardugo will disappoint me.

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray (Release date: August 5, 2014)

I liked The Diviners a lot. And that's despite not loving the characters per se. Bray just has this way to make historical fiction (historical fantasy, really) seem so real. I loved the focus on New York in the 1920s and the occult. The teens with Diviner powers have finally all met one another, so I can't wait to see what forces of evil they have to conquer next!

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I have many, many more 2014 releases I'm excited about reading. Please let me know what 2014 releases you're dying to read.

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Showcase Sunday #9

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at Books, Biscuits and Tea. Its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week. 

Received:
"Poison Dance" by Livia Blackburn
I'm very much excited to read Livia's debut, Midnight Thief, a YA high fantasy that will be published next July. Livia recently contacted me to see if I'd be interested in reading her prequel novella while waiting for her debut. Um, yes I would! My understanding is that this prequel is told from the perspective of one of the secondary characters in the novel. 

Enders (Starters, #2) by Lissa Price

Many thanks to Kaye Publicity for providing me with the opportunity to review two of the company's upcoming YA novels. I read Starters way back towards the beginning of my blogging days (my review). It wasn't a perfect read for me and left me with a number of questions, but I still enjoyed the story and it left off with a killer cliffhanger. I'm definitely anxious to see how Callie's plight and her society's overall tensions between Starters and Enders gets resolved!

Control (Control, #1) by Lydia Kang

Again, thanks to Kaye Publicity. I hadn't actually heard of this book prior to receiving a review request. Apparently this is about teens who possess superior genes and are used for some sort of experimentation? I actually have high hopes for the scientific data here, as it appears that the author has a science background. If only more authors had a scientific background or at least thoroughly researched science before writing science fiction. Looking forward to this one!

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