The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel

Nothing like mystery, murder, daring feats, schemes and Sasquatch for a nice November read, right? I found this gem a little while ago and decided to give it a shot and I'm glad I did. Let's get right down to it, shall we?

Will Everett came from humble beginnings before a heroic act got his family money and prosperity. Now that his father has taken over the railroad he once worked for, Will has the chance to board the Boundless, a massive engine on her maiden voyage and dragging the funeral car of his father's predecessor...and his treasures if the rumor is to be believed. But a murder takes place and Will takes it upon himself to join a traveling circus to protect the train and his father and put a stop to the criminal's plot. But it soon becomes clear that Will's not too sure who to trust.

The thing that I kinda liked about the set up of this world is that it's not all realistic. While, for the most part, it could take place in the real world, but there's also a supernatural element to this book that takes it from real to surreal. I mentioned the existence of Sasquatches before, which are not only proven to be exist but are also attractions in a circus, but hags what lure unsuspecting victims into bogs exist as well and other magical creatures. This gives it a whimsical edge that makes long battles on the roof of a train and hidden treasure.

The key element of this story is the mystery and the race against time. Getting across a moving train while you're being chased and villains are trying to kill you gives this book the tight, claustrophobic edge that makes it feel more urgent, but it's also nicely paced so it doesn't feel too rushed. It's also a pretty easy read. Younger and older readers will appreciate the creativity in this book, as well as the visuals and unique characters.

Will is mostly a wide-eyed adventurer type of character with established wishes and desires, but he also has a strong moral compass. There are times in this book when he questions the people who seemed to be helping him, but rightfully so. He's not whining because he thinks what he has to do is too hard or doubting himself. His concerns are legitimately concerning. He don't know who to trust, he doesn't want to make a mistake. He just wants to do the right thing, protect the train, his father and himself (though maybe not in that order). The circus troupe is an interesting collection of characters and there's a real sense of community and camaraderie between them. They're pretty accepting of Will's joining up with them and, while it's unclear just how trustworthy they are, they're still a lot of fun to be around.

Now, one thing I was a little unsure of is that this book can get a little...controversial. Now, there's nothing explicit or anything in it, it's just...well, there's a scene where the main character needs a disguise and what they pick is...not good. You can probably figure it out from that. Race is brought up a couple of times in some not very PC ways. I never really felt it went too far or anything but certain people will probably come across it and get a little up-in-arms over it. While I'm not really one to climb on a high horse over every little thing, if I thought this might be pushing it then other people are probably really going to have a problem with it. Just food for thought.

Final Verdict
A good adventure, good characters, an interesting plot, I had a good time with this one. If you can put some of the less politically correct bits aside and judge the story for...well, the story, then you'll probably have a good time with this one. I'd definitely say read it but wait for it on paperback.

Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Please make sure to Follow Midnight Readings for instant updates. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer

If you would like to read my book, Powerless, you can find it at:

Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Powerless-Shelley-Miller/dp/1543482546/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519062043&sr=8-1&keywords=powerless+by+shelley+miller

Xlibris: https://www.xlibris.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001175242

Next Time: Bedtime stories from the Wizarding World...

Puzzled by P.J. Nichols

Kindle recommendations have come as something of a blessing and curse to me in the past. I was looking for a challenge, hoping for one really, that was also quick and easy to read so I could get through it at a good pace. I've also said before that I don't mind reading books targeted for younger audiences, because they can be just as good as anything else so long as it doesn't talk down to its audience and respects there intelligence. This book...well, it wants to be more but doesn't exactly manage. Let's take a look.

Peter prides himself as being one of the smartest people in his hometown, despite only being twelve years old. This tends to earn him ridicule from classmates but all he wants to do is put together his puzzles and games in peace. One day, he comes across the mysterious Mr. Winchester who has a proposition for Peter: he and a few chosen friends must pass a test by the weather god Zoltan to keep him occupied enough not to destroy the world on a whim. Peter and his friends take one the challenge but can their wits match that of an ancient and tricky being?

So, this book really wants us to think that Peter is a genius. They constantly talk about how smart he is, they talk about the complex inner workings of his mind (which mainly consists of counting down the seconds are in a minute and how many minutes it takes to get out of class and things like that) and Peter himself goes on and on about how he's always right and how he can solve any kind of puzzle or figure any situation out. Well, wrong. Wrong. Just wrong. This kid is not smart! If anything he's just annoying! By thinking he's oh so smart and that he's always right, he jumps to conclusions that anyone could see through, he throws huge tantrums when he can't figure things out, and he's socially incompetent to the point of outright silliness! (and this is coming from someone who has a legit social disorder)

Okay, so Peter is annoying, that's bad. The other characters aren't that annoying...but there's not much there for them. You know exactly what type of person they are, what their role is, and what their place is going to be in the story. The quirky comic relief, the love interest, and the distant older brother who just doesn't understand his younger brother. Mr. Winchester is just a stereotypical mentor character. We never even see Zoltan, who isn't so much of an antagonist or villain as opposed to plot device. There's just nothing all that special about them. I just couldn't really get invested with them.

The plot of this story also kinda suffered. We spend way too long in this "practice" part of the story, which takes a kind of plot cul-de-sac involving a misunderstand that goes absolutely nowhere, a "liar revealed" cliche that I absolutely hate causing someone to leave just so they can serve as a deus ex machina at the end. This is where being a younger reader book causes the story to suffer. Even little kids have seen this kind of stuff a hundred times. It takes a safe route that guarantees conflict (albeit forced conflict) and doesn't try anything new.

Now, I'm not saying the entire thing was awful. The heart of the story is in the puzzles and the solutions that the characters work to find, which is where the best stuff is. The solutions are clever, everyone gets their moment to shine, and the situations are creative. This leads to the second half of the book being much more tolerable than the first. The plot is finally moving, we get to see the puzzles that we were promised, and while it plays out predictably we still get to see everything come together as planned.

Final Verdict
With a predictable plot and pretentious protagonist are big factors weighing this thing down, it's still a quick, easy read with interesting brain teasers. While younger readers might find it okay, anyone older than thirteen wanting to pick this up might want to save their cash and check it out at your local library.

Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Please make sure to Follow Midnight Readings for instant updates. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer

If you would like to read my book, Powerless, you can find it at:

Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Powerless-Shelley-Miller/dp/1543482546/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519062043&sr=8-1&keywords=powerless+by+shelley+miller

Xlibris: https://www.xlibris.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001175242

Next Time: Murder on the....not Orient Express

Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco

So I was a big fan of the first book...not so big a fan of the second book...so now here's the third installment of Kerri Maniscalco's four book series. Even though I wasn't as crazy about the second book as I would like to have been, I wasn't ready to just give up on the series. I still like the concept, the ideas are still really clever and I wanted to see what the next book would be like. Well, let's not waste any more time and dive into the review.

Audrey Rose Wadsworth is on her way home from Romania on the luxury liner, the RMS Etruria, with her uncle, caretaker, and beau Thomas Cresswell. On the week long journey across the sea, the ships patrons are entertained by the Midnight Carnival, a pack of amazing performers including an up-and-coming illusionist named Houdini. But the performances take a disturbing turn for the worst when several female passengers start dying terribly, all with some odd connection to the tarot, a theme deeply utilized by the Carnival. Audrey Rose must use her skills as a forensic investigator to use and catch the killer before they arrive at land and disappear forever.

So, there were some things in this book that worked really well. The claustrophobic atmosphere of the cruise ship with the growing sense of hysteria with each murder was certainly a good thing. I liked the concept of the carnival and the designs of the acts and their relations to tarot cards, that kind of stuff I just eat up. The set up of the acts was interesting...if maybe dwelled on a little too much. Now, The Night Circus did this from time to time too, and that book I really liked. The descriptions tend to go past just telling the audience what they're seeing and into "wouldn't this look great as a Tim Burton movie?!" kind of thing. Again, I love this kinda junk, so it didn't really bother me as it didn't bother me in The Night Circus. But that book had good characters and an investing story and this one...well...let's discuss.

I've said in my previous reviews for this series that I really do like Audrey Rose, but this time I didn't want to make excuses for her. Her behavior in this book is...well, dumb. It's dumb. She's apparently going through this existential crisis and wanting...I dunno, she says "freedom" but she's a forensic investigator in the late 1800s! You can't get more free than that! It's like she's considering running away and joining the circus is "real" freedom but OH WAIT no she doesn't because that's what her cousin is trying to do and she makes this backwards deal with some shady guy to get her out of it. Oh, so you can dishonor your family and throw away everything you've worked to achieve on a whim because some guy who you've known for less than a week said it might be cool but she can't because...reasons. Yeah, this conflict came right out of the butt-crack of nowhere and I didn't care for it one bit.

But most of my issues with this book could be summed up in one word: Mephistopheles!!! And it's a suiting name because he is the devil! Last time when I talked about Thomas's inappropriate flirting getting on my nerves? Well, they switched all that crap over to this new guy who I don't care for and hope never to see again. I could deal with it when it was Thomas because I've had three books with Thomas now and I'm used to it, but Beelzebub here is just some random Phantom rip-off who happens to be rich and not ugly and just exists to throw in a frigging love triangle that we neither want nor need! He's the reason for Audrey Rose's spur of the moment change of heart and "is what I've always wanted really what I want or do I not want it anymore because I know I can have what I want so I don't want it anymore" crisis, and I won't forgive him for that!

Okay, this one is a serious nitpick but I have to shout it out or it will weigh on my soul for freaking ever and I just need to put it out there. So, each act in the Carnival is inspired by a tarot card, yeah? Mr. Hunky Mephisto claims that he's The Magician while Houdini...freaking Houdini...the most famous magician of all time...a man whose name is synonymous with magic and illusion...doesn't get a card name because he's not really part of the show. No! NO, SATAN! He's The Magician and you're The Devil! There. Fixed it.

Also, if you're going to put Houdini in your title...USE HIM! Mostly he's nothing more than a plot device for the story. You could almost remove him from the story and replace him with some other random performer and you'd get the same affect. Poor use of you're Houdini, book. Nope. Didn't like it.

Final Verdict
I had a lot to complain about with this one but, overall, I wasn't disappointed or hated this book or anything. I just seriously disliked Lucifer the Pointless Love Triangle Extra and felt the title character was underused. But the mystery was compelling, the imagery was impressive, the atmosphere was good...I'd say, if you were interested, go ahead and read it...but wait for it on paperback.

Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Please make sure to Follow Midnight Readings for instant updates. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer

If you would like to read my book, Powerless, you can find it at:

Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Powerless-Shelley-Miller/dp/1543482546/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519062043&sr=8-1&keywords=powerless+by+shelley+miller

Xlibris: https://www.xlibris.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001175242

Next Time: Puzzles save the world from bad weather.....not kidding.