A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin

I've wanted to get a chance to read these books since I saw the Tales of Earthsea movie that came out a few years ago. Like any movie based off a book, I did suspect that the books would be pretty different, especially when I heard the author wasn't crazy about the film. But even with this in mind, I wanted to give the books a try and figure it out for myself because I often find I can enjoy a book no matter how its movie turned out. How'd this one do? Let's dive in.

This is the tale of Ged, or Sparrowhawk as he's known in public. He grew up in a family of goatherds, but knew he was destined to travel the world and become a great wizard. He learns the secrets of the world, learns the true names of the elements and nature, and bends them to his will. But Ged's recklessness and ambition may be too much for him, leading him down a path of destruction and dark powers that nobody should meddle in. As Ged moves on with his life, he must face his mistakes and learn what it is to respect magic and the world at large in order to become truly great.

The thing about this book I actually kind of admired was the simplicity of it. It's just the story of this one wizard's life in a world where wizards are an accepted norm, have important jobs, and are generally welcomed in most of the world. It's not like Ged is another "chosen one" who was "prophesied of" or anything like that. It's just the story of this kid and how he grows up and learns. It's a coming of age story that happens to have magic in it. Not that some of the things Ged sees or discovers or does in his life journey isn't very impressive, it is impressive. But that's not what it's about. It's just the detailed backstory of this one character and how he came to be. If you were introduced to it like I was, through the movie, then you remember that Ged was an older, mentor-like character and this was how he came to be who he was in the movie. While it's not quite as dynamic, I certainly found it interesting. It's almost like what reading Obi-wan Kenobi's backstory would be (I'm sure that's out there somewhere), I liked it.

The set up of this world and the magic involved in it is actually pretty smart. Wizards use magic by learning somethings true name and almost asking it to do what he wants (it's more complicated than that but that's the gist of it). Names are a big deal in this world, which is why people don't use their own real names in public. Also, being a wizard is almost like a trade that can be learned. The different cultures are set up nicely, I really liked the school that Ged attends, I liked learning how he got his boat, just little things like that that fit together to create this character was really fun and interesting. I liked the world building and finding out how it works.

Now, probably the biggest thing about this book is that it does move pretty slowly. We get downtimes and whole years roll by with Ged just kind of going where the wind takes him. It kind of feels like there isn't much of a goal, especially after Ged makes a mistake at the academy that could be pretty disastrous. However, I did like that he grew from the experience. When we're teens and maybe even older, there comes a point when we have a revelation like Ged's...that we're not as strong as we thought, or as smart, or as capable, or what-have-you. Sometimes it comes sooner, sometimes it comes later, but we all get that at some point or another. Ged's lesson is what saved his character, in my opinion. Before that, he was a little hard to like, honestly. Pretty vain and cocky in the beginning of the book, Ged's character development is handled very well. He grows with each experience, he learns and I appreciated that about him. It just takes time, and so the plot isn't as fast-paced as most other fantasy stories can be.

Final Verdict
It was a simple story full of character development and world building and I liked it really well. It's not a difficult read and allows you do to kind of just kick back and witness the beginnings of this one wizard, which I really appreciated. If this sounds like something that's up your alley, then I'd say it's worth your money at your local bookstore!

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:

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Next Time: Long live the King...even though he's dead....

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

This is just what I needed! A book that really captures the classic fantasy feeling I got from books like Howl's Moving Castle and Calling on Dragons back in the day. This story is a fairly simple set up but has a style all its own, a great voice and atmosphere, and just a great story that catches your attention and squirms its way into your heart. Let's get to it.

In a quiet village at the edge of the cursed Wood, Agnieszka lives a quiet life as her people are guarded over by the enigmatic wizard, the Dragon. In exchange for his protection, the Dragon takes one girl from the village to live with him for ten years. While the whole village is certain the Dragon will pick Agnieszka's best fried, Kasia, it turns out he choses Agnieszka instead. Agnieszka must now begin her ten years of solitude and learns much about the Dragon, magic, and the Wood than she could ever have known and it turns out that she may be the key to stopping the Wood once and for all.

Agnieszka is a great protagonist, to start off with. She's a tough, no-nonsense kind of person who is sloppy and slow and very real.  You get the feeling that there's something wild and untamed about her that is harnessed in her ability to use magic. And while she possesses inner strength, she's not the overbearing, I'm-a-strong-independent-woman-who-don't-need-no-man type of person either. She takes charge when she feels its the right thing to do, makes mistakes, gets messy, I liked that about her. The other characters were pretty good as well. The Dragon was no pushover prince in disguise or a verbally abusive bully but a delicate mix that made him both mentor and potential love interest. Prince Marek was lovably hate-able, Kasia was surprisingly complex...there's a lot to like about the characters in this book.

The plot and the idea of the Wood are pretty interesting as well. The Wood works to corrupt humans, release them so they return home and kill as many people as they can before they're caught. That's pretty terrifying, especially since a corrupted person can behave perfectly normally until it's too late. The idea that an entire forest can be such a threatening presence and have an agenda in which it can cause wars and feed itself with discord is a really scary and fascinating idea. Just the mention of the Wood brings a level of threat and danger that nothing else really had before, so it was a great success if you ask me.

While the writing was good, I did feel it was almost a little too descriptive at times. Not that that is a bad thing, per se, but it can make reading this book go a bit more slowly than with another 350 page book out there. That being said, the plot did move fast. It didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point, which I appreciated. The voice of the author is very present in this book, allowing you to feel the weight of the dramatic sense as well as the humor in the lighthearted moments. It was all brilliantly written, even if the writing takes a while to get through. As I've mentioned before, Tolkien has this same problem and, as far as writing goes, it's one of the best flaws to have...but it's still a flaw, so there you have it.

Final Verdict
This book was really fun. I liked the characters, the plot, the ideas, and just about everything about it. Any fantasy reader is going to like it and, if it sounds up your alley, then it's worth your money at your local bookstore.

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

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Next Time: Witness the rise of Sparrowhawk....

ArchEnemy by Frank Beddor

I can't believe it's been a year and a half since I picked this series up and they inspired me to start writing this blog. I've had a blast with Beddor's version of Wonderland and the stories that have come from such an amazing place. Well, as the last book in the series, let's see if the ending is anything near as good as the beginning and middle.

Imagination has run dry in Wonderland. Both practitioners of White and Black Imagination have lost their powers with the destruction of the Heart Crystal and Wonderland has been overrun by King Arch and his forces from the Borderlands. Alyss, Queen of Wonderland, must protect what's left of her kingdom and it's people, but her allies are slim and her enemies are numerous. Her only choice is to ally herself with her old nemesis, Redd Heart. But Arch is confident in his abilities to take control and even the oracle caterpillars don't have much to say in Alyss's favor. Alyss must cling to her beloved Dodge, her protectors Homburg Molly and Hatter Madigan, and what few forces she has left to reclaim her throne and see the end of Arch.

This book has great set up for the final battle. Not only does Alyss have to deal with Arch and Redd, but also the Clubs, who have taken the opportunity to seize control. The political side of the book is represented pretty well. It shows the consequences of war, not just for soldiers, but for civilians as well. The action is also, as always, very well done. I don't know what it is about these books that makes me enjoy and stick to the battle segments like nothing else really can. The intrigue comes from all angles as well. Not only does Alyss have to deal with traitors, but also Arch as his ambition causes him to become nearsighted. It all blends together really nicely and it's just the kind of writing that we've come to love in this series.

The subtext of the previous books are in this one as well. The question of "imagination" and what it is and how it can help or hurt or what it means to someone who wields it. It asks some serious questions that will get you thinking of imagination itself as being a kind of power and what that power means for those who wield it. These are the kinds of ideas and subtext that most YA novels wish they could pull off but don't always manage it. I really appreciated it about this series and just another reason why I can't recommend this series enough to people.

Now, here more than in the other installments, I have some nitpicks. I wasn't crazy about the Homburg Molly subplot (mostly because I find her teenage angst to be annoying) but she does help out occasionally and makes herself useful, so there was that. It also got a bit rushed in places, trying to tie together every last loose string before the series ended, but that's a final installment for you. But I liked the conclusion of Dodge's revenge story, Redd is a star as always, Arch was perfectly detestable and I loved hating him. All this leading to a climax that, while not quite what I hoped it would be, I did feel set things up and ended the story just how we could have wanted to.

Final Verdict
I just can't help it, I'm a sucker for this series. The characters are wonderful, the ideas are imaginative perfection...I just love it! As the concluding book of the series, I'm glad it ended where it did and I'll always appreciate Beddor's world. While it is, perhaps, the most flawed of the series, I'm going ahead and putting this one along with its others in the Shelf of Recommendation....because it's my blog and I can do what I want.

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:

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Next Time: Maybe the Dragon taking the young girl isn't as bad as we thought....

Traitor's Masque by Kenley Davidson

When you are going to write a fairy tale adaption, you can go about it in one of two ways. One: it can have several elements of the original story even if the overall plot is almost nothing like the original or two: tell almost the same story except with more developed characters are a (hopefully) unique spin on it. In the time I've been writing this blog, I have seen both these types of stories and have found both good examples and bad examples of each. This tale, a Cinderella retelling, is an example of the second type and done pretty well...for the most part. Let's begin.

Trystan Colbourne is stuck. Forced under the thumb of her unbearable stepmother, she finds very little in the world to be cheerful about, finding solace only in escaping her home for the occasional horseback ride. But Trystan is soon pulled into a plot she knows nothing about. She's encouraged to join a masquerade ball, thrown by the prince in the hopes of finding himself a noble woman he'd be willing to marry. While Trystan does catch his attention, this might not be for the best. Forces are seeking out the prince and threaten his place in the palace and the life of the king. Trystan must decide if she's willing to continue to be a pawn in a greater scheme if it means the freedom she longs for, or doing the right thing and saving the prince she's meant to betray.

Now, throwing political intrigue into these types of stories can have both positive and negative consequences. It certainly gives the plot depth and makes the story a bit more realistic. On the other hand...it can get kind of boring. Thankfully, this book uses just enough to balance things out. We see that there are real consequences to situations not working out in favor of our leads if things go wrong, so the inclusion of these details works out in the book's favor. It never goes too far so the readers can continue to be invested and not lose track of what's going on.

The other big aspect of this book is the fairy tale details tying this to the tale of Cinderella and...meh. Okay, let me explain: Cinderella is about staying true in the face of tribulation and fate rewarding you. Cinderella goes through some serious grief in her tale, dealing with constant abuse, both physical and emotional, before she's given her chance. Trystan...doesn't really go through that. What she endures at the hands of her stepmother and stepsisters is...more annoying than anything. Cinderella was forced to cook and clean and sleep by the hearth and Trystan...has to embroider and wear dresses. When Cinderella was punish she was beaten or starved, but Trystan's punishments are...not being able to read or draw. You see what I mean? By taming these aspects of the story down to this level, it makes the impact not as strong. We're happy that Cinderella could finally catch a break and find happiness while Trystan has plenty of opportunity to help herself but doesn't, which can make her come off as kind of stupid.

Other aspects in the story are handled a bit better, thankfully. The 'fairy godmother' stand-in, for instance, is not at all what she seems. There are two princes in this version and the "charming" one is the one you want to watch out for. Little things like that are actually pretty well done. While some of the motivations aren't quite as strong as I would have liked, I did appreciate the effort in making the world realistic and the situation believable. It kind of reminded me of Ever After in that regard, not quite as well done, but definitely the same feel.

But the biggest negative of this story is probably the constant misunderstandings and assumptions that keep being made. It causes a lot of unnecessary drama, some really mean-spirited comments from our supposed "love interest", and it makes the third act of the book really crawl. It didn't feel necessary to throw in some of these details. A lot of them felt like they wanted to be plot twists and turned out to be plot contrivances. Still, the story over all didn't suffer to bad. The writing is solid and does a good job at capturing imagery, when the action picks up it's genuinely entertaining, and the overall conclusion is just what we could have wanted in the first place.

Final Verdict
Flawed but fine. A good retelling with just the right mix of realism and fairy tale. Anyone who likes Cinderella retellings is going to like this one just fine and so, if you want to give it a try, please do...but I'd 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

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Next Time: The Looking Glass Wars conclude....

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

I've always loved mythology. The different deities and tales of heroes, horrifying monsters and epic battles all coming together to explain how the world works and why things are as they are...*sigh* I just love it! While I was pretty well versed in Greek mythology in my younger days, Norse mythology was always a little more difficult for me to get into. But nowadays with the Marvel version of Thor smack dab in the public eye and it's latest installment, Thor: Ragnarok, being one of last year's biggest box-office hits, Norse mythology is steadily coming back into the public eye. Therefore, I decided to brush up on these ancient Norse tales and, thankfully, we had this new book by Neil Gaiman to guide me along the way.

In this book, Gaiman brings us the Nordic tales of Odin, the All-Father, and all the gods of the Norse pantheon and their many tales. We learn how the world came to be, how all the worlds are connected by Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and the various heroic feats of Thor, Loki, the twins Frey and Freya, Heimdall, Baldr, and many more. Battles with fiendish frost giants and also cunning schemes of trickery all coming together tell us how valleys are forged, why the seasons change, all coming together until the final battle in which nothing shall remain and all of time will end.

Something I always thought was pretty interesting about Norse mythology is that it included the end of times. It spoke of a future in which all these almighty, worshiped deities would some day meet their end along with all of humanity.  As the tales found in the mythology span from the beginning of times to the end of times, Gaiman is able to tell an almost cohesive story with a beginning, middle, and end. Most books about mythology are just a cluster of stories and bios about the gods and heroes described in them. While Odin, Thor, and Loki do get bios at the beginning of the book, it's just so what we know they're the key players in these stories. It's meant to read more like a normal story, not just a textbook. Thankfully, it succeeds. Because of the linear set-up, the short stories of heroic deeds and origins come together to form a story that is easily followed and enjoyed.

Gaiman has such a way with telling these classic tales. He gives each character their own voice and tells the stories with an added flair all his own. For example, in the beginning of the book, as it tells the tale of how Odin lost his eye, it would have been easy to simply say "Odin gave up his eye in exchange for wisdom". Instead, Gaiman writes how Odin was told he'd have to give up his eye in exchange for the knowledge he desires and responds with "Give me a knife." Isn't that just the coolest thing you've ever heard? It gives Odin character and gives us an insight into who he is. He's not just a thing to be talked about. The book describes him as a man who is determined and a serious warrior who kicks butt and lets nothing stand in his way. He breathes life into these legendary characters and I just loved it.

Final Verdict
I had a blast catching up on my Norse mythology. It brought back that young kid in me who just loves learning about gods and heroes and if anyone wants to either learn or re-learn about Norse mythology, this is the book to do it with. Great language, great prose, and a great addition to the Shelf of Recommendation.

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

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Next Time: The secret is in the slipper....

Dark Breaks the Dawn by Sara B. Larson

Okay, admittedly, of all the fairy tales and classic stories being remade over and over in this day and age, Swan Lake isn't usually one of them. We've got Cinderellas and Snow Whites out the whazoo, but not so much Odette or Odile. So, yeah, I was willing to give this a shot. I wanted to see how someone could take that classic tale and modernize it...which I didn't really get because this story is almost nothing like Swan Lake at all. Let's talk plot.

Princess Evelayn of the Light Kingdom is under a lot of strain since their neighbors in the Dark Kingdom started a war ten years ago, killing her father and pulling her mother constantly away. The corrupt Dark King is determined to seize ultimate control over all power in the world and must defeat both Evelayn and her mother in order to do so. Evelayn must master her powers and her ability to govern her kingdom before their foe can strike and destroy the balance that holds their world in place.  But she has her work cut out for her and must to deal with forces she's not ready to face if she wants to stop the Dark from consuming the Light entirely.

Yeah, sounds a little generic, doesn't it. Well...it is. The painstakingly obvious "good vs. evil" metaphor smacks you right in the face from the start and doesn't let go. The Dark king is, naturally, a guy who gets instantly angry and kills anyone he wants over the tiniest things and makes you highly question why the heck anyone would follow this loser to begin with. He's clearly nuts and evil just for the sake of being evil. And, of course, everyone in the Light Kingdom is good and hardworking and just and true and her mother is just the loveliest person in the history of lovely people. It's just too obvious. It's too simple! There's no complexity, there's no intrigue, there's no...no freaking anything!

While the book tries to give us political intrigue, it really just comes off as teenage angst and boring romantic subplots. She falls for this guy, Lord Tanvir, and it's nothing but "will-they-won't-they-of-course-they-will-who-do-you-think-you're-kidding" drivel. It's also not very good at build up. For one thing, as I've said before, if you don't tell the audience the actual plan that's going down then it's going to work. To its credit, the book does this...just not very effectively. We don't exactly know Evelayn's plan nor the plan of the Dark prince that we keep cutting back to at random intervals. So you're "intrigue" just turns into vague comments like, "all is going according to plan", "if we can't do this, we can't go through with our plan", "this is vital to the plan", and so on and so forth. They talk about their plans in frustratingly vague detail for two thirds of the book, leaving the audience mostly in the dark and completely lost. That's why you have to throw in a couple of plans that don't work, that's why you build suspense, that's how intrigue works!

Also, as I stated earlier, this has freaking nothing to do with Swan Lake other than the fact that there is a lake in the book and there are swans on it. Yeah, this is not a retelling or reimagining of the story of the famous ballet at all. It sounds like that part is going to take place in the second book of the duology, but...if that's the case, don't advertise this book as something that it's not. In fact, if you hadn't promoted it as a Swan Lake retelling, then you might have actually caught us off guard with your big reveal at the end. We'd have gotten to the end of the book and realized "Oh! I see where they're going with this. I never would have guessed" instead of saying, "Um...this isn't like the original story...at all." But, instead, we're given an incredibly generic good vs. evil story with nothing all that original, nothing surprising or groundbreaking, cliched characters, and boring subplots.

Final Verdict
Yeah, this one was pretty bland. Everything felt phoned in and there wasn't enough originality or character or anything to get the reader invested. It called itself one thing and presented us with something totally out of left field. Still, some might be more forgiving of it than others. It didn't make me mad or anything, there's nothing harmful about it. If you still wanna give it a try, you can do so, just save your 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

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Next Time: One of today's best story tellers recounts tales of old....

Lyric's Curse by Robyn Wideman

I like to give people a chance. Just because one book was worth the Waste Bin, does't mean all of them will be like that. So, I gave Robyn Wideman another chance, just trying to be fair and not judge all of their works based on one dud. Turns out...I made a bad call. Yup, it seems that I'm just not a fan of Wideman's writing...or characters...or plots...or.... let's just begin.

Lyric is the bastard son of a whore and a mage who was crippled at a young age and forced to live on the streets. Only when he's been beaten near to death do outside forces supposedly keeping an eye on him decide now is a good time to take him in and try and make something of him. Lyric, it turns out, is a Dragonblood, a person who is said to obtain great power when dragons decided to return to the land, which is going to be sooner than most people realize. So Lyric has to be trained and nurtured and turned into a proper warrior to prepare himself for what is to come.

Okay...Lyric has black hair. Lyric has olive skin. Lyric has violet eyes. Lyric smells bad. There! I just gave you 15% of the story right there. One of the most irritating things about this book is that it repeats itself, time and time again, about stuff we already know. Everyone has to realize the same thing over and over and it's exhausting! It's exhausting having to read the same boring points over and over again and accomplish nothing for the vast majority of the story. It's just the characters confirming stuff we already know and if I'm told one more time what Lyric freaking looks like, I'm going to stab him right in his violet eye!

Also, there are way too many characters in this book and not nearly enough reasons to care about them all. There are subplots and detours in the story that really don't accomplish much of anything and just feel like the filler that they are. Not only do we have to worry about Lyric being ready for the dragons to show up but there's some princess (lord's daughter but who really cares) and her marriage tournament, Lyric's dying deadbeat dad and his venomous sister and her boy-toy, the local barkeep wanting to date one of Lyric's caretakers, a "love" side plot with Sexual-Harrasement Selene, and it just goes on and on. The book even introduces characters two-thirds into a story, giving us their full backstory and life history...just for them to show up for one scene and never be heard from again. How many levels of "I don't care" can I go down? It just got so unbelievably annoying after going through it for the tenth time in one hundred pages.

Also, I've heard it said that this plot moves too quickly, that it takes no time at all for Lyric to become a warrior and strong enough to beat nobles who have been learning to fight their whole lives. Bull crap! This plot moves so slow I've seen snail dipped in molasses swimming through a sea of glue move faster. It just drags on and on about crap that we don't care about and most of it doesn't even affect the plot. It's completely pointless most of the time. The sister character wants to rule the world...then changes her mind. This one guy is going to start trouble for Lyric because he's jealous...and he promptly gets his butt kicked and is never heard from again. The dragons are preparing their return and some are evil and some have love lives and some want peace and...yadda yadda yadda. These going-nowhere-subplots don't enhance the world, they don't make things interesting, they are just a distraction and not a welcome one. These characters have no purpose, no personality, and so much nothing happens for so long. It was unbelievably boring.

Final Verdict
I pretty much summed up my opinion of this book with that last word: boring. There's no suspense, there's barely any main plot, too much subplot, characters and character arcs that go absolutely nowhere and I just couldn't get into it. This is just the first book in a series that's trying too hard to establish things in the future books while neglecting its own story. For these reasons, I'm sorry to say we have another addition to the Waste Bin of Despair.

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

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Next Time: Swans...why did it have to be swans....