Midnight Readings

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

The Black Witch by Laurie Forest

Fantasy can be such a wonderful genre, full of creativity and opportunities that reality cannot have. It's also a good way for people to tell deep stories about real issues but in a new and unique way....given that it's well written. Is this one such fantasy? Well, let's just take a look.

Elloren Gardner is of the revered Gardnarian race, but a powerless one raised in a small village by her uncle and kept apart from those who would judge her for her legacy. Elloren is the granddaughter of the Black Witch, the Gardnarian mage who liberated her people and made them the power in the land. But Elloren just wants a simple life, where she attends Verpax University and becomes an apothecary. But as she finally joins the University, she learns a great deal about the other races of creatures that share her world, and learns that being the granddaughter of the Black Witch is no gift, and Elloren must decide how she is to live her own life, even if it means turning her back on all she believes.

I kind of need to be careful with this one. Books about overcoming prejudice can spark some really hot conversations that I really don't want to get into and have no plan on getting into. So, for this purpose, I'm just going to stick to the experience I had while reading it. I'm going to talk about characters, plot, the writing and how I felt for most of the story. For my two cents on this book's approach to addressing prejudice and discrimination...I've read better. Let's leave it at that, shall we?

Now, the point this book wants to get across is that discrimination is bad, prejudice is bad, and Elloren's journey to overcome these things and become a better person. The thing is...she was already a pretty good person to begin with. She didn't have to learn anything because, since she had a sheltered upbringing, she had only her personal opinions to go off of. She's a bit naive, yes, and has been exposed so some of the prejudice but when she arrives in the city and sees the extent of her people's racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, and all the rest, she's put off by it. She doesn't like how others are being treated so there's no point in her reinventing herself. All she needs to do is learn and make some opinions of her own.

What I find a bit harder to swallow is that these people of these other races, and some from her own race, see her as this woman who could one day redefine the world and reshape it to how she sees fit...and decide the best thing to do is physically abuse her, destroy her property, humiliate her, and constantly threaten her with death and great bodily injury. Um...okay, guys. You all think she's going to be some wonderful power in this world who could either liberate or destroy you...and your big idea is to treat her like crap? Did none of you think that you should...oh, I don't know...BE NICE TO HER!? That having her on your side would be a GOOD THING? No? Just me? Okay, then, why are you all so surprised when she goes to the people willing to help her (that are so obviously evil they might as well be sitting in revolving chairs and stroking cats every time we see them) and those people then threaten your lives and families? WHAT DID YOU THINK SHE WAS GOING TO DO!? I'm sorry, but there was just a lot of stupidity going on with the way people think in this book. All it would take was one or two smart people and this whole thing would have been much shorter and more to the point instead of Elloren going through tons of pointless abuse so we can feel sorry for her. Oh, and the reason that everybody treats her like crap...she "looks like her grandmother". I'll come back to this.

While the subject matter being written about and the intelligence of the characters were not to my liking, I am willing to say the "voice" of the book was pretty good. I use of language was good as well as descriptions were well-thought out and brought some impressive imagery. However, it can't save everything. That "look just like your grandmother" thing I mentioned? Yeah, if you were to turn how many times someone says Elloren "looks like her grandmother" or any variation of the phrase into a drinking game...you'd die from alcohol poisoning. They say it so dang often! I got real sick of it real fast. It's also just kind of a pet peeve of mine where I can't stand when people are judged or abused because "you look just like" somebody else. Oh, yes, how dare I have the gall to resemble someone I am related to! Shame on me for an aspect of my person that I have absolutely no control over! Seriously, people, get over it!

Final Verdict
I definitely felt strongly about this book...just not in a good way. The characters all had victim complexes, the villains were unbearably obvious, and pretty imagery and some imagination regarding the races wasn't really enough to make up for it. If you want to read for yourself how this book goes, go right ahead...but 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

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

Next Time: Princess Who?

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Between the Shade and the Shadow by Coleman Alexander

I was always fascinated by stories of creatures roaming the woods, snatching unsuspecting victims, luring you in until it's too late. But we often hear stories of such creatures from the points of view of the humans that interact with them, rather than from the perspective of the creatures themselves. What are their lives like? What does the world look like from their eyes? Well, this book is answers those questions perfectly for us. Let's dive right in.

Ahraia is a shade, a creature of darkness, living in the deep woods and venturing forth only when it's dark out, as any light stronger than soft moonlight is harmful to her kind. Her kind are bound to certain animals, whom they call their shadows. The shades and shadows have a strong bond, working as constant companions until the day they are separated and the shade becomes a sprite. Ahraia is a rare shade whose shadow is a wolf, Losna, which means she will one day stand in a place of leadership among her people. But becoming a sprite is an alarming thing for her as the time draws neigh. The more she learns, the more Ahraia realizes what it means to be a sprite...and that she wants no part in it.

One thing I noticed pretty quickly about this book was that the world building had a lot of thought and effort put into it. The set up of these creatures and their way of life is really in-depth and impressive. The idea of binding with all living things and bending them to your will, either to make use of them or lure them into a false sense of security, was a very interesting idea. I speaks to how people are lured in by creatures of the dark, even if they know better. While this story doesn't take place in our world (we don't have three moons as far as I know of), it can still be related to in folklore the world over. I really appreciated that about this book.

At the heart of the story, the core idea is Ahraia and facing who she is and what she's told to be. She has to be malicious and use her gifts to kill or manipulate, but doing so is very difficult for her. However, losing is not an option, and so the major conflict is in how she can be free of her obligations and avoid becoming something she doesn't want. I was a little worried when they kept talking about how special she was, fearing the story would turn into a "girl starts revolution" type of thing, but it stays pretty self-contained. Ahraia's journey is a deeply personal one and, while it does involve facing against figures of authority and besting them, it never gets to complicated. It's about Ahraia wanting to be free to be who she wants to be, and her bond with Losna help her realize that. The story is kept to one of personal discovery and fighting to be true to yourself, which I think a lot of people will like.

While the story was interesting, I did feel kind of exhausting at times. So much happens and the pace moves so fast that I felt like I'd read fourteen pages when I'd only read about five. As such, I'd read and read and felt like I hadn't moved much. Thankfully, it's not just constant action and does take time to slow down and catch its breath, which the story needed. It's nitpicking at it's utmost, but that's what I'm here for, right? But the story was interesting, the villains properly despicable, and the overall journey was well told. The story is definitely open-ended and if another book comes out, I'd be happy to pick it up.

Final Verdict
Great world building, imagery, and an interesting story that I actually really enjoyed. Most fantasy fans will be happy with this one, I'm sure and, if it sounds like your cup of tea, 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

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

I'm having a hard time trying to describe how I feel about this one. I picked this book up because I was promised a story in which the dead are taking over and those who raise them are given positions of power. While I wasn't too excited about it, I'd heard good things about it (and, I'll admit, I got hooked in by pretty cover art....sue me) so I decided to give it a try. And so...well, let's just get this things started.

Odessa lives in a land governed by the dead. The royal family has been revived by the Necromancers for years, continuing their reign for over a hundred years. As far as Necromancers go, Odessa is revered by many as the Sparrow, she who flies between the world of the living and the world of the dead in no time at all. But things change when the dead are being captured and turned into Shades, deadly, mindless creatures with only death and destruction on their minds. As Odessa suffers a terrible loss, she soon becomes aware of a plot to destroy the royals and her way of life completely.

Okay...in short, I can sum up my problem with this book in three words: trying. too. hard. There's just...too many things going on in this book and it tries to be too many different things. It wants to be a complex, fantasy dystopian (like almost every other book nowadays). It wants to be a deep, thought provoking tale about overcoming grief. It wants to be about diversity and overcoming addictions and the positive effects of change and...a lot of things. As a result, everything it tries to be just doesn't pan out very well. The plot the story starts out with pauses for about a hundred pages while it goes on a tangent. The story just stops for the longest time in the middle of the story and barely picks up again towards the end. As a result, the pace is incredibly slow and the story drags.

Odessa is a bisexual person of color but that alone isn't enough to make her stand out. She has little to no personality, makes incredibly stupid decisions, and some of her inner monologues are...alarmingly self-pitying and destructive. When she suffers a tragic loss, she becomes addicted to a potion for the sole reason that it causes her to hallucinate about the person she lost (I got some SERIOUS Twilight PTSD flashbacks from that little tidbit). The other characters...I don't remember crap about them besides their assigned diversity tropes: the token gay guys, the freethinking Disney princess, the third wheel, the rebound....I'm sorry but I just had the hardest time caring about any of them. The world was just as flat as the characters as well, unfortunately. For some reason, a person's eye color is what determines their power in this world....how? Why? I don't get it. What the heck does eye color have to do with magic powers? How does having blue eyes allow you to bring back the dead? How does having green eyes make you control animals? I don't know. Nobody knows. It's unexplained. The undead king has outlawed change during his absurdly long reign...why? What's the big danger with change? Why are hot air balloons so horribly forbidden but recycling the same dead people over and over again totally okay? It felt more like the author just cobbled together the world based on "wouldn't it be cool if" logic. It just didn't work.

Now, poor characters and weak world building can be...tolerated...if the story is at least good, right? Well, no such luck because I saw everything coming in this book. And I mean everything. Every twist was obvious, every detail was standard, I just didn't care for it. Now, it tries to say meaningful things. It almost does at times. The stuff about overcoming grief had promise, it really did! But in the end...it took her a week to overcome addiction and a new, potential love interest to get over the person she loses. The speed of it all just makes takes all the impact it could have had. It's too easy and it's not nearly as strong as it wants to be.

Final Verdict
Boring. Just...just boring. Generic. Unimaginative. I didn't like this one at all. I'm sure this will be up someones alley and, if you enjoyed it...that's cool but I just don't get it. If you still wanna give it a shot, 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

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

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

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

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

Monday, April 23, 2018

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

Thursday, April 19, 2018

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