Review of “ReDawn” novella by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson

 Review of “ReDawn” Skyward Flight Novella #2 by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson

The second novella in the Skyward Flight series is just as good as the first. It follows the alien Alanik that we briefly met in the second book, “Starsight”, the one that Spensa pretends to be for the Superiorty. We also briefly met Alanik in “Sunreach”, and this story takes place right after that appearance. Alanik returns to her home world ReDawn and we find out her race is called the Urdail.

I love getting a story told from Alanik’s perspective. She is a strong and interesting character. I like how she doesn’t understand how awkward human teenagers act when it comes to talking about dating and relationships. “ReDawn” reunites Alanik with the characters from “Sunreach”, as she asks them to help her race fight off the Superiority. Alanik desperately wants to save her mentor and push out the rule of the Superiority on her home world. The novella does a better job at incorporating the political intrigue plot than “Starsight” did, because it feels more personal to Alaniks’ journey than it did with Spensa’s.

The story offers more information about cytonics and the various abilities that cytonics can possess. It is also refreshing to explore a new planet and society of a new alien race. I love seeing Alanik work with and befriend Jorgen, FM, Rigg and the rest of the crew.

I have thoroughly enjoyed these novellas because they expand the world of Skyward as well as the side characters. Alanik is a fantastic character and I would love to see more of her in the series. This story only makes me more excited to read the third book, “Cytonic”.

Review of “A Kingsguard Tale: Road to Celestia” by G.F. Allen

Review of “A Kingsguard Tale: Road to Celestia” by G.F. Allen

Book, one of “A Kingsguard Tale”, offers the light magic of children’s fantasy combined with the epic scope of adult fantasy. It is reminiscent of Young Adult fantasy such as “The Chronicles of Narnia,” or more recently, it reminded me of the book “Prisoner in the Sky.” The story focuses on a young man named Dart, who wants to become a Kingsguard. It takes place in a world where a unique element known as a Kreg grants its wielder magical abilities. An infernal demon known as Drakkar emerges to claim power. A Celestial princess is then kidnapped, and Dart is assigned to find her and return her to safety before she can be used to aid the Infernal’s plan.

The book tells Dart’s story well and sets him up for his journey to becoming a Kingsguard. Along the way, he meets various people who help train him for the next part of his adventure. Dart must learn to control his Kreg powers to fight the Infernals. There are two major supporting characters, Ava the Celestial and the other Elise, Dart’s best friend. All three characters' storylines eventually converge at the end of the book. Sometimes, various story subplots pop up and make it hard to keep track of what is happening with the main plot. However, these subplots also provide opportunities for character development, making the protagonists more relatable and engaging.

The Infernals and Drakkar make for exciting villains and antagonists for Dart and his companions to defeat. However, it is hard to tell how the Infernals and Celestials fit within the everyday fantasy world that Dart lives in. The fantasy world has several unique qualities that have the potential to expand in future sequels; such as the Kreg magic and the lore of the Celestials.

Dart is a typical character on a hero’s journey; a hero who must learn life lessons along the way. He is diligent, brave, and honorable, making him stand out as the main protagonist. His unwavering determination and quick thinking in the face of danger make him a compelling character. Ava, on the other hand, is not a typical princess. She is strong-willed and independent, but she learns to trust people and overcomes her stubbornness to let Dart help her. Elise also has a good character arc. She learns to fight instead of waiting around helplessly for Dart to save her. She carves out her own journey and in the end, she trusts Dart and makes the right choice not to hand Ava over to the enemy. The character arcs are fine, and the ending leaves room for the sequel book.

For a first-time author, G.F. Allen does a good job at telling a whole story complete with character arcs and creating a unique fantasy world. Overall, this is a light and fun fantasy story that I recommend for readers of young adult fantasy.

 

 

 

 

Review of “Sunreach” novella by Brandon Sanderson

 Review of “Sunreach” Skyward Flight Novella #1 by Brandon Sanderson 

and Janci Patterson

“Sunreach” is a novella story that takes place between book 2 “Starsight” and book 3 “Cytonic”. It follows the character of FM, whom we met in the first book, “Skyward”. The short story follows FM and the Skyward Flight crew, Jorgen and Rigg, as they try to figure out how to use the cytonic powers of slugs called Taynix. In the first book, Spensa adopts a pet slug she calls Doomslug, without knowing what it truly is. This story explains the slug’s powers and how they work. The mystery of faster than light travel depends on unlocking the secrets of the Taynix slugs.

Unlike book 2 “Starsight”, which focused on new characters, “Sunreach” is about getting to know the original characters of FM, Rigg and Jorgen. The three of them work together to observe the slugs and learn more about their cytonic powers. There’s a cute flirtation between FM and Rigg, that makes the story appeal more to a young adult audience. We also get confirmation that Jorgen likes Spensa, and these small romantic interests make the characters more relatable and show their vulnerability. Fm doesn’t want to get attached to anyone, but by the end of the story she decides it’s not enough to just be alive, she needs to be able to live a life filled with relationships.

There are a few other characters we get glimpses of, including meeting Jorgen’s mother, as well as finding out what happened to Alanik. It was nice to see Alanik interact with FM, but we don’t get much from her before she transports away using her cytonic powers. The mission of the crew is to rescue Cuna, a character we met in the second book. The Superiority is collapsing, and Cuna needs their cytonic power to help save her.

In the end, I like that FM never loses her humanity. She makes the choice to save her friends instead of abandoning them. Throughout the story FM has been the one that was concerned about the safety and feelings of the Taynix slugs. She dubbed herself Slug Welfare Specialist, a trait that makes her standout from Jorgen and Rigg. Jorgen was just following military orders and Rigg was more concerned about engineering. It creates a good emotional center point for the characters to play off as well as unite over the research.

Overall, I loved this novella and thought it was better than book 2. The characters are more interesting, and I love learning all about the slugs and how they work. It is a side mission story that does a great job continuing to build out the world, while still connecting to the overall story arc of the series. Looking forward to reading the next book, “Cytonic”.

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Review of “Starsight” by Brandon Sanderson

 

Review of “Starsight” by Brandon Sanderson

Because I loved reading the first book, “Skyward”, I was really looking forward to reading the second book, “Starsight”. While I still enjoy the series and the story, I wasn’t as gripped with the second book as I was with “Skyward”. The book picks up a few months after the ending of the first book, and we catch up with Spensa and the crew and their new mission.

I liked the opening of the story, learning about what the crew’s new mission is on top of the floating platforms in the sky. However, when an alien girl lands on their planet, the story takes a turn. Spensa goes to train with the Superiorty, which sounds like a fun adventure, but I wasn’t as enthralled as I wanted to be with the plotline. I do like getting more information about the Superiorty and seeing their station and how they operate. However, unlike the characters we met in the first book, I found most of the new characters to be either boring or forgettable.

I will say that I did enjoy meeting and learning about the other alien races, such as the Dione and the Kitsen. One of the new friends that Spensa makes is Morriumur, a Dione that is only a few months old. I like their friendship, and learning about Morriumur race, the Dione. Unlike the other new characters, Sanderson builds a fondness for Morriumur, which shows us that not all races and people of the Superiorty are enemies. It also gives us a reason to care about the ending of the book.

Another positive is that we learn more about Spensa’s cytonic powers, and the Delvers and the Superiorty. We even get a reveal about her pet Doomslug, which factors in greatly to the plot of the series. However, I think Sanderson did a poor job setting up the villains of the story, because their plan at the end of the book comes out of nowhere and doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Because most of this book follows Spensa and her trip to the Superiorty, we don’t get many of her friends and family back on her home planet of Detritus. But the scenes that we do get are well done, and we learn more about Jorgen and his own cytonic abilities.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first one, but I still loved being in this world, and learning more about what is going on with the overall plot. Spensa is still a fun character, along with her banter with M-Bot. The new characters aren’t great, but there is a lot of new worldbuilding being done that is exciting for the future of the series. Next up is the short story companion, “Sunreach”.

Review of “Skyward” by Brandon Sanderson

Review of “Skyward” by Brandon Sanderson

If “Fourth Wing” is one of the best YA fantasy novels I’ve read recently, then “Skyward” is the best YA science fiction novel I’ve read since “The Hunger Games”. While my husband is a big fan of author Brandon Sanderson, I have been a bit hesitant to read his works. I tried “The Way of Kings” and gave up halfway through. Epics are not for me. While I did overall enjoy “The Final Empire” the first in the Mistborn series, I found similar issues with his writing that I did with “The Way of Kings”. I tend to find his writing style to be too long winded, drawn out and dry. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just not for me. However, I’m pleased to say that I have found a book of his that I truly love.

“Skyward” is written with all the amazing worldbuilding and technicality that Sanderson is known for, but with a YA approach. The story focuses mainly on one character and follows her journey through flight academy. The story’s pacing flows well from scene to scene and there’s never a moment where it gets bogged down by inner monologues or exposition. The story takes place on a planet called Detritus where humans live deep underground because the atmosphere is covered in a layer of debris from old space stations. The flight academy is on the surface and the pilot fight an alien race known as the Krell.

One thing I like about this book is the story is not about the sci-fi aspects but rather about a girl, Spensa, trying to redeem her family name after her father was labeled a coward in battle when she was a little girl. There is also an interesting mystery about what really happened to her father, and it all becomes clear at the end.

Unlike most YA stories, Sanderson manages to resist the urge to give Spensa a love interest. While there is some tension between her and her flight leader Jorgen, it’s not some intense, semi-toxic, romance. It’s barely noticeable, but well developed. The dialogue is witty, and the characters have a good banter with each other.

Spensa is a fun, and brash character that makes for a good lead. I really enjoy the supporting characters as well, such as her flight instructor Cobb and her classmates, Jorgen and Kimmalyn. Each of their personalities are different and yet they all work well as an ensemble. One of the few criticisms that I have of the book, is that we don’t get to know Spensa’s mother and grandmother, as well as life in the underground caverns.

Overall, I really love this book, it’s got interesting characters, a cool sci-fi world and an interesting story about human’s vs aliens and intergalactic travel. I’m looking forward to continue reading this series.

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"The Chimera Prophecies" consists of eight short science fiction/dark fantasy short stories. Themes of how reality and identity shape our journey and humanity.

Review of “Iron Flame” by Rebecca Yarros

 

Review of “Iron Flame” by Rebecca Yarros

Coming out of “Fourth Wing” I was super excited and thrilled for this series, which the author has said will consist of five books. I loved the main characters, and I really enjoyed spending time in this world. When I started “Iron Flame” my expectations were high. However, after the first third of the book, I began to lose interest. Halfway through the book, which is longer than the first book, I began to get bored. While there are interesting aspects in the sequel “Iron Flame”, overall, it gets weighed down by its multiple story plots.

The beginning of this book starts with the main character Violet returning to her second year at Basgiath War College. We get a sense of what is expected of second year students, and how Violet and Xadan’s relationship changes now that he has graduated. Everything that takes place at the college is great and engaging. However, about a third of the way through the book, the story shifts and we are removed from the college until the very end.

The other two-thirds of the book takes place in a few different locations, the story starts to literally jump around from place to place. We learn more about the griffin riders, we learn more about Xadan and we even redeem a character. There are also a few surprises that I won’t spoil, but it all plays into the ending of the book.

The main plot of this book is restarting the magic shield wards to fight off the enemy. However, I feel that some scenes are repetitive and the story meanders around the plot, introducing points that don’t focus on the main story. I feel that this book should have either been condensed or split into two books. It simply takes too long to get to the last act of the story. It becomes too drawn out and the side plots could either be saved for the next book or scrapped altogether. It took me a long time to finish this book, because I had just lost interest in reading it.

There are a few good things about this book. The opening at the college is wonderful, the reveals and twists are shocking and well done. I like continuing to build the relationship between Violet and Xadan, as well as her family. Unfortunately, most of the book was less interesting and I can’t recommend reading this one. That said, I will still look forward to reading the third book in the series. 

Review of “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros

Review of “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros

“Fourth Wing” is a fantasy book that focuses on a young woman entering her first year at a battle college, hoping to become a dragon rider. Violet Sorrengail wanted to be a scribe like her father but her mother, the commanding general, forces her to join the rider’s quadrant, like her older sister Mira. At the college Violet runs into her childhood friend, Dain, as well as the son of the man who is responsible for her brother’s death, Xadan Riorson. The book follows Violet’s first year as she survives the many grueling and dangerous challenges the riders must face, including bonding to a dragon.

“Fourth Wing” is the first pure fantasy novel for Yarros, whose main body of work consists of romance novels. Yarros does a great job creating a world that feels familiar to fans of fantasy, yet unique in its own right. The one thing that I love about this book is that the main character is thrown into a situation where everyone expects her to fail. Violet was trained as a scribe and is constantly being told that she is too weak to be a dragon rider. Because of this, Violet has to work hard and use her intelligence to overcome physical challenges in new ways.

One of the things that I enjoy most is the relationships that Violet has with her family, friends, and enemies. Violet has unique dynamics between different people and her relationships evolve or devolve as the story goes on. I also really like the aspect that it takes place at a college, which sort of reminds me of Hogwarts in Harry Potter.

For some unknown reason, I was enthralled reading this book and couldn’t get enough. It’s the first book in a while that I just cannot put down. I really like how easy it is to read, and the author keeps the story flowing and moving forward. Each chapter starts with an excerpt from a letter or piece of literature that builds the history of the world while also applying to the current situation of the character. There is just enough detail and description without weighing down the narrative or overusing exposition to convey information.

As for the dragons, I haven’t read too many stories about dragons, but I really like this portrayal. The dragons can communicate telepathically and have their own society and sets of rules. I imagine these dragons to look like the dragons for Game of Thrones, but each dragon has a different tail that is shaped like a weapon, i.e. dagger-tail or morningstar-tail. The use of magic is also an interesting aspect, because the riders gain their magic through the bond with their dragon. It’s a soft magic system but it works within the context of the story.

There are a few things that I don’t love about this book, but I don’t want to give away too many spoilers. There is a sort of classic “toxic” relationship that is viewed as being okay and lusty. It’s NOT okay to be in a toxic relationship just because you can’t keep your hands off each other. However, it’s only slightly toxic in the sense that they play mind games with each other and don’t trust each other, but their sex is so amazing that they don’t care.

There is also a character that is just overly aggressive and eager to kill. It’s a ridiculous character that makes no sense. One thing I do like is there is a side character that uses sign language to communicate and it’s a great way to add diversity to a fantasy novel.

Overall, if you are someone that loves fantasy stories with dragons and a female protagonist, then I highly recommend reading this book. The book has a fairly interesting plot that uses familiar story beats but doesn’t fall into “generic” plot tropes and takes a surprising turn at the end. I look forward to reading the next book, and continuing the series.

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Review of "The Princess Search” by Melanie Cellier

 Review of “The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling” by Melanie Cellier

While the previous book might be my least favorite in the series, the last book “The Princess Search” might be my favorite in the series. At first I wasn’t sure how it was an ugly duckling story, but it’s not about her being physically ugly, but her past was messy and unbefitting of a princess. But she learned from each stage of her past and blossomed into a bright future.

So, the story takes place in Lanover, and we continue with characters that we met in the previous book. It takes place a year after the last novel. We get princess Celine and her two older brothers Princes Fredrick and Cassian. Fredrick is being groomed to take over as King so he goes on a tour of Lanover, and Celine brings along the main character, seamstress Evangeline, or Evie. One thing I really like about this book, is that it is a travelling story. We get to see all the parts of the kingdom of Lanover as well as the Great Desert. We explore how the people are living in each location, and it does a great job at worldbuilding, which is something I’ve wanted more from in this series.

The group goes to the island, and then the jungle, and then the desert, and then the big southern city Largo. Each new place has a connection to Evie’s past, and they go in reverse order leading back to the city she was born in, Largo. At each point there’s a part of her past that she needs to reconcile and overcome.

Throughout the story there is also a looming threat of a new rebellion. Evie runs into an enemy from her past that is trying to kill her, and she feels the threat of his presence every where she goes.

Along the way, princess Celine is trying to find a future wife for each of her brothers. Celine is a fun character, and has matured a little bit since the last book. Frederick is a heroic type Prince, he takes his responsibilities as Prince very seriously, but also wants to help the people of Lanover as best he can. He often saves Evie, and of course the two have an unspoken attraction and romance, throughout the story. We get to know Evie’s past alongside the royal family, which makes for a good narrative flow. Changing location helps keep pace and there’s really no part where the story slows down.

Overall, I really loved reading this book, I’m not sure if I like it more than “The Princess Companion”, but it’s close. So, if I have to rank the five books (not the short novels), I’d say, “The Princess Companion”, then “The Princess Search”, then “The Princess Pact”, then “The Princess Game” and lastly “The Princess Fugitive.” Even though I really have liked all the books in the series, and I’ve enjoyed the short stories as well.

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Review of “The Princess Game” by Melanie Cellier

 

Review of “The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty” by Melanie Cellier

I’ve been enjoying The Four Kingdoms series so far, and I was curious how author Melanie Collier was going to reimagine the curse of Sleeping Beauty. Each of the books explore a different kingdom and this book takes place in the last kingdom left to explore, Lanover. The main character is princess Celeste, whom we briefly met in the first book “The Princess Companion”, as one of the suitors for Prince Max. In that book she was described as not very intelligent and this book explains why.

Princess Celeste was cursed as a baby just like Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. However, instead of going into an actual coma sleep, Celeste bargained with the godmothers and in exchange only her mind would be “put to sleep” in the presence of others. It’s a bit of an interesting and sort of confusing take on “sleeping”. Basically, in her head she is the same person, but the curse prevents her from being smart and clever in the presence of people who know her true identity.

So, to get around the curse the Princess assumes a secret identity calling herself Aurora, and acting as a spy in the night. She uncovers a rebellion plot, and is aided by Prince William, who is visiting the kingdom of Lanover with his sister, Marie which we met them in The Princess Pact. Marie is getting married to Rafe who is one of Celeste’s brothers.

I do like the inter-connectiveness of these books, but sometimes it is hard to remember who was introduced in which books. Instead of the evil Maleficent, the woman that cursed Celeste was her aunt Melisande who was banished to an island after the incident.

Prince William tries to court Celeste based on her beauty, but also is attracted to the intelligence and cleverness of Aurora. The princess then joins her brother on a cruise around the islands, along with her mother, younger sister Celine, Prince William and his sister, and Celeste’s uncle Horace. Celeste suspects the rebellion is trying to free her aunt from the island that is being protected by a magical hedge.

We get the real story about what happened to her aunt, and it is a sad story that makes Celeste reconsider the idea that her aunt isn’t the monster that she thought she was. Turns out her aunt had a young baby just before Celeste was born, but her baby and husband had passed away. In a fit of rage due to heartbreak, she cursed Celeste, but didn’t really mean it.

While the first half of the book sets up Celeste as Aurora and the whole rebellion plot, I find it to be a bit slow and not as interesting. It feels like a retread of the plot from “A Midwinter’s Wedding” in which her sister Cordelia was trying to unravel a treasonous plot against the royals. Once they all get on the boat, the story becomes more interesting, and I really liked the ending.

After learning the truth about her aunt and then finally meeting her aunt, Celeste has a change of heart and longer wishes to kill her aunt. With a twist of events, William and Celeste are thrown into a fight together, and he figures out that Celeste is Aurora. With a kiss, her curse is broken, and Celeste tells her mother and sister about her Aurora identity and how the curse actually affected her.

Overall, while I liked some of the characters, I found the whole rebellion plot and her desire to kill her aunt to be too generic and not really motivated. The twist to who was in charge of the rebellion also didn’t make much sense, because we never really got to know that character. However, the ending with Celeste’s aunt trying to make amends was really good. I also liked exploring the new kingdom of Lanover, and we actually go to a few places, not just the palace. It’s a decent entry into this series but not the strongest.

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"The Chimera Prophecies" consists of eight short science fiction/dark fantasy short stories. Themes of how reality and identity shape our journey and humanity.

Review of “A Midwinter’s Wedding” by Melanie Cellier

 Review of “A Midwinter’s Wedding: A Retelling of The Frog Prince” by Melanie Cellier

I’ve enjoyed this series so far, and I was curious what the author would do with the classic tale, “The Frog Prince”. Interestingly, the main character is not a prince but a new princess, Cordelia from Lanover. We have met two of her sisters, and her brother in previous installments. Her elder sister, Clarisse was married to Prince Konrad in “The Princess Fugitive”, her other older sister Princess Celeste was introduced in “The Princess Companion” as a potential marriage prospect for Prince Max, and her brother Rafe was in “The Princess Pact” book. So, by this point in the series we’ve met quite a few characters that all cross over into this novella, such as Prince Max and his wife Alyssa, Princess Ava and her husband Hans, and even Hanna from the novelette.

Despite all the returning characters, this novella is very much about Cordelia and her love story with Ferdinand. The main plot is Cordelia trying to uncover a mysterious plot to poison the royals. The book takes place over the course of about a month, and all the while Cordelia is looking for a potential husband. At first, she thinks Prince William, whom we met in “The Princess Pact”, however she finds him to be shallow and uninteresting. She strikes up a friendship with Ferdinand, captain of the guard. At first, Ferdy’s looks hold her back from thinking of him as more than a friend. But throughout the story Ferdy proves to be loyal, and caring, even saving her life when she fell into the ice lake.

One of the things that I like about this book is Cordelia’s journey of feelings for Ferdinand. It feels honest and realistic, having her want Prince William only to find that despite his handsome looks, she just didn’t have any feelings for him. The opposite happens with Ferdinand. She goes from finding him odd looking, and through his actions, she finds that she wants to spend her time with him.  By the end of the book, she literally must choose who to run to, Prince Will or Ferdy, and she doesn’t even hesitate to run into Ferdy’s arms for protection. It’s a well-done love story between the two characters.

The other main plot is that Cordelia is trying to figure out who is plotting against the royal families. We get small hints throughout the book, keeping up the mystery of what is going to happen. The resolution is well done, with Cordelia and the help of Ferdy, foiling the plan to poison certain royals. It’s an interesting motive, with some people upset that commoners are marrying royalty or members of the court. Prince Max married Alyssa, who was a commoner. Princess Ava married Hans who was not royalty. Lord Stefan married Hanna, a commoner, and even Princess Marie is not technically born of royalty. So, the plot to take them out, ties into the stories that have been told in this series. There’s a lot of crossovers with the previous books, but it doesn’t overshadow the story in this book. Plus, it’s fun to see all these characters interacting with each other, while continuing to build out this world.

I really enjoyed reading this novella, it’s an easy and fun read, that’s well paced. I enjoyed the romance plot with Cordelia as well as the mystery subplot. I have really enjoyed this series, and this is another solid entry.

 

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"The Chimera Prophecies" consists of eight short science fiction/dark fantasy short stories. Themes of how reality and identity shape our journey and humanity.