Book Review: The Girl Without Magic

Title: The Girl Without Magic
Author: Megan O'Russell
Genre: YA/Teen Fantasy
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

I feel like I just read the beginnings of three different novels and the end of one; and yet somehow they were all in the same book. Without a doubt The Girl Without Magic suffers from a lack of focus, plot, characterization and direction.

No Logical Tie-ins
Our story starts out with our leading gal waking up from the midst of a battle in a 'dark place' that eventually becomes what's known as 'Siren's Realm'. We go from there to her existing in 'Siren's Realm' before she ends up in another place (I'm not saying anything more here as it might be considered a spioler).
But here's the thing, right from the beginning, she doesn't seem concerned about if she actually 'died' in battle or wonder about getting back to Earth. She does't seem bothered by hew new existence in Siren's Realm and then when she leaves there to our third location she doesn't seem too caught up in how to return to Siren's Realm. It's baffling that a teenage girl would care so little about where she lives, resources, etc. To the point where for me this ruined the entire book.
Irregardless of the other issues (listed below) this was the crux of the problem for me.
I just don't believe that a teenage girl would care so little what happened to her friends, family, etc. on Earth, would accept her 'death' so easily, and not be concerned about getting back to stability. Sure it's implied in a couple spots that she's thought about it but zero emphasize or energy goes into these issues that I believe should be the dominant thing on her mind.

And the Hits Keep Coming
I could probably write an essay, as long as this book is, about all of the plot holes (or lack of plot at all!), dull characterizations, insta-love (oh yeah it's bad), and general flaws in this book. Megan O'Russell seems to address things that are burning questions (for me at least) to readers with offhand comments or not until 50 pages after.
A good example; our gal and her travelling companion fall (literally) into this new 'third' place and are captured by the locals whom they seem to be able to speak with no problem. No thought or concern about language barriers at all. About 6 chapters later our main gal mentions it to her (insta-love interest) and it's decided that it must be the 'magic' allowing it. This is easily the lamest and laziest reason that could possibly be given. O'Russell might as well written 'because the author decided she didn't want to deal with it'. Disservice to the reader and turns me right off.

Overall or The Irony
It's ironic that the dialogue and descriptiveness of the story was not terrible. This is the only reason I didn't DNF this (and that I wanted to finish a book!). It wasn't the quality of writing but the content of it that was frustrating (if that makes sense). I would compare it to Twilight in that it's an interesting enough idea and the writing is 'good enough' to read; but that the execution of the story, characters, plot, etc. was so awful that it ruins anything redeeming about the writing style.
And to think this is a series (and one that I could go on for eternity the way it's set-up as 'adventures' in new lands). Ugh.
I would suggest avoiding this book/series, and maybe even this author entirely. (Unless of course you think that Stephanie Meyer is the best writer of all time, then you might like this...)
I'm probably being far too generous to give it even 2 stars to be honest.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Stitching: Almost there Dragons

I’m soooo close to being done the Birthstone Dragons. Or at least done with the stitching part. I haven’t yet decided on actual gems or stones for this piece. I didn’t stitch in stones (and reworked all but one square) so that they don’t need them. But I’m still contemplating what to do. 

So here’s the last photo before finishing ones of the 12 Dragons (and I’m only 5 months after the SAL ended, which is sadly a good showing for me. Lol!!) 

My wicked witch helps keep these mythical beauties in line. :) 

This beauty should be done by end of next weekend I hope! Although it is nice here (finally) and gardening (ugh) must be done too. 

In other news: I’ve just started playing around with Instagram for my Etsy shop and it’s got me thinking about stitching photos. I seem to find myself often gravitating to angled close-ups as it shows some of the intricacies and details that a normal shot might not. 

I am interested in your thoughts on photos! 

Specific to stitching photos: do you prefer angled/artisty pictures, fun filters added or just straight up photos of stitching? 

Please share in comments or you can email me direct at epicstitching[at]gmail[dot]com. 

Looking forward to opinions and thoughts! 

Book Review: Wonderblood

Title: Wonderblood
Author: Julia Whicker
Genre: Science Fiction, Literary
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

While the setting and dystopian features of Wonderblood may not sound different from the average dystopian book; it is certainly in the literary realm of Station Eleven and Cloud Atlas. 
The story takes place in the continental USA when a disease has ravished the country and not only killed many but contaminated the actual soil of the earth. The style and tone of Julia Whicker's writing is very literary. One of the religions uses historical space shuttle names as a part of their lore. Ironically there are no space excursions or futuristic elements to Wonderblood even though it is set in the future. It has a little magic, a little science, a little horror; but a lot of beautiful and thought bending prose. 

Writing Style
A huge portion of the experience reading Wonderblood is being immersed in the literary style that Whicker employs. You could just as easily have been reading a historical account. The setting is the future but it's a nomadic (no technology) world and so it feels different from the average sci-fi novel. The 'magic' in the book is rooted in scientific concepts but they are not explained or analyzed in the context of modern science. Finally, there is lots of blood but it's not described in a horrific way that feels like a horror story. 
Wonderblood is, at its core, a literary book. The mood of the writing is as much the story as the actual plot and characters themselves. The use of descriptors (woman, girl, man) instead of names, when we are experiencing the world from certain points of view, reinforces that there is a theme to the way the story is told. This tone and style affects how the story feels as you read it. It's more than just a story about people in tough times.  

Yes it's awful...but not like you think
It's very difficult to write a dystopian story without having a lot of blood and death. It's just the nature we expect from dystopian books. Whicker certainly doesn't shy away from the horrors of her futuristic societies (we follow two different religious/social groups); but she also doesn't emphasize them either. From certain points of view the blood is horrific, and from others it's just part of a ritual. In some instances carrying a rotting head around is terrifying and disgusting; but for others it's comforting and a way of life. Whicker has normalized some of the horror to a point where we start to understand why some of our characters don't comprehend that what they are doing is perhaps morally objectionable.

Religion
I think using the names of space shuttles to form the basis for a religion is a cute nod towards the science fiction genre. It’s easy to get caught up in the intricacies of each group’s religious practices that define their morals, laws, personal interactions, rituals, etc. As with most religions there are important books or texts and being able to read and interpret them is of value. The core elements of most religions exists here and yet these two religions are far from our own. Whicker is, I believe, making a point about religion throughout the book. She uses elements from our true past and skews them into these new religious groups. The insinuation, of course, is that perhaps we don't interpret or understand the culture or context of the ideals we worship. A bit of a jab at religion in general; which is ironic given the importance of the two competing religions to the book. 

Characters & Plot
If you're looking for an in-depth character analysis or active intricate plot you've probably got the wrong book. The core of Wonderblood is the analysis of what drives and motives humans to be a certain way. There is no real plot except that a comet appears in the sky and our two religious groups react to this appearance. For me that was enough plot to set-up the reasons why things start to happen; but I could see how many may find this book to be too unsubstantial or lacking focus because there is no real purpose to the story other than to explore morals, faith and human nature. 

Overall
I really enjoyed this book. Upon finishing it I instantly wanted to read it again. Wonderblood is a book that could easily be analyzed and studied in any classroom at any level. It’s the kind of book people will love to hate as its literary style may be a bit more challenging than your average read. Therefore you have to put some effort into reading Wonderblood as it is riddled subtle and symbolic events and thoughts. For me, the effort was worth it. I loved contemplating the intricacies. Had I read this book as a teen I could see it having a profound impact on me (assuming I read it all the way through). As it was, even as an adult, I loved how much it made me think. I will definitely be purchasing this book for my print library. I cannot wait to read it again and revisit the morals, concepts and ideals set-up in this dystopian future. 

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.