Book Review: Crown of Ice

  

Title: Crown of Ice 

Author: Vicki L. Weavil

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy 

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars - did not finish

DNF @ 35% 

I hate to not finish books but I honestly couldn't handle another I this, I that, you this, you that sentence. And that's all there was in this book! 

This is a cute little story of a Snow Queen trying to save herself by putting together a magical mirror that was once broken. It's obvious there are twists, world building, magic and more characters to come in this first book of a series; but I just couldn't handle the writing style any longer. Not only is it juvenile but extremely repetitive. Young adult books do not need to read as though they are for five year olds. Give teens and kids some credit; they can understand a book that doesn't tell us every little thing. 

Aside from the language the lack of showing bugged me in Crown of Ice. Every silly thing was described by our main gal and her POV. I know that wolves are loyal to a daily to their leader. I didn't need to be told once, though am okay with mentioning it once; I certainly didn't need to be told four times in 15 pages about the loyalty of a wolf. Onwards the progression of the story and characters went. 

Very stilted dialogue, unoriginal descriptions and the lack of understanding of how to write well in first person turned me off. From page 1 I had a feeling the style of writing was going to frustrate me, sadly I was correct. 

There might be something here that resembles a good story; I just couldn't hack through anymore "I" statements to get there. 

For this review and more visit my new book review blog at: <a href="http://epicstitching.blogspot.ca/search/label/reading?m=1">Epic Reading</a>

<I>Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review. Don't believe me? Check out the other books I've had eARCs for that I gave great or poor reviews to. I always give my opinion whether good or bad.</I>

Book Review: Children of the New World

 

Title: Children of the New World 

Author: Alexander Weinstein

Genre: Dystopian Sci-Fi, Short Story Anthology

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars 

There were three really solid little stories in this anthology of dystopia snippets. I say snippets because many of these stories are more ideas that haven't been fleshed out enough. 

Even the best writers can't tell a good story in 8 pages. Almost all the ideas in Alexander Weinstein's compilation of Children of the New World are unique and engaging; but most just don't have enough there to really make me feel like I was told a story with characters I can remember. 

Many of the stories I can barely remember the basic premise they were so short. 

The three stories definitely worth reading however are: The Pyramid & The Ass, Fall Line, Saying Goodbye to Yang. 

I hope Weinstein takes a concept or two and writes some substantial stories in the future. Even 100-200 pages could really be a difference maker to feel like there's a real message in his words. 

I'd definitely read fiction from him again; he has a great handle on dystopian futures that are weird and odd but all very believable. 

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review. Don't believe me? Check out the other books I've had eARCs for that I gave great or poor reviews to. I always give my opinion whether good or bad. 

Book Review: The Change Room

 Title: The Change Room

Author: Karen Connelly

Genre: Women's Literature, LGBT

Rating: 3 out of 5

Let's start with things to know about The Change Room: 

       1) Sex: there is a lot of it; and not just alluded to but described in beautiful detail 

       2) LGBT: we have wonderful lesbian characters 

       3) Sex trade: is a focal point, but seen in a practical, loving way 

       4) Adultery: is the main theme and focus

       5) Ending: it just stops. Right at the moment where things were the most interesting!! 

       6) The main character is obsessed with having babies. To the point of utter annoyance to me (as someone whose mid-30s with no children and zero plans for any this was super frustrating).

       7) There are rape and molestation flashbacks   

The Change Room read quickly for me. Karen Connelly definitely knows how to write a compelling, forward moving story. At no point was I bored. This is not a traditional romance novel even though it has many descriptive sex scenes. It's really more of a literature piece. 

Set in Canada, and with many references to my home town (Calgary) I loved the descriptions and settings used. (Side note: I've lived in Alberta my whole life and never ever heard the 'Alberta curse' phrase she uses)

It's obvious that Connelly either did a lot of research on Greece and political matters as all the political and socio-economic things happening in the world in this book happened in real life. I found this refreshing. While not necessarily relevant to our main story it lent credibility to the overall text and I'm sure an English literature professor could find a hundred ways it relates to the story. 

The focus of Change Room is a married woman whom has two children, a content husband, and an 'average' life that many readers can likely relate to. But she's not really happy. Something is missing... in walks a gorgeous lady to the swimming pool one day and so begins an affair that changes everything in her life. 

Overall this book is intriguing, handles the subject matter really well and intelligently sheds light into a number of situations and scenarios society doesn't like to talk about (see list above) . It's very realistic and handles all its sensitive subject matter quite well. 

The reason for my 3-star review, given all these factors, is that just as the book feels like it's at a pinnacle moment that I'm dying to know how plays out, it ends!!! 

Yes it's an ending where you know what's about to be said and can decide how it plays out for yourself. However I just wanted way more! Normally wanting more would leave me with a high review and excitement. But in this case I felt so invested in the characters and their situations that I can't believe it ended! 

Maybe that's unfair... maybe there are tons of philosophical reasons why this ending is perfect. For me it was a huge let down and makes me frustrated as a whole with The Change Room and the investment of time I put into it. It's possible in a few days I'll feel differently but for right now it just felt like Connelly didn't want to decide how it ended and that feels cheap to me. 

I would recommend this book for anyone that wants a different perspective on the sex trade, affairs, lesbianism and suburban family life. 

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review. Don't believe me? Check out the other books I've had eARCs for that I gave good or bad reviews to. I always give my opinion whether good or bad.