Review: Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

     

Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
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Series: The Witches War (#2)
Pages: 390
Publisher: Atom Books
Published: July 26th, 2011
IBSN: 9781907410307

This thrilling sequel to the much-talked-about Nightshade begins just where it ended. Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemy, and she's certain her days are numbered. 

But then the Searchers make her an offer,one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack and the man she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive.

Wolfsbane is the sequel to Andrea Cremer's unique and imaginative debut, Nightshade, and it picks up immediately after its predecessor's conclusion. I read the last chapter of Nightshade before beginning Wolfsbane to refresh my memory, and they fit together seamlessly.

The first third of Wolfsbane read like the 'Last time on ____' at the beginning of TV shows, showing clips that conveniently remind you of all of the plot threads that'll be continued in this episode. After that, it read like a history lesson. Calla, now with the Searchers, spends a considerable amount of time being told in depth (punctuated with plenty of meekly accepted "we'll tell you later"s) about their history with the Keepers.

Much of the focus of Nightshade was Calla slowly discovering things that contradicted her idea of the Keepers and her gradual realisation that the people she's looked up to her whole life are lying to her. In Wolfsbane, that's all replaced with info-dumps delivered by characters the Calla I came to like wouldn't have trusted so easily.

Many of the things I admired about Calla in Nightshade didn't hold up in Wolfsbane, with her feeling like an almost completely different character. She acts self-centered without her pack around to think for, when after her escape is when they needed their leader the most. She's safe with the Searchers to the point of boredom, and she resigns to spending her time lamenting about her love life when there were much more pressing things to address.

The only character I can say I actually felt for is Ren, whose ordeal motivated terrible decisions but still had me feeling sorry for him.

The real action is saved for the near-end, and the whole plot of this installment felt to me like it existed to bridge the gap between Nightshade and Bloodrose and prepare for the overall plot arc of the Witches War. I've never understood 'second book syndrome' before, but I think Wolfsbane has helped me with that.

Though I really do like the image Cremer painted to leave us on, Calla standing outside the house that would have been hers if she stayed with the Keepers.

I feel like I've read a completely different book to many of the people who've reviewed Wolfsbane and have nothing but glowing praise. I still plan to finish this series, but my excitement for the release of Bloodrose is mostly residual from reading Nightshade.

I give Wolfsbane a 2 out of 5.

Waiting On Wednesday (46)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, in which we highlight an upcoming book release we're eagerly awaiting.

This week I'm waiting on Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore, the companion to Graceling and Fire. News about this book has been a long time coming, but earlier this week the cover was revealed on Publishers Weekly, and waiting's only getting harder. I wish there was a real blurb!

"Book 3, tentatively titled Bitterblue and currently in progress, is a companion book to both Graceling and Fire and takes place in the seven kingdoms eight years after Graceling. Bitterblue will tie all three books together in some way. Bitterblue is the sixteen-year-old protagonist, and Katsa, Po, Giddon, Helda, and other characters from Graceling will be part of the fabric of the book. Plenty of fighting still to come!" 

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Bitterblue is being released by Dial (and by Gollancz in Australia) on the 1st of May, 2012.

Feel free to leave a link to your own Waiting On Wednesday post in the comments, and I'll be sure to have a look.

Review: Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

     

Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison
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Pages: 272
Publisher: Egmont USA
Published: October 11th, 2011
IBSN: 9781606841730

A modern retelling of the German fairytale "Tristan and Isolde", Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school.

As soon as I found out there was an upcoming retelling of Tristan & Isolde, I added it to my wishlist. I was crazy-excited for this one, but was actually disappointed.

The writing style was simplistic and not particularly engaging. The basic language seemed to evoke a young, naive voice from our main character, which didn't help me at all warm to her.

The characters' personalities were annoyingly extreme, and their actions much the same. Their interactions and dynamics felt unnatural, like actors hired to play characters that they weren't given any background on. This was especially obvious as the characters play Musical Chairs but with love interests in lieu of chairs.

The major complication came with a strong sense of deja vu. In Tris & Izzie, Izzie discovers she has powers in elemental magic inexplicably stronger than anyone's ever seen before. A giant, evil serpent which terrorises Tintagel -- the home of magic wielders -- is sending monsters to kill her because of her talent, so she and Tristan go to fight him with her untrained but apparently strong magic skills.

The villain was that classic overconfident and mouthy guy who says things like "stupid humans!" and has no real motive. But what I found more annoying than that was that our main character had little motive to travel so far from her comfort zone and slay a beast tormenting people she doesn't know in a place she's never been to. She was irritatingly Mary Sue-esque.

Overall, Tris & Izzie is something I'd recommend to people who aren't phased by cliches and not to people who enjoyed the movie.

I give Tris & Izzie a 1 out of 5.

Review: Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake

     

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake
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Series: Anna Dressed In Blood (#1)
Pages: 316
Publisher: Tor Teen
Published: August 30th, 2011
IBSN: 9780765328656

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Cas's father was killed gruesomely before his eyes, and since, he's been following in his footsteps. He's inherited the family career, hunting down dead that don't stay dead. Travelling with his amateur witch of a mother, he encounters the urban legend of Anna Dressed In Blood, a ghost who tears to pieces anyone who crosses the threshold to her home. In a joke gone wrong, Cas and his friends see Anna do just that, but for some reason, she spares him.

Anna Dressed In Blood is not something I would have picked up on my own, given by squeamishness about horror movies. But rave reviews from some of my most trusted fellow reviewers had me trying out a genre I wasn't used to, and being glad for it.

Cas's narration was immediately easy to get swept up in. He's been through terrible and strange things and his personality reflected that in his courage and hesitancy around people and in the almost nonchalant way he regarded some of the paranormal aspects. I especially admired how he accepted what he needed to do without taking pause to complain, even when things were difficult.

All of the secondary characters were fleshed out as well. It was easy to get a clear idea of who they were early on. In the cases where characters took dramatic turns (read: in the case of Anna), it's justified and Blake skilfully writes her character to contrast with her old self in a big way.

The story was paced smoothly and the action and drama well-plotted. Blake expertly wrote palpable tension and emotions into the story without weighing the narration down with superfluous descriptions. Anna was exciting in mostly following an action-centric plot, but it also had softer moments that brought out different sides to our characters.

Anna Dressed In Blood reintroduces paranormal fans to the genre's horror origins, while presenting endearing characters and a thrilling plot. A compelling read from an author worth keeping an eye on.

I give Anna Dressed In Blood a 4 out of 5.

Review: The Bridge by Jane Higgins

     

The Bridge by Jane Higgins
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Pages: 363
Publisher: Text Publishing
Published: August 1st, 2011
IBSN: 9781921758331

The City is divided. The bridges gated. In Southside, the hostiles live in squalor and desperation, waiting for a chance to overrun the residents of Cityside.

Nik is still in high school but destined for a great career with the Internal Security and Intelligence Services, the brains behind the war. But when ISIS comes recruiting, everyone is shocked when he isn’t chosen. There must be an explanation, but no one will talk about it. Then the school is bombed and the hostiles take the bridges. Buildings are burning, kids are dead, and the hostiles have kidnapped Sol. Now ISIS is hunting for Nik.

But Nik is on the run, with Sol’s sister Fyffe and ISIS hot on their trail. They cross the bridge in search of Sol, and Nik finds answers to questions he’d never dared to ask.

Firstly, that's one hell of a cover. Click the image for a larger look. The artwork is just incredible.

Secondly, this quote:

      Over the Bridge, it's dark not day

      Over the Bridge, the devils play

      Over the Bridge, their souls are BLACK

      Go over the Bridge and you won't come BACK.

Man, that quote.

Anyway, I borrowed The Bridge from my library solely because it won the Text Prize, an award that went to the amazing This Is Shyness last year, and it definitely deserved the accolade.

The Bridge told the story of Nik, a Citysider whose whole life has led up to being recruited by ISIS. But then, he isn't recruited. And his school is bombed. His best friend dies, and another is taken hostage by Southsiders. With Fyffe in tow, he'll cross the bridge and begin to question things that he's always thought were fact.

The Bridge is Jane Higgins' debut novel, and she's made it clear that she's an author to keep an eye on. Her writing is amazing and her storytelling even better; her idea and the execution were both superb. I haven't read a book with such a realistic and raw account of war since Mockingjay.

The characters were all relatable, and understandable. The latter proved to be important in the story, it being one where we really feel restricted by the point of view and often don't know things beyond our main character. With Nik in a foreign place, we don't know much about anyone else either. I don't often feel like I'm restricted by the narration when reading, but I really should. Higgins has done a brilliant job of realistically telling a story: one where we only know what the first person narrator does. It's too often that our protagonists conveniently know too much. Being desperately curious and afraid alongside Nik helped us connect with him on such a deeper level.

Nik's cause was noble and the lengths he went to in order to fulfill it were so admirable. His character was dynamic, with his motivations and opinions constantly changing in a world full of secrets slowly revealed. But he changed as well, and his development was well-captured.

Twists arise throughout the story, and what we find about the mysterious Southside and the other side to the war is found out gradually. The acquisition of knowledge is smooth and we're learning new things until the dramatic end.

This is an incredible story, exceeding expectations in idea and execution. Text Prize recipients seem to be getting better each year, and I can't wait for both the next winner and the next novel from Jane Higgins

I give The Bridge a 5 out of 5.

Waiting On Wednesday (45)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, in which we highlight an upcoming book release we're eagerly awaiting.

This week I'm waiting on Heaven by Christoph Marzi. I found out about this one last week from Brodie's WoW -- she's like the queen of finding amazing forthcoming books. The cover is gorgeous in its simplicity, and the premise sounds like the perfect blend of beautiful and eerie.

The night that Heaven lost her heart was cold and moonless. But the blade that sliced it out was warm with her dark blood...

David Pettyfer is taking a shortcut over the dark rooftops of London's brooding houses, when he literally stumbles across Heaven: a strange, beautiful, distraught girl who says that bad men have stolen her heart. Yet she's still alive...

And so begins David and Heaven's wild, exciting and mysterious adventure - to find Heaven's heart, and to discover the incredible truth about her origins.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Heaven will be released by Orchard Books on the 2nd of February, 2012.

Feel free to leave a link to your own Waiting On Wednesday post in the comments, and I'll be sure to have a look.