Review - "Rebel Of The Sands"

Rebel of the Sands, Rebel of the Sands #1
by Alwyn Hamilton
rating:☆☆
published: 4th February 2016
spoilers? yes

Goodreads

There was only one thing I'd ever liked about Dustwalk, and that was all the space outside it. Beyond the flat-faced, dead-eyed wooden houses, you could run for hours and still find nothing but scrub and sand.

Rebel of the Sands was one of my most anticipated reads of this year and, boy, was I disappointed. Given the gorgeous cover (I know, I know, don't judge a book by its cover, yadda yadda yadda, I'm shallow, OK?), and the synopsis, and all the five-star reviews and hype it was getting, I was so excited to read it.

And then I read it.

To be honest, I was just bored. None of the characters grabbed me, none of the relationships did either, the plot was boring. The only thing I can tell you about the main character, Amani, is that she wants to get out of Dustwalk. Great. Anything more? Nope, nada, nothing. I never felt like there was anything to her character beyond the desire to leave behind her village, and once she'd left it, all she seemed to do was wander around after Jin. Same with Jin, the ~mysterious stranger~, who, by the way, Amani follows too very willingly at times. In fact, I can't tell you anything about Jin, in terms of his motivations and desires. I get that it's difficult to do so when Amani is the narrator, but good authors manage to do that anyway.

Amani and Jin's relationship was also pretty boring. At no point was I rooting for them to actually be together; I just didn't care. If they had stayed as friends that would have been totally OK by me, but there was never any development that felt like them growing to like each other in any way besides that.

Now, to my major annoyance about this book (actually, there are two but they're kind of similar).

The setting is supposed to be some mixture of a Western style adventure (guns and cowboys and saloon bars and shootouts, you get the idea) and Arabian mythology and culture. And it sounds great on paper (if the author can do it well). Only, to me it feels like the latter is relegated to a backdrop. The Arabian mythology and culture is inserted into the Western setting to that it becomes something "different" and maybe a little "exotic". I mean, for one, half the place names are possibly suited to the culture (I'm not entirely sure. From a white perspective, they seem like they could be but I'm inclined to think them made up) and then there are names like "Dustwalk" and "Juniper City" and it creates a kind of dissonance.

Also, while the characters are all non-white characters (and it says that at the start), they could easily be read as white. You know how, when you're reading a book with different race characters, and the author deals with their POVs well, you can tell that they're not all the same race (D.J. Older is a good example of this)? Well, this book, there was none of that. It felt like another afterthought, similar to the Arabian mythology aspect of the storyline. It's like this world has been created, and then these details shoved in to make it ~diverse~; it feels a bit like lack of research and consideration about how these voices and cultures might differ. (A slight side note: there's a point where it's mentioned that her uncle wants to marry her, and it doesn't really add to the plot - she wanted to escape from Dustwalk either way so why include this? - which makes me think it's the author including a gross stereotype about Arabia.

Kudos to the author for the plot twist though, when it was revealed that Amani was half-Djinni, I totally did not see that one coming.

Anyway, overall I was just a bit disappointed. I hope the next few books I've been anticipating are better.

Review - "Wolf By Wolf"

Wolf By Wolf, Wolf By Wolf #1
by Ryan Graudin
rating: ☆☆☆☆
published: 20th October 2015
spoilers? no

Goodreads

Yael did know. And it amazed her that, even though there was a sorceress's boil of anger and hurt in her chest, the boy with the brown jacket could still find a heartstring. Tug it. Make her feel something else...

If I'm completely honest, I wasn't going to read this book as my first Ryan Graudin book. I bought The Walled City first, and then forgot to bring it to uni, and ended up buying this one too. I do not regret it a bit, though, and if this is how this one made me feel, then I am so so excited for the other (and a little apprehensive too, I gotta admit).

Wolf By Wolf is set in an alternative post-WWII history, where the Axis Powers (Japan and Germany) won, and proceeded to take over the whole of Europe and Asia, and parts of Africa. Hitler is still in power, and every year there is a motorcycle race called the Axis Tour from Berlin to Tokyo, which boys under seventeen years from both countries race in, in an effort to win the Iron Cross.

The story follows Yael, a girl who has the ability to change her appearance at will, on account of experiments carried out when she was very young, in a concentration camp. Yael is a member of the Resistance, who are planning on assassinating Hitler and sparking a revolution across the Axis-occupied world. In order to do this, Yael takes the place of Adele, the sole female winner of the Axis Tour. Her task is to win the race, after which she will get invited to the Victor's Ball, and will have a chance to assassinate Hitler.

However, her mission is not as simple as expected. Adele's brother, Felix, is a wildcard entrance into the race, and Luka Löwe, another past Victor, appears to have shared a much more complicated relationship with Adele than the video cameras suggested.

The story flicks back and forth between the present, and the race, and Yael's past, explaining the origins of the five wolf tattoos she has on her arm. The narrative is well-balanced between being plot-driven and character-driven. While there is less action than you might expect - possibly because the bulk of it will likely come in book two, once the stage has been set - the whole plot builds up to the question of will Yael be able to complete her mission and kill Hitler? Equally, as the story goes on, information is incrementally revealed about the characters, Yael in particular, although Luka and Felix both show signs of being more than they first appear (and hopefully, this will be further explored in Blood For Blood).

Sticking with the characters, I actually adored all of them (the main ones that is, so, Yael, Luka, and Felix) and that hardly ever happens. There were, obviously, some points where I was rolling my eyes at Felix and Luka (because boys, y'know), but not in a way that made me dislike them. Yael was my favourite (there was never going to be any question about that) because she was such an interesting character and so complex, but not complex like in her morality, more in her motivation for doing things. Luka Löwe also deserves a mention, because he is an equally interesting character. He comes off to begin with as this Hitler Youth twat, and that's definitely how Yael views him to begin with, but there is more to him and his motivations, and him and Yael teaming up was my favourite part.

Yael and Luka's relationship as a whole was probably the best part of the book, character-wise. And it left me with so many damn questions. Book two doesn't come out for at least another six months and I need to know if Luka will accept Yael after he realises a) what she did, and b) what she can do, and also if he loves her as herself or her as Adele, and also if he'll realise she told him she didn't love him so he would be protected from her and also the aftermath of her shooting Hitler. OK, I'm chill.

I have to say also, that the writing was so gorgeous, like in a simple way where the author can phrase something in the simplest terms and you'll be like oh and URGH. That is my favourite kind of writing.

Anyway, I'm now so impatient for book two. I'm gonna go lie on the floor and stare at the ceiling for a bit.

Review - "Kings Rising"

Kings Rising, Captive Prince #3
by C. S. Pacat
rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
published: 2nd February 2016
spoilers? YES

Goodreads

Laurent said, "Our men have the gates and the halls. Ios is yours." "And you," said Damen. "With your uncle gone, there won't be resistance. You have Vere." Laurent was very still, and the moment seemed to draw out, the space between them private in the hushed baths. "And the centre. We both hold the centre," said Laurent. And then: "It was one kingdom, once."

It has been more than a year since I finished Prince's Gambit and since then I've been stuck in a post-Prince's Gambit limbo, and even now, two weeks after this book's release, it doesn't feel real that the series is over. I can't believe it.

Honestly, I would have to rate book two as my favourite, just because of all the twists and turns and just the unbelievableness of it, but this one probably comes close second, simply because it was a fitting ending, I thought.

The characters have developed so much since the first book, and even though some parts were kind of obviously going to happen (I just want to note now that I totally called them combining the kingdoms!!!), it was still kind of a surprise when they did. Damen was still my favourite character, and I love that he was able to embrace his kingliness in this book.

I think one of the best parts (though there were a lot) was when he and Laurent receive the Regent's herald, and they're each on a throne. Also, the way Damen changes his mind over the course of the series on slavery is great, because Pacat could easily have just left it, but she made a point of saying it and I love that. While Damen may be my favourite, Laurent is definitely close behind, and I also enjoyed his character development. Especially considering this quote:

‘I hated you,’ said Laurent. ‘I hated you so badly I thought I’d choke on it. If my uncle hadn’t stopped me, I would have killed you. And then you saved my life, and every time I needed you, you were there, and I hated you for that, too.’

I can't believe C. S. Pacat would toy with my emotions like this.

Another thing I loved was the symmetry of the series as a whole. It starts (arguably) with Damen killing Laurent's brother, and ends with Laurent killing Damen's, and I think that's kind of fitting, because Damen was never going to be able to kill Kastor himself. Laurent loses his kingdom to the Regent through a trial, and then regains it in much the same manner, but in the second trial he has Damen's support and love and I'm really emotional, okay?

The whole thing has been an emotional rollercoaster and I can't believe it's over. I'm really glad that there's going to be an extra few stories because, while the ending was fitting, I'm not ready to let go of these characters just yet.