Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty is a junior fiction book that was very well written. It is about a young girl who is never seen by anyone. She is a "creature of the night" and hunts rats in Baltmore Mansion in Virginia in the late 1800's. Serafina is a smart girl and has really never been seen in by the household staff or the Mr. and Miss. who own the manor.

It isn't until one night after her father--the houses machinist--goes to sleep behind the boiler down in the basement (no one knows he lives down there after his duties are done), she sees a mysterious cloaked figure chasing down one of the children of a visitor of the manor. The child becomes enveloped by this cloaked man and disappears. She later finds out that more children have gone missing without a trace. Serafina has to help find them even though no one believes her beside her one new friend and his trusted dog. 

Overall, it is a fair book, written well, with believable characters. There are some instances of cheesy-ness, but I think that may have to do with its originally intended audience (approximately ten year olds). Things get wrapped up neatly and everything is made out fine. Even when her cover is blown and the adults of the house find out she has been living in the house for her whole life, the don't seem to mind... That is a bit bothersome. 

I will say though that unlike many of the other junior fiction I've read, this has a lot more adult conversation and presence than most. Though many of the adults are faceless and they are clumped up together, there is a lot more dialog from them that Serafina overhears. 

Like most younger fiction, the few people she does tell about this black cloaked man don't believe her or don't believe her suspicions about the person she believes he is. She is all on her own to save the day. I, personally, don't really care too much for this. She does get a help from an unexpected source, the the reasoning behind this source was more fantastic (full of fantasy elements) than was hinted at. I think there needed to be a little more foreshadowing on the "creature of the night" that she is instead of the quick wrap up that left me hanging more than I wanted to. We believe these characters talk afterward and more of an explanation is given, but we, the reader, don't get that. Foreshadowing or flashes to another POV or some type of mythology about these "creatures of the night" would have been more helpful and more believable to me. 

Serafina as a character I thought was intriguing, though some of the other characters seemed faceless to me (as well as a lack of description in the setting).  There was a lot of third person narrative from her viewpoint and her thought process which was done well and accurately. 

I probably won't pick it up to read it again. I may recommend it to younger kids, but not very many adults even though it has an interesting concept. 

Red Queen

The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is a quick read. It is a Young Adult book that follows the love-triangle/maybe-a-third-person-likes-her-in-a-romantic-way kind of book. Though I felt kind of cheated. Mare is supposed to be torn between two worlds: the Reds (people who don't have super powers and have red blood) and the Silvers (people who do have super powers and, you guessed it, bleed silver), torn between the life she knew of poverty and practically slavery, and finding out that not all Silvers are bad people. She is told that anyone, especially in this political agenda filled noble class, could betray her, but she doesn't get the hint. Mare falls, literally, into a bad situation and in order for the nobility to cover their own skims, make her a princess so they can watch her and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. Little do they know, she has already joined the rebels, the Scarlet Guard, and now she's forcefully and accidentally walked into the middle of the political games.

While it was an interesting concept, I felt kind of jipped (though it is a debut novel, so I'll give it some slack). Most of the time there is a running theme in a novel, a small one but something that will want to make the reader better. Something like "trust" or even the cliche "love wins out" or something. The only theme I was able to catch was "watch your back because betrayal is everywhere" which is more than a little disappointing.

The other big problem I have with this is why do they actually like her? Because she's a curiosity? Because she's pretty? Because she's witty? I didn't get the feeling from any of the guys--except maybe Kilorn who was a childhood friend and knew her forever--actually had fallen madly in love with her. They have their "oh, cute" scene, but they never actually even complimented her or bantered back and forth or anything. It was a "love at first sight" that I'm not buying. One of the boys is supposed to love her so much that he'd choose her over his father and country, but I saw no reason why he would actually do that. The progression of any love between them was not developed well.

Although I wouldn't call her a damsel in distress because she can be a sneaky thief and can get away from guards and, once she's trained a little, is able to handle lightening pretty well, she still seems like everyone needs to save her. She even comments on it herself in the later end of the book when she does something really stupid thinking it will help and it doesn't--ends up getting someone(s) killed. All she does to help her people, help her friends, only ends up getting people hurt. Again, she comments on this. It could just be that she is in a bad situation and she is really over her head, but still. A girl can get a few things right, whereas Mare seems to get most things wrong. Mare's big emotion motivator seems to be anger. She's angry at everything almost all the time, which is kind of a turn off for me. Anger and "Must. Help. Everyone!" (which she fails at often enough).

The book was also fairly predictable in my opinion. Though I should have gotten the major plot point and twist, but didn't, many of the other little things that happen, I saw coming. (Again, debut novel, I get it.)

And lastly I felt like things went too quickly. We get one lesson of Protocol, one lesson with Julian, one Training session, on dance lesson, brief moments at balls when things go wrong, and quick fight scenes (the final battle at the end was well done though--except I predicted what was going to happen). I feel like Aveyard could have elongated it a little bit to give us more of this world and the people more than just the love interests. I would have loved to get to know the King more. I guess the biggest thing to help this book out would have been to not stick  solely in Mare's mind but venture out to other characters. While we get a good idea about what is going on in their heads because Mar is perceptive, I feel more could have been added that would have helped character development and world/society building that this was lacking.

Over all, I'll probably read the next few that are supposed to come out, this is the first of four, because I am interested in this world and I know there can be a lot of progress in her writing style. I do also like the characters and want to get to know them more. The more you write, the more you learn, the better you become. I will give her other ones a shot.

Six of Crows

The Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is a fantastic read and I can't wait for the next one to come out. But the sad part is, right now, it's fairly fresh off the press.

Right now I love most everything about this book. The world is new and so inventive--though I have found out that there is another series that takes place in this world that Ms. Bardugo has written. This world is about to be thrown into more chaos that it already is because a new wave of super drug is about to be unleashed. It heightens the powers of the Grisha to be able to do the impossible. But it also sucks the Grisha in with a crazy craving that practically consumes life, either driving them crazy if they don't get it or whittling them down to a zombie if they until they die.

The heroes of this story are a bunch of thieves in it for the money. They are contracted to perform a jailbreak to get the maker of this new drug out of possibly deadly hands. Easy enough right? Wrong. The prison they have this scientist in is the most guarded complex in the world. It's easy enough to get in; getting out is the impossible part.

Bardugo takes us through this story in all six characters points of view, though it's nicely in third person. While it can be hard keeping track of all six of these thieves, it is cleanly done. I found a deep love for the characters especially because Bardugo takes the time to explain back stories. While some might find the time jumping disconcerting, I found that it gave so much more to the characters and their roles in the story. We understand where they are coming from even though some of them aren't very likable characters at the beginning. I found a love for all the characters in this book and my heart wrenched when I thought they would die--and it happened on more than a few occasions.

All of the characters seemed real, too. I mean to say that none of the main six were flat through I would like more from the "bad guys." We got a little at the end of a potential bad guy, at least someone who will have to be dealt with, but I would have liked a little more from the other antagonists.

I guess my only other thing that I didn't care too much for, though at the end of the book I didn't mind, was that we simply get thrown into this novel. There are lots of places and sayings and meanings that were completely foreign to me and it felt like I was drowning in this world for the first while. But as you keep reading (or if you've read the previous series--the Grisha series: Shadow of Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising) you might fare better. But so long as you're a good reader and pay attention, you'll get it.

Again, I can't wait for the next book. Kaz, Inej, and Jesper, you've all stolen my heart.

"No mourners."
"No funerals."

Please don't die.

Winter

Winter is the last book in Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles. I think one of the best parts of this book is the depiction of how Winter is crazy. Because Winter has chosen not to use her Lunar Gift she legitimately is going insane. She sees blood dripping down walls, thinks she's a wolf, becomes ice and is about to shatter... Her episodes may have to grow on you, but Winter is amazing.

For the climax of the series, Cinder and the crew must sneak onto Luna (the moon), find Scarlet who is somewhere held captive inside the palace, raise an army, and take the crown from Levana.

But of course nothing can be so simple as their plan was. The moment they step foot onto Luna the chase begins and they are separated. Cinder's group heads to the mines where friends may be found, others are hidden inside the palace do to Jacin and Winter's help. Scarlet is being held in the menagerie as Winter's pet, so then she wouldn't be executed.

Constantly when things start going right, everything gets flipped on it's head. Jacin is ordered by Levana to kill Winter because Levana knows he loves her. Cinder and Wolf are captured. Wolf gets changed into more of a brute and begins to forget Scarlet. Cinder is brought before Levana and Kai who just got married and is to be executed. Iko constantly is getting shot at, which is kind of funny. Everything constantly goes awry and the we, as the reader, have to constantly remind ourselves that this has a Happily Ever After, right? Meyer isn't going to wrench in our Happily Ever After is she? She's messed with all of these stories soooo much, she wouldn't take the Happy Ending away! Right?

Oh, it's such a good book. Although there are 830 or so pages in the book, it reads fast and like all the rest of the series (Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress) such a joy to read. This series, next to some of my Brandon Sanderson Favorites, these are my favorite books. I work at a library and constantly tell the patrons who are looking for a good book to read these. They aren't your normal fairy tale, but I love them just as much.

Read and Enjoy!

Cress

Probably my favorite book in Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles, Cress is the third book in the series. Following Cinder and  Scarlet, Cress follows the Fairy Tale story of Rapunzel. And the relationship she has with her Prince Charming gives me butterflies.

Cress is a shell, a Lunar who has no Gift that can manipulate the brainwaves of those around them and cannot be manipulated either. Which means that Levana, who is constantly has her glamor on, can't hide from Cress. Levana has taken all the shell babies and done who knows what to them. Cress, being taken away from her family when she was very little, doesn't remember them and only knows to do what Mistress Sybil says. She is stuck in a satellite orbiting around Earth, instead of a tower. All alone except when her Mistress comes to visit and give new instructions, Cress finds games to play when she's not spying on everyone on Earth. She watches all the news feeds, listens in on political private conversations, and is a wiz at games online.

Our heroine is first debuted in Cinder at the end when she informs Cinder of something terrible that is about to happen at the ball. But when Mistress Sybil boards her satellite when Cinder and the rest of the crew are there, the satellite breaks orbit and crashes into the Sahara. Thorne, now blind, and Cress, with no shoes and very little survival experience, have to trek across the desert to find friends.

But then back in China Kai is marrying Levana?!  They must stop this or Levana will kill him after she becomes Empress. But how? In an awesome way, that's how.

There is so much going on in this book! Cress is such a sweetheart and this quirky girl captures so many hearts. My friends who have read this series have loved Cress more than most of the other characters. The relationship that develops is too cute. I get twitterpated for them. Their comebacks and dialogs are hysterical and...ugh, I love them so much. This is a must must must read.

Scarlet

UPDATE: In honor of finishing the book Winter, by Marissa Meyer, I am posting up my reviews of two of the previous novels that I'd read a while ago. The first book in the Lunar Chronicles is Cinder, which I've reviewed previously and is a great read. If follows Cinder in a futuristic Cinderella story. However at the end of the book, she finds herself in prison instead of with her prince charming, a drastic change of events, right?

In the sequel, Scarlet, we follow Little Red Riding Hood in her attempt to find her grandmother who has disappeared. Scarlet lives on her farm in France and meets up with this burly, odd man who has never eaten a tomato in his life.  Wolf *hint hint* insists on joining her while she goes to Paris to find her grandma. They end up hitting it off and she starts falling for him until things turn for the worst. Wolf ends up belonging to a Pack of Lunar Special Agents who are sent to massacre millions as well as get information about Cinder from Scarlet's grandmother.

Cinder, having just found out she's the Lunar Princess Selene, needs to find out more. With the help of a thief, pilot, extraordinaire, Carswell Thorne, who helped her escape from prison in New Beijing, they fly in his stolen spaceship to France to investigate Cinder's past that she can't remember. Scarlet's grandmother is the best one to ask as she was a military pilot who has something to do with her escape, however, she's missing.

I think this was better the second time through. The relationship between Wolf and Scarlet was originally obnoxious and weird with him being Alpha of his pack and she has an Alpha personality... However, this I like the way the wolf is side of things is presented, "she snarled" and other such things slid into her personality descriptions that mimic him and help them come together as a couple.

Scarlet is a strong, and resourceful woman who doesn't take nonsense from anyone. She has her vulnerable moments where she can get beat around by real bad guys and where she gets taken in by mind manipulations. But she is a very determined and willing to stand up for the people whom she loves. Wolf, I know, can have a personality that can be domineering and can be manipulative. Reasons are given as to why he is still a good guy and not just one of the Big Bad Wolves. He's different than the rest of the canine toothed, rip-your-throats-out-as-soon-as-sniff-you kind of guys. He's different because he loves her. Somewhat cliche and originally why I listed this as my least favorite of the Lunar Chronicles. But I'm mostly able to look past it. Mostly.

I also really enjoy Cinder's side of things and the development she went through. Still very much moving and progressing individually while having her own challenges of finding out who she really is.

But much like Cinder, Scarlet is well written and captivating. Her descriptions are well done and it flowed really well even when jumping from different characters points of view. This is a book you can easily get sucked in and not want to come out.

Well of Ascension

This is the second time finishing the Well of Ascension and, boy, was it worth it. There is so much I had forgotten but was very valuable to the story.

I remember reading this the first time around and thinking it being a very politically driven book. One that I could just skip through in order to get to the fighting or more interesting dialog--that was also a few years ago before I became a better reader. Now, my opinion has grown.

This story does have a lot of politics in it as Elend and the members of the crew, now that the Lord Ruler is dead, have to keep the city functioning and to keep the people from starving. But there is much more to this story. Vin has to find her place inside herself. Is she a girl who likes pretty dresses, a Mistborn who is a knife for Elend's Empire, a Mistborn like Kelsier? How is she supposed to compile all of these different parts of her into whoever she is? And it's not just Vin who gets a dose of growth, Elend has become King, but doesn't ask like it and must learn what makes a leader.

There is also a new metal found that helps Vin in many tight spaces. But does that mean there are more out there?

New characters make their debut. A friend for Sazed. A Mistborn who could be more dangerous than simply trying to kill her. A lady that is more aware of emotions than Breeze is. So many fun characters that throw some of our favorites for a loop at times.

As not one or two but three armies attack the new kingdom, they have to find a way to defend themselves. There are over 40,000 invaders, half of which are nearly impossible to kill large blue giants called the Koloss. Alongside an imposter in their ranks, but who is it?

Though the most troubling of all could be the mists. They are acting strangely. Staying longer in the day. Are they the cause of why people are being killed for no reason? Vin starts seeing things in the mists. Is she going crazy like the logbook writer?

This book was written in the fantastic way Brandon Sanderson does. He wrote the inner turmoil that Vin has accurately to someone who is trying to find themselves. It did take me a little longer to read than the other books I've gotten through, but that was not the books fault (ending school and the Christmas holidays got me sidetracked from reading). But I do love these books.