Arcana by Jessica Leake

Arcana by Jessica Leake
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The genres under which this book is listed are as follows: historical fiction, magic, young adult and young adult romance. Then I had to ask myself what very explicit love scenes were doing getting more attention than the historical fiction or the magic, which is what the book promised to focus on in the first place. I was excited and intrigued to read a story that potentially combined all of my favourite genres into one, but I was greatly disappointed and even grossed out by the very detailed make-out scenes that began to occur early on in a story that is supposed to belong to the historical fiction romance genre, which would never include heat-inducing meetings between the main character and what obviously turned out to be her boytoy.

I have absolutely nothing good to say about this story. So many elements were thrown into this sorry excuse of a book, but at the end it all was just a set-up for the author to write Regency-style porn that included teenagers.

My search for good historical fiction combined with magic and a lovely hint of romance continues. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

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Homeground by Caterina Edwards

Homeground by Caterina Edwards
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This relatively short play was meant to address various issues with regards to immigrants in Canada; however, it fails to connect with the reader/audience, since the dialogue is inconsistent. The entire play is in English with directions given that these character are Italian and are actually speaking in Italian - in that sense a built in translator for the English speaking audience - but in order to convey a sense of “foreignness” the written English is heavily infused with a written accent, bad grammar, making this reading experience very difficult and unpleasant.

The conflicts are mediocre at best, nothing is resolved and issue upon issue is piled onto the audience's attention.

At the end, I felt I just wasted my time reading a play that had no real impact at all. I understand the need for authors to address issues of immigrants' experiences, but there are much better plays and stories available than this one. I would not recommend this play.

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World After (Penryn & the End of Days #2) by Susan Ee

World After by Susan Ee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The, for me, long anticipated sequel to Angelfall had me looking at this book in slight hesitation, since I have read a few reviews that pointed out the resemblance to Angelfall, a sort of recycling of the first book's plot. But considering that Angelfall stopped in the middle of the main plot, World After is in fact a continuation.

Since the reader is right in the middle of the story that was designed by the author to span three books in total, I cannot really comment on any one part of the book in detail without giving something crucial away that will move the story along.

In my opinion, the author does a fantastic job deepening the conflicts between and within the characters, developing the plot and creating the all important anticipation for the concluding third book, without retelling the part of the plot from the first book or just writing a bridge between the first and third book. Having said that, the story was meant to be separated between three books and the second book provides the reader with a healthy dose of Penryn and Raff, and what is left of humanity.

This book is a definite must read for all those, who fell in love with Penryn, enjoy a good trilogy build-up and post-apocalyptic young adult fiction.

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Across a Star-Swept Sea (For Darkness Shows the Stars #2) by Diana Peterfreund

Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was so enamoured with For Darkness Shows the Stars that I ran out to the bookstore to buy the sequel/part two to this series before I finished the first one. Unfortunately, I could not be as enthusiastic about this book as I was about the first one. Generally speaking, the writing and descriptions of the world the author created were still as breathtaking, if not more, than the first book; however, the story continued to drag out for much longer than it was necessary.

With respect to the main character, the reader could identify glimpses of the author's struggle to bring her to life. She was presented as a good and solid personality, but the author kept insisting on her emotional conflict, which took away from the flow of the story and the strength of the character. The secondary characters were not as fleshed out in this story as in the first book and the romance between the main character and her interest was not as believable as one would have hoped it to be.

The plot kept dragging on to a point where the reader could see the story looping in and around itself, begging the question when it will finally conclude.

As I mentioned above, the descriptions of the world created, the colours and scenery were absolutely breathtaking and really were the driving force in getting me through the book.

The writing was still easy to follow, but the author fell into the unfortunate hole of over-describing every little detail, which caused some confusion at the end of very long lists of details about what these details were supposed to be describing.

Overall, I still rate this story four stars, primarily for the pure imaginative power the author possessed in creating the world of For Darkness shows the Stars. I have not had the opportunity to read the original story this book was the retelling of, The Scarlet Pimpernel, therefore refrained from attempting to base this review on the foundation of a retelling. I would suggest this story to anyone, who has read the original, as well as those who truly loved the first book, For Darkness Shows the Stars.

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For Darkness Shows the Stars (For Darkness Shows the Stars #1) by Diana Peterfreund

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With a classic such as Jane Austen's Persuasion it is almost impossible for a reader of fiction to not stumble across one of its many retellings and like many other enthusiastic readers, I was a bit hesitant to endeavour on the journey of another retelling with a fantasy twist. However, For Darkness Shows the Stars did not disappoint in the least. The author was able to integrate not only the bare bones of Austen's classic story, but also take scenes from the original and mold and add them to the new story line so that these two genres fit together so perfectly.

The main character was multidimensional and easy to identify with. The author successfully created a character that showed the depth of human emotions from despair to love to strength in dire situations. Along with a cast of secondary characters that enhanced the story instead of only aiding in the main character's development, the story is a well-crafted retelling that puts equal focus on the importance of character depth and plot development.

The plot, although inspired by the original Persuasion, delicately drifts from the pure retelling and ease of identifying those very similar scenes to a story that becomes rich in fantasy and science fiction.

The writing was easy flowing, yet not rudimentary. The author possessed the ability to convey the complexity of the characters' emotions and situations in such a way that the reader was able to follow and feel for and with the characters without feeling inferior to the story's overall premise.

Overall, I have to say it was the best retelling of a classic with a twist of sci-fi and fantasy. I felt for the characters and got lost in the story of love and family and everything in between. As I am reviewing this book two months after I have read it, I can say with certainty that this is a story that will stay with the reader for a long time. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, who enjoys sophisticated Young Adult fiction, classic retellings, science fiction and fantasy.

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Bahnwärter Thiel by Gerhart Hauptmann

Bahnwärter Thiel by Gerhart Hauptmann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A spine tingling psychological thriller that shows tremendous depth and insight into the personalities and psychology of the characters. I was fascinated by how quickly the author was able to get to the reader invested and involved in the story and the unfolding of the events, considering that this story only spans about 55 pages.

The characters portrayed the reality and the ugliness of everyday life that drives people to actions unimaginable.

The setting was described with enough detail to paint a clear picture of the German landscape without getting too caught up in that which does not serve a purpose.

It is a richly told and imagined story, yet really too far removed from reality. It was refreshing to read a piece of classic German literature that felt perfectly created and executed.

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100th Book Review!

Hi everyone, according to my Goodreads book reviews count, I surpassed the 100 mark 10 days ago. This calls for celebration! I started reviewing books on Goodreads in late December 2013 and I cannot believe how much fun it has been thus far. Unfortunately, I have been quite behind in writing and posting my book reviews regularly, but I will follow up this post by publishing six new reviews and I am in the middle of locating a piece of fiction I wrote a few years ago that I would love to share. A heartfelt thank you for taking the time to read my reviews and my little creations.