Book Review: My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1)

Release Date: June 7, 2016
Authors: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 512 pages
Source: Purchased Book/Library Audio Book

Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…

Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…

Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.

The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?

    

Review:

Protagonists: Oh my lord, these protagonists are fantastic. Jane is a witty and stubborn girl who won't just stand there and be told what to do, by society or anyone. She's a spitfire who can get into trouble and her stubborn streak won't always get her where she needs to go, and honestly can put her in danger at this time of political turmoil. Edward always felt like he was made to be a king, however, once he leaves his gilded tower, he may find that he isn't best suited for the job and that he may not be the great king he thinks himself as. G spends his days as a horse, but he has the heart of a poet and true romantic. He can't change his form at will as other Eðians seem to be able to do, and after getting married to Jane Grey he may be more frustrated with her than his condition. As I said, I loved all these characters, not all of them are perfect, in fact, none of them are perfect, but it's their imperfections that make them such joys to read about.

Romances: This isn't an overly romantic book by any means. There is romance in this book, in fact, there are multiple romances in this book, but even though they factor into the story in some very large ways, they don't' have much of a heavy presence, which I loved. Somehow, some way, these authors were able to convey romances that felt truer than many I've read before, but somehow did it in less time. It's a marvel. Don't get me wrong, I loved the romance when it showed up and things between Jane and G, as well as Edward and his love interest, felt so real and it didn't take much before I was rooting for each couple.

World Building: I'm a sucker for Tudor England, and even more so for things that involve either Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and/or Queen Elizabeth I. I didn't know who Jane Grey was before reading this book, I didn't much care except for that this story, that I'd heard nothing but positive hype toward, featured her. When I found out who she was and what part (however small) she played in history, I was nearly chomping at the bit to read this book and I'm so happy I finally did. This book is set in a world where there is contention between Verities and Eðians, these are allegories for Catholics and Protestants respectfully, and honestly, this way was more fun and far more whimsical as Eðians have the ability to change into animal forms, though it seems other than that there is no more magic in this world. The way the authors tell this story, as it truly did feel like I was being told a story and not just because I mostly listened to the Audio Book, has so much humor and excitement folded in. I can't believe how many times I laughed while reading this book. I knew it was a comedy, but I never fully grasped how until I started this story.

Predictability: When I first started this tale I thought I was able to very easily catch onto some twists that I wasn't expecting to be revealed until after the midpoint of this story. Then, quick as a cat the twists played out much earlier than I expected and I was left flabbergasted. Honestly, other than a few things I wasn't able to predict much at all in this book. It's not as though there were huge game-changing twists in this book, mostly things followed the status quo for a YA novel, however that doesn't mean that it didn't veer left or right when I wasn't expecting it to.

Ending: The final climax of this story is amazing, it really is a testament to each of these characters, their strengths, their weaknesses, and how far they've come over the course of this story. It was exciting and full of tension and suspense as things were coming to a head. This is a standalone and as such everything was tied up by the end. This doesn't exactly mean everyone had a happily ever after, but I was never left feeling as though there was more to this story to tell.

Rating:

I never expected this book to live up to the hype. I heard it was funny, witty, and exciting and while I expected to like it, I ended up totally loving it. From the writing style, the humor, and the phenomenal characters, this was such a quick read for me because I literally couldn't put it down. (Maybe not literally, but pretty darn close!)

Book Review: The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo #1)

Release Date: May 3, 2016
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 384 pages
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.

But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

    

Review:

Protagonist: One of the key selling points of this book is that it's told from the Point of View of a god, more specifically of the god, Apollo. Now, I don't know why, but for some reason I didn't think that the idea of a godly narrator would be that special or different, but these are the Greek gods we're talking about. They are all vain, egotistical, and not afraid to let others fight their battles. Not to mention that Apollo embodies these characteristics the most. You'd think reading from the point of view of a character so full of himself and pompous would get annoying eventually, but since we know that Apollo is a good guy at heart and that he will undoubtedly grow and mature over the course of this series, it definitely came off as a lot more humorous than annoying. Plus it's secretly satisfying watching someone learn that the world doesn't revolve around them, even though the world does revolve around the sun of which Apollo is the god.

World-Building: There is so much to cover in this section I can't even tell you. First off let me say that I went into this book very blind. I only knew that this series revolved around a now human Apollo who needs to earn Zeus's favor again, and that he travels to Camp Half-Blood for help. I dond't know who the villain of this book was, I didn't know what the quest for this series is, none of it, and since it's been over a year since I read the last Heroes of Olympus book, I didn't remember all that much about where this world left off. Luckily there's a lot of checking in done in this book. We check in with a bunch of the Camp Half-Blood crew including but not limited to Percy, Will, Nico, Chiron, and a certain fan favorite demigod. Then of course we have a whole cast of new demigods to learn about. Don't worry though it doesn't look like all these new characters will be permanent fixtures for the series, just a few. Now one thing I was really interested to see is that in a lot of ways this feels like the beginning of the end of Camp Half-Blood books, which if I'm being honest I'm fine with. I love this world and there will always be a part of me that won't want to see it go, but I think fifteen Camp Half-Blood books is plenty.

Predictability: I love how Riordan foreshadows his books. I have to say out of everything he does right, foreshadowing is near the top. There are quite a few twists in this book and it's weird saying that as an adult I was caught off guard by a Middle-Grade novel, but I totally was, it wasn't the first time and it hopefully won't be the last. There were a few of the twists where just before the big reveal, something gives it away, just enough so that my mind goes haywire and then when it's confirmed I freak out for a bit. Honestly, I'm trying to think if I caught on to any of the twists in this book, but I have to say that I don't think I did. I mean there were things that I expected to happen, or not happen, as it would completely ruin the entire book if it did, but there wasn't really a moment where I was annoyed about a twist the I called forever ago, or got frustrated about the author hitting me over the head with a twist they tried to pass off as surprising.

Ending: That was quite an ending. Since this is the first book is this new series, the ending of this book doesn't have a Mark of Athena-esque cliffhanger and it doesn't leave our heroes in a dark and hopeless place. There's quite a bit revealed toward the end of this adventure. There are actually two very climactic moments in the end that sort of make for one very large final climax, or well at least that's how I chose to interpret it. Old friends return and as this installment comes to a close there's a bit of information about where the next installment is going. I have to say I'm really excited for what's teased here at the end. There's still a lot to do and more trials for Apollo to pass, but hey at least there's no cliffhanger.

Rating:

So, some people may want to flay me alive for this, but I think this may be my new favorite Riordan series. Look I love all his other series, and the Magnus Chase series is still ongoing, but there's something about this series that I just love so much. Some of it's the fan service, which is there but it's not abundant, and some of it's the plot and direction for this series, which I'm going to be mum on because I think it's best to go into this series as blind as possible. I don't know if I can wait another year for The Dark Prophecy.