Audiobook Review: Menagerie by Rachel Vincent

Title: Menagerie
Author: Rachel Vincent
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: 29th August 2015
Narrator: Gabra Zackman
Time: 10hrs 57mins
Book Source: own audio

Synopsis: When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger's Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus black-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to "perform" in town after town. But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival.

Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other "attractions" - mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons, and kelpies - are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she'll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed.

My Thoughts:

I love Rachel Vincent, met her at ARRC in 2013 and I did the #fangirl thing. I love her writing so of course I wanted to read her latest but I was worried about clowns. You know ... travelling carnival, macabre circus, will there be clowns?? Clowns scare the crap out of me, they are creepy and most probably evil. I'm also one of those people who find circuses morally repugnant. However, my love for Rachel Vincent's writing and my big-girl-pants beat out clown fear. So fear not fellow clown phobics ... no clowns in Menagerie!  

And OMG it's freakin awesome. 

I seem to have hit the audiobook jackpot this year. Gabra Zackman nails the narration, pacing, distinct voices and personalities for an array of characters. I hope Gabra narrates future installments.

After the Reaping, cryptids and human/cryptid hybrids (oracles, weres, ogres, minotaurs, mermaids, selkies, succubi, fae) are hunted, caged, enslaved, tortured, exploited, starved and stripped of every basic human right. 

Delilah Marlow reluctantly visits Metzger's Menagerie on her 25th birthday. Her horror at the treatment of Cryptids and specifically the torture of a werewolf girl, unleashes something in her and hours later Delilah finds herself chained on the other side of the bars at the mercy of keepers hell-bent on stripping every shred of humanity from her. 

Menagerie is dark and brutal and superbly imagined, the complex world building blew my mind. But it also ripped at my heart. It might be fantasy but the parallels of abuse and injustice, the exploited, ostracised and oppressed in our own world are obvious. 

Menagerie is tight, and raw and tense and beautiful despite the horror. It's everything I've come to expect from Rachel Vincent's writing ... and more. I loved the multiple POV's. I loved Delilah and handler Gallagher. I loved many of the fierce, fragile and damaged cryptids, werewolf Claudio and daughter Genni, minotaur Eryx . 

Be warned, the torture, abuse and violence is disturbing and difficult to read at times. 

But when the violence turns and some less-than-human humans get what they deserve, there's me cheering ... YEAH bring it on!! #karmasabitch hmm guess I sound a little disturbing.

The ending is great. Rachel Vincent could have been totally evil here. I know this probably makes little sense but it's an ending that left me satisfied and yet frothing at the mouth for more. Write faster Rachel Vincent. 

I could keep going with superlatives ... or you could just take my word for it and read it. Menagerie is a favourite read this year. It might even be THE book of the year!

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Rachel Vincent & me ARRC 2013

Review: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

Title: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
Author: Fredrik Backman
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publication Date: 16th June 2015
Pages: 384
Book Source: Atria Books & NetGalley

Synopsis: From the author of the internationally bestselling A Man Called Ove, a charming, warmhearted novel about a young girl whose grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters, sending her on a journey that brings to life the world of her grandmother’s fairy tales.

Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy, standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus-crazy. She is also Elsa’s best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother’s stories, in the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.

When Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa’s greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother’s letters lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and totally ordinary old crones, but also to the truth about fairytales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.

My Thoughts:

After the wonder of A Man Called Ove I jumped at the chance to read Fredrik Backman's latest. 

And just like A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry was a whole lot of feeling; one minute laughing out loud, the next minute tears flowing.  

I fell in love with wonderful, crazy Granny and precocious 7 year old Elsa, having a granddaughter of my own I felt their special bond.

"Life-saving and driving people nuts are Granny's superpowers. Which perhaps makes her a bit of a dysfunctional superhero." 

"Which is one of Elsa's favourite things about her Granny." Up there with throwing turds at the police?? lol ... "It's a little complicated."

"Because all seven-year-olds deserve superheroes."

I love fairytales, I loved that the roots of Granny's fairytales were planted in reality. And I loved Elsa's mission "to deliver every single one of Granny's sorries." But I'm guessing I'll be in the minority when I say wading through the 5 kingdoms in the Land-of-Almost-Awake was too long-winded for me and stopped this being a favourite read. 

But what I loved ... I really loved. 

I loved the honesty, the naivety and complexity, the craziness, absurdity and childish wonder of it all.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry is a treasure chest of life lessons wrapped up in imagination, warmth and humour.

"Granny then said the real trick of life was that almost no one is entirely a shit and almost no one is entirely not a shit. The hard part of life is keeping as much on the not-a-shit side as one can."

Connect with Fredrik Backman

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Review: The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

Title: The Mime Order
Author: Samantha Shannon
Genre: Dystopia/Fantasy
Series: The Bone Season #2
Publication Date: 27th January 2015
Pages: 528
Book Source: Bloomsbury Publishing & NetGalley

Synopsis: Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal prison camp of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the survivors are missing and she is the most wanted person in London...

As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on the dreamwalker, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city's gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly. Jaxon Hall and his Seven Seals prepare to take centre stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner. Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows. But where is Warden? Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided.

My Thoughts:

I loved the complexity of the world in The Bone Season and was very excited to get my hands on The Mime Order, the 2nd installment in the seven book series set in a corrupt Scion controlled London. 

I have to confess I struggled at first, this book is a brick at 500+ pages. I'm not sure whether it was the re-acclimatising myself with the world or maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind but initially it was hard work. Then 150 pages in .... bam, addicted!!

In The Mime Order the focus turns to London and the syndicated underworld. After her escape from Sheol I, dreamwalker Paige Mahoney returns to mime-lord Jaxon Hall and the Seven Seals but her attention is concentrated on revealing the truth of the Rephaim race to the voyant community. Jaxon is that love-to-hate character. He's cruel, manipulative and fascinating in a creepy smiling-assassin kind of way, and the cat-and-mouse exchanges between Jaxon and Paige had my heart in my mouth.  

Paige is all you could want in a kick-ass heroine, she really comes into her own in this installment, tough physically and mentally and her voyant skills are freakin' awesome. And Warden, he's such a intriguing, enigmatic character, I missed him not being around for practically the first half of the book but I love Paige and Warden 'together' .... gotta love a slow burn.  

It's dark, intense and thoroughly immersive and builds to a shit-hot end.  

Connect with Samantha Shannon

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Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth ~ Review & Giveaway

Title: Bitter Greens
Author: Kate Forsyth
Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy/Fairy-tale Retelling
Publication Date: 23rd September 2014 (1st published March 2012)
Pages: 496
Book Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Synopsis: The amazing power and truth of the Rapunzel fairy tale comes alive for the first time in this breathtaking tale of desire, black magic and the redemptive power of love.

French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens…

After Margherita’s father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. She is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.

Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does.

Award-winning author Kate Forsyth braids together the stories of Margherita, Selena, and Charlotte-Rose, the woman who penned Rapunzel as we now know it, to create what is a sumptuous historical novel, an enchanting fairy tale retelling, and a loving tribute to the imagination of one remarkable woman.

My Thoughts:

Absolutely mesmerising, Kate Forsyth takes the magic of storytelling to a realm above and beyond. 

From the frivolity and excesses of the 17th century Court of Versailles to austere French cloisters and 16th century Renaissance Venice. I'm fascinated by this period in history, Kate's research and superb imagery give a perceptible sense of time and place and her breathtaking imagination brings the Rapunzel fairytale to life. I loved the vivid descriptions of affairs, betrayals, politics, fashion, entertainments, the horror of the plague, persecution of Heugenots, (Protestants) recantings and executions, the Affair of the Poisons where many were sentenced by the Chambre Ardente under charges of witchcraft and poisonings. I probably sound like a bit of a freak but I love it all, the history both fascinates and terrifies me. 

Bitter Greens unfolds from the perspective of three extraordinary characters; the wonderful Charlotte-Rose de La Force, confined to the Abbey of Gercy-en-Brie after displeasing the Sun King, Louis XIV, the young girl Margherita, nicknamed Persinette (little Parsley) imprisoned in a tower (her story told by nun, Soeur Seraphina on befriending Charlotte-Rose) and the beautiful courtesan Selena Leonelli, 'La Strega Bella' ... her story both heartbreaking and horrifying. 

Bitter Greens is a dark tale; love, desire, power and vengeance pulling at each other. So much sorrow, heartache and cruelty but hope and love the constants that eventually offer redemption. 

Bitter Greens holds a world you slip into effortlessly, disappearing for hours, binding you, haunting and bittersweet ... I was alternately desperate to know and longing to savour. It's a must-read. 

Kate Forsyth truly does weave magic!

Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force was a French noblewoman, novelist and poet. Her fairytale collection written during her banishment included 'Persinette' eventually renamed Rapunzel. 

I also loved Kate's The Wild Girl ... (a 5 star favourite) but oh my Bitter Greens is my favourite of favourites!  

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Giveaway:

I'm thrilled to offer readers the chance to win a paperback copy of BITTER GREENS. Just leave a relevant comment or question along with your email address. US only sorry

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Giveaway ends 2nd October and winner will be announced on my blog. Good luck everyone!

Review: Taste of Darkness by Maria V. Snyder

Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: Healer #3
Publication Date: 1st January 2014
Pages: 357
Book Source: Harlequin Teen & NetGalley

Synopsis: She's fought death and won. But how can she fight her fears?

What would you do if the future of your world rests on your decision?

Avry knows hardship and trouble. She fought the plague and survived. She took on King Tohon and defeated him. But now her heart-mate, Kerrick, is missing, and Avry fears he's gone forever.

But there's a more immediate theat. The Skeleton King plots to claim the Fifteen Realms for his own. With armies in disarray and the dead not staying down, Avry’s healing powers are needed now more than ever.

Torn between love and loyalty, Avry must choose her path carefully...because lives are depending on her.

My Thoughts:

Well it's been an enjoyable and action packed journey with Avry & Kerrick across this trilogy and I'm relieved that Taste of Darkness was a satisfying end to the series.  

No spoilers, mostly it's about tying up loose ends but the good vs evil battle is of course not without some touch and go moments, one being the Skeleton King, a particularly foul and highly nauseating antagonist ... yep my stomach contents threatened to exit a couple of times. 

So glad that the camaraderie and banter was back in this installment, with Quain, Loren, Odd and sweet Flea providing that light element I really missed in book 2. I love how protective the Monkeys are towards Avry ... like really annoying big brothers. 

I've liked Avry from the start but she really shines in this book and the romance between Avry and Kerrick is fanned along in captured moments together. I love their loyalty to each other and the cause and the loyalty and respect they inspire in others.

I'm going to miss the magic; the magic system and landscape are characters in themselves, continuing to fascinate and surprise throughout the trilogy. 

All up, a darker installment as the title suggests but my favourite of the series ... I'm just a little bereft it's over.  

Cover: I'm a fan of the Aussie cover (above) but I do like the UK. How 'bout you?

US/Canada cover

UK cover

See my reviews of book 1 & 2 Touch of Power and Scent of Magic 

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Short & Sweet Review ~ Blood Phantom by Rhiannon Hart

Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: Lharmell #0.5
Format: eBook short story 
Publication Date: 9th December 2013
Pages: 15
Book Source: from author for review

Synopsis: Life in tatters and far from home, Rodden Lothskorn struggles to cope with the harming menace and his own harming nature. When an offer of marriage reaches his friend, Prince Amis, Rodden discovers that the bride’s inhospitable homeland might contain one part of the harming poison he would dearly like to get his hands on. But if summoned northwards, will Princess Lilith bring something – or someone – he dreads most with her? Locked in a years-long struggle with the Lharmellins, Rodden senses the battle is only now about to begin.

My Thoughts: 

Blood Phantom is the short story prequel to the first book in the Lharmell series, Blood Song. I kid you not this is one highly addictive series and after Blood Storm and that ending I had serious withdrawals so Blood Phantom was a short, sweet 'fix' of Lharmell ... just enough to have me salivating for the final installment, Blood Queen. 

It was great to get inside the enigmatic Rodden's head, get a glimpse of things from his perspective and I just love his dry sense of humour. I enjoyed the interaction between Prince Amis and Rodden too, Amis doesn't get a lot of page time in the series, he's not really a major character but it was nice to see the bond between these two. 

At only 15 pages it's something of a teaser, I might have even stamped my feet coming to the end ... wahhh where's the rest? 

*Squeee!* Blood Queen April 15th 2014 ... bring it on Rhiannon Hart (she's the author with the Lharmellin size evil streak)

Recommend: hell yeah, this series is a favourite. 

Cover: haunting ... love it!

Connect with Rhiannon Hart

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Purchase Blood Phantom 

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The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa

Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #2
Publication Date: 1st November 2013
Pages: 368
Book Source: Harlequin Aust

Synopsis: In the real world, when you vanish into thin air for a week, people tend to notice. 

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as normal as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for; his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again. 

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, normal simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all. 

My Thoughts:

The Iron Traitor picks up where The Lost Prince ended and if you read my review you may recall my surprise at how much I enjoyed the spin-off considering I wasn't a fan of The Iron King *shock horror* (yeah I know, in the minority) ... but maybe I'll give the original series another chance or maybe I'll just let this new found enjoyment play out.

Ethan's nephew Kierran is missing and desperate, insanely desperate to save his love Annwyl from the Fade. That desperation fuels the story, the urgency is palpable and in their bid to protect Kierran, Ethan and Kenzie are entwined in his dangerous quest. 

The Iron Traitor is a meaty 2nd installment, a dark journey with the action expertly orchestrated. And the setting is entrancing; Nevernever, Tir Na Nog, Summer, Winter, the Between, the Goblin Market - old friends and new enemies, the Forgotten aren't quite so forgotten and random confession time ... I'm sweet on that little gremlin, Razor. 

I'm thoroughly enjoying my journey into the land of Fae but Julie Kagawa you are a cruel, cruel woman ... that ending was just ... cruel, CRUEL. 

PS see how traumatised I am, a more fitting & descriptive word escapes me :(

PPS don't let the nasty cliffie stop you, I truly believe we should all suffer together ;)

Cover: Stunning

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Words Once Spoken by Carly Drake

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication Date: 1st October 2013
eBook Pages: 160
Book Source: Escape Publishing/Harlequin Aust

Synopsis: YA meets high fantasy in this lush series debut about a girl who never quite fit in — and the reason why...

Evelyn might not love the confines of her village life, but she takes her small freedoms where she can get them. But everything changes when her parents decide it’s time for her to wed. Suddenly she loses her tunic and breeches, her bow, her horse, and gains rigid gowns, restrictive manners, and carriage rides. 

The best way to escape is through her dreams, but as they become more and more real, Evelyn begins to worry that she is losing her grasp on reality. It is only when she makes two new friends that the truth is revealed: she is destined for far, far more than even she could imagine.

My Thoughts: 

Cover insta-love drew me in but Words Once Spoken was also a quick, fun read, and a solid start to a new fantasy trilogy set in medieval times. 

Evelyn is a strong, feisty character, constantly bucking the constraints of the time she lives in, a bit of a tomboy and ace with a bow and arrow. Carly Drake's Fey world is intriguing, they're a cruel lot with their curses, favours and tricks but I really enjoyed being immersed in the magic. And let’s not forget Liam and Padraic, they certainly add both chemistry and conflict to the story. 

It took me a while to catch on to the part, vampire & werewolf play in Words Once Spoken, I think for clarity and flow it needed further exploration, difficult in limited pages. That said, I'm looking forward to more world building, magic and adventure with sequel, Curses Once Spoken.

Connect with Carly Drake

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Purchase Words Once Spoken

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A Wicked Kind Of Dark by Jonathan K Benton

Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: The Minaea Chronicles #1
Publication Date: 3rd September 2013
Pages: 276
Book Source: Publisher & DMCPR Media

Synopsis: Robert Duncan no longer believes in magic. A mysterious call about a blood moon, however, leads him back to the magical world of his childhood and to Luthien, the beautiful girl with flame-coloured hair, who he loved and lost.

As Robert unravels the secrets of his childhood, darkness enters his life and an ancient evil awakens. To have any chance of defeating the dark forces that would destroy two worlds, Robert must find Luthien before the rise of the blood moon. He must, once more, believe in magic … 

A Wicked Kind of Dark mixes vast and spectacular fantasy landscapes with gritty urban reality. A must-read for people of all ages who believe in the power of imagination, and the importance of never losing touch with your inner child.

My Thoughts: 

An imaginative debut, but unfortunately not one that worked for me. That said, there were things that I found enjoyable, so I'm torn between a 2.5 and 3 rating. 

Much of the phrasing is lovely, quite lyrical but the earlier dialogue and flow of the story felt awkward. I didn't care much at all for the characters, Robert included, however Allaria from the world of fae was a feisty and funny addition to the cast, she stole the show.  

Alternating between the real world and fantasy world of Minaea, this reminded me a little of The Bridge To Terabithia (which I loved) and the wonderful world of a child's imagination. The twin soul concept was intriguing and will obviously be explored further in future books.

I enjoyed the social issues highlighted, homelessness, isolation and the rewards reaped from helping others, the focus being a soup kitchen in London where the main characters are drawn after encounters with "the Sparkling man".

The elements are there for an enjoyable story but I just didn't connect with it on a whole, maybe it comes down to execution?? From my disjointed review, I'm guessing things are about as clear as mud so for clarity and other opinions check out GoodReads. 

The target audience is YA but perhaps this one is more suited to the middle grade or early teen reader? 

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Available to purchase
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@Book Depository
@Odyssey