Book Review: The False Prince -- Jennifer A. Nielsen

                Like Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, this book promptly went from my reading stack to my little brother’s.

In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

                The narrator, Sage, was the best part of this book. His voice was not only funny, but unique; he’s usually a step ahead of all the other characters, and the reader. He keeps secrets, from them and us. He threads us along in the best of ways, parceling out info on himself a bit at a time, never really lying to us, but surprising us all the same. Sage is a master of omission.

                He’s a likable character, who’ll have you rooting for him from the very start. And yet, in my opinion, things sometimes came a bit too easily for him. Some minor characters favored him (and started helping him) almost immediately, but the ‘why’ was never fleshed out as much as I’d have liked.

                One other thing: If the back-of-the-book summary has you expecting diligent etiquette/fencing/horse-back-riding/book-learnin’ PRINCE lessons… Well. They’re there, but the participants aren’t so diligent.

Considering they’re training to convince a kingdom that they’re a lost prince, and competing with other boys who have the same goal, and facing death if they fail, sometimes they don’t take it that seriously. There are a few instances of them being kept from their lessons by the one orchestrating the whole thing.

I’m not saying I’d have loved fifty pages detailing royal table settings. But the way the lessons are treated in this book struck me as a teensy bit implausible; even the lessons we see are mostly skimmed over. It’s as if they’re present because we expect them to be present, yet they aren’t really necessary.

Bottom line… If you’re looking for something reminiscent of the “I Can Learn to Do It” number in the Anastasia movie, this may not live up to your expectations.

Still. Sage is a fun narrator, and his antics and schemes and occasionally-noble nature were more than enough to make me pass The False Prince on to my brother.

For everything else, there’s Youtube.

 *clicks around on Youtube* ... For everything except the version with the actual clip, I guess. -_- BUT YOU ALL KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

If you’ve read The False Prince, what did you think? And what are you reading now?

Book Review: Nightspell -- Leah Cypess

                First, I must say that Leah Cypess is incredibly, delightfully nice. Since reviewing Mistwood ages ago, I’ve started following her on Twitter, and I’ve had the chance to read some short stories by her and give feedback.

                Which was awesome.

                I also won/was-gifted-for-reviewing copies of her books.

                And she did not just sign them, people.

                She doodled mythological creatures upon them. *-* I’ll put pics at the end of the post.

                Anyway.

                Nightspell is a story that picks up quite a while after Mistwood ended, in a whole other kingdom (reminiscent of the progression of Graceling and Fire, by Kristin Cashore). This kingdom is very different than the one in the first book, most notably due to the fact that all murder victims come back as ghosts.

                The official, back-of-the-book summary:

    

Here be ghosts, the maps said, and that was all.

In this haunted kingdom, ghosts linger—not just in the deepest forests or the darkest caverns, but alongside the living, as part of a twisted palace court that revels all night and sleeps through the daylight hours.

Darri's sister was trapped in this place of fear and shadows as a child. And now Darri has a chance to save her sister . . . if she agrees to a betrothal with the prince of the dead. But nothing is simple in this eerie kingdom—not her sister, who has changed beyond recognition; not her plan, which will be thrown off track almost at once; and not the undead prince, who seems more alive than anyone else.

In a court seething with the desire for vengeance, Darri holds the key to the balance between life and death. Can her warrior heart withstand the most wrenching choice of all?

                Even though the setting’s changed from the first book, there are strong ties between the two that come out as the book goes on. Fans of Mistwood will be intrigued by the reappearance of Clarisse, and will enjoy trying to figure out exactly whose side she’s on.

                There is a twist in Nightspell that I began to suspect early on, but that’s alright because there were a million and two other twists that kept me guessing at every turn.

                I find that Leah Cypess is very good about planting false leads—about giving every character their own agendas. Even when you think you know what’s going on, you never really know exactly what’s going on.

                Figuring out who can trust who, and uncovering hidden motivations is something that I find very enjoyable in Cypess’ books. Court intrigue and political maneuvering is something I rather enjoy, yet there’s also plenty of action, and knives, and—in a court half-full of ghosts bent on revenge—murder.

                I really enjoyed the premise of Ghostland, and yet I also enjoyed allusions to the plains tribes, and this whole other culture some of the main characters left behind.

                And then… There’s the ending.

                I wish things had turned out differently. And yet the slightly melancholy, bittersweet kind of ending suits Cypess’ writing, in my opinion. Even though it’s not necessarily the ending that I—or the characters—wanted, it might be the one that was needed.

                All in all, I found Nightspell to be a wonderful, intelligent book, and I would highly recommend it.

                Now, look at the pretty pictures!

              

               

                Pretty, yes? Have you read either Mistwood or Nightspell? Will you? Do you enjoy twisty, mysterious books that keep you constantly thinking, or is nonstop action more your cup of tea?

Book Review: Hero's Guide -- Christopher Healy



Cinderella. Rapunzel. Sleeping Beauty. Snow White. Four massively popular fairy tales, retold time and time again…

                And the Princes Charming always get the short end of the stick.

                In The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy, the story begins where the old stories ended – but in an ‘after’ that’s really not so ‘happy’.

                For one reason or another, nothing’s gone as expected for these princes. They find themselves separated from their princesses, each dealing with their individual problems – cowardice, life in the shadow of sixteen mighty brothers, lies spread by a rotten (ex)fiancé, and a sore lack of friends (as a result of general craziness).

                Princes Frederick, Gustav, Liam, and Duncan band together in order to stop an evil witch and save the day. And some hostages. Not to mention their reputations (which are a bit lackluster, thanks to the bards’ failure to fact-check before spreading their stories).

                As someone who loves fairy-tale retellings, I was very excited by the premise of this book.

                And Hero’s Guide exceeded my expectations. It addresses common questions asked by fairy-tale lovers everywhere --“Why didn’t the prince in Rapunzel go get a ladder?” “Why did the prince in Cinderella send a servant to track her down instead of going himself?” “If two people have never even spoken before, can it really be ‘True Love’s’ kiss?”

                The book also crafts deep, connectible characters who develop widely over the course of the book. They’re all so plausible that you wonder why you never imagined them in such a way to begin with. Watching the friendships grow (especially in the case of two certain characters) was wonderful. The princes have very different personalities – each uniquely their own – and yet they fit. Together, they make for a fabulous tale—even if they’re not always sure exactly what’s going on.

                Aside from the characters, there’s the fact that Hero’s Guide is absolutely hilarious. A quirky, fun book that had my inner critic relaxed and laughing from the first page onward.

                The story (and the accompanying artwork) remind me a lot of movies like Tangled, and How to Train Your Dragon. It’s a whole-heartedly fun read. You’ll fall in love with the Princes Prince Gustav characters, and be rooting for them the whole way through.

                I, personally, am very glad that this is only ‘Book 1’, and have placed it prominently upon the family bookshelf so that my younger brother can read it, too. Frankly, I think that’s the highest praise I can give to a book.



Book Review: Storybound -- Marissa Burt

Storybound, by Marissa Burt, was another book I read for the 2012 YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge. I loved the premise; I think every reader/writer has dreamed about being pulled into a storybook world. In Storybound, that’s exactly what happens to Una Fairchild.

                “When Una Fairchild stumbles upon a mysterious book buried deep in the basement of her school library, she thinks nothing of opening the cover and diving in. But instead of paging through a regular novel, Una suddenly finds herself Written In to the land of Story—a world filled with Heroes and Villains and fairy-tale characters.

                But not everything in Story is as magical as it seems. Una must figure out why she has been Written In—and fast—before anyone else discovers her secret. Together with her new friend Peter and a talking cat named Sam, Una digs deep into Story’s shadowy past. She quickly realizes that she is tied to the world in ways she never could have imagined—and it might be up to her to save it.”

                I really liked the idea. I still do. And it was fun to see characters walking about, from many different genres, going to classes like Advanced Heroics, Villainy, and Backstory as they figure out what kind of tale they’d like to be in. As a soon-to-be college freshman, thinking about potential careers, I really connected to this concept.

                Unfortunately, I didn’t really connect with some of the main characters. They were amusing at times, and I liked certain qualities of each. But some just didn’t quite ‘pop’ for me, and I ran into that accursed disconnect that I get when I just don’t understand what’s going through a character’s head.

                When the summary says that Una ‘thinks nothing’ of diving into a storybook world, they mean it. Cloaked figures in her school basement? ‘No big, just find another corner to read in.’ Waking up on a stone dais, in strange clothes, with no idea how she got there? ‘Must’ve found a secret passage. Whatevah.’ The moods – of Una and other characters – flip flop occasionally, like, they’re mad, and then cheerful, with very little transition between.

                I liked the academy in Story. It almost gives off a Hogwarts kind of feel. And yet sometimes, the school and standard classmate-related conflicts seemed to overshadow the Uber-Important Events that are supposed to be going on.

                Like, when Una first appears in Story, her ‘new friend Peter’ spends at least eleven pages thinking Una is a student, even after she gives him every hint that she is not supposed to be there. Then, instead of leaping into action and ‘digging into Story’s history’, etc… he goes to check if he just failed his exam. Then we actually sit in on a few classes, and they still don’t do a whole lot of ‘digging’. Even when they (mini-spoiler) go to find some all-important books to try and figure out how and why Una was brought to Story, Una thinks something about how ‘she’s never gone so long without reading an actual book.’ Like, the act of reading is more important to her then figuring out what the heck she’s doing in Story.

                To paraphrase Ron Weasley: “These guys need to sort out their priorities.”

                The action picked up a lot toward the end, almost to the point where things moved so fast that it was hard to understand. It cuts off in a weird place too. Things are kind of resolved, but it leaves a very major strand of the plot dangling. It’s a cliff-hanger, but it’s a cliff-hanger that we last heard about several chapters from the end. Then it was never mentioned again. By the time the last page rolled around, I’d almost forgotten about it—not good, considering it left some of my favorite characters of the book in danger.

                Bottom line, I wasn’t really pulled in by the characters, and some of the pacing seemed off. However, it’s an alright, fun little read, and younger readers will probably enjoy the Hogwarts-y feel, and descriptions of the characters in Story. Writers will also appreciate the references to things like dialogue and backstory, I think.

                I just wasn’t pulled as deeply into the world of Story as Una was, I suppose.

                Have you ever imagined being pulled into a storybook world? Have you read Storybound yet? If so, did my observations line up with yours? If you haven’t read Storybound yet… Will you?

Post-Hiatus List of THINGS

Okay, so I did that thing where I forget the blogging world exists. And, like last time, it lasted almost exactly one month. And like last time, I believe it happened because I've been participating in a NaNoWriMo-related event. Last time, it was NaNoWriMo. This time, Script Frenzy.

But considering my comic book script died on day... four? It really shouldn't  have affected my blogging sched--

--So, anyway!

I'm back. I'm still busy with a whole slew of things related to graduating high school, but I am back. In the near future I'll have some book reviews going up (Storybound, Nightspell, and The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom) along with some actual posts related to writing! I promise.

And if these actual posts fail to happen, I hereby give all my followers permission to slap me with assorted unpleasant objects (for example, fish, shovels, walruses, etc.).

Lurkers who with to participate in any potential slap-fests are encouraged to follow. ;)

Now then. The bad news is, my script died. I quite quickly realized that I did not want to write a script in April, despite what I thought all through March. Instead, I wanted to work on my novel.

So I did, a bit. I've been exchanging chapters with my fabulous critique partner, I've had a few more of those world-shaking epiphanies that I tend to get every time I start thinking "No way this series' plot could possibly get any more intricate!" Also, I might be getting a crocheted doll of one of my characters from a lady in my writers' group. *is super excited at this possibility*

I've also made some goals for the coming months. Failure to meet these goals may also be acceptable grounds for smacking me.

1. I will finish my current WIP (a rewrite) by the end of May. This will mean writing NaNo style, but I'd really like to get it done so that I'll be all set up for...
2. Camp NaNoWriMo: June. I've got an outline of a Middle Grade novel just waiting to be explored. It involves living gargoyles, a boy who talks to pigeons, and a little girl with a bag of twenty tricks. And I'll be happy to get it on paper. Quickly. XD And when it's over, I should have just enough time to get ready for...
3. Camp NaNoWriMo: August. I've had another idea knocking about in my head for a while. Not sure if it's MG or YA yet, but I like this idea, and I think it's got potential.

Oh, yeah, and there will also be more exchanges with my critique partners, a writer's conference this summer, and uh-- oh yeah, COLLEGE. o.o Which starts in the fall. And I am terrified to find out how that's going to affect my posting schedule. *gulp*

Well. There you have it. Where I've been, what I'll be doing, and what penalties you'll be able to give me if I decide to fail at life some more...

I think that covers everything for now. :)

Review: Above World, by Jenn Reese

Title: Above World
Author: Jenn Reese
Genre: Fantasy (+ a quite healthy dose of scifi. Or vice versa)
Back-of-the-book Blurb:
"Thirteen-year old Aluna has lived her entire life under the ocean, just like all of the Coral Kampii in the City of Shifting Tides. But after remaining hidden from the Above World for centuries, her colony is in trouble, its survival in doubt: the tech that allows the Kampii to breathe underwater is beginning to fail, and many Kampii have already died. Yet the colony's elders, including Aluna's father, are unwilling to venture to the dry and dangerous Above World to search for answers.

So it's up to Aluna and her friend Hoku to face the terrors of land to find a solution. Once in the Above World, Aluna and Hoku learn that their colony is not the only one struggling to survive -- so are others in the skies and in the deserts. Will Aluna's warrior spirit and Hoku's intelligence be enough not only to keep themselves safe but also to find a way to save their city and possibly the world?"

The plot summary of Above World intrigued me. And the plot itself is intriguing. Far into the future, after overpopulation crowds humans out of their usual dwelling places, they transform themselves into beings based on mythical creatures (mermaids, harpies, centaurs, and so on) capable of living in other ecosystems – the ocean, high altitudes, the deserts, etc.

First of all, I love the concept. The world-building was rather good, with noticeable distinctions in culture between the Kampii (mermaids), Aviar (harpies), and all the rest. There was no shortage of action. The fight scenes were rather exciting, and detailed (the author studies martial arts, so…. There you go).

There’s an interesting blend of fantasy and science fiction here. It’s the kind of thing I would write. I’ve actually already written about bird-people and fish-people…

…which is what made it so disappointing when I could not bring myself to fully love this book.

I never really was engrossed in it, perhaps because that action-packed, exciting pace is so fast. Things move so quickly that certain areas weren’t developed as much as I would have liked.

Right from the beginning, things got a little Tell-y. The information was usually interesting; the placement just didn’t feel natural. Characters talked too long about things that should’ve been common knowledge to them. While reading, I thought more than once, “This book is mainly about showcasing the world and/or technology.”

Character motivations were sketchy in places. They flip-flopped – made rather dumb decisions on one page, then berated themselves for it (literally) two pages later. While some of the characters were interesting at first, I couldn’t truly like them because of their nonsensical actions, or actions that were out of character.

Out of character. That’s another thing I wasn’t thrilled with. I ask you, how can two Kampii children (who to our knowledge have never left the water before) pull themselves onto land for the first time and immediately recognize the smell of smoke? The word ‘smoke’ shouldn’t have even been in their vocabulary. Little things like this were scattered throughout the book, just noticeable enough to distract me and make me question the narration.

For instance [Minor Vague Spoilers in this paragraph, but not too big because it all happens within the space of a few pages anyway] in a colony of all females, where reproduction takes place in a nutrient bed  (In other words, no males required) and a couple-in-love from another colony is something to gossip over… In about two pages a girl from this colony begins a relationship with our male main character. This colony began as enemies, not entirely trusting, holding our MCs captive, as prisoners – and then again, two pages later, they’re all grand friends. *sigh*

Maybe a younger reader would be more entranced by Above World, but the logical inconsistencies and the info-dumps within the narrative made it hard for me to really get into this book.

In Which Praise of The Fault in Our Stars is Inadequate

Approximately three minutes ago, I finished reading The Fault in Our Stars.

Twitter is waiting, full of messages from the outside world that came in while I was busy at school, along with Email and Facebook and all the other Things. But those Things will wait until I’m done writing this review, because I do not want to shatter the moment. I do not want to break this pleasant daze that’s fallen over me. After a few brief moments of staring at the unread books on my bookcase, I realized that I didn’t want to start reading any of them, because I know that none shall live up to the story that John Green has crafted.

The Fault in Our Stars is one of the best books I have ever read. And it is not a book that I can read in public.

Or at the very least, it is not a book that I should read in public. Because from the very start – those first few pages, so grand, and good, and so very John Green – I could not keep a goonish grin from spreading across my face. In the middle of school, I turned red as I half-attempted to stifle the grins, the giggling, the uncontrollable joy.

I’m sure it was very distracting for my fellow classmates.

And then, today, as I reached the heart-breaking, tragically beautiful ending, I encountered a similar problem. I knew from the start that the book would be sad. It involves cancer. I was tweeted a picture of tearstains on some of the pages. I seldom cry while reading books. But if there is any book that could bring tears to my eyes, The Fault in Our Stars is it.

And I’m sure uncontrollable sobbing would be just as distracting as uncontrollable grinning, if not more so.

Those first so-very-John-Green pages were amazing. But even better were the later chapters, when I looked up from the infinities within the book and realized that I’d stopped hearing John Green’s voice in my head. All I heard was Hazel.

After a time, Hazel and Augustus ceased being creations of John Green. They were Hazel and Augustus. And Hazel was telling her story, and Augustus was being Augustus, and as they bantered between their tragedies, they became real. Their humorous, heart-warming, heart-breaking story became real.

It is nearly impossible to adequately describe this book; I learned that shortly after I tried to explain to my classmates how a book about cancer could have me stifling laughter. All I can say is that this book is truly unique, and truly phenomenal. John Green did his work well. And Hazel and Augustus have settled into my mind, to remain for the rest of my days, even after this pleasant daze shatters.

I leave you with a quote from Augustus Waters.

“…it’s easy enough to win over people you meet. But getting strangers to love you… now, that’s the trick.”

Mission accomplished, Augustus.

Thanks, John.

*The first two chapters of The Fault in Our Stars are available to read on Amazon.com, and there are also videos of John Green reading the first two chapters aloud on Youtube. Also, in case you somehow failed to hear this, EVERY COPY OF THE FIRST PRINTING IS SIGNED. If you buy a copy, it will be autographed by John Green.*

An Example of Voice: The Knife of Never Letting Go

                “Howdy, n’ welcome to this here blog o’ mine.”

                “Greetings. I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to you for visiting this online expression of my thoughts.”

                “S’up dudes. This be my blog.”

                Hi. And welcome to my blog.

                Hopefully these examples have highlighted the importance of today’s subject: Voice. It’s a crucial part of writing a story worth reading, and it’s a great way to introduce readers to your characters, and the world your story takes place in.

                Recently, I found a book with a voice that exemplifies this very well. The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness, involves mind-reading. Lots of it. Not just a focused look into the mind of a single person at a time, but everyone projecting their thoughts into the air, all the time, to everyone.

                There are no private thoughts. Where there are people, there is Noise.

                This concept, plus talking animals and a main character who’s practically illiterate - yet often profound - make for an interesting voice indeed. Remember that post on breaking the rules?



                The First Pages:

                The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say. About anything.

                “Need a poo, Todd.”

                “Shut up, Manchee.”

                “Poo. Poo, Todd.”

                “I said shut it.”

                We’re walking across the wild fields southeast of town, those ones that slope down to the river and head on toward the swamp. Ben’s sent me to pick him up some swamp apples and he’s made me take Manchee with me, even tho we all know Cillian only bought him to stay on Mayor Prentiss’s good side and so suddenly here’s this brand-new dog as a present for my birthday last year when I never said I wanted any dog, that what I said I wanted was for Cillian to finally fix the fissionbike so I wouldn’t have to walk every forsaken place in this stupid town, but oh, no, happy birthday, Todd, here’s a brand-new puppy, Todd, and even tho you don’t want him, even tho you never asked for him, guess who has to feed him and train him and wash him and take him for walks and listen to him jabber now he’s got old enough for the talking germ to set his mouth moving? Guess who?

                …

                We don’t need apples from the swamp, truth be told. Ben can buy them at Mr. Phelps’s store if he really wants them. Also true: going to the swamp to pick a few apples is not a job for a man cuz men are never allowed to be so idle. Now, I won’t officially become a man for thirty more days. I’ve lived twelve years of thirteen long months each and another twelve months besides, all of which living means I’m still one month away from the big birthday. The plans are being planned, the preparayshuns prepared, it will be a party, I guess, tho I’m starting to get some strange pictures about it, all dark and too bright at the same time, but nevertheless I will become a man and picking apples in the swamp is not a job for a man or even an almost-man.

                But Ben knows he can ask me to go and he knows I’ll say yes to going because the swamp is the only place anywhere near Prentisstown where you can have half a break from all the Noise that men spill outta theirselves, all their clamor and clatter that never lets up, even when they sleep, men and the thoughts they don’t know they think even when everyone can hear. Men and their Noise. I don’t know how they do it, how they stand each other.

                Men are Noisy creachers.

               

                I think The Knife of Never Letting Go is the kind of book where you’ll read the first page and either love it – like I did – or run screaming in pursuit of a grammar textbook. It all goes back to those ‘rules’ of writing, and how attached you are to them. If you need the standard rules, you will probably not enjoy this book.

                If you’re willing to suspend those rules, just for a while… Just long enough to catch a glimpse into a new planet where grammar doesn’t matter and thoughts run over each other just like in real life so it’s all on the page and it’s real…

                Then you probably will like this book.

                Artfully misspelled words, run-on sentences galore, every sentence mimicking the thought process of someone surrounded by thoughts all the time. All this, plus the usual terminology of a science fiction tale – fissionbikes, ‘Askings’ instead of questions, etc. A slower beginning as we’re introduced to this world, then almost nonstop action, taking the reader to those Scenes of Ultimate Despair again and again. Then, a cliff-hanger ending that leaves you desperate for the next book in the series.

                It’s messy in places. It’s violent. It’s awful and tragic and – above all – unflinching.

                And I loved it. Even the things I wouldn’t exactly be thrilled about in an average book (some profanity for instance – not my cup of tea) were overshadowed by the plot, the characters, and the voice.

                Which would you rather hear? A tone-deaf amateur mangling your favorite song? Or your favorite singer in all the world singing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’?

                Voice is like that. A good one can save a book, or a bad one could doom it.

                What’s the voice of your story?

                Are there any other books you can think of with a fantastic – or at the very least, distinctive – voice? Any books that lacked a distinctive voice? And what are some ways you’ve tried to develop your voice when writing?

And finally, the inevitable excuse: This post is late due to school stuff, musical practice, my sister home from college for a few days... And I've been making paperclip jewelry and a clay/wire doll based on the main character of this year's NaNo novel. I've been productive... Just not in a blogging way. XD

Book Review: Mistwood, by Leah Cypess

Tryin' something new here, folks. :) As I've mentioned before, I'm still kind of finding my blogging groove, and kind of experimenting to figure out what works for me, and for you (speaking of which, what did you think of the Character's Class Schedule series? Would you be interested in more sequential posts like that? Let me know in the comments).

That said, there are also times when I read a book and something really stands out to me. Something I liked, or something I didn't like, or something I'm working to fix in my own writing. I already did a post or two kind of like this, but it's something I'd like to do more of: writing book review-ish posts, along with what I think we could learn from that book in relation to our own writing. Sound good? :]

So, here is the (official) first book review post, on Mistwood, by Leah Cypess.

72% of the fantasy books in my school library follow the same basic plotline. Girl has good guy friend. Girl falls for mysterious guy who turns out to be a supernatural being of some sort, and is forced to choose between the two. Optionally, girl discovers that she is also a supernatural being. While I try to keep an open mind, and occasionally pick up one of those books, most of the ones I’ve read just don’t grip me very much.

                I like to be surprised. I like to see characters behaving in ways I don’t anticipate. I love characters that focus on a plot more complex than just a love triangle with a few vampires thrown in.

                Which is why it always pleases me when I find a fantasy novel that meets my expectations, and renews my love of the genre.

                Mistwood, by Leah Cypess, is one of those books.

                The back cover:

                Isabel remembers nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have. Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, her lethal speed, and her superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat. Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can’t help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court… until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

                Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart… and everything she thought she knew.

My First Impressions:

                I consider myself a bit of a skeptic, so going in I had some worries that it would turn into one of those books that I talked about earlier.

                The back cover intrigued me, but focused enough on The Guy to keep those first misgivings alive. I mean, “Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can’t help wanting to protect him”? I’ve read enough of those books to be familiar with the handsome, manipulative-but-she-doesn’t-care-cause-she-loves-him-so-very-much Guy who sorta loves her, but treats her like crap half the time anyway…

                And I don’t like those Guys.

                That was the main thing that gave me some hesitation as I began this book, and for a while it looked like I was going to be right to doubt. The opening description (along with all the rest of the description) was beautiful, and yet the main character decided very quickly to trust someone she had no real reason to trust. She was obedient. Too obedient. And I didn’t like it.

                Furthermore, the secrets alluded to on the back cover seemed to come together rather quickly, which left me wondering, “Okay. What is the rest of this book about?”

                It was about a lot, folks. A lot.

                Middle Impressions:

                I quickly warmed up to the main character, and began to see her not as a dumb puppet-on-a-string, willing to let the prince push her around out of some sense of unflagging loyalty (which she is supposed to possess, for reasons that you’ll quickly discover if you read the book).

                Instead, I began to see her for what she was. A calculating, intelligent, powerful person, feeling confusion about what she was supposed to be feeling, and what exactly she was supposed to be. Plus, I loved her wicked tongue, and her analytical way of knowing exactly what to say to get to someone. Yet, she was also flawed, making lots of little mistakes. Those mistakes kept her human – which is ironic, because she’s not supposed to be human. Which made her even better. ;)

                I think fans of Katsa, from Kristin Cashore’s Graceling, will be fond of Isabel. ^^ They struck me as similar, even though it’s been a while since I read Katsa’s story.

                The storyline in Mistwood also picked up quickly, and soon escalated to be much more complex than expected. Which in my opinion, is a very, very good thing. :)

                It took some unexpected turns… Some of them heart-breaking. The kind that makes you clutch the book and beg for the author to reverse it, even though the writer deep down inside you knew that it had to happen, and that it was actually an act of genius.

                The story snaps you up and grips you as tightly as Isabel’s duties as a Shifter grip her. And I love that.

                Ending Impressions:

                There was a skillfully surprising twist to the ending, and while hints were laced throughout the beginning of the work, I didn’t put everything together until the Grand Reveal. I was headed in a different direction, which basically describes the situation with all the many twists and turns to this book. There were lots of places where just as I settled into a rhythm of “Okay, now I see where this is going”, the author took me by the shoulders and said, “No, sorry. You’re just a few steps off, dear.”

                And I love that. Even during the heartbreaking twists...

                The characters became very complex, growing into more developed characters than I ever expected to find when they were first introduced (except for maybe Will, the prince’s brother, who barely appeared at all. But, *shrug*, he barely appeared at all. XD). The dialogue was good, with lots of snappy lines and comebacks. While this book involved a character deeply involved with the politics of court, the author never dragged those parts out to the point where they became boring. She has a beautiful style of writing, and there were only two things that caught my attention in a less than positive light. First, her characters do a lot of smiling, and grinning, and crossing their arms/leaning against walls, and the expressions of their eyes seemed to change even more than the actual Shifter’s eyes, but I don’t think it was so bad that it’s going to make me dislike the book.

                The other thing was less a concrete problem than it was something I wondered about. Sometimes the dialogue felt a bit modern for the setting. Not sure if it actually was (I need to study my medieval language some more, myself  -_-) but that’s what it felt like. And while it might be more appealing to some modern teens who aren’t exactly thrilled with deciphering old-fashioned speech, there were a few moments where I paused and thought, “Hey, is this realistic?” But again, I liked the content of the dialogue, and it wasn’t a big enough problem to really frustrate me.

                There was nice resolution between certain characters. Nice development, in relationships as well as within the characters themselves… It left me wanting to know more, but it wasn’t cut off in a place that made me scream for a more concrete ending.

                For those of you who care, the content of the book was relatively clean. A few swear words here and there, and a couple of allusions to sex, but nothing remotely graphic.

                Which was a pleasant surprise, considering the main character started out roaming feral in the woods.

                Feral people generally don’t wear clothing, folks.

                *cough*

                But like I said, nothing graphic. By today’s standards, it was pretty clean, I think. ^^

                Overall:

                I really liked this book. ^^ After a few initial misgivings, the plot really grabbed me. I enjoyed the characters, and the many twists and turns. Especially the big twist. It wasn’t quite as jumping-up-and-down awesome as the twist I described here, but I may have been grinning quite broadly more than a few seconds. ;)

                What I think us writers could learn from this book:

                Positives - There are some excellent examples of characters, dialogue, and description. I think readers will be able to notice the threads of tension running throughout the book that keep you reading after the information on the back of the book seems to have run out. It may help us learn how to cover some complex areas crucial to your character (politics, for example) in a way that won’t bore the reader or pull them out of the story. I also found this book to be a very good example of how to give the reader a satisfying ending that still leaves a few areas for the readers to fill in.

                Less-than-positives – Keep your character’s motions diverse. It kind of worked in this novel, because certain actions were things that the main character continually noticed (specifically, smiles and eyes, and the emotions behind them) but they can still be a bit distracting.

                Keep your setting in mind, and try not to slip into modern speech patterns. Again, I’m not sure if the language in this book could’ve been considered ‘modern’, but… *shrug* In certain places, it made me pause. And anything that distracts your reader can be a hindrance.

                And finally, first impressions. The doubts I had when I picked up the book started to go away when I read the first beautiful, descriptive lines, but not completely. We need to keep in mind that first impressions matter, and not just in your first pages. The summary was mostly what made me hesitate. If I’d decided that the plot sounded too much like one of those books, I might not have checked it out, and I would’ve missed a wonderful, recharging fantasy novel. Now, I’ve actually had a few thoughts about buying it (*cough with gift cards, so I’d essentially be getting it for free, but still. XD *cough*).

                Are you getting a novel ready to start querying? Do you plan to at some point? If so, then you’re eventually going to be writing summaries. Make sure yours matches up with the whole of your novel, and stresses the parts of it that you want stressed.

                Part of this depends on your audience, I suppose… Some people may have been drawn in by the whole ‘loyalty against all sane reason’ thing, but I personally might’ve been more interested if the back of  the book focused more on the doubts that pass between characters, or the outside dangers that face them. This book is about so much more than one main character, and one prince, but the back of the book didn’t address that as much as I would’ve liked, nor did it strongly address the crippling self-doubt that plagues Isabel throughout most of the novel as she tries to figure out who – or what – she’s supposed to be.

                Bottom line:

                I would recommend this book. ^^ To fantasy lovers, to twist lovers, to fellow lovers of politics and bodyguards and assassins… To anyone who’s a little tired of vampires (but won’t mind an MC who can shift into a wolf, among other things) and to anyone who’s a little tired of plots that lose themselves in favor of ‘hot’, ‘steamy’ romances that make you blush when you read them in public.

                I consider this a lovely, original fantasy novel, and I plan to read the companion novel, Nightspell, as soon as I get the chance. :)

Have you read Mistwood? Do you want to? Do you disagree with me, or have something to add? And what do you think about an occasional book review post like this? As always, I love the comments from you guys. ;)