Review: Roses by G.R. Mannering

Title: Roses by G.R. Mannering

Published: November 2013 by Pony Press

Source: Finished copy provided by publisher

Format: Hardcover

Genre: Fantasy

Grade rate: B+

'As the gates clicked shut behind them, she heard the distant roar of a beast.' She bears no name. Her silvery appearance is freakish to the numerous inhabitants of Sago, the cosmopolitan capital of Pevorocco in a fantasy realm. With her mother vanishing at the instance of her birth, she is sent to live with the cruel, rich Ma Dane, where she is punished daily for something, though she knows not what. Tauntingly named Beauty, she flees Sago in a violent uprising that sets out to massacre all Magics and journeys to the furthest point of the country. But Beauty cannot hide in the grassy Hillands forever. Before long, the State officials find her and threaten to take her back to war-torn Sago where death surely awaits. In a midnight blizzard she escapes them, running into a deep, enchanted forest to a great and terrible beast who will bargain for her life. But can Beauty accept Beast? Eternity is a long time.

My Review

I love fairy tales and one of my favorites is Beauty and the Beast.  I’ve read different versions and loved them all, some more than others, thus when I was offered the opportunity to review Roses I grateful accepted it.  Roses is more a high fantasy than fairy tale and it was a phenomenal read.

As I said, Roses is a fantasy, as such the world building takes some time and I have to confess of a bit of confusion at times (like they measure time in moon cycles?).  The world of the Western Realm is very diverse and a country at war.  There is a chiasmic and unfair division of classes in the city of Sago and also a war between “normal” people and Magic Beings and Magic Bloods.  People, as it always happen, are afraid of what they don’t understand and revel against it.  The world built by Mannering is exquisite in its detail and uniqueness.

The story of Beauty is heartbreaking.  She looks very different, with silver skin, white hair, and amethyst eyes and most people are terrified of her. The first years of her life are awful, she is either neglected, ignored, abused or shown like a circus animal.  She is mockingly named Beauty after years without even a name. Her only solace are the horses and Owaine Ma Dane’s horse trainer. When the Magic Cleansing starts, Owaine and Beauty flee the city to the Hillands to Owaine’s place of origin. 

Here Beauty is also feared, but is more accepted.  She finds peace and the love of his new father Owaine.  The story intertwines the magical persecution with the story of B&B.  The Beast is truly terrifying and more ‘beastly’ and ugly that any I’ve read before.  Also, the enchantment was done by a Magic Blood to a general (not a prince) and his soldiers.  I really liked Beast and how patience he was with Beauty.  I’m also happy that Beauty learned at least some answers about her past, even if everything was snatched quite fast.

The story is slow, it spans from the beginning of Beauty’s life until the ‘end’ of the story of Beauty and the Beast.  It is obvious that this is the first book of a series, as the ending was a non-ending, or rather the beginning of Beauty’s involvement in the war.  The plot is complicated and the story of B&B is just one of the layers of the intricate fantasy with magical and political undertones. The writing is descriptive and eloquent with minimal dialogue.  The part that I enjoyed the most was (as expected) when Beast came into the story (until almost 200 pages!); it felt like an intermission of the real story (like one story within another).

Overall, Roses is a great read.  It is not exactly a retelling of B&B, but it seems like a high fantasy built around it.  I’m very curious to know where the story line will go next. 

About the cover: The cover is much prettier in person.  The vine or roses are black and shiny and very appropriate (as is the title) to the story. 

Review: Shadows of the Moon by Zoe Marriot

Title: Shadows onthe Moon by Zoe Marriott

Release date: July 7th 2011 by Walker Books Ltd

Source: Library

Format: Paperback (464 pages)

Age group: Young adult

Genre: Historical fiction/fantasy

Reviewer: Arianne

Grade rate: B

On my fourteenth birthday when the sakura was in full bloom, the men came to kill us. We saw them come, Aimi and me. We were excited, because we did not know how to be frightened. We had never seen soldiers before.Suzume is a shadow-weaver. She can create mantles of darkness and light, walk unseen in the middle of the day, change her face. She can be anyone she wants to be. Except herself.
Suzume died officially the day the Prince's men accused her father of treason. Now even she is no longer sure of her true identity.Is she the girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother’s new husband, Lord Terayama? A lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama’s kitchens? Or Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands?
Everyone knows Yue is destined to capture the heart of a prince. Only she knows that she is determined to use his power to destroy Terayama.
And nothing will stop her. Not even love.

Review

Fantasy and historical fiction are two of my favourite genres, so when I saw them both appear in the blurb for Shadows on the Moon I was sure this book would be the perfect read for me.

No matter what shelf you find it on, Shadows on the Moon is likely to have one major advantage over any book placed beside it: Zoe Marriott's stunning choice of setting. Inspired by the illustrious and often mystical history of Asia, solid research is delicately spun into a vivid web of ancient kingdoms and courtly politics, personal tragedy and wicked revenge. There's a sense that Shadows on the Moon is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the tales that could be told about the Moonlit Lands.

The characters, too, slide into this setting like fingers into a glove. The cast is multi-ethnic, crossing continents from Asia to African and back again, sometimes in the space of a single page. I loved this about the book. We like to think YA is getting more diverse but it's only when you read a book like this that you realize how limited mainstream literature really is.

None of the characters really jumped out at me as lasting favourites but the story is one of growth for Suzume so she really gets most of the page-time. There's even dainty prose and a reference to a fairytale to accompany her journey. Transformation is often a given in contemporary books, but it's refreshing to see it become the focus of a book which relies on its historical and paranormal elements to move the plot along.

This is where Shadows on the Moon began to let me down. I wasn't as invested in the plot as I wanted to be. I just didn't connect with it. Much is made of Suzume's desire for revenge but as a character I just didn't know if she was strong enough to be motivated by it as much as she is implied to be. Revenge isn't the only dark theme of the book, either. There are murders (always an eye-catching start), extra-marital affairs (mostly didn't see that one coming) and several incidences of self-harm (really didn't see that one coming) which could put off readers who are looking for a more laid-back approach. The climax failed to impress and left me feeling just a little unsatisfied with the way things turned out.

I also wished Suzume's powers had been explained better. I was like, "Dude, she can turn invisible. Don't you want to talk about that for a second?" Shadow-weaving is an interesting concept and I felt it  needed more attention.

Shadows on the Moon was a far more complex read than I expected. I got more than I bargained for when I picked this one up, but if you like a book that doesn't shy away from its problems, it's definitely for you. I would recommend it on the basis of its setting alone but be prepared to coax yourself into the plot if it doesn't connect with you right away. Filled with history, magic and just enough fairytale to make you wish you were royalty all over again, it's best feature is the insightful look it gives at life in an alternative-universe feudal Japan.

Waiting on Wednesday: Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jany

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine in which we have the opportunity to let others know about books that we are eagerly waiting for.

Title: Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay 

Published by: Delacorte Books for Young ReadersRelease date: July 23rd, 2013

In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...
In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.
Isra wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.
As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.

Why I want to read it: I love fairy tale re-tellings and I The Beauty and the Beast is my absolute favorite (It's why I loved Beastly).  This one sounds really interesting, more like a fantasy really.  Oh, and the cover is breathtaking, right?

What are you waiting for this week?

Review: Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Title:  Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Published: June 26^th, 2012 by Simon Pulse

Format: Audio book

Source: Library

Challenge(s): Support Local Library

Grade rate:  C+

  

What happens when happily ever after... isn’t?
Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.

My Review

This is such a cute story.  It makes me think of, happy endings, fairies, fluffy clouds, pastel colors and hearts.  Do you know what I mean?  That ‘floating on air’ kind of feeling that goes hand in hand with first love.

The format of the book (and therefore, of the audio book) has alternating points of view and narrators.  Oliver and Delilah talk in the first person and then, there is the narrator which is reading the actual book that Oliver is stuck in (titled “Between the Lines”).  Are you with me so far?

Delilah has is having a really hard time in school.  She is not popular due to a series of ‘freak’ accidents, her parents are divorced and she is a loner.  To top it all, she becomes obsessed with a children fairy tale and that has her mom really worried.  Oliver is sort of perfect, he is caring, realistic and really brave;  I identified more with him that with Delilah. 

The story is original and really cute.  Most of the time Delilah and Oliver are coming up with different plans to get Oliver out of the book and it gets really complicated (maybe too much).  The writing flows really easily and the fact that one of the authors is a teenager shows.   I just felt like the book could have been longer and less complicated.  I didn’t like the ending, I mean, I did, but it was too open for me.

Overall, Between the Lines tastes like a fairy tale and it’s a short and enjoyable read.

About the cover:  I like the cover, it portraits Deliliah with Between the Lines on her hands and a castle in the background.  I listen to this book, but I did check it out at the bookstore and it is really pretty, with illustrations and different color ink.