Court of Fives

Aside from reading a lot of books, I also listen to a lot of audio books. Listening to books can be tricky for two reasons:

1. If the narrator is terrible, the book is terrible. Sometimes, I know the book is probably fantastic,  but I end up disliking it because I couldn't listen to the narrator. I've gotten to the point where I know when this is happening, so I just stop listening and just wait until I get the chance to read a book.

2. If the book isn't fast paced enough, I find myself zoning out and losing track of the story. I'll miss whole parts without even realizing it. So I make sure to pick books that are fairly easy to listen to. Fortunately, that is the case for most YA (my favorite!).

I love listening to books because I can do it while I'm driving, cooking, cleaning--almost anything. I can get an extra book read (and YES, it does count as reading) that I normally wouldn't be able to.

So I listened to Court of Fives by Kate Elliot. She usually writes adult Sci-fi/ Fantasy, and I've never read her adult work. I needed to read Court of Fives because I received a free ARC for book two forever ago.

So Court of Fives was...ok. It was a good idea, but I feel like nothing about it was well-developed.

The setting was a class divided fantasy world of Patrons and Commoners-no elaboration necessary. Jessamyn's father is a Patron soldier and her mother is a commoner. The two could never marry because of their country's laws, but they were completely devoted to each other. You know, until a story needed to have a conflict, at which time that devotion was conveniently forgotten. Jessamyn, our main character, behaves in public and rebels in private. She wants to run the fives, a challenging obstacle course where the winners receive fame and fortune.  The problem is, she's not supposed to be doing it. So even though she knows she can win, she has to pretend not to so that no one can find out who she is.

Ultimately, I had a few problems with this book. First, the characterization just wasn't very strong. I would think I had a handle on who a character was, and then they would act outside their character. This happened regularly throughout the book and not in a good way. It wasn't like the characters were suddenly bad and became good. They did things that didn't make sense to advance the story. It just wasn't well constructed. I don't know how to really put it into words, but the characters changed for the story's sake rather than advancing the story on their own. It felt fake. Does that make sense?

Another thing that bothered me was the sudden romance that developed between Jess and Cal, a high born Patron who also runs the fives. For much of the book, they were just helpful to each other, and then BAM, they're lovers! Not a big fan of that...

Overall, I gave it a 3 on goodreads. I'm going to read book two, The Poisoned Blade, because I have it and book one wasn't the worst thing ever. But I'm hoping Elliot was able to work out some of the kinks of the first book.

A Darker Shade of Magic

I mostly read YA, and I have 4 favorite authors (please don't ask me to rank them!): Leigh Bardugo, Laini Taylor, Victoria Aveyard and V. E. Schwab. I'm hoping that I'll have an opportunity to meet at least one of them over the course of the next year.

I just finished reading A Darker Shade of Magic, and it was intoxicating! Three Londons, each with varying levels of magic, and a fourth that had to be cut off due to its toxicity.  I don't know how anyone else feels about her books, but I savor them. Mostly, I devour good books, but not V.E. Schwab. There's so much to them that I have to take my time. And she really knows her characters. If you've ever watched her Youtube videos or follow her on Twitter,  you know she does not write until she knows everything about the story. It's a fascinating process, and must require a lot of discipline. But it makes me slow down and really absorb what she's written. So far I've read This Savage Song, Vicious, and ADSOM. I can't wait to read everything else she's written.

ADSOM follows Kell, one of only two known people who can travel between the different Londons: Red, White, and Gray. There used to be a Black London, but the doors to that one had to be closed because their magic got out of control and threatened to take over every London. Red London, where Kell is an adopted son of the monarchs, has a healthy amount of magic that found it's source in the Thames, which casts a red glow over the city. Kell is used as a messenger between the three Londons,  and when he's asked to deliver something a bit more powerful than a message, he finds himself running for his life. He gets unwittingly robbed by Delilah Bard, aspiring pirate and current thief. Delilah is looking for adventure and wants to see the world. She ends up seeing more than she bargained for when she teams up with Kell to help save the world.

I loved this story. It has a full cast of well-thought out supporting characters, a sympathetic villain, and multiple near death experiences. What more could a reader ask for? Oh right, magic! I would recommend this to anyone who loves epic fantasy. Readers of Robin Hobb and Robert Jordan would also love V.E. Schwab. Now I need to go buy book 2...A Gathering of Shadows...

30 by 30

Hello, my name is Jana, and I love to read. That's how you start these things, right?

Well, I'm turning 30 next year, and I created a bucket list: 30 by 30 (but I only have 27 so far...). One of those things is to create a book blog.

One down, 29 (26) to go.

I read a lot. Currently, my favorite genre is YA, but I'll pick up almost anything. So you may see science books, political books, regular fiction, picture books (I also read with my kids-a lot!). Basically, anything goes. I also work at a bookstore, so I have access to LOTS of books.

So welcome, and here we go!