[Reseña/Review] Speak the Ocean -Rebecca Enzor

SPEAK THE OCEAN 

REBECCA ENZOR

Reuts | Fantasía | ¿Autoconclusivo? | 400 pp.

-SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE REVIEW IN ENGLISH-

~Cómpralo en Amazon/Buy it on Amazon here~

Sinopsis: For Mer handler Finn Jarvis, the feral mermaid performers at Oceanica Marine Park are nothing more than ruthless aquatic predators, violent and unpredictable. That doesn’t stop the public from flocking to one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions. To them, the Mer are magical entertainment, too beautiful to be dangerous. They don’t see what happens to the ones who dare swim out of line.

Newly caught Erie doesn’t know what the evil landfolk want from her. Alone and voiceless, she watches the other merfolk from the confines of her tank. Broken into submission, they’ve become shells of the once vibrant creatures she knew. But Erie refuses to be subjugated. She’ll get the crowds to see her as something more than simple entertainment—starting with her captor, Finn.

While Finn trains Erie in her routine, she secretly teaches herself the air-words he and the other trainers speak. And when the language barrier falls, Finn starts to realize that the gap between human and Mer is smaller than he thought, and maybe it’s not the Mer who are monsters, after all.

[Review/Reseña] Rage and Ruin -J.L.Armentrout

RAGE AND RUIN
JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT

Inkyard Press | #2 The Harbinger | Fantasía | 576 pp. 

-SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE REVIEW IN ENGLISH-

Sinopsis: A half human, half angel and her bonded gargoyle protector must work with demons to stop the apocalypse while avoiding falling in love. The Harbinger is coming…but who or what is it? All of humankind may fall if Trinity and Zayne can’t win the race against time as dark forces gather.

As tensions rise, they must stay close together and patrol the DC streets at night, seeking signs of the Harbinger, an entity that is killing Wardens and demons with no seeming rhyme or reason. Forbidden to be with each other, Zayne and Trinity fight their feelings and turn to unusual sources for help—the demon Roth and his cohorts. But as deaths pile up and they uncover a sinister plot involving the local high school and endangering someone dear to Zayne, Trin realizes she is being led…herded…played for some unknown end. As anger builds and feelings spiral out of control, it becomes clear that rage may be the ruin of them all.

[Review/Reseña] Monstrous Affections -Link and Grant

MONSTROUS AFFECTIONS

EDITED BY KELLY LINK AND GAVIN J.GRANT

Walker Books | Anthology | 480 pp. 

~~Buy it here~~

Synopsis: Welcome to a world where humans live side by side with monsters. Where band members and betrayed friends happen to be demonic, an eight-legged alien makes tea, and harpies are as likely to attract as repel. Fifteen top voices in fantasy fiction explore the intersection of fear and love, of monsters and men, and our fatal attraction to what hides in the shadows. This award-winning, darkly imaginative collection will make you laugh, cry and keep you awake at night... Stories by M. T. Anderson, Paolo Bacigalupi, Nathan Ballingrud, Holly Black, Sarah Rees Brennan, Cassandra Clare, Nalo Hopkinson, Dylan Horrocks, Nik Houser, Alice Sola Kim, Kathleen Jennings, Joshua Lewis, Kelly Link, Patrick Ness and G. Carl Purcell.

~Thank you Walker Books for the copy!

[Review/Reseña] The Hand, the Eye and the Heart -Zoë Marriott

THE HAND, THE EYE AND THE HEART

ZOË MARRIOTT

Walker Books | Fantasy | Standalone | 7.99£

~~Buy it here~~

Synopsis: Zhilan was assigned female at birth. Despite a gift for illusions, they know they are destined to live out their life within the confines of the women’s quarter. But when civil war sets the empire aflame, Zhilan is determined save their disabled father from the battlefield. By taking his place. Surviving brutal army training as a boy – Zhi – is only the first challenge. In the glittering court of the Land of Dragons, love and betrayal are two sides of the same smile, and soon the fate of a nation rests on Zhi’s shoulders. But to win, they must decide where their heart truly belongs…

~Thank you Walker Books for the copy!

[Reseña/Review] And the Ocean Was Our Sky -Patrick Ness

And the Ocean Was Our Sky | Patrick Ness

Walker Books | Standalone | Illustrated | 160 p.

~Buy it here~

Synopsis: "Call me Bathsheba." The whales of Bathsheba's pod live for the hunt. Led by the formidable Captain Alexandra, they fight a never-ending war against men. Then the whales attack a man ship, and instead of easy prey they find the trail of a myth, a monster, perhaps the devil himself... With their relentless Captain leading the chase, they embark on the final hunt, one that will forever change the worlds of whales and men. From the multi-award-winning author of A Monster Calls comes a haunting tale of power and obsession that turns the story of Moby Dick upside down.

~Thanks to Walker Books for sending me a copy

[Review/Reseña] Just One of the Boys

Just One of the Boys | Leah and Kate Rooper

Entangled | Stand-alone | 220 pages

~~Buy it here~~

Synopsis: Alice Bell has one goal: to play for the elite junior hockey team the Chicago Falcons. But when she’s passed over at tryouts for being a girl, she’ll do anything to make her dream a reality…even disguising herself as her twin brother. With her amazing skills on the ice, Alice is sure she’ll fit in easily. That is, until she starts falling for one of her teammates…

Hayden Tremblay, star of the Falcons, can’t keep himself out of the penalty box. Constantly living in the shadow of his older brother, Hayden’s losing his passion for hockey. But when he gets shown up on the ice by the Falcons’ new rookie, Hayden’s determined to teach the kid a thing or two. Little does he guess that “Al’s” surprises on the ice are just the beginning...

I received and e-galley copy in exchange for an honest review of this book. Thank you very much Entangled teen!

I was completely addicted to this book. The main character is a really tough one and that is super good. I am a bit tired of those female protagonists that claim to be strong and independent and then, when they should be capable enough to overcome a problem, they are -oh what a surprise- rescued by the hero. In this case, Alice does not need it. She is her own heroine. And I loved her for that. She is dangerously sincere and passionate, which might get her into some trouble but, again, she handles it. Or not, but she bears the consequences as a grown-up.

There is nothing more important to her than hockey, so when she is not accepted in the Chicago Falcons just because she is a girl, she decides that maybe it is time to give up. However, her twin brother, Xander, has had an accident and now he will not be able to play for the Falcons. He is going to miss this big opportunity to prove himself... that is why Alice suggests playing for him. As they are twins, people usually cannot differentiate them and this time will not be an exception. She cuts her hair, she puts a bandage on her breasts and there she goes. A new and actually more talented Xander Bell. Still, there is a problem: Hayden Tremblay. Alice never paid attention to sweaty boys; in fact, she is very used to beating them on the ice but Tremblay... She cannot ignore him.

What a loved the most about this book is the relationship between Al Bell (Alice dressed up as Xander) and Hayden, and also the powerful bond between the two twins. Al changes Hayden in ways I could not possibly had imagined. Their conversations are deep and heartfelt, and suddenly I realised that I loved the pair and I had totally forgotten about Alice as a girl. I laughed, I suffered and I smiled because of them, which is rather complicated if we take into account that Alice had to pretend she was a boy in order not to be discovered. Boys and girls have different codes and ways of speaking, so at the beginning these conversations were a bit uncomfortable and ridiculous, as you may imagine.

I could not stop reading 'Just one of the boys'. Everything flows so well and the plot never lets you down as you read page after page. There is always something important happening, a conversation, a fight, a revelation or even a kiss (winks). The only one thing that did not convince me was the reencounter between the protagonists. I wish Leah Rooper and Kate Rooper had given us some more details regarding their feelings or thoughts. Not just an I-forgive-you scene. 

To summarise, this is a wonderful YA story that I am sure everybody will love. It has romance, action, lies, and a Mulan-like protagonist. What else do you want? Furthermore, it has a handsome and rebellious boy that desperately needs to open up to or he will be lost. Give it a try!

RATING: 4/5 kittens.

***

Recibí una copia de esta novela gracias a Entangled Teen, así que antes que nada quiero agradecerles por ello.

Este libro me tuvo completamente enganchada a sus páginas. La protagonista es una chica dura de verdad y eso me ha gustado. Estoy un poco cansada de esos personajes femeninos que aseguran ser fuertes e independientes y luego, cuando deberían ser capaces de valerse por sí mismas, son rescatadas por el héroes de la historia (qué sorpresa). En este caso, Alice no lo necesita. Ella es su propia heroína y me encantó precisamente por eso. Alice es peligrosamente sincera y apasionada, cualidades que en determinados momentos podrían meterla en algún lío pero, nuevamente, ella puede manejarlo. O no, pero al menos se hace responsable de las consecuencias como una adulta.

No hay nada más importante para ella que el hockey, así que cuando no la aceptan en los Chicago Falcons sólo porque es una chica, Alice decide que tal vez ha llegado la hora de rendirse. Sin embargo, su hermano gemelo Xander tiene un accidente y ya no puede jugar para este equipo. Va a perderse su única oportunidad para demostrar de lo que está hecho... por esa razón, Alice sugire hacerse pasar por él. La gente no suele ser capaz de diferenciarlos, y esta vez no será una excepción. Alice se corta el pelo, se pone una venda alrededor del pecho y ahí va. Un nuevo y más talentoso Xander Bell pisa el hielo. Pero sigue habiendo un problema: Hayden Tremblay. Alice nunca había prestado atención a los chicos sudorosos; de hecho, está más que acostumbrada a hacerles morder el polvo pero Tremblay... ella no puede ignorarle.

Lo que más me gustó de esta novela es la relación que existe entre Al Bell (Alice disfrazada como Xander) y Hayden, y también la poderosa unión entre los gemelos. Al le cambia la vida a Hayden de formas que ni siquiera me habría imaginado. Sus conversaciones son profundas y cargadas de sentimientos, y de repente me di cuenta de que me encantaba esta pareja y me había olvidado por completo de Alice como chica. He reído, he sufrido y he sonreído gracias a la pareja, lo cual es bastante complicado si tenemos en cuenta que Alice tiene que fingir SER un chico para que no la descubran. Los chicos y las chicas tenemos diferentes códigos y maneras de hablar, así que al principio sus conversaciones eran un poco incómodas y ridículas, como os podéis imaginar.

No pude parar de leer Just one of the boys. Todo fluye muy bien y el argumento no defrauda en ningún momento mientras pasas las páginas. Siempre hay algo importante sucediendo, ya sea una conversación, una pelea, una revelación o incluso un beso (guiño). La única pega que le pongo es que no me convenció el reencuentro entre los protagonistas. Me hubiese gustado que Leah y Kate Rooper nos hubiesen dado más detalles con respecto a sus sentimientos o pensamientos. Quería saber qué pasaba por la cabeza de Alice y de Hayden. Pero al final sólo me quedé con una escena de 'te perdono todo'.

En resumidas cuentas, esta es una magnífica historia Young Adult que estoy segura de que enamorará a cualquiera. Tiene romance, acción, mentiras, y una protagonista que me recuerda a Mulan. ¿Qué más queréis? Asimismo, tiene a un chico muy guapo y rebelde que necesita desesperadamente abrirse a alguien o terminará perdido. ¡Dadle una oportunidad!

PUNTUACIÓN: 4/5 gatitos.

¿Qué os parece esta novela? ¿Os llama la atención?

Lilly.

[Reseña/review] Thick as Thieves

 Thick as Thieves | Megan Whalen Turner

HarperCollins | #5 The Queen's Thief | Stand-alone | 352 pp.

~Buy it here~

Synopsis: Deep within the palace of the Mede emperor, in an alcove off the main room of his master’s apartments,. Kamet minds his master’s business and his own. Carefully keeping the accounts, and his own counsel, Kamet has accumulated a few possessions, a little money stored in the household’s cashbox, and a significant amount of personal power. As a slave, his fate is tied to his master’s. If Nahuseresh’s fortunes improve, so will Kamet’s, and Nahuseresh has been working diligently to promote his fortunes since the debacle in Attolia.

A soldier in the shadows offers escape, but Kamet won’t sacrifice his ambition for a meager and unreliable freedom; not until a whispered warning of poison and murder destroys all of his carefully laid plans. When Kamet flees for his life, he leaves behind everything—his past, his identity, his meticulously crafted defenses—and finds himself woefully unprepared for the journey that lies ahead.

Pursued across rivers, wastelands, salt plains, snowcapped mountains, and storm-tossed seas, Kamet is dead set on regaining control of his future and protecting himself at any cost. Friendships—new and long-forgotten—beckon, lethal enemies circle, secrets accumulate, and the fragile hopes of the little kingdoms of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis hang in the balance.

Hi, everybody! Today I am going to review an ARC that Harper Collins sent me (thank you!). I have really loved the characters, but I must admit that the plot was a bit boring were it not for their dialogues. Maybe I have not liked it that much because there is no romance -and I am a huge fan of this genre-, so maybe this book was just not meant for me. I have not disliked it, though.

Thick as Thieves is a new novel belonging to 'The Queen's Thief' series, and the story is set in the same world. If I am not mistaken, this is book number five and you can read them as stand-alones. The only thing that they share is the setting. Maybe this factor also influenced me negatively, for I suppose that the writer gives more details about the world, the society or the empires, among other things, in the first book of the series, The Thief. However, I still think that the setting in Thick as Thieves is quite original, since the emperor-slave theme, in its most traditional sense, has not been sufficiently exploited in the realm of Young Adult literature (YA), in my opinion. This story is about Kamet, one of the most valuable and educated slaves of Nahuseresh, the Mede emperor. Somebody has poisoned his master, and thus Kamet has to run away to save his life. His travel companion will be an Attolian soldier who, by coincidence, before Nahuseresh was murdered, told Kamet to betray his master in order to be a free man.

The characters in this story are incredibly round and they evolve a lot thanks to the obstacles that they have to face. Kamet is an obedient and loyal slave, but he is highly ambitious and knows how to lie as a professional when he needs to. He is intelligent, probably more than he should, but he also has a big heart. The Attolian, we do not know his name until the last part of the novel, is an extremely mysterious character. However, page after page we will discover more things about his personality. He is honest and does not hesitate to kill a person if that means saving himself. What I liked the most were their conversations; they are too stupid and hilarious! Their relationship is rather strange at the beginning, they do not trust each other. Nevertheless, they are always there to save the other and gradually they will become very good friends -despite the fact they do not want to admit it.

The parts in which Kamet narrated the mythological and religious stories of that world were too dense for me, this is my major objection with this novel. They intrigued me, they reminded me of the popular culture that exists around Tehlu in The Name of the Wind but, as I say, the style was heavy going so I ended up skipping these fragments. I also lacked action scenes, to be honest, although in Thick as Thieves there are several fights and deaths. I have enjoyed the ending, it is sweet and one big secret is revealed, too. It will totally change the meaning of Kamet's and the Attolian's adventure. The last pages promise new conflicts and missions, but I am not sure if I will continue with this series. The truth is adore the main protagonists and... I would like to know if they find love or not in the next books because, well, I am addicted to the romance genre.

RATING: 3/5 kittens.

*****

¡Hola, mininos! Hoy os traigo la reseña de una galerada que me envió la editorial Harper Collins y debo admitir que aunque me han encantado los personajes, la trama se me ha hecho un poco aburrida. No hay ni una pizca de romance y creo que eso ha jugado un poco en mi contra -ya sabéis que es uno de mis géneros favoritos-, así que supongo que este libro no está hecho del todo para mí. ¡Se ha quedado a medio camino! 

Thick as Thieves es una nueva novela ambientada en el fantástico mundo de 'The Queen's Thief', una serie de libros sobre intrigas palaciegas, secretos, batallas y aventuras. Si no me equivoco, este es el quinto libro y técnicamente se pueden leer perfectamente de manera independiente; lo único que comparten es la ambientación. Puede que este factor también haya influido de manera negativa en mi opinión general de la novela, ya que imagino que en el primer libro de la serie, The Thief, la autora dará más detalles sobre cómo es la sociedad, los lugares o los reinos, entre otras cosas. Aun así, me ha parecido muy original el mundo de Thick as Thieves, y es que la temática de emperadores y esclavos, al estilo más tradicional, está poco explotada en el género de la literatura juvenil o Young Adult (YA) a mi parecer. Sin ir más lejos, esta historia nos cuenta cómo Kamet, uno de los esclavos más valiosos y educados de Nahuseresh, el emperador Mede, se ve obligado a huir para salvar su vida. Alguien ha envenenado a su señor, y de acuerdo a las leyes es más que probable que le culpen a él del asesinato. En su viaje le acompañará un soldado de Attolia, quien casualmente antes de que Nahuseresh fuera envenenado le prometió a Kamet la libertad si traicionaba a su señor y se fugaba con él.

Los personajes de esta historia me han encantado, pues han ido evolucionando paulatinamente y eso les ha dotado de mucha complejidad. Kamet es un esclavo muy obediente y leal, pero también es ambicioso y sabe mentir de maravilla cuando le conviene. Es inteligente, más de lo que le convendría teniendo en cuenta la sociedad en la que vive, pero también tiene un gran corazón. El Attoliano, como Kamet le llama durante la mayoría de la novela, al principio es un personaje muy misterioso y reservado, pero no tardará en ir revelando su personalidad. Este personaje es muy sincero y no duda en matar a alguien si ello implica la salvación. Lo mejor de todo son sus contestaciones y es que los diálogos entre Kamet y el Attoliano me robaron más de una carcajada. La relación entre ellos dos es muy extraña al comienzo, no confían el uno en el otro; sin embargo, a medida que se encuentran con enemigos comunes no dudan en salvar al otro si está en apuros. Como ya mencioné al principio, el romance en esta historia brilla por su ausencia y, sinceramente, me hubiese gustado que hubiese alguna subtrama por ahí que calmase mi antojo. ¡Qué le vamos a hacer!

Si tuviese que destacar algún aspecto negativo serían las partes en las que Kamet narra las historias mitológica y religiosas de ese mundo. Me pareció interesante y me recordó, en cierto modo, a toda esa cultura popular que existe alrededor de Tehlu en la novela El nombre del viento (pincha en el título para ir a la reseña), pero la forma en que se describe todo se me hizo bastante pesada. Al final, terminé leyendo por encima esos fragmentos ya que no interferían en la historia Kamet y el Attoliano de ningún modo. También me ha faltado acción, si os soy sincera, aunque en Thick as Thieves tienen lugar algunas peleas durante la huida de los dos protagonistas. Realmente la trama es bastante simple, ya os digo que realmente la novela me ha enganchado gracias a Kamet y el Attoliano.

El final me ha gustado bastante, pues se descubre un secreto que cambiará totalmente el significado de esta aventura. Las últimas páginas prometen nuevas aventuras y conflictos entre reinos, pero no sé si continuaré con esta serie. Eso sí, les he cogido mucho cariño a los personajes y me encantaría saber si encuentran el amor porque, bueno, ya lo sabéis, soy así de fan del género.

PUNTUACIÓN: 3/5 gatitos.

¿Lo conocíais? ¿Os ha llamado la atención? ¿A vosotros también os gusta El nombre del viento? ;)

Lilly.