Soundless, Richelle Mead

Pages: 266

Publisher: Razorbill

Release Date: 10^th November 2015

Edition: US hardback, purchased

Other Titles by this Author: Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, Last Sacrifice, Bloodlines, The Golden Lily, The Indigo Spell, The Fiery Heart, Silver Shadows, The Ruby Circle

For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs of Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.

But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.

Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiguo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever…

Soundless was one of my most anticipated books of the year, but it wasn’t quite all I wanted it to be.

I really love the premise of Soundless. An isolated, deaf community reliant on another town for supplies; Richelle Mead’s promise of a ton of Chinese myth and folklore; a standalone fantasy and my love for Mead’s previous novels, but this one didn’t really deliver on its promises. However, it’s a quick, easy and fun read and I was really rooting for the book to succeed on its brilliant ideas.

Everything was there, but there just wasn’t enough of it. This is a short novel at under 270 pages, especially for a standalone fantasy, and I think it was too short. Soundless could have done with at least another 100 pages. The world building wasn’t up to Mead’s standards, the Chinese folklore only came in at the very end and there was so little development with Fei, Li Wei and their relationship. It didn’t entirely feel like a Richelle Mead novel because these are the areas that she excels in; these are the things that made me fall so in love with the Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series’. Such a shame.

Though Soundless isn’t Richelle Mead at her best, it’s still worth a read for fans of her books and those interested in the world she's created here. I’ll just be keeping my attention on her upcoming release, The Glittering Court, and hoping for the best.

Sophie 

Spotlight: Klevercase

Last month I was asked by the lovely people at Klevercase if I’d like to receive one of their tech cases for review. After a quick perusal of their website, I chose which one I’d like and said yes please! I was not paid to write this, I just received the case in exchange for an honest review.

The case I chose is this one:

Beautiful, huh? Sense and Sensibility is one of my very favourite Austen novels and I couldn’t resist the beautiful colours of this cover. These designs can be personalised with your own choice of book title and author as well, so if you don’t spot your favourite book, don’t despair! You can also add a personalised message to what would be the endpapers in a book, and are decorated that way in my case. The case itself is solid and durable but without being heavy or too stiff to use. I have to admit that I haven’t taken mine out of the house as of yet as I’m afraid the case will get a little dented or scratched up from being in my bag!

I was also surprised with a second case! This is a beautiful dark brown leather case that is embossed with my initials in gold! You can chose whether it’s personalised or not and where the personalisation is placed. Mine are in the bottom right corner and on the inside as well – a lovely surprise! The inside of the case also features a handy pocket for review notes; well, that’s what I’ll be using it for anyway.

The Kindle is held in with leather strips and is held closed with a magnetised strap. The leather is so soft and supple that I can easily bend the cover around the Kindle to hold it still with one hand which is how I find it most comfortable to read.

All of Klevercase’s cases are handmade in England using traditional bookbinding techniques and my personalised case was beautifully packaged in a gift box with a slip around the case telling me all about where and how the case was made with the name of person who made it handwritten on the front. I really love those individual touches!

Klevercase ships worldwide for free (correct at the time of writing post: 01/11/15) and caters to lots of e-reader and tablet sizes. All in all, I'd say a Klevercase e-reader case is the perfect choice for a Christmas presents for all the literary tech lovers in your life!

And if you still need convincing, Klevercase have given me a discount code to share with you! KLEVER20 will get you 20% off on a single order. Go for it!

Thank you to Klevercase for the opportunity to receive and review a Kindle case.

Sophie 

Lily and the Christmas Wish, Keris Stainton

Pages: 166

Publisher: Piccadilly Press

Release Date: 5^th November 2015

Edition: UK paperback, review copy

Other Titles by this Author: Della Says: OMG!, Jessie Hearts NYC, Emma Hearts LA, As Delightful As a Carrot, Calm Like a Stupid Feather, Starring Kitty, Spotlight on Sunny, Counting Stars

Can one little girl and her dog make a town’s Christmas wishes come true?

Christmas is fast approaching, and the town of Pinewood has decided to do something really special to celebrate. Each person will write down a secret wish and tie it to the town’s Christmas tree!

Nine-year-old Lily isn’t quite convinced. She's not sure that she believes in wishes coming true – although she really wants to.

But then a strange storm blows in, scattering the wishes…and Lily wakes up the next morning to find that her adorable pug puppy, Bug, can talk! It's a wish come true…only it isn’t Lily’s wish.

It seems the storm has sent the Christmas magic awry, and now it's down to Lily, her youngest brother James and Bug to sort out the mixed-up wishes. But can they fix things before Christmas Eve?

Lily and the Christmas Wish is Keris Stainton’s first foray into young fiction and it made my heart smile.

Though this book is about magic and Christmas and the most adorable talking pug in existence (I can have Bug, yeah?), what Keris excels at is writing families and relationships. Lily and Jimmy’s parents have recently split up and Dad is living in a canal boat just a short walk from their house, but it still takes Lily a while to adjust to the new situation every time she sees him. Lily is a dutiful big sister in protecting Jimmy from being scared of the storm and talks of letting him climb into her bed when mum and dad used to argue. Grandad hasn’t really left the house since Grandma died. Everything is so real in Keris’s novels; there’s never a big showy point or an ‘issue’ to be tackled, there are just the things that happened in and around a kid’s life as they grow up.

But it is also about Christmas magic. I loved the small town setting of Pinewood where all the shops are deliciously named and everyone knows everyone. I liked the glimpse we got into random side characters from Lily, Jimmy and Bug returning the wishes they placed on the town Christmas tree to their rightful owners after a storm blew them away and granted the wishes to the wrong person. It’s such a fun idea and it was cool how it showed that even the adults of Pinewood couldn’t resist the possibility that their wishes might come true.

Warm, funny and sweet – perfect for a Christmas evening whatever your age.

Thanks to Hot Key/Piccadilly Press for the review copy.

Sophie 

Graphic Novel Round-Up (4): Nimona, Saga: Volume 5 and The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Nimona, Noelle Stevenson

Harper Teen|18^th June 2015|purchased

Synopsis

Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism! All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic from Noelle Stevenson.

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realises that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

Review

I actually didn’t really know what Nimona was about until I started reading it. I picked it up purely on the praise on Twitter and Goodreads!

Nimona is a brilliant heroine. She’s bolshy and clever and consistently underestimated. Nimona is particularly skilled at villainy and when she teams up with supervillain Lord Blackheart, who’s a surprisingly moral supervillain, they get a little out of control. And yet Nimona is still underestimated as ‘a little girl’. There’s a lot of mystery around Nimona – where she's from? Who she is? What is she capable of? I really can't answer any of these questions without major spoilers so I’ll just say that Nimona is a story of feminism, stereotypes, heroes and villains that is funny, sharp and gorgeously illustrated. Go and read it.

Saga: Volume 5, Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Image Comics|15^th September 2015|purchased

Synopsis

While Gwendolyn and Lying Cat risk everything to find a cure for The Will, Marko makes an uneasy alliance with Prince Robot IV to find their missing children, who are trapped on a strange world with terrifying new enemies.

Review

Every new trade of this series is an event for me and the long awaited Volume 5 was no exception.

There is a lot of focus on war and parenthood in the issues that comprise this volume. Alana, Marko and Hazel have been separated, Prince IV’s son has been kidnapped and Sophie, The Brand and Gwendolyn are searching for the – rather disgusting – cure for The Will. Everyone is fighting for the people they love in this instalment and there are some incredibly poignant moments about loss, sacrifice and love during war. There are also a few surprising panels on the effect on women, and I say surprising because this isn’t what I'd really call a feminist comic – though it does have some incredibly, badass protagonists.

Because of all of the searching, there wasn’t as much plot-wise as there was in the previous instalments. It was all action and reflection and some important flashbacks into Marko’s past. I was really surprised at some of the things revealed about his past and it only went to develop his character in the same way that Alana’s experiences developed her in the previous volume. It doesn’t seem to matter what terrible things these characters do or have done, I love them endlessly. 

Volume 5 wasn’t quite as mind-blowing as the previous trades, but it was still a thoroughly brilliant addition to a wonderful series. I want more already.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Russell Brand

Canongate|1^st October 2015|review copy

Synopsis

They say cometh the hour

Cometh the man

That means wen a situation demands it, the right person – it could be a woman, despite what Sexist Dave would tell you – will appear. This was the hour and in this case the man was a Piper. A Pied Piper.

Welcome to Russel Brand’s Hamelin, where revolution is afoot…

Review

I was really disappointed by everything about this apart from Chris Riddell’s illustrations.

This is a strange combination of graphic novel and children’s book and I honestly don’t know which it is more. It has an obvious, in-your-face political agenda; uses words kids won't understand and then explains them in the narrative; and the characters the story focuses are the adults, even though it’s clearly meant to be the kids. I was hoping for something witty and satirical and clever and it just wasn’t.

But Chris Riddell knocked it out of the park as ever. His illustrations were cute, gruesome, funny and full of life – they were the only thing I kept reading for and he earned this book the two stars I gave it on Goodreads! It should have been a straight up, no text picture book. It would have shone.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin just didn’t work for me. It tried too hard to be something it wasn’t and maybe I would have enjoyed it more if Russell Brand had let it come together organically instead of forcing an audience and agenda.

Thanks to Canongate for the review copy of this.

Sophie 

Ice Like Fire, Sara Raasch

Pages: 478

Publisher: Balzar + Bray

Release Date: 19^th November 2015

Edition: US hardcover, purchased

Other Titles in this Series: Snow Like Ashes

It's been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring’s king, Angra, disappeared – thanks largely to the help of Cordell.

Meira just wants her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and possibly dangerous: Primoria’s lost chasm of magic. Theron sees this find as an opportunity – with this much magic, the world can finally stand against threats like Angra. But Meira fears the danger the chasm poses – the last time the world had access to so much magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the chasm’s secrets, Meira plans on using the trip to garner support to keep the chasm shut and Winter safe – even if it means clashing with Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves?

Mather just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians hang fresh and raw in Jannuari – leaving Winter vulnerable to Cordell’s growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for allies, he decides to take Winter’s security into his own hands. Can he rebuild his broken Kingdom and protect them from new threats?

As the web of power and deception is woven tighter, Theron fights for magic, Mather fights for freedom – and Meira starts to wonder if she should be fighting not just for Winter but for the world.

I completely loved Snow Like Ashes when I devoured it last winter so I was beside myself with excitement about Ice Like Fire. It didn’t quite live up to my expectations though.

I struggled with Ice Like Fire. And the most annoying thing? I’m not even quite sure why. I also ended up skimming a fair bit of the novel. I mean, I got a little annoyed with the characters and how frequently Meira was thwarted in hers attempts to protect Winter, and then how convenient and easy finding the keys was, but I still loved the world and the characters. It was really cool to see more of Primoria and experience how different the kingdoms are to each other, especially the divides between the Rhythm and Season kingdoms. I enjoyed all the politics and meeting the monarchs and conduit-wearers as well; it’s a very well-drawn out world.

Around halfway through Ice Like Fire when my frustration was at a high, I decided that I no longer ship Meira with either Theron or Mather. I'd love to see her take on the events to come without the torment of loving the boys and all of the drama that that causes. It would be brilliant to see her succeed without them and it became clear in this book that Meira really hasn’t come to terms with her magic and new role of power, responsibility and pawn in the politics of Primoria – I want to see her come to terms with this first.

I did actually end up enjoy the last 80/90 pages of the novel, thankfully. The finale was dramatic and surprising and it pulled me back on side. There were lots of revelations and events that completely changed everything for Meria and Winter and I’m intrigued enough to pick up the final book in the series next year and see how Meira’s adventure ends.

Sophie