The Veil Fianna Trilogy (Book 3) by Megan Chance

The Veil, Fianna Trilogy (Book 3) by Megan Chance

I jumped into this book not having read the previous 2 books, and I followed the plot well. There was enough backstory that I quickly was inside the world and understood the characters.

I enjoyed reading about both sides of the Irish issue--the Irish immigrants here at home and the struggle of early 20th Century Ireland. I thought from the front of the book that it would be steampunk, but it's a very distinct historical fantasy. 

I enjoyed that there was no clear "good-guy" and "bad-guy." Although our heroine Grace had to choose between two men, they were both good men, and they loved her. Each of the men had to make hard choices, and they made them and were true to their characters. The author did a great job describing the challenge each faced, and as a reader, I felt how heavy and hard each was.

Because it's a true fantasy novel, sacrifices were required to save the world, and the characters were brave and strong as they made their final choices. It had a solid ending, and none of the characters chose the "easy" way out. That was refreshing. The end was very satisfying as a reader.

I would recommend this book to my students with one caveat: there's a sex scene that "unlocks" the main character's power, and it is a major, major plot point, so the reader can't overlook it. It probably can't go in my classroom library. However, the main character is 17, and the men she is with are older. That does raise the age of the intended audience.

I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.

Into Darkness by Hayley Barrett

Into Darkness by Hayley Barrett is set in post-apocalyptic New Phoenix in future New Zealand. This is clearly a novel to set-up characters and build a world.

Our main character, Alexandra Spencer needs to grow a spine. She chooses to take the fall for her boyfriend and ends up sentenced to a year in Elder Grey Detention Centre. Most of the book ends up telling the story, not of what happens at the centre, but the long journey to get to the jail.

I was 60% of the way through the book before the main character made it to jail, and I kept wondering why the journey took so long. Obviously, Alexandra needed to grow and change on the journey so that she would be able to make the choices she did at the end of the novel, but since the main plot point is that she goes to jail, the journey seemed to take forever.

This is an action-adventure novel, but it hinges on the romance between Alexandra and her guard, Will Metcalfe. Without the romance, Alexandra would not have made the choices she makes. That means, Alexandra is still wishy-washy and not making decisions on her own. I am not sure that's the kind of heroine I enjoy. I was irritated with her, especially for not being able to see how her city boyfriend was using her for her position and place.

I am sure the sequel will center on what happens next to Alexandra's motley group of prison friends as they are now struggling in the wild. They have discovered the vampiric Drifters and unlocked part of the secret: now they need to save the world.

I received a copy from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis

Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis is an updated story of The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Anderson. This is a futuristic, technology filled story with only a hint of magic. The reader forgets that they are in a fairy tale except for the familiarity of the story. 

16 year old Liddi Jantzen has lived her whole life having every moment of her life captured on film. She's a futuristic Kardashian, only all 8 of her brothers are amazingly talented and gifted. Her family own a large technology company, and Liddi, the only daughter, has inherited the lion's share of the corporation so that her brothers will not fight over the company and will band together to help Liddi. She's been sheltered and loved by her brothers, but she is a lonely girl with no one to truly call her friend.

Liddi's brothers suddenly are taken captive, and the main conduits to connect the 7 worlds are damaged. To save her brothers and repair the conduits, Liddi is thrust into a whole new world where she must work with people who don't believe technology is the key. They honor the older ways. In her journey, Liddi meets people she respects and learns to love, despite her inability to talk. She learns new ways to communicate, and her innate talent is magnified.

The story feels modern and fresh, and the writing is well done. Liddi is a very sympathetic character, and the choices she must make are world changing. I enjoyed this book very much and will recommend it to my students.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston is a gorgeous spin on Arabian Nights. 

When the king, Lo-Melkhiin has married 300 women and each die on their wedding night, a law is decreed that determines the tribute of one woman per town. When the king arrives in their small wadi, our heroine sacrifices herself to save her sister, the most beautiful girl in the wadi. Her sister swears she will make her a small god, and that the magic of the small god will accompany her to the city.

The heroine intrigues the king with her stories and her lack of fear. Each morning, she is surprised to see the sunrise, but also discovers that her own personal power grows. She knows it is the power of the small gods. She also discovers that Lo-Melkhiin has been radically changed, and when he is injured, she senses inside him a poisonous viper.

Through the power of sisterhood, the power of words, and the power of her own determination, the queen becomes like Scheherazade from the original tale. Although she is not in the city for a thousand nights, the  power grows from the thousands of people all counting on her to save them from the demon king.

The characters in this story are distinctive and each has a specific story about the king or about the heroine. Each tells us some new part of the story, the history of the king, or the power of the land. The symbolism of the lion and the lioness are a nod to the name Scheherazade (which probably means lion-born), and the demon king is created during the killing of a lion. His mother also wears a lion's mane as her wig.

The writing in the book is lovely and lyrical. It's formal as a good fairy tale should be, but the magic and mystery feel very current. There was a shift in narrator at the very end where suddenly "I" from the entire book is now talking about "she" and we know that "she" has been the narrator all along. There is a very spelled out moral to the story. Both throw the reader out of the story abruptly. In fact, I jumped back to the beginning of the book to see if I had missed something. I loved the story, but I did not care for the epilogue. 

I would recommend this book, and I intend to purchase a copy for my classroom.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.