Review: THE HEART OF BETRAYAL by Mary E. Pearson

Rating: 5/5 stars

This book. I haven’t been this invested in a series in a long time, but this book devoured me. This book is where Lia starts to actually reap the consequences of running away from her wedding. While The Kiss of Deception was (mostly) a joyride for her, The Heart of Betrayal is like she’s being forced to climb up a steep hill while blindfolded and handcuffed. It’s brutal and tough. I loved it, even more than the first book, and I’m so excited to see how the story wraps up in the next book.

*Spoilers ahead for The Kiss of Deception if you haven’t yet read book one of the Remnant Chronicles*

Okay, so Lia is in Venda now. The scenery in this book was so much darker than the first book. I preferred the beach town of Terravin to the stony ruins of Venda, but I will admit that we got so much deeper into the gritty details of this land than we did with any other city, and I relished building a mental city with all those extra details. Where book one was primarily character driven, book two focused a lot more on the plot and setting. I liked that, though, because we already had a good basis of who the characters are and we could dive deeper into the actual story.

On that note, I’m so excited we now know who the assassin is and who the prince is. I’ve been team assassin since the beginning, just because I think it would be funny for the princess to fall in love with the assassin sent to kill her. But I see what Pearson did, playing on the irony of Lia falling in love with the exact prince she ran away from in the first place. I kind of saw that coming, but I’m still okay with that relationship because Rafe’s pretty cool.

And Princess Lia, my goodness, what a powerful, savage woman. Maybe I haven’t read enough female-fronted fantasy, but she was a one-of-a-kind character in my eyes. I only wish I could be as tough as she is. Lia is one of my favourite protagonists of all time. She has developed incredibly since the beginning of The Kiss of Deception. She has also become more hardened, but after the situations in this book, that’s to be expected.

So Lia and Rafe are trapped in Venda, the first prisoners ever in Venda. Both staying alive by their lies, they must devise a plan to escape the impenetrable fortress and save their own lives before the Komizar, the leader of Venda, decides he’s finished with them and kills them. But he is always one step ahead of Lia and Rafe, already anticipating their next moves, making it extremely hard for either of them to accomplish anything. It was actually a bit frustrating at times because I just wanted things to happen but they couldn’t. The Komizar made me so angry, but I also sort of liked him? I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so conflicted about a character before.

The Heart of Betrayal is full of political intrigue, lies and deceit, tense battle scenes, secrets that could destroy a kingdom, and a few slivers of hope. There were plot developments in this book that I’m pretty sure I couldn’t have ever guessed happening, and then there were some things that I rightly predicted.

I guessed partway through reading that Lia would do a certain thing by the end of the book, and she did. Even though I saw it coming, I was still shocked and giddy when it happened, and my premature knowing what would happen didn’t make it any less exciting to experience.

This book is so worth the read, and I think it’s much stronger than the first book; it’s the catalyst for the events that will take place in the third book. This series, so far at least, is one of my favorite series. It’s a classical-feeling fantasy, and I like that atmosphere. There are no magical creatures, and there’s no magic, but the series still exudes a magical quality. (I’m pretty sure I said the same thing in my review of the first book.) It’s just an excellent, well-written series.

Review: THE KISS OF DECEPTION by Mary E. Pearson

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I had been wanting to read this book for years, and I finally picked it up on a whim when I was craving something fantastical to read. I'm so glad I finally read this because it was lovely and just what I needed.

Princess Lia is your typical princess, about to be given as a bride to the prince of a neighboring kingdom in order to secure a political alliance. But Lia doesn't want to marry a man she hasn't even met, so she runs away on the day of her wedding. She flees to a small town in the south of her kingdom, ready to live by her own rules. As she lives in hiding, working as a waitress in an inn, two strangers come looking for her: a prince, who Lia ran away from and refused to marry, and an assassin, whose job is to quietly kill her.

One day, Lia meets both of these men, completely unaware of their true identities, and befriends them. They both bide their time in the town, watching Lia, waiting . . . falling in love. One of the best assets of this book is that the reader does not know who the assassin is and who the prince is either. I loved trying to piece together the clues (and my speculations were correct) to deduce who was who.

This book has a classically fantastical atmosphere. While magic is alluded to and vaguely referenced, there isn't any direct magic that takes place in this book. At first I kept waiting for magical things to happen, but then I sensed the underlying magic present in the story itself, and in the writing. The magic is subtle, but if you look closely, you will find it. Nevertheless, the story still has the feel of a fantasy book.

Pearson's writing in this story is beautiful, and she writes each character with such depth. Lia goes through one of the best character arcs that I've read, changing and growing in every chapter. The story begins with her as a stereotypical naive princess, but that's the point because otherwise her growth wouldn't be as spectacular. She develops into an independent woman who can defend herself and learn from others. Rafe and Kaden also develop drastically as the story progresses, with their morals being challenged and their loyalties being questioned. The boys have to learn for themselves where their duties lie and what paths their futures hold.

My biggest complaint about this book is the map in the front. The map is clearly not to scale, and it irked me to no end. When maps are present in books, I rely heavily on them, charting my way across the world with the characters. They help me get a clear picture of where events are happening and where characters are going. But this map only confused me because of how inaccurate it is. Don't take it too seriously if you use it while reading this series because you'll just have the same problem I did.

Overall, The Kiss of Deception was quite enjoyable. I had a fun time reading it, trying to guess who was the assassin and who was the prince, and how the story would play out (because I really had no idea where the premise would lead me). I loved watching Lia grow into a strong princess deserving of her title, and I can't wait to see how BA she'll be in the next book. Book one left off at the perfect spot for book two, and I can't wait to start reading it next.

Review: TURN YOUR PAIN INTO ART by Ariel Bloomer

Rating: 5/5 stars

I’m a big Icon for Hire fan, so when I found out lead singer Ariel Bloomer wrote a memoir, I immediately ordered myself a copy. And her book is so wonderful.

I didn’t know very much about Ariel before reading Turn Your Pain Into Art, but now I feel like I know her on a personal level, and I definitely know a lot more about her band, too. She starts out talking about her childhood and background of how she got to where she’s at today. Ariel always wanted to be a singer and lyricist, and many of her lyrics have come about from experiences in her life. I think that’s kind of the point of her book’s title: make all the events in your life count for something. Even the bad memories can turn out to be positive in the end: use the bad events as the basis for something positive, like killer song lyrics. And that’s exactly how Ariel approached songwriting, by using moments from her life as the basis for her lyrics. I especially enjoyed learning about the meaning behind “Rock and Roll Thugs,” which turned out to be more shocking than I had ever imagined. I loved seeing how so many of her experiences translated themselves into lyrics I can relate to.

I realized I wanted to be happy.

Ariel’s memoir is honest and full of raw emotion. She shares her fears and failures as well as her joys and successes. She tells us what held her back for many years and how she overcame her struggles to become who she wanted to be, someone happier. What’s great, though, is that she shares stories of her depression in a way that the reader can immediately connect with her but also want to get better. And she wants you to get better. This book doesn’t look down on anyone struggling with the same miserable circumstances that she did, but it provides a support one can use to recognize their problem and work through it and come out on top, just like Ariel did.

“My voice matters. I don’t have to mindlessly do what everybody asks of me,” says Ariel about playing in the Christian music genre. I had no idea that Icon for Hire, and especially Ariel, didn’t want to be in the Christian music genre. Ariel herself grew up a Christian, but she doesn’t want to be defined by that type of music nor confined to that label’s limitations. That’s interesting because I originally discovered her band through a sampler of new artists from Tooth and Nail Records, a Christian music label. I’m glad they were able to become independent so they can produce the kind of music they want and share the messages that are important to them. I love that we learn about the band’s history simultaneously with Ariel’s personal history. It shows how much Icon for Hire has always been a part of her life and how devoted she is to it.

Ariel’s voice and style are very pronounced, and it makes the book so engaging to read. I felt like I was having a nice chat with her instead of a formal presentation (which is sometimes how memoirs/biographies turn out). She describes a refreshing approach to self-help. I wouldn’t initially call this a self-help book because half of it is her memoir, but the other half is about how to live intentionally and love yourself. Her whole book is focused on loving yourself and finding creating happiness for yourself. She suggests the “outside-in” approach, in which you change what’s on the outside of you, your surroundings, and consequently feel better on the inside.

Turn Your Pain Into Art is a highly motivational book, and not in a way that’s like, “Oh that’s nice, I should do that someday.” In part two, Ariel includes questions and lines to write your answers at the end of every chapter, and it has been an eye-opening experience for me on a personal level. I’ve become really introspective and begun reevaluating my life, my dreams, and my hopes. The questions have helped me realize what I want out of life and where I find true joy. I’ve realized what’s holding me back and what I’m afraid of, and I’ve set tangible goals to help me achieve my dreams. It is a great feeling to realize you are finally making progress in life.

It's okay to stop doing something that's too hard or makes you no money or just isn’t fun anymore.

This book is recommended to anyone who’s a big fan of Icon for Hire or a fan of Ariel’s web series, The REL Show. Or for anyone struggling with depression and a feeling of being stunted in self-expression, like being caged in a box but wanting to come out on the other side. I have gained so much from reading her book, and it’s one that I know I will read again and again when I need the reminders to love myself.

I came to understand that if I stopped creating so much room for my pain, it would stop screaming at me so loudly.

Review: ELLA MINNOW PEA by Mark Dunn

Rating: 5/5 stars

This epistolary novel is very clever. You only have to read the first page to surmise that much.

On the island of Nollop, a way off the coast of South Carolina, lives a community that has effectively elevated the use of “language to a national art form,” while in turn “relegating modern technology to the status of avoidable nuisance.”

In the town square of Nollopton sits a monument of Nevin Nollop, who is venerated because he is the creator of the sentence "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." This sentence is on the monument, with each letter hanging on its own plaque. One day a letter plaque falls off, shattering on the ground, and the High Island Council is convinced this is a message from the posthumous Nevin Nollop himself. Some citizens state their belief “that Nollop does indeed speak to us from his place of eternal rest, through the manipulation of the tiles upon his hallowed cenotaph.” The Council’s decision is then to remove the fallen letter from the vocabulary and the printed works in Nollopton. Anyone caught using the excised letter will be publicly and painfully punished.

If this wasn’t interesting enough, once a letter is removed from the vocabulary of Nollopton denizens, it is also removed from the epistles Ella Minnow Pea writes. (As this novel is made up entirely of epistles, that means the individual letters are removed from the actual book itself.)

What really interested me, especially as someone who studied linguistics in school, was that only the use of the letter was prohibited, not its sound. For example, when Z falls off the monument and therefore becomes forbidden, people are not allowed to say “buzz” and “seize,” but to say “bees” or “cease” or “desire” is okay because there’s no Z in those words. English is full of examples like that, where one sound can be represented by more than one letter, or one letter can represent a plethora of sounds. (This is especially true with vowels.) The story touches on this idea later in the book, and it was truly hilarious, to the point of out-loud laughter, to read Ella's correspondences once there were more than ten letters of the alphabet stricken from use.

Throughout the novel, more letter plaques begin to fall in Nollopton, and coincidentally, more letters start disappearing from the book. Writing a story that turns into more of a lipogram with every chapter would have taken a lot of patience and linguistic skill, and author Mark Dunn does an excellent job of this. The book is humorous and such a pleasure to read.

The irony throughout the whole story is that language is placed on a high pedestal in Nollopton, and any reader can tell this from the very beginning as Ella Minnow Pea uses eloquent language that flows easily and sounds very educated. But as each letter is removed from the alphabet, that significantly decreases the number of words able to be used to express oneself and to communicate. At the beginning, it is a matter of simply choosing different words to convey one's desired meaning. But by the end, when so few letters remain, the citizens of Nollopton have no choice but to skip letters and intentionally spell words wrong, simply just to communicate on a basic level (my favourite example: fugitive becomes "phewgitiph"). By trying to elevate language even higher by making it more sophisticated, the High Island Council has turned everybody into inarticulate, taciturn beings who start to develop an aversion to their own language. 

This book is very well thought out and unique in its concept of slowly becoming a lipogram over time. I would never be able to write like this, but the author has constructed his work with painstaking detail, consciously choosing which letter will fall off the monument next so he can still write a cohesive story and have the characters communicate as need be. It’s all very impressive.

Anyone who loves language or wordplays or who has a deep appreciation for all the idiosyncrasies of the English language will enjoy this book. It is lighthearted and funny while also touching on what it's like to be ruled by a totalitarian government, even in a “utopian” society. I wish I had a book like this to read back when I was in high school or even while getting my undergraduate degree. It's so excellent that I know I'll read it many times again in the future.

Review: CHASING THE SKIP by Janci Patterson

Rating: 3/5 stars

I decided to read this book because I heard the author give a lecture at my university that was about writing and getting published, and I became interested in her. I found this first book of hers at a book sale and decided to pick it up based on my previous experience hearing her speak. This novel isn't really my style, and I wouldn't have picked it up otherwise, but I'm glad I gave it the chance and decided to read it.

We follow teen girl Ricki, who ends up on a road trip with her dad, who's a bail bond enforcement officer (read: bounty hunter). Her dad is on the hunt for a particularly dangerous criminal across the United States while Ricki is stuck tagging along, all the while wishing she could just go back home to her mom and friends in Utah. But when they pick up teen bad boy Ian, Ricki thinks she sees a good side to him even though he's being faced with several criminal charges. On their journey, Ian plays a few tricks up his sleeves, and Ricki is forced to learn what it really means to trust someone.

My biggest compliment for this book is that it's highly entertaining; it's fast paced and action packed, with exciting shenanigans around every corner. There was never a dull moment. However, I do feel like that made the story slightly unrealistic (though it sure was enjoyable).

Although this book is a fun read, it also tackles some darker themes. Ricki faces abandonment issues with both of her parents and she has to learn to stand up for herself and voice her feelings in the end. We see her go through a nice character development and come out better on the other side. The author also deals with alcoholism and how that addiction negatively impacts all aspects of your life.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it's not one I'll ever be rereading. It was a cute, fun story, but I do feel like the target audience is definitely teen girls, and I don't really fit into that group anymore.

I thought I'd been in the position of power. But maybe I never had. Maybe the weapon didn't make Ian more dangerous. It just made the danger easier to see. 

Review: THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN by Kate Morton

Rating: 5/5 stars

Kate Morton just became my new favourite author, and this was only the first book of hers that I've read.

The Forgotten Garden is a mysterious multi-generational historical fiction. It was everything I wanted in a good book, and I was completely lost in its seemingly magical English setting. The book follows Nell, who finds out on her twenty-first birthday that her parents are not her biological parents. This news shatters her sense of identity, and Nell becomes determined to discover the truth of her origins. Throughout her life, Nell searches for answers to her past, but her journey is suddenly put to an end when extenuating circumstances take over. Now dying from old age in her final days and unable to uncover the full truth, Nell leaves the search of her identity to her granddaughter, Cassandra. Cassandra is intrigued to take up this journey, and she travels across the world to find the answers that have been hidden for almost a century in a forgotten garden.

This story is told from many viewpoints but most notably from Nell's perspective in the 1970s, from Cassandra's perspective in the present day (2005), and from Eliza's perspective in the turn of the twentieth century. For the first fifty or so pages of this book, the jumping time periods and multiple points of view were a bit confusing, and I had some trouble keeping all the details straight, but soon I learned each character's voice and was able to follow along clearly. The multiple time periods add suspense to the story that just kept me turning the pages because some detail would be revealed, and I wanted to see how the characters reacted to it, but then the chapter would end and the next chapter in a new decade would start. Each chapter ended like this, which just kept my interest piqued throughout the whole story.

Something that Kate Morton does very well in this book (and I presume in her other books?) is to answer questions throughout the whole story. I do not like reading mysteries where the author keeps introducing more and more questions and adding to the suspense but will not drop any hints or answers until the very last page. Those books feel so rushed, and I just get frustrated. This book is completely different: we get answers all along the journey with the characters as they slowly learn secrets of their pasts. Of course, this means we also get more questions, but that is to be expected. I savoured every detail and loved trying to piece together the puzzle right along with the characters.

On the same note, another thing that Kate Morton does exceptionally well is to keep the reader guessing until the very end. I had speculations at the beginning, but she challenged my thoughts with every chapter. I thought I knew exactly the right answers, who was connected to who, but then another piece of history would come to light and I would have to rethink all my assumptions. Readers truly do not get the last piece of the puzzle until the last few chapters of the book. I loved that Morton wrote in this manner because I really dislike reading a book and knowing the end very early on; it makes the story lackluster and very predictable, but The Forgotten Garden was anything but.

In short, I devoured this book and was completely lost in the historical time period within its pages. I loved the main characters and their stories and felt like I knew them personally from all the details shared about their lives. This book is not a fantasy, but it has a magical, ethereal quality to it that I just adored. I would love to have my very own forgotten garden like the one in this book, but alas, I do not. What I do have, however, is the desire to read every one of Kate Morton's books now because I can only hope they are as beautiful as this one is.

You make a life out of what you have, not what you're missing.

2018 Read-My-Own-Books Challenge

One of my biggest goals last year was to read primarily my own unread books. I didn't do as well at that as I wanted to, so I'm hoping I will be able to accomplish last year's goal this year. To help me read my own books, I have created a list of 18 reading challenges for 2018. The idea is that I can mark off a challenge only if I read a book (or series of books) on my physical bookshelf that corresponds to that challenge. Rereads do not count, and one book cannot count for multiple challenges. I'm pretty good at following reading challenges, so I have faith that I can complete this challenge and get my owned To-Be-Read list down to under 250 books. (I recognize that is still a lot of books, but I can only read so many books a year. Baby steps.) My TBR is currently at 293 books, which is just outrageous. Without further ado, here is my 2018 reading challenge:

1. Read a book that's been on your TBR the longest.
2. Read a book you bought in high school.
3. Read your most recently acquired book.
4. Read the shortest book on your shelf.
5. Finish every series you started but never finished.
6. Start and finish a new series.
7. Read a popular backlist book.
8. Read a book by one of your favourite authors.
9. Read a book by an author you've never read before.
10. Read a book that's becoming or already is a movie.
11. Read a book you received as a gift.
12. Read a book you acquired through marriage.
13. Read a book you want to give away after you read it.
14. Read a book not written in prose.
15. Read a book about animals.
16. Read a religious book.
17. Read a classic book.
18. Read a nonfiction / memoir / biography.

For updates on how I'm doing with this challenge, please see my Reading Challenges page here.

2017 Reading Goals Review

My first reading goal of 2017 was to focus on the quality over the quantity of books I read, so I set my goal at forty. Halfway through the year, I felt that I could still accomplish that goal while reading more books, so I upped that number to sixty. I managed to read 62 books in 2017, thus completing my first goal.

My second goal was to reduce my owned TBR pile; however, this year I decided to reread a lot of childhood favourites. I didn't intentionally decide this at the beginning of the year; it just happened throughout the year. I reread the Spiderwick Chronicles and the Land of Elyon series. I reread a recent favourite, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I also reread Twilight (which wasn't originally a favourite), and that led me to read the rest of the series for the first time. I've never been a big rereader; in fact, I hardly ever reread books at all, even ones that I love. But this year I guess I just had the deep desire to relive a part of my past, and I am so glad I did. Rereading the Land of Elyon books was such a happy time (that's one of my favourite series of all time). I've learned over the past two years to reach for the books that my heart desires, and it always ends up being a good reading experience because I'm reading what I genuinely want to read. Besides rereading, I also ended up borrowing and thus reading six books from some friends this year.

Because I did a lot of rereading and borrowing, I didn't get to as many of my own unread books this year. At the beginning of 2017, I had 415 books on my TBR. After completely overhauling my bookshelves (click here to see that journey) and reading and acquiring books throughout the year, my TBR now at the start of 2018 is 293 books. That's a huge decrease, but that's also still a huge amount of books to read.

Another factor that prevented me from reading as many of my own books as I wanted to was that I joined NetGalley last year. I ended up requesting and thus completing seven books from NetGalley: The Hour Wasp, All Things New, The End We Start From, Why We Sleep, Reincarnation Blues, The House at 758, and The Ice House. All but one of these books (The End We Start From) I really enjoyed, and I would have never heard of them or picked them up if it wasn't for NetGalley. The only downside to reading these advanced copies is that I didn't read books from my physical TBR during that time.

My third goal was to read three longer classics and to read more classics in general. I wanted to read Anna Karenina, Jude the Obscure, and Don Quixote. I didn't get to Don Quixote, but I did read the other two. I also ended up reading some smaller classics: Black Beauty, Treasure Island, and 1984. I never read any classics while growing up, so I'm trying to expand my mind now by reading a few more every year.

My fourth and last goal I made last year was to read five religious books. This is the only goal I utterly failed doing because I read only one religious book, and even that is stretching it. I read Love That Lasts, which is a book aimed at strengthening marriages for LDS couples. I was hoping to read books with a basis in and study on doctrinal concepts, but I guess those will have to wait for another year.

Overall I am fairly happy with what I managed to read in 2017. I read a lot of books that I really enjoyed, and I had far fewer one- and two-star reads than in 2016. I've learned to let my heart choose what I read next, and that is something I will continue to do in the future.

Check out my top five favourite books of the year here, and if you want to see what my goals are for next year, be sure to check out my 2018 Read-My-Own-Books Challenge.