The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Addition: Review e-book from Netgalley

Genre: Young adult, fantasy

Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:

Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.

To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.
Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.
With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.
To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.
And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Review:

This is number four in the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa – and although perhaps not as good as the others, still a great read. I have been waiting what seems like an age for this book, and squealed when I received an email telling me it was available from Netgalley. This time the book is written from Ash’s point of view, not Meghan’s and we follow his story – barely getting a glance at what was happening in the Iron Realm. At the end of book three Meghan banishes Ash for his own safety – as fey he can’t survive in the Iron Realm. Yet he made her a promise: to be her knight. He loves her and is determined to keep this promise and the only way to do that is to become human. There is only one way to do this – go to the End of the World and complete the tasks. With the aid of Puck, Grim, the Big Bad Wolf and a seer, Ash sets off; but will he succeed? And if he does, will Meghan still love him?

I really enjoyed this book – although I missed Meghan. She does feature in the story, but not heavily. We walk with Ash and only glimpse Meghan and her world occasionally. I found this book to be more graphic and gory than the others – there seems to be more bloodshed in this adventure. Yet the book was exciting and fast paced. There doesn’t seem to be a dull moment in this story – once one foe is defeated, another seems to come along quite quickly. There is a lot of energy in this book which kept me hooked.

All the way through this series I have been Team Ash – and that didn’t change in this book either. It was nice to get a better look at Ash, although at times that was a touch heartbreaking. One trial he has to go through is examining his conscience and relieving everything he had ever done – all the hurt he had caused people. There were a few incidents described and it was sad that Ash is not the perfect prince I imagined him to be. This was an honest portrayal though and we saw his struggle with the anger and hate that come from being part of the Unseelie Court.

I loved Puck as well. Although I was always rooting from Ash, I loved that Puck stuck around and was there to help Ash because he loved Meghan so much. He is funny and kept me entertained throughout the book. There were other characters I liked too – Grim is fabulous. He is sarcastic, clever and I love how when trouble arises he vanishes! The Big Bad Wolf was entertaining too – I enjoyed the attitude between him and Grim.

There is a big surprise halfway through the book that I wasn’t expecting. It added to the book and Ash’s torment and made for some great reading! I won’t add in a spoiler but suffice to say – it was good and added another dimension to the story.

There were a couple of things I didn’t like about the book – I missed Meghan – she is a key character and we didn’t see a lot of her – and Kagawa’s writing seemed different – simple and sometimes not completely engaging. However, the good completely overthrows the bad, and this is a great read and a great instalment to this series.

American Smile by Cody Young

Title: American Smile
Author: Cody Young
ISBN: 978-0-47315832-3
Publisher: Golden Bay Press
First Published: May 2011
No. of pages: 216

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis (back cover):
American Smile weaves together a D-Day love story and a contemporary tale.

When Emma Rowland discovers that her family tree is a work of fiction, she is determined to uncover the truth, though it has been hidden for 65 years and few people are willing to talk.

The irresistible Tyler Robinson, an American aircraft mechanic, promises to help solve the wartime puzzle. It son becomes clear that Tyler knows more about the mystery than he’s willing to say, and that he has secrets of his own.

Together they follow the trail blazed by a reckless GI and his blonde bombshell. A DNA test holds some surprises and the search takes Tyler and Emma to Paris, where their questions are finally answered, but what does the future hold for them both?

Review:
Let me start by saying that I don’t usually read anything with even the remotest of romantic plots, as I generally don’t enjoy them, so my review of this novel, which is essentially a love story, may be coloured to reflect that, and so perhaps other readers may well give it a higher rating. However, as I give American Smile a very strong 4/5, that should tell you just how enjoyable it is, if someone who hates romances thinks it’s a great read!

The key is in the clever handling of two parallel stories in different eras – one in the months leading up to the D-Day landings in Normandy, and one contemporary. Both are linked in more ways than one, and each strand of the two stories weaves together to create a beautifully tangled web of mystery and searching.

The characters are absolutely wonderful and I especially loved Tyler, the American aircraft mechanic – to be truthful, I found myself falling rather in love with him myself. It’s rare that a romantic hero is so sweet, gentlemanly and, well, inexperienced, but it works to the advantage of the story and sets a contrast to the WWII relationship that is both fun and endearing.

Whether you’re a fan of romances or avoid them like the plague, I can heartily recommend this heartwarming tale – I swear I could hardly bear to put it down for even a moment. Cody Young is an author to look out for in the future and it’s worth mentioning she also has a novella available for Kindle (Scandal at the Farmhouse) which I really wish was available in hardcopy, as I’d love to try it!

American Smile is available both in paperback and on Kindle.

Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Synopsis:

Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the ‘Cemetery of Forgotten Books’, a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles. To this library, a man brings his ten-year-old son Daniel, one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to chose one book and from the dusty shelves pulls The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. But as Daniel grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julián Carax and to save those he left behind.

Review

First of all I must mention that I will remain forever thankful to a friend that plucked this out of hundreds of choices for me to read, otherwise it would have been left gathering dust on my shelves; a tragic waste for certain.

The novel piqued my interest immediately when I discovered it were to be a novel about novels, but it should be noted that it works on so many more different levels. From the moment Daniel stumbles upon one of Carax’s books, he becomes caught up in a world more terrible than he could have ever imagined. His instant connection with the book draws him in, and from then on he is captured and entangled by the author’s story, which won’t let him go; he feels the need to discover the truth behind the mysterious Julián Carax.

On his journey he suffers unrequited love, pain and misery, as he begins to grow up and see the world in a different light. From the loss of his best friend, who begins to hate him; the love of Bea, of Clara, the discovery of passion and of lust, Daniel in a sense becomes out of his depths. He finds hope and inspiration in a beggar he finds on the streets; a beggar that becomes an acquaintance, a friend, and who has his own story to tell.

Yet it is not just he that searches endlessly for the truth surrounding Carax. A mysterious, dark figure stalks the shadows, questioning book-stores and collectors alike for information on Julián’s novels. He seeks them not to read, but to destroy; he longs to burn and eradicate the stories of Carax forever, and it is unclear why. The past holds the answers to all, and for all the efforts of some, it struggles to remain buried.

Those that were once friends, now turned evil; death, destruction and murder litters the streets. Daniel is in more danger than he could possibly ever know; for every person that works with him, another more sinister conspires against. And yet it is a connection that can’t be broken; Daniel must search onwards. Will he discover the truth behind the eerie Julián Carax?

In essence, this novel was fantastic; a wonderfully written plot integrated with brilliant characters that each stood out individually for me. The story is an ambiguous one; unanswered questions lead to sub-plots, which lead to further seemingly endless mysterious that have the readers guessing and wondering throughout. The way Zafón weaves the parallels into the different characters’ journeys is clever, and often I found myself surprised at revelations that I was definitely not expecting.

The observant readers may guess some twists, but it seems that these turns will not stop right until the very last page, and the fast-paced action will carry you to that destination before you even realise the hours have past. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good fast-paced mystery novel that ultimately has you questioning everything, and everyone.

5/5.

Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel García Márquez

Synopsis:

Florentino Ariza has never forgotten his first love. He has waited nearly a lifetime in silence since his beloved Fermina married another man. No woman can replace her in his heart. But now her husband is dead. Finally – after fifty-one years, nine months and four days – Florentino has another chance to declare his eternal passion and win her back. Will love that has survived half a century remain unrequited?

Review

Well, where do I start with what has been such a wonderfully charming read? I picked this once up on whim from the classics section of a bookstore a couple of months back now, and I certainly haven’t been disappointed. It seemed like from the onset something special and poignant was in store, when I discovered that I was to start this novel in the shadows thrown up by candlelight, after my electric had cut out.

From the very first page I was gripped by the imagery thrown up; Márquez writes with such simple but beautiful elegance, and this style continues throughout. For some, the story of a love-stricken man waiting over half a century just to tell his teenage love that his feelings have never changed, could be considered desperate; for others like me, it is a heart-breaking story of love, and I found myself the most sympathetic towards the character of Florentino throughout.

As a young, apprentice telegrapher, immersed in novels and the poetry of love, Florentino Ariza falls hopelessly and irrevocably in love with the haughty teenager Fermina Daza. Although the two barely meet, they manage to continue a passionate correspondence via love-letters and telegrams, until one day, Fermina Daza, realising in a mere heart-stopping moment, that Florentino is more but a ‘shadow than a substance,’ tragically rejects him and eventually marries the wealthy Dr. Juvenal Urbino instead.

Florentino, who has sworn his undying love to Fermina, is, of course, stricken to the core, but Fermina’s marriage is nothing that the young man can’t handle. As one century closes and another begins, Florentino Ariza rises through the ranks of the River Company of the Caribbean and sets off on a series of erotic encounters, both ‘long term liaisons and countless fleeting adventures’, all of which he chronicles. Despite this, his real love is for Fermina Daza, and although many women come and go, he maintains the belief that his destiny is to be with his teenage sweetheart, no matter how long it takes.

Fifty-one years, nine months and four days after Fermina Daza’s wedding, on Pentecoast Sunday, fate intervenes and Fermina becomes a free woman yet again. When he finally gets the opportunity to declare his love once more, the reader holds its breath in anticipation for what she will say. It is in vain, however, as although we have an initial answer, all is not revealed, as the story back-tracks and sends us on the spiralling journey the two have taken to reach the place of that very meeting; we are left waiting another couple of hundred pages before we get some actual finality in our answers. This is a story of monumental proportions: Florentino’s love for Fermina is endless: she is the one he wishes to be with after all this time. Will he get the chance, when old age has crept upon them both, or will he be rebuffed once more and left to suffer with the fact his wait was for nothing?

In essence, this is a novel that tackles the issue of love in all its forms, and although reading it on the surface as a simple story between the two young lovers Florentino and Fermina can be rewarding, to look beyond the realms of surface meaning is where the reader can truly recognise Marquez’s brilliance. Unrequited love, jealous love, angry love, and adulterous love: the author mediates a discussion on all the different forms love can take, in what is such a remarkable and fantastically written novel.

5/5.