Book Review - Crewel

Amazon description:

For generations, Spinsters have been called by Arras’s Manipulation Services to work the looms and determine what people eat, where they live, how many children they have, and even when they die. Gifted with the rare ability to weave time with matter, Adelice is exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But once you become a Spinster, there is no turning back. Now caught in a web of lies and intrigue, Adelice must decide who to trust: her kind mentor, Enora; the handsome and mysterious valet Jost; or the charismatic Guild ambassador Cormac Patton. They each have secrets, but Adelice is about to unravel the deadliest one of all, a sinister truth that could destroy reality as she knows it.

Review:

Crewel gets points for its high concept; I had never read a book like this before, that took the concept of spinning and weaving and turned it into something the entire world of the book was based on. It actually reminded me a little of the movie Wanted, where it’s revealed that the Fraternity did things based on a Loom of Fate that involved weaving. I remember being somewhat confused by the weaving concept in the movie, and it was the same for Crewel.

It took me a little time to sink into the world because I did not immediately grasp the concept of weaving and how it worked. In some ways I feel as though the novel did not quite achieve what it set out to in regards to building a story around the concept of weaving things in and out of existence. However, as the story progressed I started to understand it a little more, so it was not too much of a struggle to read the book through.

What was less appealing to me about the book was the fact that I don’t feel as though a lot happened throughout most of it. There weren’t a lot of twists or revelations, it was more like a gradual unveiling of information, but I was not sure where it was all leading. That said, I realize that the story is more character driven than plot driven, but given the scope and uniqueness of the world, I wish there had been more stakes involved for Adelice. Speaking of Adelice, I have to say that I did not connect with her very strongly; I understood why she had the sort of personality that she had, but I found myself disliking her more than liking her.

There is a love triangle, of course, with boys who could be seen as polar opposites, and I was drawn to one pairing more than the other. Also, while I found Adelice and Jost’s interactions to be cute, I wondered about what reason they really had to like each other. However, Jost is more than just a love interest, he has his own story and agenda, and I think it will be interesting to see where future novels take the story, especially given how it ends.

Overall, I think Crewel was less than I was expecting, I was not blown away by it, but I did not dislike it. It is very unique, and I would be interested to see how it develops.

Alexa's Review
Shanella's Review
Rachel's Review
 

Crewel gets three out of five.

In which I sign with Etopia Press!

I'm extremely happy to share that my novel Affairs of the Dead has been contracted by Etopia Press!

So how did it come about? Well, I actually have WriteOnCon to thank. When it was going on, I was checking out the forums and posting a little bit, but because I knew it was a YA oriented Con I didn't delve too deeply into it. I knew agents and editors would be lurking and people were encouraged to post their queries and opening words, but there wasn't even a section for Adult so I wasn't going to bother. However, I saw in their "other" section that adult authors were chatting and posting their work, so I thought, why not, even if no agents or editors saw it maybe I'd get some feedback. So up went the query and first 250 for Affairs, and I was happily surprised when I got a message from my now editor Narelle, who introduced herself and asked me to send her the full. I had honestly never pursued small presses before, but being in contact with Narelle and researching Etopia opened my eyes more to small presses, and I think it came at a good time because I was becoming highly discouraged with the agent/query route, as well as the contest route. I was starting to feel like I was running on fumes, and it didn't help that I was starting to hear more and more about how difficult selling an Urban Fantasy was becoming with traditional publishing.

So off went the full manuscript, and then came the waiting game, always my least favorite part. Anyway, about a month later I got an email with the offer, and I was only too happy to accept. So now Affairs and I will be in the editing trenches, and I am very much looking forward to sending it out into the world sometime next year. It will first be released as an E-book, then print. Excitement!

Watch this space for more updates!

Raven Boys - Book Club Discussion

The Raven Boys is out, and Shanella, Alexa, and I had a little BEA Book Club discussion about it: (Warning, our Q&A is a little spoilery)

Did you wish the story focused more on Blue and her "curse"?

Shanella: I didn't really miss Blue when she wasn't in the story. I know that the synopsis set it up with her as the main attraction, even the beginning seemed to center around her, but I found Gansey's feverish quest a bit more interesting than Blue's cursed romantic life.

AJ: I think if the book had focused more on Blue it would have satisfied my expectations, but it would not have been the unique book that it was, because I think there are a lot of books out there that focus on the romantic dilemma between the main characters. Once Gansey's quest started to unfold I was completely caught up in it and I think it was a good thing that the book didn't just focus on Blue and Gansey.

Alexa: To me, the curse was a convenient way to throw Blue into the path of the raven boys. I'm being pretty blunt about it, but I think it's the truth. The story would have come off completely different if Blue was the main focus, and not just another element of the story. It's fascinating that she has to deal with that curse, of course, and I'm curious as to what the curse will mean, but I'm actually okay with it not being the major focus of the story.

What did you think about the romantic set up? Do you feel there was enough set up for Gansey and Blue?

Shanella: I was wondering why Adam was even added to this mix! I mean, it's a bit obvious - from the book itself - that Gansey is Blue's true love and though the little romance between Blue and Adam was cute, I kept wondering what it's grander purpose would be. I hope it's not to have a love triangle where Blue and Gansey would be angst ridden because they are falling in love and they don't want to hurt Adam; that would be too cheap!

AJ: I was also wondering why the book focused more on Adam and Blue and it made me wonder if I was wrong in assuming Gansey was the romantic lead. But of course we all know it's ultimately going to be Gansey and Blue, and I wish there was a little more set up for them for the next book, and I'm interested to see how far Adam and Blue go.

Alexa: I feel like Maggie was hinting towards a love triangle, what with her mention of Adam and Blue as...well, something. It was weird to me, actually, to read it (Adam and Blue), knowing in my brain that there was supposed to be Blue and Gansey! I was actually hoping there'd be more set up for them, since at the moment they appear to just tolerate each other...

For more questions and answers head over to Shanella and Alexa's sites!

Shanella asks: Is there some part of the story that you wished there was more of?

Alexa asks: Which Raven boy did you feel like you could relate to the most and why?

ARC Review - The Raven Boys

 Release date: 09/18/12

Description (From Amazon):

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Review:

Raven Boys did not turn out to be exactly what I expected, but I am not saying this in a bad way. From the book description I had the expectation that the book would follow Blue as she met Gansey and tried to resist kissing him because of the premonition that she would kill her true love. However, it wasn’t long before I realized that even though Blue has importance in the novel, the story was mainly about the Raven Boys and their quest, which also didn’t turn out to be anything I was expecting but I found to be quite intriguing.

After reading Stiefvater’s Shiver trilogy, I realized that one of the things I enjoy about her novels is the way she is able to meld supernatural elements into an extremely realistic world setting so I am left feeling completely grounded in a world that is just like the one I live in, yet different because there is magic or werewolves or ghosts involved. Normally, fantasy books don’t make me feel this way, but Stiefvater is able to so seamlessly blend fantasy with reality that I am both in awe of it and sometimes thrown off by it. Sometimes I felt as though the character’s reactions should have been more somehow, more disbelief before accepting a supernatural element they didn’t know before, but I realize that’s not necessarily what Stiefvater is after with her novels. She wants these things to be so absolutely normal and accepted by her characters.

Blue and the Raven Boys find themselves on an adventure at which Gansey is at the helm. He is chasing something with an almost feverish passion, and his friends, as different as they are, are invested in it with him, and each bring something different to the table. In a novel with switching perspectives, Stiefvater doesn’t disappoint with writing interesting characters with their own complexities. It’s not easy to develop five characters within the space of one novel, but Stiefvater is able to do that. There is character building and depth as the story moves along, and the relationships that build between the characters doesn’t feel rushed.

I will say that I wished there had been more involving Blue and her “curse.” The romance aspect, in my opinion, is very light, but of course this is a book that will have sequels, and I can see how book one started to set things in place. Despite the lack of romance, the book was engrossing enough for me to not be too disappointed. I enjoyed Blue’s interaction with the boys but also with her family, which is a family of real psychics who each have their particular quirks. It made me feel like this was a house I could walk into and find these women.

Overall, I enjoyed the Raven Boys a lot, it’s a book I thought about after I was finished because the way the story unfolds and the actual plot of the novel is one I’ve never read before, and I am left wondering where it will go from here. I am definitely looking forward to continuing the series.

The Raven Boys gets four out of five stars.

Shanella's Review
Alexa's Review

GUTGAA Meet and Greet

Hello! I'm excited to be part of Deana's GUTGAA Blogfest for the second year. I'm excited to meet everyone and I look forward to having fun. So here are my answers to the meet and greet questions: 
 

-Where do you write? Primarily on my couch in the living room with my feet up on the coffee table. Sometimes the television is on, but I have been known to find the strength to take it off.

-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see? My pretty living room curtains.

-Favorite time to write? When I first started writing books I only wrote at night because I felt it best suited the mood of my books (oh angsty, teenage me), which were dark and full of vampires and whatnot. Nowadays I can write at any time of day. As soon as I wake up, I can sit down and write all day. I also tend to write into the wee hours of the morning, which messes up my sleeping pattern, but the story has to be written right?

-Drink of choice while writing? Nothing really exciting here, I have a bottle of water with me all the time.

-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence? I don't usually listen to music, but I don't need complete silence either. I actually don't like complete silence in general, so if I haven't turned the T.V. off I'm usually writing to whatever it's showing.

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it? For my latest MS, Affairs of the Dead, I remember having a random thought about "helping the dead"; I thought about ghosts sticking around because they had unfinished business, and the main character being one of those whose job it was to help them. It wasn't until someone mentioned it that I realized the idea was similar to the T.V. show Ghost Whisperer, but what Affairs grew into made me feel secure about it standing apart since it encompasses a lot of other unique elements.

-What's your most valuable writing tip? Make sure your story has a solid structure. It's one thing to have a fabulous idea, but it won't work well if you don't have a strong plot to center it around. For example, if your MC is a cursed vampire who will die if she drinks blood, that's great, but what is the story that revolves around the cursed MC? I think if you can pinpoint the beginning, middle, and end of your novel, you'll be in a good place. After I finish a book I always like to sit back and see if I can identify the climax of my novel because it's usually the pivotal point where something major happens that drives the story to it's conclusion.


(Other than blogging here, I can be found on Twitter, and on my other blog Requiem Words)

ARC Review - Carnival of Souls

Release date: September 4, 2012

Carnival of Souls straddles two worlds, and follows several characters throughout the story. Mallory lives in the human world, was raised by her mother (who eventually left), and witch stepfather, who is overly protective and teaches her how to fight to protect herself from daimons, who Mallory was raised to believe are evil. In the other world, The City, Kaleb and Aya are daimons who are taking part in a fighting competition where the winner will have a chance to move up to a higher class and a better life. Kaleb and Aya are each fighting for their own reasons.

I enjoyed Carnival of Souls; I’ve never been the biggest fan of books that switch narratives, but Melissa Marr had already made me a fan with her Wicked Lovely series. The thing I need the most is to care enough about each character to want to read from their perspective, and Carnival of Souls definitely drew me in. I was especially drawn in by life in The City, the class systems, the different kinds of daimons, as well as the fighting match. You might say it has a little Hunger Games in terms of the competition where it’s basically kill your opponent or have them surrender so you can move on, but it’s distinct enough to stand on its own without comparison to Hunger Games or even Throne of Glass, which was a recent read that involved a fighting competition.

What was most interesting was learning what Kaleb and Aya were after, what they were willing to do to gain it, and how their stories eventually came to intertwine. While I did find The City a very interesting place to be, I was a little confused sometimes by the distinction between the class systems and trying to figure out if overall it was a relatively happy place to live or if it was oppressive. Also, I couldn’t quite figure out if The City’s ruler, Marchiosas, was good, bad, or something in between, but I’m leaning towards the latter. I also wish Marr had given a little more description in terms of what her creatures look like, because when I read a name for a type of creature I had to figure out of it looked human like or creature like. However, this wasn’t an issue that necessarily threw me out of the novel.

Initially I thought the story would mostly follow Mallory, but I think the focus was more on the characters from The City. Mallory has a lot to come to terms with regarding her father and certain things she finds out about how he’s chosen to protect her, but she does meet and interact with Kaleb, who can travel between the worlds. However, Mallory is unaware that his is a daimon. There is no love triangle (refreshing), and Kaleb and Mallory have an instant attraction, which is especially strong on Kaleb’s part because he recognizes that Mallory is not exactly human and has a stronger connection to him than she knows. I will say that when Kaleb’s intense feelings come out I found it a little unbelievable because Mallory and Kaleb still only barely knew each other, but I think Mallory’s reaction to his intenseness was believable, so there is a balance there. There is also a romantic angle between Aya and her ex-fiancé Belias, who have a very complicated relationship.

There were times where I wished Mallory would hurry up and learn the truths she was supposed to learn; I kept feeling like that’s what the story was driving towards only to come up short, but since this is a book one, I know things will progress in the sequel. The interweaving storylines and relationships between the characters was very interesting, and I look forward to continuing the series.

Carnival of Souls get 3.5 out of five.

New Blog - Requiem Words

I recently created a new blog after thinking it'd be nice to have a blog where I could solely post creative writing pieces like poetry, flash fiction, and maybe even excerpts from my books. It would be great if my followers here could check it out and follow along there too: Requiem Words

Also, if you haven't yet, sign up for Deana Barnhart's Gearing Up to Get an Agent Blogfest, it promises to be a lot of fun and will include pitch opportunities with agents and editors. Kicks off in September, go sign up!