Hold In

You say the thoughts that have crossed my head a thousand times before.

I listen to it; bite my tongue down, while my mind screams ‘no more’.

I try to find the words to say, and the strength to say them.

But in all these years the fear’s still there and my mind remains in mayhem.

Watch it burn

Hiss, crackle, smell of smoke,
As matches light and burn.
Hold it before me - no fear or alarm;
Watch the flame flicker and turn.
Oh, to be so bright and strong:
I'll let this be my lesson to learn.

The Kingmaker's Daughter - Philippa Gregory

Wow, really getting behind on reviews. It's been about a month since I've done one, even though I've read several books in that time. Oh well, better get started on the catch-up.
Actually read this way before Iron Knight but completely forgot to do a review, so here it goes.

This is the latest addition to Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War series, set during the War of the Roses. The other three books have been from the points of view of: Elizabeth Woodville, Henry VIII's maternal grandmother; Margaret Beaufort, his paternal grandmother and Jacquetta Woodville, his maternal great-grandmother. This new book is about Anne Neville, the daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, aka the Kingmaker. It documents her life from the age of eight, to her death twenty years later.
With all of these books it's really amazing how Gregory keeps switching points of view in the same time-frame. Three of the four novels of this series happen at the same time, but shown from the points of view of three very different women, seeing three completely different things. I loved Elizabeth Woodville's point of view in The White Queen and sympathised with her very much, but this book convincingly paints her as a terrifying figure, cold and distant, and it's obvious why. These books show how vastly different perspectives can be, simply by people growing up in different ways and being told different things from birth.
The storyline itself is, of course, historical, so I can't exactly comment on the originality or believability of the plot, but it's certainly very engaging and you definitely want to keep reading.

Anne's voice throughout struck me very much as being that of a child. She clung to her fears and relied a lot on others. She certainly wasn't a brave or assertive character but clearly someone who wanted more out of life but had not the means to achieve it. She did succeed, but with the help of many others.

Overall it is - as with all of Philippa Gregory's books - wonderfully written and creates such a rich image of historical events. I'll be waiting for the next in the series.

The Iron Legends - Julie Kagawa

And the final book in the Iron Fey series (at least until Lost Prince comes out for the new series). This book contains the three novellas; Winter's Passage, Summer's Crossing and Iron's Prophecy, as well as an extended guide to the Nevernever. I hadn't a chance to read the e-novella versions of the first two and the third was new, so I was naturally very excited.

The first novella had a tantalising description - a near-death experience for Ash and plenty of danger. However, the actually story, while there was an element of being hunted and a rather brutal fight, it never quite got to the stakes expected. Not bad but not as much drama as I'd hoped.
The second novella, however, lived up to its promise of humour (being narrated by Puck) and managed to add in a slightly darker element of betrayal too. You can sense more of the layers there are to Puck and how he hides or represses his feelings sometimes. A very amusing and interesting read and I'm hoping Julie Kagawa will conjour us up another story from the famous trickster.
The final novella was the one I was most looking forward to: a hint of what might come in the next series, plus the final say on Meghan and Ash's story. Thankfully, I enjoyed as much as I'd hoped. You get to see Meghan and Ash's relationship now that they know it's forever, Meghan's newfound power and confidence (take that Mab!) and you get the old team of Meghan, Ash, Puck and Grim back together - albeit briefly. It was pretty obvious that this novella did a bit of setting up for the new series, and therefore left lots of unanswered questions that I'm already desperate for the answers to, but it still made a good little story all by itself. A good end for the lovebirds and the Old Team.
I haven't really had the chance to peruse the final section - a guide to the Nevernever - properly, only really skimming so far. But I can say that there is a lot more detail than the guide included in previous Iron Fey novels and I'll be sure to read and absorb its advice at a later date.
For the book as a whole, I'd say it's a must-buy for fans of the series. A way to close off the first series and make way for the new one. (Plus another pretty addition the the bookshelf)

The Iron Knight - Julie Kagawa



Another Julie Kagawa novel, this time from her much-loved Iron Fey series. I've spent the last eighteen months finding and reading the other three books in the series, and waited with bated breath for the end of the story.

I'd read a mixture of reviews during the wait for this: some loved it, others hated Ash's voice and some thought it was very predictable. I'd agree with the first and last of those opinions. No, it wasn't exactly an unexpected story, but it a way you didn't want it to be. You always know that Meghan and Ash are going to end up together somehow, this book is just the explanation of how.

As always, Julie Kagawa is a gripping storyteller who paints very vivid pictures of the world that she has created. This time around we get to see some new places in the Nevernever that are even more weird and wonderful than the ones you've aready grown to know.

As for Ash, while he isn't exactly the most animated of narrators, it was good to get inside his head as he was always acts so calm and collected - it's good to know he has doubts and worries of his own. Plus it turns out he finds some things funnier than he shows. I also liked getting a bit more information about his past, the good and the bad, and how his vows and contracts actually affect him and his actions.

Puck and Grim were exactly the characters I already knew from the first three books, from Puck's habit of pushing buttons to Grim's instinct for danger. It was nice to have these familiar aspects while having to adjust to someone else's point of view. The new characters that we met didn't add enough interest as they should have done, though. One you thought was going to be vicious and a tricky ally for Ash to have but he ended up almost being another Grimalkin, just with more of a noble streak and not inclined to run away from danger. The other, while and unexpected and interesting addition, was very predictable, once you got used to the idea of them being there: you knew the entire time what was going to happen at the end.

Overall, a fitting end to the Meghan/Ash love story, just with a few niggles and not very much mystery to it. I liked it but other certainly wouldn't.

Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas



Another new author, but this time with a very different premise.
This books, as the cover says, is about an assassin and sounded pretty darn cool. From the blurb I expected it to be a Hunger Games-like scenario: a fight to the death between a number of trained criminals. I was very wrong. There were indeed some aspects that matched to HG, but there were a lot more where it differed.
I'll start off with the characters. The main character, Celaena, started off as expected: a very cool and collected personality, hardened over time through experiences and training. I liked her almost from the off for her sardonic attitude and defiance, and also for how she spent most of the first few chapters contemplating how she would kill most off the people around her (fortunately never seriously). She always seemed to know exactly what she was capable of without being overconfident. Her narrative didn't grate on me as Katniss' did in HG and - surprisingly for an cold-hearted killer - was very relatable. Once her hard shell started melting a bit she became quite a fun person and surprisingly girly at times. Some may consider her a bit too Mary Sue, but I liked her. The other characters as well were very well done. None of them felt flat to me and they were all completely individual: Chaol, stoic yet a very warm person underneath; Dorian, flirty and dashing but with a determination of his own; Nehemia, determined, opinionated but guarded and many others.
The plot, in my opinion, moved a little too slowly compared to the excitement promised in the blurb. It wasn't a boring pace per se, but when you go into the book expecting action and blood and gore it's a bit of a downer. There were plenty of moments of excitement and there was always an air of mystery about it, but these were interspersed with periods of calm that made it hard to pick up the pace again when the time came. There was a touch of romance in there but it wasn't exactly the focus of the story, it came across as slightly superficial but I think that was the aim; to show the difference between it and a much more real love story that I could sense brewing.
The end of the story left me wanting more and with plenty of unanswered questions. I can't find word of a sequel anywhere but it definitely feels like there is more to tell. Perhaps more is explained in the accomanying e-novellas.
Overall a good read but don't go into it expected wall-to-wall action. Can't fault the writing in any way.

The Immortal Rules - Julie Kagawa

This book and Insatiable are reinstating my faith in vampire books!
I'd already been introduced to Julie Kagawa through her Iron Fey series (which I will be reviewing two of very soon) and count her as one of my favourite YA authors. However, I had no idea what to expect with this book as I'd seen some mixed reviews by the time I finally found it in my local books shop (though I still squeeed when I managed to snatch up the only copy).
The first few chapters you start off with the main characters still human, though you know she's going to get turned very soon, and you have a little time to get to know her and the life she's led. It was a bit depressing knowing what was going to happen, but it helped me to understand her decision a bit more.
Then, of course, came the inevitable turning to vampirism. In all honesty, I completely understood her decision and I may have even made the same one in her position, much as I may hate myself for it afterwards. Then came the learning about vampires, getting the backstory and a few hints of what's to come but not too many. And then the struggles of being a bloodsucker alone, the love interest and the reactions of the humans to what she is (because they were always going to find out eventually) and much more. Definitely a lot happens in this book and Julie Kagawa's brilliant descriptions kept me right there in the middle of it. The introduction of the love interest was, perhaps, a bit obvious but it is in most books.
It's also much grittier than the Iron Fey series and there is a lot more blood and gore (then again, what can you expect from a vampire book) and, unlike in Iron Fey, there were plenty of deaths of well-loved or undeserving characters. Even when you think the group is safe something comes along and rips one of them apart. And it shows plenty that being a vampire isn't an easy road to take: Allison is constantly having to struggle against her monster nature not to bite someone, while at the same time she knows she'll become a crazed monster if she holds off.
Then there's the action, and plenty of it; keeping up the excitement and sense of danger and letting Allie be as kick-ass as she wants to be. You definitely see the animal side of her come out when she's fighting. There's also scene with a stake that shows that the author is by no means unwilling to torture the characters when needed.
And finally... NO INSTA-LOVE. You know they definitely like each other and it's clearly confusing for them both, but it's slowish in building and it definitely isn't a boy-gets-girl happy ending.

A very different read to the Iron Fey but that's definitely not a bad thing. Utterly enthralling and I eagerly await the next one.