Book Review: Star Wars: Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston!

Star Wars: Ahsoka
Author: E.K. Johnston
Publication Date: October 11,2016
Published: Disney/Lucasfilm Press

My Rating:

Fans have long wondered what happened to Ahsoka after she left the Jedi Order near the end of the Clone Wars and before she reappeared as the mysterious Rebel operative Fulcrum in Rebels. Finally her story will begin to be told.
Following her experiences with the Jedi and the devastation of Order 66, Ahsoka is unsure she can be part of a larger whole ever again. But her desire to fight the evils of the Empire and protect those who need it will lead her right to Bail Organa - and the Rebel Alliance.

Ahsoka is a well written YA novel that gives us some insight into the missing pieces of Ahsoka's life between the end of The Clone Wars series and her appearance on Rebels.

Book Review: The Untamed by Sebastian A. Jones!

The Untamed: A Sinner's Prayer (Graphic Novel)
Author:  Sebastian A. Jones, Andrew Cosby (Foreword), Peter Bergting (Illustrator), Darrell May (Illustrator)
Publication Date: October 26, 2014
Published: Stranger Comics

My Rating:

I was given a second chance in death.
Vengeance was offered and I was quick to accept."

A cloaked Stranger slips into the rustic Town of Oasis changing things forever. Ten years it had been since he ran this town with malice and harshness. Even then there was hope for his soul. His wife and daughter were on the verge of turning him from wickedness. But they were murdered, and so was he. He is granted seven days to reap seven souls and gain a chance at revenge. Conflict arises as a young girl (Niobe Ayutami) reminds him of his murdered daughter. She acts as his conscience and become his only hope for salvation.

The Untamed: A Sinner's Prayer is set in the dark fantasy world of Asunda. Asunda was created by Stranger Comics founder and president Sebastian A. Jones over a 20 year period. A true labor of love, Asunda is unlike any other fantasy setting in existence. Developed in coordination with Stranger’s art director, anthropologist Darrell May, Asunda features an honest and oftentimes beautifully violent and savage approach to the medieval sword and sorcery genre, one where the world is exactly that... an entire world, filled with a variety of races which have evolved to suit their environment, not a decades old preconception of what elves and dwarves should be or how they should appear. If you like your fantasy with a touch of Sergio Leone, The Untamed is for you. If you think Clint Eastwood, Toshiro Mifune, or Richard Roundtree would have made bad ass elves, The Untamed is for you. If you want to see a wicked man return from the dead to choose between revenge and redemption... then The Untamed is definitely for you.

I bought this graphic novel at New York Comic Con 2015.

There was also a deal going on where if you bought The Untamed you could get the prequel, Niobe #1 Convention Exclusive, for $10 more. By the time I went they sold out of that exclusive, but there was a signing going on with artist Ashley A. Woods and author Amandla Stenberg. (Amandla played Rue in The Hunger Games and also played Macey Irving on Sleepy Hollow. She is the co-author with Sebastian Jones of the comic book Niobe: She is Life)

Book Review: The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi!

The Icarus Girl
Author: Helen Oyeyemi
Publication Date: April 11, 2006
Published: Anchor

My Rating: 

Jessamy "Jess" Harrison is eight years old. Sensitive, whimsical, possessed of an extraordinary and powerful imagination, she spends hours writing haiku, reading Shakespeare, or simply hiding in the dark warmth of the airing cupboard. As the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother, Jess just can't shake off the feeling of being alone wherever she goes, and the other kids in her class are wary of her tendency to succumb to terrified fits of screaming. Believing that a change from her English environment might be the perfect antidote to Jess's alarming mood swings, her parents whisk her off to Nigeria for the first time where she meets her mother's family--including her formidable grandfather.

Jess's adjustment to Nigeria is only beginning when she encounters Titiola, or TillyTilly, a ragged little girl her own age. To Jess, it seems that, at last, she has found someone who will understand her. But gradually, TillyTilly's visits become more disturbing, making Jess start to realize that she doesn't know who TillyTilly is at all.
Helen Oyeyemi draws on Nigerian mythology to present a strikingly original variation on a classic literary theme: the existence of "doubles," both real and spiritual, who play havoc with our perceptions and our lives. Lyrical, haunting, and compelling, "The Icarus Girl" is a story of twins and ghosts, of a little girl growing up between cultures and colors. It heralds the arrival of a remarkable new talent.

I am going to start at the beginning to make this easier. I bought this novel (and it is signed by the author) 11 years ago. I still have the receipt in the book from Housing Works. I bought it August 11, 2005.

It has been on my to-be-read piles all this time (along with other books I've had for years.)

Book Review: Alight by Scott Sigler! (@scottsigler)

Alight (The Generations Trilogy #2) 
Author: Scott Sigler
Publication Date: April 5, 2016
Published: Del Rey

My Rating:

If it’s war they want, they messed with the wrong girl.”
M. Savage—or Em, as she is called—has made a bewildering and ominous discovery. She and the other young people she was chosen to lead awoke in strange coffins with no memory of their names or their pasts. They faced an empty, unknown place of twisting tunnels and human bones. With only one another to depend on, they searched for answers and found the truth about their terrifying fate. Confronted by a monstrous enemy, they vowed never to surrender—and, by any means, to survive.
The planet Omeyocan may be the sanctuary Em and her comrades seek. But the planet for which they were created turns out not to be a pristine, virgin world. Vestiges of a lost civilization testify to a horrifying past that may yet repeat itself. And when a new enemy creeps from the jungle shadows, Em and her young refugees learn there’s nowhere left to run. They face a simple choice: fight or die.
In the midst of this desperate struggle, their unity is compromised from within—and a dangerous zealot devoted to a bloodthirsty god moves to usurp Em’s command, threatening to lead them all down a path to violent doom.

I mention major spoilers in my review.

Usually the second book of a trilogy is so-so, but I enjoyed Alight.

Throwback Thursday! Stephanie and NYCC 2016! (Part 1)

October 6:

Thursday my sister, Victoria, and I got to the Javits Center around noon.

We didn't go to any of the panels we possibly wanted to see. Some were at Book Con @ NYCC a block away: A World Unlike Any Other: The Importance of Setting in Fantasy and Sci-Fi and Villain Squad: Villains and Anti-Heroes in Literature.

Instead we went around the Javits looking at Artist's Alley and picking up free books in the Exhibit Hall.

Thursday's haul.
The Star Wars book is just excerpts from Star Wars and Del Rey novels.
Wolf's Mate (Wind Dragons MC #5) by Chantal Fernando (I didn't know it was part of a series. I just grabbed it).
Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1) by Vic James - ARC
Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves - ARC
Nemesis by Brendan Reichs - ARC
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - ARC - signed

At First In Line I showed them the email I received in exchange for the Blood Rose Rebellion. I got very excited when I read the jacket because I have a friend from Hungary named Noémi (No-amy). I messaged her about the book and asked if her name is popular in Hungary.

She said:
"It's not a very common name, actually. It was a writer who came up with it in 1872. In that book the main guy is an aristocrat and he goes on his boat and discovers an island where only a mom and the daughter lives. He falls in love with the daughter, whose name is noèmi. It means beautiful. So then he starts going back and forth between his real life and the mysterious island with his beautiful lover. And writers like to use the name in their books ever since."

While passing by Her Universe and checking out the Marvel apparel I saw Ashley Eckstein. I am glad I got to see her and speak with her because the next day the Ahsoka book signing was a bit of a disappointment. More on that below.

I told Ashley how excited I was to hear her narrate the audiobook and just how perfect it was that she did so. She was humble and nervous about her performance and hopes the fans like it. I told her she is a pro and have a feeling it will be good.

We spoke about the differences between acting out Ahsoka's lines for The Clone Wars series and reading an audiobook.

She said that for the series you feel the emotion and can ad-lib the lines a bit but for an audiobook every word must be correct. Victoria and I assured her we have read along with some audiobooks and we caught some mistakes. So she shouldn't fret if it is not perfect.

Besides reading the text as correct as possible, there is also expressing the different emotions and doing different voices for the other characters.

I told her that at past Comic-Cons (they didn't do it this year) that the Penguin Booth has had a recording booth for people to read excerpts from Star Wars novels and I have tried it. It is really difficult and I give narrators so much credit.

I finished Ahsoka and I likeed. Ashley did a good job and I like the added sound effects and classic Star Wars score they have added.

While checking out the Del Rey-Penguin Random House booth I saw editor Mike Braff. Mike is the editor of the Red Rising trilogy. I was wearing a new Red Rising shirt. I ordered a Howler t-shirt from etsy and it came with extra decals: the symbol for House Mars, the sigil for Reds, and a scythe. I bought a black t-shirt and placed the House Mars wolf on the center front, and the Reds sigil and scythe on each sleeve.

So when I saw Mike I walked up to him and pointed at my shirt. I asked about Pierce and Sons of Ares (I had hoped they'd be there to collect some pins).

He said Pierce wanted to come, but Mike told him no. He has to write. Mike had just read the first 250 pages of Iron Gold and mimicked locking his lips about it but expressed it's awesome. But he sent notes to Pierce and now he must look over those notes while writing the next 250 pages.

And since the Sons of Ares is run by Pierce's sister, they were not there.

I said I understood and hope to see Pierce at Book Con in May and next year's NYCC. I told him how I bought the prints of the Red Rising maps from the Kickstarter and hope to get them signed.

I also asked for a photo, because why not?

My sister and I also asked what else he edits:
The Dire Earth Cycle and Zero World by Jason M. Hough
The Clash of Eagles Trilogy by Alan Smale
Sleeping Giants and Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel
The Devourers by Indra Das

Mike also told us about the scheduled signings at the booth.
Victoria had heard about the The Bear and Nightingale and there was to be a signing that afternoon at 4pm. So we decided we'd skip the NaNoWriMo Meetup and go to the signing.

Katherine Arden said that this was her first signing ever and that Victoria was her first. So she signed that in Victoria's book! And I am the second. She's really cute.

Friday, October 7:

The first thing my sister and I did that Friday morning was go to the Disney Booth. I had gotten an email that there would be a signing at 6:00pm with E.K. Johnston (the author) and Ashley Eckstein (the narrator) for the new Ahsoka novel. I wanted to ask if we would need bracelets for the signing. No bracelets required. I was just told by a woman who worked there to be there 15-30 minutes before it started.

Yea right. This is Ashely and Ahsoka we are talking about. I planned to be there no less than an hour before. But when I got there before 5pm I just missed them selling their last copy of Ahsoka and capping the line. They said people had been lined up since about 3 or 4PM, after they heard about the signing at a Star Wars panel that morning.

I was heartbroken. I think the man there felt bad because before someone told him the line was capped he offered to sell me another book for them to sign. But that's not the point. Why would I want them to sign a book they have no involvement with? He also said Ahsoka would be on sale in bookstores on Tuesday. But then it won't be signed and that is the point.

Why didn't the woman that morning tell me to BUY THE BOOK NOW? That that would be my "ticket" to the signing. I also kicked myself for not thinking of it, but honestly, she made it seem like it would be a give away. And let's be honest, Disney can afford to give a few out for free at NYCC.

I got over it and ended up downloading the audiobook instead. I really wanted to hear Ashley narrate it anyway.
After going to the Elementary panel we went to Stories of Imagination: Your Must-Read Book Review from Harper Voyager and Epic Reads

I took some notes of the books that interested me. They would compare it to other stories, so say if you like Gotham and Dead Like Me then you'll like This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1)by Victoria Schwab.

So I have a whole list of books to check out.

When we got there we had to sit in the back. At the end of the panel they gave out Epic Reads tote bags with books inside. Well, they underestimated the attendees and ran out of tote bags. We did get one book.

Friday Book haul:
A Crucible of Souls by Mitchell Hogan
Beheld by Alex Flinn - ARC

Both are from Harper Collins so I can't remember now which was a given at the Epic Reads panel and which was a give away at their booth.

There was also an Epic Reads: Fantasy Frenzy Meetup.
Epic Reads invites readers of all ages to join a round-table where fantasy authors Heidi Heilig (The Girl from Everywhere) and Maria Dahvana Headly (Magonia) will dish about their books and other fantasy favorites. Bring your books and get them signed; it’s an Epic Reads Book Club! Free advance reader copies and fun Epic Reads swag will be up for grabs!

Nothing was said about clearing the room after each meet up group finishes. Vic had been waiting in the room early, and after the Pokémon Meet Up ended the Epic Reads people kicked my sister out of room and made her get on the queue. Again, they ran out of tote bags and books. My sister was pissed off so she didn't stay. Neither did the others who missed out on the swag.

She wishes she fought to stay in the room because another group of girls refused to leave and were not kicked out and they all got books.

We complained the next day to the people at the Harper Collins booth. The girl there just shrugged and said sorry. So we pushed the issue, next time make it damn clear as crystal that you clear those rooms. And get more tote bags. If your room capacity is 100 people, get 120 bags filled with books.

So after that disappoinment with Disney and Epic Reads we went to dinner.

We came back in the evening for the Your Opinion Sucks! – Rotten Tomatoes Critics vs. Fans panel.

They capped the line but my sister and I didn't GAF. We stayed on the queue, as did others, and the capped line because a "no guarantee you'll get in" line. We ended up getting in and standing in the back for a hilarious panel. The Rotten Tomatoes panel is always a good time.

Book Review: The One Man by Andrew Gross! (@the_andrewgross)

The One Man
Author: Andrew Gross
Publication Date: August 23, 2016
Published: Minotaur Books

My Rating: 

1944. Physics professor Alfred Mendl is separated from his family and sent to the men’s camp, where all of his belongings are tossed on a roaring fire. His books, his papers, his life’s work. The Nazis have no idea what they have just destroyed. And without that physical record, Alfred is one of only two people in the world with his particular knowledge. Knowledge that could start a war, or end it.
Nathan Blum works behind a desk at an intelligence office in Washington, DC, but he longs to contribute to the war effort in a more meaningful way, and he has a particular skill set the U.S. suddenly needs. Nathan is fluent in German and Polish, he is Semitic looking, and he proved his scrappiness at a young age when he escaped from the Polish ghetto. Now, the government wants him to take on the most dangerous assignment of his life: Nathan must sneak into Auschwitz, on a mission to find and escape with one man.

The One Man, a historical thriller from New York Times bestseller Andrew Gross, is a deeply affecting, unputdownable series of twists and turns through a landscape at times horrifyingly familiar but still completely compelling.

This novel is near to perfection. The characters were well developed and their emotions are expressed in an intense and compelling way. I certainly felt their grief, fear, guilt, and hope too. By the end I was a crying, and on public transportation.

Book Review: Rappacini's Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne!

Rappacini's Daughter
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Publication Date: First published 1844

My Rating:

Part fairy tale, part Gothic horror story, "Rappaccini’s Daughter" is an inspired tale of creation and control. Giovanni Guasconti, a student at the University of Padua, is enchanted to discover a nearby garden of the most exquisite beauty. In it abides a young woman, perhaps the most beautiful Giovanni has ever seen; yet as he looks out from an upstairs window, he soon learns that the garden--and the matchless Beatrice--are not the work of Mother Nature but rather the result of a monstrous abomination of creativity.

“Does this garden belong to the house?” asked Giovanni. “Heaven forbid, signor, unless it were fruitful of better pot herbs than any that grow there now,” answered old Lisabetta. “No; that garden is cultivated by the own hands of Signor Giacomo Rappaccini, the famous doctor, who, I warrant him, has been heard of as far as Naples.” (Rappaccini's Daughter)
"Rappaccini's Daughter" is the story of Beatrice, the daughter of Giacomo Rappaccini, who is in turn a medical researcher in medieval Padua and grows a garden of poisonous plants.
American novelist and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne’s (1804–1864) writing centers on New England, many works featuring moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. Hawthorne has also written a few poems which many people are not aware of. His works are considered to be part of the Romantic movement and, more specifically, Dark romanticism. His themes often centre on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity.

My sister suggested this short story to me. She's a huge Fleetwood Mac fan. I love Fleetwood Mac too, I feel they're one of the greatest bands ever.

My sister is a die hard fan. She has the demos of their songs and knows the inspiration for them. She read a book about the making of Rumors written by one of its producers. She knows her stuff.

Book Review: The Secret Ways of Perfume by Cristina Caboni! (@cristinecaboni)

The Secret Ways of Perfume
Author: Cristina Caboni
Publication Date: August 11, 2016
Published: Transworld Digital
Source: First to Read

My Rating:

From Florence to Paris, a scent like no other can take you unexpected places . . .
Ten-year-old Elena lives in Florence with her cold and distant perfumier grandmother. Only when enveloped in aromas does Elena feel at home, and she has nurtured a unique gift: the ability to decipher the ingredients of a perfume, and experience the feelings it evokes.
Years later, Elena’s talent leads her to the cobbled streets of Paris. There she rediscovers an old, secret family perfume recipe that no other perfumier has been able to replicate.
As Elena begins to open her heart to new adventures she meets a man who is guarding his own secrets. From France’s sun-drenched lavender fields to the ancient heart of Italy, together they will follow a path of secret scents, distant memories and new hopes . . .

I received an ARC from Penguin's First to Read.

I like both of those covers. The one with the Eiffel Tower is the Hardcover edition and the woman in the field is the Kindle edition.

The story was a bit clichéd and formulaic (ha - a pun), but I still enjoyed it very much. Some parts were repetitive and dragged, but overall I liked the characters and the journeys they went on.

I was invested in the mystery about Elena's ancestor, Beatrice, and her lost Perfect Perfume, and how it affected generations of the Rossini women. The outcome was plausible and satisfying.

There were a few things I nitpicked about. I would have liked Elena and her mother to reconcile sooner so that the epilogue could have taken place a few years into the future. But I have my own head cannon for that.

The descriptions about the perfumes themselves were divine and delightful. I would usually read while commuting and I swear I could smell people's perfumes more acutely than usual because of the beautiful prose. It made me want to have my own personalized perfume. There was even one part of the story that took place in a bakery, and I swear I could smell pastries.

4 out 5 Perfect Perfumes.

Book Review: Land of Enchantment by Leigh Stein! (@rhymeswithbee)

Land of Enchantment
Author: Leigh Stein
Publication Date: August 2, 2016
Published: Plume
Source: First to Read

My Rating:

Set against the stark and surreal landscape of New Mexico, Land of Enchantment is a coming-of-age memoir about young love, obsession, and loss, and how a person can imprint a place in your mind forever.

When Leigh Stein received a call from an unknown number in July 2011, she let it go to voice mail, assuming it would be her ex-boyfriend Jason. Instead, the call was from his brother: Jason had been killed in a motorcycle accident. He was twenty-three years old. She had seen him alive just a few weeks earlier.

Leigh first met Jason at an audition for a tragic play. He was nineteen and troubled and intensely magnetic, a dead ringer for James Dean. Leigh was twenty-two and living at home with her parents, trying to figure out what to do with her young adult life. Within months, they had fallen in love and moved to New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, a place neither of them had ever been. But what was supposed to be a romantic adventure quickly turned sinister, as Jason's behavior went from playful and spontaneous to controlling and erratic, eventually escalating to violence. Now New Mexico was marked by isolation and the anxiety of how to leave a man she both loved and feared. Even once Leigh moved on to New York, throwing herself into her work, Jason and their time together haunted her.

I received this ARC from First to Read.

Ok I am going to be honest. When I started reading I had forgotten what it was about and that it was a memoir. It doesn't read like a memoir, but more like a novel.