Reviews by Vanessa

Christine is a princess of the magical world of Chrysanthe, but at the age of four was kidnapped and taken where she couldn’t be found. With no real memory of her former life, she’s dismayed at the appearance of Quentin, a knight of Chrysanthe come to take her home. Should she trust this man with a familiar voice? Because her “guardian” will not let her go easily…

The prose in CHRYSANTHE (Amazon) has a lyrical quality with some lovely imagery, and Yves Meynard clearly wanted to write the best he knows how. Every word, sentence, and image is carefully crafted.  He creates setting elements with imagination, taking old cliches and breathing new life into them. Meynard is very precise in the forward movement of plot and storytelling, placing foreshadowing with subtlety.

Unfortunately, he could have chosen a more interesting story to tell.
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The people who claim Gallantrybanks as their capitol don’t have American Idol. They don’t have rock stars. Sure there are the rich and famous, but the rich are the nobility. The American Idol of Gallantrybanks are the Trials, and their equivalent of famous rock stars are what they call tregadors.

The tregadors are troupes of four men who work together to create plays using magic–and not with simply images, but with smells, sounds, and whatever else is necessary to draw in the audience. If a young man is lucky enough to have the skill and the group, he can become famous and rich.
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LIGHTBRINGER (Amazon) is newcomer K.D. McEntire’s first novel in a new YA series. It starts off with Wendy’s twelfth birthday, and a terrible car accident that awakens her inherited latent ability–she’s a reaper, and can help lost souls to leave limbo and find the Light. But she came into her powers too early, and learning the nuances of guiding the dead has come with a price.

By the time she reaches high school she’s already reaped a thousand souls under her mother’s strict tutelage. But during the summer mom was in an accident and lays comatose at the hospital while Wendy struggles with helping her dad with two younger siblings, a secret but increasing reaper load due to her mother’s absence, and as a result her grades are slipping. Poor girl has no time just to be a regular teenager.
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I think Steve was giggling maniacally to himself as he added this book to my review stack. He probably took one look at the cover and assumed it would be bad. Go ahead, take a look at it again. You might make that assumption, as well. And would you be wrong?

OK, who am I kidding… yeah, Steve’s unerring taste runs true, even without having read it. Unfortunately I did have to read it.
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Talyn the Dark, one of the immortal Vaerli (aka Breaker of Oaths), hunts the enemies of Caisah of Conhaero, Master of Chaos. As his Hunter, she rides her nykur on the Road or the Void itself to fulfill the bounty on Manesto, Ahouri, and Portree alike, to return them dead or alive to the city of Vnae Rae (aka Perlious and Fair). At the same time Talyn works to undo the Harrowing (aka the Great Conflagration) and fulfill her people’s oaths with the Kindred.

Oy vey.
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Over a year ago when Jayné Heller’s uncle died, he left her as his heir. Little did she know at the time that she’d be inheriting the equivalent of a small nation in money and property. Then she spent the next year learning what Uncle Eric really did for a living: he hunted riders, the demons or malevolent spirits that take over human bodies and minds. As a result, not only does she take over his fortune, she takes over his job. She has no idea what she’s really getting into.
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THE INHERITANCE & OTHER STORIES (Amazon) by Robin Hobb and her other pen name Megan Lindholm, is a compilation of old and new short works, several of which are set in previous worlds she’s built. Whether new to or experienced with Hobb/Lindholm novels (I’m particularly in love with her two Farseer Trilogies), this collection of short stories is worth reading on their own merit. She doesn’t fear to tread those difficult subjects that make us squirm or create people we can’t help to love… or hate.
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When David’s father is killed before his eyes, he believes his world is ending. Unfortunately, not only is David’s personal world ending, it’s also ending for everyone else: the Roil is coming.

Margaret is the only child of famous inventors. The Roil has laid siege to their city for thirty years, and it’s through their inventiveness that the city survives. But their big experiment goes horribly wrong.

Cadell finds David alone on the street and saves him from a fate similar to his father’s. Cadell is an Old Man, born thousands of years before, cursed with sanity and an unquenchable hunger. He may be the only person able–and willing–to save the remaining cities of Shale from the Roil.
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I have Plants vs Zombies on my iPhone. As I read THE FIRST DAYS: AS THE WORLD DIES (Amazon), I’d occasionally switch to my smaller version of the zombie apocalypse. Why? I guess because the story is better.

In a desire for full disclosure you should know this is my first zombie book, even though I’ve watched my share of zombie movies. So I may not be the best judge of this sub-genre. But I do know what makes a book good.
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I grew up in a small farming community in Oregon, so when I left for university–with a student body three times that of my hometown–it’s reasonable to say that it was an intimating experience. THE HIGHEST FRONTIER by Joan Slonczewski (Amazon) reminded me about those first overwhelming months. Except with way cooler stuff.
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