Heart Full of Ink: May 2016

The Monster Goddess Book Club May Review: Horizon

3:17 PM

The Monster Goddess Book Club is run by Tash at The Bookie Monsters and The Book Goddess.

May Review: Read a book set in a different world/alternate universe

I chose Horizon by Tabitha Lord.

Summary of Horizon

Caeli Crys isn't living--she's surviving. On the run after the genocide of her empathic people, she witnesses a spaceship crash near her hidden camp. When she feels the injured pilot suffering from miles away, she can't help but risk discovery to save his life.

Commander Derek Markham awakens stranded on an uncharted planet. His copilot is dead, his ship is in ruins, and he's only alive because a beautiful young woman is healing him with her mind.

As Derek recovers, Caeli shares the horror of her past and her fear for the future. When Derek's command ship, Horizon, sends rescue, Derek convinces Caeli to leave with him. But his world is as treacherous as hers--full of spies, interplanetary terrorist plots, and political intrigue. Soon the Horizon team is racing to defend an outlying planet from a deadly enemy, and Caeli's unique skills may just give them the edge they need to save it.

*Summary from Amazon

Review

I received Horizon as an electronic advance reader's copy from Wise Ink Creative Publishing through Netgalley way back in October. The fact that I've only now just finished reading the book should give you some indication as to my opinion of the book. Let's just say it wasn't my cup of tea. I never really made a connection with any of the characters and the structure of the story bothered me.

The beginning throws the reader right into the story. I feel the author, Tabitha Lord, skipped over introducing the reader to the main character's world and just started with the inciting incident. We don't get any backstory or really any information about the main character Caeli's life before Derek crash lands on her planet until about Chapter 6. Then Chapters 6-8 are all backstory. This bugged me. I felt Lord could have spread this information out more. If I hadn't decided to read this book for a book review, that two chapters of backstory may have caused me to stop reading. As a fellow writer, I know it can be tough deciding where and how much backstory to reveal. The rest of the book follows this same pattern of flashing to Caeli's past and then back to the present. I think I may have liked this book better if Lord started with Caeli's past and let the reader simultaneously experience the changes in Caeli's life which lead her to Derek.

I was wondering how Caeli and Derek were going to communicate with each other without speaking the same language. Lord pulled a good trick by having Caeli "cheat" and take the information of how to speak Derek's language from his head. Otherwise, though, I was underwhelmed with Caeli and Derek's relationship. Caeli and Derek keep claiming that Caeli's empathic abilities make it seem as if they've known each other for their entire lives rather than only a few days. As a reader, I felt cheated out of watching their relationship grow and develop over time.

I am more of a fantasy reader than a science fiction reader, but I still expected there to be more world building in the book. For the most part, the different planets the characters visit or discuss sound a lot like Earth. The people, with the exception of the Novali and their special powers, all seem remarkably human. This was a bit of a disappointment to me. If you're going to set your story on an entirely different planet, I'd expect there to be more things that are, well, different.

All in all, I made myself finish reading this book because I promised I would review it. I didn't think it would be fair to review a book without finishing it.

Threadsisters: Ties that Bind

4:07 AM

Summary of Truthwitch

On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a "witchery," a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble--as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It's a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her--but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi's hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship's captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

*Summary from Amazon

Review

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard is the very first book I have pre-ordered in my entire life, and I am so glad I did. If you've been following my blog, you know that it's rare for me to buy a book without reading it first. For the most part, I check out a book from the library and read it a few times before I buy it. Pre-ordering a book from an author whose work I've never read before is something I never thought I would ever do. I debated over whether or not to pre-order Truthwitch for a long time but ultimately what swayed me to pre-order was the fact that I love Dennard's writing advice on her blog and this book was touted as being similar to the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender.

There was a lot of hype on Twitter about Truthwtich and I can tell you after reading it that I think it is well deserved. The world building was awesome (seriously, if you like Avatar: The Last Airbender, I think you'll like all the different witcheries in this book). I loved the idea of threadsisters, threadbrothers, and heartthreads, and the fact that Iseult can see these connections between people.

The friendships between Safi and Iseult and Merrick and Kullen also reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender because the connections between characters are so strong. I especially love reading books which put just as much focus, if not even more, on friendships between girls than on the romantic love interest. Truthwitch is a wonderful example of how friendships can be just as epic as love stories.

While I did predict a few of the plot points before they happened, I don't think it took away from my overall enjoyment of the book. Dennard did a good job of providing closure at the end of the book while still setting it up for the next book in the series, which can be hard to do.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, and I didn't want it to end. I'm definitely looking forward to reading Windwitch.