CBR IV Review #6 - Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

“I have to keep knitting,” she said in a low voice. “Because I’m the strong one.” 

Princess of Glass is Day George's re-imagining of the Cinderella tale, and it is an excellent one.  The story follows two girls, Princess Poppy and Eleanora/Ellen/Lady Ella, as well as the prince of Danelaw, Christian.  Princess Poppy is visiting Breton (and obviously English based country) to help international relations, which happens to be why Christian is there as well.  Princess Poppy has a somewhat murky history with magic, as she and her sisters were cursed to dance at Midnight Balls for King Under Stone.  That part of the story is documented in another Day George fairy tale story, Princess of the Midnight Ball, which I'm reading presently.  Poppy fills the reader in on the general details as the story progresses, keeping the truth of why she refuses to dance a secret from the others in the story.  She is wary of magic, as she should be, and knows several powerful charms to keep her safe from it, which prove useful later.

Eleanora has fallen on hard times.  Her family, once amongst the nobility, lost their fortune, and then both of Eleanora's parents died.  As such, she was left with no option but to go into the service and work as a maid named Ellen, which she is terrible at.  Her misfortune, however, leaves her vulnerable to the powers of a godmother known as "the Corley" - but things are never what they seem.  While her new benefactress claims to want to help Ellen go to the ball, woo the prince and live happily ever after, nothing is ever as simple as it seems.

Christian ends up a pawn in the game, torn between Princess Poppy, who he has developed feelings for that he doesn't quite understand, and this mysterious Lady Ella who appears at the King's balls with such dramatic flair that every man desires her and every woman envies her - but no one knows who she is.

The story is an old one, but told in such a lovely new way that it feels fresh.  You know the glass slippers will play a part, but how they do is both unique and a little terrifying.  The Corley, also, puts a whole new spin on the Fairy Godmother character.  I also think that Ellen is perhaps the most honest representation of the Cinderella character.  She's a little whiny and put upon, and her desperation to return to her "proper" place in the world leads her to make some ugly choices.  That's far more realistic to me than singing happily with birds while you are ignored by a society who has chosen to forget who you once were.

But most interesting to me of all is Poppy.  THIS is a heroine young girls should look up to.  While she had to suffer great trials in her life, she chooses to grow from the experience and by the end of this book, also decides not to be defined by the horrors of her past.  She's the person who leads the charge against the bad magic, and the first one to recognize something is wrong at all.  She refuses to compromise who she is as a person, even if her personality is a little unorthodox for Breton's high society.  She is brave, funny, intelligent, and powerful in her own way and I adored her.

This was a great book, one that was incredibly hard to put down.  I've moved immediately to Princess of the Midnight Ball so I could read more.  I didn't realize until too late that I should have read the two books in the opposite order, but it hardly matters.  While I know how the new one will resolve thanks to reading this one, having Poppy's perspective made me want to know the whole story.  Definitely recommend this book, especially if you love a good fairy tale!

CBR IV Review #5 - Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

“History, in the end, is only another kind of story, and stories are different from the truth. The truth is messy and chaotic and all over the place. Often it just doesn’t make sense. Stories make things make sense, but the way they do that is to leave out anything that doesn’t fit. And often that is quite a lot.” 

This book is a wonderful read, albeit a depressing one.  Set in a private Catholic boys' school in Dublin in 2003, Skippy Dies follows a number of characters through a span of the several months surrounding the titular death of Skippy.  The first scene of the book is Skippy's death (whose real name is Daniel Juster).  From there, we jump back a bit, build to the opener, and then move beyond it to its aftermath.

There are a number of narrator's here, and much like with George RR Martin's books, none of them are really that reliable.  I'm a big fan of unreliable narrators in situations like this, as it heightens the realism.  These felt like very real characters, people that Murray knew well and understood.  Having never attended Catholic school, let alone one for boys, I'm certainly no expert on what that reality is like.  However, it felt real and natural to me.  I'm sure all the adolescent actions of the main characters may grate on some, but so far as I'm aware, that's pretty much how teen boys behave.  The relationships between the group of Skippy's friends, in particular, resonated with me, particularly in the way the dynamic shifts after his death.  

There is one literary device used in this book that I absolutely loathe, and that is run on sentences to simulate free form thought of a character (or in this case, several - Lori, Skippy and Carl are all prone to this).  I HATE run on sentences, and some of these can be as long as a paragraph.  However, unlike in books like Foxfire, which I threw across the room since its entirety was written in that style, Skippy Dies uses it sparingly.  It's like an unpleasant seasoning on a good dish - I'll push through the few bites that are unappealing because the rest is good enough to merit it.

I really only have two large complaints with the book.  One is the use of our sole adult perspective, Howard "The Coward" Fallon.  Much of his story felt superfluous.  I never cared about his relationship with Halley or his crush on Aurelie and I don't feel that any of the time spent on that was worthwhile.  The rest of Howard's story was relevant to both understand him as a character, and understanding a number of important plot points (even if I think it's absolute bullshit that decades later people are calling him "coward" for not doing something incredibly idiotic and blaming him for the fact that someone else got hurt for doing it instead - blame the person who did it and the person who created the situation, not Howard...but I digress).  They could have cut his romantic subplots and it still would have worked (although the Hallowe'en Hop would need a new distraction).

Second objection was the overuse of scientific terminology.  There is a subplot regarding Ruprecht's scientific theories (Ruprecht being Skippy's roommate) and while it is relevant to the story, they delve WAY too far into the language of the theories involved for my taste.  This is not a sci-fi novel and I didn't require intimate knowledge of string theory to get what they were attempting to accomplish.  It was in these sections when I was most likely to put the book down or let my mind wander.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this.  There is some heavy, HEAVY stuff going on, and if you are sensitive to the darker stuff in here, it might be one to skip.  I can't divulge what kind of things are involved without giving too much away, but you'll realize it long before the story confirms them, so if you are bothered by what you think is happening, just stop reading.  If you can handle it, though, this is a really dynamic read, and very different from the majority of contemporary literature in both themes and style.

CBR IV Review #4 - Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

“The more distressing the memory, the more persistent it's presence. ” 

I don't have a lot to say about this one.  I saw the movie when it came out last year and enjoyed it.  Didn't blow my mind, but I liked it enough to want to read the source material.  The book is always better, right?  So if I enjoyed the movie, I should LOVE the book?  Well, in this case, it was a pretty faithful adaptation.  As such, I felt just as lukewarm about the book as the movie - a pleasant way to spend time, but not something I feel passionately about one way or the other.  Except for what happens to August.  But I'm jumping ahead.

This meh-fest is about a young man named Jacob who joins the circus after his parents are suddenly and tragically killed, ending his future as a vet.  He stumbles upon the train for the Benzini Brothers (an outfit constantly living in the shadow of Ringling) and his skills with animals get him a job on the show.  He falls for the married horse performer, Marlena, which is problematic as her husband, the animal trainer August, has some serious mental problems to contend with.  The story builds on their relationship as a triangle, throwing in some other characters like Big Al (the man who runs the show), a crippled old man and a dwarf with a dog, although the people who really MATTER are our three points of the triangle and an elephant named Rosie.  Rosie is really the key to how everything progresses, as what happens to and with her moves everything along.  And she is easily my favorite character.

The story is told in a dual timeline fashion - we start out at the event that the whole book builds to explain, which is the animals of the circus being set loose on a crowded house, and the death of August.  It jumps from this to an eldery Jacob, living in a nursing home and slowly giving way to the terrors of old age.  The circus comes to town, setting off Jacob's memories, which we then get to jump into.  On the whole, the transitions between these two times is clear and easy to follow, which I appreciate a great deal.  And the amount of research that went into this book seems fairly clear - you need a LOT of knowledge about the circuses post depression to be able to write this as thoroughly as Ms. Gruen does.  However, like I said, while it's enjoyable, it didn't blow my mind.  So it's worth wiling away some hours, but not something I'd run out to get a copy of.

CBR IV Review #3 - The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

“You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque des Reves and into the creeping dawn, that you felt more awake within the confines of the circus.
You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream.” 

I've had this book recommended to me so many times now, I've lost count.  And every last one of them was right.  

The Night Circus is the story of two battling magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been bound to each other and to their battle since they were children by their instructors, a Mr. A H--- and Hector Bowen, Celia's father.  The two create a magnificent, unique circus, Le Cirque des Rêves as their playing field.  The book tells not only of their battle, but of the effects this competition has on those caught in the middle, both as participants and spectators.  To elaborate too thoroughly on the plot (as many of the descriptions I've read do) is a disservice - it's so much better to experience it.

Part of what finally drew me to selecting this title versus the dozens of others I have on my ever growing To Read list was a point of inspiration for the author.  Morgenstern thanks a company called Punchdrunk, who put together a show she saw in Boston.  The show she's referring to, Sleep No More, is currently playing in New York, and I've seen it twice with plans to go again ad infinitum till it closes.  It's a completely unique, immersive theatrical experience, much like the circus in this book.  It's very easy to see the parallels between the two works as you read.  Friedrick Thiessen, a character of the book who is both a clockmaker and a pioneering fan of the circus, helps connect the two threads the best.  In the book, there is a community of devoted followers of the circus called reveurs; Sleep No More has the same, but we have no name as a group.  Still, in both cases, people follow the show, gathering together to discuss it whether they know each other or not, bound by a mutual love for a show that is never the same and that you can never truly see all of.  This really helped me to connect to the book in a deeper way - I know exactly what it feels like to be somewhere like Le Cirque des Rêves and that makes the atmosphere so much more electric for me as a reader.

Not that this suggests that you can't enjoy the book without having this connection - it's simply a well written piece of fantasy with some really brilliant characters and an interesting narrative.  Celia and Marco make excellent protagonists, and their story is one that I think develops very nicely over the course of the book.  All of the characters feel very real and they are all relevant, which I think is important, as it reflects part of the goal of the competition - dealing with outside elements and the consequences your decisions have on them.  And the ending was absolutely beautiful and completely satisfying - there were a lot of ways for this to end, and it reaches the right blend of them all.

Definitely check out this book.  You'll lose yourself to the circus and wish you didn't have to come back.

CBR IV Review #2 - The Bards of Bone Plain by Patricia McKillip

“We may be seeing only the remnants of something long gone from this world. Maybe you and I were just born with primitive eyes. Or hearts. Born with a gift for something that doesn’t exist anywhere any longer, and the recognition, the longing for it is all we’ll ever know.” 

LOVED this book.  McKillip has been a favorite author of mine for...goodness, I don't even know how long!  And this did not disappoint.

Based in the town of Caerau, The Bards of Bone Plain tells two stories: one is of the "present", where young Phelan Cle is trying to write his final paper for the Bardic College and finds more than he bargained for, and the other the tale of Nairn the Bard, the subject of his paper.  The chapters set in the past are all begun with excerpts from Phelan's paper, which makes a really nice narrative framework, and eases the reader between time periods with grace.  The story of Nairn's search for power and music (and power IN music) is just as interesting as the struggles of Princess Beatrice, Phelan, Jonah Cle (Phelan's oft drunk, mysterious father), and Zoe (the magic voiced bard and friend of Phelan) in the present.  Phelan's search for the mysteries of the Bone Plain, written about in poetry, but never conclusively identified in history, leads him on a journey he doesn't expect.

As usual, McKillip has a way with descriptive language, as applies to both location and character.  I never had a problem visualizing what was going on; more importantly, I never had a problem sympathizing with the characters either, even when I didn't understand why.  This book had a special charm for me, as all the magic and the story are linked to music.  As a musician myself, watching her manipulate a medium I understand so well was truly lovely.  

I burned through this book like wild fire.  It's definitely one I'll read again, though perhaps not with the frequency of Winter Rose (nothing will replace that book in my heart).  If you love fantasy, especially if you love McKillip's style of fantasy, this is a must read.

CBR IV Review #1 - The Next Always by Nora Roberts

“You're the woman in my life," he said. "Another thing about me and my brothers? We look after the women in our lives. We don't know any other way.” 

Yes, I'm kicking off the new Cannon with yet another Nora Roberts book.  I can't help it - the woman writes such delicious fluff!  This is the first book in her new series, The Inn Boonsboro Trilogy.  Interesting trivia for you at the end of this review!

Y'know how moments ago I said Nora writes delicious fluff?  It's true.  But I'm not sure it fully applies to this book.  Tense and unsettling are words I almost never apply to Roberts' work, even when she's writing romantic thrillers like Carnal Innocence (oh yes, I not only read that, I watched the horrible Lifetime movie).  However, this book really got to me.  I'm not sure if it's just that I didn't realize I had a button there to push, or it was just really well written, or some combination.  But this is the first time in a long time I had violent, horrible nightmares from a book - more particularly, ones where I lose.  I never lose in my dreams, and yet I lost in these.  Anyway.  I digress.

This first book sets up a little town called Boonsboro in North Carolina, home to the Montgomery brothers and a cast of lovely local characters.  The Montgomery brothers, Beckett, Owen and Ryder, own an architectural and construction company.  Their project at the opening is rebuilding the historic Inn in the town, which boasts its own very interesting ghost.  The three brothers are different enough to tell apart, and their love interests are pretty apparent from the start, as is typical in a Roberts' series.  This book focuses on architect brother Beckett and his decades old crush on Clare Brewster, mother of three and widow of a soldier.  Clare runs the bookstore across the street from the Inn and lives alone with her three boys, who are absolutely adorable, especially in their bonding scenes with Beckett.

In addition to the predictable hurdles of dating a woman who is a widow with three children, there is a huge obstacle in the form of a local creeper, who I won't say too much about in case you are as naive as Clare and simply don't see what's going on from the beginning.  I will tell you that I knew right off the bat exactly what was wrong with this guy and his part of this story is what haunted me.  ::shivers:: Not ok.  

I promised you trivia, and I'm going to deliver.  This series is based on an actual location, and all the businesses in it, including the titular Inn are real.  Better yet, the Inn itself is owned by the author, Nora Roberts.  I had gone through the book admiring the research it must have taken to get all these details of construction correct, but knowing this was something she actually built changed that dynamic instantly.  Also?  It is immensely cool to go to the website and see that the images in my head are real and fully realized.  I'm dying to go stay down there in one of those beautiful theme rooms.

Overall?  Very good read, and one that I couldn't put down near the end.  I look forward to seeing the inevitable Avery/Owen and Hope/Ryder romances play out over the next two books!

A new year brings a new Cannonball Read!

Alright!  It's almost time to kick of CBR IV!  I've decided to use this same blog page to do my review for this, and future, Cannonball Reads.  I'm once again attempting the half cannon (26 books).  I'm a little more daunted by it this time around because I have a show that eats up most of January, and then my life is dedicated to my wedding in April.  But I'm hoping to succeed again!  If nothing else, I certainly enjoy the journey.  :-)