REVIEW: Shanghai Sparrow by Gaie Sebold

Shanghai Sparrow by Gaie Sebold
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

For a historical fantasy that contain “Formidable Devices, Fay, Etheric Science, Espionage, Opium, Murder and Bartitsu” — exciting stuff, it was restrained. Blech. Fantasy is supposed to be fantastic, not restrained. I found the book lacking in many ways.

+ the characters

I liked Eveline from the start. She was clever and wisely distrustful. She didn’t let the bad guys break her composure. She didn’t need anyone to tell her how much danger she was in. She knew when she was being bullshited and knew how to bullshit back. In short, she had a functional brain, unlike the many YA main characters I have read recently (Cress, The Seers, Cold Fury, The Pirate's Wish, and Altered to name a few).

I had only one gripe with Eveline, and it’s really more of a grip with the plot than with the heroine. I didn’t expect her to succeed at every turn, but at the climax I wished she had the upper hand. I wished it was pure wit that saved the good guys, not by convenient luck and improvisation. I wanted Eveline to be the heroine in her full glory, but instead she got nudged out of the limelight.

I also liked Beth, Eveline’s friend. Usually, the geek sidekick is a guy, but it was Beth instead, and I found it very refreshing the geek sidekick was a girl for a change. Along with Madeleine, I loved how there were women scientists and how they played a big role towards the end. What I did not love were how the scientists were passive, particularly at the rising action. If Eveline was absent, Beth and Madeleine were up the creek without a paddle.

Speaking of helpless female characters, there were too many for my liking. For a book eulogizing women’s empowerment, it seemed to love the damsel in distress trope. Thankfully, the plot lines for Treadwell and Charlotte wrapped up quickly and kept the angst down.

I hated Holmforth’s viewpoint. He was a big sack of self-loathing and prejudices. Being in his head, even though it was only 3rd person, pushed my limit for the foul character. I had to skim his viewpoint to salvage my enjoyment with the book. Thankfully, his viewpoint ebbed towards the middle of the book and didn’t rise back till the rising action. Just like how the heroine was nudged out of the limelight, so too was Holmforth in his role as the main bad. As a result, his comeuppance did not feel as satisfactory as it should have been. It was more like an afterthought really.

As for Liu, I wanted to like him, but the guy was too mysterious. Mysterious Liu is mysterious. I recognized that was the intention, but it really impeded me from getting to know him. I couldn’t get any sense of him other than the fact that he wasn’t an enemy of Eveline’s. At least, not intentionally. Plus, it didn’t help that he was around Eveline’s age. I kept thinking of him as her love interest. You know you read too many YA when you automatically assign any boy whom the heroine immoderately interacts with as the heroine’s love interest. Finally, it bothered me that the one important Asian character in the entire book and he was mysterious and exoticized.

The only characters who were more mysterious than Liu were the Folks, which the book called the faeries. And they weren’t mysterious as they didn’t have any character development. Throwing out a couple ubiquitous details such as how the Folks have magic and how they’re immortal does not constitute character development. Despite what a big deal they were, the Folks were never more than hazy, shadowy background characters.

+ the plot

I hated the long ass flashback at the third of the book. Seriously, it was really long. It fucking took up 16% of the book. Yes, I counted. I liked Eveline but I did not need to learn in minute detail how she lost her bourgeois family and became a hardened street urchin. I wanted Eveline’s backstory but I did not want it in one constipated infodump of a giant sob story. No. Just no.

In regard to the setting, the sense of England was strong, but the sense of China was pitifully weak. Even though the setting alternated between England and China, it was set in England like 80-90% of the time. The few scenes that did take place in China honestly felt like they could have taken place anywhere else. The book would have been better off set entirely in England and in a Chinatown of England. “Far Eastern steampunk” my ass.

Well, at least there was steampunk because there was not much of anything else. The espionage was underwhelming. The etheric science was nebulous. The historical side was thin. It’s like expecting real fruit juice but receiving some carbonated shit made with 10% real juice. This reader was highly disappointed.

Conclusion

I rate Shanghai Sparrow 2-stars for it was okay. The book was a classic case of all that glitters was not gold. The only thing the book got right was the dynamic heroine. On the bright side, this book was still better than the Spiritwalker trilogy by Kate Elliott beginning with the fact that the book isn’t a dragged out trilogy.

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Book Description

Shanghai Sparrow is a Far Eastern steampunk tale of espionage, distant empires and thrilling exploits, with a dynamic heroine.

The British Empire is at war, both within and without.

Eveline Duchen was once a country child, living a life of privilege, touched by the magic that still clings to the woods and fields of Victorian England. Now she is a street urchin in a London where brutal poverty and glittering new inventions exist side by side, living as a thief and con-artist under the wing of the formidable Ma Pether.

Caught in an act of deception, Eveline is faced with Mr Holmforth, a gentleman in the service of Her Majesty’s Government, who offers her a stark choice. Transportation, or an education – and utter commitment to Her Majesty’s Service - at Madam Cairngrim’s school for female spies. The school’s regime is harsh. Eveline has already learned harder lessons. She plans to take advantage of everything they can teach her, then go her own way.

But in the fury of the Opium Wars, the British Empire is about to make a devil’s bargain. Eveline’s choices will change the future of her world, and reveal the truth about the death of her sister Charlotte.

Shanghai Sparrow is set in an alternative England and China. It contains Formidable Devices, Fay, Etheric Science, Espionage, Opium, Murder and Bartitsu and may not be suitable for those of a delicate disposition.

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REVIEW: Peregrine Harker & The Black Death by Luke Hollands

Peregrine Harker & The Black Death by Luke Hollands
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The book was a head-banging read. It was told in a way where the protagonist was practically mute and so detached that the dialogue was communicated in incredibly stilted summary and events were literally forced upon him. I think the intention behind the inane narration was an immersive reading experience but in practice it was anything but. I felt as if I was held hostage in a dark room that was the protagonist’s mind where I watched the story through a bunch of filters. Halfway through the book I couldn’t take it anymore. It was torture so I skimmed in a rush to end the torture.

And what a shame because the plot was actually enjoyable and the characters were more or less decent. I liked Louisa, the hero’s love interest, but I didn’t like Peregrine, the hero. Louisa was a kickass heroine, and I felt really bad for her for the constant rescuing and guiding of Peregrine.

Peregrine was the embodiment of curiosity kills the cat. He was too much of a dreamer and though he had practical abilities such as knowing how use a gun and how to box, he never really put them to good use. Not until someone or a near-death situation forced to him remember his own abilities that he then put them to use. Furthermore, Peregrine’s background was ambiguously developed. I couldn’t decide if he was poor or rich, why he bothered being a reporter if he didn’t do any actual work. Peregrine had enough money to own his own place, and it didn’t seem at all like he was hurting for money.

Speaking of Peregrine’s place, it was a big plot hole how the villains never once thought to simply stake out Peregrine’s place and personally dispose of him or easier yet, wait until Peregrine was asleep and then bomb his place, killing him in the process. It was ridiculous how the villains went through extravagant means to dispose of the hero. I understood that the plot was supposed to be over the top and the action high-octane but doing away with some logic was not necessary to achieve its purpose.

In Conclusion

I rate Peregrine Harker & The Black Death 1-star for I didn’t like it. The stilted, long-winded, “OMG, please shut up”-inducing dialogue murdered the book.

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REVIEW: Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb

Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I vacillated between 3-stars and 2-stars for this book.

+ why 3-stars

The book deserves 3-stars because the plot was always in motion and awash with political intrigue. I was pleasantly surprised that the book began in media res where Meg, her witchy aunt, and the imprisoned Elizabeth were conducting haruspex to divine Elizabeth’s future, specifically whether or not she would become queen one day. Right off the bat, readers immediately encounter the first of many conspiracies. I liked that the first few chapters were fast-forward telling of how Meg met and became part of Elizabeth’s inner circle instead of pause-the-present flashbacks. I liked it because it kept the focus on the present and not on the past which would have otherwise sluggish the story.

I liked that part of the suspense was always the fear that Meg would be discovered as a witch because then she would be burned at the stake. I was surprised when it actually happened and that it happened in the middle of the story as opposed to near the end. It was just one of the many examples of how the plot did not dilly dally moving towards important, crossroad scenes. The book never failed to convince me that the stakes were high and that it only takes one oopsy for everything to crash and burn (puns intended).

The book executed the political intrigue very well in the sense that things were in shades of gray, barring the few outright bad guys. I empathized with Elizabeth’s plight but I also empathized with her opponents’. I liked the fact the book kept things neutral, e.g. the Spanish and Catholic were not all invaders/bad guys and the English were not all pitiful oppressed citizens/good guys. The book left readers to decide for themselves. I also liked the fact that even Elizabeth’s family were split on the political issues because it added another level of realism to the book. Suffice to say, the book was no fluffy YA historical with a paranormal twist. The danger was real, the issues presented were serious.

Finally, I liked that there was no real love triangle. The book did flirt with the trope, to the extent that there were 2 love triangles by the end, but it was an obvious plot device to force Meg and Alejandro to face the fact that the dopes love each other and should stop kidding themselves. There was never any serious rival that could throw their burgeoning relationship off track.

+ why 2-stars

While there were many reasons to like the book, there were many other reasons that kept the book a few steps short of the goal. The biggest reason was Meg, who can be frustrating at times. The girl had a tendency to let her emotions get the better of her and make poor decisions. I liked that she’s aware of it, but I didn’t like that she didn’t do anything to prevent it. Admittedly, Meg does try to fix her mistakes but had she simply set aside a couple minutes and think things through she wouldn’t have made the mistakes in the first place. It was not as if Meg was a stupid girl. In fact, she was bright which was why she disappointed me so much. Meg was not a weak heroine, but she was not a particularly strong heroine either. The only thing that managed to somewhat redeem her in my eyes, that stopped me from being indifferent to her, was that she at least accepted help when she sought to fix her mistakes and that she didn’t take long to realize her true feelings for Alejandro.

Speaking of Alejandro, I also had an issue with him. His characterization was slippery. I could never get a firm grasp of Alejandro’s reasons for doing things even though he revealed them at the end. His reasons raised more questions than they answered. He was such an odd character to the extent that he didn’t felt like a character; he felt more like a vehicle of the plot.

I also didn’t care for Meg and Alejandro as a couple. He’s a priest-in-training and Spanish. She’s a witch and English. He’s cursed by a witch. Her blessing as a witch can be a curse. The couple reminded me of Romeo and Juliet; I despise such romance.

Finally, there was a deus ex machina near the end of the plot. Meg almost got killed and but by chance saved herself at the end with her peerless witchy power. However, there were witnesses, of which she made enemies. What did she do to fix things? She cast a wide-area amnesia spell. Now, I wouldn’t have minded the deus ex machina had Meg simply cast the spell a couple chapters ago because then she would have fixed the problems sooner and NOT almost got herself kill and rely on chance to save herself at the last minute. Not to mention saving the people she wanted to save which was why she almost got herself killed. FFS.

In Conclusion

I rate Witchstruck 2-stars for it was okay. It was good book, but here’s the thing — it could have easily been a great book. That said, I still recommend the book because it’s one of the better Young Adult books I have read.

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REVIEW: The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman

The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Fire Horse captured my attention, and this come from a reader who doesn’t like to read historical. Unless it’s part fantasy or mm-romance, neither of which this book was, I pass. What persuaded me was the plot of an Asian-American immigrant’s experience, which immediately made me think of myself. Very rarely do I encounter a book with that sort of thing.

+ the heroine and a rant

The writing was accessible, and thus great. Still, the beginning was like a ride on a country road. The blurb advertised a feisty heroine, and I love feisty heroine, but Jade Moon’s kind of feistiness exasperated me. I pretty much agree, especially with Sterling Promise, with all the bad things the other characters said about her. There’s outspoken and then there’s saying everything that come across your mind; Jade Moon did the latter. She’s rude, wild, quick to be mad and pick a fight. She’s not a mean person but she’s just thoughtless and inconsiderate, completely egocentric. I can go on....and I’m going to.

The Fire Horse “curse” was a self-fulling prophecy. Worse, it was a frequently used excuse every time Jade Moon committed a social blunder. She didn’t do anything to improve herself or her situation. All she did was whine about her curse as a Fire Horse girl, her lack of freedom, her personality flaws, etc. Keep in mind, this book was told in 1st person POV exclusively from her side so I’m supposed to pity her at least. I didn’t.

I didn’t warm up to the heroine till about a third of the book, and even then it was a simmering kind of warm.

As I read about her journey to and in America, I piled naivety onto the list of things I didn’t like about the heroine. The naivety was the kind that shows how sheltered and spoiled Jade Moon was, how limited her thinking and worldview was. The characters were accurate in their assessment of the heroine; she was dangerous.

What mitigated my irritation with Jade Moon was when she joined a gang in the middle of the book. Apparently, she was more suited to a life of thug-hood. LOL. If she was born a boy and in a rough and tough environment, she would have excelled.

+ the love interest and the romance

While there was a romance plot line, it was in the form of heroine wishing for love, trying to avoid arranged marriage, girl talk about marriageability, and so on. Jade Moon may have been thug-like, but she was also a hopeless romantic.

The romance was an important part, but it didn’t dominate the plot like so many YA to the extent that the book would be better classified as a YA Romance. In fact, for a large portion of the book, I didn’t think Sterling Promise was a love interest despite what the blurb said. Even when the book revealed the reason for why Jade Moon was allowed to go to America with Sterling Promise, I still didn’t think so.

There was no insta-love whatsoever. Sterling Promise and Jade Moon loathed each other. He thought she was a burden, she thought he was a prat. It took them a long time to warm up to each other, a near-the-end long time. It may have been slow, but it was believable and refreshing.

I liked Sterling Promise. He was smooth talker who didn’t let his “curse” get to him. I admired his ambition and sensibility. I liked him more than Jade Moon. At one point, specifically when they were on the boat to America, I wanted to read his side of the story instead of enduring hers. Yes, I can see how they would be a good match.

+ the plot

The book was heroine-driven. Jade Moon may have exasperated me, but I have to admit she was sure as hell not boring. With a dangerous heroine like Jade Moon, I couldn’t believe how fast I was reading the book, no skimming involved. The plot had emotions, actions, and twists, especially the twists. Usually, the twists happens to the character, but in this book, most of the twists were of her own making.

Everything about the book, from the culture to the history felt authentic. The book contained themes — belonging, freedom, love, etc. The plot didn’t shy away from the dark parts of history; there were suicides, racism, prostitution, gangsters, etc. I especially like that the mood remained bright despite the dark and depressing things.

My favorite scene was when Jade Moon revealed to Neil, her fighting teacher, who she was in chapter 28. However, the best part of the book overall was at the end when Jade Moon chose to help quash the sex trafficking. She was brave and smart. Finally, those awful traits of hers were polished to greatness. I was on the edge of my seat as I read how she finally put those lessons learned from mistakes (there were a lot) and her character growth (better late than never) into action.

In Conclusion

I rate The Fire Horse 3-stars for I liked it. The ending was nice, but it would have been nicer if it was a little longer, i.e. an epilogue, because I wasn’t ready for the story to end. If you’re in the mood for something entertaining and easy to read but still substantial and unafraid to have dark subjects *and* willing to put up with a flawed protagonist, I recommend The Fire Horse.

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