Monthly Archives:: September 2013

Friday, September 06, 2013

Review: The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

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I received this book for free from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: The Dark Unwinding by Sharon CameronThe Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron
Published by Scholastic on August 27th 2012
Genres: Gothic, Historical, YA
Source: Scholastic
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four-stars

When Katharine Tulman’s inheritance is called into question by the rumor that her eccentric uncle is squandering away the family fortune, she is sent to his estate to have him committed to an asylum. But instead of a lunatic, Katharine discovers a genius inventor with his own set of rules, who employs a village of nine hundred people rescued from the workhouses of London.

Katharine is now torn between protecting her own inheritance and preserving the peculiar community she grows to care for deeply. And her choices are made even more complicated by a handsome apprentice, a secretive student, and fears for her own sanity.

As the mysteries of the estate begin to unravel, it is clear that not only is her uncle’s world at stake, but also the state of England as Katharine knows it.

A decent dose of creepy, this was!

The Dark Unwinding started rough for me. For the first quarter of the book at least I had a very difficult time getting into it. My attention kept waning, my mind wandering. I think mostly caused by my own restlessness, though, but surely not helped by the ambiguousness of the plot by that point. It has a strong show rather than tell writing style; while it’s not always easy to initially situate ourselves in a story told as such, it does remain my preferred way of storytelling. I find it works especially well for this type of book, the eerie, gothic style, as it leaves room for our own imagination to creep ourselves out. This is where this novel excels, followed closely by its characterization. One thing to note is that if you’re expecting a steampunk you’ll likely be disappointed. While it has a few steampunk-like trinkets, this book is a historical gothic fiction in its entirety. We’ve got weird going abouts in this creaky house that seems to have unending rooms and hidden passages. Then our main character has been having bizarre dreams, even memory losses where she wakes up at completely different places with accusation of being a drunk due to wild acts she can’t even recall.

As most gothic novels, The Dark Unwinding does not have a high paced, action packed plot. It has tons of mystery, an extremely creepy mansion, and characters with wit that keeps the story interesting. The main plot doesn’t even get going until the second half of the book. The first half is filled with personality, however. This is where we meet and grow to love the many characters that walk these pages. Our protagonist, Katharine, is intelligent, a little uptight, but very determined. It was easy to fall into play with her, even through my initial misgivings she’s the one who kept me reading. You can also detect a great amount of character growth in her by the end of the book. Although our MC is great, the character I enjoyed the most was Uncle Tully. Autistic and fascinated by trinkets, Mr. Tully’s character is superbly crafted. He’s so lovable and sweet, making us sympathetic to his cause. It also brings to light how a now commonly diagnosed illness was once treated as if mentally unfit to be in society. But what stood out to me was how charismatic, how alive, Mr. Tully was despite the quirks brought on by his condition. He’s also obviously highly intelligent.

These are not the only bright personalities, there’s Davy, the sweet, innocent mute who’s going to steal all your hearts. Mary, our bubbly, eccentric maid who forms a delightful friendship with our MC. Mrs Jefferies who’s sort of their foundation in all the unruliness. There’s also Ben and Lane, our main male secondary roles. No hint of a love triangle, however. *everyone exhales* Although the romance does leave a little to be desired, especially in the creation of Lane’s character who has yet to open up to Katharine, but this is more of a longing for more details (which I hope will be in the sequel) than a complaint on the character development.

Very character oriented, highly atmospheric, with a plot that doesn’t disappoint – definitely one worth the wait. It has twists I never saw coming, and motives that were impressively intricate. A beautifully written, solidly plotted historical novel that you should not miss!

four-stars

4 Hot Espressos

Book Girls Don’t Cry: My Favorite Villains

Book Girls Don’t Cry: My Favorite Villains

Posted by on 09/05/2013 • 39 Comments

Book Girls Don’t Cry is a weekly feature where we each discuss/vent/advise on the chosen weekly bookish topic. Don’t miss Jenni on Mondays, and Amy on Saturdays:

Topic suggestion by Kelsey over at Calliope Reads.

The Best of the Evil!

We all love a good, well crafted villain. Well I do, anyways. On this week’s Book Girls Don’t Cry we’re talking about fictional villains, and which ones are in our list of favorites.

—The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins [President Snow]: Really! Who didn’t love to hate this man? I mean, his fixation on Katniss is nothing if not completely creepy. And his control over her makes it all the worse. I wanted nothing more than to see him go down!

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Waiting on Wednesday (92)

Waiting on Wednesday (92)

Posted by on 09/04/2013 • 36 Comments

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week:

I kind of love the idea of this book! It sounds like a great feel-good book with an awesome story. Plus I’ve read one of the author’s previous books (though ages ago) The Lonely Hearts Club and it was super sweet. And Take a Bow has amazing reviews so that bodes well for this one! 🙂

What are you waiting on?

Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Posted by on 09/03/2013 • 31 Comments

This book was just so… refreshing! Reading it brought me to my happy place and we just all need books like this once in a while!

I think a big reason I adored this book is that I saw a lot of myself in our protagonist, Cath. Cath is an introvert who uses a hobby as a way to escape – hers is writing fan fiction. That was very easy for me to connect with. I could understand her passion and the importance of it to her no matter how others saw it. The book also brings up a very real setting during the first year of college. College can be overwhelming especially for people like Cath who get nervous in new places and social interactions. A lot of the…

Review: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Review: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Posted by on 09/02/2013 • 34 Comments

This book = insanity!

This will prove my living under a rock, but I had not heard of this author before I went to Book Expo and got told all about his awesome status, and let me tell you, the praise is not unwarranted! Steelheart does not hold back; it’s an edge-of-your-seat read with an intensity that requires you to put the book down regularly just so you can take a breather!

There are book beginnings… then there are Sanderson beginnings; the prologue is all it took to make me fall in love with this book. Already, my heart was pounding, I was left gasping, and my knuckles were white from clutching the book. Sanderson’s writing brought me thoroughly and completely in David’s world – a very dark, merciless world…

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown Tour Stop – Interview + Giveaway

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown Tour Stop – Interview + Giveaway

Posted by on 09/01/2013 • 21 Comments

Today I’m very excited to have one of my favorite authors drop by the blog! Holly Black is here to talk to use about the mysterious Gavriel, and there’s a sweet giveaway for you all as well! 😉 Also, Holly is touring a few states, her schedule is here if you want to see if she’ll be going near you!

For my fellow audiobook listeners, I have a clip here to share for you if you’re considering the audio version – can be pre-ordered via Audible or Downpour. Having read the book I can already tell the narrator has the perfect voice for the MC I think she’ll do her justice! 🙂

Interview with Holly Black

Hi Holly! Thanks so much for…