Review - Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

by Kristen Simmons
publisher: Tor Teen
date of publication: February 12, 2013
format: hardcover
pages: 400
source: publisher
series: Article 5

From Goodreads:

The second installment in Kristen Simmons's fast-paced, gripping YA dystopian series.

After faking their deaths to escape from prison, Ember Miller and Chase Jennings have only one goal: to lay low until the Federal Bureau of Reformation forgets they ever existed.

Near-celebrities now for the increasingly sensationalized tales of their struggles with the government, Ember and Chase are recognized and taken in by the Resistance—an underground organization working to systematically take down the government. At headquarters, all eyes are on the sniper, an anonymous assassin taking out FBR soldiers one by one. Rumors are flying about the sniper’s true identity, and Ember and Chase welcome the diversion….

Until the government posts its most-wanted list, and their number one suspect is Ember herself.

Orders are shoot to kill, and soldiers are cleared to fire on suspicion alone. Suddenly Ember can’t even step onto the street without fear of being recognized, and “laying low” is a joke. Even members of the Resistance are starting to look at her sideways.

With Chase urging her to run, Ember must decide: Go into hiding…or fight back?

Article 5 introduced us to Ember Miller, a girl at the mercy of the totalitarian government that has gained power in what was once the United States.  Being guilty only of the crime of circumstance, Ember finds herself the victim of a horrific reform school and the adults that run it.  Not knowing exactly whom to trust, Ember escapes and must do all she can to reunite with her mother and make it to a safe haven where she has the chance to live her life as she was meant to.  As it turns out, this is not going to be at all easy as several things have already gone wrong.  As we find out in Breaking Point, Ember is struggling even more with both her circumstances and the actions of both the government and the resistance.  On the surface, Breaking Point is the continuation of Ember's journey toward safety.  There is more to it than that, however.  At its heart, Breaking Point is a closer look at Ember's heartbreak, fear, and inner struggle with her own feelings of guilt.

You really have to feel for Ember at this juncture.  As if her world hadn't been shaken enough in Article 5, things just keep getting worse for her in Breaking Point.  Her inner turmoil is evident as she struggles with her trust of those around her as well as her trust in herself.  You can really get the sense that she is on the edge and is barely hanging on.  The one issue I had with Ember this time around, however, was a certain sense of wishy-washy behavior that, after a time, just began to give me a headache.  There's struggling and then there's lack of commitment to one's decisions.  It often seemed that Ember would make up her mind about something only to immediately thereafter do a 180 and go right back to her surly, introspective ways.  I kept waiting for her to find the fire within and fully commit to doing something.  Alas, I never quite saw this from her.  Sure, she went through the motions of fighting back, but it didn't feel like her heart was all the way in it.  I truly hope to see more spirit from her in book 3.

The settings for Breaking Point are superb as ever.  Taking place in Knoxville, TN; Louisville, KY; and Chicago, IL, Breaking Point exhibits some really vivid places with a great sense of desolation.  If you are familiar with any of these cities and are able to compare them with their counterparts in Breaking Point, it truly hits home just how drastic the events that led to things be the way they are were.  Reading about the version of Knoxville seen in Article 5 and Breaking Point is especially striking for me since I grew up a mere 45 minutes from there and even lived there for a while.  Imagining walking through these damaged, more deserted versions of the places I know was nothing short of sobering.  It definitely helped to be able to fully visualize what was going on as I read.

Overall, Breaking Point was a great follow-up to Article 5 and, judging by the last chapter, book 3 is going to be absolutely intense.  Even though I wasn't able to connect with Ember as well, I definitely connected with the intensity of the situation at hand.  Breaking Point is a book chock full of action, thrills, and tension and would make a great read for fans of action-adventure books and movies.  I must reiterate that if you haven't started this series yet, you should.  That the events are so utterly realistic and plausible give this series an edge of horror that is hard to deny.  Breaking Point is a definite recommendation that I can stand behind.

Buy Breaking Point at the Following Locations:

Amazon / IndieBound / B&N / The Book Depository

Obligatory legal statement: This finished review copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.

 

Review - Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

by Gail Carriger
publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
date of publication: February 5, 2013
format: egalley
pages: 307
source: the publisher via Netgalley
series: Finishing School

From Goodreads:

It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Sophronia Temminnick at 14 is a great trial more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners -- and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Her poor mother, desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady, enrolls the lively tomboy in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage -- in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

Though I love steampunk, I have a confession to make: Etiquette & Espionage is my first experience reading Gail Carriger's work.  I know!  I've been completely remiss in not reading The Parasol Protectorate series during the 2 years it has been on my TBR list.  Thanks to Little, Brown, however, I had the opportunity to read Etiquette & Espionage, the first in Ms. Carriger's new YA series.  I had heard much praise of Ms. Carriger's writing beforehand.  Now I know exactly why.  To say that Etiquette & Espionage is amazing doesn't even begin to cover how much I enjoyed this book.

I'll admit to at first being thrown off by the main character's name.  I soon adjusted, though, and quickly began to enjoy reading her story.  She's such a spunky, funny girl that you can't help but quickly become captivated.  With each failed curtsey, midnight foray, and discovery, Sophronia proves more and more that she has a future as a force to be reckoned with.  As if that weren't enough, you will also discover that there are some familiar characters to be found within Etiquette & Espionage.  Younger versions of Genevieve Lefoux and Sidheag Maccon can be found within.  Having promptly started reading The Parasol Protectorate series right after finishing E&E, I found it fascinating seeing them as youths as well as the women they become.  Perhaps one of my favorite characters, however, isn't a living, breathing being at all.  Neither is he a vampire.  This character is a gadget known as a mechanimal named Bumbersnoot (trust me, the vast majority of the names in Etiquette & Espionage are hilarious), who proved to be just as humorous as Sophronia.  I loved every minute!

The world-building, though perhaps not quite so technological as that found in The Parasol Protectorate, is nevertheless fascinating.  Not only does Etiquette & Espionage take place at a school, it takes place in a floating school.  It doesn't get much more intriguing than that.  Between the finishing school, the boys' school for evil geniuses, and Sophronia's home, there is so much to discover from page to page.  The rich environments combined with the novel inventions are simply fantastic in every shape of the word.  It makes for a rich world for Sophronia to have adventures in and shows much promise of getting even better in the next installment.

Ever since I finished Etiquette & Espionage, I have been simply devouring everything by Gail Carriger that I can get my hands on.  It has been a while since an author has made me want to read everything they have written one book after another.  If you, too, have yet to experience the writing of Ms. Carriger, take my advice: prior to reading Etiquette & Espionage, make sure you have The Parasol Protectorate books readily available.  If you love E&E as much as I did, you'll probably want them before the warmth from your hands has faded from the pages.

Buy Etiquette & Espionage at the Following Locations:

Amazon / IndieBound / B&N / The Book Depository

Obligatory legal statement: This review copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher via Netgalley. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.

Review - Ironskin by Tina Connolly

by Tina Connolly
publisher: Tor
date of publication: October 2, 2012
format: hardcover
pages: 304
source: publisher
series: Ironskin

From Goodreads:

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask.

It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a "delicate situation"—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey.

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have long been fascinated by tales of faeries and mythological creatures.  Those same people will also know that Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books of all time.  When I learned of Ironskin and that it combines two of my favorite literary things, I knew I just had to get my hands on it.  Jane Eyre retold with the twist of faeries?  What could be better?  While I did see many of the elements that gave evidence to its characteristics as a Jane Eyre variation, Ironskin didn't quite turn out as I had thought it would.  It also didn't have as much of the steampunk element as I would have liked.  While it succeeded with an eerie plot surrounding the nature and dangers of faeries in the world the story is set in, Ironskin's incorporation of the story of Jane Eyre left a lot to be desired and proved to be my least favorite element of the book.

When compared to the basis of her inspiration, Jane Eliot is, at first, nearly unrecognizable as a version of Jane Eyre.  In fact, I would hazard to say that the only consistent characteristic the two share is their initials.  Where Jane Eyre is a young woman who deals with the traumatic nature of her past with a reserved nature and no-nonsense personality, Jane Eliot's personality is supposedly comprised largely of rage enhanced by a fae curse.  You will notice I say "supposedly," for Jane Eliot struck me more as an irritable character than an enraged one.  Even during descriptions of her rage burning hot behind her mask, her thoughts were more along the lines of being perturbed.  She wound up being less believable as a character because of it and I just couldn't connect with her at all due to the number of inconsistencies.  Edward Rochart is more recognizable as a counterpart of Edward Rochester, complete with eccentricities and sardonic sense of humor.  His presence in the story, however, was too little to distract from Jane's flaws as a character.  Instead, I found myself more fascinated by the butler (at least, I suppose that is what you would call her) that answered the door upon Jane's arrival than by the other two (precisely why I won't say, as that would be a spoiler, but there is more than meets the eye with her).  Character-wise, Ironskin just didn't capture my complete interest and I found myself wanting for some truly engaging protagonists.

The world-building is the one area that I truly found myself intrigued by.  There is just enough of the Gothic present to provide the settings with that sense of foreboding one would expect of a story about a world brought to the bring of destruction by homicidal faeries with horrific methods of warfare.  From Mr. Rochart's manor home to the dark wood just at its boundaries, there is a distinct sense of danger around every corner, which makes for the perfect setting to read about in a story such as this.  The woods themselves had enough presence to become a character in its own right, which always makes for some entertaining reading.  My only complaint is that they weren't incorporated into the story more than they were.  I think I would have enjoyed Ironskin even more if that were the case.

Though Ironskin fell short in its capacity as a re-telling of Jane Eyre, it still proved to have many entertaining qualities.  My best advice would be to approach this book as though it had nothing to do with Jane Eyre.  If you've read Jane Eyre as many times as I have this tactic may not work, but you might find yourself enjoying the story more.  This is where reading variations and re-tellings proves challenging, for if they veer too far from the original, it is very easy to become hung up on all those little details.  However, I can say that Ironskin still has much to recommend it.  Its world-building is fantastic and the background concerning faeries is truly eerie and, at times, frightening.  If you enjoy novels involving faeries, Ironskin is worth checking out.  If you are more interested in its qualities as a Jane Eyre variation or re-telling, however, proceed with caution.  It pays to be more open-minded.

Buy Ironskin at the Following Locations:

Amazon / IndieBound / B&N / The Book Depository

Obligatory legal statement: This digital review copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher via Edelweiss. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.

 

Thanks For 2 Wonderful Years!

It's hard to believe, but today marks the 2 year anniversary of the day Starting the Next Chapter went live. Since then, a grand total of 246 reviews have been posted, as well as 17 interviews, 11 guest posts, and 26 blog tour stops.  I've read 242 books, gone to countless author events, gained 3 co-bloggers, made some truly great friends, and welcomed more books than I really want to think about at the moment (the number would probably frighten me).  Even though it has been a hard 5 months for me, many of you have stayed with me, and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Whatever happens in the months to come, I hope to continue providing you, my dear readers, with honest reviews, fun blog tour stops, and lots of entertaining content.  This is for you, dear readers!

Review - Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

by Kerstin Gier
publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
date of publication: October 30, 2012
format: ARC
pages: 368
source: publisher
series: Ruby Red Trilogy

From Goodreads:

Gwen’s life has been a rollercoaster since she discovered she was the Ruby, the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. In between searching through history for the other time-travelers and asking for a bit of their blood (gross!), she’s been trying to figure out what all the mysteries and prophecies surrounding the Circle really mean.

At least Gwen has plenty of help. Her best friend Lesley follows every lead diligently on the Internet. James the ghost teaches Gwen how to fit in at an eighteenth century party. And Xemerius, the gargoyle demon who has been following Gwen since he caught her kissing Gideon in a church, offers advice on everything. Oh, yes. And of course there is Gideon, the Diamond. One minute he’s very warm indeed; the next he’s freezing cold. Gwen’s not sure what’s going on there, but she’s pretty much destined to find out.

Picking up where Ruby Red left off, Sapphire Blue at first suggests that things are going to progress in much the same manner as before.  Gone, however, is some of Gwen's carefree spirit.  She has been through a lot and it really starts to show in Sapphire Blue.  What I as a reader am not so sure about, however, is whether or not I like where things are going.  There are certain themes that I simply can't enjoy that are starting to crop up in the series that I sincerely hope don't come to fruition.  I don't think I could take it.  I will share those concerns with you as well as the things I enjoyed today.

Gwen.  What do I say about Gwen?  While she still has much of what made her such a great main character in Ruby Red, she is starting to fall victim to that most dreaded theme in YA:  the so-called bad boy.  More often than not, bad boy is code for jackass, which is unfortunately the case for Gideon.  This is probably one case where I would welcome a love triangle just in hopes that Gwen might come to her senses and kick Gideon to the curb.  Unless she falls for that pesky little gargoyle, however, that isn't likely to be the case.  While Gideon has his moments where he isn't completely heinous, there are also points that made me want to reach through the book and slap him on the back of the head a la NCIS.  When you spend more time outraged by the love interest than the villains, you know there's a problem.  Other than her penchant for questionable love interests, however, I enjoyed Gwen's reactions to the experiences she had.  Each trip into the past provided a lot of entertainment and really played up the sparkle of her personality.  I sincerely hope this doesn't go away in the next book, as it is definitely a favorite.

Just when I thought I couldn't enjoy the settings more, Gier pulls off scenes that are beyond all those that came before.  I was especially impressed with Gwen and Gideon's trip back in time to a party that occurred during the Rococo period (at least, I'm pretty sure that's the right one; it's been a few weeks).  As just one example of the vibrancy of Gier's world-building, let me just say that picturing this time period I am only vaguely familiar with was a breeze thanks to the great care taken in describing everything from the dress to the architecture.  That this was accomplished without an overload in information is simply great.

I am still holding out hope for the final installment in this series.  Though I remain not sold on the romance aspect of this story, the world-building and intrigue manage to make up for it.  If you enjoy a good time travel narrative, this series is definitely worth your attention.  With such vivid imagery and just the right amount of tension, Sapphire Blue was able to resist the sophomore slump and leads me to believe that there is still much to look forward to in Emerald Green.  So long as I don't feel compelled to rant and the world building remains as well-done as before, I will be a very happy reader.

Buy Sapphire Blue at the Following Locations:

Amazon / IndieBound / B&N / The Book Depository

Obligatory legal statement: This advance review copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.