Me on Waiting on Wednesday (287)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Like a River Glorious
Author: Rae Carson
Release Date: September 27, 2016
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins imprint)

From Goodreads:

After a harrowing journey across the country, Leah Westfall and her friends have finally arrived in California and are ready to make their fortunes in the Gold Rush. Lee has a special advantage over the other new arrivals in California—she has the ability to sense gold, a secret known only by her handsome best friend Jefferson and her murdering uncle Hiram.

Lee and her friends have the chance to be the most prosperous settlers in California, but Hiram hasn’t given up trying to control Lee and her power. Sabotage and kidnapping are the least of what he’ll do to make sure Lee is his own. His mine is the deepest and darkest in the territory, and there Lee learns the full extent of her magical gift, the worst of her uncle, and the true strength of her friendships. To save everyone, she vows to destroy her uncle and the empire he is building—even at the cost of her own freedom.

The second epic historical fantasy in the Gold Seer trilogy by Rae Carson, the acclaimed author of The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Walk on Earth a Stranger last year, how intrigued I was by the time period, the Gold Rush to California setting and Lee's vague gold-finding ability. By the other people around her, the strength they all carried. This sounds like it will be far darker than the first book, especially when it comes to Lee's creepy uncle.

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (285)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Not Your Sidekick
Author: C.B. Lee
Release Date: September 8, 2016
Publisher: Duet Books

From Goodreads:

Welcome to Andover… where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.

Yay for more superhero/supervillain books! I like how they're going these days, how they're looking deeper into good and evil, what defines the two and how they're not really all that different. It all comes down to actions taken, yes? In a way. This sounds like it'll be both fun and complicated, which is great! :)

Me on Gotham Academy Volume 2

Title: Gotham Academy Volume 2: Calamity
Writers & Artists: Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, Karl Kerschl & Mingjue Helen Chen
Release Date: March 22, 2016
Publisher: DC Comics

At the beginning of the term, Olive Silverlock returned to Gotham Academy a shadow of her former self. But thanks to her new friendships and their Detective Club sleuthing, Olive was finally starting to feel whole again. But now, Olive is seeing ghosts. A spectral, robed figure is haunting the Academy, and haunting Olive in particular, appearing to her and giving sinister instructions. Could this spirit be the key to unlocking the secrets of her family's dark past? Or is Olive simply losing her grip on reality? Plus, the kids hunt a werewolf on campus and Maps teams up with the Academy's newest transfer, Damian Wayne!

Gotham Academy Volume 2 is again full of mystery, investigation, danger, and supportive friendships. Olive's sorrow hangs over the school like a cloud full of rain, but she and Maps are still searching. Still hoping to find out more about Olive's mother and the secrets hiding in the walls.

Olive and Maps are back. Back to being awesome friends that work with each other, back to searching out the secrets of Gotham Academy. The secrets in Olive's past. Things are a little more serious now. We start to see the reason why Olive's mother was locked away in Arkham, the reason why Olive was sent to Gotham Academy. Her loneliness, listlessness, and desperation are quite clear. As sad as she is, she's desperate to know why, know who, and know what comes next. Maps, as always, is supportive, but she can't escape sticking her nose into secret things. Into Batman-related things. Into kick-ass sidekick things.

As with Volume 1, I love the artwork and the colouring. The clean, thin lines. The fury in Olive's eyes in the cover art. The bright pop of Maps' yellow raincoat in a dark, dreary, rainy scene. The sweet, round faces found in the first 'chapter' of this volume, the adorable artwork done by Mingjue Helen Chen.

After Volume 1, I had high hopes for this series. I was hoping what I found would continue. That the Pizza Club would keep on searching out and hunting down the Academy's secrets and mysteries. That the reason behind Olive's distant summer would come to light. In some ways, that is what's happened. It goes deeper into what pushes Olive, what motivates her and what scares her. But that's as deep as it goes. I was hoping for more about the school and its students. More diverse representation. Some LGBTQ characters.

I do wonder if I'm at some kind of crossroads with this series, if I'm waiting for a story that's being held back because of the pacing and release schedule of comics. Volume 2 is good. It picks up where Volume 1 left off and gets into some dark, dangerous things. I suppose I thought there would be more. Still, I am curious as to where the series will go as a whole. What Olive will do with this new family knowledge. Where Maps will go in her quest to learn every secret thing about Gotham Academy.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from DC Comics through NetGalley.)

Me on Revenge and the Wild

Title: Revenge and the Wild
Author: Michelle Modesto
Release Date: February 2, 2016
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins imprint)

The two-bit town of Rogue City is a lawless place, full of dark magic and saloon brawls, monsters and six-shooters. But it's perfect for seventeen-year-old Westie, the notorious adopted daughter of local inventor Nigel Butler. Westie was only a child when she lost her arm and her family to cannibals on the wagon trail. Nine years later, Westie may seem fearsome with her foul-mouthed tough exterior and the powerful mechanical arm built for her by Nigel, but the memory of her past still haunts her. She's determined to make the killers pay for their crimes—and there's nothing to stop her except her own reckless ways. But Westie's search ceases when a wealthy family comes to town looking to invest in Nigel's latest invention, a machine that can harvest magic from gold—which Rogue City desperately needs as the magic wards that surround the city start to fail. There's only one problem: the investors look exactly like the family who murdered Westie's kin. With the help of Nigel's handsome but scarred young assistant, Alistair, Westie sets out to prove their guilt. But if she's not careful, her desire for revenge could cost her the family she has now.

Revenge and the Wild is a tense search for answers and revenge in a dry, desolate, magic-filled setting. A look at trust and belief, and making the decision on whether or not to trust a gut feeling.

Westie is rough and bitter, as jagged as a piece of broken glass. She was let loose by her adoptive father Nigel, allowed to run wild as she grew up, making her rather 'unladylike.' She doesn't necessarily care. She's too busy searching out the missing pieces of her past, searching for the cannibals who killed her family. This search of hers, this hunt, drives her, pushes her. Haunts her. The attack on her, losing her arm, changed her. Thanks to Nigel, she grew up in a safe home, a home that helped her. But it doesn't mean she isn't still haunted by why she saw. What she smelled.

There's some intriguing world-building going on here. It's reminiscent of a historical western setting, what with the saloons and the brothels, the horses and the coaches. The slow encroachment of white people and industry onto Native lands. But then there's an extra layer of clockwork and steampunk-type machines, and a layer of the paranormal on top of that. Of vampires and werewolves and of magic in the land that's starting to disappear. It's a giant combination of genres but I found they all worked together. It didn't seem like too much was happening in terms of the setting.

I wonder when I'll stop being surprised when main characters in YA genre fiction aren't able-bodied, aren't straight, aren't white. Maybe when it happens more often. It was awesome to see Westie, a rough heroine, look to kick ass and take names in a magical Western setting with a mechanical arm. Losing it did shape her, change her, make her focused and ruthless, but the loss of her human arm and gain of her copper one didn't make her less of a person, even though some of the townsfolk see her that way. She was still hunting down cannibals, still searching out clues. Still getting into trouble. Still making mistakes. Still getting tunnelvision and not looking at a bigger picture. Just because she's not able-bodied doesn't mean she won't work as a main character. Hopefully we'll see more main characters with disabilities, physical and mental, in fantasy settings.

There were a number of plot lines circling through this book. Westie's search for revenge. The investors coming to town. The magic in the area slowly disappearing. Westie's own relationships with Nigel and Alistair. Because so much was going on, there was a time or two when I wondered why there were so many. I got a little caught up in so much going on and the excitement of having so many different things from genre fiction in one book. I would recommend this to those looking for a new fantasy standalone with a battered, gruff heroine.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)

Me on Manners & Mutiny

Title: Manners & Mutiny
Author: Gail Carriger
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

Lessons in the art of espionage aboard Mademoiselle Geraldine's floating dirigible have become tedious without Sophronia's sweet sootie Soap nearby. She would much rather be using her skills to thwart the dastardly Picklemen, yet her concerns about their wicked intentions are ignored, and now she's not sure whom to trust. What does the brusque werewolf dewan know? On whose side is the ever-stylish vampire Lord Akeldama? Only one thing is certain: a large-scale plot is under way, and when it comes to fruition, Sophronia must be ready to save her friends, her school, and all of London from disaster—in decidedly dramatic fashion, of course.

Manners & Mutiny is the final book in what's become an adventurous, clever, witty, and entertaining series. Unique characters. Conflict upon conflict up on torn loyalties. Vampires and werewolves and young ladies flashing fans in order to send secret messages.

Sophronia is, as always, Sophronia. Looking for the hidden truths in peoples' actions. Looking to uncover the plot of the Picklemen. But with her past transgressions and actions being held against her, it's harder and harder for her to find those in positions of authority at Madmoiselle Geraldine's to believe her claims. Difficult, yes, but Sophronia isn't one to back down. She soldiers on, worrying about her friends, worrying about Soap. Wondering if Agatha is right, that she now assumes the worst of people, even her own family. Does she? After her time at finishing school, does Sophronia now no longer trust anyone? Does she assume that everyone lies, that everyone has something to hide? Pessimistic, yes, but the past few years have taught her to be suspicious, taught her to observe and discover. Training to be an intelligencer does change one.

As with the previous books, there is no shortage of mystery or deception, of truth-seeking or secret-uncovering. Of Picklemen-hunting or sootie friendship-making. But this is certainly the most dastardly plan Sophronia has ever had to untangle and thwart. The one that might reveal the most about this secretive intelligencer world of hers. The one that, if mishandled, might bring down society as they know it. Fortunately, Sophronia isn't one to back down and will go down with the ship, so to speak, if that means saving the day.

This series is dangerous, comical, intriguing, full to the brim with the impossible, and I've enjoyed it immensely. It took some time for me to enjoy the first, to allow myself to be immersed in this world, because it requires full immersion. This series needs you to listen, to watch and observe and follow Sophronia during these years at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. It needs to to believe in airships and mechanimals, in vampires and werewolves, in the impossible. Now that it's all over, I should like to re-read it, see what secrets, if any, are given away early. A great series to read for those looking for steampunk and a story that mainly focuses on adventure and intelligence with a dash of female friendship and romance thrown in for fun.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Hachette Book Group Canada through NetGalley.)

Me on Rebel Mechanics

Title: Rebel Mechanics
Author: Shanna Swendson
Release Date: July 14, 2015
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Macmillan imprint)

It's 1888, and sixteen-year-old Verity Newton lands a job in New York as a governess to a wealthy leading family—but she quickly learns that the family has big secrets. Magisters have always ruled the colonies, but now an underground society of mechanics and engineers are developing non-magical sources of power via steam engines that they hope will help them gain freedom from British rule. The family Verity works for is magister—but it seems like the children's young guardian uncle is sympathetic to the rebel cause. As Verity falls for a charming rebel inventor and agrees to become a spy, she also becomes more and more enmeshed in the magister family's life. She soon realizes she's uniquely positioned to advance the cause—but to do so, she'll have to reveal her own dangerous secret.

Rebel Mechanics is entertaining, an exciting story of one young woman's new life in a city filled with magic, machines, inventors, and rebellion.

Verity is clever, honourable, and a little adventurous when she needs to be. When she feels she needs to be, when she wants to help. Now in New York, now part of multiple spaces, she aquaires new roles and personalities. The proper governess. The honest reporter. The rebel spy. She sort of falls into these spaces, the people around her seeing her, seeing the good in her and drawing her into their arms, and she never says no. After a childhood filled with books and an apathetic parent, she's looking for a place to belong. And she's found them. The magister home she becomes a part has a number of secrets, as does the rebel group of inventors and activists, but so does she. There's more to Verity Newton than meets the eye. She's hugely intelligent and investigative with a strong sense of honour. It's not about position or status with Verity. It's more about character, it's more about doing what's right. It's more about helping everyone, no matter if they're magister or not. It's about the truth.

This is a rather intriguing alternate history world. It's an America that's still under British rule, a New York where the privileged and titled are magic users, where only the magisters can use machines powered by magic in order to make their lives easier. Where those without magic aren't allowed this luxury. Where rebels and inventors are trying to build their own machines, trying to harness steam power and electricity in order to escape the ruling grasp of the magisters. Whenever there's a book with this sort of alternate history, where the British Empire still reigns over America, there's often a long-running tone of freedom and escape from imperialism coursing through the book. It stems from that moment in history where America went to war against Britain in order to obtain their freedom from the empire. As a Canadian, I always find this interesting. That in alternate histories America always asks for its freedom from Britain. It's something they will not let go of, something they will always demand. Something I'll always find a little bit charming.

I found this book to be more fun than I expected. It's a bit light, there's some suspense, a little mystery here and there. The side characters were interesting and fun. Lord Henry and the children. The Rebel Mechanics. To me, the book seems to be more about Verity and her introduction to this new world that isn't the same as her stoic and literary upbringing. She's entered a new world, a new space. She's crafted a new identity for herself here. Perhaps more than one. I'm so curious as to what happens next. There must be more, it can't end like that. There's so much that hasn't been revealed.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Macmillan through NetGalley.)

Me on Valor

Title: Valor
Editors: Isabelle Melançon & Megan Lavey-Heaton
Artists & Writers: Isabelle Melançon, Megan Lavey-Heaton, Jayd Aït-Kaci, Elena "Yamino" Barbarich, Ash Barnes, Morgan Beem, Cory Brown, Ran Brown, Meaghan Carter, Nicole Chartrand, Kadi Fedoruk, Tim Ferarra, Sara Goetter, Emily Hann, Megan Kearney, Michelle "Misha" Krivanek, Justin Lanjil, Angelica Maria Lopez, Laura Neubert, Alexandra Singer, Katie Shanahan, Steven "Shaggy" Shanahan, Annie Stohl, Joanne Webster

Valor is a comic anthology of re-imaged fairy tales showcasing the talent of some of the top creators in the field of digital comics. The purpose of this book is to pay homage to the strength, resourcefulness, and cunning of female heroines in fairy tales. Some of these are recreations of time-honored tales. Others are brand new stories, designed to be passed to future generations.

Valor is fun, adventurous, different, wonderful. All the positive adjectives I can think of. Bright, colourful, expressive artwork combined with rich storytelling. Each story is anchored by a heroine who fights monsters, stands up for herself in dangerous times, or rescues loved ones. Because there are 23 stories, comic and prose, it's a bit hard for me to review each one. All are anchored by heroines going off on quests, taking matters into their own hands. There are white, black, Asian, and even metal heroines. There are straight and gay heroines. They can and do rely on others for support, but these are their stories. Their adventures. Their time to kick butt and take names, if the situation calls for it. As always with anthologies, there are some stories I liked more than others.

There's Prunella by Isabella Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton, where Prunella's scowl is captured perfectly, where she toils away for a witch that cursed her, where she keeps on working for the witch because she pays well. Prunella is grouchy and stubborn but fiercely loyal.

There's Bride of the Rose Beast by Michelle Krivanek, the story of Kari, forced to marry a monster made from a queen's greediness, and the plan to keep the monster from devouring her on their wedding night.

There's Crane Wife by Alex Singer and Jayd Aït-Kaci (text by Ariana Maher), with soft, gorgeous artwork accompanying a heartbreaking story about an injured crane lost in a snow storm and the gift she gave to the hunter who saved her.

There's The Flower in the Gravel by Angelica Maria Lopez, bright with colour, about an abandoned tower of treasure guarded by a dragon and a young girl who doesn't believe in any of that foolish talk. Instead, she races headfirst into a tower filled with dangerous traps to find the greatest treasure of all.

There's Lady Tilda and the Dragon by Sara Goetter, a wordless, emotional tale of Lady Tilda and the dragon she meets in a dark, creepy cave. The artwork is sweet and expressive. I loved how the characters and the setting told the story, making words useless. The ending always leaves me teary-eyed.

And there's Winter's Gift by Joanne Webster and Isabelle Melançon (letters by Megan Lavey-Heaton), about a rabbit travelling through the seasons, using her clever mind and clever wit to outsmart three of them on her journey to the fourth to ask for the rabbits' gift. Bunny never says no, just talks her way around and out of traps, showing that those who look weak aren't necessarily weak.

If you ever get a chance to read this, read it. It's fun and smart, filled with strong and clever female characters who take matters into their own hands.

(I received an e-book copy of this anthology after backing the project on Kickstarter.)