Saturday, August 6, 2016

Mini Reviews of Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire & Silence by Mercedes Lackey and Cody Martin

Bea's Book Nook, Review, Every Heart A Doorway, Seanan MGuire
Series: Every Heart A Doorway #1
Publisher: Tor
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: April 5th 2016
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit*  | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

My Thoughts:

Have you ever wanted to travel to a fairy land? To go to Narnia or the Shire or down Alice's rabbit hole to Wonderland? What if one day you went but then one day, months or years later, you opened a door or turned a corner and were back home again? Could you relearn how to live in this world or would you always be trying to get back to your fairy land? Coming back home, regardless of whether you want to stay or return, can be harsh and challenging and heartbreaking. Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children is intended to be a place of refuge for those children, where they can adjust away from the demands of their families and have the company of fellow travelers, if they choose. 

"Every Heart A Doorway" was dark, disturbing, and often confusing. The dark and disturbing are classic McGuire though she kicked it up a few notches with this world and this book. I didn't love it but the more I read, the more I connected with the characters and enjoyed it. I did enjoy the mystery aspect of it but I'm a sucker for mysteries, always have been. I'm on the fence about reading future books. They won't be auto-buys or auto reads like her other series are but I may get them from the library.


Bea's Book Nook, Review, Silence, Mercedes Lackey, Cody Martin
Series: SERRAted Edge #9
Publisher: Baen Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date:  April 5th 2016
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Kobo | Baen | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR. ENTRY #9 IN MERCEDES LACKEY'S CELEBRATED SERRATED EDGE URBAN FANTASY SERIES!

Teenager Staci's father has just remarried, and now she finds herself being shunted aside by her new stepmother.  Shunted all the way to the run-down and dying Maine town of Silence, in fact, and the custody of her alcoholic mother.

It gets worse.  Silence seems to be stuck in the proverbial stone age. There's no cell phone service except at the very top of a bluff outside of town, no internet except dialup, and not one familiar franchise or business. Staci's mom seems to have gotten even worse since the last time Staci lived with her. The only bright spots in the whole place are a friendly waitress at the diner, and a bookstore where she meets a gaggle of geeks and gamers.

But all is not as it seems in Silence. There are strange things moving beneath the shabby surface, terrible plots in play, and deadly players in the game, and Staci is about to find herself caught up in the middle of it all.

SERRAted Edge Series
Born to Run (#1) by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon
Wheels of Fire (#2) by Mercedes Lackey and Mark Shepherd
When the Bough Breaks (#3)  by Mercedes Lackey and Holly Lisle
Chrome Circle (#4) by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon
Stoned Souls (#5) by Mercedes Lackey
Elvendude (#6) by Mark Shepherd
Spiritride (#7) by Mark Shepherd
Lazerwarz (#8) by Mark Shepherd

The Chrome Borne (omni contains Born to Run and Chrome Circle) by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon
The Other World (omni contains When the Bough Breaks and Wheels of Fire) by Mercedes Lackey, Mark Shepherd and Holly Lisle

My Thoughts:

When I saw this book was available at NetGalley, I ran to request it. Long ago, I loved this series, and have fond memories of it. I had no idea Lackey had a new book out in that world and was shocked to discover that I had missed several books in the middle of the series over the years. That wasn't a problem as the book easily stood alone; there were hints at events in earlier books but you could jump in with this one. I wouldn't recommend it though. Maybe my expectations were too high since I had such fond memories of those first books in the series but this was a let down. In fact, several times I came close to not finishing but just saying the heck with it. :( 

This was a bleak book; bleak story, bleak setting, bleak events. The earlier books I had read weren't happy happy joy joy but they had hope and there was light and humor. This, this was like being in a long dark tunnel with no good way to turn. Again, it may have been my expectations. Someone without my expectations might enjoy it more.

The concept of magically cutting off the town of Silence so it was technologically cut off was interesting; Lackey's typical harsh and dysfunctional family life was at the forefront once again; our elven hero was actually a jackass and that was a shock for me. The attitude toward elves in this book was dark, distrustful, and even hateful. It surprised me and I didn't like it. Most of the twists I saw coming. All around, this book just didn't work for me.

6 comments:

  1. Seannan is on my list. I've been reading rave reviews for her work and I should definitely bandwagon

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    1. I definitely recommend McGuire's writing but yeah, start with a different book. :)

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  2. Both sound like they were well done but the darkness doesn't suit my reading mood right now. I've been wanting to read Lackey for awhile and I was under the impression that while not all unicorns and rainbows there was some humor in her books. This one sounds much more dark than I was expecting. I think I might try an earlier book. Great reviews! They both sound good even if they aren't for me right now. I think they'd be good picks for a different mood.

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    1. I think part of my problem when I read them was that I was in a dark place and I wasn't looking for dark books. I've read reviews of Silence that crucify the writing. I had had such high expectations that when I was disappointed in the writing, I thought the problem was my expectations. Apparently, it's just a really crappy book. Whereas McGuire's boom I might have enjoyed more if I'd been in a different frame of mind.

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  3. I've been very curious about Every Heart A Doorway because I love a good portal fantasy and the concept of people returning from those lands and having to adjust is a neat one. I'm not sure I'd like the dark element so much- that's what keeps me from jumping into her books more, i think (I read my first McGuire a few months) so yeah I'm not sure. I am intrigued though...

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    1. It was darker than her other works and parts of it were confusing but she's made an intriguing world. Start with her Toby Daye series; it's less dark, has good humor, excellent character development and she makes good use of British fairytales.

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