Throwback Review: The Game of Triumphs

Another Throwback Review, this time from February 2012. Take a looksie:

The Game of Triumphs is a YA urban fantasy by Laura Powell.

Fifteen-year-old Cat is on her way home, doing her best to avoid human contact as always, when she can’t help but notice a man being chased – a man that asks for her help. But Cat sees the gleam of excitement in his eyes, along with the fear, and figures he’s just a weirdo.

Yet something about it all sparks her curiosity, and Cat can’t seem to help pursuing the situation. Doing so brings her to an extravagant party that introduces her to the Game of Triumphs. It’s a centuries-old game played between modern-day London and an alternate, unexplainable reality called the Arcanum where game players embark on challenges having to do with the tarot cards they are dealt, or the card they are trying to win. It’s all a bit confusing to Cat at first, but the intrigue is undeniable.

Not long after becoming involved in this enigmatic game, though, Cat finds out just how dangerous and potent the information you can learn in Arcanum can be. Despite others’ single-focus goal to win and gain the power and glory of their Triumph, Cat begins to uncover secrets from her own past that alarm her – including a possible link to the Game of Triumphs from when she was very young.

Determined to learn more, Cat is drawn into the addictive gameplay – and it’s not something you can just walk away from…

My synopsis may be a little befuddling, and I apologize for that. The specifics of the actual game are a little confusing and would take a while to explain – so I’m not. The author does it far better than I could!

The Game of Triumphs has a brilliant, truly enthralling start with a creepy tarot card. It has a plot that feels fresh and new from the get-go, which is fantastic for us bibliophiles that read so much that sometimes plots tend to blur. Not here!

Laura Powell is not shy about throwing us into the story. We’re right in the thick of it from the beginning, though she kindly offers up a tad of exposition to let us a learn a bit more about Cat and her eccentric relationship with her Aunt Bel, who has been her guardian since her parents’ death when she was a child. Its’ sparse but illuminating initial detail provides us some background and explains Cat’s different, likable, maybe slightly standoffish personality.

As she gets more involved in the Game of Triumphs I was just as confused as Cat was about how the game is played. I hoped it would eventually make sense – I was captivated by it. And, happily, Laura Powell expertly lets us learn by little explanation and lots of observation without bombarding us with rules and details in one fell swoop.

The Game of Triumphs is kind of psychedelic, in a good, intoxicating, stimulating way! Mysteries and questions abound and my curiosity always mirrored Cat’s. Startling revelations, done in a hypnotic, dream-like way bring about a new level of meaning and history to the game.

Let me put it this way, since I’m not so sure I’ve made it clear yet: The Game of Triumphs is very cool, very original, and very alluring.

And I will be waiting to read the sequel the day it comes out!

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Interview with the Vampire

Interview with the Vampire is the first book in Anne Rice’s adult horror fantasy Vampire Chronicles series.

When a young reporter gets a chance to interview with the enigmatic, pale man that claims to be a vampire, he takes it. Such begins the long, harrowing tale of Louis, his maker Lestat and his “child” Claudia.

Sweeping from pre-civil war Louisiana to the mists of Europe, Louis weaves his life story for the reporter from the tragic, defining moments before his transition and those bloody, unsettling moments immediately following his meeting with the vampire Lestat – and beyond.

Anyone who has seen the film starring Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and a young Kirsten Dunst may know many details of the turns the novel will take – as it is a fairly strong adaptation, likely due to the fact that Anne Rice herself penned it. However, here we have the original book form where Rice lends that miserable, contemplative, gloomy voice of Louis who is a reluctant vampire, to put it lightly.

Desperately trying to hang on to his humanity, Louis is a conflicted character who is torn between caring for, and being dependent on, his relationships with Lestat and Claudia, while also being horrified by their easy killing and lack of conscience. He is, quite simply, not built to be a vampire but doomed to its fate.

Without providing further plot details, I will say that Interview with the Vampire had gorgeous descriptions and an eloquent, poetic language that was both very enveloping and also, at times, probably more than necessary. I won’t deny occasionally skimming some of the more longwinded narration describing the countryside or what have you.

However, the prose was affective in creating an absorbing atmosphere, a distinct first-person voice and some occasionally powerful emotional punches – from strangely, almost involuntarily, erotic to heartbreaking, tormenting sorrow.

Though Louis’s journey through vampirism was hypnotic, and its eventual conclusion titillated me on a pure character development level, I have been assured by a friend that the next books in the Vampire Chronicles series are far more satisfying. It sounds as though Lestat becomes much more in the spotlight and creates a vibe a little less depressive and a little more fun.

Either way, though, Interview with the Vampire was definitely worth the read and was a great experience. I would strongly recommend bibliophiles with an enjoyment of gothic stories to check it out! I look forward to diving into more novels in the series as soon as I am able.

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Cruel Beauty

Cruel Beauty is a YA retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Rosamund Hodge.

Nyx’s birth was the result of a bargain between her father and the evil ruler of their kingdom, the Gentle Lord Ignifex. In order to provide Nyx’s mother with children, the Gentle Lord secured the promise that one of the daughter’s would become his bride.

Her father never thought to confirm that his wife would be able to survive the birthing. No one ever does think through their bargain entirely…

Since her childhood, Nyx has been being prepared to marry the Gentle Lord – this demon king who caused the death of her own mother. Her family preps her to kill him, to enact the ultimate revenge and save their people from his ongoing bargains and tyranny of curses.

So it is that on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx weds the immortal Gentle Lord via a stone proxy in the town church and proceeds to the mysterious castle that no one but the desperate – looking for a deal – ever comes near.

Yet Ignifex is not what she expects. His red, catlike eyes are frightening, yes, but he is strangely charming. Her own resentment and bitterness that has bubbled beneath the surface her entire life seem to find a kindred spirit – and the castle’s ever-changing labyrinth of supernatural rooms is intoxicating.

Nyx finds the mission she was groomed for since birth – to kill the Gentle Lord – to be a far more difficult prospect than she expected…

Cruel Beauty was a creepy, dark, angst-ridden retelling in the very best way.

This is a truly captivating novel with a heroine that struggles with her inner motivations, hostility and choices. She is no Belle from Disney – and that is okay.

Here we have a young woman who has never felt love from her father – as he has refused to provide love to someone he has to give up. Here we have a young woman that has known for years that she must marry her mother’s murderer – and in fulfilling her mission to kill him, ultimately will have to sacrifice herself for her people, as well.

So when she is suddenly in a position where this demon king actually seems to understand her and accept her for who she is – how is she supposed to kill him? And Ignifex is definitely appealing, while also being enigmatic and maddening with a little bit of scariness.

Cruel Beauty is really about two deeply flawed individuals in a world of curses, dark magic and evil that has haunted their world for ages. It’s about love!

I wouldn’t say I am AS enthusiastically over the moon onCruel Beauty as I have seen some other readers be, but I am definitely a big fan and found it to be a page-turner on both an emotional and plot-wise level.

Definitely one to read and add to the ever growing list of fairy-tale retellings!

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Illuminae

Illuminae is the first book of the YA futuristic sci-fi thriller series The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Krisftoff.

It started off like a day like any other in the year 2575 on the human inhabited planet of Kerenza. Kady had made the difficult decision to break up with her boyfriend Ezra – and she thought that would be the toughest thing about the day.

She didn’t realize her planet would be attacked that afternoon, the victim of two rival mega-corporations battling over the tiny speck of universe they called their home. There was no warning before nearly everything was on fire and people were dying all around them. Suddenly she and her ex, barely speaking since that morning, are forced to flee together – in a desperate attempt to evacuate the planet.

Yet even once they are off Kerenza, it is not the end of the nightmare. There is a warship after their refugee fleets. There’s mysterious talk of quarantines. And the AI that is supposed to be keeping them safe may actually be their enemy…

Wow.

I tried to keep the synopsis relatively brief but still hopefully titillating. This is QUITE the book. A space thriller, sci-fi, espionage, romantic horror story written in a unique manner – interviews with witnesses to the planetary attack, government memorandums, instant messaging, emails and surveillance footage summaries. Plus, even more.

Illuminae presents a distinctive storytelling method that is captivating and very well done. This is a suspenseful novel unlike any other I’ve read – an exciting, frightening, mind bending read that puts forward a clever story.

I very much look forward to the second book in the series and managed to read through the 599 pages of Illuminae quite quickly, taking into account my busy life.

Strongly recommended!!

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The Dead House

The Dead House is a YA contemporary psychological thriller by debut author Dawn Kurtagich.

Two decades ago there was a fire at Elmbridge High, leaving dead and missing students.

So much was unknown at the time, though fascination and mystery surround the now abandoned, condemned former boarding school.

Then a diary is found among the rubble.

It is not that of Carly Johnson, a primary focus in the initial investigation – a student who vanished without a trace.

Instead it was written by Kaitlyn Johnson.

Who is she? How is she related to Carly? Did she truly exist?

This new information reopens the case – and an examination of the diary alongside gathered psychiatric reports, video footage, text message and emails creates a far more disturbing account than anyone expected…

The Dead House is CREEPY.

It’s been a while since I read a book that left me a bit unsettled each time I put it down to go to bed, go about my daily tasks, etc. But this one did it. Uh huh. CREEPY.

Let’s dive deeper into that, shall we?

Dawn Kurtagich uses the various means of storytelling very well. We have newspaper clippings, diary entries and more – as mentioned above – to piece together a story that has multiple layers.

I do not want to give anything away. But I will say that we start with a subdued, but effective, introduction to Carly and Kaitlyn. Knowing that there will be death and fire in their future creates an ongoing ominous vibe that never decreases.

Often the chapters would start with an indication of how many days are remaining until the “incident”.

*Shudders*

It’s an English boarding school. We have some mentally unstable students – or ARE they? – and a set of circumstances very outside the usual.

You’re never quite sure what to believe – as our narrators may only be so reliable.

There is intrigue galore – not only with that is happening to Carly/Kaitlyn but also regarding her parents death, which she cannot remember.

It is very difficult to describe the many awesome, chilling things that happen without giving away too much – so I can just strongly encourage you to read The Dead House for yourself??

It is remarkable but in that way that lasts. It makes you uneasy, puts you on the edge of your seat and makes you wonder just what you believe.

I really, really, really liked The Dead House.

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Uglies

Uglies is a YA dystopian novel by Scott Westerfeld.

Still an ugly, Tally is looking forward to her upcoming sixteenth birthday.

That is the day she will have her operation to become a pretty, as everyone does at sixteen, and move to New Pretty Town - the place all the newly gorgeous young people in society spend their time having fun all the time.

Her best friend Peris has already turned pretty – and the loneliness Tally feels as she waits for her day to join him is hollowing out a hole in her heart. She worries he forgets about her as he adapts to his new, pretty life.

When she meets Shay, Tally is shocked to learn that Shay is not as excited to turn pretty. She says odd things, such as not liking the idea of looking like everyone else – not liking that they are unable to consider their current faces pretty.

So, Shay running away right before her own operation stuns Tally – but not as much as it might have. Yet, when heretofore unknown authorities in their society approach Tally and offer her a choice – find Shay and the rebel group she joined outside their city limits or never have her own operation – Tally knows the world she knows will never be the same…

Uglies is a fairly popular book – there’s a good chance you’ve already read it or have heard of it. The concept of everyone being cosmetically altered to be pretty at the age of sixteen sounded interesting to me, so I finally jumped in. This is the first book in a four book series.

Though Uglies has an intriguing premise and some compelling dystopic details, I found myself not loving Tally. She was not all that likable to me. A bit boring, a bit too much of a follower sheep and just all together not interesting as a heroine to me.

As the story continued, my ongoing inability to get myself to care about Tally caused me to become more and more disenchanted, unfortunately. Uglies definitely felt like more of a plot driven novel, rather than character focused.

Instead of fleshing out its people and peeling back layers of information as to how this society came to be, what is truly going on, etc., I felt that not much was truly happening. There’s an odd little love triangle and romance that did not work for me either – no chemistry, no tension, no true suspense.

Despite having a hopeful bibliophile heart and still being attracted by the original premise, Uglies never lived up to the hype for me. Sad, but true.

By the end, I had a slight curiosity as to what might happen next – but I wish I’d liked it better. Unless I was handed the remaining three books for free, I do not see myself pursuing the rest of the series any time soon.

Definitely check it out for yourself, though! It’s a bestselling series that MANY readers have found extremely suspenseful! This is simply one book lover’s opinion alone.

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Finding Audrey

Finding Audrey is a YA contemporary novel by Sophia Kinsella, author of the bestselling Shopaholic series.

After an incident with classmates, Audrey has developed an anxiety disorder. She now rarely leaves the house and wears dark sunglasses at all times to avoid eye contact.

Her family is loving, if crazy, and are working hard to help her get better – as is her kind therapist, Dr. Sarah. It’s a slow, but steady, progress.

When her brother’s gaming teammate, Linus, comes over to the house she initially feels as much anxiety as she feels about anything she is not comfortable with – that is, A LOT.

But soon she finds that Linus is patient with her disorder and is encouraging her to push farther into recovery than ever before. Suddenly, there is momentum.

And perhaps some romantic feelings…

I have never read the Shopaholic series, so I wasn’t sure what kind of writing style I was getting into at all. I have to say, all in all, I am pleasantly surprised by Finding Audrey!

This novel is more about dealing with psychological damage and the inner workings of a family under stress than it is about romance. However, the romance that is involved is sweet and impactful on the plotline.

Though, I am quick to clarify, romance is NOT the cure to Audrey’s anxiety disorder. I have seen many concerned readers online that were rebuffed by the idea that a boy could, essentially, be the antidote to a mental disorder. That is definitely not the case here – it is more about how his addition to her life affects her recovery.

Finding Audrey also has a comic element, though it never minimalized the weightiness of Audrey’s issues. It simply revolved around a pretty hilarious, sort of crazy family. I liked the way they all seemed to love each other, though – there was a sense of helpfulness, despite their eccentricities.

With all of these components mixed in with engrossing drama, I found Finding Audrey to be a VERY quick read. It was very good and very fast.

I recommend it!

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The Monstrumologist

The Monstrumologist is a YA historical horror novel by Rick Yancey.

Orphaned apprentice Will Henry lives and works with Dr. Warthrop – a man whose area of study is monstrumology, i.e. monsters.

Already Will Henry has seen terrors that many men three times his age could never imagine, but when a midnight caller drags in the corpse of a young woman entangled with the carcass of an Anthropophagus, the first of his most horrific cases begins.

A headless monster of extreme height and size, eyes deep in its shoulders and a mouth of razor-sharp teeth in its stomach, Anthropophagi are not supposed to exist in New Jerusalem. Yet, here one is.

Will and the monstrumologist now must race against time to put a stop to these horrors before they kill again. And again. And again…

The Monstrumologist is a gory, suspenseful, creepy novel that demands a strong stomach of its reader.

What’s wonderful about it is that as grisly and graphic as the novel is, as it delves into a monsterific mystery, it is written with an eloquent, elegant narration that delves into character development, subtle human emotion and an out-of-the-ordinary relationship.

This book can be deeply disturbing but also a page-turner with excellent characterizations, severe consequences and a sense of caring as we follow young Will Henry. I grew to have an affection for Will and even the eccentric, brilliant doctor.

I have to say that I am most determined to read the next three books in the series – though I did often feel rather nauseous at the detail of grossness in The Monstrumologist.

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Everything, Everything

Everything, Everything is a YA contemporary debut novel by Nicola Yoon.

Madeline is allergic to the world. She never leaves her sanitized house or sees anyone besides her mom and longtime nurse Carla. She reads a lot, her books arriving in vacuum sealed packaging, and does her schooling online.

Used to this life, Madeline has accepted it and enjoys it. She looks forward to her movie nights with her mom and doesn’t think about how she hasn’t met anyone new in seventeen years.

Then one day a moving truck arrives next door. A boy about her age, named Olly and dressed all in black, notices her looking from her window. Their eyes meet and now she can think of hardly anything else.

When they start emailing and IMing, Maddie becomes sure of one thing – things are changing.

And it’s certainly going to be a disaster…

Everything, Everything is a beautifully constructed story.

When we first meet Maddie, she is fully uncomplaining of her life – loving her books, her mom and Carla. She knows she can’t have more and she’s okay with that. Yet once a burgeoning crush begins, she cannot deny the sudden desire for more.

With a great level of pacing, Maddie slowly becomes more and more involved with Olly until she realizes that never meeting anyone, touching anyone or going anywhere is what she’s had to do to survive – but perhaps survival is not the only thing that matters.

Maybe living is what matters.

And for the first time she is questioning if what she is doing is truly living.

Thus begins a rather taut story of first love and coming-of-age, as the reader both want Madeline to have more but also fears for what that will do to her.

This is a swift, absorbing read that will tug at the heartstrings and also brings about a feeling of inspiration. We should never take for granted what we have – and remember that it may be preferable to live than to just survive.

Compelling. Elegant. Memorable.

*Keep an eye open for your chance to read Everything, Everything when it is released in September 2015!

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A Million Miles Away

A Million Miles Away is a YA contemporary novel by Lara Avery.

High school senior Kelsey’s life changes when her identical twin sister, Michelle, dies in a car accident. Her other half is gone. There’s an emptiness inside of her that she can only see reflected in her parents grief-filled eyes.

When Kelsey accidentally intercepts a broken Skype call from Michelle’s boyfriend Peter, deployed in Afghanistan and unaware of Michelle’s death, he thinks he’s seeing Michelle.

Immediately, Kelsey tries to correct him – but the call is so broken he cannot hear her. Soon she realizes that thinking of Michelle is one of the only things keeping Peter going and she finds the truth stuck in her throat the next time she has an opportunity to tell him.

So, she pretends to be Michelle. Emails, chat, written letters.

Initially she tries to write like Michelle – finds an odd comfort and connection to her twin by identifying with everything that made her who she was.

But it doesn’t take long before pretend becomes real – and Kelsey realizes she is falling for Peter…

A Million Miles Away is an absorbing, engrossing story of grief and loss. I scarfed it down very easily and very fast.

Written with a sensitivity that makes Kelsey immensely empathetic, the author manages to make the decision to not tell Peter the truth understandable. You feel Kelsey’s need to, essentially, bring her sister back to life every time she talks to him. And the sadness that comes with the end of each call, each time she has to face that Michelle is no longer there, is evident.

Though it sounds melodramatic for Kelsey to fall for Peter, it happens in a natural, sweet manner in the novel. I appreciated that though Kelsey has some guilt about falling for her sister’s boyfriend, she primarily knows that her twin would understand. That was rather refreshing.

The true worry is the shame of deceiving Peter. Once it’s done, it’s hard to undo.

Despite my captivation in this quiet, mournful story, I did feel that the secondary characters could have been more drawn. Everybody but Kelsey felt like faceless background characters, with the possible exception of Peter and Kelsey’s parents.

Also, though I felt A Million Miles Away was a lovely, heartfelt romance – I felt the end was a bit rushed and convenient, which was disappointing.

However, A Million Miles Away was an excellent, swift read that was worth every minute!

*I received a free review copy of A Million Miles Away from NOVL. Their generosity did not influence the honesty of this review in any way.

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