Welcome to the Wild West! | Revenge and the Wild

Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto

Published: February 2nd 2016 by Balzer + Bray

Genre: young adult, historical, western, fantasy, steampunk

Goodreads summary: 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.

This thrilling novel is a remarkable tale of danger and discovery, from debut author Michelle Modesto.

REVIEW

Western books seem to be a trend in YA fiction since last year, and I can’t say that it bothers me, as I’ve now read all of them (Walk on Earth a Stranger is still my favourite <3). Michelle Modesto crafted a unique western novel, though, because it included some aspects of the Wild West I hadn’t seen in the previous books published, but also because there were so many paranormal aspects.

The world was complex, because it was, of course, set in the Wild West and we could find all the tropes that go along with that, it even had cannibals, but also every paranormal creature you can think of (even leprechauns!). While this aspect intrigued me and made sense because of an aspect of the plot, it felt a bit too much at times, because there were too many plotlines for a standalone book, in my opinion. Nevertheless, Michelle Modesto built an interesting and unique world.

Moreover, it had steampunk elements, which intertwined with the fantasy aspects and I loved that! I was excited because of that, and it did not disappoint. Indeed, Westie had a mechanical arm, but there also was Alistair, who had a machine in front of his mouth to be able to speak, and a machine that could help magic.

Westie was a great heroine, she was very flawed and struggled with addiction. I could understand the choices she made, because of her past – well, cannibals ate her family and her arm, after all – even though it was quite questionable at times. She was a strong and badass character most of the time, but I was quite annoyed when she kept blushing whenever one of the love interests said something, it didn’t actually fit with her personality. The secondary characters were all very interesting and I liked that we actually had a cast of diverse characters. Of course, it would feel weird not to have that in a western setting, but I still appreciated it. It feels like YA western authors get this.

This book was entertaining and had many plot lines, like I mentioned earlier, so I didn’t have the time to get bored. However, I was disappointed in the fact that from the beginning, Westie knew who the antagonists were, but had to spend the whole novel assembling proofs against them in order to do something. There wasn’t any surprise in the identity of the antagonists because of that… Not even with the plot twist, as I had guessed it. Moreover, I would have liked the villains to be more fleshed out, because in the end, they felt a bit flat.

What really bothered me in Revenge and the Wild was the romance. It felt like Westie had three love interests, she was blushing way too much, and it was so obvious who she would end up with. At the same time, yes, it showed that despite her mechanical arm, men could still be interested in her – when so many were scared of her – but it felt a bit too much, as every “interesting” man liked her. Nope.

Overall, Revenge and the Wild was a promising debut with great characters and a unique setting. However, I wasn’t entirely convinced by the antagonists and felt like the romance was a bit too much. I will probably read Michelle Modesto’s next work, because she has so much potential.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Do you like YA western novels? What's your favourite?

Strange and Ever After | Book review

Title: Strange and Ever After (Something Strange and Deadly #3)

Author: Susan Dennard

Published: July 22nd 2014 by HarperTeen

Goodreads summary: In the conclusion to the trilogy that Publishers Weekly called “a roaring—and addictive—gothic world,” Eleanor Fitt must control her growing power, face her feelings for Daniel, and confront the evil necromancer Marcus...all before it’s too late.

He took her brother, he took her mother, and now, Marcus has taken her good friend Jie. With more determination than ever to bring this sinister man to justice, Eleanor heads to the hot desert streets of nineteenth-century Egypt in hopes of ending this nightmare. But in addition to her increasingly tense relationships with Daniel, Joseph, and her demon, Oliver, Eleanor must also deal with her former friend, Allison, who has curiously entangled herself in Eleanor’s mission.

With the rising dead chomping at her every move and Jie’s life hanging in the balance, Eleanor is convinced that her black magic will see her through to the bitter end. But there will be a price. Though she and the Spirit Hunters have weathered every battle thus far, there will be consequences to suffer this time—the effects of which will be irreversible. And when it’s over, only some will be able to live a strange and ever after.

Susan Dennard will leave readers breathless and forever changed in the concluding pages of this riveting ride.

REVIEW

One of my favourite aspects of these books was the traveling parts. With Something Strange and Deadly, we started the story in Philadelphia, then went to Le Havre and Paris in A Darkness Strange and Lovely, finally went to Marseille and Egypt in this book. There was no way I could have been bored because there was this perpetual change of scenery, we went to so many places.

I felt like we didn’t see the Dead that much because this book focused more on necromancy and Eleanor trying to control it. We also got a really interesting take on Egyptian mythology, which was linked to necromancy, a change from the demi-gods trope. The artefacts were a little creepy tbh. Moreover, choosing to kink everything with Egypt was a great idea because at that time, people were so fascinated with Egypt, which you can see with the party in Cairo.

I really enjoyed the characters; they grew a lot since the first book, especially El, of course. Her relationship with Oliver improved a lot in this book; he became a lot more like a brother to her than just a tool. The romance we all waited since the first book finally happened and the characters looked so right together!

This book was action-packed; the situation started at the end of Something Strange and Deadly was resolved, with some betrayals. The ending made me feel so emotional, I was like: WHY SUSAN WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO US THE CHARACTERS? Sadly, I expected it; I hoped I was wrong but nooooo. It still hurts so much…

The last chapter was full of hope for the characters so I’m making my peace with event. The characters will be able to complete part of their dream, hopefully.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

A Darkness Strange and Lovely | Book review

Title: A Darkness Strange and Lovely (Something Strange and Deadly #2)

Author: Susan Dennard

Published: July 23rd 2013 by HarperTeen

Goodreads summary: With her brother dead and her mother on the verge of insanity, Eleanor Fitt is utterly alone. Even the Spirit-Hunters - Joseph, Jie and the handsome, enigmatic Daniel - have fled to Paris. So when Eleanor begins to hear the vicious barking of hounds and see images of haunting yellow eyes, she fears the worst - that the Dead, and the necromancer Marcus, are coming for her.

To escape and search out the Spirit-Hunters, Eleanor boards a steamer bound for France. There she meets Oliver, a young man who claims to have known her brother. Though friendly, Oliver entices Eleanor with necromancy and black magic, yet as long as she can resist his powerful temptation, she'll be fine. But when she arrives in Paris, she finds that the Dead have taken over the city...and there's a whole new evil lurking. With the body count rising, Eleanor is forced to make a deadly decision that will go against everything the Spirit-Hunters stand for.

In Paris, there's a price for this darkness strange and lovely...and it may have Eleanor paying with her life.

REVIEW

This book had the same tropes that usual second books in trilogy, but it was done beautifully. I wasn’t bored a single moment, because the author took us to other parts of the world, we didn’t stay in Philadelphia. At the beginning of the book, Eleanor is truly a misfit (lol), she’s all alone because her mother is an asylum, her friends turned on her, the Spirit-Hunters have left and of course, there is the matter of her hand.

Eleanor is forced to leave town when Marcus comes after her and sail on a boat to France, because the Spirit Hunters are now in Paris. There, she meets new friends like Laure and form new alliances with the mysterious Oliver, who knows a lot more about her brother than he let on. Moreover, Eleanor is hunted down by creatures of the underworld, the Hell Hounds. I loved that Eleanor was on the ship, because it’s one of my favourite tropes in books. There was a scene of dream on the boat that was such like in Anastasia.

France was an amazing setting, because for once, I actually felt that the author did her research right. I live in Paris, so I get mad easily about French settings, haha. There was only one grammatical error in Susan Dennard’s French: it’s not “Le Cupidon Belle” but “Le Beau Cupidon”. Anyways, the French was correct for the rest of the book, and there was a lot of research about Paris, because the author mentioned Haussmann. Moreover, other cities were mentioned, like Le Havre where Americans sailed, or Marseille, from where Laure came from.

This book was a moment of deceptions for Eleanor, because a lot of people she considered friends turned their back to her. The author explained a lot more of the necromancy, because of the plot. Demons were also introduced, I really enjoyed that aspect. However, I had figured out who the bad guy was really early in the book. I noticed that the author doesn’t flinch when she has to wound a beloved character.

I enjoyed this book slightly less than the first one, but it was already SO GOOD. The next one seems full of promises; I’m really looking forward to it.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Something Strange and Deadly | Book review

Title: Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1)

Author: Susan Dennard

Published: July 24th 2012 by HarperTeen

Goodreads summary: Philadelphia 1876. The Dead are rising. A zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor Fitt. Whoever controls the Dead Army has her brother. She avoids her mother's choice of husband for the lab of Spirit Hunters, including the maddeningly stubborn yet handsome Daniel. The situation threatens her reputation, and the lives of everyone in the city.

REVIEW

I was hesitant to dive into this book because ZOMBIES. Honestly, I’m a total chicken that doesn’t like to venture outside her comfort zone, but it was 19^th century, so I literally had to give it a try. Actually, this book has become one of my favourites, I feel guilty for not having read it sooner.

This book is set in 1876 during the International Exhibition of Philadelphia. Actually, I had no idea there was one in Philadelphia at that time, but I’m such a history nerd I want to know more about it now. I saw a YouTube video where Susan said she read documents from that period to immerse herself into it and honestly it worked so well. I could feel like I was there. Moreover, it wasn’t exactly easy for Eleanor to sneak away, which doesn’t appear in a lot of novels set in this time period, it’s something I really enjoyed, because it felt more realistic. I think the author really understood the social conventions of this time period and reproduced them well. I don’t know about you, but I had never read a book set in Philadelphia, I thought it was very original.

The zombies are never called zombies; they are referred to as “the Dead” or “the Hungry”, depending the time of creature. I enjoyed these paranormal creatures because they are raised by necromancers, which is pretty cool. Apparently, necromancy runs in the blood. The voodoo was also mentioned; in fact I pictured Joseph as Dr Facilier from the Princess and the Frog, but a lot nicer. Because of the Dead, it was a creepy read. It had a lighter tone in the beginning of the book but it became dark really soon.

I got friends on the other side ♪♫

The characters were well-written and diverse, for one part because Jie is Chinese and Joseph is Creole (so is Dr Facilier I’m sure), but also because of their social status: Eleanor was from the aristocracy, but it wasn’t the case of the Spirit Hunters. Eleanor was really brave, because she was nothing special but still did everything to save her brother. However, she’s very impulsive and makes stupid decisions because of that. She also loves food, so that’s always enjoyable. Daniel was an interesting character, because he has a past as a criminal and he’s an inventor. Jie was such a character I wasn’t expecting, she is so brave and kick-ass. She’s a bald Chinese girl who dresses like a man, because she doesn’t want to be forced into other’s ideas of the place of the women. Also, like she said, if she was dressed as a girl, she would have been put into a brothel. Joseph’s accent was soooooooo realistic, I’m really happy with that!

I really enjoyed the plot; we were put straight into the action.

"Dead!” a woman screamed. “It’s the Dead!”

That was the first sentence, which immediately held my attention; I was sucked right into the story because of it. Even if the plot was resolving a lot on the investigation, it also focused on the society, because Eleanor was part of it and attended to a lot of events. I guessed a part of the plot twist, but there were part of the ending I wasn’t expecting, I was just gaping and had to read a sentence four times before processing it at some point.

Something Strange and Deadly was an engaging read I was unable to put down, I read late into the night and then all day, because I had to know how it would end. If you loved the Infernal Devices, this book is for you!

This Monstrous Thing | Book Review

Title: This Monstrous Thing
Author: Mackenzi Lee
Published: September 22nd 2015 by Katherine Tegen Books

Goodreads summary: In 1818 Geneva, men built with clockwork parts live hidden away from society, cared for only by illegal mechanics called Shadow Boys. Two years ago, Shadow Boy Alasdair Finch’s life shattered to bits.

His brother, Oliver—dead.

His sweetheart, Mary—gone.

His chance to break free of Geneva—lost.

Heart-broken and desperate, Alasdair does the unthinkable: He brings Oliver back from the dead.

But putting back together a broken life is more difficult than mending bones and adding clockwork pieces. Oliver returns more monster than man, and Alasdair’s horror further damages the already troubled relationship.

Then comes the publication of Frankenstein and the city intensifies its search for Shadow Boys, aiming to discover the real life doctor and his monster. Alasdair finds refuge with his idol, the brilliant Dr. Geisler, who may offer him a way to escape the dangerous present and his guilt-ridden past, but at a horrible price only Oliver can pay… 

REVIEW

I’ll be honest; I’ve never read Frankenstein or a retelling of it, because it never really appealed me. However, we were in October, so Halloween’s time, and I told myself I didn’t want to be an idiot and never try a Frankenstein book. I was right, because this is one of the best books I’ve read this year, and it’s a debut!

The historical setting was on point. It totally shows that Mackenzi Lee did her research, because I totally felt into 19^th century Europe (Switzerland, the German confederation). The writing made it so much easier to picture everything. The society was pictured in a realistic way, for example I really enjoyed that the clockwork men were seen as ungodly and to be seen as less-than-nothing, because Switzerland was a very religious country (because of Calvin in the 16^th century) and it was the mentalities at that time, even if it was starting to change. Moreover, the intellectual world was among those social aspects, I really enjoyed it, because I have a “19^th century Europe intellectuals” class at uni this year, it was right my alley because I knew all these intellectuals.

I really enjoyed the steampunk aspect; it was interesting how it was all linked up to Frankenstein, because the clockwork men could totally identify themselves to the creature. This leads me to something that surprised me in a good way and was one of my favourite aspects of this book: the book itself, Frankenstein. I thought that because it was a retelling, there would be no mention of the book, but that’s the contrary (that's because I didn't read the summary, tbh). Frankenstein is here inspired by the events of the book and plays a big part in the plot, for example the main character has to figure out who wrote it (even if I figured it out right away).

The characters were enjoyable, but not my favourite part of this story. However, one of the characters is gay; it was something I really enjoyed because being gay then was way more difficult than now. Moreover, this character was actually my favourite. Considering the romance, I liked that something could have happened but didn’t, it was a nice change in a YA book. Indeed, two years before the story, the character in question would have dreamt of this relationship, but after all the events of the book… He didn’t.

The ending was totally open, it was enough and I really enjoyed that the characters took different paths, even if they had lived a lot together. This book was enough as a standalone and I wouldn’t want it to be a series, because it was great this way.

Have you read this book or do you plan to? What did you think of it?