The Queen's Exiles by Barbara Kyle

Note: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested The Queen’s Exiles by Barbara Kyle because it seemed like it was a historical fiction about a strong woman and I like historical fiction, especially stories set before, during and after the reign of Henry VIII because I’m really intrigued by the crazy wife murdering queen for some reason. And yes with the whole title being about the “queen’s exiles” I had a feeling she wouldn’t be much of a character and her citizen’s would be but Elizabeth was nothing but a deus ex machina, using her queenly powers to bring about a happy ending. So that was a big letdown among many other confusing and annoying plot points and writing techniques.

I sincerely hope that a lot of the technical issues have been solved in the published copies because my ARC was all over the place. First of all, I’m okay with books that switch perspectives between different characters but this one gave no indication when that switch would happen and it happened in such random places that it got soo annoying. Paragraphs would go on for pages and pages. Page long flashbacks would happen in the middle of a section without any clue that they were flashbacks. Whole paragraphs would be repeated less than 10% of the book after they were first mentioned.

And the content itself was not as interesting as I would have liked. There were so many passages about the specifics of maintaining a ship which I understand was important because the main characters were into ship repair and sailing but honestly I think the first 3% of the book was all about the rigging, masts, etc. As someone who has been on a boat but never messed around with that part of it it got so boring so fast. And this happened again and again throughout the book.

Now onto the romance. I had not read the rest of the books by Barbara Kyle so perhaps I was missing something but I thought the romance between the two main characters was unbelievable. It felt as though Fenella and Adam only admired each other because they kept saving each other’s lives, like it was an obligation to feel attracted to each other and not much more. And so when the Queen came in with all her deus ex machina-ness at the end I really didn’t care. I didn’t really care about any of the characters actually.

So all in all I this book was not for me.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I think I might be broken because I didn't cry during this book nearly as much as I tear up watching the commercials for the upcoming movie based on it. That does not mean it wasn't an emotional read but from reviews from friends on its tear-jerkiness I was expecting something akin to what happened to me during the last half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (meaning so many tears that the book had to be put down so I could wipe my eyes and un-fog my glasses). I'm wondering if perhaps the warning ahead kept me from bawling or if it was the fact that the emotional scenes kept getting interrupted by phone calls, dogs barking, etc. But tears, or lack thereof, aside I did love the book.

So for those of you don't know, The Fault in Our Stars is about Hazel Grace Lancaster, a teenage girl with terminal cancer and her relationship with fellow cancer ridden teenager Augustus Waters. There is certainly more to the story (commentary on life and death, the ups and downs of a teenagers life that even the healthiest of teenagers will relate to, etc.) but what drives the plot is Hazel and Augustus forming a relationship around a book that Hazel suggests he read. What follows is a beautifully written coming of age story with fantastic characters.

I loved Hazel and Augustus. They were sarcastic, intelligent, and annoying at times (which is good because characters who are perfect all the time are even more annoying).

And since I like to read negative reviews of books and get really mad at them I'd also like to address some of the issues I saw people had with this book. Some people thought the two main characters, who are sixteen, did not speak like they were teenagers. And yes there was quite a lot of existential musings and so forth but jeeze...these are two teenagers who, instead of worrying about what party to go to during the weekend, they are worried about how many days they have left to live. Isn't that enough of a reason for them to act more maturely?

Plus, not every teenager in the world speaks in text abbreviations or uses an elementary school vocabulary. And I liked how in certain situations they were very immature while in others they were not because that's just normal for people of any age.

I did like the story although I was expecting, and wanting, the story to continue a bit further than it did. (And honestly I was sort of figuring it would end like the fictional book within a book An Imperial Affliction that Hazel and Augustus liked so much).

Village Books by Craig McLay

After reading a few reviews for this book I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it because quite a few of them were not exactly favorable. Now I know why.

Village Books is a more boring (and book centric instead of music centric) version of the 1995 movie Empire Records. (I'm not sure how many people will understand the reference but I just thought I'd put it out there). Village Books is about a crazy crew of bookstore workers (some in managerial positions, some part time, some who the reader barely hears from personally) and the owners and customers to the store. And the characters are pretty entertaining but unfortunately they don't make up for the complete lack of a plot.

From the blurb for the book I knew the story centered around the addition of a beautiful aspiring actress to the renegade team of bookstore employees. But I figured there would be more to it, especially with the mention of how the shop owners were aging and ailing and how some horrible corporate company wanted to buy the store out from under everyone. There should have been more of a conflict there, right? Shouldn't saving the store which was so important to the plot and all these characters, be a key plot point? Apparently not.

So I'd say the main saving grace of the book, for me, was that all the characters worked around books (which I love) and that quite a few of the "types" of workers and customers are ones I've seen while working at a library. But it just wasn't enough for this to be a truly good book.

Plus the ending was just too predictable and happily ever after. Everything worked out for the good guys while the bad/annoying guys got their comeuppance but that all happened in a pretty brief epilogue.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

I will admit that, although I often love historical fiction, I'm actually not a history buff at all. But there are certain time periods/historical events that I am especially drawn to (i.e. Tudor England and the Holocaust). So, when I was burnt out on fantasy stories and wanted something standalone and I ran across a review for this book I was instantly drawn to it because the situations listed on the back cover were very much like those found Nazi concentration camps.

The book is about Lina,a Lithuanian girl who is taken from her home by the Soviets during the summer of 1941. What follows is a years long journey that separates her family from her father and takes them to Siberian prison camps where they face disease, starvation, and much much more. And yes this is a young adult novel (which so many people tend to look down upon) and yes there is a touch of a romance weaved into the story but the focus was not on the romance itself. Instead it was on hope, survival, and the power of artwork.

I liked the characters and personally thought they came alive through the beautifully written passages. I worried for them and I hoped for them even though I knew going into it that not everyone would make it out alive. (I was pleasantly surprised to read the letter at the end and learn that there was a bit of a happy ending for a few of the characters).

I thought the pacing was good. In a story of confusion, shattered hopes and dreams, one would dwell more on the beginning of the fall of their normal life than after they became used to it so I find it very understandable that the first train ride and journey took up a majority of the story but not a majority of the character's lives.

And I also liked that in almost every chapter there was a flashback to something that happened in Lina's life before she was imprisoned. They not only showed how different the protagonist's life was before it happened but I also found it interesting that most of the flashbacks directly correlated with what was happening in real time (i.e. remembering conversations that Lina didn't understand at the time but would in the new context of her life).

All in all I really liked this book and thought it was powerful, beautifully written and heartbreaking in places. And I'm also glad that it taught me more history because, as a friend of mine pointed out in her own review of this book, we must know about our past to make sure we don't repeat it.