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Book Review of The Wolf Road, by Beth Lewis

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The Wolf Road

I won a copy of Beth Lewis‘ The Wolf Road from Library Thing.

Description from Goodreads:
In the remote wilds of a ravaged land, Elka has been raised by a man who isn’t her father. Since finding her wandering in the woods when she was seven, he has taught her how to hunt, shoot, set snares and start fires–everything she needs to survive. All she knows of the world outside is gleaned from whispers of a cataclysmic event that turned the clock back on civilization by a hundred and fifty years and reduced governments and technology to shambles, leaving men at the mercy of the elements–and each other. 

Everything changes when Elka learns that the man she has been calling father is harboring a terrible secret. Armed with nothing but her knife and her wiles, she decides to escape his clutches and sets out on a long journey to the frozen north in the hope of finding her long-lost parents. 

But as the trail of blood and bodies grows in her path, Elka realizes that daddy won’t be letting his little girl go without a fight. If she’s going to survive, she’ll have to turn and confront not just him, but the truth about what he’s turned her into.

Review:
Wow, I really liked this. I consider it one of my very few five-star reads of the year. It wasn’t perfect. There are a few convenient occurrences, the wolf is too anthropomorphized and I thought it dragged a little at certain points, but these are small complaints. I adored Elka’s narrative voice and her no-nonsense character. The taut story telling kept me invested and the way it all unfolded was marvelously paced. All in all, I can’t wait to read more of Lewis’ work in the future.

What I’m drinking: French pressed, decaffeinated black coffee of no notable blend or brand.

Sandrine's Case

Book Review of Sandrine’s Case, by Thomas H. Cook

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Sandrine's Case

I won a copy of Sandrine’s Case, by Thomas Cook, quite a while ago. It feels good to finally get it read and reviewed.

Description from Goodreads:
Samuel Madison always wondered what Sandrine saw in him. He was a meek, stuffy doctorate student, and she a brilliant, beautiful, bohemian with limitless talents and imagination. On the surface their relationship and marriage semed perfectly tranquil: jobs at the same small, liberal arts college, a precocious young daughter, a home filled with art and literature, and trips to some of the world’s most beautiful cities and towns. And then one night Sandrine is found dead in their bed and Samuel is accused of her murder.

As the truth about their often tumultuous relationship comes to light, Samuel must face a town and media convinced of his guilt, a daughter whose faith in her father has been shaken to its core, and astonishing revelations about his wife that make him fall in love with her for a second time. A searing novel about love lost and rediscovered, from one of our greatest chroniclers of the human heart.

Review:
Oh, this is a hard one to review. I spent a lot of it feeling slightly bored and wishing the pace would pick up, knowing it wouldn’t. Despite that, it also kept the tension taut and I was never wholly sure which way the ending would go. Consider the whole book takes place in 9 days, most of those with the main character sitting idly in a courtroom, this narrative tension is quite the feat.

The book really made me think. What would I judge a man on, the person he once was, has recently been, is now or will be in the future? When there’s been or will be a significant breach between one and the other, this isn’t an easy question to answer.

For those who enjoy a slow, considered pace and tightly woven psychological thrillers. This is one worth picking up.

What I’m drinking: Just hot water and lemon.

A Promise of Fire

Book Review of A Promise of Fire (Kingmaker Chronicles #1), by Amanda Bouchet

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A Promise of FIre

I won a copy of Amanda Bouchet‘s A Promise of Fire from Night Owl Reviews.

Description from Goodreads:
Catalia “Cat” Fisa is a powerful clairvoyant known as the Kingmaker. This smart-mouthed soothsayer has no interest in her powers and would much rather fly under the radar, far from the clutches of her homicidal mother. But when an ambitious warlord captures her, she may not have a choice…

Griffin is intent on bringing peace to his newly conquered realm in the magic-deprived south. When he discovers Cat is the Kingmaker, he abducts her. But Cat will do everything in her power to avoid her dangerous destiny and battle her captor at every turn. Although up for the battle, Griffin would prefer for Cat to help his people willingly, and he’s ready to do whatever it takes to coax her…even if that means falling in love with her.

Review:
Oh man, I have SUCH disappointment about this book. Authors, could you explain to me why you would set up a whole world around a female character, give her god-like powers, training, skill and intelligence, then infantilize her and allow her to be overpowered by a man for an ENTIRE book? Why? WHY?!

Cat seemed to have boundless powers that develop as needed—very deus ex machina of the moment sort of thing. She defeated dragons, killed thirty soldiers with a single breath, had prophetic dreams, was a soothsayer, was protected by gods (plural). Yet, in the face of one man she’s helpless. What’s more, she’s also presented as unreasonable and needlessly angry that he kidnapped her. Literally, she asked why he expected her to accept him and her situation and he said, “I expected you to be reasonable” and she internally agreed. Excuse me? He abducted her, unknowingly exposed her, threatened her friends and adoptive family. I’m pretty sure surliness and trying to escape IS the reasonable response. And she is kidnapped in the very beginning, so she’s basically a helpless captive for the whole book.

So, I’m angry that the supposedly strong female was basically, ‘strong, but not as strong as the men’ but I died a little with each cliché that was thrown in. The scene where she got accidentally high as a result of her own actions and lets all her guards down, acting inviting and sexy, but being “happy like a child” and needing protection. The one where the scorned woman went homicidal. The one where ‘her body betrayed her’ by being attracted to the man who kidnapped her. The ones where she had to be a virgin because good heroines never have sex with anyone but their hero. My god, this book was practically a cobbled together series of romantic fantasy clichés. It was also repetitive as hell.

The writing, it was fine and I appreciated that when Cat’s curvy body was compared to her thin counterpart she was the one found most appealing, on more than one occasion. Those who don’t mind seeing their women dominated by their romantic lead will probably enjoy it. I personally want to burn the darned thing, but instead I’ll put it in my Little Free Library and hopefully someone in the neighborhood will enjoy it more than me.