Wake
by Anna Hope
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2/11/14 by Random House
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
My rating:
2 out of 5 stars
Wake
by Anna Hope is a novel set in the aftermath of World War I,
intertwining the stories of three women who were affected by the war:
Hettie, Evelyn, and Ada. All three women had men in their lives who
were either killed, injured or emotionally affected by the war. As they
all attempt to move on with their lives, it is obvious that though the
war may be over, its effects will last for a very long time.
There
were moments when I thought this could be a really good novel. At
times, pieces of each woman's story would draw me in and keep me
reading. But overall, the novel felt disjointed and the plot was
ambiguous and slow. I had a little trouble keeping Evelyn and Hettie's
stories separate as their characters seemed fairly similar.
As I
was reading, I was really waiting to judge this book until I read the
ending. I kept wondering if the story was leading anywhere, and if it
did lead somewhere good at the end, then I might have liked it more.
But here's the problem...the story didn't lead anywhere at all. It just
stopped mid-sentence. I had an advanced reader's copy of this novel,
and I am really hoping that perhaps my copy just wasn't finished yet.
Because the other option is that the author actually chose to end the
book this way. Perhaps she thought this was a clever literary device.
But if that was the case, I didn't get it. At all. I usually enjoy an
ending that is left a little open without wrapping everything up into a
neat bow. But this book left everything completely unwrapped and strewn
about everywhere. I was not a fan.
I received an advanced reader's edition of this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.
The Towers
by Jordan Jeffers
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 11/18/13 by Jordan Jeffers
Pages: 384
Format: ebook
My rating:
4 out of 5 stars
I have to preface my review by saying that I don't read much fantasy. I
have never read Tolkein or any other fantasy books that I can remember,
so I may not be the best person to review this book.
However I
can also say that as a fantasy newbie I enjoyed The Towers by Jordan
Jeffers very much. I picked up the book on the recommendation of a
friend who knows the author. I honestly wasn't expecting to enjoy it as
this is not a genre that I typically read. But the story pulled me in
almost right away and kept my attention through most of the book.
There
are is a lot going on in this novel about the land of Cairn Meridia and
its inhabitants who live in fear of their enemy, the Darkness. By using
the rules found in the book of Prohibitions and the power of their 100
Towers, the people of Meridia have always been able to keep the Darkness
at bay. But the time has come for the Darkness to grow more powerful,
resulting in an epic showdown between good and evil.
Jeffers
handles all this material well, setting up the land of Meridia and its
traditions in a vivid manner and creating characters that are memorable.
I only had one problem with the book, and that came towards the end.
In what is possibly intended to be the climax of book, there is a series
of brief stories introduced one after the other. I understand the
purpose of these stories and what the author's intention was in telling
them. However, after reading about so many characters in this book, I
just could not read about another character so near the end of the book.
Especially a character I knew would only be around for a page or two.
I found myself skimming through this section. This could be a personal
preference, but that section just did not hold my attention.
Overall,
I think Jeffers has a true talent for telling a story. I'm glad that I
was able to read and enjoy this memorable first novel.
