On Girl Power: A Review of The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines

I'm a big, big fan of fairy tale retellings and sequels and so forth. So when I stumbled upon this fantasy series by Jim C. Hines I knew it was for me.

The Stepsister Scheme tells the story of what happens AFTER the so called happy ending of Cinderella's (named Danielle in this one) story. Danielle is still struggling to adapt to her new life as a princess, when her beloved husband is kidnapped and taken to Fairytown. Knowing that her stepsisters are behind his disappearance, Danielle is determined to rescue him personally. She teams up with Snow White (a sorceress) and Talia, aka Sleeping Beauty, and embarks on a journey to take back her happily ever after.

Positive Comments

Easily the most appealing aspect of this book is the girl power factor. Snow has some heavy duty magic, Talia is a fighting and weapons expert, and Danielle is no shrinking violet either. I enjoyed seeing Danielle try to come into her own, and learn not to be a helpless victim.

Hines implements plenty of whimsy, so this actually feels like a fairy story. There's sword fighting and curses, but there's also little gnomes and horses with wings. It's light and adorable, without being childish. At the same time, the tone of the story remains suspenseful, and has some grim moments as well. This isn't an easy balance to achieve, but I felt Hines pulled it off well.

Critical Comments

This is what I would call a plot driven adventure novel. The one downside is that there's a certain lack of emotional connection. Even as Danielle was searching for the love of her life, the most powerful emotion I ever felt from her was determination. When emotional moments are attempted, they fall short, in my opinion.

Recommendation

If you like twisted fairy tales, or fantasy in general, I would definitely recommend this own. It's light, fun, and entertaining. 4 stars.  

On Serial Murders: A Review of Haunted by Kelley Armstron

It's impossible for me to talk about this book without mentioning how I felt about the previous books in the series. Bitten is my all-time favorite werewolf book, and may rank in my top ten books of all time in general. I liked Stolen just fine. Dime Store Magic and Industrial Magic, on the other hand, were both insanely slow for me. I was able to get through Dime Store Magic and see the good in the story, but I really struggled with Industrial Magic. The simplest explanation I can offer is this: Paige does not work as a narrator for me. She's a nice enough character, likeable enough, but does not possess enough edge or personality to keep me engaged. Eve, on the other hand...

Eve is the narrator of Haunted, and her story was so much more compelling to me, it's hard to describe. This is the point where I have to warn you that I may spoil a few minor points from books 1-4. Click to read at your own peril.

On Cabals: A Review of Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong

I'm sure this happens to every serious reader now and then: You come across a book that has nothing really wrong with it, but that for you personally is like pulling teeth to get through. For me, this was one such book. After close to two weeks of struggling, I finally gave up and started skimming. So I want to warn you to take my opinions on this with a grain of salt, since I didn't read very closely. At the same time, I feel obligated to share my less then stellar reading experience in the name of honest reviewing.

This is book four of Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series, but it's the second one with Paige as the narrator/protagonist. In this one, the teenage children of Cabal members (basically the supernatural mafia) are being murdered. Paige and Lucas (who is the black sheep son of a Cabal leader) get roped into solving the murders and catching the killer.

Positive Comments:

I really like Lucas as a character, and there's plenty of him in this book. He's an interesting hero to me, because he isn't a strong brutish alpha as is so typical in fantasy/paranormal. Instead he's an intellectual, somewhat nerdy character who happens to be a sorcerer (and a lawyer). His presence kept me wanting to read through the tedium.

I felt the most engaged in the story when some of the cast from the previous books showed up--Adam, Elena, Clay, etc. Maybe it's a bad sign when you start reading a book for the secondary characters alone, but that's how I felt.

The concept of the story is pretty decent. I thought having Paige forced to work with a Cabal would make for a lot of interesting character interactions and lead to some development on her part. Had the book not gotten bogged down in other stuff, this premise could have made it a winner.

Critical Comments:

In my review of Dime Store Magic I state that it took me a long time to get through the book, but I wrote it off as being my own fault for getting busy and distracted. But I had the same problem with Industrial Magic, so I'm forced to conclude that it's not me...it's the book. Some books are page turners and have to be ripped from my hands so that I'll feed and shower myself now and then. With other books, I have to talk myself into reading. This one was somewhere in the middle, but dangerously close to the latter. I just didn't feel immersed in the story.

This is not a problem that I experienced with Bitten or Stolen, so I'm inclined to think that Paige is a big part of the issue. I don't dislike Paige, but she just isn't very interesting. Her actions are predictable and often stupid. She really doesn't seem like the best person for and investigation job. Dime Store Magic was more believable because Paige was more of a victim fighting against circumstances. In this one she volunteers for a task that, to me, should have gone to another character.

My other complaint is that the plot seems unnecessarily bulky. It's a 500 page book, and about 150 of those pages could easily have been snipped away. For one thing, there are a lot of  "eating breakfast" ,"checking on Savannah","getting on the air plane", "insert mundane task here" paragraphs that really don't need to be included. But more importantly, the central plot is just not as fast paced as I would like it to be.

Lastly, I'm not a person who likes murder mysteries, and I tend to be impatient with them. If you do like murder mysteries, you probably won't mind this book. For me, reading about characters I don't know getting killed is not very motivating or very exciting. That sounds awful, but it's just how I feel.

So, Industrial Magic was really not a winner for me in any sense. I still like Kelley Armstrong, and I'm not ready to give up on the series yet, but this one did not thrill me. 2 stars.

On Teenage Witches: A Review of Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Dime Store Magic is the third book in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series, but the first with Paige as the narrator. The previous two books focus on Elena, a werewolf. The first question I usually ask with these types of series is "Does order matter?" In this case, I would say yes. You need to at least have read book two, Stolen, for this one to make sense. And you need to have read Bitten for Stolen to make sense. You can find my review of Stolen  HERE. 

This book focuses on a Paige, a coven witch, and her struggle to retain custody over her thirteen-year-old ward, Savannah. Savannah was the daughter of a witch who practiced dark magic and fraternized with many supernaturals whom the coven considers highly undesirable. One such undesirable, a sorcerer named Kristoff Nast, shows up claiming to be Savannah's father. Paige struggles with nasty rumors, her coven's prejudices, and outright attacks from various parties, as well as winning over the trust and affection of her ward.

Dime Store Magic was kind of slow going for me. Partly because I've been insanely busy, and partly because it has a pretty slow moving plot. I don't at all mean to imply that it was boring, because I found it quite entertaining, just that is isn't as lightening fast as your typical fantasy novel. I really enjoyed the details about witches and sorcerers and they're history, the process of spell work, and Paiges quest for lost magic in ancient grimoires.

The part of this book that I liked the most, however, was the character building and the relationships. Paige is pretty young (23?) and untried, and not physically tough at all. She certainly wants to be a stronger witch with more offensive magic, but that's something she has to work very hard at. Furthermore, offensive magic is against the rules of the coven. Added to this, she's trying to figure out how to raise a teenage girl. Paige and I are of a similar age group, so I found myself imagining what I would do if asked to care for someone like Savannah. The conclusion I came to was that the task would be herculean. But Paige does her best, and she does start to make some genuine emotional connections with Savannah.

The romantic interest of the book is Lucas Cortez, a lawyer working on Paige's case. His strengths, like Paige's, are more intellectual than physical. He's smart, articulate, and a bit of a nerd. I thought they were a good match. Although it isn't a romance novel with a happily-ever-after ending, I was satisfied that something meaningful was happening there.

So in sum, while it took me a little longer than anticipated to finish this book, I really enjoyed it. It has a different tone from Bitten or Stolen, and in my opinion that was a positive thing. 4.5 stars.