Tag Archives: Reading

Book Review: Ensnared

Posted on by
4

22447220I just bought, and finished A. G. Howard’s final book of the Splintered series, Ensnared, and I have to admit, it was worth the wait. For those not familiar with the series, it is a new take of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, told from the point of view of Alice’s great, great, great-granddaughter, Alyssa Gardner.

It would be all but impossible to review the third book without alluding to the previous novels, so consider this a warning that there will be spoilers, though I promise to do my best to keep those to a minimum. That said, onto my review.

In the final installment of the series, we join Alyssa as she attempts to break into Wonderland. The portals to the realm have shut themselves due to her actions in the previous book, but not without first taking her mother, and the two young men vying for her affection.

To do so, she had to enlist the help of her father, a man who had been taken into the land as a child, but rescued and had his memory erased. Knowing no other way, she begins the quest by restoring to him his lost memories, and in so doing, discovering that his own familial destiny was intertwined with the realm, and therefore to her own.

With her father’s memories restored, Alyssa, along with her father, begin the almost Quixotic quest to attempt to rescue their loved ones, restore balance to the Kingdoms of Wonderland, and restore Alyssa’s rightful place as the Red Queen. Alyssa has to battle not only the spirit of Queen Red, a spirit of malice intent on remaking Wonderland in her own twisted image, but first has to try to bridge the gap between Jed, the mortal she loves, and Morpheus, the Netherling who also has a claim on her heart.

The war for her love is very much at the center of the story. She is by birth a halfling, both mortal and a Netherling. The evil queen takes advantage of her dual heritage and curses her heart, splitting it in two. Her two halves are at war and are in danger of tearing itself as she tried to decide to whom her love belongs, the mortal or the immortal.

That love is key because it also speaks to her love of the human world but also to her desire to be the queen her realm deserves. That love threatens not only her life, but the future of her loved ones, and all of Wonderland. Their fate rests on her making peace with her decision, but also on Jeb and Morpheus coming together to do what is best not only for their kind, but for the woman they both claim to love. Together, they must find a way to make her whole, or risk the destruction of all they hold dear.

What I fell in love with is that this series is very much a story about growing up. If you take away the fantasy aspect, it’s about learning to take responsibility for one’s actions, and that those actions have consequences. It’s a tale of perseverance, that even when things don’t go right, giving up isn’t an option.

I found the story to be mesmerizing, as was Ms. Howard’s imagery of a forbidding landscape, that is at once dangerous as it is beautiful. I loved how lunacy trumped sanity, that only by embracing her own madness could Alyssa come to terms with her power and fulfill the destiny she once tried to forsake.

So, I give Ensnared five stars. It’s a wonderfully written book that took a story that has become part of our popular consciousness and gave it new life. A. G.  doesn’t simply continue Carroll’s story, she reinvents it, making it a wholly unique take on a classic tale. For anyone who loves fantasy, and all lovers of books, I highly recommend that you put this on your reading list. You will not be disappointed.

List of Book Reviews
Next review –  41: A Portrait of My Father
Previous Review – Through Kestrel’s Eyes

How do I let go?

Posted on by
2

How ’bout them Cowboys? Holy hell, that was a brutal game to watch. I can’t believe they came back to win it, but I’m extremely happy that they did. Understandingly, I just now got back to work on my WIP, and I’m ready to get this finished, and find a few readers to give me an idea of what works or doesn’t, and if it’s even worth trying to save.

So I’m back, reading and rereading, writing, and rewriting. I’m stuck at this stage, of being unable to let go. I think I need a coach, someone to take my hand and guide me. Maybe what I need is a nun to whack my knuckles with a ruler. I don’t think I would like that all that much.

My main problem is that this is something I’ve never done, and I’m horrible at doing new things. I’ve just never been this bad at it. What do I need to do first? What’s my plan? Is there a plan? Can someone just tell me what the plan is? Why am I so bad at this?

My tendency is to make a bigger deal out of things than I should I need to relax and just let go. Who want’s to teach me how? Is there some class I can take? Enough obsessing. I need to get to work. Have a good night, and have an awesome week.

Gone on strike

Posted on by
3

I think my voices have gone on strike. Thanks a lot, fellas! Why would they do this to me? Was it something I said? Do you think they heard what I said about them on my previous post? If so, yikes!

Okay, they are still there, just not as loud as they usually are. Well, except for Doubt. He’s always loud and obnoxious, kind of like the drunk uncle at family gathering, only Doubt never slurs his words. He’s always crystal clear. Also, Negativity never takes a holiday. I think Negativity and Doubt have a wager on who breaks me first. Bastards!

But the other voices have gone silent for the time being. Not that I mind so much. I had the day off, and I took care of a practical matter. I bought the engine mounts for my truck. I also spent to much money this morning downloading music from Amazon.

One song in particular had been driving me nuts for weeks. I would hear the song at work, but I couldn’t make out the words, and the few I could hear I would forget before I had the chance to look it up. Finally, after more than six months of hearing the blasted song, I wrote the words I could understand. Turns out that the song driving me nuts is sung by Paramore, Still Into You.

With that leading me off, I created a new playlist, though it’s far some done. I’ll buy a few more songs with my next paycheck. I still have a few more bills to pay with this one. Ah, the joys of responsibilities!

Speaking of, I have a book to read and review by Monday. I’ll have to spend most of my weekend, while not at work, doing just that. I made a commitment, and I intend to keep it. After that, I hope my voices will be ready to get back to work. It’s a little lonely without them.

I miss them.

And for the hell of it, here’s the video of the song that has been driving me mad. Enjoy!

Looking for books to review

Posted on by
5

Happy Saturday everyone! It’s a dreary morning in the DFW area, though I’m not complaining. There’s a cool breeze, and the sun is not burning everything in sight. In short, it’s a perfect day to lounge around and relax.

At the moment, I’m at the Wolfe City Library where my friend is working. She volunteers one Saturday a month to give the residents of her hometown a place to go to read, use the public computers, and get out of the dreary weather. Since I came to visit her this weekend, I tagged along. If only I had something to read….

Which brings up the reason I’m writing. I’m looking for something to review and I’m hoping for suggestions. Preferably, I’m looking for self-published works of fiction, or those from smaller, independent publishers. If you have something that you want reviewed, let me know. You can email me at joe@joehinojosa.com.

You can read my previous reviews at joehinojosa.com/book-review/.

Coming soon, another book review

Posted on by
1

I’m going to move away from my truck project, which is coming together nicely, and I’m going to talk a little about something else. A few months ago, I volunteered to beta-read a book which I began, but I unfortunately had my notes on my computer which died on me. The best I could do was give him a general critique about his book.

Now I’m back to reading the finished book, and so far I’m digging it. I’m planning on posting a review of the book, The Ship by Allan Krummenacker early next month, probably the first Monday, which  would be July 7th, and my first book review since my March 17th review of The Trinity by Daelynn Quinn.

The fact that I’m doing another review isn’t all that unexpected. My plan was not to abandon reviewing altogether, but rather I wanted to devote my energies elsewhere for a while. So I’m back for a one-off review, except I have another review in the pipeline, set for the middle of next month as well. That book is the sequel to March Island by Oliver Chase, which I reviewed late last year, and which I believe is the last book to the Hirebomber Series. More on this as I find out.

It feels good to be back reading again. I still have a few book I want to read for myself, but my project has been taking up all my time, though I’m now reaching the end. It may be time for a new project. I’m not sure if I’m going to actually start reviewing again on a consistent basis again, or if this is just an anomaly.

I’m saying this because I’m curious whether it’s worth doing again. I feel that I didn’t get enough of a bump in readership as I would have liked, and I’m not sure it was appreciated by the authors I reviewed. So I’m putting it to a vote, What should I do?