Book Review(s): Rune Sword and Rune Master by Amelia Wilson

I was offered an ARC of Amelia Wilson's newest title Rune Master (book two in her Rune Series) in exchange for an honest review. I had not read the first book in the series, Rune Sword, but was assured that the second book could be read as a standalone book. While I found this was absolutely true, I also found that I enjoyed the book well enough, and that there were enough references to the first story in the second, that I went back and read the first book, as well. So here you have a two-for-one review of both titles.

Rune Sword tells the story of museum curator Nika Graves who obtains a position in charge of a new Viking exhibit on loan from the Royal Museum of Stockholm. While the details regarding the identity of this Viking hero's burial tomb remain unknown, the priceless pieces are recognized as invaluable, and, as such, are heavily guarded. Because the exhibit is on loan, a group of special operatives have been sent by the Swedish government to further protect this newly-discovered Viking treasure. Not long after the exhibit's opening, the museum is robbed and one treasured item, the Rune Sword, is stolen. With the help of Erik Thorvald, the leader of the Swedish Special Operative Group, and his fellow soldiers, Nika must find and return the stolen sword if she hopes to protect not only her job, but also her life and the well-being of innocent citizens all over. In the meantime, she learns about a whole world of supernatural beings and ancient forces to which she was previously oblivious. While searching for the sword, she inevitably falls for the irresistibly attractive Erik, and finds herself more entangled with this supernatural world than she ever could have thought possible. Nika must do some soul-searching of her own if she wishes to hash out her feelings, navigate this new world of paranormal beings, and, most importantly, recover and return the Rune Sword to its rightful burial place.

Rune Master picks up where Rune Sword leaves off, though either story can be read as standalone titles, as well. In Rune Master, Nika and Erik continue their story together, this time in Sweden where the Viking exhibit - now complete again with the return of the Rune Sword - has been returned to the Royal Museum of Stockholm. Nika transfers her career to this museum in order to continue her deeply-rooted, longterm relationship with Erik. He is quickly called away on military duty while Nika is left to parse out her new life with her newly acquired abilities in her new home of Stockholm on her own. Unexpectedly, Nika soon discovers some like-minded Viking enthusiasts working within the museum to whom she feels both compelled to befriend, yet also seem to have intentions and motives about which she remains skeptical. It is not long before tragedy strikes and Nika must learn to use her newly discovered supernatural powers to fight alongside Erik once more to protect the museum and the world against the reincarnated ancient powers.

Wilson's story plays on the backs of other recent pop culture re-tellings of ancient Norse mythology. In the vein of Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase series and of Marvel Comics recent silver-screen remake of the Thor comics (along with many other movie, television, musical, and literary allusions to these myths), Wilson puts her own spin on these well-known tales in an attempt to make the stories fresh for her readers. While I'm not well-versed in the details regarding Norse mythology (and so cannot speak to how historically and religiously accurate the details in Wilson's story actually are), the details that I was unsure of were quickly learned through easy Google and Wikipedia searches which provided me a deeper understanding of the world of the Norse gods and seemed, at least at the surface level, to match up accurately.

Both stories are very short reads. They are told through a third-person omniscient narrator, but the focus alternates between Nika's and Erik's perspectives. Wilson weaves elements of Norse mythology in with vampire legends to create a world that is overly supernatural, but still seems to work in the context of the this series.

As with many of Amelia Wilson's previous titles that I've encountered, I found the story line compelling, but felt that there were many missed opportunities for deeper development. The stories seem to happen too fast, and the climax of each story leaves me wanting more. Wilson has a penchant for coming up with plots that draw a reader through to the end, but the stories often feel rushed to completion instead of elaborating on details, background stories, and action-packed "big-boss" style fights. The resolution always comes too soon for me in her works.

CAUTION: SLIGHT SPOILER: As with most romance titles I read, I find the pet names too mushy and the romantic build too shallow. I do, however, understand that within the context of this story the souls of Nika and Erik are meant to be together throughout time which, in itself, is a romantic concept that I find too far-fetched in most novels. Personally, I just find it unlikely that a woman in distress would pull a stranger into bed with her only to realize that he is her soul mate and then be ready to jump into his supernatural world and life with no hesitance. I know this sounds trite considering I am able to willingly suspend my disbelief for paranormal beings, but nonetheless I find myself internally eye-rolling at the overly-romantic scenes throughout.

While there are some parts of the story that I personally did not care for, and there were some moments that left me wanting more, these elements do not detract from the overall read of the story. I still suggest that anyone looking for a quick, mythology-based, romance-style light read pick these titles up, and I anticipate the upcoming release of Rune Hunter, the next installment in this Rune Series.

Book Review: Nothing is Predictable by Adaline Mae

I was honored when author Adalina Mae reached out to me on Instagram and asked me if I would review a copy of her debut title Nothing is Predictable. The story delineates the life and struggles of Zara, a Lebanese-American woman whose childhood trauma follows her throughout her life. The story opens to Zara enjoying adulthood abroad, then backtracks through the tragedies, heartbreaks, and victories of her life which bring her to this opening moment. The reader is carried through Zara's first-person accounts of abuse, love, loss, betrayal, self-determination, career success, adventure, and a plethora of other life obstacles that help the reader to understand the strong, independent woman who narrates the story.

I appreciated the multicultural diversity of Adalina Mae's story. In today's world, especially living in America in the 21st century, one would be hard-pressed to miss the wide array of cultural and ethnic backgrounds that comprise our unitary, yet divisive, society. Author's like Adalina Mae attempt to bring multicultural awareness to the forefront of society through writing. As Mae's main character Zara travels between the United States, Lebanon, and even through other European adventures, the reader is introduced to a multitude of characters whose backgrounds are quite different. Mae is able to present these characters interacting in a way that unites the diversity of the world, while still subtly addressing issues such as religious conflicts, Islamaphobia, and the struggles that arise from culturally-diverse (and long distance) partnerships. Each of these hot-button topics are worldwide social concerns for many, and by presenting them through fiction many readers are better able to understand how to live in such a diverse world platform.

As noted, the main character is a Lebanese-American woman. She spends much of her time in these two parts of the world which is where Mae concentrates most of the writing. A reader is quick to infer that the author herself is personally invested in these two cultures, as these are the two cultures that receive the most detail and explanation throughout the story. For example, in some of the opening chapters, Zara explains her childhood in Lebanon and often refers to culturally-specific references of places and food. These are details that anyone familiar with this region and culture would be quick to understand, but as a reader who is ignorant to many cultures outside of my own (not for wont of trying, just due to the sheer breadth of cultural diversity in the world) I somewhat appreciated the times that the author was able to explain some of these references. However, there were other times that these explanatory tangents seemed to detract from the flow of the story. I sometimes found myself wishing for a more seamless showing through imagery and detail rather than an explanatory side note provided through the narrative that seemed to diverge from the fluidity of the plot. Even so, I appreciated that Mae made the effort to ensure that all of her readers, regardless of background or experience, could access the details of Zara's life.

Zara as a character, even without all of the life events that happen to and around her, is a very complex character. Being a culturally diverse character, she is often presented as feeling "other" - a feeling that many readers can identify with in one way or another. When Zara spends time in America, she feels out of place when returning to Lebanon. After living in Lebanon, she feels out of place when she comes back to America. To add to this, Zara is much younger than all of her siblings, but much older than her next youngest relatives, which leaves her in this continual in-between. She is not overly feminine in a way that separates her on a certain level from other female characters throughout, but it is also clear that the male characters do not accept her into the world of masculinity, either. This liminal space in which Zara lives her entire life contributes heavily to her continued search for belonging. The whole story is about her search for a sense of stability through seeking answers to life-long unanswered questions, career advancements and changes, adventuring into (and out of) multiple relationships, and many other soul-searching endeavors. In it's entirety, one can appreciate the arc of Zara's journey and the self-realizations she comes to at the end of the novel about her family, her life, her relationships and -most importantly - her own being.

While the overall unity of the novel is revealed at the end, I found myself consistently questioning the importance of individual aspects of the story. While the narrative flows linearly and Mae clearly explains the different times in Zara's life with smooth transitions and concrete dates, it still reads somewhat disjointed for me. Through many of Zara's life stories, I felt that I was just jumping from one individualized story to the next at a too-rapid pace. It wasn't until the end of the story (the last two to three chapters) where each of the pieces makes more sense. It is in these last pages when Zara, herself, is finally able to grasp some meaning and understanding from each of her life milestones, so I can understand that the pace of the story matches Zara's own (lack of) self-realization. However, I still felt that as a reader I needed much more depth, detail, and emotion from each of Zara's life stories. Zara is such a busy, entrepreneurial go-getter that she consistently takes on a lot throughout the story. Aside from the four or five different men that she tries to settle down with (at different times), she also attends and graduates from university and uses her diploma for a short while, leaves that behind and has a booming career as a musician for a stretch of her life, and eventually settles that down to run a managing agency for other artists. All of this happens simultaneously with the aforementioned relationships/marriages, her study of martial arts, her taking care of her sick mother, her traveling the world, and her adventure into self-discovery. I often wanted more out of each of these different plot points and I wanted more of an understanding of how they all intermingled within her life together rather than as separate individualized stories. Because there was a lack of cohesion among these different parts, it made Zara feel less authentic to me because I didn't see how any one person could take on this much in life and still find success in so many areas when the average person struggles with one, regular nine-to-five job and still can't seem to afford time off to vacation or even visit family, let alone take care of them. More development, or less breadth in terms of Zara's endeavors, might have made this feel more real for me.

Along with this lack of intertwining of Zara's multifaceted lifestyle, Mae's writing style was hard for me to get into at first. The narrative was much more straight forward and formal than what I am used to reading. Most information was presented directly to the reader in an informative manner. There were few instances where I felt I was being led to information, few places where I was to use information to infer about the story, and very little that I picked up on in terms of symbolism or metaphor. It was a telling story rather than a leading story, which many readers find much more accessible. I, personally, am used to a different style of writing, but once I became familiar with the tone of the piece and Zara's narrative voice, it was much easier through the remainder of the novel.

Overall, the story was a very quick read. Because there is a consistent adventure that Zara is going on, it kept me reading to see what she was going to do or get into next. However, as noted previously, many of these plot points felt rushed and underdeveloped. Many of the relationships that Zara enters into throughout the story seem extremely rushed as there is little in terms of build up and back story with each new suitor. As well, while her musical career and passion for martial arts are consistently brought up throughout the novel as important aspects of her character, there are only a few minor story lines that bring deeper understanding to these facets of her life. As such, I was left with many unanswered questions about so many of these plot pieces that I hope to have answered in the sequel.

For anyone looking for a quick read in the vain of Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love where one woman goes through much of what life has to offer and comes out the other end a changed individual, then this is the story to pick up. The story is available in paperback through Amazon and Barnes & Noble and in eBook through Kindle, Kobo, and iBooks.

Book Review: Melody's Key by Dallas Coryell

I was fortunate to receive a review copy of Dallas Coryell's debut novel Melody's Key which was just realeased in June of this year. While romance is not my go-to genre, I find myself reading much more of it lately than I used to, and was intrigued when this novel was offered to me. The story centers around the life of Tegan Lockwood, a young woman entangled in her family's economic desperation as they struggle to keep the family business - a bed and breakfast vacation destination in South England - and home from slipping away. Missing out on a chance at university and depriving herself of her innermost dreams, combined with the tragedies of the past and present, Tegan finds herself with a void that she is desperate to fill, but out of pure love and loyalty to her family, she sacrifices her own desires to stay home and help in any ways she can. Having kept her own desires bottled up for so long, she is shocked when she finds herself opening up to a surprise visitor for the summer - American pop star Mason Keane. Though she senses a connection between them, she doubts whether she can fully open up and trust someone fully.

The story itself is formulaic in the truest embodiment of a romantic comedy. The main character is a lovable, yet closed off female who has experienced bad relationships in the past that continue to haunt and taint her view of the present. She falls for what seems to be a bad boy only to find he is more sensitive than she ever imagined. She spends her time trying to find the flaws in her happiness and trying to determine if this new interest is real or ruse. Hi-jinks, heartache, and love ensue.

While the story itself holds little in terms of shock value, there are plenty of literary techniques that give the story a depth that I have found most other romance stories (especially from debut authors) often lack. Coryell's sentences are craftily constructed with beautifully descriptive language. His imagery and descriptors of the scenery of South England provide a clear picture, even to those (like me) who have never been there. The thought and effort he puts into each sentence shows his passion for writing and reads like a veteran author. As well, the symbolism of the titular key and of Tegan's prized letters are not lost to any literary analyst. It is no convenience that she only begins to open up after she loses the key to her own escapist romantic fantasy in the letters she finds in her family's attic. This perceived loss forces her to open up (key, lock, open up; are you getting it?) and create her own life rather than indulge in the love stories of the past. As well, the past love letters which she holds so dear at the beginning of the story juxtaposed with the letter she receives at the end of the story emphasize this symbolism. The elements in the story all combine to create a literary piece that shows his talent. Nothing in his storytelling feels rushed or thrown together, but rather artistically structured with a clear purpose in mind.

As both the main character and her love interest in the story are both musically motivated and inclined, Coryell intersperses the story with the original lyrics to the songs these characters write. While reading, I found myself blandly reading off the lyrics, but felt lost as to the rhythms and beat. Each time new lyrics would present themselves in the story, I felt myself longing for a soundtrack to accompany the reading (much like Jodi Picoult's Sing Me Home for those who are familiar with that title). I was pleased to know that Coryell brilliantly accomplished this through his other talents in the artistic medium of guitar. Readers can listen to the unique songs from the novel composed and performed by Dallas Coryell himself on his YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/DallasCoryell1) while reading. The listening experience provides deeper insight into the emotions and passions behind the songs that simply reading the lyrics does not fully allow. Aside from the fact that his musical talents bring justice and beauty to the words on the page, Coryell's voice matches the descriptors of the voice of the character Mason to add authenticity to this musical component. The incorporation of a soundtrack of sorts once again provides a deeper layer to the novel that most other stories and authors completely overlook.

And what would a love story be without some carnal, primitive desires that bring the characters together in more than one way? In true millennial fashion, Coryell's dialogue incorporates sexual innuendos that provide comic relief to the sometimes tense subject matter of his storyline. It also gives this contemporary piece a grounding factor that demonstrates an authentic capturing of the time period, character profiles, and intended audience. The incorporation of sexual references in his novel does not feel forced (in an attempt to pander to a specific audience) nor does it feel out of place in the story (I sometimes find myself wondering where that came from in other stories I've read). It is also never so overtly profane as to make a non-genre regular feel uncomfortable (at least not this reader who has frankly avoided Fifty Shades of Grey for that specific reason).

All-in-all, the book is a compelling read that kept me wanting to know what happened next. I found myself thinking of the story when I was away from it and wanting more time to sit with it to get through more of the story. I'm forever grateful to Dallas Coryell for sharing his story with me and for sharing his art (both literary and musical) with the world. His book is available in both digital and print formats (https://www.amazon.com/Melodys-Key-Dallas-Coryell/dp/1533430217), has received 4.5 stars on both Amazon and Goodreads, and is highly recommended to any readers looking for a lovely (pun intended) read.

Book Review: Six of Crows (Duology) by Leigh Bardugo

I read these books back in October, but have not had the time, energy, or inspiration to sit down and write about them, despite how passionately I discussed them with my book club back at the beginning of November (a.k.a. I've been lazy, I know). These books (both Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom) are bestsellers and need little in terms of endorsement, so this is more just for me to get my thoughts out (again) about the set.

The two book fantasy series follows the lives of six main characters - Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Wylan, Nina, and Matthias - who all come from VERY different backgrounds. The chapters throughout the books alternate among the six characters in terms of perspective which provides a much more intriguing narrative style. These mixed perspectives reveal the many subplots that bring the characters together in an abundance of ways. After life-changing circumstances for each of them, most of them being near-death experiences in one way or another, they find themselves hired to work together in plotting and completing a heist within one of the most guarded kingdoms in their world. Each character has his or her own special talent that contributes to the overall success or failure of the operation. During and after the heist, there are many plot twists that drive the characters closer together, but also some that begin to drive them apart, and not all characters are always on board with the overall plan. These, along with many other obstacles, baddies, and unforeseen events cause more mayhem than the characters set out to pursue, despite their blatantly illegal actions throughout the story. They must work together to hone each other's abilities in order to escape with their lives, their loot, and also try to help each other work through the inner demons that possess each of us to some degree.

One of the hardest things for me at the beginning of this series was in learning the world. Bardugo cleverly incorporates elements of what feels like Russian, ancient Roman, Norwegian, Irish, African, and Gypsy inspiration into a unique 1800s, steampunk-esque world. Despite the allusions to each of these disparate cultures, Bardugo combines them in a new and cohesive way creating new languages, ethnicities, and a whole group of magical beings called Grisha which leave a reader with much to learn within the first few chapters of the first book. I was told that Bardugo's first series, The Grisha Triology, went much further into detail regarding explanations for this world and its supernatural beings. I was also told, however, that to read the original three books was not essential to understanding this duology. I quickly doubted this advice as I ventured into Six of Crows when I found myself lost in questions, but found that by chapter six I was immersed into the world fully and able to infer most of its essential components. I still wished for a glossary of terms (an index of sorts) to clarify, but felt sufficient without one at the same time. I was happy to see that Crooked Kingdom provided at least a glossary of names along with pronunciation which I appreciated; it helped to understand each of the different languages and cultures of Bardugo's creativity more fully. By the end of the series, I wouldn't say that I felt like an expert, but I definitely felt very comfortable in my knowledge of this fictional world.

While it is a highly debatable and purely subjective opinion, my favorite character of the series is Kaz Brekker. I have never, in all of my literary life, found an anti-hero that I so supported more fully throughout a series (not even Dexter). He is a ruthless, cruel, self-motivated, gang boss who goes to any measures necessary to ensure his own power, success, and authority. Typically these traits in a character (or a human being) are what cause me to find them vile and repulsive, but something about Kaz - even before revealing the tragedies of his past - caused me to find him much more lovable than I should have. I admired his merciless guile and badassery (for lack of more literary terms). Despite his lack of supernatural abilities in a world where he is surrounded by others with more mystical powers, his indefatigable wit combined with his determination and his ability to conjure a scheme at the expense of anyone but himself made him undeniably the most complex and interesting possible-protagonist I have ever encountered.

Another part of the story line of this duology that I greatly appreciated was the attention to social hot topics that Bardugo intersperses throughout her make-believe world. While the series is geared toward a young-adult audience, Bardugo tackles issues such as sexuality, prejudice, addiction, mental and physical abuse, visible and invisible disabilities, the effect of trauma on the mind, the adaptation and survival of the mind and body in the throes of hardships, and general humanity. Sometimes overt and sometimes more subtly, Bardugo manages to address these worldly issues in a manner that does not attempt to exploit them, nor provide impractical solutions in Utopian ideals, but rather just presents these issues for what they are: side effects of the human condition. 

One thing that didn't sit quite right with me about the series was the way the six main characters all seemed to pair up with one another into relationships by the end. As you'll know from having read almost any of my previous posts, I am about as far from optimistic as one can get on the spectrum of romanticism which caused these couplings to detract from the authenticity of the story for me. I know that, when left alone, human nature is to pair up rather than keep isolated and alone, and so I concede that it does make biological sense for the six characters to partner up in such a way, especially when they are outcast from society for periods of time in hiding. I didn't, however, like the way that these pairings made certain aspects of the story more predictable. As with any love story, each developing relationship had its turmoils and tragedies to overcome. There are complexities and nuances to each of these possible relationships that begin before the story commences, during the two-book plot, and even after the series ends, which added a certain level of depth to these prospective couples, but some of the mushier scenes felt like too much for me. 

*Side note for anyone who read Crooked Kingdom: the bandages scene, though? That one may have sparked what could have been the beginning of some feels. It's not like I'm COMPLETELY without a heart...I hope...

I read both of these books relatively quickly for my typical reading pace. Once I was into the world and invested in the plot and characters I couldn't put the book down. I would bring them to work with me hoping for even one small spare moment to get in a few more pages of the enthralling story; I HAD TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT! While I wasn't COMPLETELY satisfied by the end of the duology, my dissatisfaction in no way detracted from my overall high endorsement of these books. 

Whether you typically read fantasy or young adult or crime novels or none of the above - just give it a shot (through chapter 7 at least) and something tells me you won't regret it.