A Cold Legacy

Author: Megan Shepard
Series: The Madman's Daughter, #2
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: January 27, 2015

After killing the men who tried to steal her father's research, Juliet—along with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward—has escaped to a remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet's secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be present within the manor's own walls.

Then Juliet uncovers the truth about the manor's long history of scientific experimentation—and her own intended role in it—forcing her to determine where the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and promises and secrets. And she must decide if she'll follow her father's dark footsteps or her mother's tragic ones, or whether she'll make her own.

With inspiration from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, this breathless conclusion to the Madman's Daughter trilogy is about the things we'll sacrifice to save those we love—even our own humanity.

I can't remember how long I've put off finishing the Madman's Daughter trilogy, but I've finally done it. And what, might you ask, is the final verdict?

Eh, it's alright.

I feel like this book is sort of an attempt to right the wrongs in the previous books—and I can appreciate that—but it's not pulled off very well. There's a lot of noticeable repetition when it comes to themes, characterization, and writing in a way that doesn't feel unique. Juliet continues to whine about herself, Lucy keeps obsessing over Edward, and the list goes on.

At the very least, it's toned down much more than it was previously, and these issues are addressed in a more satisfying matter. If I had to give an example that wasn't spoiler-y, I'd say Lucy was a nicer character. I could understand her thinking better with her transition from a socialite to an fugitive. I still didn't root for her relationship with Edward, but I was more tolerant towards it.

Most of Juliet's problems seem to stem from her passing off her own suspicions, which was very annoying. It was hard for me to suspend my disbelief when it seemed like their conflicts could be solved much easier. Everything felt so long and drawn out that I found myself eager to hurry towards the end.

I could give the author points for a few things: Baltazar is still a lovable cinnamon roll. Jack Serra was the highlight out of the whole cast, although the female side characters, such as Moira, McKinna, and Elizabeth, were pretty great. I loved the observatory and Ballentyne being a place for disabled girls. There was a powerful message about identity and coming-of-age, which I thought was fit in splendidly. Keeping my personal taste aside and the story in mind, A Cold Legacy is an almost perfect conclusion.

The Forbidden Wish

Author: Jessica Khoury
Series: The Forbidden Wish, #1
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: January 24, 2017

She is the most powerful Jinni of all.

He is a boy from the streets.

Their love will shake the world.

When Aladdin discovers Zahra's jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn't seen in hundreds of years—a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra's very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes.

But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity—only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart?

As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of the Aladdin story from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury.

I was not all impressed by the synopsis, but the writing style had me hooked. Khoury takes you on an extraordinary adventure through the city of Parthenia, where the people are restless, the jinni are hunted, and a rebellion brews in the horizon. In the midst of it all is Zahra, who only seeks her freedong.

[O]nce I am free to run, not even the shadows of the past will be able to catch me.

I love cunning age-old characters deft in the ways of magic. I love transformations into smoke, shadows, and cats. Zahra was a compelling character, whose only fault was her constant self-loathing.

"All I want is to avenge my parents, not start a war we can't win."

For a handsome thief, a character who's usually up right my alley, her love interest Aladdin was annoying. There were instances where I just wanted to take him by the shoulders and say, "Aladdin, my dude. Stop." Although he and Zahra had some cute scenes together, until the end, I could not see them as being anything more than friends. Their attraction to each other was almost convenient.

I loved you, Habiba, and in doing so, I betrayed you.

Instead, my ship lies with the Queen and the Jinni. I desperately hoped that Aladdin was the former's reincarnation, but alas. I was quickly taken with their relationship, which shares a tragic history, even though the author may not have intended for it to be romantic.

There was a lot of diversity and a lot of character in the rest of the cast as well. Princess Caspida and her handmaidens were truly badass. There were no love triangles involving her, only positive female relationships. I honestly wish the author would consider a sequel with Caspida. The weakest characters, on the other hand, were the villains. They were unremarkable, two-dimensional even.

I will grant the thief this: My time with him has been anything but dull.

Unfortunately, the story did not survive my tendency to become bored at the halfway point. I felt that something was lacking, although the writing was solid. I'd like to give heaps of praise for the characters' strong ideals. Overall, The Forbidden Wish was a memorable read.

Her Dark Curiousity

Author: Megan Shepard
Series: The Madman's Daughter, #2
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: January 28, 2014

Months have passed since Juliet Moreau returned to civilization after escaping her father's island—and the secrets she left behind. Now, back in London once more, she is rebuilding the life she once knew and trying to forget Dr. Moreau's horrific legacy—though someone, or something, hasn’t forgotten her.

As people close to Juliet fall victim one by one to a murderer who leaves a macabre calling card of three clawlike slashes, Juliet fears one of her father's creations may have also escaped the island. She is determined to find the killer, though it means awakening sides of herself she had thought long banished, and facing loves from her past she never expected to see again. As Juliet strives to stop a killer while searching for a serum to cure her own worsening illness, she finds herself once more in the midst of a world of scandal and danger.

With inspiration from Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this is a tantalizing mystery about the hidden natures of those we love and how far we’ll go to save them from themselves.

The only way I can see Her Dark Curiosity in a positive light is to make a drinking game out of it. Take a shot whenever someone says "relatively simple". Or when Juliet bemoans her heritage. Or when she makes a comparison between herself and Edward. Oh, how different they are from the sheeple of London. Trapped in the struggle of man and beast. You're both monsters, caught between worlds. My heart weeps. The struggle is real.

Frankly, I don't care for Juliet's issues anymore. Her father's so-called madness runs through her veins. Can she please move on and accept it already? Because this drama has been drawn out for far too long. While the idea may have been intriguing in The Madman's Daughter, Juliet has to bring it up in every chapter, sounding more like a broken record every time.

"What you hate is what you are. An animal, just like me."

Of course, her inner demons play a huge part in muddling with her affections. As Juliet's desire to sin grows, so does her attraction to Edward. If he had been raised in captivity longer or as a boy that was turned into a beast, I would have fewer qualms with their relationship. But appearances aside, he's only a year old. And he's an amalgamation of heron, monkey, and jackal, apparently. Whenever they shared a sensual moment between the pages, I could feel nothing but disgust.

Edward and I were connected in a deep way—a primal way—that Montgomery would never understand.

My annoyance with this love triangle was furthered when Juliet made Montgomery out to be the bad guy, even though he's better than the lot of them. I couldn't help but laugh sometimes when Montgomery claimed he was the monster in this story. Like, dude. Maybe you're better off not knowing what the others have been doing.

The hopeful look in [Lucy's] eye told me her feelings for Edward hadn't dimmed despite the terrible truths I'd told her.

Speaking of which, let's talk about Lucy. The possibility of romance between her and Edward disturbs me. Her affections were too underdeveloped, as well as her character. I didn't care for her as much as I should. I know she's sheltered and all, especially considering her background, but she acts like a child. I never looked forward to any of her appearances.

In short, I had a lot of laughs. I raged harder than I should have. Some descriptions were very repetitive, and revelations too sudden. The international edition was riddled with typos. My final say is that it should have been polished more, and it could have been better. Her Dark Curiosity has left me hesitant to read A Cold Legacy.

The Madman's Daughter

Author: Megan Shepard
Series: The Madman's Daughter, #1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: December 23, 2013

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

When The Madman's Daughter was released all those years ago, I was completely uninterested. Love triangles are the bane of my existence, and horror is a genre I'm not too fond of. It was only until I had to research examples of the latter that I actually decided to pick it up. Inspired by classic Gothic literature—in this case, H. G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau—The Madman's Daughter had left quite the impression.

I feel obligated to mention that I've already read Her Dark Curiosity, although I do plan to make a separate review for that. As much as possible, I'll try to constrain myself from muddling the two together. This review has been a long time coming, and I'm a little rusty. What I remember most of all were the surprises this story brought to the table, and even an ending that drew a tear to my eye.

Dead flesh and sharpened scalpels didn't bother me. I was my father's daughter, after all. My nightmares were made of darker things.

What had lessened my experience was Juliet, an unsympathetic heroine who tested my patience at the end of every chapter. I feel as if I'm getting tired of women who want to tear off their corsets. I get it. I get the symbolism. But it's starting to come off as, I don't know, edgy? Cliché? While I enjoy stories in which ladies break off the shackles of society, the analogy was very cringe-worthy to read, although it certainly does follow through with her personality.

Juliet is presented as being highly analytical. Her passions are constrained, yet they yearn to break free. I will concede that her character has been well fleshed-out. Her dynamic with her father adds an interesting dimension to her narrative. Even when he isn't in her presence, he keeps her toiling on a string. As his daughter, Juliet desperately wants to see past the monster the public has made him out to be, which prompts her to test the boundaries of her moral compass.

I had thought I was alone in the world. But here he was, the only person who knew me, the only one left who shared my dark secrets.

I want to make one thing abundantly clear: Fuck love triangles. Montgomery all the way. It was obvious who was the third wheel from the get-go, but then the said third wheel would keep popping up like an annoying mole. Juliet would be ripped out of an integral moment in the plot, simply because she was too enthralled in her strange romance with Edward, and there would be plenty of moments where I would shout, "Montgomery is still in danger, you assholes." Pulling out of my rant for a moment, am I the only one who thought Edward was a blonde and Montgomery was a brunette?

The first chapters kept me invested and the middle worried me when its ability to keep me sympathetic, but the second half had been a game-changer.

I was spooked when they went to the village, when it was revealed that the creations had cut the Caesar's tongue. Scary. Shit. And that ending! I did not expect that at all. But I do prefer Juliet going back home alone than Balthazar and the horse

The prose was simply haunting, capturing the essence of Gothic horror. Despite my disdain for its protagonist, The Madman's Daughter is a horrific yet delightful read.

The Star-Touched Queen

Author: Roshani Chokshi
Series: The Star-Touched Queen, #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: April 26, 2016

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…

But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most... including herself.

Stars, soulmates, and supernatural cities hit hard on my aesthetic. Just add the promise of diversity, and you're practically guaranteed to have me on-board for the ride. The Star-Touched Queen is a fantastical retelling of Hades and Persephone—although I believe the more accurate comparison would be Cupid and Psyche—set in a world that has additional roots in Indian folklore.

"You do not trust me, do you?"

"No," I said. "I had no reason to lie. "I told you [...] that trust is won in actions and time. Not words."

"I wish you trusted me."

"I don't place my faith in wishes."

Maya is the princess of Bharata, but she is only one of the many daughters sired by the Raja. Her father's walls hold a strict hierarchy, and she lies at the bottom rung. Bharata, you see, places its faith in the stars. Entire lives have been designed by horoscopes, and Maya has been given the worst one, promising her a marriage of death and destruction.

"Come with me and you shall be an empress with the moon for your throne and constellations to wear in your hair. Come with me and I promise you that we will always be equals."

In order to pacify Bharata's enemies, the Raja arranges a match between her and a neighboring prince. Enter Amar of Akaran, who vows to lay the world at her feet. However, her handsome prince might not be entirely what he seems.

Straight off the bat, I thought the prose was beautiful. The author has woven a beautiful setting that drips with culture and magic on every page. There were times, though, when her descriptions were nonsensical. Shatter Me easily comes to mind as a comparison.

The romance was swoon-worthy, at first. I loved the emphasis on Amar's desire for them to be equals. As he says time and time again, he treasures her opinion and perspective. My only complaint would be that they fall in love with each other much too easily, even as I consider the conflict that presents itself later on.

The middle surprised me. Even if a story manages to suck me in, I usually get bored by the halfway point, but the author had snuck in an intriguing surprise. 

I was conflicted about Maya's choice to stab the heart of Akaran. The villain could have easily been seen from a mile away, and stupidity can make me drop a book in a flash. I do appreciate the bold move on the author's part, and the growth Maya received as a result.

Another relationship I would like to touch on is Maya's interactions with other women. She may have her half-sister Gauri and a flesh-eating horse, but The Star-Touched Queen suffers from a lack of positive female relationships. At the same time, the allegations of slut-shaming aren't really well-founded. Gauri's relationship with the harem women is evident of that, and the novella Death and Night explores Maya's bond with two of her best friends.

There was one line, I admit, that toed the line, but I believe it had stemmed more so in the heat of the moment and Maya's history with how she's been treated by those in the palace.

On a somewhat related note, I was disappointed that there was no redemption arc for Nritti. She had done some terrible things and yet, I still felt sorry for her.

Despite how well The Star-Touched Queen handled itself, the ending fell flat. Ultimately, it had been the deciding factor in whether to put it on my list of favorites or not. There were a number of unanswered questions. 

​What was that about Maya's stories coming true? Is it because she was a goddess? Because she was tapping on some hidden knowledge she once kept? What exactly curtails a goddess in this world?

At the very least, I liked The Star-Touched Queen enough to read the novella and give its sequel a chance.

The School of Good and Evil

Author: Soman Chainani
Series: The School for Good and Evil, #1
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: May 14, 2013

The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…? The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.

The School of Good and Evil was a rollercoaster, and it has been one helluva ride. One moment, I was hating the characters for their actions and in the next, loving every moment of it. And in some, I was just going, "Whaaaa..."

It had taken her whole life to make a single friend. And here these girls had become best friends in minutes as if making friends was the simplest thing in the world.

Agatha is your average heroine—the practical, kind of dark, just-jeans-for-me kind of gal. You've heard it before: All the girl wants is the ordinary, and she recoils at the thought of being special instead of reveling it. I could relate so strongly to her self-deprecation and loneliness, her struggle to "get with" other people, but I feel the author could have done a better job of bringing me closer to her. I know she's supposed to be the opposite of her best friend Sophie, but I'm at that point where I'm just tired of reading about these characters.

It’s this place, she thought. In Gavaldon, Sophie would forget about classes and castles and boys. In Gavaldon, they could find a happy ending together. Not here. I just need to get us home.

Agatha and Sophie are, as stated by the synopsis, kidnapped and placed in the twisted School of Good and Evil, where all manner of heroes are trained to be good and all manner of villains, evil. Except when it turns out they're... not?

“Sophie, we have the chance to save our village from a two-hundred-year-old curse, to rescue children from beatings and failings, to escape wolves, waves, gargoyles, and everything else in this awful school, and to end a story that will kill you. And you’re thinking about a boy?”

“I wanted my happy ending, Aggie,” Sophie said, tears sparkling.

Sophie is the perfect picture of a princess, with her perfect skin, perfect hair, and perfect manners, but behind lurks the face of a true villain. She has been delusioned by fairy tales, into believing a handsome prince on a white horse will make everything better. For her, the School for Good and Evil is a dream come true. Surprisingly, she ended up being my favorite character, although she did take dives into being the worst. While reading, I always looked forward to her appearances.

"Oh, Agatha, I’m a terrible friend. But I’ll have my whole life to make it up to you."

Tedros is the son of King Arthur. A bland little jock boy, who flaunts his privilege and family power. As you can see, I didn't care for the mysognistic, one track-minded brat. With him, I experienced the first time I ever hated a love-hate relationship, which is normally my favorite kind. Every time he came up, I wanted to skip on to the next scene.

The problem smashed Agatha in the face. The one that had plagued them all along. For as the two girls were pulled to their opposing towers, their opposing desires couldn’t have been clearer. Agatha wanted her only friend back. But a friend wasn’t enough for Sophie. Sophie had always wanted more.

Sophie wanted a prince.

The author seems to have a problem with building up to relationships and keeping them from becoming static, but Agatha and Sophie grew on me. I hated Tedros for being the character between the girls. I wanted them to just forget about princes and ride into the sunset.

Imagine my wonderful surprise when that's what the story ended with after all, with Agatha and Sophie exchanging "I love yous" and a kiss. Okay, so it might have just been a gesture of pure friendship, but that's still leagues further than Tedros has ever gone.

No wonder princesses were so impotent in fairy tales, she thought. If all they could do was smile, stand straight, and speak to squirrels, then what choice did they have but to wait for a boy to rescue them?

I actually finished this months ago, but pure laziness kept me from finishing my review or posting my status updates. I'm probably not going to read the next book, because I thought the ending was perfect. I wouldn't want to ruin the experience.

Some closing points, dipping in social justice area: Simpering, dependent misses are mocked, but not exactly. You can be a girly-girl yet still rock it out. Frowning at the word choice of "Arabian skin" and "exotic", but at least the character is still thought of as beautiful.

And which is it: the School for Good and Evil or the School of Good and Evil?

Hunting Monsters

Author: S.L. Huang
Series: None
Publisher: Book Smugglers Publishing
Release Date: October 7, 2014

"Happy birthday, child. Careful not to shoot any grundwirgen."

Ever since she was a small girl, she has learned to be careful on the hunt, to recognize the signs that separate regular animals from human-cursed grundwirgen. To harm a grundwirgen is a crime punishable by death by the King’s decree—a fatal mistake that her Auntie Rosa and mother have carefully prepared her to avoid.

On her fifteenth birthday, when her mother is arrested and made to stand trial for grundwirgen murder, everything she thought she knew about her family and her past comes crashing down.

Auntie Rosa has always warned her about monsters. Now, she must find and confront them to save her mother, no matter the cost.

Friggin' gorgeous. Just friggin' gorgeous. How dare you do this to me, S.L. Huang? How dare you?

In this retelling of Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood. Xiao Hong is a young girl that comes from a family of hunters. She's raised by her mother Mei and her partner Rosa, who have given her everything she needs and everything she needs to know. Although her mother is distant and Xiao Hong spends more time with Auntie Rosa, she loves them both more than anything in the world. So when the King's Men break down the door and take her mother to court, tearing her family apart and accusing her of a terrible crime, Xia Hong does everything to prove them wrong. But the people seemed to have made up their mind, and there's little she could do without a hint of proof leading to her mother's innocence.

We all knew trials in this kingdom were swift and executions swifter.

How perfect can this be? People of Color represented in a medieval setting! A protagonist living in an unconventional household and raised by a same sex couple, one of whom is bisexual! Non-negative reinforcement of these elements! Calling out of abusive relationships! Likeable, human characters! Confrontations with moral questions! Beautiful, evenly-paced writing that hooks you in! People of Color! If I should have any complaints, it's that there should be a follow-up, spin-off novel after. I'd like to write a longer, coherent review, but I can't stop raving about how good it is, and anything I'll say will have me spoiling too much. You'll simply have to trust me when I say that Hunting Monsters is one of the most perfect, awesomesauce short stories I and almost every other reader have and will ever come across.