Monday, January 31, 2011

Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

Lily of the Nile
Title:  Lily of the Nile
Author:  Stephanie Dray
Publisher:  Berkley Books
Publication Date:  January 2011
Format:  Paperback, 368 pages
Age Group:  Adult
Series:  Cleopatra's Daughter (Book 1)

After the fall of Alexandria to Rome and the death of her parents, Mark Antony and Cleopatra, Princess Selene and her brothers are taken to Rome.  Marched in the streets as prisoners of war, their lives are spared and they are taken in to the emperor's household.  Now Selene must learn to survive in a world where treachery could be around every corner.  The legacy of Cleopatra and the religion of Isis rest in the hands of one young girl who only lives at the emperor's whim.  Will Selene learn to manipulate the emperor even as he uses her for his own political gain?

Lily of the Nile is a wonderful book of historical fiction.  Although I enjoy historical fiction a great deal, it has been quite a long time since I've actually read any.  Stephanie Dray has reminded me why I count this as one of my preferred genres.  Dray crafts the political and spiritual focus of the time around one young girl who is powerful, vulnerable, scared, and alone.  Cleopatra Selene understands and feels the weight of Egypt and the religion of Isis as she holds it in her heart yet she also keenly feels the death of her parents and brothers.  She can speak like a queen in one moment and in the next her emotions overwhelm her.  Her brothers and the other members of her new household are very real, emotional characters as well.  Each struggles at times to put on their stoic face for the public and to do their duty for Rome and the emperor, even when their hearts desire other things.

The religion of Isis is strongly featured in the book as it is one of the main components of Cleopatra Selene's legacy.  She protects the temples and followers of Isis from the emperor even when it means turning away from her family to do his bidding.  Magic is a large part of this faith and it manifests itself with bleeding hieroglyphs carved into Selene's skin carrying messages for the emperor.  Dray presents this magic in a very realistic manner both in its occurrence and the fear that it creates.

Stephanie Dray gives the reader the entire package in this book:  realistic historical setting, great characters, political ambition, spiritual magic, and wonderful writing.  My only fear when getting close to the end was that it wasn't going to be enough.  I didn't see how the story could possibly be wrapped up in the few remaining pages.  While it turned out that the book did end in a wonderful spot in the story of Cleopatra Selene, I was very happy to discover that Dray is writing more of her story.  According to Dray's website, Lily of the Nile is only the first book in a trilogy.  I believe Song of the Nile is scheduled to come out some time this fall.

Thank you so much to j squared pr who sent me a copy of Lily of the Nile in return for my honest review.

Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links and I do earn a small percentage for each item purchased through those links. Any other referral or associate links will be noted within the post.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling

Title:  Graceling
Author:  Kristin Cashore
Publisher:  Harcourt
Publication Date:  October 2008
Format:  Hardcover, 471 pages
Age Group:  Young Adult
Series:  The Seven Kingdoms (Book 1)

Katsa lives in a kingdom where the Graced, those with two different colored eyes and a special talent, are regarded with suspicion and often openly feared.  Katsa has been Graced with killing and has become the enforcer for the king.  In her own way, Katsa rebels against her nature and provides aid to people through out the seven kingdoms through a council which intervenes and attempts to correct injustice.  It is a simple rescue mission for the council that brings Katsa together with Po, leading them on journeys of self-discovery and bringing them together in ways neither could have imagined.

While I enjoyed Graceling, I didn't love it.  The best part about the book was the characters.  Katsa and Po both face internal struggles of self-doubt and both have become used to hiding parts of themselves away from others.  Their strong emotional connection and the questions it raised for each of them were compelling.  The development of their relationship from mysterious meeting to hidden secrets and beyond was more interesting than the actual story of the journey they were taking.

I found the world in Graceling to be fairly generic.  Little is known about the inhabitants of the seven kingdoms beyond general descriptions of the kings in each.  The setting is not described in much detail either except when it is a barrier to survival.  The actual plot of the story didn't hold my attention until Katsa and Po met Bitterblue and then it was more the addition of another interesting character that caught me instead of the actual story.  In some ways the action seemed to resolve itself too quickly because the solution just appeared or the character just suddenly managed to do what needed to be done.

The next book in this series, Fire, actually takes place many years before Graceling.  I really have no desire to read this book because it won't have the characters in it that I loved in Graceling and I'm simply just not that interested in that world.  Kristin Cashore is currently working on the third book in the series, Bitterblue, which will take place after Graceling and will have some of the same characters but I doubt that I will remember to actively seek it out.

I borrowed Graceling from my local library and read it as January's selection for the Reading with Tequila Book Club on Goodreads.  The opinion presented here is entirely my own.

Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links and I do earn a small percentage for each item purchased through those links. Any other referral or associate links will be noted within the post.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

The Way of Shadows (The Night Angel Trilogy)
Title:  The Way of Shadows
Author:  Brent Weeks
Publisher:  Orbit
Publication Date:  October 2008
Format:  Paperback, 688 pages
Age Group:  adult
Series:  The Night Angel Trilogy (Book 1)

Azoth's life in the guilds of the slums is one of mere survival.  To change his fate, he must take a huge risk and approach Durzo Blint, the city's foremost assassin, and offer himself as an apprentice.  Blint transforms Azoth into Kyler Stern, bringing him into the world of high society.  As Stern, Azoth must learn all he can of bringing death while hiding his true identity.  Their fates tied together in ways neither can anticipate, Blint and Stern must navigate a dangerous world of politics and magic in order to survive.

I had a hard time getting started with this book.  I think part of it was that I'd been reading modern urban fantasy and the switch to the dirty streets of the poor in a more traditional fantasy setting was too jarring.  Azoth's world is hard and cruel and even harder to take because the main characters were children.  Not long after I started reading this, several library books and review books arrived so I put it down to catch up on those.  It was actually a couple of months before I picked it up again.

I think I was at Chapter 15 when I picked the book back up.  Getting into the world was much smoother this time as I'd read a couple of traditional fantasies in a world I was familiar with in the meantime.  While the world in The Way of Shadows was no less complicated, I was more ready for it.

The book is complex with many characters and story lines.  It was sometimes difficult to keep track of who was doing what at what time but for the most part I could follow things.  Some of the story lines seemed to be a bit random but they did come together in the end.  While some of the twists were good, others seemed to be a convenient way to wrap up loose ends.  There is one aspect of the story that I am still confused about - I truly don't know if I missed a detail along the way or if the particular event was never actually fully explained.

I do believe I will read the other two books in the trilogy but with three review books waiting and several books in other series that I truly love, I won't be returning to this world anytime soon.

The Way of Shadows is in our personal collection and no one anywhere was expecting a review.

Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links and I do earn a small percentage for each item purchased through those links. Any other referral or associate links will be noted within the post.

Monday, January 10, 2011

OTL: My Very Own Laundry Center

Originally submitted at CSN Stores


Features:
  • Includes 6 accessories: two removable baskets, a flip-up ironing board, an iron and three hangers
  • Three working control knobs
  • Colorful label sheet
  • No assembly required
  • For ages 2 and up

Cute kid's toy
By Angela D. from Indianapolis, IN on 1/10/2011
4out of 5
We ordered this quite a while ago but didn't put it together until Christmas eve as it was a gift for our daughter. My husband said it was very easy to put together and seems quite sturdy. The only problem is that the piece to hold the ironing board up comes off more easily than it should.

Our daughter enjoys washing her doll clothes and blankets and doing laundry just like mommy. I just wish the unit was a little taller/larger because I'm afraid she will out grow it faster than we expected.

I received a promotional code from CSN Stores that I used to partially cover the cost of this product in exchange for this review. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Friday, January 7, 2011

OTL: Mega Swagbucks Friday

Search & Win


In 2010 I earned about $200 in gift cards through Swagbucks!  That paid for a good portion of our Christmas gifts!  I've already started earning this year and I'll be saving them up for Christmas again.  As a stay at home mom, I love knowing that I have helped contribute in some small way to the purchase of our gifts.

The first Friday of each month, I post about Swagbucks.  That is because every Friday means Mega Swagbucks for searching (but I don't want to overwhelm people with reminders every Friday)!  Haven't tried Swagbucks yet?  It is super easy - simply use the Swagbucks search engine to do your normal Internet searching and sometimes you will be rewarded with Swagbucks which can then be redeemed for some great prizes. My theory is that if I'm going to be searching the Internet anyway, I may as well get rewarded for doing it.

My favorite prize is the Amazon.com gift card.  There are also tons of other gift cards available plus you can redeem for various merchandise as well.

On Fridays, Swagbucks gives out more Mega Swagbucks (anything over 10) than usual which means you can earn your desired prizes even faster.  The most I've gotten from one search so far is 59 Swagbucks.  I'd love to hear if one of my readers finds a high value one today or any other day!

Don't forget to check out the Special Offers section and keep an eye out for Swag Codes as well.  Both of those can help those bucks add up!  Daily Polls get you 1 Swagbuck each day and they recently added other trusted survey sites for another option to earn.  The latest option for earning Swagbucks is by watching videos with Swagbucks TV.  You can randomly get rewarded or let your meter fill up for a guaranteed win.

Swagbucks links contained within this post are referral links and I will earn some Swagbucks if you sign up using those links.


Note: All opinions provided on this blog are my own. If a product was given to me for review, the source of that product is noted in the post. Links to Amazon.com are affiliate links and I do earn a small percentage for each item purchased through those links. Any other referral or associate links will be noted within the post.