The Delphi Deception (The Delphi Trilogy #2) – Chris Everheart

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Mild spoilers ahead.

The Delphi Deception written by Chris Everheart continues the thrilling story laid down by the first book of the series, The League of Delphi. Zachary White with the help of an unlikely ally, digs deeper into the mystery of the strange happenings in Arcanville and discovers disturbing truths about the town he once called home.

Chris Everheart writes a narrative full of atmospheric anxiety and premonition. The disregard for children and their well being in the town of Arcanville is disconcerting, but it’s no different from reading about the treatment of children in The Hunger Games or Ender’s Game. It continues to emphasize the fact that the pressure to perform, to meet societal standards of success can and will drive anyone to unreasonable and dangerous resorts.

Katie, Ashlynn’s older sister, is the cold, calculating villain in this book. I find her to be a rather complex character, a girl driven to succeed by any means necessary. What I found rather interesting is that she wants to know who her competitors are, so that she can pulverize them into submission, but she shows a definite lack of interest in the easy way out, there is no negotiation for exam papers or answers to the pop quiz. Her interactions with Zach are fraught with a different type of tension, he knows she could betray him at any moment. Yet they have to work together to find out answers, each discovering what they must know. Katie makes for a great villain and I like that she isn’t defined by her gender in her actions.

The secondary characters in this book such as Larry (the homeless man), Ashlynn (who now lies in hospital) and the new security head don’t have much to do in the book. Larry gets a beautiful exposition on the relationship between the mystic and science while the new security chief is an adult version of Katie.

There continue to be some spelling and grammatical errors but those do not detract from the overall story. I give this book a well deserved 4 stars.

The League of Delphi (The Delphi Trilogy #1) – Chris Everheart

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Mild spoilers ahead.
The League of Delphi written by Chris Everheart takes us through a mysterious wealthy town, its enigmatic denizens and an ancient conspiracy. The book’s protagonist, Zachary White (not his real name) and his girlfriend race to find out what lies beneath the otherwise placid surface of Arcanville, discovering prophecies straight out from ancient Greece.
The book’s plot surprised me – there were no immediate swan dives into mythology, insane car chases, mentions of dangerous artifacts. I feel the writer respects his young adult reader by writing a slow burn first half.
Please know ‘slow burn’ does not mean boring. The narrative immediately gives you a sense that there is something dangerous, something ominous lurking in the town of Arcanville. (A name, by the way, is well chosen because it kept reminding me of Arkham Asylum from Batman, adding more to the spook factor) The book is moody and atmospheric with a heavy sense of foreboding. I also think the use of present tense gives the story an urgency, as if the reader is watching events unfold.

Since The League of Delphi is the first part of a trilogy, I will reserve judgment on character development. So far, I find Zach to be relatable; even with his mysterious past and his convenient friendship with a bunch of hackers who live in France. His mourning for his parents and his memories of his mother is based on emotion – very raw, and very real.

I found Everheart’s observations on technology influenced culture and human self-obsession to be very insightful. Also, the emotional hits just keep on coming with mentions of depression, suicide, mental health, breast cancer and death, all within the first 20 pages. Everheart does not hold back and we see our hero, Zach battle with his own demons of uncertainty, being a slave to what he thinks is genetically cursed.

The League of Delphi has some excellent chase sequences, with a very well written description of a car toppling over a bridge. The lines spoken by the characters seem natural and something my younger sister would say. (Not that she is a power hungry teenager who wants to be the next female President)

I might be over thinking it, but The League of Delphi came across as an allegory on the pressures we put on our children, to do well in school, to acquire higher grades, and the devastating consequences when some children cannot cope. It also is a commentary on how traditional support structures like family and familial bonds can fail us, and be the reason for why we are unhappy or disappointed with our lot in life.

My one complaint with Everheart’s Seti’s Charm was that the female villain was a ‘bitch’ just because. I liked that the female villains in this book are intelligent, are cold and calculating with real world motivations that make them dangerous. Quite an improvement.

I would give this book 4 stars – there were some odd grammatical constructs I couldn’t look past and I found a couple spelling mistakes. Apart from that, I liked the world building and all the characters. Now onto part 2!

Paranormal Public (Paranormal Public #1) – Maddy Edwards

You know how sometimes you think, let me sit on the couch, do something productive like read or send my nana an email, and hours later, look up from the Wikipedia article about the oldest pub in Europe you were reading on your smartphone and hate-think ‘Oh My God, what a waste of time! I hate myself.’?

This is exactly how I felt reading Paranormal Public.

Paranormal Public by Maddy Edwards is about yet another sullen ‘gifted’ teenager who gets whisked off to a special college for paranormal creatures such as ‘mages,’ fallen angels, vampires.

Over the course of this rather dull and trope filled book, our heroine is alternatively shown swooning over boys, joining her friends to defeat narration advancing evil demons and bemoaning the fact her ‘special talents’ haven’t shown themselves yet.

The last part particularly grated on my nerves – I was curious to see how an Elemental would be written (the closest Elemental character I have seen so far is in Kevin Hearne’s absolutely excellent Iron Druid series) but the so called Elemental magic shown here is written so vapidly that even my imagination gave up and just started throwing these scenes of barren land in my mind. Also, these powers kick in only at the 90th percentile of the book. One has to plod through pages of careless writing about unlikeable characters and forced bad humor and poor pacing before any of the fun action begins. Please employ your strongest stretch of the imagination to define anything in this book as ‘fun.’

Another review here said something about how there is no motivation or raison d’etre shown in the book – the things in the book happen ‘just because.’ (Very similar to Vampire Academy, shudder) I was looking at my notes for this review and I see I pretty much wrote down the same thing – there is no explanation or background given for any of the feelings or situations in this book. There is zero character development and I can’t even muster the energy to dislike Charlotte, the protagonist.

This turned into a hate read for me 30 pages into the book. Some of the more irritating plot points that jumped out at me which I will therefore address with some free editor’s advice:

1. Charlotte telling Keller to stop harassing her just because he smiles at her. I had to read this at least thrice just to make sure I was reading correctly. Over sensitive much? Please re-write.
2. Great, we have more stereotypes of the popular and pretty ‘school bitch.’ More women hating women. Can we not, writers?
3. Teachers using magical force to slam pupils into walls – weirdly violent and completely unnecessary. Dear Maddy Edwards, refer to one Professor Snape. Also, refer to using violence just for the sake of violence as being redundant.
4. This isn’t Hogwarts – this is a pale and poor imitation done with no respect to the source material. Please use common sense.
5. Three chapters of reading is too much homework? Which school did the author go to?
6. Charlotte is barely 2 days in her new college, an unfamiliar environment, and she is already whining to be allowed to learn ‘how to do magic’ than study theory and just soak in this brand new magical world she has been thrown into? Reeks of self entitlement. Please re-write.
7. Charlotte calls Camilla ‘an evil lunatic.’ Please refer to ‘Feminism in 2014.’
8. Why does everyone behave as if they are in high school and not college? Please explain.
9. Why are all the girls so boy crazy? Please explain.

TL;Dr: Everyone is just awful. If you must read another Harry Potter, pick up a copy of The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

Seti’s Charm: A Max Carter Adventure – Chris Everheart

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Mild spoilers ahead.

Seti’s Charm by Chris Everheart (what a great author name!) is about the adventures of one Max Carter, a young 14 year old budding archaeologist. Max works with his grandfather at their family owned museum. One evening, a priceless ancient Egyptian artifact is stolen, the museum burned down and his grandfather gets badly hurt in the process, ending up in the hospital. Thus begins a mad dash to secure the artifact and return it to Egypt.

Seti’s Charm is mostly targeted at middle school readers. However, it is such a well written book, with fast paced action, the thrill of adventure and the allusions to ancient Egypt that any fan of adventure stories or Indiana Jones might enjoy it. Chris Everheart writes very exciting ‘things go boom’ scenes as evidenced by the robbery in the first page and then Max’s thrilling rescue of his grandfather from the ensuing fire.

I really liked the fact our young hero is against the use of weapons and this whole anti gun stance comes in very useful to the safety of a secondary character later in the book. Max is also written to be someone with fears and insecurities with less of the swagger and more of the smart thinking. I will definitely read more books in this series.

The only grouse I had was the character of the step-grand mother. Given this book is meant for younger readers, it needs to do away with the evil step mother stereotype or at least have a female villain written with respect.

4 stars mostly.

Butterfly Season – Natasha Ahmed

I received a free copy of this book from IndiReads in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Mild Spoilers ahead.

Butterfly Season by Natasha Ahmed is a well written tale of what seems to be a simple love story on the surface, but is actually an introspection into societal mores and perceived rightness of conduct. Butterfly Season tells us the story of how Ahad and Rumi meet and fall in love against a backdrop of disapproving family members, familial honor, and conservatism.

From the first page (which contains some rather lovely lines of poetry by the Persian poet, Rumi) to the last one, I was drawn in by the easy to read language and by events that had me either shaking my fists or cheering on the characters.

I am not a fan of romance as a genre and I was a little wary of reading this book. In my opinion, the modern romance novel (whether it be based in present day or whether it be historical romance, a type I dislike intensely) usually has a heroine either unable to clearly decide what she wants or she is overly independent to the point of being standoffish; therefore by extension, only a man can rescue her from her staid self.

Like I said, not a fan.

But, in Butterfly Season, all the women are like girlfriends you’d have in real life. Rumi, while she has had a more conservative approach toward life, finally learns to let go of baggage and be her own woman. Her sister, Juveria could have been yet another stereotypical interfering family member who only cares for the family reputation/honor, but ultimately has a nice rescinding arc that helps her make up with her sister and repent her horrible actions. And then there’s my favorite, Mahira. I was looking through my notes for this review and I literally have one sentence that goes ‘Mahira is awesome.’ She is a loyal compassionate friend who has her life together and has a fairly loving marriage with her equally lovely husband, Faizan. Also, her line about ‘Rehan Rehana’ made me laugh – she has the best kind of humor.

Coming back to Rumi, who after all is one of the two main leads in the book, I liked her. There were moments in the book when I wanted to give her a bit of a shake, especially when she had her first quarrel with Ahad. I gasped in outrage when she actually thought ‘I need a ring,’ this after barely 2 weeks of being with a man she just met. I found it so outrageous that I had to go do my laundry and cool off before picking up the book again. But, I get it. What women like me take for granted (personal freedom, making our own choices) there are other women from other nations and societies that do not enjoy the same privileges. Or don’t believe those privileges exist. For most of those women, the promise of marriage is the only way to be considered respectable.

I also liked that Rumi had misgivings and doubts about her first sexual experience. There is a low point in the book when she asks Ahad if she is good enough for him that made me really feel for her – we have all been there.

Rumi makes quite a victorious comeback in my eyes. She chooses to control her life, to stop being afraid, I absolutely loved it that when the ring finally came, she didn’t jump straight into Ahad’s arms (who let’s face it, is a bit of a douchebag to her.) She made him stew a little and made it clear she was going to be with him on her own terms. You go girl!

Ahad, the hero of this story seems like a laid back, gentle person. I like that he is not perfect, and that he has a non traditional job – I believe he is an editor of coffee table art books. (I also quite enjoyed the fact that Rumi has the more conventional career of an architect – nice work, Natasha Ahmed) Ahad is respectful and self aware – he made sure multiple times Rumi was fine with them having sex for the first time. That was very classy.

There was this lovely little anecdote in the book of how Ahad’s mom taught him Urdu because she was ‘horrified’ he was developing a Cockney accent – learning Urdu helped harden his T’s and D’s. I thought this was a exquisite little look into expat culture and brought up many memories of my childhood.

Butterfly Season is a beautiful light introduction to Pakistani culture with references to Rumi (the poet), ghazals, and the dulcet voice of the indomitable Nayyara Noor. What came across as forced were the more western pop culture references (Star Wars for example) Also, can we avoid the racial cliches that white women are basically shrill shrews who get inebriated real fast? I could have done without that.

Ah family – toward the end, there is a satisfying make up conversation between both sisters. I didn’t really relate to that particular aspect of the family drama especially Juveria’s obsession with reputation. But the sad truth is there are countries in which misogyny is equated to a misplaced sense of honor.

One of my favorite authors is Ismat Chughtai (what a great name and what an even greater writer) – it might be a stretch to say this book reminded me of the Grand Dame of Urdu fiction, but as I write this review, I can’t help think of Chughtai and the stories she wrote about feminine sexuality and gender roles. Any book that makes you examine ideas and established norms is a good book in my opinion. I recommend purchasing this book for fans of romance and also for readers looking for a lighthearted view into Pakistani culture. A fine debut indeed.

The Cana Mystery – David Beckett

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Mild spoilers ahead.

In The Cana Mystery, we have ancient artifacts (supposedly owned by Jesus Christ) re-discovered in the modern day and the ‘thrilling’ chase by one genius know it all and her bumbling well meaning buffoon of a boring love interest to secure their safety. The book takes us through the United States, Egypt, Malta and Italy with a narrative weaving between past and present day.

First things first, I would like to express my disbelief over the 5-star ratings this book has received on Goodreads. And some reviewers comparing this to Indiana Jones and Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon make me very perplexed. I do not understand where all the love is coming from.

The Cana Mystery is a very awkwardly written book, with strange sentence constructs and odd paragraph breaks. It feels as if the writer wanted to jam in as many words as possible in some chapters and write the barest of outlines in others. You know when you watch a TV show or a movie with subtitles, you start reading the subtitles because the acting is so bad that you need a distraction, and then you further feel like you are watching a bad play? That’s how reading the dialogues and conversations made me feel.

The basic plot seemed intriguing enough – I am a sucker for anything with history and artifacts. The book stressed me out in parts when I realized Beckett loves a high body count – there were so many murders and killings, I lost count, and this was in the first half of the book itself. I couldn’t really care about the artifacts themselves because of the overly simple back story and yawn, yet another doomsday prediction hidden in them.

Ava, the so called brilliant academic (who is barely 25) came across as such a smug know it all who makes terrible decisions, that even the learning for me was tempered with annoyance. This is one character I disliked with her stubborn misguided insistence on being ‘independent’ and misreading situations all the time. She came across as one of those people you meet in life who love to correct you and insist on being right. There was no sense of adventure, no joy of learning or even sharing knowledge. Much of my irritation stems from this character.

Two stars because I am feeling generous and also because there were parts in the book that were fraught with tension. Otherwise, if you want to read something that belongs to the genre, pick up a Dan Brown or even better, old school Wilbur Smith.

Wedding Night – Sophie Kinsella

One star. Kinsella is losing her touch unfortunately. Lottie comes across as vacuous, (I don’t know how she manages to do well at work) desperate and immature (who would even think they are getting proposed to without actually hearing the question first?)

Her older sister seems like a bad parent, indifferent to her son, and very very interfering. If my sister was getting married to a guy she barely knew, I would share my reservations but say good luck.

This book was also not funny or light. If you need a light beach read, try some of Sophie Kinsella’s earlier stuff.

Hotter Than Helltown (Preternatural Affairs #3) – SM Reine

I received an Advance Review Copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Hotter than Helltown was standard light fare – the plot moves along quickly and it doesn’t require much attention to detail. I did enjoy the whole idea of fallen angels and the mythos behind their legacy. I would be interested in reading more about the world SM Reine has created – but this book doesn’t go into the world building with great detail.

Cesar Hawke, while written rather sketchily, (you don’t really get a sharp focus of the man, more like a blurred idea of a character) has a cool sounding name. I like that he is warily cautious of everything and I also like that this is one male character in urban fantasy who isn’t trigger happy. However, the one thing that didn’t appeal to me is his strange attraction towards Isobel. She hasn’t done anything that would make me trust her (as a reader) and I am not sure what the attraction is. I have read the first two books in the series and in both, I have had felt the same lack of trust. I think the biggest problem was that she conveniently didn’t mention she knew Cesar’s boss (from book 1) – to me, that was a major violation of trust.

I feel the most realistic character is Suzy – she continues to be sarcastic, weary and a supportive, good friend to Cesar. Again, she isn’t fleshed out as a character I could care for which is why these books read like a fast paced soap opera. If I didn’t take notes while reading, I would have probably already forgotten details of the plot.

Inferno (Robert Langdon #4) – Dan Brown

You’d think a book full of exciting car chases, mysterious women, strange exotic lands, ancient literary texts, all mixed in with some historical exposition would be a promising, unputdownable book. I guess Inferno is surprising, because even though it checks off all the parameters I just listed above, it manages to be the most boring, unending (in a bad way) and generally unexciting tome to ever have been published.

Angels and Demons is one of my favorite Dan Brown books – the others are just to pass the time with. But Angels and Demons is pretty under rated – it has solid pacing and it felt like an exciting treasure hunt. After the vague disappointment I felt with The Lost Symbol, I hoped Inferno would be the next Angels and Demons. But if anyone could take a 12/13th century poem written by Dante and insert it in one of the most pointless books that turns out to not really be about said poem, it is Mr Dan Brown.

Inferno raises one good point about rapidly declining resources which would be fantastic to read about in a serious economics book like say Capital in the 21st Century. Unfortunately, Brown takes himself too seriously and is most insistently dependent on Wikipedia and internet searches. There is none of the passion and exuberance and, horrors, originality when he talks about symbology/art/architecture/history. And that is the problem. Angels and Demons and even The Da Vinci Code have this sense of fun which is sadly lacking in Inferno. Really, I am quite appalled how someone could turn 700 years old literature written about a creative concept of hell and turn it into something as boring as population control.

PS: I am no hater of economics – I just believe there is no requirement to suck the fun out of everything.

Also, I don’t get Robert Langdon’s appeal to all these supposedly hot women. Ever since the movies came out with an old, tired looking Tom Hanks, I have just pictured Hanks as Langdon when I read. Tom Hanks as an old tired man is not hot, sorry.

Sienna Brooks is so so so so annoying and whiny. Jesus girlfriend, you have what is an apparently off the chart IQ, you appear to be very intelligent and you have all your teeth. Stop being such a pussy about your emotional issues and grow a pair! She’s full of herself – she wants to help the world because no one understands her, she runs off to Manila (which by the way isn’t the shanty town Brown describes; it is a vibrant modern city with its set of problems), realizes she is only one person against the big bad unfair world, throws a tantrum, as a result runs into a potential dangerous situation of her own making and then throws another tantrum for the rest of her bloody life. God, I hate this character.

I think The Consortium as a mysterious organization was fun – I wouldn’t mind reading more stories in it. I imagine people like the Provost make calls while drinking copious glasses of wine and say It’s Handled Scandal style.

TL;DR: No inferno in this Inferno. Stupidly written and Robert Langdon/Tom Hanks is a sex magnet. Whatever.

Cobweb Forest (Cobweb Bride Trilogy #3) – Vera Nazarian

What a satisfying end to this trilogy! Although the ending is a bit too neat for my taste, I did enjoy reading the last book. The writing improved over time as compared to the first book and Percy is one of my favorite heroines now. She’s brave and compassionate and never annoyed me. Persephone (the Goddess) is such a wicked thing – it really annoys me she got away with all the cruel things she did with a slap on the wrist. (Oh, you were temporarily insane, no problem bae, now come and take care of my hardon for me: said Hades) Ugh, I hated her. Apart from those minor quibbles, I loved the fact this trilogy was mostly driven by amazing female characters. I am considering naming either my first born or my cat Grial. One last thing – I thought the grammar was a bit off. For example, the tendency to put prepositions at the end of sentences. That drove me insane.