The Return of Sir Percival: Review

    

     

   
        A book like this is what I have been waiting for since middle school. As I have said many times before, I love the King Author mythos. I am, however, not an avid reading of retellings of Kind Arthur for one reason, they are all more or less tell the 3 same stories over and over again. They tell about how Arthur became King, they detail the search for the Holy Grail, or they focus on the affair between Lancelot and Guinevere and how this led to the fall of Camelot.

      The Return of Sir Percival is the story about the aftermath of Camelot’s defeat. It’s the story of how this left the people of Britain at the ruler’s mercy, the story of a former Queen trying her hardest to keep a brave face during all of this, and the story of a knight who has returned home to a land that has changed as much as he has. 

     Yes, this book has flaws, but I love it despite its flaws. There are many flashbacks used throughout the narration, and in my opinion, most of it works. We wouldn’t know about crucial events that occurred earlier in the story without said flashbacks, but on the other hand, there were flashbacks that I thought were unneeded. To me, the well-done flashbacks outnumbered the sloppy ones, but if flashbacks drive you bonkers, the book might not be for you.

     I loved the main characters, especially Percival, and his brother-in-arms, Capussa. The two spent the last ten years together as gladiators, and it shows. The two know each other and have the desire to see the other achieve his dreams. The two also have different religious beliefs, but they still respect each other despite this. I think a friendship like this was very refreshing to read as I haven’t seen this as much as I would like in fiction. My only gripe with the friendship was I felt Capussa’s history wasn’t as delved into as it could’ve been. However, this book is the first in a series so we could learn more about Capussa’s past in the future. 

     The romance was impressive. It was important to the characters involved but didn’t swallow the entire plot. *Spoilers* The couple in question was separated for the majority of the book, but from the way they spoke and thought about their respective significant other while they were apart allowed me to learn how much they did care for each other. In my humble opinion, it was all the more satisfying when they were finally reunited. *End Spoilers*  

     If you love Kind Arthur or tales about chivalry in general, then I would recommendThe Return of Sir Percival. However, if you cannot stand flashbacks as a narrative device, it might not be something you would enjoy as much as I did. 

The Fairest Beauty: Review

     

   

     When I am home every summer, I try to reread my favorite childhood and teenage-hood books. The Fairest Beauty was actually the first Young Adult novel I ever read. Because of this, it has a very special place in my heart. However, I haven’t picked the book up since high school. Last summer I reread Red Queen and Matched which were other old favorites of mine. The nostalgia was torn out from underneath me. I didn’t want to have that happen with The Fairest Beauty so I decided to allow the happy memories I had with it stay just that. Memories. 

     Then the temptation got so strong, I finally couldn’t resist it anymore so I dusted my copy of The Fairest Beauty and opened it up.

      Like with Red Queen and Matched I noticed my reading taste had changed. In high school, I didn’t mind if a story wasn’t super descriptive of the physical world the characters lived in. However, detailed physical descriptions are more or less how I write so I do appreciate other stories that go the extra mile to explain how the shadows of the outstretch tree branches fell over the leaf-carpeted forest floor. The Fairest Beauty minimally describes what the world around the characters look like. I would have appreciated a little more description, but I have a big imagination so I could still fill in the blanks on my own. 

      I recalled telling a friend that I thought certain plot points in The Fairest Beauty were awfully convenient. That was one of the many reasons I was afraid of picking this book up again. Those fears turned out to be unfounded. Those convenient plot points had foreshadowing that my naïve teenaged self either didn’t notice or forgot. That’s embarrassing. 

      I love The Fairest Beauty despite the blemishes in its plot and writing. It’s still a fairytale and it still has magic despite being historical fiction and not fantasy. It was like my childhood came back to life instead of being led to the gallows. 

Popular Books I'll Probably Never Read

     I don’t have all the time in the world. I cannot read every book in existence even if a fairly large group of people are also reading it. Just because other people love it, does not mean I will love it. So here are some books/series that I have decided to pass on. 

    Just because your favorite is one this list does not mean I hate you. That would be a very silly reason to dislike a person. My friends and family have a variety of different reading taste and I love them all the same. 

Harry Potter

    Whenever someone finds out that I haven’t read Harry Potter, their first reaction is to either ask me when I will read it or tell me that I should read it. However, I don’t have nostalgia for this series as I never read it when I was a child. Although I know why people like the magic school appeal of this book, it is not exactly interesting to me anymore. (Especially after spending years of my life in academia). Stories that are set in schools simply don’t interest me and I can live with that. 

The Fault in our Stars

    I never got to this book in high school. Now that I am in my senior year of college, I don’t particularly enjoy romances between high school-aged characters anymore. 

The Shadow Hunters

     I never really understood what this series was about although I had many friends who love it. I am not a super big fan of urban fantasy, this is probably one of the reasons I don’t feel a pull to read Harry Potter. 

The Da Vinci Code

     While we Are I would like to say that I probably won’t read anything by Dan Brown as I am not a fan of Thrillers. I also do have a personal vendetta where Mr. Brown said The Da Vinci Code was heavily based in fact. This obviously wasn’t true and left a bad taste in my mouth. There is nothing wrong with fiction not being real just don’t pretend that it is. 

Anything by Stephen King

     It pains me to say that I don’t plan on ever reading anything by Stephen King as I am not a horror person. This pains me because I like to read books written by Maine authors, but I also like to sleep at night. So sorry, Stephen King (because obviously,he reads my blog) and fans, but I will have to give him a pass. 

What I Actually Read in August 2019

I’m honestly surprised about how much reading I got done this month. It was probably due to me realizing how little reading I did in June and July and that the school year is around the corner. I panicked read most of these books as the reality that I would never get to read them if I waited until classes started up again. 

Storm Siren (Reread)

    I finally got a hold of the third book in this trilogy and realized it has been two years since I read the other two books. I started the third book, Siren’s Song, and noticed there was much I had forgotten. Wanting to appreciate every word of the final to one of my favorite series so far, I decided to read through the other two books again. That is when I dusted of Storm Siren. 

The Poppy War (DNF)

     I borrowed this book from the library and got over a hundred pages into it. Although I was curious about what would happen next, and I was enjoying the world building, the protagonist bothered me to the point I couldn’t continue. Maybe, I’ll give it another chance in the future, but that is a little unlikely. 

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

    This was an impulse buy from BAM! I’m glad I picked it up after all. This book was clearly inspired by fairytales and I found the themes of the story to be delightfully woven in with the text. I think my favorite part of the book were how the little stories told within the story related to Minli’s adventure. 

Scarlet (Reread)

    I suddenly started craving Robin Hood one evening. I recalled in high school I read one of my sister’s books that was a YA retelling of Robin Hood’s adventures through the perspective of Will Scarlet. Scarlet is good, worth picking up, and I have to admit there was a lot I had forgotten from the first time I read it so it was nice getting reacquainted with this old favorite of mine.  

Wild Rover No More

     I started reading the Jacky Faber books in high school and loved them. Part of me feels like I went on those adventures with Jacky from England to the Far East. I have to admit, was hesitant when I came to the final as I didn’t want those adventures to come to an end, but I also wanted to know how those adventures did end. It was worth it to finally finish the long-running series after all these years. 

Siren’s Fury (Reread)

    I am now more thankful than ever that I decided to read the other two books in the trilogy. Although I remember enough of the first book, Siren’s Fury had almost disappeared from my memory. I didn’t realize how much I had forgotten until I read it again. It has definitely left me more excited for Siren’s Song than ever. 

    So, I guess that is all that I managed to read this month. My favorite of all of them is certainly Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. I have a soft spot for fairytale inspired children’s book. I know I probably won’t be able to get that many books under my belt until after I graduate. Reviews for some of the books are soon to follow. 

       Have a great day, and good luck with all your classes if you are returning to school. 

Writing Advice I cannot Recommend

    

     

* Disclaimer, I am not a professional writer so take everything I say with a grain of salt.*

     I like the internet. It’s a pretty cool place despite it distracting me from my daily responsibilities every so often. However, I have made many valuable discoveries on the internet that have helped me, Apple Student Deals, Goodreads, Churchpop, Pintrest, etc. This article isn’t about those discovers. As much nice things nestled in the web there are some nasty things as well, especially bad writing advice. This can be even worse when many times this “advice” is treated as something good. 

1. Said is Dead 

    Said’s not dead it’s surely alive, living on the inside roaring like a lion!

    I used to be on board with this advice until about two years ago. I found this info graph on Pinterest when I was in high school. That infographic was consulted though many editing sessions, until I deleted it from my board. Why? Because I took a university level creative writing class where I learned “Said” is a fine word. The brain tends to ignore it, but that’s okay. The focus should be on the dialogue itself and the action surrounding it. 

      “Said is Dead” doesn’t have its roots in writing advice. It started as a way for primary school teaches to prepare their students’ vocabularies for standardized tests. Unique dialogue tags do not equal to good dialogue. Some of the examples of “fresh” words to use instead of said were very odd including, chortled, gurgled, babbled etc. It doesn't exactly make the dialogue itself pop. From my experiences, the best option is to mix dialogue with action, and then use said only where dialogue tags are needed. 

 (Dialogue with flashy tags)

    “I am the best swordsman on this side of the continent,” David boasted.

    “Which means, if I want the truly best swordsman, I’ll have to walk the thousand or so leagues.” Alexander teased. 

    David glared at his companion, “Why must you torment me so,” he lamented. 

(Dialogue mixed with action)

   David tossed his sword in the air, caught it in the opposite hand, “I am the best swordsman on this side of the continent.” 

    “Which means,” Alexander crossed his arms with a playful smile tracing his lips, “If I want the truly best swordsman, I’ll have to walk the thousand or so leagues.” 

    David glared at his companion as he threw his hand into the air, "Why must you torment me so?" 

2. Don’t Write what you Know

    Lately I have found that the internet has been bashing on this piece of advice, and frankly I do not know why.  If I don’t know something then I cannot write about it. If I was given a pen and paper and told to write about the trade routes in the Byzantine Empire, I wouldn’t get a single word down because I know nothing about the trade routes of the Byzantine Empire. However, I can research and expand what I know about the Byzantine Empire.  It’s impossible not to write what you know, but that doesn’t mean you have to only write about your personal experiences. (If that were the case then there would be no high fantasy stories). You can expand what you know by doing research or even going out and exploring. 

3. Write the Villain/Antagonist First

     (If it hasn't been made all that clear yet, I am very opinionated on this one) Unpopular opinion, I do not believe the villain is the most important character in the story, unless the story has a villain protagonist. I have heard that if there is no villain then there is no story except not all stories have villains. Some stories the main obstacle the protagonist has to face aren’t the actions of one person. A story surrounding a man stranded on an island or a community recovering from a hurricane will probably have enough stakes without an antagonist. 

   The reader isn’t following the villain for the majority of the book. My favorite TV series, Avatar the Last Airbender, doesn’t even show us the main villain on screen until the final season.  

Some stories doen’t even have villains. If I hate the villain, I can still love the book. If I hate the protagonist or whoever the POV character is, I cannot keep reading. 

     I know many of these could be considered personal preferences. That is probably true, but I still cannot get behind any of the above advice. However, I do understand people might disagree, and they are free to do so. If they weren't...then there would definitely be a problem there. :D 

Image Sources:

https://hiveminer.com/Tags/broken%2Ctypewriter

https://lindasclare.com/2012/10/the-dialogue-funeral-rip-said/

You are Better off not Knowing These Books Exist

While it is true that many good books remain under the radar of mainstream audiences, that does not mean all unpopular books are diamonds in the rough. Sometimes, when you are digging for hidden treasure, all you end up with is a sandy hole at the beach.  

     I know there is some irony of me drawing attention books that I personally think shouldn’t be popular, but consider this a public service announcement. If you come across any of these books, read at your own risk. You have been warned.  

The Red Keep

     I picked up this book expecting adventure. I didn’t get it. I don’t remember that much from this book, and I can live with that. I’d much remember the good books I read instead. Did I mention this book also struck me, who was thirteen years old at the time, as a bit racist with its treatment of a Jewish character?

Mechanica

     I was at my local library with a friend when we stumbled upon Mechanica. We both wanted to read it so my friend let me barrow it first and tell her how it was. She was the lucky one, because I was greatly disappointed by this book. 

     I remember reading reviews praising this book because it was considered feminist. Well just because a book has an “empowering” message, does not give it a free pass for a five-star rating. It was boring and in my opinion poorly written. 

Need

     I really wanted to like this book for two reasons. A. The book is about fairies and I went through a phase in high school where I was obsessed with the fair folk. B. The author is from Maine and I love looking for books written by fellow Maniacswho are not named Stephen King. However, I could hardly tolerate the main character, Zara. She was so self-righteous it distracted me from the mystery.  

Revolutionary     

What is it with YA dystopian trilogies being plagued by poorly written endings. Maybe it’s just my luck.  However, this final book in the Anomaly trilogy does not hold up to the other two in my opinion. The plot twist seemed only half-baked, and character development seemed to drop from the sky. It, simply, was not a natural ending to the trilogy. 

3 Star Ratings: Positive or Negative?

     

     When I first got my account on Goodreads I was hesitant to give a book I thought was okay, but not very good, a 3-star rating because, at the time, I felt it was saying the book was worse than it actually was. Consequently, most of the ratings I gave the books I read were 4-stars, but I didn’t think many of the books I gave deserved that rating. Many times I wished it was possible to give a book a half star. 

      If you were to go onto amazon and view a product, towards the top of the review section there is often two reviews displayed, one the most helpful positive review and the other the most helpful negative review. Lately, I have noticed the “most helpful critical review” are often 3 star reviews so according to Amazon a 3-star rating is a negative rating. However, back when Netflix used to have a star rating system, if you were to place your cursor over the stars as you are rating a show, it would say the 3-star rating means “I liked it” and that doesn’t sound negative to me. Which I think begs the question if a product is given a 3-star rating is that a good thing or a bad thing?

   

     I thought about it and came to the conclusion that a book deserves 3-stars when it is just okay. There were some unpleasant elements to it, but that could have been worst, and there is some good content to go along with the bad, but this could have been better. I also think three star-ratings are probably the most honest reviews out there as the reviewer doesn’t have strong feelings swinging their opinion towards love or hate. 

Top 5 Rainy Day Reads

   
    

Note: Tope 5 Wednesday is a group on Goodreads. If you are interested in joining you can check it out here. 

      April is a rainy month especially in the North-East. Many basements do flood during this time. That’s why I enjoy colorful books to curl up with when the world outside (and sometimes inside) is a little bit grey. 

5.  The Ordinary Princess

     I remember how much I loved this book as a child. This is such a cute story about a princess, named Amy, who is different from her sisters because a gift/curse given to her by her fairy godmother at her christening. The main focus of the story is how Amy grows up with her gift/curse.

     Sometimes on a rainy day, I just need a little magic. Every Time I read The Ordinary Princess, it still has the same magic as when I first opened it up at ten years old

4. Bloody Jack

     When there is a torrential downpour outside, I can get cabin fever within a few hours. I could go outside and have my own adventures, but I would get soaked. The solution: let Jacky Faber go on the adventure for me, and I can read about them from the comfort of my own home. 

3. Kitchen Princess

      Comfort food and a heartwarming story, what more do I need? An orphan girl dreams of becoming a professional pastry chef and finding the boy who gave her a special spoon years ago. She arrives at a school where this can come true – she just needs to jump over personal and social hurdles first. 

2.  Angel Sister

     If I am feeling grumpy about the rain and flood warnings, I can just read about people who live in Kentucky in the middle of the summer, during a heat wave and The Great Depression. Despite the dire circumstances, the town of Rosy Corner is a colorful place with unique people as well as struggling family that just wants to be happy again. 

1. Paint the Wind

     I will admit, I am a horse girl. Ever since I was a young girl, I would spend hours pretending I was a cowgirl. I have read many books about people and their loyal steads, and Paint the Wind is most definitely one of my favorites. The story of the main character getting to know her new family and environment along with the search for a missing horse, is a breeze to follow.