Review: City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

Published September 9. 2014
Broadway Books

Synopsis: Years ago, the city of Bulikov wielded the powers of the Gods to conquer the world. But after its divine protectors were mysteriously killed, the conqueror has become the conquered; the city's proud history has been erased and censored, progress has left it behind, and it is just another colonial outpost of the world's new geopolitical power. Into this musty, backward city steps Shara Divani. Officially, the quiet mousy woman is just another lowly diplomat sent by Bulikov's oppressors. Unofficially, Shara is one of her country's most accomplished spymasters-dispatched to investigate the brutal murder of a seemingly harmless historian. As Shara pursues the mystery through the ever-shifting physical and political geography of the city, she begins to suspect that the beings who once protected Bulikov may not be as dead as they seem-and that her own abilities might be touched by the divine as well.

Review: This book was totally outside of my comfort zone. Epic fantasy is not a genre that I pick up very often. In fact, I don't know if I have ever picked it up. When looking on Blogging for Books, this cover was beautiful and the synopsis seemed intriguing so I decided to give it a go.

Right off the bat, there are a bunch of names in this book that I cannot pronounce. This also makes it difficult to keep all the characters straight. What made it even more difficult in this instance was the fact that half the 'characters' in this book were long ago Gods that all had different powers. Woah was I lost for a bit. But the more I read, the easier it was to remember who was who. 

The main characters, especially Shara and Sigrud, were very strong characters. Sigrud was probably my favorite of them all; in my head I pictured him as a heroic Hagrid. They had solid dialogue, and really had different personalities and language to keep the plot going. 

Now, I had never read anything by Robert Jackson Bennett. But man, can he write!! The creation of this world (as well as a few parallel ones), the cast of characters, the mystery, the magic...it takes a strong author to create a scene quite like the one in this novel.  The descriptions were vivid, the characters strong, the situations imaginative and fluid. The last half of this story grabbed me and held on tight, I read the last 200 pages in one sitting!

A great fantasy novel that may just prompt me to pick up more fantasy in the future!

*I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne

Publish Date: May 20, 2014
Publisher: Crown

Synopsis: Meena, a young woman living in a futuristic Mumbai, wakes up with five snake bites on her chest. She doesn't know how or why, but she must flee India and return to Ethiopia, the place of her birth. Having long heard about The Trail -- an energy-harvesting bridge that spans the Arabian Sea -- she embarks on foot on this forbidden bridge, with its own subculture and rules. What awaits her in Ethiopia is unclear; she's hoping the journey will illuminate it for her.

Mariama, a girl from a different time, is on a quest of her own. After witnessing her mother's rape, she joins up with a caravan of strangers heading across Saharan Africa. She meets Yemaya, a beautiful and enigmatic woman who becomes her protector and confidante. Yemaya tells Mariama of Ethiopia, where revolution is brewing and life will be better. Mariama hopes against hope that it offers much more than Yemaya ever promised.

As one heads east and the other west, Meena and Mariama's fates will entwine in ways that are profoundly moving and shocking to the core. Vividly imagined and artfully told, written with stunning clarity and deep emotion, The Girl in the Road is a true tour de force. (from goodreads.com)

Review: When I was choosing my next book, I pulled this up on Goodreads and saw a 3.75 average rating and so many people raving in their 5-star reviews. I thought to myself, well this must be a good book! It finally came in the mail and I dove right in. I wanted to love it, I really did. But, alas, I did not. I closed this book feeling unsatisfied and confused.

This book follows Mariama and Meena, two different girls living in two different time periods that share a common goal of getting to Ethiopia. Meena takes The Trail, a dangerous path of metal conductors strung across the ocean. Mariama takes a more logical approach, stowing away in a caravan, hiding between oil drums. And that is about the extent of my ability to tell you the plot of this book. I was having a hard time keeping characters straight, the names were very exotic and I couldn't remember who was who most of the time. They were not likable characters for me, I made no connection with them and couldn't engage in their struggles/journeys. 

The plot in the middle of the book was good, I will admit that much. Throughout this portion of the story, I really did want to see what happened next. The adventure/plot line was building for both characters and you really just want to know what the outcome of their stories are. However, it lost me again, the characters got dull again, and I just wanted to get to the end of the story for the sake of finishing it.

I'm disappointed. The plot of this book had real promise. Some of you out there may still love it, but for me this book fell quite flat. 

Recommended For: Dystopian fans. I know I rated this book low but other people raved about it.

*I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.