Sneak Peak: Alex and Eliza

I received a sneak peek containing the first four chapters of Alex and Eliza: A Love Story from NetGalley.

I was so excited about this premise. A YA romance about Alexander Hamilton? Yes please! But after reading the sneak peek, I don't think I'll purchase this book.

When talking about the past, about the battles that had passed and the families that had lost or gained their fortunes, about how Alexander Hamilton came to live in New York, I loved this story. Melissa de la Cruz tells history in a way that's truly enjoyable and where I was interested to learn more.

However, when it came to talking about 1777, I found myself bored. There was no subtlety. In chapter one, the three Schuyler sisters find out that Alexander "Alex" Hamilton will be attending the ball that night. The three sisters all hope to meet him and discuss how best to get themselves introduced and what do wear to catch his attention. In chapter two, Alex heads to the ball wondering if perhaps what he's heard about Elizabeth Schuyler is true, that they have similar interests and that she wouldn't mind marrying someone of his not-so-prestigious lineage. While I loved the background information, the plot was so straightforward that I found it dull.

And I didn't really like Alex all that much. He shows up to the Schuyler ball to inform the father that he's being court-martialed. While he's rather apologetic, that's no excuse for not only still attending the ball, but also asking to spend the night at the house of the man who he's court-martialing. He worries that none of the women there will be interested in him, but is pleased to find out that the ratio of women to men is highly in his favor because all the men in the city are off dying at war. Overall, Alex just seemed like a huge dick.

I probably will not read Alex & Eliza when it comes out. However, if Melissa de la Cruz wants to publish a history textbook, I would 100% be there.

Alex & Eliza: A Love Story comes out April 11.

The Bone Witch

I received an advanced copy of The Bone Witch from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Quotes are from an uncorrected and unfinalized text.
What is The Bone Witch about?
A bard has a dream that leads him to Tea, an exiled Bone Witch. The story is told in the present from the perspective of the Bard as he gets to know the exiled witch, and from the perspective of Tea as she recounts her story in the past.

The Good & The Bad
You must think me too fastidious, listing an asha's hua in such detail every time I talk about one 
Yes! Yes I do.

Every time we met someone we had to learn their backstory. Where they came from, what their family was like, what their goals were. Tea described what they wore and what they were holding and what the thing they were holding looked like. There was so so so much describing. I don't care to know all these details about someone if that person is never going to do anything.

And every time we saw a new place we had to know all about the architecture and the people there and what they were doing and what they were wearing. And how many rooms were in this house and what each one was used for. Not that anything ever happens in the cities or the house to make the information relevant.

The book is Tea telling the bard what happened in her life, and it very much reads like that. Rather than experiencing the story first-hand, we are often just told what happened. These are the people who lived in the house. Here is a list of the ways in which I was poorly treated by this person. This is what my daily schedule looked like. These were the foods we ate. We don't see Tea develop friendships but are rather informed that the friendships exist.

Know the people you entertain. [...] Our opinions do not matter, and if you have to swallow your pride to keep them happy, then so be it.

Being an asha is considered rather prestigious and powerful, but it really shouldn't be. The world of The Bone Witch is ruled by men. The asha, all of whom are women, don't do important things but rather entertain important people, who all just happen to be men. They can wield magic but spend most of their time learning to sing and play music and dance for the pleasure of the men who actually do stuff. The highest an asha can really rise is the very exciting position of wife-of-someone-who-is-actually-important. Sure, there are references in the story to famous asha who did famous things in history. And it's said that the asha fight in times of war. But in the present-day world we read about, an asha's purpose is to be entertaining to the important men around her. I could understand this if it were some dystopian world the characters were trying to change, but really they all seem excited about their life as asha.

The book wasn't all bad. It definitely picked up as it went along. Had the entire book been written the way the last 30% or so was written, it could have been an okay book. And I really enjoyed the magic system. Besides being able to control the elements, Asha could create runes that would make someone appear prettier or more graceful. I thought this was a really cool take on magic, that rather than change people themselves, it just changed how they were perceived. There were also attempts at addressing the sexism in the world, but more in the form of "why can't men be asha" than "why do asha do nothing but entertain powerful men".

My Review
⭐⭐
I give this book 2 stars. Very little happened in this book. It was far too slow-paced to keep my attention. I also found the writing style odd; at times it seemed as if I was reading a summary of a book rather than the book itself, though the writing style and pace improve throughout the book. I was also very bothered by the sexism in the world. There were pieces of it that were challenged, but it was mostly just accepted, even described positively. But perhaps that will be addressed in book two. While I wasn't a fan of The Bone Witch, the world definitely has potential and I could see this becoming a good series with a rocky start.

Windwitch

Related Posts:
Truthwitch Review
How Did Truthwitch End?

What is Windwitch about?
This is where I would say that Windwitch continues where Truthwitch left off, but that's really not true. When Truthwitch ended, Merik is supposed to be securing trade with Marstok but in the prologue he's attacked by an assassin. He survives but lets everyone think that he died, abandoning the trade contract. He heads off on his own to try to prove his sister Vivia was behind the attack so that he can take the throne from her.

Safiya and Empress Vaness are supposed to be heading to Azmir but their ship is attacked leaving Vaness and Safiya stranded and trying to make their own way on land through a dangerous area full of slavers and pirates.

Iseult was hoping to make contact with Safiya's contact at the coffee shop in Lejna but the contact never arrives. She starts making her own way to Marstok to find Safiya while being chased by the cleaved.

After finding his gold stash has been stolen, Aeduan seeks out one of his father's contacts who sends him to hunt down Iseult. She knows where his gold is and strikes a deal with him to help her find Safiya in exchange for his own money. They both acknowledge that they will betray each other in the end.

What I Liked
I loved the new characters. Vaness, while not a POV character, is much more of a main character in this sequel. I loved her in Truthwitch and I love her even more in Windwitch. She's such a strong character, both figuratively and literally. We also get Merik's sister, Vivia, as a POV character. I was fascinated with her in Truthwitch. I wanted to learn more about the villain of Merik's story. She's probably my favorite character in Windwitch.

While there is some LGBT representation in Trutwitch (Mathew and Habim), it's pretty minor and in the background. Windwitch does a much better job here. Vivia, our new POV character, likes women. And we get a trans character with a major (though not POV) role.

What I Didn’t Like
I loved Safiya's storyline in Truthwitch but I just couldn't get into it in this book. I loved reading about Vaness but that was really it. I wasn't that interested in Safiya's relationship with the Hell-Bards. I wasn't that interested in Sardonica. Overall I felt that her story was fairly boring and also full of plot holes. (Spoiler: If Vaness wanted to be recognized in Saldonica, why did she pretend they were going to kill her? That just tips the Hell-Bards off that they should hide her and run when she's seen. Had she not said anything, she would have been seen even earlier and the Hell-Bards wouldn't have known to hide her once she was seen.)

While I'm happy we finally get a trans character, it was a bit frustrating to read about him from Merik's perspective. The focus seemed to be more on how him being trans affected Merik than anything.

My Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

3.5 stars. I loved the new major characters in this book, especially Vivia and Vaness. The story was engaging, but just not quite as can't-put-it-down as Truthwitch. I thoroughly enjoyed the Iseult/Aeduan storyline and the Vivia storyline. Merik's storyline was only okay and I just couldn't get into Safiya's.

Kindle Books on Sale 2/21/2017

$0.99 - Vampire Girl
$0.99 - The Falconer
$0.99 - Servant of the Crown
$0.99 - Under the Never Sky
$1.00 - Shining Sea
$1.99 - Hope and Red
$1.99 - First Year
$1.99 - The Burning Sky
$1.99 - The Rest of Us Just Live Here
$1.99 - Steelheart and Firefight
$2.99 - The Star-Touched Queen
$2.99 - A Darker Shade of Magic
$2.99 - Incarnate
$2.99 - To All the Boys I've Loved Before

[SPOILERS] How did Truthwitch end?

Related posts:
Truthwitch Review
Windwitch Review

How did Truthwitch end?
Safiya, Iseult, Merik, and Evrane are nearly to Lejna when the Jana indicates via drum that the Marstoks are following. Safiya, Iseult, and Evrane hurry ahead, trying to reach Lejna to complete the contract while Merik flies to the Jana to try to distract the Marstok fleet. There he finds out that Aeduan has managed to follow them and has nearly caught up to the girls. Kullen magics up a massive storm to delay the Marstoks which quickly gets out of control.

The girls realize Aedon is following and Evrane stays back to intercept Aeduan, where we learn that she trained him in the Carawen monastery. Safiya and Iseult reach Lejna but the Marstoks are already there. Safiya must reach a specific unlabelled pier to fulfill the terms of the contract. Safiya and Iseult switch clothes to draw the Marstoks away from the piers. After Iseult leads the Marstoks away, many of them start cleaving. The puppeteer has chosen to cleave them and Iseult feels that this is her own fault. Aeduan catches up to Iseult thinking that she's Safiya. They fight off the cleaving soldiers together and he hides her in a house with a salamander cloak to pay his life-debt to her. Evrane shows up and is attacked by the cleaved. Aeduan gets to her in time though she's dying. He leaves Safiya and Iseult behind to get her to the Origin Well to save her life. When he reaches the now active well, he realizes that Safiya and Iseult actually are the Char Awen. He decides to forsake his vows to protect them and instead join his father who is revealed to be the raider king of Arithuania.

Meanwhile, Safiya meets Vaness, the Empress of Marstok on the piers where they battle. Safiya loses and the Empress takes her captive. They make a deal that Safiya will be her truthwitch in exchange for opening trade between Marstok and Nubrevna.

Throughout the battle, Kullen's storm is getting increasingly worse. Merik finds him and realizes that Kullen is cleaving. Kullen has a moment of clarity, saying goodbye to his thread-brother, and then flies himself away from Lejna. It's implied that Kullen is dead though we don't see a body. Kullen and his storm leaving causes a building to collapse on Merik. Iseult finds him while looking for Evrane and saves him, getting them back to the boat. She leaves before he comes back to consciousness to wait for Safiya's contact in the coffee shop. Upon waking, Merik finds out that Safiya had written to her uncle in the contract asking him to be lenient with the contract. The spilled blood clause has been removed and Merik now has a trade agreement with both the Hasstrels and the Marstoks.

The book ends with the Safiya and Vaness on a ship heading to Azmir. Vaness tells Safiya that then twenty year truce has ended.

Truthwitch

Related Posts:
How Did Truthwitch End?
Windwitch Review

What is Truthwitch about?
Truthwitch follows two main characters, Safiya and Iseult. Safiya grew up as a domna, expected to eventually rule her uncle’s estate. She’s a truthwitch who can tell a truth from a lie, a fact she keeps hidden to avoid being used politically. Iseult is of the Nomatsi tribes. She left her tribe to apprentice in the city but can't escape the persecution that she faces because of her culture. She’s a threadwitch meaning she can see the connections between people. The two best friends want nothing more than to live a simple life, though for them a simple life involves a bit of conning and thievery. But a failed robbery involving a Bloodwitch, and her uncle's involvement in the possible end of the twenty-year truce, throw that plan into chaos.

What I Liked
Basically everything?

This book is as much about the characters as it is about the story. Safiya and Iseult have such an amazing friendship. It’s so refreshing to read a book where the friendships are so much more important than the romance (not to say that there isn’t some great romance!). They’re also very different people which makes it easy for any reader to find one of them you can identify with.

I LOVE the magic in this book. While every witch falls into a category, they may have different strengths and weaknesses in that category. It’s a very practical take on magic with witches joining trades based on their talents. So much of the technology is magic based which is awesome. It’s just so cool seeing new types of witches and seeing the creative ways that they each use their power and that the world has adapted to the power existing.

What I Didn’t Like
I have nothing to say here. This book was just perfect.

My Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 stars! The world, the magic, the story. And most importantly, the characters! I loved everything about this book. If you love YA fantasy, if you love female friendships, this is your book.