The Wolves of Midwinter

Title: The Wolves of Midwinter Author: Anne Rice Published: Knopf, 2013 Amazon Goodreads Synopsis: Now in her new novel, as lush and romantic in detail and atmosphere as it is sleek and steely in storytelling, Anne Rice brings us once again to the rugged coastline of Northern California, to the grand mansion at Nideck Point—to further explore the unearthly education of her transformed Man Wolf.   The novel opens on a cold, gray landscape. It is the beginning of December. Oak fires are burning in the stately flickering hearths of Nideck Point. It is Yuletide. For Reuben Golding, now infused with the wolf gift and under the loving tutelage of the Morphenkinder, this Christmas promises to be like no other . . . as he soon becomes aware that the Morphenkinder, steeped in their own rituals, are also celebrating the Midwinter Yuletide festival deep within Nideck forest.   From out of the shadows of the exquisite mansion comes a ghost—tormented, imploring, unable to speak yet able to embrace and desire with desperate affection . . . As Reuben finds himself caught up with the passions and yearnings of this spectral presence and the preparations for the Nideck town Christmas reach a fever pitch, astonishing secrets are revealed, secrets that tell of a strange netherworld, of spirits—centuries old—who possess their own fantastical ancient histories and taunt with their dark, magical powers.

I have to say, I was a little disappointed by this book. It is my first experience reading anything by Anne Rice, and I think I misunderstood her writing style. I was expecting more Stephen King and less Danielle Steele.

But first, the good. I wanted to read this book because it completely fit into my theme of a Supernatural Christmas, and it was exactly what this book was. There is a whole part of the book where they explain the overlap between our current holiday festivities and how they relates to ancient pagan traditions. It was a really unique perspective and a topic that has always interested me.

The takes place during the holiday season and as the title may lead you to believe it is about werewolves, but as the protagonist of this story the wolves, or Morphenkinder, are less like the Big Bad Wolf of old and more like superheroes. The world that the inhabit is full of other immortal characters including some interesting ghosts, and a character that is so interesting that I want to know much more about them (I'm still unclear as what species they are).

Whatever my dislike of this book, the writing was very good. It was ominous and poetic. The imagery was incredible. Anne Rice does an amazing job of setting the scene and allows the reader to effortlessly imagine themselves there. The problem however was that I felt like she relied entirely too much on this imagery and didn't really take much effort on an actual plot for the story. It was two-thirds of the way over before something interesting happened but it was over so quick that I was left dissatisfied and honestly confused. The book took too much time explaining things and asking questions that it never really answered. I know that this is only one book of a series but it felt like a very early book, and it did not capture my interest enough to want to read more of the series.

Did you yawn after seeing this?

But I really only have myself to blame for my dislike of the book. I knew it was the second book in a series and I tried to read the first one but I couldn't really get into it and never. Instead of deciding to read something else I was stubborn and told myself, "I said I would read this and so I will read this!" But I also didn't really read it, I listened to the audiobook. That may have also been my second mistake. I love reading audiobooks, but if there is not a lot of action then I generally don't enjoy the book as much.

On the whole the book wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It was generally just... MEH! I give it a 6 out of 10.

Have you read this book or anything else by Anne Rice? Did I pick the wrong book? Should I try something else by her? Leave me a comment and Happy Reading!

December Wrap Up

Another month (and year) over! It feels like only yesterday it was May and I was packing up and moving to Pittsburgh. I had another good month of reading and blogging. I finished a series, reread a classic, and tried an author I've wanted to read for awhile. I read five books and one audiobook this month, which is one more than I planned.

The Quick Reviews:

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
Full Review
Rating: 9 out of 10
My Thoughts: Book Two in the Gemma Doyle trilogy was even better than the first. The characters are complex and interesting, the world within a world dark fantasy story is unique, the mystery is complicated but solvable, and there are tons of deep themes about humanity and society.

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
Full Review
Rating: 8 out of 10 
My Thoughts:  A fitting ending of a great series. All the great things about the first two books plus so many surprises! The action was a little slower and it was a little longer than it needed to be resulting in some pacing issues but it was still great!




Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith
Full Review
Rating: 8 out of 10
My Thoughts: An incredible and interesting adventure about the "Three Kings" in the biblical story. The characters are odious and interesting, there's tons of action, and amazing imagery especially when it comes to the explanation of gore. A great read if you're looking for a supernatural Christmas story.




Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Full Review
Rating: 10 out of 10
My Thoughts: One of my favorite books. It is funny, sad, and sweet. It's a story about love, loss, and family that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. The perfect book to read at Christmastime.





Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter
Rating: 7 out of 10
My Thoughts: Book Two in the Gallagher Girls series about a girl studying to be a spy in a secret boarding school. The book is fun and light but is also an interesting coming of age story with some easy too solve mysteries and memorable characters.




The Wolves of Midwinter by Anne Rice
Full Review to Come
Rating: 6 out of 10
My Thoughts: Book Two in The Wolf Gift Chronicles. It feels like a very early book in what will end up being a longer series. It didn't really enjoy it too much. The characters were interesting but there was not enough action and too much ominous explanations of things that it ended up being very confusing. It was disappointingly dull.



What have you read in December? What's the last book you plan to read in 2013 and the first book you plan to read in 2014? Leave me a comment and check out the full reviews if you have or plan to read any of these books! HAPPY READING!

Book Review: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Title: Little Women Author: Louisa May Alcott Published: Roberts Brothers, 1868 Amazon Goodreads Synopsis: Little Women is one of the best loved books of all time. Lovely Meg, talented Jo, frail Beth, spoiled Amy: these are hard lessons of poverty and of growing up in New England during the Civil War. Through their dreams, plays, pranks, letters, illnesses, and courtships, women of all ages have become a part of this remarkable family and have felt the deep sadness when Meg leaves the circle of sisters to be married at the end of Part I. Part II, chronicles Meg's joys and mishaps as a young wife and mother, Jo's struggle to become a writer, Beth's tragedy, and Amy's artistic pursuits and unexpected romance. Based on Louise May Alcott's childhood, this lively portrait of nineteenth-century family life possesses a lasting vitality that has endeared it to generations of readers.

This past week I went home for Christmas, as I often do, and got together with a few of my friends from high school. I am usually meticulously early for everything and these friends really expect that of me. They were very surprised, however, when I arrived ten minutes late. I apologized profusely and said that I got hung up reading, and they of course asked what I was reading that made me break one of my cardinal rules (early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable). When I informed them it was Little Women they all made the same sound, "Aww." It was as if I showed them a picture of Ryan Gosling holding a baby, a puppy, and a kitten. Their faces lit up with such affection.

But this is how many women feel about Louisa May Alcott's seminal classic about family, love, and life in the mid 19th Century. It is a semi-autobiographical tale of the March family, a poor but happy family living in Concord, Massachusetts (I'm such a nerd I've actually been to Louisa May Alcott's house in Concord, it's actually where I bought my copy of the book). The family includes Mr. March who is off at war, the unflappable matriarch Marmee, and their four girls, beautiful Meg who wants beautiful things, headstrong and hot-tempered Jo who strives to be a writer, shy and kind Beth who has a love of music, and self-centered Amy who has a talent for art. Then there is Laurie the grandson of their neighbor who the Marches take under their wing to give him a little fun though he is shy, immature, and stubborn.

If you can tell by my explanation of the characters or you follow my twitter you know how I feel about each of the characters. But regardless of how I feel about them as individuals there is one thread that holds them all together, the need to be better and improve on their faults. I think we can all relate to this struggle to be the best person we can be, and it makes the characters incredibly likable. And, yes, the book is full of 19th century platitudes and illusions to religious ideasl but it also full of progressive reform ideas such as educational improvements, temperance, and of course women's rights. The Alcotts were part of a group of Concord reformers (including Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne) advocating the ideals of transcendentalism or being self-reliant and independent from societal institutions that serve to corrupt and that you need to look within yourself to be your best. They were incredibly idealist and had a lot of faith in the individual. Viewed in the context Little Women takes a very different tone.

But more than that it is a story of love. And we are not just talking about romantic love, it is also a story of familial love. For some of the sisters this is easier than others. But it's the challenging relationships that are the most compelling. I love the dynamic between Jo and Amy. While they do love each other, they don't often like each other. They are polar opposites with Jo's constant need to break gender norms and Amy's goal to be the perfect society woman. In Part 1 Amy is jealous of Jo for the opportunities she is able to have because she is older and Jo being so temperamental argues with Amy because of her arrogance. In Part 2 the tables are turned and Jo is jealous of Amy for the opportunities she receives often out of pure luck. This is a family dynamic that I can completely relate to, having a younger sister who is very different from me.

But of course there is the romantic love. The overarching theme, however, is that love is not really what you expect. Meg who is known for her beauty just wants to be responsible for a wealthy mansion but when she does find love it is with a poor man, Jo never thinks she will find love but she does, Amy expects to marry rich but never predicted who she would end up marrying, and Laurie who thinks he'll spend his whole life pinning for his first love who slighted him finds he is over her faster than he thought thanks to an unlikely source. I absolutely love Little Women for all this and more. It gives me all the feels. I laugh, I get angry, and I sob openly.

This is the perfect story to read during Christmastime and not only because the opening chapters are about Christmas. For me, and many people I would wager, this is a reread. I've read the book a few times, I've seen the movie a million times, I know these characters inside and out. Reading Little Women is like returning home after a long absence. It's catching up with old friends and family you haven't seen in awhile. It makes you feel warm and fuzzy and rejuvenates the soul. It's like puppies, or kittens, it's like Christmas!

What are your thoughts on Little Women? Leave me a comment and if you haven't read Little Women, seriously get on that! Happy Reading!

Book Review: Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith

Title: Unholy Night Author: Seth Grahame-Smith Published: Amazon Goodreads Synopsis: They're an iconic part of history's most celebrated birth. But what do we really know about the Three Kings of the Nativity, besides the fact that they followed a star to Bethlehem bearing strange gifts? The Bible has little to say about this enigmatic trio. But leave it to Seth Grahame-Smith, the brilliant and twisted mind behind Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to take a little mystery, bend a little history, and weave an epic tale. In Grahame-Smith's telling, the so-called "Three Wise Men" are infamous thieves, led by the dark, murderous Balthazar. After a daring escape from Herod's prison, they stumble upon the famous manger and its newborn king. The last thing Balthazar needs is to be slowed down by young Joseph, Mary and their infant. But when Herod's men begin to slaughter the first born in Judea, he has no choice but to help them escape to Egypt. It's the beginning of an adventure that will see them fight the last magical creatures of the Old Testament; cross paths with biblical figures like Pontius Pilate and John the Baptist; and finally deliver them to Egypt. It may just be the greatest story never told.

 
Seth Grahame-Smith seems like the kind of person who I would really enjoy people watching with. He’d make up these dark and twisted tales about the people sitting alone at the coffee shop and I would listen with rapt attention (I’m not su e if that says something about him or me). If you’re familiar with his other work (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter) then you know his style. He takes a well-known story and embellishes it with violence and gore. This book is just like those others but in this case the familiar story he reimagines is the story of the Magi. Instead of being three kings or wise men our characters here are three murderous thieves.

 The main character is Balthazar who is better known as the Antioch Ghost. He has a reputation around Judea for being a larger than life thief who tends to taunt the authorities including the ruthless and sickly King Herod whose dungeon he lands in after getting captured for stealing. In prison he meets two fellow thieves, Gaspar and Melchyor, and theuy hatch a plan to escape. In their efforts to flee they end up in Bethlehem where they stubble upon the newborn baby Jesus and after witnessing Herod’s soldiers murdering all the male children in town Balthazar commits to leading the holy family to safety in Egypt. The plot was interesting and engrossing and takes rthe readers on an action-packed adventure throughout the ancient Middle East full of subtle references to biblical and historical events and figures.

Balthazar as a an incredible anti-hero. He is sarcastic, gruff, and generally unpleasant to everyone around him. He ends up doing the right thing in the story, albeit for the wrong reasons, though that makes him all the more likable. He takes on this swashbuckling pirate persona making him into a Middle East Robin Hood and even though his morals are pretty dubious you learn through flashbacks that he is much deeper than you originally suspected. I was a huge fan of him and was rooting for him to get what he wanted in the end. But maybe I liked Balthazar so much because the villains of this story were incredibly unlikable. There was the devious and disgusting Herod who was not only vile in his actions but also in his appearance, but also a host of Roman soldiers and admirals that were pursuing the characters on their flight to Egypt.

 Perhaps my favorite part of the book was the fight scenes. They made the story feel so much larger than I expected giving it this epic adventure sort of vibe. They were gruesome and gory making me slightly uncomfortable more than once. Often I found myself thinking “that must be an incredible amount of blood! Who’s going to clean that up?” What Seth Grahame-Smith does really well is create incredible images of blood and guts being spilled that you cannot help but feel the horror that the characters are experiencing. This is not a book for the faint of heart.

The cover of the version I read compares it to A Song of Ice and Fire and at times it did feel like the little brother of that series. It was almost trying too hard to emulate it but when it was itself and didn’t think about being like something else it was incredible (thumbs up to you if you can follow my analogy). As the story developed it added elements of political intrigue, family dynamics, and romance that made it feel even more interesting and deep. At one time or another I felt every emotion possible. It was funny, sentimental, suspenseful, and mysterious. However, these changes in tones did sometimes get confusing as there was relatively little segue between them and often it was a little jarring. But probably my biggest criticism is that it was written in a very odd perspective. At times it was third-person omniscient but then we’d switch to knowing one character or another’s thoughts and feelings. Sometimes it would even shift perspective mid paragraph making it hard to keep track of who was being referenced.

On the whole however it was a very enjoyable read. I recommend it to anyone who likes adventure stories, gruesome retellings, or historical fiction set in ancient times. I give it an 8 out of 10

 If you’ve read Unholy Night, let me know your thoughts in the comments section. If you haven’t then check it out. It’s a great Christmas read. Merry Christmas and Happy Reading!