Books Reviews

The White Queen by

The War of the Roses is one of the bloodiest English wars, where cousins fought for only one prize: the Throne on England. Among these cruel battles we witness the life of powerful women, who not only had to sacrifice their happiness but their loved ones as well. tells the story of , a woman of extraordinary beauty who in a moment of financial difficult met the King of England, fell in love and married in secret. From then on her life was changed radically. Her strength and commitment to her family made her fight for the success of the House of York to be the only and truly bloodline to the English throne.

I have read many negative reviews about this novel, which even made me doubt of reading it. Luckily, my love for History was stronger, I read it and I did not regret it. At first Elizabeth and all her adventures reminded me of Jane Austen’s works. Those young girls looking to find a wealthy husband and live happily ever after. To that been said, Elizabeth’s life though at the beginning , it looked like a fairy tale, marrying the king in secret, having children with him, and after fierce battles, his true love came to her door. But then I saw how a woman fought desperately for the safety of her children, and keeping the throne for her family. Despite so many changes in the world, women are still trying to find happiness, manage their children, seeking advantages, and being an influential role in their relationships. At first knowing it is a , I did not know how much facts I will find in the story, to my surprise, reading an interview to Philippa Gregory, I learned that most of the story is based on real events. Magic, dark, enchanted elements can also be found in History. Of course some elements were added by the writer to make the story more interesting and poetic but even the Melusina’s myth is true. Elizabeth and her mother believed that they were descendants from this goddesses. They also believed in witchcraft. The disappearance of the princes is also a real fact which is still a mystery. I believe that this quote from the book resumes it all: “Ambition, power, even the throne itself that cost our family so dear: at the end he knew it was all meaningless” The War of the Roses is about battles, chivalry and knights. In the “White Queen” you will find the history of women who have been an essential part in these male leaders' life. Highly recommended.

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

The Red Queen tells the story of Margaret Beaufort, a member of the member of the House of Lancaster and, most famously, the grandmother of Henry VIII. At the age of twelve Margaret is married to Edmund Tudor in an effort to create a royal Lancaster heir and help secure the throne. Though Edmund dies shortly into their marriage, he leaves Margaret with a son named Henry, whom she swears to put on the throne as the rightful Lancaster heir. Caught up in a dangerous civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York, Margaret must navigate ever-changing court politics and carefully plot to get her son on the throne. I have read the White Queen first and it is very interesting to see the contrast between Margaret and Elizabeth Woodville, the York Queen. In the White Queen, we see Elizabeth strongly attached to her mother, to her mysticism and witch-like superstitions. Margaret on the other hand is a strict religious woman, believing she is a British version of Joan of Arc. she spends her entire life devoted to make his son the King of England as she believes it is God's will. The two women are also completely different in their physical appearance: Elizabeth tall, blonde and beautifully charming whereas Margaret is described as short, dark haired and a modest look. Though many of the events described in the Red Queen, also are depicted in the White Queen, it is very interesting to see the War of the Roses in two different perspectives. One through the eyes of the York and the other through the Lancaster’s.

Sometimes I found the reading a bit slow, especially the moments when Margaret was taking orders and made other take charge of her life. Once Margaret takes control and plays political games in favor of her son, the story becomes interesting.

There are many moments that you can despise Margaret, especially for her resent and desire of revenge against the York. She even mentions her sin of ambition and greed of fighting to take what she believes her rightful place. Gregory description of Medieval England, is enjoyable and readers will also see a clear picture of how the characters especially Margaret evolved throughout the story. Fans of Historical fiction like me, will be delighted with this novel.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown "The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling–a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths… all under the watchful eye of Brown’s most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.

As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object–artfully encoded with five symbols–is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation… one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon’s beloved mentor, Peter Solomon–a prominent Mason and philanthropist–is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations–all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth."

I've taken this summary from the official site, and after reading it, I thought about how the book impacted myself. I must confess I have come back to my reading routine after quite a long gap, and being my 2nd book, this year, I must confess I enjoyed it. I read The Da Vinci Code many years ago, and I literally read it in two days. I have always been a fan of Masonic literature, and an avid reader of the Saint Grail theories, the royal blood, and the crusaders. With that been said, you can infer I did enjoy the book. It's easy reading, short chapters which encouraged me to keep on reading and the storytelling technique Brown's has, made me forget all I had around me. I was immersed in Langdon's nightmare. The villain was so well depicted that made me have a real hideous, terrifying picture in my mind. Many people may have not liked the book but as I said, if you like stories of Masons, hidden treasures, symbols and linked with real settings, that's your book.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer “Kai cleared his throat. Stood straighter. "I assume you are going to the ball?" "I-I don't know. I mean, no. No, I'm sorry, I'm not going to the ball." Kai drew back, confused. "Oh well... but... maybe you would change your mind? Because I am, you know." "The prince." "Not bragging," he said quickly. "Just a fact.” ― Marissa Meyer, Cinder

That the story in "Cinder" is based on a fairy tale is no secret. In fact, it begins very much like its namesake tale: Cinder is the stepdaughter of a woman with two other daughters. Her father has died and Cinder is forced to keep the house, earn a living not as the servant in her own house but as a mechanic in Beijing, 126 years after World War IV. Not forgetting to mention, she is a cyborg with all the drawbacks it carries, being half robot at that time. As it is a fairy tale, we do have a prince: Prince Kai but not as unrealistic and distant as the one in the traditional tale. In this book he reveals his fears, and loyalty to his people, even at the risk of losing his own happiness. If you are thinking that you will just read a fairy tale, you are wrong, it has more than that. You will be transported in a world of darkness, with the plague around the characters, and uncertainty of their fate. Cinder is easy reading, with a twist near the end. At the beginning, it might be rather slow, but gets more interesting by the middle of the story, from then on, you cannot stop reading with the plus, that the story continues on the second novel: Scarlet which is the 2nd book of The Lunar Chronicles. You will not be disappointed.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Different from Cinder where I had to wait till the middle of the story to find some action, Scarlet has it from the very beginning. As a follower of Fairy tales, it is rewarding to find one with such a twist. We still have the fantasy, the dreams, but more real, if I can use this terms. Scarlet is a normal girl, surviving in a decaying world where everything is so difficult to obtain. Her strong character is seen from chapter 1, when after her grandma's disappearance, she is determined to find her, no matter how difficult it is. If we have a Scarlet, we must have Wolf, who is fighting with his inner instincts but never failing to help her. Nice to see how the characters from the different series are linked together and their destinies depend on one another. Easy reading, entertaining and not disappointing.

Quintessence by David Walton "The time is the Age of Exploration full of alchemy, human dissection, sea monsters, betrayal, torture, religious controversy, and magic. Christopher Sinclair is an alchemist who cares only about one thing: quintessence, a substance he believes will grant magical powers and immortality. And he has a ship."

Quintessence is a weird engaging novel which kept me turning the pages despite being in many ways standard action with cliché villains that have been common in English language genre for a long time.

Walton is a great story teller, sometimes I must say the story is full of plots and subplots, which keeps you constantly having new events. You have them all: mythological creatures, alchemy, religious rituals, and people coming from death. Sometimes I thought it was too much. It reminded me, those science fiction movies from the 60’s. A group of people lost in a faraway island, encountering unbelievable dangers. Poisonous plants, monsters, magical beetles and glowing worms and on top of that, the villain coming from Spain in the name of the Queen of England. It was the time of Bloody Mary Tudor after Edward VI’s death.

The message comes from one of the characters, Catherine who says: " We came here with no knowledge of their island or its magic. We disrupted their lives and destroyed what was sacred to them. We killed manticores through ignorance and fear, manticores who would be alive today if we had never come" In other words, even in fantasy we can see how mankind can be so destructive in pose of ambition and fame.

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld We all know how YA are so on trend these times, and it seem is the niche most sold. The interesting fact is though their characters should be a teen agish around 18th 19th, the readers are much older. Is it because we are longing our long ago adolescence and need to recall it? We do need to remember that if you want to succeed in the YA publishing world, the character needs to have a sort of super natural gift that makes her/his different from the rest. In Afterworlds, Lizzie isn't the only teenager in the book representing a fantasy. Ohio 18-year-old Darcy Patel, whose chapters alternate with Lizzie's throughout Afterworlds, is living her own dream: She invented Lizzie and her story is her first writing which is sold for a six figured number. While Lizzie is living the dream of discovering a hidden world where she's a powerful figure, Darcy is living the dream of moving to New York, meeting her YA writing heroes, and trying to make it as a full-time author. Both girls represent strong fantasies of independence, excitement and significant responsibility in fresh new worlds. Lizzie's pursuit of a young ghost and an old mystery, and her romance with a dreamy spirit guide named Yamaraj, gives us little space to explore more about the afterworld. Lizzie's story resolves in a rush that shows Darcy’s rush in writing it. But the two stories complement each other well and provide plenty of variety between supernatural spice and grounding real-world exploration. Any book lover should be able to relate to Darcy's frustration with her publisher, who wants a happier ending for her book, so a franchise can follow. I enjoy the two stories, Lizzie’s more than Darcy’s, may be because it is spicy with the concept of paranormal and mysterious worlds that we would like to know more. It leaves us the desire of more. I want to know what happens to the characters, Lizzie’s mom, Mindy and of course Lizzie’s beloved Yamaraj. On the other hand Darcy’s challenges, at least for me, are not something I am looking forward to reading more. Just a story of a new author struggling in the publishing world.

Cress by Marissa Meyer I have just finished Cress which I must say I liked it very much, though Scarlet is still my favorite. Cress has lots of action, many events happen here, some I must say a bit long and boring for me, but I guess it was a way for the author to give us more understanding of the characters. Every character in this book is shown deeper and we can infer how different they are from each other but dependable as well. I read the book in two days, I could not put it down. As regards the end I know and kind of understand the new trend that every book should be part of a series, but I would love to see how everything is resolved. It is amazing how all the events and characters are woven and their actions are linked in the past as well as in the present. Interesting book, many hilarious moments, love Captain Thorne who reminds me of Han Solo from Star Wars.