Raven, Fire and Ice (Touch of Truth, #1) by Nita Round – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, fantasy, mystery, Nita Round, Steampunk

About Raven, Fire and Ice

Lucinda Ravensburgh sees the truth in everything she touches. When Captain Magda Stoner of the airship Verity, asks for her help in a very strange and messy crime, Lucinda cannot refuse. From that moment on, Lucinda’s life is changed forever. She discovers, no matter what the obstacle, nor the troubles they encounter, finding the truth is paramount.

Review of Raven, Fire and Ice

Oh wow! As soon as I started reading Raven, Fire and Ice, my eyes were glued to the page. Do not let the very brief book blurb fool you. This is a riveting story of rich characters, compelling earth magic and a vibrant setting that pulls you right into the scene.

Okay, that was a typical wrap-up paragraph for me. But I wanted to get your attention. The reason I decided to read Raven, Fire and Ice is because the author described it as steampunk. When added to the blurb, I thought, sure, I’ll give it a go. Wise move.

When the story begins, Lucinda Ravensburgh is doing her thing, using her gifts in her position as… Well, you don’t know what she is, so you just keep reading to figure it out. And it takes a while, but in the mean-time the action is riveting. The author’s style of writing is mostly dialog and action. There is not an abundance of descriptive narration and almost no internal character musings. It works well and made the story move very quickly for me, despite the 422 pages (so says Amazon).

The just right amount of descriptive narration vividly paints settings. From the Angles tower to the huge airship that must cause a bit of airship envy. From the new Raven Tower to the city of Wash Town with it’s many levels and layers. The brilliant settings seemed to take a life of their own, as much as the characters did.

And since characters make the story, I should say a bit about them. Lucinda is both confident and unsure. These two traits seem contradictory, but her honesty about them is both humble and boastful. I like her direct manner very much. Captain Magda Stoner made a brilliant entrance into the story clinging to proper titles so much that it became almost irritating. But it set the tone for her character. Correct, maybe a little uptight, but extremely capable. She is Captain of the airship with an assorted crew of able airship operators. Officer Ascara is in charge of security on the airship and off of it. Her seemingly casual manner is supplemented by vigilance and she is relentless when performing her duties.

This trio of women are an unlikely team of detectives that will discover the truth about disappearing people in Wash Town. While Lucinda was the person hired to do the job, Magda and Ascara are the catalysts that help her complete the process. Individually, each has her strengths. But as the team, the sum of the whole is greater than the parts. I like them very much!

They are more than a team which you will discover when you read about the Raven Tower and its emergence. They do spend a little time naked together and admiring each other in their nakedness. Are they meant to be more than a crime-solving team? In Raven, Fire and Ice, they do not become lovers, but the implication is that there might be something in the future. Each approaches the possibility of such a relationship in her own unique manner: amusement, pointlessness, hopefulness. I like that the relationship stays on a professional level, at least for now.  These three women as main characters overshadow all the other characters.

I will leave you with a passage from early in the book. More of foretoken of things to come, it also ties into the title:

As the door closed Lucinda leaned back in her chair and stared at the bare walls over the book cases. There were three quotes etched into the wall, and Lucinda recalled reading them over and over again. “Wise birds whisper,” she read, “Rage of fire,” on another part. Finally, “Strength of ice.” The words didn’t mean anything, yet they gave her a kind of comfort. No one knew why the words had appeared, but it had been in the early days of the tower’s formation.

The author provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Links

Add Raven, Fire and Ice to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Raven, Fire and Ice:

 

Advertisements

The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick – Review

Tags

3.5 stars, historical, mystery, Nicola Cornick, romance, time travel

About The Phantom Tree

Browsing an antiques shop in Wiltshire, Alison Bannister stumbles across a delicate old portrait—identified as the doomed Tudor queen, Anne Boleyn. Except Alison knows better. The subject is Mary Seymour, the daughter of Katherine Parr, who was taken to Wolf Hall in 1557 and presumed dead after going missing as a child. And Alison knows this because she, too, lived at Wolf Hall and knew Mary…more than four hundred years ago.

The painting of Mary is more than just a beautiful object for Alison—it holds the key to her past life, the unlocking of the mystery surrounding Mary’s disappearance and how Alison can get back to her own time. To when she and Mary were childhood enemies yet shared a pact that now, finally, must be fulfilled, no matter the cost.

Nicola Cornick offers a provocative alternate history of rivals, secrets and danger, set in a time when a woman’s destiny was determined by the politics of men and luck of birth.

***************

Review of The Phantom Tree

There are several things going on in The Phantom Tree.  Alison’s story in the past.  Alison’s story in the present. Mary’s story in the past.  I little bit of fantasy.  A chunk of history. And a mystery.

Alison and Mary are connected by the time they spent at Wolf Hall as forgotten children of royalty and nobles with no place to go.  Alison was the older of the two, cold and distant to Mary.  Mary was always a bit different because she had some unique abilities that would some day get her into trouble. They were not really close, but share some bit of friendship since they shared a room.

When Mary does get into trouble, Alison has a plan to help her out, though her plan is selfish.  She will get Mary someplace safe in return for Mary’s assistance in finding her son who was taken from her at birth.  And then, Alison basically abandons Mary.

Alison left home with no idea, really, of where she would end up.  All she knew was it was a very different place than her current circumstance.  In fact, it was four hundred years into the future.  Alison was not really smart enough to wonder if she could really even get back.  And she left her baby behind.  It was already established that she was somewhat cold and prickly.  Going to the future did not change her.  Her relationship with Adam proves that.  Alison is a main character that I could not develop any sympathy for.

On the other hand, I did like Mary.  The author filled in fictional details of Mary Seymour’s life that made her interesting and I wanted to see her get a happy ending.  However, Alison’s story seemed to be the main focus of the book, so I did not really get enough of Mary’s story.

I debated about posting this review on my blog. I was not really into it mostly because of Alison, though I did finish the book which is a positive.  I am giving it 3.5 stars (which I will round to 4 for other review sites).  I know there are many that will really enjoy this story and it does have a few good things to recommend it.  1) The character of Mary Seymour, as I mentioned earlier 2) historical settings were very well done and added to the overall atmosphere of the story 3) the use of clues provided in a portrait to research the past and provide answers to Alison’s questions.

The Phantom Tree is for history lovers who like a little mystery too.

Through NetGalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

***************

Links

Add The Phantom Tree to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase The Phantom Tree:

 

 

Tiffany Blues by M.J. Rose – Review

Tags

5 stars, Art, Book Review, historical, Jazz Age, M.J. Rose, mystery, romance, Tiffany

About Tiffany Blues

New York, 1924. Twenty‑four‑year‑old Jenny Bell is one of a dozen burgeoning artists invited to Louis Comfort Tiffany’s prestigious artists’ colony. Gifted and determined, Jenny vows to avoid distractions and romantic entanglements and take full advantage of the many wonders to be found at Laurelton Hall.

But Jenny’s past has followed her to Long Island. Images of her beloved mother, her hard-hearted stepfather, waterfalls, and murder, and the dank hallways of Canada’s notorious Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women overwhelm Jenny’s thoughts, even as she is inextricably drawn to Oliver, Tiffany’s charismatic grandson.

As the summer shimmers on, and the competition between the artists grows fierce as they vie for a spot at Tiffany’s New York gallery, a series of suspicious and disturbing occurrences suggest someone knows enough about Jenny’s childhood trauma to expose her.

Supported by her closest friend Minx Deering, a seemingly carefree socialite yet dedicated sculptor, and Oliver, Jenny pushes her demons aside. Between stolen kisses and stolen jewels, the champagne flows and the jazz plays on until one moonless night when Jenny’s past and present are thrown together in a desperate moment, that will threaten her promising future, her love, her friendships, and her very life.

***************

Review of Tiffany Blues

Jenny Bell is my character of the month. Of all the books I’ve read in the last 30 days, Jenny is the one I loved the most. Maybe it is her tragic past. Which made me cry. Or her artists optimism. Or determination to move forward. Its all those things really.

But if she does not have good supporting characters, the story would go nowhere. Minx Deering is the rich girl that does whatever she wants and gets away with it. You really want to set her down for a good talking to sometimes. Ben is the reporter that Jenny wants to trust, but can’t because he is a reporter and reporters ruin lives.

Then there is Oliver Comfort Tiffany, grandson of the great Louis Comfort Tiffany. He is the sort of rebel without a cause who befriends Jenny and encourages her when she needs it. Jenny and Oliver will become the two halves of one heart. But they are from opposite sides of the social spectrum and really, can that ever work out?

Perhaps my favorite supporting character is the man Louis Comfort Tiffany himself. He tells his own stories to enlighten his art. He guides Jenny with both suggestions and orders. His interactions with Jenny are beautiful and even spiritual. It is his line “…there is beauty even in broken things.” that brought tears to my eyes.

In addition to these exceptional characters, there is jazz, art and philosophy. And there is a mystery. While I did not find the mystery all that mysterious, it was critical in leading up the the climax, so pay attention!

In Tiffany Blues, the author’s notes are at the beginning of the story, which I liked. One of the reasons for the placement, I believe, is to tell the story of Laurelton Hall, the place Jenny and her fellow artists go to study with Mr. Tiffany. There is a mystery there too. In 1957, the magnificent hall was burned down and no explanation was ever made. The thing is, despite the precisely worded Author’s Note, while I was entranced by Jenny Bell’s Jazz Age story, I forgot all about Laurelton Hall’s unfortunate demise until the very end. Tiffany Blues is Ms. Rose’s brilliant explanation for the fire.

Tiffany Blues is a heartachingly beautiful story set in the Jazz Age amidst the exquisite art of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Art lovers will be drawn to this story, but anyone can savor it, as I did.

Through NetGalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book so that I could bring you this honest review.

***************

Links

Add Tiffany Blues to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Tiffany Blues: