The King of Attolia By Megan Whalen Turner (4/5)

Another fabulous book in this series, and my favourite so far. One of the best aspects of this story was how out of his depth Eugenides actually was. I liked seeing him like this, since he usually always has the upper hand, his attendants definitely made life for him rather difficult. Whether it was complicating matters for him in his bed chamber, his wardrobe or with his meals they made things pretty unpleasant and each time Gen's response entertained me. I enjoyed reading about his interactions in court and how even though people were trying to get the better of him, he always managed to stay one step ahead, whether we were aware of it in the story or not. He always seems to know everyone's motivations whilst feigning indifference or ignorance, and that makes him a very clever opponent.

The development of the relationship between the King and Queen in this novel was great to read, and whether it was people hating Gen's claim over the queen or the court being shocked by the little insights they were given, I happily absorbed it all. My favourite moments of these characters interactions were when they were both taken to beyond their limit, such as both characters response to Gen becoming injured; Gen whining and the Queen fainting was spectacular. I also enjoyed the subtle indications Eugenides gave about how he could influence the Queen more than people gave him credit for, such as during the events after his incident, with Teleus and Aris.

The introduction of the character of Costis was a nice new breath of life. I loved his honour and loyalty and how these sometimes led him to do stupid things, such as his actions at the start of the novel that lead to his relationship with the King. I think the development of his character is a wonderful part of the book. His opinions slowly change when he is exposed to new information and influenced subtly without being aware of it. He was a likeable, reliable character who not only made mistakes, but worked very hard to fix them as well.

My favourite part of the series is still the character of Eugenides though. Whether he is lying, cheating, stealing, complaining, whining, being snarky or being melodramatic I find him wonderful to read. He just lights up the page, his comments make me laugh and the way he deliberately baits people into response has me avidly reading for more. He is such a fabulously written character and I don't think I could ever get sick of him.

Currently Reading: A Conspiracy of Kings By Megan Whalen Turner

The Queen of Attolia By Megan Whalen Turner (4/5) *Explicit Spoilers*

I have decided that the only way I can write this review clearly is to include explicit spoilers, which I haven't actually done yet, or at least I don't think I have! *ponders*

I have found this rather fabulous summary that Sarah Rees Brennan (Of The Demon's Lexicon Series) posted earlier this year, before I had read the books it confused me, after reading them I find it hysterical. : )

“GEN: There goes the Queen of Attolia, that hateful hellbeast. Hi Attolia, I'm in your kingdom stealing your miracle stone.
ATTOLIA: I poisoned my fiance you know. Why do you think it is a good idea to cross me?
GEN: I broke into your bedroom just to leave earrings by your bed. Mocking earrings.
ATTOLIA: I have hatched a cunning plan to catch you. And now I'm going to cut off your hand.
GEN: No, you're not, I am the hero of the story, and a master thief. There's no way - ow. OW.
ATTOLIA: Told you.
GEN: I am off to plot my revenge. It will involve kidnapping you and taking you away in a boat and threatening your life.
ATTOLIA: Well, crap.
GEN: Or... we could get married.
ATTOLIA: Wut?
GEN: I love you! DID YOU LIKE MY EARRINGS. PLEASE SAY YES.
ATTOLIA: I cut off your hand.
VILLAIN: I have rescued you, Attolia. Are you not GRATEFUL?
ATTOLIA: So grateful! He is short and younger than me and missing a hand and crazy. By the way, do you like my new earrings?
VILLAIN: Very fetching!
ATTOLIA: They're a sign I'm going to doublecross you and marry Gen.
GEN: I'm so happy, my brilliantly deceitful love. As a wedding present to ourselves, shall I defeat all the troublesome nobles in your country by means of trickery, fashion, and brilliant swordplay?
ATTOLIA: Assuredly you may, my husband. Come visit me through our secret passageways and we'll do pillowplotting.
EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD: But... she cut off your hand.
GEN AND ATTOLIA: Every relationship has problems. Don't be a hater.”

Full Sarah Post Here People should read it as it's fabulous, as is everything she writes.

So, so. Urm. Eh? These were pretty much my first opinions when I put down the book. I adored it, first thing I did was text people to explain the insane wonderment I was feeling in response to the love story that is revealed near the end of the book.

Firstly, The Thief teases the queen by leaving her gifts at her bedside, to prove that there is nowhere he can't break into and nothing he can't take. Of course this plan all falls apart into a big fire ball of doom when he is caught. *insert evil laugh here* Once again our poor hero Gen finds himself incarcerated, mistreated and underfed. *pats his head* What we then find out is, this is not the worst situation our wonderful hero can find himself in. When he is dragged to what is essentially a torture chamber, we still believe in his ability to escape any danger and charm himself out of any situation. Then his hand is cut off. O_o To him this is a fate worse than death, he wishes he'd have been killed. His hands are an essential part of his craft, and his grief over losing his hand is incredibly well written and it is very interesting to read about how he learns to cope and adapts his life to suit his new limitation.

It is at this point that the queen begins to regret what she's done. Possibly my favourite metaphor ever written was mentioned here, where she thinks back to a tantrum she had as a child and broke one of her favourite belongings. This was just perfect and I felt I could understand how the Queen's feelings may begin to change. Especially since Gen is well known to be a little easy on the eyes. Plus he's sarcastic and snarky and the ladies *coughmecough* always love this in fiction. : ) The queen begins to lose sleep and dwell on what she has done, and this is written very clearly and subtly throughout the novel. I was happy with it's development. The development of Gen's feelings for the Queen however were quite an extreme shock! As far as I was aware he hated her, wanted revenge, and wanted her to suffer at his hands. My opinion on the situation is pretty much the same as the Queen's was, 'Huh? What? How? What?!' I believed as she did that it must have just been an elaborate trick to make his revenge on her all the sweeter. Apparently he is sincere though, I guess I have trouble with sincerity, especially when it seems without appropriate motivation.

So I guess it just goes to show you, if you want somebody to fall in love with you all you have to do is incarcerate them, feed them very little, beat them up when they anger you and then tie them up and chop off their dominant hand. A couple of years obsessing over getting their revenge on you will result in a marriage proposal that you literally can't refuse. Well, can't refuse without being drowned anyway. : ) Their love may be sudden, but the angst, the verbal banter and the outright death threats make it a very interesting love to read about! I can't wait to read more of them, it's probably a little cruel that I hope they argue lots. Hehe.

Other than the love story the novel pretty much functions as it's predecessor did. It follows a sequence of events, in this case a war. The war strategies were very well thought out and I liked the way they all intertwined. Good attention was given to the individual parts of the four nations mentioned and what their roles were in various attacks. The background characters were as entertaining as before, but sadly shadowed by Gen and the Attolian Queen. They were so detailed and so passionate that they practically leapt off the page and began to bicker in front of your face. I will be picking up the next book to read as soon as I finish this review! … *reads*


Currently Reading: The King of Attolia By Megan Whalen Turner

The Thief By Megan Whalen Turner (4/5)

A fabulous book containing wonderful characterisation enfolded in world building so deep you feel like you are there. Considering this first book is pretty much just a journey it is never dull and I finished it within a day. It reminded me of fairy tales I used to read as a child and I can completely understand why it was awarded with the Newbery Honor award. It is so rich in detail and yet it isn't overwhelming or so complex it detracts from the plot. It isn't really a book where you race to the finish line but one you can savour comfortably and read for hours without realising that any time has passed at all, each page can be enjoyed individually, which is unique to me. I usually only enjoy books when I am racing towards the conclusion. This book was a pleasant switch from my usual habits. I found that it read like I was watching a film, the visuals were brilliant and the pace was measured. It would make a great movie I'm sure!

The character of Gen was a brilliant one. He is snarky, sneaky and capable of causing much swooning amongst ladies, when he has bathed that is. : ) I loved reading a book from his perspective. I have a great weakness for cheeky heroes with slight attitude problems. I will seek help about this soon I am sure *lies blatantly* I never ever tired of his character, and whether he was conning people out of their belongings, picking pockets, insulting soldiers or disrespecting royalty, I greedily devoured every word. The revelation of his character towards the end of the book just made me love him more. He is so gloriously described and flushed out that I feel as though I've met him. *loves*

The other four characters that accompany/drag Gen on his travels are all written wonderfully. Their characters are described and developed with great skill. I feel like I got to know each of them in detail. They were so realistic and I almost felt as though I was riding a horse along side of them. (Though I would have fallen off often and embarrassed myself horribly more than once, Hehe)

I can't wait to fall into this world again in the next book. I can picture myself already, climbing a tree and making myself comfortable or sitting in a big arm chair with a huge mug beside me. I think I'm going to enjoy this series a lot and it's a refreshing change from the type of books I usually read. This may be the first book I've been able to fall into because of the world it provided. Rather than falling into a book which altered this world, like urban fantasy. I'm glad I have began on this journey.

Currently Reading: The Queen of Attolia By Megan Whalen Turner

Devil's Kiss By Sarwat Chadda (4/5)

The first few pages took me a while to get into, but once I did I just flew through pretty much the entire book in a couple of days. The plot hits a point and the pace increases so much it's almost impossible to put the book down comfortably. I really enjoyed reading about Billi, and I loved her strength, both emotionally and physically. I found her a really interesting character to follow. She is grumpy, wants more from life and can fight with weapons. That to me is an interesting heroine.

Billi's relationship with her dad is a very unique one and makes for some great reading. There is an interesting line between loyalty and obligation, and how familial affection can get lost in that balance. The relationship for Billi that offers support in this story is with Kay. The way she felt that he had abandoned her without a second thought was great reading for an “Angst Fan” like myself. It conveys the emotion involved in missing someone terribly and still being upset with them that they had to leave in the first place. Their roller-coaster friendship will keep you rolling until the very end. Plus the fact that he couldn't always help himself from reading her thoughts kept the scenes very fresh!

My favourite part of the story was the mythology. I am a geek, I should hope after this many reviews and fangirling recaps that much should be obvious. : ) I just ate it up, I wanted more of it. When it comes to the perspective of Satan being a fallen angel, I cannot get enough. I loved the various categories of 'Angels' in this novel. The good the bad and the very bad. I think Angels have been given a good reputation for far too long, people choose to forget that Satan himself is a fallen angel. They hear the term “God's Warriors” and still don't see the terrifying result of an angels wrath. This was the best mythology of Angels that I have come across in a while and I enjoyed it a lot.

I also enjoyed the fact that all of this happened on the dark streets of London. The fact that the mystery and history was focused around an area that so many people presume to know was very well done. I like dark, gritty writing set in an environment that I can imagine and that is exactly what this book provided.

The only negative to the book I can think of is that it seemed to lack a certain depth in some areas, it didn't actually have that many characters outside of the main circle, and those who were in the circle weren't flushed out very much. This is easily overlooked however when the characters who were discussed were described brilliantly and their relationships were written with enough complications to feel realistic and tangible.

I don't want to spoil the ending in case people come across this who haven't read the book but, Oh my goodness! Sarwat clearly has no mercy, my heart! It hurts! I cried and I read and I cried some more. The writing was so good that I was sobbing my little heart out. I know that I'm relating to a character when I can feel their pain as if it is my own. Good job. I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel. I just hope it's more gentle on my heartstrings than this one was, I doubt it somehow. : )

Read about my brief meeting with Sarwat Chadda HERE

Currently Reading: The Thief By Megan Whalen Turner