Daughter of Deep Silence - Book Grumbles

Daughter of Deep Silence
by Carrie Ryan

What is it about:
In the wake of the complete destruction of the luxury yacht Persephone, three people are left alive who know the truth about what happened and two of them are lying. Only Frances Mace, rescued from the ocean after seven days adrift with her friend Libby (who died of thirst just before rescue), knows that the Persephone wasn't sunk by a rogue wave as survivors Senator Wells and his son Greyson are claiming it was attacked.

In order to insure her safety from the obviously dangerous and very powerful Wells family, Libby's father helps Frances assume Libby's identity. Frances has spent years in hiding, transforming herself into Libby, and she can no longer allow the people who murdered her entire family and Libby to get away with it even if she had been in love with Greyson Wells.

After years of careful plotting, she's ready to set her revenge plans into motion. The game has just begun, and Frances is not only playing dirty, she's playing to win.

What did I think of it:
I will confess that although I liked the premise of this book, there were some things that left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

The main problem I had with this story is how it seems to say that justice and revenge are the same thing. There are several people who tell Frances she should just let go and live her life instead of getting even. Now usually this might be good advice, but in this case letting go also means letting people get away with something truly horrible.

And while this message of "revenge is wrong, just let go and let the bad people get away with it" is being force-fed to the reader, the reader also gets the nice contradicting message that revenge might be the right way to go after all as Frances goes on trampling all over people to get her revenge.

I had wanted to see a bit more nuance between justice and revenge and for a certain character getting a serious wake up call instead of the infuriating turn of events this book gave me and where this person, who deserved all kinds of torment, to be painted as the wounded party.

Egh...

All in all this book started out promising only to annoy me more and more the closer I got to the end. It won't be a keeper.

Why should you read it:
It's a "smart revenge thriller" according to the blurb on Goodreads.


Buy from bookdepository

Shards and Ashes - Book Review

Shards and Ashes - Anthology
by Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Veronica Roth, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Rachel Caine, Nancy Holder, Beth Revis and Carrie Ryan

What is it about:
Gripping original stories of dystopian worlds from nine New York Times bestselling authors, edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong.

The world is gone, destroyed by human, ecological, or supernatural causes. Survivors dodge chemical warfare and cruel gods; they travel the reaches of space and inhabit underground caverns. Their enemies are disease, corrupt corporations, and one another; their resources are few, and their courage is tested.

Powerful original dystopian tales from nine bestselling authors offer bleak insight, prophetic visions, and precious glimmers of light among the shards and ashes of a ruined world.

What did I think of it:
Because this is an anthology I'll give a short commentary with each story about what I thought of it.

Hearken by Veronica Roth
This was a story with really intriguing world building. It was nicely written, but I didn't like the message that was a bit too clearly stamped upon the story. I wouldn't mind if Roth would write more in this world though.

Branded by Kelley Armstrong
This was a really cool story. Great world building, solid story and a great heroine. I really hope Armstrong will write more in this setting.

Necklace of Raindrops by Margaret Stohl
This story had a great plot, but that got a bit lost in the way it was written.

Dogsbody by Rachel Caine
I loved this story. It's disturbing and suspenseful. With a minimum of world building Caine succeeds in dragging me into the story and cheering on the lead character. Best story in the book in my opinion.

Pale Rider by Nancy Holder
I liked the world building at the start of the story, but soon the story went to places where I couldn't follow.

Corpse Eaters by Melissa Marr
This story couldn't really grab my attention.

Burn 3 by Kami Garcia
This was a really nice story. I liked the world building, it felt very believable. I might try other books by Garcia.

Love is a Choice by Beth Revis
A very intriguing story. It's set on a spaceship and I really liked the setting. I think I'll add Revis' books to my wishlist.

Miasma by Carrie Ryan
This was a lovely story. Bittersweet and just a bit disturbing. I wouldn't mind if Ryan wrote more in this setting.

Overall this is a great anthology with some really cool settings and stories. I can recommend this to anyone who loves a good Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic setting.

Why should you read it:
It's a great anthology with cool Dystpian YA stories.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Book Review

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

What is it about:

In Mary's world, there are simple truths.
The Sisterhood always knows best.
The Guardians will protect and serve.
The Unconsecrated will never relent.

And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village. The fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power. And, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.

Now she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?

What did I think of it:

I had seen this book many times in the bookstore, but the above description sounded like the story was some clone of 'The Village'.
Imagine my surprise when I read in another review that it was about zombies! So I decided to pick it up

This book has lots of things that make a good zombie story, zombie mayhem being one of them. The story is quite good: dark and disturbing at times. So I should LOVE this book and I wanted to, but instead it fell short of that and I thought it was ok. Why is that?

It has to do with two things.

First: Present tense!
I have mentioned before I'm no fan of stories written in present tense. Once in a while there's an author who can handle present tense and write in such a way I don't even notice the present tense being used, but most authors fail in this and Ryan is among them. I kept getting pulled out of the story by the use of present tense. It just didn't feel natural.

Second: The viewpoint!
I read a lot of stories that use one person as the focus of the story and let him/her tell the story to you. Usually I do not have a problem with this and even love it as it gives you a great deal of insight in the workings of the lead character's mind.
In this book however I really missed the viewpoint of other characters besides Mary. This has to do with the fact I kept thinking Mary was not being honest in how she viewed the other characters. I felt like there should be more to the other characters than only Mary's view of them. This too kept me from losing myself in the story.

And lastly (ok, I said two things, but this one isn't really about me not loving the book, but just a pet peeve): Did you see the cover?! Again no zombies!!

All in all I'm really on the fence about this book and I'm not sure I'll read the next book 'The Dead-Tossed Waves'.

Why should you read it:

It is a very decent zombie story, so if you don't mind present tense you might love it.