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Book Review: Clanless by Jennifer Jenkins

Dec 19, 2016

Clanless by Jennifer Jenkins

Pages: 300
Publish date: October 4th, 2016
Publisher: Month9Books
ASIN: B01KIHPZCW
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US

Striker Gryphon has lost his position of honour among the Ram, and is now a hunted man. A traitor.

Zo, the object of his affection, was murdered by members of his former clan. To honour her memory, he journeys to the highly secretive Raven “Nest” to warn strangers of their impending demise—though it could cost him more than just his pride.

He doesn’t know that Zo is very much alive and in another part of the region assisting Nameless refugees over a mountain swarming with wild men known as “Clanless.”

As each struggle to make sense of what their lives have become, they fight and claw to reach the Allied Camp, their last hope in bringing peace to the region.

But the road back to one another is treacherous and uncertain. And freedom will come with a price.

Clanless:

This review of Clanless contains spoilers from book 1 – Nameless.

After reading Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins, I knew that I had to get right onto reading Clanless. The ending was intense and I needed to know what was going to happen next.

Clanless starts off where Nameless left off. The protagonist, Zo on the run with her sister, Joshua and a few more that joins them on the way. Zo and the crew are attempting to find refuge and allies that can help them fight. However, they are on the run from both the Ram’s wrath and the ‘Clanless’ – wild men that hunt in the woods.

Again, I really enjoyed Zo as a protagonist. I loved her strength and her determination, to not only keep her sister alive but others that have joined her. In Clanless we get to see a weakness of Zo, her love. Her love for everyone around her, not only makes her a liability but slows her down. Believing that Gryphon has betrayed her and could be dead – she lets this grief get a hold of her, however, I liked it. In the previous book, Zo didn’t show too much emotion, but that was thrown all out in window in Clanless.

Gryphon is a traitor. Well to his people he is, Gryphon has lost his position and honour amount the Ram and now is on the Run. Through Clanless the reader is able to see a whole different side to Gryphon. One that wasn’t even evident in Nameless and even though there is a stark difference – I think I like this one better.

Gryphon is not only on the run, but believes that Zo is dead and it’s his fault. For her, he goes on a journey to find the Raven people. He wants to warn them what is coming. But, when the world that he thought he knew isn’t the same, it’s a struggle. Gryphon emotions are quite raw throughout Clanless and sometimes it was hard to believe that he could show so much emotion.

A thing that I loved about Clanless was the friendships. Zo and her sister. Oh gosh, my heart could break for them. Both have gone through so much and their bond was beautiful. We see a lot of protagonist/sister bonds in YA – but, I think that Jennifer Jenkins explored it so well.

Zo and Joshua have a very interesting relationship. They grew fond of each other in Nameless, Joshua more than Zo, but they still had this distance. However, with the how the first book ended, the reader is able to see them both grow and share in their grief for Gryphon.

One of my favourite things about this series is the world building. It’s fantastic. In the first book, we are dropped into this world and as the story went on, we found out more. And it carries on into Clanless. I love the layers of the world that Jennifer Jenkins has created. We aren’t thrown into the world and then information is chucked at us, but it’s treaded to us slowly and beautifully.

Clanless is a ‘survive in the wild’ type of book. With everyone on the run trying to get places and not be killed. While finding out more about the world, the plot moves on and the reader is taken on a journey with the characters.

Overall, I enjoyed Clanless. It’s an epic journey of surviving, strength, grief and finding out who you are. It is about joining forces, creating allies and finding out who the real enemy is. It has exceptional world building, intriguing character, a plot that runs wild and friendships that are knotted together. Trust no one, because you don’t know who is going to stab you in the back.

Have you read Clanless? Did you like it? Have you read Nameless? Did you like that? Are you planning to read this series? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Dec 17, 2016

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Pages: 352
Publish date: December 1st, 2016
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
ISBN: 1489219552
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…

But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself.

The Star-Touched Queen:

I received an ARC of The Star-Touched Queen Roshani Chokshi from Harlequin Teen Australia in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I have been wanting to read The Star-Touched Queen for quite some time, but up until recently, it hadn’t been published here in Australia. Then I received a review copy and I was hanging out to read it. However, I did put it off as I was waiting for the release date to be a little closer. And after reading The Star-Touched Queen, I am a little disappointed.

The Star-Touched Queen follows protagonist Maya, daughter of the Raja and holder of a terrible horoscope. It is said that her marriage will follow with death and destruction. The kingdom not only feared her but hold a hatred that is cemented deep into her life. Her life changes when her father arranges a marriage of political convinces, that will hopefully bring some peace to the kingdom.

I have a love/hate relationship with Maya. For the most part, I truly enjoy her as a protagonist. She had this strength about her, that was somewhat empowering. Nearly everyone in her kingdom hated her or feared her, yet she didn’t let it get to her. It was great to see her stand up for herself. As the novel goes on, we get to find out who Maya truly is and she becomes even stronger. However, at times I felt like Maya’s voice shifted and she started acting and thinking, younger than she seemed to be. It was like she was a child all of a sudden.

I didn’t seem to care for the other characters in The Star-Touched Queen. There wasn’t the connection that I love to have with side characters, especially if they have interactions with the protagonist.

The romance was lacklustre for me. I didn’t feel much of a connection and I felt that it was totally insta-love. Amar is, I don’t know how to explain him. I am not totally sure that I liked him as a character per say, but I did, however, enjoy finding out his story. As The Star-Touched Queen went on, I was able to see the chemistry and tried to get over the ‘insta-love’ vibe that it was giving me.

Now to talk about the plot – the first half of the book I was good, everything seemed to flow and make sense. And then part two happen and I had no idea what was going on. It was like the whole novel changed and I was totally confused. The reader is thrown into this whole different world and we aren’t really given an explanation until the end. Even then things weren’t really explained.

In saying all this Roshani Chokshi writing in The Star-Touched Queen is absolutely stunning. I was swept away in the words and sentences that are beautifully weaved together. It’s such a different atmosphere in YA, but it was perfectly done. The world of The Star-Touched Queen is variant and colourful and that is how I felt the writing was as well. They bonded together so well.

In terms of world-building, like the plot, I was a little confused. At the start, I was able to understand what was happen, where we were and how the world worked. But when I got into part two, I was again confused.

The Star-Touched Queen is one of the first, if not the first book that I have read on Indian mythology and I enjoyed it. I love history and the concepts of mythology so it was great to dive into this diverse world that not many people talk about.

Overall, I liked The Star-Touched Queen. It’s not my favourite book out there, but it’s defiantly not my most hated. The concept was interesting, Maya was intriguing and the writing was exquisite. I was swept up into a world of magic and finding out who you really are. And although I was slightly confused, I would want to read more into this world and books from Roshani Chokshi.