Review - Dark Metropolis (Dark Metropolis #1) by Jaclyn Dolamore

Title: Dark Metropolis

Author: Jaclyn Dolamore

Series: 1st

Pages: 304

Published:  June 17th 2014 by Disney-Hyperion 

ISBN: 9781423163329

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Description:  Sixteen-year-old Thea Holder's mother is cursed with a spell that's driving her mad, and whenever they touch, Thea is chilled by the magic, too. With no one else to contribute, Thea must make a living for both of them in a sinister city, where danger lurks and greed rules.  Thea spends her nights waitressing at the decadent Telephone Club attending to the glitzy clientele. But when her best friend, Nan, vanishes, Thea is compelled to find her. She meets Freddy, a young, magnetic patron at the club, and he agrees to help her uncover the city's secrets-even while he hides secrets of his own. Together, they find a whole new side of the city. Unrest is brewing behind closed doors as whispers of a gruesome magic spread. And if they're not careful, the heartless masterminds behind the growing disappearances will be after them, too. Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, this is a chilling thriller with a touch of magic where the dead don't always seem to stay that way.

I Give This ...

I've quite enjoyed Jaclyn Dolamore's work so far.  She managed to turn her stories into something unique.  This one is no exception.  

One can't help feel sorry for Thea soon after meeting her.  Her father is dead, or so they have been told.  Without a body and her mother's decent into madness, Thea is often left wondering if he's possibly still alive.  Her mother and father were bonded through magic with their marriage, a process now considered illegal.  Without his presence,  Thea's mother is going losing touch with reality a little more everyday.  If the people in authority knew this, they would take her away.  So, Thea does what she must and works hard to keep them feed and a roof over their head.

And then she meets Freddy, whose got a lot of problems of his own.  Taken from his parents to be raised by his uncle, his life has been focused on his talent.  You see, Freddy can raise people from the dead.  He sees it as giving them a second chance of life, but his uncle has been keeping something from him.  These people aren't returned to their families, and life might be stretch at what these people are living.  They are being used to run the city and kept in their place because they need something extra from becoming zombish creatures.

I really enjoyed how this story played out.  Thea faces some crazy things throughout, but she never back down from doing what is right.  Freddy final takes the blindfold off and realizes what he has helped to create.  I know he did it unknowingly, but I can't help but wonder what the true purpose of his powers are.   There has to be something useful about it.  Especially knowing how he can control it as well.

I will be looking forward to the next one!  I'm eager to get to know these characters more! 

 

 

Review - Magic Under Stone (Magic Under #2) by Jaclyn Dolamore

Title: Magic Under Stone

Author: Jaclyn Dolamore

Series: 2nd (Magic Under Glass)

Pages: 291

Published: February 28th 2012 by Bloomsbury USA 

ISBN:  9781599906430

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

 

Description: For star-crossed lovers Nimira and Erris, there can be no happily ever after until Erris is freed from the clockwork form in which his soul is trapped. And so they go in search of the sorcerer Ordoria Valdana, hoping he will know how to grant Erris real life again. When they learn that Valdana has mysteriously vanished, it’s not long before Nimira decides to take matters into her own hands—and begins to study the sorcerer’s spell books in secret. Yet even as she begins to understand the power and limitations of sorcery, it becomes clear that freeing Erris will bring danger—if not out-and-out war—as factions within the faerie world are prepared to stop at nothing to prevent him from regaining the throne.

I Give This ...

 

I was a little worried when picking this one up.  It's been a long time since I read the first, and the details seemed a little fuzzy.  Surprisingly, it seemed to matter very little the more the book progressed.

I find Nimira to be an interesting character.  She really shows a lot of strength through out this entire book.  She's willing to journey to the ends of the earth in hopes that a single man might be able to help Erris.   I loved that she took matters into her own hands and decided to learn magic.  She knows she only human, at the her powers may be week.  That doesn't stop her from learning all she can.  And when the time comes for her to journey into the fairy realm, she doesn't hesitate.  She knows what she has to do.

While I loved Nimira throughout the entire story, I felt disconnect from Erris.  The story is lacking his voice.  I don't understand him.  Since he tends to shut Nimira out, we don't gain much knowledge through her.  He's really struggling with who he is, and thus seems to drag the story down a little.   I also disliked Valanda's daughter, Violet immensely.  She honestly didn't seem to have a redeeming quality about her.

My favorite new character was the jinn, Ifra.  There was something about his personality and what he was that completely captured my attention.  I also really liked learning more about Valdana.  He's a complex character who barely makes an appearance in the story, but his impact seems great.

I loved the ending.  I could see the story ending here, but I really hope there is more.  I feel like Nimira has more to give.  And, I really want to see were Erris' new journey may take him!

 

  

Review - Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore

Title: Between Sea and Sky

Author: Jaclyn Dolamore

Series: Stand Alone

Pages: 229

Published: October 25th 2011 by Bloomsbury USA Children's Books

ISBN:  9781599904344

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Description: For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alander, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alander band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air. 

I Give This ...

This was a different sort of read for me.  I think I've gotten to the point were I expect my young adult fantasy to be a little more more gritty.  This story was simple, so I honestly felt like it was almost more middle grade fiction despite the age of the characters.   I think there was so much more that could have been done with this story.

The mythology was there.  It's one of the more interesting premises for mermaids that I've read.   Mermaid's openly exist with humans.  In fact, the siren's readily mix with them.   Not every mermaid can become a siren, and sirens are more drawn to humans than any other mermaid.  All mermaids can change into humans, although it causes them great pain with every step they take on human feet.   I got the impression that siren's are better able to withstand that pain.  A siren is also powerful because all her power is trapped in her belt (which other mermaids don't have).  She may give her belt freely to a human, or it can be forcefully taken from her.  But, once she does, the pain being human causes her is gone.

When Dosinia disappears, Esmerine is convinced that she did not give up her belt of her own freewill.  She's determined to find out what really happened.  What I did think was interesting was her thoughts may have been on finding Dosinia, but she sure made a beeline for finding Alander first.  It felt like she needed that excuse to seek him out.  I did admire her determination to find her sister.   Being a mermaid, I would think she would have a great connection to the ocean.  And to travel so far from it shows how much she wanted to see her sister (or was it to spend more time with Alander).

The story seemed frightfully simple despite my interest in it.  And Esmerine has all these thoughts on finding her sister, but no real way to find her.  She didn't really think it through.  Sometimes it felt like she way saying to she would do something in hopes of getting Alander to help her.  It was a little frustrating.   

In the end, the story wasn't all that I hoped that it would be.  But, it wasn't all bad either.

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Title: Magic Under Glass
Author: Jaclyn Dolamore
Published: December 2009
Pages: 225
ISBN: 9781599904306
Source: ARC from Around The World Tours

Description: Nimira is a music-hall performer forced to dance for pennies to an audience of leering drunks. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to do a special act - singing accompaniment to an exquisite piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumours abound about ghosts, a mad woman roaming the halls, and of Parry's involvement in a gang of ruthless sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing young fairy gentleman is trapped inside the automaton's stiff limbs, waiting for someone to break the curse and set him free, the two fall in love. But it is a love set against a dreadful race against time to save the entire fairy realm, which is in mortal peril.

I Give This Book 4 Stars!

I'm being a little generous giving this 4 stars.  But, I really do think it's worth your attention.  Nimira catches your attention right from the start.  You can't help but understand her actions.  Parry is interesting as well.  You've never quite understand him (even after his secrets are revealed).  I had a difficult time grasping the concept of falling in love with a fairy trapped in a machine.  It didn't seem real to me until later.  I also think there are some information gaps.  I think that author could have included a little bit more information on the world the characters  lived in and the events that lead up to the story.  I especially would have liked more information concerning the conflict between the faries and the humans.  I just felt like I didn't get enough background information.  The ending also seemed a little pieced together.  Still, the overall product was fun and I enjoyed it. 

* I wanted to point out that there is some controversy surrounding the cover of this book.  Nimira is described as bein dark-skinned (I imagine someone of Arabic decent).  The cover is pictured with a white model (although I still think she has more olive skin tone but this is coming from a redhead with very fair skin).  From what I understand, Bloomsbury has issued a new cover for this book and stopped shipping the old one.  I know copies of this cover are still being sold because I saw it at my local Barnes & Noble just a couple days ago.  I did not realize what a problem this was in the publishing industry (second time in 6 months that Bloomsbury alone has come under fire for this).  I hope in the future, publishing companies will realize that this practice of cover white washing is unacceptable.  This is the new cover