Grimm Agency #1 - Free Agent

Free Agent by J.C. Nelson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Free Agent has everything I look for in a modern fantasy: a well-imagined and unique intersection between the fairy tale world and ours, a kick ass heroine who is far from infallible, and enough twists to populate a pretzel factory.

I enjoyed seeing J.C. Nelson turn popular tropes on their head, reimagining roles for princesses and princes, magic apples, Little Red Riding Hood, that stayed true to their fantastical origins while modernizing and adding his own unique take. The world felt complete and well thought out, though I have a feeling there's still lots in Kingdom we haven't even brushed the surface of yet.

The story begins with an introduction into Marissa's life as an agent and one of her most common jobs - princess matching. The pacing is a little slower here and for a second I almost thought this would turn into a romance. Hang in though, because after the first visit to Wolf Town, the story takes a sharp veer for exciting and events reach an epic scale of dire anticipation that doesn't let up until the very end. I stayed up after a late night shift to read the last third of the book straight through because I had to know what happened next.

For me, the only weakness is an otherwise great book was the somewhat lackluster romance component. I had a hard time buying Marissa's acknowledgment of her loneliness in the beginning of the book given her denial of the other aspects of her life. She and Liam never seemed to truly click to me - (view spoiler)[perhaps because I have a hard time seeing the attraction of a man who eats spaghetti with his hands at truly disgusting restaurants. (hide spoiler)] Although I'm happy she finds some happiness with him at the end, their reconciliation jumped a little too fast from 'hatred' to 'unquestioning love'. Over all though, my feelings about this small component did not take away from my love for the rest of the book.

Nelson does a great job dropping hints about a sequel throughout and I can't wait to pick up Armageddon Rules and see what happens to Marissa next.

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The Girl with Ghost Eyes

The Girl with Ghost Eyes by M.H. Boroson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Richly detailed in the tradition of wuxia novels with a more modern Americanized feel. Reading this felt like dropping into the middle of a movie. I could almost pictures the sights, sounds, and smells of old Chinatown.

Li-lin is not your typical overpowered heroine. She must use her weakness and her wits more than her martial arts strength to overcome her opponents. In the beginning, she runs away a lot. Some of the language around her repeated decisions to flee began to sound repetitive, but I admire her ability to assess and pull back from a risky situation rather than blundering further into trouble.

The spirits featured in the story are also varied and interesting, from a tiger who has changed his ways through Buddhism to her father's detached eye to a flock of prophetic spirit gulls. The promise they extract from Li-lin before agreeing to help her leaves the story perfectly primed for a sequel.

The strength in this novel lies in the immersive world building and colorful descriptions of the Daoist customs of its main characters and the spirits that inhibit Chinatown's spirit world. Sometimes the story felt in turns scattered or repetitive, though this may just a symptom of trying to work in so much into one book. Li-lin is also at times perhaps a bit too naive (e.g. the contract). The fast pacing and attention-grabbing narrative pulled me through those places though, eager to reach the resolution.

If you enjoyed the spirit realm depicted here, give The Ghost Bride a try. Meanwhile, I feel like watching some wuxia. :)

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Mistborn #3 - Hero of Ages

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hero of Ages is a triumphant conclusion to the original Mistborn trilogy. Although quite hefty in size, each chapter brought a new revelation and an answer to the puzzle that had been built up in the previous two books.

Sanderson's attention to detail and intricate plotting is truly impressive. The chapter lead-ins may have been a little too directly explanatory in comparison to the way they were treated in the previous books for my tastes. But along with the detail in the text, they provided a clear background to everything that had occurred thus far and the intricate way Ruin had entangled himself in everything.

All of his characters have grown substantially from the first novels. In particular, Spook and Sazeed shared the main stage here with Vin and Elend. Feelings of pride and dread accompany Spook's evolution from quiet background character to Kelsier successor, as the reader knows that something more menacing is at work behind the scenes. Sazeed, meanwhile, I found a little frustrating at times. His moment of doubt and search for truth seemed forced. Though this may just be because I don't enjoy reading about depressed characters.

Other truths uncovered in this book include the origin and mythos of the kandras, the secret of the mist, and the truth about that most precious of allomantic metals. If you enjoyed the first two books, you can't miss this one.

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