Mechanique

War has destroyed much of the world, cities have crumbled and fallen, people have died or become lifeless beings.  Outside the fallen cities is a promise of something to help forget the pain, forget the fear, forget the war.  outside the cities is the tent for the Circus Tresaulti.  A circus where the performers all have something unique about them...they are made of spare parts, copper bones, and gears.  Boss is the creator and ringmaster for the circus, and is what allows the circus to have the magic that it does.  Soon they find themselves at war within as two performers battle to obtain coveted wings, as they work to solve this issue the war outside comes to their doorstep, threatening to destroy everything Boss has built.  Will they be able to put differences aside to survive the war at hand?

As I was reading this novel, others would ask me to describe it and all I could say was a post-apocalyptic, steampunk, circus.  I can almost barely tell you what this story is about because I got lost so many different times while reading.  The story is broken in various different narrators which makes it hard to follow what is happening.  Often the narrator flashes back to another time without any indication which makes it all the more difficult to understand.  It wasn't until the last 20% was I able to deduce what has really happening.  So much is happening in this novel from Stenos and Bird both wanting the wings to the government man wanting Boss's secrets to even George trying to figure out the circus and convince Boss to give him bones.

Characters were vague and hard to get an handle on, they all began to run together aside from a few of the more predominant ones, there was no real "main character" since the story was told through many viewpoints.  The descriptions seemed bleek and bland, matching the setting, although I will say occasionally the descriptions were beautiful such as the description of the coveted wings.  I have seen many others compare this to Night Circus, but they are complete opposites.

There are not many times when I do not recommend a novel, this is one of times.  I do not recommend it, while I am sure many others will love this book and have loved this book.  But I found it too difficult to follow and really tell what it is about, therefore I cannot recommend it.  As for a rating I would give this a 2 out of 5.

Nefertiti's Heart

Cara's father has recently passed away and it is now up to her to settle his estate.  She had hoped it would be something quick and easy, something she could put into the hands of someone else.  She never wanted to return to the home where she faced horrors 7 years ago at the hands of her "husband."  Her plans to only be in town a short time are disrupted when the police are looking at her for her father's death, as well as the murders of high society women her age.  The women are found wearing an Egyptian nightdress and a strange key embedded into their chests.  Cara struggles to deal with her feelings for Nathanial Trent, the viscount helping her dispose of her father's artifacts, her fears, as well as finding the truth behind this mysterious murders.  Their search leads them to Nefertiti's Heart and the legend surrounding it.  Could the legends be true?  Could her father have stumbled upon something beyond value?




I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this book, which is generally rare.  There is a lot going on in this story, so much that one would think the story wouldn't work or it would be too much, but it isn't.  It somehow works.  First we have the murder of her father, and the strange circumstances surrounding his death.  This alone would have made for a good book.  Cara searching to find out clues to who would have wanted her father dead while dealing with her own horrors.  But no there's more, then we have the romance between Cara and Nathanial.  He wants her, desires her but she is scare of physical contact.  Reasonable substory for the novel, I can accept that in the midst of searching for her father's killer.  BUT, then we have the murders of the high society girls.  The book focuses on their murders more than the father's.  It's almost as if his murder takes the back-burner because no one liked him.


I want to say that Cara is a strong character, but there are times when she doesn't seem as such.  She becomes almost a slave to her past and feelings for Nathanial.  I feel like there is so much more in Cara that readers don't get to see because so much emphasis was placed on what happened to her when she was 14.  When she reflects back to it, at times it took me away from the story, but at the same made me feel for her.  I liked Nathanial, but I would have wanted more imagery of what made him less reputable man of society.  Towards the end it felt like things were starting to get rushed, that things were being thrown at readers for suspects and things.  It began to feel like too much at one time.  The steampunk elements were nice, but I would have liked to have seen more description other than steam powered coached or mechanical horses.  I craved more of those elements.


Would I recommend this to someone else?  Sure, just because I have mixed feelings doesn't mean someone else won't completely love it.  I know this was the first book in a series, and I would be interested in seeing what is next in the series.  I would give A.W Exley another chance to simply blow me away, and I hope that happens with the next book.  I will give this book a 3 out 5 rating.




Gears of Wonderland by Jason Anderson

"Whether you believe in something or not doesn't change the facts.  Once upon a time,  I would believe up to six impossible things before breakfast.   It didn't mean that they were true, just because I believed them." ~ White Queen

 

Gears of Wonderland is an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  It takes place well after Alice has left Wonderland, with a new "outsider" named James.  What could be his purpose in Wonderland? 

James had just gotten into a silly fight with his fiancé and turns to his buddy Melvin for a place to crash.  Once there Melvin is brutally murdered and James runs for his life when he comes head to head with a man dressed in a strange Victorian style.  Suddenly James is falling down a hole, and awakens to what appears to be Victorian London, but different somehow.  He begins meeting various interesting characters such as the Mad Hatter's daughter: Kara. She aides him on a journey to meet Caterpillar to discover who he truly is, and what is his purpose in Wonderland.  There is a new King of Hearts who has been attacking the other kingdoms, seeking to rule all of Wonderland.  James, Kara, Torre and the rest of the resistance must find a way to stop Lahire's reign of terror and restore Wonderland to it's peaceful nature.  James plays a major role in Wonderland, but what that role is no one knows, will he be able to discover who he is and how he can help Wonderland when he is an Outsider?

The Alice in Wonderland stories have always been a favorite story of mine, so whenever I find adaptations on the classic tale, I tend to gobble them up.  Gears of Wonderland is no different.  I couldn't wait to begin this story, and now that I finished it, I hope, wish there will be more to the tale.  Jason Anderson takes Wonderland and makes it something new and unique; he makes it his own world.  I enjoyed that he kept many of the same characters, but turned them into his own.  I enjoyed Caterpillar and Torre (Red Rook) a great deal as well as the idea that wonderland was split into 6 different kingdoms and each member having a mark to distinguish which kingdom they belonged to and their rank.  I would have liked a little more to James' background with Wonderland and his purpose there.  I do hope there is more to the story, or at least another novel within this world.

I have read several books that were difficult to read because they were choppy and ragged, but not with Gears of Wonderland. Jason's writing was smooth and easy to read. The story was well paced and information was released at good times.  Anderson built the suspense and desire to know things.  I found myself eager to know what will happen next, how will Wonderland be affected by the characters' actions.  I found the idea of having Wonderland alter based on the "Outsider" and interesting idea, and would have liked to see that utilized more in the setting descriptions.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good story.  If you love Wonderland this book needs to be a part of the collection.  I would give this novel a 4.5 out 5 rating.  Jason did a great job creating his own story out of one known so well.  If you enjoy adaptations of this classic tale also check out Splintered and Alice In The Country Heart.  Both are great adaptions of the tale and create something new.