Hunted Heart, Alison DeLuca

I enjoy all things literary, and this gender-bent riff on the Snow-White tale is both literary and full of the fantastic. It is told in a style that harkens back to days gone by, to a time when prose was crafted for beauty as well as for the action it portrayed.

But First--THE BLURB:
When Tali is hired to cut out the heart of Prince Kas, the huntress can’t refuse. Tali realizes there is no escape from the dark magic of the queen’s mirror, even though her own feelings for the prince are far too complex to understand.

As they try to run from their shared destiny, Tali and Kas have to rely on their wits and each other as hunter becomes prey and hearts are won and lost.

A genderbent Snow White for adults (18+ only.) All royalties go to SavetheChildren.org.

*Warning: Chapter 21 contains details about an attempted sexual assault. Also, several chapters detail an assault in the main character's background. Although there are no explicit details, readers sensitive to being triggered by references to sexual assault should exercise caution.
 

MY REVIEW:

Tali is an awesome character, strong and loyal, despite the terrible things that happened in her childhood. She is complex, and driven by her loyalty to her guardian. Prince Kas is no two-dimensional Disney prince either--he is multilayered and quite driven by human emotions. The setting and culture DeLuca places them in is baroque and mysterious. Their story is both harsh and intriguing, and is not sugar-coated in anyway.

The style of writing in this tale is a bit more descriptive and ornate than I usually gravitate to, but I was intrigued by Tali and her situation enough that I soon got into the tale--she is forced down a path she doesn't want to take, and manipulated by one of the best portrayed evil protagonists I have read in a long time. Queen Leila is more nasty, more selfish, and more hateful than Voldemort in a dress.

I highly recommend Hunted Heart to those who love romance and new takes of traditional tales. Alison DeLuca is a masterful storyteller.

WOOL by Hugh Howey guest review by Alison DeLuca

Hugh Howey originally released Wool as a series of installments, and I can see why the book soared to the top of the charts on Amazon. As well as having what I call “the elusive compulsion factor,” it is written with a gritty realism that mirrors the subject perfectly.

It’s the story of a post-apocalyptic world, where poisonous winds scour the landscape aboveground on Earth; people live an underground silo that extends down for over one hundred stories. 

Couples must wait for someone’s death for a ticket to try for a child; every few years there is a Cleaning, when someone leaves the Silo to go outside and clean the windows, either voluntarily or under punishment. They never return.

Wool begins with a cleaning, as Holston volunteers to go outside a year after his wife made the same request. This sets into action a series of events that end up affecting every story of the Silo and beyond.

The first section is called Holston, and it is all about his experience. The following parts are named after actions and concepts in knitting: Proper Gauge, Casting Off, Unraveling, and feature other characters. 

First up is Jahns, the Mayor of the silo, and it concentrates on her relationship with Marnes, a police officer, as they go to find a replacement for Holston. Their journey to the bottom of the silo introduces other factions in a nice, geographic outline. I felt as I read Proper Gauge I was descending with Jahns and Marnes to the lower section of the silo, meeting IT and Mechanical along the way.

IT holds Bernard, who is unlikeable from the start. Mechanical is the setting for Juliette, or Jules, and she is extremely likeable. In fact, she’s one of the most original characters I’ve met in science fiction.

All the characters interact in a very original, organic way. As an author, I marveled at Howey’s prowess at herding people from one section to another – this can be a very onerous, exhausting task at times. He manages it without any deus ex machina; as the book progressed, I really felt I was living in the Silo.

The book reminded me of the best of Verne and Wells. The gears and engines are described so perfectly, it’s no surprise to learn that Howey worked as a mechanic on ship, servicing engines that were almost as large as the ones Jules works on in Mechanical.

Meanwhile, there is the rise of Bernard, who acquires more and more power and determines to keep Jules from the upper floors of the Silo. Jules herself is perfect – she’s strong and still feminine, but most of all she is incredibly intelligent. I love the way she negotiates her adventures and challenges in the Silo and out of it.

I read a lot of comments on Goodreads and Amazon that the book shouldn’t have been called Wool. I think there is a definite reason for the title beyond the chapter headings which I won’t mention since it is a major spoiler, but feel free to message me and we can chat about it, if you have read the book.

Finally, Wool appealed to me as a grown-up, neater version of Hunger Games or Divergent. The writing is very simple – and it is in the past tense and third person, hurray! There are no instances of “I go to the mirror and look at my too-big eyes…” – a major turn-off for this reader. 

Not only that, but the plot structure is also very simple – much like the spiral staircase that supports the Silo – simple, but very clever. From that structure, a believable, exciting world blooms and evolves under the ground.

Today's guest reviewer is Alison DeLuca, author of the Crown Phoenix Series of steampunk novels. Alison's review can also be seen on her blog, Fresh Pot of Tea. 

The Crown Phoenix Series, Alison DeLuca

Today we enter the wild, wonderful world of Edwardian England, as we examine Alison DeLuca's magical, steampunk Crown Phoenix Series.

Alison DeLuca hits the ground running in the opening chapters of 'The Night Watchman Express', and the story never stops moving until the last page.This tale combines everything that makes for a good story: well crafted characters, good plot and great adventures.

Orphaned, and angry, Miriam is forced to accept her life has been given over to her new guardians, her father's business partners, the Marchpanes. The Marchpanes immediately move into Miriam's house, and take over her father's rooms. (Mrs. Marchpane is deliciously evil.) They make their attempt to gain full control of Miriam's money and her father's company.

Gradually, Miriam begins to find common ground with the Marchpane's son, Simon, and their other young `guest' Neil. A nanny who is both wise and skilled in certain magics is hired, and she saves the day, sort of. Mana is a woman who is of a race of people, who are considered to be second-class citizens, and contrary to the Marchpane's hopes, she turns out to be exactly what both Miriam and the two boys needed.

There is a reluctant camaraderie that develops between Miriam and the two boys. The three of them do a certain amount of exploring the grounds of the estate, and discover a strange machine that her father has constructed. Another interesting thread is also Miriam's strange emotional attachment to her father's typewriter-like machine, the Crown Phoenix, which she has claimed for her own since his death, and keeps hidden in her room.

The Marchpanes are not pleased by Mana's good influence on Miriam, and they fear her. They fire Mana and get rid of Miriam.

Nightly Miriam has heard the mournful Night Watchman Express, a mysterious train that passes close to her home, on its way to a sinister place called Devil's Kitchen where children are enslaved, and become subjects of evil experiments. Though she has never known where the train actually went, the sound of it has always terrified her.

In the course of her experiences, Miriam becomes a strong young woman, and her resourcefulness and courage make for a great adventure. Mana proves to be not just a governess, and the two boys have parts to play in the story.

 

 

In book two, The Devil's Kitchen we see just what those horrors are.

 

The book opens with Miriam and Simon on the terrifying train known as the Night Watchman Express. She is immediately thrown into a prison, the infamous `Devil's Kitchen' and forced to labor in horrible conditions. Simon is also held captive, in a prison of a very different sort, but one that is a prison nonetheless.

Miriam strength and courage make both friends and enemies for her in the frightening underworld of the Devil's Kitchen. She grows into a much more likeable, resourceful girl, while trying to maintain her sense of self and keeping her dignity while being forced to labor and live in the most the appalling conditions. Simon also is forced to find his courage and his strength and use his wits to survive the situation that he finds himself in.

Neil has found himself in a more comfortable but still extremely dangerous position in his effort to rescue Miriam, but has found support in Mana’s secret return and in an unexpected friend.

 

The 3rd book in the series, Lamplighter's Special is a wild journey to the islands, featuring Neil's sisters, Ninna and Lizzie. They too are caught-up in the dark world of those who search for the Crown Phoenix. While they are searching for their brother, they are forced into servitude, forming close friendships with the young men of the manor, Priam and Toby, despite the restrictions on such fraternization.  Everyone wants the Crown Phoenix which Miriam's father invented, and they will stop at nothing to gain it.

Lizzie's and Ninna's stories are told almost as if they were in a fairy tale, but it is a tale with a gritty steampunk quality that makes it a perfect rainy weekend read. There is danger, there is darkness, and suspense; there is a serious good vs. evil plot. I found that I was thinking about the characters at the end, and wondering what was going to happen next.

I LOVE this series!  I am buying this series in BOOK FORM (!) for my nieces and nephews.  They will love it as much as I do. You can also read Alison DeLuca's wonderful post on her characters Neil, Kyoge and Riki at my other blog, Life in the Realm of Fantasy.