Ahoy there me mateys! A combination of Jane Yolen and unicorns with a title like that! How could I resist. And what an odd little tale it was.

Unicorns in this are magical wild tricky animals that like golden apples. The monks need the golden apples to make cider to sell to repair the abbey. But the unicorns are winning! Nothing the monks do seems to work. Even heroes are having problems. Then young James, the duke's son, is sent to the abbey to study. Might he have the answer?

I loved the monastery and James and the monks. The world Yolen portrays is fun with elements of silliness. The character of James and the atmosphere at the abbey are what I loved about the book. The unicorns almost seem like an afterthought in a good way. Which is crazy but awesome.

This short novel (192 pages) is supposedly for middle grade readers. Bah! I loved it and the clever twists on classic fairy tale themes. Plus is has beautiful illustrations. Lots of reviews seem to recommend it for boys only! Bah! Girls can and certainly should read this one too. James' older sister is awesome.

Loved it!

This review was originally posted on https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys! As a reader I tend to have me favorite genres and authors. However I also like to experience new cultures and ideas. That is one of the best things about having this Log - I get recommendations on novels from readers all over the world.

One of me more favorite things going around the blogosphere is the call to read more diverse books. This particular novel was called to me attention by Aimal @ bookshelves and paperbacks in one of her diversity spotlight thursday posts. It deals with a female/female relationship in the Middle East. I sadly know little about that part of the world outside of some few non-fiction books I have read. I do believe in the rights of LGBTQ persons and so the look into a culture dealing with a rather unspoken issue intrigued me. I picked up a copy.

The story is set in Tehran, The main protagonist, Sahar, has been in love with her best friend, Nasrin, since she was six and has always wanted to marry her. This story is told from her point of view. Nasrin, does love Sahar but is conflicted about going against her parents and society's expectations. Their love could spell death for both of them if they are found out. Then, Nasrin's parents arrange a marriage for her. How is Sahar going to handle this and what can she do to stop it?

Sahar's perspective is heart-wrenching. If possible, I like to write me reviews immediately after finishing a book so that I can capture me thoughts clearly. But this novel had me pondering for hours about me feelings of the culture, religion, and interpersonal relationships of the characters. Also how do ye write a review of a novel about a culture that you know so little about and have only this one author's work on a serious issue to form an opinion? Well here goes . . .

Ultimately this book seems to this Captain to be a realistic portrayal of young forbidden love in a very conservative society. In particular, I found the transgender issues to be eye-opening. I had no idea that the culture and religion in Iran allowed for transgendered people to undergo sex-reassignment surgery. Of course, just because it is allowed that does not make the choices or consequences easy. The book was very clear on that.

In terms of characters, I loved Sahar. She is intelligent, loyal, and loving. She literally seems willing to go through any lengths for her love. I was not as enthralled with Nasrin. Though her love for Sahar did seem genuine, she also seemed like a spoiled rotten brat pretty much throughout the entire novel. I did try to empathize with how enormously hard it would be for her to go against society and her parents and face negative consequences. But alas, I felt that Sahar always deserved better.

Why? Because in this story young teens' love can somehow always seem to be the end all be all of life. Sahar seems to be the one willing to give up everything for love. Nasrin takes a more traditional and in some ways more realistic approach.

Do I wish with all my heart that Sahar and Nasrin could have had their choice to be together fulfilled? That they lived in a society where being together could have been a viable choice? That they could somehow live happily ever after. Yes. Very much yes.

But from a different perspective, Nasrin wanted children. I don't know about alternative means of having children in Tehran but would it even be possible if she and Sahar had stayed together? Would Sahar grow to be fed up with Nasrin's selfishness? Would an everyday relationship grown to be a strain without the "forbidden aspects" of their relationship adding spice? I am not saying that first love is lesser or that their relationship seemed false. It definitely seemed real in this novel. But life does force unwanted paths sometimes. The ending of the novel seemed to suggest that life would somehow work out for the both of them but perhaps not ever in the manner in which they first wanted. At least I hope so . . .

So I found this novel to be compelling, thought-provoking, and certainly worth everyone reading. I will continue to foray into diverse books. It may not make me a better person but the perspectives are certainly not my own and they different cause me to challenge my own understandings and for that I am grateful . . .

See me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys! I am a fan of fairytale retellings and so when I saw the title and this cover, I was intrigued. It is a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses and I love that story. The highlights of this story were the main character, Zita and her friend Breckin, the stableboy. I liked how a 13th princess was added to the story and how she had to save the day. With the help of her friends of course.

The plot does meander a bit and I knew the evil character practically at once so that hampered me enjoyment a little. However Zita is lively and smart and loving. The 12 princesses are basically interchangeable and hard to tell apart. But getting more of the story from the perspective of the working characters of the kingdom like the Cook, soldiers, and such was a nice twist. I also liked the juxtaposition of Zita the servant and Zita the princess.

Altogether this book is worth a read but I do not believe I would add it to me favorites shelf to be reread.

To see me other reviews, check out https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Sadly me mateys, it is time to abandon ship!

Ye see, I got this one from a local library which of course has deadlines. Despite the short length and the adequate time before the return date, I read a little over half of the novel before the book was due. Now normally that would make me one grumpy Captain. I just shrugged and put the book on hold again. Should have been a sign. Then I got the novel a second time and started readin’ again only to bail out.

This book started out strong. The story concerns Jack Buckles who is in London with his family because his father has died . . . or has he? Turns out Jack is the 13th Buckles and thus a tracker in a secret society who has secret abilities.

I adore the setting and the premise of the story. It deals with the real life mystery of the Great Fire of London in 1666 whose cause remains unknown to this day. There is a nice blending of historical people and places. There were some nods to Sherlock and Watson. I loved the magic properties of “sparking.” The ideas of the second secret London Tube system were particularly lovely. I so wanted it to exist. It made me miss living in London with a fierce ache.

Then why abandon it? Small things that added up. Basically Jack spends over half the book bumbling around clueless and being dragged around by Gwen, a girl who has grown up in the secret society. Gwen has answers to many of Jack’s questions. However, there is so much action, that most of the time ye find out the answer after something has happened in a “info-dump” dialogue format while they are running to their next action setting. It started to bug me.

Other small details: Sadie, Jack’s sister, is around in the beginning to help set-up the story then conveniently “gets locked up” early on and Jack just leaves her there. The villain was introduced early on and seemed rather two dimensional. The sheer number of buildings, towers, and streets that the characters visit for what seems like moments before dashing away again.

It just didn’t float me boat. I know it is a series and so perhaps the info-dumps will lessen and the plot will thicken but I will not be perusing the rest. I am in the minority on this one it seems so feel free to disagree with me and point me towards yer opposing reviews!

See me other reviews on me blog at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys! I discovered this novella with the premise of “Pirates. Sharks. And a woman walking across the sea in a storm.” Well a sea story always strikes me fancy and with a tagline like that I decided to give it a go. At 75 pages this was a fast and enjoyable read.

The story begins with Captain Patara and his crew, fleeing pirates in a massive storm. They find a woman walking on the waves and take her aboard. Obviously she is no normal passenger.

Parara is the central figure in the story and I truly liked him. He is pragmatic and hardworking and kinda stubborn. Among his crew is his son, Ashturma. He is an idealist and a bit of a dreamer. The two figures have been at odds for some time. The woman they have picked up, Idhaji, is a mage on a mission. Her presence causes tensions to rise between father and son.

The magic in this novella was light but a tantalizing glimpse of a bigger structure. The world building was fairly simple but drawn well. And the ending! Well it was unexpected and made me smile because of it.

So if ye want something quick and enjoyable, give it a go!

See me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

So me crew had been adding this novel left and right to their ports for plunder lists . . . know as tbr to ye landlubbers. So I read the blurb. It is a Russian fairy tale retelling set in the middle ages which appealed to me. Plus it had a beautiful cover.

This book was savoury and a delight. I was instantly entranced by the scene of the household of Pyotr Vladimirovich gathered around the hearth listening to a story. This story within a story set up the novel perfectly. It only got better from there.

I fell in love with the main character, Vasya. She is strong, brave, loving, and unique. Her relationships with her family members were absolutely wonderful to read about. I particularly liked her relationship with her brother Alyosha. It felt so refreshing to read about families that cared and loved one another especially when life’s conditions were so very hard.

The juxtaposition of Christianity and pagan beliefs in this book were fascinating. I loved that people could practice both because Christianity was for the afterlife and pagan beliefs were to survive the harsh realities of day-to-day living. The Rus’ vazila and the use of horses in the story especially tickled me fancy.

The author’s writing was rich and beautiful, making me want to delve into and discover the story. I was transported into another space and time where the blending of myth and village life seemed real, possible, and achingly beautiful in its own way.

Words fail me really, so check out me other crew members reviews where they describe the feel of this novel better than I ever could:

Erin @ Proud Book Hoarder

Emily May @ The Book Geek

Side note: This was the author’s debut novel and apparently is the first in a trilogy? It ended as though a standalone so I am interested to see where the next book will go.

So lastly . . .

Thank you Random House!

See me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys! So do ye like strong female Dominican-American protagonists, MMA, Thai mythology, crime novels, Muay Thai, and cats? If so this novel might float yer boat.

I first heard about this book from John Scalzi’s 2014 Big Idea post, which is where the author does an interview with Scalzi that discusses the inspiration for the novel. Among these inspirations were men being condescending to women fighters and the author’s frustration about it. Now this novel is way out of me normal genre range – martial arts, urban fantasy, and crime elements. But the ideas behind the author’s impetus for writing stuck with me and the book continued to sit in me ports for plunder list.

A little over two years later, I finally bought the novel and gave it a chance. One of the interesting things about the novel is that the beginning of the book alternates chapters between Jade’s story (the MMA fighter) and the story of Mya, a little girl caught up in the supernatural.

Now the Big Idea post did in fact use the phrase “supernatural bent,” which I of course had ejected from me brain. It did not mention Mya or the non-fighting aspects of the novel at all. So I found meself highly confused the first time the novel switched perspectives. It felt like two completely separate novels for the majority of the book which some readers might dislike. But I loved both and found the switches back and forth to me taste because each character was so compelling. And of course the two halves come together as a whole later on in ways that were unexpected and fun.

I loved Jade and her bad-ass nature and her growth and her relationship with her family and the other fighters. I adored Mya and her spunk and determination. The novel was compelling and offers glimpses of cultures and ideas way outside of me normal day-to-day life. The only minor gripe was that Jade did not sound like a 17 year old. So overall I consider this book a major success.

Side note: At $1.99 this book was a bargain. Also the author apparently has won awards for her science fiction. More books for the ports to plunder list!

To see more of me reviews visit https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there mateys! Though the first mate and I have very different reading tastes, occasionally we do recommend books to each other. We were talking about the book and I enjoyed his viewpoint so I ordered him to write a review. So you get one from me and a bonus additional review from me crew. Please note that I write like I talk and the first mate writes like he thinks. Hope you enjoy!

From the Captain:

This was me first attempt at an audio book. While I have no real interest in them, this novella has only been released in audio book format and I wanted to read it. Having no way to get a hold of it otherwise, the first mate and I listened to this one together.

In terms of the audio book experience, I could do without. The first mate listens to them frequently. Now to be fair, I thought that the narration of this story as performed by Zachary Quinto was extremely well done. Way back in the day I listened to radio plays and enjoyed the medium. Now, I just feel like listening to a book is too darn slow. I can read much faster. The first mate claims that ye can listen to audio books at enhanced speeds so maybe that would help. And of course the short length of the novella was a bonus. But overall I want text.

Now the beginning of the novella was extremely well set-up. I loved the concept that 999 times out of a thousand, anyone who is intentionally killed comes back to life and that there are Dispatchers whose job it is to take advantage of this “glitch” for the betterment of society. I totally enjoyed the main character, a Dispatcher named Tony Valdez and how we were introduced to both him and his work.

But I have to admit that once the set-up is over and we get into the mystery plot of the novella I was not as excited. I mean it was fun and enjoyable but seemingly predictable in terms of the hows and whys of the who-dun-it. The world itself was the fascinating part and it was not explored nearly enough. We get glimpses of a crazy underworld, snippets of how Dispatching affects “normal folks,” and tidbits of the varied uses of Dispatching.

I sorta wish there had been no murder mystery. Of course there was a scene involving frat boys that made me happy and chuckle. I don’t believe this is Scalzi’s best work but it was worth me time for what it was.

From the First Mate:

Very interesting premise. Execution was middle of the road. Like with “Lock In,” Scalzi sets up a society-changing situation and then uses it to tell a more or less mundane noir story. The noir story is well written and the main character is fun, but the character of the detective is practically worthless (she exists solely to have the main character explain the world she lives in to her). Basically, the sci-fi elements of the story weren’t central (you could tell the same missing person story set in 1920s Chicago) and are merely whiz-bang moments.

Side Note: Apparently a print version will be coming out in 2017!

To see me others reviews check out https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/