Amazon | Goodreads
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Everyone knows Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of friendship and betrayal, love and jealousy: Othello. But the real story lies deep in the culture and biases of Venice and the childhood of a young man named Iago who could not escape his status as “runt of the litter” in his family nor his “distasteful” tendencies toward honesty that made him a social outcast.
In Nicole Galland’s I, Iago we follow Iago from his childhood days playing pranks with young, naive Roderigo to falling in love with Emilia to betraying his closest friends and family, sealing his fate as one of the most notorious villains of all time.
Review: I am a huge, huge fan of the Classics Retold genre. If this genre has an actual name, I don’t know what it is. Classics Retold is just what I call them. I was first introduced to this genre in college. Jane Eyre is one of my all time favorite books. I’ve read it so many times, I’ve lost count. In college, I was taking a literature class where we were slated to read Jane Eyre followed by a book entitled Wide Sargasso Sea. I had never heard of the second book, but I soon found out that Wide Sargasso Sea is a re-telling of Jane Eyre from the viewpoint of Rochester’s crazy wife, who is living in the attic of his home.
I was so intrigued by the concept! A well-know and beloved story being told from a different viewpoint! So awesome! I went on to seek out more of these re-tellings, and eventually found The Mists of Avalon, The Firebrand, Wicked, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and so many more that I am not going to attempt to list them all. I was completely smitten with these books, and continue to be smitten with them.
About a month ago, I received an email from TLC Book Tours, announcing the tour for a book entitled I, Iago. I was instantly intrigued! One, because I could tell that it was a Classic Retold just from the title, but also because Othello is my favorite Shakespearean play. I volunteered to be a part of the book tour and was accepted!
So, what did I think of I, Iago? I simply loved it!
First, I must give Galland credit for having the guts to take on Shakespeare. This kind of endeavor was going to be epically spectacular or an epic fail. Kudos to her for taking on one of the greatest writers of all time, AND for doing it successfully. Galland took one of the most infamous and hated characters from all of literature, and crafted his story in an amazing way. I, Iago is one part historical fiction, one part the re-telling of Othello from Iago’s point of view, and another part, the most fantastic part, the creation of a life and past for Iago that was not included in the play.
In order for this novel to work, Galland had to get the reader to like a character that most readers would most certainly hate when they approached this work. What would make a reader who dislikes Iago even consider reading this novel is that, perhaps, we might get an explanation as to why Iago is such a malicious character in the play. Additionally, the novel had to have enough pay-off for the reader, because most people know exactly how the book is going to end.
Galland’s crafting of this story is superb and accomplishes every single thing that it needed to to lure in the reader and make the time spend reading this book be time well spent. First, Galland pulls the reader into the rich and complex societal construct of ancient Venice. We learn from Iago, the narrator of his own tale, how he is a lowly youngest son of a wealthy silk merchant. Because of his position as the youngest, he has fewer career choices available to him, because he is not his father’s heir. His life is further constricted by Venetian society and what it expects from someone of Iago’s social standing.
Next, Galland accomplished what I expected that she would not be able to do: she made me like and care about Iago. I grew to really like Iago as a character through the course of the novel. I was rooting for him and his various situations, despite knowing the ultimate conclusion to his story. I also felt like Galland masterfully answered so many of the questions that arise about Iago’s behavior within the play, while remaining true to Shakespeare’s work.
My only complaint about this novel, which isn’t even truly a complaint, was that the first half of the novel read very slowly. It was pact with detail and wonderful character development, which led to a bit of density in the text.
Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through TLC Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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It’s that time again! This week’s question is:
This Sunday in the U.S. is Mother’s Day, in celebration, what are some of your favorite books with strong mother/child relationships?
Hmmm…this is a good question because it is not one I have given much thought to! I’d say Gone With the Wind, Little Women, House Rules, Divergent and Insurgent.
What about you?
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Amazon | Goodreads
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Hannah can’t wait to sneak off for a romantic weekend with her boyfriend, Colin. He’s leaving for college soon, and Hannah wants their trip to the lake house to be one they’ll never forget.
But once Hannah and Colin get there, things start to seem a bit…off. They can’t find the town on any map. The house they are staying in looks as if someone’s been living there, even though it’s been deserted for years. And Colin doesn’t seem quite himself. As he grows more unstable, Hannah worries about Colin’s dark side, and her own safety.
Nothing is as perfect as it seems, and what lies beneath may haunt her forever.
Review: I was completely seduced by the cover of this novel. It is striking and I had immediate cover love. I read the synopsis on Amazon and thought it sounded great, so I snatched it up (in a virtual manner). I was, unfortunately, quite disappointed with this book.
I thought the author’s writing style was great. I had zero problem getting into the story. The book read very quickly, also.
My problems were with the characters and the plot. The characters lacked depth. I didn’t feel connected to them, I didn’t particularly like or dislike them, they were just outside my reach. The plot of the novel sounds very intriguing from the description, and it was, until it veered off course about half way through, and then completely fell apart. The story became convoluted and since I was already having no connection to the characters, I became pretty annoyed and just wanted to be finished with the book. The ending was very lackluster and I came away from this book with a sense of having wasted my time.
I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. If you feel you must read it, get a second-hand copy or check it out of the library.
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Last night, I had the immense pleasure of meeting the amazing Veronica Roth. I was totally starstruck! And the bookstore where the signing took place was PACKED! There was easily 200 people there. Three people had driven 6 hours to attend the signing!
Ms. Roth did a reading from Insurgent, did a Q & A session with the attendees and then signed her heart out! Pictures from the event can be viewed by clicking on the Flickr widget in the right sidebar.
While I was having my own books signed, I had Ms. Roth sign a shiny new copy of Insurgent just for you! You know you want to win it, so here’s the rules!
- You must be at least 13 years old to enter the giveaway
- You must FILL OUT THE FORM. Entries will not be accepted through the comments (although feel free to leave a comment! It makes my day!)
- There are no extra entries on this giveaway, but please don’t let that stop you from signing up for the RSS feed or becoming a site follower in the hundred different ways that are available here
- The giveaway will run from today until May 18, 2012, at 11:59PM PST.
Good luck!
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April was just an OK reading month for me. I read 11 books, in print or e-book format. I absolutely could have read a few more books this month but life kept getting in the way of my reading.
The books I read in April are:
- The Kissing List by Stephenie Reents
- Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
- Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
- The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison
- Point, Click, Love by Molly Shapiro
- Wild Wild Death by Casey Daniels
- Kitty’s Big Trouble by Carrie Vaughn
- White Cat by Holly Black
- I Couldn’t Love You More by Jill Medoff
- Torn by Amanda Hocking
- Ascend by Amanda Hocking
I think my favorite book for the month of April was White Cat. It totally blew me away. I love Holly Black. She is truly excellent. My most disappointing read for April was The Kissing List.
I finally got around to (finishing) setting up my Google+ page for this site. I also added a link to my Pinterest account. Links to both sites can be found under About RwM in the left sidebar.
There was some unfortunate drama in the book blogging world in April. A prominent book blogger was accused of plagiarism. You can read my take on the situation here.
How was your April?
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Amazon | Goodreads
Synopsis from Goodreads:
For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.
But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself- and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.
Review: I have so much cover love for this book! It is just gorgeous!
I enjoyed this book. I had some issues with it, but overall, it was a solid read. The book read very quickly. The plot kept a really excellent pace. And this book wasn’t too heavy. There was a fluffy quality to this novel that I enjoyed. I do not mean fluffy in a bad way at all. Some books are just heavier on the brain than others. This book was definitely on the lighter side.
The characters were well-rounded and likeable. In the beginning, I had a little trouble with America. Mostly, I think I disliked her because I found her name to be ridiculous, but eventually I got over that and came to really enjoy her. I found Prince Maxon to be quite charming and I liked him a lot. I didn’t like Aspen as much as I think I was supposed to. There is a definite love triangle aspect to this novel but I was all about rooting for Prince Maxon because I really just didn’t care for Aspen.
The plot was interesting. It reminded me quite a bit of Ally Condie’s Matched. There are some very distinct differences, though, so I didn’t have any copycat issues. I became invested in the plot and the characters enough to be agitated by the semi-cliffhanger ending, so the plot was good! It moved at a great pace and really kept me engaged.
My primary issue with this book was that it is billed as being a dystopian novel, and I couldn’t disagree more. Perhaps the dystopian aspects will be more fleshed out in the second book in this series, I don’t know. But I do know dystopian literature. It is possibly my favorite genre to read, and this book was not dystopian. No one is forced to participate in the Selection, there were no “Big Brother” aspects to the book…basically, it is a country that is ruled by a King and Queen, has a caste system in place, and is at war with some rebels. A monarchy system and a caste system do not a dystopia make. The war with the rebels was really sketchy and I was never quite sure what was being fought for or against.
I hope that these issues become more clear in the next book, which I will absolutely read! I would definitely recommend this book!
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Before I begin my thoughts on this situation, I want to make the following very clear. I do not know Kristi Diehm, a.k.a. The Story Siren. I was a reader of her blog, I followed her on Twitter, I was a participant in the Debut Author Challenge that she hosts, and a participant in the In My Mailbox meme that she hosts. Anything I say within this post is not a judgment upon Kristi as a person. These are my thoughts on the situation at hand and how I am responding to that situation.
Back story: I am not going to rehash the details of this situation. You are probably well aware of what has happened. I am going to provide the following links to information that you can read on your own, in the event that you are not familiar with this situation.
This previous Monday evening, I was reading my Facebook feed on my phone when I saw a blog post come through from The Story Siren. The post was her initial apology. I read the apology, which was very vague and I had no clue as to what was being discussed. I hopped onto Twitter and didn’t immediately see any chatter about The Story Siren or what she was apologizing for exactly. I sent a tweet to a blogger I trust, asking if she knew what the apology was referencing. She sent me a link to Beautifully Invisible or Smart Bitches, I cannot honestly remember which. From there, I finally was able to get the story behind the initial apology. Kristi, The Story Siren, had been accused of plagiarism.
To say that I was confused and stunned would be massive understatements. I was confused by how vague Kristi’s apology was and stunned by the accusation. Kristi is a prominent book blogger. A book blogger who has taken an adamant stance against plagiarism and had written blog posts on what it was and how to avoid it (those posts have since been removed). I read the posts on Beautifully Invisible, Grit and Glamour, and Smart Bitches recap of the whole situation. I was completely and totally floored.
Over the course of the week, Kristi issued a secondary apology, the plagiarized parties posted more information, and an all out war erupted on Twitter between people who were angry with Kristi’s actions, and those who were/are defending her. My initial reaction was to say very little. It took me awhile to process the situation and what precisely I was feeling. Then, I just wanted to avoid the drama and the hateful messages that were flying around. I decided I would say nothing. What could I say that hasn’t already been said, anyway?
But the more time I spent thinking about the situation, the more I felt compelled to speak out. I am a person who stands up for what I believe in and stands against the things I find objectionable. After Rachel of Parajunkee.com blogged about boycotting and offered some of her thoughts, it was really then that I decided I would post about this situation, it just took me a few days to organize my thoughts on the matter.
So what do I have to say? I don’t discuss my personal life on this blog. That’s not what this blog is about. This is a book review and author news site, end of story. So what you might not know about me is that I am a professional writer, in addition to being a book blogger. I am not an author, to be clear. I write instructional manuals and guides for software. Because of my profession, plagiarism is a huge issue for me. Perhaps, it would be just as huge if I didn’t write for a living, but I do and it is. The idea of stealing someone else’s words, work, thoughts, is deplorable to me. I know how much effort goes into the things I write professionally and how much time I put into this blog. No one has a right to steal what I create. As far as I know, I’ve never been plagiarized. The closest thing to it that ever happened to me was a girl in high school stole a test I had taken, that she had not taken, and used my test to cheat. But that’s a little different.
My overarching thoughts on this situation are the following:
- I believe, based on the evidence that Beautifully Invisible and Grit and Glamour provided that Kristi did plagiarize them. Even if you dismiss the IP address information, the content was clearly lifted from their site, in my estimation.
- I do not believe, in general, in accidental plagiarism. Plagiarism is a deliberate act.
- I feel that Kristi’s actions reflect extremely poorly on book bloggers as a whole. There’s that old saying that one bad apple spoils the bunch. Maybe the “bunch” hasn’t been entirely spoiled, but each book blogger now carries a little bit of a taint because of Kristi’s actions. Book bloggers are not respected by many people. We are seen as irrelevant and as people who are only in it for the free books. 99% of the books I review I bought and paid for myself or I checked them out of the library. I am a member of Amazon’s Vine program, I am approached by publishers to review books, and I do participate in book tours. Those free opportunities for books represent an extremely small part of my reviews, though. I am not in this for anything free and I have always resented the implication. Now, I feel tainted by Kristi’s actions and I resent that I may be thought of poorly because of something she did. That makes me very angry. I care about my reputation and I shouldn’t have to carry the stain of someone else’s wrong doing.
- What is the responsibility here to the publishers and authors that Kristi hosts on her blog and does receive free items from? Should they be told? Since they are using her site as a promotional vehicle, don’t they have a right to know the possible stigma that is now attached to her and her site? And whose responsibility is it to inform them if they should know? Who enforces it? I don’t know what the answers to these questions are, but they have definitely been rolling around in my head.
With all of that said, where do I personally go from here? I am deeply and truly saddened by this situation, and again, my opinions and actions are based entirely on this situation and not on Kristi as a person.
I am enforcing a full boycott of The Story Siren and her website, effective immediately. What does that mean?
- I have removed her blog from my RSS feed reader
- I will no longer visit her site
- I am no longer participating in the Debut Author Challenge that she hosts. I have removed all references to the challenge from my blog and have emailed Kristi to have her remove my name and site from the list of participating blogs
- I have unliked The Story Siren Facebook page
- I have unfollowed The Story Siren on Twitter
- I am no longer participating in the In My Mailbox meme hosted by Kristi
Is this what you should do? I have no idea. Only you can answer that question. This is what I have to do because I am 100% against her actions and will not lend my support, in any fashion, to a plagiarist. Hopefully, we can all recover from this situation and I hope that the book bloggers that are present at BEA are not adversely affected by this situation.
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It’s that time again! This week’s question is:
Have you had a character that disappointed you? One that you fell in love with and then “broke up” with later on in either the series or a stand-alone book? Tell us about him or her.
Yes, unfortunately. An answer immediately came to mind when I read this question. Once upon a time, I was obsessed with Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anite Blake series. I loved everything about it and read it for years. I even met Hamilton once. But around book 13 in the series, entitled Cerulean Sins, the series went from paranormal fantasy to paranormal porn. I hung in there for several more books, hoping it would turn around. I even left several very nice, not bashing comments on Hamilton’s blog about the turn the series had taken. But alas, it became more and more porn and less and less actual story and I had to break up with the series. 
What about you?
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Synopsis from Goodreads:
Sometimes being on the vanguard of scientific progress thrusts you into the teeth of danger. For Minnesota pharmaceutical researcher Dr. Marina Singh, that means being sent into the remotest region of the Amazon jungle to track down her former mentor. Finding Dr. Annick Swenson promises to be perilous: The last scientist assigned to find her has disappeared too. What follows is the most ambitious novel yet by Bel Canto author Ann Patchett as its adventure story opens into a penetrating study of personalities, loyalties, and ethics.
Review: Ugh. I don’t even know where to start with this book. This book was selected by my book club. I was actually pretty excited when it was chosen. I read Patchett’s The Magician’s Assistant a few years ago and I absolutely loved it. I expected equally wonderful things from this novel. Boy, was I wrong!
This book was just terrible. The plot moved so slowly that it was painful. I was bored to tears. I expected the science angle to be really compelling and interesting, but it wasn’t. The speed at which things happened just killed anything that was remotely intriguing about the story.
The characters were so flat. They were flat to the point of being interchangeable. They were also completely unlikeable.
This book was also about 75 pages longer than it truly warranted.
Long, boring, and painful sums up this novel. I would not recommend this book to anyone. I would recommend The Magician’s Assistant without hesitation, but not State of Wonder. Definitely, no.
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Amazon | Goodreads
Synopsis from Goodreads:
When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.
Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her. Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she’d ever admit. But it isn’t long before he reveals the truth: Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he’s come to take her home.
Now Wendy’s about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one that’s both beautiful and frightening. And where she must leave her old life behind to discover who she’s meant to become.
Review: I have so much cover love for this book! The covers for the entire trilogy are just gorgeous! A little back story on this book/trilogy/author. Amanda Hocking is probably the most successful self-published Young Adult author ever. She sold over 3 million copies of her books before she accepted a publishing contract from St. Martin’s Griffin. The Trylle Trilogy books were among those self-published works. After landing Hocking, St. Martin’s decided to publish the trilogy properly, and thus, here we are.
I was really impressed with the story. Wendy is a great character! I love the fairy angle to her tale. Also, I don’t think I have ever read a story written where the changeling returns to the fairy world. The closest approximation I can come up with is Brenna Yovanoff’s The Replacement. I found the plot to be unique and engaging. I also loved the cliff-hanger ending.
My only problem with this book was that I found some of the dialog to be clunky. Some of the character interactions felt really forced and fake because the dialog was off. Dialog is tricky to master and I have high hopes that the dialog problems I encountered will be evened out in the later books.
This book was a great, solid read. It read amazingly quickly. I would definitely recommend this novel.
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