Review: Cold Fire by James Hartley with Giveaway

COLD FIRE

Shakespeare's Moon Act II

by James Hartley
Lodestone Books
YA Retelling / Fantasy

 Set in the magical boarding school of St Francis', Cold Fire centres around a group of teenagers who become involved in the tale of Romeo and Juliet in this contemporary re-telling of the classic story. Meanwhile, four hundred years earlier, a young teacher from Stratford Upon Avon arrives at the school. His name is Will... From the author of The Invisible Hand comes the second book in the spellbinding Shakespeare´s Moon series.

Purchase Links

Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cold-Fire-Shakespeares-Moon-Act/dp/178535762X

Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Fire-Shakespeares-Moon-Act/dp/178535762X

MY TIDBITS

Life at a modern boarding school weaves through an intricate web of love, mystery and teenage uncertainty in this fresh and slightly edgy retelling of Romeo and Juliet.

This isn't a simple retelling of Romeo and Juliet in more modern times, but rather the author has created a mystical, mysterious and an emotional tale which brings the Shakespearean masterpiece to a level fitting modern day minds. Set in a boarding school in Scotland, the story concentrates not only on Gillian and Romeo but rotates around an entire group, allowing for several stories to flow simultaneously. Included in this is the tale of a teacher from 400 years before and his experiences, which shadow similarities to that of the main characters. It's an intriguing mix, which adds just the right amount of mystery and magic to grab and hold without becoming overpowering.

I didn't read the first book in the series, which might have explained some foggy points surrounding the school. But this was by no means an issue. It was easy to dive into the characters and plot, and can be read as a stand alone without any problems. The first pages grab and let Gillian and some of her problems as well as personality come to light. The next chapters continue with a gasp of boredom into the next scenes and keep the pace high. The story includes that of several characters, a switch which runs smoothly and without confusion. This constant motion, however, did create a little lack of character depth, especially in the first chapters. But the pages hooked, and it was no problem to read this in one sitting.

Summed up, this is a lovely retelling which offers modern day teens a refreshing and grabbing way to dive into a classical story. It will be interesting to see which of Shakespeare's tales the author brings life to next.



And here he is...

James was born on the Wirral, England, in 1973 on a rainy Thursday. He shares his birthday with Bono, Sid Vicious and two even nastier pieces of work, John Wilkes Booth and Mark David Chapman.

His mother was a hairdresser with her own business and his father worked in a local refinery which pours filth into the sky over the Mersey to this day. They married young and James was their first child. He has two younger brothers and a still-expanding family in the area. As an Everton fan he suffered years of Liverpool success throughout the seventies and was thrilled when his father took a job in Singapore and the family moved lock, stock and two smoking barrels to Asia.

He spent five fine years growing up in the city state before returning to the rain, storms, comprehensive schools and desolate beauty of the Scottish east coast. Later years took he and his family to baking hot Muscat, in Oman, and a Syria that has since been bombed off the surface of the planet.

James lives in Madrid, Spain, with his wife and two children.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesHartleyBooks/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jameshartleybks

Good reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15801088.James_Hartley

Website: www.jameshartleybooks.com

GIVEAWAY!!!

Win 5 x Signed copies of Cold Fire with a special tactile pen (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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Review: Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

WINTERSONG

by S. Jae-Jones

St. Martin's Griffin

YA Fantasy

448 pages

Coming. . .

February 7th, 2017!!!

Beware the goblin men and the wares they sell.

All her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns.

But when her sister Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Käthe go—for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the land, in accordance with the old laws. A life for a life, he says. Without sacrifice, nothing good can grow. Without death, there can be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts.

Down in the Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires her—musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms, Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music, or the end of the world.

MY TIDBITS

There are amazingly wonderful things in these pages--extremely amazing, but there was one larger element that left me feeling a little short. Since I read this in one sitting (and wasn't intending to), I'm hitting the 5-stars. Anything that can grab my undivided attention, and leave me reading long after bedtime, deserves it.

This story rubs elbows with several other tales: Der Earlkoenig (a German poem from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), the Labyrinth, and Hades/Persephone. What I appreciated--and was not expecting--was the poetic, dark beauty in the writing. The descriptions are simply a treat. The author brings a cruel, lovely, sinister and alluring world to life through elegant depictions and writing. Not only the familiar human world comes to life, but the Underworld with all of its quirks and oddities gains clarity and lures in. In other words, it's not the lightest read.

The story has depth, not action. The pacing is steady and tense due to character depth, decisions, self-discovery and emotions. The main character, Liesl, does run into danger a few times, and although these do create angst, this is not the style which dominates the story. I believe this is a book readers will love or dislike, and much of that is based on whether the reader connects to Liesl or not. She is the center of the plot--how she comes to terms with the task, the world, the Goblin King and, mainly, herself. Everything rotates around her relationship/attitude to the Goblin King. So if she, as a character, falls flat for the reader, than the plot doesn't have much of a chance.

That's my biggest problem with this book as well. I did find Liesl intriguing and thoroughly enjoyed the masks and layers of the Goblin King. But there weren't as many layers to the plot. The first half of the book promises more intrigue as the Goblin King lays his trap. The side characters are present and have a stronger interaction in the tale, offering various possibilities and angles. The second half, however, switches to a concentration on Liesl and the Goblin King with only shadows of other players involved. Liesl has only one direction she can basically head toward, and this narrows the possibilities for surprising layers or unknown twists down, making the second half a little deeper and slower than the first.

One thing that also stuck out to me (and I enjoyed this tremendously) was the very real, historical background at the beginning of the story. The atmosphere of Vienna, musicians, Mozart, the king's musical court...all of this is brought to life like a gentle fog. Although the book never visits these places completely, the roots are clear and give the story a nice, real base. The setting in Bavarian forests is also very realistic. And this glance at a true, historical reality adds a nice touch.

I received this book as a Fantasy for young adults (YA), but it does not come across as a YA read. Not only is Liesl slightly over the border age wise, but her sights are set on goals more associated with new adults (NA). The topics, themes and her desires lean toward an older audience and don't fall into the main YA stream.

Summed up, this was a read which pulls into a creepily poetic, beautiful world. The Goblin King is as dark, layered and mysterious as promised, and his realm comes to life with all sorts of horrible creatures and details. It's eerie, alluring and tempting. Fans of fairy tale re-tellings, the Labyrinth and dark, mythological undertones should definitely pick this one up and dive in.