Similar Covers

As I was browsing through Goodreads I came across the book Holding Her Breath by Nicole Green. I like the font on the cover, but it reminded me of another book, This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen.

At first, I thought that This Lullaby was simply a close up picture of Holding Her Breath, but then I noticed that while the dresses are similar the hands are slightly different. It might be a different picture all together, or the same person with a slightly different pose?

What do you think?

Review: Eon by Alison Goodman

This is an updated review that was originally from my old blog, Books may Vary.

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Eon has a dream, and a mission. For years, he's been studying sword-work and magic, toward one end. He and his master hope that he will be chosen as a Dragoneye-an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune.

But Eon has a dangerous secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a twelve-year-old boy. Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; if anyone discovers she has been hiding in plain sight, her death is assured.

When Eon's secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a deadly struggle for the Imperial throne. Eon must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic...and her life.

Pages: 544 pages (Paperback)
Publisher: Firebird; Reprint edition
Released: August 31, 2010

Ever since Eona could remember, she could see the Dragons, but in a world where women are thought to be to bring corruption in a world of dragon and magic, they are pushed aside. Eona’s master decides to disguise Eona as a male and train her to be a Dragoneye. If Eona, now known as Eon, is accepted as a Dragoneye, it will bring riches to her master and bring her into a life of stability. If she doesn't get chosen, then she'll be sent away to the salt mines. Both paths bring hardships, but only one will leave her constantly watching her back for fear of death.

Eon isn't successful at first and all seems to be lost, until the Mirror Dragon, a dragon that hasn't been seen in 500 years, shows up. Her master is pleased, Eon is pleased, and everything is hunky dory. Until Eon realizes bringing back to the Mirror Dragon made her position among the Dragoneye even more dangerous than before. Without knowing it, she's made herself a huge politic chip that is just waiting to be moved around the board. Eon will have to find her place within the Palace and find herself as well. If she doesn't succeed it will bring death and misery, not only to herself, but to everyone as well.

The story told in Eon isn't anything new. A female disguised as a man in order to infiltrate a palace is something I've read before. However, Goodman does a good job in weaving something that is somewhat predictable into a compelling and refreshing story.

Eon's struggles with her gender and trying to fit in were one of my favourite parts in the novel, but also one of the more frustrating aspects. There were many times when I wanted to reach out and tell her what the dragon was saying. I thought it was obvious, but then again because I'm not in her situation and I'm simply on the outside, so it seemed more obvious to me. Even though it was frustrating, it did make sense when you think about her point of view.

I also enjoyed the politics in the novel and seeing Lord Ido do his stuff. Even though he is one of the villains of the novel, he was one of my favourite characters to read about.

There are many great points about Eon, but I would have liked to read more about the Prince and seen more about how Eon trying to do go through life in the Palace. The ending also isn't an ending and you will have to pick up Eona when it comes out to see what will happen next in this duology. Other than that, this was a great read.

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Overall:

Eon is filled with rich characters, a refreshing plot, a lovely setting rich with Chinese and Japanese culture, and writing that flow smoothly. Even though there are many pages in this book, it never felt like an overwhelming task to finish. Everything just worked.

I enjoyed my time reading this and I can’t wait to pick up Eona!


5 stars

Thank you to Penguin Canada for providing this book for review.

Teaser Tuesdays: wk1

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"He almost died," I pointed out. "Not that I have any other experience of it, but I would guess that when people almost die, their worth automatically goes up, at least to some small degree."

~ page 184 of The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Hmmm, I've only just started this book, but I really want to know who died. What is your Teaser Tuesday?

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As I was reading through Under the Boardwalk's teaser, I came across this other meme that sounds fun.

So here's the first paragraph for The Twin's Daughter

"I was thirteen the year everything changed with a single knock at the door.

It was a strong door, sturdy oak, the kind designed to keep the worst of the world's elements outside while keeping safe the occupants on the inside. My mother was making the rounds of the neighborhood, as she often did on weekdays, preferring the use of her own feet to the carriage, while my father was no doubt at his club, regaling his friends with stories concerning the progress of the latest novel he was writing; born into great wealth, my father could afford to treat his career with leisure."

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Synopsis:

Lucy Sexton is stunned when a disheveled woman appears at the door one day…a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lucy's own beautiful mother. It turns out the two women are identical twins, separated at birth, and raised in dramatically different circumstances. Lucy's mother quickly resolves to give her less fortunate sister the kind of life she has never known. And the transformation in Aunt Helen is indeed remarkable. But when Helen begins to imitate her sister in every way, even Lucy isn't sure at times which twin is which. Can Helen really be trusted, or does her sweet face mask a chilling agenda

Review: Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto

Synopsis:

Banana Yoshimoto has a nuanced and magical ability to animate the lives of her young characters, and here she spins the stories of three women, all bewitched into a spiritual sleep. One, mourning for a lost lover, finds herself sleepwalking at night. Another, who has embarked on a relationship with a man whose wife is in a coma, finds herself suddenly unable to stay awake. A third finds her sleep haunted by another woman whom she was once pitted against in a love triangle. Sly and mystical as a ghost story, with a touch of Kafkaesque surrealism, Asleep is an enchanting new book from one of the best writers of contemporary international fiction.

Asleep
Pages: 72 of 177 pages (Hardcover)
Publisher: Grove Press
Released: July 26, 2000

The third and final novella in ‘Asleep’ is ‘Asleep’.

Terako use to be a lively and energetic person, but for some reason she can’t help but sleep all the time. She isn’t sure when it started, but realizes that whenever she is alone she just can’t help herself. The only thing that keeps her from wasting away in sleep is her boyfriend Mr. Iwanaga.

After Terako would spend time with Mr. Iwanaga, she’d usually talk to her best friend, Shiori, about it. However, Shiori commits suicide and Terako feels a sense of loss and loneliness from it. She can’t talk to her boyfriend about Shiori as he has his own problems to deal with. His wife has been in a coma for several months now and even though he’s in a relationship, he can’t let her go. Naturally, he doesn’t want to talk about it, but Terako finds herself growing more and more fascinated about his wife and waiting for the day when he finally lets go of his wife and comes to her, body, mind, and soul.

I feel like Asleep could relate to anyone who has ever been in a standstill in their life. When something happens and you find yourself in a rut, it’s hard to come out of it and you find yourself almost in a trance. It isn’t until someone gives you a wake-up call that you start to change your life.

Banana Yoshimoto’s simple prose and dreamlike setting worked incredibly well here. To me, this was her strongest story in this collection.

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Overall:

I liked the story; I mean I really, really liked this story. The sense of loneliness, even though you are with someone that you feel from both Terako and Mr. Iwanaga was sad, but interesting to watch. Both of them had to overcome their own demons if they wanted to have a proper relationship. Even though they both suffered from different things, they were still connected by Mr. Iwanaga’s wife. I do wish this was longer, but it was great.

4.5 stars

Review: Love Songs by Banana Yoshimoto

Synopsis:

Banana Yoshimoto has a nuanced and magical ability to animate the lives of her young characters, and here she spins the stories of three women, all bewitched into a spiritual sleep. One, mourning for a lost lover, finds herself sleepwalking at night. Another, who has embarked on a relationship with a man whose wife is in a coma, finds herself suddenly unable to stay awake. A third finds her sleep haunted by another woman whom she was once pitted against in a love triangle. Sly and mystical as a ghost story, with a touch of Kafkaesque surrealism, Asleep is an enchanting new book from one of the best writers of contemporary international fiction.

Love Songs
Pages: 36 of 177 pages (Hardcover)
Publisher: Grove Press
Released: July 26, 2000

The second story in Asleep is Love Songs. Just like Night and Night Traveler, Love Songs deals with death and the aftermath of it. Fumi and Haru were sworn rivals. They both loved the same man and instead of making him choose, they both stayed with him knowing that the other would be there. The rivalry started off small, but grew to vicious insults and even fights. In the end, their lover disappeared and Fumi and Haru went their separate ways.

Fumi moved on, but lately, she’s been drinking more and more and hearing a sweet song as she sleeps. She doesn’t know why this is happening, so she asks her current boyfriend Mizuo for help. He tells her that it’s probably someone who died and wants to talk to Fumi. The only person they can think of is Haru and once they find out that she’s passed on, Mizuo takes Fumi to a midget medium who can help.

Love Songs is ultimately a story about finding peace and how people affect us. Even though Fumi and Haru hated each other, they did find solace in the other’s company. When their lover disappeared, they knew that they would never see each other again. Not only did they like each other, but they felt just as lonely knowing that they wouldn’t see each other again.

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Overall:

Love Songs takes an interesting look at regret and sadness. I still found it hard to believe that two girls would stay with a guy like that, especially, when the girls continue to fight one another. But the relationship, despite their sticky situation, was fun to read. It did make me wonder, “If Fumi and Haru met under different circumstances, what would have happened?”

4 stars

Review: Night and Night's Travelers by Banana Yoshimoto

Synopsis:

Banana Yoshimoto has a nuanced and magical ability to animate the lives of her young characters, and here she spins the stories of three women, all bewitched into a spiritual sleep. One, mourning for a lost lover, finds herself sleepwalking at night. Another, who has embarked on a relationship with a man whose wife is in a coma, finds herself suddenly unable to stay awake. A third finds her sleep haunted by another woman whom she was once pitted against in a love triangle. Sly and mystical as a ghost story, with a touch of Kafkaesque surrealism, Asleep is an enchanting new book from one of the best writers of contemporary international fiction.

Night and Night's Travelers
Pages: 65 of 177 pages (Hardcover)
Publisher: Grove Press
Released: July 26, 2000


Night and Night's Traveler is from the book Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto. Instead of reviewing the book as a whole, I decided to review each short story in the book.

I’ve wanted to read Banana Yoshimoto’s books for awhile now, but sadly, I never got the chance to. After I found the book at the library, I knew that this was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. Asleep contains three stories, each of them dealing with a facet of sleeping. The first short story is called Night and Night’s Traveler.

The story is about Shibami, except it isn’t. Shibami is the narrator and reveals to us the life of her brother, Yoshihiro....except that the story isn’t about Yoshihiro. It’s more about how his death affects the lives of his two lovers, Sarah, an American girl, and Mari, his cousin.

When Yoshihiro dies on his way to meet Mari, she becomes grief stricken and stays with his family for a year to recover. Once she moves back to her own place everything seems like it will work out, until Shibami finds Mari outside in the cold without any shoes on. This isn’t the first time Mari has been walking around late at night and she’ll be continuing to do so as the novella continues. Sarah loved Yoshihiro, but holds another secret of her own and is unable to face his family, even though she cares for them.

Night and Night’s Traveler was the weakest story in Asleep, mainly because you didn’t get a sense of the characters like you did in the other stories. I think my main problem with the story is that we don’t really see everything about Sarah or Mari. We do hear bits and pieces, but since Shibami is the narrator, we never really get the full story. Shibami is an interesting character, but I don’t think she worked as a narrator.

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Overall:

I did enjoy reading Night and Night's Traveler; I just wish that we were told more of the story. And that it was in the point of view of the person suffering, like it was in the other two stories.

3 stars