Monday, November 09, 2015

Mini Reviews: The Uninvited by Cat Winters and Ungodly by Kendare Blake

From Goodreads: Twenty-five year old Ivy Rowan rises from her bed after being struck by the flu, only to discover the world has been torn apart in just a few short days. But Ivy’s life-long gift - or curse - remains. For she sees the uninvited ones - ghosts of loved ones who appear to her, unasked, unwelcomed, for they always herald impending death. On that October evening in 1918 she sees the spirit of her grandmother, rocking in her mother’s chair. An hour later, she learns her younger brother and father have killed a young German out of retaliation for the death of Ivy’s older brother Billy in the Great War. Horrified, she leaves home, to discover the flu has caused utter panic and the rules governing society have broken down. Ivy is drawn into this new world of jazz, passion, and freedom, where people live for the day, because they could be stricken by nightfall. But as her ‘uninvited guests’ begin to appear to her more often, she knows her life will be torn apart once more, but Ivy has no inkling of the other-worldly revelations about to unfold. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Having loved Cat Winters’ YA books, I was curious to see what her adult novel, The Uninvited, would be like. Since I didn’t bother reading the synopsis before beginning The Uninvited, I was surprised to find out that it was set in 1918 America, a time period Winters had already explored in her debut novel In the Shadow of Blackbirds. Like with In the Shadow of Blackbirds, ghosts and the Spanish influenza play a role in The Uninvited; but The Uninvited’s focus is more on how World War I affected everyday Americans – particularly those of German background – living in America at the time. Personally, I liked In the Shadow of Blackbirds better; but The Uninvited is still worth a read, especially if you enjoy the combination of historical and paranormal elements. 

The Uninvited was released in August 2015 by William Morrow.
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From Goodreads: For the Goddess of Wisdom, what Athena didn’t know could fill a book. That’s what Ares said. So she was wrong about some things. So the assault on Olympus left them beaten and scattered and possibly dead. So they have to fight the Fates themselves, who, it turns out, are the source of the gods’ illness. And sure, Athena is stuck in the underworld, holding the body of the only hero she has ever loved. But Hermes is still topside, trying to power up Andie and Henry before he runs out of time and dies, or the Fates arrive to eat their faces. And Cassandra is up there somewhere too. On a quest for death. With the god of death. Just because things haven’t gone exactly according to plan, it doesn't mean they’ve lost. They’ve only mostly lost. And there’s a big difference. 

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Ungodly, the final book in the Goddess War series by Kendare Blake, was a book I was looking forward to reading because I wanted to see if my favourite goddess from Greek mythology (Athena) would emerge victorious. With the way things ended in Mortal Gods, Ungodly starts at three separate points – in the Underworld with Athena and Odysseus, in Kincade with Hermes, Andie and Henry, and in California with Cassandra and Calypso. I wasn’t too keen about having to read about Cassandra without the others because she was my least favourite character in the previous books. Also, I felt that Ungodly was rushed in terms of how things were wrapped up, and wasn’t completely satisfied with the explanation given for why the gods were dying. 

Ungodly was released by Tor Teen in September 2015.  

7 comments:

  1. I liked both these books perhaps a tiny bit more than you did, but I defintiely see your point on the rushed explanations in Ungodly. Still, I adore Kendare's writing, it's always so deliciously creepy, and I look forward to seeing what she does next.

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  2. I have The Uninvited on my shelf Z, I can't wait to read it. I haven't read anything by Cat Winters yet, so I'll have nothing to compare it to and that will probably help since this one wasn't quite as strong as her previous book for you. Lovely reviews!

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  3. I haven't read either of these, but I've been wanting to read The Uninvited for a while now, I've heard so many great things about it! I'm sorry you didn't love either of these, but I'm glad you still enjoyed them :D

    Asma @ IceyBooks

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  4. I felt Uninvited was unfinished. There are a lot of things that were under developed, especially with character development. I do want to read the Blake series as I love Greek Mythology but I'm bummed that the series didn't end with a bang.

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  5. I can't say that I am very excited about the Uninvited. I may someday read it. I will however, give her debut YA a try. More my taste I think.

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  6. I wanted to read Uninvited for the same reason, I loved in The Shadow of Blackbirds. I too am a little surprised this has the same setting, I'm not sure how I would feel about that. Too bad Ungodly felt a little rushed, I want to start that series.

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  7. Ah, I didn't know Cat Winters had written an adult book. I can't say it's a priority of mine to read at the moment especially since I haven't read In the Shadow of Blackbirds yet, but I so want to try out her writing sometime. Everyone seems to rave about it!

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