Reliquiae Challenge

Success! The Reliquiae Challenge completed! And it was so much fun. I had a great time, and now my horizons have been broadened by vampires, ghosts, and goblins!


Read about the challenge here.
Ends: January 15, 2010.
Challenge level: Bite on the neck.

1. Sunshine by Robin McKinley - 10.13.09
2. The Hollow Kingdom by Clare Dunkle - 1.15.10
3. A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce - 1.12.10

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare Dunkle

Genre: Young adult fantasy
Publisher, Year: Henry Holt, 2003
Other Works: Hollow Kingdom Trilogy, The Sky Inside
Flags: Teen angst
Rating: B or Decent
Challenge: Reliquiae, Countdown, Library
Premise: A beautiful young girl finds herself the object of desire of a grotesque underworld goblin.


I think this is the first book that I’ve read that I could call a true fantasy. (Well, besides the Star Wars book I read.) And I have to say that I quite liked it--although I’ve come to realize that this sort of fantasy may just not be my thing. In other words, I’m not moving on with the rest of the trilogy; however, I think it’s completely conceivable for those whose boats were floated with this tale would be itching for the next installment.

Kate and her little sister Emily, both their parents having passed away, move to the estate that was left in their mother’s name. Their cousin lives there and two of their great aunts nearby. Unfortunately, the cousin is not all too taken with the girls, so they live happily in a small house with their elderly, but feisty, aunts. Kate loves the fresh air, the rolling hills, and the open sky of her new home, and she and her sister spend many hours outdoors, even until nightfall. +/-

One evening, they get lost walking home, and end up running into an unlikely band of people, a gypsy woman and some hooded figures, to ask for help. One of the hooded men, Marak, kindly offers to take the girls home, and although Emily is taken with him right away even without seeing his face, Kate is mistrusting. As they arrive, Kate is finally allowed to see the stranger’s hidden visage, which will set in motion a series of events that she cannot escape.

I really enjoyed the setting Dunkle created of underworld creatures, magical powers, and the mixing of reality and superstition. Although I found a few of the themes unsettling for young women, complete with kidnappings. I guess I would hope for a stronger female heroine, although I think Dunkle did try to alleviate these problems with something different in Kate. She is definitely a live wire, but I suppose I was hoping for a little bit more. I enjoyed the first two sections (Starlight and Lamplight, particularly the latter) much more than the last (Darkness). That last section I felt deviated from the main focus and rhythm of the story, to sort of make it more adventurous and introduce more problems to be solved. I think I would have been satisfied with the first two sections on their own.

Overall, I have to say, even though I’m not terribly interested to move on to the next book in the series, that it definitely had a "can't put down" quality, and it seemed that I couldn't read the book fast enough. I'd say if your tastes run toward fantasy, this one will be a slam dunk for you.

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce

Genre: Young adult/fantasy (fairy tale)
Publisher, Year: Arthur A. Levine, 2008
Other Works: Debut novel
Rating: A+ or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Reliquiae, Count, Tales, Library
Premise: The miller's daugther finds herself in a pickle, based on the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin.

I am finding that I’m a real sucker for fairy tale retellings. There is just something about them! I haven’t met a bad one yet. I hope I never do. Elizabeth Bunce’s debut novel was no exception, based off of the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin. Beautifully written, excellent story, creatively crafted. Loved it.

Charlotte is the miller’s daughter. Stirwaters mill has been in Charlotte’s family for generations—although never passed from father to son. There’s a dark cloud that hangs over the business, which only thickens as Charlotte’s father dies and she and her sister, Rosie, are left to try to run the mill alone. Problems keep cropping up: between bad weather and family obligation to machinery repairs and debt collection, Charlotte finds herself hard pressed for solutions. In the superstitious 18th century country town, the sisters happen upon a mysterious and unlikely answer to their problems, and they have to decide what they are willing to pay to save their livelihood. +/-

I was drawn into this story from the first page. Stirwaters is a spooky, yet comfortable place, and I came to love it as much as the Millers. The whole town of Shearing, where Charlotte and Rosie live, comes alive with skillfully written, colorful characters. Uncle Wheeler, Mr. Woodstone, Biddy Tom, and the most unforgettable character of Jack Spinner, round out the cast. You’d think in a novel like this one where you know the main storyline from beginning to end, that it would be hard for an author to bring such a fresh and interesting look to it! But, the book was still somehow full of moments of mystery, intrigue, and surprise.

The author very deftly described the “mill” life, acquiring wool, spinning it into thread, weaving it into cloth, and dying it to make valuable fabric. The whole process really captivated my interest. She breathed new life into this topic, making me wish I could take another trip to Lowell, Massachusetts, where they have textile museums as the trade spread to the United States. There’s nothing that can make a time period come alive like a well-written and -researched historical novel--this one happens to be both.

This book is part historical fiction, part fairy tale retelling, part fantasy. It’ll capture your attention and imagination. I’m definitely looking forward to what else Ms. Bunce may have up her sleeve.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Genre: Fantasy (Adult Fiction)
Publisher, Year: Jove, 2003
Other Works: The Blue Sword, The Hero and the Crown
Flags: Moderate Language, Explicit References
Rating: C+ or Could Have Been Worse
Challenge: Reliquiae
Premise: A single woman, baker of cinnamon rolls by trade, finds herself suddenly in the grasp of vampires. Meant to be a certain vampire’s next meal, Sunshine Seddon ends up being his friend instead. And as they build a friendship that neither one of them understands, they find a strength together that can change the world in which they live.

I enjoy Robin McKinley’s novels. I was excited for this vampire tale and had heard good things about it. Unfortunately, I feel like those praises have been mislaid. I didn’t enjoy this story as much as I had hoped, and by the end, I was doing some serious skimming just to get to the last page.

Rae “Sunshine” Seddon is just your run-of-the-mill, average girl who has a sweet tooth and a knack for baking. When suddenly she is taken captive by a dangerous vampire gang, she knows she is facing an immediate end. But, to her astonishment, she is locked up with another vampire, Constantine, who is also a prisoner of the same gang. And although she is meant to be his meal, they end up being friends instead. As they struggle to escape, Sunshine realizes powers that she never knew she had, or perhaps just never fully understood. +/-

The start of Sunshine’s story is intense. Sunshine is snatched and imprisoned before you even know it, and the action just gets more exciting from there. McKinley takes the reader up the rollercoaster--click, click, click to the apex before the dive down from the highest point. And, you’ll want to put your hands in the air for this one because it makes the ride that much more thrilling. I literally could not put it down. I had to take the morning off from work just so I could get to the end of part one. Constantine is a great character, and I could feel his steely green eyes boring into mine from the page. I also enjoyed how passionate Sunshine was about cinnamon rolls and other such baked goods. It’s like I could smell the aroma of sweet breads and could see the flour-fogged air.

However, from there, I never felt the up-swing of the rollercoaster continuing its electrifying ride. No, the story took a nose-dive for me at that point. The action began to slow until almost a stand-still I felt, and Sunshine began to speculate beyond my patience. I didn’t enjoy being inside her head. I felt like she “talked” too much. Her thoughts, splintered by asides, which were splintered by even more asides, left me feeling weary and annoyed. Not even to get into the fact that she actually saw herself in a sort of “multiple personality” way, which sort of put me off.

I didn’t at all enjoy the “world” she created full of “part-bloods,” “comboxes,” and “SOFs.” I especially did not enjoy the SOFs, the “strange creatures” police. I think I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Perhaps it was just too far fantasy for me.

I felt the book lacked an enormous amount of Constantine. I really would have liked to see more of him. It seemed to me like the connection he and Sunshine shared was somewhat unrealistic based on the amount of time they spent together. After awhile, I had a hard time seeing the Con I’d come to know in part one of the book. I felt like his character faltered, and he become rather dull by the end.

Overall, it wasn’t my favorite of McKinley’s works. I find it hard to believe she even wrote it honestly, because her writing in Sunshine seems so different compared to her other novels. Perhaps the difference was that this book was written for adults while her others were for young adults. I think the premise was a good one, I just didn’t enjoy the execution of the idea. But, I’m not giving up on her; I still think she is an excellent writer.