Book Review : The Autumn Palace by Ebony McKenna

The Autumn Palace (Ondine, #2) by Ebony McKenna

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Egmont Books (UK) (February 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405256389
• ISBN-13: 978-1405256384
• Available on: Amazon / The Book Depository

Synopsis

One boy, one girl, one plot to be foiled! Hamish the gorgeous man (and part time ferret) has a new job with the Duke as a spy in his Autumn Palace. So Ondine goes with him. She imagines a hugely romantic escapade together that involves lots of kissing. What she hadn't imagined was having to do endless laundry, go to school and keep Hamish the man a secret. All the while trying to find out who is plotting to kill the Duke. And if that weren't bad enough, it seems that Hamish is more interested in getting the Duke's attention than hers. Plus he's always in ferret form. Things can't go on like this! Can Ondine foil the would-be assassin, save the Duke and get her man back in gorgeous human form? It's going to take a little bit of magic, a lot of stolen kisses and some ferreting around...

Review

The Autumn Palace is also known as the 'Palechia' in Brugelish. If you're not informed about this, Brugel, the place where Ondine lives in, is a fictitious country ruled by a Duke. In this book, Ondine's boyfriend Hamish/Shambles was recruited by the Duke to act as a spy in the palace to see if anyone has ill intentions towards the Duke. Unable to stay apart from him even for a day, Ondine decided to follow him to the Palace and got herself a job as a laundress.

Basically, this book doesn't have much action in it, but for some reason, I actually like it. The story is cute and the content is clean except for a few stolen kisses between Ondine and Hamish/Shambles. The characters are quirky, in a good way. The dialogues are often witty and have a Scottish feel about them.

Some of the words/phrases are created by the author herself, so there is usually an explanation of what it means in Brugelish at the bottom of the page. That shows the author's creativity, but it also irks me slightly to have to keep on referring to it because it breaks the flow of reading.

To sum things out, this quick, light book has its charm, but there is still room for improvements. I would recommend it to teenage girls aged 13 and above.

Rating:

About The Author

The decision to leave a career in journalism was a logical choice for Ebony. There wasn't enough time in the day to write the fictional stories she wanted to tell, against the factual that she had to tell. She followed her heart towards writing science fiction, romance and young adult adventures. Ebony now writes full time and lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and young son.

Website :: Blog :: Facebook :: Twitter
Ondine & Shambles on Facebook

Also by Ebony Mckenna:

Summer of Shambles (Ondine)

Heather's Odyssey : Tour of Secrets Prizes & Rules

Attention, everyone! Heather is going to celebrate the release of her book, The Secret of Spruce Knoll by doing a blog tour and contest followed by a live chat on YA Bound August 30th with a separate giveaway. The blog tour and contest begins next Monday and ends August 31st. Here's what you can win:

1st place:

*$50 gift certificate to B&N (or the Book Depository if you're over seas).

*Autographed copy of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll

*Special swag bag

2nd place:

*Swag bag filled with:

*Autographed copy of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll

*Spoiled by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

*Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

*Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

*A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

3rd place:

*Autographed copy of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll

*Swag bag

You can earn extra points, but if you don’t want to, you don't have to. You can just be a follower of Heather's Odyssey and leave a comment saying you'd like to enter to win. But if you want extra points/entries, please go to Heather's Odyssey for more details.

What are you waiting for?

Go to Heather's Odyssey to join the fun now!

Book Review : Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

"Living is a risk. Every decision, every interaction, every step, every time you get out of bed in the morning, you take a risk. To survive is to know you're taking that risk and to not gt out of bed clutching illusions of safety."

Magic Study (Study #2) by Maria V. Snyder

Paperback, 443 pages

Published December 1st 2008 by Mira
Available at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Synopsis

Yelena is on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago. Although she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways, and her newfound friends and relatives don't think it's for the better. Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magical training. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince, and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians. If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with her new enemies.

Aik's Review

Things get more interesting in Magic Study as Yelena Zaltana returns to her homeland in search for her long-lost family. Her parents are happy and relieved to get her back, but her brother seems to be bitter and unwelcoming.

In this book, she encounters more troubles and embarks on more exciting adventures in an attempt to prove that she is not a spy from Ixia and also to capture an inhumane murderer who has killed eleven girls in his quest to gain strong, unbeatable magic power.

This is another one of Maria V. Snyder's books that I highly recommend. But make sure you read the first book before reading this one so that you have a better understanding of Yelena's journey.

Note: The author slightly mentioned about a rape scene and one about Yelena sleeping together with Valek, but there are no detailed descriptions.

Rating:

Read my review of Poison Study (Study #1) by Maria V. Snyder
Read my review of Fire Study (Study, #3) by Maria V. Snyder

About The Author

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maria V. Snyder attended 12 years of catholic school before going to Penn State University to study Meteorology. Earning a Bachelors of Science degree in Meteorology, Maria discovered, much to her chagrin, that forecasting the weather wasn't one of her skills. She found employment in the environmental field as an air quality scientist, and it was during those years that she began writing. After writing many science fiction short stories, Maria started Poison Study, her first novel about a food taster.