Light of Lorelei (Tales of Skylge #2) by Jen Minkman - Ashley's Review

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Light of Lorelei (Tales of Skylge #2)
Author: Jen Minkman
Publication Date: January 10th, 2015

My Sound of Sirens (Tales of Skylge #1) Review

Synopsis: There is no light without shadow,
no truth without sacrifice,
and no way to keep us all from harm.

Aska wants more out of life than being a temple girl in the St. Brandan Convent of Brandaris. Her life-long service to the Baeles-Weards is the only reason she wasn’t killed immediately after birth – she is atoning for the sins of her parents. Her Anglian mother and Skylger father were never supposed to love each other and have children, and Aska is reminded of her low status and illegitimacy by her fellow temple girls every day.

But then she meets Tjalling, a young, mysterious, and charming Skylger fisherman who doesn’t seem to care that he is not supposed to befriend her. Soon after they meet, the island falls prey to the largest Siren attack in the history of Skylge and Aska is beginning to doubt the wisdom of the priests. If the Light in the Tower really keeps the people from harm, why are the Shriekers taking more and more lives each day?

Adding to her inner turmoil is a secret meeting with Royce and Enna, who want to recruit her into their resistance movement, an unexpected confession from her best friend Melinda, and Aska’s realization that she likes Tjalling a bit too much for her own good.

Soon, she is going down a road there is no turning back from, forcing her to make choices that shake the foundations of her world.

For Aska, there is only one true choice – to bring the truth to light.

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Review: When I finished Sound of Sirens, I knew I had to have Light of Lorelei as soon as I could get my hands on it. Sound of Sirens had a HUGE cliffhanger at the end, and I've been chomping at the bit to find out what was going to happen next. Light of Lorelei certainly did not disappoint me! 

This story picks up several months (I think) after the end of Sound of Sirens. Aska lives and works in the temple, and unlike the other girls, will always live and work there. She's essentially a prisoner, and she wants nothing more than to be free. I loved watching her growth over the course of this novella, and I loved that she's willing to take risks to change the world even if it means that she could lose her life. At least it would be on her own terms.

What I especially liked about this book is that it shows another side of life on the island. Instead of following Royce and Enna again, we're shown what it's like for the temple girls and the priests who guard the Light of Brandaris. There's so much mystery surrounding the Light and the Baeles-Weards and I was really hoping we'd get to see inside the Tower in this book. So many of my previous questions were answered, but now I have SO MANY more! 

I also really appreciated the diversity in the cast of this book. We have Aska, the child of a forbidden romance. There's Royce, the Anglian rebel, and Enna, the Skylger girl who has been betrayed and is trying to put back the pieces. We also get to meet Tjalling, who has incredible secrets of his own that made me love him all the more. And then we have Melinda, who is Aska's best friend in the convent. But Melinda has secrets and confesses something to Aska that turns Aska's whole life upside down. I loved how Melinda's story was included in Light of Lorelei, and she's a character I would love to learn more about. I really hope that Aska trusts her with more information in the next book, or really even that she just shows up. Because I loved her. 

I read this book in basically one sitting, so I would definitely recommend it to anyone that has read and enjoyed Sound of Sirens. I think I liked it even more than the first book, so even if you didn't love Sound of Sirens, you should still read Light of Lorelei! I would recommend this series to anyone looking for a sci-fi/fantasy story with hints of mermaids, diverse characters, and a little bit of romance thrown in for good measure. A 5/5, and I cannot wait to read the conclusion to this series, Fire of Fryslan!


--Ashley

Sound of Sirens (Tales of Skylge #1) by Jen Minkman - Ashley's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from the author in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Sound of Sirens (Tales of Skylge #1)
Author: Jen Minkman
Publication Date: November 28, 2014

Synopsis: An ancient land protected by a Tower of Light,
its people ever tempted by Siren song,
and a girl who falls for the wrong boy.

On the island of Skylge, electricity is only for the Currents – the rich ruling class who once came from across the sea and brought the holy fire of St. Brandan to Skylge. Ever since, the light in the Brandaris Tower has protected the islanders. Heeding the Siren's call will drown your body and steal your soul, but the sacred light in the Tower will chase the merfolk away.

When Skylger girl Enna welcomes her brother back from a long sea voyage, he gives her a special present from the mainland – an electronic record only playable on a Current device. The problem is that Royce Bolton, Current heartthrob and the town’s most gifted pianist, wants it too. After she stubbornly refuses to sell the LP featuring his favorite artist, he suggests sharing the record by secretly meeting up in his private summer house. Taken aback yet thrilled, Enna agrees – and discovers that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Current society and the history of Skylge. Why do the Sirens tempt the islanders to give themselves up to the sea? And where does the Currents’ monopoly on electricity really come from?

While struggling with these questions, Enna begins to fall for Royce, risking everything to be with a guy who is clearly wrong for her. She will learn that the sound of Sirens isn’t the most treacherous thing out there to haunt her dreams.

(The setting of Tales of Skylge is loosely based on the Dutch island of Terschelling, or Schylge in the island’s dialect. Although the names and places in this book will sound very familiar to people living on the island, the characters and events are, of course, entirely fictitious in nature.)

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Review: I've been a huge fan of Jen's writing since I first read The Island. I love that trilogy, and then I read The Space In Between and fell in love with Jen's gorgeous writing all over again. And then she sent me Sound of Sirens, and I'm pretty sure there's nothing Jen can't write about. This book is just full of fabulous world building, character development, mystery, romance, and so many other incredible things. 

First of all, there's Enna. She's a Skylger girl just trying to get by with her aging father and her sailor brother who is absent for long periods of time when he's away at sea. Most of this book focuses on Enna and Royce, and how they meet in secret to share the LP and how their relationship develops from there. But in the course of watching their relationship grow and change, we also learn quite a bit about Enna, Royce, the Sirens, and the island. The way that all of the world-building is built into and around the characters is flawless, and I loved learning about the sirens and the island and all of that at the same time that I was getting to know Enna and Royce.

Royce bothered me a little bit because of the way he treats Enna in public, but I also understood why he does what he does. He's part of a very influential Current family, and the relationship between the two groups of people is incredibly tense. But still. He could give a girl a little heads-up or something without having to break her heart all over the place. Silly teenagers. 

There's still so much I want to know about this world and about the Sirens, and I'm so glad that Light of Lorelei is out in the world already! I'm so excited to read the sequel and the rest of this fantastic new series, and I would totally recommend it for anyone looking for a romance with a bit of fantasy/sci-fi/dystopia thrown in. It's an excellent read, and was definitely one that I didn't want to put down. In fact, I'm pretty sure I read it all in one sitting. So yeah. Definitely a 4/5!


--Ashley

The Space in Between by Jen Minkman - Ashley's Review

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: The Space in Between
Author: Jen Minkman
Publication Date: September 8, 2014

Synopsis: When Moira helps out her sister and brother in a Wiccan ritual on Halloween, the last thing she expects is to be swept away to a mystical wilderness. Sitting within the stones of the ancient circle of Penmaenmawr, Wales, she's convinced it's an illusion. But the dark-haired, handsome man with amnesia that Moira meets during her trance cannot be blinked away like a dream.

Hayko, the mysterious stranger, won’t let go. After returning home from her stone circle adventure, Moira is beckoned back night after night to the outlandish dreamland by an invisible force. But the hardest part isn't having to fight the terrifying creatures of these nightmares--it's realizing she’s falling for a guy without a past who isn’t real.

What if you really can fall in love with the man of your dreams?

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Review: I really enjoyed Jen's The Island series, so I was really excited when she asked me to read The Space in Between. This book was totally different from The Island books, but it was just as exciting, compelling, and gorgeously written. I was hooked from the first page and definitely did not want to put it down.

Moira is a really interesting character. She's the oldest of three, and has a very good relationship with her sister, brother, and her parents. I really enjoyed their interactions both individually and as a whole family. It's nice to actually see a family unit in a YA book that isn't a complete mess with deceased or absent members or parents who might as well be absent or deceased. She's also in this long-term relationship with Patrick, who means well but just doesn't get it right most of the time. She also suffers from ADHD and with having to take medications for her condition.

And then there's this ceremony she helps her sister with on Halloween, and everything changes. The siblings suddenly find themselves in this in-between world, trying to save a man they've never even seen before. I love when the title of a book makes sense and it totally does early on. It was very interesting to see how this space in between and Hayko start to change Moira and make her a better person. Or I guess not necessarily a better person, but a girl more comfortable in her own skin. 

There's quite a bit in this book about Hayko's mysterious religion, and I enjoyed learning the mythology behind it and seeing his belief system manifest itself in the dream world. Some of it was pretty scary - like the woman who haunts him - but most of it is the angels helping him to move through this place. I liked that Moira was able to learn things about him in the dream world that she could use to track him down in the real world and that she starts to fall in love with the literal man of her dreams. 

Overall, Jen does a really excellent job with this book. The characters are all so well-rounded and three dimensional, the plot moves along at a pretty decent rate, the mythology and world-building in the space in between made me feel like I was actually experiencing everything that Moira, Hayko, Tabby, and Dai did, and the lyrical writing kept me hooked. I would totally recommend this book for anyone looking a paranormal romance. I can't wait to find out what Jen has up her sleeves next! 4/5!


--Ashley

The Deep (The Island #3) by Jen Minkman - Ashley's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from the author in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: The Deep (The Island #3)
Author: Jen Minkman
Year Published: June 3, 2014

Ashley's The Island Review
Ashley's The Waves Review

Paul's The Island Review

Synopsis: ‘The world is never-ending.

I never realized just how much space there is – how far and wide the water around our island stretches out. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I may have believed that a second Wall ran around Tresco, containing the infinite waters so we wouldn’t all wash over the edge and plummet down into the depths.’

Leia and Walt are on their way to the Other Side, where the legendary land of Cornwall awaits them. Tony, their new friend, has told them that all wars of the past have been forgotten and the citizens of Bodmin and Dartmoor live in peace. People adhere to the tenets of an old religion that preaches forgiveness and non-violence.

However, Walt and Leia soon discover that even a peace-loving, ideal society like this one may have its flaws. While on a forbidden trip to Exeter, the old city of their ancestors, the two Islanders discover more about the new world than they ever bargained for.

Secrets run dark and passions run deep in this thrilling conclusion to the Island novella series.

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Review: I absolutely loved Jen's novellas The Island and The Waves, and I figured that would be the end of the story. So you can imagine my excitement when I learned there was a third installment. AND it's novel-length! And honestly, The Deep did not disappoint in any way! 

This time around, we get to see the story unfolding from Leia and Alisa's perspectives. Leia has left the island with Walt and Tony and anyone else who wanted to see what was on the other side of the waves, and Alisa has remained behind to help the Fools and Unbelievers still on the island. I really enjoyed seeing what things were like on the Other Side, and I think it's really interesting that even this new world that's supposed to be better than life on the Island has its secrets and its disadvantages. Leia and Walt learn that people are people, and maybe their lives before weren't as bad as they thought. 

And then there's Alisa, who struggles to accept Saul, who had been cast as a dangerous criminal. Even though she still struggles with losing Yorrick, I think Alisa's story is really important to showing forgiveness and that people will often surprise you. I really enjoyed reading about things from someone else's perspective, since we've already seen things from Leia and Walt. Seeing old characters from another viewpoint was interesting and helped me to understand them better.

Like the rest of the Island series, Jen's writing in this book is absolutely gorgeous. The world-building and character development is phenomenal, and I loved every second ofi t. I couldn't put this book down, and read most of it in one sitting! There are still some loose ends, and I would totally read more of this series if Jen ever decides to continue it. Most of the story is complete though, and I would be happy with it ending here if she decides not to write more in this world.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has read The Island and The Waves. It expands the world and the characters, and answers questions about the Other Side and Tony's people. I would also recommend the series to any fans of YA sci-fi and/or dystopian books, especially if you enjoy books with subtle (and not so subtle) Star Wars references. This is an excellent series, and I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to read it! 4/5!


--Ashley

The Island by Jen Minkman - Paul's REVIEW

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Title: The Island
Author: Jen Minkman
Year Published: 2013

Ashley's REVIEW

Synopsis:Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors.
But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?

Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?

(Please note: this novella contains a few references to the famous sci-fi movie Star Wars which are pivotal to the plot. None of the characters in The Island are in any way related to the characters in the movie. Leia is named after one of the ancient heroes of her culture/religion.)

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Review: An island in which it's inhabitants leave their parents' protection at age 10 to survive on their own is the location of this novella. Leia is the main character and she has more than her name connecting her and her community to Star Wars. I was a little confused by the description of the cover of The Book. Leia, and I think Han as well, with lightsabers? 

I really liked this novella. It's a good length for the story it tells. It is also interesting to look at religion and the belief system of this society. There are many ways to interpret a text. And many ways to teach morals. 

I think it would help to be familiar with Star Wars before reading this, but you don't have to know any more than the basics. 

I give this novella a 4/5 and recommend it to readers who like dystopian stories with interesting societies that have developed different than our own.

--PAUL

BLOG TOUR: The Waves (The Island #2) by Jen Minkman - Ashley's Review + GIVEAWAY!

Today, we're so excited to be a part of the tour for Jen Minkman's new novella The Waves! Find out more about the book, the series, & Jen, enter to win both novellas, and check out Ashley's review of The Waves below!

You can also find the full tour schedule at Girls *Heart* Book Tours! 

Amazon | Goodreads

Title: The Waves
Series: The Island #2
By: Jen Minkman
Publication Date: October 4th, 2013

Ashley's Review of The Island

Blurb: The first memory I have of my grandfather is of a moment that we share together.

I’m sitting on his knee looking out over the harbor. Grandpa is smoking a pipe. He points at the horizon. “Look, Walt. Our ships are out there. And one day, another even more beautiful ship will appear at the horizon. A mighty ship to take us all away. And Annabelle will be at the front deck with open arms, inviting us all to join her on board.”

“Why don’t we sail to her ourselves?” I inquire wide-eyed.

“Because she promised she would come,” granddad replies. “And in that promise we trust. It’s only the Unbelievers who think they can do everything themselves. They have no faith in the Goddess.”

Walt lives in Hope Harbor, an island community that has put its trust in salvation from across the sea. The townspeople wait patiently, build their ships to sail out and welcome the Goddess, and piously visit the temple every week. Horror stories to scare their children are told about the Unbelievers on the other side of Tresco.

But not all is what it seems. Walt has questions that no one can answer, and when his best friend and cousin Yorrick is killed in an accident, he digs deeper to find out the truth about the origins of Hope Harbor’s society… and the secrets of the temple.

Return to the world of The Island and discover what Walt's life was like before and after he met Leia! 

About the Author: Jen Minkman (1978) was born in Holland, in the town of Alphen aan den Rijn. When she was 19, she moved between The Hague, Salzburg (Austria), Brussels (Belgium) and Cambridge (UK) to complete her studies in intercultural communication. She is currently a teacher of English, career counselor and teenage coach at a secondary school in Voorburg, Holland. She tries to read at least 100 books a year (and write a few, too!). She is a published author in her own country, and translates her own books from Dutch into English for self-publication.

In her spare time, she plays the piano, the guitar and the violin. For every novel she writes, she creates a soundtrack.

'I have always been drawn to writing. My first book was a sci-fi novel at the age of eight, which I painstakingly typed out on my dad's typewriter and illustrated myself. Nowadays, I stick to poetry, paranormal romance, chick lit and/or fantasy. In my home country, I am the first-ever published writer of paranormal romance, and I will gradually make my books also available in English (seeing I have to re-write and translate the books myself, this will take some time!).

Find Jen online: Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook 

Ashley's Review: When I read The Island earlier this year, I was pleasantly surprised! Although it had heavy references to Star Wars, it was a story and a concept all its own. The Waves tells that same story, but from the other side of the island and with significantly fewer references to Star Wars. It takes place pretty much at the same time that The Island takes place, and I thought it was really cool to see what happens over in Walt's world.

Walt was definitely an excellently written character. He's smart, funny, determined, and has many qualities that a good leader should have. He's experienced joy and tragedy, and has several great adult role models. I think religion was dealt with very well in this story too, and shows that even though there might not be a reason, people will still believe in whatever gives them hope - or joy, in Walt's case. I really loved getting to know Walt better, and to see things from his perspective instead of just through Leia's eyes.

Compared to The Island, I think The Waves has much better pacing and flows more evenly. We aren't flooded with unnecessary details, and I think it helps to have the background knowledge of what's going to happen. I spent a lot of the time waiting for things to cross over from The Island, and it was pretty cool when they did.

One of the things I had a real problem with though was the inconsistency of character names from the Unbelievers side. All of a sudden, Leia's brother is Colin, when he used to be Luc. Every time I read the name "Colin" I just got confused. Maybe I'm misremembering something from The Island, but I'm pretty sure she calls him Luc the whole time. And Sol is now Saul, which I can kind of understand since the two are pronounced similarly in my mind and Walt wouldn't know the difference. But still, it was a little off-putting.

Overall, I would totally recommend this novella to anyone who has read The Island. It's an excellent companion, and it made the world so much richer and fuller for me. I loved getting to know old characters better and meeting new ones, and seeing how the other half of the island lives before the two merge. If you're looking for a quick sci-fi/dystopian read, definitely pick this one up! I would give this novella a 4/5.


And now it's time for a giveaway! 

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--Ashley and Paul

The Island by Jen Minkman - Ashley's Review

*I received this novella as an eARC from Patchwork Press on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Title: The Island

Author: Jen Minkman

Year Published: 2013

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Synopsis: "I walk toward the sea. The endless surface of the water extends to the horizon, whichever way I look.

Our world is small. We are on our own, and we only have ourselves to depend on. We rely on the Force deep within us, as taught to us by our forefathers. 

If I were to walk westward from here, I would come across a barrier – the Wall. Behind it, there are Fools. At least, that’s what everyone says.

I have never seen one."

Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors. 

But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?

Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?

(Please note: this novella contains a few references to the famous sci-fi movie Star Wars which are pivotal to the plot. None of the characters in The Island are in any way related to the characters in the movie.)

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Review: This novella took me by surprise. When I saw that there were references to Star Wars, I figured it would be something having to do with space and all of that jazz. Maybe aliens? Maybe this island was on a planet from the Star Wars universe? Yeah, that was all totally wrong. The references are very important to the plot, but Minkman does an excellent job making this her own story. Characters might share names, and there are Star Wars characters mentioned and talked about, but that's about it. The plot is totally original, and I actually thoroughly enjoyed it.

The pacing for me was a little weird at times, and it made parts kind of difficult to get through. Some times we get too much detail (although it does end up being necessary), and other times I felt like there just wasn't enough. Something happens, and then all of a sudden the kids just accept that their way of life is wrong? That just didn't seem realistic to me. Especially when you consider how old the children are (19 is considered to be very old to still be living in the mansion with the children). I think that some of the issues I had with pacing though were because this novella could totally have been expanded into a full novel. Don't get me wrong, it works as a novella too. 

Another place that this story might have benefited from being a full novel would be in the characters. We learn quite a bit about Leia, and how she sees the world and what she thinks about the situation, but we hardly see any of the others. We know who her friends are, and kind of what their personalities are, but they're very one-dimensional and very stagnant. They don't do anything really unexpected, and that's such a shame. Maybe if this had alternated viewpoints between Luc and Leia? I don't know. It was just lacking something there. 

Overall, this was an excellent short story. The plot is gripping, if a little strangely paced, and it's interesting to see how children/early teens adapt to their lives being turned completely upside down. I would love to read this if it were ever expanded into a novel! And would totally recommend this to anyone who enjoys dystopian stories, and especially people who are fans of Star Wars but want something completely different. 4/5 for this one.

--Ashley