Book Review ~ Discord's Apple

Discord's Apple
By Carrie Vaughn
Published By Tor Books

Summary (Goodreads): When Evie Walker goes home to spend time with her dying father, she discovers that his creaky old house in Hope’s Fort, Colorado, is not the only legacy she stands to inherit. Hidden behind the old basement door is a secret and magical storeroom, a place where wondrous treasures from myth and legend are kept safe until they are needed again. The magic of the storeroom prevents access to any who are not intended to use the items. But just because it has never been done does not mean it cannot be done.

And there are certainly those who will give anything to find a way in.

Evie must guard the storeroom against ancient and malicious forces, protecting the past and the future even as the present unravels around them. Old heroes and notorious villains alike will rise to fight on her side or to undermine her most desperate gambits. At stake is the fate of the world, and the prevention of nothing less than the apocalypse. 

My Thoughts: I loved the setting/ world building of this book. You have Fantastical meets pre-apocalyptic meets Greek Mythology meets a whole New World. Even Hope's Fort, a rundown middle of nowhere town,  has a police checkpoint in the middle of Main St where they do security checks on every car. 

I also really enjoyed most of the characters in this book. Evie is a comic book writer who has come home to be with her dying father. Once there she starts to learn things about the storeroom in the basement where she was never allowed when she was little.  I loved the idea of people just showing up looking for a magical item and Evie or her father knowing whether there was something there for them and if so what it was they needed. Alex/Sinon was another great character in this book and learning his history was as interesting as the main story. The rest of the side characters made an interesting mix of good and bad with visits from Robin, Arthur and Merlin along with a few others.
I liked how the story flowed from one setting to another, between post-Troy Olympus and Hope's Fort along with the history of how the Walker family became the keepers of the storeroom.
The only thing I didn't like was part of the ending. Hera is not one of my favorite Greeks and her role in the story took a bit from it for me. 


Rating: 4

Book Review ~ Voices of Dragons

Voices of  Dragons
By Carrie Vaughn
Published By Harper Teen

Summary (Goodreads): On one side of the border lies the modern world: the internet, homecoming dances, cell phones. On the other side dwell the ancient monsters who spark humanity's deepest fears: dragons.

Seventeen-year-old Kay Wyatt knows she's breaking the law by rock climbing near the border, but she'd rather have an adventure than follow the rules. When the dragon Artegal unexpectedly saves her life, the rules are abruptly shattered, and a secret friendship grows between them. 

But suspicion and terror are the legacy of human and dragon interactions, and the fragile truce that has maintained peace between the species is unraveling. As tensions mount and battles begin, Kay and Artegal are caught in the middle. Can their friendship change the course of a war? 

In her young-adult debut, New York Times bestselling author Carrie Vaughn presents a distinctly twenty-first-century tale of myths and machines, and an alliance that crosses a seemingly unbridgeable divide.

Likes/Dislikes: While I enjoyed the overall story, this book started off really slow for me. I found myself more interested in the past (human and dragon interaction and then war) than in what was taking place in the present. Once things started to heat up between the two sides, and the prejudices of both started to dictate their actions, the story flowed right until the end. I really liked Kay, she was a strong female who wasn't afraid to make her own choices even if they did not follow what everyone else was doing. I also liked the fact that this wasn't a dysfunctional family so the baggage and excuses that usually come with them weren't in this book. I'm a believer in getting both side of a story before making judgments so I kind of wish there had been more explanation for why General Branigan was the way he was, it just seemed like there was more to his story. 

Overall: I enjoyed the world that Ms. Vaughn created. I have not read a lot of books with dragons as the main characters so it was easy to envision and get lost in her world. The message, not judging others just because they are different than you, came across without being too much. The story seemed to end right when they were getting to a good part so I'm hoping there is a follow up to this book.

Rating: 3