Chrysoula Tzavelas

Interesting premise where the royal family has magic but it also brings madness its a shame it had less than stellar execution.

The magic system was very confusing and towards the end of the book I still wasnt sure how it worked.

The book actually has two narrators Tiana and her cousin Liar. I prefer red to follow Tiana and ended up skimming Kiars view point chapters.

The dialogue between Tiana and other characters felt very stilted and I just didnt get a sense of their relationship.Its saying something when the most intersting conversation is between Tiana and a sentient sword. The sword - Jinriki the darkener had more life in him than the person characters.

It also felt like the aurhot was saying something about mental illness in our own world.I think a person can suffer from mental illness and still function without a busybody following them around and monitor ing you.Thah would surely drive me crazy.
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Matchbox Girls threw me a loop, I tell you what! Not in a bad way at all. It starts off a bit like a book from the Series of Unfortunate Events. Two precocious young girls (who are eons ahead of other people their age in terms of intelligence) wake Marley out of a dead sleep to come and save them. Their Uncle has vanished, and they were instructed to call her if that ever happened. Doesn't bode well does it? Well rest assured that if that was your assumption you are right! What ensues is a story filled with dark corners, deep secrets, and all manner of angelic and demonic creatures. It's pretty fascinating!

Let's start with what I loved about this book. The characters. Marley is so sweet and broken. She feels like madness is constantly pressing in around her, and yet when the girls need her she finds the strength to press on. I adored her character. She was so mothering. The girls themselves are adorable, albeit slightly creepy at times. They are so smart. I was engrossed by them alone the majority of the story, trying to uncover their secrets. Add in all the other characters who flit in and out of the story, and you have a well rounded group. Tsavelas allows the reader plenty of time to get to know this group, and it is easy to fall in love with them.

What I didn't enjoy so much is the over abundance of information that is often thrown out at the reader in certain parts of this book. There are a lot of different creatures that correlate with the angelic hierarchy in this book. While I respected the want to share them all with us, and help us form connections between them, it was all very confusing. There were pages that I had to read, and then re-read, just to make sure I was really understanding what I was meant to. After a while, especially towards the end, I found myself just skimming to get the parts that were really important and pushed the plot forward.

At the end of the day, Matchbox Girls was a book that I enjoyed. I can't say that I would have picked it up on my own, but I'm glad that I gave it a chance. This is a different look at the paradigm between good and evil, and it is given a deliciously mysterious twist. Despite some flaws, I think it is a unique book! I'd say that if you are looking for a new read, something a little different, give this a shot.… (more)

Earlier this year, I read Chrysoula Tzavelas‘ debut novel, Matchbox Girls, enjoying it quite a bit. You can see my thoughts on that book here, if you like.

Infinity Key is the sequel to Matchbox Girls, the second book in Tzavelas’ Senyaza series. It takes up where the first book ended, but stands alone pretty well. Tzavelas’ does a good job of catching readers up to the plot, although that aspect does feel a little stiff in spots. Infinity Key follows Branwyn Lennox in her quest to rescue her friend who has fallen into a coma thanks to an angel with ill intent consuming her soul. Branwyn is the Action Girl to Marley Claviger’s Research Girl, some of which we got to see in MG. Branwyn shines in Infinity Key, though, and I’m really glad she got to be the star of her own book.

In order to achieve her quest, Branwyn makes a deal with a lord of Faerie and has to contend with his ulterior motives, a host of adversaries, plus her own family and a worried Marley who wants to protect her, but can’t without her permission. Part of the deal is that Tarn (the lord) shows Branwyn how to affect matter magically instead of physically (“dreams and metaphysics” meshing with “iron and steel and titanium.”).

Infinity Key is a good read, and much of that is thanks to the character of Branwyn Lennox. I found her to be a ton of fun because she really does live up to her nickname of Action Girl. She’s not one to mope and fret about what to do. She just does.

Which gets her into all sorts of trouble as she has to tangle with powerful kaiju, Severin (who we met in Matchbox Girls) and the Hunter. While these are not the traditional kaiju from Japanese horror movies, they are still monsters. The scene in chapter 16 where Branwyn actually sees what lurks under the guises these two show the human world is chilling. And while the characters are quite different, the attraction between Branwyn and Severin reminds me a smidge of that between Yeine Darr and the Nightlord in N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Just something about the terror lurking underneath, although with Severin, that terror isn’t restrained by anything.

One of the things I like about Infinity Key is that Branwyn’s attractions (she and Tarn have sparks (perhaps less frightening) happening, too) aren’t the center of the story. They’re there, but this isn’t a romance novel. Branwyn’s main focus is her dying friend. Saving her is what matters.

Branwyn also has to deal with other lords of Faerie, one of whom goes after her family. Apparently, Branwyn’s badassedness is genetic; her sisters are not people to mess with, either.

As with Matchbox Girls, the prose of Infinity Key is a pleasure to read, for the most part. Tzavelas’ comes up with some wonderful imagery: “handmade paper that smelled of the ocean” and eyes “gleaming like a new-wakened predator’s,” for example. Also, interesting uses of words: “acrid light”, sparkling winds, and a “faulted coast.” I took that last to mean California. What a fun choice.

My disappointments with Infinity Key are few. Occasionally, the writing stumbles, but hey, we can’t all be Ursula Le Guin. I also missed a few of the characters from Matchbox Girls—Corbin especially—but the characters we do meet and the ones we get to know better helped make up for that.

Infinity Key is a fun, fast-paced urban fantasy tale. It’s a good successor to Matchbox Girls. I’m very much looking forward to reading the next book in the Senyaza series, Wolf Interval.… (more)