Caighlan SmithRecensioni

I love mythology and stories with labyrinths in them, so I really should have loved this book, but I just never really connected with the main character. She was so timid and such a doormat pretty much from the get go. Something kept me reading, though, even when there was what I felt was gratuitous violence, and by the end, she had grown a bit of a backbone, and showed some promise. She began to learn to count on herself and she learned survival skills, both of which she could have used throughout the book, but I was glad she started to change at last. Like I said, something kept me reading, and I look forward to seeing how she does in the next book in the series.

3/5 stars.

I received this book free from the publisher via netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

Please see my full reviews available at www.coffeeandtrainspotting.wordpress.com.

For requesting arcs and books to review, please visit www.netgalley.com.

Another entry in the Tor collection that is an intriguing enough vignette, but isn't really a story. Three generations of women live in a house in some sub-optimal future, the world and society sketched as the kind of rough-and-ready, everyday harshness of an existence so many people in history have learned to live with, without ever filling in the details - perhaps somewhere between 1930s Dustbowl, Gibsonian sprawl and Mad Max outback. Mother and daughter are securing the house against a coming Storm ( although it is not the ecological disaster we expect ) while Granny Ma wanders around in her dementia, reciting social media references from her youth that may as well be Aramaic to her grand daughter.

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Just seeing Icarus and labyrinth, I was extremely excited! Being a huge Greek mythology nerd (and a classics minor student in uni), I knew I needed to read this, thinking it would be heavily mythology based. Surprisingly, it wasn’t really. Instead, Children of Icarus by Caighlan Smith is more of a general YA dystopian novel, which isn’t to say that’s a bad thing. Just different from what the short synopsis seemed to suggest.

There’s a nameless narrator that is by far the worst character of the novel up until the last 20%. This really killed the book for me. I just couldn’t get behind her at all. In fact, I actually put the book down and had to stop because I was just so annoyed by her, I preferred cooking my weekly lunches for work than continue. Why is she annoying? I’ll probably whinge about it in detail on the spoiler vlog tomorrow, but mainly, her inability to do anything. There was no personality in her. No nothing for the majority of the story.

That said, you might be wondering how it managed to get three and a half stars from me. You might be thinking pffft, free title, of course it got higher than three stars. Nope. Just because the narrator was dull, doesn’t mean the book was. The story was very interesting and there were just enough bits of mythology and Greek-ness to keep me hooked. Side characters Elle and Addie were super interesting and I wanted more of them. I also wanted more of Theo and to see if Theo and Nameless could start a relationship, or if Nameless and Ryan would since the author kept thrusting them together. But nothing happened because the narrator is pretty much nothing.

The last 33% of the book really bumped the stars up. The Executioner was amazing and then the mind freak that happens right at the very end, I was just speechless. I could not believe that was how the book would end, just as it was getting good. Just as Nameless started to hint at becoming someone, something.

If you’re seriously into YA dystopian, you’ll really enjoy Children of Icarus by Caighlan Smith. If you’re just a casual fan, you might wanna wait and check it out at the library. If there’s the potential of a sequel being released, then I’d say definitely give it a shot.

// I received this title for free in exchange for an honest review //

That was deeply disturbing and sad, the way all zombie stories are--spoiler alert, the incoming "storm" is actually a rambling zombie hoard. It's clear pretty early on that the story's world is some sort of post-apocalyptic setting, but it wasn't until the very last scene that I understood how. There was no indication until then that the weather referenced and fretted over was anything but some kind of actual weather. Admittedly, I assumed it was some sort of unnatural weather--I spent most of the story wondering if it had something to do with nuclear fallout--but weather all the same.

It's short enough that I don't feel robbed by spending so much of my reading time confused, but that ending really made up for a lot. Christ, that ending. That was perfect and shattering.

The story felt disjointed and incomplete to me.

Goodreads Synopsis:
Six months alone in the labyrinth has made her strong. But the search for the exit means gambling on an old ‘friend’ and going against everything she’s been taught to survive. You know the labyrinth will have yet more horrors lurking in its depths. You’ve learned few people can be trusted. But freedom is tantalizingly close. Are you ready to take the risk?

My Review:
I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

I absolutely loved the first book, and immediately after finishing that started on this one. The story begins six months after the last. The main character has been surviving on her own after her mentor died, and has adopted the nickname Fey Bell. Obviously she's been doing something right if she's survived this long. She's discovered two more tribes of Icarii, who have been battling each other for who knows how long in the labyrinth. Fates is still active and although she hasn't run into them since escaping their cruel plan to kill her, she's worried she will one day. She still hasn't found an exit.

After killing a group of screechers, she sees the last people she ever wanted to see again. The kids from Fates. They treated her terribly, and I wouldn't doubt that they'd do it again. She saves them from the attack and they're still unwilling to treat her any differently. She takes one of them hostage in exchange for someone of more value. They don't cooperate and she ends up stuck with one of them under her wing who doesn't want to do anything but make things more difficult for her.

This book, like the first one, is set in the labyrinth. It's exciting and full of action. The characters have changed a lot, but they're still the same people despite the time jump. She gets to know some of the other groups of people in the labyrinth that weren't previously discovered, which is cool. It gives it another side to this massive labyrinth. They’re alive and kicking, they're fighting each other, and she has to play into that to get what she needs, a friend, and a way out of this hell, hopefully.

Overall this book is everything I wanted it to be and more. I need to know what happens next! Some books lose quality throughout the series, but this hasn't even a little bit. I loved every page and I wish I could read more but this one hasn't even come out yet so I've got a bit of a wait ahead of me. I definitely recommend checking it out in addition to the first book because I want you to love it as much as I do.

Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)

Children of Daedala (Children of Icarus #2) by Caighlan Smith is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. I want to thank them for letting me read this good book. I did enjoy this book and all the characters in it. I didn't read book one and this left me at a disadvantage and lost for a while. I don't feel the author helped me get caught up in the story. I finally pieced things together enough but I feel I lost a great deal of the story. Advice, read book one first. I love mythology and the premise of this book. I liked the characters but it seemed a bit disorganized and confusing. I liked the creatures too. Loved the cover! I did enjoy the book and feel it is worth the read for sure just read book one first.

Cover is intriguing although it reminds me of the lion in the Lion, Witch, Wardrobe. Right off the bat you know you're ready a different book with the mention of the Executioner, Fey, and Screecher-Eaters. The story is from the perspective of Fey Bell, a 16 year old girl who has been banished into the labyrinth where survival is difficult. There are lots of characters and several groups which are at odds with each other: The Fates & Icarii, the Kleos, and the Harmonians, as well as Daedalum. I had difficulty falling along during the first half of the book with many questions. What is the name of Fey Bell and why do others sometimes call her Clara? How did all these kids get to this place, and why? What is a Fallen Day? Some of these questions are answered, and some aren't. The text is occasionally difficult to tell if the character is talking to self, to others, or thinking. Action wise, this book is great. Lots of weapons, fighting both monsters and people, sabotage, and a rescue. Fey Bell has brief romantic interactions with 2 guys, Ryan and Theo, but which one is telling the truth? With two sections: Divide and Conquer, the book has a dramatic ending that is set up to start the next book. I'm rooting for Fey Bell. Would be great if the book included an illustrated map of the territories.

*This book was reviewed for the Manhattan and Seattle Book Reviews and Netgalley*

Smith's Children of Icarus is a brilliant reweaving of Greek myth. In Daedalum, children between the ages of ten and sixteen can be chosen to be Icarii, the Blessed of Icarus, who are sent into the Labyrinth surrounding their city. If they make it through the Labyrinth, they reach Alyssia, and become angels like the slumbering Icarus. To be Chosen is a great honour.

To be Chosen is to meet death. The Labyrinth is nothing like they've been told. It is a place of unspeakable horrors. There is no magick to keep the Icarii from hunger, thirst or weariness. There are only nightmare beasts.

Clara has wanted to be Chosen her whole life. This is the last year she is eligible. When she and her best friend are Chosen, things seem to be perfect. They aren't. Don't be fooled. Almost straight from the gate, Clara is killed, along with many other Icarii, when a flock of harpies attack. Her friend assumes her name, quite through an accidental misunderstanding. She, and a few other fledgling Icarii are rescued by a group from a place called Fates. They are taken in, taught how to survive in this harsh world they now inhabit.

But 'Clara’s’ misrepresentation gets her into more trouble than she bargained for. Cast out from Fates, she is then taken in by a mysterious figure known only as the Executioner, who teaches her even more valuable survival skills. The Executioner's greatest gifts, however, come in the form of a journal and the secrets it holds.

Just wow. This is a gritty, no-holds-barred book once it gets going. The Labyrinth is a brutal place full of death. The Fates aren't thriving. They merely survive,hoping to last a few years at least. Most never do. This book is like Lord of the Flies meets Pan’s Labyrinth meets The Hunger Games. I found it to be a great, if terrifyingly realistic, depiction of survival culture. Compassion would be rare, and we see that reflected here.

I adore how the Greek mythology is blended and retold, turning Icarus to an angel, making Daedalus female, turning the Labyrinth inside out. The Icarii begin in the middle and work to find the way out of the maze. We get to see many Greek myth critters such as harpies, dragons, and Stymphalian birds. Hoping to meet the most obvious labyrinth dweller in a future book. What such place would be complete without a minotaur?

Things did start kinda slow, but less than a third of the way through the pacing picked up. I must admit, I didn't care for 'Clara’ as a protagonist until she met the Executioner. She was shy in a painfully bad way, and truly a liability. However, she found her equilibrium. Things ended at a clear cliffhanger, with some revelations a lá M Night Shamaylan that I didn't expect. I want the next one now!

🎻🎻🎻🎻 Recommended if you enjoy gritty fantasy, dystopic fiction, Greek mythology, or mythic re-imaginings. Perfect for Hunger Games and Divergent fans.