≫ PDF Free The Hidden Goddess Veneficas Americana Book 2 M K Hobson 9780553592665 Books

The Hidden Goddess Veneficas Americana Book 2 M K Hobson 9780553592665 Books

Download As PDF : The Hidden Goddess Veneficas Americana Book 2 M K Hobson 9780553592665 Books

The Hidden Goddess Veneficas Americana Book 2 M K Hobson 9780553592665 Books

The Sequel to The Native Star, is unlike its predecessor. This is not a rehash of the same adventure by any stretch. And unlike the first, this one kept me peeled from start to finish, and flowed flawlessly. I also have to add, that this is not at all the type of book that I usually prefer reading, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

A month has passed since the adventures that brought Emily from Lost Pine to New York City, but navigating New York magical society is as taxing and treacherous as anything she's faced so far. Emily's future mother-in-law is a sociopathic socialite who is not at all pleased with her only son's choice of a bride. But thankfully, this story is not filled with tea parties and soirées of the upper class.

Dreadnought Stanton--Emily's fiancé--has a dark past which has by no means given up all its secrets. And Emily's own past may hold answers that a shadowy group of Russian scientists will give anything to possess. About halfway through, this adventure book becomes more meaningful, as Emily starts to uncover her family's dark past and Dreadnaught's coveted secrets.

Emily will have to brave all these challenges mostly alone--not to mention an ancient sect of Aztec blood-sorcerers bent on plunging the world into apocalypse--as she attempts to unlock the mystery that will both save her & Dreadnaught's future, not to mention the entire world. Unfortunately, she spends most of her time away from Dreadnought throughout the book, as I do love how they lovingly goad each other. An introspective examination of Might vs. Right, Human Nature, & Love, brings Emily full circle, in this eloquently written and thrilling western-fantasy-steampunk tale.

There is a definite conclusion that could be construed as "The End", but from what the author has stated, this may not be the case if she has her way. I wholeheartedly recommend this well written/edited book, and encourage other prospective readers to read The Native Star prior to delving in.
_________________________________________________
Mini Q & A: (Mild Spoilers)

"Will there be more books in this series? What is next on your schedule?
Well, I've got ideas for several more books in this series, and I think I might even be able to convince my editor to buy them ... but I have to finish the proposals!

The proposal I'm *currently* working on is for the next 2 books in the series, which jump forward 30 years to follow Dreadnought & Emily's youngest son. It's set in 1911, which was a very interesting time in history. And as much as I love bustles, it will be nice to explore a whole new era of costuming. ;-)"

ufobsession.blogspot.com/2011/04/top-reads-native-star.html


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The Hidden Goddess Veneficas Americana Book 2 M K Hobson 9780553592665 Books Reviews

More like 4 1/2 stars - really enjoyed this almost as much as the first book in the series. Although the two main characters from the first book are here, Emily and Dreadnought, it is (almost) entirely set in New York. We don't see the cross country travel adventures from the first book, but more of a character study. Emily is learning about her past, which is very fascinating, and Dreadnought is learning how to run an Institute. Emily is trying to navigate New York and magical society, even though it's not really her style. But there is mayhem and intrigue and mystery galore.

Some of the highlights for me were the characterizations of the main characters. Emily lost her hand in the last book, and guess what she still doesn't have it. She's unhappy about it, but she doesn't wallow in it. And she finds out things about Dreadnought that she has to decide if she can deal with or not. I found that very realistic. I also really loved the magic slates, although they could have been used more to head off problems.

-------------------------------------------------Spoiler Alert---------------------------------------------------
Everyone has things that they don't like. The part that I actually did not get, was that she went off to Lost Pines to check on her Pap, after a vision that he was in trouble, and didn't bother to tell anyone! Really? And of course trouble happened.
On the whole I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as "The Native Star", and at the end I was left feeling rather melancholy because the series seems wrapped up now. It's got a "happily ever after" feel to it, which for some reason I found oddly dissatisfying (even though I'd been rooting for Emily and Stanton to finally get to be together through the whole book). I liked this universe and was looking forward to getting to explore it over the course of 3 or 4 books, but instead it all wraps up in two. (edit Upon visiting Hobson's website, I see that this isn't the end of the series, but rather is the end of the stories about Emily and Stanton. That makes me feel better, so I'm going to knock the rating up to 4 stars.)

It also seemed to take a really long time for anything substantial to start happening. The first third of the book is little more than setup and Emily and Stanton's romantic moments being constantly interrupted by people showing up (this was something I felt happened way too much in the book, to the point that as soon as they started getting cozy with each other, I knew someone was going to barge in and they were going to be put off yet again. And naturally it happened just like that. It got to be annoying after first two or three times.). The fact that I'd just finished reading the first book might have contributed to my impatience with how long it was taking for things to start happening too, since a lot of it was getting the reader up to speed with things that happened in the previous book, but when something substantial finally happened, I looked down at the progress bar on my and found that I was exactly 33% of the way in. So yes, slow starting.

Things really cook after that, and it's one exciting scene after another, along with multiple "Oh no!"'s. Emily's missing early years are finally revealed, as are Stanton's years training to be a sangrimancer. A lot of really fascinating and well-drawn characters come out over the course of the book, and things twist and turn and get all confusing, but eventually it all comes back to form cohesive sense. The big final battle was a little difficult to follow as it happened though.

One final thing I wanted to comment about, since I brought it up in the review of the previous book the Aztec sangrimancers wanting to destroy the world angle. I was meh about it then, and though I think it worked in the context of this book, it did get me thinking about how sangrimancers were portrayed in this universe. It occurs to me that there isn't a single positive sangrimancer in either book. They seem to be the token "black hats" and this does kind of bother me. The credomancers come in all flavors, and you never really can tell what they're up to, but all sangrimancers are evil, vile creatures, no exceptions. When Stanton was one, he took absolute glee in murder and suffering. I can see this being a modern commentary on the evil of human sacrifice, and the use of Aztecs is an easy shorthand for human sacrifice=evil, but at the same time it's reinforcing narrow understanding of blood sacrifice in general (Christ died in blood sacrifice, of his own choosing, and Quetzalcoatl advocated for auto-sacrifice rather than the killing of others). Where are the sangrimancers that practice self-bloodletting to perform beneficial magic? Surely sangrimancy is as diverse a magical field as the other two.
The Sequel to The Native Star, is unlike its predecessor. This is not a rehash of the same adventure by any stretch. And unlike the first, this one kept me peeled from start to finish, and flowed flawlessly. I also have to add, that this is not at all the type of book that I usually prefer reading, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

A month has passed since the adventures that brought Emily from Lost Pine to New York City, but navigating New York magical society is as taxing and treacherous as anything she's faced so far. Emily's future mother-in-law is a sociopathic socialite who is not at all pleased with her only son's choice of a bride. But thankfully, this story is not filled with tea parties and soirées of the upper class.

Dreadnought Stanton--Emily's fiancé--has a dark past which has by no means given up all its secrets. And Emily's own past may hold answers that a shadowy group of Russian scientists will give anything to possess. About halfway through, this adventure book becomes more meaningful, as Emily starts to uncover her family's dark past and Dreadnaught's coveted secrets.

Emily will have to brave all these challenges mostly alone--not to mention an ancient sect of Aztec blood-sorcerers bent on plunging the world into apocalypse--as she attempts to unlock the mystery that will both save her & Dreadnaught's future, not to mention the entire world. Unfortunately, she spends most of her time away from Dreadnought throughout the book, as I do love how they lovingly goad each other. An introspective examination of Might vs. Right, Human Nature, & Love, brings Emily full circle, in this eloquently written and thrilling western-fantasy-steampunk tale.

There is a definite conclusion that could be construed as "The End", but from what the author has stated, this may not be the case if she has her way. I wholeheartedly recommend this well written/edited book, and encourage other prospective readers to read The Native Star prior to delving in.
_________________________________________________
Mini Q & A (Mild Spoilers)

"Will there be more books in this series? What is next on your schedule?
Well, I've got ideas for several more books in this series, and I think I might even be able to convince my editor to buy them ... but I have to finish the proposals!

The proposal I'm *currently* working on is for the next 2 books in the series, which jump forward 30 years to follow Dreadnought & Emily's youngest son. It's set in 1911, which was a very interesting time in history. And as much as I love bustles, it will be nice to explore a whole new era of costuming. ;-)"

ufobsession.blogspot.com/2011/04/top-reads-native-star.html