Spotlight Wednesdays: Age of X

Info

Title: Age of X series
Title of First Book: Gameboard of the Gods
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Adult Dystopian
Rating: 4.5/5

Why you should read it

Actually, there are so many reasons, so I decided to make a list. People like lists, right? Lists are cool.

1. Awesome protagonists.
If you read Mead's Vampire Academy series and loved Rose and Adrian, you're going to adore Mae and Justin. They're like the adult versions of them, and *drumroll* yes, there are strings of romance between, and no Dimitri-like character to interfere.

2. Multiple POVs, so you get to be in all of those awesome heads. It is third person, but still.

3. Amazing world construction that has very strong links to our world.
Mead shows her hand as a feminist very clearly in these books (which is cool in and of itself), and there is nothing more glorious than seeing Mae cut down the patriarchy for assuming she's no threat just because she's female. Seriously, it is beautiful to read.

4. The tongue-in-cheek humour that only Mead can deliver so seamlessly.
The books sometimes get quite dark and touch on heavy subjects, but she never lets that go on for too long, always making sure there's just enough humour in there to make the book fun, without subtracting from the issues she's addressing.

Not convinced yet?

5. It's got Gods.
And by Gods, I mean that, at some point in the first two books (not saying when because... spoilers), you will meet Loki. And I don't know, I mean this might just be me, but you give me a god called Loki, and I instantly have an image of Tom Hiddleston - and that's not something I will ever complain about.

Unfortunately, unlike most of her series so far (recently completed with Bloodlines last month!), this one isn't finished, and the next one up (due out this year at some point) is book 3 - notorious for cliffhangers. But it's my humble opinion that if you haven't experienced a Mead Book 3 Cliffy for longer than it takes you to get to the bookstore to buy #4, your book experience isn't complete. Besides, not much can top Shadow Kiss, so you should be safe-ish.

Covers are from first and second books, respectively.

The Immortal Crown

Title: The Immortal Crown (Age of X #2)
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: adult (language), dystopia
Rating: 10/10
Cover: 5/5


Warning: this post contains spoilers. Proceed with caution.

JADFJEBCKJNFKJGHVIUSDHVBFD THAT ENDING! WHAT! *bangs head on desk* dammit, Richelle, you've done it AGAIN.

I'm actually glad I read it on my kindle, because it meant I could go easily check that name, and oh my god. To those of you who didn't have that ease, Porfirio was Mae's ex, the one who tried to rape her when she broke up with up him. I mean, honestly, no pun intended, but OH MY GOD.
She should ship him off to Arcadia and drop a nuclear bomb on all those misogynist pigs. Aimed directly at his head. I mean. OH MY GOD.
But also... Loki! Now I'll forever picture her god as Tom Hiddleston, and I'm not even sorry.
I just... so many motions about this book. I'd forgotten how good a Mead book could be, because the Bloodlines books don't really hold up to the same standard, but ooooh my. I kind of need book 3 right now, but at the same time, I know, I just know that it's gonna hurt. Damn the woman and her #3s.

But, ahem, right. The review.

Astounding, as per usual. Even though you will want to rush ahead and skip Tessa's chapters, stick with the girl, because it all ties together at the end. Plus, Ms Mead is an excellent storyteller, and the slower chapters away from Justin and Mae just help to amp up the excitement and anxiety about what they're doing even more.
As for those two themselves, what can I say? Richelle has a way with characters, making them so fully dimensional, it feels like they're in the room with you. And this is no different, even with the impediment of third person. It was fascinating to see Mae's journey and her development from a stone-faced praetorian to a woman who not only opened up her heart (finally), but also actually showed a deep, caring side of her with the children that I honestly didn't expect from Mae.
Justin... what can I say? He reminds me of Dorian, damnit. Always quick to protect the woman he loves, acting first and asking later, he's another one of her male leads that stole a piece of my heart. At this rate, I'd better hope she doesn't write any new series, or there'll be nothing left, what with all of her characters already vying for attention.
But, arguably the best part of the book was the open damnation of Arcadia. I know the element presented in the book is 100x worse than what we live with every day, but still so much of that is relevant to society today, with women being blamed for "enticing" men to rape them. I felt like the stand was clearly towards a more positive, equal society, where, as someone puts in the book, people realise that the problem isn't with the girls, but with the men who are brought up with a sense of entitlement that they think gives them the right to do as they please with no consequences. Oh, I so wanted Mae to smack some of those assholes around a little.

Gameboard of the Gods

Title: Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X #1)
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: adult
Rating: 5/5
Cover: 8/10 (not sure what/how it links to the story, but the swirls are pretty)


I know I shouldn't; I mean, you'd think that after ten adult books and nine young adult books, I'd be used to it. An yet, this woman's ability to captivate me with her stories never ceases to amaze me. And honestly? I'm hoping it never, ever does. Because, boy do I love the crazy rides her increasingly crazy main girls take me on.

To those of you familiar with Richelle's other works, the only way I can describe Mae (and I won't even try to spell her surname. I'm still trying to tackle Danila's. One crazy name at a time, please) is like, quite literally, a grown up version of Rose if Dimitri had stayed Strigoi, and Rose hadn't broken up with Adrian. Now, that was never a future that appealed to me, because in Rose's case, Dimitri was in the picture, and really, there's just no question when it comes to those two. But with Mae, I was happily surprised.  The similarities between Jason and Adrian can be quite astonishing for those who know what to look for, but at the same time, they're intrinsically different. Still, it was quite a shock to find myself yelling in my mind for them to just get it on already. Of all the books to make me reconsider my feelings on indulging, vice-imbibing, asshole-inclined, superior-minded, arrogant pricks, this was not the one I expected. But it did. And god help me, I fell head over heels in love with Jason. The jury's still out for Adrian, though.
Even more interestingly, is Tessa. The best way I can describe her, if we're still going with the Richelle Mead book examples, is as a bizarre cross between Sydney and a pinch of Rose. And yet something else too, because she's endearing - and while I love both leading ladies mentioned above, neither can be called endearing.
So what's the book about, and what makes it so amazing, you may ask? Join those three characters above, add in some crazy magic/god action, sexual tension thick enough to give even Georgina and Seth a run for their money, politics that are actually, bizarrely, quite intriguing, a dystopian-like country, and top it off with the trademark Mead snark and fabulous dialogue, and you have your answer. And if that doesn't sell you on reading this, then you should just read it because it's a Richelle Mead book, and I've come to learn that that basically means it'll blow your mind.
One thing that was, at first, a bit of the shock, is the third person narration that I wasn't used to with Mead's stories. However, once the book gets going (around page 2, as usual), it only ever stood out again whenever I had to stop reading, and then got back to it. Otherwise, in the flow of the narrative, the story lends itself quite well to third person, and it actually helps to keep the tension up, and kept me curious about the backgrounds of Mae and Jason, making me want to read on even more.
Also, to any budding YA readers out there who want to read more RM stuff, but are weary of the adult content, this is a pretty safe place to start. Leave Dark Swan and especially leave the Georgina Kincaid books alone until you can deal with explicit scenes; Gameboard of the Gods is really quite tame considering the usual amount of debauchery I've come to associate with adult books, although I suspect that might change in the next book. No swearing either, so safe enough.
Otherwise, definitely worth a read to any lovers of Richelle Mead, and/or good supernatural books. With a hint of dystopia to boot ;)