Review: Lily and the Octopus

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting when I started Lily and the Octopus. I had heard amazing things so I thought I'd give it a try. But...I'm still not entirely sure what I got with Steven Rowley's novel.

Here's the synopsis:

Combining the emotional depth of The Art of Racing in the Rain with the magical spirit of The Life of Pi, Lily and the Octopus is an epic adventure of the heart.
When you sit down with Lily and the Octopus, you will be taken on an unforgettable ride.
The magic of this novel is in the read, and we don’t want to spoil it by giving away too many details.
We can tell you that this is a story about that special someone: the one you trust, the one you can’t live without.
For Ted Flask, that someone special is his aging companion Lily, who happens to be a dog.
Lily and the Octopus reminds us how it feels to love fiercely, how difficult it can be to let go, and how the fight for those we love is the greatest fight of all.
Remember the last book you told someone they had to read?
Lily and the Octopus is the next one.

I'm going to go against the synopsis and give you a bit more background on the story. Lily has been Ted's dog for many years and one day he realizes there's something growing on her head. Ted decides that that something is an octopus. I think he knows, deep down, that it's a tumor and Lily is therefore very sick. What follows is a story that is sweet and heartbreaking all at once.

So that magic the synopsis alludes to? It took the reader on a bizarre adventure on the high seas and that is when Rowley completely lost me. I love a good magic realism book but when I'm not expecting something like that and when I wasn't as invested with the story to begin with...well...it doesn't help my enjoyment. 

I can't pinpoint what, exactly, my issue was with this novel. It wasn't a bad book. It was written well. I just don't think the subject matter resonated with me and I think it needed to for the reader to fully enjoy the novel.

I do have to say that I love the idea of being able to have actual conversations with our pets. And the opening? That Thursdays are for talking about boys Ted and Lily think are cute? Love. (Ted is a Ryan Gosling fan while Lily is Team Ryan Reynolds.)

Lily and the Octopus really was a sweet novel. I think it might resonate more with dog owners. I have a rabbit and I'd be devastated if an "octopus" moved in with us. Many, many other people absolutely adored Steven Rowley's novel so don't just take my (oh so very lukewarm) thoughts on it.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon and Schuster Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Recovered

I have previously read and enjoyed the first two books in Amber Polo’s Shapeshifters’ Library series. As I noted in both reviews, Retrieved and Released here and here, I wasn’t sure that I’d like this fantasy series that revolved around librarians who could turn into dogs and had to battle evil book hating werewolves. It sounds crazy but it totally works. I happily agreed to read the latest novel, Recovered, and while I did enjoy it, I didn’t like it quite as much as the others.

Here’s the synopsis:

Bliss D. Light was just an ordinary children's librarian until one day she discovered she could grow a tail. Now her life is filled with more magic than any of the fairy tales she tells the children who gather at her feet at the Shipsfeather library. Like many of the other residents of Shipsfeather, Ohio, Bliss is a dogshifter, and her newly discovered ability to change from human form into that of a sleek white greyhound has left her yearning to know more about her true heritage. The answer to all her questions, she is certain, lies with the dogshifters' long lost Library of the Ancients and, undeterred by the fact that thousands before her have searched, she sets out to find it.
Accompanied by her best friend Harry, a disgraced werewolf/dogshifter mongrel, and hotly pursued by the evil werewolf team of Sybilla and Blaze, Bliss's quest takes her across the sacred sites and ancient mounds of the American Southwest. Though kidnapped by dogcatchers, sold into racetrack slavery and forced to fight wolf dogs to survive, Harry and Bliss never lose sight of their goal-or each other. Because the only thing more important than finding the ancient lost treasure might just be preserving what they already have found: an unlikely love that could be the first step toward bringing two ancient enemy races together.

I think my main issue with this book was that I really didn’t like Harry in the first two stories so I found it hard to root for him in this story. I’m as guilty as some of the dogshifters because I could see, as Bliss and some of the other dogs/librarians did, that he really was trying to reform and become more in touch with his canine ancestry. But I just couldn’t get over how much of an evil twit he was before. I also didn’t connect as much with Bliss, for some reason or another. I’m a huge character person so when I don’t fall in love with the main characters it can sometimes be hard for me to fall in love with the rest of the book.

Getting some more background on the shifters and werewolves was very interesting though. We get to learn more about what the bad werewolves are doing and what kinds of jobs they have as well as finding out that there are actually good werewolves out there. Polo has created a whole, incredibly unique, 

I really liked the part where Bliss ends up being adopted by a bookstore owner and she helps turn the store around while also dealing with the bookstore cat. I wish that she had gone straight there instead of being shuffled around (I don’t want to say much and totally spoil the story!) after being captured because I really enjoyed reading about her life at the store.

Overall, Recovered was a good addition to the Shapeshifters’ Library series by Amber Polo. I’m not totally sure if it’s the final book, as some ends didn’t seem to be totally tied up, but I think it could be a fitting conclusion. I really enjoyed getting to know these shapeshifting librarians and think other book and fantasy lovers would too!

Happy reading :)

*A copy of this novel was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

Blog Tour: Retrieved + a Giveaway!

Last fall I took part in the ABG Reads blog tour for the novel Released by Amber Polo. I was a little unsure about what I would think of it but, as you can see from my review, I ended up really enjoying it! When Colette asked me if I wanted to take part in the tour for the second book in The Shapeshifters' Library series, I immediately said yes. I was happy that I enjoyed Retrieved just as much as the first book!

Here's the synopsis:

Dog-shifters once again face the book-burning werewolves of Shipsfeather in this charming second installment of The Shapeshifters’ Library series.
Godiva Anglesey, Chocolate Labrador, and the ruggedly handsome English Mastiff Cynerik are forced to team up against power-hungry werewolves when Cynerik discovers an ancient Ohio mound that may hold answers to their shifter history. Knowing the mound’s secrets could benefit the dog-shifters in the ongoing contest for power, ambitious werewolf pack Alpha Sybilla challenges timid Godiva to a battle for the territory. Already faced with a malicious book-worm infestation and a censorship threat to ban all anthropomorphic books in her library, Godiva, who has no interest in battling anyone, must turn from running her small town library to train for a challenge she believes she has no chance of winning. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, Godiva’s mother announces that family tradition dictates that Godiva must be married by Summer Solstice… to a Druid. Godiva doesn’t even know any Druids.
Godiva wants to run her library, retrieve books for library patrons, and keep people happy. She’s no hero. She doesn’t have what it takes to face down werewolves or save the world. Cynerik, however, believes differently. Together they must defeat the werewolves, save the town and its library, protect the most important archeological discovery in dog-shifter history… and, just maybe, find love along the way.

I really didn't like Godiva very much in Released so I was worried that I may not enjoy Retrieved simply because of that fact. Luckily, I grew to like Godiva and wanted things to work out for her. I couldn't wait for her to wake up and realize that Griswald, the man she had an enormous crush on, was completely useless and she could do so much better.

Learning the history of these particular shapeshifters and werewolves was, once again, quite interesting (even if the St. Lawrence River was spelled incorrectly...). Once Cynerik found the mound, I was just as anxious as he to find out what was inside and what it meant. I especially liked the storytelling part of the Challenge and thought it further showed how different the shapeshifters and werewolves can be.

Once again, Amber Polo delivered an entertaining read. Retrieved was enjoyable and I think anyone who likes a bit of fantasy should give this one a shot. I'm interested to see what else can happen in the third instalment (no title or date yet).

One final thing: don't forget to enter the giveaway! Click here for the link: a Rafflecopter giveaway. You can win a Shapeshifter Public Library canvas book bag, a print copy of "Retrieved," dog biscuits, and a tuft of genuine wolf fur. This giveaway is tour wide and is open only to US/Canada residents. 

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