Rate: 4/5
Medium: ARC Kindle
Overview (No Spoilers):
Making my list of most anticipated releases for 2017, I was ecstatic to receive an ARC for The Dinosaur Princess, which is due out August 15th 2017. I have to admit, for some unspecified reason, I had it in my head that this latest installment in The Dinosaur Lords series was the third and final in a trilogy, however upon making it approximately 75% of the way through this novel, it dawned on me that my preconceived notions must be misguided, as such The Dinosaur Princess is actually number three in a six part series! I loved stepping back into this delightfully detailed world that in many aspects is medieval based with the added twist of incorporating dinosaurs into the fray. Unfortunately, large swaths of this novel did suffer from the proverbial middle book slump in a series where our beloved key characters are moved about similar to that of pawns in preparation for bigger and better battles to come in later books. With that being said, the long stretches of, let’s call it character growth, did not deter from my enjoyment of this book as new characters were introduced and we continued to learn more regarding this unique literary realm in exquisite detail, specifically the mysterious Grey Angels and Fae. To a certain extent, I’m beginning to think that Milan is relying a bit heavily on the sexual shock factor, especially with regard to Falk’s conniving mother. Overall, while The Dinosaur Princess was less action packed than it’s predecessor, it laid significant groundwork both developing characters and the literary realm that the following novels will continue to grow from, especially after the shocking plot twist that Milan left us with! I, for one, am left in a state of curious, suspense as to the fate of Nuevaropa and the many human pawns at play in the ancient battle between Grey Angels and the Fae.
Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):
Check back for spoilers after the release date!
Vocabulary Builder: Milan has a delightfully large vocabulary! When reading it is common that I encounter words that I’m not privy to the exact definition, however it is easy to infer the meaning of the aforementioned word based on the context of the sentence and story. As such, new to the Critiquing Chemist, you’ll find an additional section that includes vocabulary words that I encountered upon reading the book being reviewed and either had to look up the definition or it is a word in which I would like to add to my repertoire. This endeavor is easier when in the Kindle format, and potentially impossible with audiobooks, however I’m going to attempt to continue this section for all future book reviews. I’ll be using the definitions from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Capricious: impulsive, unpredictable
Limned: to draw or paint on a surface
Perfidy: the quality or state of being faithless or disloyal
Parsimony: the quality of being careful with money or resources
Arbalest: a crossbow especially of medieval times
Insouciance: lighthearted unconcern
Supine: lying on the back or with the face upward
Riposte: a fencer’s quick return thrust following a parry
Thoroughgoing: marked by thoroughness or zeal
August: marked by majestic dignity or grandeur
Ensorcelled: bewitch, enchant
Truculent: aggressively self-assertive; scathingly harsh
Cavil: to raise trivial and frivolous objection
Opprobrium: something that brings disgrace
Patronymic: a name derived from that of the father or a paternal ancestor usually by the addition of an affix
Paucity: smallness of number
Calumnies: a misrepresentation intended to harm another’s reputation
Obdurate: stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing
Lassitude: a condition of weariness or debility
Extirpate: to destroy completely
Equerry: an officer of a prince or noble charged with the care of horses
Sallet: a light 15th century helmet with or without a visor and with a projection over the neck
Suborn: to induce secretly to do an unlawful thing
Mendicant: someone (such as a member of a religious group) who lives by asking people for money or food
Juxtaposition: the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast or to create an interesting effect
Folderol: a useless ornament or accessory
Finials: a usually foliated ornament forming an upper extremity especially in Gothic architecture
Sedition: incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority
Protuberant: thrusting out from a surrounding or adjacent surface often as a rounded mass
Surreptitiously: done, made, or acquired by stealth
Avuncular: suggestive of an uncle especially in kindliness or geniality
Gainsaying: to declare to be untrue or invalid
Facile: easily accomplished or attained
Aplomb: complete and confident composure or self-assurance
Alacrity: promptness in response : cheerful readiness
Fetid: having a heavy offensive smell
Sumptuous: extremely costly, rich, luxurious, or magnificent
Ancillary: subordinate, subsidiary
Albeit: even though
Ostensibly: to all outward appearances
Simulacrum: an insubstantial form or semblance of something
Ignominious: marked with or characterized by disgrace or shame
Malignant: evil in nature, influence, or effect
Mycelium: the mass of interwoven filamentous hyphae that forms especially the vegetative portion of the thallus of a fungus and is often submerged in another body
Fluting: having or marked by grooves
Most of those words in your wordbuilder section I learned through reading Forgotten Realms books. They might be purple prose, but they DO teach new words 🙂
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I just need to somehow try to incorporate at least some of these beautiful new words in to my regular vocabulary!
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I might have to check out this series after reading your review. 🙂 I had to skip some to avoid spoilers. Lol have you read the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas? Great series but relatable on having a whole book be series buildup.
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Oh you should! Be patient with the first book. There’s a bit of a learning curve. 🙂 I love the Throne of Glass series! Every books gets better!
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“Character growth!” Ha! I have been wanting to read this series since the release of the first book. Like any girl who never quite grew up I absolutely love dinosaurs.
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I hope you like this series! I was very divided regarding the first book however have fallen in love now with the world. There’s quite a steep learning curve with regard to who is good and who is evil.
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[…] The first time I was mistaken, I thought I was reading the final book in a trilogy with The Dinosaur Princess, whereupon I was actually book three of six. When starting Winter, I thought I had at least one […]
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I really love your incorporation of vocabulary!
Also, I just realized that one of the books I’m currently reading, Ash and Quill, is not the last in a trilogy either, but will have at least four parts!
Great review 🙂
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Thanks! 🙂 It is one of my favorite additions to my blogging too! It really makes me more aware of words that I’ve always inferred the meaning without trying to use them in everyday or my writing.
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