Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger

source: gift

Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger
series: Finishing School (3)

Waistcoats and Weaponry is the third book in the Finishing School series after Etiquette and Espionage (see post) and Curtsies and Conspiracies.  I'd had it on my wishlist ever since that once-just-books-now-everything online retailer had it available for pre-order.  Since it came out in November, I didn't go ahead and buy myself a copy in the hopes of getting it for Christmas.¹ So sure was I that I'd have a copy of Waistcoats and Weaponry in hand by the end of December² that I started rereading Etiquette and Espionage in preparation.³  And get it for Christmas, I did - two copies!  Both Russell and my mom purchased the book from my wishlist at that site.⁴ I assured my mother, who was quite a bit more concerned about the duplicate gift than Russell, that getting two copies was not a problem at all and that I knew exactly what to do with the second one. A few days later I sent it along to sister-in-law #3 and niece #1, to whom I'd previously given the series' first installments.

In any case because I also wanted to reread Curtsies and Conspiracies before I started my new acquisition, Waistcoats and Weaponry ended up being the first book I finished in 2015. It was a good way to start the year because it was such a satisfying read, giving me exactly what I've come to expect from Carriger, whose work I enjoy (see posts), and from this series in particular. In Waistcoats and Weaponry, Sophronia and her friends are properly transitioning out of childhood (complete with the realization that maybe they aren't quite ready for everything that means) and Carriger handles it beautifully. It's also significant to note that I finished Waistcoats and Weaponry with a desire to reread the Parasol Protectorate books (see post) because of a suspicion that if I look closely enough I may find evidence of another of the Finishing School characters that I didn't original recognize as a character from Parasol Protectorate.

1. I tried my best to ensure this eventuality by dropping copious hints to Russell.
2. If Santa et al failed me I was prepared to purchase a copy myself.
3. When it's been a while since I've read a series earlier installments, I like to reread them so that they are fresh in my mind before I start the latest one. Also, see note #1.
4. Site hiccup or user error? You be the judge.

seasonal reading: Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

source: my dad (I'm not sure if I have it forever or just on loan)

Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
series: Tiffany Aching (3); Discworld (35)

With so many parts of the US having a particularly cold and/or snowy winter and Punxsutawney Phil predicting another 6 weeks of winter today on Groundhog Day¹, Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith seems like the most appropriate of reading choices.

Wintersmith is the third book in Pratchett's Tiffany Aching Adventures (after Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky), which follows the coming-of-age adventures of a young witch (and her bumbling, not-quite-accidental helpmeets, the Nac Mac Feegle²) who lives within his Discworld world.

In Wintersmith, Tiffany inadvertently draws the attention of the titular character, who is the personification of the winter. The Wintersmith's attempts to woo Tiffany yield a long and preposterously harsh winter (with Tiffany-shaped snowflakes no less). Tiffany must find a way to subdue with Wintersmith while, unbeknownst to Tiffany, the Nac Mac Feegle train up a hero (who will be familiar to readers of the series) to rescue Spring from the underworld (that hero himself draws the parallel to Orpheus). More importantly (from the bildungsroman³ perspective at least), Tiffany must take responsibility for her role in attracting the Wintersmith.

I've mentioned before that the Tiffany Aching books were my primary reading matter during the recent family flu epidemic.  While I enjoyed the books (which came highly recommended by my father), I feel like I would have liked them better if I hadn't read them one right after the other.⁴ It just seems to be that my reading of the series would have benefited from enough of a gap that absolutely everything from the previous installment(s) was not so fresh in my mind.

1. Groundhog Day (aka Candlemas): "On Candlemas the woodchuck is said to emerge from his hibernation in order to look for his shadow. If he sees it, he will return to his burrow for six more weeks. If he doesn't, he knows that spring will arrive soon. The belief is related to the association of Candlemas with the sowing of the crops, sunny weather foreboding harsh days and so poor planting" (The Folklore of American Holidays edited by Cohen and Coffin, 65).
2. The titular characters of Wee Free Men.  Loveable rogues, the Nac Mac Feegle are like tiny, very clannish Scotsmen, who happen to be fairies (or pixies, I guess) and have the social structure of bees.  Their primary interests are drinking, brawling, and stealing.
3. I suppose this should be bildungsbuchreihe (or something like that) since it's not a novel, but the overarching storyline of a series.
4. Some series beg for binge reading, others do not.

mom-approved: Donna Leon

Yesterday I ran straight from work to the public library on an errand for my mom. Lately she's been stuck at home in pain with limited mobility because of a herniated disc in her back or something along those lines. Now, my mom is a voracious reader. Her favorite genres are historical fiction and mysteries, though like me she reads broadly across most fiction genres and appreciates the occasional nonfiction title when it relates to long-term or of-the-moment interests. However, right now she's only interested in reading books from one particular author: Donna Leon. Two of the Donna Leon books she requested from one of our library system's other branches had come in and I needed to collect them before the library closed at 6 pm.

She's working her way (possibly nonsequentially) through the books in Leon's Guido Brunetti series of mysteries set in Venice. So far there are 23 titles in the series:

1. Death At La Fenice (1992)
2. Death in a Strange Country (1993)
3. The Anonymous Venetian aka Dressed for Death (1994)
4. A Venetian Reckoning aka Death And Judgment (1995)
5. Acqua Alta aka Death in High Water (1996)
6. The Death of Faith aka Quietly in Their Sleep (1997)
7. A Noble Radiance (1997)
8. Fatal Remedies (1998)
9. Friends in High Places (1999)
10. A Sea of Troubles (2001)
11. Willful Behavior (2002)
12. Uniform Justice (2003)

13. Doctored Evidence (2004)
14. Blood from a Stone (2005)
15. Through a Glass Darkly (2006)
16. Suffer the Little Children (2007)
17. The Girl of His Dreams (2008)
18. About Face (2009)
19. A Question of Belief (2010)
20. Drawing Conclusions (2011)
21. Beastly Things (2012)
22. The Golden Egg (2013)
23. By Its Cover (2014)

Leon has also published a stand-alone novel, The Jewels of Paradise (2012), which is also set in Venice.

I'm pretty sure that I have a copy of Acqua Alta kicking around here, in turn I am pretty sure that I got it from my mom and that she picked it up as vacation reading. When I figure out where I put the book (if indeed I am remembering this all correctly), I'll read it and see whether I find the series as exciting as my mom does.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

source: public library

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
series: Seven Kingdoms (1)

I don't remember the last time I "read" an audiobook so quickly. I finished Graceling today, only four days after I checked it out from the library's e-audio repository. Between recovering from the flu and the heavy snow (read: time spent outside shoveling), I've had lots of opportunity to listen lately, but I have to admit that I also made time to listen. I was utterly charmed by Graceling and by its main characters Katsa (despite her decidedly unsympathetic special ability) and Po (and also by Bitterblue, a secondary character, who seems to be the protagonist of the series' third installment). I wanted to know what would happen to them, if they'd be able to overcome the obstacles they were facing, so I manufactured listening time.

My reluctant-reader sister is going to be receiving a copy of the audio version of Graceling for her birthday.

Cashore's second book, Fire, another installment of the Seven Kingdoms series, was available from the library's ebook repository so I checked it out in anticipation of my quick completion of Graceling. I started Fire shortly after finishing Graceling. I didn't get far (my second round of snow shoveling today ended up taking much less time than I expected), but I already know that I'm not going to enjoy it as much as Graceling. Fire is a prequel to Graceling and just from what little I've heard (again, I'm listening to the audio version), I can tell that it's going to involve one of the least palatable characters from Graceling. Now I'm trying to decide whether I should wait some time before continuing on with Fire or not.

a novel cure for the flu

I'd been ill for about a week before I was actually able to remember that I wanted to look up "flu" in The Novel Cure, which I received for my birthday (see post) when I was actually in the position to find the book. Even though I'd had the book since the end of September, I hadn't actually gone to it looking for a novel cure to anything before now.

In The Novel Cure, Elderkin and Berthoud suggest Agatha Christie, specifically Poirot, as a cure for the flu. They recommend The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Unfortunately I didn't have any Christie in the house and the public library didn't have any ebook or e-audio versions available to check out. I refuse to pay for ebooks so I was out of luck. Following Elderkin and Berthoud's logic, I decided that what I needed was an engrossing mystery.

source: my mom
(she picked it up at the take-a-book-leave-a-book shelf at a hotel)

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (published as Midnight Riot in the US)
series: Peter Grant (1)

A paranormal police procedural, Rivers of London takes place in a modern day London, in which the Metropolitan Police Service has a special, secret branch responsible for dealing with "the magic" when it poses a threat to the Queen's peace.  Probationary Constable Peter Grant (protagonist and first-person narrator) learns of the secret branch when he's assigned to assist Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale with a case.  That doesn't happen, though, until after Grant has interviewed an eyewitness to a murder who just happens to be a ghost. 

The primary storyline (serial murder) was a bit overcomplicated¹ for my flu-addled brain, but I enjoyed Rivers of London nonetheless.  The secondary (titular) storyline was quite interesting and easy to follow.  I also appreciated the overarching story of the protagonist as he first discovers the world of magic and then becomes an apprentice wizard.

Aaronovitch does a great job of world-building.  There's the recognizable and well-described London from which he lifts the veil.  He gives readers just enough paranormal activity to indicate the extent to which magic permeates his world, but not enough to overwhelm them and/or the story.  British magic has an interesting backstory (Isaac Newton "codif[ied] its basic principles," 81) as I'm sure does Nightingale, to whom Grant becomes apprenticed.   Home base for the secret branch (The Folly) is also populated by an inexplicable character named Molly, who is indispensable to the functioning of the branch.

Peter Grant is an everyman character (mixed race, distractible, and decidedly average with the exception of an aptitude for magic).  He also has two love interests:  another probationary constable (who I assume will be a recurring character in the series as it goes forward) and a magical person he encounters in the course of his work on the titular storyline.

I read Rivers of London ravenously and I'm quite eager to read more of Peter Grant's adventures. There are three more books (so far) in the series, but it seems like only the second installment (Moon Over Soho)² has been published in the US so far.³

A note on the cover art. I much prefer the art on Rivers of London (and the other British editions) to the art on Midnight Riot (and the other American editions). I felt that way even before scanning other reviews and coming across one that mentioned a concern about white-washing with regard to the American editions.⁴ The art of the British covers focuses on the city, while the art of the American cover focuses on the character (and with that character focus, obscuring the race is problematic). Additionally, the British editions are quirky, with little details (about the story and about London) hidden in the artwork. I love that.

1. It's described thusly (from the perspective of PC Grant) on the Rivers of London page of the author's website: "there’s something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair. The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it’s falling to me to bring order out of chaos – or die trying" (The Folly/Books/Rivers of London).
2. Thankfully they haven't changed the title of this one for the American audience.
3. Though a quick search of the public library catalog informs me that I can also get #3, Whispers Under Ground, from the library even though my branch doesn't have a copy.
4. Neth Space shows two different versions of both American editions' covers and discusses this issue, see Neth Space: Another White-washed Cover?.  I don't particularly either version of either of the American covers.  The British cover art is much more appealing to me on many different levels.

Courtney Crumrin: The Night Things by Ted Naifeh

source: purchased

Courtney Crumrin: The Night Things by Ted Naifeh
series: Courtney Crumrin Special Edition (1)

I purchased The Night Things last year at a local independent comic book/game shop (Modern Myths in Mamaroneck, NY) to read myself and then possibly send along to one of my nieces or nephews as appropriate. While I was immediately drawn to the Courtney Crumrin books (it seems like each of these hardcover special editions collects four issues of the comic) as the covers showcase Naifeh's characteristic gloomy artwork and are nicely tactile, but I held out for quite a while before I actually handed over my money.

I decided to read The Night Things last night as I needed a break from my regularly-scheduled flu reading (Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching Adventures; I'm on the third installment now). I have to admit, though, that I was a bit underwhelmed by it.  When collected together the story seems disjointed in a way that it wouldn't when read in its original format.  And, I wished there was more character development specifically with regard to Courtney's relationship to Aloysius. I will, however, give The Night Things another chance since it's quite likely that I'll be less critical when I'm not feeling so poorly.

seasonal reading: Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan

source: Netgalley (review copy)

Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan
series: O'Neil Brothers (1)

I really enjoyed this romance novel set around the holidays.

Kayla Green is an extremely successful workaholic who hates nothing more than the Christmas season ("I'm Scrooge, but without the tasteless nightwear," 8). She's busy avoiding holiday celebrations at work when she learns of a lead that could lead to a huge account for her PR firm. When the potential client (the sexy, young Jackson O'Neil, CEO of Snowdrift Leisure) makes an unorthodox request (that Kayla agree to spend a week up his family's secluded Vermont resort in order to experience the resort firsthand and get the rest of the family on board with her developing an integrated marketing plan for the resort), Kayla surprises both her boss and Jackson O'Neil by agreeing to spend the holidays at the resort ("Kayla decided that given the choice between an encounter with Santa or a black bear, she'd take the bear," 42).

As would be expected with a romance novel, Kayla and Jackson have immediate chemistry. Chemistry he's willing to explore and she wants to do her best to ignore. And, of course, Kayla's time at Snow Crystal resort does not go to plan. She flubs her initial presentation to the resort's stakeholders, making her job of winning them over that much more difficult. In the course of showing her all the resort has to offer Jackson takes every opportunity to thaw Kayla's chilly exterior, much to her chagrin. On top of that Jackson's family is not the least bit businesslike and they aren't content to ignore her and let her do her work, insisting on pulling her into their holiday celebrations. In order to win the Snow Crystal account, Kayla is going to need to confront the issues that cause both her hatred of the holidays and fear of intimacy.

Even given the time constraints inherent in the Sleigh Bells in the Snow's plot, Kayla and Jackson's relationship proceeds at a reasonable pace (personally I dislike romance novels in which relationships progress too quickly). Both Kayla and Jackson have interesting and complex backstories and the issues they have to overcome in order to be together are realistic.  Morgan also populated the novel with a bevy of well-realized secondary characters (mostly in the form of other O'Neil family members), many of whom will no doubt appear in the other books in the series as each installment will revolve around one of the O'Neil brothers.

My one complaint about the novel is that it gives away too much about the other books in the series.   By the end of Sleigh Bells in the Snow readers know who both of the other brothers will likely end up with and have a general idea of the issues that the couples will have to overcome in the course of their own stories (more so for Tyler than for Sean).  This isn't really enough to ruin or spoil the upcoming books, it's just that I would have preferred less in the way of clues about later installments.

disclosure: I received a review copy of Sleigh Bells in the Snow from Harlequin via NetGalley.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

source: gift

Allegiant by Veronica Roth
series: Divergent Trilogy (3)

I'd been looking forward to the conclusion of Veronica Roth's Divergent Trilogy and was planning to order Allegiant when Russell informed me that I already had a copy on order courtesy of one of his sisters, who shopped my Amazon wishlist for my birthday. Safe in the knowledge that I'd be getting the new novel on the day it was released I set about rereading the first two installments in the series, Divergent (see post) and Insurgent (see post). I'd read Divergent at least twice so I remembered its twists and turns fairly well. Reading Insurgent was a bit more of a rediscovery for me since I'd only read it once before.

It is difficult to write much about books like Allegiant (a later installment in a series, to which one is emotionally attached) without including spoilers for earlier books in the series. Suffice it to say that I think that Roth did a good job following up on the revelation at the end of Insurgent and answering readers' lingering questions about the world she created for her characters. Allegiant is wonderfully complex with lots more character development and revelations about individual characters' strengths and weaknesses. A powerful end to the series.

One thing that I found disorienting upon starting Allegiant was that the narrative jumped back and forth from Tris' and Four's points of view. I don't usually have trouble with multiple POV novels, but having just reread Divergent and Insurgent, which are told from Tris' perspective, I found the change jarring. That being said, I understand why Roth changed the narrative structure for this book and I don't think I would have found it problematic at all if I hadn't just gorged on the earlier books.

Fundraising the Dead by Sheila Connolly

source: gift

Fundraising the Dead by Sheila Connolly
series: Museum Mystery (1)

I received Fundraising the Dead for my birthday this year (see post). It's a cozy mystery (the first in a new series) set in a museum (the Historical Society of Pennsylvania¹ under the guise of the "Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society"). The amateur detective for the series is the museum's director of development, though in Fundraising the Dead (and maybe future installments) she has help in the form of a long-armed board member.

I enjoy cozy mysteries and I particularly liked this one because of its setting. The historical society-type museum is very familiar to me. I also appreciated that while there was a murder, the more significant crime was insider theft, which is a very real problem for museums, especially those with paper and portable collections.

While reading Fundraising the Dead I found myself imaging some of the characters as their real-life counterparts in my museum. I had our former donor relations manager cast as the lead though because I think she'd make a better sleuth than our director of development.²  I also noticed at one point that my irritation with one of the book's characters was being transferred to their real-life counterpart³ so I had to make sure to divorce fiction from reality before I went to work the next day.

The more typical danger with being too familiar with a setting is that one can get distracted by errors made by the author⁴ to the point of not being able to appreciate the book for what it is. As evidenced by that last footnote, I did experience a bit of that, but it didn't keep me from enjoying Fundraising the Dead.  It looks like Connolly has already published three more installments in the series (Let's Play Dead, Fire Engine Dead, and Monument to the Dead) and I plan to read them all.

There's one item, I must address, though, before ending this post. The back cover promised a dead archivist⁶ - false advertising! When reading the novel it soon becomes apparent that the person who drafted the back cover text didn't have a good grasp on the distinction between different roles within the museum because it isn't the archivist who is killed... it's the registrar. This amused me to no end because the person who gave me Fundraising the Dead is our museum's collection manager... who serves as our registrar.  And who will be borrowing this book from me shortly.   For what it's worth, there's no archivist mentioned in the narrative.

1. While reading the novel I incorrectly assumed it was set at the Philadelphia Athenaeum, but I did a bit of my own sleuthing before writing this post.
2. Though, just to be clear, I don't imagine her as type to conduct a secret affair with a superior, even if both of them were single.
3. Who may or may not have deserved my ire, but definitely not for what the character was getting up to.
4. For example, in no museum of 40+ employees would the director of development ever be involved in estimating the scope of a collection, let alone in the damp, cluttered basement.
5. When a collection of George Washington's letters is lost on the day of the Society's grand gala, heads will certainly roll... but no one expects an archivist to be found dead."

Delectable by Adrianne Lee

source: Netgalley (review copy)

Delectable by Adrianne Lee
series: Big Sky Pie (1)

Callee McCoy makes one last trip to Kalispell, Montana to tie up loose ends before her divorce is finalized. Her soon-to-be exhusband Quint is supposed to be fishing in Alaska so no one is more surprised than Callee is to run into him when she stops by his mother Molly's new storefront to drop off the family heirloom that served as her wedding ring. When Molly collapses at the bakery she's in the process of launching, the stress of Callee and Quint's unplanned reunion is the least of their worries. With the cardiologist giving everyone strict instructions to do nothing to cause Molly any additional stress before her bypass surgery, there's nothing Callee and Quint can do but what Molly requests: find a way to work together to make sure Big Sky Pie's grand opening happens as scheduled in one weeks' time.

The thing I like most about Delectable is that its protagonists have a backstory. Because the relationship doesn't have to be built from scratch during the course of the novel, it (and it's problems) seems much more authentic. I know that reading fiction often requires suspension of disbelief on the part of readers, one of my romance novel pet peeves is the instant magnetic attraction that makes characters behave (extremely) unrealistically. The barriers between the two protagonists don't seem manufactured (as in so many other romance novels) because Callee and Quint had two years-worth of marriage and a subsequent estrangement during which their issues could have developed and festered.  

It looks like Delectable is the first in a series that will focus on residents of Kalispell, MT who have some connection to the Big Sky Pie bakery. The blurb I read about Delicious, the series' second installment, indicates that the action will revolve around Quint's friend Nick.

disclosure: I received a review copy of Delectable from Grand Central Publishing (Hachette) via NetGalley.

dust jackets, binge reading, and counting chickens

My blog-related resolution for 2013 was to post at least something about every book that I read this year, preferably immediately or shortly after I either finish or officially give up on it. I failed pretty miserably at it during the first six months of the year, but I was on quite a roll this month (even sneaking in an on-topic review of a book read earlier in the year). I felt so good about the groove I'd gotten in that I started counting my chickens before they'd hatched.

Last week was one of those crazy weeks where all different sorts of problems pile up on you all at once. It was made even more unbearable by the heatwave our region has been under. Even if I hadn't begun floundering, I would have dropped the ball on my review posting last week. At a certain point all I wanted was some comfort reading. Specifically, I wanted to reread The Hunger Games trilogy. Thursday night when I went to pull The Hunger Games off the shelf though, I found lined up on the shelf Mockingjay, Catching Fire, and an empty The Hunger Games dust jacket. Now it isn't too uncommon for there to be empty dust jackets on my shelves because I prefer to read hardcover books naked¹ when possible. I'm also quite lax about putting my books away. Of course I couldn't find the book in any of the logical places. As I was looking for it I grew so irritated with myself that I actually started reuniting some of my other naked hardcovers with their dust jackets.

Luckily Russell managed to find my naked copy of The Hunger Games on Friday because the high temperatures have left me indoors and growing increasingly stir crazy this weekend. I haven't wanted to knit or do much of anything else so I've just been binge reading the entire series. I just finished Mockingjay and I'm at a bit of a loss again. But by writing this post, I've made progress toward getting back on track with my resolution. I've now posted about 7 out of the 9 books I've read so far this month. Somehow that sounds much better than 4 out of 6.

1. I mean, without their dust jackets.

A Fatal Likeness by Lynn Shepherd

source: review copy

A Fatal Likeness by Lynn Shepherd
UK title: A Treacherous Likeness
series: Charles Maddox (3)
forthcoming: August 20, 2013

In the third installment of her literary mystery series featuring thief-taker¹ Charles Maddox,² Shepherd seeks to fill the "inexplicable gaps and strange silences" (8) in the biographical record of the Young Romantics. The action of the novel begins when Charles Maddox is summoned to Sir Percy Shelley (son of Percy Bysshe and Mary) and asked to spy on someone claiming to have some of the famous poet's private papers for sale. The more Maddox learns about the assignment and his clients, the more complicated things begin to seem and the less altruistic their decision to employ him.

In her post-epigraph author's note and the back matter section entitled "Author's Notes and Acknowledgments" Shepherd makes clear that while A Fatal Likeness is fictional, it is based on facts and contemporary accounts. Apparently the author made every attempt to stay true to the various historical personages (primarily the Shelleys, Lord Byron, and Mary Shelley's stepsister Claire Clairmont) and for her suppositions to be plausible based on the evidence that is in the historical record.   In the back matter Shepherd also explains the reasoning behind her decision to attribute certain actions to certain characters or explain a mystery in a certain way. 

While I don't think it is strictly necessary to read the other Charles Maddox books in order to appreciate A Fatal Likeness, I do think it would help. The Shelley-related storyline stands well on its own, but I feel like it is a bit difficult for the reader to connect to Charles Maddox as protagonist in A Fatal Likeness not having the backstory presented in the earlier novels.

I generally enjoy historical fiction centered around historical personages whether well-known or obscure.  I think an author does her readers a disservice, however, when she assumes that they come to her book with significant previous knowledge of her subjects.  I will fully admit to not being familiar with Claire Clairmont and her significance (I almost always read author's notes and the like after I read the body of the text) and I was put off by how Shepherd begins the paragraph following Clairmont's introduction into the narrative: "It is a name that may well be familiar to you, but it means nothing whatsoever to Charles.  And he will not be alone, not in 1850 [...]" (56).

The biggest flaw with A Fatal Likeness is in just how unlikeable Shepherd makes all the historical personages as characters.  I came to the novel with no romantic notions about the individuals featured in it, as I was reading I found myself despising each of them in turns and none more so than the famous Shelleys themselves.  I can only imagine how a reader with a great love of any of this individuals might react to the demonization of one of their heroes. 

I do plan to put the other Charles Maddox books on my to-read list because I did enjoy the writing and style of A Fatal Likeness, if not all its particulars.

1. detective
2. After Murder at Mansfield Park and The Solitary House (published as Tom-All-Alone's in the UK, either of which I've read.

disclosure: I received a review copy of A Fatal Likeness from Bantam Dell (Random House) via NetGalley.

a few multiple POV novels

Or, short reviews of books read during June 2013, part 1

The Blood of the Lamb by Sam Cabot (source: Netgalley)
forthcoming: August 6, 2013

Catholic Church conspiracy thriller with vampires.
The novel is well-written, but its subject matter is divisive. Obviously if you dislike and/or are offended by books of this type, you should give The Blood of the Lamb a miss. Its multiple point-of-view narrative may also turn off some readers (for what it's worth, there's nothing especially problematic about how Cabot handles the various characters and their points of view). Otherwise, I think this cerebral thriller is definitely worth a read. It's written by two people¹ who clearly know how to write and, in the context of the novel, the paranormal elements don't seem unrealistic. I particularly recommend The Blood of the Lamb to fans of vampire novels, as I think they'd appreciate Cabot's take on them.

The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell (source: public library)

Debut novel by award-winning screenwriter.
I discovered The Death of Bees while browsing the new arrivals section of my local public library. I was intrigued by the book-flap text, but unsure as to whether I'd like the novel or not. The Death of Bees is dark and gritty (set in a Glasgow housing estate²), but compelling.
I, for one, like multiple POV narratives and I really appreciated how O'Donnell created such distinct voices for her three point-of-view characters: a fifteen-year-old breadwinner, whose straight-A average belies her rough-and-tumble make-it-work attitude about life; her gifted, but maladjusted twelve-year-old sister; and their doddering, Scarlet-Lettered neighbor.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (source: public library)
series: Lunar Chronicles (2)

Little Red Riding Hood set in a dystopian future.
The sequel to Cinder (see post), Scarlet introduces the eponymous character (and her Wolf) in addition to continuing the overarching story begun in Cinder.
After reading Scarlet, I'm even more keen on this series (the Lunar Chronicles) and recommend it to both adults and young adults who like science fiction, paranormal fiction (romance or not), retellings of fairy tales, dystopian fiction, or any of the above. Cinder is the book that I gave my dad for Father's Day this year and I may try to lure my reluctant-reader-due-to-dyslexia sister with the audiobook.

footnotes:

1. Sam Cabot is a pseudonym for the writing team of Carlos Dews and S.J. Rozan.
2. Housing project.  When I read "housing estate" in a British-authored book, my first instinct is not to think of the projects.  "Estate" sounds so much nicer, but I'm sure that's because I don't have the relevant cultural baggage.

More Disclosure: I received a review copy of The Blood of the Lamb from Blue Rider Press (Penguin) via NetGalley.

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean

source: personal collection (via BookMooch)

series: Terri Windling's Fairy Tale Series (5)

Pamela Dean's Tam Lin is one of the books in Terri Windling's wonderful Fairy Tale Series,¹ retellings of classic fairy tales for adults, originally published by Ace and Tor (1987-2002) with cover art by Thomas Canty. In it, Dean reimagines the tale of "Tam Lin" (a ballad of the Scottish Borders first recorded in the 1549) on the campus of a small liberal arts college in Minnesota in the early 1970s.

The bulk of Tam Lin read like a very literary college novel (a word of warning: unless you have seriously studied English literature and have a background in Classics, the sheer number of references and quotations peppering the narrative is bound to leave you feeling dejectedly ignorant). The faerie realm enters the story overtly only in the last ten percent or so of the novel, though it intrudes, subtly, much earlier.

I have to admit that as I was reading Tam Lin I was at a bit of a loss as to how it could possibly qualify as a fantasy novel. Not being familiar with the original story and not having (re)read the back-cover text prior to beginning the novel, I nevertheless was well aware of the fact that the novel was an adaptation of a fairy tale of sorts. Knowing that, I remained alert, taking note of anything that was remotely out of the ordinary, which helped me to tune into the undercurrents in the story early on.

I enjoyed Tam Lin (and it definitely made me nostalgic for my own college years), but I do wish that there was a bit more of a balance between the natural and supernatural elements of the story. The realization, climax, and ending seem horribly rushed when compared to Dean's detailed treatment of everyday college life. One can't help but feel a bit disappointed.

My favorite line² of the whole 456-page novel:

"If you read science fiction," [her advisor] said, "you'll like Herodotus." (22)

I have no idea if this is true,³ but I liked that the protagonist's academic advisor (a Classics professor) tried that tack in hopes of luring her into the strangely malevolent Classics department.

1. Other books in the Fairy Tale series:
   • The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars by Steven Brust
   • The Nightingale by Kara Dalkey
   • Jack the Giant-Killer by Charles de Lint (read)
   • Snow White, Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede
   • Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (read; see post)
   • White As Snow by Tanith Lee
   • Fitcher’s Brides by Gregory Frost
2. My other favorite is "'I only did it to please Janet,' said Molly. 'She thinks elephants are festive'" (137), which I found absolutely hysterical - though it doesn't seem as amusing out of context.
3. Care to weigh in, Classics majors?

a few romance novels

Recently Russell commented on the fact that I hadn't read any romance novels lately. While his observation was in fact correct,¹ I was a bit taken aback because I didn't think that Russell payed all that much attention to what I read on a daily basis. Then it occurred to me that it is actually quite obvious (to him) when I have a romance in progress because I can't help but read aloud the most over-the-top descriptions for Russell's amusement if he happens to be somewhere in the general vicinity.

In any case his comment spurred this post (and will likely result in more romance reviews in the nearish future since I requested a few books from NetGalley's romance offerings).

Love Unscripted by Tina Reber
series: Love (1)

female lead: Small-town Rhode Island bar owner
male lead: Hollywood A-lister
filling out the (love) triangle: Bodyguard

I actually read Love Unscripted last year and I can safely say that it is what put me off romance novels in the near past. The novel was simply far too long (officially 592 pages). It could have easily been broken in two, there was even a natural place to do so (and seeing that Love Unscripted is actually the first in a series, which continues the story of this same couple, obviously the author didn't take issue with breaking up the story in principle). The protagonist's secondary love interest never felt like a real option (even early on it was obvious to me as a reader that he wasn't good for her), so her wishy-washiness becomes a bit unbearable in the second half of the book. After a certain point even her passionate, hot-and-cold relationship with the primary love interest ceased to amuse me. I remember thinking "will this book ever end?" I probably should have given up on Love Unscripted, but I am a glutton for punishment.

Lady Gone Bad by Sabine Starr

setting: 1880s Texas
male lead: Deputy US Marshall
female lead: [see title]

Lady Gone Bad was the Nook "Free Fridays" offering for February 22nd. I often forget to check the weekly freebie, but conveniently enough the first Friday after Russell's observation this wild west romance was on offer. Lady Gone Bad is a pretty standard historical romance. It's not heavy on historical detail (or accuracy) and some plot points are never properly explained, but both leads are sympathetic (and their relationship is appropriately passionate).  Cringe-worthy cover, though.

Grave Consequences by Lisa Bergren
series: Grand Tour Series (2)

setting: Europe, circa 1913
leading lady: A Cinderella-like heiress not comfortable with her new elevated position in society
bachelor #1: Dashing French nobleman
bachelor #2: Tour guide

Grave Consequences continues the story begun in Glamorous Illusions (which I haven't read) of a young woman on a tour of Europe with her newly discovered half-siblings. It is a combination of romantic suspense (the opens with the group fleeing from a kidnapping attempt) and historical inspirational romance. The novel isn't particularly preachy, but the two main characters have enough examinations of consciousness to keep the reader from forgetting that the novel is Christian fiction. I found the suspense a bit melodramatic and I pinpointed the hidden bad guy early on, but I did appreciate how strove to incorporate the educational aspect of the grand tour into her narrative and the fact that the love triangle was well-balanced.  I imagine that my sister would like this series.  I think I'll recommend it to her.

1. Even though I don't often post about them on the blog (usually they're "nothing to write home about" as they say, I do read romance novels somewhat regularly.

disclosure: Via NetGalley I received a review copies of Grave Consequences and Love Unscripted from David C. Cook and Atria Book respectively.

a couple of new YA books from favorite non-YA authors

Russell and I have good about reining in our tendency toward excessive book acquisition since we moved (very good with the exception of the Borders-liquidation splurging).  In recent months I have purchased two books for myself, intentional purchases from from bricks-and-mortar book stores.  Both of these books were on my to-buy list because I love their authors' other work and knew that I'd want these new releases for my library. After reading both of them, I know that I made the right decision to skip the library and go straight to the bookstore.

I bought The Last Dragon Slayer by Jasper Fforde (released in October) for myself in December and wrapped it up as a Christmas present. I bought Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger (released on February 5th) on Presidents' Day weekend. These two novels have quite a lot in common. Both are written by authors who are famous for zany, alternate history-type fantasy novels. Both are their respective authors' first foray into YA fiction (though I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Carriger and Fforde's other novels to teens). Both are first in a planned series. And, both have really fantastic (in my opinion, at least) cover art.

Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger
series: Finishing School (1)

Etiquette and Espionage is set in the same world as Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series (see post), though at a slightly earlier time (alternate 1851). In it we meet some of the Parasol Protectorate series' secondary characters as children.

The novel opens with 14-year-old Sophronia Temminnick ensconced within a dumbwaiter, from which she hopes to eavesdrop.  When Sophronia's plans go disastrously awry, resulting in a ruined dress (hers) and a ruined hat (Mrs. Barnaclegoose's), Sophronia's mother unceremoniously packs her off to Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. That Mademoiselle Geraldine's is no ordinary finishing school becomes apparent before Sophronia arrives as the academy.  If the natterings of her fellow debut weren't enough to make Sophronia suspicious, their coach being beset by flywaymen (airborn highwaymen), demanding they hand over a prototype, sealed the deal.

I enjoyed Etiquette and Espionage immensely (a school that teaches espionage alongside etiquette and has both werewolf and vampire instructors is so very Gail Carriger) and look forward to buying Curtsies and Conspiracies, Finishing School installment the second, for my library in November or December.

The Last Dragon Slayer by Jasper Fforde
series: Chronicles of Kazam (1)

The Last Dragon Slayer is less obviously a series opener. I know that it is the first book in the Chronicles of Kazam series only because the publishers tell me so, but it makes sense since Fforde does love to write in series.

The Last Dragon Slayer takes place is a completely different world than any of Fforde's other series, but that world is appropriately eccentric and fully realized.  If you like Jasper Fforde, you'll like this new series, but it is a bit like Fforde lite. Acutally The Last Dragon Slayer would be a good introduction to Fforde as it is a more approachable than The Eyre Affair, The Big Over Easy, or Shades of Grey (which is probably Fforde's least accessible opener).

15 year-old Jennifer Strange is an orphan indentured to Kazam Mystical Arts Management. She's been running the company, which hires out magicians for miscellaneous odd jobs, since the mysterious disappearance of its director, Mr. Zambini.  Mystical arts management isn't the most promising of career fields given that magic is losing its potency, but Jennifer only has a few years left in her servitude.  However, when her name is connected with the prophesy of the imminent death of the last dragon, it becomes clear that Jennifer's immediate future will involve more than paperwork and contract negotiation.

The second book in the Chronicles of Kazam, The Song of the Quarkbeast, will be released in the US in September (it's been available in the UK since 2011).

The Seven Markets by David Hoffman

The Seven Markets by David Hoffman
series: The Seven Markets (1)

THE MARKET
MIDSUMMER'S DAY, OBERTON VILLAGE
MYSTERIES, WONDERS, AND DREAMS

So reads the sign that seventeen-year-old Ellie MacReady encounters on her way into the village one day in the summer of 1726. A thing of legend, the Market appears only once every century.   Ellie grew up hearing her father's stories about the Market, but nothing he told her prepared Ellie for what she was to encounter there.

Reading The Seven Markets was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. I went from thinking "oooh, this is good" to regretfully telling Russell that I was going to hate the book (more on why below). I then moved on to cautious optimism, which later morphed into delight. There followed some bewilderment (ditto), but I ended the novel on a good note.

The Seven Markets is described as a science fiction fairy tale. I've always disliked the fact that science fiction and fantasy are nearly always lumped together in non-specialty bookstores.¹ The creation of this single category further degrades two genres that are already marginalized as "genre fiction" (as opposed to "real" fiction) by reducing them to subgenres. While I am by no means an expert on either genre, I grew up with a man who did the majority of his book-shopping in that department.² While there is cross-over between the two genres, I think that's the exception rather than the rule and that their real commonality is their reader.
In any case, The Seven Markets is the rare book that belongs in the science fiction and fantasy department because it is a cross-over that has significant elements from both genres.

From this blog's tag cloud, it is obvious that I read (and post about) more fantasy than scifi. While the gap is actually significantly wider than the tags would have you believe, I do appreciate both genres. I am, however, a particularly picky reader of the two genres, mostly because I become overwhelmed by the heaviest versions of either. The bewilderment mentioned above is a result of that tendency of mine, while the possible hatred relates to a particular fantasy trope³ for which I usually have no patience.

The Seven Markets is like nothing I've read before. The novel, like the Market itself, is full of endless wonders, but it is also tightly constructed. As a reader you never know what will happen next. I'm loathe to go into too much detail on the plot because much of the novel's magic--and what makes it such a compelling read--is in how and how much it reveals itself. I'd just caution readers not to be put off by the (intentionally) jarring transitions between the first few chapters. While those types of transitions continue to move the narrative along, you do become accustomed to them.

If you are interested in The Seven Markets, but not sold yet, check out the sample available on the author's website.

For what it's worth, Russell and I have already purchased two copies of The Seven Markets to give as gifts⁴ (it's a particularly good choice for lovers of fantasy, science fiction, and strong, female protagonists) and intend to purchase at least one more in the very near future for the same reason.

I have to admit, though, that I'm looking forward to Hoffman's next book, Beautiful Handcrafted Animals (forthcoming Spring 2013),⁵ much more than I am Ellie's next adventure. Of course that doesn't mean that I won't whip though The King's Glamour (forthcoming Summer 2013) as soon as I can get my hands on it.

n.b. Links within this post either go to Amazon (no referral) or Hoffman's website, rather than my usual.

1. Case in point: Amazon.
2. My father is the first person I disappointed by my inability to slog through The Lord of the Rings.
3. In the footnotes because specifying this could be considered a SPOILER. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler, but continue at your own risk.
   I generally dislike (and sometimes despise) stories that involve humans crossing over into the faerie realm and getting stuck there outside of time.
4. Even though The Seven Markets is only available via Amazon, a company that I'm trying not to patronize when I can help it.
5. David (oh, jeeze, see the disclosure statement) describes this one as "suburban fantasy" (as opposed to urban fantasy; forgive the lazy Wikipedia link), which sounds just like my cup of tea.

disclosure: I received a review copy of The Seven Markets from the author, with whom I am friendly.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Series: A Song of Ice and Fire (1)

Despite hearing people rave both about the A Song of Ice and Fire books and the television show based on them,¹ I really had no interest in reading A Game of Thrones until recently. First, I was introduced to A Game of Thrones: The Board Game² at our Monday-night gaming group. Everyone in attendance that night had read A Game of Thrones except Russell and I, which make me feel irresponsible for some reason. Then, for a secret santa swap, I was assigned someone who adores both the books and the series. So I simply had to read A Game of Thrones so I didn't completely botch the A Song of Ice and Fire-themed package I decided that this person needed.

I finished A Game of Thrones tonight after a fit of monogamous reading. Actually I listened to the (e)audiobook narrated by Roy Dotrice, who with the exception of an occasional slip-up on the names³ did a nice job. I read A Game of Thrones quickly not because I found it particularly suspenseful (and researching for my swap package yielded at least two spoilers). My dedicated reading was primarily due to the fact that I hated having two giant fantasy novels in progress at the same time.⁴

I'm not dying to read the next book, but neither am I resistant to continuing along with the series. The thing I liked most about the novel was that it was told from a number of different points of view. I found the story as a whole fairly compelling, but much of that had to do with wanting to get back to one character or other to find out how they were faring.

Apparently the series is inspired by the Wars of the Roses. The reference seems apt, but honestly I don't know enough about those 15th century battles of succession to say how closely the novel(s) follow actual events. A Game of Thrones (and I assume the series as a whole) is heavy on violence and bloodshed, which is understandable even if not welcome. I do admire the fact that Martin has no qualms about killing off significant characters.

1. Not everyone raved, but the ravers outnumbered those less enthusiastic.
2. For what it's worth I really did not like the game (and I have no desire to play it again). This strategic free-for-all type of game is not my cup of tea and I found the iconography on the action tokens extremely confusing. As House Baratheon I started out in position of power. I still had the Iron Throne at the end of the game, but I didn't play well by any stretch.
3. Calling "Joffrey" "Jeffrey" and pronouncing Lady Stark's name as "Caitlin."
4. Russell has me reading Lord of the Rings and it is going to take me forever to finish. And, yes, I'm counting it as three separate books in my tally for the year.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
series: Divergent Trilogy, 2

Considering how much I liked Divergent (see post), it's no surprise that I enjoyed its sequel, Insurgent.

Insurgent continues the overarching storyline begun in Divergent. During the course of the novel readers learn more about the other factions (and the factionless) and how the groups relate to each other. We also get a better idea of how five-faction society functions as a whole and how and why it came into being.

Beatrice and her love interest from Divergent maintain their relationship¹ and it continues to be complex and somewhat complicated.

On a side note, I love Insurgent's cover art. It's beautiful and compelling with great movement. It also echoes Divergent's cover in a nice way while still standing on its own legs.

1. Good. I dislike nothing more than series that follow the new-installment-new-love-interest modus operandi.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
series: Lunar Chronicles, 1

work colleague: So, what are you reading now?
Karen: Oh, it's a retelling of Cinderella set in a dystopian future. She's a cyborg.

In Cinder we have a classic fairytale set in the (far distant) future. The moon, now a nation known as Luna, is populated by a race of mutant humans with mind-control powers (which most humans consider magic, but is described by the scientifically minded as the ability to manipulate bio-electric energy).¹ After the devastation of World War IV, Earth's remaining nations signed a peace treaty. But, while there is peace on Earth, humans are threatened both by a worldwide pandemic, a plague called letumosis, and by the possibility of war with Luna.

Linh-mei (aka Cinder) is a teenage mechanic living in New Beijing, capitol of the Eastern Commonwealth. While Cinder survived the airship accident that killed both her parents, the surgeries that saved her left her less than 70% human. She is a cyborg, a second-class citizen. Her adoptive father contracted letumosis shortly after her assuming guardianship of Cinder, her care was left to his wife. Adri resents being burdened with Cinder, of whom she is ashamed and whom she only tolerates because of Cinder's ability to support the family.

When Prince Kaito, first in line to the throne, seeks Cinder out to repair his personal android, he is unaware that she is a cyborg...

I have to admit that I was a bit reticent to read Cinder. Given its premise,² I figured that the novel would either be absolutely fantastic or perfectly horrendous depending on its execution. But I overcame my reluctance when I happened across Cinder among my library's e-audiobook offerings.

While it would have been easy for debut novelist Meyer to the overdo it with Cinder. There are a lot of different elements that she has to balance while still remaining true to the original story. But Meyer manages brilliantly. Cinder is true to the original while being something completely new. I still feel like the inclusion of the paranormal elements³ was a bit much and likely unnecessary, but they didn't bother me nearly as much as I would have expected them to. Cinder is a strong, sympathetic character. While she's still an unloved step-child with the ability to (unintentionally) beguile a prince, Cinder is so much more than that.  She is independent, brave, and a problem-solver who doesn't need a fairy godmother to get her to the ball.⁴ Prince Kai is much more nuanced than the traditional Prince Charming character and his decision about Cinder is more complicated than simply overcoming prejudice. Some of the secondary characters are a bit one-dimensional, which is almost to be expected in a fairytale considering that fairytales are full of stock characters, but others are perfectly crafted.

I will definitely be continuing on with this series. Per Meyer's website, the second installment Scarlet will be released in Feburary 2013 and will focus on a Little Red Riding Hood character.

1. Shades of vampirism, not blood-sucking, but being able to glamour humans and an aversion to mirrors.
2. Let's review how much is packed into this one story. We have a retelling, set in a dystopian future with a heavy emphasis on science fiction and a dash of the paranormal. I'm overwhelmed just setting that out.
3. There's more than what is mentioned in footnote 1, but explication would involve spoilers.
4. There is a fairy godmother character, but Cinder comes to her rescue rather than the other way around.