Secret Santa Goodies!

2 Comments

I can’t believe it, but I have already received my gift through the Secret Santa event at The Broke and the Bookish!

secret santa

I tried to find decent pictures of my goodies on the Internet, and then I tried to take a picture of them myself and upload the photo to the computer…but apparently I fail at technology, so eventually I gave up. But I do want to thank Angela at Griperang’s Bookmarks for sending me Young Miles by Lois McMaster Bujold, which I’ve been wanting to read for a while, as well as these lovely Pride and Prejudice-themed notecards! Thanks for the great gifts, Angela!

Review: An Old Betrayal

1 Comment

An Old BetrayalCharles Finch, An Old Betrayal

***Warning: SPOILERS for previous books in the series!***

Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and Member of Parliament, thinks he has left his former life as a detective behind. But when his aristocratic protégé, John Dallington, asks him for help with a prospective client, Charles is eager to lend a hand, leaving his work in the House of Commons behind. Since Dallington is laid up with a bad cold, Charles agrees to meet the prospective client in his place; but before Charles can make contact with the client, a young woman named Grace Ammons, she is scared away by a mysterious man. Eventually Charles learns that Grace has connections to Buckingham Palace, and he suspects a possible plot to steal the priceless items within it. But when the man who frightened Grace Ammons is later found murdered, Charles realizes that the plot against the palace is more shocking and deadly than he ever imagined.

This is the seventh Lenox mystery, and in my opinion, the series is still going strong. One of my biggest complaints about the last couple installments has been the neglect of the secondary characters, but this book gives them a lot more attention. There is a significant subplot involving Charles’ medical friend, Thomas McConnell, and Dallington (my favorite character!) is also prominently featured. I also largely enjoyed how the mystery plot unfolded in this book; unsurprisingly, the murder and the threat to Buckingham Palace turn out to be connected, and there are many clever twists and turns along the way. But I think my favorite aspect of this novel is how it ends: there are a lot of big changes for Lenox and his friends in this book, and in my opinon, they’re changes for the better. I’m really looking forward to seeing where the series goes from here!

Top Ten Tuesday: Most exciting 2014 releases

12 Comments

Top 10 TuesdayOnce again, it’s been a while since I’ve participated in this meme, but I couldn’t resist this week’s topic. I’ve been looking ahead to my 2014 reading for several months now (because I am a planner, a.k.a. an obsessive crazy person), and I’ve already got my eye on a bunch of new books coming out. So here are 10 books to be released next year that I can’t wait to get my hot little hands on:

1. Alan Bradley, The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (release date January 14) — The 6th Flavia de Luce mystery. I’ve already put this on hold at the library…after the bombshell at the end of the last book, I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

2. Sarah Addison Allen, Lost Lake (release date January 21) — At long last, SAA is coming out with another book! Her novels are full of magic, romance, and delicious descriptions you can sink your teeth into.

3. Kristan Higgins, Waiting on You (release date March 25) — I really love Higgins’ contemporary romances, and this next installment of the Blue Heron series focuses on Colleen O’Rourke, a minor character from The Best Man and The Perfect Match. I’m looking forward to reading her story!

4. Jennifer Echols, Biggest Flirts (release date May 20) — Echols is probably most famous and beloved for her romantic dramas — and don’t get me wrong; I love them too. But I also think her romantic comedies are delightful! I really liked The One That I Want when it came out, so I’m excited to try her upcoming Superlatives series.

5. Lauren Willig, A Summer Engagement (release date June 3) — I’m a longtime fan of Willig’s Pink Carnation series, but now she is starting to write stand-alone novels as well. This one involves the Pre-Raphaelites and a love story and an unexpected inheritance; I’m sold!

6. Rainbow Rowell, Landline (release date July 8) — I think it’s safe to say that I (and the blogosphere in general) can’t get enough of Rainbow Rowell! I’m particularly excited that this book is written for an adult audience; while there’s nothing wrong with YA — and I really enjoy some of it! — I am starting to feel that I relate better to adult characters.

7. Stephanie Perkins, Isla and the Happily Ever After (release date August 26) — I’ve been waiting for this book FOREVER, and I’m very sure I’m not alone! The release date has been pushed back several times due to the author’s health issues, and I certainly don’t blame her for that, but it has definitely heightened the anticipation! 🙂

8. Robin LaFevers, Mortal Heart (no release date yet) — This will be the third book in the His Fair Assassin series. I really enjoyed the previous two books, which are set in a version of medieval Brittany where a convent of killer nuns is involved in the fight to keep Brittany independent from France. AND there’s romance, so, yeah. Enough said.

9. Cheryl Mahoney, The Storyteller and Her Sisters (no release date yet) — I REALLY liked Mahoney’s debut novel, The Wanderers, which reminded me of those first great fantasy novels I read as a teenager. So I’m happy to see that she is planning to write a companion novel featuring some of the secondary characters from that book. I will definitely be looking out for it next year!

10. D.E. Stevenson, The Two Mrs. Abbotts (release date January 7) — OK, this one is sort of cheating, because this book was actually first published in 1943. But Sourcebooks has been reissuing Stevenson’s books lately, and it’s a good thing because they are absolutely lovely! I adored Miss Buncle’s Book and Miss Buncle Married, and it looks like this is the next adventure for Barbara Buncle and her gang. Can’t wait to read it!

Bookish Update: November 2013

Leave a comment

bookish updates nov 2013

Currently reading: Un Lun Dun by China Miéville

Books read in November:

  1. Georgette Heyer, They Found Him Dead
  2. Mary Stewart, The Last Enchantment
  3. Gail Carriger, Curtsies & Conspiracies
  4. Mary Doria Russell, Dreamers of the Day
  5. Ellis Peters, An Excellent Mystery
  6. Cheryl Mahoney, The Wanderers
  7. Charles Finch, An Old Betrayal
  8. Edmund Crispin, The Case of the Gilded Fly

Favorite book of the month: The Wanderers! I had the hugest grin on my face when I finished it.

Least favorite book of the month: The Last Enchantment. While I love Mary Stewart’s novels of romantic suspense, the Arthurian trilogy was mostly a slog for me.

Books acquired in November:

  1. Mary Stewart, The Gabriel Hounds
  2. Charles Finch, An Old Betrayal
  3. Devan Sipher, The Wedding Beat
  4. Nancy Mitford, Christmas Pudding and Pigeon Pie
  5. Mary Miley, The Impersonator
  6. David Liss, The Twelfth Enchantment

E-books:

  1. Cheryl Mahoney, The Wanderers ($2.99)

Tune in Tuesday with Katelyn: As I recall, I think we both kinda liked it

2 Comments

tune-in-tuesday-90s-editionSadly, today is the final installment of Tune in Tuesday: ’90s Edition. I’ve had so much fun with this theme, remembering songs that came out just as I was old enough to be aware of what the “cool kids” were listening to! So I was really torn about what song to pick for this final ’90s post. I thought about Matchbox 20’s “Real World,” Sister Hazel’s “All for You,” and various songs by the Gin Blossoms. Ultimately, though, I had to go with “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Deep Blue Something. It’s kind of terrible, but also kind of awesome! (Admit it, you totally belted out the chorus when this song came on the radio, even though you never bothered to learn the verses.) Enjoy!

Review: The Wanderers

3 Comments

The WanderersCheryl Mahoney, The Wanderers

Jasper is a wandering adventurer-for-hire, fighting monsters and rescuing damsels in distress — for a fee. He stays in one place just long enough to collect his reward; he never sticks around for the happily-ever-after part. He doesn’t want any emotional entanglements, and he’s got a whole list of Rules to keep him suitably detached. But when a seemingly ordinary battle against an evil magician introduces Jasper to a talking cat, he finds himself breaking Rule 18 (always travel alone) and making a friend in the process. Things get even more complicated when one of the damsels Jasper rescues demands to join him on his adventures. Julie is determined, thirsty for adventure, and desperately afraid of her (literal) witch of a mother. As Jasper, Julie, and Tom the cat continue to travel in search of wrongs to right, Jasper finds it harder and harder to follow the Rules. Will this unlikley team be able to conquer their personal monsters and find their way to their own happy ending?

This is the debut novel of a blogger I follow, Cheryl Mahoney at Tales of the Marvelous. It’s always a little nerve-wracking to read a book by someone you know — even someone you only know on the Internet — but I’m happy to say that I found this book absolutely delightful! I loved Jasper as a protagonist, with his stubborn practicality and his long list of Rules. I like that he’s brave but not foolhardy; he knows that walking away from a fight you can’t win is sometimes the best choice. Julie is also a wonderful character, strong and capable but also legitimately fearful of her mother’s evil magic. Since she’s not invincibly tough all the time, I found her more relatable than many fantasy heroines. I also loved the world of this novel, which operates on fairytale-esque principles, but with some interesting twists. For example, third sons are normally fated to succeed on quests, but sometimes the son in question doesn’t quite have what it takes to get things done. Then there are the Good Fairies, who are actually much more dangerous than Bad Fairies when crossed. Ultimately, all I can say is that I finished this novel with a huge smile on my face. I would definitely recommend it to fans of this genre!

N.B. — The book is available as an e-book for Nook and Kindle, as well as through Amazon if you want a hard copy.

Review: An Excellent Mystery

4 Comments

An Excellent MysteryEllis Peters, An Excellent Mystery

In the summer of A.D. 1141, two Benedictine brothers seek refuge at the Abbey of Saints Peter and Paul in Shrewsbury. They have fled the city of Winchester, where their former abbey has gone up in flames, a casualty of the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud that still rages on. The older of the two refugees, Brother Humilis, is obviously a nobleman — and just as obviously dying from a mortal wound sustained many years ago in the Crusades. The younger man, Brother Fidelis, is mute, but he tends his fellow traveler with astonishing devotion. Brother Cadfael, due to his knowledge of herbs and their healing properties, spends a lot of time with these two brothers and eventually discovers that there is more to their story than meets the eye. Meanwhile, Cadfael also investigates the disappearance of a beautiful young woman who intended to become a nun but never arrived at her convent.

This book is the eleventh installment of the Cadfael series, but I think it can largely function as a stand-alone; newcomers to the series wouldn’t get lost if they jumped in here, though I still recommend starting with A Morbid Taste for Bones. These books are always comfort reads for me. I love the historical setting of a medieval monastery, and I enjoy seeing how Cadfael’s small world is affected by larger historical events. I also like the fact that these mysteries are firmly on the “cozy” end of the spectrum; there is often murder, but it’s never grisly, and there’s also romance and humor and a lot of lovely descriptions of monastic life. As for this book in particular, I definitely enjoyed it, but I’m pretty sure I read something about the solution to the mystery ahead of time, because it definitely didn’t surprise me. In fact, I think the resolution is fairly predictable even if you haven’t been spoiled. However, I still liked this book a lot and look forward to the next installment of the Cadfael series!

Review: Dreamers of the Day

5 Comments

Dreamers of the DayMary Doria Russell, Dreamers of the Day

This novel, set in the early 20th century, is narrated by Agnes Shanklin, a schoolteacher who has spent her entire life caring for her domineering mother. But when the influenza pandemic of 1918 carries off most of her family, including Mumma, Agnes finds herself unexpectedly inheriting a substantial sum of money. Though she is grieved by the multiple deaths in her family, she is also finally free from Mumma’s influence. Impulsively, she decides to see the world and books a trip to Egypt. There she meets several prominent British officers and diplomats, who are in Cairo to come to an agreement on Middle Eastern policy. Agnes is drawn into their social circle and mingles with the likes of Winston Churchill and Thomas Edward Lawrence, now famously known as “Lawrence of Arabia.” She also meets a German called Karl Weilbacher, who is handsome, kind, and attentive, but may not be all that he seems. Ultimately, the people Agnes meets and events she witnesses in Egypt will have a profound effect on the rest of her life.

After finally reading and loving Doc, I was eager to try another book by Mary Doria Russell. This one was very readable, and the insights into the Cairo Conference of 1921 were fascinating. It’s a historical event that still has obvious ramifications for our world today, covering issues such as a Jewish homeland in Palestine, the territorial boundaries of new nations like Iraq, and the amount of influence Western countries should continue to have in the Middle East. I enjoyed Russell’s depictions of real historical figures in this book, particularly Churchill, wo made me laugh even at his most exasperating. I didn’t like this novel nearly as much as Doc, however, mostly because I found it too preachy. Agnes is an extremely opinionated character, and due to a strange framing device in the novel, she narrates from a quasi-omniscient perspective. Because of this, she judges the events of her time from a 21st-century point of view, which I find very irritating in historical novels. And since Western involvement in the Middle East is still a very complex and controversial issue, I didn’t appreciate Agnes’ more simplistic perspective. But even though this aspect of the book rubbed me the wrong way, I think it’s still worth a read for people interested in the time period or in the creation of the modern Middle East.

Review: Curtsies & Conspiracies

1 Comment

Curtsies and ConspiraciesGail Carriger, Curtsies & Conspiracies

After the events of Etiquette & Espionage, Miss Sophronia Temminick is back at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s finishing school, where young ladies learn to finish…anyone or anything. Sophronia learns that she has received top marks in her espionage classes, which causes resentment among the other students, even her close friends. Meanwhile, she discovers more information about the crystalline valve prototype that caused so much trouble in the previous book. While she tries to learn more about the valve’s purpose, it quickly becomes evident that she’s not the only interested party — and that her best friend Dimity might be in danger because of it. While Sophronia attempts to put her clandestine skills to good use, she must also cope with the arrival of boys from a rival academy — including one who flirts with her most scandalously! Will Sophronia be able to protect her friend and solve the mystery, all while trying to listen to her confused heart?

This second book in Carriger’s Finishing School series is another fun Victorian romp with steampunk trappings. The world of these books is fascinating and very entertaining, with its steam-powered “mechanimals” and rules of supernatural etiquette. This book even furnishes a few specific alternate-universe facts, such as that the telegraph was introduced a few years ago but failed dismally. These tidbits help to anchor the novel’s plot a bit more in reality, which is important because most of it is so entirely silly! If you’re not familiar with Carriger’s schtick, be prepared for a lot of riduculous names and pseudo-British witticisms. I personally enjoy the silliness, but your mileage may vary. I also quite like Sophronia, a delightfully practical, self-assured heroine who doesn’t let little things like rules or restrictions prevent her from satisfying her curiosity. My only complaint is that I’m still very confused about the valve and the various parties involved. No one’s motives are clear yet, which makes it hard to know whether Sophronia is doing a good job or not. But I’m still definitely planning to continue with the series to find out!