Monday, January 11, 2010

Tuesday Tomorrow

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: January 12, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 401Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Everyone warned Miss Penelope Deveraux that her unruly behavior would land her in disgrace someday. She never imagined she'd be whisked off to India to give the scandal of her hasty marriage time to die down. As Lady Frederick Staines, Penelope plunges into the treacherous waters of the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad, where no one is quite what they seem—even her own husband. In a strange country where elaborate court dress masks even more elaborate intrigues and a spy called the Marigold leaves cobras as his calling card, there is only one person Penelope can trust....

Captain Alex Reid has better things to do than play nursemaid to a pair of aristocrats. He knows what their kind is like. Or so he thinks-- until Lady Frederick Staines out-shoots, out-rides, and out-swims every man in the camp. She also has an uncanny ability to draw out the deadly plans of the Marigold and put herself in harm's way. With danger looming from local warlords, treacherous court officials, and French spies, Alex realizes that an alliance with Lady Frederick just might be the only thing standing in the way of a plot designed to rock the very foundations of the British Empire."

Hmmm... I wonder if with an entire month devoted to Lauren Willig's books, including giveaways and dream miniseries castings, you've caught on that I love these books and think everyone should read them... Perhaps handing them out to my friends continually is a new habit I've formed? Well, it's a good habit! Go! Enjoy! Read! My review is up if you still need more prodding. I'm also contemplating another giveaway... I'll let you know more when I do! And no, that doesn't make me crazy, despite the fact it sounds like my mind is not communicating with itself, it's actually to do with hearing back from one of my favorite booksellers.

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
Published by: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: January 12, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 576 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe, devoted to his profession and the painting hobby he loves, has a solitary but ordered life. When renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient, Marlow finds that order destroyed. Desperate to understand the secret that torments the genius, he embarks on a journey that leads him into the lives of the women closest to Oliver and a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism.

Kostova's masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. THE SWAN THIEVES is a story of obsession, history's losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope."

Ah... I had such high hopes for this book... so going from one of the best books I read last year, The Betrayal of the Blood Lily... to hands down, the WORST book I read... don't read it, it's crap! Or, I should say, by all means, read it, but I warned you! My review was posted Friday... I forewarn you though... total, abject crap.

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 12, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Few works of literature are as universally beloved as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now, in this spellbinding historical novel, we meet the young girl whose bright spirit sent her on an unforgettable trip down the rabbit hole–and the grown woman whose story is no less enthralling.

But oh my dear, I am tired of being Alice in Wonderland. Does it sound ungrateful?

Alice Liddell Hargreaves’s life has been a richly woven tapestry: As a young woman, wife, mother, and widow, she’s experienced intense passion, great privilege, and greater tragedy. But as she nears her eighty-first birthday, she knows that, to the world around her, she is and will always be only “Alice.” Her life was permanently dog-eared at one fateful moment in her tenth year–the golden summer day she urged a grown-up friend to write down one of his fanciful stories.

That story, a wild tale of rabbits, queens, and a precocious young child, becomes a sensation the world over. Its author, a shy, stuttering Oxford professor, does more than immortalize Alice–he changes her life forever. But even he cannot stop time, as much as he might like to. And as Alice’s childhood slips away, a peacetime of glittering balls and royal romances gives way to the urgent tide of war.

For Alice, the stakes could not be higher, for she is the mother of three grown sons, soldiers all. Yet even as she stands to lose everything she treasures, one part of her will always be the determined, undaunted Alice of the story, who discovered that life beyond the rabbit hole was an astonishing journey.

A love story and a literary mystery, Alice I Have Been brilliantly blends fact and fiction to capture the passionate spirit of a woman who was truly worthy of her fictional alter ego, in a world as captivating as the Wonderland only she could inspire."

Some of my friends got to read this book early, and boy was a jealous. Alice in Wonderland is one of my all time favorite books, even once I knew about how creepy it's creator probably was. This book looks like an interesting take on what Alice herself thought and felt... to always be that Alice... fascinating! Must buy!

The Unverable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Anchor
Publication Date: January 12, 2010
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The witty and utterly delightful new novel in the national bestselling 44 Scotland Street series. Featuring all the quirky characters we have come to know and love, The Unbearable Lightness of Scones, finds Bertie, the precocious six-year-old, still troubled by his rather overbearing mother, Irene, but seeking his escape in the Cub Scouts. Matthew is rising to the challenge of married life with newfound strength and resolve, while Domenica epitomizes the loneliness of the long-distance intellectual. Cyril, the gold-toothed star of the whole show, succumbs to the kind of romantic temptation that no dog can resist and creates a small problem, or rather six of them, for his friend and owner Angus Lordie.

With his customary deftness, Alexander McCall Smith once again brings us an absorbing and entertaining tale of some of Scotland's most quirky and beloved characters--all set in the beautiful, stoic city of Edinburgh. "

This one's being listed just for my mom. She loves Alexander McCall Smith and believes his 44 Scotland Street books are his best series, so this 5th book is sure to please, especially seeing as it's my mom's birthday this week... easy shopping! Also recommended for fans of Ian Rankin, not for any similarity of subject matter, but for the author's portrayal as one of the character's in this series.

Death of a Valentine by M.C. Beaton
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: January 12, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 246 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Amazing news has spread across the Scottish countryside. The most famous of highland bachelors, police sergeant Hamish Macbeth, may actually marry at last. The entire village of Lochdubh adores Macbeth's bride-to-be. Josie McSween is Hamish's new constable, and she is a pretty little thing, with glossy brown hair and big brown eyes. The local folk think that Josie is quite a catch, but Hamish couldn't be more miserable.

The wedding wouldn't be happening if it weren't for the murder of a beautiful woman in a nearby village. After the gorgeous woman receives a deadly Valentine's Day gift, Hamish and Josie take on the case. However, they soon discover that the list of the victim's admirers is endless. The case confirms Hamish's belief that love is extremely dangerous, but he still can't avoid the events that lead up to his celebrated engagement."

Again, this one's for my mom. This is her favorite series ever, which she's read twice. This is the 26th book in the series (which shows my mom's commitment) and I'm sure will entertain all her Hamish followers. Also if you only know the books from the show with Robert Carlyle, take it from me, they are two entirely different things that just happen to share the same name!

3 comments:

I love Lauren Willig, so excited about her new book!!! I have only heard bad reviews about The Swan Thieves, so I will take your advise and stay away...I would much rather read Alice I Have Been anyway :)

http://muse-in-the-fog.blogspot.com/

Yes! When there are SO many good books out this week, why bother with the bad one?

Crap book? I will forget I have seen it on your blog! :)

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