strange and random happenstance

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: February 1st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The Bigtree alligator-wrestling dynasty is in decline, and Swamplandia!, their island home and gator-wrestling theme park, formerly #1 in the region, is swiftly being encroached upon by a fearsome and sophisticated competitor called the World of Darkness. Ava’s mother, the park’s indomitable headliner, has just died; her sister, Ossie, has fallen in love with a spooky character known as the Dredgeman, who may or may not be an actual ghost; and her brilliant big brother, Kiwi, who dreams of becoming a scholar, has just defected to the World of Darkness in a last-ditch effort to keep their family business from going under. Ava’s father, affectionately known as Chief Bigtree, is AWOL; and that leaves Ava, a resourceful but terrified thirteen, to manage ninety-eight gators and the vast, inscrutable landscape of her own grief.

Against a backdrop of hauntingly fecund plant life animated by ancient lizards and lawless hungers, Karen Russell has written an utterly singular novel about a family’s struggle to stay afloat in a world that is inexorably sinking. An arrestingly beautiful and inventive work from a vibrant new voice in fiction."

This seems to be THE BOOK everyone is talking about and waiting for... should be interesting to see if it lives up to the hype.

13, Rue Therese by Elena Mauli Shapiro
Published by: Reagan Arthur Books
Publication Date: February 1st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 288Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"American academic Trevor Stratton discovers a box full of artifacts from World War I as he settles into his new office in Paris. The pictures, letters, and objects in the box relate to the life of Louise Brunet, a feisty, charming Frenchwoman who lived through both World Wars.

As Trevor examines and documents the relics the box offers up, he begins to imagine the story of Louise Brunet's life: her love for a cousin who died in the war, her marriage to a man who works for her father, and her attraction to a neighbor in her building at 13 rue Thérèse. The more time he spends with the objects though, the truer his imaginings of Louise's life become, and the more he notices another alluring Frenchwoman: Josianne, his clerk, who planted the box in his office in the first place, and with whom he finds he is falling in love."

This just sounds plain fascinating!

Fade Away Girl by Martha Grimes
Published by: Viking Adult
Publication Date: February 1st, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The beguiling young sleuth Emma Graham returns. Martha Grimes returns to her twelve-year-old heroine, Emma Graham, in this suspenseful sequel to the bestselling Belle Ruin. Emma continues her investigation into the strange disappearance of the four- month-old Slade baby from the Belle Ruin Hotel more than twenty years before. The sudden appearance in town of the baby's father, Morris Slade, makes her even more determined to learn the truth. Then a mysterious drifter named Ralph Diggs appears at the Hotel Paradise, looking for work, ingratiating himself with everyone there. Everyone, that is, except Emma.

The perceptive Emma is bound once again to delight fans of the previous books Hotel Paradise, Cold Flat Junction, and Belle Ruin, and certain to win new readers with her intuition and humor."

Ok, so the cover is the total draw for me. Didn't realize it was part of a series getting not the best reviews. But look at that cover!

Halfway Hexed by Kimberly Frost
Published by: Berkley Trade
Publication Date: February 1st, 2011
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"First, there are the local residents who form a scripture-spouting posse and kidnap Tammy to "defend" Duvall, Texas, against witchcraft. Next, someone saddles her with a secret package chock full of dangerous visions, just as the president of WAM-the World Association of Magic- arrives with his entourage to investigate her. And who worse to examine Tammy's entanglement with off-limits and drop-dead gorgeous wizard Bryn Lyons than his ex-girlfriend? Not to mention that the clash between the locals and the magical visitors leads to a series of unnatural disasters that may doom them all.

While the fate of the town hangs in the balance, one thing's certain: this would-be witch is ready to rumble, Texas style. "

In need of some southern magic and don't have a new Sookie? Try this series!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 13 Rue Therese, Elena Mauli Shapiro, Emma Graham, Fade Away Girl, Halway Hexed, Karen Russell, Kimberly Frost, Martha Grimes, Sookie Stackhouse, Southern Witch Series, Swamplandia, Tuesday Tomorrow

Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Mary Ann has returned to the city of her youth. Full of familiar faces both welcome and unwelcome. Her life is in major upheaval following the realization that her life coach and her husband are having an affair and she has been diagnosed with Cancer. Heading to seek refuge in San Francisco and lick her wounds, she takes up residence with her oldest friend, Michael "Mouse" Tolliver and his young partner Ben. Mary Ann sees her life as a series of probable missteps. She left her first husband Brian, and her adopted daughter Shawna, to be an East Coast tv star, which lasted all of five minutes. Following which she set herself up as a housewife and raised her stepson. Her dreams and ambitions for celebrity thwarted as well as the lives she ruined back in the Bay Area. Ben cunningly thinks that what Mary Ann needs more than anything is to realize she was someone and that this adoration and love will do more to help her heal than anything. Enter Facebook. She connects with many friends and fans who remember her from her old show back in San Francisco. From her silly hats worn when the Queen of England arrived, to her sub par interviews that have a campy nostalgia among the gay community. But this is also when the mysterious messages start to arrive from Fogbound One. Hinting at a dark secret in Mary Ann's past that she has never revealed. A dark secret that will help her connect to the daughter she abandoned. Shawna has followed Mary Ann's love of journalism, only in a more modern and outrageous method. Shawna is a sex blogger. But she's getting sick of the hipster, Betty Page look and wants something more. Enter "Leia." A homeless woman with a mysterious past. A past that Shawna hopes to uncover. A past that might lead back to her "mother." Can Mary Ann get a second chance at the life she threw away? Or will she become even more lost in the fog of her past? And what of those who orbit her?

Returning to the narrative style of short character studies whose lives all magically interweave, we see Maupin once again at the top of his game. Forgiven is the first person narrative style of Michael Tolliver Lives which I hated in it's overly sexual wallowing. Maupin excels at slowly weaving his story, thread by thread, where the web forms and then you realize how all the disparate elements form together into one cohesive whole. And here, he's not just working with the present, but Mary Ann's past is brought in as well. Those horrors not spoken of are back with a vengeance. The characters of the Tales of the City books are the voices of a generation. They will go down as some of the most memorable characters who so well captured a defining moment in our history. Maupin's stories have encapsulated the world as it was happening, particularly when these stories ran as a weekly serial and could move and flow with current events. Which, to an extent, works against him in this book. The earlier books, being separated from the now by a decade or more, feel timeless, at least to me. But once you start throwing Facebook around, it just seems too linked into the now. Of course, this may seem contradictory, because it was his capturing of the time that made the books what they were. Maybe I'm just a hypocrite, or maybe I'm just sick of references to Facebook. In his defense, he uses Facebook in a way that Hitchcock would be proud of. Maupin has always had that bit of Hitchcock in his more successful novels. Perhaps it's just San Francisco bringing out the macabre and the mysterious, or perhaps it's something in the water.

When Maupin starts a little mystery and slowly links it back and loops it around, I can't help but stay up into the wee hours to see where he will finally lead me. His web didn't fully enthrall me this time. Within the denouement, things started to fall apart. Everything almost seemed rosy in the end. After the bleak humor with a dark edge, it felt that Maupin forced his characters into a happy ending. He has never been shy of the darker endings before, so is it age that has mellowed him? His new young love that Ben is modelled on? I almost felt like there'd be a sing song when all the characters came together. I just think there was one too many pairs of rose tinted glasses for my liking. Mary Ann is Cancer free now? From someone who has had many Cancer battles in her family, I can say from experience, it doesn't work like that. It's not a few weeks playing with Facebook, a little surgery and you're better. It's a bloody fight that can only be won by those who struggle hard. Mouse's struggle with AIDS has been a big theme of these books, so it seems that, one, Mary Ann's Cancer is unrealistic and two, he was giving us a bone, a curable illness among the incurable. Again, rose tinting the story. This is what brought the book down a full star in the final analysis, that and why can't we have Brian and Mary Ann in the same book. It seems that since their breakup we are only allotted one. And while Mary Ann was wonderful and back to her original charm, unlike the harpy she became in later books, I have to say, I missed Brian, I have a soft spot in my heart for him.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: AIDS, Armistead Maupin, Betty Page, Cancer, Facebook, Mary Ann in Autumn, Michael Tolliver Lives, San Francisco, Tales of the City

The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin
Published by: Harper Periennial
Publication Date: 2000
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
Challenge: Thriller and Suspense
Rating: ★★
To Buy
Gabriel Noone is a successful storyteller on the radio with his serialized show, Noone At Night. But Gabriel hasn't felt much like writing anything really since his lover left him to embrace the leather clad lifestyle and the new found freedom and hope that getting his AIDS cocktail right has given him. So Gabriel wallows as his show goes into reruns. Then one day he reads the manuscript of a young boy's autobiography, The Blacking Factory by Pete Lomax. The young teen, only 13, is an HIV Positive survivor of rape, incest and other horrors that even Pete can't go into detail on. But one thing that keeps this harrowing survivor upbeat is Noone At Night. Shortly Gabriel contacts the publisher wishing to talk to this remarkable young man. Soon they develop a friendship, like the father and son relationship that Gabriel never had with his father who was never able to embrace his "dick smoking" ways. But soon Gabriel starts to notice odd things. Pete is never heard at the same time as his mother Donna who sounds eerily like him though they aren't related by blood, and no one has ever met Pete. Is Donna pretending to be Pete? Does Pete even exist. Does it even matter to Gabriel? But soon he decides that he must learn for himself and sets forth to the wintry plains of Wisconsin to confront Donna and Pete. What he will find there might prove everything or solve nothing.

So, for those of you unfamiliar with roman à clef novels, they are novels in which actual people and places are disguised as fictional characters. Truth as fiction, gotta love the concept, but not necessarily the outcome. The Night Listener is such a novel. The problem with this is, aren't all Maupin's writing pretty much roman à clef? The Tales of the City books were serialized, much as Gabriel Noone's radio show, so that they could ebb and flow with what was going on in the popular media and the celebrities of the day. Basically current events were the fodder that drove these books. As well as Maupin's own life. I don't think I ever realized how much of his life was put into these books. Michael "Mouse" Tolliver has always been Maupin's book surrogate. The letter than Mouse used to come out to his parents is how Maupin did the same. Therefore after reading Michael Tolliver Lives, this book felt suspiciously like a retread with a little mystery thrown in... of course, that being said, The Night Listener was first, so Michael Tolliver Lives is the retread. It quite literally felt like at times I was reading the same book, and oddly enough I gave them the same rating. This supposedly vertiginous world that Maupin has culled from his own life and his own experiences with a young boy named Tony, was at times captivating and at times dull as dirt, and not always because of the similarity in plot, but just in the lulls created by lack of suspense. The characters are unlikable, which doesn't bode well for Maupin's self esteem, and the plot is left dangling. They wallow, they bitch, they moan, they form unhealthy relationships and at the end of the day what are we left with? An unreliable narrator in what one only assumes was a desperate "turn of the screw" to regain the ground Maupin had lost and the readers he had bored. My advice is pick up the Tales of the City and avoid this one all together, if you read Michael Tolliver Lives, it's like you've read this book already!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: AIDS, Armistead Maupin, Gabriel Noone, Michael Tolliver Lives, Noone at Night, Pete Lomax, Reading Challenge, Tales of the City, The Blacking Factory, The Night Listener

The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman
Published by: Crown
Publication Date: January 25th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The Red Garden introduces us to the luminous and haunting world of Blackwell, Massachusetts. Hoffman offers a transforming glimpse of small-town America, presenting us with some three hundred years of passion, dark secrets, loyalty, and redemption in a web of tales.

From the town’s founder, a brave young woman from England who has no fear of blizzards or bears, to the young man who runs away to New York City, the characters in The Red Garden are extraordinary and vivid: a young wounded Civil War soldier who is saved by a neighbor, a woman who meets a fiercely human historical character, a poet who falls in love with a blind man, a mysterious traveler who comes to town in the year when summer never arrives. At the center of everyone’s life is a garden where only red plants can grow, and where the truth can be found by those who dare to look. The Red Garden is as unforgettable as it is moving."

I keep wanting to try Hoffman again after my bad experience with Practical Magic, yeah I was hoping for a book more like the movie... but I think this one looks like I might give it a try for sure.

The Charmed Return by Frewin Jones
Published by: Harper Teen
Publication Date: January 25th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"By the light of the pure eclipse, two worlds will be as one . . .

She was once a princess of Faerie, the seventh daughter of King Oberon. But sixteen-year-old Anita Palmer has no memory of the Faerie Realm; her true Faerie princess identity; her love, Edric; or her quest to save Faerie from a deadly plague that ravaged it. With the help of an unexpected ally, Anita must figure out a way to reawaken Tania, her Faerie self—but how?

Now Anita—or is she Tania?—doesn't know who, or what, to trust, including her own memories. With no time to spare, Anita must act. A thrilling final battle is soon to be waged that will affect not only her destiny but the fate of both Faerie and the Mortal World. Loyalties will be tested, true love questioned, and nothing is what it seems."

Another fun looking series I've been meaning to pick up... though I'd start with book one, not book, what is this? Six?

Night Betrayed by Joss Ware
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: January 25th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The world they knew is ashes.

The world that remains is in peril.

And five extraordinary survivors are humankind's last, best hope.

The Change that devastated the earth did not destroy Theo Waxnicki. It made him something more than human—eternally young, eternally beautiful . . . but not immortal. When he dies on a mission against the Strangers, he is lost to the darkness . . . until a miracle lady brings him back.

Born during the apocalyptic storms and earthquakes that left the world in ruins, Selena has dedicated her life to easing the pain of others. But Theo is the first in her care to survive. Responding to Selena's tender touch, Theo starts to live again, to feel and desire again. But joined in a world of terrors, the secrets they can never share make them targets. And love could be the ultimate betrayal."

More fun from Joss "Colleen Gleason" Ware.

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: January 25th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The fifth Mercy Thompson yarn has the garage mechanic-to-coyote shape-shifter, who could use a little relaxation after whacking all those vampires in Bone Crossed (2009), up to her armpits in romantic and supernatural trouble. Her housemate Sam, a lone werewolf, has developed suicidal depression from the conflict of his two natures. Mercy herself is still working out the relationship with Adam, her bonded mate and the leader of a werewolf pack, which has been put in the danger posed by a jealous female werewolf. Then Mercy gets a call asking her to check on a comrade who may have gone missing. The Fae may be involved. Ai-yi-yi. There’s a lot going on in Silver Borne, but its pacing is practically perfect as it shifts between introspection and sudden action."

Currently reading this and it's awesome. So, if you a waiter and non-hardcover buyer, here's the book for you!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alice Hoffman, Colleen Gleason, Faerie Path Series, Frewin Jones, Joss Ware, Mercy Thompson, Night Betrayed, Patricia Briggs, Pratical Magic, Silver Borne, The Charmed Return, The Red Garden

To cap off my all things French week. Though I might not have mentioned it, that's how this week was in my head... first some Flowery Spies, then some pre-revolutionary giveaways. What's the giveaway you ask as I dawdle on and on about the contents of my head versus getting straight to the point. Well, back in December, the lovely Michelle Moran, whom you should remember has visited my humble blog before, offered me a chance at a giveaway for all my lovely readers. I jumped at the chance! Ever since she mentioned her new book about Madams Tussaud back in, oh... September 2009 when I was just starting out in the blogosphere... I have been very excited. I love France! My last name is French (ok, Belgian, but that just makes me more like Poirot). One of my ancestors was second in command the first time Napoleon was wagging war, he washed his hand of the diminutive emperor after the whole Elba thing. Anyway, back to the giveaway. You could win a signed copy of the new book as well as these adorable Marie Antionette earrings, which make me wish I had pierced ears!

So onto the "official rules"...

The Prize:
A signed edition of Michelle Moran's new book, Madame Tussaud and a pair of Marie Antoinette earrings.

Book description:
"Smart and ambitious, Marie Tussaud has learned the secrets of wax sculpting by working alongside her uncle in their celebrated wax museum, the Salon de Cire. From her popular model of the American ambassador, Thomas Jefferson, to her tableau of the royal family at dinner, Marie’s museum provides Parisians with the very latest news on fashion, gossip, and even politics. Her customers hail from every walk of life, yet her greatest dream is to attract the attention of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI; their stamp of approval on her work could catapult her and her museum to the fame and riches she desires. After months of anticipation, Marie learns that the royal family is willing to come and see their likenesses. When they finally arrive, the king’s sister is so impressed that she requests Marie’s presence at Versailles as a royal tutor in wax sculpting. It is a request Marie knows she cannot refuse—even if it means time awayfrom her beloved Salon and her increasingly dear friend, Henri Charles.

As Marie gets to know her pupil, Princesse Élisabeth, she also becomes acquainted with the king and queen, who introduce her to the glamorous life at court. From lavish parties with more delicacies than she’s ever seen to rooms filled with candles lit only once before being discarded, Marie steps into a world entirely different from her home on the Boulevard du Temple, where people are selling their teeth in order to put food on the table.

Meanwhile, many resent the vast separation between rich and poor. In salons and cafés across Paris, people like Camille Desmoulins, Jean-Paul Marat, and Maximilien Robespierre are lashing out against the monarchy. Soon, there’s whispered talk of revolution. . . . Will Marie be able to hold on to both the love of her life and herfriendship with the royal family as France approaches civil war? And more important, will she be able to fulfill the demands of powerful revolutionaries who ask that she make the death masks of beheaded aristocrats, some of whom she knows?

Spanning five years, from the budding revolution to the Reign of Terror, Madame Tussaud brings us into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom."

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE (for clarification, this means international, but no shipping to space stations or TARDI), just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter, you just get more entries if you prove you love me by following.

2. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if your name is drawn, either your blogger profile or a link to your website/blog or you could even include your email address with your comment(s) or email me.

3. Contest ends Tuesday, February 22nd at 11:59PM CST (per Michelle's publisher's request, and also so you can lust after the book on the shelves and then run home and enter the giveaway.)

4. How to enter: Just comment in the space below!

5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

+1 for answering the question: If you could live in any time period, what period would you choose? Regency England, Pre-Revolutionary France? Remember you're living there, not visiting, so that makes a huge difference.

+2 for becoming a follower

+10 if you are already a follower

+10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!

Good luck!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 31 comments  

Labels: Giveaway, Madame Tussaud, Marie Antoinette, Michelle Moran, Napoleon, Tussaud Giveaway

The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig
Published by: Dutton
ARC Provided by Dutton
Publication Date: January 20th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
Challenge: Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
Laura Grey has had it being a governess. She has just graduated from the Selwick Spying Academy and is off to France to do her bit to fight the revolution. Of course she just happens to be going to France in the very role she was trying to escape, that of "governess."  Laura, or more precisely, Laure Griscogne, has been away from her homeland since her parents died and left her orphaned and having to take care of herself in the only way possible, by rearing others children, though when she started she was but a child herself. Now she has two new charges, the children of Andre Jaouen, a man The Pink Carnation is desperate to know more about, especially because he works in the Abbaye Prison with that most odious of men, Delaroche. But when you spend most of your time taking care of the children in a large and desolate house and rarely spying at keyholes and sneaking messages to The Pink Carnation through various booksellers, it's hard to see the value in your work. But there is more to Jaouen then meets the eye. He has connections within the artistic community that Laura's family was once in the center of. Laura was once the child of a somebody, a great poetess. Andre is having a hard time rectifying this stern, prim governess, with the loose and wanton Paris saloons of pre-revolutionary France. All the while Laura is having a hard time rectifying this rather attractive bespectacled man with that of a hardened revolutionary who wants to kill all the aristos he can find. But when both their missions unexpectedly collide around a man who could restore the French monarchy, they have to decide whether it is best to let animosities and allegiances fall by the wayside and trust their instincts and growing attraction to each other. Plus sneaking through the countryside as travelling performers can't be as hard as it sounds?

The newest in Lauren Willig's ever expanding cannon of Pink Carnation books takes us right back to the heart of what this series is about. Spying. Even if with a little Commedia it's, as the author puts it so well, "like The Sound of Music… meets Mata Hari." We are back within the courts of Napoleon and the streets of Paris, where blood might run in the streets at any moment, and the reality of the horrors that await in the Abbaye Prison are a real threat, not comfortably located on the other side of the channel. While the previous books have all had spies in various locals with various flower monikers, this one feels the closest to the legacy of The Scarlet Pimpernel; with our heroine in enemy territory, with barely an ally, and no ally that she can get to without a bookstore or an effusive poet. Speaking of said poet... we get nice little cameos from some of the Pink cast, but they are just the icing on the cake, what makes this book soar are the new characters of Andre and Laura, which even readers new to the series can enjoy without the previous installments. Every book since the first has been a pairing off of a previous hero or heroine with someone new or some old friend, but not in this case. Here we have a blank canvas ripe for the painting, Miss Grey has only had a few brief and enigmatic references which have given her no illumination. Laura has a rich and complicated past that was filled with sumptuousness and luxury and is now contained within harsh grey stays. Andre has also had a life that was once filled with love and an artistic wife, instead he now has to change ideals and live a sparse and paired down life. Both these two have spent a life hiding who they really are and masking what they want and feel. I felt such an instant connection with both of them, just waiting with baited breath for Laura to realize this man could not possibly be evil, even if he is French, they aren't all Delaroches. How Lauren is able to continually excel at each subsequent book astonishes me. While they do build on each other to form a perfect shelf in my library, they also are wonderfully contained little jewels of stories that you just want to go back to again and again, which Lauren does do. One day we wonder who is that lady at the Selwick Spy School, years later, she is flesh. She is whole and wonderful and I didn't want the book to end. I hope when you get your hands on a copy you'll feel as I do. And if you hate the new cover, you don't have to keep in on the book.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Abbaye Prison, Andre Jaouen, ARCs, Delaroche, Governesses, Laura Grey, Lauren Willig, Mata Hari, Pink Carnation, Reading Challenge, Scarlet Pimpernel, The Orchid Affair, The Sound of Music

The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: January 20th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In The Orchid Affair, Willig introduces her strongest heroine yet. Laura Grey, a veteran governess, joins the Selwick Spy School expecting to find elaborate disguises and thrilling exploits in service to the spy known as the Pink Carnation. She hardly expects her first assignment to be serving as governess for the children of Andre Jaouen, right-hand man to Bonaparte's minister of police. Jaouen and his arch rival, Gaston Delaroche, are investigating a suspected Royalist plot to unseat Bonaparte, and Laura's mission is to report any suspicious findings.

At first the job is as lively as Latin textbooks and knitting, but Laura begins to notice strange behavior from Jaouen-secret meetings and odd comings and goings. As Laura edges herself closer to her employer, she makes a shocking discovery and is surprised to learn that she has far more in common with Jaouen than she originally thought...
As their plots begin to unravel, Laura and Jaouen are forced on the run with the children, and with the help of the Pink Carnation they escape to the countryside, traveling as husband and wife. But Delaroche will stop at nothing to take down his nemesis. With his men hot on their trail, can Laura and Jaouen seal the fate of Europe before it's too late? "

This is THE BOOK you've been waiting for all year... wow, the year isn't that long... for all of 2010 and 2011? Yeah, that makes it sound better. It was worth the wait, it is totally awesome and you must rush out now to buy it. I said rush! Go go little blog readers, you won't be disappointed! Of course, maybe I should point out this comes out on Thursday, not Tuesday... nah.

Love Letters by Katie Fforde
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: January 18th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Laura, younger than her years, relies on books for action in her life. But now her ideal job in a bookshop is ending, leaving her at loose ends. Arranging author signings is her forte. At her farewell event, she meets a strong-willed literary agent who compels her forward into her future. Next thing you know, Laura is helping plan a literary festival, meeting new friends, and heading off to Ireland to hunt up Dermot Flynn, an elusive author who will absolutely put the festival on the map. She finds adventure and more new friends; then, under the influence of much strong drink, she offers her body to Flynn to get him to attend the festival. Laura is more naive and innocent than many of Fforde’s heroines, but she is as lovable and stalwart as any who have gone before her. She finds resources within herself that she never knew were there, has her heart broken, survives, and learns to make her way in the world with great success. In all, a sweet and engaging romance. "

A sweet romance about book lovers! Hell yes I say!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Katie Fforde, Lauren Willig, Love Letters, Pink Carnation, The Orchid Affair

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Masterpiece, no longer, but still thought of as Theatre. Masterpiece Theatre brought the best of British Broadcasting and period dramas to the United States, long before technology allowed us to have easy access to, what I view, as the best television in the world. Today, over at The Daily Beast, Jace Lacob is talking about those shows polled as the best, Upstairs Downstairs, Prime Suspect, Downton Abbey, Bleak House, Sherlock, Jeeves and Wooster, Cranford, The Politician's Wife, The Forsyte Saga, House of Cards, Our Mutual Friend and Traffik. I of course, happened to notice, that this did not actually coincide with the poll which I eagerly watched when Derek Jacobi counted it down, not least of all cause some of these shows came way after the poll and were inserted to show their continuing excellence. Because I voted in this poll and, probably ended up being the one who rigged The Forsyte Saga into winning second place, I want to set the record straight. I also want to say a few things about these beloved shows, but first a little Masterpiece rant. PBS used to be the only place that showcased these fine shows, that is no longer the case. From BBC America to cable channels willing to spotlight British Broadcasting, the American love of all things British has never dwindled, yet PBS has. They now edit shows for content and time, Downton Abbey being a case in point. Instead of having the show naturally develop over seven weeks they hacked and slashed it to make it four episodes. No matter if these are "improvements" according to them. This show was written in 45 minute arcs, no more, no less. PBS has become a joke. In a day and age when technology makes these show available sooner and other outlets are moving with the times they need to step it up. BBC America has same day airing of Doctor Who but we have to wait YEARS for shows to make it to PBS. They have become lazy and all the greatness of these shows is due to the BBC, not Rebecca Eaton, who is hanging onto their coattails trying to make it look like she has made a contribution. They may show the best, but it's a paired down best that lacks the greatness of Russell Baker and instead relies on "star value" to sell these shows with little quippy intros of no depth or historical bearing, this doesn't apply to you Alan Cumming, I love you. But enough about my rant, which doesn't even touch on the fact the old Mystery intro needs to be brought back... here are the top twelve shows as counted down by Derek Jacobi, not inaccurately reported by Jace Lacob.

12) Jeeves and Wooster: Sheer brilliance. Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry were MADE to play these roles.

11) Wives and Daughters: One of my favorite miniseries ever. There is just one flaw, in that Roger and Molly don't have a romantic kiss... but I'll overlook that, most of the time. Andrew Davies is a genius and this is even better than Pride and Prejudice. Yep, you heard me right! Better than P and P, yes, Michael Gambon, take that victory lap.

10) Moll Flanders: Alex Kingston is awesome in the fun frolicking romp, too band the really bad music detracts from the awesome. Also Daniel Craig in a long flowing wig, so funny.

9) Reckless: I admit, I haven't watched it all, because my DVR messed up, but what I saw was really great, how could it not be with this cast? Francesca Annis, Robson Green and Michael Kitchen!

8) House of Cards: You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment.

7) Poldark: Cornwall and shipwrecks!

6) Jewel in the Crown: After Brideshead, this set the standard for what could be done with period drama willing to move outside the studio.

5) Prime Suspect: What made Helen Mirren a star, and rightfully so. Also, the first instance of PBS editing for content. The first of the slippery slope.

4) Bleak House: Which I have made my peace with. I will no longer be bashing it, yes it is awesome, as long as you don't watch the last episode. I mean WTF! It's dark, it's atmospheric and then, happy ever after garden party time.

3) I, Claudius: Not really my thing, but made some many stars.

2) The Forsyte Saga: The best miniseries ever hands down. It's almost too painful to watch with it's raw emotions and superb acting. Just be prepared to cry. A lot.

1) Upstairs, Downstairs: The standard. What BBC television is, was and shall ever be. If you haven't ever watched it, I feel sad for your pathetic little lives.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 5:00 PM 6 comments  

Labels: 40th Anniversary, Bleak House, Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, House of Cards, Jeeves and Wooster, Masterpiece Theater, Moll Flanders, Poldark, The Forsyte Saga, Upstairs Downstairs, Wives and Daughters

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
Published by: Puffin USA
Publication Date: 1970
Format: Paperback, 90 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy(different edition than one reviewed)

Mr. Fox and his family have quite a set up, they live next to three repulsive farmers, Farmer Boggis, Farmer Bunce and Farmer Bean. They respectively raise chickens, ducks and geese and turkeys and apples. The fox family eats well every night and Mr. Fox is a great provider, hence the "fantastic" handle. Finally the farmers collectively snap and instead of waiting for the nightly attack, they take the battle to Mr. Fox. Waiting outside his warren they get a partial victory by shooting off Mr. Fox's tail. Knowing that Mr. Fox wouldn't dare show his face again they decide to dig him out. What ensues is man and machine against little ground dwelling animals as the fox family tries to out dig the farmers, first with their shovels and spades, and then with their modern machines. The foxes realize this could be it, but then Mr. Fox decides it's time to take what they want direct from the source. They tunnel to the stores of all three farmers and they eat well. But not only does Mr. Fox save his family, but all ground dwelling animals whose lives became endangered when Mr. Fox riled up the farmers. They can live safe and happy while the ignorant farmers suffer waiting for the animals to starve.

So, I was shocked to realize, I've never read this book. I've had it in my Roald Dahl section for as long as I can remember, but I've never read it. Well... it's now been read and I have to say this, Roald Dahl is, to me, a very hit or miss writer. You either loved it or couldn't care about it. There's my adoration of Matilda and my dislike of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This falls into the later category of couldn't really care. I read it in anticipation of watching the new Wes Anderson stop motion animation movie so that I wouldn't go in ignorant... yes, I'm the girl who can't just see a movie but has to read the book as well. But the thing I couldn't get over was that no one was likable in this story. I hated the farmers, but I also couldn't care about the foxes. Plus, the humanization of the animals I found odd. It's not like foxes actually cook the chickens they steal... plus all the animals underground seemed to eat other animals, only the rabbits being vegetarian, and I found this odd. Plus, is it just me, or wouldn't it have been easier to drown them by pumping water into the holes? Thankfully Wes Anderson righted this wrong. Not that I approve of it, it just would have made a short story even shorter. It's amazing how Wes was able to create such a fun and delightful story. There is so little source material they could go anywhere with it... plus George Clooney as a fox, of course it's awesome!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Book Review, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Farmer Bean, Farmer Boggis, Farmer Bunce, George Clooney, Matilda, Roald Dahl, Wes Anderson

The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith
Published by: Prion Books
Publication Date: 1892
Format: Hardcover, 194 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy(different edition than one reviewed)

As Charles Pooter says: "Why should I not publish my diary? I have often seen reminiscences of people I have never heard of, and I fail to see - because I do not happen to be a 'Somebody' -  why my diary should not be interesting. My only regret is that I did not commence it when I was a youth." And so begins a year in the life of Charles Pooter. From him and his wife Carrie dancing around the dining table. To guffaws with his dear friends Cummings and Gowings. To fracases with the obstinate Young Pitt at work. To their son showing up on their doorstep and then getting involved in an amateur dramatics society and an ill advised engagement. Things are all go at the Pooters. While he does have a lot to grumble about in his little suburban home, the fact of the matter is, Mr. Pooter, bumbling and befuddled though he might be, is also very content in his life. He takes joy in the little things, from discovering the wonders of enamel paint, note to self, don't use it on a tub, to laughing at his own attempts at humor. He might be a bit stuffy, but you can't help being carried away with it. You can see him sitting in his study repeatedly writing to the local newspaper because they insist on spelling his name wrong. I think it in fact a bit sad that his name has become synonymous with "taking oneself grotesquely seriously," aka, Pooterism. I mean, he does have a point with the whole fad of diary publication.

The thing that struck me most about this book was that, despite being written over a hundred years ago, it was very fresh and very au courant. How many autobiographies are printed a year? And many not even by celebrities, even if they do make up the majority. It was a little humorous glimpse into the little life of a man who, bluster though he may, has all he could ask for in life. How many people have that? I mean, everyone complains, Pooter is no exception. But he does admit to happiness. I also found it funny, while skipping over a period of a few months that someone was blamed for stealing pages of his diary. Obviously the brothers Grossmith most likely didn't have columns those months, this being originally serialized, so what better way to make a joke and cover your tracks. This book has a subtle charm, it's not the funniest thing you'll ever read, but I have a feeling that, were you to read it 100 years from now it would still be timely, bar a few colloquialisms of the day, it would still be popular, and probably still be in print.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Charles Pooter, George and Weddon Grossmith, Mr Cummins, Mr Gowings, Pooterism, The Diary of a Nobody

Old Habits by Melissa Marr
Published by: Harper Collins
Publication Date: January 11th, 2011
Format: Kindle
Challenge: Horror and Urban Fantasy
Rating: ★★★
To Buy
Old habits die hard. For me as much as for Niall and Irial. I have to read everything in a series, even if it's pretty pointless short stories that are really cheap on Amazon. Melissa Marr has to keep adding addendums to Niall and Irial. As with her other short story, Stopping Time, Marr seems to have this sick need to return to the story that had a perfect ending in Ink Exchange. I should add that I haven't finished the Wicked Lovely series, so I'm sure there's much more to the story, but I just really like where Ink Exchange ended. Adding all this fluff on, because, if it wasn't worth putting in the book it's fluff, just cheapens the story. Sometimes you have to know when to quit. So Melissa, quit it already! Niall and Irial will figure out a way to make there tenuous relationship work, we don't need to hear about it in excruciating detail. Sheesh.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 2011 Reading Challenge, Amazon, Ink Exchange, Irial, Melissa Marr, Niall, Old Habits, Short Story, Stopping Time, Wicked Lovely

Old Habits by Melissa Marr
Published by: Harper Colins
Publication Date: January 11th, 2011
Format: Kindle
To Buy
The official patter:
"Melissa Marr returns to the ravishing world of Faerie with a story set between her bestselling novels Ink Exchange and Fragile Eternity. Recently anointed king of the Dark Court, Niall struggles to forge a new relationship with his subjects—and with the former Dark King, Irial, his once-friend, once-enemy, and now possible-advisor. "

Yeah! Another short little story to tide us over till the next book! In fact, the $1.99 I better go order this right now!

Timeless by Alexandra Monir
Published by: Delacorte
Publication Date: January 11th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she’s never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life – a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.

Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves – a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives."

Time travel and the guilded age! I say party!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexandra Monir, Fragile Eternity, Ink Exchange, Irial, Melissa Marr, Niall, Old Habits, Timeless

Calamity Jack by Shannon Hale
Published by: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: August 19th, 2008
Format: Hardcover, 144 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy
While Jack and Rapunzel were victorious after their great battle with Mother Gothel at the end of Rapunzel's Revenge, something still weighs heavy on the shoulders of Jack. Sure he got the girl, sure life is looking up for all the people in Gothel's Reach... but there's that whole business of a beanstalk back home and him crossing the giant Blunderboar leading to the end of life as he knew it. But now with Rapunzel he's ready to face the music as it were. But things are even worse, the city is under attack by giant ants and the giants are the only ones saving the city. Jack's mother is still in the employ of Blunderboar as his personal baker making his bread with his "special" bone meal, which Jack suspects has a secret "human" ingredient. But nothing is as it seems and nothing is well, Jack isn't even sure of Rapunzel anymore... maybe she'd not like him if she knew the whole truth. So it's time for Jack to do some giant killing, hoping he doesn't loose his head in the process.

While the first installment in this series, Rapunzel's Revenge, was funny and fast paced, if I had issues with the world building, this just took everything and magnified it. Instead of fixing what was wrong, there just seemed to be more things that didn't work. Jack was a boring narrator. Punzie had spunk and cute slang and jargon and made you smile. Jack was dull as dirt. It was a slog to get through this short comic. Plus there's so many different styles and time periods clashing together you don't know which way is up. Now it's leaning more in a Steampunk direction but with Giants... it just didn't work for me. What it most felt like was the atrocious remaking of The Wild Wild West with Will Smith. It's just wrong and weird and I really felt that at any moment Kenneth Branagh would show up as a half spider man and side with the Giants in the skyscraper. What time period is this again!?! No really really big skyscrapers in the wild west folks. Build your world right from the start because otherwise, the seams that start to show in the beginning will fully tear in the second outing.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 4 comments  

Labels: Beanstalk, Blunderboar, Calamity Jack, Dean Hale, Jack the Giant Killer, Kenneth Branagh, Mother Gothel, Rapunzel's Revenge, Shannon Hale, The Wild Wild West, Will Smith

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale
Published by: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: August 19th, 2008
Format: Hardcover, 144 Pages
Challenge: 1st in Series
Rating: ★★
To Buy
Rapunzel has lived her life in a giant fortress never knowing what's outside her cloistered world. Mother Gothel has wanted her raised in ignorance to the horrors and deprivations of her people. One day Rapunzel defies Gothel and finds the dry barren world Gothel has created by hoarding her growing magic and only helping those able to pay the price. Rapunzel also makes the starling discovery that her mother lives and that Gothel took Rapunzel as reparations for stealing lettuce, and named Rapunzel after said lettuce as a reminder. Once Rapunzel knows the truth, Gothel realizes that she is no longer valuable to her and therefore must be sent away. Into the deepest, weirdest jungle, to the highest tree Rapunzel is imprisoned. Being sustained by Gothel's growth magic has it's pluses and minuses. She doesn't starve, but her hair and nails grow at a prodigious rate. Once a year Gothel offers Rapunzel her freedom if she were to stand by her side, every year Rapunzel refuses. Finally Gothel has enough and seals Rapunzel's fate. Her little tree decides to seal her in, Rapunzel has other plans. She's been practicing with her hair, she lasso's the nearest tree and "gracefully" makes her escape. She heads to the nearest town and she befriends a young con man, Jack, and a friendship is born. They make their way through the barren wasteland Gothel has created, outlaws they may be, but they still help the little guy. Soon they will reach Gothel, and the showdown will happen, with one or the other victorious. And maybe a kiss at the end?

Hale decided to retell the Rapunzel fairytale because it truly is the stupidest of fairytales. The prince never thought to bring a ladder but got her pregnant!?! Hence the short and derogatory portrayal of the handsome prince for about two seconds. Now to the world that has been created. I have issues with this world. It's like they didn't apply world building 101 to this. At times it's distinctly the Wild West and at other time there are jungles and weird beasts. I think if they had stuck with the Wild West theme it would have been awesome. But the weird vegetation and at times, Germanic structures, made this a disjointed confusing world. The clever, witty dialogue and the right vs. might could have made a wonderfully cohesive story, if not for the world. Also, I know this is a younger audience this book is aimed at, but the drawing style seems so pedestrian and sub par. Nathan Hale's cover just grabs your attention and makes you say "I want!" But the interior is such a generic, typical layout, it doesn't push any boundaries. With the amazing things being done in comics today, you have to bring your A game. He did not bring it. But I do like that this is aimed at hesitant readers, as a kid, this was so my type of book!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Calamity Jack, Comics, Lettuce, Mother Gothel, Nathan Hale, Rapunzel's Revenge, Reading Challenge, Shannon Hale, Wild West

The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: January 4th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The American debut of an award-winning novel about a lady’s maid’s awakening as she journeys from the confines of Victorian England to the uncharted far reaches of Egypt’s Nile Valley.

When Lady Duff Gordon, paragon of London society, departs for the hot, dry climate of Egypt to seek relief from her debilitating tuberculosis, her lady’s maid, Sally, doesn’t hesitate to leave the only world she has known in order to remain at her mistress’s side. As Sally gets farther and farther from home, she experiences freedoms she has never known—forgoing corsets and wearing native dress, learning Arabic, and having her first taste of romance.

But freedom is a luxury that a lady’s maid can ill afford, and when Sally’s new found passion for life causes her to forget what she is entitled to, she is brutally reminded she is mistress of nothing. Ultimately she must choose her master and a way back home—or a way to an unknown future.

Based on the real lives of Lady Duff Gordon and her maid, The Mistress of Nothing is a lush, erotic, and compelling story about the power of race, class, and love."

Lady's maid and Egypt! Must own! Must own!

Home for a Spell (Bewitching Series #7) by Madelyn Alt
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: January 4th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"As the newest witch in Indiana, Maggie O'Neill already has plenty to deal with. So being hobbled by a broken leg doesn't help. Neither does the fact that her best friend and upstairs neighbor is getting ready to tie the knot with her own boyfriend and move away. This leads Maggie to wonder if it isn't time to find herself a new pad.

But when she finds a place, Maggie's dream of new digs turns into a nightmare: the apartment manager is found dead before she can even sign the lease. And Maggie finds herself not only searching for a new home- but for a frightfully clever killer."

Such a cute little Midwestern witch series. So glad it's doing well enough to merit the hardcovers now.

Murder Your Darlings: Algonquin Round Table Mystery by J.J. Murphy
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: January 4th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"One morning legendary wit Dorothy Parker discovers someone under Manhattan's famed Algonquin Round Table. A little early for a passed out drunk, isn't it? But he's not dead drunk, just dead. When a charming writer from Mississippi named Billy Faulkner becomes a suspect in the murder, Dorothy decides to dabble in a little detective work, enlisting her literary cohorts.

It's up to the Algonquins to outwit the true culprit-preferably before cocktail hour-and before the clever killer turns the tables on them."

This first in a new series could be fun... that's if they can capture the time period and the wit... so it could also fail miserably.

Buffalo West Wing (White House Chef Mystery Series #4) by Julie Hyzy
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: January 4th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"With a new First Family, White House executive chef Olivia Paras can't afford to make any mistakes. But when a box of take-out chicken mysteriously shows up for the First Kids, she soon finds herself in a "no-wing" situation. After Olivia refuses to serve the chicken, the First Lady gives her the cold shoulder. But when it turns out to be poisoned poultry, Olivia realizes the kids are true targets."

For my mom, who loves this cozy little series.

Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson Series #2) by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: January 4th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places-and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary-and neither is the demon inside of him."

Yeah for Ace and their hardcover re-issues. I LOVE them!

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily (The Secret History of the Pink Carnation Book 6) by Lauren Willig
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: January 4th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 512 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The heroines of Lauren Willig's bestselling Pink Carnation series have engaged in espionage all over nineteenth-century Europe. In the sixth stand-alone volume, our fair English heroine travels to India, where she finds freedom-and risk-more exciting than she ever imagined.Everyone warned Miss Penelope Deveraux that her unruly behavior would land her in disgrace someday. She never imagined she's 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 husband. In a strange country, where elaborate court dress masks even more elaborate intrigues and a dangerous spy called the Marigold leaves venomous 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. Or so he thinks-until Lady Frederick..."

A new cover for Pen that is entirely un-Pen like. I'm glad they're trying to reach out to more markets, but at the same time I want to stamp my foot on the ground and whine "But now my paperbacks won't match!"

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Blood Bound, Home for a Spell, Julie Hyzy, Kate Pullinger, Lauren Willig, Madelyn Alt, Murder Your Darlings, Patricia Briggs, The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, The Mistress of Nothing