strange and random happenstance

Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this stand-alone companion to the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke and Bone series comes the story of Mik and Zuzana's fantastical first date--as a gorgeously illustrated gift edition with bonus content included.

Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her "rabid fairy," her "voodoo eyes" are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or "Violin Boy," her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to make the first move, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It's a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter's night before leading him to the treasure: herself! Violin Boy is not going to know what hit him.

New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor brings to life a night only hinted at in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy--the magical first date of fan-favorites Zuzana and Mik. Originally published as an ebook, this new print edition will include breathtaking black and white illustrations, plus bonus content in a gorgeous package perfect for new and current fans of the series."

I loved this story when it was first released on Kindle and spent what would have been a bad Thanksgiving hiding in it's pages. Now I can't wait to have a copy with actual pages!

Odd and True by Cat Winters
Published by: Amulet Books
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Trudchen grew up hearing Odette’s stories of their monster-slaying mother and a magician’s curse. But now that Tru’s older, she’s starting to wonder if her older sister’s tales were just comforting lies, especially because there’s nothing fantastic about her own life—permanently disabled and in constant pain from childhood polio.

In 1909, after a two-year absence, Od reappears with a suitcase supposedly full of weapons and a promise to rescue Tru from the monsters on their way to attack her. But it’s Od who seems haunted by something. And when the sisters’ search for their mother leads them to a face-off with the Leeds Devil, a nightmarish beast that’s wreaking havoc in the Mid-Atlantic states, Tru discovers the peculiar possibility that she and her sister—despite their dark pasts and ordinary appearances—might, indeed, have magic after all."

Sounds interesting and makes me want to give this author another chance.

The Girl Who Takes An Eye For An Eye by David Lagercrantz
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo, the brilliant hacker, the obstinate outsider, the volatile seeker of justice for herself and others—even she has never been able to uncover the most telling facts of her traumatic childhood, the secrets that might finally, fully explain her to herself. Now, when she sees a chance to uncover them once and for all, she enlists the help of Mikael Blomkvist, the editor of the muckraking, investigative journal Millennium. And she will let nothing stop her—not the Islamists she enrages by rescuing a young woman from their brutality; not the prison gang leader who passes a death sentence on her; not the deadly reach of her long-lost twin sister, Camilla; and not the people who will do anything to keep buried knowledge of a sinister pseudoscientific experiment known only as The Registry. Once again, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, together, are the fierce heart of a thrilling full-tilt novel that takes on some of the most insidious problems facing the world at this very moment."

Let's keep flogging a dead horse OK?

Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Frances Brody returns with an intricate, absorbing plot while capturing the atmosphere and language of 1920s England in the eighth book of her cozy mystery series.

Nothing ever happens in August, and tenacious sleuth Kate Shackleton deserves a break.

Heading off for a long-overdue holiday to Whitby, she visits her school friend Alma who works as a fortune teller there. Kate had been looking forward to a relaxing seaside sojourn, but upon arrival discovers that Alma's daughter Felicity has disappeared, leaving her mother a note and the pawn ticket for their only asset: a watch-guard.

What makes this more intriguing is the jeweler who advanced Felicity the thirty shillings is Jack Phillips, Alma's current gentleman friend.

Kate can't help but become involved, and goes to the jeweller's shop to get some answers. When she makes a horrifying discovery in the back room, it becomes clear that her services are needed. Met by a wall of silence by town officials, keen to maintain Whitby's idyllic façade, it's up to Kate - ably assisted by Jim Sykes and Mrs Sugden - to discover the truth behind Felicity's disappearance.

And they say nothing happens in August..."

An August by the seaside? Yes please! Set in the 1920s, even more yas! 

A Secret Garden by Katie Fforde
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017
Format: Kindle, 386 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Step inside this beautiful novel to discover friendships, secrets and romance...

When Philly starts a new job, working with Lorna in the gorgeous grounds of a beautiful manor house, it marks a turning point in both of their lives.

Philly has never been in love before and is constantly disappointing her mother with her unwillingness to settle down. But all that changes when she meets Lucien, a free spirit with an intriguing past...

Lorna is learning to embrace life on her own, until dashing Jack sweeps her off her feet in a whirlwind romance. But is this what Lorna really wants?

When the two women discover a secret garden in the manor house grounds, they are encouraged to restore its forgotten beauty in time for an unforgettable end of summer party. As they work together, secrets are revealed and relationships tested. Will they both find the happy endings they are looking for?

Set against a stunning backdrop, this utterly charming and romantic story is certain to make you smile. Perfect for fans of Susan Mallery, Mary Kay Andrews and Debbie Macomber."

I really like Katie Fforde, and let's be honest, any secret garden will be better than the classic one which I hate. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Cat Winters, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Death at the Seaside, Frances Brody, Kate Shackleton, Katie Fforde, Laini Taylor, Night of Cake and Puppets, Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Strange the Dreams by Laini Taylor
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 28th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 544 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A new epic fantasy by National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy.

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around--and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance to lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries--including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? and if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

In this sweeping and breathtaking new novel by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke and; Bone trilogy, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage.

Welcome to Weep."

Anyone else REALLY excited to finally get there hands on a new Laini Taylor book? I'm uber excited that I'm going to a book signing too! 

The Endicott Evil by Gregory Harris
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: March 28th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Victorian London, there exists no greater investigative team than master sleuth Colin Pendragon and his loyal partner, Ethan Pruitt. But it will take all their powers of deduction to determine if a fatal fall was a result of misery or murder...

Adelaide Endicott—elderly sister of Lord Thomas Endicott, a senior member of Parliament—has plummeted to her death from the third-floor window of her bedroom at Layton Manor. Did she take her own life—or was she pushed? Although Scotland Yard believes it is a clear case of suicide, Adelaide’s sister Eugenia is convinced otherwise...

Intrigued by the spinster’s suspicions, Pendragon and Pruitt look into the victim’s troubled mental state while simultaneously exploring who might have had a motive to push Adelaide to her death. As they begin to uncover a family history involving scandalous secrets, abuse, and trauma, mounting evidence suggests that there is evil lurking behind the closed doors of Layton Manor, and that it is of utmost urgency to expose it before another tragedy occurs."

A manor house and murder? Duh I'm reading it!

Lost Souls by Kelley Armstrong
Published by: Subterranean Press
Publication Date: March 31st, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The disappearing hitchhiker is one of the hoariest urban legends, and no one knows that better than Gabriel Walsh, a lawyer who grew up on folklore and myth. When Patrick—author of books on the supernatural—brings him the case of a hitchhiking woman in white who vanished on a country road after accepting a ride from a businessman, Gabriel knows the Cainsville elder is just trying to wheedle into his good graces. But Gabriel is a man in need of a mystery, one that will get him back into someone else's good graces. His investigator, Olivia Taylor-Jones, has blown town supposedly on a simple vacation. But when she left there was a rift between them and…he misses her.

Gabriel is well aware the only thing Olivia loves more than a good mystery is a weird one, and this hitchhiker case more than fits the bill. As Gabriel digs into the case, though, he's forced to face ghosts of his own and admit that the woman in white isn't the only one who has lost her way.

With Lost Souls, New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong weaves an unmissable novella-length tale connected to her fan-favorite Cainsville series."

LOVE Subterranean Press, just wish they could get better cover artists...

The Awakening by Amanda Stevens
Published by: MIRA
Publication Date: March 28th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Shush…lest she awaken...

My name is Amelia Gray, and I'm a cemetery restorer who lives with the dead. An anonymous donor has hired me to restore Woodbine Cemetery, a place where the rich and powerful bury their secrets. Forty years ago, a child disappeared without a trace and now her ghost has awakened, demanding that I find out the truth about her death. Only I know that she was murdered. Only I can bring her killer to justice. But the clues that I follow—a haunting melody and an unnamed baby's grave—lead me to a series of disturbing suspects.

For generations, The Devlins have been members of Charleston's elite. John Devlin once turned his back on the traditions and expectations that came with his birthright, but now he has seemingly accepted his rightful place. His family's secrets make him a questionable ally. When my investigation brings me to the gates of his family's palatial home, I have to wonder if he is about to become my mortal enemy."

I mean, the blurb alone sends shivers up my spine! 

London Calling by Sara Sheridan
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: March 28th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the years following World War II, former Secret Service employee Mirabelle Bevan has found a refuge in the quiet coastal town of Brighton. But she can’t seem to resist an attraction to danger and a thirst for justice...

1952: Eighteen-year-old debutante Rose Bellamy Gore was last seen outside a Soho jazz club in the company of a saxophone player named Lindon Claremont. Now her mysterious disappearance is front-page news in the London tabloids.

When Lindon turns up the next day in Brighton, desperately seeking help, Mirabelle counsels him to cooperate with the authorities. After the local police take the musician into custody and ship him off to Scotland Yard, Mirabelle and her best friend, Vesta Churchill, hop a train to London in search of the truth.

As they scour smoky jazz clubs searching for clues to the deb’s disappearance, they descend into a sinister underworld where the price of admission can be one’s life. Mirabelle will need to draw on her espionage skills to improvise her way out of a disappearing act of her own..."

Period crime solving? Yes please!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amanda Stevens, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Gregory Harris, Kelley Armstrong, Laini Taylor, London Calling, Lost Souls, Sara Sheridan, Strange the Dreamer, The Awakening, The Edicott Evil, Tuesday Tomorrow

Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke and Bone Book 3) by Laini Taylor
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 8th, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 624 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

The war between the Seraphim and the Chimera has come to Earth. Cunningly arriving in a guise to lull humanity into submission Karou and Akiva know that their only chance to succeed against these "angels" led by Jael is to return to Eretz and convince the Misbegotten Seraphim to ally themselves with the few remaining Chimera in an attempt to destroy Jael and bring peace to the two worlds. The fact that Jael brings a warning to the Vatican of the "beasts" and "monsters" that have been warring with them makes it even more imperative that the outcasts lead by Karou abandon the hideout in Morroco, which is soon found and studiously dissected by scientists, and escape through the tear in the dimensions. But aligning the previously combative forces looks like it might be harder then Karou and Akiva thought. If they can't pull off a compromise how will they destroy Jael and get a chance at making a future together? Going against their natures a plan is hatched that will at least save Earth and lure the fight back to the one dimension. Hopefully they can defeat the enemy on the land that has been soaked with their blood for many a year, if not, at least they have saved Earth. Yet their destinies might already be written in the stars.

What the godstars was that? In all seriousness, there is always a problem with final books in a series that have been predominately about the battle of good versus evil. Because the final installment will always be the final showdown. I don't really want to read about battles, which is the fatal flaw in The Hunger Games series when Mockingjay basically became a post apocalyptic version of The Hurt Locker. Dreams of Gods and Monsters nicely sidesteps this by focusing on the main characters who are peripheral to the battles because they are involved in other schemes, but quickly falls of a cliff. You really need to watch your footing in perilous denouements, a cliff or quicksand could be there waiting to smother all your hopes for a satisfying conclusion. The fact that, while sometimes rambling, I liked where the book was going until about the last thirty pages makes the ending even more of a betrayal. Yes, you can't make everyone happy, I get that, but still, I was hoping for something more.

Because my issues with this final book occur in the final pages I don't think that my talking about spoilers will be that surprising, because my need for discourse with my issues is greater then my need for silence, but I will therefore just warn you that spoilers are ahead. So you have been warned. Spoilers. So you're not reading anymore unless you want to know why I was so disappointed? Good. I shall continue my rant. The last few chapters don't give us a denouement they give us a beginning. Instead of being successful, reaching the end of their battles, and getting a happily ever after, we get this amorphous ending that is both unsatisfying and puzzling. Yes life is complicated, yes endings aren't necessarily tied up with a bow, but that doesn't mean you introduce tons of new stuff that no one gets, not even the characters, with twenty pages left and call it a day. I cry FOWL! As an author the worst thing you can do is give us a beginning instead of an ending. There's different kinds of endings, you can have some lack of closure, you can make it not happy for everyone, but you can't give us something that doesn't even make sense to the characters in the book. I was left wondering if there is going to be a spin off series, like many YA series are doing now, because this isn't an ending. I don't know how many times I can say this in regard to this book. Starting something new and different without giving closure first makes me want to burn this book a little.

Ok, let me break it down more. Akiva's people, the Stelians, they've always been mysterious and doing whatever they do, so it does make sense that they finally arrive and explain to Akiva that he needs some training, whatever, I'm cool with this. But then to have this mystic vision wherein this outside force, a force we've just learned of fairly recently in this book, will be defeated by everyone in the room becoming gods, aka the godstars? Gorram it, what the hell is this about? And trust me, Karou and Akiva and just as mystified as you and me! It's like the book became an entirely different book. The humor goes away and we are left with this idea that somehow they will all become stars? What, like at the end of Stardust where when they die they become stars? But that doesn't seem to be what this book is saying. They have a big battle ahead, a battle we don't understand or know about, but it's coming, here's a tacky epilogue with the characters still not knowing what's going on but at least Karou and Akiva get some action in some semblance of a happily ever after. How could this satiate anyone?

This also negates the wonderful worldbuilding that this series was known for up until this point which still has many previous questions unanswered. By adding in this unnecessary and convoluted worldbuilding with the Stelians and their weird dimension punching more questions are asked rather then answered. It is almost like Laini Taylor was going, "Oh shit, I forgot everything about Akiva and his people, what do I do?" Followed by a glut of information that will lead to a WTF reveal with an ending that no one, not even the characters get. I seriously cannot state it enough. The characters don't know what's going on so how can I!?! But the most annoying fact is, until the Stelians take Akiva down into that little cave, Laini had set up the perfect ending. Everyone was where I thought they should be. Even Liraz and Ziri were perfect, and of course Zuzana and Mik were more then perfect, and then vomit. I was hoping for them rebuilding their world, bringing their people together, learning more about how exactly the magic works, not getting ready for some big battle that I couldn't care less about because I just learned about it. This series connected with me, even if I never really liked Akiva and had some issues, but the fact that Laini made me even care about characters that I don't really like I felt they deserved more then this. And it's not that I deserved more, it was ok if unsatisfying, I just felt that these characters I have loved so much were just worthy of so much more, and not becoming some nebulous gods in some epic battle for the worlds.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Akiva, Chimera, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, Gods, Godstars, Karou, Laini Taylor, Mockingjay, Seraphim, Stardust, Summer Series, The Hunger Games, The Hurt Locker, Worldbuilding, Zuzana

Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone Book 2) by Laini Taylor
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: November 6th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 528 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war. This is not that world."

Karou's homeland has been destroyed. The man she loved in another life, in another body, destroyed it because of her death. Akiva never thought, never even dared to hope that he would one day be with her again. His destruction of her people has sealed his fate and his chance at happiness. A happiness he never expected is lost yet again to him by his own hands. The monsters have all been destroyed by the Seraphim. There are only a few holdouts of Chimera hidden here and there in Eretz, and the Seraphim are flushing them out.

Yet there is hope... Karou. Her name literally means hope. Little did she realize that in spending two lives in the company of Brimstone she has been able to learn the art of resurrection, the secret to the Chimera's ability to thwart the enemy. Of course helping the Chimera means she must ally herself with the man who was her intended, Thiago. Oh, and he is the one who happened to have her executed the first time around. Going by the theory the enemy of my enemy is my friend, she agrees to be Thiago's resurrectionist, in the hope that this will save her people by creating a rebel band of Chimera.

But will a band of rebels be able to thwart the might of the empire? Or is it in Akiva and Karou's old dream of creating a new world that a future for Eretz might be found? Either way, the Seraphim and the Chimera must come together, must be willing to see past the war that has consumed their lives, or in the case of the Chimera, multiple lives, and look to what comes next.

For some time now I have had several friends who where verging on the insistence level of drug pushers to read Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I mean, every single time I talked to or emailed them, it would end with, "by the way... have you read it yet?" The day the second book came out the amount of texts I got might have been able to crash my data plan. Needless to say, as soon as I had the time I agreed I would finally read it. After the harsh semester of school I had I spent quite literally all of December sick and under a blanket somewhere. Now the "best" part about being sick is that you are literally incapable of doing anything other than lounging... which means reading! Ah December... I might not have been able to speak without hacking up a lung, but you passed in a haze of crisp fonts and snowy white pages. I devoured Daughter of Smoke and Bone quite quickly. I was intrigued by the world. There where things I loved, and there where things I raised my eyebrows at, angels, really? But I was sold enough to need to pick up the next volume immediately... or in this case, send someone forth to get me said volume because you aren't allowed to drive a car when on a codeine based cough syrup.

What the first book hadn't prepared me for was the awesomeness of the second book. By reading blurbs and snatches of reviews the second book seemed to veer very much into the war of otherworldy creatures category with Karou playing Frankenstein... which seemed, well, I'll say it, I thought it would be lame. I thought taking Karou out of this wonderful little world she lived in in Prague with her lovely diminutive if occasionally violent friend Zuzana was a mistake. No more sketchbooks and art school and evil exes. It was rewriting everything the first book was and giving us a map of another world. Side note, I usually love books with maps of other worlds, I just wasn't expecting this series to go that way. I think that's why I loved Days of Blood and Starlight, it went where I didn't think it would go and brought me along for an amazing ride, thankfully I didn't have to be in a beat up truck in Morocco for real.

Yet it is the believability of the world building that has made the narrative work. Laini has created a beautiful and brutal world, but it has humor in it. The surest way to get complicity is to make someone laugh. Zuzana was my entry into this world of monsters. She was so funny and her connection to Karou made a character who might not be completely relatable, I mean Karou is a monster resurrected into the body of a blue haired teenager with amazing drawing skills, real and likable. Their quippy emails and how Monty Python is used to bring levity yet also hint at the truths behind the words made me love this book all the more. Add in magic, a trio of mismatched angels, a mysterious island and some very wicked Guerilla tactics,  and I am not only beyond excited for the next installment, I want it now!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Akiva, Chimera, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, Eretz, Frankenstein, Karou, Laini Taylor, Monty Python, Prague, Seraphim, Summer Series, Zuzana

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone Book 1) by Laini Taylor
Published by: Little Brown
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well."

Karou might be just as she seems, a gifted art student in Prague. Yet the fantastical beasts that she fills her sketchbooks with aren't a figment of her imagination. They are her family. And like most family, they sometimes have favors to ask of her that take her away from the normal life she is trying to live. A life that is about to end. All over the world black hand prints are appearing on doors, burned into the wood by winged strangers. One day it is the door Karou takes to visit her family. She is cut off from them, she doesn't know if they are alive or dead. What will she do if she is cut off from all that she knows?

Yet what of the winged strangers? One of them, Akiva, sees Karou and cannot believe his eyes. She looks just like his lost love. But she is dead and gone. Their love was forbidden. Two star crossed lovers on different sides of an otherworldly war. There can not be a connection between the two women. Yet Akiva's heart is telling him differently. Could Karou be his lost love? Could she love him again in this new life once she knows the whole truth?

If someone had said to me that I would become enamoured with a book series about "devils" and "angels" I would have laughed. Angels to me have never seemed the stuff of literature, more the stuff of Sunday School. Yet there are angels out there that have fascinated me... Loki and Bartleby in Dogma, Balthamos and Baruch in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series for example. So, add to this many of my friends clamouring that I must read this book now, which increased a hundred fold once the second book came out, I caved and fell in love with this world.

What I adored was the world building. The seamless twining of reality and fantasy. Prague was the perfect choice in it's character to couple it with an imaginary land. The history and the Gothic feel of the city make it totally believable that you might accidentally stumble upon a chimera walking down a twisty back alley. Or a winged creature might descend from the skies and accost you. There's a part of me that wishes I had been raised in that little office of Brimstone's where wishes were made, literally. Add to Taylor's creatures and continents this elaborate currency of wishes and their effectiveness, and it's so alive and real that I really thought I might be able to barter some teeth for a scuppy or a shing to give myself really cool colored hair like Karou...

Though, I did have a hard time after becoming so invested in Karou's life as it revolved around Prague, that when we are pulled out of that life and into her previous life as Madrigal I was so jarred that I didn't really take to her previous life. Having already read the second book, I know that there is a merging of the two halves of herself that takes place that then makes everything make sense, but at this point in Daughter of Smoke and Bone was when my love for it wavered. I needed to know the full history of Akiva and Karou's previous life when she was Madrigal, but at the same time, this fearless warrior that was Madrigal, was so different from Karou, that my heart hardened a little towards her. Madrigal is what Karou would have been/was in a different world. A "person" I just didn't take to. Thankfully this was rectified in the second book, which is one of the most amazing books I have read in a long time.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Akiva, Bartelby, Chimera, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, Dogma, His Dark Materials, Karou, Laini Taylor, Loki, Madrigal, Philip Pullman, Prague, Scuppy, Seraphim, Shing, Summer Series

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 8th, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 624 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this thrilling conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, Karou is still not ready to forgive Akiva for killing the only family she's ever known.

When a brutal angel army trespasses into the human world, Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat--and against larger dangers that loom on the horizon. They begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves--maybe even toward love.

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera, and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy."

FINALLY! It's been too long waiting for the epic conclusion to this awesome series.

Miss Julia's Marvelous Makeover by Ann B. Ross
Published by: Viking Adult
Publication Date: April 8th, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Miss Julia masterminds a makeover in New York Times bestselling author Ann B. Ross’s latest installment in her popular series.

It’s summer in Abbotsville, and Miss Julia has visions of enjoying a life of leisure. But before she can even sip some iced tea on her front porch, a letter from her long-lost cousin Elsie informs her that Elsie’s granddaughter is on a bus headed to Abbotsville that very day. Reminding Miss Julia of an old family debt, Elsie proclaims that she is sending Trixie to Miss Julia’s to learn to become a lady. The nerve of some people! When the rude and unkempt Trixie arrives, even Sam and Lloyd agree that Miss Julia faces quite a challenge.

Meanwhile, Sam has decided to run for state senate. But when he has a fainting spell and has to go into the hospital for tests, who will run his campaign? Is his no-good rival going to cakewalk into office? No sir, not if Miss Julia has anything to say about it—and indeed she does, including up on the stump.

In this marvelous addition to the popular series, Miss Julia is sure to have a summer that she—and Abbotsville—will never forget!"

Turtle Recall: The Discworld Companion... so far by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: April 8th, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For every Pratchett fan, the must-have fully updated guidebook to Discworld!

The Discworld, as everyone knows, is a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the shell of the giant star turtle, the Great A'Tuin, as it slowly swims through space.

It is also a global publishing phenomenon with sales of nearly 85 million books worldwide (and counting). With 39 books in the canon, not including the various guides, maps, diaries, and other tie-in volumes, there's a lot of Discworld to keep track of—more than most fans can manage without magic.

Turtle Recall is the ultimate authority on probably the most heavily populated—certainly the most hilarious—setting in fantasy literature and includes a guide to Discworld locales from Ankh-Morpork to Zemphis, as well as information to help you distinguish Achmed the Mad from Jack Zweiblumen and the Agatean Empire from the Zoons. Plus much, much more.

Covering everything from The Colour of Magic, the first Discworld novel, through Snuff!, Turtle Recall: The Discworld Companion . . . So Far is the most up-to-the-minute encyclopedia of Terry Pratchett's extraordinary universe available."

Finally a definitive edition of the Discworld companion AND available stateside!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ann B. Ross, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Discworld, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, Laini Taylor, Miss Julia, Stephen Briggs, Terry Pratchett

Days of Blood and Starlight, Daughter of Smoke and Bone Book 2 by Laini Taylor
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: November 6th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 528 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war. This is not that world."

Karou's homeland has been destroyed. The man she loved in another life, in another body, destroyed it because of her death. Akiva never thought, never even dared to hope that he would one day be with her again. His destruction of her people has sealed his fate and his chance at happiness. A happiness he never expected is lost yet again to him by his own hands. The monsters have all been destroyed by the Seraphim. There are only a few holdouts of Chimera hidden here and there in Eretz, and the Seraphim are flushing them out.

Yet there is hope... Karou. Her name literally means hope. Little did she realize that in spending two lives in the company of Brimstone she has been able to learn the art of resurrection, the secret to the Chimera's ability to thwart the enemy. Of course helping the Chimera means she must ally herself with the man who was her intended, Thiago. Oh, and he is the one who happened to have her executed the first time around. Going by the theory the enemy of my enemy is my friend, she agrees to be Thiago's resurrectionist, in the hope that this will save her people by creating a rebel band of Chimera.

But will a band of rebels be able to thwart the might of the empire? Or is it in Akiva and Karou's old dream of creating a new world that a future for Eretz might be found? Either way, the Seraphim and the Chimera must come together, must be willing to see past the war that has consumed their lives, or in the case of the Chimera, multiple lives, and look to what comes next.

For some time now I have had several friends who where verging on the insistence level of drug pushers to read Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I mean, every single time I talked to or emailed them, it would end with, "by the way... have you read it yet?" The day the second book came out the amount of texts I got might have been able to crash my data plan. Needless to say, as soon as I had the time I agreed I would finally read it. After the harsh semester of school I had I spent quite literally all of December sick and under a blanket somewhere. Now the "best" part about being sick is that you are literally incapable of doing anything other than lounging... which means reading! Ah December... I might not have been able to speak without hacking up a lung, but you passed in a haze of crisp fonts and snowy white pages. I devoured Daughter of Smoke and Bone quite quickly. I was intrigued by the world. There where things I loved, and there where things I raised my eyebrows at, angels, really? But I was sold enough to need to pick up the next volume immediately... or in this case, send someone forth to get me said volume because you aren't allowed to drive a car when on a codeine based cough syrup.

What the first book hadn't prepared me for was the awesomeness of the second book. By reading blurbs and snatches of reviews the second book seemed to veer very much into the war of otherworldy creatures category with Karou playing Frankenstein... which seemed, well, I'll say it, I thought it would be lame. I thought taking Karou out of this wonderful little world she lived in in Prague with her lovely diminutive if occasionally violent friend Zuzana was a mistake. No more sketchbooks and art school and evil exes. It was rewriting everything the first book was and giving us a map of another world. Side note, I usually love books with maps of other worlds, I just wasn't expecting this series to go that way. I think that's why I loved Days of Blood and Starlight, it went where I didn't think it would go and brought me along for an amazing ride, thankfully I didn't have to be in a beat up truck in Morocco for real.

Yet it is the believability of the world building that has made the narrative work. Laini has created a beautiful and brutal world, but it has humor in it. The surest way to get complicity is to make someone laugh. Zuzana was my entry into this world of monsters. She was so funny and her connection to Karou made a character who might not be completely relatable, I mean Karou is a monster resurrected into the body of a blue haired teenager with amazing drawing skills, real and likable. Their quippy emails and how Monty Python is used to bring levity yet also hint at the truths behind the words made me love this book all the more. Add in magic, a trio of mismatched angels, a mysterious island and some very wicked Guerilla tactics,  and I am not only beyond excited for the next installment, I want it now!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Akiva, Chimera, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, Eretz, Frankenstein, Karou, Laini Taylor, Monty Python, Prague, Seraphim, Zuzana

Dickens aside, now that school is over for the semester (well, almost, but in essence, over), and I'm through the worst of the con plague (I swear, going to the moon at Teslacon was riskier and more fun than I thought), it's time to get in some good solid reading. So in other words, Svea's little read-a-thon came at just the right time... so, let's so how many books I can cram in before Christmas! I feel it my duty to make my goal of 115 books this year, that leaves me 9 more books to read this year... I wonder how many I'll do this week...

So far, in day one I read Fables Volume 11 War and Pieces, which is part of my massive Fables read I'm planning (for those who don't know Fables it's a series of Graphic Novels where Fairy Tales are real and live secretly amongst us and it's pretty frakin' awesome.) After that I started the second book in Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, Days of Blood and Starlight, after finishing the first book the day before and needing the second immediately. Well today I have book club, so sadly talking about books will cut into some of my reading books time... but so worth it!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, Fables, Laini Taylor, Read-A-Thon, Svea

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Published by: Little Brown
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Karou is a seventeen-year-old art student with a most unusual family. From his desk in a dusty, otherworldly shop, her mysterious, monstrous father sends her on errands across the globe, collecting teeth for a shadowy purpose. On one such errand, Karou encounters an angel, and soon the mysteries of her life and her family are unraveled--with consequences both beautiful and dreadful. National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor has created a lushly imaginative, fully realized world in Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Taylor’s writing is as sumptuous as poetry, and the story overflows with dark and delightful magic, star-crossed love, and difficult choices with heartbreaking repercussions. Readers of all ages will be utterly enchanted."

I've recently been recommended by my friend Jess to read Laini Taylor, and here she has a new book coming out with the wonderful quote from Patrick Rothfuss: "Wow. I wish I had written this book." So I guess that's settled, out to the bookstore I go!

The Immorality Engine by George Mann
Published by: Tor
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"On the surface, life is going well for Victorian special agent Sir Maurice Newbury, who has brilliantly solved several nigh-impossible cases for Queen Victoria with his indomitable assistant, Miss Veronica Hobbes, by his side. But these facts haven’t stopped Newbury from succumbing increasingly frequently to his dire flirtation with the lure of opium. His addiction is fueled in part by his ill-gotten knowledge of Veronica’s secret relationship with the queen, which Newbury fears must be some kind of betrayal. Veronica, consumed by worry and care for her prophetic but physically fragile sister Amelia, has no idea that she is a catalyst for Newbury’s steadily worsening condition.
Veronica and Newbury’s dear friend Bainbridge, the Chief Investigator at Scotland Yard, tries to cover for him as much as possible, but when the body of a well known criminal turns up, Bainbridge and Veronica track Newbury down in an opium den and drag him out to help them with the case. The body is clearly, irrefutably, that of the man in question, but shortly after his body is brought to the morgue, a crime is discovered that bears all the dead man’s hallmarks. Bainbridge and Veronica fear someone is committing copycat crimes, but Newbury is not sure. Somehow, the details are too perfect for it to be the work of a copycat. But how can a dead man commit a crime?"

The newest Newbury and Hobbes book which I really need to read because Mann is going to be at Telsa Con, the big steampunk convention in Madison in November. Can't wait!

Ganymede by Cherie Priest
Published by: Tor
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
Format: Paperback,  352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The air pirate Andan Cly is going straight. Well, straighter. Although he’s happy to run alcohol guns wherever the money’s good, he doesn’t think the world needs more sap, or its increasingly ugly side-effects. But becoming legit is easier said than done, and Cly’s first legal gig—a supply run for the Seattle Underground—will be paid for by sap money.
New Orleans is not Cly’s first pick for a shopping run. He loved the Big Easy once, back when he also loved a beautiful mixed-race prostitute named Josephine Early—but that was a decade ago, and he hasn’t looked back since. Jo’s still thinking about him, though, or so he learns when he gets a telegram about a peculiar piloting job. It’s a chance to complete two lucrative jobs at once, one he can’t refuse. He sends his old paramour a note and heads for New Orleans, with no idea of what he’s in for—or what she wants him to fly.

But he won’t be flying. Not exactly. Hidden at the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain lurks an astonishing war machine, an immense submersible called the Ganymede. This prototype could end the war, if only anyone had the faintest idea of how to operate it…. If only they could sneak it past the Southern forces at the mouth of the Mississippi River… If only it hadn’t killed most of the men who’d ever set foot inside it.

But it’s those “if onlys” that will decide whether Cly and his crew will end up in the history books, or at the bottom of the ocean."
It really must be steampunk week over at Tor. Yeah more steampunk!

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
Published by: Harper Collins
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Pratchett returns to the terra firma of his popular, sprawling Discworld series, the young-reader corner of which centers around teen witch Tiffany Aching. Being a good witch mostly means tending to the locals’ minor aches, pains, and kerfuffles—which she does with as much aplomb as anyone could be expected to muster—but to become a great witch, she’ll have to contend with the malevolent ghost of an ancient witch-burner. Yet even that might not be as terrifying as trying to keep the peace between the humans and the wee Nac Mac Feegles (whose primary skills are drinking, brawling, having Scottish brogues, brawling a bit more, and stealing every scene they’re in) and, shudder, getting wrapped up in the wedding of her childhood friend, who is suddenly a very myopic baron. The action never picks up much more momentum than a determined amble, but readers won’t care a whit because in terms of pure humor per square word, Pratchett may be the cheeriest writer around. Now that Tiffany Aching’s adventures are concluded, readers can explore the nearly three decade’s worth of other Discworld books. "

So, I love this book so much I have a US and UK hardcover 1st editions, the UK one signed. I have the limited edition Amazon exclusive, signed and stamped by Terry. I have the US ARC, the British black paperback and I'm STILL going to buy this one. That's how awesome this book is!

Deadly Storm by Richard Castle
Published by: Marvel
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 112Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"CASTLE fans rejoice! For the first time anywhere, CASTLE's titular hero Derrick Storm comes to life in the pages of this all-new graphic novel. This "adaptation" of Derrick Storm's first novel adventure takes our hero from the gritty world of the private eye all the way to the globe-hopping intrigue of the CIA. Eisner Award-winning Marvel Architect Brian Bendis and red hot Osborn writer Kelly Sue DeConnick worked closely with CASTLE creator Andrew Marlowe to create the one thing millions of CASTLE fans have been asking for: Their first real Derrick Storm adventure. A wall-to-wall, gritty, witty, globe-hopping detective thrill ride for fans of the hit TV show starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, as well as fans of darn good comic books."

Finally! Derek Storm is brought to life, why does Nikki Heat get all the love? Storm made Castle who he is! (Yes, I know he's fictional, but let me have my delusions, you're welcome to join me).

Hark a Vagrant by Kate Beaton
Published by: Drawn and Quarterly
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:"A NEW COLLECTION BY THE WEB SENSATION AND NEW YORKER CARTOONIST. Hark! A Vagrant takes readers on a romp through history and literature—with dignity for few and cookies for all—with comic strips about famous authors, their characters, and political and historical figures, all drawn in Kate Beaton’s pared-down, excitable style. This collection features favorite stories as well as new, previously unpublished content. Whether she’s writing about Nikola Tesla, Napoleon, or Nancy Drew, Beaton brings a refined sense of the absurd to every situation.

In just four years, Beaton has taken the comics world by storm with her non sequiturs, cheeky comebacks, and irreverent punch lines. With 1.2 million monthly hits on her site—500,000 of them unique—and comics appearing in Harper’s Magazine, the National Post, and The New Yorker, her caricatures of historical and fictional figures filtered through a contemporary lens display a sharp, quick wit that knows no bounds."

Ok, if you're a fan of my blog, then surely you love Historical Romances and therefore making fun of people like Napoleon. So I'm sure you've heard of this wonderful web comic. If not, now's you chance!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Cherie Priest, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Derek Storm, Ganymede, George Mann, Hark a Vagrant, I Shall Wear Midnight, Laini Taylor, Patrick Rothfuss, Richard Castle, Terry Pratchett