strange and random happenstance

The Sisterhood by Tasha Alexander
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 23rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Victoria Goldsborough is shimmering like pearls in her white satin for her engagement ball but soon her skin will be cold like marble. Her murder is garnering more press than her wedding to the Marquess of Harrington ever would have. Of course Lady Emily's mother blames Emily for the young girl's death. Because obviously if Emily had been present so would Colin and no one in their right mind would dare commit murder in the presence of Colin Hargreaves. Though offering to help solve the case just further enrages Lady Bromley who storms off in high dudgeon. Emily being Emily she's going to investigate anyway. Mainly because she can not sit idol when there's a murderer on the loose. Plus she knew Victoria growing up. Sadly Emily was too old to be a friend and too young to be a mentor. Still, it makes this case personal. Which means Colin is off to speak to the king while Emily is writing to Victoria's younger sister Portia to get the lay of the land. Portia arrives in full widows weeds, which seems a tad theatrical, but then again, one of four girls without dowries raised by their grandmother making the match of the season only to be cut down in her prime is worthy of some theatrics. Though perhaps she doth protest too much? Emily can not rule her out for sororicide, but at least the suspect spills the tea. Victoria making the match she did has to have upset someone, perhaps even created an enemy with murder in their heart. Could that murderer be Cressida Wright? Who, according to Portia, wanted Victoria's fiancé Peregrine for herself. But murder might be too much of an effort for Cressida. Though Cressida is only one possible culprit. Peregine's friend Lionel Morgan has taken several loans from his friend and was with him moments before Victoria's demise. Frances Price was Victoria's dearest friend and while being properly prudish her family residing on Radical Row are anything but. Then there's Victoria's maid Ida who had recently committed suicide due to an unwanted pregnancy, how does that tie in? And one must never overlook the fiancé. There's only one thing that Emily and Colin are certain of, they are being deliberately manipulated. All the suspects' stories have been expurgated. They are purposefully hiding things. And if that wasn't enough, Sebastian Capet, the notorious jewel thief, happened to be purloining a tiara upstairs the night of the murder at Harrington House. But it's Emily's mother who might have broken the case wide open. It's those nasty suffragettes! An underground movement threatening decent society, a cohort of young ladies calling themselves Boudica's Sisters are trying to destroy the social structure. And Victoria was recently approached about becoming a member. But Boudica's Sisters seem to stand for everything Victoria was against. Except for the fact that she had a watercolor of Boudica in her bedroom. Could Emily's mother actually be on to something? One shudders at the thought.

At her release event for The Sisterhood at The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, Arizona, Tasha said that her first editor told her after she finished writing her second Lady Emily book, A Poison Season, "You have to keep these books in England. You can go into the country. Preferably London, fine a country house once in awhile. But that's what you have to do. And then you can own Victorian London." But Tasha didn't want to own Victorian or, as it stands now, Edwardian London. She wanted to take Emily out of the world in which she was raised and open her eyes. I have to say that I heartily agree with this. Every time that Tasha announces a new book I can't wait to find out which far-flung destination Emily will be going to. The year previously when she was promoting Death by Misadventure she mentioned that she and her husband Andrew were off to India to research the next Lady Emily book. Sadly I learned during that talk that the India book, Murder on the Scared River, was the next but one and Emily was returning to London. Now I will follow Emily anywhere, but I am with Tasha and not her first editor, those far-flung places call to my heart. But then Tasha came in and did her magic and, well, this book wasn't just perfection, it was perfection for our times. Because this book deals with women and women's rights. The Sisterhood shows how women can build each other up and tear each other down. How we have always been treated as second class citizens and, because of this, infighting is self-defeating yet expected and accepted. There are men lined up waiting to tell us how we're not good enough and yet we fight each other. We have common goals and we should band together and yet, put two women in a room and they'll either be expected to fight or fail the Bechdel Test. This book is set in Edwardian England and yet these are the same problems, safety, healthcare, rights, voting, power, that still exist today. What's more, with the section set during the rule of Boudica in Britannia you see that the problems of being a woman are endemic. We could be kick ass warlords and yet people will question that. Here's an idea, how about we question the right of white men to rule? How about we question all their decisions that are in our "best interests" that they made without consulting us? I mean, this book brings out a rage in me, because, when will it end? But that rage, that indignation, and then the reveal of the murderer's motives, all of that hit home so hard that I think I need to go rewatch all of Britannia to recover, because I love me some Roman miniseries. And then I'll reread this book, because, damn, it got me.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bechdel Test, Boudica, Britannia, Colin Hargreaves, Edwardian, Lady Bromley, Lady Emily, London, Marquess of Harrington, Murder, Rome, Sebastian Capet, Suffrage, Suffragette, Tasha Alexander, The Sisterhood, Top Ten, Victorian, Women

Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: April 12th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The ninth novel of the bestselling Rivers of London urban fantasy series returns to the adventures of Peter Grant, detective and apprentice wizard, as he solves magical crimes in the city of London.

There is a world hidden underneath this great city.

The London Silver Vaults - for well over a century, the largest collection of silver for sale in the world. It has more locks than the Bank of England and more cameras than a paparazzi convention.

Not somewhere you can murder someone and vanish without a trace - only that’s what happened.

The disappearing act, the reports of a blinding flash of light, and memory loss amongst the witnesses all make this a case for Detective Constable Peter Grant and the Special Assessment Unit.

Alongside their boss DCI Thomas Nightingale, the SAU find themselves embroiled in a mystery that encompasses London’s tangled history, foreign lands and, most terrifying of all, the North!

And Peter must solve this case soon, because back home his partner Beverley is expecting twins any day now. But what he doesn’t know is that he’s about to encounter something - and somebody - that nobody ever expects...

Effortlessly original, endlessly inventive and hugely entertaining - step into the world of the much-loved, bestselling Rivers of London series."

I might be such a fan of this series that I'm plotting something for the blog next year...

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: April 12th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, MADNESS LIES...

Emma can’t sleep.

CHECK THE WINDOWS.

It’s been like this since her big 4-0 started getting closer.

LOCK THE DOORS.

Her mother stopped sleeping just before her own fortieth birthday.

She went mad and did the unthinkable because of it.

LOOK IN ON THE CHILDREN.

Is that what’s happening to Emma?


WHY CAN’T SHE SLEEP?"

Bringing a whole new level of fear to those who suffer from insomnia.

Asian Ghost Short Stories by Various
Published by: Flame Tree Collections
Publication Date: April 12th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A new collection of stories from submissions and classic literature offering the best and most incredible ghost stories from East, South and Southeast Asia, combining new and classic authors across the region.

Another deluxe edition of new writing and neglected perspectives. Asian ghosts - from India to Sri Lanka, China to Korea, Japan to the Philippines - can be both terrifying and comforting. Underpinned by strong cultural beliefs in the cycles of life and ancestor worship, the nature of Asian spirits differs from that of their counterparts in other areas of the world. The possibility is more instinctually accepted that ghosts remain with us, as part of the world, whether we can see them or not. Featured here are all kinds of stories from across East, South and Southeast Asia: classic weird tales by the likes of Pu Songling, Rabindranath Tagore, S Mukerji, Im Bang and Yi Ruk, Lafcadio Hearn and Yei Theodora Ozaki, are complemented by stories by Asian writers of today. An egui (the Chinese version of a 'hungry ghost') is exorcised, a vicious jiangshi (Chinese zombie-like revenant) is encountered in the night, a Bengali shakchunni (the ghost of an unsatisfied bride) poignantly seeks love with devastating effect, a family is haunted by vengeful Korean gwishin, and the iconic Japanese tragedies of Oiwa and O-Kiku are revisited."

How can you call yourself a book person if you haven't been collecting the people books that Flame Tree Collections puts out?

Fierce Poison by Will Thomas
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: April 12th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"London, 1893, there is poisoner loose in the city, with deaths piling up, and private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn are apparently his next target in Fierce Poison by Will Thomas.

Private Enquiry agent Cyrus Barker has just about seen it all - he's been attacked by assassins, his office has been bombed, and evil-doers have even nearly killed his dog. But never before has a potential client dropped dead in his office. When Roland Fitzhugh, Member of Parliament arrives to consult Barker and his partner Thomas Llewelyn, he falls to the floor, dead, upon entering. As they soon learn, he's been poisoned with a cyanide laced raspberry tart, and the adulterated tarts also take out an entire family in the East End. Labelled the Mad Pie Man by the press, Barker and Llewelyn are hired by former Prime Minister William Gladstone to find out who has targeted the House of Commons's newest member.

But before they can even begin, they find themselves the latest target of this mad poisoner - with Barker's butler poisoned with digitalis and dozens of diabolic traps discovered at their home. On the run from their unseen adversary, Barker and Llewelyn must uncover the threads that connect these seemingly random acts and stop the killer before they and their closest friends and family become the latest casualties."

I've been really into murder mysteries with poison lately... I wonder what that says about me?

Mrs. England by Stacey Halls
Published by: Mira Books
Publication Date: April 12th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Simmering with slow-burning menace, Mrs. England is a portrait of an Edwardian marriage, an enthralling tale of men and women, power and control, courage, truth and the very darkest deception.

West Yorkshire, 1904. When recently graduated Ruby May takes a nanny position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear something is not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs. England.

Distant and withdrawn, Lilian shows little interest in her children or charming husband and is far from the angel of the house Ruby was expecting.

As the warm, vivacious Charles welcomes Ruby into the family, a series of strange events forces her to question everything she thought she knew. Ostracized by the servants and increasingly uneasy, Ruby must face her own demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, there's no such thing as the perfect family - she should know.

This captivating new feminist novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Stacey Halls is her third work of fiction and proves her one of the most exciting and compelling new storytellers of our time."

Edwardian Yorkshire!

The Mayfair Bookshop by Eliza Knight
Published by: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: April 12th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight brings together a brilliant dual-narrative story about Nancy Mitford - one of 1930s London’s hottest socialites, authors, and a member of the scandalous Mitford Sisters - and a modern American desperate for change, connected through time by a little London bookshop.

1938: She was one of the six sparkling Mitford sisters, known for her stinging quips, stylish dress, and bright green eyes. But Nancy Mitford’s seemingly dazzling life was really one of turmoil: with a perpetually unfaithful and broke husband, two Nazi sympathizer sisters, and her hopes of motherhood dashed forever. With war imminent, Nancy finds respite by taking a job at the Heywood Hill Bookshop in Mayfair, hoping to make ends meet, and discovers a new life.

Present Day: When book curator Lucy St. Clair lands a gig working at Heywood Hill she can’t get on the plane fast enough. Not only can she start the healing process from the loss of her mother, it’s a dream come true to set foot in the legendary store. Doubly exciting: she brings with her a first edition of Nancy’s work, one with a somewhat mysterious inscription from the author. Soon, she discovers her life and Nancy’s are intertwined, and it all comes back to the little London bookshop - a place that changes the lives of two women from different eras in the most surprising ways."

Here for Nancy Mitford. ALWAYS here for Nancy!

Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon
Published by: Ecco
Publication Date: April 12th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A candid, compulsively readable, hilarious, and heartbreaking memoir of resilience and redemption by comedic genius Molly Shannon.

At age four, Molly Shannon’s world was shattered when she lost her mother, baby sister, and cousin in a car accident with her father at the wheel. Held together by her tender and complicated relationship with her grieving father, Molly was raised in a permissive household where her gift for improvising and role-playing blossomed alongside the fearlessness that would lead her to become a celebrated actress.

From there, Molly ventured into the wider world of New York and Los Angeles show business, where she created her own opportunities and developed her daring and empathetic comedy. Filled with behind-the-scenes stories involving everyone from Whitney Houston to Adam Sandler to Monica Lewinsky, many told for the first time here, Hello, Molly! spans Molly’s time on Saturday Night Live - where she starred alongside Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Cheri Oteri, Tracy Morgan, and Jimmy Fallon, among many others. At the same time, it explores with humor and candor her struggle to come to terms with the legacy of her father, a man who both fostered her gifts and drive and was left with the impossible task of raising his kids alone after the loss of her mother.

Witty, winning, and told with tremendous energy and heart, Hello, Molly!, written with Sean Wilsey, sheds new and revelatory light on the life and work of one of our most talented and free-spirited performers."

The thing I find most interesting here is that she actually credits her co-writer!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amongst Our Weapons, Asian Ghost Short Stories, Autobiography, Ben Aaronovitch, Edwardian, Eliza Knight, Molly Shannon, Nancy Mitford, Rivers of London, Sarah Pinborough, Stacey Halls, Will Thomas, Yorkshire

Gilded by Marissa Meyer
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Gilded, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer returns to the fairytale world with this haunting retelling of Rumpelstiltskin.

Long ago cursed by the god of lies, a poor miller's daughter has developed a talent for spinning stories that are fantastical and spellbinding and entirely untrue.

Or so everyone believes.

When one of Serilda's outlandish tales draws the attention of the sinister Erlking and his undead hunters, she finds herself swept away into a grim world where ghouls and phantoms prowl the earth and hollow-eyed ravens track her every move. The king orders Serilda to complete the impossible task of spinning straw into gold, or be killed for telling falsehoods. In her desperation, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious boy to her aid. He agrees to help her… for a price. Love isn't meant to be part of the bargain.

Soon Serilda realizes that there is more than one secret hidden in the castle walls, including an ancient curse that must be broken if she hopes to end the tyranny of the king and his wild hunt forever."

Marissa Meyer retelling a fairy tale again? Oh, I've been waiting for this for so long! I might have preordered my copy months and months ago.

Terciel and Elinot by Garth Nix
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bestselling novelist Garth Nix returns to the Old Kingdom for the never-before-told love story of Sabriel’s parents, Terciel and Elinor, and the charter magic that brought them together - and threatened to tear them apart. A long-awaited prequel to a classic fantasy series.

In the Old Kingdom, a land of ancient and often terrible magics, eighteen year-old orphan Terciel learns the art of necromancy from his great-aunt Tizanael. But not to raise the Dead, rather to lay them to rest. He is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and Tizanael is the Abhorsen, the latest in a long line of people whose task it is to make sure the Dead do not return to Life.

Across the Wall in Ancelstierre, a steam-age country where magic usually does not work, nineteen year-old Elinor lives a secluded life. Her only friends an old governess and an even older groom who was once a famous circus performer. Her mother is a tyrant, who is feared by all despite her sickness and impending death...but perhaps there is even more to fear from that.

Elinor does not know she is deeply connected to the Old Kingdom, nor that magic can sometimes come across the Wall, until a plot by an ancient enemy of the Abhorsens brings Terciel and Tizanael to Ancelstierre. In a single day of fire and death and loss, Elinor finds herself set on a path which will take her into the Old Kingdom, into Terciel’s life, and will embroil her in the struggle of the Abhorsens against the Dead who will not stay dead."

The contents are as good, but I miss the gorgeous cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon.

There's a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers
Published by: Philomel Books
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 80 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A captivating and utterly unique picture book with interactive, transparent pages about a girl who lives in a haunted house from world-renowned artist Oliver Jeffers.

A young girl lives in a haunted house, but she has never seen a ghost. Are they white with holes for eyes? Are they hard to see? Step inside and help the girl as she searches under the stairs, behind the sofa, and in the attic for the ghost.

From New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers comes a delightful picture book that breaks the fourth wall about young girl's determination to find the ghost haunting her house. Includes tracing paper pages that make the silly ghosts appear on each page. Perfect for Halloween."

SO perfect for Halloween. That cover just draws you in!

Parting the Veil by Paulette Kennedy
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Paperback, 367 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Some houses hold secrets that are meant to be kept forever...

When Eliza Sullivan inherits an estate from a recently deceased aunt, she leaves behind a grievous and guilt-ridden past in New Orleans for rural England and a fresh start. Eliza arrives at her new home and finds herself falling for the mysterious lord of Havenwood, Malcolm Winfield. Despite the sinister rumors that surround him, Eliza is drawn to his melancholy charm and his crumbling, once-beautiful mansion. With enough love, she thinks, both man and manor could be repaired.

Not long into their marriage, Eliza fears that she should have listened to the locals. There's something terribly wrong at Havenwood Manor: Forbidden rooms. Ghostly whispers in the shadows. Strangely guarded servants. And Malcolm's threatening moods, as changeable as night and day.

As Eliza delves deeper into Malcolm's troubling history, the dark secrets she unearths gain a frightening power. Has she married a man or a monster? For Eliza, uncovering the truth will either save her or destroy her."

Has a very Rebecca vibe!

Lost in Darkness by Michelle Griep
Published by: Barbour Fiction
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Even if there be monsters, there is none so fierce as that which resides in man’s own heart.

Enchanting Regency-Era Gothic Romance Intertwined with Inspiration from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Travel writer Amelia Balfour’s dream of touring Egypt is halted when she receives news of a revolutionary new surgery for her grotesquely disfigured brother. This could change everything, and it does...in the worst possible way.

Surgeon Graham Lambert has suspicions about the doctor he’s gone into practice with, but he can’t stop him from operating on Amelia’s brother. Will he be too late to prevent the man’s death? Or to reveal his true feelings for Amelia before she sails to Cairo?"

Regency-Era, check. Gothic, check. Egypt, check. Must read, check.

A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Red White and Royal Blue meets Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell in debut author Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light, featuring an Edwardian England full of magic, contracts, and conspiracies.

Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents’ excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known.

Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it - not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else.

Robin’s predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they’ve been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles - and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep."

Edwardian England full of magic in the vein of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell... Can you hear my heavy breathing from here?

Isolate by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. 
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 608 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"L. E. Modesitt, Jr., bestselling author of The Mongrel Mage, has a brand new gaslamp political fantasy Isolate.

Industrialization. Social unrest. Underground movements. Government corruption and surveillance.

Something is about to give.

Steffan Dekkard is an isolate, one of the small percentage of people who are immune to the projections of empaths. As an isolate, he has been trained as a security specialist and he and his security partner Avraal Ysella, a highly trained empath are employed by Axel Obreduur, a senior Craft Minister and the de facto political strategist of his party.

When a respected Landor Councilor dies of "heart failure" at a social event, because of his political friendship with Obreduur, Dekkard and Ysella find that not only is their employer a target, but so are they, in a covert and deadly struggle for control of the government and economy.

Steffan is about to understand that everything he believed is an illusion."

Gaslamp political, oh yes! 

The Dying Day by Vaseem Khan
Published by: Hodder and Stoughton
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A priceless manuscript. A missing scholar. A trail of riddles.

For over a century, one of the world's great treasures, a six-hundred-year-old copy of Dante's The Divine Comedy, has been safely housed at Bombay's Asiatic Society. But when it vanishes, together with the man charged with its care, British scholar and war hero, John Healy, the case lands on Inspector Persis Wadia's desk.

Uncovering a series of complex riddles written in verse, Persis - together with English forensic scientist Archie Blackfinch - is soon on the trail. But then they discover the first body.

As the death toll mounts it becomes evident that someone else is also pursuing this priceless artefact and will stop at nothing to possess it...

Harking back to an era of darkness, this second thriller in the Malabar House series pits Persis, once again, against her peers, a changing India, and an evil of limitless intent.

Gripping, immersive, and full of Vaseem Khan's trademark wit, this is historical fiction at its finest."

Indian The Name of the Rose!

Out of the Rain by V.C. Andrews
Published by: Gallery Books
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Following the events of The Umbrella Lady, young Saffron Faith Anders searches for family and love in this spine-tingling gothic fairy tale from the New York Times bestselling author of the Flowers in the Attic series and Landry series - now popular Lifetime movies.

After escaping the trauma of the Umbrella Lady’s home, thirteen-year-old Saffron Faith Anders is determined to find the father who abandoned her all those years ago. But when she finds him in a nearby town, Saffron is shocked to discover that he has married a woman he clearly had been involved with before her mother’s death. Worse, her father insists Saffron pretend to be his niece so he can continue to con his new wife’s family. Desperate for her father’s love, she goes along with the farce, but it soon becomes clear that perhaps it is better to face the world alone than trapped in a toxic and potentially dangerous family."

MORE V.C. ANDREWS! Bring it all to me! Books, movies, everything! 

The Attic on Queen Street by Karen White
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Return to the house on Tradd Street one last time in this hauntingly spectacular finale to the bestselling series featuring psychic medium Melanie Trenholm.

After the devastating events of the past few months, the last thing Melanie Trenholm wants is to think about the future. Why, when her husband, Jack, has asked for a separation - a separation that might have been her fault? Nevertheless, with twin toddlers, a stepdaughter leaving for college soon, a real estate career to resume and a historic home that is still being restored, Melanie doesn’t have much time to wonder where it all went wrong - but that doesn’t stop her from trying to win her husband back.

Their relationship issues are pushed aside, however, when longtime nemesis, Marc Longo, comes to them with a proposition: allow their Tradd Street house to be used as the filming location for the movie adaptation of Marc’s bestselling book, and he will help Jack re-establish his stalled writing career. Despite Melanie’s hesitation, Jack jumps at the chance. But Melanie’s doubts soon prove to be well founded when she uncovers ulterior reasons for Marc wanting to be back in their house - reasons that include a hidden gem so brilliant that legend links it to the most infamous jewel of all, the Hope Diamond.

But Melanie has an unexpected ally in protecting the house and its inhabitants - the ghost of a Civil War era girl warns her of increasing threats to her family. But she’s not the only spirit who is haunting Melanie. A malevolent ghost seems determined to stop Melanie from investigating the decades-old murder of a friend’s sister, and this spirit will stop at nothing to protect its secrets - even from beyond the grave.

Melanie and Jack must work together to find the answers before evil spirits of past and present destroy everything they love."

Final!?!?!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Edwardian, Egypt, Frankenstein, Freya Marske, Garth Nix, Gothic, Halloween, India, Karen White, L.E. Modesitt Jr., Marissa Meyer, Michelle Griep, Oliver Jeffers, Paulette Kennedy, V.C. Andrews, Vaseem Khan

The First Escape by G.P. Taylor
Published by: Tyndale
Publication Date: 2008
Format: Paperback, 282 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

Sadie and Saskia Dopple are the queens of the Isambard Dunstan School for Wayward Children. They rule all the girls in the orphanage with cunning ruthlessness. Until one day the headmistress is a little more crafty then they are. Saskia gets adopted by one Muzz Elliott, who will have one or none. Being a prestigious donor to the school she gets her wish and the twins are separated, much to the headmistress's delight. So Sadie stays behind while Saskia goes to live in the mysterious home of Muzz Elliott out on Hampstead Heath. She is given her own room in the tower where she mustn't ever answer the phone. Meanwhile, back at the orphanage, one of Sadie's pranks badly backfires and she's locked up for the night without food or water. But the school's only boy, and odd job man, overhears the mistress saying that Sadie will be off to prison for her stunt so Erik Ganger risks his neck and releases Sadie so that they can flee across the Heath to Saskia. Of course a rescue can never be as easy as that when you flee across Hampstead Heath at night with bloodhounds baying at your heels and a psychotic magician named The Great Potemkin offering concealment, if you'll only help with one little experimental magic trick that may or may not kill you. But things aren't going well for Saskia either. There's a mysterious painting she may not look at, a seance to recover a lost fortune, and a Muzz Elliott doppelganger out to kill them all. How will these three kids reunite and save the day?

It's interesting what remains after time. I read G.P. Taylor's Shadowmancer so many years ago now I don't even remember when it was I read it. I do remember how much I hated it. In fact I'm more often to remember why I hate a book than why I love a book but Shadowmancer is that rare book that I hated everything about it so much that I have blocked as much of it from my memory as possible as a precautionary measure. So it's kind of the definition of insanity to pick up another book by G.P. Taylor, but what am I if not slightly mad? When I first read this book five years ago I was impressed by how much I didn't hate it. Re-reading it five years later I see that perhaps I shouldn't base my opinions on a book by how much it didn't suck in comparison to another book by the same author. Because the truth is, this book is flawed. Very flawed. Yes, it's a fast read and has the nice comic versus prose structure of a Brian Selznick book. But seeing as I just read a Brian Selznick book recently, the yawning divide in quality is readily apparent. It makes me queasy even trying to place the two in the same category, but it has to be done no matter how disparate they are. Yet what nags me most about this book and in fact this whole series, or at least how much of it I've read while typing this, is that I have no idea when it takes place. It's almost Dickensian with lost inheritances, mistaken identities, evil twins, and ever so polite ghosts. Yet there is more modern technologies, like cars. So while I want to say Edwardian, it's actually more interwar, making me scratch my head. In the end I just have to throw up my hands and say that it lacks identity but at least it's not Shadowmancer.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Brian Selznick, Dickensian, Doppelganger, Edwardian, Erik Ganger, G.P. Taylor, Going Gothic, Hampstead Heath, Muzz Elliott, Sadie Dopple, Saskia Dopple, Shadowmancer, The Dopple Ganger Chronicles, The First Escape

Last year I decided to watch a whole lot of old BBC miniseries that I had been meaning to get to with the loose theme that they all related to Edward VII. I watched Edward the King, because, Edward obviously! I watched two shows about Edward's mistresses, Lillie and The Duchess of Duke Street. Then I went more generic with The Edwardians and Berkeley Square bringing the viewings to a close. Berkeley Square was the only series I had actually seen before but now I can proudly say I've seen them all! As Patrick Stewart said, "I've seen everything." What's interesting about Lillie is that Francesca Annis played the character of Lillie Langtry in Edward the King and was so popular they made a whole series about the infamous mistress to the king and the famous actress she became from childhood to death, and the death was probably not meant to be hilarious, but she was picking fights in bars where you paid men to dance with you, so, that's on her. If the series had one fault it was that they didn't bring Timothy West back to play Edward, but I forgive them because I got to see a bitty baby Rupert Giles as Lillie's older brother in his second ever role! But while Francesca Annis, in my mind, didn't make that much an impression in Edward the King to warrant her own series there is one actor in her series that deserved their own. Lillie fell into the artistic community of the time where she quickly became it's star. She hung out with the likes of Millais and Whistler, her presence inspiring them. But the one historical figure she formed the strongest relationship with was Oscar Wilde. Now I am a huge fan of Oscar Wilde, I even wrote a lengthy paper on him for a class on writing for the threatre in undergrad, so I take my interpretations of Oscar VERY seriously. Stephen Fry is probably most famous to my generation for portraying the author, but no offense to Stephen, Peter Egan just blew me away. Peter Egan is still a stalwart British actor keeping his hand in the game, he was on this past season of The Spanish Princess AND he was on Downton Abbey. But forever more to me he is the only portrayal of Oscar Wilde I will ever think about. The pathos, the feeling, the tragedy, I don't know if I have ever, in my entire life, seen a better performance in ANYTHING! While I wish he had gotten a series of his own, Oscar's life is fully seen through the lens of Lillie's life. I'm just greedy because I want more.       

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Downton Abbey, Edward VII, Edwardian, Fifty Years a Masterpiece, Francesca Annis, Lillie, Lillie Langtry, Oscar Wilde, Peter Egan, Rupert Giles, Stephen Fry, The Duchess of Duke Street, Timothy West

Uneasy Lies the Crown by Tasha Alexander
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 30th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

The Queen is dead, long live Bertie? No matter how indomitable Emily thought the Queen or how hard the Queen fought against the inevitable by keeping her son out of politics, somehow Emily has to grasp the fact that Bertie is Bertie no more but Edward VII. But that is the least of Emily's worries at the moment and scandalizing her mother at the Queen's funeral is the one bright spot in her day. Colin was called away from the funeral luncheon to the Tower of London due to a murder and Emily, as is her wont, followed. A body had been found in the room where Henry VI was murdered. The dead man staged to look like the long dead king with a sword run through him and the costume to match. Colin thinks this is a threat to the new king and that the king's mother new it was coming. On her deathbed Queen Victoria gave Colin a letter with instructions, the last she would give him: Une sanz pluis. Sapere aude. "One and no more. Dare to know." He didn't even show Emily the note until after what they found in the Tower. Colin didn't want to betray the Queen's trust. But with the Queen dead and her son possibly in danger he knows he needs Emily's help.

There has also been another letter. And as much as Emily loves the idea of the Queen sending her husband mail from beyond the grave Colin assures Emily this isn't the case as neither note was written in the Queen's hand. The second note contained a map of the Tower of London and the drawing of a medieval lance. Was this note hinting at the murder? Is it a clue to another murder yet to come? When the body of a second victim turns up in Berkley Square murdered in the manner of Edward II, poker and all, it is clear that someone is sending a message, only Colin and Emily don't agree what that message is. Colin is convinced it is a clear and present danger to Bertie, while the more Emily digs into the lives of the victims themselves and not the way they were murdered she sees an entirely different picture. She thinks they are revenge killings. The first victim beat his wife, the second victim was a pimp who killed one of his girls who happened to have known the first victim's wife. All the couple know is that thanks to a local costume shop there are at least two more murders to come. Yet Colin's notes seem to have less and less to do with the murders and more to do with Henry V... could they be dealing with two disparate cases? And is Bertie even in danger?

There are as many different types of authors as there are book genres. There are the decent authors, you can enjoy their work but will probably never pick up another one of theirs. There are the bad authors, those whose books you want to fling across the room and are consumed by rage as you force yourself to finish. There are the really bad authors who make you so depressed you never want to read again and end up in the land of book melancholia. On the other end of the spectrum you have the good authors, the ones who you will always seek out their new book and make sure to read everything they have ever written. But then there is the rarest category of all, the great writers. Writers who you not only want to devour every word they have ever written but who inspire you. They make you want to read everything. They make you curious to know more. They make you have a voracious appetite that will never be satisfied to read and read. They open the world to you and you dive right in. I have always considered Tasha a good writer, but over her last few volumes, starting around The Adventuress and A Terrible Beauty I started to notice a shift. Tasha was bound for greatness and she has confirmed this with Uneasy Lies the Crown.

This volume just spoke to me on so many levels, but in particular I really connected to the glimpse of Colin's family history and how it connected to Henry V and Agincourt. I was so connected to Cecily Hargrave and her husband William that anyone that stood in their way I wanted to psychically harm. Especially the mean girl Cecily was staying with while her husband was off fighting in France. Right here, this shows Tasha's greatness. Not just in creating characters I love but in bringing history to life. My British history is pretty sketchy prior to the Wars of the Roses. It just happened that in undergrad the way they structured the British History classes meant that the first class was the Wars of the Roses up to the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and then the Glorious Revolution up to the present day, but my teacher was sick a lot so we only got to the Boer War. What I knew about medieval England was what I gleaned from Art History and my own personal studies. Therefore this little slice of medieval life had me wanting to read anything I could on Henry V. I wanted to pull down all my Philippa Gregory books and go on a binge. Then I wanted to watch all the miniseries I could, from adaptations of The White Queen to watching Edward the King with Timothy West. I wanted to take everything British and ingest it via osmosis. I haven't felt this invigorated as a reader in years.

But for how British I feel there is one thing I will NEVER get about England, and that is their obsession with controlling France. In fact when did they finally stop calling the British Monarch the King/Queen of England and France? I think I have some studying to do on that... Trying to see this ongoing conflict from the English point of view you can see, they're a tiny island, they want all the land they can get, how else do you think they became an empire? But from the logical point of view, France is a different country just leave them alone. Back to the British POV, yes, they did control many countries in their Empire... but I just don't get it. I guess my thinking is just too modern. A country should be it's own thing. They can have connections and allegiances, but they shouldn't be controlled or governed by any outside force. I believe in autonomy. This is oddly still very relevant as England and Spain have just started negotiations about Gibraltar. And here's my opinion on that, why they hell does England even still have Gibraltar? That's just crazy. Gibraltar should either be it's own entity or part of Spain. I don't get that there should be any confusion over this. But then England has been holding onto the Falkland Islands forever with an iron grip. And this folks is why I never play Risk. I don't want world domination.

Though we are here in the waning days of the British Empire and their world domination in that we are no longer in the Victorian Age, we are now in the Edwardian Era. An era that captured the heart of us Americans because of Upstairs, Downstairs, as well as other PBS shows from the aforementioned Edward the King to the spin off series featuring Francesca Annis as Lillie Langtry, Lillie, and even The Duchess of Duke Street. Americans, me included, became enamored with this era. But what I am most excited about currently is what this means for Emily. Queen Victoria, despite being a woman in power didn't believe in women having power. The most powerful hypocrite in the land, that's our Vicky! So while a man may be in charge of the country we are moving towards women's suffrage, we are moving towards more equality, we are moving towards Emily possibly being on more of an even footing with her husband as an agent of the crown in her own right. Possibly. What I love about Colin is while his work and society have never viewed his wife as his equal when it comes to his work, he has never taken that stance. He's always let Emily accompany him wherever his case might lead, from palaces to slums. But now with Bertie in charge? Those like this book's loathsome chauvinist Gale of Scotland Yard might have to eat their hat.

Yet for me, personally, such loyalty to a monarch is a little baffling. I think this has a lot to do with my disillusionment living in the United States at this moment in history. The whole "Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'" Yeah, that's not me. Yet it is Colin. The journey Colin takes through this narrative is fascinating. He was very devoted to Queen Victoria and has never had much of a favorable option of Bertie. But Bertie lived the life he was allowed to have so he will obviously be undergoing a seismic shift with the changing of the guard. Seeing him wonder if he even wants to stick around and continue as an agent of the crown is an interesting crisis of faith. Especially if Gale of Scotland Yard is in the mix. Comparing this crisis to his ancestor William who was a literal knight in shining armor on the battlefields of France is interesting. There's a connection down through the generations that doesn't just show the family's loyalty to the crown, but the chivalric instincts that make Colin such a good man and make him want to make his country, his world a better place. Colin is literally a modern day night. And you know what the thing is? We might all dream of a better world, a happily ever after with the person of our dreams, but the world, at this moment, needs men and women like Colin. Where's the armor when you need it?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Terrible Beauty, Agincourt, Alexander Autumn, British Monarchy, Edward VII, Edwardian, Lady Emily, Lillie, Queen Victoria, The Duchess of Duke Street, Timothy West, Uneasy Lies the Crown, Upstairs Downstairs

Uneasy Lies the Crown by Tasha Alexander
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 30th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

The Queen is dead, long live Bertie? No matter how indomitable Emily thought the Queen or how hard the Queen fought against the inevitable by keeping her son out of politics, somehow Emily has to grasp the fact that Bertie is Bertie no more but Edward VII. But that is the least of Emily's worries at the moment and scandalizing her mother at the Queen's funeral is the one bright spot in her day. Colin was called away from the funeral luncheon to the Tower of London due to a murder and Emily, as is her wont, followed. A body had been found in the room where Henry VI was murdered. The dead man staged to look like the long dead king with a sword run through him and the costume to match. Colin thinks this is a threat to the new king and that the king's mother new it was coming. On her deathbed Queen Victoria gave Colin a letter with instructions, the last she would give him: Une sanz pluis. Sapere aude. "One and no more. Dare to know." He didn't even show Emily the note until after what they found in the Tower. Colin didn't want to betray the Queen's trust. But with the Queen dead and her son possibly in danger he knows he needs Emily's help.

There has also been another letter. And as much as Emily loves the idea of the Queen sending her husband mail from beyond the grave Colin assures Emily this isn't the case as neither note was written in the Queen's hand. The second note contained a map of the Tower of London and the drawing of a medieval lance. Was this note hinting at the murder? Is it a clue to another murder yet to come? When the body of a second victim turns up in Berkley Square murdered in the manner of Edward II, poker and all, it is clear that someone is sending a message, only Colin and Emily don't agree what that message is. Colin is convinced it is a clear and present danger to Bertie, while the more Emily digs into the lives of the victims themselves and not the way they were murdered she sees an entirely different picture. She thinks they are revenge killings. The first victim beat his wife, the second victim was a pimp who killed one of his girls who happened to have known the first victim's wife. All the couple know is that thanks to a local costume shop there are at least two more murders to come. Yet Colin's notes seem to have less and less to do with the murders and more to do with Henry V... could they be dealing with two disparate cases? And is Bertie even in danger?

There are as many different types of authors as there are book genres. There are the decent authors, you can enjoy their work but will probably never pick up another one of theirs. There are the bad authors, those whose books you want to fling across the room and are consumed by rage as you force yourself to finish. There are the really bad authors who make you so depressed you never want to read again and end up in the land of book melancholia. On the other end of the spectrum you have the good authors, the ones who you will always seek out their new book and make sure to read everything they have ever written. But then there is the rarest category of all, the great writers. Writers who you not only want to devour every word they have ever written but who inspire you. They make you want to read everything. They make you curious to know more. They make you have a voracious appetite that will never be satisfied to read and read. They open the world to you and you dive right in. I have always considered Tasha a good writer, but over her last few volumes, starting around The Adventuress and A Terrible Beauty I started to notice a shift. Tasha was bound for greatness and she has confirmed this with Uneasy Lies the Crown.

This volume just spoke to me on so many levels, but in particular I really connected to the glimpse of Colin's family history and how it connected to Henry V and Agincourt. I was so connected to Cecily Hargrave and her husband William that anyone that stood in their way I wanted to psychically harm. Especially the mean girl Cecily was staying with while her husband was off fighting in France. Right here, this shows Tasha's greatness. Not just in creating characters I love but in bringing history to life. My British history is pretty sketchy prior to the Wars of the Roses. It just happened that in undergrad the way they structured the British History classes meant that the first class was the Wars of the Roses up to the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and then the Glorious Revolution up to the present day, but my teacher was sick a lot so we only got to the Boer War. What I knew about medieval England was what I gleaned from Art History and my own personal studies. Therefore this little slice of medieval life had me wanting to read anything I could on Henry V. I wanted to pull down all my Philippa Gregory books and go on a binge. Then I wanted to watch all the miniseries I could, from adaptations of The White Queen to watching Edward the King with Timothy West. I wanted to take everything British and ingest it via osmosis. I haven't felt this invigorated as a reader in years.

But for how British I feel there is one thing I will NEVER get about England, and that is their obsession with controlling France. In fact when did they finally stop calling the British Monarch the King/Queen of England and France? I think I have some studying to do on that... Trying to see this ongoing conflict from the English point of view you can see, they're a tiny island, they want all the land they can get, how else do you think they became an empire? But from the logical point of view, France is a different country just leave them alone. Back to the British POV, yes, they did control many countries in their Empire... but I just don't get it. I guess my thinking is just too modern. A country should be it's own thing. They can have connections and allegiances, but they shouldn't be controlled or governed by any outside force. I believe in autonomy. This is oddly still very relevant as England and Spain have just started negotiations about Gibraltar. And here's my opinion on that, why they hell does England even still have Gibraltar? That's just crazy. Gibraltar should either be it's own entity or part of Spain. I don't get that there should be any confusion over this. But then England has been holding onto the Falkland Islands forever with an iron grip. And this folks is why I never play Risk. I don't want world domination.

Though we are here in the waning days of the British Empire and their world domination in that we are no longer in the Victorian Age, we are now in the Edwardian Era. An era that captured the heart of us Americans because of Upstairs, Downstairs, as well as other PBS shows from the aforementioned Edward the King to the spin off series featuring Francesca Annis as Lillie Langtry, Lillie, and even The Duchess of Duke Street. Americans, me included, became enamored with this era. But what I am most excited about currently is what this means for Emily. Queen Victoria, despite being a woman in power didn't believe in women having power. The most powerful hypocrite in the land, that's our Vicky! So while a man may be in charge of the country we are moving towards women's suffrage, we are moving towards more equality, we are moving towards Emily possibly being on more of an even footing with her husband as an agent of the crown in her own right. Possibly. What I love about Colin is while his work and society have never viewed his wife as his equal when it comes to his work, he has never taken that stance. He's always let Emily accompany him wherever his case might lead, from palaces to slums. But now with Bertie in charge? Those like this book's loathsome chauvinist Gale of Scotland Yard might have to eat their hat.

Yet for me, personally, such loyalty to a monarch is a little baffling. I think this has a lot to do with my disillusionment living in the United States at this moment in history. The whole "Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'" Yeah, that's not me. Yet it is Colin. The journey Colin takes through this narrative is fascinating. He was very devoted to Queen Victoria and has never had much of a favorable option of Bertie. But Bertie lived the life he was allowed to have so he will obviously be undergoing a seismic shift with the changing of the guard. Seeing him wonder if he even wants to stick around and continue as an agent of the crown is an interesting crisis of faith. Especially if Gale of Scotland Yard is in the mix. Comparing this crisis to his ancestor William who was a literal knight in shining armor on the battlefields of France is interesting. There's a connection down through the generations that doesn't just show the family's loyalty to the crown, but the chivalric instincts that make Colin such a good man and make him want to make his country, his world a better place. Colin is literally a modern day night. And you know what the thing is? We might all dream of a better world, a happily ever after with the person of our dreams, but the world, at this moment, needs men and women like Colin. Where's the armor when you need it?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Terrible Beauty, Agincourt, Alexander Autumn, British Monarchy, Edward VII, Edwardian, Lady Emily, Lillie, Queen Victoria, The Duchess of Duke Street, Timothy West, Uneasy Lies the Crown, Upstairs Downstairs

Secrets of the Manor: Kate's Story, 1914 by Adele Whitby
Published by: Simon Spotlight
Publication Date: June 24th, 2014
Format: Paperback, 148 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

Kate can not wait for her twelfth birthday. Not only will she finally be receiving the Katherine necklace, the beloved family heirloom passed on to every Katerine in the family when she turns twelve, but her beloved cousin Beth is also coming all the way from England to Vandermeer Manor in Rhode Island. The cousins have never met because of the ocean that divides them, but they are devoted to their correspondence and know they will be kindred spirits and the best of friends. What's more, Beth just received the Elizabeth necklace for her twelfth birthday and for the first time since their great-grandmother's day the two halves of the necklace will be reunited. Though all the party planning in the world can't take into account the assassination of Archdukes! The news of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand shortly after Beth's arrival in America leads to her parents ordering her home. War is on the horizon and Beth needs to be with her family. It is hard to choose between your heart and your duty, but Beth reluctantly agrees to return home, but not until after she and Kate have a few adventures of their own and reunite the two halves of the locket. 

To say I didn't like the first book in this series would be a gross understatement. Beth's Story so rubbed me the wrong way that besides the spewing of vitriol in my review I might have sold that book faster than any other in recent history. Yet I couldn't part with Kate's Story until I had read it. Yes, I know this might sound absurd, but I had bought this book and gosh darn it it wasn't leaving my shelves until it was read. Thankfully it was a mercifully short book that I knocked out in an hour or two. In fact I might have spent more time writing this review than I did reading the book if you needed a comparison. But in the end I obviously read it and, while I still didn't like Adele Whitby's writing style or story, I didn't hate it with the fury of ten thousand suns like I did the first volume. I think the primary reason for this is that having this book set in America and not in England it is in a society that had more fluid rules and protocol. Beth's Story being in England in 1914 meant that there were society's strictures that were to be obeyed and Adele Whitby flaunted them, if she ever knew them in the first place. While America did also have rules, being such a new country, one which took great joy in shaking off the strictures of England, there was room to play. There weren't any glaring incidents that made me hope that my eyeballs could light the book on fire with the power of my thoughts. In other words, I was able to make it to the end without any real rage forming.

Yet just because there weren't glaring errors, doesn't mean that this book didn't have aspects that annoyed me. They just annoyed me less and therefore I gave the book some leeway. My main gripe is with Kate and her "responsibilities." She is just about to turn twelve and she is already expected, or should I say honored, to attend meetings of The Bridgeport Beautification Society. So a twelve-year-old is to help an organization that is run by new wives and her mother's generation and older? A twelve-year-old! I can understand instituting civic-mindedness in a young girl, but to put her on an equal footing? Seriously!?! I just don't get this whole twelve-year-olds get all the responsibility that is going on in this series. They get expensive jewel encrusted necklaces and all the responsibility that comes with it all seemingly because this is how it happened to their great-grandmothers so obviously we must continue with this tradition. And hang on a minute, in 1848 would twelve-year-olds really be active in the life of their family in the aristocracy? They'd still be in the nursery... this whole thing is just a house of cards waiting for me to blow on it! I get that today in society twelve is kind of the age where things shift, you're on the brink of being a teenager and getting responsibilities, but in previous generations that wasn't the case. This book seems to be trying to shoehorn today's morays on yesterdays! In fact the word teenager didn't even exist until the time of Kate and Beth's daughters! Grumble.

Seems to me more and more that Adele Whitby needs some lessons in history before she's allowed to "teach" it in her books. What annoyed me in this book is that her inclusion of history has now turned into "teaching moments." In the first book the history was cheesy but was just part of the story, we weren't hit over the head with it. Here, here it's a different story. Learn about suffragettes! LEARN I SAY! I'm a person who likes to learn in two ways. The first is when I set out to learn. I take a class, I read the books, I study, I learn in that environment. The second way is passive learning. What you pick up here and there in books. Like Eddie Izzard says, you're flipping through the TV channels, stop for a moment on a show go, hey, I didn't know that, that's interesting, you move on. In other words I will never ever condone knowledge being forced on me. If there's one way to piss me off if I'm meeting you and you have something you want to tell me, if you call it a "teaching moment," know, that in that moment I am doing everything in my power not to punch you in the face. Looking ahead in the series it looks like these "teaching moments" are starting to take over with the potato famine, the great depression, ugh. Stop it now.

But what I think gets under my skin most is just how earnest this series is attempting to be. All about family loyalty and love. The only thing I can think of as being true is the secret that they harbor... because show me an insanely happy family and I'll show you their dirty dark secret. And again, the secret is that the original Katherine and Elizabeth switched places in case you forgot or were hit on the head, because you don't need all six books to figure it out, you need one, if that. No family in the world could be suffused with this much goodness. It's so saccharine and sweet that it makes my teeth ache. Oh, and Kate and Beth finally meeting? Like any cousins have this immediate sisterly bond? Ugh. I'm all for a happy read, but when they meet, oh, and when they join their lockets together? It was like some bizarre Edwardian power rangers. "With the power of our lockets combined we can transmute everyone into happy lovey-dovey zombies!" Because really, what other power could that locket give? Oh, maybe it gives off a brainwashing vibe? Yeah, that could be why everyone doesn't ring true. OK, I'm going with that, they are all under some sort of mind control. That's the only answer.

While these perfect bonds, cousinly and otherwise, are what this book is ostensibly about it really comes down to a lack of dimension. And seriously, I believe in true love, I want a happy ending, most of the time, but it's all in the way it's told that makes the difference. Yes I believe in love at first sight. Did I buy the chauffeur and Beth's maid's instant love? No. Because it was comic book level. It was caricature. Just because you are writing for younger readers doesn't mean that you don't put in the time to tell a good story. Like after two days they'd upset their whole lives to be together? They both knew where the other worked, they could have taken their time instead of doing something reckless. Plus really show the connection, not just hint at them blushing and leave it at that. And that's what it all comes down to. The shallowness of the book makes it predictable and dull. Yes I'm not the age it was written for, but a good story is for all readers, and this isn't a good story. There's a part of me that wants to read the rest of the series just to be vindicated that I saw all the twists and turns like the time I bothered to watch The Village, but really why submit myself to that? I'm not a masochist. Well, OK, sometimes I am with my reading, but I think I can finally walk away from this series and call it a day. If you'd take my advice, don't ever walk towards this series.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adele Whitby, America, Beth's Story 1914, Downton Denial Denouement, Eddie Izzard, Edwardian, Kate's Story 1914, M. Night Shyamalan, Necklace, Rhode Island, Secrets of the Manor, Teaching Moment, The Village, WWI