strange and random happenstance

Emma Volume Two by Kaoru Mori
Published by: Yen Press
Publication Date: August 18th, 2015
Format: Hardcover, 376 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Not wishing to cause a scandal within the Joneses' household, Emma chooses to make a clean break from her old life and takes a train to the sea. As chance would have it, Emma finds herself sharing a car with another maid, one who serves at a large manor in the country. A big house bustling with servants seems an ideal place in which to move forward after losing her mistress and leaving her love back in London. Learning the precise dance of domestic service in her new environment is a welcome challenge, but how long can hard work divert Emma's mind from the longing of her heart?"

Firstly, Kaoru Mori is amazing. Her detail work, sublime, and her little comics about herself at the end of all her books, hilarious. Emma has been out of print for years in the US, I've been lucky enough to read the first eight in this Edwardian saga only because of a good public library system. Grab these gorgeous hardcover re-prints now people! DO IT!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Edwardian England, Emma, Kaoru Mori, Manga

Secrets of the Manor: Beth's Story, 1914 by Adele Whitby
Published by: Simon Spotlight
Publication Date: June 24th, 2014
Format: Paperback, 160 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy

Beth is so excited as her twelfth birthday approaches that nothing can deter her, not even losing her lady's maid hours before her relatives arrive. She just views it as a chance to promote her favorite maid, Shannon, to a higher standing in the house. The French side of the family, the Trufant's, are arriving for a grand family tradition that will happen at Beth's birthday celebration. Since Beth's great-grandmother, Elizabeth, and her twin sister, Katherine, received connected necklaces on their twelfth birthday it has been a tradition on the twelfth birthday of the eldest daughter, and their namesake, to pass the necklace on to the new generation. So the day is fast approaching when Beth will get the Elizabeth necklace! But a theft in the house throws Beth's world upside down. Her maid Shannon is accused of stealing her cousin's, Gabrielle Trufant's, own heirloom necklace! Beth knows Shannon is innocent, but she must prove it while celebrating her birthday yet before Shannon is sent away without a reference.

I am not a reading snob. This means that as long as there's a good story to read I'll read it. Doesn't matter if the book is YA, Middle Grade, Fiction, Nonfiction, if it's worth reading, I'll read it. Sure, this seems like I'm trying to justify my dislike of this book, but what I'm really trying to do is qualify that my issues with Beth's Story aren't based on the books intended audience and being written for young readers, but it the writing itself. When I first saw this book on the shelves I was overjoyed, Downton Abbey for kids; because everyone knows you need to convert them when they're young. But, oh dear, this book just didn't work. I'm glad to say that Whitby didn't fall victim to the most deplorable of writing crimes, talking down to your readers. There is no surer way of alienating your audience then this. She did simplify concepts a little, but again, that wasn't the main flaw. In fact there isn't just one thing I can point to and go there, there is where you went wrong, because in truth, she went wrong in several places. Though there was a tipping point, and it was a tiara.

What I will call the "cheese factor" is where me and this book parted ways. If I didn't know better I would say that these books were written to market a brand of dolls from the late eighties early nineties that had special collectible lockets and keys for you to "find out the secret." Eight year old me would have loved the dolls, the books, like the American Girl books of my youth, would have languished on the shelves untouched as I created my own stories and adventures. Improving literature is the bane of those who love to read. Because there's nothing I hate more then "teaching moments." A good book will teach you things just in the telling of the story, a bad book will teach you things by pointing it out with big arrows going "here's some history you should know" or "here's some life lessons that are to be learned." Spare me now.

The whole "every secret leads to another secrets of the manor" oh, head thunk into keyboard, no. Is this some bad soap opera I have landed in? Like Edwardian Blue's Clues? Because I can't think of any child going, oh wow, time to read all six books and find out the final secret, the ultimate "secret of the manor!" Forth grade me is rolling my eyes. Yes, forth grade me was rather sarcastic. I've always read more mysteries then most, so my deductive skills are right up there. Even if I was still a forth grader the signaling with giant semaphore flags of the "clues" to solve the "mysteries" would have had me writing a rant on the obviousness of what was happening. Oh, and even without reading all six books I can tell you the "big secret," the twins switched places all those years ago doing a Victorian Parent Trap, most likely because of love, aw, gag me now.

Yet there's a chance I could have overlooked this cheese. If I'm honest, I probably couldn't have, but let's pretend there was a chance. If I could have overlooked said cheese, well, the inaccuracies would have driven me round the bend. OK, so I know that an eight year old probably isn't going to know all the proper etiquette for Edwardian society, but that doesn't mean the author gets to be lazy. Whitby doesn't get to pick and choose which societal conventions she will and won't abide by just for the convenience of her story, because then everyone would be wearing tiaras!

Yes, the tiara was the straw that broke the camels back. Sure, I was grinding my teeth when the house party arrived and the servants came in the front door, not, you know, the servant's entrance. When Beth's maid added embellishments to her uniform, I held my tongue. The servants talking out of turn with their employers, OK, deep breath, I can keep going. YOU JUST PUT A TIARA ON A TWELVE YEAR OLD! Tiara's are ONLY for married women. Ask ANYONE who has ever watched a miniseries or read a book, hell, go watch the PBS special about The Manners of Downton Abbey where there is a whole section about no tiaras till marriage! This is unforgivable and made me hate this book.

But, if I'm honest, all this, everything could have been overcome if I liked the characters. So many flaws can be forgiven for the love of a well crafted heroine. Beth is not a well crafted heroine. She's too earnest and too full of spunk and decidedly modern versus British. Her reverence for her great-grandmother is unbelievable. I mean, really, what other twelve year old is mooning over a picture of their ancestor and color coding all their clothes to their dead relatives likes not their own? Once again I was taken in by a beautiful cover. Shouldn't I know by now that a good illustrator doesn't a good book make? OK, time for me to shake it off and move on. Stupid tiara.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adele Whitby, American Girl, Beth's Story 1914, Birthday, Blue's Clues, Downton Abbey, Edwardian England, Middle Grade, Secrets of the Manor, The Manners of Downton Abbey, Tiara

Paradox Lost by George Mann
Published by: BBC Books
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Rory, Amy and The Doctor have once again ended up where they didn't intend to go. They have landed in London in 2789, not the Rambalian Cluster. There there is a team dragging a thousand year old automaton out of the Thames. An automaton that recognizes The Doctor and gives him a warning that The Squall, a dangerous race of monsters that feed off psychic energy and destroy whole planets, are coming. Using his sonic screwdriver, The Doctor finds that he must go back to 1910 to fend off the invasion of The Squall. But seeing as the tear in time needed to bring about the Earth's destruction has two ends, he sends Amy and Rory to look for a Proffesor Gradius, who started the damage here in 2789. 

Working the case from both ends Rory and Amy get the help of Professor Gradius's assistant, an automaton that Amy affectionately names Arven, while The Doctor teams up with the only man in Edwardian London who seems concerned about the rash of recent unexplained deaths, a Professor Angelchrist. Their timelines going the consistency of noodle soup, one might wonder if all this wouldn't have happened if they had left well enough alone. But The Doctor and Amy aren't ones to let mysteries remain unsolved and monsters left undefeated.

Now I'm not saying I'm the biggest Doctor Who fan out there. I mean, I haven't watched every single episode, after all some episodes are lost.... But besides all the DVD sets and VHS tapes, posters, gadgets, and scarves, I do have several bookshelves filled to capacity just with Doctor Who books to give you an idea of how my addiction has spread over the years. You can see my old Tom Baker paperbacks sharing shelf space with the newer line of books with the 9th, 10th, and 11th Doctor, as well as some Torchwood books thrown in for good measure. There's also the infamous set of books released for the fiftieth anniversary last year. Why infamous? Because while they look darn pretty sitting there on my shelf, some of the books selected are pure dreck. Taking all eleven doctors, the average star rating was less then 2.5. The psychic toll it took on me to actually finish those books was painful and almost made me not want to pick up another Doctor Who book ever again.

Needless to say the experiment of last year has left me with one clear talent, and that's to distinguish a good Doctor Who book. You read enough of the bad you get to know the good, and Paradox Lost is good. One clear reason it works is that George understands the show. While he does little things that make a fangirl sqwee, like referencing past regenerations and putting in the "in" jokes, it's the bigger things he really nails. Meaning George gets the characters voices as depicted by the actors. It's not just that I am allowing a certain suspension of disbelief in order to enjoy the book, oh no, while you are reading it you can see the action unfolding before you just as if it was an actual episode. There is Amy Pond, there is Rory, and there is 11, Matt Smith in all his goofy glory. George nailed these characters! The dialogue, the description of their actions, the book whizzed by as fast as if it was a forty minute episode instead of a two-hundred page book.

What really makes the story work though is that George uses Rory as our entre into the action. If in recent years there is one companion who is universally loved and who everyone wanted to stay, it has to be Rory, hands down. I spent much time thinking of ways in how the show could just ditch Amy and have Rory be the main companion. Alas, that wasn't to be. But because Rory is so loved and relatable he makes the perfect conduit for us, the readers. By seeing the action of the story through his eyes we become a part of the story in a way that I don't think the show is ever able to do.

We see Rory's world, Amy and The Doctor, in a clearer way that totally just expands on what we know from the show. Plus, unlike Amy and The Doctor, Rory actually is more of an everyman, he has fears, he has loves, and danger and daring do aren't just a way to spend the afternoon! George counters Rory's POV with that of Angelchrist. Thus balancing the more knowledgeable with the more naive. Angelchrist is the character to relate to if you knew nothing about Doctor Who. He's there to ask the questions that the trio wouldn't ask as well as to be the link to the current time period, aka 1910. The switching between the two makes the story stay fresh but also provides different insights, resulting in a well balanced book.

But as I have been working my way through George's oeuvre, I can not forget to mention that yes, indeed, this book ties into his greater universe. Angelchrist himself has shown up in the Newbury and Hobbes books as well as the short stories. In fact in the short stories there are a few nudges and winks to this very book and the adventures that Angelchrist shared with The Doctor. Not to mention a certain Arven.... But what I really liked was a subtler reference, the blink and you miss it because it's only mentioned twice.... What you might be saying is this reference? It's a reference to where Arven was made... a certain company that may have been up to some truly nasty things with an "Affinty Bridge." Yes George's work stands on it's own. Yes you will enjoy it whatever you pick up, but for the fans in it for the long haul... well, there's just so much more to find! George knows how to thank his long suffering fans (I mean seriously, get me The Revenant Express now, it's painful waiting).

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Amy Pond, Angelchrist, Doctor Who, Edwardian England, George Mann, Matt Smith, Newbury and Hobbes, Paradox Lost, Rory, The Affinity Bridge, The Doctor, The Revenant Express, Torchwood

Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus by R. L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
ARC Provided by Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 12th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

The official patter:
"Being able to detect black magic isn’t all tea and crumpets—and for Theodosia Throckmorton, it can be a decidedly tricky business! When Sticky Will drags Theo to a magic show featuring the Great Awi Bubu, she quickly senses there is more to the magician than he lets on, setting in motion a chain of events she never could have bargained for. Meanwhile, back at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities, Henry is home for the spring holidays and makes an accidental discovery of an artifact that alchemists have been hunting for centuries. Soon, every black-cloaked occultist in London is trying to get their hands on it . . ."

Just in case you forgot how awesome today's new release is, here's my review once more!

With Will's brother in a mesmeric trance by the Great Awi Bubu he eerily repeats Theodosia's false prophecy to the Black Sunners: "The Black Sun shall rise up in a red sky before falling to earth, where a great serpent will swallow it." And as luck would have it, who is an even bigger thorn in her side than usual? The Black Sunners. But don't rule out The Serpents of Chaos... oh my, Theo does have her hands full. But the occultists are the least of her worries, when her parents have shut down the museum for two weeks to prepare for their gala opening to celebrate their recent discoveries from the Tomb of Amenemhab and The Chosen Keepers have oddly distanced themselves from her, forcing her to deal only with Fagenbush, who sadly, still appears to be a good guy. But Theo won't be having any of this imposed rank, she'll do whatever is necessary to deal with Wigmere himself and cut out Fagenbush and use only Will. Of course, her childish ways tend to cause more mayhem and somehow all that was made wrong must be righted. But could Theo herself be even more then she appears?

In the third, and most recent, installment of the Theodoisa series by R. L. LaFevers', we once again are immersed in the wonderful Edwardian England in the grip of Egypt fever. You would think that all those mummies moving around London in the previous installment would have calmed the ardor of the masses, but no. London loves their mummies, and I love this London. While this book is just as action packed as the previous installments, we don't get so many new plots as a resolution to those dangling threads from the previous books. The Black Sunners are creepier than ever, with a not quite right, almost inappropriate feel to them, that is thankfully quenched by Stilton and his redemptive character arc. But, it's the character of Awi Bubu that solidifies this book. At first I was hesitant with his caricaturish name and his almost stereotypical quality, but he was able to overcome this quite readily. In fact he brought with him an integration of two disparate elements. Before Awi, we had the ancient mystic artifacts and then Theo, who can somehow see curses... but now, we have Theo herself being woven into the Egyptian mythology. So much so that I can't wait for the next installment. I feel that there's this overwhelming urgency for these cults and their love of mystical powers to be stopped, while at the same time an inevitability that somehow Theo and the Keepers will fail, resulting in the first world war. I can't wait to see how everything plays out and just wish that Robin could write just a little faster.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Amenemhab, ARCs, Awi Bubu, Black Sunners, Edwardian England, Egypt, Fagenbush, Mummies, R.L. LaFevers, Stilton, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, Theodosia Throckmorton, Wigmere, Will

Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus by R. L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
ARC Provided by Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 12th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Preorder

The official patter:
"Being able to detect black magic isn’t all tea and crumpets—and for Theodosia Throckmorton, it can be a decidedly tricky business! When Sticky Will drags Theo to a magic show featuring the Great Awi Bubu, she quickly senses there is more to the magician than he lets on, setting in motion a chain of events she never could have bargained for. Meanwhile, back at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities, Henry is home for the spring holidays and makes an accidental discovery of an artifact that alchemists have been hunting for centuries. Soon, every black-cloaked occultist in London is trying to get their hands on it . . ."

With Will's brother in a mesmeric trance by the Great Awi Bubu he eerily repeats Theodosia's false prophecy to the Black Sunners: "The Black Sun shall rise up in a red sky before falling to earth, where a great serpent will swallow it." And as luck would have it, who is an even bigger thorn in her side than usual? The Black Sunners. But don't rule out The Serpents of Chaos... oh my, Theo does have her hands full. But the occultists are the least of her worries, when her parents have shut down the museum for two weeks to prepare for their gala opening to celebrate their recent discoveries from the Tomb of Amenemhab and The Chosen Keepers have oddly distanced themselves from her, forcing her to deal only with Fagenbush, who sadly, still appears to be a good guy. But Theo won't be having any of this imposed rank, she'll do whatever is necessary to deal with Wigmere himself and cut out Fagenbush and use only Will. Of course, her childish ways tend to cause more mayhem and somehow all that was made wrong must be righted. But could Theo herself be even more then she appears?

In the third, and most recent, installment of the Theodoisa series by R. L. LaFevers', we once again are immersed in the wonderful Edwardian England in the grip of Egypt fever. You would think that all those mummies moving around London in the previous installment would have calmed the ardor of the masses, but no. London loves their mummies, and I love this London. While this book is just as action packed as the previous installments, we don't get so many new plots as a resolution to those dangling threads from the previous books. The Black Sunners are creepier than ever, with a not quite right, almost inappropriate feel to them, that is thankfully quenched by Stilton and his redemptive character arc. But, it's the character of Awi Bubu that solidifies this book. At first I was hesitant with his caricaturish name and his almost stereotypical quality, but he was able to overcome this quite readily. In fact he brought with him an integration of two disparate elements. Before Awi, we had the ancient mystic artifacts and then Theo, who can somehow see curses... but now, we have Theo herself being woven into the Egyptian mythology. So much so that I can't wait for the next installment. I feel that there's this overwhelming urgency for these cults and their love of mystical powers to be stopped, while at the same time an inevitability that somehow Theo and the Keepers will fail, resulting in the first world war. I can't wait to see how everything plays out and just wish that Robin could write just a little faster.

Also make sure to enter my giveaway for an ARC of this book, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, thanks to Houghton Mifflin!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amenemhab, ARCs, Awi Bubu, Black Sunners, Edwardian England, Egypt, Fagenbush, Mummies, R.L. LaFevers, Stilton, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, Theodosia Throckmorton, Wigmere, Will