strange and random happenstance

One day in the spring of 2007 I stumbled on a book at Barnes and Noble by an author who would quickly become one of my most favorite authors ever. Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by Robin (R.L.) LaFevers was, as some of my friends put it, the book I would write if I wrote, full of cats and mummies, and oh so British to boot. As the years went by I wouldn't just wait for Robin's new books, oh no, I would hunt them out, track down ways to gets advanced reader copies, sometimes even from her, any way to get her newest tome into my hands. There's a reason I started a blog, and that was to have a legitimate excuse to harass publishers and authors for ARCs! When she transitioned to YA in 2012 with the His Fair Assassin series I was one of the first to proclaim that she had reached a whole new level in her mastery of storytelling.

Female assassins raised in a monastery working for Death himself? If anyone other than Robin had written this series it might have been cheesy, instead it's a nuanced look at duty and loyalty and is just an amazing series that at once is historical fiction but has a hint of magical realism. But when the series ended with Mortal Heart's release in 2014 Robin went on a longer than expected hiatus emerging in Summer of 2016 with the news of a new duology set in the world of His Fair Assassin! Well that book, Courting Darkness, is FINALLY here! I couldn't not celebrate my favorite author returning to a much beloved world! So welcome to February, wherein we are taking an Assassination Vacation... Apologies to author Sarah Vowell, the title was too good not to use for my theme month...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: ARCs, Assassination Vacation, Courting Darkness, DEATH, His Fair Assassin, Mortal Heart, R.L. LaFevers, Robin LaFevers, Sarah Vowell, Theme Month, Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, Theodosia Throckmorton

Bookstore: Politics and Prose Bookstore

Location: Washington, D.C.

The Official Patter: "Politics and Prose is an independent bookstore located in Chevy Chase, Washington, D.C., on Connecticut Avenue. The store was founded in 1984 by co-owners Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade, who expanded the store fivefold to its present size. After a failed sale attempt in 2005, the two co-owners eventually sold the store to current owners Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine in 2011. Politics and Prose is known for its knowledgeable staff and is seen as a part of D.C. culture. Its author events attract famous speakers, such as Bill Clinton and J.K. Rowling, and have a reputation for their astute audiences."

Why I Love Them: When I went to D.C. back in 1996 oh how I wish I knew about this store. But then again, being seventeen with my parents planning the entire trip, it's not like I got much say, even if the trip was technically for me. I was going to accept an art award which I was late to. Thanks Amtrak. I also got sick on the trip. Yeah. I totally know how to party don't I? But with a name like Politics and Prose, I just feel like this isn't just the perfect store, but the name perfectly embodies what a bookstore should be in our nation's capital. And what I find most interesting is that they don't seem to have any genre bias. Hosting a whole range of authors from women's fiction to YA. Now that's something our government should try to embrace, inclusivity. 

Best Buy: Being in the Midwest you kind of have to resign yourself to the fact you might never meet your favorite author unless you're willing to travel to the coasts, and Robin LaFevers is easily one of my favorite authors. I first discovered her through her Theodosia Throckmorton books that will delight the heart of any budding Egyptologist. But it's her His Fair Assassin series that showed a new more mature side to her writing. I instantly fell in love with the strong female leads and their various struggles. Thankfully for the second book in the series, Dark Triumph, Robin had a signing in Illinois, which I eagerly jumped in the car to attend! Because I was able to get the first book in the series, Grave Mercy, also signed at that event there was no way I was going to not have the whole trilogy signed... and of course I wasn't so lucky this time with her tour stops... but luck was still on my side when I saw her Mortal Heart schedule and noticed that Politics and Prose was on the tour. I had previously ordered some books from them, literally two ends of the genre spectrum, one being a Zadie Smith book, the other being a Leigh Bardugo book, so I knew they were good people. And sure enough, the book arrived in perfect shape and my collection was complete... for now. Because one of the reasons this book is so important to me is that Robin has finally returned to writing and is continuing this series with a new duology! And while I hope with fervent fingers crossed that she stops in the Midwest, I know if she stops at Politics and Prose I will still be able to get another best buy...  

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Dark Triumph, Grave Mercy, His Fair Assassin, Leigh Bardugo, Mortal Heart, Politics and Prose Bookstore, R.L. LaFevers, Robin LaFevers, Support Your Brick and Mortar, Washington D.C., Zadie Smith

Young Sherlock Holmes
Inspired by the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Release Date: December 4th, 1985
Starring: Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox, Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins, Susan Fleetwood, Freddie Jones, Nigel Stock, Roger Ashton-Griffiths and Earl Rhodes
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

A young John Watson is sent to Brompton Academy in London after his previous school is shut down. There, on the next bunk, trying to learn the violin, is a young Sherlock Holmes, who is put out because he should have mastered the violin in the three days he's had it. But at least he is able to quickly deduce all there is to know about Watson, the son of a Doctor from the north of England who is overly fond of custard tarts. Holmes takes Watson under his wing and shows him the ropes at the school. The real benefit of the school is that up in the rafters one of the retired teachers, Rupert T. Waxflatter, has created a laboratory to rival anyone's and spends most of his time working on a Da Vinci-esque flying machine, mentoring Holmes, and taking care of his orphaned niece Elizabeth, who has caught the eye of every boy in the school but whose heart belongs to Sherlock. Yet things aren't as idyllic as they seem. There is an odd man hanging around the school looking to talk to Waxflatter. Also there is an odd jingly sound heard on several occasions. Two distinguished men, Bentley Bobster and the Reverend Duncan Nesbitt have committed suicide. But if they committed suicide, why was Waxflatter interested in their deaths? Holmes takes his queries to a young police officer, Lestrade, who brushes Holmes aside clearing the way for the trio to investigate on their own.

But their investigation is put on hold when Holmes is expelled, despite his teacher Rathe speaking up for him. One of the other students has framed Holmes, very nicely indeed, for cheating. Holmes's perfect school record works against him because it is assumed by the board that only a cheater could reach that level of perfection. They just don't understand the brilliance of Holmes! As Holmes is about to be sent away, Waxflatter kills himself... or so it would appear to the common observer, much like the previous two "suicides". But Holmes knows better, this was his mentor, and with Waxflatter's dying words "Eh-tar" the game is afoot! Soon Elizabeth, Watson, and Holmes are racing through the streets of London and uncovering an ancient Egyptian cult, the Rame Tep, who are worshippers of Osiris and have been sacrificing young girls in their temple. But their only goal isn't to silence these unwelcome interlopers. They have revenge in mind and the diabolical genius behind the evil machinations might just change Holmes's life forever.

There are movies that forever change you and help form the person you are. They become a part of your DNA. You remember the first time you watched them. Usually followed immediately by the second viewing. And then, in some rare cases, the third. For me there are a few besides the original Star Wars trilogy, which is on a separate list. These films are: Clue, The Princess Bride, The 'burbs, and, of course, Young Sherlock Holmes. Besides forever installing Sherlock Holmes as a focal point in my life, this movie forever shaped my sensibilities and instilled a love of Victoriana and Egypt, not to mention mysteries, in me. Whenever there is an Egyptian exhibit somewhere within driving distance I will be sure to be there. Because not only did my parents encourage my love of movies, helping to refine my tastes by the simple expedient of refusing to watch any crap, they also gave me my love of museums. Though I will still call them out for the incident of King Tut. The Young Sherlock Holmes provided me with a great fear of Egyptian cults and mummification, which exists to this day in one form or another. Sometime in the late eighties King Tut was on display again at the Field Museum in Chicago. I was convinced that he would kill me, take my soul, in other words, something really bad was going to happen. But I think that had more to do with the fact my Dad told me that the mummies all came alive at night and if I wasn't careful I would be locked in with them and they'd attack me. Yes, because I had a "normal" childhood. Therefore I spent the entire time crying in a stairwell. But other than that, I love me some mummies.

Despite the fear I still have whenever I hear the Rame Tep chanting, the movie's music being played at the first Teslacon I went to during the mummy unwrapping sure didn't help any, I love Egyptian history and art. I adore poplar fiction set in Egypt from Elizabeth Peters to the Theodosia Throckmorton books by Robin LaFevers. I can tell you if an artifact is Mesopotamian or Egyptian just from a cursory look, and yes, this has been tested. Because of this movie my world view was expanded and therefore, being a book worm, I sought out more knowledge and information. I have a brain bursting with facts just because of the little seeds planted by Spielberg in my youth. And yes, I still want to ask why there really wasn't any representation of Osiris in the pyramid of a cult devoted to him, instead just his buddy Anubis hanging out. Iconography fascinates me to no end. And when you start to study Egyptian society and culture, this Western culture of ours is just a drop in the bucket. The Pyramids of Giza were built almost three thousand years before Christ. We aren't even three thousand years past the time of Christ, and that society thrived for millennia! Plus, not to put to fine a point on it, but a culture that worships cats? Well, they are doing it right in my mind.

Yet, it's not just Egypt that got me. The whole Gaslight Victorian romance aspect hooked me too. If you think about this film, you could quite easily remove the "Holmes" element and still have a corking good mystery and movie on your hand. The Holmesian elements just add another layer. People might argue with me as to why I love the "romance" aspect, because canonically romance has no place in the world of Sherlock Holmes. Part of it is that I just want to hear Nicholas Rowe say my name over and over again. Holmes purists would decry the idea of lost love being the reason for Holmes's somewhat puritanical sex life. But to me it comes down to the fact that, as Holmes says, he never wants to be alone. That is an astute observation, and a sad one, because isn't that what we all want? And an arch nemesis doesn't really fill that void. They're not someone we can cuddle up to at night. The same can be said for a comrade in arms, now don't you go being one of those people who think Holmes and Watson were more than just work colleagues and roommates, at least in this instance. This movie creates a relatable and good entry point for younger people to get an interest in Sherlock Holmes, and I'm sticking to that statement. If it wasn't for this movie who knows where my interests might lay? Would I have had such a love of Art History that I almost went to graduate school for it? Probably not. This movie made me, and it's as simple as that.

But it wasn't just the side of me that loved art, antiquity, and Victoriana that blossomed because of this movie. It was the creative side of me that wanted to make art as well. My Star Wars obsession had pretty much made me adore Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) for years. But their work on Young Sherlock Holmes showed that their work didn't have to exist in a futuristic setting. Perhaps there most famous and memorable scene they've ever done was the stained glass knight separating himself from the window embrasure and chasing the Reverend Duncan Nesbitt under a carriage in this movie. Because of the way they combined practical and computer generated effects they still stand up till this day. This fueled my love of Muppets and props, leading me to do much sculpture and theater in Undergrad. In fact, when I was at a loose end not sure if I wanted to continue schooling beyond a bachelor's degree, again ILM changed my life. They had a job opening, which I applied to despite being woefully underqualified. Being turned down by them made me go back to school, to learn more about computers, to expand my skill set. Because of this I have the career I have now as a graphic designer. I also have the friends I have because I met them through school and Teslacon. It's weird to think that so much of my life ties into the spark this movie awoke in me, but there you have it.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Egypt, Elizabeth Peters, Gaslight Romance, John Watson, King Tut, Moriarty, Nicholas Rowe, Osiris, R.L. LaFevers, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlocked, The Princess Bride, The Young Sherlock Holmes, Theodosia Throckmorton

The Story of Fester Cat by Paul Magrs
Published by: Berkley Trade
Publication Date: November 4th, 2014
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"I always knew that the rest of my story is gonna be a good one. I don’t know how I knew that, but I always did. Ungow! I am Fester the cat. Welcome to my book, everyone!

From when he first ambled into Paul Magrs’s yard—skinny, covered in flea bites, and missing all but one and a half teeth—Fester knew he’d found his family. Paul and his partner, Jeremy, thought it was the ragged black-and-white stray, tired from a rough life on the streets, who was in desperate need of support. But clever Fester knew better. He understood that it was his newfound owners who needed the help.

Over the course of seven years, the feisty feline turned the quaint Manchester house into a loving home. Through his fierce spirit, strong will, and calming energy, Fester taught Paul and Jeremy how to listen and breathe, how to appreciate the joys of simply sitting and singing (what Fester’s purrs sounded like to his silly humans), and how to find joy and contentment in life, even when dealing with hardship.

This is the true story of an extraordinary little cat whose gentle charm and trusting soul turned two young men into a family."

As someone whose life was touched by Fester and his humans, this is the must read book of this month.

Waiscoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 4th, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Class is back in session... Sophronia continues her second year at finishing school in style--with a steel-bladed fan secreted in the folds of her ball gown, of course. Such a fashionable choice of weapon comes in handy when Sophronia, her best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap, and the charming Lord Felix Mersey stowaway on a train to return their classmate Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland. No one suspected what--or who--they would find aboard that suspiciously empty train. Sophronia uncovers a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos and she must decide where her loyalties lie, once and for all.

Gather your poison, steel tipped quill, and the rest of your school supplies and join Mademoiselle Geraldine's proper young killing machines in the third rousing installment in the New York Times bestselling Finishing School Series by steampunk author, Gail Carriger."

Oddly this week is all authors I have met and greatly admire... Paul and Gail being people I met at the same time... odd.

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers
Published by: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 4th, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the powerful conclusion to Robin LaFever's New York Times bestselling His Fair Assassins trilogy, Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind, doesn’t mean she has."

The conclusion to a truly stunning series! I love all of Robin's books, they just keep getting better and more amazing. If you haven't, seriously, just read them all! Right now! I will wait.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Fester, Finishing School, Gail Carriger, His Fair Assassin, Mortal Heart, Paul Magrs, R.L. LaFevers, Robin LaFevers, The Story of Fester Cat, Waistcoats and Weaponry

Cavendon Hall by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: April 1st, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes an epic saga of intrigue and mystique set in Edwardian England. Cavendon Hall is home to two families, the aristocratic Inghams and the Swanns who serve them. Charles Ingham, the sixth Earl of Mowbray, lives there with his wife Felicity and their six children. Walter Swann, the premier male of the Swann family, is valet to the earl. His wife Alice, a clever seamstress who is in charge of the countess's wardrobe, also makes clothes for the four daughters. For centuries, these two families have lived side-by-side, beneath the backdrop of the imposing Yorkshire manor. Lady Daphne, the most beautiful of the Earl’s daughters, is about to be presented at court when a devastating event changes her life and threatens the Ingham name. With World War I looming, both families will find themselves tested in ways they never thought possible. Loyalties will be challenged and betrayals will be set into motion. In this time of uncertainty, one thing is sure: these two families will never be the same again.

Cavendon Hall is Barbara Taylor Bradford at her very best, and its sweeping story of secrets, love, honor, and betrayal will have readers riveted up to the very last page."

How could that description make me NOT buy this book?

Games Creatures Play by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner
Published by: Ace Hardcover
Publication Date: April 1st, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Welcome to the wide world of paranormal pastimes, where striking out might strike you dead. Editors Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner are your announcers for this all-new story collection of the most peculiar plays ever made…

Sports fans live and die by their teams’ successes and failures—though not literally. But these fourteen authors have written spirited—in more ways than one—new tales of killer competitions that would make even the most die-hard players ask to be benched.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s “The Blue Hereafter,” Manfred Bernardo learns about softball from a certain blond barmaid in Louisiana.

Life-and-death stakes make the competition get serious in New York Times bestseller William Kent Krueger’s “Hide and Seek.”

New York Times bestselling author Mercedes Lackey’s “False Knight on the Road” features a high-stakes drag race on a foggy mountain road between a clever young bootlegger and a mysterious stranger.

In New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman’s “Ice,” a young girl learns the true story behind a bit of neighborhood folklore.

New York Times bestseller Seanan McGuire presents “Jammed,” in which a chimera loose during the Roller Derby makes it anyone’s guess as to who will still be skating by the time the buzzer sounds.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson’s “Dreamer,” a game of cops and robbers is a new challenge when the players are able to switch bodies at will.

And New York Times bestselling author Scott Sigler follows ghost stomper Hunter Hunterson as he investigates a haunted, never-ending baseball game in “The Case of the Haunted Safeway.”

These and eight more supernatural sporting stories are guaranteed to have you rooting for the home team…or else…"

Um, I think the assembled authors speak for the need for this collection to join mine!

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
Published by: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 1st, 2014
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The convent views Sybella, naturally skilled in the arts of both death and seduction, as one of their most dangerous weapons. But those assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her home to the life that nearly drove her mad. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of death himself, he must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?"

I adore this series! Also, how cool to have a variant cover for the paperback release?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Barbara Taylor Bradford, Cavendon Hall, Charlaine Harris, Dark Triumph, Games Creatures Play, His Fair Assassin, R.L. LaFevers, Robin LaFevers

Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassins Book 2) by Robin LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Sybella escaped a horrible life to get to the convent of Saint Mortain. She was damaged and more then a little insane when she arrived, but they made her whole again. So what does Mortain and the Abbess ask of her? To go back to that horrible life because her rank and her position are perfectly placed to aid Anne, the Duchess of Brittany, in her fight against the French to maintain Brittany's independence. Yet when it is discovered that the great warrior Beast didn't die in the bloody skirmish outside Nantes, but instead is hidden in the depths of the dungeons, Sybella, being already in Nantes, is asked to aid in his release. Things seldom go to plan, and soon Sybella is on the road to Rennes treating Beast's grievous wounds, instead of being back in Nantes. It wasn't her idea, it was Beast's... and he didn't really give her a choice. But now with the Beast of Waroch free he can use his talents and inspire the countryside and peasantry to rise up for the Duchess and keep Brittany free! If the two of them start falling for each other through their mutual pain and respect, well, that might be just as Mortain had planned...

From the moment I finished Grave Mercy I was dying for the next book, which in my mind should have been called Grave Justice. I needed to know what happened to Beast and if he was still alive, I had quite an attachment to him, so I was assuming that he survived, I don't think Robin could traumatize me that much on purpose, and after all those tantalizing glimpses Ismae had of Sybella, like Ismae, I wanted, no, I NEEDED to know what the Abbess had Sybella doing. I waited, very impatiently I might add, till I finally got my hands on the ARC of Dark Triumph. I had spent a year thinking about how Robin would start with Sybella more then half mad on the day Ismae was brought to the convent. Then we would journey through all that had happened during the time Ismae was on her own mission. I spent much time daydreaming of what could come next.

Thankfully this is not how Robin decided to tell the story. Having just recently finished reading Sarah Waters' Fingersmith, I quickly realized how boring a book can be if after seeing a story from one characters point of view, we go back and repeat the entire story from the other characters. Do this a few times, and let's just say that Fingersmith started to alienate me pretty fast. Instead Dark Triumph started almost near the end of Ismae's volume, with Sybella on the ramparts warning Ismae of D'Albret's treachery. Choosing this moment to bring in the second volume first had me worried, because I wasn't sure all my questions would be answered. I need not have worried, not only where all my questions answered, but because of the story picking up where it did, that meant we had time to dive back into Ismae's story and weave the two together. Dark Triumph turned out to be the best of both worlds.

What Robin has done with Dark Triumph is create not only another compelling narrative in the series, but she has captured Sybella's voice. There is nothing that can be more annoying then having a writer attempt to write a story form multiple points of view and have them fail utterly at it. Each person has a distinct voice, I do, you do, Ismae does, Sybella does. Writing, I fully admit that I can only capture my own voice, which works for what I do. But if Sybella had come out sounding just like Ismae, then not only would this book fail, but then the uniqueness of Ismae and her distinct voice would be belittled and cheapened. Instead we have a far more educated voice. Less enthusiastic for carrying out Mortain's wishes. More circumspect, questioning and wary. Which Sybella would have to be growing up in the dark world she inhabits.

Besides the different voice we also have a very different relationship dynamic between Beast and Sybella. They do not have the zealous righteousness that drives Ismae and Gavriel. They are driven by their dark pasts. The fight for what is right after being stomped down by the oppressive evil in the world. Yet neither of them seem to know when to stop pushing so sometimes the other has to be the guide for when enough is enough. This is most obviously shown when Beast occasionally helps Sybella to a state of unconsciousness to get her out of harm's way or when Sybella forces Beast to rest due to his injuries, when the last thing Beast wants is rest. The endearing aspect is while they both have their secrets, neither one ever questions the loyalties of the other. One jumps, the other jumps. True love comes in many forms and Sybella would have been the first to question finding it in a giant of a man with a squashed face and blood lust on the battlefield.

The other thing that really struck me about this book is it is far darker. I mean, this is dark! The disregard the Abbess had for Sybella's sanity in the face of "Mortain's" wishes shows that at the end of the day people do what's best for themselves, and on a side note, if someone doesn't beat the shit out of the Abbess before this series is over I am going to be sad. I had ideas and suppositions about what Sybella's story was, and never once did I think of this. Robin surprised me and gave me another side to the world she has created, which I heartily embraced, even if I occasionally wanted to wash my hands afterwards.

But the magic of the book resides in the fact that Robin has created a historical fantasy that is so real I worry about what will happen to the characters. I have spent a fair amount of time on Wikipedia looking up what really happened during the fight for Brittany and how this plays out doesn't necessarily play out how I would wish. I worry about what Ismae and Gavriel will do when the wars are done and the fight is over. How will they handle when Isabeau dies? What will they think of Anne's life? She is only 26 when she dies. How can the characters I know and love have a happy ending if Anne doesn't have one too? I really should stop obsessing about this and trust in Robin, she is a hopeless romantic and all will work out... right?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: ARCs, Beast of Waroch, Brittany, Dark Triumph, Fingersmith, Grave Mercy, His Fair Assassin, Ismae, Mortain, R.L. LaFevers, Robin LaFevers, Sarah Waters, Sybella, Wikipedia

Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson Book 7) by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 5th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mercy Thompson’s life has undergone a seismic change. Becoming the mate of Adam Hauptman—the charismatic Alpha of the local werewolf pack—has made her a stepmother to his daughter Jesse, a relationship that brings moments of blissful normalcy to Mercy’s life. But on the edges of humanity, what passes for a minor mishap on an ordinary day can turn into so much more…

After an accident in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Mercy and Jesse can’t reach Adam—or anyone else in the pack for that matter. They’ve all been abducted.

Through their mating bond, all Mercy knows is that Adam is angry and in pain. With the werewolves fighting a political battle to gain acceptance from the public, Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related—and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from any ally she can get, no matter how unlikely.

Mercy week! Feels like an eternity since the last book, yes, two years feels like that to me. FINALLY! Do a little dance, because I have to wait probably another two years for the next, sigh.

Written in Red by Anne Bishop
Published by: Roc Hardcover
Publication Date: March 5th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"No one creates realms like New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop. Now in a thrilling new fantasy series, enter a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans.

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow."

This looks right up my alley!

A Conspiracy of Alchemists: Book One in The Chronicles of Light and Shadow by Liesel Schwarz
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: March 5th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"LEAVE IT TO CHANCE. Eleanor “Elle” Chance, that is—the intrepid heroine of this edgy new series that transforms elements of urban fantasy, historical adventure, and paranormal romance into pure storytelling gold.

In a Golden Age where spark reactors power the airways, and creatures of Light and Shadow walk openly among us, a deadly game of Alchemists and Warlocks has begun.

When an unusual cargo drags airship-pilot Elle Chance into the affairs of the mysterious Mr. Marsh, she must confront her destiny and do everything in her power to stop the Alchemists from unleashing a magical apocalypse.

Discover the thrilling new series that transforms elements of urban fantasy and paranormal romance into pure storytelling gold."

This looks like it's going to be a big spending week at the bookstore!

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin Book 1) by Robin LaFevers
Published by: Graphia
Publication Date: March 5th, 2013
Paperback: Hardcover, 576 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage to the respite of the convent of St. Mortain. Here she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts and a violent destiny. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others. But how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who has stolen her heart?

I loved this book so much that it was in the top ten of books I read in 2011. The sequel is finally coming out, so if you haven't picked up this amazing book by Robin, do it now, you won't regret it!

Bright Young Things: A Modern Guide to the Roaring Twenties by Alison Maloney
Published by: Potter Style
Publication Date: March 5th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 128 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For lovers of the glamour and scandal of the roaring twenties and the millions of fans eagerly anticipating the return of Downton Abbey (the third season opens in the twenties), an illustrated lifestyle guide to the fashion, the parties, the notrious personalities, and all the glittering trappings from the unforgettable era of the flapper.

Bright Young Things is a perfect guide to the roaring twenties--hot jazz and hotter all-night dance halls, high society's scandalous exploits, fresh new fashions, Prohibition cocktails, costume parties, and of course, the notorious flapper. Decorated throughout with art deco illustrations and packaged in a beautiful foil-stamped case, this book looks stunning resting on a coffee table and makes a fabulous gift."

For something I'm working on for this summer, this book could be perfect!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Conspiracy of Alchemists, Anne Bishop, Bright Young Things, Frost Burned, Grave Mercy, His Fair Assassin, Liesel Schwarz, Mercy Thompson, Patricia Briggs, R.L. LaFevers, Robin LaFevers

Young Sherlock Holmes
Inspired by the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Release Date: December 4th, 1985
Starring: Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox, Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins, Susan Fleetwood, Freddie Jones, Nigel Stock, Roger Ashton-Griffiths and Earl Rhodes
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

A young John Watson is sent to Brompton Academy in London after his previous school is shut down. There, on the next bunk, trying to learn the violin, is a young Sherlock Holmes, who is put out because he should have mastered the violin in the three days he's had it. But at least he is able to quickly deduce all their is about Watson, the son of a Doctor from the north of England who is overly fond of custard tarts. Holmes takes Watson under his wing and shows him the ropes at the school. The real benefit of the school is that up in the rafters one of the retired teachers, Rupert T. Waxflatter has created a laboratory to rival anyone and spends most of his time working on a Da Vinci-esque flying machine, mentoring Holmes, and taking care of his orphaned niece Elizabeth, who is Holmes's love interest.

Yet things aren't as idyllic as they seem. There is an odd man hanging around the school looking to talk to Waxflatter. Also, there is an odd jingly sound heard on several occasions. Two distinguished men, Bentley Bobster and Reverend Duncan Nesbitt, have committed suicide. But if they committed suicide, why was Waxflatter interested in their deaths? Holmes takes his queries to a young police officer, Lestrade, who brushes Holmes aside. The trios investigation is put on hold when Holmes is expelled, despite his teacher Rathe speaking up for him. One of the other students has framed Holmes, very nicely indeed, for cheating. Holmes's perfect school record works against him because it is assumed by the board that only a cheater could reach that level of perfection. They just don't understand the brilliance of Holmes!

As Holmes is about to be sent away, Waxflatter kills himself... Holmes knows that what appears to be the case couldn't be, and with Waxflatter's dying words "Eh-tar" the game is afoot! Soon Elizabeth, Watson and Holmes are racing through the streets of London and uncovering an ancient Egyptian cult, the Rame Tep, who are worshippers of Osiris. They have revenge in mind and the diabolical genius behind the evil machinations might just changes Holmes's life forever.

There are movies that forever change you and help form the person you are. For me there where a few: Clue, The Princess Bride, The Wrong Box, The 'burbs, and, of course, Young Sherlock Holmes. This movie forever shaped my sensibilities and instilled a love of Victoriana and Egypt, not to mention mysteries, in me.  Though it also provided me with a great fear of Egyptian cults and mummification, which exists to this day in one form or another, but not to the extent that made me hide from King Tut in the stairwell when I went to the Tut exhibit as a small child at the Field Museum in Chicago. But I think that had more to do with the fact my Dad told me that the mummies all came alive at night and if I wasn't careful I would be locked in with them and they'd attack me. Yes, because I had a "normal" childhood.

Dispite the fear I still have whenever I hear the Rame Tep chanting, the music being played at last year's Teslacon during the mummy unwrapping sure didn't help any, I love Egyptian history and art. I adore poplar fiction set in Egypt from Elizabeth Peters to the Theodosia Throckmorton books by Robin LaFevers. I go to any Egyptian exhibit I can. I can tell you if an artifact is Mesopotamian or Egyptian just from a cursery look. Because of this movie my world view was expanded and therefore, being a book worm, I sought out knowledge and information. I have a brain bursting with facts just because of the little seeds planted by Spielberg years before. And yes, I still want to ask why there really wasn't any representation of Osiris in the pyramid set of a cult devoted to him, instead just his buddy Anubis hanging out.

Yet, it's not just Egypt that got me. The whole Gaslight Victorian romance aspect hooked me too. If you think about this film, you could quite easily remove the "Holmes" element and still have a corking good mystery and movie on your hand. The Holmesian elements just add another layer. People might argue with me as to why I love the romance aspect. Part of it is that I just want to hear Nicholas Rowe say my name over and over again. Holmes purists would decry the idea of lost love being the reason for Holmes's somewhat puritanical sex life. But to me, it comes down to that fact that, as Holmes says, he never wants to be alone. That is an astute observation, and a sad one, because isn't that what we all want? And an arch nemesis doesn't really fill that void.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Egypt, Elizabeth Peters, Gaslight Romance, John Watson, King Tut, Moriarty, Nicholas Rowe, Osiris, R.L. LaFevers, Sherlock Holmes, The Princess Bride, The Young Sherlock Holmes, Theodosia Throckmorton

Grave Mercy, His Fair Assassin Book 1 by Robin LaFevers
ARC Provided by the author
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 3rd, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 644 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Ismae almost died before she was born. Her mother tried to purge her from her body because she knew that Death was Ismae's father. All her life she has been marked by death with a dark wine stain from her shoulder to her hip. On the day of her marriage to a man she neither loves nor likes, he learns the truth and attempts to kill her. The herbwitch that tried to end her in the womb now rescues her and sends her to the convent of St. Mortain. There Ismae learns that she is cursed, but with gifts from Death himself. Trained to be a handmaiden to Death she learns all the subtle arts from poisons to seduction, though she's not too keen on the womanly arts. She becomes a finely skilled tool, an assassin for Death himself. Her first two assignments go rather well and the men are sent to their graves. The deaths of these two men though are inopportune for Brittany's government who is trying to stay an independent Duchy from France. As atonement for the inconvenience the convent has wrought the Duchy's young ruler, Anne, and her bastard brother, Gavriel Duval, Ismae is to accompany Gavriel to court and aid the country, while also serving the sometimes conflicting needs of the convent.

While at court, Gavriel is worried that he has been saddled with a loose cannon. Ismae seems no need to confide in Gavriel, or ask his permission, and seems willing to kill whomever Death has marked, whether it's convenient to Gavriel or not. Ismae though is in a world where, through Gavriel, she is starting to wonder if the convent has things quite right. She has spent the last few years cloistered away from the world and is now questioning the convents teachings. Embroiled in affairs of the Breton Court and the Privy Council, Ismae soon learns that Anne is a ruler worthy of protection and Gavriel may be a man worthy of her heart. If only St. Mortain would show her what her true destiny is.

I have been a fan of Robin LaFever's since I was wandering around Barnes and Noble back in 2007 and stumbled upon Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos. The blend of Egyptian mythology with a plucky heroine in Edwardian England seemed a book that was written to perfectly meld all my favorite things inbetween two book covers. Not to mention the gorgeous art of Yoko Tanaka. Over the years I have waited with anticipation for each of the subsequent volumes to be released. I also fell in love with Robin's other series for younger readers, Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist. Needless to say, she quickly became on of my favorite writers and one whom I've forced nearly all my friends to read. Side note, it's not cruel and unusual punishment if they end up loving the books as I do. Plus, one of my friends named her son Nathaniel, so obviously her son needed a full set of the books (four so far)! Anyways, because of this lovely thing called the internet, I was able to get in touch with Robin because I felt that she needed to be exposed to as many readers as I could get her. First she joined goodreads, which I heartily encourage of everyone, and then with the launching of my blog, I now have even more of a platform in which to declare my love of these books.

This year marks a new series for Robin. Grave Mercy is the first in her new "His Fair Assassin" series, the HIM being Death. Set in Breton in the 15th century, Robin was "curious to see what [I] think, since it is SO different from Theo!" She's right, it is SO different from Theo. But I've come to the conclusion that a great author is able to write in any genre and on any subject matter as long as they have a clear authorial voice that comes through. Robin has that voice. It changes with the characters and the timeperiods she's writing about, but there's a way she grips you from the outset. She has an engaging writing style that doesn't make it feel like you're fighting the text to get from word to word and paragraph to paragraph. It's a book where you look up and find yourself surprised that an hour or two or three have passed, or even that it's five in the morning and shouldn't you be asleep by now?

This flow in her writing is even more impressive when you think about the fact that this is Historical Fiction in essence. I read a lot of Historical Fiction and it can easily be bogged down with overly archaic language, too many historical events and plot points given to you like a lesson at school that you hated the first time around and has you scrambling back and forth over the text trying to remember minutiae of each plot and counter plot. But Robin did an amazing job of making the people real and not making the history presented in a way that it was too complex therefore making me feel dense. The book just flowed. I fell for Ismae and her evil Hogwarts convent and then fell all over again when Gavriel showed up. These characters became real to me. I was invested in their lives and with getting them together! Jane Austen had it so right with Darcy and Elizabeth, now just make one an assassin and the other an upright young man, Anne his sister gets to be Georgiana, and you just wait for them to realize the truth that, though they are so different, they are so right for each other. The thing is, now I have a problem. I want the next book now. You are all reading this and being all jealous that I already got to read it and I'm sure you have no pity for me... but now I have to wait even longer than you for the second book, think of it that way.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Beastologist, Breton, DEATH, France, Grave Mercy, His Fair Assassin, Historical Fiction, Nathaniel Fludd, R.L. LaFevers, Robin LaFevers, Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos

Grave Mercy, His Fair Assassin Book 1 by Robin LaFevers
ARC Provided by the author
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 3rd, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 644 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Ismae almost died before she was born. Her mother tried to purge her from her body because she knew that Death was Ismae's father. All her life she has been marked by death with a dark wine stain from her shoulder to her hip. On the day of her marriage to a man she neither loves nor likes, he learns the truth and attempts to kill her. The herbwitch that tried to end her in the womb now rescues her and sends her to the convent of St. Mortain. There Ismae learns that she is cursed, but with gifts from Death himself. Trained to be a handmaiden to Death she learns all the subtle arts from poisons to seduction, though she's not too keen on the womanly arts. She becomes a finely skilled tool, an assassin for Death himself. Her first two assignments go rather well and the men are sent to their graves. The deaths of these two men though are inopportune for Brittany's government who is trying to stay an independent Duchy from France. As atonement for the inconvenience the convent has wrought the Duchy's young ruler, Anne, and her bastard brother, Gavriel Duval, Ismae is to accompany Gavriel to court and aid the country, while also serving the sometimes conflicting needs of the convent.

While at court, Gavriel is worried that he has been saddled with a loose cannon. Ismae seems no need to confide in Gavriel, or ask his permission, and seems willing to kill whomever Death has marked, whether it's convenient to Gavriel or not. Ismae though is in a world where, through Gavriel, she is starting to wonder if the convent has things quite right. She has spent the last few years cloistered away from the world and is now questioning the convents teachings. Embroiled in affairs of the Breton Court and the Privy Council, Ismae soon learns that Anne is a ruler worthy of protection and Gavriel may be a man worthy of her heart. If only St. Mortain would show her what her true destiny is.

I have been a fan of Robin LaFever's since I was wandering around Barnes and Noble back in 2007 and stumbled upon Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos. The blend of Egyptian mythology with a plucky heroine in Edwardian England seemed a book that was written to perfectly meld all my favorite things inbetween two book covers. Not to mention the gorgeous art of Yoko Tanaka. Over the years I have waited with anticipation for each of the subsequent volumes to be released. I also fell in love with Robin's other series for younger readers, Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist. Needless to say, she quickly became on of my favorite writers and one whom I've forced nearly all my friends to read. Side note, it's not cruel and unusual punishment if they end up loving the books as I do. Plus, one of my friends named her son Nathaniel, so obviously her son needed a full set of the books (four so far)! Anyways, because of this lovely thing called the internet, I was able to get in touch with Robin because I felt that she needed to be exposed to as many readers as I could get her. First she joined goodreads, which I heartily encourage of everyone, and then with the launching of my blog, I now have even more of a platform in which to declare my love of these books.

This year marks a new series for Robin. Grave Mercy is the first in her new "His Fair Assassin" series, the HIM being Death. Set in Breton in the 15th century, Robin was "curious to see what [I] think, since it is SO different from Theo!" She's right, it is SO different from Theo. But I've come to the conclusion that a great author is able to write in any genre and on any subject matter as long as they have a clear authorial voice that comes through. Robin has that voice. It changes with the characters and the timeperiods she's writing about, but there's a way she grips you from the outset. She has an engaging writing style that doesn't make it feel like you're fighting the text to get from word to word and paragraph to paragraph. It's a book where you look up and find yourself surprised that an hour or two or three have passed, or even that it's five in the morning and shouldn't you be asleep by now?

This flow in her writing is even more impressive when you think about the fact that this is Historical Fiction in essence. I read a lot of Historical Fiction and it can easily be bogged down with overly archaic language, too many historical events and plot points given to you like a lesson at school that you hated the first time around and has you scrambling back and forth over the text trying to remember minutiae of each plot and counter plot. But Robin did an amazing job of making the people real and not making the history presented in a way that it was too complex therefore making me feel dense. The book just flowed. I fell for Ismae and her evil Hogwarts convent and then fell all over again when Gavriel showed up. These characters became real to me. I was invested in their lives and with getting them together! Jane Austen had it so right with Darcy and Elizabeth, now just make one an assassin and the other an upright young man, Anne his sister gets to be Georgiana, and you just wait for them to realize the truth that, though they are so different, they are so right for each other. The thing is, now I have a problem. I want the next book now. You are all reading this and being all jealous that I already got to read it and I'm sure you have no pity for me... but now I have to wait even longer than you for the second book, think of it that way.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Beastologist, Breton, DEATH, France, Grave Mercy, His Fair Assassin, Historical Fiction, Nathaniel Fludd, R.L. LaFevers, Robin LaFevers, Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos

Instead of having to slog through all the books I've read, I'm sure you want to know which ones to just go out and buy. So here are my top 10. These are the best of the best. They made an impression on me and I hope they will on you. They where so good, many where presents to others this year.

10) Q's Legacy by Helene Hanff: The most fully autobiographical of her books, covering most of her life. We get a bit of 84, Charing Cross Road and Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, but so much more. Anyone who hasn't read a Hanff book is missing out on one of the most original voices in biographical literature.

9) It Ends with Revelations by Dodie Smith: Smith is most known for 101 Dalmatians and I Capture the Castle, but It Ends with Revelations really struck me. It's so modern and frank in it's views of sexuality. There are a few cliches thrown in at the end that threaten to destroy it, but it's a book that really left an impression on me and I'm happy to see that it's going back into print this year.

8) Never the Bride (Brenda and Effie Book 1) by Paul Magrs: When I met Paul at TelsaCon this year, it was his reading from his first Brenda and Effie book that made me realize I had to know more about this author and this little world he has created. Paul has made a nonsensical world around Witby, a northern town where Dracula's ship happened to crash land, wherein the more absurd it gets the more it works. This kind of fantastical writing is a balancing act that two books in (I still have 3 more to read!), Paul seems to have mastered. Jasper Fforde better pay attention.

7) Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega Book 1) by Patricia Briggs: The first book in the spin off from Patricia Briggs' successful Mercy Thompson books is action packed, but in a very small way. We have four "people" out in the cold and snow of Montana, like some extreme survivalist Michael Crichton novel. The fact that they're witches and werewolves and have pasts going back hundreds of years just adds to an already wonderful book.

6) Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin Book 1) by Robin (R.L.) LaFevers: This book, which actually doesn't come out till later this year, is drastically different from any of Robin's previous books. But be it Edwardian England or France in the 1400s, she has a way of making historical fiction come alive. She incorporates the history so well that it's easy to understand and part of the narrative. I never felt lost or at sea, which some historical authors are wont to do. But add a human element, add characters you love, and it's a new favorite series waiting to be read. It even made me pull out a history book to find out more about the time period!

5) I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Flavia De Luce Book 4) by Alan Bradley: Flavia De Luce has been a favorite of mine since the first book came out and my friend David at Murder by the Book was like, "GET THIS BOOK!" The previous three installments where wonderful, but the conclusion always left me a little cold. This book, while I could say it left me cold, because of the chase over the snowy rooftops, it ended just right. A perfect holiday read, and a perfect Flavia book... I hope there are many more to come.

4) The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicles Volume 1) by Patrick Rothfuss: I know, bad me never picking up the book till this year... him being a local author and all... but, I hated the original cover, and I actually met Pat before I started reading it, so I knew it was always going to be read eventually. With the second book coming out I finally read it and LOVED it. It's just so wonderful. Exquisite world building where there are characters you love to hate, hate to love. Magic! Dragons! A haunted childhood wherein Kvothe will one day avenge the death of his parents by mystically evil badasses. I can't wait for the final volume!

3) Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick: This book, aside from the amazing illustrations, is just a wonderful story. How two generations clash through shared experiences, shared traumas and shared secrets. I could not put this book down, one sitting, and 6 AM where what this book did to me, and it was worth it!

2) Madame Tussuad by Michelle Moran: The French Revolution, or more precisely, what led up to the revolution, has never been more clear or more fascinating than in Michelle Moran's book. Being an artist myself, it was fascinating seeing the world radically changing though another artist's eyes. To see that Madame Tussuad wasn't just that waxworks lady, she was at the center of a revolution. Her displays showed the people the news of the day in the most extraordinary ways, through her tableaux. I can't wait to get my hands on Michelle's next book which also takes place in France!

1) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: BEST BOOK THIS YEAR! I've been struggling writing a review for this book because it is so awesome. I can't do justice to the lyrical quality of the writing or the depth of the storytelling. Saying it's about a circus wherin two opponents do battle, it's just not right. It's just an aspect of the best book I've read in years, so easily the best book of this year!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alan Bradley, Brian Selznick, Dodie Smith, Erin Morgenstern, Helene Hanff, Michelle Moran, Patricia Briggs, Patrick Rothfuss, Paul Magrs, R.L. LaFevers, Robin LaFevers

Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury
Published by: Atheneum
Publication Date: May 24th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
Challenge: Valley of the Kings
Rating: ★

Agnes Wilkins' debut is being kept under wraps. Her mother is having her dress secretly made at their house, far away from the prying eyes that might wander past a dress shop. Agnes' debut will be the splash of the season, if only her mother could get her to stop reading Mansfield Park or quoting the other books by A Lady in several different languages, Greek and Russian amongst them. Her bookishness might just put off the dashing Lord Showalter. But then again, her magpie tendencies of keeping exotic knickknacks that her brother David sends from around the world as he sails with the Queen's navy might appeal to the collector and amateur Egyptologist, Showalter. Before her big debut, she is invited to a mummy unwrapping at Lord Showalter's home. Agnes and her brother are among the first chosen to cut the mummy open, all under the watchful eyes of Mr. Caedmon Stowe, of the British Museum. But there's been a mix up and the wrong mummy was sent. All discoveries are asked to be returned to the mummy and bundled off to the museum. Only Agnes never showed anyone the metal wolf's head she found, and Showalter did say she could keep what she found, before the error was discovered...

Agnes' desire to keep that little trinket sets in motion a series of events that could destroy or save England. A mummies curse is soon descending on the attendants of the party, which ended with a rather shocking death of a waiter. Agnes plans to tell her father right away, he being of some importance within the government, but instead of doing what is logical, she sets off secretly to the museum and finds Caedmon, and maybe a little romance. Bucking tradition and sneaking around with Caedmon, even if it's not fun and games, but the very fate of the British Empire, is better than the life Agnes was preparing to endure. Can all end up right and an army of undead soldiers at the command of Napoleon be stopped?

First off, when someone says a book is about mummies, you expect it to be about mummies, not having the mummies relegated to an almost insignificant plot point. This book is about a young girls entrance into society and how she secretly bucks the norms and saves her country at the same time. If I had known this going in I would have had different expectations. Damn you cover blurbs! You make a book sound so wonderful and appealing and dash my hopes like a mummy being unskillfully unwrapped at a party by amateurs, all be it a few years before they actually became fashionable, which irks me no end. Instead I was crabby and irritable while reading the book. Now you may ask, would this change my one star rating? The answer is no. Even if I had gone in knowing what the book was about I would still have called out the flat writing, the generic storytelling and the one dimensional characters. If Agnes had bucked the tradition of this genre further and enlisted the help of her father, I might have been more forgiving. Instead she blunders about and solves an incredibly easy cypher, which insults the name of the Rosetta Stone, and which the French could have easily figured out before her, but unbelievably didn't. As I read in another review, these characters felt so staged. The writer told, didn't show.

Another major annoyance, the affectation of always quoting "A Lady," aka Jane Austen. I wanted to harm Agnes. I don't think anyone would be always saying "A Lady," I think they'd be more likely to say the book's title. Also, the little nudge nudge, wink wink of hinting who the authoress really was was insulting. Jane Austen was only revealed AFTER her death, there where no hints. Blurg. I will forgive the stupidly named Egyptian War Deity Wepwawet, because he really existed. Though really, I would have chosen any other deity so I didn't have to type Wepwawet out and be laughed at by my readers. In the final analysis, I'm sure I will forget this book in no time, hence my having to write the review so quickly, because I know there was nothing memorable in this book. Wrapped feels like a story I've read a thousand times without any originality. If you want Napoleonic Spies, read Lauren Willig, if you want mummies, read Elizabeth Peters or R.L. LaFevers. In fact, if you want zombie soldiers being controlled by a mystical Egyptian staff, read R.L.Lafevers' Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris. Same plot point, only handled with originality and a true authorial voice, not a flat lifeless string of words arranged one after the other.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 2011 Reading Challenge, A Lady, Jane Austen, Jennifer Bradbury, Lauren Willig, R.L. LaFevers, Rosetta Stone, Valley of the Kings Reading Challenge, Wepwawet, Wrapped

Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh by R. L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
ARC Provided by Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 4th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Challenge: Valley of the Kings
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
Theodosia is returning to the land of her birth. Egypt! Who cares if she has a very important mission to return some items to a secret society bent on hiding artifacts of the Gods in the desert. It's Egypt and she's on an expedition with her mom. Take care of the Orb and Rae and the Emerald Tablet and spend the rest of the time doing what she's always dreamed of doing, archeology! Obviously, with her pet cat Isis by her side, despite her mother's protestations. When they arrive in Cairo though, the angry people milling about does tend to put a damper on the Egyptological fervor. The Nationalist Party is holding a demonstration, one of many to cause an inconvenience. Her mother needs to check in at the Museum, as does Theo, though, not so much with Maspero, but with the Brotherhood of the Chosen Keepers and their subterranean headquarters. But the Keepers in Egypt are very different from those in England. Here they are the front line, not the last defense. So it's more offense than defense, and Theo is not quite sure she's willing to embrace those methods. That's until she sees von Braggenschnott posing as a member of the museum staff, a Mr. Borscht, and having a cup of tea with her mother! Trying to flee the museum is harder than you'd think. There's another rally and they resort to taking Donkey's. Theo's driver is a little hunchback boy, Gadji, and he proves himself very wise in the ways of the street... and very cunning, his "hump" is his pet monkey, Sefu.

The next day they travel to Luxor, and surprisingly so does Gadji and Sefu, his family was originally from there. Which makes Gadji the perfect tour guide for her when Theo's playing sick. Because what other explanation could she give her mother for not wanting to scramble around in the dirt looking for hidden temples? But she must meet her contact here, a Major Grindle, and get the trade off set up at the temple with the wedjadeen. The trade off goes pretty well, despite all the threats that she shouldn't be allowed to live, even if the wedjadeen take an unusual interest in Gadji. Things can't remain so simple for long, the Serpents of Chaos are stirring the natives for more uprisings, and soon they kidnap Gadji in order to get the Emerald Tablet, which they apparently don't realize Theo already got ride of. Another trade is set up, which goes horridly wrong and ends with Theo and Major Grindle in the hands of the wedjadeen. They know too many secrets and their lives now hang in the balance. But will Theo's powers and her destiny be able to save herself and all those in danger? Most importantly of all, will she get answers as to what she actually is?

The Last Pharaoh is everything I expected from Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles that it failed to deliver. Theo's world is expanding and becoming more complex, but in a way that is natural. Robin has not forced the change, she has gradually led us to it in the most wonderful journey yet. Instead of being trapped within the confines of the museum and having Theo playing all her contacts off one another, here we have a true Egyptian adventure. All the books have been leading to this one. Temples with true power, statues that come alive, where Theo's magic really comes from. All of this is woven together in a plausible yet magical way. You don't have to suspend your belief to be satisfied by the ending. At first I did have some misgivings. Gadji was very much like an Egyptian Sticky Will with a monkey instead of a snotty younger brother. But I should have trusted that Robin knew what she was doing and the plot twist, I did not see coming. Plus Theo's connection to Isis made my heart yearn for a cat in my life again. The only problem I now face is how will I wait for the next installment. Will Theo begin training? Will the wedjadeen and the Chosen Keepers embrace their shared goals and heritage and work together to defeat chaos. As we crawl ever closer to the first World War, I wonder how Chaos and all their evil little Germans will fit in. But as long as I get my Egyptian fix I will be a satisfied reader.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Egypt, Emerald Tablet, Isis, R.L. LaFevers, Rick Riordan, Serpents of Chaos, The Chosen Keepers, The Kane Chronicles, Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh, Valley of the Kings Reading Challenge, Wedjadeen

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

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." Theo is instantly suspicious of this Egyptian Magician. How did he get Ratsy to say what she herself said? It's got to be a trick! But when she's trying to loose her "protective detail" that the Black Sunners have set on her, the Egyptian Magician doesn't really bear thinking about. But at least The Black Sunners have a tendency to take care of those other occultists trailing her, The Serpents of Chaos. But that Egyptian Magician comes to the fore when he appears one night at the museum, which her parents have shut down for two weeks to prepare for their gala opening to celebrate their recent discoveries from the Tomb of Amenemhab. He then asks for Theo to return to him an artifact of great value. But how could he know about the Emerald Tablet when she just discovered it in the basement mere hours before? She needs to inform The Chosen Keepers about these events, but by forcing her to deal only with Fagenbush, she'll just have to find a way to keep him occupied... perhaps a few cursed objects landing in his lap? After all, she'll do whatever is necessary to deal with Wigmere himself and cut out Fagenbush and use only Will, her street urchin best friend. But with a mummy who is haunting her brother, all these occultists and parents to keep happy, it's a wonder Theo gets anything done! But she has a feeling, if she could just find out who the wedjadeen are and get ride of the Emerald Tablet, everything would return to normal... or at least as normal as can be when you can detect curses and have mysterious powers that don't have an easy explanation.

In the third  installment of the Theodoisa series by R. L. LaFevers', we once again are immersed in the wonderful world of Edwardian England in the grip of Egypt fever. I too have that fever. I don't know if it's contagious... but those mummies coupled with that fashion sense, I wish I could dive right into these books. This book had a very satisfying ending to plot points that have been dangling for awhile, yet at the same time opening it up to a whole new level of awesome. The end of the Black Sunners and their uber creepy and inappropriate leader is at an end. The Serpents have had a little bit of a smack down and Tetley, that inconveniently "modern" mummy has been put to rest. Also, surprisingly, Theo's prophecy came true. Who would have thought that!?! But then again, as Awi Bubu told her, she is more than she could ever imagine. She has a role to play and her powers, as well as her travelling companions, indicate that the Gods themselves might have a stack. After all, who else do you know with an occasional jackal sidekick?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 2011 Reading Challenge, Awi Bubu, Black Sunners, Egypt, R.L. LaFevers, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, Theodosia Throckmorton

The Unicorn's Tale (Nathaniel Fludd Book 4) by R.L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
ARC Provided by Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 4th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
There's nothing Nate wants to do more than hunt down his odious cousin Obediah. He needs to find out if this feeling he's having, this hope that his parents are still alive, is justified. Beasts don't matter when he might get his parents back. But what does Aunt Phil do? Pack them all in her little plane, grumbling Dodo included, and head to France to deal with a Guivre! A little water spitting eel like creature that has quickly developed a fondness for soaking Nate. While wrestling with the wee beastie, Aunt Phil gets an urgent message from a Mr. Sylvan that the Unicorn he is the caretaker of is behaving oddly and he needs her help right away. So once again, instead of going back to England and trying to find out where Obediah has secreted himself, Nate is off to tend another creature with his Aunt. Luckily they are close by, and despite Nate's misgivings, Unicorns are pretty cool, especially when they are cared for by fauns! The torso of a man and the legs of a goat. Their arrival is rather later than the worried and harried faun would have liked... but after a good night's sleep they are all up at dawn and trekking into the forest to find Luminessa.

Aunt Phil quickly sees that Luminessa might pose a problem, that's until the unicorn recognizes the little Gremlin Greasle as a fair maiden. Maidens and unicorns go together like bread and butter, even if the maiden could use a bath. Also for the first time ever Phil realizes that perhaps Greasle is of use... diagnosing the unicorn is far easier with the calming influence of Greasle. They make a wonderful discovery and just as they are about to leave the forest to gather supplies, the odious Obediah appears. It is quite convenient to have your enemy show up when you've been wanting to have a bit of a chat... having that enemy show up on the doorstep of a rare and magical beastie... not good at all. Obediah has a deal to strike. Either they comply and not everyone looses, or they resist and he will make all suffer. Working against the clock they have 48 hours in which to foil Obediah and keep all mystical beasts safe from this madman and come out of this with the most precious of prizes.

Nathanial Fludd keeps growing on me. It's not just the message it sends about the preciousness of life and the danger of extinction. But it's the way Robin presents these lessons in a way that is a fabulous narrative with a heartwarming message at the center that is not beat into us or told to us in a condescending manner. I will admit, I did, when younger, have a weakness for unicorns. You can't fault me, I'm a child of the 80s and what with the Serendipity books and rainbows and Pegasuses being everywhere. And yes, there was a short time when I thought that if I wished hard enough I'd get to meet one. Here Robin brings us unicorns in all their glory! And rhinos are unicorns! This made me so happy and brought a smile from ear to ear. The classification of rhinos as unicorns made this a five star book hands down. Though I will admit, that Mr. Sylvan is a close second. He is a wonderful little nod to Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He has a jaunty red scarf and when it says he has an umbrella stand near his fireplace I actually held my breath a little, but of course he keeps forks for roasting bread over the open fire there, not a little umbrella. In the end though, these little joys aren't what make this book the best. What does that is we have significant plot movement on the odious Obediah and the disappearance of Nate's parents. Though it's going to be a painful to wait for the next installment, I want the confrontation with the nasty nanny to be now... but with everything Robin writes, it will be worth the wait.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Aunt Phil, Beastologist, Dodo, Mr. Sylvan, Mr. Tumnus, Nathaniel Fludd, Obediah Fludd, R.L. LaFevers, Rhinos, Serendipity Books, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Unicorn's Tale

Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh by R.L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 5th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In this fourth book in the series, Theodosia sets off to Egypt to return the Emerald Tablet—embedded with the knowledge of some of the ancient world’s most guarded secrets. Accompanied by her cat, Isis (smuggled along in a basket), Theo plans to return the artifact, then explore the mysteries surrounding her own birth and oh, yes— help her mother dig up treasures on her archeological expedition.

But nothing ever works out as planned, especially when a precious treasure appears suddenly, and then just as suddenlydisappears. . . When the Serpents of Chaos get involved, Theo finds she’s digging up a lot more than she expected!"
It felt like forever waiting for this book, but it's so good it was worth the wait!

The Unicorn's Tale by R.L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 5th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Is there no rest for the travel worn and weary? Not if you’re Nathaniel Fludd, the world’s youngest beastologist-in-training! All Nate really wants is to track down his missing parents, but when a unicorn falls mysteriously ill, Nate’s Aunt Phil makes it clear where a beastologist’s duty lies: to the beasts.

And if taking care of the world’s beasts isn’t difficult enough, Nate and Aunt Phil must also keep them safe from the villainous Obediah Fludd, who intends to do them harm. With all this taking up every last bit of his energy and time, will Nate ever find the parents he is so absolutely convinced are alive?"

Another stellar book from Robin. Two awesome books in one day is more than I could hope for. April is looking like an awesome month!

Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward
Published by: Putnam
Publication Date: April 5th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 330 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"New York Times-bestselling author Lisa Lutz conspires with-or should we say against?-coauthor David Hayward to write an original and hilarious tag-team crime novel.

Meet Paul and Lacey Hansen: orphaned, pot-growing twentysomething siblings eking out a living in rural Northern California. When a headless corpse appears on their property, they can't exactly dial 911, so they move the body and wait for the police to find it. Instead, the corpse reappears, a few days riper . . . and an amateur sleuth is born. Make that two.

When collaborators Lutz and Hayward (former romantic partners) start to disagree about how the story should unfold, the body count rises, victims and suspects alike develop surprising characteristics (meet Brandy Chester, the stripper with the Mensa IQ), and sibling rivalry reaches homicidal intensity. Think Adaptation crossed with Weeds. Will the authors solve the mystery without killing each other first? "

Another fabulous book by Lisa, afterall, it is my giveaway of the month!

Elizabeth I by Margaret George
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: April 5th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 688 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Personal and political conflicts among such larger-than-life historical figures as Francis Bacon, Walter Raleigh, Francis Drake, and Will Shakespeare intertwine in George's meticulously envisioned portrait of Elizabeth I during the last 25 years of her reign. Unlike most contemporary depictions of the Virgin Queen, this one is actually a virgin; she's married to England, whose interests she pursues with shrewdness, courage, and wisdom borne of surviving the deaths of her family. Readers see the queen through her own eyes and those of her cousin, Lettice Knollys, wife of Elizabethan heartthrob Robert Dudley, aka the earl of Leicester. Elizabeth's antithesis, thrice-married and much-bedded Lettice, is driven by passion and self-interest, easily evidenced by the story's beginnings: it's 1588, and Elizabeth meets the threat of the Spanish Armada head-on while Lettice calculates how her son might benefit. Like her heroine, George (The Autobiography of Henry VIII) possesses an eye for beauty and a knack for detail, creating a vibrant story that, for nearly 700 pages, enables readers to experience firsthand Elizabeth's decisions, triumphs, and losses. Rather than turn Elizabeth I into a romantic heroine, George painstakingly reveals a monarch who defined an era."

Most known for her book on Elizabeth's father, this is sure to be another great Tudor read, plus I'm going to the book launch! How cool is that?


City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry
Publication Date: April 5th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Who will be tempted by darkness? Who will fall in love, and who will find their relationship torn apart? And who will betray everything they ever believed in?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge.

In the heart-pounding fourth installment of the Mortal Instruments series, the stakes are higher than ever."

Yeah, new Mortal Instruments!


Red Glove by Holly Black
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry
Publication Date: April 5th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.

That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself? Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose."

Yeah new Holly Black. Asside from the beginning of March, what with new Rothfuss and Briggs, this is a totally awesome line-up.

Bossypants by Tin Fey
Published by: Reagan Arthur
Publication Date: April 5th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV. She has seen both these dreams come true. At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence. Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy."

Love ya Tina Fey, but this cover creeps me out major. So perhaps this will be an e-book purchase for me?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bossypants, Cassandra Clare, City of Fallen Angels, Elizabeth I, Heads You Lose, Holly Black, Lisa Lutz, Margaret George, R.L. LaFevers, Red Glove, The Unicorn's Tale, Tina Fey