Theodosia
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Monday, May 4, 2020
Tuesday Tomorrow
Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: May 5th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A Harvard freshman becomes obsessed with her schizophrenic brother’s suicide. Then she starts hearing voices.
Cadence Archer arrives on Harvard’s campus desperate to understand why her brother, Eric, a genius who developed paranoid schizophrenia took his own life there the year before. Losing Eric has left a black hole in Cady’s life, and while her decision to follow in her brother’s footsteps threatens to break her family apart, she is haunted by questions of what she might have missed. And there’s only one place to find answers.
As Cady struggles under the enormous pressure at Harvard, she investigates her brother’s final year, armed only with a blue notebook of Eric’s cryptic scribblings. She knew he had been struggling with paranoia, delusions, and illusory enemies - but what tipped him over the edge? Voices fill her head, seemingly belonging to three ghosts who passed through the university in life, or death, and whose voices, dreams, and terrors still echo the halls. Among them is a person whose name has been buried for centuries, and another whose name mankind will never forget.
Does she share Eric’s illness, or is she tapping into something else? Cady doesn’t know how or why these ghosts are contacting her, but as she is drawn deeper into their worlds, she believes they’re moving her closer to the truth about Eric, even as keeping them secret isolates her further. Will listening to these voices lead her to the one voice she craves - her brother’s - or will she follow them down a path to her own destruction?"
The hallowed ivy halls with a ghostly Gothic bent.
The Ghost of Eden Park by Karen Abbot
Published by: Broadway Books
Publication Date: May 5th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 3448 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In the early days of Prohibition, long before Al Capone became a household name, a German immigrant named George Remus quits practicing law and starts trafficking whiskey. Within two years he's a multi-millionaire. The press calls him "King of the Bootleggers," writing breathless stories about the Gatsby-esque events he and his glamorous second wife, Imogene, host at their Cincinnati mansion, with party favors ranging from diamond jewelry for the men to brand-new cars for the women. By the summer of 1921, Remus owns 35 percent of all the liquor in the United States.
Pioneering prosecutor Mabel Walker Willebrandt is determined to bring him down. Willebrandt's bosses at the Justice Department hired her right out of law school, assuming she'd pose no real threat to the cozy relationship they maintain with Remus. Eager to prove them wrong, she dispatches her best investigator, Franklin Dodge, to look into his empire. It's a decision with deadly consequences. With the fledgling FBI on the case, Remus is quickly imprisoned for violating the Volstead Act. Her husband behind bars, Imogene begins an affair with Dodge. Together, they plot to ruin Remus, sparking a bitter feud that soon reaches the highest levels of government - and that can only end in murder.
Combining deep historical research with novelistic flair, The Ghosts of Eden Park is the unforgettable, stranger-than-fiction story of a rags-to-riches entrepreneur and a long-forgotten heroine, of the excesses and absurdities of the Jazz Age, and of the infinite human capacity to deceive."
Because right now, for me, I'm ALL about the twenties!
Close Up by Amanda Quick
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: May 5th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Welcome to Burning Cove, California where 1930s Hollywood glamour conceals a ruthless killer...
Vivian Brazier never thought life as an art photographer would include nightly wake-up calls to snap photos of grisly crime scenes or headshots for aspiring male actors. Although she is set on a career of transforming photography into a new art form, she knows her current work is what’s paying the bills.
After shooting crime scene photos of a famous actress, the latest victim of the murderer the press has dubbed the “Dagger Killer,” Vivian notices eerie similarities to the crime scenes of previous victims - details that only another photographer would have noticed - details that put Vivian at the top of the killer’s target list.
Nick Sundridge has always been able to “see” things that others don’t, coping with disturbing dreams and visions. His talent, or as he puts it - his curse - along with his dark past makes him a recluse, but a brilliant investigator. As the only one with the ability to help, Nick is sent to protect Vivian. Together, they discover the Dagger Killer has ties to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood royalty and high society. It is a cutthroat world of allure and deception that Vivian and Nick must traverse - all in order to uncover the killer who will stop at nothing to add them to their gallery of murders."
THIS! This is what I love! Hollywood glamour with murder!
The Paris Hours by Alex George
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: May 5th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"One day in the City of Light. One night in search of lost time.
Paris between the wars teems with artists, writers, and musicians, a glittering crucible of genius. But amidst the dazzling creativity of the city’s most famous citizens, four regular people are each searching for something they’ve lost.
Camille was the maid of Marcel Proust, and she has a secret: when she was asked to burn her employer’s notebooks, she saved one for herself. Now she is desperate to find it before her betrayal is revealed. Souren, an Armenian refugee, performs puppet shows for children that are nothing like the fairy tales they expect. Lovesick artist Guillaume is down on his luck and running from a debt he cannot repay - but when Gertrude Stein walks into his studio, he wonders if this is the day everything could change. And Jean-Paul is a journalist who tells other people’s stories, because his own is too painful to tell. When the quartet’s paths finally cross in an unforgettable climax, each discovers if they will find what they are looking for.
Told over the course of a single day in 1927, The Paris Hours takes four ordinary people whose stories, told together, are as extraordinary as the glorious city they inhabit."
Ever since I saw the film Night on Earth in high school I've loved the conceit of following one single night in characters lives.
The Betrothed by Kiera Cass
Published by: HarperTeen
Publication Date: May 5th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A would-be queen. A handsome young king. A perfect match...or is it?
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Selection series comes The Betrothed, a glittering royal romance sure to captivate her legion of loyal readers and lovers of courtly intrigue alike.
When King Jameson declares his love for Lady Hollis Brite, Hollis is shocked - and thrilled. After all, she’s grown up at Keresken Castle, vying for the king’s attention alongside other daughters of the nobility. Capturing his heart is a dream come true.
But Hollis soon realizes that falling in love with a king and being crowned queen may not be the happily ever after she thought it would be. And when she meets a commoner with the mysterious power to see right into her heart, she finds that the future she really wants is one that she never thought to imagine."
I'd so choose a commoner over a king!
Death of a Cheerleader by Micol Ostow
Published by: Scholastic Inc
Publication Date: May 5th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Betty and Veronica's cheerleading retreat with the River Vixens was supposed to be fun - not deadly.
Betty, Veronica, Cheryl, and the rest of the River Vixens are heading out of town for the weekend on a cheerleading retreat. So Archie, Jughead, and the rest of the guys decide to have a poker night at La Bonne Nuit. But a storm causes the power to go out, and the speakeasy goes into lockdown. When the lights come back on, all of the cash is gone. The thief has to be someone the guys know - but who?
A few hours away, the River Vixens are ready to enjoy a few days of nature and team bonding. But when they arrive at the cheerleading camp, there are two other feuding squads already there. The team from Stonewall Prep claims that the Greendale girls are the reason one of their teammates went missing two years ago.
Betty and Veronica volunteer to investigate after creepy things start happening all over camp. And when one of the cheerleaders nearly drowns in the lake, B and V know they have to find out the truth before anyone else gets hurt - or worse.
This original Riverdale novel features a story not seen on the show!"
Because this week's finale is sure to leave everything up in the air, so to hold you over until we finally see the gang graduate and the possible five year time jump, this will have to tide you over.
Path of Night by Sarah Rees Brennan
Published by: Scholastic Inc.
Publication Date: May 5th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Half-witch, half-mortal 16-year-old Sabrina Spellman has made her choice: She's embraced her witchy roots, and her power is growing daily. But will it come at too high a price?
It's not easy being half-mortal, half-witch. At least, not for Sabrina Spellman. She just discovered that her dad is Satan... and that it's her destiny to rule Hell.
As usual, Sabrina's got other plans for her future. She's figured out a way to trap her father...but he's caged in the body of her boyfriend, Nick Scratch. Now the love of her life is stuck in Hell... with Satan stuck inside him.
Sabrina knows there's a way to get Nick back while also keeping dear old dad out of commission. She just has to figure out what it is. Unfortunately, her loyal cousin Ambrose is unavailable because he's off hunting Father Blackwood, the evil former head of the Church of Night.
Fortunately, Sabrina's still got her mortal friends, Roz, Harvey, and Theo. So when her aunt Zelda, now the church's high priestess, mentions an ancient quest that might help open the gates of Hell, Sabrina and her friends are all in. But Zelda failed to mention that the quest has some perils of its own..."
And once you've finish all of Rivderdale and caught up on Sabrina's adventures, now you have this new book!
Network Effect by Martha Wells
Published by: Tor.com
Publication Date: May 5th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Martha Wells' New York Times and USA Today bestselling Murderbot series exploded onto the scene in 2017, and the world has not been the same, since.
Murderbot returns in its highly-anticipated, first, full-length standalone novel, Network Effect.
You know that feeling when you’re at work, and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you're a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you're Murderbot.
Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. you’ll read this century."
I hope you're like me and have downloaded all the previous stories from the Tor newsletter over the last week in anticipation of today!
Monday, December 23, 2019
Tuesday Tomorrow
A Dead End Christmas by Alyssa Day
Published by: Holliday Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: December 25th, 2019
Format: Kindle
To Buy
The official patter:
"It's Christmas time in Dead End.
And this year Santa's bringing...murder!
Join Tess, Jack, and the gang for the craziest Christmas since Fluffy the taxidermied alligator was still alive and got into Otis's moonshine.
Because in Dead End, that reindeer you thought you saw might have been Bigfoot in disguise … and you never, ever want to see elves. Christmas might be merry after all, if Tess can investigate Santa and Jack can use his tiger's eye to see the truth.
Warning: This book contains a taxidermied alligator, shapeshifters, Santa, elves, a dead body, magic, hideously bad singing, horrible puns, a slow-burning romance, mystery, mayhem, and "I laughed so hard I almost peed myself"* humor.
Read at your own risk.
*From a reader review of the Tiger's Eye Mysteries."
For when you need to escape your relatives. Just sneak upstairs and download this book onto you're Kindle and your sanity will be saved!
Daughter of Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan
Published by: Scholastic Inc.
Publication Date: December 26th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Half-witch, half-mortal sixteen-year-old Sabrina Spellman has made her choice: She's embraced her dark side and her witchy roots. Now her power is growing daily...but will it come at too high a price?
Sabrina Spellman has just made the hardest decision of her life: She's leaving behind her beloved friends at Baxter High. Now it's time to follow the path of night and find her way among the witches and warlocks at the Academy of Unseen Arts.
Sabrina has always been good at the school thing, but now she has a whole new world to navigate. Her power is growing daily, but it comes with a high price. She must always remember her new allegiances and the cost they have on her friends...and on herself.
And then there's her new classmates. Prudence, Dorcas, and Agatha are friends, kind of, but can Sabrina trust them? And what about Nick Scratch? He's as charming as ever, but will his feelings for Sabrina last?
Based on the hit Netflix show, this original YA novel tells an all-new, original story about Sabrina."
For me I didn't ever really "feel" the new series until the Christmas episode last year, so lucky for me I'm getting something Sabrina for Christmas!
Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Sirens by Jim Henson et al
Published by: Archaia
Publication Date: December 24th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 128 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A collection of stories of sirens and mermaids, inspired by folklore from around the world and told in the spirit of Jim Henson’s beloved television series.
It’s not the stories you tell, but how they are told. The critically acclaimed Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Sirens showcases four alluring tales of mermaids and the sea, inspired by folklore from around the world and told in the spirit of Jim Henson’s beloved television series.
Featuring beautiful stories told by some of today’s most exciting voices, including Jakub Rebelka (Judas) with Sztybor Bartosz, Chan Chau (Elements), Sarah Webb (Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Under the Spell), and Aud Koch (The Wicked + The Divine), this stunning hardcover edition also includes an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the process and care taken in adapting each of the these timeless tales."
I get nostalgic around Christmas, and nothing takes me back quicker to my childhood that something Jim Henson...
Monday, January 15, 2018
Tuesday Tomorrow
A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: January 16th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Members of an Egyptian expedition fall victim to an ancient mummy’s curse in this thrilling Veronica Speedwell novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries.
London, 1888. As colorful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can’t resist the allure of an exotic mystery—particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker. His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumors abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been unleashed as the shadowy figure of Anubis himself stalks the streets of London.
But the perils of an ancient curse are not the only challenges Veronica must face as sordid details and malevolent enemies emerge from Stoker’s past. Caught in a tangle of conspiracies and threats—and thrust into the public eye by an enterprising new foe—Veronica must separate facts from fantasy to unravel a web of duplicity that threatens to cost Stoker everything..."
EGYPT!!! Also, Deanna Raybourn I think is the #1 author out there who I want to see at a book signing that I haven't met yet, just FYI all booksellers in the Midwest!
The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 16th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue and The Aviator’s Wife, a fascinating novel of the friendship and creative partnership between two of Hollywood’s earliest female legends—screenwriter Frances Marion and superstar Mary Pickford.
It is 1914, and twenty-five-year-old Frances Marion has left her (second) husband and her Northern California home for the lure of Los Angeles, where she is determined to live independently as an artist. But the word on everyone’s lips these days is “flickers”—the silent moving pictures enthralling theatergoers. Turn any corner in this burgeoning town and you’ll find made-up actors running around, as a movie camera captures it all.
In this fledgling industry, Frances finds her true calling: writing stories for this wondrous new medium. She also makes the acquaintance of actress Mary Pickford, whose signature golden curls and lively spirit have earned her the title “America’s Sweetheart.” The two ambitious young women hit it off instantly, their kinship fomented by their mutual fever to create, to move audiences to a frenzy, to start a revolution.
But their ambitions are challenged by both the men around them and the limitations imposed on their gender—and their astronomical success could come at a price. As Mary, the world’s highest paid and most beloved actress, struggles to live her life under the spotlight, she also wonders if it is possible to find love, even with the dashing actor Douglas Fairbanks. Frances, too, longs to share her life with someone. As in any good Hollywood story, dramas will play out, personalities will clash, and even the deepest friendships might be shattered.
With cameos from such notables as Charlie Chaplin, Louis B. Mayer, Rudolph Valentino, and Lillian Gish, The Girls in the Picture is, at its heart, a story of friendship and forgiveness. Melanie Benjamin perfectly captures the dawn of a glittering new era—its myths and icons, its possibilities and potential, and its seduction and heartbreak."
I think this is the Benjamin who is going to be the first author of 2018 at the Wisconsin Book Festival... or it could be Chloe...
Deadly Sweet by Lola Dodge
Published by: Ink Monster, LLC
Publication Date: January 16th, 2018
Format: Kindle, 265 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"For fans of Hex Hall, The Magicians, Practical Magic, and Food Wars!
Anise Wise loves three things: baking, potion making, and reading her spellbooks in blissful silence. She might not be the most powerful witch, but enchantment is a rare skill, and her ability to bake with magic is even rarer. Too bad one wants witchcraft on their campus. Anise’s dream of attending pastry school crumbles with rejection letter after rejection letter.
Desperate to escape her dead-end future, Anise contacts the long-lost relative she’s not supposed to know about. Great Aunt Agatha owns the only magic bakery in the US, and she suddenly needs a new apprentice. Anise is so excited she books it to New Mexico without thinking to ask what happened to the last girl.
The Spellwork Syndicate rules the local witches in Taos, but as “accidents” turn into full-out attacks on Anise’s life, their promises to keep her safe are less and less reassuring. Her cranky bodyguard is doing his best, but it’s hard to fight back when she has no idea who’s the enemy. Or why she became their target.
If Anise can’t find and stop whoever wants her dead, she’ll be more toasted than a crème brûlée.
Who knew baking cakes could be so life or death?"
Because I NEED my Sabrina fix until the new series is a go on Netflix!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Book Review - Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles Book 1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Published by: Little Brown
Publication Date: December 1st, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 563 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy
Ethan Lawson Wate dreams of the day he can finally leave Gatlin. The small town is suffocating him and his home life isn't the greatest either with his father being a recluse since his mother's death. But that's not Ethan's only dream. He dreams of a girl. He dreams of falling through trees with this girl. This nameless faceless girl whom he clearly loves. On the first day of school he meets Lena Duchannes, quite literally the girl of his dreams. Lena isn't like the other girls, and this draws Ethan to her. In fact she's not like any girls, she's magical, being a Caster. She feels like her entire life is living on borrowed time because come February and her 16th birthday she will either go to the good or the bad. Therefore it's very inconvenient that Ethan and Lena start to fall in love. But perhaps Ethan is what she needs to survive.
Back in December 2009 I had been blogging for about seven months. With my blogging I started to become more savvy about books in general. I became a connoisseur about my book purchases, not buying everything that looked good, instead seeing what other people said and relying more on my fellow blogger community. This of course was a two edged sword, sure I wasn't indiscriminately buying every book out there, but I was getting so many recommendations that, well, my book buying increased more then decreased. One book that everyone was excited for was Beautiful Creatures, and their excitement was contagious. Ironically not only did I buy the book but I won a copy from Little Brown! So I was all set to dive right into this series, and as is usually the case, I didn't get around to it for a few years. It was in fact the release of the movie that finally spurred me into action. Obviously I couldn't NOT watch a movie staring Emma Thompson, I suffered through that second Nanny McPhee movie after all. But the book had to come first!
What really struck me about Beautiful Creatures is it's exotic local. Yes, Gatlin, South Carolina is exotic, at least for popular YA. Usually YA likes to be set among the same popular cities as urban fantasy, laying in the shadows of New York or Chicago. Or it's dystopian and some future unknown ruin of a city. Or it's both, ahem Veronica Roth. But here we have a very recognizable southern US that brings with it all the baggage of the War of Northern Aggression (I should note that all my family fought for the North). There is a charming southerness to the book filled with Civil War reenactments and swampy cemeteries. This brings with it a certain Gothic romanticism to it that makes you think that magic isn't the most unlikely thing that could happen in this setting. Garcia and Stohl capture the town and the environment so well that it almost becomes a character in it's own right.
But despite it's southern hospitality there is still a small town mentality against anything "other." Even if Lena Duchannes wasn't a Caster with supernatural powers, her being an outsider, as well as a relative of the town's local recluse, would make her the subject of gossip. Add to that her "bewitching" Ethan, and there doesn't need a window shattering to make her an outcast. The window shattering just ups the whole situation to Carrie levels and there's more then just one or two hints to the Stephen King classic. Of course this being Gatlin they opt for liquid soap instead of pig's blood. Also Gatlin is a little more organized then King's small town and Lena is far more in control and aware of her powers to let the situation escalate. But there are several leaflets against Lena as well as a petition to have her thrown out of school, but sadly for them, the mean girls don't succeed.
Yet the Carrie undertone isn't the only undertone. To me there is a lot more of the Bewitched and Sabrina the Teenage Witch vibe then any other touchstone out there. I'd say in fact it leans very heavily on Sabrina, what with how Lena can't be raised by her mother, and that a Caster can go good or evil on their sixteenth birthday. It reminded me strongly of Sabrina and her evil twin. Yes, I love Sabrina and I'm not afraid to admit it. But despite all these great undertones and references and the atmosphere, there was just something missing. Beautiful Creatures lacks it's own identity. It becomes muddled between past and present mythology and it made the overall book quickly forgettable. Yes, despite reading this book fairly recently, I had to go and read a synopsis on Wikipedia to refresh myself as to what happened before writing this review. Because in all seriousness, if someone was to say what this book was about I'd say people running around in the south and there's some SCA fun. That isn't the book though, that's just my take away, and it's a lame one at that.
