strange and random happenstance

A Friendly Game of Murder by J.J. Murphy
Published by: Signet
Publication Date: January 1st, 2013
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Why should Dorothy Parker’s friends be the only ones making “enviable names” in “science, art, and parlor games”? Dorothy can play with the best of them—as she sets out to prove at a New Year’s Eve party at the Algonquin Hotel. Since the swanky soiree is happening in the penthouse suite of swashbuckling star Douglas Fairbanks, some derring-do is called for. How about a little game of “Murder”?

Each partygoer draws a card to be detective, murderer, or victim. But young Broadway starlet Bibi Bibelot trumps them all when her dead body is found in the bathtub. No one knows who the killer is, but one thing is for sure—they won’t be making gin in that bathtub.

When more partiers are put in peril, it becomes clear the game is indeed on, and it’s up to Dorothy, surprise guest Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the members of the Round Table to stay alive—and relatively sober—long enough to find the killer…"

THE BOOK I've been waiting over a year to read! I just adore this cozy series.

Fonduing Fathers by Julie Hyzy
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: January 1st, 2013
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"White House executive chef Olivia Paras has enough on her plate. But after gaining new information about her father’s death, the First Family isn’t the only family Olivia is concerned about…

Olivia has always believed that her father was an honorable man—until a trip to visit her mother reveals that he was dishonorably discharged from the army. Olivia is even more shocked to learn that he was brutally murdered because someone at his company suspected him of selling corporate secrets. Refusing to believe that her father was a scoundrel, Olivia won’t rest until she proves his innocence.

Enlisting the help of her boyfriend, Gav, Olivia must reach out to her father’s colleagues to discover the truth behind his murder. What she’s about to discover may not only put her at risk, but threaten national security as well…"

My Mother's favorite cozy series, which sadly comes out after Christmas, but right before her birthday, score!

Touch of Demon by Diana Rowland
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: January 1st, 2013
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Kara Gillian is in Seriously Deep Trouble.

She's used to summoning supernatural creatures from the demon realm to our world, but now she's the one who's been summoned. Kara is the prisoner of the demonic Lord Mzatal, but quickly discovers that she's far more than a mere hostage. He has his own plans to use Kara and keep her from Rhyzkahl-the demonic lord she is sworn to serve. However, waiting for rescue has never been Kara's style, and she has no intention of being a pawn in someone else's game.

Yet intrigue and treachery run rampant amongst all lords, and Kara is hard pressed to keep her wits about her. Her abilities as a homicide detective are put the the test as she seeks the truth about FBI Agent Ryan Kristoff, Rhyzkahl, and herself. But, the answers she finds only raise more questions. She soon discovers that she has her own history in the demon realm-one that goes back farther than she could have ever imagined. But that history may yet spell her doom as she’s faced with a peril beyond mortal comprehension.

She’s going to need all the strength and tenacity she’s developed as a cop and a summoner, or the hell she endures may well last forever."

I haven't read this series of Rowland's, being familiar with her Zombie White Trash series, but, according to Felicia Day it's "amaze-balls" so I'm sold.

Catherine by April Linder
Published by: Poppy
Publication Date: January 1st, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

"A forbidden romance. A modern mystery. Wuthering Heights as you've never seen it before.

Catherine is tired of struggling musicians befriending her just so they can get a gig at her Dad's famous Manhattan club, The Underground. Then she meets mysterious Hence, an unbelievably passionate and talented musician on the brink of success. As their relationship grows, both are swept away in a fiery romance. But when their love is tested by a cruel whim of fate, will pride keep them apart?

Chelsea has always believed that her mom died of a sudden illness, until she finds a letter her dad has kept from her for years -- a letter from her mom, Catherine, who didn't die: She disappeared. Driven by unanswered questions, Chelsea sets out to look for her -- starting with the return address on the letter: The Underground.

Told in two voices, twenty years apart, Catherine interweaves a timeless forbidden romance with a compelling modern mystery."

After the way she handled Jane Eyre, it will be interesting to see what she does with another Bronte classic!

The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen
Published by: Bethany House
Publication Date: January 1st, 2013
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

"Emma Smallwood, determined to help her widowed father when his boarding school fails, accompanies him to the cliff-top manor of a baronet and his four sons. But soon after they arrive and begin teaching the two younger boys, mysterious things begin to happen. Who does Emma hear playing the pianoforte at night, only to find the music room empty? And who begins sneaking into her bedchamber, leaving behind strange mementoes?

The baronet's older sons, Phillip and Henry Weston, wrestle with problems—and secrets—of their own. They both remember the studious Miss Smallwood from their days at her father's academy. But now one of them finds himself unexpectedly drawn to her...

When suspicious acts escalate, can Emma figure out which brother to blame and which to trust with her heart?"

Oh, kind of a Jane Eyre Jane Austen vibe going on, which I don't think I can pass up.

The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen by Syrie James
Published by: Herkley Trade
Publication Date: January 1st, 2013
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

"The minute I saw the letter, I knew it was hers. There was no mistaking it: the salutation, the tiny, precise handwriting, the date, the content itself, all confirmed its ancient status and authorship…

Samantha McDonough cannot believe her eyes--or her luck. Tucked in an uncut page of a two-hundred-year old poetry book is a letter she believes was written by Jane Austen, mentioning with regret a manuscript that "went missing at Greenbriar in Devonshire." Could there really be an undiscovered Jane Austen novel waiting to be found? Could anyone resist the temptation to go looking for it?

Making her way to the beautiful, centuries-old Greenbriar estate, Samantha finds it no easy task to sell its owner, the handsome yet uncompromising Anthony Whitaker, on her wild idea of searching for a lost Austen work--until she mentions its possible million dollar value.

After discovering the unattributed manuscript, Samantha and Anthony are immediately absorbed in the story of Rebecca Stanhope, daughter of a small town rector, who is about to encounter some bittersweet truths about life and love. As they continue to read the newly discovered tale from the past, a new one unfolds in the present--a story that just might change both of their lives forever."

Syrie James had some success with her Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte lost memoirs, and here she is, hopefully back in stride with those.

The Garden Intrigue by Lauren Willig
Published by: NAL
Publication Date: January 1st, 2013
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Secret agent Augustus Whittlesby has spent a decade undercover in France, posing as an insufferably bad poet. The French surveillance officers can’t bear to read his work closely enough to recognize the information drowned in a sea of verbiage.

New York-born Emma Morris Delagardie is a thorn in Augustus’s side. An old school friend of Napoleon’s stepdaughter, she came to France with her uncle, eloped with a Frenchman, and has been rattling around the salons of Paris ever since. Now widowed, she entertains herself by holding a weekly salon, and loudly critiquing Augustus’s poetry.

As Napoleon pursues his plans for the invasion of England, Whittlesby hears of a top-secret device to be demonstrated at a house party. The catch? The only way in is with Emma, who has been asked to write a masque for the weekend’s entertainment. In this complicated masque within a masque, nothing goes quite as scripted—especially Augustus’s unexpected feelings for Emma."

What kind of friend would I be if I didn't promote the lovely paperback edition of Augustus finally getting his lady? Who I like to picture as Bernadette from The Big Bang Theory.

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris
Published by: InkLit
Publication Date: January 1st, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lightning-struck sleuth Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver are experts at getting in, getting paid, and then getting out of town fast—because the people who hire Harper have a funny habit of not really wanting to know what she has to tell them. At first, the little Ozarks town of Sarne seems like no exception. A teenage girl has gone missing, and Harper knows almost immediately that this girl is dead. But the secrets of her death—and the secrets of the town—are deep enough that even Harper’s special ability can’t uncover them. With hostility welling up all around them, she and Tolliver would like nothing better than to be on their way. But then another woman is murdered. And the killer’s not finished yet…"

So, I've always like Harper Connelly more than Sookie, even if some people think there's some grosser aspects to these stories, I'm still a fan. I have also been waiting for this to come out in one edition so I didn't have to hunt up all the issues. What's with Harper looking like Doctor Manhattan from Watchmen though?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Charlaine Harris, Diana Rowland, Fonduing Fathers, Harper Connelly, J.J. Murphy, Julie Hyzy, Julie Klassen, Lauren Willig, Pink Carnation, The Garden Intrique, Touch of Demon, Watchmen

The Garden Intrigue by Lauren Willig
ARC Provided by Dutton
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: February 16th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
There's only so many times you can throw yourself at someones feet till you start to fall for the owner of said feet. Augustus has been throwing himself at the feet of the Pink Carnation for some time now. Working with her as an undercover agent in Paris and using his horrible poetry to foil the French has made him invaluable to the British, but really, he only wants to be invaluable to one person; Jane, the Pink Carnation. Despite his flowery poetry that goes beyond the ridiculous, his sentiments of love are becoming more and more true. Jane though does not share these sentiments. She would gladly play matchmaker though.

Emma Delagardie is an American living in Paris. She spent most of her life in France, going to school with Napoleon's stepdaughter, then marrying a man whom she didn't quite get. Widowed young, she flung herself back into life, even making a few mistakes along the way in the form of Georges Marston. Yet her new favorite pastime is heckling Augustus. She is ever by the side of Jane and Augustus is ever by Jane's feet... he makes a very logical target. Jane thinks though that perhaps Emma's taunting is a deflection of her true feelings for Augustus. Throwing the two of them together to write a masque for Napoleon's house party seems the perfect way to see if these two crazy kids might not find a way to work things out and hopefully foil whatever that wacky emperor is doing next... because declaring himself emperor seems a pretty big step onto the crazy train.

Augustus is perhaps the most beloved character we have been waiting to get his happily ever after. That is after Turnip. I'm sorry Augustus lovers, but Turnip will always be my man, on the plus side, Turnip got his happily ever after so now it's time to spread the love. Ever since this absurd poet flung himself at the feet of the Pink Carnation speculation has been running wild as to whether this would be the man to win the heart of the elusive spy. As is the case in fiction as reality, the course of love never runs smooth. While busy admiring "The Princess of the Pulchritudinous Toes", the Princess's short little American companion heckling him has never left a good impression. She's American, for a start, a little too gaudy, a little too sultry, and a little too much "the Grand Inquisitor for Poetical Excellence, Greater Paris Branch." Emma Delagardie is the perfect foil for Augustus.

Until this book I have always pictured Augustus as one of those over the top, Byronic poets, like Shelley, Byron and Coleridge, but as depicted in Blackadder, laying about prostate in Mrs. Miggins' Coffee Shop half dead of consumption, but with a very puffy shirt on. Never discount the puffy shirt! Aka, a stereotypical poet, which for Augustus is the perfect disguise. Lauren does a wonderful job though of showing what playing this stereotype for so long might do to ones mind. Like all deep undercover agents, sometimes it can be too much, and sometimes you just can't get away from the bad rhymes, even in your head. I felt an empathy towards August and his muddled mind. Are his feelings for Jane even real, or has the job just fully taken over control of his senses. He is far more tragic and dark than one might expect... a true romantic poet, not just some parody.

The bubbly Emma as Augustus' counterpoint was perfect. She too has inside turmoil, but there's an exuberance about her that is undeniable. I kept trying to think of petite blond Americans who could due her justice, seeing as I always cast books in my head for my dream miniseries. I thought Kristen Bell would be good, but for some reason that wouldn't stick. The initial spark in my mind was Bernadette from The Big Bang Theory, and you know what, I think Melissa Rauch is Emma. The way she has that bubbly way of speaking, but then her happy smile can freeze and all of a sudden there is menace and you are very afraid. I think she is Emma. The facade and the interior, the whole shebang if you will. I got a "Bang" joke in, yeah!

The only flaw this book has, which can be said of all the books in this series, is once the couples are paired off, they rarely make a return performance. They are forever relegated to supporting or cameo roles. I think perhaps a sequel or two might one day be in order... the love I have for these characters just can't be contained to one book and then a shout out. Even when the wicked Georges Marston makes a come back, having been MIA since book once, it gives me a thrill. Ah Lauren, you have created a world I love to visit, and a new book once a year is never enough.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Blackadder, Byronic, Lauren Willig, Melissa Rauch, Napoleon, Pink Carnation, Poetry, The Big Bang Theory, The Garden Intrique, Turnip Fitzhugh

The Garden Intrigue by Lauren Willig
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: February 14th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the ninth installment of Lauren Willig's bestselling Pink Carnation series, an atrocious poet teams up with an American widow to prevent Napoleon's invasion of England.

Secret agent Augustus Whittlesby has spent a decade undercover in France, posing as an insufferably bad poet. The French surveillance officers can't bear to read his work closely enough to recognize the information drowned in a sea of verbiage.

New York-born Emma Morris Delagardie is a thorn in Augustus's side. An old school friend of Napoleon's stepdaughter, she came to France with her uncle, the American envoy; eloped with a Frenchman; and has been rattling around the salons of Paris ever since. Widowed for four years, she entertains herself by drinking too much champagne, holding a weekly salon, and loudly critiquing Augustus's poetry.

As Napoleon pursues his plans for the invasion of England, Whittlesby hears of a top-secret device to be demonstrated at a house party at Malmaison. The catch? The only way in is with Emma, who has been asked to write a masque for the weekend's entertainment.

Emma is at a crossroads: Should she return to the States or remain in France? She'll do anything to postpone the decision-even if it means teaming up with that silly poet Whittlesby to write a masque for Bonaparte's house party. But each soon learns that surface appearances are misleading. In this complicated masque within a masque, nothing goes quite as scripted- especially Augustus's feelings for Emma."

New Lauren, dance of joy time! Can't wait to see her next week! Also, this books rocks by the way (see Wednesday's review).

Mrs. God by Peter Straub
Published by: Pegasus
Publication Date: February 14th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A tale of an inspired literary sojourn that turns into something far more sinister.

Esswood House. Home and estate of the Seneschal family, aristocratic patrons of the literary arts for well over a hundred years. D. H. Lawrence, T. S. Eliot, Ford Madox Ford, and Henry James were privileged to call themselves guests and Esswood Fellows. Even minor poets such as Isobel Standish found in Esswood a respite from the outer world and its refined atmosphere an inspiration for her work. There was always talk of a hidden secret in Esswood’s past, and the Seneschal children were often so pale and sickly, but don’t all English manor houses have a few ghost stories to call their own?

When Professor William Standish receives the rare honor of an Esswood Fellowship, and the chance to study Isobel’s private manuscripts at close hand, he is thrilled beyond his wildest ambitions. But something seems slightly off at Esswood House. He hears faint laughter in the halls, the pitter-pattering of small feet in the night; strange faces appear in the windows of the library, and there are those giant dollhouses in the basement . . .

Never before published as a separate volume, Mrs. God is a very different kind of ghost story from one of America’s most celebrated authors."

I get goosebumps just reading the discription! I can't wait.

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
Published by: The Dial Press
Publication Date: February 14th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"I’ve lost it. :( The only thing in the world I wasn’t supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It’s been in Magnus’s family for three generations. And now the very same day his parents are coming, I’ve lost it. The very same day! Do not hyperventilate, Poppy. Stay positive :) !!

Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!

Well, perfect except that the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life.

What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents . . . she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life."

I keep holding out hope for Sophie Kinsella... I mean, I NEED some good chick-lit... it's not like Helen Fielding has written anything in years... sigh.

Henri's Walk to Paris by Saul Bass
Published by: Universe
Publication Date: February 14th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 48 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Henri’s Walk to Paris is the story of a young boy who lives in Reboul, France, who dreams of going to Paris. One day, after reading a book about Paris, he decides to pack a lunch and head for the city.

“Like many of us Henri wants to see Paris.

In Paris, there are thousands of buses. In Reboul, where Henri lives, there is only one bus.

In Paris there are many parks and rows and rows of trees. The park in Reboul has only five trees. In Paris there are many zoos full of animals for the people to see.
So one fine day Henri packs up some lunch and starts off to see all the things he had read about.”

Along the way, Henri gets tired and falls asleep under a tree. And this is when the story gets really charming. What Henri sees, we see, in a flowing panorama of pictures conceived by the eminent graphic designer Saul Bass. "

Saul Bass, the master of graphics and opening movie credits did a book! I'm sold.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Dutton, Herni's Walk to Paris, I've Got Your Number, Lauren Willig, Mrs. God, Peter Straub, Pink Carnation, Saul Bass, Sophie Kinsella, The Garden Intrique

Now, I'm not just talking about a love for books that are Regency romances, that would limit the field of all those yummy books out there that you love to curl up with on a cold winters day as the season of love and hot cocoa descends on us. I'm talking about a love, a romance, with all things Regency. A love of the time period from the end of the 18th century till the beginning of the 19th century, of course embodied by the works of Jane Austen. The Empire waist line on dresses making you giddy. Knowing the differences between a barouche and chaise (four versus two wheels). Understanding the horrors of an entail. Having an unending love of knee breeches. And being giddy when you hear any quote from Blackadder season 3 and ALWAYS picturing Duke Wellington as Stephen Fry. HURRAH FOR THE REGENCY! A mad king and dachshund named Colin.

And of course, a themed month can't be complete without a giveaway!

Prize: A signed arc of Lauren Willig's the new book, The Garden Intrigue (direct from Lauren).

The Rules:1. Open to EVERYONE, just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter, you just get more entries if you prove you love me by following.
2. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if your name is drawn, either your blogger profile or a link to your website/blog or you could even include your email address with your comment(s).
3. Contest ends Wednesday, February 29th at 11:59PM CST (yes folks, it IS a leap year!)
4. How to enter:

Answer me this: Who is your favorite regency author? Now, they don't have to have been writing during the Regency, but they have to be writing about the Regency.

• +1 for answering the question above
• +2 for becoming a follower
• +10 if you are already a follower
• +10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!
• +25 if you comment on any of the posts this month (aka February), with something other than "I hope I win" or a variation thereof.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 6 comments  

Labels: Blackadder, Colin Firth, Duke Wellington, Giveaway, Knee Breeches, Lauren Willig, Regency, Regency Romance, Stephen Fry, The Garden Intrique

Look at the wonders that awaited me when I heard the doorbell yesterday! Luckily the UPS man had already scurried back to his truck, otherwise he may have been hugged. I have been anxiously waiting the new Lauren Willig book (insert montage of anxiety, looking longingly out windows, jumping when I hear the doorbell, biting of nails, etc etc.). So sorry homework, sorry school, sorry friends, you will not see me again, I am disappearing between the leaves of this book and not emerging again till you hear a satisfied sigh at the conclusion of my reading frenzy. Also, getting this book is so full of win (my expression doesn't capture it, because there's only so many times you can try to get the reflection from your computer off your glasses using photobooth before you start to get tetchy)... back to, this is so full of win, that it deserves two thumbs up... but in order to do this I'd need three arms, like this:

Also, thanks for Lauren for pointing out this little snaffu long ago, it never gets old! She has three arms!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 5 comments  

Labels: ARCs, Castles in the Air, Christina Dodd, Lauren Willig, Pink Carnation, The Garden Intrique