strange and random happenstance

Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this stand-alone companion to the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke and Bone series comes the story of Mik and Zuzana's fantastical first date--as a gorgeously illustrated gift edition with bonus content included.

Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her "rabid fairy," her "voodoo eyes" are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or "Violin Boy," her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to make the first move, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It's a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter's night before leading him to the treasure: herself! Violin Boy is not going to know what hit him.

New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor brings to life a night only hinted at in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy--the magical first date of fan-favorites Zuzana and Mik. Originally published as an ebook, this new print edition will include breathtaking black and white illustrations, plus bonus content in a gorgeous package perfect for new and current fans of the series."

I loved this story when it was first released on Kindle and spent what would have been a bad Thanksgiving hiding in it's pages. Now I can't wait to have a copy with actual pages!

Odd and True by Cat Winters
Published by: Amulet Books
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Trudchen grew up hearing Odette’s stories of their monster-slaying mother and a magician’s curse. But now that Tru’s older, she’s starting to wonder if her older sister’s tales were just comforting lies, especially because there’s nothing fantastic about her own life—permanently disabled and in constant pain from childhood polio.

In 1909, after a two-year absence, Od reappears with a suitcase supposedly full of weapons and a promise to rescue Tru from the monsters on their way to attack her. But it’s Od who seems haunted by something. And when the sisters’ search for their mother leads them to a face-off with the Leeds Devil, a nightmarish beast that’s wreaking havoc in the Mid-Atlantic states, Tru discovers the peculiar possibility that she and her sister—despite their dark pasts and ordinary appearances—might, indeed, have magic after all."

Sounds interesting and makes me want to give this author another chance.

The Girl Who Takes An Eye For An Eye by David Lagercrantz
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo, the brilliant hacker, the obstinate outsider, the volatile seeker of justice for herself and others—even she has never been able to uncover the most telling facts of her traumatic childhood, the secrets that might finally, fully explain her to herself. Now, when she sees a chance to uncover them once and for all, she enlists the help of Mikael Blomkvist, the editor of the muckraking, investigative journal Millennium. And she will let nothing stop her—not the Islamists she enrages by rescuing a young woman from their brutality; not the prison gang leader who passes a death sentence on her; not the deadly reach of her long-lost twin sister, Camilla; and not the people who will do anything to keep buried knowledge of a sinister pseudoscientific experiment known only as The Registry. Once again, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, together, are the fierce heart of a thrilling full-tilt novel that takes on some of the most insidious problems facing the world at this very moment."

Let's keep flogging a dead horse OK?

Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Frances Brody returns with an intricate, absorbing plot while capturing the atmosphere and language of 1920s England in the eighth book of her cozy mystery series.

Nothing ever happens in August, and tenacious sleuth Kate Shackleton deserves a break.

Heading off for a long-overdue holiday to Whitby, she visits her school friend Alma who works as a fortune teller there. Kate had been looking forward to a relaxing seaside sojourn, but upon arrival discovers that Alma's daughter Felicity has disappeared, leaving her mother a note and the pawn ticket for their only asset: a watch-guard.

What makes this more intriguing is the jeweler who advanced Felicity the thirty shillings is Jack Phillips, Alma's current gentleman friend.

Kate can't help but become involved, and goes to the jeweller's shop to get some answers. When she makes a horrifying discovery in the back room, it becomes clear that her services are needed. Met by a wall of silence by town officials, keen to maintain Whitby's idyllic façade, it's up to Kate - ably assisted by Jim Sykes and Mrs Sugden - to discover the truth behind Felicity's disappearance.

And they say nothing happens in August..."

An August by the seaside? Yes please! Set in the 1920s, even more yas! 

A Secret Garden by Katie Fforde
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017
Format: Kindle, 386 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Step inside this beautiful novel to discover friendships, secrets and romance...

When Philly starts a new job, working with Lorna in the gorgeous grounds of a beautiful manor house, it marks a turning point in both of their lives.

Philly has never been in love before and is constantly disappointing her mother with her unwillingness to settle down. But all that changes when she meets Lucien, a free spirit with an intriguing past...

Lorna is learning to embrace life on her own, until dashing Jack sweeps her off her feet in a whirlwind romance. But is this what Lorna really wants?

When the two women discover a secret garden in the manor house grounds, they are encouraged to restore its forgotten beauty in time for an unforgettable end of summer party. As they work together, secrets are revealed and relationships tested. Will they both find the happy endings they are looking for?

Set against a stunning backdrop, this utterly charming and romantic story is certain to make you smile. Perfect for fans of Susan Mallery, Mary Kay Andrews and Debbie Macomber."

I really like Katie Fforde, and let's be honest, any secret garden will be better than the classic one which I hate. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Cat Winters, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Death at the Seaside, Frances Brody, Kate Shackleton, Katie Fforde, Laini Taylor, Night of Cake and Puppets, Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Millennium Trilogy Deluxe Box Set by Stieg Larsson
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: November 23rd, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 576 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Readers all across America are talking about Stieg Larsson’s #1 best-selling trilogy—The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest—which has more than 5 million copies in print.

Now, just in time for the holidays: a deluxe, slip-cased set of the three hardcover novels—each unjacketed, bound in full cloth and uniquely stamped, with maps and individual full-color endpapers—as well as On Stieg Larsson, a previously unpublished collection of essays about and correspondence with the author.

The perfect collectible for the Stieg Larsson fan and the ideal gift for those who have yet to meet his heroine, Lisbeth Salander, “one of the most fascinating characters in modern genre fiction”"

Holy swanky box set just in time for Christmas Batman!

An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: November 23rd, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Martin compresses the wild and crazy end of the millennium and finds in this piercing novel a sardonic morality tale. Lacey Yeager is an ambitious young art dealer who uses everything at her disposal to advance in the world of the high-end art trade in New York City. After cutting her teeth at Sotheby's, she manipulates her way up through Barton Talley's gallery of "Very Expensive Paintings," sleeping with patrons, and dodging and indulging in questionable deals, possible felonies, and general skeeviness until she opens her own gallery in Chelsea. Narrated by Lacey's journalist friend, Daniel Franks, whose droll voice is a remarkable stand-in for Martin's own, the world is ordered and knowable, blindly barreling onward until 9/11. And while Lacey and the art she peddles survive, the wealth and prestige garnered by greed do not. Martin (an art collector himself) is an astute miniaturist as he exposes the sound and fury of the rarified Manhattan art world. If Shopgirl was about the absence of purpose, this book is about the absence of a moral compass, not just in the life of an adventuress but for an entire era."

Not many people know that Steve Martin has one of the best personal art collections in the world. So it will be very interesting to see him tackle the art world again, though I don't think it will ever be as good as his Picasso play!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: An Object of Beauty, Picasso, Steve Martin, Stieg Larsson, The Girl who Kicked a Hornet's Nest, The Girl who Played with Fire, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Millennium Trilogy

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: July 28th, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government.

But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander—the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of The Girl Who Played with Fire.

As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all."

While I have not yet read Larsson's debut, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (having only gotten my hands on a copy this week in anticipation of the sequel, thanks Mom), I have been very interested if only because of the circumstances surrounding these novels. Stieg Larsson was a journalist from Sweden. He was a political activist, photographer and editor of several sci-fi fanzines. When he died of a massive heart attack at the age of 50, he was most likely going to be remembered for founding the Swedish Expo Foundation, similar to the British Searchlight Foundation, established to "expose racist and totalitarian organizations and tendencies." But he died with a secret. He was journalist who happened to be a novelist in his spare time. Writing for his own pleasure, at the time of his death in 2004, he had written three completed novels, a partial draft of a fourth, and the outlines for the fifth and sixth in the eventual ten volume series. The Millennium Series has been sweeping the world by storm. This little known journalist has become a literary sensation posthumously, winning awards left, right and center. His first book, published last year in the US under the title The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, originally titled, Men Who Hate Women, was a huge success, and the books sequel is sure to be equally successful. The third and final completed book in the series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, will be out in October in the UK. A US publication date and title has yet to be set. Look for my review of the first Millennium book hopefully in the not too distant future.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 2:17 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Stieg Larsson, The Girl who Kicked a Hornet's Nest, The Girl who Played with Fire, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Tuesday Tomorrow