strange and random happenstance

The Garden Intrigue by Lauren Willig
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: February 16th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
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There's only so many times you can throw yourself at someone's 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 over a year 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 Government for over a decade now, 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 real. Jane though does not share these sentiments. She would gladly throw a distraction in his path for the good of Britain, and if said distraction happens to result in true love, well, so be it. Emma Delagardie is an American living in Paris. She spent most of her life in France, going to school with Napoleon's stepdaughter, then eloping with a man whom she didn't quite get, becoming the scandal of society, resulting in her parents cutting off the fifteen year old. Widowed young, she flung herself back into life, even making a few mistakes along the way. One in the attractive yet despicable 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. Emma does talk about his tight breeches a lot. 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 for Napoleon. One that Emma can not reconcile with the world she knew.

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 III, 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 ensemble, 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 one's 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 Augustus 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, with the bubbly Emma as the perfect counterpoint. She too has inside turmoil, but there's an exuberance about her that is undeniable. I can never get enough of this series. More!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: An American in Paris, Augustus Whittlesby, Blackadder, Emma Delagardie, Emperor, Jane Wooliston, Lauren Willig, Napoleon, Poet, Poetry, Regency Romp, The Garden Intrigue, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

Ivy and Intrigue: A Very Selwick Christmas by Lauren Willig
Publication Date: August 28th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 112
Rating: ★★★★★
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It's been nine months since Richard Selwick was unmasked as the Purple Gentian and he fled France in the arms of his lady love Amy Balcourt. Nine months away from the action and rusticating with the new missus. Nine months in which the newlywed sheen has dulled just a little under the stresses of the everyday, not to mention the pressures of family and the holidays. Amy and Richard are celebrating their first Christmas together at Uppington Hall with both their families and surprisingly Richard's ex Deirdre. The Deirdre who had sonnets written to her and who was Richard's first love. The Deirdre that resulted in Tony's death due to her unscrupulous lady's maid. Of course her presence is more for Lady Uppington's benefit, to knock Deirdre's nose out of joint and show off her new daughter-in-law Amy, but still, she is one more stress. Especially once the snow strands her at Uppington Hall. Deirdre is the embodiment of all that Richard left behind, all that he was forced to give up because of Amy. If it wasn't for her Richard would still be a romantic hero. While standing nearby Richard's thoughts are veering along the same lines, that it was he who cut short Amy's potential as a super spy, the potential that Jane took and made a reputation of as the Pink Carnation. If he let Amy go back to France could she be happy? He knows he wouldn't be but at least they both wouldn't be miserable. Can these two sort through their holiday misunderstandings and do what they do best, work as a couple? Or will French spies once more try to thwart their chance at happily ever after?

In this cute little Christmas novella full of Yuletide charm we get to catch up with those Selwicks we know and love. As Lauren has said, this is her A Very Brady Christmas without anybody being trapped in the debris of a building. Yes, for some reason the building collapse is all I really remember from the TV movie. But what this novella does so wonderfully is give of a sweet story, sweet revenge that is, while also doing a "where are they now" roll call. Because there were loose ends that needed tying up as the series moved away from the set cast of characters we know and love and moved on to deeper and darker plot developments. Plus, Amy and Richard, more than any other couple in this series, really are just thrown into their happily ever after and sail off into the sunset, while at the same time ignoring that they both kind of ruined what they were best at for the other, spying. So yes, they run the spy school, but they haven't really felt it's importance until Jane mentions the need for Miss Grey. What's more, when one of their working weekends ruined Henrietta's reputation and Richard and Miles's friendship... Well, those are loose ends that need to be mended. And I loved that Richard and Miles are slowly bridging the gap back to how they were before Miles and Hen's precipitous marriage. Also seeing Uppington Hall, first through the eyes of Eloise, and then through her Regency heroes', made for a lovely Christmas treat, not to mention, Richard swinging from the chandelier in his best Errol Flynn imitation a hundred years before Errol Flynn, a move that Eloise would love to have seen. Ah, what's Christmas without a little chandelier swinging and an ex in custody?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Very Brady Christmas, A Very Selwick Christmas, Amy Balcourt, Christmas, Errol Flynn, Ivy and Intrigue, Lauren Willig, Novella, Regency Romp, Richard Selwick, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
Published by: NAL
Publication Date: February 7th, 2005
Format: Paperback, 428 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Amy Balcourt has spent her exile in the sheep infested fields of Shropshire dreaming of the day she can return to France. Her and her mother were lucky, they escaped France before her father's head rolled. But Napoleon and his ilk have to pay. Amy longs for revenge. She has dreamed of nothing but the day she could return to Paris and join the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and foil those Frenchies with witty asides and raids on their secret files. But then that dratted Pimpernel went and got unmasked, so who's league would she join now? All the training Amy and her cousin Jane spent in disguises and teaching the sheep stampeding formations would go to waste unless another spy stepped forth for jolly old England. Of course another spy did step forth, The Purple Gentian. Now Amy and Jane just have to wait for the opportunity to go to Paris, which handily comes in a note from Amy's brother who hopes she will return to the family home during the (temporary) peace with France. With their neighbor, Miss Gwen and her trusty parasol, as their chaperon, Amy and Jane set out for the continent and the League of the Purple Gentian. Instead what Amy finds on the packet to France is an annoyingly cute Lord Richard Selwick. Amy has no inkling about his extra curricular activities as the Purple Gentian because his cover is too good. His "support" for Napoleon is believable and she finds hate stirring in her breast for Lord Richard Selwick. Not to mention his interest in Amy is very inconvenient. How is she going to skulk around the docks and overhear crucial bits of information to get an in with the league with him dogging her heels? But eventually lurking beneath desks and listening through keyholes pays off, Amy learns of details pertaining to the plans to invade England, she also learns that, though joining the league of the Purple Gentian has always been her goal, perhaps kissing the Purple Gentian is preferable. And kiss him she does, as they seem to have a magnetic attraction from the moment they meet. Of course the Gentian is of two minds, both of which want Amy, both of which want her safe and sound. With midnight assignations and lusty boat rides how can Richard stop the invasion of England with his mind so firmly on Amy? Or course things could be worse, your whole family could descend on you en masse to "help" with your secret spy ring. How long will it be till the Purple Gentian is unmasked just as the Scarlet Pimpernel was? And how long till the Pink Carnation steps in to fill the void, just as the Gentian did in his day?

I have been a fan of Lauren Willig and the Pink Carnation series since approximately the very beginning. Technically it was right after the third book, The Deception of the Emerald Ring, was released that I became an addict/aficionado, but with twelve books in the series and the countless other books Lauren has written it's as close to the beginning as makes no nevermind. I was drawn in by the ingenious hypothetical of a simple what-if. What-if the Scarlet Pimpernel was real and not a creation of Baroness Orczy. That she was just his biographer. Throw in a Bridget Jones angle with the "modern" adventures of Eloise Kelly and The Secret History of the Pink Carnation brought a modern sensibility to Regency literature. With similarities to Austen and Heyer we get a Regency romp that is more accessible to modern readers. There is the wit, there is the romance, and there is the man in black; just think Carey Elwes circa Princess Bride not Ella Enchanted. And not to slam Austen here, but I feel a greater emotional depth and connection with Lauren's characters. They are more human, less an archetype. Austen's great lovers have a remoteness. You feel a step removed from the action. You can admire the characters and wish to live Lizzy and Darcy's fairy tale, yet somehow you can't imagine yourself as half of that fairy tale couple as easily as you can with imaging yourself as Amy, crouching under the desk waiting to announce herself to the Purple Gentian. Lauren Willig has created a world you become a part of and don't want to leave, hence her devoted followers which she so generously spends time with, and in fact that's why I've picked up this book yet again. Starting in February of 2021 Lauren begin a year long Pink Carnation Read Along with a Zoom meeting with a "special guest host" at the end of each month. The last time I had re-read all the books was when the final volume in the series, The Lure of the Moonflower, was being released and my blogging friend Ashley and I did Pink For All Seasons from September 2014 to August 2015. So I felt it was time to re-read the whole epic adventure from Amy's first frolic with a sheep to Jane's final adventure. Plus, getting insights into the book? What book nerd doesn't want that?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Baroness Orczy, Carey Elwes, France, Jane Austen, Lauren Willig, Napoleon, Pink for All Seasons, Regency, Regency Romp, The Purple Gentian, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

Two things last year coincided to thrust me back into the Regency period. One was me finally getting around to reading Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series before I watched the Netflix adaptation. The second was Lauren Willig doing a monthly Pink Carnation Read Along of her delightful series about Napoleonic spies. Right there I had twenty Regency books I was diving headfirst into. Add to that the fact that Lauren and her guest moderators, many of whom write in the Regency period, were name checking tons of other Regency books that instantly ended up on my to be read, and I went, hang on a minute, I'm not the only Regency obsessed person in the world, I should do a theme month, or as it turns out, a slew of months dedicated to Regency literature, after all once season two of Bridgerton drops this month everyone will be look for read alikes! Like many people my first glimpse into the Regency period was via Jane Austen. It was 1996, the Colin Firth miniseries had been released, and I graduated high school and spent the summer reading Jane Austen. Dragging my omnibus edition with the minuscule font from Waldenbooks on every trip I took. I fell completely in love with everything Regency but it really wasn't until I discovered The Secret History of the Pink Carnation almost a decade later that I learned how much the Regency era had influenced other authors and how many of those authors Lauren would introduce me to. So I hope you'll join me over the next few months as I romp through Regency literature. Julia Quinn, Lauren Willig, Sarah MacLean, Eloisa James, Lisa Kleypas, Andrea Penrose, and of course, Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, are just some of the authors I'll be reading. Let's make this a real Regency Romp!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andrea Penrose, Bridgerton, Eloisa James, Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen, Julia Quinn, Lauren Willig, Lisa Kleypas, Regency, Regency Romp, Sarah MacLean, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, Waldenbooks

We always knew it would end with Jane. Therefore the announcement of Jane's book on February 18th of last year was bittersweet. Lauren said it best:

"It’s official. Pink XII – aka the book after The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla – will be the last book in the Pink Carnation series.

Twelve is a pretty good number for a series, don’t you think?

Here’s what I can tell you about Pink XII so far. It’s Jane’s book. It’s set in Portugal in autumn 1807. And it will presumably make its appearance at some point in 2015.

The first book in the series, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, was published in 2005. It’s hard to believe that the Pink series has been going strong for nearly a decade – but the decade mark seemed like a good time to wrap it up, before it begins to go stale.

Wrapping up the series doesn’t mean that we’ll be leaving the world of Pink forever. I’m not ruling out the possibility of novellas or related novels. After all, there are still far too many characters who need their stories told….

More about Pink XII soon!"

The copious comments on this post reflect my emotions. But I was prosaic about the whole thing, I went through the five stages of grief rather well. Rarely does an author get to end a series on their terms. Either they sell phenomenally well and the series is pushed beyond it's viability, resulting in parody, bad stories, and installments that are a shadow of their former brilliance and strain credulity. Or they sell badly and the author is never given the chance to wrap everything up in a neat and perfect little bow. Lauren's Pink Carnation series worked better than most long running series in that each installment was predominately self-contained but still placed within this larger framework. And yes, there are stories I still want told, yes, there's characters I don't want to part with. But I would choose this bittersweet ending over a broken heart any day.

Twelve books, three novellas, and ten years. I have a copiously laden bookshelf devoted to Lauren. Yet the true balm isn't in the satisfactory conclusion of this series, and yes, you will be satisfied. The balm is that Lauren continues to write. With her first three stand-alone novels Lauren has proven that she can keep us in her thrall. Plus it's also fun to play "spot the Pink Carnation reference." But when a series goes from hardcover to paperback, you know the end is nigh. Thanks go to Penguin, Dutton, and NAL for letting Lauren end the series on her terms. Also thanks for all the ARCs over the years, you couldn't have been lovelier. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: An August Adieu, ARCs, Dutton, Jane Wolliston, Lauren Willig, NAL, Penguin, Pink Carnation, Portugal, The Lure of the Moonflower, The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

I have never attempted to cast Jane till now. Much like her nom du guerre, she has been a mystery, though a mystery who might have been played by Paloma Baeza. Always there, always watching, waiting, the perfect society beauty that could kill you if you only knew. Therefore I wanted an actress that could be that society beauty but could totally kick ass, and that's why only Agent Carter herself could play Jane.

Name: Hayley Atwell

"Dream" Character Casting for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Jane Wooliston

First Impression: The first time I saw Hayley Atwell was as the fabulous JJ Feild's sister Rosa in The Ruby in the Smoke. What struck me about her was not only her assurance as an actress, but that the character wasn't pretentious and let her heart, not society, lead her choices. Plus she got a kick ass wedding in the follow up, The Shadow in the North. I mean look at that wedding dress!

Why they'd be the perfect actor for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Demure bride by day, kick ass action hero redefining gender stereotypes by night... who else could play Jane? She has the acting skills to bring off that demure society beauty while the physical skills to beat you down. If you really want to see Hayley at her best, watch the thirteen minute mini pilot that was made for Agent Carter. I actually like it more than the series, despite my love of Jarvis. The reason being she is a lone agent, a rogue who can do anything. Which is what Jane has become.

Lasting Impression: Captain America. As you know I totally saw Captain America for one JJ Feild, but his co-star Hayley really stole the show. She went her own way, put up with no nonsense, and seriously is awesome. She went on to form S.H.I.E.L.D. after all! A strong female lead in a male dominated Marvel franchise is sure to make us women viewers sit up and take notice. We're finally not the damsel in distress, we're saving the day!

What else you've seen them in: The Prisoner, Mansfield Park, Brideshead Revisited (and doing a better job than Diana Quick EVER did), The Pillars of the Earth, and The Duchess. Until her stint in Captain America, Hayley really was the go-to actress for period films, no matter the period. In fact I would very much argue that the reason I love Captain America so much is that it's a period piece that just happens to be part of the Marvel universe. Since Captain America Hayley has been in quite literally almost all Marvel films, which makes me actually watch the others occasionally. And let us not forget she is the first female Marvel character to have her own TV show! How freakin' awesome is that?

Can't believe it's them: Cinderella. And yes, I did for some reason go to this overly Technicolor live action reinterpretation of the cartoon which couldn't figure out which time period it was meant to be in. Seriously, what is with Cate Blanchett? She's dressed for the golden age of Hollywood in rural France! What was so odd though was Hayley playing the bucolic and dying mother of Cinderella who looked like she had stepped out of a painting by Rossetti. Also, seriously, what's up with the blond hair? That is SO obviously a wig!

Wish they hadn't: Any Human Heart. Seriously, DO NOT WATCH this piece of shit show. It is depressing and just weird. I mean Matthew Macfadyen, whom I love and adore, plays such a scumbag, he sleeps with his dead son's girlfriend if I recall correctly. The only reason to watch this would be to see the brilliance of a young Sam Claflin, but as soon as he turns into Matthew Macfadyen, yes they play the same character, just stop. It's not worth it waiting for Hayley to show up, she dies in a bombing raid. Oops, did I spoil it? Good. Now you won't watch it.

Bio: Hayley was born to two motivational speakers in London who soon divorced and she spent her childhood divided between the school year in England and the summer in the US in Missouri, being a dual citizen. But having two such outspoken parents led to some interesting experiences, such as walking on hot coals at the age of nine and going on anti-vivisection rallies as a teenager. Her mother believed that theater was an important communal experience and Hayley was taken to productions at an early age, once at the age of eleven seeing her future co-star Ralph Fiennes as Hamlet. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2005 and getting her first role in a TV movie about Charles and Camilla starring Laurence Fox as Prince Charles. But it was her role the following year in Andrew Davies's The Line of Beauty that really brought her into prominence, getting a role in a Woody Allen film the following year. Though film and television aren't her only outlets, she is also an accomplished stage actress earning a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for the 2009 revival of A View from the Bridge. Most people site 2011, the year Captain America came out, as her big breakthrough, but I think she's been brilliant from day one, seriously, just watch Mansfield Park. Her rise to fame was just inevitable. Plus she has some wicked Dubsmash skills.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agent Carter, Brideshead Revisited, Captain America, Cinderella, Hayley Atwell, J.J. Feild, Jane Wolliston, Lauren Willig, Mansfield Park, Pink Carnation, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

Ah Colin Selwick. The time has finally come. For years I didn't picture JJ as one of my true dream men, only in the casting sense, and then something clicked this past year and now I can't see any adaptation of Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation books without him in them. I think just writing this makes me need to go watch Austenland STAT before I go into JJ withdrawal.

Name: JJ Feild

"Dream" Character Casting for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Colin Selwick

First Impression: I believe the very first time I saw JJ was in The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton, oddly enough with Anna Madeley whom I dream cast as Penlope! There's a slim chance it might have been The Ruby in the Smoke, but I'm like 75% sure it wasn't. Mainly because I didn't like JJ at first! Well, he was a bit of a dick in The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton. You have this lovely wife whom you cheat on and give syphilis to! Shame!

Why they'd be the perfect actor for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Um, everything. He's pretty, he's witty, and he looks amazing in Regency Clothes... oh wait... he's in the modern times. He he. OK, the real reason is that he was one of my back-up casting choices for Richard Selwick, Colin's ancestor, and I thought, hey, wouldn't it be cool if JJ was his decedent? Or JJ could play both, do it like Tobias Menzies on Outlander. Double the JJ makes me doubly happy.

Lasting Impression: Northanger Abbey, oddly this time with my dream casting for Amy Selwick! Which also might be one of the reasons I saw him as Richard Selwick... But back to Northanger Abbey. This might literally be my most favorite Austen adaptation ever. Not only did Andrew Davies perfectly capture the humor and parody that is central to this book, but he also added in those delicious little Gothic fantasy sequences that made me love JJ all the more for showing his humorous side along with his dramatic side.

What else you've seen them in: Captain America, Austenland, To the Ends of the Earth, Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North (with an amazingly sexy bedroom scene which doesn't appear on my DVD, for shame PBS and your "editing!), Marple, Poirot, The Musketeers, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The Night Watch, I have watched them all and I have loved him in every single one. And yes, I did actually see the first Captain American movie in the theater solely to see JJ on the big screen. But of all his films my favorite, hands down, is Austenland. With this film he shows that he is able to parody the rather significant historical period career he has built for himself. Yes, JJ might just be my dream man, that perfect combination of looks and self-deprecating humor. Sigh Mr. Nobley.

Can't believe it's them: The Musketeers, seriously, he's so gruff and yum all at once. Literally, I didn't even recognize him when he first showed up on the screen. About half-way through his two-parter arc I sat up and was like JJ!?! That just shows what an amazing actor he is. He can so thoroughly inhabit a role that you don't even recognize him and are so involved in the story that this knowledge comes as a shock. I wish they hadn't killed your character so that you could come back.

Wish they hadn't: Gotten Neve Campbell pregnant and thus ruined my chances with him? But seriously... TURN! Oh how I hate this show. I watched all of season one, before they added that "Washington's Spies" on the title to liven it up, and, ugh. It is slow, it is unbelievably badly directed, this is the only way I can account for such a stellar cast failing so hard. AND it inexplicably was renewed for a second season when better shows are cancelled all the time and thus tying JJ into this sinking ship and not freeing him up to do other, better, projects. Though, I have one thing to say as a pro for this show, it made me see that rat tails on men can be sexy.

Bio: Despite that luscious accent, John Joseph Feild was born in Boulder, Colorado, making him, shock, gasp, American! Though he comes by that accent naturally, moving with his family to England as a baby. In school he found his love of acting going to the Fine Arts College followed by the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. In his year off he backpacked around Tibet with his two older brothers. He quite literally got his first acting job the year he left school and in the past sixteen years has amassed quite a repertoire from period dramas to theatre. Besides stealing my heart as Mr. Tilney, he has stolen the heart of Neve Campbell, the Scream actress with whom he has a child. Hopefully TURN will soon be cancelled and we can look forward to JJ showing up on our big and small screens in something fabulous in the near future. WTF, TURN was renewed!?! Can they kill JJ's character, he needs off this show now!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anna Madeley, Austenland, Captain America, Colin Selwick, Dream Casting, Henry Tilney, J.J. Feild, Lauren Willig, Mrs. Beeton, Northanger Abbey, Outlander, Pink Carnation, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

Eloise Kelly. I have been trying to cast you for years. Literally. I have tried every red-haired actress I could think of and every single one of them fell short. While re-reading all your adventures this past year your humor and your clumsiness shone out like a beacon guiding me to the perfect actress to bring you to life.

Name: Ellie Kemper

"Dream" Character Casting for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Eloise Kelly

First Impression: While I am not at all a fan of The Office, because I am true to the original British version, this is the first place I saw Kellie Kemper as poor Andy's love interest.

Why they'd be the perfect actor for the Lauren Willig Miniseries: Aside from being able to perfectly bring out the clumsy red-head aspect of Eloise, it's the range of Kemper that is amazing. Yes, she's known mainly just for comedy, in fact almost only comedy, but there are moments of true heart and depth in each of her performances. Plus there's just something about her that makes me think she'd totally wear a Regency dress to a Halloween party. Call it a hunch.

Lasting Impression: Bridesmaids! But then again, there isn't anything in this movie that didn't make a lasting impression; from the bathroom scene to Chris O'Dowd to that one lone cupcake. But Kemper will probably best be known for making out with Wendi McLendon-Covey before being thrown off a plane. Though I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me why they don't wear the bridesmaids dresses from the movie poster in the movie. Yes, this is a weird thing that really annoys me. More then the fact that it's so not filmed in Wisconsin and Illinois.

What else you've seen them in: The Mindy Project, Sex Tape, Robot Chicken, 21 Jump Street, if it's a comedy show or movie with that little clique of people from NBC comedies, like The Office and 30 Rock, or the Apatow mafia, she's there. But I think most importantly she's the star of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. This is her first staring role and she totally proves that females are strong as hell! There's just such optimism and joy that emanates from her that you can't but fall in love with this show. Plus, if you're a child of the 90s, love that throwback slang!

Can't believe it's them: Important thinks with Demetri Martin. Mainly because I really dislike him. I mean really really dislike him. Seriously, I can't watch anything with him in it even if it contains someone I really like, like Ellie Kemper. This also explains why I've never watched House of Lies despite my love of Kristen Bell.

Wish they hadn't: Get Him to the Greek. Seriously. This was a very unnecessary sequel to the fabulous Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I will say though that if they were to re-edit the movie as a mockumentary focusing on the music and eliminating Jonah Hill and Elisabeth Moss, who I actually hate more than Jonah Hill, it might be a fabulous parody in the vein of This is Spinal Tap. Because, I am not kidding here, the soundtrack is amazingly awesome. The song parodies with Russell Brand just nail each genre they a skewering. And Rose Byrne's Jackie Q isn't half bad either.

Bio: Born and raised in Missouri she has the odd distinction of knowing Jon Hamm before he became famous. Ellie Kemper was a student at John Burroughs School in St. Louis where Jon Hamm was her drama teacher. They have ironically gone on to star together on the big and small screens. While being a studious scholar from Princeton to Oxford, she never gave up acting and doing improve. But comedy and comedy writing is in her blood, her sister and her husband are television writers and she has contributed to The Onion as well as McSweeney's. While she was turned down by SNL and Parks and Recreation, it was the second of these auditions that led to her role on The Office. Since then her career has just been on the rise and with getting the title role in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt she is sure to be around and lauded for years to come.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 3 comments  

Labels: Bridesmaids, Dream Casting, Ellie Kemper, Eloise Kelly, Jon Hamm, Kristen Bell, Lauren Willig, Pink Carnation, Spinal Tap, The Office, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

I will freely admit I am a book pusher. I am also a movie, TV, and miniseries pusher as well. But first and foremost I am a book pusher. I think most everyone I know has heard me extol about the pleasures of Lauren's books, if not received one or more of them as a gift. I have one friend in particular whose tastes eerily align with mine. We share some secret bond where often she says something and I look at her with this dumbfounded expression because I was just about to say the same thing. Needless to say I recommended The Secret History of the Pink Carnation to her. I might have even bought her it knowing that she would feel the same way I did. Sadly we now live far apart, stupid New York, and stupid relatives that screwed me over last summer which meant I didn't get to go to New York last August to see her. But recently she visited Wisconsin for the wedding of one of our friends. When she dropped by my house in my office I had a pile of Lauren's books on my desk to aid in my Dream Casting for "Pink for All Seasons" and she picked up The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla and looked at me enquiringly, to which I sadly answered, no, I don't have the final volume yet. Because, what other question could there be? Simpatico. We two are one.

Another love we share is for that of miniseries by Andrew Davies. Why am I bringing this up? Because of Fanny Hill. Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure is the very erotic novel by John Cleland written in 1748. In 2007, right after I had discovered the "pleasures" of The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, the BBC came out with a miniseries of Fanny Hill adapted by Andrew Davies. She and I both watched it and sent copious emails back and forth as to it's merits, in between talking about the new show Torchwood. She is just like me in that she must read the source material of adaptations, so of course she read Fanny Hill. As she said at the time "I liked the miniseries better than the book. Andrew Davies makes everything better." I couldn't agree more. Another thing we have in common is we blush easily. My friend Matt has for years taken advantage of this with her by trying to make her uncomfortable by repeating the word "moist" over and over again. It's her trigger word. When I recommended The Secret History of the Pink Carnation I said, there's two sexy scenes. Now, compared to the riotous and graphic descriptions of John Cleland, Lauren's writing is very tame. My friend didn't blush once reading Cleland, but because of my warning she wrote me to say that she was commuting into work from the upper west side and her face was aflame the entire way because she felt naughty reading the book in full view of strangers. Lauren Willig, inadvertently embarrassing her readers since 2007!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: An August Adieu, Andrew Davies, Fanny Hill, John Cleland, Lauren Willig, Moist, New York, Pink for All Seasons, Sex, Subway, The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

I don't remember when I finally bought The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. I had seen it on the front table of Borders for so long that I eventually was worn down by sheer exposure. I might not remember when I bought it, but when I first read it is forever ingrained on my memory. Think how often a book becomes entwined with the memory of first reading that book. The two become inseparable and that is where my cat comes in. Spot has been gone quite a few years now, he lived to the grand old age of twenty-two and I think in human terms that made him a crotchety dowager duchess whose will was law. If he had only know that certain dowager duchesses had palanquins to carry them about I think he would have put in an order for one. But as you can see from the picture above, at least he was an Anglophile through and through. If there was a chaise and four in a miniseries he would get worked up planing how to kill and eat the four horses. Yes, there were chittering sounds and many incidents of him actually attacking the TV. To get back to the time of this particular story...

At this time Spot was a spry nineteen year old going on twenty, and yes, when he was younger I did sing songs to him from The Sound of Music around his birthday. He had a bad tooth removed and there were complications which resulted in him having some surgery. For a few months he required round the clock supervision. In pure cat logic, instead of wanting to sleep in his comfy bed which was next to the couch, or on my lap, he decided that the faux British manhole cover doormat in the pantry was to be his new home. Therefore the uncomfortable floor next to said manhole cover became my new reading spot. But it was a magical reading spot. Because sitting there, protecting my cat, I fell into the world Lauren created with the Pink Carnation. I quickly devoured the first book and ran out to get The Masque of the Black Tulip. Followed very quickly by The Deception of the Emerald Ring. Quite shortly after that I started hitting up my publishing connections for an ARC of The Seduction of the Crimson Rose. No matter how many times I have read these initial volumes I always think of that first time. Uncomfortable on a cold vinyl floor, but surrounded by the love of my cat and a great story. If it wasn't for Lauren's books I wouldn't have this precious memory of time spent with my best friend who left me too soon. I will always be grateful to Lauren for this.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: An August Adieu, Anglophile, British, Cats, Spot, The Deception of the Emerald Ring, The Masque of the Black Tulip, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, The Sound of Music

The Secret History by Donna Tratt
Published by: Vintatge
Publication Date: 1992
Format: Paperback, 559 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy
Richard arrives at Hampen College in New England because it's the only school that will take him in and give him some money. It's an eccentric little school and Richard doesn't quite know what he will study. Having studied Greek back in California, he is drawn to this elite circle that has formed around Julian, a professor who holds his classes in his office as a kind of salon, wherein he shall be your sole educator, in the vein of true classicism. Once Richard finally finagles his way in, he becomes a part of this eccentric circle consisting of Henry, the nominal leader, Francis, the literary closet gay, Bunny, the rather dimwitted leach, and Charles and Camilla, the down at heels twins. They are his life entire. Every moment is spent with them or thinking of them. Yet there are secrets. One secret will tear them apart from within. Because, what if, in the pursuit of knowledge, to experience all the Greeks did, a ceremony was performed. A ceremony that had unintended consequences. A ceremony that will fracture the group. A ceremony that was evil and will leave evil in it's wake.

This book reaches the lofty position of one of the worst books I've read in a long time, not just because of the glacial pacing and the unlikable characters, but because of two majorly flaws. There is a disconnect in the book between what it is and what it wants to be. This dislocation gives the book a jarring feeling, like trying to force a square peg in a round hole. The book felt so not of it's time. There is a timelessness to it that feels routed in the early half of the 20th century. You feel like you could be at a small sequestered college surrounded by autumnal foliage and the cast of Brideshead Revisited would wander around the corner. But a coke addict with a boom box is what you usually get. This book is shockingly in the 80s. It doesn't feel like the 80s. The little quiet and queer Greek scholars feel of another time. Which I guess might have been Donna Tartt's purpose... but if it was, it failed. Every time something "80s" happened it felt like an anachronism. A splash of cold water in the face that made me think for the 100th time, why am I still reading this book.

The disconnect isn't just a temporal one, but one of character. Bunny has purposely conflicting descriptions. He is young, very clothes conscious, is a skinflint, so your mind starts to build this very wane, dapper man, who might be slightly effeminate. A Sebastian Flyte of the 80s if you would. For chapters you have this image, and it builds, and gains force, this is who Bunny is. With a name like Bunny, how could you not get this image. Yet then Tartt contradicts this all with, no, he's a good old boy who's a homophobe that is very muscularly built with a fondness for sports. Say what!?! The name Bunny was ironic? You let me believe this image for hundreds of pages to then throw in a curve and make this character no longer work for me. People are built of contradictions, this is true. Yet why go out of the way to obviously create all these Brideshead references, with Venice and Bunny and what have you, only to go, fooled you. Rule one of writing, you don't alienate your reader. They'll get snarky, they'll write crap reviews, and they will never buy your books again, and what will you do without an income?

The second problem I had was with the issue they had of what to do with Bunny. Kill him, move on, the end, I just cut your book by 400 pages Donna. Because that is the evil that comes of their ceremony, Bunny becomes a blackmailer. These people don't have morals, we've already seen that. Incest, it's ok, in fact, it's kind of sexy. Being bisexual with friends occasionally, that's fine too. Heavy drug use, alcohol abuse, Bacchanalia's, murder, they've done it all. Yet they hesitate to kill the one person who they loath, who is blackmailing them, and who was never much of a friend. Uh... where did the sudden morals come from? Perhaps because Donna Tartt was being paid by the word and the longer she could stretch out this anguish, this pointless debate about the inevitable, the more healthy her check at the end.

I didn't know what to expect going into this book. I had heard so many things about it. I had some sort of vague idea that this was going to be an intriguing mystery about some horrific crime, something "beyond the boundaries of normal morality". Instead I got 500 plus pages of whiny eccentric Greek scholars dithering about the inevitable and revelling in debauchery in such a boring way, it didn't feel debauched. The only mystery this book offered was of it's laudatory nature. Please, why? I agree with another review I read, I resent the time I spent on this book. Next please?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Brideshead Revisited, Bunny, Donna Tartt, Greek, Sebastian Flyte, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, Venice

Away in a Manger: A Very Turnip Wedding Night by Lauren Willig
Published by: Amazon
Publication Date: July 25th, 2011
Format: Kindle
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
The books in Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation oeuvre have never shied away from having a little sexy sexy in them. In fact, Lauren herself has said that when writing her first book, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, she was under the delusion she was writing a romance, not historical fiction. So there's a little steamy, a little sexy sexy, in boats no less! As each of the succeeding volumes came out there where varying degrees of steam, some, like last years The Mischief of the Mistletoe, nary a naked body in sight. There was some steamy kissing, but fully clothed, drat those clothes, and a desk, and everything else that got in their way, including puddings. The Mischief of the Mistletoe with Turnip Fitzhugh has become my favorite book Lauren has written to date (though she would keep getting better and better, so who knows if Turnip will remain the champion, better start practicing your boxing moves, Arabella likes you fit) and it has easily made itself mandatory Christmas reading. Some people might say though we where denied the wedding night, being only given the "happily ever after." Well, at the RITA awards, which Lauren won at (yeah), she stuck a bargain to write Turnip's "Amorous Addendum."

The short afterward picks up as Turnip has hastily married Arabella before even leaving Girdings, he doesn't want her coming to her senses, and he valiantly heads forth into the oncoming blizzard. The blizzard that makes them lost and snowbound, but luckily there's a barn. And nice warm hay... and of course, pudding. You can imagine there's much sexy sexy, but Turnip being Turnip, there's prevarication and talking and finally, she doth stop his mouth with a kiss. Despite the steam, this was nothing but sweet.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Arabella Dempsey, Lauren Willig, Pink Carnation, RITA Awards, The Mischief of the Mistletoe, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, Turnip Fitzhugh

The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig
Published by: New American Library
Publication Date: January 22nd, 2009
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
Challenge: Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★
To Buy
Charlotte has been waiting at Girdings for her knight in shining armour to come, just like those glorious murals depicting her ancestors bravely battling their foes on long gone battlefields or the books she consumes copiously. She even has her own dragon with her grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Dovedale. Then on Christmas Eve, out of the snow, Robert returns. Fleeing the family home for India all those years ago, the Duke of Dovedale returns like a knight returning from a long crusade in the Holy Land. Charlotte instantly starts framing her world in her rose tinted way with a happy ending of hunting unicorns with jam tarts and kissing Robert in the sun, never mind it's bleak midwinter and her grandmother has surrounded her with rogues and dimwits in a final attempt to marry her off. The worst of the lot being Francis Medmenham, descendant of the nefarious founder of the Hellfire Club. But why did Robert return? Is he here to court fair maiden? Or does he have darker designs... he has taken to Medmenham rather fast. But of course it is all a misunderstanding wherein Robert is out for revenge but he can't let the fair maiden know of his deceit. Breaking her heart for her own good, Robert sinks deeper into Medmenham's world while Charlotte is bustled off to court to wait on the Queen. But following a startling discovery and evidence that the King is going mad once again, Charlotte takes on her own causes for King and Country. Could it be that Robert's nemesis and the men behind Charlotte's uncovered plot are connected? If only through libraries and boat rides and dark tunnels used for darker purposes Charlotte and Robert could work together and not fret about what if's, might have beens and almost kisses, maybe they could save England.

Oddly enough both times I've read this book I've set it down for sometime and then come back to it. I can't really explain why I do this, but I just do. More than any character Lauren has written I identify with Charlotte, and maybe that's why I set this book down, I know what I'd do, so Charlotte would do the same. While the relatablity is strong, there's too much of a closeness, I find I enjoy characters who are less like me. For example Pen, I am nothing like Pen, but give me more Pen please! The characters are flawed, but they're nobly flawed. For a book with the Hellfire Club there is a noticeable lack of dirtiness. I love Medmenham and wish he had just taken over the book and been lewd and crude and maybe slaughtered a few unicorns. Wow... that went to a dark place. Maybe I just haven't been in the fairy tale frame of mind when I think of spies and can't handle the goody goody and want me some Mary and Vaughn. Snark and evil, that's what this book needed a little bit of to balance the good. Everyone needs balance.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Dowager Duchess of Dovedale, Duke of Dovedale, Lady Charlotte Lansdowne, Lauren Willig, Medmenham, Reading Challenge, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, The Temptation of the Night Jasmine

Ivy and Intrigue: A Very Selwick Christmas by Lauren Willig
Publication Date: December 29th, 2008 - January 21st, 2009
Format: ebook
Challenge: Historical Fiction, E Book
Rating: ★★★
To Read

It's been nine months since Richard Selwick was unmasked as the Purple Gentian and he fled France in the arms of his lady love Amy Balcourt. Nine months away from the action and rusticating with the new missus. Nine months in which the newlywed sheen has dulled just a little under the stress of family and the holidays. Amy and Richard are celebrating their first Christmas together at Uppington Hall with both their families and surprisingly Richard's ex Dierdre. The Dierdre who had sonnets written to her and who was Richard's first love. The Dierdre that resulted in Tony's death due to her unscrupulous lady's maid. Of course her presence is more for Lady Uppington's benefit, to knock Dierdre's nose out of joint and show of her new daughter-in-law Amy, but still, she is one more stress. Dierdre is the embodiment of all that Richard left behind, all that he was forced to give up because of Amy. If it wasn't for her Richard would still be a hero. While standing nearby Richard's thoughts are veering along the same lines, that it was he who cut short Amy's potential as a super spy, the potential that Jane took and made a reputation of. Can these two sort through their holiday misunderstanding and do what they do best, work as a couple? Or will French spies once more try to thwart them?

In this cute little Christmas novella full of Yuletide charm we get to catch up with those Selwicks we know and love. My problem though is the same as Amy's, Dierdre. It's not so much her existence, but that she's not over in France. Correct me if I'm wrong, or back me up if you felt the same way, but when reading The Secret History of the Pink Carnation I had the distinct feeling that Dierdre was Richard's kept woman in France, not the girl next door with an amoral maid. This just kept on nagging and nagging at me the entire time I was reading it trying to replay her previous role. I had the feeling that Tony's death occurred quite quickly after Richard told Dierdre and that couldn't be the case if there was all this cross channel communications that had to take place. Other than this rather annoying fly in the ointment, I loved that Richard and Miles are slowly bridging the gap back to how they were before Miles and Hen's precipitous marriage. Also seeing Uppington Hall, first through the eyes of Eloise, and then through her Regency heroes made for a lovely Christmas treat, not to mention, Richard swinging from the chandelier in his best Errol Flynn, oh yeah!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 7 comments  

Labels: A Very Selwichk Christmas, Amy Balcourt, Dierdre, Ivy and Intrigue, Lauren Willig, Lord Richard Selwick, Reading Challenge, The Purple Gentian, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, Uppington

The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig
Published by: New American Library
Publication Date: January 31st, 2008
Format: Paperback, 480 Pages
Challenge: Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Things aren't going very well for Mary Alsworthy. Her midnight elopement ended with a married younger sister and herself still on the shelf. Not that she really loved Geoff or anything, but the title and the houses were just the thing. Now she's stuck rusticating with the new couple who are sickeningly in love and oversolicitous of her. She might just be able to stomach it if they weren't so apologetic about the whole situation. But when she hears that they are going to pay for her next London season she can't take their kindness anymore. Lord Vaughn, at the urging of the Pink Carnation, has made Mary an offer. With her coloring and her bearing she appears to be just the type of girl a certain Black Tulip might hire as one of his assassins. After his recent foray in Ireland he is short a few petals. Mary agrees to play the game in exchange for one last chance at a suitable match. With Vaughn as her escort and entree to some of the more radical groups, she tries to establish herself as just the type of girl a famous French spy might seek out. From Vauxhall to Vaughn House, she tries to work her way in the world, all while trading barbs with the king of cynicism and insult, Lord Sebastian Vaughn himself. Mary does meet one eligible prospect, a Mr. St. George. But an earnest lord who spends much time rusticating looks less and less appealing next to the unattainable Vaughn. Mary would rather trade insults with Vaughn than words of endearment with St. George. Could it be that the ice maiden, who has always viewed her marriage as a commodity, where the best bank account wins, be falling for a man who turns out to be unattainable after the reappearance of his long dead wife? But matters of the heart might not signify if one of the hearts is no longer beating, because the Black Tulip doesn't hesitate to spill blood. Someone will die and a happy ending might not be in the cards. And while Eloise looks into Vaughn's past, could her present collide with Serena Selwick's heart breaker?

This is the book that made me fall irrevocably in love with this series. Mary and Vaughn are the perfect sparring partners. They duel with words in a way that is sheer entertainment and hasn't been seen since Elizabeth and Darcy. No saccharine and sweetness, we have barbed and witty repartee that just keeps the pages flying long through the night. They are what this series needed more than ever, a balance. Not all heroes are virtuous and good, not all are in it for the good of the country. Some heroes are just in it for themselves. If this book had one flaw, it's that once they start to fall for each other, their bark is worse than their bite. Their claws retract a little and it's never more enjoyable than when they are at each other full force. There are also no misunderstandings between the two. They have their obstacles, that's for sure, but they always know where the other one stands. They are a perfectly matched pair. I just hope that married life doesn't sweeten them one bit. But aside from the titular hero and heroine, we finally get a satisfactory conclusion to the identity of the Black Tulip, who is far more deranged, deluded and demented that we thought. With motivations that work for and against France, he was a nice surprise and not a simplistic ending to a plot device that has been going strong for three books. A satisfactory ending all around, even if just the tiniest bit of sweetness sneaks in at the end, but who can fault a happy ending?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 4 comments  

Labels: Geoff, Lauren Willig, Letty Alsworthy, Lord Vaughn, Mary Alsworthy, Reading Challenge, St. George, The Black Tulip, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig
Published by: New American Library
Publication Date: November 16th, 2006
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
Challenge: Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Letty and Mary Alsworty are as different as two sisters can be. At a frizzy haired five foot, Letty will never be like her statuesque sister. And she would NEVER run off in the middle of the night for a midnight elopement with Geoffry Pinchingdale-Snipe. She might try to stop the elopement with all good intentions, but never elope herself. Until fate intervenes and she's the one being spirited away in the night to a rendezvous with a certain member of the peerage. Geoff, being Geoff, marries the sister whose reputation he inadvertently ruined. He might see her as a conniving and manipulative upstart who took her chance when the opportunity afforded itself, but at least his obligations to the Pink Carnation mean that he can hare off to Ireland and put some space between his broken heart and his unwanted bride. Practical Letty for once doesn't know what to do. She's been the one who has always taken care of her family and has never had a spot of bother. Now she's married to a man who has vanished and he hasn't let her explain what really happened. A little drunk, she gets the first packet out of London to follow Geoff to Ireland. But an unwanted wife in England is a completely different situation to an unwanted wife in Ireland interfering with his mission and the threat of a French and Irish alliance. Begrudgingly taking Letty into his confidences with one Pink Carnation named Jane Wolliston and one parasol wielding pyromaniac in the making, Miss Gwen, they all try to muddle through for the good of England. But add a dangerous cousin on the prowl for Geoff's title, Lord Vaughn, who's every word has double and triple entendres, and evidence that the Black Tulip is at it again, things might be trickier than anyone thought. Can this all be untangled and England saved? Because maybe fate intervened for a reason and Letty is the sister Geoff should have been wooing all along. But back in the present Eloise has an even more pressing problem. Can she get a certain Colin Selwick to call her and set up a date?

Whenever I think of this series of books as a whole I've always thought that The Deception of the Emerald Ring was the weak point. Maybe it was that here we have another idealistic, King and Country couple who are good and sweet and pure, who have just some misunderstandings to overcome and then everything will be as right as rain. On re-reading the book I realized I couldn't have been more wrong. I loved it. This time, not reading it just for Colin and Eloise, I realized that this book had so much more. Not only do we get the fun of having Lord Vaughn around with his ambiguous alliances, but we get Miss Gwen and her formidable parasol. We also get to see the inner workings of one Jane Wooliston, alias, the Pink Carnation's organization. We see how she's able to morph into other people, other lives, so that she is a force to be reckoned with. Those Frenchies better watch out! But what I love most about this book is how it takes the unsatisfactory resolution as to who the Black Tulip is and gives a far more plausible explanation with more depth and more terror. To not have just one sadistic spy, but sadists working for a criminal mastermind makes more sense that the Marquise ever did. She mistook Turnip for the Pink Carnation! I'm sorry, but anyone who could think that doesn't deserve to be a criminal mastermind. A pawn though... totally suited for a pawn.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 5 comments  

Labels: Geoff, Jane Wollison, Lauren Willig, Letty Alsworthy, Lord Vaughn, Mary Alsworthy, Miss Gwen, Reading Challenge, The Deception of the Emerald Ring, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: February 7th, 2005
Format: Hardcover, 388 Pages
Challenge: Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
(different edition than one reviewed)
Amy Balcourt has spent her exile in the sheep infested fields of Shropshire dreaming of the day she can return to France. Her and her mother were lucky, they escaped France before her father's head rolled. But Napoleon and his ilk had to pay. Amy longed for revenge. She has dreamed of nothing but the day she could return to Paris and join the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and foil those Frenchies with witty asides and raids on their secret files. But then that dratted Pimpernel went and got unmasked, so who's league would she join now? All the training Amy and her cousin Jane spent in disguises and teaching the sheep stampeding formations would go to waste unless another spy stepped up for jolly old England. Of course another spy did step forth, The Purple Gentian. Now Amy and Jane just had to wait for the opportunity to go to Paris, which handily came in a note from Amy's brother who hoped she would return to the family home during the (temporary) peace with France. With their neighbor, Miss Gwen and her trusty parasol, as their chaperon, Amy and Jane set out for the continent and to find the Purple Gentian. Instead what Amy finds is an annoyingly cute Lord Richard Selwick, whom Amy has no inkling about his extra curricular activities, despite the fact he is the Purple Gentian, aside from a stirring in her breast and the burn of hate when she learns he's for Napoleon, which of course is his cover. She just finds him inconvenient, because how else are they going to skulk around the docks and overhear crucial bits of information to get an in with the league. But lurking beneath desks and listening through keyholes soon pays off, Amy learns of details pertaining to the plans to invade England, she also learns that, though joining the league of the Purple Gentian has always been her goal, perhaps kissing him is preferable. And kiss him she does, as they seem to have a magnetic attraction from the moment they meet. Of course the Gentian is of two minds, both of which want Amy, both of which want her safe and sound. With midnight assignations and lusty boat rides how can Richard stop the invasion of England with his mind so firmly on Amy? Or course things could be worse, your whole family could descend on you, en masse, to help with your secret spying. How long will it be till the Purple Gentian is unmasked just as the Scarlet Pimpernel was? And how long till the Pink Carnation steps up to fill the void, just as the Gentian did in his day?

But the real question is. Who is the Pink Carnation? That's what modern day Grad Student Eloise Kelly is trying to find out despite many obstacles, many in the form of Richard Selwick's descendants. Because this book, and all other in this series, have a nice modern framing in which Eloise learns of Napoleonic spying habits through journals, notes and correspondences, but luckily no laundry lists. It is also based of the ingenious hypothetical of, what if the Scarlet Pimpernel was real and not a creation of Baroness Orczy and that she was just his biographer, as it were. This gives the book a modern sensibility for the true regency swashbuckling book geek that carries through the past and present events. With similarities to Austen and Heyer we get a Regency romp that is more accessible to modern readers. There is the wit, the amazing details and the man in black, just think Carey Elwes circa Princess Bride not Ella Enchanted, but here there is an emotional depth and a connection between the characters that, while Austen with her great lovers captured so well, has a remoteness. You feel a step away from the action and can admire the characters and wish to live Lizzy and Darcy's fairy tale, yet you somehow can't imagine yourself as that fairy tale couple as easily as you can being Amy, crouching under the desk waiting to announce herself to the Purple Gentian. Lauren Willig has created a world you become a part of and don't want to leave, hence her devote followers which she so generously spends time with. This book is just the beginning of a vast cast of characters you'll want to visit again and again and stands up to multiple readings. Though I should warn you, there is some serious sexy sexy... though apparently not in my edition. I was lucky enough to find a first edition recently only to find the sexy sexy expunged! So I can proudly, if dejectedly say, I own, perhaps one of the only bowdlerized copies of The Secret History of the Pink Carnation... now whether these pages were removed by the prudish (which I doubt) or the extreme liker will remain a mystery. So, as Lauren said "That's so funny! Censorship... or private collection?" Whatever the case, beware of Pink Page Pilferers!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 4 comments  

Labels: Amy Balcourt, Carey Elwes, Eloise Kelly, Lauren Willig, Lord Richard Selwick, Pink Carnation, Reading Challenge, The Purple Gentian, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

The Wyvern's Treasure by R.L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: October 5th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"After tangling with the deadly basilisk, Nathaniel Fludd is glad to return to England with his Aunt Phil. But someone has ransacked their home, and their best suspect is the sinister man who's been trying to steal the Book of Beasts.

Before Nate and Aunt Phil can find the culprit, they are called to Welsh countryside. The wyverns (giant dragons) are in an uproar. Could the same man who ransacked the Fludd house be behind the rift with the wyverns? And just what does he want with The Book of Beasts? But before Nate can solve that mystery, he must calm the dragons before it's too late. It's just another day at work for the world's youngest beastologist!"

I love Robin! I love everything she writes, and I'm really loving Nathaniel. I'm so excited for book three in this new series for younger kids.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Published by: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: October 5th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker powers.

Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan's peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory.

Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what's ahead."

Yeah steampunky goodness!

Troubled Waters by Sharon Shinn
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: October 5th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The author of the Twelve Hours series welcomes readers to a new fantasy world, where the elements rule.

Zoe Ardelay receives astonishing and unwelcome news: she has been chosen to become the king's fifth wife. Forced to go to the royal city, she manages to slip away and hide on the shores of the mighty river.

It's there that Zoe realizes she is a coru prime ruled by the elemental sign of water. She must return to the palace, not as an unwilling bride for the king, but a woman with power in her own right. But as Zoe unlocks more of the mysteries of her blood-and the secrets of the royal family-she must decide how to use her great power to rise above the deceptions and intrigue of the royal court."

This one's for Matt, cause you love you some Sharon Shinn!

Slayed by Amanda Marrone
Published by: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: October 5th, 2010
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The Van Helsing family has been hunting vampires for over one hundred years, but sixteen-year-old Daphne wishes her parents would take up an occupation that doesn’t involve decapitating vamps for cash. All Daphne wants is to settle down in one place, attend an actual school, and finally find a BFF to go to the mall with. Instead, Daphne has resigned herself to a life of fast food, cheap motels and buying garlic in bulk.

But when the Van Helsings are called to a coastal town in Maine, Daphne’s world is turned upside down. Not only do the Van Helsings find themselves hunting a terrifying new kind of vampire (one without fangs but with a taste for kindergarten cuisine), Daphne meets her first potential BF! The hitch? Her new crush is none other than Tyler Harker, AKA, the son of the rival slayer family.
What's a teen vampire slayer to do?"

Enough with Vamps! Time for the slayers to reign!

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
Published by: Vertigo
Publication Date: October 5th, 2010
Format: Mass Market, 200 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Willig's imaginative debut is the story of Eloise Kelly, who is trying to uncover the identity of the Pink Carnation, a British spy a la the Scarlet Pimpernel who infiltrated Napoleonic France, for her Ph.D. dissertation. But it is also the story of Amy Balcourt, a young woman of French descent raised in England, whom Eloise learns about when she gains access to the papers kept by Arabella Selwick-Alderly, the descendant of another dashing spy, the Purple Gentian. Amy sets off to join her brother, Edouard, in France, with the hope of joining the league of the Purple Gentian. On her journey over she meets Lord Richard Selwick, the Purple Gentian himself, and though sparks fly between the two, he feels he can't reveal his secret identity to her. Eloise is engrossed in Amy's story, even as Arabella's infuriating but handsome nephew, Colin Selwick, tries to bar her access to the papers. Readers should expect more of the swashbuckling past than the scholarly present, but Willig's story is a decidedly delightful romp."

Really one of my favorite authors and she's popular enough to have made it to mass market! Shame about the cover being so trashy. But what's inside is awesome!

American Vampire by Stephen King
Published by: Vertigo
Publication Date: October 5th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 200 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"This volume follows two stories: one written by Snyder and one written by King. Snyder's story is set in 1920's LA, we follow Pearl, a young woman who is turned into a vampire and sets out on a path of righteous revenge against the European Vampires who tortured and abused her. This story is paired with King's story, a western about Skinner Sweet, the original American Vampire-- a stronger, faster creature than any vampire ever seen before with rattlesnake fangs and powered by the sun."

Stephen King + Comics + Vampires = Must Read!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amanda Marrone, American Vampire, Behemoth, Lauren Willig, R.L. LaFevers, Scott Westerfeld, Sharon Shinn, Slayed, Stephen King, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, The Wyvern's Treasure