strange and random happenstance

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 6: Retreat by Joss Whedon
Published by: Dark Horse Comics
Publication Date: March 10th, 2010
Format: Paperback, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Buffy Season Eight Volume 6 showcases the first failure of the Slayer legion. Vampires have solid footing at the top of the totem and Slayers have been crushed to the bottom - in short, no one likes Buffy anymore... least of all this season's mysterious Big Bad, Twilight, who is hot on her magical trail! Now that it's the world against Slayers, Buffy must find a way to return the status quo to... status quo - and keep her girls alive long enough to do it! Enter Oz, the only person/werewolf Buffy knows who is down with the suppression of magic, and can take the Slayer army off of Twilight's magic-specific radar. With Oz's assistance the Slayers and Wiccans try to become "normal" through meditation and hard labor - although, not everyone sees the advantage of being magicless, namely, Willow, Giles, and Andrew. And they could be right; after all, is a peaceful life for a Slayer even possible?"

So this would be the volume where they all go to Tibet! They try to be all magic free and end up fighting Gods. Really, while I love Buffy, and I have read this... it's just... not the Buffy I know and love. Sure we have Jane Espenson, she's got all the dialogue right and the character interactions down... but the overall arc is horrid. Also anyone feel while Andrew is funny, he's just repeating himself? As a side note, when they were published as individual issues my questions was finally "answered." I wrote in with: "
I am not one of the Buffy fans who is writing to praise season eight. I have issues with it, but that's really beside the point because while I do not love it as much as the show, having Buffy still in my life is a wonderful thing, and the knowledge that each month I'm getting something new from the Whedonverse brings a smile to my face. But the more I try to work out the intertwining plots and speculating as to where exactly Joss is leading us, one thing keeps coming back to me and that is Warren Meers. He can't be! This has nothing to do with the ick factor of the whole he has a magical skin that saved him from dying because of Amy, this has to do with show cannon. I'm sorry if I'm repeating what someone else might have brought up, I don't read the q&a section with as much interest or scrutiny as the comic itself, but the fact remains that according to the show The First could only appear as dead people, the first was Warren, so Warren has to be dead. Changing this, even if they think of some "magical loophole" like, I don't know, he's technically not human anymore would be stupid. They seem to have just thought this up because having Amy and Warren confront Willow would be great drama, but in my mind great drama still has to adhere to the fantastical world it is set in. So what's your take on this? Do you have any thoughts as to the Warren/The First situation? I guess I just expect more from writer's who know they have a loyal fan base that tends to be detail oriented and are fact checkers." To which I got the answer, "It's Magic." WTF! Because Buffy was dead and now lives that's the same as Warren being dead and now alive. NO NO NO! Mister know-it-all. The comic states Warren was saved seconds before he died, he was saved from death, it's not the same thing. Amy circumnavigated the death so the whole first thing couldn't have been. Apparently I'm not the only one who this is pissed off, due to the curtness of the response. But it was a thrill seeing my name in a Buffy comic, even if you didn't answer my question truly, because Joss is not infallible because he's Joss. I would write back, but I fear it would take over a year to get a response again, and you have bigger things to deal with, like how the identity of Twilight was leaked online. Doh! That's not very good for your 4 year build up now is it?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Buffy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dark Horse Comics, Gods, Jane Espenson, Joss Whedon, Retreat, Return to Oz, Season 8, Tibet, Twilight

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
Published by: Delacorte
Publication Date: March 9th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Dagger Award–winning and internationally bestselling author Alan Bradley comes this utterly beguiling mystery starring one of fiction’s most remarkable sleuths: Flavia de Luce, a dangerously brilliant eleven-year-old with a passion for chemistry and a genius for solving murders. This time, Flavia finds herself untangling two deaths—separated by time but linked by the unlikeliest of threads.

Flavia thinks that her days of crime-solving in the bucolic English hamlet of Bishop’s Lacy are over—and then Rupert Porson has an unfortunate rendezvous with electricity. The beloved puppeteer has had his own strings sizzled, but who’d do such a thing and why? For Flavia, the questions are intriguing enough to make her put aside her chemistry experiments and schemes of vengeance against her insufferable big sisters. Astride Gladys, her trusty bicycle, Flavia sets out from the de Luces’ crumbling family mansion in search of Bishop’s Lacey’s deadliest secrets.

Does the madwoman who lives in Gibbet Wood know more than she’s letting on? What of the vicar’s odd ministrations to the catatonic woman in the dovecote? Then there’s a German pilot obsessed with the Brontë sisters, a reproachful spinster aunt, and even a box of poisoned chocolates. Most troubling of all is Porson’s assistant, the charming but erratic Nialla. All clues point toward a suspicious death years earlier and a case the local constables can’t solve—without Flavia’s help. But in getting so close to who’s secretly pulling the strings of this dance of death, has our precocious heroine finally gotten in way over her head?"

How excited am I about this book? Beyond excited! I just loved the first Flavia De Luce book, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and have been counting the days to the new book. Count is over! Book is here! Now if only I can get my homework done today so all tomorrow can be spent devouring this book...

*Added note. Sad to say, the newest addition in the Flavia books is done with nowhere near the same production value. Instead of the wonderful cover with no dustjacket, the publishers have copped out, and now we have a dustjacket and my books won't match. Sigh, sometimes I really hate publishers.

The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Published by: Delacorte
Publication Date: March 9th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves."

Forest of Hands and Teeth related book that quite literally everyone who's my friend on Goodreads has on their tbr pile. Literally! EVERYONE! Well... maybe 1 who isn't, but that's still very impressive. It's kind of funny too. The cover, not as catching as the original, but, the original was one of the best covers of last year... so what can you say?

Abandon the Night by Joss Ware (aka Colleen Gleason)
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: March 9th, 2010
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the raging fires, five men emerge with extraordinary new powers. They are humankind's last hope . . . but they cannot survive this dark, ravaged world alone . . .

Quentin Fielding had everything. Money. Power. Women. But now that civilization is all but annihilated, Quent wants only one thing: revenge. Harnessing a strange new "gift," he embarks on a deadly mission to find the man responsible for the chaos and destruction, the man he should have killed years ago: his father. Only one thing stands in his way—a mysterious, arrow-wielding beauty . . .

ZoË Kapoor is on her own quest for vengeance, searching for the monstrous fiends who murdered her family. Soon she and Quent join together, journeying through the ruins of the world they once knew as a desperate desire builds between them. Drawing closer to an enemy they never imagined, ZoË and Quent must abandon all fear, abandon all regret, abandon the night . . ."

3rd and I believe final book in the new post apocalyptic world that Joss Ware, aka Colleen Gleason has created. I'm interested to check them out... not Gardella interested, but still curious.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Abandon the Night, Alan Bradley, Carrie Ryan, Colleen Gleason, Flavia De Luce, Joss Ware, The Dead Tossed Waves, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Weed That String's The Hangman's Bag

I was in Wonderland, probably like most book geeks out there. I tried to go in expectationless. When I saw the preview a few months back, I was not trilled, but somehow over the intervening months I had forgotten my initial bad reaction and got excited. But I have to say it was not worth the whopping $15 price tag, especially if you then tack on the $2 service charge, and they didn't have Skittles! What movie theater doesn't have Skittles? Sometimes things don't work, the stars don't align, and the apparently perfect person isn't quite what was actually needed. Despite a star studded cast, it was lackluster, it was blah, it was boring. I will say, I didn't hate it, but it just wasn't all that. Tim Burton was hoping that by adding a definable plot that you'd have more of an emotional connection to the characters. Personally, I'm all good with my connection to the characters, it's his tinkering with creating an unsuccessful Red Queen overload with dissatisfied masses that rally around Alice that doesn't quite work. By having Alice escape her world and a looming arraigned marriage to come to Underland (yes, not a typo) and be forced to become a hero by killing the Jabberwocky seemed kind of dumb. Instead of a magical world of delightful nonsense, we have a world of oppression, death, war and post apocalyptic wastelands, that are never fully explained to my satisfaction. If they had fleshed out the resistance movement, if they had made the plot even more of a plot, then perhaps... but that's just a maybe. Having everything magically hing on Alice killing the Jabberwocky seemed dumb. Why would the Red Queen loose her power if the Jabberwock died? Really, if someone knows, please tell me. I personally found the real world far weirder and more interesting, peopled with some of my favorite British actors, many of which were in The Jewel in the Crown... but then again, yet another failed adaptation of Alice in Wonderland isn't that big a shock. There is no way this will please die hard fans and I don't see it bringing in any new ones... I think Public Enemies proved Johnny Depp does not always equal box office gold. Personally I think I'm going to go pick up the book and read what no one has ever successfully imitated, translated or adapted. There's only one Alice, and she'll always be there waiting for me in the pages of my favorite book. But just to entertain those who like to feast on the carcass, here's a few of my biggest concerns with the movie:

• What's with all these new stupid made up words? Bizarre calenders and stupid times that are to come. Underland not Wonderland? And that's not explained till the end, and really, it's stupid?
• The Red Queen and The Queen of Hearts are NOT the same person! Don't care if you're combining them, you're pissing me off.
• Why is Helena Bonham Carter using her funny accent from the Merlin TV movie?
• Aren't they trying to be a bit too like Return to Oz, and didn't Return to Oz do it better and darker, cause I thought Tim Burton liked dark? Let's add some true horrors... what was the Victorian equivalent of electro shock therapy? Anyone?
• Trade routes to China were already established. Also, does this mean that Alice is going to be a drug czar?
• The foot soldiers... too Steam Punk/Looking Glass Wars, didn't feel original. When did Burton become a hack?
• Dan Scott (John Hopkins) from Midsomer Murders. Hate that prick. I know, offensive word, but it really fits his character in both appearances and totally covers my feelings for him.
• Why is Crisin Glover stretched out? Why? There doesn't seem to be a purpose.
• Guess who did the theme song? Avril Lavigne! Aren't I the happiest person in the world at this news? NOT! Apparently she's even going to do a line of clothes after Alice, oh joy unbounded!
• Ok, I get funny accents, but WTF Johnny? The random Scottish brogue? You trying to outdo Brad Pitt in Snatch?
• But, without parallel! The bizarre breakdancing interlude, oh, I mean fudderwhacking (see what I'm saying about made up words). It's not so much that it's a weird dance, it's that the music is early 90s electro pop randomly placed in a film firmly set in the 1800s!!! COuld you have tried insane bagpipes? Bagpipes are good, bagpipes are more... what's the word... not an anachronism!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 2:48 AM 4 comments  

Labels: Alice in Wonderland, Avril Lavigne, Bagpipes, Brad Pitt, Fudderwhacking, Johnny Depp, Midsomer Murders, Return to Oz, The Looking Glass Wars, The Queen of Hearts, The Red Queen, Tim Burton, Underland

The Curse of the Spellmans (The Spellmans Book 2) by Lisa Lutz
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: March 11th, 2008
Format: Paperback, 409 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Order

Isabel is firmly back at Spellman Investigations, the lure of the PI life being too much for her. But she has removed herself from the attic and is subletting a rent controlled apartment from her Uncle Ray's friend Bernie. Some time has passed since Rae's disappearance. But the aftereffects are still felt, the fallout being manifold. Besides having to rewrite Webster's definition of "vacation" and "disappearance" in an effort to disabuse Rae of referring to her self kidnapping as her vacation, she has also gotten a new best friend. Henry Stone, the detective who investigated her disappearance (used in the original sense of the word), has become Rae's new bff, that is until she accidentally runs him over while he's teaching her how to drive. The incident with the car begins a downward spiral that will result in several arrests for Isabel and the possibility of loosing her PI license if her octogenarian lawyer, Morty, can't save her from jail time. The fateful day of the accident is the day she meets the Spellman's new neighbor, John Brown. Attractive in a Joseph Cottony way, but there's something off about a man who gardens and has such an untraceable name. The inkling that something's not right is present before Isabel finds out he has a locked room in his apartment, which sends her a clear message, she must find out what's in that room. He has also been linked to the disappearances of at least two women, as far as Izzy can tell.

But it's not just John Brown who's behaving mysteriously. Her mother is trashing someone's motorbike in the middle of the night, her father appears to be going to the gym, Milo her bartender is off, Petra her best friend and David's wife is MIA, David is depressed and acting guilty, and Rae is annoying everyone because Henry wants some alone time and she can't figure out why her teacher is hoarding his own snot. And to top it all off, Izzy becomes homeless when Bernie shows back up on the scene. What follows is only something that could happen to Izzy, who has an obsessive need to find out the truth before taking her own safety, future or sanity into account. After an ill attempt at dating John Brown, he becomes her subject, the one thing that keeps her going. The one thing that lands her in hot water and results in broken ribs, two b&e charges as well as a restraining order and grand theft auto charge. And can she solve the one case her parents have given her? A person or persons repeating her crimes to a neighbors holiday themed yard displays from her delinquent youth? But despite it all Isabel is growing closer to Henry Stone and he even takes her in when she has nowhere else to go. Will Izzy be able to save herself and her PI license, because if any of the charges stick she can kiss her license goodbye... or does that even matter anymore if she can't find out what everyone is hiding?

A little more disjointed than the first, but just as enjoyable. The framing of the story within the Morty/Isabel pre-arraignment consultation in his garage is less successful then the Stone interviews of the first book. Plus I feel that once we have the portent of doom with Isabel being arrested for the 2nd(4th) time, that cutting back to Morty just saying, get on with it, is unnecessary. But the mystery is far more Hitchcockian, with all the overtones of Rear Window, even if John Brown looks more like Charlie Oakley in Shadow of a Doubt and not so much Raymond Burr. Also the introduction of Henry as basically another member of the family is too perfect (plus The Stone and Spellman Show... priceless!). He is Isabel's match in so many ways. Sure they have great dichotomies of neat versus slob... but they say opposites attract. Plus he's able to take on her family, stand Rae, and help out, even if it is to provide Rae and Isabel with a Doctor Who outlet. By far, the best is Isabel's discovery of the new Doctor Who! For someone who is a Get Smart addict I thought that Doctor Who is a fitting natural progression. It's just like watching an old tv show from the 60s, but updated with all the technology of the present. Too too perfect, and also reflects how I am with my tv viewing. This book, like the last, is composed of loosely stringed vignettes of the Spellman's lives that result in a full story, like the following of clues from point a to point b through a wacky and humorous circuitous route full of wit. But there is also an undercurrent of true emotion and connection. The scene where Olivia realizes that for once, Isabel is number one in her heart, is just touching beyond anything. Really, I can't wait for the next installment and then the next, but most of all I can't wait for Isabel to finally give the cop her number.

Make sure to enter my Surfeit of Spying Spellmans Giveaway to win this, or any of the other Spellman books. All signed 1st editions!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Book Review, Curse of the Spellmans, Dr. Who, Get Smart, Henry Stone, Hitchcock, Isabel, Joseph Cotton, Lisa Lutz, Morty, Rae, Rear Window, Shadow of a Doubt, Spellman Investiagtions

The Spellman Files (The Spellmans Book 1) by Lisa Lutz
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: March 13th, 2007
Format: Paperback, 358 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Order

"I cannot pinpoint the precise moment when it all began, but I can say for sure that the beginning didn't happen three days ago, one week, one month or even one year ago. To truly understand what happened to my family, I have to start at the very beginning, and that happened a long time ago." So begins Isabel's narration leading to the major event that happens to the Spellmans. But before we can get to the what, there's the how, presented in a pastiche of images from the history of the Spellman family. Isabel, our erstwhile and extremely dysfunctional heroine, was born into a family of PIs. Her father's an ex-cop, forced into early retirement by a bad back, he took up the only solid living an ex-cop is uniquely suited for, Private Investigation. On the job he met Olivia and it was true love. Their firstborn, David, was everything a child should be, hansom, athletic, smart and hardworking, growing up to be a lawyer. When Isabel came along she felt that it was only right that she was everything David was not, unruly, hard to handle and a juvenile deliquint... and perfectly suited for Spellman Investigations. But when Isabel was 14 the family was in for a surprise, in the form of Rae. Olivia and Albert found out that they were going to have another baby, while at the same time Al's brother Ray was dying of cancer. Rae was named in honor of the heroic ex-cop who then didn't die. Uncle Ray had an epiphany. If clean living made him sick then he'd just do what he wanted, mainly gambling, drinking and whoring which lead to a depletion of his resources and he moved into the residence of 1799 Clay Street, home of Spellman Investigations and the whole Spellman clan, minus David.

What follows is a narration of the odd events and circumstances that result when you've been raised in a family where spying, tailing, car chases, recreational surveillance, bugging, extortion, blackmail and all around prying into each others lives is the status quo. "The Spellman Wars" take many forms, from Rae stealing "new uncle Ray's" lucky shirt and holding it for ransom, to Isabel meeting a cute dentist on the job and then pretending she's a schoolteacher in order to date him, to mass sugar consumption, to fake drug deals... the wars are manifold with many skirmishes and allegiance shifts. But in the end Isabel decides that maybe this isn't the life for her and she asks to be let out. Her parents agree to her leaving if she can solve an extremely cold case involving the disappearance of one Andrew Snow, thinking that in a job where mysteries are rare, perhaps this will whet her appetite and return the status quo. But the status is very not quo when all the duplicity and infighting leads to Rae's disappearance.

I can not emphasize enough how much I enjoy the Spellmans in all their dysfunctions and obsessions, which I can sadly relate too. The interesting quirks and different forms of addictions each character possesses is hilarious, but at the same time, oddly realistic. From Rae's addiction to sugar and recreational surveillance, to Izzy's drink and Get Smart, to Uncle Ray's women and cards. Each character has there own set of flaws that make them unique, but at the same time, obviously related and relatable. Also the way the story is told in little snippets, like a dossier, makes you see the overall history of the characters through specific incidents and examples versus having an extremely long backstory. It also stripes away the Hollywood glamor of the PI's life showing the dysfunction and strained relationships that result from needing to always know the why. Isabel's headlong pursuit of the truth is single-minded and self destructive, but haven't we all been there? Knowing we should stop and we've gone too far, but knowing that we will still do it anyway. Fans of Veronica Mars will enjoy the same kind of mystery combined with a dry wit. I really can't recommend this book, and all Lisa Lutz's books enough! But be forewarned... be prepared to having the overwhelming desire to watch mass quantities of Get Smart afterwords! Luckily now available on DVD.

Make sure to enter my Surfeit of Spying Spellmans Giveaway to win this, or any of the other Spellman books. All signed 1st editions!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 PM 1 comments  

Labels: 1799 Clay Street, Book Review, David Spellman, Get Smart, Isabel, Lisa Lutz, New Uncle Ray, PI, Rae, Spellman Investiagtions, The Spellman Files, The Spellman Wars, Veronica Mars

Hmmm... a new month, I wonder what I'll be giving away... oh, I kid! I've been hoarding away books for March (I don't jest, there's a pile!)You see, there's these books by Lisa Lutz, the Spellmans star, and I just can't get enough of them. The forth and NOT final (ignore the blurb, listen to the author) is being released this month and I've been dying to foist these lovely dysfunctional spies on you, my loyal readers... but I wanted to make it beyond special. So the prize... no wait, I mean prizes. Yes, that is a highlighted, italicized, emboldened "s," because I have not one, not two, but four prizes*! One for each book... in fact, one is each book... but they are so much more! They are all signed first editions. That's right! Signed Spellman books, what could be better? Really, for me personally, nothing could be better. In fact, I think after writing this post I might just dive right back into the family who spies together. Of course you might want more information before entering, so over the next two weeks I'll be posting my reviews for all four of the books leading up to the March 16th release of The Spellman's Strike Again. Plus Lisa will be touring to promote this book, so keep an eye out for her, I'll be there in Milwaukee covering her March 25th event... who knows, perhaps I'll see you there? Now onto the prizes!

*Now doubled thanks to my bffs at Simon & Schuster!


THIS GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!

The Prizes:
Prize 1: The Spellman Files *Signed* 1st Edition
Prize 2: Curse of the Spellmans *Signed* 1st Edition
Prize 3: Revenge of the Spellmans *Signed* 1st Edition
Prize 4: The Spellmans Strike Again *Signed* 1st Edition with a Free Schmidt T-shirt!
Prizes 5-8: The Spellmans Strike Again *unsigned* 1st Eiditon

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE, just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter.
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 EXTENDED! Now ends Friday, April 30th at 11:59PM CST (and yes, I know I just like tacked on a whole month... but I'm so close to 200 followers I can feel it! Plus, I this is kind of the biggest giveaway I've ever run and I want it to be even bigger, insert evil laugh here!)
4. The 1st winner gets to choose which prize they want, then the 2nd, then on till the 4th name drawn gets whatever is left (which is still awesome no matter which book it is!)
5. How to enter:

Answer me this: Who is your favorite literary detective? Holmes? A Hammett creation? Are you a golden age gal or a noir lad?

6. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

• +1 for answering the question above
• +2 for becoming a follower
• +5 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!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 17 comments  

Labels: 200 Followers, Curse of the Spellmans, Giveaway, Lisa Lutz, Literary Detective, Milwaukee, Revenge of the Spellmans, The Spellman Files, The Spellmans, The Spellmans Strike Again

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Published by: Ace Hardcover
Publication Date: March 2nd, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Things between cocktail waitress Sookie and her vampire boyfriend Bill seem to be going excellently (apart from the small matter of him being undead) until he leaves town for a while. A long while. Bill's sinister boss Eric has an idea of where to find him, whisking her off to Jackson, Mississippi to mingle with the under-underworld at Club Dead. When she finally catches up with the errant vampire, he is in big trouble and caught in an act of serious betrayal. This raises serious doubts as to whether she should save him or start sharpening a few stakes of her own ..."

Oh... collectible edition! Because any true Sookie fan knows that it wasn't until book four that Sookie became worthy of the coveted hardcover... so now (in order to capitalize on Charlaine's fame) they're offering them in hardcover. Personally, I love this, but I wish they'd stick to a standardized size... small, big, uber big, small... urgh. It infuriates the true collector. Especially the font change over! Also, my book dealer bbf, David, over at Murder by the Book has signed editions! Make sure to nab one of those, I already have!

Ghouls Gone Wild by Victoria Laurie
Published by: Signet
Publication Date: March 2nd, 2010
Format: Paperback, 366 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Psychic M.J. Holliday finds herself in a witchy situation... When M.J. and her friends travel to a small town near Edinburgh, Scotland, to film the first installment of their new cable TV show Ghoul Getters, they find plenty of spooky action in a series of supposedly haunted caverns. But when they discover the body of a maintenance worker, the cause of death is reminiscent of an old legend involving a witch's wrath..."

Such fun! These covers are just wonderfully and graphically stunning. While, not the highlight of book three, with the Golden Gate Bridge, we do get Scotland!

Shalador's Lady by Anne Bishop
Published by: ROC
Publication Date: March 2nd, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For years the Shalador people suffered the cruelties of the corrupt Queens who ruled them, forbidding their traditions, punishing those who dared show defiance, and forcing many more into hiding. Now that their land has been cleansed of tainted Blood, the Rose-Jeweled Queen, Lady Cassidy, makes it her duty to restore it and prove her ability to rule.

But even if Lady Cassidy succeeds, other dangers await. For the Black Widows see visions within their tangled webs that something is coming that will change the land-and Lady Cassidy-forever..."

I have so many people who swear by this series... I should really pick up the first book off the bottom of my to be read pile.

The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn
Published by: Mira
Publication Date: March 2nd, 2010
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A husband, a family, a comfortable life: Theodora Lestrange lives in terror of it all.

With a modest inheritance and the three gowns that comprise her entire wardrobe, Theodora leaves Edinburgh — and a disappointed suitor — far behind. She is bound for Roumania, where tales of vampires are still whispered, to visit an old friend and write the book that will bring her true independence.

She arrives at a magnificent, decaying castle in the Carpathians replete with eccentric inhabitants: the ailing dowager; the troubled steward; her own fearful friend, Cosmina. But all are outstripped in dark glamour by the castle's master, Count Andrei Dragulescu.

Bewildering and bewitching in equal measure, the brooding nobleman ignites Theodora's imagination and awakens passions in her that she can neither deny nor conceal. His allure is superlative, his dominion over the superstitious town, absolute — Theodora may simply be one more person under his sway.

Before her sojourn is ended — or her novel completed — Theodora will have encountered things as strange and terrible as they are seductive. For obsession can prove fatal...and she is in danger of falling prey to more than desire."

Another author I've heard so many good things about. Check her out! She'll be at Murder by the Book this Saturday!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:30 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Anne Bishop, Black Jewels, Charlaine Harris, Club Dead, Deanna Raybourn, Ghouls Gone Wild, Murder by the Book, Shalador's Lady, Sookie Stackhouse, The Dead Travel Fast, Victoria Laurie

Thank you to everyone who entered to win the lovely Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus ARC by R. L. LaFevers. As for mummies being cursed... it appears we are evenly split between those who do and those who don't believe. Though it is interesting that most who don't believe said that you never know... so wisely hedging your bets there if a mummy should come around, I fully embrace your cunning self preservationist attitudes. Now to the winner.... inthehammock! AKA Carrie!

Also, just because "Desert Sands Month" is over, doesn't mean the explorations to Egypt should or even could stop. It is really a rather big obsession of mine, I'm too fascinated to ever give it up. But Elizabeth Peters and R. L. LaFevers, while my current favorite authors also enamoured of the land of the pahroahs, there are many authors to come before and many authors that will come after. From Agatha Christie to Margaret George, Michelle Moran to Lawrence Durrell, Olivia Manning to Eloise Jarvis McGraw, from fiction to non, the stories are never ending and my Egyptian Shelf keeps expanding!

And as a final note, remember that this month, as in, today, the day that is the official start of "no more crap February" as I like to call it... sure there were wonderful Egyptian stories to drive away the cold, but I had a flu akin to a mummies curse that I hope will end with the briskness of March which will shortly bring little bunnies and happy flowers and wonderful SPRING! Also never forget Cadbury mini eggs, the reason Easter was created. But besides the choclatey goodness, there is also a giveaway that will be my biggest yet. There are multiple prizes, at least four winners, and as for the books... some of my favorite of all time and total amazing. So come back and see what you can win, if you weren't lucky enough this time around.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, Cadbury Mini Eggs, Easter, Egypt, Giveaway, Lawrence Durrell, Michelle Moran, Olivia Manning, R. L. Lafevers, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, Theodosia Throckmorton, Winner