strange and random happenstance

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

Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus by R. L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
ARC Provided by Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 12th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Preorder

The official patter:
"Being able to detect black magic isn’t all tea and crumpets—and for Theodosia Throckmorton, it can be a decidedly tricky business! When Sticky Will drags Theo to a magic show featuring the Great Awi Bubu, she quickly senses there is more to the magician than he lets on, setting in motion a chain of events she never could have bargained for. Meanwhile, back at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities, Henry is home for the spring holidays and makes an accidental discovery of an artifact that alchemists have been hunting for centuries. Soon, every black-cloaked occultist in London is trying to get their hands on it . . ."

With Will's brother in a mesmeric trance by the Great Awi Bubu he eerily repeats Theodosia's false prophecy to the Black Sunners: "The Black Sun shall rise up in a red sky before falling to earth, where a great serpent will swallow it." And as luck would have it, who is an even bigger thorn in her side than usual? The Black Sunners. But don't rule out The Serpents of Chaos... oh my, Theo does have her hands full. But the occultists are the least of her worries, when her parents have shut down the museum for two weeks to prepare for their gala opening to celebrate their recent discoveries from the Tomb of Amenemhab and The Chosen Keepers have oddly distanced themselves from her, forcing her to deal only with Fagenbush, who sadly, still appears to be a good guy. But Theo won't be having any of this imposed rank, she'll do whatever is necessary to deal with Wigmere himself and cut out Fagenbush and use only Will. Of course, her childish ways tend to cause more mayhem and somehow all that was made wrong must be righted. But could Theo herself be even more then she appears?

In the third, and most recent, installment of the Theodoisa series by R. L. LaFevers', we once again are immersed in the wonderful Edwardian England in the grip of Egypt fever. You would think that all those mummies moving around London in the previous installment would have calmed the ardor of the masses, but no. London loves their mummies, and I love this London. While this book is just as action packed as the previous installments, we don't get so many new plots as a resolution to those dangling threads from the previous books. The Black Sunners are creepier than ever, with a not quite right, almost inappropriate feel to them, that is thankfully quenched by Stilton and his redemptive character arc. But, it's the character of Awi Bubu that solidifies this book. At first I was hesitant with his caricaturish name and his almost stereotypical quality, but he was able to overcome this quite readily. In fact he brought with him an integration of two disparate elements. Before Awi, we had the ancient mystic artifacts and then Theo, who can somehow see curses... but now, we have Theo herself being woven into the Egyptian mythology. So much so that I can't wait for the next installment. I feel that there's this overwhelming urgency for these cults and their love of mystical powers to be stopped, while at the same time an inevitability that somehow Theo and the Keepers will fail, resulting in the first world war. I can't wait to see how everything plays out and just wish that Robin could write just a little faster.

Also make sure to enter my giveaway for an ARC of this book, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, thanks to Houghton Mifflin!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amenemhab, ARCs, Awi Bubu, Black Sunners, Edwardian England, Egypt, Fagenbush, Mummies, R.L. LaFevers, Stilton, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, Theodosia Throckmorton, Wigmere, Will

Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris by R. L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: November 10th, 2008
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

So what did Theodosia really expect? She single handedly saves England by returning the heart of Egypt and in return her parts let her clean out the catacombs at the museum. In all fairness, they aren't "technically" catacombs, but they're creepy, dank, dusty, full of mummies and worst of all, dark magic Theo can't even begin to speculate on. She did at least get to attend a gala event due to her discovery of the hidden annex in the tomb of Amenemhab, of course she rather embarrassingly pointed out, in front of all and sundry, that the mummy that was the focal point of the evening was actually the missing miscreant from the British Museum, Tetley, last seen in Amenemhab's tomb. But the mundanties of daily life soon resume their pace, cataloging mummies and shabtis, avoiding Grandmother and her plethora of new governesses (where does she find them all), her parents hiring yet another slimy curator, Weems, and just the basic stopping of evil powers rising up out of the museum's artifacts. But all this doesn't really matter once Theo finds an interesting staff and a golden orb which leads to a jackal statue coming to life and all the mummies in London disappearing and mysteriously congregating at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities.

With her father being the center of the police investigation, because there really is no sensible explanation for all the mummies, how can Theo concentrate on learning from the horrid governess of the day (she's a pincher)? She must find out what is going on. She will need the help of her friends, The Chosen Keepers. But do the mummies have a connection to The Serpents of Chaos? And how can corpses that are almost dust help a group hell bent on world chaos? And who are these Black Sunners? Because the one thing Theo doesn't need is even more secret societies getting underfoot. And Will is acting cagey, and there's a mysterious man in death weeds who's shadowing Will. But at the center of this all is the might of the British Empire, a mighty boat... I mean ship, which proudly tells the world that England is great. But with a war looming ever closer... how long will that might last?

Building on the wonderful story of the first book, the second in the Theodosia series brings in even more Egyptian mythology while layering hilarious exploits of several secret societies with the more day to day trials and tribulations of a girl just trying to save England but being belaboured with an interfering Grandmother hell bent on her granddaughter becoming a lady, no matter what the cost or the final tally of governesses hired. While in the beginning we saw a more solitary Theo, she is slowly gathering more allies in the fight against evil. Of course the fight is having increasingly greater stakes. No longer is it just a restless soul trapped in a rope that brings about boils, but the fate of England and the world. And with greater allies come greater enemies. She is starting to get a list of men who would like nothing more then to see her dead. These men almost seem easier to deal with then those who would worship her as the goddess Isis... but nothing can ever go right. But what I find interesting is the expansion and inclusion of Egyptian history and myth. The idea of Gods walking the earth and leaving behind items of great power... scary to think what might happen if these were in the wrong hands... and I can't help feeling that with The Great War about to start, some things might just end up in the hands of Chaos.

I just can't get enough of this series. It brings back the feeling of what it's like to be a kid and read the perfect book and be totally absorbed in that world. To think about it long after you've shut the pages. To dwell on what might happen next and to hope for the next book as soon as possible. There is a magical quality to Theo, much like the feeling of watching Raiders of the Lost Ark when you were young. It's something different, wonderful and being played out right in front of your eyes and you feel like it's written just for you. A glittering world open for your exploration. I hope you pick up this series and get to have that connection that one longs for with a book.

Also make sure to enter my giveaway for an ARC of the 3rd book in the series, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, thanks to Houghton Mifflin!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Amenemhab, Black Sunners, Egypt, England, Gods, Governesses, Mummies, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Serpents of Chaos, The Chosen Keepers, Theodoisa and the Staff of Osiris, Theodosia Throckmorton

Cat's Claw by Amber Benson
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: February 23rd, 2010
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Calliope Reaper-Jones is Death's Daughter. She owes a debt to Cerberus, the three headed dog that guards the gate's of hell-a debt that involves a trip to Purgatory, Las Vegas, ancient Egypt, and a discount department store that's more frightening than any supernatural creature she'll ever encounter."

Yeah! I love Amber Benson. She's so nice and sweet and was so wonderful as Tara on Buffy. I also love how she's parlayed her acting into something that really shows how talented and multifaceted she is! From writing and staring in movies, to web series, to books, she can do it all! I've been waiting for the follow up to her first Calliope Reaper-Jones novel, which is finally here! Plus, as she said on her official blog, "Yes, it's that time again. Time for weird old me to get in my car (then hobo hop a train & possibly a plane) and start trekking around the country schilling the latest installment of the Calliope Reaper-Jones series." That's right, she's doing a few book signings, so go check it out, I've met her twice and she's such a sweetie!

The Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, San Diego, CA
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 7pm

Murder By The Book, Houston, TX *Where I've already ordered my book from!
Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 6:30pm

Midtown Comics
Saturday, February 27th, 2010, 3-5pm
signing with the lovely & talented: Anton Strout

Black Magic Sanction, Rachel Morgan Book 8 by Amber Benson
Published by: Eos
Publication Date: February 23rd, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The eighth bewitching but overly dense Hollows adventure (after 2009's White Witch, Black Curse) updates the travails of Rachel Morgan, delectable magical jack of all trades. Having recently learned that Rachel is a witch-born demon whose children would be demons, a white magic coven is shunning her and accusing her of black magic. They offer her a terrible choice: sterilization or imprisonment in Alcatraz. Trent Kalamack, drug lord and elf in hiding, offers to get the coven off her back, but her double-crossing ex-rat ex-boyfriend, Nick, shows up and lands her in more hot water. As Rachel battles those she thought were on her side, her survival depends on a paranormal cornucopia of elves, demons, vampires, gargoyles, pixies, and even a leprechaun. This thrill ride celebrates the can-do spirit of one of urban fantasy's most charming witches."

New Rachel Morgan book, so fun! Go check it out!

Revenge of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: February 23rd, 2010
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"YOU THOUGHT YOUR LIFE WAS COMPLICATED
Private investigator Isabel Spellman is back on the case and back on the couch -- in court-ordered therapy after getting a little too close to her previous subject.

As the book opens, Izzy is on hiatus from Spellman Inc. But when her boss, Milo, simultaneously cuts her bartending hours and introduces her to a "friend" looking for a private eye, Izzy reluctantly finds herself with a new client. She assures herself that the case -- a suspicious husband who wants his wife tailed -- will be short and sweet, and will involve nothing more than the most boring of PI rituals: surveillance. But with each passing hour, Izzy finds herself with more questions than hard evidence.

Meanwhile, Spellmania continues. Izzy's brother, David, the family's most upright member, has adopted an uncharacteristically unkempt appearance and attitude toward work, life, and Izzy. And their wayward youngest sister, Rae, a historic academic underachiever, aces the PSATs and subsequently offends her study partner and object of obsession, Detective Henry Stone, to the point of excommunication. The only unsurprising behavior comes from her parents, whose visits to Milo's bar amount to thinly veiled surveillance and artful attempts (read: blackmail) at getting Izzy to return to the Spellman Inc. fold.

As the case of the wayward wife continues to vex her, Izzy's personal life -- and mental health -- seem to be disintegrating. Facing a housing crisis, she can't sleep, she can't remember where she parked her car, and, despite her shrinks' persistence, she can't seem to break through in her appointments. She certainly can't explain why she forgets dates with her lawyer's grandson, or fails to interpret the come-ons issued in an Irish brogue by Milo's new bartender. Nor can she explain exactly how she feels about Detective Henry Stone and his plans to move in with his new Assistant DA girlfriend...

Filled with the signature side-splitting Spellman antics, Revenge of the Spellmans is an ingenious, hilarious, and disarmingly tender installment in the Spellman series."

Could be one of my most favorite series EVER! New book coming out in a few weeks, and if you haven't read it, it's time to do some catch up... unless you're waiting because you've been listening to the word on the street that's saying there's some major Spellman swag coming to this blog very soon... won't confirm or deny... but the street's not often wrong!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Amber Benson, Black Magic Sanction, Buffy, Calliope Reaper-Jones, Cat's Claw, Death's Daughter, Izzy, Lisa Lutz, Murder by the Book, Rachel Morgan, Revenge of the Spellmans, Swag, Tara

Posted by Miss Eliza at 3:08 PM 4 comments  

Labels: Doctor Who, Easter, The 11th Doctor

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 9th, 2007
Format: Hardcover, 344 Pages
Challenge: 1st in Series
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

In the Museum of Legends and Antiquities Theodosia is trying to control the forces of chaos that wish to harm others through the curses and hexes contained in the various items on display throughout the museum. She is beset with the forces of darkness and the feeling of beetles scurrying up and down her spine that doesn't seem to affect anyone else there... even her father who was injured by one such nasty curse with a tumble down the stairs. It doesn't help much that she spends every waking (and sleeping) hour within the museum. But with her trusty cat, Isis, by her side, and armed with ancient texts, she does what she can with cobbled together spells and wax, carnelian, linen, and other such supplies. But what is she to do when her galavanting mother comes home with the discovery of a lifetime from the tomb of Amenemhab, the Heart of Egypt, with a curse so strong it could bring down a nation. Not to mention there was a bit of a miscalculation with the purifying of a statue of Bastet and Isis is now more demon than cat, her annoying little brother is due back from boarding school any day, there's a sneaky little pick pocket named Will on the prowl, and Grandmother Throckmorton is insisting Theo gets a new governess.

But when the Heart of Egypt goes missing from a hidden vault within the museum things have never looked worse. It could be the end of Theo's parents' careers. Of course, it really is something far worse! After tailing shadowy men connected with the British Museum through the back alleys of London, Theo saves the life of a could be thief and stumbles upon a secret society run by Lord Wigmere who do what Theo does, but without her inborn curse breaking ability. The Heart of Egypt must be returned to it's final resting place in order to stop biblical plagues falling down on the British Empire... but how is Theo to get to Egypt? How did the Heart of Egypt even get stolen? Does she have a traitor amongst her compatriots at the museum? And can she ever get her cat back? Chaos seems inevitable.

Theodosia Throckmorton is just a sheer delight of precocious brains, without that saccharine touch that can be seen amongst others of her ilk. She's no nonsense and straight to the point. With wonderful detail and wit, R. L. LaFever's brings us this magical and wonderful Edwardian England on the brink of World War I where mysticism and magic from the land of the Pharaohs is just as real a threat as the Germans. From Theodosia's prepping of ingredients to back alley chases, the world that's created just sucks you in and you don't want to leave. I think the best way of describing Theo and her adventures is very much an Amelia Peabody mystery, but much more accessible to younger readers, or in fact all readers, who don't like their prose to be overly stylized. Of course, I'm a sucker for all things Egyptian, so when I first saw this book on the shelf it was a must read. I'm glad that I picked it up, because the gorgeous production value of the hardcovers, from turn of the century maps to deckled edges, just touches the surface of how wonderful the book is inside. When I picked up this book, little did I know that I'd find myself a new favorite author and a new favorite heroine. I wish that a girl like Theo was around when I was younger, but I'm glad to have found her at all!

Also make sure to enter my giveaway for an ARC of the 3rd book in the series, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, thanks to Houghton Mifflin!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 4 comments  

Labels: Amelia Peabody, British Empire, Heart of Egypt, Isis, Museum of Legends and Antiquities, R. L. Lafevers, Reading Challenge, Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, Theodosia Throckmorton

The Mummy Case, Amelia Peabody Book 3 by Elizabeth Peters
Published by: Warner Books
Publication Date: 1985
Format: Paperback, 327 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Amelia is finally off to Egpyt with her son (and of course his cat) in tow. They have been thwarted a few times due to Evelyn, but not this year. Emerson has promised Peabody pyramids, and pyramids she shall have... even if, at the end of the day, they get ones that are barely deserving of the name. Because once again Emerson is at loggerheads with the man who distributes the firman's... so to Mazghunah they must go, while De Morgan assigns himself the firman to the desirous pyramids of Dahshoor, just visible from the Peabody's camp. But before they can even leave Cairo, Amelia is convinced she has stumbled on the illegal antiquities trade and the reason for their being a surge of illegal antiquities on the market. There must be a "Master Criminal!" Abd el Atti, a not very reputable antiquities dealer, is found dead after Amelia offered him help following a hostile exchange she saw him having with a disreputable looking man. Amelia, logically, connects the murderer to the antiquities and no matter what Emerson says, Amelia knows she must root out the villainous thugs who are destroying valuable antiquities and not worrying about who or what they destroy in the process.

But once at Mazghunah they have more immediate concerns. There are missionaries! More hated by Emerson than thieves... missionaries hold a special place in his darkest of hearts. Men who actually believe God told them to try a sway someone away from their own beliefs! And if the concept behind missionaries isn't bad enough, the men doing the converting are the worst sort. The maniacal Reverend Ezekiel Jones and his indentured sister Charity, as well as the overly pretty David Cabot, of the Boston Cabots. They are stirring up trouble, not just with Emerson, but with the locals, who don't take kindly to conversion. With a rebellion brewing in town and a coveted excavation site nearby and a base camp supposedly accursed, it's not surprising that soon thefts start happening, eventually escalating to murder. But with Amelia nearby, she'll soon have everything sorted with her trusty tool belt and her parasol. Who knows... maybe Mazghunah will be better than Dahshoor... even with their "proper" pyramids.

While I enjoyed the continuing adventures of Amelia and her family, this installment didn't hook me as the previous two did. Perhaps it was the less than glamorous site, that the Emerson's themselves bemoan. Or perhaps it was the less than enticing mystery of a ring of antiquity thieves. But I was just not as smitten with this book. I understand that, from the point of an Egyptologist, there can be no worse crime then the wholesale theft of antiquities and the disruption and desecration of the sites. But compared to murder and mummies and curses... it seemed kind of blase and pedestrian. Also I was very hesitant as to the inclusion of Ramses as part of the expedition party. Ramses is an amazingly smart and precocious young boy... almost to precocious. I'm fine with his overabundant intelligence and his uncanny knowledge, it was his lisp that drove me up the wall. The replacement of "d" for "th" was just too cutesy and precious. Plus, as I'm sure Amelia would agree, it was a total affectation, and that's what made it all the more infuriating. But I'm very glad that Ramses did not get kidnapped and held for ransom. It was almost refreshing to not have the "child in peril" story, which looks like it could be the crux of the next book according to the dust jacket, sigh. Well, onto the next. I'm vastly enjoying these books as quick reads and as little havens of Egyptian warmth in the cold winter months, but I am also curious and apprehensive as to how Elizabeth Peters can sustain this series over the course of the vast number of books already in it. Only time will tell...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 6 comments  

Labels: Amelia Peabody, Book Review, Cairo, Dahshoor, Egypt, Elizabeth Peters, Emerson, Eygptologist, Mazghunah, Missionaries, Pyramids, Ramses, The Mummy's Case