Review: Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund

Title: Secret Society Girl
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Genre: Chick lit? YA? Some combination of the two, at any rate.
Reason for Reading: I really can’t remember now who brought this book to my attention, but it was definitely a blogger.
Synopsis:

In a fabulous blend of the bestselling traditions of Prep and The Devil Wears Prada, Secret Society Girl takes us into the heart of the Ivy League’s ultraexclusive secret societies when a young woman is invited to join as one of their first female members. Elite Eli University junior Amy Haskel never expected to be tapped into Rose & Grave, the country’s most powerful–and notorious–secret society. She isn’t rich, politically connected, or … well, male. So when Amy receives the distinctive black-lined invitation with the Rose & Grave seal, she’s blown away. Could they really mean her? Whisked off into an initiation rite that’s a blend of Harry Potter and Alfred Hitchcock, Amy awakens the next day to a new reality and a whole new set of “friends”–from the gorgeous son of a conservative governor to an Afrocentric lesbian activist whose society name is Thorndike. And that’s when Amy starts to discover the truth about getting what you wish for. Because Rose & Grave is quickly taking her away from her familiar world of classes and keggers, fueling a feud, and undermining a very promising friendship with benefits. And that’s before Amy finds out that her first duty as a member of Rose & Grave is to take on a conspiracy of money and power that could, quite possibly, ruin her whole life. A smart, sexy introduction to the life and times of a young woman in way over her head, Secret Society Girl is a charming and witty debut from a writer who knows her turf–and isn’t afraid to tell all….

Other Thoughts:

• Bookshelves of Doom

• Angieville
• Teen Book Review

My Thoughts: This is not a particularly deep book, but then, most of what I read wouldn’t be described that way. What it is is immensely entertaining, with interesting and likeable characters.

The one thing I was worried about going into this book was that the “poor little rich girl” trope usually doesn’t work for me. I was thinking that if I had to read about the troubles of some well-off suburban white kids I’d be rolling my eyes a lot. Thankfully, that is not the case. I found Amy quite likeable. She’s got the snarky first-person tone of most chick lit heroines down, but I especially liked that she wasn’t so much a raving bitch, and the book is written as if she’s looking back on her life, and she makes plenty of self-depricating asides. I liked her so much better for it.

I was drawn into Amy’s story from the beginning, and found myself wishing my college days had been a bit more like Amy’s. The world of secret societies was fascinating, and even if I don’t think I would have taken the whole thing as seriously as she does, for a brief moment I wished a secret society would come tap me.

There is the requisite love triangle in these stories, with Amy drawn to the bad boy Rose and Grave member, George Harrison Prescott, while still trying to have a friends with benefits relationship with Brandon, the assistant editor of the school’s literary magazine. I didn’t like either of the guys particularly, and I thought Amy was stupid about both of them. Thankfully, she acknowledges this about herself as well.

The secondary characters, aside from the love interests, are great. Naturally, anyone who knows me well knows I was all about Thorndike, the black lesbian activist, but the other female members of the latest Rose and Grave class were great as well.

The plot was fast-paced, and kept me riveted throughout, even though there were lots of digressions into society shenanigans and lots of Amy having to fight to keep everything secret from her best friend, Lydia, and from Brandon. I loved the climax, and everything wraps up well at the end, with plenty of room for more secret society shenanigans.

Final Thoughts: this book is fun, funny and entertaining. I’ve already started the second book, Under the Rose , and I have a feeling this will be one of my favorite series of the year.

final Grade: B+

Review: Pure Blood (Nocturn City, Book 2)

Title: Pure Blood (Nocturn City, Book 2)

Author: Caitlin Kittredge

Genre: Paranormal romance

Reason for Reading: I read the first book for Bookshare. I enjoyed it and decided to grab the second one to see just what was happening in Nocturn City.

Synopsis:

In the shadows of Nocturne City, witches lurk and demons prowl, and homicide detective Luna Wilder must keep the peace—while living life as a werewolf. Now bodies are turning up all over town, the brutal murders linked by a cryptic message: We see with empty eyes…
To make matters worse for Luna, she can’t get wolfishly handsome Dmitri Sandovsky out of her mind. The last time he helped her with a case, Dmitri suffered a demon bite that infected him with a mysterious illness…and now his pack elders have forbidden him from associating with Luna. But she’ll need his help when high-level witches start turning up slaughtered. Because a war is brewing between rival clans of blood witches and caster witches—a magical gang war with the power to burn Nocturne City to the ground.

Other Opinions

Coffee Quill

My Thoughts:

There’s a darker edge to Luna’s world, one that gives this series a sense of being more authentic than some. Relationships aren’t always rosy, and people’s interactions with one another feel authentic, even if they don’t always show everyone in the best light. Dmitri, for instance, is living a life that his pack has forced on him, sharing his bed with a woman that meets with the pack’s approval. And why? Because it’s easier to accept that fate than to fight against it. That doesn’t make him noble, but it feels appropriate for the character we met in the first book. He chose his pack, and feels comfortable with the weight of their traditions. At one point he accuses Luna of failing to understand, because she has forsaken the pack concept, and I can definitely see his point.

Luna, on the other hand, rails against the pack, her grandmother, the new police captain, in essence because she feels unloved and unlovable. She receives some unwelcome feedback about herself from a surprising source, and gradually she begins to realize that she is inflicting many of her woes on herself because she actively pushes people away. Brief glimpses of others’ reactions to her suggest that our narrator’s perceptions may not be entirely reliable when it comes to herself and her relationships

At points, I felt that Luna’s internal turmoil overshadowed the rest of the book. There is a case to be resolved surrounding the battle for possession of an ancient magical artifact with some interesting history behind it. And Luna, who has always worked alone, receives a new partner, Barbie Cop. It would be easy to write Barbie off, and Luna tries, but her partner proves herself on at least a few occasions, and it was amusing to have to watch Luna come to terms with that realization.

Irina, Dmitri’s new girlfriend, proved entertaining. She did what every red-blooded woman or were would do when confronted with the “other woman.” She fought back. And when her own efforts were in doubt, she enlisted others to help her.

This book afforded us a glimpse into Luna’s past from two different perspectives. Through her new partner, Shelby, she can study a reflection of herself, one that allows her to do some introspection. While confronting her past in another form, she begins to question who she has become, and takes a few tentative steps to change it. It’s too early to tell whether she’s on the right path, but I certainly hope she is, because I would like to spend more time with the plot when we next visit Nocturn City.

Luna also reaches a realization about her magical abilities; in essence, she is a witch after all, but her powers don’t manifest in the usual way. She is a “path”, a witch that absorbs magical energy instead of casting it outward. This is likely why she never could learn from her grandmother’s lessons, because she was trying to send magic outward instead of drawing it to her. This will either be the beginning of the “new power every book” scenario, or an opportunity to explore how this nuance of magic makes her different and special. I’m betting on Kittredge to make this another opportunity for an enjoyable tale.

The book was a fast-paced enjoyable read, and once I immersed myself in it I didn’t put it down. Ms. Kittredge knows how to tell a story, and once she draws you in, it’s hard to get free again.

Final Thoughts:

There was just a little too much internal conflict and whining in this book for my tastes. In a few places, I think that the central mystery got lost in Luna’s struggle to understand herself. Nonetheless, when we got down to it, I did like the story and the bits of world building that were done. I enjoyed the final showdown between Luna and her adversary, and feel that I have a better sense of Nocturn City and its struggles to fit magic into the world we live in, a world already full of crime and mayhem. At the end of the story, we’re left with new plot strands to explore, and I’m definitely eager to see where they lead us. A third book is already out, Second Skin, and a fourth book is due out on September 1, called Witch Craft. By all means pick up this series. I’d recommend that you clear your calendar, because once you start, you won’t want to put it down.

Final Grade: B

Review: Pure Blood (Nocturn City, Book 2)

Title: Pure Blood (Nocturn City, Book 2)

Author: Caitlin Kittredge

Genre: Paranormal romance

Reason for Reading: I read the first book for Bookshare. I enjoyed it and decided to grab the second one to see just what was happening in Nocturn City.

Synopsis:

In the shadows of Nocturne City, witches lurk and demons prowl, and homicide detective Luna Wilder must keep the peace—while living life as a werewolf. Now bodies are turning up all over town, the brutal murders linked by a cryptic message: We see with empty eyes…
To make matters worse for Luna, she can’t get wolfishly handsome Dmitri Sandovsky out of her mind. The last time he helped her with a case, Dmitri suffered a demon bite that infected him with a mysterious illness…and now his pack elders have forbidden him from associating with Luna. But she’ll need his help when high-level witches start turning up slaughtered. Because a war is brewing between rival clans of blood witches and caster witches—a magical gang war with the power to burn Nocturne City to the ground.

Other Opinions

Coffee Quill

My Thoughts:

There’s a darker edge to Luna’s world, one that gives this series a sense of being more authentic than some. Relationships aren’t always rosy, and people’s interactions with one another feel authentic, even if they don’t always show everyone in the best light. Dmitri, for instance, is living a life that his pack has forced on him, sharing his bed with a woman that meets with the pack’s approval. And why? Because it’s easier to accept that fate than to fight against it. That doesn’t make him noble, but it feels appropriate for the character we met in the first book. He chose his pack, and feels comfortable with the weight of their traditions. At one point he accuses Luna of failing to understand, because she has forsaken the pack concept, and I can definitely see his point.

Luna, on the other hand, rails against the pack, her grandmother, the new police captain, in essence because she feels unloved and unlovable. She receives some unwelcome feedback about herself from a surprising source, and gradually she begins to realize that she is inflicting many of her woes on herself because she actively pushes people away. Brief glimpses of others’ reactions to her suggest that our narrator’s perceptions may not be entirely reliable when it comes to herself and her relationships

At points, I felt that Luna’s internal turmoil overshadowed the rest of the book. There is a case to be resolved surrounding the battle for possession of an ancient magical artifact with some interesting history behind it. And Luna, who has always worked alone, receives a new partner, Barbie Cop. It would be easy to write Barbie off, and Luna tries, but her partner proves herself on at least a few occasions, and it was amusing to have to watch Luna come to terms with that realization.

Irina, Dmitri’s new girlfriend, proved entertaining. She did what every red-blooded woman or were would do when confronted with the “other woman.” She fought back. And when her own efforts were in doubt, she enlisted others to help her.

This book afforded us a glimpse into Luna’s past from two different perspectives. Through her new partner, Shelby, she can study a reflection of herself, one that allows her to do some introspection. While confronting her past in another form, she begins to question who she has become, and takes a few tentative steps to change it. It’s too early to tell whether she’s on the right path, but I certainly hope she is, because I would like to spend more time with the plot when we next visit Nocturn City.

Luna also reaches a realization about her magical abilities; in essence, she is a witch after all, but her powers don’t manifest in the usual way. She is a “path”, a witch that absorbs magical energy instead of casting it outward. This is likely why she never could learn from her grandmother’s lessons, because she was trying to send magic outward instead of drawing it to her. This will either be the beginning of the “new power every book” scenario, or an opportunity to explore how this nuance of magic makes her different and special. I’m betting on Kittredge to make this another opportunity for an enjoyable tale.

The book was a fast-paced enjoyable read, and once I immersed myself in it I didn’t put it down. Ms. Kittredge knows how to tell a story, and once she draws you in, it’s hard to get free again.

Final Thoughts:

There was just a little too much internal conflict and whining in this book for my tastes. In a few places, I think that the central mystery got lost in Luna’s struggle to understand herself. Nonetheless, when we got down to it, I did like the story and the bits of world building that were done. I enjoyed the final showdown between Luna and her adversary, and feel that I have a better sense of Nocturn City and its struggles to fit magic into the world we live in, a world already full of crime and mayhem. At the end of the story, we’re left with new plot strands to explore, and I’m definitely eager to see where they lead us. A third book is already out, Second Skin, and a fourth book is due out on September 1, called Witch Craft. By all means pick up this series. I’d recommend that you clear your calendar, because once you start, you won’t want to put it down.

Final Grade: B

Review: Beau Crusoe by Carla Kelly

Title: Bo Crusoe
Author: Carla Kelly
Genre: historical romance
Reason for Reading: It’s time once again for Avid Reader’s TBR challenge The theme for this month was tortured heroes and heroines, and this fit the bill beautifully.

Synopsis:

Shipwrecked!

Stranded alone on a desert island, he had lived to tell the tale. A triumphant return to the ton saw James Trevenen hailed as Beau Crusoe—a gentleman of spirit, verve and action. But only he knew the true cost of his survival! Scandalous!

Susannah Park had been shunned by Society. She lived content with her calm existence—until Beau Crusoe determinedly cut up her peace! The beautiful widow wanted to help him heal the wounds of the past—but what secrets was this glorious man hiding?

Other Thoughts:

• All About Romance

• Janine at Dear Author
• Jayne at Dear Author

My Thoughts: Carla Kelly is an author that a lot of romance fans have sited as doing amazing stuff with the Regency time period. This is the first book of hers that I’ve read, and if they’re all this good, it certainly won’t be the last.

I love the premise, which fits the tortured hero aspect of the TBR challenge perfectly. They don’t come any more tormented than James, who has not had an easy life. I liked the fact that, though he went through some pretty hellish experiences, he was still capable of joking around, having fun, and in other ways not wallowing in his own inner torment. It seemed to me that Ms. Kelly really thought through what the consequences of life on an uninhabited island would be, such as James’s need for basic human contact, and the visions that he still saw.

I really liked Susannah as well, and I totally bought their romance. Susannah is also a refreshing historical heroine. She’s not a virgin, she knows about sex, and she has more than two brain cells to rub together. She was furthermore exactly what James needed. Sure, she was extremely maternal, but I kind of liked that about her, and I could see her being a tempering influence on James over the years ahead of the couple. I also adored that Susannah had such a good relationship with her son, Noah. Noah comes across as a real kid here, and not overly precious.

Some of the other characters don’t fare quite as well. Loisa, Susannah’s bitter older sister, who blames Susannah for Loisa’s own lack of marriage prospects, comes around far too quickly to be entirely believable. Sir Percival, a fop who James lets believe was saved from a fire, was not nearly as funny as Ms. Kelly clearly thought he was, and Lady Audley… well… Can we please just take the evil slut ex-girlfriend romance trope outside and shoot it?

I loved the details about James’s life at sea, and his adventures on the island. Some of the stuff that happens to him is quite gruesome, but I have a strong stomach, and as some of the things that James went through shaped the person he became after the island, I thought they were completely necessary.

I don’t think the end of the book works for me, exactly. After such a promising three quarters of the story, I was hoping for something a little less tidy. But still, this book earns my complete seal of approval, as I was in an area where I had both good wireless Internet connection and the book, and the book won out over the Internet.

Final Thoughts: This is yet more proof that Harlequin doesn’t have to equal horribly cheesy romance. Highly recommended.

Grade: B+

Review: The Moon by Night by Madeleine L’Engle

Title: the Moon by Night
Author: Madeleine L’Engle
Genre: Young adult
Reason for Reading: Madeleine L’Engle is one of my favorite authors of all time. I’m trying to make sure I’ve read all of her children’s books at least once, if not more often, and I never had read this one.
Synopsis: This book chronicles the close-knit Austen family as they make a cross-country trip prior to their move to New York. Told in first-person by fourteen-year-old Vicky, who is going through a difficult adolescence, the book chronicles Vicky’s first tentative forays into the world of boys, as well as her own uncertainty about where she is going in life.

Other Opinions: Couldn’t actually find any other reviews. If you’ve written one and want to give me the link, I’ll add it.

My thoughts: While this is not my favorite L’Engle book–A Wrinkle in Time will always have that title–it is another excellent offering. L’Engle, for me, is a comfort author, and this book was no exception. I immediately fell in love with the Austen family, whose closeness and love for each other are obvious even when, as all families do, they have problems. I also like, every once in a while, reading a book where the fate of the world isn’t necessarily at stake, and I love that one of the most powerful things about L’Engle’s writing is that the climaxes focus on the characters overcoming or coming to terms with something about themselves that they don’t like. It happened to Meg in A Wrinkle in Time, and it happens to Vicky here.

To bring this review back down to the shallow end of the spectrum of discourse, one of the main reasons I read it was because this is the book where we first meet Zachary Gray, who is one of L’Engle’s most complex and interesting characters. We don’t see inside his own head, but the glimpses we get of him from Vicky, who is alterntely attracted by and repelled by him, make him fascinating. he’s a spoiled rich kid with a medical condition, who has never been told no in his life, nor has he experienced much in the way of love, so he acts out in ways designed to put as much risk to himself as possible. I have a feeling if this book had been written 40 years later, Zachary would have been addicted to something. Anyway, Zachary isn’t terribly likable, but, like Vicky, I was fascinated by him all the same.

Vicky herself is another great L’Engle heroine. She’s smart, she’s resourceful, and her voice feels authentic–or at least as authentic as any voice of a teenager can be from a book written 40 years ago. I also think that the things she goes through–feeling like everyone around her has it way more together than she does, experiencing those first adolescent crushes, occasionally needing time by herself even amid a loving family–are things that are still very relatable. And, as I said, Vicky’s story ends with her coming to terms with herself and growing more mature in the process.

As a travelogue, this book doesn’t work as well, but then, it’s not supposed to. What fascinated me about the road trip aspect of the story was that, despite some things that were clearly dated–a family of six could not spend $10 a day these days on a similar trip–a lot of it wasn’t. The camping advice the family learns along the way still seems sensible, and some of the people they meet along the way seem like the sorts you could still meet if you took road trips across the country.

Final Thoughts: I have no idea if this book is actually relevant to today’s teens. But I always enjoy L’Engle, and this was no exception.

Final Grade: B+

The latest silly meme

Yay for blog memes. I love them to distraction, and I always end up doing them, even if some seem too boring to post.

This one I got from Jen B.

1. What thing is nearest to you? An empty glass which used to contain Kool-aid.
2. What is your ringtone? It’s actually one of the presets on my phone. It sounds vaguely musical, but it’s not any particular tune.
3. What was the last message in your inbox? I think at the moment it’s an RP tag. (Yes, yes, I am a nerd. This should not surprise you.)
4. Who is your best friend? I think I’m going to copy Jen and confess I don’t really have one. I have several close friends, but I don’t want to rank them. That might make them sad.
5. What is the brand of your TV? I’m one of those people normal folks hate. I don’t own a TV. I don’t really miss its lack, except for when I want to glom a TV show, and that’s why God invented DVD’s, which I can play on my computer.
6. What schools did you attend? This question sort of skeeves me out. Why don’t I just say I’ve attended the school of hard knocks and be done with it?

7. Do you own a MP4? Um… Given that I don’t know what that is, I’m assuming that’s a no.

8. What song are you listening to now? I am so lame. I had a random Internet radio stream on in the background, but loaded my music just to see what would show up on shuffle. It turns out to be “I want a Man” by Nancy Moran, a folk singer/songwriter I adore.

9. Did you kiss anybody in the past 2 days? No. *sadface*

10. Have you ever kissed someone you met in the blogosphere? Actually… Yes. Though we didn’t really meet in what I think of as the blogosphere, since LJ is kind of its own microcosm. It’s a long story, though, and, while the person in question is still someone I very much like, I prefer not to dwell on the year that brought me in contact with him.
11. What would you want to call yourself if you didn’t have your current name? When I was growing up, I was disappointed that I wasn’t given a name that ended with an a. Now… Shannon is actually a fairly unique name.
12. Would you be happy if you had everything? Nope. I’d probably want more of everything.
13. Are you always thinking of someone special? Well, you know, I am pretty damn special, and I think about myself a lot during the course of a day.

14. Tell us of your most desperate dream? Desperate, huh? Well, apparently it involves sexy people with Scottish accents doing unspeakable things to my person.

15. When did you last laugh till you cried? I never laugh that hard, because it takes a lot to make me cry. But… probably last Saturday.

16. If you had a crush, would you tell them you love him/her now? Sadly, no crushes. Lately, all the ones I develop end in tragedy. (Either they’re married, they’re a creeper, or they’re a married creeper.) On the other hand, I have friends I adore to distraction who I would go live in sin with if only the idea of actually moving anywhere farther away than about three blocks away didn’t give me the heebie jeebies.

17. If you could be anywhere in the world now, where would you want to be? A beach somewhere. There would be cabana boys involved, and they would be serving me drinks and rubbing my back.

18. When was your heart last broken? If it counts… It was the end of a book I read recently, which should have featured one of the characters getting together with the man she fell in love with. But noooo. That’s not what happened. I sniffled.

19. Whose birthday(s) is/are coming up? My brother’s is in August. I’m thinking that’s the next birthday I have to remember.

20. How many email accounts do you have? Um… four. Five if you count the school email account, which gets forwarded to my main email address.

Review: Sea Witch by Virginia Kantra

Title: Sea Witch: Children of the Sea, book 1
Author: Virginia Kantra
Genre: Paranormal romance
Reason for Reading: My friend and mutual book enabler, Bree recced this book with its unconventional heroine. I like unconventional heroines, so I was all over it like white on rice.
Synopsis:

First in the new The Children of the Sea series from the USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR. Margred is a Selkie, a legendary being of the sea, able to shapeshift into seductive human form. And she has found a human she desires … Burned out from the big city, Caleb Hunter becomes police chief on the peaceful Maine island of World’s End. Then he meets a woman who’s everything he’s ever dreamed of. Their passion is undeniable, irresistible and it may change the fate of humankind.

Other Opinions:

• Dear Author

• Limecello at The Good, the Bad and the Unread
• Sci Fi Guy

My thoughts: This is a really interesting take on the paranormal romance, and I liked it. I’d never read anything by Ms. Kantra, but I was impressed with her storytelling ability. I liked that the heroine, in this case, was the paranormal creature in question, and I really appreciated that some of the tropes I’ve begun to hate in paranormals were blessedly absent here. There are no destined mates, no uber alpha men struggling mightily not to fall in love with the heroine. This is, instead, a story about the real world with only a bit of the paranormal.

The one note that rang sour about this book was the character of Margred. I understood that, as a selkie, she was used to being a solitary creature, and she was centuries old, so the idea of living a human life was daunting, but I didn’t really like her. Given how much those humans she disdained were trying to do for her, she could have been a little nicer to them. That said, I did like that she was the experienced one, as I said before, and it was nice to read about a heroine who was the seducer for a change.

Caleb, the hero, was another matter entirely. I love broken heroes in my romance, and Caleb fits the mold well. He was very sweet, and I love that he was principled. Other girls may like bad boys, but give me a knight in shining armor, especially one that’s a little broken, and I will swoon.

The plot moves along steadily, building to a finish I really liked. Again, Ms. Kantra avoids the worst of the romance tropes. A big secret I thought would be revealed late in the book is handled quite early on. The sequel baiting was not nearly as obvious as it could have been, and the climax was absolutely gripping.

Final Thoughts: If you like paranormal romance and are looking for something a little bit different from the vampires and werewolves that are so prevalent, this is a good book to check out, especially if you like broken heroes. If only the heroine hadn’t been so hard to like, this book would have rated a much higher grade. As it is, it’s still a good story.

Grade: B

Review: Fool by Christopher Moore

Title: Fool
Author: Christopher Moore
Genre: Humor, historical fiction?
Reason for Reading: I wanted something light and funny, and I know that Moore delivers quite well.
Synopsis:

Christopher Moore, much beloved scrivener and peerless literary jester, now takes on no less than the legendary Bard himself (with the utmost humility and respect) with a twisted and insanely funny tale of a moronic monarch and his deceitful daughters, as seen through the eyes of a man wearing a codpiece and bells on his head.

Pocket has been Lear’s cherished fool for years. So naturally Pocket is at his brainless, elderly liege’s side when Lear demands that his kids swear to him their undying love and devotion. Of course Goneril and Regan are only too happy to brownnose Dad. But Cordelia believes that her father’s request is kind of…well…stupid, and her blunt honesty ends up costing her her rightful share of the kingdom and earns her a banishment to boot.

Well now the bangers and mash have really hit the fan. And the only person who can possibly make things right . . . is Pocket. Now he’s going to have do some very fancy maneuvering: cast some spells, start a war or two - the usual stuff - to get Cordelia back into Daddy Lear’s good graces, to derail the fiendish power plays of Cordelia’s twisted sisters, and to shag every lusciously shaggable wench who’s amenable to shagging along the way.

Pocket may be a fool…but he’s definitely not an idiot.

Other Thoughts:

Review: Magic in the Blood by Devon Monk

Title: Magic in the Blood (Allie Beckstrom, Book 2)

Author: Devon Monk

Genre: Urban fantasy

Reason for Reading: As with many other books, I began by validating the first book for Bookshare. Having enjoyed the first book, I laid claim to the second book when it was submitted for validation, too.

Synopsis:

Working as a Hound—tracing illegal spells back to their casters—has taken its toll on Allison Beckstrom. But even though magic has given her migraines and stolen her recent memory, Allie isn’t about to quit. Then the police’s magic enforcement division asks her to consult on a missing persons case. But what seems to be a straightforward job turns out to be anything but, as Allie finds herself drawn into the underworld of criminals, ghosts, and blood magic.

Other Opinions

Enchanted by Books

CA Reviews

My Thoughts:

If you haven’t read Magic to the Bone, the first book in this series, please proceed with caution. I don’t want to ruin anything for you.

I read the first book in this series, Magic to the Bone, because I was intrigued by the premise behind the use of magic. Magic exacts a price for every spell you cast; it may take its toll in the form of lost memories, a serious bout of the flu, or even a coma. In Magic to the Bone we learned that some spellcasters offload this cost on someone else. There are those who make their living by serving as the target of this magical price, but when the cost is too high, such as that exacted by death magic, an unwilling target may be found. Allie is a hound, investigating such criminal off-loading, and in Magic to the Bone, she investigates her father because his magical signature links him to just such a criminal act. I found the first book interesting, though I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the romance between Allie and Zayvion. Looking back, though, I suspect it was because Allie forgets Zayvion at the end of the first book, which made it all feel futile; yet this is exactly the danger that she brings upon herself whenever she casts magic.

This second foray into Allie Beckstrom’s world absorbed me from beginning to end. It felt as though the setting, the characters, the plot all grew up from one book to the next. The world felt more fully fleshed-out. We learned, for instance, that there’s a magical grid to supply power for electricity when the main grid goes down. Organizations such as the Magical Enforcement Response Corps, a branch of the police department, and the Authority, a somewhat shadowy organization that Allie’s father belonged to, have each taken it upon themselves to monitor the use of magic, and respond appropriately to magical threats. And Lon Trager, the kingpin of drugs and blood magic, has just been released from jail after serving only three years of a thirty-year sentence.

The characters we encounter are also much more fully realized. We begin to see how Allie copes with the price of being a magical practitioner. She must maintain a journal of the daily events in her life, because both large and small events can be swept clean from her memory by spellcasting. We witness the impact as she encounters friends she has forgotten, and as she struggles to rediscover the love she felt for Zayvion, a love she has no recollection of now. Watching Zayvion suffer with the knowledge that Allie can’t remember the love they shared and the experiences they underwent together, and how he responds to that loss, gives him a depth and sympathetic side that made him much more enjoyable for me this time around. We also meet several more hounds, and we learn that each of them has developed some form of addictive behavior to help them cope with the impacts of magic on their lives. Finally, we learn a bit more about Daniel Beckstrom, Allie’s father, and those revelations make him a much more complex and interesting character. His motives become more complicated, and it is decidedly uncertain what his intentions are toward his daughter.

One of the most interesting additions to the magical landscape are the “watercolor people.” These ghostly images haunt Allie whenever she attempts to cast spells, leeching her magical energy from her with a touch. I won’t tell you what we learned about them, but I found the discovery fascinating, a welcome addition to Ms. Monk’s already fairly original interpretation of magic.

I enjoyed the way the plot unfolded. Allie is run ragged by the press of events, affording us a real glimpse of how she practices her art, what a hound must know and do in order to survive in this dangerous world. And the final magical confrontation was well-choreographed and delightfully diabolical; it was well worth the journey.

The end of the tale makes it clear that there is more to come, and the creepy implications of it all left me eager for the next installment.

Final Thoughts:

I’m still struggling with the distinction between paranormal romance and urban fantasy. For me, this novel feels more like urban fantasy. Although romance was present, we were also gifted with a fair bit of world building and character development that made this book enjoyable on several levels. It was a bit bloodier than the first story, and if there was any failing in the plotting, it seems to me that Allie really didn’t address how she felt about some of the things she had to do in order to survive the threats she faced. Regardless, I have the sense that there is still time to address this and many other aspects of her character and the world, so I can be patient. I definitely recommend this series to anyone, whether you lean toward urban fantasy or paranormal romance. The next book, Magic in the Shadows, will be released on November 3, and I look forward to it.

Final Grade: A

In which I am far too young for some of my search terms

It’s time to play another game of “what weird search terms show up on the blog?”

• “a “fan” of samantha sommersby commented
  (Riiight. Not buying that she was a real fan. I’ve been on the Internet too long for that to work. But hey, she was my first troll, so (I think she’s cute.)

• ass cominant
  (Nope, still got the wrong blog.)

• historical romance book heroine kick ass
  (Can I recommend Jessica from Loretta chase’s Lord of Scoundrels? )

• women who think fat men are sexy
  (They are out there. But I don’t have any to introduce you to at the moment, sadly.)

• face farting slave fantacy
  (I have learned entirely too much about someone else’s fettish. I feel… kind of dirty about that.)

• vikings gaybear
  (I don’t know what that is, but it does sound kinda hot.)

Please feel free not to share your slave face farting fantasies in the comments!

Review: you Slay Me by Katie MacAlister

Title: You Slay Me (Aisling Grey, Guardian, Book 1)
Author: Katie MacAlister

Genre: Paranormal romance

Reason for Reading: Once again, I was seduced by Christina, who thought I would enjoy reading it. This time she was right, so I read it while validating for Bookshare.

Synopsis:

We’ve seen the essence of this story before. A young woman living in the modern world, Aisling Grey, oblivious to the magical forces that lurk around every corner, finds herself abruptly thrust into the supernatural maelstrom without a clue as to what is going on or what she can do about it. It all begins with a seemingly straightforward courier mission: deliver an aquamanile to a woman in Paris. This simple task becomes far more complicated when she arrives at her destination to find the woman slain, and herself as the most likely suspect in her murder. Shortly thereafter, the aquamanile is stolen, and the action begins. The next 300 pages are a madcap run through the streets of Paris, trying to solve the murder and get her statue back. She is accompanied by a demon dog, and finds herself both tempted and thwarted by Drake Vireo, alternately a love interest and another murder suspect. As the story unfolds, she is accused of being a wyvern’s mate, a guardian, and a demon lord. The story concludes with numerous revelations, some hard decisions, and the knowledge that Aisling’s story is just beginning.

Other Opinions

Weekly Geeks: guilty Pleasures

I’ve been wanting to do the Weekly Geeks meme for a while, but was never actually inspired to answer the question. Then I got myself a blogging partner, so this week, both Lora and I are going to tackle this week’s question:

What’s your non-reading guilty pleasure?
Trashy TV?
Trashier movies?
Junk food?

Lora says:

Guilty pleasures? Do I really have to choose just one?

For the past few months, it has been American Idol. I tried to justify it by explaining that everyone else at work was watching it, and I needed to be able to converse with my peers about such things. That all seems flimsy now. I got wrapped up in the angst and drama, and was glad to watch it every Tuesday and Wednesday, even if it did occasionally tread on my Fringe obsession, too. Now that was a great combo of TV shows. I knew I was in trouble when I even found myself voting. And not just once.

American idol is a short-lived love story, however. It sweeps in every January, monopolizes my week nights for a while, and then disappears with a snicker, leaving me to reschedule my Tuesdays and Wednesdays once again, hopefully with something meaningful and self-enriching this time.

Unfortunately, there is another obsession that plagues me all year round. Junk food, junk food everywhere, and nary a vitamin C. It can be chocolate kisses, teriyaki beef jerky, or orange sherbet. Or, very occasionally, cake batter ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. It used to include barbecued potato chips, but I have banished that demon from my life. Next on the list of demons to quell is chocolate, but until I firmly decide that they are my foes, I suspect they’ll continue to share my home and my heart, sweet-talking me with their delicious whispers and tempting taste sensations. Ah, villainy, thy name is chocolate.

Shannon says:

I have to agree with Lora on the junk food. That’s definitely one of my guilty pleasures. And sadly, I have no willpower. Back when our local frozen custard place delivered, I’m sure I was the only reason they stayed delivering so long. Not that the frozen custard actually lasted very long when I had it, but still…

Another guilty pleasure I’ve discovered is shopping. I hate shopping in brick and mortar stores, but I love online shopping, because I can do it more or less independently, and it’s easy for me to go, “Oh, shiny!” and stick something in my cart. More and more, I’ve been doing this with music especially. I tend to listen to a lot of indie and folk music, and I justify spending money downloading CDs from Amazon and Emusic by telling myself that the artists need my business. And if there is a sale, I am on it like white on rice. I do have to rein myself in, though. It’s not like I’m exactly rolling in the cash.

What about the rest of you? What are your guilty pleasures?

Unsent Letters: the Fat Girl edition

Dear Douchebag at the convenience store yesterday:

News flash. I guarantee you that I know for a fact that I am fat. Knowing this, I made a conscious decision to not subsist on salad and water and went to the convenience store to buy funions and those Snickers ice cream bars. I knew when I bought them that these things have no nutritional value whatsoever. That’s why I bought them. I am also a grown adult, and if I want to clog my arteries, who is going to stop me?

I did not appreciate you telling me your inspiring story of losing 100 pounds on Weight Watchers. Far from inspiring me–as you hoped given that you actually did use the word inspire when you told me this story–it made me want to punch you in the face. It also inspired me never to consider Weight Watchers as as a viable diet plan, lest I run into your douchey self there. Oddly enough, this is exactly how I feel about evangelical Christianity. I don’t like being prosseletized about my god, and I don’t like being prosseletized about my weight. Because you know what? It is absolutely none of your fucking business. I don’t care that you’re right. You’re not one of the people in my life who is allowed to make that kind of criticism of a complete stranger.

Also, at least I *walked* to the convenience store in order to get my arteries clogged. Your lazy ass drove.

No love,
Shannon

Around the Blogosphere

You really, really do not want to know the state of my RSS reader. Last time I checked, I think I had 666 unread posts, which just means the darn thing is possessed and determined to eat my soul. But my issue is your gain, as I’ve found interesting things to highlight from my blog reading.

• Jason Henninger makes those awkward conversations about books you haven’t read much easier to deal with by telling us how to lie about books. Check it out if you’re at all an SF fan. You will laugh.

• Jim C. Hines, whose The Stepsister Scheme is on my tottering TBR pile, answers the all-important question: Is your book appropriate for my child?
• Holly over at The Book Binge has an interesting post about why she buys from amazon.com. I have to admit that I agree with what she says. I don’t buy books from Amazon unless I’m buying gifts, but I do buy music from them all the time because it’s simply a better use of my limited funds.
• Over at The Good, the Bad, and the Unread, which you should all be reading, if you’re not already, for my own infrequent commentary, there was a fascinating discussion about reader and writer expectations in historical romance. I think I fall in line with Lawson on these things, but I’m not a history geek, and historicals aren’t my preferred genre, though there are always exceptions.
• Anime June, one of my newest blogging discoveries and all-around smart and articulate chick, writes about the author’s attitude re: negative reviews. I have only one thing to say about this post: word.
• Jessica, whose blog you should also be reading because she is smart and funny and your humble link gatherer wants to be her when she grows up, is hosting a retirement reception for some of her *ahem* favorite romance tropes. She also predicts some new romance tropes we’ll be seeing in the future, including my personal favorite:
  

  Our courtship has been conducted on Twitter. What if he expects me to use more than 140 characters at a time in conversation?

  I know I, for one, would read that book.

• And lastly, another of my blogger friends and one of the coolest people on Twitter, Jen B posted a recipe for homemade laundry soap that I am dying to try myself, and which I include here so I can find it again for whenever I get my lazy ass around to buying a food processor.

So, got any interesting links lately? Feel free to share in comments.

Review: The Etched City by K J Bishop

Title: the Etched City
Author: K. J. Bishop
Genre: Apparently, it is classified as New weird, which means it’s part science fiction, part fantasy, and part… something completely random and bizarre.
Reason for Reading: My friend Primavera. We have this mutually enabling ritual where she makes me read books like this and I make her read books like Geek Love . Sometimes it works out. Sometimes not.
Synopsis:

Gwynn and Raule are rebels on the run, with little in common except being on the losing side of a hard-fought war. Gwynn is a gunslinger from the north, a loner, a survivor . . . a killer. Raule is a wandering surgeon, a healer who still believes in just–and lost–causes. Bound by a desire to escape the ghosts of the past, together they flee to the teeming city of Ashamoil, where Raule plies her trade among the desperate and destitute, and Gwynn becomes bodyguard and assassin for the household of a corrupt magnate. There, in the saving and taking of lives, they find themselves immersed in a world where art infects life, dream and waking fuse, and splendid and frightening miracles begin to bloom . . .

Other opinions:

Lora’s Review: Howling at the Moon by Karen MacInerney

Shannon’s note: I met Lora via a mutual friend. We both happen to be blind, we’re both big readers, and we’re on a private listserv full of bookish blind women. I’ve been hoping to recruit a blogging partner, and Lora was by far my most enthusiastic volunteer. She has no idea that blogging will eat her soul, so don’t tell her, OK?. Anyway, here is her first review!

Title: Howling at the Moon (Tales of an Urban Werewolf, Book 1)
Author: Karen MacInerney
Genre: Paranormal romance
Reason for Reading: I have been reading a lot of books about werewolves recently, and the synopsis for this one caught my eye. So I read it cover to cover as I was validating it for Bookshare.

Synopsis:

A werewolf auditor who hasn’t met but a handful of other werewolves in Austin in the last eighteen years is suddenly tripping over them wherever she goes. At the same time, someone is threatening her, sending her packages whose contents allude to her secret, and threaten to reveal it. And if all that isn’t enough, her mother, an herbalist witch, is accused of poisoning a politician, and winds up in jail.
Other Opinions:

Cloth Dragon

Darque Reviews

Scooper

Sandy M at TGTBTU

Limecello at TGTBTU

My thoughts: The Werewolf Wears Prada?  Oh, how the loup-garou have fallen!

I wanted to like this book.  The protagonist, Sophie Garou, is somewhat witty and entertaining, even if I cannot relate to her fashonista obsession. She is plagued with a bitter, gossipy office assistant, and a gorgeous best friend, and tends to be a bit of a workaholic, all reasonably believable challenges.  Her hunky human boyfriend, Heath, is the marrying kind, and he seems like a sweetheart. 

Enter Tom Fenris, the first real werewolf Sophie has ever met.  She is inexplicably drawn to him, for reasons that are never really touched upon, and even though she has a loving boyfriend who is ready to propose, she spends a good majority of the book mooning over Fenris, who isn’t even very likable.  The attraction felt forced, unbelievable and uninteresting.

I read on in any case.  I love mysteries, and I kept hoping that one of the mysteries presented to us would have an interesting resolution. Unfortunately, the story felt a little disjointed, and the explanations for the events that plagued Sophie from the beginning were rather unimaginative.

Final Thoughts: I can’t give this book an absolutely failing grade.  Some of the situations were mildly amusing, such as Sophie as a werewolf, whose panty hose get caught on a bush, or the badly bungled office break-in that Sophie and her friend orchestrate, but much of this book felt like the author was trying too hard. Ms. MacInerney has already published a second book in this series, On the Prowl, and a third is due out in July. I doubt I will read either. 

Final grade:  C-.

Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Title: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Jane Austen
Genre: classic lit/romance
Reason for Reading: Well, people do say that you can’t be a real romance reader unless you’ve read the classics. But, really, aside from that, I wanted to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and I wanted to be familliar with the source material. I know you all totally think less of me for that admission, but there you have it.
Synopsis:

Pride and Prejudice is the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet (minor gentry), their five daughters, and the various romantic adventures at their Hertfordshire residence of Longbourn. The parents’ characters are greatly contrasted: Mr Bennet being a wise and witty gentleman; while Mrs Bennet is permanently distracted by the issue of marrying off her daughters at any cost. The reason for Mrs Bennet’s obsession is that their estate will pass by law after Mr Bennet’s death to his closest blood relative: his cousin, the Reverend William Collins (a fatuous, tactless and pompous man). Austen’s tale is spurred on by the arrival of the young and wealthy bachelor Charles Bingley and his friend Fitzwilliam Darcy. It is the story of the various affections, affectations and engagement shenanigans that develop due to Mrs Bennet’s relentless matchmaking and the dashing Darcy’s tempestuous relationship with Elizabeth Bennet who Jane Austen claimed was favourite amongst her literary offspring. Its 1797 earlier version was turned down for publication and it appeared in this form in 1813.

Other reviews:

• Book Please

• Becky

My thoughts: It’s hard to know exactly how to review a classic bit of literature that is so ubiquitous that, in writing certain elements of the form I use, I found myself wanting to insert things like, “…for those of you who just crawled out from under a rock as well.” Nonetheless, it was definitely a book that will stick with me and so I’m going to try and do it justice.

What sticks in my mind something like a month after I finished the book–I told you my reviews were seriously behind–is that it’s a perfect romance, and I suspect it’s the kind of romance that will have something for any kind of reader. I loved that Elizabeth was feisty and strong-minded, and I adored Darcy’s vulnerability. (I read him as a complete introvert, something I very much identify with myself.) I felt that the two of them completed each other perfectly, and what’s more, I was shown that. There was no magical authorial fiat that made it so. What I wouldn’t give to have that be the case for more books that I read!

I also noticed, of course, the genre conventions that came to be prevalent in regency romances. We have the matchmaking mama, the silly younger sister, the unsuitable competition for the heroine’s affections. And yet, all of these characters are interesting in their own right. Months after this review, I’m sure I could still tell you the names of the five Bennet sisters and what was special about them. I acknowledge that this is the big problem with Seth Grahame-Smith’s take on Austen–he totally butchered the characterization so he could add his zombie crackfic.

I do admit to having a few issues, though. there’s a reason I linked to the Audible version of the book that I downloaded. I really couldn’t read it myself. There was too much dialogue, not enough dialogue tags, and I got lost. But Josephine Bailey was a perfect reader for this book, since she sounds suitably British and she did a great job distinguishing between the various characters.

Final Thoughts: I definitely recommend this book to romance fans who haven’t read it. It’s a very good read made even better thanks to a good narrator. I hesitate to give it an A grade, though, because of the struggles I had which led to my switching to the audio version, but it definitely deserves a strong B+.

An update

I’m back from my weekend of uncomfortable oral surgery. (As fun activities go, I think this one ranks slightly above bathing in battery acid.) I’m mostly not in pain anymore, and am trying to finish recovering. I go back to the oral surgeon’s office so they can remove my sutures on Thursday, and then, I hope never to see that man again.

A couple of bloggy links of interest, because you should all definitely check out other blogs than this one:

• Dear Author has posted a FAQ about the text-to-speech issue for authors. I have written about this issue quite enough myself, but it’s still one that interests me, and, hey, at least the comments section didn’t make me want to tear out my hair. Much.

• I reviewed Say goodbye by Lisa Gardner for TGTBTU. I’m going to try to be better about linking to my TGTBTU reviews over here, because if I can’t promote my own writing on my own blog, where can I? Anyway, make with the clicky and see what I thought of the book.

Speaking of books, I actually managed to finish several this weekend. I wasn’t good for very much besides reading after the surgery, and I tried to pick books that were fun. I know I’ll keep saying that I’ll get reviews written, so I won’t promise that this time and we’ll just hope for the best.

• Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling: You know, I’m still struggling with my thoughts on this book. I didn’t really like the characters, and it’s pretty obvious that this is a debut work. But there was something about the writing style that kept me interested enough to probably read the second book in this duology.

• The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley: There was a lot of buzz in romancelandia about this book. It deserved all the buzz it got, too. The hero is yummy and tortured, the heroine is surprisingly well-developed considering that the hero’s name is in the title, which seems to be a hallmark for poor characterization of the heroine. It just really worked for me, and I haven’t read a historical romance in a long time that I’ve been this satisfied with.
• Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest: I’d heard really good things about Ms. Priest’s writing, and they were well-founded. I really like Southern Gothic stories, and this one definitely fits the mold, being very atmospheric. I also really liked the narrator’s voice and her snarkiness, and I want to read more from this author.
• the Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman: You know, years and years ago, someone recommended Tony Hillerman to me as an author I’d like, and I do remember liking the previous book of his I read. This one, though? Not so much. Mostly I was bored, and there wasn’t nearly enough Joe Leaphorn in it.

Right now, I’m nearly finished with Burning Alive by Shannon K Butcher. It’s one of those books where the cheesiness is part of its charm. The hero is over the top alpha, which isn’t normally my thing except, apparently, in paranormal romance. The heroine is… basically useless, but likeable enough most of the time. Sadly, having lived near the area in which the story is set, I keep getting yanked out of the writing every time the author gets a bit of Kansas geography wrong.

Anyway, it’s good to be back online, and I’m still going through my bloglines to see what you all did in my absence. (A lot, apparently.)

Ramblings and Booking through Thursday

Well, I totally missed this week’s TBR deadline, because I’m only about halfway through the book I was going to use for it. But I’ll get the review up soon–if not tomorrow then at the start of next week.

This weekend, I’m going to get some teeth pulled. I plan to spend the time with my parents, but I’ll be bringing my books. I’m not sure I’ll actually feel much like reading anything while I’m in freaking agony, but we’ll see what I accomplish.
I’m also looking forward to an exciting new development on this blog, which I will tell you about when the time is right. For now, though, it’s a secret.

Anyway, here’s this week’s Booking through Thursday:

What book would you love to be able to read again for the first time?

This is a really good question. Several books spring to mind. Dreams Underfoot by Charles De Lint, Geek Love by Katharine Dunn, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, and most recently, Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. There was something magical about all of these books for me, and I suspect that subsequent rereadings, while satisfying, won’t provide that same level of magic I experienced the first time.

Last week’s reads

You know how, last week, I mentioned that my goal for the summer was to read a book a day? Well, it turns out that’s ever so slightly unreasonable. I get too easily distracted to maintain that kind of reading commitment.

Oh, well. It was a nice thought.

So here’s what I finished last week. Eventually, I will even manage to catch up on all my book reviews, too, and you’ll know in more detail what I thought of everything.

• Sea Witch by Virginia Kantra: Bree gets blamed for this one, and though I didn’t love it as much as she did, I was satisfied with it in the end. Certainly the book’s climax was everything I could have asked for in a paranormal romance.

• The Moon by Night by Madeleine L’Engle: Madeleine L’Engle has been a favorite author of mine for years. This was one of her few young adult titles I’d never read. It was very much a comfort read and I was just… very happy while I was immersed in her world.
• Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund: I know there is a specific book blogger to blame for my decision to read this book last week. But my mind is like a steel sieve, and I have no idea who that would have been. Either way, it’s not the sort of book I think I would have picked up ordinarily, but I’m glad I did. I particularly enjoyed Amy’s slightly snarky, self-aware narrative voice. the story is told in a manner that suggests amy’s telling it to us after the fact, and she acknowledges when she did something stupid. I really liked that.
• Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny: I enjoyed this classic science fiction/fantasy hybrid. Again, I really liked the main character, and was impressed with his mad bluffing skillz. I wanted to know what scrapes he would get himself out of or into with pure, unadulterated B.S. I’m definitely going to keep going with the series.
• Slob by Ellen Potter: I blogged about this book recently, and I’m happy to report that it totally met my expectations. It was an awesome book, with lots of heart and humor, with a memorable narrator. Also, I sniffled. Several times. I almost never cry at books, so that should tell you something.

At the moment, I’m reading several books, one of which I may eventually finish. Here’s what I’ve been dipping into but haven’t finished yet.

• Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling: I think I may use this for the TBR challenge, which is due this week, since I’ve been spoiled about where the romance arc in this fantasy novel is going and it fits the theme of the challenge. I have to say, though, that while I find the writing accessible and the story fun, if I pause to actually think about the characters, I realize there’s not much there, and what there is, I’m not crazy about. But I’ll keep reading because, like I said, the book is fun.

• Overhexed by Vicki Lewis Thompson: I really, really do not do romantic comedies. Particularly not paranormal romantic comedies. But I wanted something to proofread for bookshare and I picked this book. Surprisingly, I really like it. The story is cute, and while there’s not a lot of depth to the characters, they’re fun to read about.
• Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel: I remember picking this up from Bookshare on a whim, and it looks interesting. I haven’t gotten far in it though, because the shiny still distracts me, but it’s a fast read, so I’m sure I’ll finish it soon.
• Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore: Probably won’t review this one, since I’ve already read this one. But I really like Moore’s writing, and I decided a reread was in order after I finished his latest book, Fool.
• Stranger in a Strange Land by robert Heinlein: It seems to be hip and cool for today’s SF fans to bash Heinlein, and, sadly, they have points. But this is my favorite of his books, and I’d never read the uncut version. I’m wondering if it’s anything like the uncut version of The Stand , where the added material really didn’t significantly add anything to the book. So far that seems to be the case. But I am reading this book brightly, brightly and with beauty. So there!

So that’s what I’ve been reading. I also have ebooks to review for TGTBTU that I’ve been neglecting, so I’m hoping to get to at least one of those this week.

Some advice for authors

One of my favorite authors, Meljean Brook provides some advice that certain authors, such as Samantha Sommersby (whom readers of this blog will remember from the comments of this post.) might need to take heed of.

Because really. Promoing your book in the comments of a blog that isn’t even remotely related is incredibly tacky. After all, I have a perfectly good contact form which you can use to your heart’s content and which might yield better results.

Also, if you must use a sockpuppet, try and make it at least somewhat believable by, you know, not linking to your actual author site when spamming my comments.

That is all.

Today’s impulse purchase

I couldn’t help myself. After having read a really intriguing review of Slob by Ellen Potter, I bought it. I cried a little at paying $14 for a hardcover since I made my purchase at Fictionwise, but I am weak-willed. I mean, there is absolutely nothing not to love about the book’s opening lines.

My name is Owen Birnbaum, and I’m probably fatter than you are. This isn’t my low self-esteem talking. This is pure statistics. I’m five foot two and I weigh 156 pounds. That’s 57 percent fatter than the national average for a twelve-year-old-boy.
I’m also probably smarter than you. I don’t mean that as an insult. Again, statistics. They had my IQ tested in the second grade. I won’t tell you my score. Actually, I can’t tell you my score because I promised my mother I wouldn’t do that anymore. I used to tell everyone. My mother said that was obnoxious. I think she was also worried about giving my sister, Jeremy, a complex. Jeremy is a year younger than I am and not the brightest crayon in the box. She’s a good kid. Just very so-so in the cerebral cortex region.

Already I love this kid, and I can’t wait to let him tell me his story. Here’s the book’s blurb:

Twelve-year-old Owen Birnbaum is the fattest kid in school. But he’s also a genius who invents cool contraptions - like a TV that shows the past. Something happened two years ago that he needs to see. But genius or not, there is much Owen can’t outthink. Like his gym coach, who’s on a mission to humiliate him. Or the way his Oreos keep disappearing from his lunch. He’s sure that if he can only get the TV to work, things will start to make sense. But it will take a revelation for Owen, not science, to see the answer’s not in the past, but the present. That no matter how large he is on the outside, he doesn’t have to feel small on the inside.

With her trademark humor, Ellen Potter has created a larger-than-life character and story whose weight is immense when measured in heart.

Um, OK, maybe don’t look at the blurb. It is kind of cheesetastic, now that I paste it in here. But seriously, this does look like a book I’d have enjoyed back in my days as a middle-grade reader.

Naturally, I’ll let you know if the book met my expectations. I’m off to start reading it now!

Booking through Thursday: Book Gluttony

Well, so today I’ve had a fairly good day. My goal is to see if I can winnow down my TBR pile over the summer and so I’m trying to read a book a day. Today I just barely managed it. Note that I should have been studying for my final tomorrow, and the book I was reading had nothing to do with the subject of religion. (The book, incidentally, was Diana Peterfreund’s Secret Society Girl , and I intend to review it later, but the lightning reaction was that I really liked it, particularly the snarky and a little self-depricating tone of the narrator.

Anyway, I didn’t do the Booking through Thursday question last week, but I like this week’s, so here we go.

Book Gluttony! Are your eyes bigger than your book belly? Do you have a habit of buying up books far quicker than you could possibly read them? Have you had to curb your book buying habits until you can catch up with yourself? Or are you a controlled buyer, only purchasing books when you have run out of things to read?

Since I have access to Bookshare, I can be a huge book glutton. I don’t even want to know how many books I have on my hard drive at the moment. But I do tend to be careful with actual book purchases. If I buy a book, I want to make sure it is one I will actually like, which isn’t always easy. That being said, my reading a book every day this summer promise to myself will hopefully take care of the fact that I do have books I have actually purchased that remain unread.

I tend to be very obsessed with the shiny, and very prone to recommendations. I forget who it was who recently read and reviewed one of the Secret Society books, but whoever it was compelled me to impulsively buy the first book in that series, which is what I read instead of whatever’s on my TBR.

Also, I don’t really mind being a book glutton. I mean, all my books are either in electronic format or audible files, so I don’t exactly have problems with space except on my hard drive, which is still quite empty even with my entire book and music collection on it, and, as someone who never had enough to read as a kid, I enjoy the fact that I can horde books and that I will *never* run out.

Review: Anne of Green Gables

Title: Anne of Green Gables
Author: Lucy Maud Montgomery
Genre: classic lit, young adult
Reason for Reading: It’s a children’s classic I hadn’t read. I’m not sure what made me pick it up. Possibly because the books I’d finished prior to this one had been kind of depressing.
Synopsis: Realizing that they’re getting up in years, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert decide they want to take in an orphan boy to help with chores on the farm. But a mistake is made, and what they find is Anne Shirley, a waif of a girl with a wild imagination, a penchant for constant chatter, and a unique way of looking at the world. Matthew is charmed in spite of himself, but Marilla takes a while to warm up to her. Eventually, of course, Anne stays with the Cuthberts and begins a series of adventures as she grows up on Prince Edward Island.
Other Opinions:

• Jessica

• Bookfool

My thoughts: So, apparently, I am one of the last people on the planet to have ever read this book. I don’t know why. I’d always meant to, and I’ve seen the movie, but it was only recently that I ended up picking up the book. And after I did, I was lost.

I have a soft spot for the kind of girls that showed up in literature of the time. If I’d read this book as a kid, I’m sure I’d have fallen hard for Anne the way I did Jo March, though they are quite different characters. There was just something about Anne’s cheerfulness, her vivid imagination, and her loneliness and struggle for love that resonated with me and made her charming, the way, say, characters like Heidi (from the children’s book of the same title by Johanna Spiry) don’t manage.

I think the best part about books like this is that they work just as well for adults as they do for kids. In fact, I caught some nuances that I’m sure would have gone over my head as a kid. I totally understood Marilla, for example, whereas I’m certain that if I’d read this book when I was growing up, I would have found her horribly mean and unfair.

All the characters, though, are nuanced, and what’s more, I felt they were relatable. I always worry about that when I read books written in a time so very different from my own, but people like Mrs. Rachel still exist, and the struggles that Anne goes through, figuring out who she is, trying to balance a dreamy disposition with the practicalities of life, loneliness and homesickness, they’re all things that young people still have to deal with, even in these days.

I’m not sure if I’m going to pick up the rest of the series. I like the place where the story ended, and that’s good enough for me, but since the books are in the public domain, if I do decide to keep reading, I can always do so for free, which is a nice incentive.

Final Thoughts: I’m really glad that I finally picked this book up. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Anne grow up, and now I want to visit Prince Edward Island for myself. My grade: An A-.

Review: The Bad Seed by William March

Title: The Bad Seed
Author:William March
Genre: Thriller
Reason for Reading: I’ve actually meant to pick this book up since I was in junior high.

Synopsis:

What happens to ordinary families into whose midst a child serial killer is born? This is the question at the center of William March’s classic thriller. After its initial publication in 1954, the book went on to become a million-copy bestseller, a wildly successful Broadway show, and a Warner Brothers film. The spine-tingling tale of little Rhoda Penmark had a tremendous impact on the thriller genre and generated a whole perdurable crop of creepy kids. Today, The Bad Seed remains a masterpiece of suspense that’s as chilling, intelligent, and timely as ever before.

Other Opinions:
None that I could find. If any of y’all have read it and reviewed it, please post your links in comments.

My thoughts: So basically, our story goes like this. Rhoda Penmark is an adorable, obedient child who lives alone with her mother in an apartment in the ubiquitous small Southern town. There have always been whisperings and vague uncomfortable feelings about Rhoda, but it’s only after a boy seems to have drowned by accident at a school picnic–a boy who had won the penmanship medal Rhoda craved–that her mother, Christine, starts to suspect her daughter’s involvement. This leads Christine to uncover some secrets of her own past, and to take matters with Rhoda into her own hands.

This book was originally written in 1954, and you can tell. I tried not to be distracted gby some of the things that wouldn’t have bothered 1954 readers, which also probably wouldn’t bother less sensitive readers than I am. But, well, I’m me and the blatant racism and the slightly less blatant misogyny got on my nerves. I tried to go with it, but it did distract me in places.

What was really good was the depiction of Rhoda. She’s a classic sociopath, and I found her deliciously creepy. She manipulates everyone around her, even her mother, and I could absolutely see why the other kids didn’t like her.

There’s not really any suspense. It’s pretty obvious that Rhoda is evil from the start. The suspense comes from Christine’s coming to terms with that fact and her own part in shaping that evil, and it’s this part which worked the best for me. I also loved the ending, which was just the right shade of irony, and which I’m told was absolutely butchered by the movie.

I can’t say that I particularly agree with March’s assertion that insanity is necessarily hereditary. In fact, I don’t think he really made a convincing case for it, but I’m not sure, again, if that’s because he didn’t, or because we simply know better these days. To this end, I didn’t like Christine’s final resolution, because it seemed a little over the top. Surely there were other alternatives for what she could do about Rhoda than the one she ultimately took.

In the end, I’m not sorry I read this book. I do wish it were a bit better able to stand the test of time, but it was definitely a landmark book of its time.

Final Grade: C - the stuff I loved was balanced out by the stuff that didn’t quite work for me.