Weekly Book Review

Been pretty busy lately so I haven't been reading quite as much.

The Mistress of The Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

I had been eagerly waiting for this one to come off my library hold list for a while. A kind of 12th century CSI with an unlikely group of characters. The main premise of the story is that some one is torturing and killing children in Cambridge, England and the local Jewish population has been blamed, the most prominent Jewish couple have been murdered by a mob and the rest have been imprisoned/kept for safe keeping by the Sheriff. King Henry II needs the Jews freed mostly for financial reasons but also wants the murderer found. He sends to his cousin the King of Sicily with a request for help and to send a "master in the art of death" a early version of a medical examiner. In turn Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar (just Adelia for short) is sent along with Simon ( a Jewish "fixer" of sorts) and Mansur, a Middle Eastern Eunuch/body guard. Adelia does not find England to be a hospitable or enjoyable place to be for a woman of her abilities. She has to take care to let the town people think that she is simply the Doctors assistant and that Mansur is the Doctor lest she be thought to be a witch. I found this book to be fascinating and very detailed. I am not one of those people overly bothered with anachronisms when reading historical fiction. If it is for the good of the story I am willing to over look it, but if you are a stickler for 100% accurate historical fact then you might not enjoy this book. The only issue I had with the story is the denouement at the end. I understand why the author did what she did but it just felt a bit off to me and a overly dramatic in a few places. I highly recommend this book and the sequel The Serpent's Tale is currently on my library hold list.


And Only To Deceive by Tasha Alexander

Emily Bromley, a Victorian beauty, doesn't really want to marry, but her mother's persistent pressure forces her to accept wealthy Viscount Philip Ashton's proposal. When Philip dies on safari in Africa a few months after the wedding, Emily feels relief more than grief. Now the wealthy widow of a man she hardly knew, she is free to pursue her heart's real passion--reading! Yet once Emily begins to hear stories about Philip's interest in Greek literature and his exquisite collection of antiquities, Emily begins to feel herself falling in love with her mysterious, now-dead husband. But the more she discovers about Philip's extraordinary life, the more she fears that his death may not have been an accident. Compounding her concern are some very mixed messages from Philip's two best friends and the mounting evidence that he may have engaged in some backdoor business dealings. Who can Emily trust? This engaging, witty mix of Victorian cozy and suspense thriller draws its dramatic spark from the endearingly headstrong heroine's growth in life and love. A memorable debut. Misha Stone Copyright © American Library Association.

I wouldn't say it was a "thriller" let alone a suspenseful one but it was enjoyable. I found myself mentally yelling at Emily a few times to quit being so stupid for someone so smart but in the end everything worked out. If I come across the later installments of this series at the used book store then I'll pick them up but for now I'm not adding them to my hold list.

Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

I read a book review recently that said something to the effect of "with so many Urban Fantasy books being based in the Pacific Northwest one has to wonder if there is something supernatural about it's residents". In Succubus Blues the main character Georgina Kincaid works at a large bookstore/coffee shop in Lower Queen Anne, Seattle. On the surface she's like most single woman her age that you would find working in a book store except for one thing. She's a shape shifting, immortal succubus. She stopped enjoying being a succubus a long time ago and now only does the bare minimum to meet her quota for the local demon lords in helping mortal men fulfill their pacts with the devil so to speak. Even though she is a succubus she has no love life since even a kiss would suck the life force out of a man, so that means dating for love and pleasure is out of the picture for her. Suddenly her life is turned upside down when someone or some thing comes to town killing and injuring the local Seattle immortal community (Vampires, Imps, Demons, Angels etc,) at the same time her absolute favorite author comes to town looking for a new place to live and she's roped into showing him the town. I was pleasantly surprised with this book since so often whenever the main character is a succubus it's usually a thinly veiled attempt at calling a "demonic porno" an "Urban Fantasy" novel. There was actually a compelling plot, interesting characters and a pretty good mystery with a bit of a twist that I didn't see coming a mile away. There were a handful of sexual type scenes of varying degrees but it was not even close to being the main drive of the story. It was also really fun to read about the characters going about their paranormal lives living and visiting the same places I have. Queen Anne, U-District, Lake City just to name a few. It's nice when an author writes about a location you know well and gets it right, then again I'm sure that it helps that Richelle Meade has been a Seattle resident for a while now.

Deathwish by Rob Thurman

This is book #4 in the Cal Leandros series, which is a series my Mom, Sister and myself all love. I would say this is a solid installment in the series but it lacked a bit of the action and plot cohesiveness of the previous three. The payoff is that we now get the added viewpoint of Cal's older brother Niko which add an interesting contrast to Cal's dark, angst filled point of view. That's not to say that Niko isn't full of angst too because he is and he's not quite as "zen" as we previously thought. Of course the incorrigibly randy Puck, Goodfellow is along for the ride along with Promise (Niko's Vampire girlfriend) and a few cameos from other previously encountered monsters. If you like dark, bloody, angst filled, monster infested stories then definitely go out and get the first book in the series Nightlife, you'll thank me later.

Snow, Snow Go Way!

Is anyone else local as sick of the snow as I am? Here we are not even two weeks away from the first official day of Spring and already today I've gotten another two inches of snow. There is a reason why I currently do not and never will live somewhere that gets regular snow during the winter. I like the fact that here in the Puget Sound area I get all the lovely views of the snow covered mountains and foothills all the time, and if I want to enjoy the snow it's a simple drive to get to it. I don't appreciate having it in my driveway or backyard when I would rather be enjoying the warm spring sunshine while planting the first seeds in my garden. Although Bridget and Maggie would definitely disagree with me about the snow seeing as they can't get enough of it. Would you believe that "snow" is one of the few understandable words in Maggie's small vocabulary?

That said, one good thing about all the crappy weather we've had lately is that it's given me plenty of time to snuggle indoors under a blanket trying to make a dent in the huge TBR pile of books I have. So here are some abbreviated reviews of all 7 books I've read in the last 7 days.

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchet

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (July 31, 2001)

This is the 8th book in the Discworld series and is considered the starting point of the Nightwatch mini-series with in the series. It centers on a rag tag group of men that make up the Ankh-Morpork's night watchmen made up by Captain Vimes and fellow officers Nobby, Colon, and the extremely large for a dwarf Carrot. For the most part the men of the watch don't really do anything thanks to the creation of Guilds by the Patrician Lord Vetinari. Now the Thieves, Assassins and Prostitutes police themselves. Then an inept secret society calls a magical dragon into creation and all hell breaks loose. With the help of the formidable (in size) Lady Ramkin and the orangutan Librarian of the Unseen University they have to find some way of slaying the dragon and saving all the high born virgins from becoming dinner. I enjoyed this book very much and while it was noticeable that it was an earlier work of Pratchett's since the writing just wasn't as polished as some of his later works it was still extremely funny, filled with sharp wit and some great social commentary.

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (September 7, 2004)

Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (July 1, 1996)

Books 2 and 3 in J.D. Robb's ( a pen name of the extremely popular romance author Nora Roberts) "in Death" series. The books in this futuristic mystery series are centered on New York police Lieutenant Eve Dallas about 50 years in the future. Prostitution is now legal, all guns have been banned and the Earths natural resources have been stripped. Eve is a great Police Officer going above the call of duty in protecting the innocents and getting the bad guys, but she is extremely damaged inside with repressed memories of the absolutely worse kind of child hood. She has a prickly exterior and some serious anger issues that tend to keep her isolated. Through out the first three books I've read so far she has started to heal herself and learn how to let herself love and be loved by others all the while still kicking some serious criminal butt. So far I have really enjoyed these books. The mysterious have been engaging, the action can get intense and the characters are interesting with layers of depth yet explored. I look forward to reading more of the "in Death" series and seeing as there are currently 29 or so books in this series to date I have plenty to read.

The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

• Mass Market Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Forever; Reissue edition (November 1, 2006)

From the back cover:

There comes a time in a woman's life when she must do the unthinkable - and find employment. For the widowed Anna Wren, that means taking a job as female secretary for the Earl of Swartingham. Secretaries are always male - never female - as Anna well knows but the real downfall of her career is the realisation that she is falling in love with Edward de Raaf - the Earl. But when she realises that he is going to visit a brothel in London to take care of his 'manly' desires, Anna sees red - and decides to take advantage of the opportunity to also take care of her 'womanly' desires - with the Earl as her unknowing lover. But the Earl has another reason for going to London. He is formalising his betrothal and trying (with little success) to forget about a secretary that has no right being female. Unhandsome, he knows that no woman wants him. But when Anna's plan is revealed, a bit of blackmail is thrown into the mix, a proposal is rejected and even the Earl himself will be unprepared for the intrigues that ensnare them.

I can not believe that this was Hoyt's debut novel! I was blown away at her talent for writing excellent historical romance fiction. I stayed up way to late in order to finish this in one night, there was no way I could go to bed till I found out how the HEA (happy ever after for you non-romance readers) happened. Anna Wren is one of my favorite female romance characters with her unapologetic "I'm a woman, get over it" mentality. I liked de Raaf also but got a little tired of his fixation on his pox scars and his constant "I'm so ugly" internal monologue. I now have Hoyt's follow up novels "The Leopard Prince" and "The Serpent Prince" on my library hold list.

Driven by Eve Kenin

• Mass Market Paperback: 321 pages
• Publisher: Love Spell (August 28, 2007)

In this book there was a kick butt heroine, a hero who was raised by a computer, a completely mad and sadistic bad guy who is hunting them both down set against the backdrop of a post-nuclear fall out frozen tundra during a semi-truck race for a bunch of money that the Heroine needs to win so she can take care of a little sister she just found out about after her Father's death. Throw in some Ice Pirates, rival truckers and rebels against the New Government Order and you got yourself quite a story. It sound completely bonkers but was actually a really fun read. I love books about post apocalyptic earth and Mad Max is one of my favorite movies so this book was totally in my interest zone.

Dreaming Of You by Lisa Kleypas

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (May 1, 1994)

Lisa Kleypas is my favorite Historical Romance author next to Loretta Chase. One of my favorite things about her Regency era writing is the little extra bit she goes in describing the atmosphere of the time. She doesn't just say they sat down to a lovely dinner she tells you all about the delicious courses down to the sauce and often goes into great detail about the fashions of the time for both men and women. She does a wonderful job of making you feel like you are really there and that you really care about the people she is writing about. In "Dreaming of You" she goes into great detail about the gambling club ran by Derek Craven with it's debauched upper class patrons, bawdy prostitutes, secret passage ways and the staff that it takes to keep it running. The overall plot of the book was not a favorite of mine with the whole big, bad and brooding Derek Craven who brought himself (literally) out of the gutters to become one of the richest and jaded men ever and the prim, proper country girl Sarah Fielding who makes him feel love for the first time. It was the strength of the characters that made this book for me. I felt bad for Derek's childhood and the life he was forced into but I actually liked the man he eventually became and the fact that he never changed himself to make his character more appealing to Sara. He told her who he was, what he had done in the past,who he was now and Sara loved him anyways. Sara was a great character in herself. She may have been from the country and was a bit (ok sometimes a lot) naive at times she was smart, independent driven woman who was a successful author. She never casts stones at the oppressed lower class (mostly prostitutes) that she interviews for her books and has genuine empathy for all she meets. All in all I really, really enjoyed this book and I'm putting it on my keeper shelf to be re-read again.

A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (October 14, 2008)

Another enjoyable story by Lisa Kleypas. It's a follow up of sorts to her popular Wallflower story line in which the four former Wallflowers are all revisited with their respected hero's of past stories during the Christmas season. The Hero of the story is a brother to two of the Wallflowers and the Heroine is another society wallflower herself. If you've read all of her Wallflower books (which I actually haven't yet. They are all on my library hold list) then I would recommend reading this one too. If you haven't yet then I would say start at the beginning and then if you really enjoy the Wallflowers get this one if you are willing to pay the price for how short it is.

I should mention that all these books were from the library. Next in my TBR pile are:
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Rapture in Death by JD Robb
Death Angel by Linda Howard

Stuff...

Things have been mundane and boring for us lately, not that I'm complaining. Bridget's been busy with school, dance and a few playdates. She's learning her ballet dance for her recital in June. We got her dance costume this weekend and it is so adorable. They are going to be Tinkerbell fairies and are dancing to a song from the Tinkerbell movie. She has wings, a fairy crown and everything. Now lets just keep our fingers crossed she'll actually do the recital. Maggie is into everything as usual. We had an incident with a broken ink pen that resulted in a fake black eye and several suspicious questions from strangers until I showed them the ink stains on my hands to match her face. She has started refusing to sit in her booster chair, ride in a shopping cart or her stroller lately. I forgot what fun this stage is when they want to do it all themselves. I have a meet up this weekend with some local photographers that I'm looking forward too. It will be nice to get out and have some adult conversation. I went to the local library and a got a new card to replace the one I lost long ago. Now that we've moved and the library is only a few minutes away I'm trying to make a real effort to use it more often to save some money. I'm delighted to find out that they even offer audio downloads from the internet in various formats.

I thought I might start doing some book review/recommendations semi-regularly since I usually average 1-2 books a week, maybe more if I'm on a streak. I'll review/recommend new reads, old favorites and even some audio books. I know my reading tastes won't match everyones, but maybe it will get someone interested in a book or author that they might otherwise overlook.

First up is a book from an author that I've overlooked for far too long. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett.

Arch-swindler Moist von Lipwig never believed his crimes were hanging offenses, until he found himself with a noose around his neck, dropping through a trap door, and falling into...a government job? Getting the moribund Postal Service up and running again, however, may be an impossible task. Worse, the new Postmaster could swear the mail is talking to him. Worst of all, it means taking on the gargantuan, money-hungry Grand Trunk clacks communication monopoly and its bloodthirsty piratical head, Mr. Reacher Gilt.

But it says on the building 'Neither Rain Nor Snow Nor Glo m Of Ni t'...Inspiring words (admittedly, some of the bronze letters have been stolen), and for once in his wretched life Moist is going to fight. And if the bold and impossible are what's called for, he'll do it; to move the mail, continue breathing, get the girl, and deliver that invaluable commodity that everyone requires: hope.

©2004 Terry Pratchett; (P)2004 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

"Moist always raised the stakes. Never promise to do the possible. Anyone could do the possible. You should promise to do the impossible because sometimes the impossible was possible. And if you failed, well, it had been impossible." ~ Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

I actually listened to the audio version of this, read by the wonderful Stephen Briggs. He did an outstanding job bringing to life all the crazy characters in this story, giving each a perfect voice. Vaguely reminsecent of the movie "The Sting" with Robert Redford and Paul Newman with a dash of Jack Sparrow in the main character of Moist Von Lipwig and a whole lot of Monty Python-esque humor, it was a whimsical delight. It's true that this is actually the 29th book in Pratchett's Discworld series but in my opnion it (and it's sequel) easily stand alone requiring no prior knowldge of the series. There are characters that make cameos in this book from books in the series but with the exception of Lord Vetinari they are all bit players. After finishing this book I promptly went out and bought the sequel "Making Money" in book form(which I enjoyed just as much as the first) and now I'm waiting for the third book to be published "Raising Taxes". In fact I've put all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels on my TBR (to be read) list.

One of my favorite movies is Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", I loved reading "Emma" and "Sense and Sensibility" in high school. It wasn't until fairly recently did I start reading historical romances. I (maybe like some of you out there) used to turn my nose up at those cheesy romance titles and even worse cover art when I saw them at the bookstore. Who would want to waste their time reading those "bodice rippers" I thought. But if you've ever been to an used bookstore you will know that the Romance section is usually as big, if not bigger than the regular fiction section and one day on a whim I picked up "Lord of Scoundrels" by Loretta Chase which is almost universally regarded as one of the best (if not THE best) Regency era romance printed. From the back cover:

They call him many names but Angelic isn’t one of them...

Sebastian Ballister, the notorious Marquess of Dain, is big, bad, and dangerous to know. No respectable woman would have anything to do with the “Bane and Blight of the Ballisters”--and he wants nothing to do with respectable women. He’s determined to continue doing what he does best--sin and sin again--and all that’s going swimmingly, thank you...until the day a shop door opens and she walks in.

She’s too intelligent to fall for the worst man in the world...
Jessica Trent is a determined young woman, and she’s going to drag her imbecile brother off the road to ruin, no matter what it takes. If saving him--and with him, her family and future--means taking on the devil himself, she won’t back down. The trouble is, the devil in question is so shockingly irresistible, and the person who needs the most saving is--herself!

I was more than prepared to hate it but actually found myself really, really enjoying it. Filled with witty, biting humor and snapping dialogue between the two main characters it was a little reminiscent of a regency era Gilmore Girls. Honestly the plot overall is only so-so, nothing outrageously original here with a Beauty and the Beast type of story line in which the hero Lord Dain is a dark, tortured man with a terrible childhood who hates himself and believes he doesn't deserve any happiness in his life. But all it takes is an encounter with the sharped-tongued, independent, take no nonsense, intelligent Jessica to turn his life upside down and make him question what he really wants. It's the personal interactions between the two characters that really makes this book special. Since reading this book I've now become a regular reader of romances of several genre's, but Lord of Scoundrels holds a special place on my bookshelf and is one I find myself re-reading often.