Tag: advance reading copy

• Advance Excitement at a Glance I

  Posted at 11:30 am by Laura, on January 12, 2014

  This year, in an effort to blog more, to become more involved with the blogging community, and to keep up with the latest publications, I thought I’d create a monthly post about the ARCs I’ve received. These ARCs will be read and reviewed a month prior to the publishing date. The Advance Excitement at a Glance posts will feature one or two (or more, depending on what happens this year) books to look forward to, and it will motivate me to keep my to-read list on track.

  Tyringham Park by Rosemary McLoughlin
  (Atria Books, February 25)

  Tyringham Park is the Blackshaws’ magnificent country house in the south of Ireland. It is a haven of wealth and privilege until its peace is shattered by a devastating event which reveals the chaos of jealousy and deceit beneath its surface.

  Charlotte is eight years old when her younger sister Victoria vanishes. She grieves alone, without the support of her harsh mother and terrible nanny. Instead, she finds some solitude with the servants as she grows, learning to cope with being the “lesser loved” daughter and attempting to move on with life. But the mystery of Victoria’s disappearance continues to haunt Tyringham Park.

  I should preface with the disclaimer that although I’m a Downton Abbey fan I typically do not read books with blurbs stating it’s perfect for DA fans. The Edwardian period and the whole upstairs/downstairs concept does not appeal to my bookish side. But this book screams perfection for Kate Morton fans. It even seems to have a hint of The Thirteenth Tale going on. For these reasons, I’m anxious to begin and see how Charlotte fares!

  The Daring Ladies of Lowell by Kate Alcott
  (Doubleday, February 25)

  The warm-hearted and enthralling saga of a bold young woman caught between two worlds — the vibrant camaraderie of factory life and the opulence that a budding romance with the mill owner’s son affords — as the murder of her best friend sends shock waves throughout the town.

  Alice Barrow joins legions of young women seeking independence and worth by becoming a Mill Girl, working in a fabrics factory. But the working conditions are extremely poor and Alice finds herself an emissary for these women. The mill owner, Fiske, invites her to his home to discuss her case — and it is there she meets his eldest son Samuel Fiske. As the romance blossoms, Alice’s best friend is strangled in a field, creating a rift between the lovers and their respective classes.

  I enjoyed Alcott’s The Dressmaker, and am excited that she’s publishing another class divide romance with factories and fashion in the background. Her writing style is engaging, and I fully expect to enjoy this one too.

  What ARCs are you reading? What books are you looking forward to in February?

  Posted in Advance Excitement, books, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged advance excitement at a glance, advance reading copy, ARC, books

• Book Review: “Her Dark Curiosity” by Megan Shepherd (ARC)

  Posted at 6:31 pm by Laura, on December 14, 2013

  Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd 

  Publisher: Balzer + Bray
  Publishing Date: January 28, 2014
  Genre: young adult, gothic, science fiction
  ISBN: 9780062128058
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★★

  As people close to Juliet fall victim one by one to a murderer who leaves a macabre calling card of three clawlike slashes, Juliet fears one of her father’s creations may have also escaped the island. She is determined to find the killer before Scotland Yard does, though it means awakening sides of herself she had thought long banished, and facing loves from her past she never expected to see again.

  As Juliet strives to stop a killer while searching for a serum to cure her own worsening illness, she finds herself once more in the midst of a world of scandal and danger. Her heart torn in two, past bubbling to the surface, life threatened by an obsessive killer—Juliet will be lucky to escape alive.

  With inspiration from Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this is a tantalizing mystery about the hidden natures of those we love and how far we’ll go to save them from themselves.

  Juliet is back in wintery London, desperate to search for a cure that will rid the animal part of herself. But as Christmas fills the air, so too does the electrical spark of fear and scandal when a murderer begins his rampage throughout Whitechapel. Juliet notices a pattern: every victim victimized her, and every victim’s heart was clawed out similarly to Edward’s Beast on her father’s island. She begins her search for the murderer, for the cause and justification of the King’s Club’s involvement in her father’s dangerous experiments, and for a way to become fully human mind and soul.

  I thoroughly enjoyed this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde inspired novel far more than Shepherd’s first — and part of it may have to do with the setting and the novella. I was not familiar with Wells, nor am I a jungle-setting fan; I’m very familiar with Stevenson, and deeply love Victorian London. Once again, Shepherd dives into Juliet’s internal conflict of animal within human, human within animal. But this is on a more meaningful scale. Juliet must come to terms with not what’s instinctual and animalistic, but what’s moral and humane.

  Shepherd added another twist to this novel that was fun to read — ulterior motives of great and powerful men in London. Her father’s work was no secret, and they’re determined to replicate it. This is more than a Jekyll and Hyde scenario, but a book filled with political intrigue, global effects, and greater consequences. I liked that this layer was added. It drove the book into a new, fresh direction.

  It should be no surprise that Edward and Montgomery are back, of course. Edward is blatantly the two-sides-of-the-same-coin character, but every character within this novel encounters similar confrontations. Although not a fan of love triangles — they can be quite exhausting, and for me it is very clear that Juliet should be with Montgomery and Edward out of the picture entirely — Juliet thankfully comes to her own conclusion in this novel, with promises of conflict to come in the next book.

  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from Balzer + Bray for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 2 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: gothic, genre: sci-fi, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “And We Stay” by Jennifer Hubbard (ARC)

  Posted at 4:35 pm by Laura, on December 14, 2013

  And We Stay by Jennifer Hubbard 

  Publisher: Delacorte Press
  Publishing Date: January 28, 2014
  Genre: young adult
  ISBN: 9780385740579
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★

  When high school senior Paul Wagoner walks into his school library with a stolen gun, he threatens his girlfriend Emily Beam, then takes his own life. In the wake of the tragedy, an angry and guilt-ridden Emily is shipped off to boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she encounters a ghostly presence who shares her name. The spirit of Emily Dickinson and two quirky girls offer helping hands, but it is up to Emily to heal her own damaged self.

  Emily Beam transfers to an all-girls boarding school after her boyfriend Paul Wagoner kills himself in her old high school library. She and her parents believe it would be best for her to start fresh in a new place, away from everything that could remind her of that traumatic experience. But as Emily attempts to handle her grief, she begins to call upon Emily Dickinson’s works, and uses the poet as a guide to heal her wounds.

  The prose is simple, and the poems at the end of each chapter gradually grow from disjointed to lyrical. However, as much as I was hoping this book would be for me, it wasn’t. Emily and her friends K.T. and Amber were not characters I could relate to, possibly because they seemed to lack depth. Emily is an introverted but intelligent cheerleader who dated a boy who was exactly average yet everyone knew him well and he never once seemed like he’d commit suicide. Emily can also be quite hypocritical. Several moments in the novel she judges girls who sleep around, but she herself got pregnant. She at first doesn’t like Amber because Amber is “weird,” but Emily herself can be quite strange and off-putting around others.

  The portion that bothered me the most was the extreme stretches of comparison between Emily and the poet Emily Dickinson. Emily would make assumptions that Dickinson must have felt this way too, that she had these exact same experiences and she must have thought these exact things when she wrote poetry. The moments when Emily would visit the Dickinson house or read a book about Dickinson were attempts at bringing the supernatural into play, as if Dickinson were guiding Emily on a better path. I’m all for a good ghost story or a spiritual journey, but the connections were too thin, too stretched. I eventually became bored, as there was nothing for me to cling to when reading the novel.

  That being said, I think this novel does have a place for a certain type of audience. Unfortunately, that audience was not me.

  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from Delacorte Press for review.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 0 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “The Promise of Amazing” by Robin Constantine (ARC)

  Posted at 4:30 am by Laura, on November 20, 2013

  The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine 

  Publisher: Balzer + Bray
  Publishing Date: December 31, 2013
  Genre: young adult
  ISBN: 9780062279484
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★★

  Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who’s always done what she’s supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

  Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

  One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.

  Wren, a junior at an all-girls private school, has been told time and again that she is too quiet for teachers to find her remarkable, and too average to be accepted into various honor societies. She is determined to break out of her passive streak and make a name for herself, but doesn’t know where to begin or what she wants to do with her future. Grayson, a senior, was kicked out of the all-boys private school just last spring for being a “term-paper-pimp,” his future at an elite college stripped and athletic skills kicked to the curb. He’s determined to set his life straight, to become a better person, but isn’t sure how to leave his past behind. But on the night Grayson attends a wedding and chokes on finger food, Wren swoops in to help, and their lives change forever.

  The Promise of Amazing is a typical good-girl-meets-bad-boy young adult novel, but without the cheesy lines or trashy love scenes or beachy setting. The story takes place between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the time when seniors are getting accepted into college and juniors are told their dream schools are out of reach. While Grayson is painted as a “bad boy,” he’s not the pot-smoking, heavy-drinking, sexed-up kind of guy in most YA novels. He does, however, commit crimes, is wicked intelligent and slipped up once — that’s how his term-paper matching-making business fell through — and, if a college were to discover such things, he’d be set for life working the cashier line at a grocery store. His life was on the fast-track to failure due to all his short-cuts, but once he was caught, his cocky behavior ended. And Wren truly is average. Not in personality, but she is such a relatable character for all decent girls out there: she works, she tries hard in class, she has good friends and a nice family, but she’s not quite up to par to be qualified for all these big societies high school says helps students get into college. I felt a kinship to her.

  The drama in the book is never between Grayson and Wren, per se, but Grayson’s friends trying to bring him back into his business and darker past. They keep attempting to break through the relationship, and it’s up to Grayson to end those connections and that part of his life. These are all aspects of a coming-of-age novel, and life in general: cut out the toxic people in your life in order to better yourself. Through these events, Wren develops courage and a strong voice. You begin to hope her life will turn around for the better as well.

  It’s a nice light read, especially around the holidays. If you’re in for feeling nostalgic about your first high school relationship, your first heart-warming experiences, this book is the ticket. The Promise of Amazing is sweet, with well-rounded characters to root for and true-to-life high school experiences.

  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from Balzer + Bray for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 0 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “The Last Enchantments” by Charles Finch (ARC)

  Posted at 8:32 am by Laura, on September 23, 2013

  The Last Enchantments by Charles Finch 

  Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
  Publishing Date: January 2014
  Genre: fiction
  ISBN: 9781250018717
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★★★

  After graduating from Yale, William Baker, scion of an old line patrician family, goes to work in presidential politics.  But when the campaign into which he’s poured his heart ends in disappointment, he decides to leave New York behind, along with the devoted, ambitious, and well-connected woman he’s been in love with for the last four years.

  Will expects nothing more than a year off before resuming the comfortable life he’s always known, but he’s soon caught up in a whirlwind of unexpected friendships and romantic entanglements that threaten his safe plans. As he explores the heady social world of Oxford,  he becomes fast friends with Tom, his snobbish but affable flat mate;  Anil, an Indian economist with a deep love for gangster rap; Anneliese, a German historian obsessed with photography; and Timmo, whose chief ambition is to become a reality television star. What he’s least prepared for is Sophie, a witty, beautiful and enigmatic woman who makes him question everything he knows about himself.

  William Baker decides to pack his bags and head to Oxford to study literature for a year. His career in political campaigns has slowed and he feels like he’s stuck in a rut. Leaving behind NYC, job opportunities, a long-time girlfriend, Will looks forward to his adventure in England and putting off “real life” for the time being. As the weeks progress in school, he befriends posh Tom, adorable Anil, talented Anneliese, studious Ella, driven Peter, and the ever elusive Sophie. His journey into self-discovery, and navigating the many forms of love, is deeply moving and incredibly touching.

  I was originally drawn to this book because of the Oxford setting. I didn’t expect to like Will — the stereotype I have in my head of “poor little rich boy” is not a positive one — but little by little I began to see myself in him, my friends in him and his friends, our experiences quite similar. Will feels lost in the “adult world” and finds comfort in academia. Unsure of his future, he makes wild decisions to put off the inevitable. There are so many twenty-somethings out there who feel just the same: the desire to grow up and become someone, while at the same time terrified, unsure, and fearing failure.

  Will is conflicted throughout the book when it comes to romance. Every type of love is presented: the enduring love with a long-time flame, passion and obsession with someone new and out-of-reach, and lust after a friend. There is no clear-cut relationship, which is actually quite refreshing in a book because it’s true to life. Emotions, love especially, never have logical explanations.

  Everything you would expect from a graduate student is in this book: from studying in libraries, pubs, and cafes to parties in clubs, from sleeping with a friend to lazy walks in the park. There’s no sugar-coating or brushing over facts. It’s plain truth about one young man’s journey, all the mistakes and accomplishments, all the experiences, to the path of his future. It’s beautiful.

  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from St. Martin’s Press for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 1 Comment | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: fiction, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Longbourn” by Jo Baker (ARC)

  Posted at 10:00 am by Laura, on September 4, 2013

  Longbourn by Jo Baker 

  Publisher: Random House
  Publishing Date: October 8, 2013
  Genre: historical fiction
  ISBN: 9780345813602
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★★

  A brilliantly imagined, irresistible below-stairs answer to Pride and Prejudice: a story of the romance, intrigue and drama among the servants of the Bennet household, a triumphant tale of defying society’s expectations, and an illuminating glimpse of working-class lives in Regency England.

  Our heroine is Sarah, an orphaned housemaid beginning to chafe against the boundaries of her class. When the militia marches into town, a new footman arrives under mysterious circumstances, and Sarah finds herself the object of the attentions of an ambitious young former slave working at neighboring Netherfield Hall, the carefully choreographed world downstairs at Longbourn threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, up-ended. From the stern but soft-hearted housekeeper to the starry-eyed kitchen maid, these new characters come vividly to life in this already beloved world.

  Orphaned housemaid Sarah mends, washes, cleans, and cooks for the Bennet household, with the help of little Polly, Mrs Hill, and Mr Hill. Life is simply a never-ending list of chores for Sarah till a mysterious new footman catches her attention. Occupied with thoughts of his origins and distracted by Bingley’s servant, Sarah and the rest of the downstairs household is turned upside down as each Bennet daughter is exposed to society’s forms of acceptable love.

  I never knew I needed to read the downstairs version of Pride & Prejudice till I read this book. It’s an absolutely fascinating account of what life was truly like in Regency England for the lower classes. How a pig not only provides meat but also soap. How the chamber pots must be taken out daily, the ways people bathed and cleaned laundry and interacted with one another. Though Sarah is only a maid, she too must abide by society’s rules and uphold the Bennet family honor. She cannot fool around or behave mischievously; it would reflect poorly on the family.

  The reader is not only given a glimpse of Sarah, but also of Mrs Hill, Mrs Bennet’s maid. We learn her history and her connections to Mr Bennet and the new footman James. Mr Collins is explored outside of Elizabeth’s painful judgment, and James’s history with the militia gives the reader further clues to Wickham’s misdemeanors. The reader is exposed to life before, during, and after the original book, and I loved reading the decisions the characters make and their motivations for their actions. Downstairs intermingles with upstairs so fluidly it was as if I was still reading the original classic.

  Thank you, Random House, for providing this book for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 2 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: classics, genre: fiction, genre: history, review

• ARC Book Review: “Children of Liberty” by Paullina Simons

  Posted at 6:45 pm by Laura, on February 3, 2013

  Children of Liberty by Paullina Simons 

  Publisher: William Morrow, HarperCollins
  Publishing Date: February 26, 2013
  Genre: fiction, history, romance, politics
  ISBN: —
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★

  At the turn of the century and the dawning of the modern world, Gina from Belpasso comes to Boston’s Freedom Docks to find a new and better life, and meets Harry Barrington, who is searching for his.

  The fates of the Barringtons and Attavianos become entwined, on a collision course between the old and new, between what is expected and what is desired, what is chosen and what is bestowed, what is given and what is taken away.

  As America races headlong into the future, much will be lost and much will be gained for Gina and Harry, whose ill-fated love story will break your heart.

  Gina, a young Italian girl on the brink of womanhood, steps onto the Boston shores excited for the future of opportunity ahead of her. The first American she meets, and whose story forever entangles her own, is Harry Barrington, son of the wealthy Herman Barrington and leader of the Barrington town just outside of Boston’s city limits. Her eagerness to learn everything and headstrong, forward-thinking personality, mixed with Harry’s studious and philosophical endeavors, bring these two together. Thus begins a whirlwind romance and a daring adventure in the uncertain, politically unrest future.

  Although it was a great opportunity to read about the interesting view points and backstory for what brought Alexander Barrington‘s parents together, this book felt a bit unnecessary. In The Bronze Horseman, the first of the Alexander and Tatiana epic romance trilogy, the reader discovers Alexander’s true American identity, that his parents were Italian and American, that they fled America for Russia due to their political beliefs, and that nothing turned out the way they expected. While it was fascinating reading this prequel to the trilogy — who wouldn’t be curious about how the parents of favorite beloved characters met and fell in love? — it felt long and indulgent.

  “Long” is really saying something, too. The Bronze Horseman and the other two books are tomes, really fitting the Russian stereotypes for epic romances. This book, however, was rather thin, and I still felt lulled to sleep. I’m sure if I brushed up on my American history, or cared more about politics, I could find some enjoyment from this novel. Unfortunately, the characters felt flat. I did not love them like I loved Alexander and Tatiana. I did not feel the love and connection between Gina and Harry. It was heartrendingly disappointing.

  I believe what Simons gave the reader in The Bronze Horseman was enough of a story for Gina and Harry and should have been left at that.

  Thank you William Morrow / HarperCollins for providing this book for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 0 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: romance, goodreads, review

• ARC Book Review: “Requiem” by Lauren Oliver

  Posted at 1:30 pm by Laura, on January 29, 2013

  Requiem by Lauren Oliver 

  Publisher: HarperTeen
  Publishing Date: March 5, 2013
  Genre: young adult, dystopian
  ISBN: 9780062014535
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★★★

  After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor. Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

  See my reviews of Delirium and Pandemonium.

  Lena faces difficult decisions once she leaves New York and goes back to the Wilds with Julian, Alex, Raven, Tack, and the rest of her friends. First and foremost on her mind is survival, as she finds more and more Invalids are dying from hunger, thirst, abandonment, and rebellion. Her choices must be quick and her actions impulsive. Lena also must come to terms with what she feared most about deliria: the symptoms of jealousy and heartbreak. Meanwhile, Hana, cured and prepping for marriage, begins to worry. Worrying signifies a potential problem that the cure may not have worked for her. Hana then learns about the history of the young mayor’s previous wife, and her fears help her break from dependency on wealth and comfort and sacrifice everything she knows.

  After Pandemonium, I was worried Oliver would agonize the reader with a Team Julian or Team Alex plot. This is not the case. While Lena does come to realize what jealousy and heartbreak feel like, Oliver describes the pain with such beautiful prose that the issue no longer hangs on “which boy should I choose?” but rather muses on how one can overcome these feelings, especially when it had been ingrained since birth these feelings were symptoms of a disease. This push-and-pull attitude is so realistic and plausible that this third book rings with truth about love: it is never easy, and there is no such thing as a triangle. Humans can love in different ways.

  The major point of the book is formalizing a plan for revolution, and hoping the execution of said plan will work. Each day, each hour, the Invalids in the Wilds are under attack. Any minute could be the last. Lena, once a sweet-tempered character, is now independent, strong, a leader. It was such a joy watching her grow through each of the books.

  I truly enjoyed reading Hana’s perspective. She was the inside voice, the one still within the walled city of Portland, as well as a cured perspective. The language is stiff and bland. Her emotions are dulled. And yet her voice, in its plain-spoken and truthful way, is trust-worthy and interesting. Hana gives the reader the facts straight out. When she begins to analyze her dreams (which she is not supposed to have) and fears of her future husband-to-be Fred (and fear is an irrational emotion), she questions the validity of the cure. By searching through her husband’s past and facing his strength head-on, she grows to appreciate the Invalids’ purpose. The cure may take away love, it may lessen emotional turmoil, but it can leave behind a heartless being. Hana’s experiences within Portland shed light into these themes.

  This is not your typical love triangle, as many may have predicted from the first book alone. In fact, I’d hardly call this trilogy a love triangle at all. The Delirium trilogy is a series that examines love in all its forms, and the result of taking that love away. Freedom and love go hand-in-hand.

  Thank you HarperTeen for providing this ARC for review!

  Posted in books, Link, Reviews 2013 | 0 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: young adult, review

• Book Haul!

  Posted at 5:06 pm by Laura, on January 9, 2013

  GUYS.

  Guys…

  I bought books. I know I said in my Bookish Resolutions that I would hold off on buying books before reading them and instead use the library more. Hopefully these exceptions have validity in your eyes for purchasing and breaking that resolution.

  

  Snobs by Julian Fellowes — After a heartbreaking third season (sorry, America, you’re in for a real tear-jerker. Be wary with each episode.), I needed something by Fellowes (because let’s face it, he’s a great story-teller and really knows his history) that would hopefully have a much happier outcome. Full of drama we all know and love, I expect to really enjoy this book. Frankly, I’d been eyeing it for some time and after the Christmas episode I threw up my hands and went on impulse.

  Possession by A.S. Byatt — If I weren’t in grad school for publishing, I would be in grad school (at Durham University, cough cough) working towards a PhD in Victorian and Romantic Literature (if you couldn’t tell from my favorites list). Two people are to blame for my obsession with the Romantics, Victorians, and the Gothic: my sophomore honors English teacher in high school, and my Victorian professor in college. Both of them highly recommended I read “Possession” — this book followed me for years. And then, on the plane back from the holidays, I sat next to a very nice gentleman who loved talking about books, and he suggested I read this too. Well, geez. If a total stranger says this is the book for me, as well as my two favorite English teachers, then maybe I really should buy it!

  But wait! There’s more!

  

  Requiem by Lauren Oliver — Harper Teen hosted a Deliria Slogan contest on Twitter and I was one of the winners to receive an ARC of the third and final installment to the Delirium trilogy! Thank you very much, Harper Teen!

  Children of Liberty by Paullina Simons — As a bookseller, you can receive ARCs as one of the perks. Some publishers have deals with bookstores to send ARCs so that the bookseller can give an honest review as well as prepare for questions from customers about the book upon publication. This is a prequel to the Tatiana and Alexander trilogy, which I thoroughly enjoyed winter 2011. Thank you, William Morrow!

  In short, HarperCollins rocked the ARC giveaways today.

  Posted in books, Update Post | 0 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: dystopian, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, publishing

• ARC Book Review: “Beneath the Abbey Wall” by AD Scott

  Posted at 5:07 pm by Laura, on November 5, 2012

  Beneath the Abbey Wall by AD Scott

  Expected Publication: November 13
  Publisher: Atria Books
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★

  In a small Scottish town, the local newspaper staff doesn’t see much excitement. But that all changes when their no-nonsense office manager Mrs. Smart is found murdered one dreary autumn night. For the staff of the “Highland Gazette,” the investigation becomes personal when the deputy editor, is accused of the crime.

  It’s the late 1950s, the decade of rock n’ roll and television, and change is coming, but slowly. It’s up to budding reporter Joanne Ross to step into Mrs. Smart’s shoes and keep the newspaper office running, all while raising two girls alone. But newcomer Neil Stewart proves a major distraction for Joanne.

  And what does the tragic tale of children stolen from the Travelling people more than thirty years previously have to do with this murder? In a mystery with twists and turns and no clear-cut solution, the secrets of the past must be unravelled before justice can be found.

  I am not sure what I expected from this mystery novel, and I’m still left hanging as to whether that helped my rating for this.

  “Beneath the Abbey Wall” contained all of my favorite elements for the perfect gothic mystery: historically placed, set in Scotland, small community, a mysterious death that throws everything off-balance. The characters were nothing spectacular, which is excellent: no one wants to read about the most perfect person on the planet. We have the traditional commanding McAllister, lead editor of the newspaper, who is great at divvying tasks but poor at expressing his emotions; the battered Joanne, fresh out of a violent marriage and devoted mother of two daughters; the charming Rob and aloof Hector; and the near-constant sobbing Betsy. Watching these employees interact, racing to share the stories with their town even when it’s a negative case about one of their own, was very entertaining and warming.

  The downfall could be pointed to the characters the murder centers on: Mrs Smart, Mr Smart, and Don McLeod, the one blamed for Mrs Smart’s murder. Scott surely meant for the readers to care about Mrs Smart’s death — but not once did I feel any sadness towards her character. All that was ever said about her was that she was a good woman. What made her good? Her personal story when she was young woman was revealed, and I was sympathetic to her for that situation, but I lacked sympathy for her older character. What was it about her that people liked? This question was never fully explained. I was also supposed to resent Mr Smart, but instead I found him to be the annoying character who would pop up only once in a while to remind you of his existence, and then disappear again. And Don lacked personality. He was a drunkard, and it was all people could describe him as. How am I supposed to root for his freedom from prison if that’s the only thing the characters can say about him?

  Joanne was a character that I could easily relate to It was quite eerie. I would feel bothered by her sudden fantasies over Canadian newcomer Neil Stewart — dreaming up romantic get-aways and wishing he’d say he loved her — but before I could go and judge her, I realized I’m quite similar. In fact, most women are, especially if they’ve undergone neglect. She wanted someone else to validate her existence, to make her feel wanted and cherished. When no one — apart from McAllister, which is clear to everyone else except for Joanne — offers this and a new man arrives on the scene, of course she’ll jump on the opportunity.

  As far as the plotting for the mystery, I felt it dragged. At some moments, I forgot this was a mystery novel instead of a love story. Another aspect is the lack of empathy I felt for the murdered and the accused. The writing was beautiful, the relationships between the characters entertaining and exquisite, the descriptions of life in the office and life out in the Highlands lovely. But the mystery itself was left wanting.

  [Read for a graduate course. Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC.]

  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: mystery, goodreads, history, review

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• Hello, I’m Laura!

  I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I could talk your ear off about Gothic literature, and in my past life people thought I'd become a professional musician. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to travel, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm always down for chips-and-queso nights. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!

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