Tag: genre: fantasy

• Upcoming Books! [34]

  Posted at 1:04 pm by Laura, on September 9, 2012

  

  Title: The Yellow Birds
  Author: Kevin Powers
  Genre: fiction
  Publisher: Little, Brown
  Publishing Date: September 11
  Summary: “The war tried to kill us in the spring,” begins this breathtaking account of friendship and loss. In Al Tafar, Iraq, twenty-one-year old Private Bartle and eighteen-year-old Private Murphy cling to life as their platoon launches a bloody battle for the city. In the endless days that follow, the two young soldiers do everything to protect each other from the forces that press in on every side: the insurgents, physical fatigue, and the mental stress that comes from constant danger.
  Bound together since basic training when their tough-as-nails Sergeant ordered Bartle to watch over Murphy, the two have been dropped into a war neither is prepared for. As reality begins to blur into a hazy nightmare, Murphy becomes increasingly unmoored from the world around him and Bartle takes impossible actions.
  With profound emotional insight, especially into the effects of a hidden war on mothers and families at home, THE YELLOW BIRDS is a groundbreaking novel about the costs of war that is destined to become a classic.

  ~

  Title: The White Forest
  Author: Adam McOmber
  Genre: historical fiction, fantasy
  Publisher: Touchstone
  Publishing Date: September 11
  Summary: Young Jane Silverlake lives with her father in a crumbling family estate on the edge of Hampstead Heath. Jane has a secret—an unexplainable gift that allows her to see the souls of man-made objects—and this talent isolates her from the outside world. Her greatest joy is wandering the wild heath with her neighbors, Madeline and Nathan.
  But as the friends come of age, their idyll is shattered by the feelings both girls develop for Nathan, and by Nathan’s interest in a cult led by Ariston Day, a charismatic mystic popular with London’s elite. Day encourages his followers to explore dream manipulation with the goal of discovering a strange hidden world, a place he calls the Empyrean.
  A year later, Nathan has vanished, and the famed Inspector Vidocq arrives in London to untangle the events that led up to Nathan’s disappearance. As a sinister truth emerges, Jane realizes she must discover the origins of her talent, and use it to find Nathan herself, before it’s too late.

  ~

  Title: Amber Brown is Tickled Pink
  Author: Paula Danziger, Bruce Coville, Elizabeth Levy
  Genre: children’s
  Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
  Publishing Date: September 13
  Summary: Amber can’t wait to be Best Child when her mom and Max get married, but planning a wedding comes with lots of headaches. Amber can’t find the right dress, her dad keeps making mean cracks about Max, and Mom and Max have very different ideas about how much this wedding should cost. Her mother even suggests they go to city hall and skip the party altogether! Even though adults can be a lot of work, Amber is determined to be the best Best Child ever. She helps find the perfect location, makes her dad shape up, and, with the help of best friend Justin, gives the perfect wedding speech.

  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged books, genre: children, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, upcoming books

• Book Review: “Shadow of Night” by Deborah Harkness

  Posted at 6:38 pm by Laura, on August 29, 2012

  

  We’re going to try a new formatting from now on for book reviews. Just to provide some more information if you were curious.
  

  ~

  Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

  Publisher: Viking Adult
  Genre: fantasy, historical fiction, fiction
  ISBN: 9780670023486
  Goodreads: 4.06
  Rating: ★★★★★

  Picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

  A whirlwind, mind-bending, fantastical experience of a read! So much is thrown into the second installment of the All Souls Trilogy, and Harkness accomplished it without overwhelming the reader with information and twists. There truly is so much in this novel to work with. First, the characters not only travel to Elizabethan London, but also to France and Czechoslovakia (at the time, the Holy Roman Empire or Bohemia). Names are dropped constantly, and depending on your background you may recognize them: Marlowe, Raleigh, Bacon, Rudolf II. Never fear — Harkness provides an index at the end of the book to inform the reader of historically acknowledged characters and what they were known for to help you understand their role in the novel. Diana even experiences moments of memory tugging, attempting to remember why she recognizes certain names and what they were known for.

  Plenty is revealed about Diana and Matthew’s characters as well. Questions about Diana’s power are answered, and unfold into spectacular and terrifying results. Matthew’s over-protective behavior and sometimes cold, unfeeling actions are explained when they meet his father, Philippe. The history of vampires and witches and daemons, the ways they are connected, and ways Diana and Matthew’s connection could help and harm history and the modern era are explored seamlessly.

  Harkness also provides an equal balance between the search for truth and the romantic relationship. For once, a trilogy does not involve a love triangle. Instead, Matthew and Diana face hardships of their own. Neither fails in loving the other, which is wonderful. They are a mature couple working through the kinks of the relationship as they discover each other, their personal histories, and their roles as vampire and witch in both modern and historical society. It’s absolutely amazing, and incredibly refreshing to read this sort of relationship.

  This novel needs proper attention and care when reading. There is so much depth — with history, with fantasy, with characters’ personal growth — that mindless reading will leave the reader boggled rather than enlightened and entertained. I cannot wait for the third installment! It will be brilliant. This plot continues to build and strengthen with each page, and I have no doubt Harkness will end this with a bang!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: romance, review

• Book Review: “A Discovery of Witches” by Deborah Harkness

  Posted at 2:14 pm by Laura, on August 18, 2012

  

  A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

  Deep in the stacks of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

  What a thrill! I was hooked when I read “Oxford’s Bodleian Library” in the summary – it was my favorite spot in Oxford when I lived in England two years ago. A lover of archival stories, fantasies, historical fiction, and romance, this book was absolutely perfect.

  The beauty of Diana’s character is that she is flawed. She is intelligent and athletic, but it’s all about drive, and a desire to avoid who she truly is: a witch. She worked hard for her multiple degrees, and her interests and curiosity motivated her to continue with her education. It’s not natural brilliance, which many authors instill into their characters. Diana is athletic, but only so that she does not succumb to panic attacks. Her adrenaline (which is really her trapped magic) builds up to the point of explosion, and Diana needs to get rid of it in a healthy way. She’s independent, and a very well-rounded character. None of this disappears when Matthew, a vampire, enters the picture.

  Thank goodness.

  Matthew is a fantastic character. I want to describe him as “perfect,” but that’s too cliché for a description of a vampire and he is not perfect in the slightest. Yet, what makes his character great is an excellent blend of instilled human emotion and interaction, mixed with the traditional predator responses. For example, like an animal his emotions change with the slightest scent, movement, distraction. He’s very alpha male without being a dominant, insufferable git who never listens to what others have to say. Yet his human qualities remain: he fights the thirst for blood by establishing a thirst for knowledge.

  As far as the plot goes, this book could be divided into three obvious sections: Oxford is the rising plot, France is the pinnacle, and America is when commotion begins, plotting the next step ensues, and the journey into the next book begins. This All Souls trilogy is going to be brilliant. A wonderful blend of fantasy, romance, science, and history. Using DNA to explain magical creatures? How cool is that?

  Rating: ★★★★★
  Goodreads: 3.97

  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: romance, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Tiger Lily” by Jodi Lynn Anderson

  Posted at 9:26 pm by Laura, on August 9, 2012

  

  Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

  Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn’t believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

  Peter is unlike anyone she’s ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland’s inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything–her family, her future–to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she’s always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

  With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it’s the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who’s everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

  Before Wendy, there was Tiger Lily. This lovely tale is told to the reader through Tink’s observations. Tink is witty, honest, and such a fiery and perceptive sprite who cares far more about the well-being of her dear Tiger Lily than her status as near-bug. Tink leaves her family in the swamps to observe this quiet, stone-like girl and her growing relationship with the forbidden Pan and his lost boys.

  Such a neat twist to the original story! Tinker Bell is not the jealous fairy we’ve all known, Tiger Lily isn’t unintelligent, Hook isn’t mad but is certainly ill, Smee isn’t a blubbering idiot but rather a man with an agenda, and Wendy is the epitome of unwanted colonization.

  It’s an interesting young adult book with so many adult concepts packed within. Wendy and, prior to her arrival, Phillip, demonstrate the English’s desire to colonize natives of a new land. Phillip’s talk of religion and Wendy’s need to show the “proper” gender roles and take the boys home to a “safe” environment all echo every colonization story and history. Tiger Lily’s camp’s response fits the typical swaying and dissent natives would react towards colonizers. And then, of course, there’s the love story: the concept of various kinds of love, who is “right” for whom, the first love not always the best love. Tiger Lily and Peter Pan love one another, without really knowing what love is and what they want from each other. It’s not until Wendy arrives that both truly begin to understand that love comes in many forms for many reasons.

  Apart from this analytical outlook and late night ramblings, I really did enjoy this. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read twists on fairy tales and twists on classic literature (without it destroying the original story). Fun thing to note: Tink’s description of fairies evolving from dragon flies left such a deep image in my mind that I found it endearing and enchanting all at once!

  Rating: ★★★★
  Goodreads: 4.05

  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “The Mermaid” by Carolyn Turgeon

  Posted at 10:57 am by Laura, on July 26, 2012

  

  The Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon

  Princess Margrethe has been hidden away while her kingdom is at war. One gloomy, windswept morning, as she stands in a convent garden overlooking the icy sea, she witnesses a miracle: a glittering mermaid emerging from the waves, a nearly drowned man in her arms. By the time Margrethe reaches the shore, the mermaid has disappeared into the sea. As Margrethe nurses the handsome stranger back to health, she learns that not only is he a prince, he is also the son of her father’s greatest rival. Sure that the mermaid brought this man to her for a reason, Margrethe devises a plan to bring peace to her kingdom.

  Meanwhile, the mermaid princess Lenia longs to return to the human man she carried to safety. She is willing to trade her home, her voice, and even her health for legs and the chance to win his heart…

  I had seen so many poor and mediocre reviews for this book, but the cover and the fairy twist kept calling to me. I’ve read Yolen’s “Briar Rose” and Murphy’s “Hansel and Gretel” and really enjoyed those, so I thought I’d give Turgeon a try.

  If I had not been on vacation, I may not have had patience for this book. Simple writing – almost read like a parent telling a bedtime story to a child. The characters were flawed in that they only had one goal in mind, and the main emotions that consumed them were love and jealousy. Margarethe was consumed with love for Prince Christopher (without even truly knowing him at all) and intense jealousy towards Lenia’s mermaid form; Lenia was consumed with love for Christopher (again, without truly knowing him) and jealous of Margarethe’s human form; and Christopher was an arrogant charmer (this is a euphemism for a more blunt and crude word) with no loving qualities whatsoever.

  And yet, I continued reading. It was a dark tale, with vastly different settings and worlds, surrounded with politics, mythology, and religion. I wanted to know the twist, what made this different from Anderson’s (and Disney’s) Little Mermaid. And boy, every difference was a painful one, and quite the shocker. Instead of losing her voice, Lenia loses her tongue. Sacrifices are made, on land and in the sea, for every action Lenia and Margrethe make towards their competition for the prince’s affections. It is not a happy ending, but if one were to experience the story as if it were a legend, then the happier version we know and love could easily be conceivable. We could visualize how the story transformed from “what really happened” to “what I wish had happened.” It was an interesting concept.

  Rating: ★★★
  Goodreads: 3.5

  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, goodreads, review

• Upcoming Books! [25]

  Posted at 10:45 am by Laura, on July 8, 2012

  

  I will be away the following two Sundays, so there will be no updates for Upcoming Books (or book reviews and publishing news). I have three books here that will be published Tuesday, and one in particular later this month simply because I adore this author. Yes. I can have some bias here!

  ~

  Title: The Absolutist
  Author: John Boyne
  Genre: historical fiction
  Publisher: Other Press
  Publishing Date: July 10
  Summary: It is September 1919: twenty-one-year-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver a package of letters to the sister of Will Bancroft, the man he fought alongside during the Great War.
  But the letters are not the real reason for Tristan’s visit. He can no longer keep a secret and has finally found the courage to unburden himself of it. As Tristan recounts the horrific details of what to him became a senseless war, he also speaks of his friendship with Will–from their first meeting on the training grounds at Aldershot to their farewell in the trenches of northern France. The intensity of their bond brought Tristan happiness and self-discovery as well as confusion and unbearable pain.

  ~

  Title: Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses
  Author: Ron Koertge
  Genre: young adult, fairy tales, short stories
  Publisher: Candlewick Press
  Publishing Date: July 10
  Summary: Once upon a time, there was a strung-out match girl who sold CDs to stoners. Twelve impetuous sisters escaped King Daddy’s clutches to jiggle and cavort and wear out their shoes. A fickle Thumbelina searched for a tiny husband, leaving bodies in her wake. And Little Red Riding Hood confessed that she kind of wanted to know what it’s like to be swallowed whole. From bloodied and blinded stepsisters (they were duped) to a chopped-off finger flying into a heroine’s cleavage, this is fairy tale world turned upside down. Ron Koertge knows what really happened to all those wolves and maidens, ogres and orphans, kings and piglets, and he knows about the Ever After. So come closer
  – he wants to whisper in your ear.

  ~

  Title: Playing With Matches
  Author: Carolyn Wall
  Genre:  fiction
  Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
  Publishing Date: July 10
  Summary: Growing up in False River, Mississippi, Clea Shine learned early that a small town is no place for big secrets. Having fled years ago in the wake of a tragedy and now settled with a family of her own, she faces a turning point in her marriage and seeks refuge in the one place she vowed never to return.
  Clea’s homecoming is bittersweet. Reunited with Jerusha Lovemore, the kindly neighbor who raised her, Clea gains a sense of love and comfort, but still cannot escape the ghosts of her past: the abandonment by her disreputable mother, her constant search for belonging, the truth behind that fateful night from long ago. Once outspoken and impulsive, Clea now seeks only redemption and peace of mind. And as a hurricane threatens to hit False River, everything she has tried to forget may finally be exposed once and for all.

  ~

  Title: Broken Harbor
  Author: Tana French
  Genre: mystery
  Publisher: Penguin Group
  Publishing Date: July 24
  Summary: “Scorcher” Kennedy, the brash cop from Tana French’s bestselling Faithful Place, plays by the book and plays hard. That’s what’s made him the Murder squad’s top detective—and that’s what puts the biggest case of the year into his hands.
  On one of the half-built, half-abandoned “luxury” developments that litter Ireland, Patrick Spain and his two young children are dead. His wife, Jenny, is in intensive care.
  At first, Scorcher and his rookie partner, Richie, think it’s going to be an easy solve. But too many small things can’t be explained. The half dozen baby monitors, their cameras pointing at holes smashed in the Spains’ walls. The files erased from the Spains’ computer. The story Jenny told her sister about a shadowy intruder who was slipping past all the locks.
  And Broken Harbor holds memories for Scorcher. Seeing the case on the news sends his sister Dina off the rails again, and she’s resurrecting something that Scorcher thought he had tightly under control: what happened to their family one summer at Broken Harbor, back when they were children.

  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged books, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: mystery, genre: young adult, upcoming books

• Upcoming Books! [19]

  Posted at 12:00 pm by Laura, on May 27, 2012

  

  Title: Changeling
  Author: Philippa Gregory
  Genre: young adult, historical fiction, fantasy
  Publisher: Simon Pulse
  Publishing Date: May 29
  Summary: Italy, 1453. Seventeen-year-old Luca Vero is brilliant, gorgeous—and accused of heresy. Cast out of his religious order for using the new science to question old superstitious beliefs, Luca is recruited into a secret sect: The Order of the Dragon, commissioned by Pope Nicholas V to investigate evil and danger in its many forms, and strange occurrences across Europe, in this year—the end of days.
  Isolde is a seventeen-year-old girl shut up in a nunnery so she can’t inherit any of her father’s estate. As the nuns walk in their sleep and see strange visions, Isolde is accused of witchcraft—and Luca is sent to investigate her, but finds himself plotting her escape.
  Despite their vows, despite themselves, love grows between Luca and Isolde as they travel across Europe with their faithful companions, Freize and Ishraq. The four young people encounter werewolves, alchemists, witches, and death-dancers as they head toward a real-life historical figure who holds the boundaries of Christendom and the secrets of the Order of the Dragon.

  ~

  Title: The Yard
  Author: Alex Grecian
  Genre: mystery, historical fiction
  Publisher: Putnam Books
  Publishing Date: May 29
  Summary: Victorian London is a cesspool of crime, and Scotland Yard has only twelve detectives—known as “The Murder Squad”—to investigate countless murders every month. Created after the Metropolitan Police’s spectacular failure to capture Jack the Ripper, The Murder Squad suffers rampant public contempt. They have failed their citizens. But no one can anticipate the brutal murder of one of their own . . . one of the twelve . . .When Walter Day, the squad’s newest hire, is assigned the case of the murdered detective, he finds a strange ally in the Yard’s first forensic pathologist, Dr. Bernard Kingsley. Together they track the killer, who clearly is not finished with The Murder Squad . . . but why?

  ~

  Title: The Watchers
  Author: Jon Steele
  Genre: mystery, thriller
  Publisher: Blue Rider Press
  Publishing Date: May 29
  Summary: Meet Marc Rochat, a man-child who has devoted his life to being the bell ringer at the Gothic Lausanne Cathedral, one of the greatest architectural structures in the world. Eerie things have been going on in and around his church, including tremblings in the underground crypt and a variety of gruesomely murdered bodies showing up in nearby streets. Across the square from the cathedral lives Katherine Taylor, a beautiful young American woman who is making phenomenal money as one of the highest-priced call girls in Switzerland; she’s a bit too introspective for her own good and, unfortunately, much too observant of her clients’ peccadilloes. Rochat’s and Taylor’s lives collide with Jay Harper, a British private eye who has been sent to investigate the killings and other strange doings; alas, he has no memory of who hired him or precisely why he was chosen for the job. And now all the clues are pointing skyward, where fallen angels are said to haunt Lausanne.

  ~

  Some books to look forward to publication later in 2012 and early 2013 include

  • Stephanie Thornton’s THE SECRET HISTORY, in which a theater tart-turned-Constantinople’s premier courtesan must decide what’s more important: pleasing the emperor who claims to love her or keeping the son he can never know about.
  • Mary Miley’s THE IMPERSONATOR, featuring a young vaudeville actress who takes on the role of a lifetime when she impersonates a missing heiress.
  • Benjamin Percy’s THE DEAD LANDS, a post-apocalyptic reinvention of Lewis and Clark’s epic journey across the West.

  Happy reading!

  Major thanks to several publishing houses, Goodreads, and Publishers Lunch for providing weekly updates!

  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged books, genre: adult fiction, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: mystery, genre: young adult, upcoming books

• Upcoming Books! [18]

  Posted at 12:00 pm by Laura, on May 20, 2012

  

  Title: Of Poseidon
  Author: Anna Banks
  Genre: young adult, fantasy
  Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
  Publishing Date: May 22
  Summary: Galen, a Syrena prince, searches land for a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. It’s while Emma is on vacation at the beach that she meets Galen. Although their connection is immediate and powerful, Galen’s not fully convinced that Emma’s the one he’s been looking for. That is, until a deadly encounter with a shark proves  that Emma and her Gift may be the only thing that can save his kingdom. He needs her help–no matter what the risk.

  ~

  Title: Jane Austen Marriage Manual
  Author: Kim Izzo
  Genre: fiction
  Publisher: St Martin’s Press
  Publishing Date: May 22
  Summary: Katherine Shaw—Kate— is happy with her life. She has supportive friends, a glamorous magazine career, and a love of all things Jane Austen. But when she loses her job, her beloved grandmother falls ill and a financial disaster forces a sale on the family home, Kate finds herself facing a crisis that would test even the most stalwart of Austen heroines.
  Friends rally round, connecting her to freelance gigs, and presenting her with a birthday gift— title to land in Scotland—that’s about to come in very handy. Turns out that Kate’s first freelance assignment is to test an Austen-inspired theory: in the toughest economic times is a wealthy man the only must-have accessory? What begins as an article turns into an opportunity as Kate—now Lady Kate—jet-sets to Palm Beach, St Moritz and London where, in keeping company with the elite, she meets prospects who make Mr. Darcy look like an amateur. But will rubbing shoulders with men of good fortune ever actually lead her to love? And will Kate be able to choose between Mr. Rich and Mr. Right?

  ~

  Title: The Enchantress
  Author: Michael Scott
  Genre: young adult, fantasy
  Publisher: Delacorte Press fror Young Readers
  Publishing Date: May 22
  Summary: Sixth and final book in the series “The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.”
  San Francisco:
  Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel have one day left to live, and one job left to do. They must defend San Francisco. The monsters gathered on Alcatraz Island have been released and are heading toward the city. If they are not stopped, they will destroy everyone and everything in their path.
  But even with the help of two of the greatest warriors from history and myth, will the Sorceress and the legendary Alchemyst be able to defend the city? Or is it the beginning of the end of the human race?
  Danu Talis:
  Sophie and Josh Newman traveled ten thousand years into the past to Danu Talis when they followed Dr. John Dee and Virginia Dare. And it’s on this legendary island that the battle for the world begins and ends.
  Scathach, Prometheus, Palamedes, Shakespeare, Saint-Germain, and Joan of Arc are also on the island. And no one is sure what—or who—the twins will be fighting for.
  Today the battle for Danu Talis will be won or lost.
  But will the twins of legend stand together?
  Or will they stand apart—
  one to save the world and one to destroy it?

  ~

  Happy reading!

  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: adult fiction, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: young adult, upcoming books

• Upcoming Books! [17]

  Posted at 8:51 pm by Laura, on May 13, 2012

  

  Title: A Confusion of Princes
  Author: Garth Nix
  Genre: young adult, sci-fi, fantasy
  Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books
  Publishing Date: May 15
  Summary: You’d think being a privileged Prince in a vast intergalactic Empire would be about as good as it gets. But it isn’t as great as it sounds. For one thing, Princes are always in danger. Their greatest threat? Other Princes. Khemri discovers that the moment he is proclaimed a Prince.
  He also discovers mysteries within the hidden workings of the Empire. Dispatched on a secret mission, Khemri comes across the ruins of a space battle. In the midst of it all he meets a young woman named Raine, who will challenge his view of the Empire, of Princes, and of himself.

  ~

  Title: The Chemistry of Tears
  Author: Peter Carey
  Genre: historical fiction
  Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
  Publishing Date: May 15
  Summary: London 2010: Catherine Gehrig, conservator at the Swinburne museum, learns of the sudden death of her colleague and lover of thirteen years. As the mistress of a married man, she must struggle to keep the depth of her anguish to herself. The one other person who knows Catherine’s secret—her boss—arranges for her to be given a special project away from prying eyes in the museum’s Annexe. Usually controlled and rational, but now mad with grief, Catherine reluctantly unpacks an extraordinary, eerie automaton that she has been charged with bringing back to life.
  As she begins to piece together the clockwork puzzle, she also uncovers a series of notebooks written by the mechanical creature’s original owner: a nineteenth-century Englishman, Henry Brandling, who traveled to Germany to commission it as a magical amusement for his consumptive son. But it is Catherine, nearly two hundred years later, who will find comfort and wonder in Henry’s story. And it is the automaton, in its beautiful, uncanny imitation of life, that will link two strangers confronted with the mysteries of creation, the miracle and catastrophe of human invention, and the body’s astonishing chemistry of love and feeling.

  ~

  Title: As the Crow Flies
  Author: Craig Johnson
  Genre: mystery
  Publisher: Viking Adult
  Publishing Date: May 15
  Summary: Embarking on his eighth adventure, Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire has a more important matter on his mind than cowboys and criminals. His daughter, Cady, is getting married to the brother of his undersheriff, Victoria Moretti. Walt and old friend Henry Standing Bear are the de facto wedding planners and fear Cady’s wrath when the wedding locale arrangements go up in smoke two weeks before the big event.
  The pair set out to find a new site for the nuptials on the Cheyenne Reservation, but their scouting expedition ends in horror as they witness a young Crow woman plummeting from Painted Warrior’s majestic cliffs. It’s not Walt’s turf, but the newly appointed tribal police chief and Iraqi war veteran, the beautiful Lolo Long, shanghais him into helping with the investigation. Walt is stretched thin as he mentors Lolo, attempts to catch the bad guys, and performs the role of father of the bride.

  ~

  Happy reading!

  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: adult fiction, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: mystery, genre: sci-fi, genre: young adult, upcoming books

• Book Review: “Grave Mercy” by Robin LaFevers

  Posted at 6:12 pm by Laura, on May 12, 2012

  

  Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

  Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

  Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

  Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

  I should start this review by saying I was not expecting too much from this novel. I bought it on my Nook because I liked the cover and the idea of historical fantasy / assassin nuns. However, I expected it to be extremely silly and a young adult version of a trashy romance novel, while also tossing in some royal political Philippa Gregory-style intrigue.

  Admittedly, there are moments when it becomes borderline trashy romance, but so much of the novel is taken up with character development, plots, mysteries, schemes, and politics of medieval/Renaissance Brittany that this can be overlooked. Gavriel Duval, the character who has “stolen Ismae’s heart” is a wonderfully complex character without any of those typical brooding descriptions. Ismae is a hard nut to crack, firmly stubborn, sometimes blind, and wildly bitter — and rightfully so.

  The historical time frame is a bit hazy, but if I knew more about weapons and poisons and the political history of Brittany I could narrow it down pretty well. LaFevers does an excellent job of describing historical artifacts and the different tricks courtiers are notorious for (having read The Courtier and The Prince for a Renaissance history class, it is clear LaFevers has done her research). The drawback for me as a reader is my lack of knowledge of Brittany. If I had known more about this little duchy, the century would have become more clear. Because of this hindrance, I had to suspend any disbelief I may have held in regards to historical context.

  The fantasy, however, is fantastic (ha!). I love the idea of combining old religions with Christianity, masking them with different names. Apparently there were 9 gods that ruled Brittany, later renamed as saints for the sake of the Church. Ismae’s is the god of Death, and not Death as we would understand it. At first we find Ismae misunderstanding her tasks as missions of vengeance, but she soon grows to understand (and become blessed by Death) that her mission is one of mercy.

  I read through this novel as quickly as I could between job interviews and visits to the vet for my poor cat – I’m sure if I had a full day to sit and be alone, this would have been plowed through in a few hours. I was drawn to the tale, for that’s what it is. A really good story – not of literary merit or praise or any such thing as that, but a tale of faith, death, and love in a time of political turmoil.

  Rating: ★★★ of 5
  Goodreads: 4.09 of 5

  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, ebooks, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: young adult, goodreads, 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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