Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

Posted on November 29, 2010 by janicu

Deanna Raybourn

This is a review of an eARC I received from the publisher.

Dark Road to Darjeeling is the fourth book in one of my favorite series. Here are my reviews of the first three books:

Book 1: Silent in the Grave –

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Book 2: Silent in the Sanctuary –

Book 3: Silent on the Moor –

***** There are minor spoilers for earlier books in this review ****

The Premise: Lady Julia Grey and her now-husband Nicolas Brisbane have been honeymooning for 8 months, when her sister Portia and brother Plum cross paths with them in Cairo. Portia’s former lover Jane has written from India with the news that she’s pregnant and now a widow. She doesn’t explicitly say it, but Portia senses that there is something wrong in her letters and suspects foul play in the death of Jane’s husband Freddie Cavendish. So of course, Julia and Brisbane, Portia and Plum journey to India, to give Jane support during the last few months of her pregnancy and to secretly investigate the possibility of Cavendish’s murder.

Read an excerpt of Dark Road to Darjeeling here

My Thoughts: As with the earlier books, the writing beautifully describes a setting that’s in a different place and time, in this case a valley isolated from the world where Jane now resides in a tea estate: “The Peacocks is the name of the estate, a tea garden on the border of Sikkim, outside of Darjeeling, right up in the foothills of the Himalayas.”

Here, a small English community lives – the Cavendishs who own the plantation (Harry is the late Freddie’s younger brother, and Camellia Cavendish is their aunt and runs the household), the White Rajah (a mysterious older man who lives in a ruined monastery above the valley), the Pennyfeathers (a clergyman, his free-spirited artist wife Cassandra and two children Primrose and Robin), Dr Llewellyn (a grieving man who lost his wife after a tiger attack), and finally Lucy and Emma Phipps, cousins to the Marches (last seen in the second book of the series). Surrounding these are their numerous servants, including twins sisters Lalita, a cook, and Miss Thorne, governess to the Pennyfeather children.

As Julia and the others make acquaintances with those around them, it becomes clear that the mystery of Freddie’s death is going to be a tough one. Almost everyone could have had a reason or the means to have killed him, if in fact he was murdered. Officially he died of an infection after being bitten by a small, usually harmless snake, not something that would typically kill a healthy man, but India is a place where such things happen. In fact, as I kept reading this book, it began to feel like the valley is not kind at all to those who settle there. One tragedy or another seems to have befallen everyone there, particularly the English.

In the meantime, the honeymoon is over for Brisbane and Julia, and the two are trying to figure out the compromises that make up married life, without being the one who actually makes the compromise! These two are as as in love as ever, but they’re clearly human. Julia wants to be a partner in Brisbane’s investigations, while Brisbane wants his wife to stay away from danger. This is probably the first book where I really thought about the problems in both of their perspectives, and I felt like neither was truly right or wrong. I think before this book, I was with Julia in expecting that she should be able to investigate, but now I see where Brisbane comes from. On the other hand, both characters also do things that probably aren’t best for their marriage when they try to exert their will over the other. Brisbane continues with his mind games to keep Julia out of trouble, while Julia hides things from Brisbane in order to “win” the race to figure out the mystery and prove she’s an equal. Clearly these characters are imperfect and I like that they have a lot of room to grow, but I the previous books didn’t leave me as frustrated with Brisbane and Julia as much as Dark Road to Darjeeling did. It left me with a generally perturbed feeling to uncover their shortcomings the way they were presented here.

Overall: As I’ve come to expect, I liked the book: it has all the Raybourn hallmarks (lovely writing, unique characters, beautiful setting), but I didn’t close the pages with the same feeling of happy satisfaction as the earlier books, so it’s not my favorite of the series. Conflict and the overall tragic events put this volume into a “bittersweet” category. Compared to the earlier books I felt unsettled after reading this one, but I still love and recommend this series, and I am looking forward to what happens next.

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s | The Book Depository

Other reviews:
See Michelle Read – positive review
Tempting Persephone – positive review
Monkey Bear Reviews – B- (I’m surprised by how similar I feel to this review – read it after writing mine)
Book Harbinger – positive
Babbling about Books, and More – B

Song of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy

Posted on November 27, 2010 by janicu

I originally reviewed Song of Scarabaeus over at Jawas Read, Too! for her Book Uno feature a couple of months ago. The format of this review is a bit different from my usual reviews since it actually has a numerical rating.

Song of Scarabaeus

Sara Creasy

This book first appeared on my radar when Linnea Sinclair recommended it on her yahoo group: ” Far-far future Earth SF with terraforming, high-tech, rebellions, pirates, a nice romantic subplot. I’d classify it as RSF and if you like Aguirre’s GRIMSPACE, you’ll love this”. Yep, sounded right up my alley. Good reviews started coming in and I’d been feeling the pull of this book for a while.When Erika threw down the gauntlet for Book Uno she gave me the challenge of finding a book with a female protagonist because she read and reviewed Jay Lake’s Green, which had a female protagonist, for the last Book Uno review. I think this book not only has a female protagonist (and a lovely one at that), but look at the cover! It’s GREEN. That’s right, I am a genius at Book Uno.

The Premise: Edie Sha’nim is a biocyph who can interface with machines mentally. Her training is primarily for terraforming worlds for human habitation, but she’s unhappy in her current situation, which is akin to being in an indentured position under the Crib Empire. Her next assignment is one she is not thrilled by (although it will be a coup for her ambitious sponsor), so she drags her feet by taking a lowly temporary assignment as op-teck in maintenance. Unfortunately, that’s when Edie is kidnapped by a group of pirates who steal terraforming seeds for Fringe worlds that can’t afford the Crib’s high prices for maintaining the Fringe worlds’ environments. Edie is shackled via a wet-teck leash to Finn, an escaped convict with a dark personality and a past as a Fringe freedom fighter.

Read an excerpt of Song of Scarabaeus here

My Thoughts: From the beginning, the book immerses the reader in Edie’s universe. Unknown terminology is casually tossed into the narrative and a little brainpower is needed at first, but it gets easier as the book goes along. It helps that the story is full of action from the get go with Edie’s kidnapping, and it continues to stay compelling once Edie is captured. First, she’s shackled with Finn, an escaped con with a chip in his head that’s been modified so that if he is too far away from Edie, his head explodes. This makes Finn Edie’s involuntary bodyguard, and awkward relationship which is complicated by Edie having the power to send a crippling jolt to his system via his chip.

Finn and Edie are brought onto the Hoi Polloi, whose crew consists of Haller, the executive officer, Cat Lancer, the navpilot, Zeke, the op-teck, and Captain Rackham, a cook, and two engineers. Although the mercenaries say they have altruistic goals to help Fringe planets, money is obviously part of it. Not to mention that the crew has already broken laws and wrecked havoc to capture Edie. I think that the secondary characters were very subtly set up. At first there are quick impressions of each of them from Edie’s point of view, and then as the book continues, their actions give us more clues as to who they are. It’s very realistic and done nicely. The two I noticed most were Cat and Zeke, who try to be friendly, but they’ve also shown some qualities which put their trustworthiness into question. Trying to figure out how to escape when the allies are slim is a very precarious situation for Edie and Finn, who don’t even know if they can trust one another.

I liked that Finn and Edie are strangers and treat each other as such. This is not one of those books where sparks fly and there’s lust at first sight. I know the cover looks quite romantic, and I’m going to talk about both characters because they’re the protagonists, but let me assure you that the romance is pretty understated.

Finn has just spent years as a convict – treated as a “serf” and less than human, controlled via his chip. Now, in an attempt to get free, he’s found himself in another form of slavery. And while Edie’s morals maker her value human life, Finn is a much, much harder person because of his experiences. As a serf, he’s seen how people treat his kind, and whether he decides that Edie is cut from the same cloth as everyone else is in question for much of the book. If he didn’t need Edie to live, he’d be a lot more dangerous to her, and of the two characters, we’re in Edie’s head, not in his. His actions are truly hard to read and unpredictable, and I liked that. He’s not a formulaic hero by any means.

Edie, on the other hand, is a sympathetic character with some unique problems because of who she is. She needs an implant of neuroxin to stay alive and as a biocyph she’s a target of violent environmentalists who want to stop planets from being terraformed. And she’s seen as a very valuable tool by others, so her life never seems to be fully her own. You could say that she’s used to being unique and dealing with the focus this brings. She’s not what I would call “kick-ass” (she’s had bodyguards to protect her) and she’s a good person even to those who may not deserve it, but she’s not spineless, and knows how to defend herself. Her talents are of course more mental, being a biocyph. Creasy is seamless in referring to Edie’s back story and her job without it feeling like an information dump. How Edie joined the Crib and her first terraforming mission are brought up is they affect her current situation or as brief flashbacks, italicized to separate them from the main storyline. Her biocyph skill is explained on the fly as Edie utilizes it.

The biocyph, and the other -cyph type technology involves people interfacing with machines via chips in their brains and very specific training. The actual interface is described very nicely in the book in an artistic interpretation which I would compare to how the movie Hackers interpreted coding visually. I don’t think you could relate it with coding today, but I still liked the imagery used in explaining it. This creativity is everywhere in the world building from the description of the space ship to the planets that it flies to. I particularly loved the menacing plant life on Scarabaeus, which is subtly suggested on the cover (it looks like there’s a tree on the cover, but that’s really a wall between two windows looking into space).

The comparison to Ann Aguirre’s Grimspace is one that I understand. Grimspace was about a heroine with a unique ability as a jumper but after a horrific accident, she is confined by her government until the hero busts her out. There are a lot of imperfect characters, lots of action and it’s a rather gritty beginning to a space adventure series. Song of Scarabaeus may not share its plot or characters, but the spirit is similar. This book has dark parts, but I didn’t think it was quite as dark, and Edie is a more likable character than Jax initially is, but the ragtag group of mercenary space pirates, high-tech ability with a price, and unpredictable problems make this a book I’d recommend for fans of Aguirre’s fantastic series.

Overall: The more I think about this book, the more I liked it. I think that the writing was very thoughtfully done. It’s got action and a dangerous universe. it’s got space pirates. It’s got well written world building and a suspenseful plot. And it’s got a believable relationship that starts off between two 3-dimensional characters that are utter strangers. I’m not really sure what more I could want in a story. Highly recommended, particularly for Ann Aguirre fans. I’m eagerly awaiting the continuation – Children of Scarabaeus, which comes out March, 2011.

For the purpose of Jawas Read, Too!‘s rating system, I’d give this one an 9.

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s Books | The Book Depository

Other reviews:
Tempting Persephone – positive
SciFiChick – positive
Tez Says – positive

Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

Posted on November 20, 2010 by janicu

Silent on the Moor

Deanna Raybourn

I’ve been meaning to read this, the third installment of one of my favorite series for a while but I’ve been gated by the fact that there are no mass market paperback copies. More on that side rant later.

Book 1: Silent in the Grave –

Book 2: Silent in the Sanctuary –

**** Minor spoilers for the earlier books in this review ****

The Premise: In the last book, Brisbane disappears, as usual, leaving Lady Julia Grey again with the sense of unfinished business regarding their relationship, so when her sister Portia is invited to Brisbane’s new home on the northern moors, Julia decides to take matters into her own hands and come along, uninvited or not. Julia doesn’t expect a warm welcome by a man who is clearly hiding something, but she’s surprised to find the previous tenants of Grimsgrave, the Lady Allensby and her two daughters, Ailith and Hilda, still in residence, while Brisbane acts as slippery as ever.

Read an excerpt of Silent on the Moor here

My Thoughts: Julia gets more and more impetuous in each book. I think the first impression she made on me has stayed in my mind (a woman who knows the societal rules of her time and abides by them despite feeling the constraints), so whenever Julia does or says things that are distinctly unladylike, I feel a little surprised. I wasn’t sure how to feel about Julia’s decision to just show up at Brisbane’s house, despite her sister Portia and brother Valerius coming along, because there are members of her family (including her father) who call it what it is – throwing herself at a man who of late has shown an insulting lack of interest. I did cringe a little, wondering what Brisbane’s reaction would be.

When Julia gets to Grimsgrave, the sparring with Brisbane begins again, and their interactions highlight how much Julia’s character has evolved. Do not fear though – this is the best thing ever. I find their relationship even more delicious because Julia is comfortable with who she is. Brisbane is a dark horse; he manages to stymie Julia even when she thinks she has the upper hand, but Julia isn’t afraid to keep pushing. I understand her character (it helps that she’s the first person narrator), but Brisbane holds his cards very close to his chest. I know he loves her, but he has strange ideas about honor, relationships, and protecting people. If Julia hadn’t changed into who she is now, I don’t think their relationship would work because she’d be too afraid to break down his barriers. This Julia gives as good as she gets, and I was cheering for her every time she managed to chip his armor.

Every book in this series involves a mystery. In Silent on the Moor, the biggest mystery is Brisbane himself. He clearly has a past that is tied to Grimsgrave, and Julia learns as much about him as she does about the strange Allensbys. At first, it’s Julia’s nosiness that prompts her questions about the Allensby family. Is there something between the beautiful Ailith and Brisbane? Then there is the question of Redwall Allenby, Ailith’s brother, recently passed. Was there more to his death and his disgrace in Egyptology circles? These are things Julia is curious about, but it’s only when she makes a macabre discovery that the sleuthing begins in earnest. Julia knows that this is the window for her chance at happiness, and if she doesn’t figure out what’s going on, she’ll lose Brisbane forever. Although the mystery feels somewhat secondary to the relationship troubles, I found it rather satisfying that the focus was where it was. I wanted what Julia does when she goes to Grimsgrave: to settle the thing between her and Brisbane once and for all.

It’s all very atmospheric. The Allenbys sit proud, closed off in their broken down home, remembering glory of generations long past, while the nearby villagers bear them no good will. Julia and her family stumble awkwardly into this situation, not exactly wanted but tolerated nonetheless, while Brisbane stomps in and out, dark and broody as ever. Brisbane perfectly suits the crumbling Grimsgrave and the wild and dangerous moor. I loved the setting, particularly at this time of year, when things get wet and gloomy, and dark clouds hang above. With Brisbane’s gypsy past and the moor setting, it’s clear that there’s a nod here to Wuthering Heights, but in this case there’s a happier outcome.

Oh man, the ending. The story took it’s time getting there (my trade paperback is 465 pages), but it was well worth reading because the final pages are sigh-worthy. For those of you who are peekers – just believe me that it ends well and try not to skip ahead.

Overall: This may be my favorite Lady Julia Grey installment yet. Wholly for the ending, although the dramatic setting on the moors, the strange Allenbys and the broody Brisbane aren’t too shabby in making this a lovely story. The mix of romance, mystery and the Victorian setting are perfect. I love this series. So good.

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s | The Book Depository

Side rant!
OK, I must say that I’ve been waiting for this book to be published in Mass Market because my copies of the earlier books are MMPBs. But, although this book was published in trade paperback in March, 2009 (as of this post 1 year and 8 months ago), there seems to be no plan to release this book in mass market? What’s up with that?

Other reviews:
See Michelle Read – positive review
Aneca’s World – 4/5
The Good, the Bad, and the Unread – B
Angieville – positive review

Enemy Within by Marcella Burnard

Posted on November 16, 2010 by janicu

Enemy Within

Marcella Burnard

This book has been on my radar due to it being Science Fiction Romance from a new to me author. This is a review of an ARC that was passed along by a fellow blogger.

The Premise: Captain Alexandria Rose Idylle (Ari), is working on her PhD thesis on her father’s ship, the Sen Ekir, when it is commandeered by pirates lead by a man who calls himself Cullin Seaghdh. As a recent survivor of months of capture and torture under the Chekydrans, Ari lost her crew and then her command, and her father, friends, and the Tagreth Federated Command are all unsure she came back whole. But this hijacking by Seaghdh, followed by one surprise after another, suggests that Ari may be right in questioning everything and everyone.

My Thoughts: Ari is a heroine with an interesting background. She’s been captured and released by the Chekydrans, had a distinguished military career, holds a degree in xenonanobiology, and ranks in energy blade competitions. On paper she’s borderline perfect, if not for how broken she is from her captivity. Most of the time, Ari is determined in and strong in adversary, but she also is prone to flashbacks and crippling insecurities. Cullin Seaghdh’s character on the other hand, is sort of the handsome stranger, full of secrets that he keeps from Ari, but he’s not alone in doing that. I liked the idea of a relationship that develops along with the secrecy, however I have mixed feelings about how the romance was written alongside the space opera elements.

This science fiction romance definitely falls under the “sexy” umbrella. There’s lots of sexual tension between Ari and Seaghdh. For that reason I think that this book would appeal to romance readers who enjoy speculative fiction world building (I would compare the ratio of romance to world building and action to Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changling series). For space opera/science fiction fans unused to romance reading, your mileage may vary on the lusty parts. Ari and Seaghdh’s attraction is a large part of the story. I personally tend to go for a low level of heat, and although there was not much actual sex in this story, the descriptions the hero and heroine’s physical reactions to each other are numerous. That’s usually OK with me, but I found that some of the situations felt a little forced or repetitive, such as stripping down naked in front of each other for a decontamination shower in the first 20 pages, or Ari’s frequent flip outs about Seaghdh’s true feelings and her the descriptions of Ari’s response to Seaghdh. This feeling that the story is being forced extends also to the space opera parts, and I think the overworked feeling I get from the story, is my biggest problem with this book.

The book is chock full of space opera goodies. Aliens, space fights, hijacking, there’s always some action going on, and plenty of conspiracy to go with it. The way Ari and Seaghdh look at every situation from the angle of people familiar with Military Intelligence can be dizzying to follow. Most of this is good and I would usually eat it up with a smile, but there were some parts where the logic jumped a little fast for me (I think one day I’d like to do a reread to see what I missed the first time), or parts where right after one near missed disaster, another occurs, followed by yet another. If I take each event individually, they are fine, more than fine in fact, but there is just so much going on. If the book had been fiercely edited to remove the chaff, we’d be left with a book I’d love – with a great mix of romance and action, but as it is, there are actually too many ideas and extra scenes because of it.

Overall: Enemy Within takes science fiction romance and makes it it’s own. It shares tropes I’ve seen before, but the mix of breakneck action, a bit of angst and lots of lusty tension is a combination that feels unique in this genre. There was a lot I liked about this book, but there were also things I found problematic – mostly the parts that felt forced – one twist after another, Ari’s mood swings regarding the relationship, and the general feeling that too much is going on. I have hopes that this will improve, and am game to try the second book in this series, Enemy Games (May 2011), which features a hero and heroine introduced in Enemy Within.

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s | The Book Depository

Other reviews:
The Good, The Bad, and the Unread – A
The Book Lush – 4
Babbling about Books, and more – B+

Interview @ Babbling about Books, and more
Guest Post @ Galaxy Express – Parallel Universe: Extraordinary Heroines by Marcella Burnard

Jane by April Lindner

Posted on October 18, 2010 by janicu

Jane

April Lindner

Well, as I’ve mentioned before I’ve been eying Jane by April Lindner first because of the cover posted on Tempting Persephone, then because of Angieville’s review. There was one reviewer who didn’t find the book worked for her, but I decided to plough on and try it. The idea of a modern day retelling with Mr. Rochester as a famous rock star was too appealing to miss. (Also the cover is amazing and it called to me).

The Premise: Jane is a modern day retelling of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Left homeless and penniless after her parent’s accidental death, Jane Moore applies for a job as a live-in nanny, and because of her serious nature, she is considered perfect for the job as a nanny to the daughter of famous rocker, Nico Rathburn. When she gets to Thornfield Park and finally meets Nico, he isn’t the partying playboy she imagined, and she is not the easily impressed fan he’s used to dealing with. There’s a mutual fascination which turns into something more, but the secrets of Rathburn’s past threaten to ruin their fledgling relationship.

****** This review assumes you know the basic story behind Jane Eyre. If you do not, it’s probably best you just skip to the “Overall” section ******

My Thoughts: This book started off muy excellente. I felt my pulse quicken in the early pages, learning about the serious, practical Jane, desperate to find a place to live now that her semester at Sarah Lawrence is over. As she muses about her indifferent family and selfish siblings, I can’t help thinking ahead, knowing that she’s going to get the job. The anticipation was delicious, certain that she deserves something good, and but well aware that Jane has no idea what awaits her at Thornfield Park. I took to Jane very quickly. She has a level headed practicality which actually feels rather refreshing. Under circumstances where the cliched young adult heroine could be twittering and making me cringe, Jane keeps her spine up and never falters. Hooray for a nineteen year old girl who isn’t portrayed as a dimwit!

The fact that Jane didn’t compromise herself in childhood in order to please her family serves her well when she arrives at Rathburn’s estate. She’s a firm but understanding nanny to 5 year old Maddy, and when Nico Rathburn finally appears, despite an internal turbulence caused by his presence, she stays true to her steady self. Unlike other people, she doesn’t coddle the rock star, and initially she keeps herself well-contained, but Nico is intrigued by the new nanny and keeps her nearby. I knew where things were headed and so I paid careful attention. I think that at first, I liked how the two got along, but the romance may have moved a little more quickly than I would have liked. The looming disaster I knew was coming, the difference in their ages and most importantly, Nico’s role as Jane’s boss worried me more than I remember being worried by the original. I felt unsettled by them in this book, and because I knew Nico’s secret I paid more attention to how he hid it (and how he lied to do so).

I haven’t read Jane Eyre since high school, and I remember the general story, but the details are fuzzy. I remember when I first read it, I was shocked to find out about what was in the attic. After the revelation, previous hints made sense in the original book. In Jane, I already knew what was coming, so the shock value was not there, and the hints strewn throughout the book felt more heavy-handed than necessary. I wondered – did Brontë’ really leave as many hints as this? After finishing Jane, I got a copy of Jane Eyre to compare, and Jane is surprisingly true to the original, and the hints are the same. So are the lies that Mr Rochester tells his Jane about the strange things she sees in his house. I like that Jane is faithful to the original, but on the other hand, this faithfulness to Nico/Mr. Rochester’s deception left me cold.

I was dismayed when I felt out of love with where Nico and Jane’s relationship had been going. Then a surprising thing happened. I fell back in love with them. I kept reading; Jane does the right thing and leaves, and then she spends time hiding away with the St. John siblings in New Haven, Connecticut. In her time apart from Nico, Jane convinced me that her feelings weren’t just something that happened because of the thrill of having someone like Nico paying attention to her. She can go on with her life and there are other options open to her, but it’s clear that Nico has her heart, even after what he’s done. In her path to forgiving him, I guess I did too. Maybe this is a process I would have gone through re-reading Jane Eyre today. At any rate, I have a new appreciation for Jane’s withdrawal, because it makes all the difference.

At night ,though, I would drift into dreams so vivid I felt I was actually reliving moments Nico and I had shared – his hands on my back, his smell, his taste on my tongue, his voice calling my name, his weight in the bed beside me – and I would startle awake. For minutes afterward, I refused to believe it had only been a dream. And then I couldn’t get back to sleep, my sadness so heavy and palpable I feared I might never sleep again. In those long, dark hours, Nico haunted me like a phantom limb.

Overall: This modern day retelling cleverly leaves the bones of the original intact, staying remarkably close to the plot of Jane Eyre, but in a fresh and youthful package. Jane and her rock star love are nods to Bronte’s original characters, but they are all their own. I may have been disenchanted in the middle, but the ending reversed those feelings. Ultimately, this is a book that lived up to my expectations and I closed the book with a sigh of satisfaction. Highly recommended for fans of Jane Eyre.

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s | The Book Depository

Other reviews:
Angieville – positive
Persephone Reads – positive review
Book Fare Delights – 2 out of 5 (It didn’t work for her, but she explains why very nicely)

Killbox by Ann Aguirre

Posted on October 15, 2010 by janicu

Killbox

Ann Aguirre

This is the fourth book in the Sirantha Jax series, which is a wonderful space opera I’m addicted to. Another one I would have read sooner if not for the self-imposed book buying ban (which I’ve now completely given up on, the TBR wins).

Here are my reviews for the earlier books:
Book 1: Grimspace
Book 2: Wanderlust
Book 3: Doubleblind

**** Spoilers for the first three books from this point on ****

The Premise: After her job as a Conglomerate ambassador to Ithiss-Tor, Sirantha Jax and her crew finally have the time and the resources to work on some of their ultimate goals. The most important of these is to fight against the Morgut – terrifying, worm-like aliens who feast on the flesh of humans and who have been decimating outskirt planets and stations. Unfortunately, the random Morgut attacks begin to look less random, particularly in recent weeks.

Read an excerpt of Killbox here

My Thoughts: It kind of amazes me how much was packed into this book. The story starts right after the trip to Ithiss-Tor. Jax, March, Vel, Dina, Hit, Doc, Rose and Constance are on their way back to Emry Station to meet up with their friends and decide what to do next. Along the way they have an encounter with some slavers, and the experience serves to highlight how much criminals have been taking advantage of the lack of policing now that Farwan is no longer in power. When Chancellor Tarn asks March and the crew to build an armada of spaceships to keep slavers and piracy down, they agree. In the meantime, Jax is working on the goal of teaching those with the J-gene how to navigate ships without the structure of an academy. And then the Morgut become a problem that the newly minted armada cannot ignore.

That’s three big things right there – training jumpers, creating a space armada and fighting the Morgut. Three impossible things before breakfast as they say. You do have to put on a little bit of a suspension of disbelief because Jax and her friends tackle all of these in one book. In each aspect, Jax demands miracles from her crew and they deliver. Now, this is not something new in the series: Jax almost died when she overextended herself in grimspace, and Doc was able to do some amazing gene therapy combined with Jax’s unique ability to repair her brain at the expense of the rest of her system, but in Killbox, the medical genius is asked to do at least 3 new and unprecedented procedures. Dina, the resident mechanical genius is also asked to work on something that no one has ever done before with jump drives. You have to just accept that Jax has the vision to be right about what her crew can do, and that Doc and Dina are just miracle workers, and I think that this is something where your mileage may vary.

This suspension of disbelief is probably my biggest problem with this installment of the series. Otherwise, I think it does quite a bit to move the story forward and it is a book which ties in all three previous installments. Characters we haven’t seen or heard about since the first book make appearances. I had to refresh my memory about them, but they do contribute to the plot and where the series as a whole seems to be going. It was nice to be pleasantly surprised by their reappearance, and I liked that there was the feeling that every character had an important role in the story. And as I’ve come to expect from this author, these characters are three dimensional.

March and Jax… what can I say? I continue to love them. At this point in the series, they’re in an established relationship. It’s nice to see them together and working as two parts of a whole. I don’t feel any loss of chemistry between the two of them when things are going well. They’re very grateful for one another. Of course, there is something of a separation that they have to deal with in Killbox. The reason for their problems is one I understand, and it adds some worry about their relationship, but even when things look bad I believe in these two. I don’t think there is anything insurmountable, and I see Jax and March putting aside their personal feelings for what they believe in. If they can do that, they can find themselves back to each other. That’s what I held on to while I read the book. On the other hand, I can see the relationship drama added to the story as something some people may have an issue with. I did not.

P.S. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger but I was actually OK with where it ended.

Overall: Out of all the books, this one feels the most like it’s about the universe and Jax’s effect on it rather than it being a story about Jax herself. It has the biggest scope so far, with space battles and discoveries that will have far reaching consequences. The threads of earlier books start coming together in Killbox, and the ultimate battle between the Conglomerate and the Morgut is one step closer. Weaving among this, as always, is the complex, ever-changing, ever-human relationship between Jax and her crew. I think that despite a problem with believing how much was expected from the resident miracle-workers, this installment is as rich and varied as the others. And I don’t know many books that could keep me reading till 5 o’clock in the morning.

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s | The Book Depository

Other reviews:

Calico_reaction – Must have.

Mardel (Rabid Reader) – a very positive review “better and better with each book”
See Michelle Read – positive review
Fantasy Cafe – 8/10
Dreams and Speculation – 8/10
Smexy Books – 5/5
Lurv a la Mode – 5 scoops (out of 5)
Literary Escapism – positive review
Tempting Persephone – positive review
The Book Pushers – 5/5

The Family Fortune by Laurie Horowitz

Posted on October 1, 2010 by janicu

The Family Fortune

Laurie Horowitz

This week has been a week full of free time – I’m waiting around in the jury selection phase of jury duty. I’m not going to go into it, but let’s just say I’ve had HOURS AND HOURS of reading time this week (and it’s not over).

This was a book recommended to me in the comments of my Forgotten Treasure post for Book Blogger Appreciation Week. I had recommended a Jane Austen retelling, Pride, Prejudice, and Jasmine Field and Emily mentioned loving The Family Fortune. I already ordered it from paperbackswap, but I was almost done with the book I had brought to Jury Duty, so I went to the library (conveniently next door to the court house) and picked it up there too.

This is my 2nd review for the Everything Austen II challenge

The Premise: This is a modern day retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, that centers on Jane Fortune, member of an upper-crust Bostonian family that has just realized that it is broke. Jane’s father Teddy, and her sister Miranda flit from party to party, and indulge themselves often. Jane’s married sister Winnie, is an attention-seeking, lazy hypochondriac. And Jane is of course, the sensible one, who spends her time working on her literary journal, The Euphemia Review and giving grants to up-and-coming writers through the Fortune Family Foundation, which she runs. Years ago, Jane met and almost married struggling writer, Max Wellman, the first person to win a grant. Family friend Priscilla and her father intervened and it never happened. Now Jane is a 38-year-old woman who feels spinsterhood beginning to settle around her, while Max is a well-known literary heart-throb, and of course, their paths cross once again.

My Thoughts: This is Persuasion in a high society, high literary setting. There’s always the underlying knowledge of how people should act within Jane’s circles. In this aspect it mirrors Jane Austen in regard to the societal mores of the wealthy very well. The literary journal, The Euphemia Review, and Jane’s friendships with critically acclaimed writers and her “genius for finding genius” feels like another facet in this lifestyle. Like her family name, Jane has some clout in the literary world. This book is told from Jane’s first person point of view, and it’s suggested that The Family Fortune comes from Jane’s journals. Her literary fiction background feels reflected in the language of the book.

When this book first begins, Jane is a creature of steadiness and routine. Jane admits to wearing dark, shapeless clothes and not caring about her appearance. This life is a little drab and depressing, but when she discovers that it’s her old flame may be coming to the area because his sister is renting the Fortune home, a little reevaluation happens, and Jane starts to change for the better. Jane discovers a new literary talent in a writer named Jack Reilly, and becomes a little obsessed with finding him. She begins to pay attention to her appearance. She realizes she does have outside respect for her work with her family’s foundation and her literary work, but she also looks for things to do with her life besides The Euphemia Review. Much of the focus is on what Jane is doing and what friends and family she sees as she goes about her life, but we are aware as she is, of looking out from the corner of her eye for Max Wellman.

Max appears first when Jane’s father and sister go off to Palm Beach for the winter. Jane went to visit her sister Winnie, and runs into Max, who is a friend of Winnie’s husband, Charlie. Jane retells their back story and we see her reaction to seeing him again. Of course her feelings are still strong, and she thinks Max is as handsome and charismatic as he ever was, except now everyone else sees him as successful too, while she is the same sensible, reliable Jane. Max is a character I feel like we don’t see much of, even though he is the hero. He appears, and Jane reacts internally and we know she still loves him after all these years, but we have to rely on her side of the romance with little clue about him. What we see of his feelings has to be gleaned through Jane’s description of his expressions. I would have liked to see more from his side of things in this book, particularly in the ending.

There are a lot of secondary characters in this story, but Jane is definitely the main one. Even Max as I said above is like a secondary character. There’s first Jane’s family, and Priscilla, the family friend, then later on we meet characters that represent the Louisa Musgrove, Mrs. Clay, Captain Benwick, and Mr. Elliot characters. These characters mirror the Austen characters very well, at least in spirit. I thought that the modern day representation of Mrs. Clay was well done, and the Mr. Elliot character here took creepily manipulative to new levels (he started benign, but by the end of it he made my, and no doubt Jane’s, skin crawl) . Outside of these characters, there are other secondary characters which (I think) are original to this retelling. Most of these “new” characters are related to Jane’s work with literary fiction.

After I was done, I think I had two problems with the book. I think that these problems are in comparing Jane to Anne Elliot and Max to Captain Wentworth. First Jane. Next to her father and her sisters, Jane is the least self-absorbed, but because the story is told from Jane’s point of view, there are times when she notes things in others that cast her in a mean light. I realize it’s so that the reader can see her family for the people they are, but I don’t recall Anne Elliot in Persuasion as being someone who lists the faults in others. That was reserved for the third person narrator. So when Jane says for example “Miranda’s face was lined with excessive sun exposure. She should know better.” or that someone needed to “take care of the dark roots in an otherwise brassy head of hair”, it only makes her seem secretly as shallow as the rest of her family. I didn’t like this side of her. She also gets drunk and does something in this story I didn’t think Anne Elliot would do. Max on the other hand was much more of a playboy than I considered Captain Wentworth to be. Maybe I have too high moral expectations of two of my favorite characters but I thought his character was a little disappointing in this regard. This is something that falls under personal taste.

Overall: I think this is definitely to be recommended for that niche of people who love a good Jane Austen retelling, but are OK with an Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth who are not as pure as the original. I think that I have my particular standards of what my favorite characters should be like and this book doesn’t quite fit them (I found Jane a little unkind sometimes in her descriptions, Max a little too much of a playboy), so in the end I wasn’t completely satisfied. I still want to keep a copy of this book around though. While I had qualms about Jane/Max (YMMV), the upper crust Boston and high literary societies were unique spins on the society found in Persuasion, and the commentary and many details of the original are well reflected here.

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s | The Book Depository

Other reviews:
Emily and Her Little Pink Note s – 9/10
Steph Su Reads – 4/5

Restoree by Anne McCaffrey

Posted on September 20, 2010 by janicu

Restoree

Anne McCaffery

I am not sure where I heard of this book. I thought it may have been somewhere on the paperbackswap forums, but a quick search says no. Anyway, what sold me was someone saying that it was a science fiction that had a romance in it where the heroine’s first impression of the hero was that he was ugly and an idiot. I’d been debating whether to get it but holding back, until I saw it for 50 cents at the a library sale section of my library.

The Premise: Sara is a young, plain looking, twenty-something librarian working in New York City, when one day walking through Central Park she is overwhelmed by a terrifying force and she blacks out. She endures some kind of horror and when she regains her senses she finds herself in a new planet, in a new body, and a caretaker of an a seemingly ugly man with very diminished mental capacity. After some time pretending to be the lackwit the guards think she is, Sara realizes that the man is being drugged. When Sara brings him back to his senses by sharing her undrugged food, she discovers that the man is actually Harlan, the Regent of the planet she’s on – Lothar. Together they escape and try to fight the people who put them in the sanitarium in the first place, and discover terrible deeds done during Harlan’s incapacitation.

My Thoughts: As I was reading this book, I could tell that this was an older McCaffrey title – there were old fashioned technology mentioned in it, and romantic tropes like a virgin heroine and the idea of “claiming” (I think it’s used as a sort of marriage here) that I wasn’t used to seeing from this author. Turns out this is McCaffrey’s first published book and it came out in 1967, so that explains it, and it works – the semi-familiar tropes are more than made up for by the parts that are well thought out story building. The fantasy of waking up in a beautiful body does happen to the heroine, but rather than making her a Mary Sue, the new body makes her more interesting because of why she has one. Her flesh was eaten (shudder) by an alien race called the Mil – a race that are the Lotharian’s greatest enemy. They’re the ones who abducted Sara from Earth in the first place, and somehow she ended up in Lothar afterward, where someone performed a reviled procedure called restoration on her. The fact that she’s a restoree is a death sentence on Lothar because of the stigma associated with it.

This idea of restoration and the fact that it’s considered taboo in Lothar is a unique concept, and there are other carefully thought out ideas here that I really enjoyed, like the rules for Regency and ascendancy to Warlord or the political mapping of the world. I thought it was a very clever concept that much of Lothar’s culture has been influenced by their war against the Mil, and they had gaps in technology because of it too. For instance, they wrote on slates, not yet on paper, but they also had spaceships and explored their nearby galaxies. The world building was well done and fed into the plot perfectly. This is not a “light” science fiction story and it has an interesting take on first encounters and alien technology and how they affect a world.

In the FAQ on Anne McCaffrey’s website it says ““Restoree” was a once-off jab at the way women were portrayed in science-fiction” and that “it served its purpose of an intelligent, survivor-type woman as the protagonist of an S-F story”. As a heroine, Sara is smart and resourceful and she’s instrumental in helping Harlan escape and in getting back his power, but there are chunks where her role is more of an observer. Mulling over the statement about Sara in the FAQ, I thought about Sara, and eventually I decided that I found her likable but maybe a hair idealistic. This is where this impression is from: the romance happens early and then the two are separated, so by the end of the book, when she can do no wrong in the hero’s eyes, I question it a little. I think I’m probably being a little unfair in that, but I wanted to see more of how they fell in love, and more of them together. Anyway, this was a minor complaint. The other minor nit I had was how quickly the heroine learned the language just through overhearing it. Supposedly she was on Lothar for months so she may have subconsciously learned a lot while she was in a catatonic state, but suddenly “waking up” and understanding what people were saying required some suspension of disbelief.

When I read this book there are things that remind me of the first part of Cordelia’s Honor (Shards of Honor ) – a resourceful heroine, the hero and heroine have to work together, the hero comes from a military based society, and the concept of a Regent in this society are all there. This was done very differently, and I think I liked the slow build in the romance in Shards of Honor a bit better, but there’s enough there for me to suggest this book for those who enjoy Bujold.

P.S. The cover.. mmm hmm. I don’t think I would have thought to pick this book up on this cover alone.

Overall: This was published in 1967. I think that makes it an old school science fiction romance. It’s an oldie but a goodie, and I recommend it for those looking for a quick read with a similar feel to Lois McMaster Bujold.

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s (I see links to used copies for under a dollar there – see “This title in other editions”) | The Book Depository

Other reviews:
Please let me know if you’ve reviewed this one and I’ll link it here!

Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Posted on September 4, 2010 by janicu

Return to Paradise

Simone Elkeles

This is the continuation of the story that began with Leaving Paradise

(my review for that is here: ).

Again, this was a signed ARC copy that I picked up at BEA.

The Premise: Months have passed since the events in Leaving Paradise, and Caleb Becker, the misunderstood “bad boy” of Paradise finds his path unexpectedly crossing Maggie Armstrong’s once again. This time the two teens whose lives were so changed by the drunk driving accident that sent Caleb to juvenile detention and Maggie to the hospital, find themselves together in Re-START, a program for teens affected by teen reckless driving. Caleb needs to do this program to stay out of the latest trouble he’s found himself in, and Maggie is using Re-START as a thesis paper for a scholarship to Spain. Neither can leave and have to endure each other’s company and the awkwardness of rehashing the accident to an audience of other teens.

******Spoiler for the end of LEAVING PARADISE, but it’s the spoiler on the back of the blurb for RETURN TO PARADISE.. *****

My Thoughts: At the end of Leaving Paradise, things were left up in the air between Caleb and Maggie. The two had acknowledged the feelings that they had for each other, but Caleb’s other issues with Paradise overwhelm the positive effect of their relationship. Caleb sees no other choice but to leave, and we’re left with an unresolved, bittersweet goodbye.

Maggie understood that Caleb wasn’t ready to completely trust her in the previous book, but when he returns in this one, enough time has passed (eight months) for Maggie to feel abandoned. There may be a physical attraction between the two, but their once sweet relationship is now a volatile minefield. Hurt feelings and misunderstandings abound. At first this works for the story. Maggie and Caleb needed to talk to each other about the accident that lies between them and about why Caleb left, and until they do, things would not be right between them. Caleb and Maggie dance awkwardly around each other as they get used to Re-START and the other teens in the program. Maggie is hurt that Caleb never contacted her when he was gone or that he won’t admit the truth about who really hit her. Caleb doesn’t know Maggie knows his secret and is frustrated that he’s the one blamed, that she is avoiding him, and that she may like another boy.

Unfortunately, these initial problems got even messier. The barriers and misunderstandings between Caleb and Maggie needlessly multiply, and somewhere along the way, I felt like I couldn’t recognize the couple that I met in Leaving Paradise. They were arguing, then making up, then arguing with dizzying regularity. They did things that felt completely out of character. I often found myself asking, “OK, why are they mad at each other now?” because I couldn’t keep track. I was even confused when they weren’t mad at each other. At one point Caleb announces some deliberate mistruths about Maggie. Later that night he makes some pretty stupid decisions, gets into more trouble that makes him look like a HUGE jerk. Any girl would be appalled to find him in the state he was in, but Maggie helps him get out of that situation by pretending to be his girlfriend. Do they ever talk about his earlier betrayal? No, because they’ve moved on to the next wrong. It was so frustrating. Actually, it was doubly frustrating – first that that these two would act this way at all, and then rather than resolution, there’s waffling. When I thought that these two were going to sit down and hash out their problems, the plot veered sharply away. I wondered why these two were talking in circles and when the crazy train would stop.

Return to Paradise has the same sort of addictive style as Leaving Paradise, and yes, Maggie and Caleb have an electric pull on me when they’re together on the page, but this book had too much see-sawing filler and not enough substance. Frankly, Return to Paradise was so disappointing in comparison to Leaving Paradise that I am baffled by it! I wonder if these uncorrected proofs from BEA are far from finished work. I did notice discrepancies in the plot time line issues. Could these be copies sent out before some massive editing and corrections were made? Sadly, I can only review the book I was given, not the book I wished it was.

Overall: I think that it would be difficult to read Leaving Paradise (which I loved), and not want to read Return to Paradise. Unfortunately, the sequel does not live up to it’s predecessor, and a lovely teenage romance becomes overly complicated. Liberal use of the Big Mis mixed with confusing plotting made this a book that felt unpolished, and I am actually hoping that my uncorrected proof is far from the final product.

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s | The Book Depository

Other reviews:
Angieville – “A very big disappointment” – I think she makes an excellent point about Caleb being mean here which he wasn’t in Leaving Paradise.

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Posted on September 3, 2010 by janicu

Leaving Paradise

Simone Elkeles

Since I loved Jennifer Echols’ Going Too Far, i was told that I would probably also like Simone Elkeles. I kept this in mind when I went to BEA, and I glommed onto every Elkeles book I could find. I got three – Leaving Paradise, Return to Paradise, and Rules of Attraction. After reading a bunch of speculative fiction books in a row, I was ready for a little genre palette cleansing, so I looked at my TBR and decided to finally give Elkeles a go. Leaving Paradise was the obvious choice to begin (the other two were sequels), and I spent a lovely weekend reading both this book and it’s continuation (I’ll be reviewing Return to Paradise next).

The Premise: This story is about two teens whose lives were most changed by an accident that rocked the small town of Paradise. Over a year ago, Maggie Armstrong was hit by a drunk driver and had to go through hospitalization and intensive physical therapy for the past year. She will forever walk with a limp. Caleb Becker was the boy charged with the crime and has spent the past year in juvenile detention. He will forever be associated with crippling Maggie. Now a year later, Caleb is out and the two have to meet again. They see in each other the person who damaged them, but they also see the only person who can understand what they’re going through.

Read an excerpt of Chapter 1 of Leaving Paradise here

My Thoughts: What a premise! I’m not sure if anything connects two people more closely than a shared tragedy, and this is one that obviously left things in pieces for both Caleb and Maggie. The book is told in alternating chapters from each of their points of view and I felt rather addicted to finding out what each of them thought of their situation and to the ensuing drama when they see each other again.

Surprisingly (or perhaps not), they have lives that strangely reflect each other’s. Maggie has an protective mother who anxiously tracks the progress of her daughter, and she’s isolated at school because of her injuries. Once a strong tennis player and peripheral member of the popular set, Maggie is now ignored. She’s even lost her best friend Leah, because Leah is Caleb’s twin sister. Maggie’s father is pretty much absent from the picture after he divorced Maggie’s mom years ago. All Maggie wants to do is go to an exchange program in Spain where no one will treat her as that girl who was hit by a drunk driver.

Caleb’s family on the other hand, especially his mother, don’t want to face the realities of the accident. His mother pretends that they are an ideal family, his father just goes along with the farce, and his sister has turned Goth and walled herself off from the world. Caleb’s friends have changed as well, but in less obvious ways, and Caleb has a big chip on his shoulder because no one really seems to understand his life in the past year was like. He never wants to go back there again, and he’s angry at how he’s treated as a criminal by everyone he knows.

The two of them together? The pages are charged:

“I’ve been face to face with him many times, but now everything has changed. He doesn’t even look like himself, except for his straight nose and confident stance that has been, and I suppose always will be, Caleb Becker.
“This is awkward,” he says, breaking the long silence. His voice is deeper and darker than I remember.
This is not just seeing him out of my bedroom window.
We’re alone.
And it’s dark.
And it’s oh, so different.
Needing to go back to the safety of by bedroom, I try to stand. A hot, shooting pain races down the side of my leg and I wince.
I watch in horror and shock as he steps forward and grabs my elbow.
Oh. My. God. I automatically jerk away from his grip. Memories of being stuck in the hospital bed unable to move crash through my mind as I straighten.
“Don’t touch me,” I say.
He holds his hands up as if I just said “Stick ’em up.”
“You don’t have to be afraid of me, Maggie.”
“Yes… yes I do,” I say, panicking.
I hear him let out a breath, then he steps back. But he doesn’t leave, he just stares at me strangely. “We used to be friends.”
“That was a long time ago,” I say. “Before you hit me.”

This story was so full of emotion, but it’s done with a delicate hand and the overall effect leaves you breathless. I zoomed through this book, experiencing the pain and frustrations of Maggie and Caleb, but also feeling like there was something hopeful for both of them at the end of it all. I wanted the two of them to be whole again and it really felt like the key to that was each other. I wanted them to forgive each other and I really wanted them to be honest about what happened between them that fateful night, but a good book is not predictable. Elkeles had me worrying about the couple and their fledgling feelings for each other, and once the book was done it did not go the way I expected. I think that if I didn’t have the sequel in my possession I would have been very upset. I closed this book and immediately started reading Return to Paradise with barely a pause.

Overall: Loved it. Another one that does that slow build of romantic tension that comes with falling in love well, and it does it in a emotionally satisfying package. I would put this in the ‘Blew me away’ category if it wasn’t for an ending that leaves you yearning for the sequel.

Buy: Amazon | Powell’s | The Book Depository

Other reviews:
Angieville – she loved it too
Stacy’s Place on Earth – 5 out of 5 stars
Monkey Bear reviews – recommended
See Michelle Read – positive review